Sunday December 26 2021 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Going Green" - Different trees are hidden in 8 theme answers, plus a PLANT A TREE reveal.

3D. Round jewelry item: HOOP EARRING.

4D. Yuletide entrée: CHRISTMAS HAM.

13D. Solemn periodic Vatican event: PAPAL MASS.

16D. Sub fillers: DELI MEATS.

61D. Subject never quite resolved in "When Harry Met Sally...": PLATONIC LOVE.

68D. "Oh Happy Day" genre: GOSPEL MUSIC.

78D. Atlas feature: MAP LEGEND.

80D. Adidas Yeezy collaborator: KANYE WEST. Ye now.

Reveal:

54. Read: PERUSE.

59. Legal scholar Guinier: LANI.

63. Ease, as one's mind: SET AT REST.

73. __ Goose vodka: GREY.

We've seen a few hidden tree gimmicks (in the middle or TREETOP style), but never without the extra PLANT A TREE stand reveal.

Heavy themage, with 8 long entries and the extra layer in the middle.

Across:

1. [Yawn]: MEH.

4. "My __ Amour": Stevie Wonder hit: CHERIE.

10. Transition point: CUSP.

14. Old PC platform: MS-DOS. I probably won't upgrade to Windows 11 until the last minute.

19. Antacid brand since the 1800s: ENO. New to me. But Ed is a doctor.

20. Mark who plays Luke: HAMILL. This puzzle is a bit name-heavy.

21. Avalon contemporary in pop music: ANKA (Paul). Frankie Avalon.

22. "Einstein on the Beach," e.g.: OPERA.

23. Dove's call: COO.

24. Road safety feature: RUMBLE STRIP.

26. Eponymous engineer Ray: DOLBY.

27. Climactic Wembley Stadium event: CUP FINAL.

29. Big name in camping gear: COLEMAN.

31. Make up partner: KISS.

32. Like some illegal employment practices: AGEIST.

33. Lure into a lair: ENTRAP.

35. SoFi Stadium NFLer: LA RAM.

37. Mine feature: SHAFT.

38. Looked at too long: STARED.

39. Select members for, as a jury: IMPANEL. My sister-in-law Connie served on a jury earlier this month.

41. Swab over: RE-MOP.

43. Petting zoo animal: PONY.

44. Academic hiatuses: GAP YEARS.

46. Disconcert: JAR.

48. Sorkin of "Days of Our Lives": ARLEEN. Stranger to me.

50. Dinsmore of kid lit: ELSIE. Another new clue angle.

51. Inclusive word: TOO.

52. Form 1040 fig.: AGI. Adjusted Gross Income.

53. Circus barkers: SEALS.

56. "Well, __ that special!": "SNL" catchphrase: ISN'T.

57. Oater sound effects: GUNSHOTS.

60. Mole, maybe: SPY.

62. Aqua __: gold dissolver: REGIA. I think I learned this from a Jeffrey puzzle.

67. Nigerian seaport: LAGOS.

71. HBO rival: TMC.

74. Large green-winged flier: LUNA MOTH.

76. Open ones are welcoming: ARMS.

79. Honey-do-this response: OK DEAR. Boomer has been good, eating most of the veggies at the hospital. The nurses give him this Ensure drink every day. I probably should get some for him when he's back.

82. Baron Cohen's Kazakh journalist: BORAT.

83. Name in alphabetical order?: STU.

84. Intl. broadcasting initials: VOA. Voice of America.

85. Letter-shaped track segment: I RAIL.

86. Hope that one may: SEEK TO.

87. See 105-Across: POT. 105. Make more tempting, as the 87-Across: SWEETEN.

88. Swiss winds: ALPHORNS.

90. Maine, to Macron: ETAT. Also 100. The same, on the Seine: EGALE.

92. Start of a few choice words?: EENIE.

94. Bird migration routes: FLYWAYS.

95. Elegy for one voice: MONODY. Another new word for me.

97. Five Pillars faith: ISLAM.

101. Ivanhoe's love: ROWENA. Lady Rowena.

102. Trattoria entrée: SCAMPI.

103. Jellystone Park bear: YOGI.

107. Ad campaign components: MAIL-OUTS.

109. "Not __ out of you!": "Shh!": A PEEP.

111. Signed, as an agreement: ENTERED INTO.

113. Canine order: SIT.

114. Greek-American New Ager: YANNI.

115. Headliner: STAR.

116. One of three in "Macbeth": SCENE V.

117. "__ seen worse": I'VE.

118. Pilgrim John: ALDEN. First man to step off the Mayflower.

119. Kitchen amts.: TSPS.

120. "Forrest Gump" actor: SINISE (Gary)

121. Rogue: CAD.

Down:

1. Tourist draws: MECCAS. My hometown Xi'an (13 million people) is now under a strict lockdown. Andy has to have COVID test every day. They set up a testing center at the gate of every neighborhood. Every family can only have one person going out to buy food every two days. And you must show a negative result, otherwise, you can't get food.

 

2. "I've had it!": ENOUGH. Chinese are very cooperative people. Most Asians are.

5. Frequent: HAUNT.

6. Austen title heroine: EMMA.

7. Barbecued morsel: RIBLET.

8. Needing TLC, say: ILL.

9. Kind of microscope: ELECTRON.

10. Angela Martin, e.g., in "The Office": CATLADY.

11. Intl. delegate: UN REP.

12. Brush (over): SKIM.

14. '60s chic: MOD.

15. Gonzaga University city: SPOKANE.

17. Bubbles and blueberries: ORBS.

18. Comes out with: SAYS.

25. "Either/Or" author Kierkegaard: SOREN. Regulars in our Tribune Media Daily days.

28. Wind with a drum: FIFE.

30. Dover diapers: NAPPIES.

34. Shaving spots: NAPES.

36. Comical Martha: RAYE.

38. Evidence of egg toss errors: SPLATS.

39. House, in Inuit: IGLU. Igloo.

40. Dianetics creator Hubbard: L RON. Scientology founder.

42. Treat often eaten filling-first: OREO.

45. Lush: SOT.

46. 13-time NHL all-star Jaromir __: JAGR. From the Czech Republic.

47. Flu symptom: AGUE.

49. "What __ can I do?": ELSE.

50. New York canal: ERIE.

54. British pop: PATER.

55. Eliza's 'elper 'iggins: ENRY.

56. Start of Popeye's credo: I YAM.

58. Is in session: SITS.

59. "__ Croft: Tomb Raider": LARA.

64. Neutrogena shampoo brand: T GEL. Anti-dandruff.

65. Gin flavor: SLOE.

66. Clunker: TURKEY.

69. Bart's bus driver: OTTO. Hi there D-!

70. Open-and-__ case: SHUT.

72. Rounds up: CORRALS.

75. Kid-lit's __ the Great: NATE.

76. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.

77. Massage deeply: ROLF. Our Melissa used to be a massage therapist. 

81. Talk trash about: DISS.

82. Back at Belmont: BET ON.

85. Sioux City state: IOWA.

86. Rationality: SANENESS.

89. Healthy routine: HYGIENE. I wonder why the VA hospital keeps the room temperature so low. With the thin gown, most patients will not be comfortable. Boomer does have an extra blanket, but he misses the warmth of our house.

91. Airport fixture: TOWER.

93. World Golf Hall of Famer Aoki: ISAO. Old regular.

96. "The Omen" child: DAMIEN.

98. '90s-00s IBM PC: APTIVA.  TTP's field. I have no idea.

99. Sprayed gently: MISTED.

101. Put another hole in, as a keg: RE-TAP.

102. Web or camp follower: SITES.

103. DaCosta of "Chicago Med": YAYA.

104. Iridescent gem: OPAL.

106. Rhinitis docs: ENTS.

108. Years in Caesar's time: ANNI.

110. Stick with it: PIN.

112. Rank of Brit. TV sleuth Morse: DCI. OK, Detective Chief Inspector.

Boomer is making progress. He still needs to press the button to call the nurse to go to the toilet. He's not allowed to go alone in his walker. His legs are still too weak. They're afraid he'll fall.

The neurosurgeon checks on him every day. The VA chaplain visited him yesterday. He gave Boomer a wafer and they shared a prayer. The VA nurses also gave him a nice Christmas card. He teared up reading the card to me.

Hopefully he'll start his PT today. If he's doing well, he might be out of the hospital next Thursday or Friday. 

Thanks again for keeping Boomer in your thoughts and prayers.

C.C.

Sunday November 28, 2021 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Two for Two" - Both words in each entry can follow "double"

 

23. *Band aide: BOOKING AGENT. Double booking. Double agent.

34. *Period after a crash, perhaps: DOWN TIME. Double down. Double time.

43. *Figure in many Monty Python routines: CROSS DRESSER. Double cross. Double dresser.

60. *Figurative place for deferred options: BACK BURNER. Double back. Double burner.

68. *Airbags in cars, e.g.: STANDARD FEATURE. Double standard. Double feature.

 

82. *Hoops buzzer-beater, for one: CLUTCH PLAY. Double clutch. Double play.

 

96. *Mall rarity on Black Friday: PARKING SPACE. Double parking. Double space.

 

105. *Nightly barracks routine: BED CHECK. Double bed. Double check.

 

Reveal: 

121. Wimbledon category, and a hint to the answers to starred clues: MIXED DOUBLES.

 

I'm amazed that Ed found a Sunday set with all solid-in-the-language entries. Theme entries often strain a bit for this theme type.

 

I've mentioned this before, Ed is one of those constructors who always strives for originality. Also one of very few who make great themed & themeless grids. Also probably the only one with Mr. in the byline in the NYT crosswords.

Ed Sessa

Across:

1. Balls and some apples: GALAS.

6. "Bicycle Thieves" director Vittorio: DE SICA. Saw the movie ages ago.

12. Cleopatra's killer: ASP.

15. Hindu epic hero: RAMA. The Ramayana epic.

19. Wanting words: I WISH.

20. Spots for spectacles: ARENAS. Sports spectacles.

21. Lobbying gp.: PAC.

22. Airline whose name means "to the skies": EL AL. Different EL in 27. Pacific current: EL NINO.

25. Stuck playing a familiar role: TYPECAST. Tony Danza has played quite a few Tonys in movie/TV. 

28. Top drawers?: ARTISTS. Draw-ers. Great clue.

30. Incomplete body of art: TORSO. Rich does not mind this kind of art/ARTIST clue/answer dupes.

31. Budgetary figures: NET COSTS.

36. Wood cutter: SAW.

39. Do another hitch: RE-UP.

40. Time VIPs: EDS. Editors. Rich Norris is ours.

42. Burglar's take: HAUL.

47. __ mentality: MOB.

48. Ones using mixers, for short: DJS.

51. Former Sony brand: AIWA.

52. Afghanistan neighbor: IRAN. I've never had saffron, you?

53. Saucer, briefly: UFO.

55. "Hey, that's great!": OH COOL. And 62. "Give me a break!": PLEASE.

58. Animal shelter: LAIR.

59. "Family Circus" creator Bil: KEANE.

64. MLB's "Splendid Splinter" Williams: TED. I heard from our own Splynter last week. He's still solving crossword every day. He's thinking of moving to Connecticut.

66. Phi follower: CHI.

67. Staggers: REELS.

73. "Bless you" evoker: ACHOO. And   76. "That feels good": AAH.

77. Rum __ Tugger: "Cats" role: TUM.

78. Making a big deal out of: HYPING.

85. Files in shop class: RASPS.

88. Emulate a frigatebird: SOAR.

89. "Godzilla" franchise co-creator Tomoyuki __: TANAKA. Learning moment for me.

90. LAX posting: ETA.

91. Job safety org.: OSHA.

92. Eclectic magazine: UTNE. Reader.

93. Cephalopod's discharge: INK. Want some?

94. "__L": "Bye for now": TTY.  Might be Rich's clue.

100. Pained expression: OUCH.

102. Bank account ID: SSN.

103. Very wide shoe: EEEE.

104. Pink Floyd's Barrett: SYD.

108. Biometric security procedure: IRIS SCAN. Another great fill.

112. Mtge. issuer: S AND L.

113. Like some eaves in winter: ICICLED. Not a word I use.

115. Pharaoh depicted on the Sphinx: KHAFRE. Learning moment also.

119. Capital east of New Delhi: KATMANDU. Nepal.

124. Gillette blade: ATRA.

125. Cool, like a cat: HEP.

126. Crib outfit: ONESIE.

127. Gaming rookies: NOOBS. Sometimes it's TYROS.

128. Back in the day: THEN.

129. Holiday song syllables: LAS.

130. Lipton rival: NESTEA.

131. Forum garments: TOGAE. Often TOGAS.

Down:

1. Barb: GIBE.

2. Base runner?: AWOL. Good old clue.

3. Oz traveler: LION.

4. Welcome at the door: ASK IN.

5. Fight souvenirs: SHINERS.

6. Hammarskjöld of the U.N.: DAG. Have not seen this fill for quite some time.

7. Historical period: ERA.

8. "Sonic" consoles: SEGAS.

9. Like krypton and xenon: INERT.

10. Don't get: CAN'T SEE.

11. Piedmont bubbly: ASTI.

12. Likely will, after "is": APT TO.

13. "Oh yeah?": SAYS WHO. Lots of colloquial phrases in Ed's puzzles.

14. Angel dust, briefly: PCP.

15. Snap back: RECOIL.

16. Cause to sweat: ALARM. Can you believe the looting happened in Minnesota on Black Friday? None of the guys was caught.

17. Vertical billiards shot: MASSE.

18. __ sax: ALTO.

24. Well-known: NOTED.

26. Julius' cry to Marcus: ET TU.

29. '60s activist gp.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

32. Nobelist of 1903 and 1911: CURIE. Marie.

33. "William Tell," e.g.: OPERA.

35. Big cheese: NABOB. I did not know "big potatoes" is not a phrase until D-Otto commented last time. We have small potatoes, but no big potatoes.

36. Rogaine target: SCALP.

37. No-frills font: ARIAL.

38. "Holy Toledo!": WOWIE.

41. Beat handily: DRUB.

44. Florida coastal city or its county: SARASOTA.

45. Red-and-white topper: SANTA HAT. Really miss our Santa.

46. Scornful look: SNEER.

47. Latte variant: MOCHA.

48. Ready to eat: DONE.

49. "An Innocent Man" songwriter: JOEL (Billy)

50. Canon AE-1 et al., for short: SLRS.

54. Cover for some superheroes: FACE MASK. For us non-heroes also.

56. "We don't have much time!": HURRY.

57. Stealthily nears, with "on": CREEPS UP.

59. Mauna __: KEA.

61. Modeler's buy: KIT.

63. Seller's supply: STOCK.

65. Rachel Carson subject: DDT.

69. Quick snooze: NAP.

70. Family name in Chicago politics: DALEY. The Daley family.  Richard M. Daley here.

71. Hubbub: FUROR.

72. Sounds of hesitation: UHS.

73. Musical opening: ACT I.

74. Family group: CLAN.

75. Tarzan type: HUNK.

79. Little bits: IOTAS.

80. Rival of Tonya: NANCY. Nancy Kerrigan. Tonya Harding.

81. Devotion to Mammon, biblically: GREED. Mammon is biblical term for wealth. I did not know.

83. Come out of one's shell: HATCH.

84. Toy dog's barks: YAPS.

86. Draws back: SHIES.

87. Philatelist's buys: PANES. Stamps.

95. "What nerve!": THE IDEA.

97. Dye-making compound: ANILINE.

98. Insurance lizard: GECKO.

99. Old TV series with a scuba-diving hero: SEA HUNT.

100. Guy who's often out: ODD MAN. Odd man out.

101. Pac-12's Bruins: UCLA.

102. Go downhill fast: SKI.

105. Saddam's party: BA'ATH. Read more here. Saddam took power in 1979. Outed in 2003.

106. Between, in Brest: ENTRE.

107. Some bra features: C CUPS.

109. Curly-coated cats: REXES.

110. That is, to Cicero: ID EST.

111. Jar Jar Binks' planet: NABOO.

112. Card game for three: SKAT.

114. "Let's do it!": C'MON.

116. Aggressively promote: FLOG.

117. Singer McEntire: REBA.

118. Latin "to be": ESSE.

120. Devils org.: NHL. The New Jersey Devils.

122. Lose power, as a battery: DIE.

123. Org. that makes traffic stops?: DEA. Drug traffic.

Some extra notes:

1) I don't have any updates from Al, hopefully I'll hear from him soon. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

2) For those who have trouble posting links on our blog Comments section from your iPhone/iPad/Mac,  you can turn smart punctuation off by going to Settings, tap General. Then, tap Keyboards, and toggle Smart Punctuation to off. 

Thanks to TTP for the solution.

Thursday, September 23, 2021, Ed Sessa

 

Greetings, curciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here.  Today marks an anniversary of sorts.  My first recap was posted on 17 September 2020.  Waseeley, my partner in Thursday crime, wrote up the puzzle on the 16th of this month and that would have been exactly one year.  I have never been one for counting rotations of this planet or its orbits around our sun (ask anyone who has put up with my commenting on the time references in any Star Trek television show or movie) but I realize that other folks like to keep track of such things.  In any event, today is more-than-close-enough to mark the one-earth-year anniversary of may alter ego, MM, writing recaps for the corner.  Please allow me to repeat what I said at that time:  Thank you all for allowing me play in your sandbox.  - -  Joseph

Today's puzzle-setter is our frequent friend, Ed Sessa, and he has come up with something a bit unusual in that the theme answers are not located simply as Across or Down words patiently waiting to be filled in.  Instead, they cross . . . and those patterns are placed diagonally, to boot.  The reveal comes at:

54 Across. Linked in a way illustrated by three pairs of puzzle answers:  JOINED AT THE HIP.

At three locations in the grid Ed has crossed the word HIP and the I of each word is shared in both directions.  The completed long answers provide no hints whatsoever about the theme.  It's the siting that counts.  Pretty clever, if you ask this marine mammal.  Here is how it looks in the grid:

Here is what this structure was built UPON (see 59 Across, although the word is used somewhat differently there):

Across:

1. "The Giving Tree" author Silverstein: SHEL.  Most people do not know that SHEL Silverstein also wrote this:

The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash)

5. Gravelly voiced sort: RASPER.  It's too bad that CEDO is not a word because RASPER is a bit of a stretch.

11. Top (out): MAX.   From MAXimum or MAXimize.   It can be stressful to MAX Out one's credit cards.

14. Ritzy: LUXE.  DeLUXE  (There's a Ray-ism in this one, for sure).

15. City on the Rio Grande: EL PASO.  Also, a Marty Robbins classic.

The Drifter TV Show - 1965

16. Flamenco dancer's cry: OLE.  Today's Spanish lesson.

17. Org. mandating eyewash stations: OSHA.

18. Canvassing technique: DOOR TO DOOR.  Ding dong.   Or, if you have a Ring camera, "There is someone at your DOOR."

20. Animals in a herd: HIPPOPOTAMUSES.  The animals could have been many other species and still answered the clue.  This answer sent me down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what the theme might be.  Still, I want one.

Gayla Peevey Then (1953) and Almost Now (2016)

22. Face value: PAR.  A financial reference.  This could also have been clued with a golf reference.

23. Org. with 132 Pulitzer Prizes: NY TIMES.  The New York Times.

24. Initiation rite: BAPTISM.

28. Tear up: WEEP.  Oh, it's "crying" as opposed to "ripping into pieces".

29. Batter's stat: RBI.  A baseball reference.  Runs Batted In

30. One hanging around in the forest?: SLOTH.  Also, a Deadly Sin - but not today.  Anyone try HIKER first?

32. Give and take: SWAP.  Today's "let's pass on a potential reference" moment.

36. "And fly, __ evil intercept thy flight": Milton: ERE.  Thanks, perps.

37. Title teacher in a James Hilton novella: MR CHIPS.

40. Kipling's "Follow Me __": OME.  OM, OM, Range

41. Insect dating from the Jurassic era: WASP.  150 - 200 million years later we now get the so-called Murder Hornets.

43. Board, as a bus: HOP ON.  Board a Bus?  Nicely teed up.   Fore!

Weird Al  Yankovic with Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz on The Tomorrow Show - 1981

Another One Rides The Bus

44. Darling of baseball: RON.  A nice play on words.

45. Daughter of Cronus and Rhea: HERA.

48. Becomes clear: SOAKS IN.  Ah, the idiom.

50. Digs: SHOVELS.  Ah, not the idiom.

53. Stadium shout: RAH.

58. Hardwood with an edible seed: ALMOND TREE.  The tree itself isn't often referred to as, simply, "hardwood"  but Ed, or Rich, could not, for obvious reasons work the word "tree" into the clue.

59. After: UPON.  UPON further reflection . . .

61. '60s-'70s Pontiac: GTO.  My aunt Millie had a GTO.  I have never been able to figure out how that come to be.  Wa-wa,Wa, Wa. Wa. Wa. Wa. Wa

Ronnie and the Daytonas

62. Venetian Renaissance painter: TITIAN.  I would have loved to use a video clip of the E. Buzz Miller's Art Classics (SNL) pronunciation-based wordplay here but I could not find one that was not copyright protected.

63. Mystery-solving Wolfe: NERO.

64. Virtual-city denizen: SIM.  As in Sim City, the video game.

65. Strips in the freezer: STEAKS.

New York Strip Steaks

66. Torah holders: ARKS.

Down:

1. __-mo: SLO.  SLOw-motion

2. Muzzle: HUSH.  Used as a verb - as is muzzle.  Interesting clue.

3. What some Woodstock attendees eventually became: EX - HIPPIES.

Who? Me?

4. Seize eagerly: LEAP AT.  Does a ballerina LEAP AT the chance to show off her skills?

5. Go over again: REDO.

6. Cockeyed: ALOP.  We have heard this word before but not often.  Does anyone here use it?

7. Table setting item: SPOON.  Hey diddle diddle.

8. House disciplinarians: PARTY WHIPS.  The House of Representatives.  A PARTY's WHIP is generally considered to be the member tasked with ensuring that members of a given party vote the way the party leadership wishes.

Toe The Line

9. Impressive spread: ESTATE.  Hands up for thinking first of something to do with food.

10. One sharing quarters: ROOMIE.  A bit slangy even though the clue is not.

11. Bullwinkle's last name: MOOSE.

12. Sunburn applications: ALOES.  Balms applied frequently in crossword puzzles.

13. Boomers' kids: XERS.  My XERS:  Before anyone cries discrimination, please be aware that the settings of the photos could have been, and have been, switched for both of them.

 

Daughter - Law School Graduation

Son on the Great Wall

19. Breaks up with: DUMPS.

21. Feature of some eyeglasses: PRISM.  PRISM eyeglasses are used to correct double vision. 

24. Pub order: BREW.

25. Magician's opening: ABRA.  ABRA Cadabra.  ABRA is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew "avra" meaning "I will create."  Cadabra is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew "kedoobar" meaning "as was spoken."  "I will create as spoken!"  Makes sense.

26. Camera type, briefly: SLR. Single Lens Reflex.  Note the pentaPRISM.

27. Espresso-based coffee concoction: MOCHA LATTE.  If "chocolate" had been in the clue this one would have been easier.

31. However, in poetry: THO.  Short form of ALTHO?

33. Churchgoer, e.g.: WORSHIPER.

34. Mine, in Amiens: A MOI.  Today's French lesson.

35. "Mystic River" Oscar winner Sean: PENN.

38. Nanki-__: POO.  A Mikado reference (Gilbert and Sullivan).

39. Capture: SNARE.

42. Graph lead-in: PHONO.  Thought, for a moment, that PORNO might work.

46. Social functions: EVENTS.

Somebody Forgot The Name Tags

47. "The front page of the internet" website: REDDIT.

49. Island big shot: KAHUNA.  Today's Hawaiian lesson.

50. Chicago Symphony conductor with 31 Grammys: SOLTI.

Sir Georg Solti

51. Mouthed stadium greeting: HI MOM.

52. Narrow groove: STRIA.  Often one of a number of similar parallel features.

54. Benders: JAGS.  Not the British cars. 

55. Shipbuilding wood: TEAK.

56. Toms' counterparts: HENS.  A Turkey reference (not the country).

Hen and Tom

57. Questionable political spending: PORK.

60. Apt. IDs: NOS.  Apartment Numbers.  The clue (abbreviated so the answer will be, also) could have referred to streets, symphonies, or come to think of it, anything that is numbered.

I believe that this is No. 29.  You know what's odd?  Every other integer.

And, on that note:

________________________________________________________