Sunday June 20, 2021 David P. Williams

Theme:  "Elementary" - The chemical element in each person's name is replaced by its symbol.

21A. One of four women with an EGOT: WHOOPI AUBERG. Whoopi Goldberg. AU for GOLD.

26A. "Elizabeth I" Emmy winner: JEREMY FES. Jeremy Irons. FE for IRON.

31A. Joint winner of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award: DIEGO MARNA. Diego Maradona. RN for RADON.

44A. "Long Day's Journey Into Night" dramatist: EUGENE EILL. Eugene O'neill. NE for NEON.

92A. Grammy winner for comedy and banjo playing: STEVE MARSN. Steve Martin. SN for TIN.

98A. Emmy-winning comedian/actress: SARAH AGMAN. Sarah Silverman. AG for SILVER.

105A. Rami Malek's Best Actor role: FREDDIE HG. Freddie Mercury. HG for MERCURY.

117A. First living magician with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: DAVID CUFIELD. David Copperfield. CU for COPPER.

And the extras:

2D. Fe: IRON.

27D. Au: GOLD.

40D. Ag: SILVER.

48D. Sn: TIN.

49D. Hg: MERCURY.

55D. Rn: RADON.

66D. Cu: COPPER.

113D. Ne: NEON.

I'm thinking David did not originally have those short element entries, but Rich felt those were needed for solvers to understand the gimmick. Man, they made gridding so much harder, despite the short length.

See how this puzzle differs from the "Elements of Style" Mike Peluso made a few years only? Both have David Copperfield, but this theme set is much tighter. I know you guys don't like puzzles with many names, but this extra layer of "name only" set elevates the puzzle.

Across:

1. Market division: AISLE.

6. Subterfuge on ice: DEKE.  Hockey fake-out.

10. High-quality: TOP END.

16. Makes the rounds for rounds: BARHOPS. Great clue.

18. Thick noodle: UDON. Love seafood udon.

19. "No Reservations" host Anthony: BOURDAIN. He likes cacio e pepe.

23. Early rotary-winged aircraft: AUTOGIRO. We also have 67. Whirlybird raisers: ROTORS.

24. "Winning __ everything": ISN'T.

25. Butt heads: TUSSLE.

27. "... going, going, __!": GONE.

28. Speedy shark: MAKO.

30. Give in to gravity: SAG.

36. Magic's org.: NBA.  The Orlando Magic. Chinese love NBA. Most don't care about baseball or American football.

38. Martini partner: ROSSI.

42. Foot rest?: INSOLE. 43A clue.

43. Games go-with: FUN.

47. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, e.g.: OCTAD. 8.

48. Sweet __: TEA.

49. Christmas opener?: MERRY. Another misdirecting  clue: 59. Horse trailer?: CART.

50. Court exchange: RALLY.

51. Author Silverstein: SHEL. Could have avoided "Silver" in the clue.

52. Nothing in Naples: NIENTE.

54. "The Waltons" actor: GEER (Will).

56. "Frozen" reindeer: SVEN.

57. Screen star, say: ICON.

61. Red-wrapped cheese: EDAM.

63. PC panic button: ESC.

64. __ Creed: NICENE. Adopted by the First Ecumenical Council in 325.

67. Countermand: RESCIND.

69. Scarcity: DEARTH.

71. Tokyo, before the Meiji Restoration: EDO. Edo period is between 1603 and 1867.

72. N. Macedonia is its newest member: NATO. Followed by 74. Capital of Latvia: EURO.

75. Threadbare: WORN.

76. Mo. once seventh: SEPT. July and August were added to the original 10-month calendar,  honoring Julius Caesar and his successor Augustus.

78. Immortal Babe: RUTH. Boomer just sold his Albert Pujols rookie card (ungraded).

80. Stitched again: RESEWN.

82. Whaler of fiction: AHAB.

86. Spanish bar food: TAPAS.

88. Kind of trap: BOOBY.

90. "That's enough!": TMI. Too Much Information.

91. Mild cigar: CLARO.

94. Is for you?: ARE.

95. Islands west of Lisbon: AZORES.

96. "Buss It" rapper Banks: ERICA. And 97. One-named singer who directed "Music" (2021): SIA.

100. Airport calc.: ETD.

102. In the __ of time: NICK.

104. "The Kite Runner" protagonist: AMIR.

110. Softly illuminated: LOW-LIT.

112. Obstacle: SNAG.

116. Conspicuousness: SALIENCE. Not a word I use.

119. Against the flow: UPSTREAM.

120. Galena and others: ORES.

121. Easy way to win: IN A ROMP.

122. Mortarboard dangler: TASSEL. Husker Gary knows detasseling. Have you all read this article?

123. Field protector: TARP.

124. Church cries: AMENS.

Down:

1. Fireworks reactions: AAHS.

3. It may be a long one: SHOT.

4. Prune: LOP. Oh I meant to ask, do you use a garlic press or just use your kitchen knife to smash the garlic?

5. Ideal: EPITOME.

6. Adds dialogue to: DUBS.

7. Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian: EDELMAN. Retired now. Brady is still doing strong.

8. Divided land since 1945: KOREA.

9. Official language of Belize: Abbr. : ENG.

10. Outings with buses: TOURS.

11. Make more than: OUT-EARN.

12. Teen in a tux, often: PROM-GOER.

13. Unconventional, maybe: EDGY.

14. Ingenue: NAIF.

15. Like some straits: DIRE.

16. D.C. area airport: BWI. Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

17. Sweat spot: SAUNA.

19. Main squeeze, in slang: BAE. Baby.

20. House IDs: NOS. Numbers.

22. Highway toll, e.g.: USER FEE.

26. South African metropolis, colloquially: JOBURG. Johannesburg.

29. Dad-to-tot talk support: KNEE.

31. God of Guatemala: DIOS. And 33. One of four direcciones: ESTE. East.

32. Small amount to give: INCH.

34. Net defender: GOALIE.

35. Subtlety: NUANCE.

37. Shook, in a way: AGREED.

39. Lunar plains: SEAS.

41. Least well: ILLEST.

45. Inspected: EYED.

46. "The Elephant Man" (1980) director: LYNCH (David)

52. Lack of musicality: NO-EAR.

53. Zap: TASE.

58. First TV channel with 24-hr. news coverage: CNN.

60. Swing seat, maybe: TIRE.

62. La Méditerranée, e.g.: MER.

64. Stick-y spots?: NESTS. Full of tiny sticks.

65. Think: IDEATE. Not a word I use.

68. Cosa __: NOSTRA. The Sicilian Mafia Also 99. Firenze friends: AMICI.

70. Like old timers?: ANALOG. Another fun clue.

73. Bass in a band: TUBA.

75. "In Flanders Fields" setting, succinctly: WWI.

77. Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-__: TAVI.

79. Scam: HOSING.

81. Shade of green: EMERALD.

83. Hippocratic oath prohibition: HARM. First do no harm.

84. Field or its measure: AREA.

85. One on a fo'c'sle, perhaps: BOSN.

87. Union breakers: SECEDERS.

89. __ B'rith: BNAI.

91. Kingpin: CZAR.

93. Afternoon feature: MATINEE.

94. Invite for dinner, say: ASK OVER.

95. Yellowfin: AHI TUNA. We often just see AHI.

101. Window sticker: DECAL.

103. Santa __, Calif.: CLARA.

105. Seminoles' sch.: FSU. Does anyone still stay in contact with XchefWalt?

106. Spellbound: RAPT.

107. "Lohengrin" heroine: ELSA.

108. Morse sounds that can spell "hies": DITS.

109. Fashion line?: HEM.

111. Swirl of smoke: WISP.

112. Royal address: SIRE.

114. Contents of a monk's bowl: ALMS.

115. Econ. indicator: GDP.

117. Point: DOT.

118. Blood, slangily: FAM. Family.

For blog regulars, click here to solve the "Aggie" puzzle I made this week.  There's a video clue for 1-Across. Just click on the red arrow in the clue area (on top of ACROSS/DOWN), the red arrow inside the ACROSS box does not work. Hope you have fun. There are four more Minis there.

C.C.

Saturday, May 15, 2021, David P. Williams

 Themeless Saturday by David P. Williams 

I had a very nice time solving Dave's initial puzzle. It seems incredible that his first puzzle is a themeless Saturday effort. Linking EEPHUS PITCH and AS ALL GET OUT seemed a natural as you'll see. Here's a nice note from Dave:

Hi Gary, 

A brief note below, if you wish to use it.

Thanks,

Dave

Since this is my first-ever published puzzle, I’d be remiss if I didn’t pluck the low-hanging fruit and say: “Hello, (Cross)World!” 

I’m grateful to Rich for giving me a shot and also for greatly improving the puzzle with his editing. Any remaining deficiencies are solely on me. I hope the puzzle brightened your day, but if you wish to fulminate, lightning can be directed to semiwild.lava@gmail.com .

It's also National Chocolate Chip Day! So get out some milk and do some dunking along while celebrating Dave's first foray into crossword construction. 

Across:

1. Exchange with, in sports: TRADE TO - The Colts had to TRADE John Elway TO Denver because he refused to play for them when he graduated from Stanford

8. Changing environment: CABANA - The first of some really "out there" cluing that makes for real challenges. No ecology here, just somewhere to change into or out of your swim suit.

14. "Hang on!": WAIT A SEC.

15. Conceived: IMAGED and 4. Bold type: DARER - Rank up there with HUGER for clanking off my ear

16. Sent abroad: EXPORTED - This company in my hometown has EXPORTED tons of specialty meat to Japan in the last 23 years

17. Source of biblical medicine: GILEAD - Here ya go

18. Inadvertently test an audience's tolerance levels: DRONE ON - Our pastor did DRONE ON for 20 minutes when the 100 kids were confirmed two weeks ago. 

19. Color in four-color printing: MAGENTA - Shaquille O'Neal is pitching bottles of ink to refill your printer cartridge. Can you see the MAGENTA bottle in his hand?

20. What suspects may be charged with: TASERS - More funky cluing!

21. Mysterious glow: AURA.

22. What blue may mean, briefly: DEM - From the 1960 election  

23. Giant Mel et al.: OTTS - On the list of famous OTTS he is #1 and the only one I recognize

24. Stained glass setting: APSE.

25. Excoriates: TARS - Synonyms for excoriate and none of them are TAR but I see David's intention 

26. High-arcing toss first attributed to Rip Sewell: EEPHUS PITCH - Gotta love this! It's from the Hebrew word "efe" which means nothing. That batter will be as mad 32. "... like you wouldn't believe!": AS ALL GET OUT.

30. Water music?: SEA SHANTIES - What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor comes to my mind. How about doing a chorus Spitz?

34. Shelter sound: BARK.

37. Liq. measures: GALS - 20miles/GAL is approximately 8.5kilometers/L

38. Foam footwear: CROC - Popular footwear at MIL's Alzheimer's facility 

40. Former Bolivian president Morales: EVO - A turbulent presidency

41. Towel designation: HERS - HERS and OURS

42. Horn home: AFRICA - Another "it must be Saturday" clue 😊 It's easy to see how this name was 46. Figured out: GLEANED.

44. Ones moving to the right: NEOCONS.

47. Completely: IN TOTO - My first fill was ENTIREly wrong

48. Elaborate story, perhaps: TALL TALE - Nebraska cabbages

49. Esophagus: GULLET - You didn't put THROAT first like I did?

50. Bar barrier: AGE LIMIT.

51. Ride: NEEDLE - Kid, tease, nag, harass...

52. Cure-all: PANACEA - Good fer what ails ya! Prof. Pratt's meds probably contained alcohol, cocaine and/or opium

Down:

1. Amount often tied to income: TAX RATE.

2. Some wisecracks: RIPOSTES - I'll bet you know the insult that preceded this RIPOSTE. *Answer below

3. Enjoying prime time: AT ONE'S PEAK

5. These, in Cádiz: ESTOS - If Kramer said his line in Spanish, it would be "ESTOS pretzels me están dando sed"

6. MTV's "__ Wolf": TEEN - A TV version of this Michael J. Fox movie

7. Monk's condition, on the TV show: OCD.

8. Smoke: CIGARETTE - It's great that I rarely see any of these today

9. Friendly-sounding old Commodore computer: AMIGA.

10. Christian in films: BALE - An impressive IMDB

11. It may be hidden: AGENDA - "Gee, look at this lovely wooden horse the Greeks have brought us!"

12. More pinlike?: NEATER - More Saturday cluing as in "Neat as a pin"

13. Iconic New Yorker cartoonist Charles: ADDAMS - Of the TV show inspired by his ADDAMS Family cartoon series that started in 1938 he said, "I'm up and down about the show. They are only half as evil as my characters."

14. Linked by custom with: WED TO - Chas ADDAMS said he used the slinky woman he was WED TO as a model for Morticia 

19. Ruminations: MUSINGS - I post my ruminations everyday!

21. Floors: APPALLS.

24. Squared stones: ASHLARS - I've seen them, admired them and even laid them but never knew what they were called.

25. Divine type of rule: THEOCRATIC - Vatican City is too small to show up on the map. Clickable map of countries with THEOCRATIC rule

27. Enjoys: HAS.

28. Dictionary detail: USAGE NOTE.

29. Op. __: CIT - Op CIT or Ibid:

1. Michael Legge, Precious Little (New York: Pod Books, 2015), p. 198.s
2. Danielle Ward, Any Questions? (London: DTRT Publishing, 2017), p. 30.
3. Legge, op. cit., p. 102.

OR

1. Danielle Ward, Any Questions? (London: DTRT Publishing, 2017), p. 30.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., p. 39-41.

31. Country whose official language is Dutch: SURINAME - Another artifact of colonialism

33. Song whose second line is "And I will pledge with mine": TO CELIA - First, I learn landscaping blocks are called ASHLARS and now I find out "Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes" is actually is a line from a 17th century poem by Ben Johnson called TO CELIA.

34. Favorable: BENIGN - I would love to be in a more BENIGN climate in the winter

35. One way to go: AVENUE.

36. Dig with a snout: ROOTLE - And the learning keeps on coming. 

39. Space __: CADET.

41. Flamingo, for one: HOTEL - Look carefully to see who was headlining there when this picture was taken

42. Three-time Emmy-winning choreographer Debbie: ALLEN - She also played a very forceful character on Grey's Anatomy

43. Guy: FELLA.

45. Not making any baskets, say: COLD - or not making any putts! Somedays the ball just will not go where you want it.

46. Lady of song: GAGA - Seen here as both a common and proper noun

48. When repeated, sound of impatience: TAP.

*Insult: Bessie Braddock M.P., "You sir are drunk". RIPOSTE: Winston Churchill "You, my dear, are ugly but I shall be sober in the morning!"