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 Nov 26, 2017 Erik Agard

Theme: - "Outside Shots" - PIC bookends each theme entry.

24A. *Trademark on Sealy's home page : POSTUREPEDIC. See here. I presume they just trademarked the name, not the technology.

38A. *Like the "Hunger Games" trilogy : POST-APOCALYPTIC

45A. *1998 Bullock/Kidman film involving sorcery : PRACTICAL MAGIC. Never saw the movie.

60A. *Certain pie lover : PIZZAHOLIC. Do you guys love Hawaiian Pizzas?

64A. *One might help find a lost animal : PET PSYCHIC. Our local WCCO used to have a psychic on from time to time. Not just a pet psychic. She dealt with all kinds of questions.
 
80A. *Checkout choice : PAPER OR PLASTIC. I always bag myself.

88A. *Furry, green baseball mascot : PHILLIE PHANATIC. Alliteration. This will bring a big smile to Barry Silk.

104A. *Like a 107-Down : PHOTOGRAPHIC.

Reveal entry:

107. Shot surrounding the answers to starred clues : PIC

Veteran solvers can often figure out the theme without the reveal. But often editors require constructors to put a reveal in the lower right, just in case some of the newbies can not grok the theme.

Erik's puzzles are often tricky and nuanced. His grids often have an extra layer. At times, he also makes this type of simple but fresh themes. Treat yourself with his Food for Thought. 

Our grid today is also very Erik, clean and modern. And as always, he debuted a few new sparkly entries. Not often do we see a pair of 11's, 10's, paralled 9's, four 8's fill in Down fill alone.

Across:    

1. Security gp. with wands : TSA. And 96. 1-Across check : SCAN.  Not an ideal cross-reference due to TSA abbr.


4. They can print rcpts. with check images : ATMs

8. Hooch : BOOZE

13. __ Spumante : ASTI

17. Minor league ice org. : AHL. American Hockey League. Calder Cup for the champions.

18. Asked too much : PRIED

20. Chinchilla, e.g. : RODENT

22. Give temporarily : LOAN. Had LEND first.

23. Los Angeles athlete : RAM

26. Lamb pen name : ELIA. Charles Lamb.


27. "Show me the evidence!" : PROVE IT. Great fill.

29. Green Giant morsels : PEAS

30. Some oral meds : GEL CAPS

32. Perfect places : EDENs

33. Nearly 25% of a marathon : TEN K. About 6.2 miles.

34. Marvin Gaye's label : TAMLA. Unknown to me.

36. Understand : SEE

37. "We need to talk" : A WORD. Partial clue would be easier for me.

41. Chocolate __ cake : LAVA

42. Oinker : PIG

43. Is yet to be decided : PENDS

44. Descartes' sum : I AM. I think, therefore I am. I like our Jayce's interpretation. His "donc" makes more sense to me.

49. Make it necessary to decrypt : ENCODE

52. Pepper typically hotter than a jalapeño : SERRANO. I planted them once. The shifted to Thai peppers the next year.

53. Paddle : OAR

54. Conestoga traveler : WAGONER

55. Bars in aisles, briefly : UPC

56. Good name for a funeral director? : MORT. Thought of D-Otto's pop.

57. See 80-Down : BEAR. And 80. With 57-Across, storied hot-porridge eater : PAPA

59. "Ugh, I've heard enough" : TMI
 
67. "Law & Order: __" : SVU. I've only watched "Law & Order".

68. Walk with a pack : HIKE

69. Brown rectangle? : QUAD. Brown University.

70. "Ben-__" : HUR

71. Outlook alternative : AOL MAIL. Both Rich Norris and Will Shortz use AOL.

74. Joe dispenser : URN

75. Part-time player : SEMI-PRO. Same letter count as AMATEUR.

79. Most loyal : TRUEST

84. "Every kiss begins with __": jeweler's slogan : KAY

85. Trash : WASTE

86. Long swimmer : EEL. The most delicious food in the world!

87. Gauge on the dash : TACH

93. Toast opener : HERE'S

94. Swanson on "Parks and Recreation" : RON

95. Retract : UNSAY
 
97. Bespectacled "Scooby-Doo" character : VELMA. Stranger to me.

98. Downward dog surface : YOGA MAT. Another sparkly 7-letter fill.

100. Two-part tune : DUET

101. Mechanics' jobs : REPAIRS. Wish I were efficient as Splynter/TTP/D-Otto. They DYI everything. I could not even take out a bad deck board.

103. Ends' partners : ODDS

108. Came into : GOT

109. End of a bed : FOOT

110. Classic palindrome ending : PANAMA. A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!

111. Tuscan hill city : SIENA

112. "__ takers?" : ANY

113. Acronymic anxiety about being excluded from the fun : FOMO. Fear of Missing Out.

114. Progress tracker : METER

115. Team of players : CAST

116. Veto : NIX

Down:

1. Rain delay cover : TARP

2. Some free downloads : SHAREWARE

3. "Talk to Her" Oscar-winning screenwriter Pedro : ALMODOVAR. Probably the most famous Spanish filmmaker. "Volver".

4. Tack on : APPEND

5. One below quatre : TROIS. "Quatre" is hard to pronounce for me.

6. Ocean spray : MIST

7. Chess player's pride : SET
 
8. Lose cohesion : BREAK APART. Opposite 69. TV drama partly set on a Louisiana farm : QUEEN SUGAR. A great pair of 10's in the middle.

9. "My bad" : OOPS

10. Tribute in verse : ODE

11. Alphabetiser's ending : ZED

12. Puzzles : ENIGMAS

13. Guinness of "Star Wars" : ALEC
 
14. Embarrassingly outdated : SO LAST MONTH. Fresh fill.


15. Tamsui River capital : TAIPEI. Tamsui means "freshwater". Sui=Water, same as the Shui in Feng shui.
 
16. "Gimme one moment" : IN A SEC

19. Fools : DUPES

21. Protective lymphocyte : T CELL

25. Pay for a pad : RENT

28. City named by Cortés : VERACRUZ. Got via crosses.

31. Placing, as bricks : LAYING

33. Ancient wrap : TOGA

34. Author Morrison : TONI

35. Power couple? : AC DC. Nailed it.

37. Swiss high points : ALPS

38. __ de gallo : PICO. Looks so fresh.

39. Board game piece : PEG

40. Rabanne of fashion : PACO. Unfamiliar figure to me.

42. Go to bat (for) : PINCH HIT

46. Spanish snack : TAPA

47. Barracks officer, slangily : LOOIE

48. Artist Chagall : MARC

49. Another name for abalone : EAR SHELL. Makes sense. It does look like an ear.

50. God head? : DEMI. Demigod.

51. Benét or Bellinger of R&B : ERIC

54. Hip-hop hitmaker Fetty __ : WAP
 
56. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" initials : MLK

57. Bingo relative : BEANO. Notice Rich never used "Gas remedy" or something similar?

58. Airport screen no. : ETD

60. H.S. exam : PSAT

61. Novello for whom British music-writing awards are named : IVOR. Used to stump me.

62. Former South African monarchy : ZULU KINGDOM. Another fresh fill.

63. Engine stuff : OIL

64. Engine sound : PURR
 
65. Arizona retirement city : YUMA

66. Comedian Alonzo's self-named sitcom : CRISTELA. Wiki says "She is the first Latina woman to create, produce, write, and star in her own US network show".

72. Square serving? : MEAL

73. Refuge : ASYLUM

75. What a script may be written on : SPEC

76. Grouse family bird : PTARMIGAN. So well-blended.

77. Pilaf-like product : RICE-A- RONI

78. Publisher Adolph : OCHS

81. Pale : ASHY

82. School gp. : PTA

83. Free __: carte blanche : REIN

85. The Irons of soccer's Premier League : WEST HAM. Wiki says "The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United". Irons sounds better than Ham.

88. Remove with force : PRY OFF

89. African American folk magic : HOODOO

90. Like Candy Crush purchases : IN-APP. In-app purchases.

91. Taiwanese PC brand : ACER. I'm using one.

92. Lines at the door? : TA TAs. Not the Black Friday lines.

93. Jazz devotee : HEPCAT

97. Blood lines : VEINS. Literally.

99. Regarding : AS TO

100. Head : DOME

101. Long-necked pampas bird : RHEA

102. River of Hades : STYX

105. First character in this clue : ONE. The clue number 105.

106. Bit of body art : TAT

C.C.

Here are a few more sweet photos of Lemonade's cute grand kids. Owen sure grows up quickly.

Charlotte

Harper

Owen

One more sweet picture of JD's grandsons:

Left to Right: Grady (Truman's little brother), Truman, Cameron and Dylan (Cameron's little brother)

Sunday, Nov 19, 2017 Paul Coulter

Theme: "Twists and Turns" - Two words in each common phrase change place, in all but one where one word is replaced by its homophone.
 
1A: With 22- and 126-Across, saying about the difficulty of dieting? : A WAIST

22A. See 1-Across : IS A TERRIBLE THING. And 126A. See 1-Across : TO MIND. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

36A: Proverb about creeps getting their just deserts? : TIME WOUNDS ALL HEELS. Time heals all wounds.

69A: Handles every objection? : ANSWERS ALL THE NOES. Knows all the answers.

96A. Fed up with a corporate VIP? : BORED OF THE CHAIRMAN. Chairman of the board.

114A. Spars during dance music? : PUNCHES TO THE BEAT. Beat to the punches. Isn't the saying "beat to the punch"?

The last one has no homophone change, turned, but not twisted.

I don't think I've seen a theme entry broken into three symmetrical parts. Very creative. Otherwise, we would have lost a 30-letter fun themer.

Across:  

7. 1956 hot spot : SUEZ. Suez Canal Crisis. We also have 86. '60s hot spot : NAM

11. Healthful getaway : SPA

14. Lodge : STOW

18. Social classes : CASTES. Caste system still exists in India.

19. Trick joint? : KNEE

20. Consequently : THEN

21. Big name in spydom : HARI (Mata)

25. Part of Kurdistan is in it : IRAN

26. Code word : DAH. DIT too.

27. Bluesman Redding : OTIS

28. Nada, across the Pyrenees : RIEN. "De rien".
 
29. Grocery section : AISLE

30. Mrs. Addams, to Gomez : TISH

33. Deck (out) : TOG

34. Like the most popular beaches : SANDIEST. When was the first time you saw the ocean?
 
42. World Heritage Site org. : UNESCO

45. Surgeon's patient? : TREE. Tree surgeon.

46. __ Aviv : TEL

47. Difficult position : SPOT. In a spot.

48. Middle X or O : TAC

49. "Things Fall Apart" novelist Chinua __ : ACHEBE

52. Crisis of the middle ages? : SAG. Ha ha.

54. Flour may be made with it : SOY. I eat tons of soy products. Never tried flour though.

55. "__, Sing America": Langston Hughes poem : I TOO

57. Prynne's stigma : RED A. "The Scarlet Letter"

58. Street fleet : CABS. Not CARS.

61. Irregularly notched : EROSE. Like these leaves.

63. Tidal extreme : LOW WATER

66. Calf-roping loop : NOOSE

68. Cartoon genre : ANIME

72. __-Roman wrestling : GRECO

73. Like cornstalks : EARED

74. Cadillac SUV : ESCALADE
 
77. Mercury astronaut Cooper, to friends : GORDO. Learning moment for me.

78. Website for techies : CNET

79. Big celebration : FEST

81. More than tickle : SLAY. Our Peg! We also have 93. Tickled : AMUSED

82. Troy, N.Y., tech school : RPI.  Our Spitzboov & Irish Miss!

83. Lao Tzu's "way" : TAO. Lao Tzu spoke Mandarin, so he would have used DAO.


85. You don't have to face the music to do it : LISTEN. Thought the answer would be a noun.


87. Cremona crowd? : TRE. Three.

88. Lined up, with "in" : A ROW

90. IV league? : RNs. Cute.

92. Democratic donkey designer : NAST (Thomas)
 
101. Comic book artist's supply : INDIA INK. Ink was invented in China. Paper too.

102. __ Friday's : TGI

103. Winter cord : WOOD

106. Plant life : FLORA

109. "__ Nacht": German parting : GUTE

110. Vintner's prefix : OENO

111. Lingerie item : BRA

113. Noble title : LORD

119. Biblical brother : ABEL. Also the given name of The Weekend.

120. Principal : ARCH

121. Whaler's direction : THAR

122. Home to Napoli : ITALIA

123. Like a yenta : NOSY

124. "Not impressed" : MEH

125. __-Coburg: former German duchy : SAXE
 
Down:
  
1. Vinegary : ACID. Any of you tried sherry vinegar?

2. Attended : WAS AT

3. Japanese beer brand : ASAHI

4. Shades-wearing TV cousin : ITT

5. "Didn't I tell you?" : SEE

6. Original Dungeons & Dragons co. : TSR. It stands for Tactical Studies Rules.

7. Trail access aid : SKI TOW

8. Tolerant : UNBIGOTED. I only know BIGOTED.

9. Fish that can swim backwards : EELS

10. What's at the heart of every calzone? : ZEE. Just the middle letter.

11. Reacted skittishly to : SHIED AT

12. Broke : PENNILESS

13. "The Ice Storm" director Lee : ANG

14. Islamic worshippers : SHIITES. I spell it as "worshipers". You?


15. Experienced crew : TARS

16. __ agreement : ORAL

17. Press release? : WINE. Nailed it.

20. Dilutes : THINS

23. Mechanically, after "by" : ROTE

24. Business : TRADE

29. Hearth residue : ASH

31. Google Maps lines: Abbr. : STs

32. Kool-Aid alternative : HI-C

34. Bygone blade : SNEE

35. "Enchanted" girl in a 2004 film : ELLA. The film title is "Ella Enchanted".

37. Bygone bird : MOA

38. Graffiti and such : URBAN ART

39. Hydrated magnesium sulfate : EPSOM SALTS. For hot baths.

40. Baggy : LOOSE

41. Eye affliction : STYE. Also 76. Checked out : EYED. Any of you wear Acuvue Oasys? I had two abrasions on my right eye. Been having antibiotic drops. Need to see the doctor again next week.

42. Payment made each mo. : UTIL

43. Gp. joined by Montenegro in 2017 : NATO

44. Environmental activist : ECO-WARRIOR

50. Canadian tribe : CREE

51. German gentlemen : HERREN. Plural of HERR.

53. Italy's largest port : GENOA

56. Had : OWNED

58. Ultra-aloof type : COLD FISH

59. Nova Scotia hrs. : AST

60. Strong request : BEHEST

62. Cambodian currency : RIELS. Like Chinese, their language do not have plural form.

64. English race place : ASCOT

65. Small partnership : TWO

67. "Bravo!" : OLE

68. RSA ruling party : ANC. African National Congress

70. Ed.'s request : SAE

71. Ferrara family name : ESTE. Often clued as [Noble Italian family].

72. Start playing for money : GO PRO. Tiny clue dupe with 80. Going rate? : ESTATE TAX
 
75. Challenge : DARE

77. Screen __ : GRAB. Not SHOT.


78. Assemble, as a computer system : CONFIGURE

84. J.Lo's main squeeze : A-ROD.  Beautiful couple.

85. Deficiency : LACK
 
89. In a strange way : WEIRDLY

91. Firm in principle : STAUNCH. Consonant-rich.

92. "Buffalo Stance" singer Cherry : NENEH. Another learning moment for me.

94. Big mouth : MAW

95. A, in Acapulco : UNO

97. Paternity suit evidence : DNA

98. Thumb : HITCH

99. Brush aside : IGNORE

100. Very funny one : RIOT

104. Dagger-shaped editing marks : OBELI. Plural of Obelus. No dagger here.

105. Exhaust : DRAIN

106. Custard concoction : FLAN. Amazed that pie crusts were nowhere to be found yesterday at Cub Foods. Did get rutabaga though. We only eat rutabaga once a year, thankfully.


107. Western wolf : LOBO

108. Mining haul : ORES

110. Dept. of Labor arm : OSHA

112. Hardly more than not at all : A TAD

114. Nonstick cooking spray : PAM

115. UFO crew, so it's said : ETs

116. Big success : HIT

117. WWII command : ETO (European Theater of Operations, 1942-1945)

118. Emeril catchword : BAM

Lemonade spent three weeks in Thailand with his wife Oo. Look at these two amazing pictures. He said "It was good to be king".

Sunday, Nov 12, 2017 Thomas Takaro

Theme: "Your Eyes Become You" - I is replaced by U in each theme entry.

23A. Traffic jam? : MUDDLE OF THE ROAD. Middle of the road.

33A. Serve leftover rolls? : RECYCLE BUNS. Recycle bins

42A. Dispute over young flowers? : BUDDING WAR. Bidding war.

59A. Last pat? : THE BUTTER END. The bitter end.

68A. Coin-making tool? : PENNY PUNCHER. Penny-pincher.
 
84A. Mediocre deli item? : DULL PICKLE. Dill pickle.

93A. Mallard's beard? : DUCK VAN DYKE. Dick Van Dyke.

107A. Pair of vehicles in a plot? : TWO CAR COLLUSION. Two-car collision.
 
15D. Viking descendant on a rampage? : NORMAN MAULER. Norman Mailer.

59D. "Don't forget the rubber disk"? : TAKE YOUR PUCK. Take your pick.

This puzzle has 10 theme entries, occupying total 120 squares. Very heavy in themeage. I don't think I've blogged a 120-themer before.

Rich's minimum requirement is 84. Tough to fill a grid cleanly when the theme entries have over 100 squares. 120 is much much tougher, hence the 88 black squares.

This is also Thomas's first Sunday puzzle. Congratulations!

Across:
       
1. Ball stars : DEBS

5. Baseball's Hammerin' Hank : AARON. And 30. 5-Across broke his record, with "The" : BABE. Home run record. 715. That ball must be in Cooperstown. We also have 67. Giant of a Giant : MAYS (Willie)

10. Latin foot : PES

13. Cline portrayer in "Sweet Dreams" : LANGE (Jessica)

18. It comes from the head : IDEA

19. Bunkum : TRIPE

20. Meter preceder : ALTI

22. Thrown for __ : A LOOP

26. __ Rossi: Gallo brand : CARLO

27. View from Anchorage : DENALI

28. What may be intended by inadvertent wordplay? : NO PUN. No pun intended.

29. Theater giant? : IMAX

30. Verdi's "Un __ in maschera" : BALLO. Meaning "A Masked Ball". Learning moment for me.

37. "__ news?" : ANY

38. "It's Only a Paper Moon" composer : ARLEN. I need Harold in the clue.

39. Watch : EYE

40. Bay Area county : MARIN

47. Below average : SUBNORMAL

51. Rescue squad initials : EMS

52. "What should __?": dieter's quandary : I EAT

53. Totally lost : AT SEA

54. Boating implements : OARS

55. Goose cooked in its own fat, say : CONFIT. I don't think I've ever had goose. Duck yes.

57. Takes another tack : VEERS

58. Night in Nantes : NUIT

62. Low areas : DALES

63. Hawaiian non-natives : HAOLES. Just remember it as A HOLES.

64. "__ any drop to drink": Coleridge : NOR

65. Grammarians' concerns : USAGES

67. Strong sharks : MAKOs

72. Words before "of rules" : A SET

73. Beaded counters : ABACI. Mine was pretty heavy.

75. Sealy alternatives : SERTAs

76. Ma playing music : YO YO. See the three white Chinese characters? Ma Yo-Yo. Chinese put surname first.

77. Bell sounds : DONGS

78. Traveler's option : RAIL

79. Filing tool : TAB

82. Some travelers put them on in winter : SNOW TIRES

87. "__ Gold": Fonda film : ULEE'S

88. Green Giant orb : PEA

90. Letter-shaped 95-Down opening : F-HOLE. And 95. Instrument with two 90-Acrosses : VIOLA

91. Birdie plus one : PAR

99. Agreements : YESES

100. Some dadaist art : ARPs. Jean Arp.

102. Fear-inducing : HAIRY

103. Not acceptable : UNCOOL

105. Made level, with "up" : TRUED
  

112. Vanzetti's partner : SACCO. I forgot. We had this before.

113. Price-slashing event : SALE

114. Eight-related : OCTAL

115. Island near Corsica : ELBA
 
116. Westernmost Canadian territory : YUKON

117. Confident ending? : IAL. Confidential.

118. Italian's "That'll do!" : BASTA

119. Similar : AKIN
  
Down:
 
1. Darken : DIM
 
2. School URL ending : EDU

3. Garden area : BED

4. Like polo ponies : SADDLED

5. Davidson College's NCAA conference, for most sports : A-TEN. Googled afterwards. Atlantic 10 Conference.

6. Like a crowd in full voice : AROAR

7. Go through hastily, as drawers : RIFLE

8. Vision-related : OPTIC

9. Bk. after Ezra : NEH (Nehemiah)

10. Prisoner's reward : PAROLE

11. Take off to get hitched : ELOPE

12. Outfielder Rusty who played for four different expansion teams : STAUB.  A la Wiki, the four expansion teams are: Astros, Expos, Mets and Rangers. You have to be a baseball fan to come up with this clue angle.

13. Place to swim, in Paris : LAC. Lake.

14. Jai __ : ALAI

16. __ Heights: disputed Mideast region : GOLAN. Somehow Golan Heights and Al-Qaeda were frequently covered in the daily 5-minute international news segment when I lived in China, the latter was just called "The Base". Boomer never heard of Al-Qaeda until 9/11.

17. Powerful adhesive : EPOXY

21. SSA-issued info : ID NUMBER

24. Actress Téa : LEONI

25. Suffix with consist : ENCY. ENCE works also.

 
31. Lily family member : ARUM

32. Honorary law degs. : LLDs

34. "You bet __ boots!" : YER

35. Grandmas : NANAs. 婆婆 (Po Po) or 奶奶 (Nai Nai) in Northern China. Different in Cantonese or other regions.

36. Welcome sign for concert promoters : SRO

41. Early metalworking period : IRON AGE

43. Sorrowful mother of legend : NIOBE

44. Group of related species : GENUS. And  96. Joshua tree's 44-Down : YUCCA

45. Float on the breeze : WAFT

46. Having a spat : AT IT

47. WWII firearm : STEN. I learned from doing crosswords.

48. Broken in : USED

49. Sign of spring : ARIES.  Perfect clue for ROBIN.

50. WWII carriers : LSTs

53. Some printer labels : AVERYS

55. Cartoon components : CELs

56. Game with yellow balls : TENNIS
 

60. Nocturnal hunter with a distinctive call : HOOT OWL

61. Mets sports commentator Darling : RON

62. Morse code tones : DAHS

63. Is attired in : HAS ON

65. Preposition often shortened to one syllable : UNTIL

66. Skull covering : SCALP

68. Window __ : PANE

69. Drs.' orders : ECGs

70. Biodiverse South American country : PERU

71. River to the Caspian : URAL

73. "Later, Louis!" : ADIEU

74. Sour red soups : BORSCHTS. Did not know this soup can be pluralized.

79. Ring outcomes, briefly : TKOs

80. Everyone, in Essen : ALLE

81. Fliers with stingers : BEES

83. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TED. Ted Talks. I just love Derek Sivers' first Ted Talk.

84. Father figure : DAD

85. "Nice Work __ Can Get It": 2012 Broadway musical : IF YOU

86. Handler with a self-named Netflix talk show : CHELSEA. Close friend of Jennifer.

88. Package : PARCEL

89. Irish New Ager : ENYA

91. Cline of country : PATSY

92. Pianist Claudio : ARRAU. Chilean pianist. We also have 94. Japanese piano maker : KAWAI
  

97. Half hitch and bowline : KNOTS

98. Showiness : ECLAT

101. Vino __: dry wine : SECO

104. Southwestern pot : OLLA

106. Author DeLillo : DON. "White Noise".

108. Hijack, e.g. : ROB

109. Sort : ILK

110. Wrap for Cio-Cio-San : OBI. "Madama Butterfly".

111. Indian flatbread : NAN

 

   

Happy birthday to Rich Norris, editor of LA Times Daily Crossword. I suspect today's STAUB clue is Rich's. He always tries to add interesting trivia, fun and humor to all the clues. Often half or more clues of our daily puzzles are Rich's hard work. 

Last time when I had STATE FAIR, Rich changed my [Place to see giant produce] clue to [Minnesota's annual one is held in Falcon Heights]. It brought a big smile to my face. Lots of clever clues you guy like in my grids are from Rich. He's just an incredibly generous and encouraging editor. We're so lucky. I'm very lucky.

PS: I forgot to mention that our Melissa was married yesterday. She left her beloved job in California a few years ago and moved to Oregon. Since then, she's been totally committed to Adopt an Inmate project, working long hours and going through incredible difficulties alone. Best wishes on your new journey, dear Melissa!

Left to Right: Melissa's daughter, Melissa's mom Barbara B, Melissa