Theme: "Give B's a Chance" - The starting letters P's are replaced by B's in each two-word P*P* theme entry.
25A. Jaded ballplayer? : BITTER BATTER. Pitter-Patter. Fun clue/answer.
27A. Grain of sand? : BEACH BIT. Peach pit.
105A. Sound of Crosby's doorbell? : BING BONG. Ping pong.
109A. Collection of yokels? : BUMPKIN BATCH. Pumpkin patch.
47. Coal receptacle building blocks? : BIN BRICKS. Pinpricks. The only entry where the base phrase is one-word.
51. Steer groups? : BULL BUNCHES. Pull punches.
80. Fish with a bad cold? : BARKING BASS. Parking pass. Dogs bark. Fish?
83. Pointed front of a two-wheeler? : BIKE'S BEAK. Pike's Peak.
Lovely theme. So neat that the 8 theme entries can be placed in 4 rows.
Lots of effort went into this theme. First, the constructors had to first find common P* P* phrases, then picked out the ones that could be converted to B's, making sure no straying P's in the middle/end of the word. Sometimes new phrases have to be discarded as they don't make much surface sense when cluing.
I had a few email exchanges with Alex in the past. He's a computer genius.
Across:
1. Corrupt, in a way : BRIBE. Bribery is quite common in Indian politics, I hear.
6. Ignore : PASS BY
12. Sleeping : AT REST
18. Ayes : YESES
19. "Lady Marmalade" group : LABELLE. I like Christina Aguilera & Pink's version.
20. Caesar salad topper : CROUTON
22. Unpleasant pair to choose from : EVILS. The lesser of two evils.
23. "To reiterate ..." : I REPEAT
24. Deep-fried Japanese dish : TEMPURA. Tasty. All deep-fried foods are.
28. Mocha native : YEMENI. Mocha is the Yemeni port famous for its coffee.
29. Fantastic : SUPERB
31. As well : TOO
32. Vase-shaped pitcher : EWER
33. Drama with two spin-offs : CSI
36. Scarlett, to Rhett, ultimately : MY DEAR. In the end, he said: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn".
38. 1983 Keaton title role : MR MOM
42. Tweet : CHIRP
44. Alka-Seltzer sound : PLOP
46. New York college whose team is the Gaels : IONA
54. 2001 French film nominated for five Academy Awards : AMELIE. Very whimsy,
55. One reason to work : SALARY
57. Energy meas. : BTU. I was thinking of calorie.
58. Tell : RAT
59. Stain-removal brand : SHOUT
60. Turning parts : ROTORS
61. Grasps : GETS
62. Sharpen : HONE
63. Family name in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" : SAMSA. No idea. Gregor Samsa.
64. Shark's practice : USURY
66. Tell : BLAB
70. Field division : ACRE
71. They get tipped in lots : VALETS. Parking lots.
73. 1971 Clapton classic : LAYLA
74. Psyche part, to Freud : EGO
77. General at Antietam : LEE
78. White Label Scotch maker : DEWAR'S. For Tinbeni & EddyB. Argyle too. Is the bus story true?
79. Roaches, e.g. : VERMIN
85. Jai __ : ALAI
86. Deserve : EARN
87. Browns : SEARS. And 90. Slightly burned : SINGED
88. Cheers : YELLS
94. Was in charge of : RAN
95. Insect stage after larva : PUPA
99. Morning morsel : OAT. Not for me.
101. "Got me" : NO IDEA
103. Ear problem : OTITIS
112. Kuwait, for one : EMIRATE
113. How a team should work : AS A UNIT. Had trouble parsing my answer.
114. "Love Story" co-star : O'NEAL (Ryan)
115. Timeline divisions : DECADES
116. Reddish-brown horses : SORRELS. Sorrel is also an herb. A bit tangy.
117. Like some mythology : NORSE.
118. Malevolent beings : DEMONS
119. From Aconcagua, say : ANDEAN. Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas.
120. Lamb piece : ESSAY. Charles Lamb the Elia.
Down:
1. Parting words : BYE BYE
2. Look over : REVIEW
3. "Am I crazy?" : IS IT ME? My new computer is pretty good. But it drives me crazy at times. Still can't make the Solve/Print buttons of Chicago Tribune's crossword website work in Firefox. Don't think it's the Java problem. I uninstalled it. The puzzle still works fine in Internet Explorer, but not Firefox.
4. Merman, notably : BELTER
5. Museum Folkwang city : ESSEN. Museum about what?
6. Normal opening? : PARA. Paranormal.
7. Stands guard, perhaps : ABETS
8. One may be deviated : SEPTUM. New word to me.
9. Disney dwarf : SLEEPY
10. Played loudly : BLARED. Thought of Ant.
11. Although : YET
12. Entr'__ : ACTE
13. Costumed kid's hope : TREAT. More fun when kids come costumed.
14. "Pretty Woman" genre, briefly : ROMCOM (Romantic comedy)
15. Blissful : EUPHORIC. Sounds sweet.
16. Broadway souvenir : STUB
17. Songwriter Amos : TORI
19. Bldg. with stacks : LIB. OK, Library.
21. Rebellious Turner : NAT
26. Singer Lionel : RICHIE
27. NBAers' game : B-BALL
30. RSVP : REPLY
34. Word seen in brackets : SIC
35. Trying : IRKSOME
37. See 69-Down : ROBBERS. 69. With 37-Down, Bonnie and Clyde : BANK., They were better than those who steal others' ID on line.
39. Comedian Jay : MOHR. LAHR is another name ending in HR.
40. Draft status : ONE A
41. Sail support : MAST
42. Short review? : CRIT. Criticism then. (From Grumpy: It's critique.)
43. H.S. exams : PSATs
45. Crack filler : PUTTY
47. Gala : BASH
48. Letters before an online view : IMHO
49. Krypton relative : NEON. And 60. 49-Down, for example : RARE GAS
50. Word after sky or powder : BLUE
51. Grill partner : BAR
52. Sea witch in "The Little Mermaid" : URSULA (Sorry for the error earlier.)
53. Frat letters : NUs
56. Bakery array : LOAVES
61. Braver : GUTSIER
63. Part of an act : SCENE
65. Southern Slavs : SERBS
66. Zinger : BARB
67. Connecticut town for which a disease is named : LYME. The dreadful Lime disease.
68. Et __ : ALIA
70. Ex-boxer Laila : ALI. LAILA often appears as an answer.
72. Litter reactions : AWs
73. Reduced : LESS
74. Auction site : EBAY
75. __ warning : GALE
76. Like much history : ORAL
78. Steve's sidekick in "Hawaii Five-O" : DANNO. I've seen DANO in crosswords also.
79. Washington's mount? : VERNON. Mount Vernon.
81. About 2.2 pounds : KILOGRAM. Had trouble accepting pounds when I first arrived here.
82. "__ it on!" : BRING
84. Kipling python : KAA. From "The Jungle Book". Unknown to me.
89. Domingo preceder : SABADO. What's this? I don't get this clue/answer.
91. Martini with an onion : GIBSON
92. Einstein's second son : EDUARD. Another no idea. Miserable life.
93. Reserved : DEMURE. JD always appears so.
95. Some uprights : PIANOS
96. Says : UTTERS
97. Web image-viewing software : PICASA. You can create your own Picasa album.
98. Scarlett's love : ASHLEY. Love is so irrational. I don't find Ashley attractive at all.
100. On a scale of one __ : TO TEN
102. Sleep problem : APNEA
104. Beef cut : T-BONE
105. Flower place : BED
106. Wrote online, briefly : IM'ED
107. Pleasing : NICE
108. Storied loch : NESS
110. Potter's oven : KILN
111. "__ a Wonderful Life" : IT'S. Timely.
113. Botanist Gray : ASA
Answer grid.
Here is a photo of our hockey nut eddyB, taken at the game yesterday I think. Great jersey!
C.C.
25A. Jaded ballplayer? : BITTER BATTER. Pitter-Patter. Fun clue/answer.
27A. Grain of sand? : BEACH BIT. Peach pit.
105A. Sound of Crosby's doorbell? : BING BONG. Ping pong.
109A. Collection of yokels? : BUMPKIN BATCH. Pumpkin patch.
47. Coal receptacle building blocks? : BIN BRICKS. Pinpricks. The only entry where the base phrase is one-word.
51. Steer groups? : BULL BUNCHES. Pull punches.
80. Fish with a bad cold? : BARKING BASS. Parking pass. Dogs bark. Fish?
83. Pointed front of a two-wheeler? : BIKE'S BEAK. Pike's Peak.
Lovely theme. So neat that the 8 theme entries can be placed in 4 rows.
Lots of effort went into this theme. First, the constructors had to first find common P* P* phrases, then picked out the ones that could be converted to B's, making sure no straying P's in the middle/end of the word. Sometimes new phrases have to be discarded as they don't make much surface sense when cluing.
I had a few email exchanges with Alex in the past. He's a computer genius.
Across:
1. Corrupt, in a way : BRIBE. Bribery is quite common in Indian politics, I hear.
6. Ignore : PASS BY
12. Sleeping : AT REST
18. Ayes : YESES
19. "Lady Marmalade" group : LABELLE. I like Christina Aguilera & Pink's version.
20. Caesar salad topper : CROUTON
22. Unpleasant pair to choose from : EVILS. The lesser of two evils.
23. "To reiterate ..." : I REPEAT
24. Deep-fried Japanese dish : TEMPURA. Tasty. All deep-fried foods are.
28. Mocha native : YEMENI. Mocha is the Yemeni port famous for its coffee.
29. Fantastic : SUPERB
31. As well : TOO
32. Vase-shaped pitcher : EWER
33. Drama with two spin-offs : CSI
36. Scarlett, to Rhett, ultimately : MY DEAR. In the end, he said: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn".
38. 1983 Keaton title role : MR MOM
42. Tweet : CHIRP
44. Alka-Seltzer sound : PLOP
46. New York college whose team is the Gaels : IONA
54. 2001 French film nominated for five Academy Awards : AMELIE. Very whimsy,
55. One reason to work : SALARY
57. Energy meas. : BTU. I was thinking of calorie.
58. Tell : RAT
59. Stain-removal brand : SHOUT
60. Turning parts : ROTORS
61. Grasps : GETS
62. Sharpen : HONE
63. Family name in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" : SAMSA. No idea. Gregor Samsa.
64. Shark's practice : USURY
66. Tell : BLAB
70. Field division : ACRE
71. They get tipped in lots : VALETS. Parking lots.
73. 1971 Clapton classic : LAYLA
74. Psyche part, to Freud : EGO
77. General at Antietam : LEE
78. White Label Scotch maker : DEWAR'S. For Tinbeni & EddyB. Argyle too. Is the bus story true?
79. Roaches, e.g. : VERMIN
85. Jai __ : ALAI
86. Deserve : EARN
87. Browns : SEARS. And 90. Slightly burned : SINGED
88. Cheers : YELLS
94. Was in charge of : RAN
95. Insect stage after larva : PUPA
99. Morning morsel : OAT. Not for me.
101. "Got me" : NO IDEA
103. Ear problem : OTITIS
112. Kuwait, for one : EMIRATE
113. How a team should work : AS A UNIT. Had trouble parsing my answer.
114. "Love Story" co-star : O'NEAL (Ryan)
115. Timeline divisions : DECADES
116. Reddish-brown horses : SORRELS. Sorrel is also an herb. A bit tangy.
117. Like some mythology : NORSE.
118. Malevolent beings : DEMONS
119. From Aconcagua, say : ANDEAN. Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas.
120. Lamb piece : ESSAY. Charles Lamb the Elia.
Down:
1. Parting words : BYE BYE
2. Look over : REVIEW
3. "Am I crazy?" : IS IT ME? My new computer is pretty good. But it drives me crazy at times. Still can't make the Solve/Print buttons of Chicago Tribune's crossword website work in Firefox. Don't think it's the Java problem. I uninstalled it. The puzzle still works fine in Internet Explorer, but not Firefox.
4. Merman, notably : BELTER
5. Museum Folkwang city : ESSEN. Museum about what?
6. Normal opening? : PARA. Paranormal.
7. Stands guard, perhaps : ABETS
8. One may be deviated : SEPTUM. New word to me.
9. Disney dwarf : SLEEPY
10. Played loudly : BLARED. Thought of Ant.
11. Although : YET
12. Entr'__ : ACTE
13. Costumed kid's hope : TREAT. More fun when kids come costumed.
14. "Pretty Woman" genre, briefly : ROMCOM (Romantic comedy)
15. Blissful : EUPHORIC. Sounds sweet.
16. Broadway souvenir : STUB
17. Songwriter Amos : TORI
19. Bldg. with stacks : LIB. OK, Library.
21. Rebellious Turner : NAT
26. Singer Lionel : RICHIE
27. NBAers' game : B-BALL
30. RSVP : REPLY
34. Word seen in brackets : SIC
35. Trying : IRKSOME
37. See 69-Down : ROBBERS. 69. With 37-Down, Bonnie and Clyde : BANK., They were better than those who steal others' ID on line.
39. Comedian Jay : MOHR. LAHR is another name ending in HR.
40. Draft status : ONE A
41. Sail support : MAST
42. Short review? : CRIT. Criticism then. (From Grumpy: It's critique.)
43. H.S. exams : PSATs
45. Crack filler : PUTTY
47. Gala : BASH
48. Letters before an online view : IMHO
49. Krypton relative : NEON. And 60. 49-Down, for example : RARE GAS
50. Word after sky or powder : BLUE
51. Grill partner : BAR
52. Sea witch in "The Little Mermaid" : URSULA (Sorry for the error earlier.)
53. Frat letters : NUs
56. Bakery array : LOAVES
61. Braver : GUTSIER
63. Part of an act : SCENE
65. Southern Slavs : SERBS
66. Zinger : BARB
67. Connecticut town for which a disease is named : LYME. The dreadful Lime disease.
68. Et __ : ALIA
70. Ex-boxer Laila : ALI. LAILA often appears as an answer.
72. Litter reactions : AWs
73. Reduced : LESS
74. Auction site : EBAY
75. __ warning : GALE
76. Like much history : ORAL
78. Steve's sidekick in "Hawaii Five-O" : DANNO. I've seen DANO in crosswords also.
79. Washington's mount? : VERNON. Mount Vernon.
81. About 2.2 pounds : KILOGRAM. Had trouble accepting pounds when I first arrived here.
82. "__ it on!" : BRING
84. Kipling python : KAA. From "The Jungle Book". Unknown to me.
89. Domingo preceder : SABADO. What's this? I don't get this clue/answer.
91. Martini with an onion : GIBSON
92. Einstein's second son : EDUARD. Another no idea. Miserable life.
93. Reserved : DEMURE. JD always appears so.
95. Some uprights : PIANOS
96. Says : UTTERS
97. Web image-viewing software : PICASA. You can create your own Picasa album.
98. Scarlett's love : ASHLEY. Love is so irrational. I don't find Ashley attractive at all.
100. On a scale of one __ : TO TEN
102. Sleep problem : APNEA
104. Beef cut : T-BONE
105. Flower place : BED
106. Wrote online, briefly : IM'ED
107. Pleasing : NICE
108. Storied loch : NESS
110. Potter's oven : KILN
111. "__ a Wonderful Life" : IT'S. Timely.
113. Botanist Gray : ASA
Answer grid.
Here is a photo of our hockey nut eddyB, taken at the game yesterday I think. Great jersey!
C.C.
