Sunday Dec 3, 2017 Nora Pearlstone

Theme:  "Movers"- Parse it as Move-Rs. Letter R's are moved backwards.

 

23A. Screwballs in the hayloft? : BARN FLAKES. Bran flakes. Notice in each original phrase, letter R is the second letter? Very consistent.

25A. Where crooks learn their trade? : PERP SCHOOL. Prep school.

43A. Cookie cooks? : DISC BAKERS. Disc brakes. Oh, this reminds me of Anon-T and his Pizzelle.

83A. Dealt with unproductive mollusks? : FIRED CLAMS. Fried clams.

   

102A. Restaurant reservation for fish? : CARP'S TABLE. Craps table. Boomer's encounter with Dr. J happened at a craps table in the old Stardust in Vegas.

104A. Result of Uncle Sam frequenting Papa John's? : PIZZA BEARD. Funny image. Pizza bread.

36D. Like surfers? : BOARD-MINDED. Broad-minded.

39D. Group of body shop specialists? : BUMPER CORPS. Bumper crops. Tiny stray R in BUMPER.

Nora Pearlstone is the alias name of Rich Norris, anagram of "Not a Real Person". See here for a full list of the alias names Rich uses. 

Always a treat when Rich makes a puzzle. These days he's very busy editing the LA Times crosswords. Prior to 2010, Rich constructed tons of puzzles for the NYT, LAT, CrosSynergy and other venues. 

I don't think we've seen a themeless from Rich in the LAT, but he's an extremely accomplished themeless constructor. So he can really go low on Sunday word account, but he chose a 142 for clean fill today. Rich also allows 144 words for Sundays. Trust me, it makes a huge difference.

Across:

        

1. __ act : CLASS. Fill-in--the blank clues are no gimmes.

6. Graceful bird : SWAN

10. Manhattan sch. : CCNY

 

14. Baggage check requirement : ID TAG

19. Primer sequence : A E I O U

20. Trillionth: Pref. : PICO

21. Surprised greeting : OH HI

22. Actress Thomas : MARLO. Can you believe she's 80 years old?

27. Enjoying a wilderness vacation, maybe : ON SAFARI.

28. Two-mile-high city : LHASA. I linked this once. Both Shanghai and Lhasa are two-character names in Chinese. We use La Sa spelling.

30. Caged, with "up" : COOPED

31. Very long tooth : TUSK

32. Pouch occupants : JOEYs

33. Fronded tree : PALM

34. Picasso, for one : CUBIST. Same letter count as ARTIST.

37. Med. prefix : NEUR. Nerve.

38. Income statement write-offs : BAD DEBTS. And "income" clue echo with 42. Live-income filler : ON ONE

46. Cosmonaut Gagarin : YURI

47. Film-rating org. : MPAA

48. Elec. instrument : SYNTH

49. "Later" : TA TA

50. "The Simpsons" character Sideshow __ : MEL. Unknown to me. We see APU/STU more often.

51. Faller of 2001 : MIR

52. "Hmm ... don't think so" : UH NO

53. Northumbrian monk, briefly : ST BEDE. According to Wiki, he was "an English monk at the monastery of St. Peter and its companion monastery of St. Paul in the Kingdom of Northumbria of the Angles".

55. __ facto : IPSO

56. Slowish movement : ANDANTE

58. Leafstalks : PETIOLES. Learning moment for me.

60. Interfere (with) : MESS

61. Mickey and Jerry : MICE. What a great surprise! Thought the answer would be a plural surnames. 

62. Strict diet restriction : NO CARBS

63. Blacken : SEAR

65. "... dark, __ the blaze of noon": Milton : AMID

67. Prizes in a case : TROPHIES

69. Feline named for an island : MANX CAT. Isle of Man.

72. Sensible : SANE

73. Tardy with : LATE ON

74. Team across the state from the Marlins : RAYS. Tampa Bay Rays.And 16. 74-Across' stadium, casually, with "The" : TROP. Tropicana Field.

75. Artist Yoko : ONO

76. Decked : KO'D

77. Zany Martha : RAYE

78. They're heavier than foils : EPEES

80. Villain named Julius : DR NO. He was born in Beijing.

81. Russian city : OREL. South of Moscow.

85. Easy putt : TAP IN

86. Faithfulness : FIDELITY

88. Showing skill : ABLY. Big Easy sent me this.

89. Order givers : BOSSES

90. Ending with ortho- : DOXY

91. Bar, at the bar : ESTOP. First Bar is verb. Second noun.

93. Algebra, e.g. : MATH

94. Rabbitlike rodent : AGOUTI

97. Arctic temperature word : BELOW

98. Inherited : CAME INTO

106. Link with : TIE TO

107. Banned for a rules infraction, informally : DQ'ED. Disqualified.

108. Marginally : A TAD

109. Kate's sitcom pal : ALLIE. Kate & Allie.

110. Above it all : ALOOF And 3. Above-it-all attitude : AIRS

111. Old pol. divisions : SSRs

112. Toon explorer : DORA

113. Window insert : GLASS

  

Down:

 

1. Mexican resort, familiarly : CABO. Cabo San Lucas.

2. Not fatty : LEAN

4. Clementi composition : SONATINA. Did not know Clementi. Rich himself plays piano.

5. Fill, as with light : SUFFUSE

6. Lively quality : SPARK. Yeah, Misty, we love to see you healthy and happy.

7. User-edited site : WIKI

 

8. Top performer : ACE

9. Pretty darn good : NO SLOUCH. Rich is also no slouch when it comes to golf. Scratch golfer.

10. Patient share : CO-PAY

11. Game with capturing : CHESS

12. Dragsters' org. : NHRA.National Hot Rod Association.

13. Shelter sound : YIP

14. "Brr!" : I'M COLD

15. Former name of Benin : DAHOMEY. Another learning moment for me.

17. Burn soother : ALOE

18. Top prize : GOLD

24. Bottom position : LAST

26. Many : SCADS

29. Rosemary, e.g. : HERB. I've been loving rosemary-roasted potatoes. Simple to make. Nothing as complicated as D-Otto's potato dumplings.

32. Fun : JEST

33. Celebratory procession : PARADE

34. Run-on sentence's lack, probably : COMMA

 

35. Remove, as a brooch : UNPIN

37. El __ : NINO

38. Stimulating leaves : BETELS. I was told that that betel leaves are used in Indian weddings.

40. Long lock : TRESS

41. Storage cylinders : SILOS

43. 10 micronewtons : DYNE

 

44. Wear : ATTIRE

45. Cookout fare on sticks : KABOBS. Xi'an style kabobs. Lots of red pepper flakes. Sichuan province is our neighbor, so our cooking is a bit similar. But we mainly use red hot pepper. They use both red hot pepper and the peppercorn. Their food is numbingly spicy. Our food is simply "hot".

48. "Fiddler on the Roof" village : SHTETL. Consonant-heavy.

52. The Tar Heels of the NCAA : UNC

53. Spray 'n Wash target : STAIN

54. Much of Lamb's legacy : ESSAYS

 

55. High-resolution film format : IMAX

57. Help on the Hill : AIDE

58. Character who uses "yam" as a verb : POPEYE. And 71. 58-Down et al. : TOONS

59. Repeated : ECHOED

62. __ public : NOTARY

64. USN rank : ENS

65. Require from : ASK OF

66. Like about 15% of New Zealanders : MAORI. Over 10% of their population are Asians.

68. It's unlikely : RARITY

69. Fannie __: securities : MAEs

70. Musical in which FDR is a character : ANNIE. Easy guess. 

 

74. __ Martin Cognac : REMY

78. Skateboarder's protection : ELBOW PAD. Lovely fill.

79. Crab's sensor : PALP

80. Hammett who created Nick and Nora : DASHIELL. Don't recall seeing his given name before. Nice. 

82. Was a factor in : LED UP TO

83. Handy "Mr." : FIX IT.  Look at TTP's work.

84. Roman statesman : CATO

85. Reward for a donation, maybe : TOTE BAG

87. Beaucoup : LOTS OF

89. Perennial NCAA football powerhouse : BAMA

91. Conger catcher : EELER. Thank God for Old Fisherman. So tasty!

92. Snow-covered hill sights : SLEDS

 

93. "Zoom-Zoom" sloganeer : MAZDA

94. Official records : ACTA

95. Windy-sounding woman's name : GAIL. Our Gail G.

96. Sandwich cookie : OREO

97. Some fam. meals : BBQs

98. Mogul : CZAR

99. Simba's mate : NALA

100. Speaker of Cooperstown : TRIS. I faintly recall TTP's mom worked in his ranch.

101. Poems of honor : ODEs

103. Spots on the tube : ADs

105. Midori on the ice : ITO

C.C.

Sunday December 25, 2016, Nora Pearlstone

Theme: "Holiday Doings" - A Christmas tree is formed by a series of black squares. On the very top, the circled letters spell out STAR.

24A. His personal Canadian postal code is H0 H0 H0 : SANTA CLAUS. Also 22. Bagfuls for 24-Across : LETTERS. Also 85A. Team for 24-Across : REINDEER

26A. With 71-Across, holiday classic : A CHRISTMAS. And 71. See 26-Across : CAROL

55A. Seasonal hangings : ORNAMENTS

89A. Things to open : PRESENTS. This is symmetrical partner of REINDEER. 

108A. Sets on tracks : MODEL TRAINS. Nicely placed at the bottom of the tree.

3D. Classic 71-Across : O TANNENBAUM

13D. Attend to a holiday symbol : TRIM THE TREE. There is a note in Across Lit. It says "Certain squares in this puzzle can't be viewed properly in Across Lite format. Those squares outline an appropriate image, which can be seen at http://games.latimes.com/games/daily-crossword/. If you prefer to figure it out for yourself, use the hints provided by the circled squares, 55-Across, and 108-Across." Rich couldn't mention the specific image as he had both CHRISTMAS or TREE in the grid.

49D. Holiday mailing : GREETING CARD. Each of the four Down theme entries intersects another Across theme entry. Just brilliant. This is why Rich is still the 4th most published NYT constructor despite the fact that he has not sent any puzzle there since 2008.

53D. Title annual holiday character since 1965 : CHARLIE BROWN

Nora Pearlstone is the alias name of our editor Rich Norris. It's an anagram of "Not a Real Person". You can see Rich's full alias names here. Rich normally uses Nora for Sunday puzzles or tricky Thursday/Friday puzzles. He uses Lila Cherry ("Really Rich") for early week puzzles.

Notice the R puzzle that forms STAR is unchecked, e.g., it's the only one-letter fill in this puzzle. The grid also has a left to right symmetry, which is a lot trickier than a normal grid.

Rich in the Middle

Across:

        

1. WWII investment : E BOND

6. Sri Lankan language : TAMIL. Also the official language of Singapore.

11. It may be seen to the left of venous : INTRA. I did not know the meaning of "venous".

16. Quashed : VETOED

18. Psyched : FIRED UP

20. Frightened : SCARED. And 21. Frightens : ALARMS. Rich is very good at clue echoes. 

23. Poet Levertov : DENISE. Unknown figure to me.

28. Kiss and caress, in Kent : SNOG

29. Cousin of the Vulcan mind meld : ESP

31. It's bonded in bales : HAY. Also 92. __ bonding : MALE

32. Etta of old comics : KETT

33. Word before and after "is" : ENOUGH

35. Concert shirt : TEE

37. Indiana county or its seat : WABASH. This stumped me last time.

39. L.A.'s __ Center : AON

41. Shine, in ads : GLO

42. Do-it-yourself mover : U-HAUL

44. Columnist Hentoff : NAT

45. UV index monitor : EPA

48. Prepared with mixed vegetables, in Chinese cooking : SUBGUM. I never heard of the term until I came to the US.

50. Ivy support : TRELLIS

52. Parish leader : RECTOR

54. Wide-eyed look : STARE

 

57. It might accompany a "meh" : SHRUG

58. Hot-and-cold fits : AGUE

59. Cartoon shopkeeper : APU. "The Simpsons".

60. Old map abbr. : SSR

61. Monthly payment that's often more than the prin. : INT.  Like new mortgage.

63. Sleek, in car talk : AERO

64. Capitol feature : DOME

65. Meat department buy : BEEF

67. Song from Carmen : ARIA

68. Last ones to deal with : REST.  Oh, like the rest.

69. Impact sound : THUD

75. Longtime rival of Tiger : PHIL(Mickelson). Phil is such a gentleman.

77. Longhorn rivals : AGGIES. Rival clue echo.

80. Climber's target : CLIFF

81. Futile : OTIOSE. Not a word I use.

 

88. Sharable PC file : PDF

91. Fort near Fayetteville : BRAGG. Boomer went to Fort Campbell. How about you, D-Otto/TTP? Argyle probably went to  Camp Pendleton.

94. Tan relative : ECRU

96. Descriptively named support : H BEAM

97. From that time : SINCE

98. They often include ages : BIOs

99. Maneuverability : ROOM

100. Speak : ORATE

101. Embellishes : ADORNS

103. UPS carton phrase : SHIP TO

105. "Bearing gifts, we traverse __" : AFAR

 

112. Prettify with paper : WRAP. Bonus fill. 

116. Sweet-scented flower : GARDENIA. My grandma's name is Lan Xiang, literally "blue and fragrant flower". Lots of girls in her generation had flower names.

118. Cry of revelation : AHA

119. Resonant barbershop sound : BASS NOTE. Also 56. Barbershop sound : SNIP

121. __ out a living : EKE

122. Bank deposit : SILT. Nailed it.

123. Type of garden : ZEN. Nice and quiet.

124. __-bitty : ITTY

125. Trouble : WOE

126. Narc's employer : DEA. And 127. Narc's assignment : CASE

128. To this time : YET

129. Julia's "Ocean's Twelve" role : TESS

130. Rev (up) : AMP

Down:

1. Spacewalks, briefly : EVAS. EVA = Extravehicular Activity. Rich avoided plural [Longoria and Mendes] style clue because he had BELAS (2. Lugosi and Karolyi) next to it.

4. Popular virus remedy : NORTON. Ah, I was thinking of flu.

5. Rabble-rouser : DEMAGOGUE. What a great entry.

6. Jam on the road : TIE UP

7. Dance and drama : ARTS

8. Got together : MET

9. Concept : IDEA

10. Sudden move : LURCH

11. Winter pastime gear : ICE SKATES. The snow continues to melt in our neighborhood.

12. City on the Loire : NANTES. Birthplace of Jules Verne.

14. Found a new table for : RESAT

15. Picnic drinks : ADES

17. U.S. Army medal : DSC. My Dad was in the Chinese Army for a long time. I don't remember any medals. Just lots lots of Mao's stuff. He remembered every word in this red book.

18. Instant : FLASH

19. "Nonsense!" : PSHAW

20. Star Wars initials : SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)

25. Small construction piece : LEGO

27. NFL coach Rex : RYAN

30. Bailiwicks : REALMS

34. German university city : ULM. Know as Einstein's birthplace.

35. A.L. West team, familiarly : THE A's

36. "Elements of Algebra" author : EULER

38. Prevent : BAR

39. Syrian leader : ASSAD

40. Expenses : OUTGO

42. Caterer's vessel : URN

43. Author Yutang : LIN. Same character as the Lim in our constructor Julian Lim, who's from Singapore. In Hong Kong, it's spelled as Lam.

46. Really comes down : POURS

47. One may end in "ese" : ARGOT. Like legalese.

 

50. Indisputable : TRUE

51. Slowly emerge from sleep : STIR

55. Slanted page? : OP-ED

59. Mistreatment : ABUSE

62. Sierra Nevada vacation mecca : TAHOE

66. TV monitor : FCC

67. E.T. from Melmac : ALF

70. Equivocated : HEDGED

72. Suisse peaks : ALPES

73. Relieved : RID

74. Bid : OFFER

76. "Whew!" : IT'S HOT

77. Some Wall St. traders : ARBs (Arbitragers)

78. English singer Halliwell : GERI. I was more into Cantopop in those days when Spice Girls were popular.

79. Composer __ Carlo Menotti : GIAN

82. Draft category : ONE A. We also have ROW A (113. Where no one can sit in front of you). 

83. "Right now!" : STAT

84. Salinger title choir singer : ESME

86. Gets mixed up in : EMBROILS

87. Outdoor event contingency : RAIN DATE. Nice pair of stacked 8's in this area.

89. Outlaw : PROHIBIT

90. Ponder : RUMINATE

93. Drop in the stadium : LOSE.  Got via crosses. Tricky clue.

95. Toledo thing : COSA. Spanish or Italian for "thing".

102. __ vincit amor : OMNIA

104. Classroom exchanges : PSSTs

105. Allowed to ripen, as cheddar : AGED

106. Art expert's discovery : FAKE. I was once very good at IDing fake luxury bags. IP investigation was risky but fun.

107. Bailiwick : AREA

109. Likely to loaf : LAZY

110. What you once were? : THEE

111. Carry on : RANT

114. Tiny bit : ATOM

115. Single animal-shaped candy? : PEEP

117. PC backup key : ESC

120. Mac OS part: Abbr. : SYS

1) Happy Birthday to dear Kathy (Yellowrocks), whose positive attitude and fighting spirit continue to inspire me. I'm so happy that you're here for us, Kathy!

Yellowrocks and son David, Sept 2016

2) Happy Birthday also to Lorraine (Fermatprime), who's been with the blog for a long time. Lorraine is an accomplished math professor and does more puzzles every day than most of us.

Thanksgiving, 2015

Thursday, November 24th, 2016 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: The Puzzle That Keeps On ..

1A. Giving __ : ADVICE

17A. Giving __ : PERMISSION

40A. Giving __ : CONSENT

63A. Giving __ : DIRECTIONS

71A. Giving __ : THANKS. I assume this is the reason for all the "giving" today.

11D. Giving __ : ASSISTANCE

25D. Giving __ : LESSONS

27D. Giving __ : BLOOD

29D. Giving __ : ABSOLUTION

33D. Giving __ : BIRTH

Happy Turkey Day!

A thumping 74 theme squares in this one. With themage this heavy in a 15x15 with 36 blocks, that leaves a challenge to fill the remaining white squares cleanly without the whole thing feeling forced. I confess I didn't really enjoy this experience. There's nothing to relate the theme entries to each other except for the fill-in-the-blank clue unless there's some meta-element to the puzzle that I've missed.

Given there are ten fill-in-the-blank clues in the theme, I'd have tried very hard not to have any more of those in the puzzle, but there are another three in the across set.

Throw in an unhealthy dose of IT A/EWW/OHO/AS I/PHI/PSIS/TNPK/EPI/ISM/OTS/PYS and I'm feeling more BLAH than anything else. I'm not sure the "Thanksgiving" payoff was really worth the stuffing that went into this.

Alrighty then! I got that off my chest. I'm having a few days of downtime in Mexico this week. Here's the sunrise this morning while I was walking on the beach - now I know where the namesake tequila cocktail got its name. Cheers!

Let's see what else we've got going on:

Across:

7. High ick factor reaction : EWW

10. "Misery" co-star : CAAN

14. Title teen in a '90s-'00s sitcom : MOESHA. Passed me by. Thank you, crosses. The last episode aired back in 2001.

15. Key letter : PHI. The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity is a key. Of course it is.

16. Regarding : AS TO

19. General __ chicken : TSO'S

20. Actor who gave up wearing his trademark gold jewelry after Hurricane Katrina : MR T.

21. Kingston Trio hit with the line "He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston" : MTA. Fresh in the memory from 1949.

22. Stew : AGONIZE

24. While : SPELL

26. Places to unwind : SPAS

27. Boring : BLAH

30. Eggs from the sea : ROE

31. Can opener : POP TAB

34. Chad neighbor : LIBYA

36. Coveted award : OSCAR

38. "__ said earlier ... " : AS I

39. Brief game deciders? : OT'S. Overtimes. Just one in the NFL, as many as it takes in college football until there's a winner.

42. "Morning Edition" airer : NPR

43. "So that's your game!" : OHO!

44. Williams of "Happy Days" : ANSON. "Potsie" portrayer.

45. Ref. to a prior ref. : OP. CIT. "Opere citado" - "In the work cited"

47. Put one over on : DELUDE

49. '60s-'70s protest subject : 'NAM

51. __-savvy : TECH

52. "Battle Cry" author : URIS

53. A lot : SCADS

55. Make a pretrial determination : SET BAIL

58. Sch. with a Shreveport campus : L.S.U. Louisiana State.

59. Longtime Richard Petty sponsor : STP. The second-longest sponsor-driver relationship in motorsports.

62. Samoan port : APIA

66. Sign gas : NEON

67. Outback bird : EMU

68. They have many arms : OCTOPI

69. Trait transmitter : GENE

70. Hound : DOG

Down:

1. Clock radio toggle : AM/PM. Not AM/FM.

2. Evil end? : DOER

3. Dial on old TVs : VERT. Vertical Hold. I couldn't find an image of the control, but I did find the packaging for a spare.

4. Believer's suffix : -ISM

5. Congo River area denizen : CHIMP. Not worthy of the full "chimpanzee" today?

6. Spring festival : EASTER

7. Center opening : EPI-

8. "Hold on!" : WHOA!

9. Flying statistic : WINGSPAN

10. Afternoon refresher : CATNAP

12. Including everything : A TO Z. The London street atlas was the A-Z. Everyone had an A-to-Zed before Google Maps made it all a little, sadly, obsolete.

13. Difference in a close race : NOSE

18. Oater settings : SALOONS

23. Iberian coastal city : OPORTO. From whence "port" wine.

24. Retiring : SHY

28. Like ballerinas : LITHE

32. Cold mold : ASPIC

35. New England's only National Park : ACADIA. OK, now I know.

37. Traditional Jerusalem site of the Last Supper : CENACLE. New to me. It doesn't look like it's ever been used in the LAT crossword before (nor the NYT), so I imagine it might be new to a few of us.

41. Not close at all : ONE-SIDED

46. Bookie's spread units: Abbr. : PTS. Points. The points spread in gambling to even out the betting on the favorite and the underdog.

48. Suave : URBANE

50. Michigan State's Sparty, e.g. : MASCOT. Imagination at work in the mascot-naming stakes. Not.

54. How a couple might go for dinner? : DUTCH. 

55. Squealed : SANG

56. Olympian's blade : ÉPÉE

57. Prom rental : LIMO

59. "It's next on my list" : SOON

60. East-west Mass. artery : TNPK

61. Penultimate Greek letters : PSIS. Right before Omegas. I suppose.

64. Decorator's suggestion : RUG

65. Call-day link : IT A

And .. I'm calling it a day with this one. My Tequila Sunrise awaits! If you are celebrating Thanksgiving today, I hope you have a happy and safe one!

Steve

Sunday, Feb 21, 2016 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: "Wait, What?" - Long A sound is changed into short U sound.

 23A. Good-natured complaint? : SMILEY FUSS. Like Gary and D-Otto's nits, if they have any. Base phrase is "smiley face".

 29A. Everything you eat? : GUT RECEIPTS. Gate receipts.

 36A. Skilled diver's advantage? : JUMPING OFF PLUS. Jumping off place.

 65A. Fashion show photographer? : STRUT SHOOTER. Straight shooters.

 71A. Inept painter? : MUCK-UP ARTIST. Make-up artist.

 99A. Shore breezes caused by flapping wings? : GULL- FORCE WINDS. Gale force winds. NEAR GALE (86D. 7 on the Beaufort scale) should not have been in the grid. Easy to overlook this kind of dupe in a sound change grid.

106A. Potato expert? : KING OF SPUDS. King of spades.

119A. Prop for the gravedigger scene in "Hamlet"? : SKULL MODEL. Scale model.

Great title. Captures the puzzle gimmick perfectly. 

Nora Pearlstone is Rich's alias, anagram for "Not a Real Person". Always a treat when Rich makes the puzzle. Can you believe he has not made any puzzle for the NYT  since 2008 yet he still is the 3rd most published constructor under Will Shortz era?

I'm always grateful that Rich allows 144 words for LAT Sundays. He's a pro and totally understands the difficulties in coming up with clean fill for a 21*21 grid, esp for rookie  constructors. Can Rich go low on word count? Of course he can. He made tons of themeless puzzles for LAT, NYT & other venues. He also authored this great book (don't think it has anything to do with USA Today puzzles). But he chose a 144-worder, which gives us a  cleaner and smoother grid.

Rich and his wife Kim

Across:

1. Relieved reaction : WHEW

5. __ fit : HISSY. Not HONDA.

10. PC debut of 1981 : MS-DOS

15. Cabbage dispensers? : ATMs. Gimme for veteran solvers. 

19. Emanating quality : AURA
 

20. Sadat of Egypt : ANWAR

21. Ring-shaped ocean formation : ATOLL

22. Fellow : CHAP

25. Wynonna's mother : NAOMI.  The Judds. Look so young.

26. Olympian queen : HERA

27. "Key & __": Comedy Central series : PEELE. Anon T's favorite comedians.

28. Meditation class chorus : OMs

 31. Cousin of com : ORG

33. Computer stylus battery : AAAA

35. Big strings : CELLI. One more I plural word: 112. Voices below soprani : ALTI

 

43. Exercise in a pool : DO LAPS. Also  7. Like some triathlon segments : SWUM

 46. One, to Juanita : UNA

47. Political fugitives : EMIGRES
 

48. Sgt., e.g. : NCO

50. Tampico tots : NENEs
 

51. Slap (on), as cologne : DAUB

53. Attorney-__ : AT-LAW

54. Flora and fauna : BIOTA

56. Bank material : SILT. Not SAND. We also have 69. Bank construction : LEVEE

57. Teen attachment? : AGERS. Teenagers. Hard to tell if the answers is singular or plural with this type of clue.

59. Quincy of '70s-'80s TV et al. : MES. Never watched the show. I figured it might be MDS.

60. Outfits : EQUIPS

62. "... against a __ of troubles": Hamlet : SEA

63. Saharan dust swirlers : SIROCCOS. Sparkly fill.

68. Cote call : COO

70. Like some marked-down mdse. : IRR. Do you have Marshalls in your area? I scored quite a few great deals there over the years.

76. Book supplement : ADDENDUM

81. Angle preceder, in texts : IMO. Viewpoint "angle".

82. Playtime : RECESS

83. 2016 Cactus Bowl sch. : ASU. No idea. Never paid attention to those bowls. Wiki said West Virginia beat Arizona State. Rich is an avid sports fan. He knows these updated sports trivia.

84. Not cramped : ROOMY

85. Bread sometimes prepared with chutney : NAAN. Also 93. Indian lentil dish : DAL. Split peas or lentils. 

87. 11-Down, say : DATUM. And 11. Sports figure : STAT. I wanted STAR.

88. Kama __ : SUTRA

90. Key in : TYPE

91. First name in skin care : ESTEE

94. Limited carry-on items : LOTIONS. Boomer always gets the TSA-Pre lane. No idea why. Big relief though, as taking off & putting on shoes is getting difficult for him, then you have added pressure from the agent and the impatient passengers behind.

96. Always, in verse : E'ER

97. Key below E : D SHARP. Already  had DS* in the slot.

102. Present in court : ARGUE. Verb "Present".

104. Garden resident : ADAM. Eden.

105. Gum ball : WAD

110. "There you are!" : AHA

113. __ Alavesa: Spanish wine : RIOJA. All crosses. Not into wines.

117. Sitar music : RAGA

118. Language that gave us "shawl" : FARSI

121. Law school newbie : ONE-L

122. Esteemed group : ELITE. Not A-LIST.

123. Hides : PELTS

124. Modest dress : MIDI

125. Close attention : CARE

126. "The Dance Class" painter : DEGAS

127. Product, as of labor : FRUIT

128. Huff relative : SNIT

Down:

 1. Winged stinger : WASP

2. "A propensity to hope and joy is real riches" philosopher : HUME (David).  I don't remember studying him in schools.

3. Pennsylvania snowbelt city : ERIE

4. Smack : WALLOP. Another nice word.

5. __ fever : HAY

6. Dope : INFO

8. Root beer source : SASSAFRAS. The root is also widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Cantonese slow-cooked soup tends to incorporate some kind of dried root & herbal stuff.

9. Cen. components : YRS

10. How-to : MANUAL

12. Means of access : DOOR

13. Early Mexican civilization : OLMEC

14. Did a deli job : SLICED

15. Greek warrior famous for his weak spot : ACHILLES

16. Title role for which Adrien Brody won an Oscar : THE PIANIST. Haunting survival story. Did you see the movie, Jayce? There's a pickle scene.

17. Shopping spot : MART. Not MALL.

18. Body wrap offerers : SPAS

24. Like "Halloween" music : EERIE

29. Mountain passes : GAPS

30. Tesla Motors CEO Musk : ELON.  I tried his full name in a puzzle two years ago. Rich asked me to remove it, as it's not widely familiar to solvers.  Might be good for a themeless. No one debuted it yet.

32. HUD financing gp. : GNMA. Ginnie Mae. FNMA as well.

34. Number of good men? : A FEW

36. Traitor : JUDAS

37. Eel, at sushi bars : UNAGI. The smell of freshly grilled unagi is pure heaven.

38. Joe __, only MLB catcher with three batting titles : MAUER. Met him a few times. Incredibly gracious. He has twin daughters.

39. Cuban base, familiarly : GITMO

40. Unwelcome looks : OGLES

41. Sole : UNIQUE

42. Enemy lines infiltrator : SCOUT

44. Martinique volcano : PELEE. Got via crosses.

45. Astronomical red giant : S STAR

49. Singer Redding : OTIS

52. Record-breaking base stealer Lou : BROCK. We pulled an augrophed card of him from a Topps Heritage set a while ago.

54. Flat hat : BERET

55. Rose pest : APHID

58. Really clean : SCOUR

61. Hurting more : SORER

64. Dealt : COPED

65. Quake : SEISM

66. Sets in dens : TVs

67. Contrary afterthought : OR NOT

69. "Star Trek" regular ultimately promoted to Cmdr. : LT. SULU. Easy crosses a well.

71. Worked in a shaft : MINED. Before I read the clue, I already had ?INED in this slot, then ?UCK UP in Across. Was dazed for a second.

72. Member of the NCAA's A-10 Conf. : UMASS

73. Makeshift car door opener : COAT HANGER. Does this work on modern cars?

74. West Point, e.g.: Abbr. : ACAD

75. Label again : RE-TAG

76. Not still anymore : ASTIR

77. Red pig : DUROC. This got me last time. Again today.

78. Elder statesman : DOYEN. Don't associate this word with "statesman". Elder/senior, yes.

79. Called on the field : UMPED. Thought of CAWED.

80. "SNL" alum Mike : MYERS

83. Ford, for one : AUTOMAKER. I was not fooled, but it does have the same letter count as PRESIDENT.

88. Dozing place, perhaps : SOFA

89. Once more : ANEW

92. Therefore : ERGO. Hello Husker Chuck!

94. Honorary legal degs. : LLDs

95. Bee team : SWARM

98. Swollen, with "up" : PUFFED

100. LPGA member? : LADIES. First word of LPGA. Ryder Cup will be played here in MN this year. Too stiff a price. We do go to Sondheim Cup though. Much more affordable & fun. (Correction: Solheim Cup. Thanks, KenoRunner.)

101. They're not literal : IDIOMS

103. Virtual transaction : E-SALE

106. Ray of fast food : KROC

107. Collector's suffix : IANA. ANA suffix is more common.

 

108. Prude : PRIG

109. Court org. : USTA. WNBA too.

111. Netflix competitor : HULU

114. Chief Norse god : ODIN

115. Yoda trainee : JEDI

116. Landed : ALIT

119. Sunblock letters : SPF. Do any of you take Vitamin D? I feel that I should with the cold Minnesota winter.

120. Versatile ETO carrier : LST

C.C.

Sunday March 30, 2013 Nora Pearlstone

Theme:  "CB Switches" - C sound is switched to B sound, resulting in consistent spelling changes.

23A. Sidewalk vendor's income? : STREET BREAD. Street cred. English has lots of words for "money", or "drunk".

25A. Steeped salad topping? : BREWED OIL. Crude oil. (What was I thinking with Crud, Owen?)

64A. Accident report? : BLAME FORM. Claim form.

107A. Sketched a Gibb brother? : DREW BARRY. Drew Carey. Barry Gibb.

109A. Villain's backwoods hideout? : BADDIE SHACK. Caddyshack. A favorite of many on our blog. Never watched it myself.

  

15D. Robin selling Roquefort? : CHEESE BIRD. Cheese curd.

37D. Qualifying exam for opera school? : VOCAL BOARD. Vocal cord. Are any of you familiar with Beijing Opera? (Sorry for the chord error earlier.)

46D. Undersea party pooper? : MARINE BORE. Marine corps.

69D. Official loafer of the realm? : KINGDOM BUM. Kingdom come.

A few straying C's. We'd have lost 3 colorful entries had Nora excluded them. This type of theme (with spelling changes) is a bit more challenging than those single letter replacement, as you need to be very imaginative.

Total 89 theme squares, not a lot, but there are 9 of them (4 intersect!). With the same number of theme squares, the more entries you have, the trickier the gridding get. So a total 89 theme squares grid of 7 entries is easier than a 89 squares with 9 entries. Same applies to  the weekday grids.

Nora Pearlstone is another pseudonym of Rich Norris, editor of LA Times Daily Crosswords. It's an anagram of "Not a Real Person". Rich has not made any puzzle for NYT for many years, he's still the 3rd most published constructor. See here. He's also a very fast solver, finishing 71st in this year's ACPT.

Across:    

1. "Waverley" novelist : SCOTT. Sir Walter Scott.

6. Sch. with a Waterbury campus : UConn. New trivia to me.

11. Early computer acronym : ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer).

16. Standout : GEM. I'd like to share with you this clip about crossword constructor Andrea Carla Michaels. She's so sweet and mild-mannered, not what you expect from a standup comedian.

19. Many a network : AIRER

20. Competition with ropes : RODEO

21. One of a dozen : MONTH.  So simple, I was picturing Chinese Zodiac animals.

22. Pres. or P.M. : LDR (Leader)

27. Romantic request : KISS ME

28. High land : TIBET. They drink butter tea there every day. Made of tea, yak butter & salt. D-Otto's dream drink :-)

30. Fill with bubbles : AERATE

31. Foot on a farm : HOOF

33. "It matters to us" : WE CARE. I've never seen a more inefficient and uncaring place as the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis.

34. Trypanosome transmitter : TSETSE. Hey, a full fly. We saw half the fly in the old puzzles all the time.

35. Really enjoy : SAVOR

38. All-Star outfielder Raul : IBANEZ. Now with the Angels. Another one with a Mariners tie. A-ROD, ICHIRO & Edgar MARTINEZ two weeks ago, all ex-Mariners. Maybe Rich is secret Mariners' fan.

40. Pondside stalk : REED

41. More than walk : TROT

42. Equals : PEERS. And 43. Equally, say : ADVERB. Nice consecutive "Equal" clue combo.

46. E.T. policers of film : M. I. B. (Men in Black)

49. Notre Dame's conf. : ACC. Look at our Steve!

Notre Dame London Campus, Nov 2012

 50. Smoothie fruit : BERRY. Not ACAI today.

51. "Say it soft and it's almost like praying" girl of song : MARIA. "West Side Story" .

52. Old Bristol-Myers toothpaste : IPANA.  Brusha Brusha Brusha.

54. Online meeting place : CHAT ROOM. So, TTP, do you think that Japanese guy might indeed be the creator of Bitcoin? Why can't those geeks crack his real identity by his chat room handle?

56. Announce : HERALD

57. Backwoods : RURAL

58. Scientology guru Hubbard : L RON

59. Silent : MUM

60. Turn right : GEE. "Turn left" is HAW.

61. What you can't get if you pass the bar? : DRINK. "Pass the bar" made me think of the bar exam. Clever clue.

62. Cake with a kick : BABA. The kick comes from the rum.

67. Model Sastre : INES. She was the face of  Trésor.

68. Aimée of "La Dolce Vita" : ANOUK

70. L.A.'s __ Center : AON

71. Confrontational opening : NON. Non-confrontational.

72. All there : SANE

74. Eastern guru : SWAMI

75. Like slalom courses : TWISTY. For Marti. Did you fix the leak?

77. Roaring Twenties Hollywood sex symbol : CLARA BOW. The "It Girl". 

81. Leftovers cover : SARAN

82. Lotto variant : BEANO

83. Base shade? : KHAKI. Military base.

84. Kimono accessory : OBI

85. Chicago airport code : ORD

86. Liftoff sensation : G-FORCE. Like CanadianEh, I really like Chris Hadfield.

88. Patriot and Liberty : JEEPS

89. Hosp. scanners : MRIs

90. Howdy to a mate : G'DAY

91. Puzzle : ENIGMA. And 97. Puzzled reactions : SHRUGS

93. Gear features : TEETH. 

94. Diacritic for a long vowel sound : MACRON.  I can only think of ACCENT.

99. Mount sacred to Judaism : ZION

101. Poise : APLOMB. Made me think of Argyle & Splynter, those two never panic. Always  in control. 

102. Goes for : COSTS

103. Restful break : CATNAP

113. Baloney : ROT

114. Regular's request, with "the" : USUAL

115. "C'mon, pal!" : AW MAN. Dave's signature line is "Aw nuts!"

116. Map type: Abbr. : TOPOG. OK,  Topographic then.

 

117. Portland-to-Helena dir. : ENE

118. Come together : MERGE

119. Declines with a check, maybe : RSVPs. Lovely clue.

120. Plenty : SLEWS

Down:

1. Moose Jaw's prov. : SASK

2. Diamond Preferred credit card offerer : CITI. That's the bank you don't like, right, D-Otto?

3. Hockey legend Bobby et al. : ORRS

4. Drive, often : TEE SHOT. Rich is a skilled golfer. Single-digit handicap.

5. Aftershock : TREMOR

6. Ending for sub- or ex- : URB. This kind of clue often stumps me. Same with "Words with this or that".

7. __ anglais: English horn : COR

8. Keats work : ODE

9. Spiffs (up) : NEATENS

10. "Out of the question" : NO DICE

11. Glower? : EMBER. Parse it as "Glow-er".

12. Up from Méjico : NORTE

13. Having four sharps : IN E

14. Central California city : ATWATER. What's it famous for?

16. Smug look : GLOAT

17. Proof jobs : EDITS

18. 1957 Bobbettes hit : MR. LEE. Learned from doing xwords.

24. Auto racer Fabi : TEO. Hey, we just had Manti Te'o last week. What a cruel hoax!

26. Scott who sued for his freedom : DRED

29. Market : BAZAAR

32. Sporty '80s Pontiac : FIERO. Oh guess what, it means "proud" in Italian. I thought it means "Fire".

33. On alert : WARY

35. What a dot may mean, in mus. : STAC

36. Prefix meaning "primary" : ARCH. As in Archbishop.

39. Earthen wall : BERM

40. One may weep after being told to do this : READ 'EM. Poker.

42. McJob holder : PEON. The first time I visited McDonald's was in 1995. Loved the French fries. We don't cook potatoes that way in Xi'An. We just stir-fry in hot wok, sprinkled with hot red pepper flakes and a splash of vinegar. 

44. Continue interminably : DRAG ON

45. More repulsive : VILER

47. Hardly well-thought-out : INANE

48. Pitching slips : BALKS. And 64. One helping swingers? : BAT BOY. And 96. '50s-'60s Yankee Boyer : CLETE. This might stump some, but not Husker Gary, TTP or Buckeye Bob. Here he is.

 50. Fella : BRO

51. Seashell, maybe : MEMENTO

53. Pet food giant : PURINA

55. Emotional shock : TRAUMA

56. Run well : HUM

59. Fanatic : MANIAC

62. Rossini's Doctor Bartolo, e.g. : BASSO

63. Sadat of Egypt : ANWAR. Their next president will be El-Sisi. I don't think anyone but he can get those Muslim Brotherhood guys under control.

65. Not so elevated : LOWER

66. Vaudeville family name : FOY. Eddie Foy. Complete stranger to me.

72. Nordstrom rival : SAKS

73. Agent Gold on "Entourage" : ARI

76. Derisive looks : SNEERS

77. __ lab : CHEM

78. Two-mile-high city : LAPAZ

79. Memorial news item : OBIT

80. Something made on a star? : WISH. Nice clue.

83. Brewery lineup : KEGS

87. Boosters, as a group : FAN BASE

88. Their parts are hard to tell apart : JIGSAWS. Exactly. I don't know how others have the patience to pieces everything together. Do you like Jigsaw puzzles, LaLaLinda?

89. Cough drop flavor : MENTHOL

90. Increase : GROW

92. Hiker's snack : NUT BAR. Love Larabars.

93. Salutes of a sort : TOASTS

94. Familia member : MADRE

95. Kitchen protection : APRON

97. Skinny sort : SCRAG

98. Rules immortal : HOYLE.  According to Hoyle. Edmond Hoyle.

100. Nail down, as victory : ICE

104. Scruff : NAPE

105. Have __: flip out : A COW

106. P.O. deliveries : PKGs

108. Classic Capek play : R.U.R. It introduced the word "Robot".

110. Lic.-issuing bureau : DMV

111. Skip, as stones : DAP

112. Ones with seats : INs. Oh, congressional seats.

C.C.