Sunday September 27, 2015 Jake Braun

Theme:  "Aluminum Siding" - AL (symbol of Aluminum) is inserted into each theme answer.

23A. Easy summer listening? : BEACH ALBUM. Beach bum.

25A. Important exam for shady lenders? : SHARK FINAL. Shark fin. We used to have the expensive shark fin soup at our annual company New Year's dinner. It's supposed to be aphrodisiac and good for your skin.

41A. Thoroughbreds' annual dance? : RACING FORMAL. Racing form.

49A. Diet for conspirators? : CABAL FARE. Cab fare. Fare changes its meaning also. Same as the SHARK in 25A. Nice.

61A. Really bad bubbly? : BRUTAL CHAMPAGNE. Brut champagne.

78A. Lager shipping route? : BEER CANAL. Beer can.

85A. Prayer book for kids? : JUNIOR MISSAL. Junior/Miss.

104A. Last-minute jilters? : ALTAR HEELS. Tar Heels.

106A. Flower hater's bugbear? : PETAL PEEVE. Pet peeve.

Our second encounter withwho added AH sound to his LAT debut.

Another well-designed grid, with all 9 themers are placed Across, exactly how I'd handled the gridding. I love grids with four or more pairs of splashy long non-theme fill. 

Across:

1. Seriously deteriorates : ROTS

5. Item sold in sheets : STAMP

10. "Social contract" philosopher : LOCKE (John)

15. Pit-__ : A-PAT.  Fill-in-the-blank is often a partial. So slim chance for BULL.

19. To be, to Bizet : ETRE

20. Pelican State sub : PO BOY. Food! Never had one.

21. Behavioral guide : ETHIC

22. Moneyed, in Málaga : RICO

27. "I have to go out!" : ARF.  Or GRR.

28. Van Gogh setting : ARLES
 

29. Kadetts, e.g. : OPELS. My last-filled area. I did not know what Kadetts are.

30. "Let me repeat ... " : I SAID

31. Mixes, as cards : RIFFLES

33. Set out : EMBARK

35. Novelist Waugh : ALEC

36. Wrath : IRE

37. Record player : STYLUS. Would have nailed it with a "needle" hint.

38. Ciudad Bolívar's river : ORINOCO. Know it because Enya's "Orinonco Flow".

45. De Matteo of "The Sopranos" : DREA

46. Black dog : LAB. And 47. King dog : CUJO

48. Calm : ALLAY.  And 52. Substitute for a bad word : BLEEP. Both clues are verbs. I like this kind of misleads.

51. Celestial altar : ARA

 

53. Reheats : WARMS

55. Nutritional figs. : RDAs. Not any more.

56. "Cheers" role : SAM. And  57. "Cheers" order : ALE

58. Island setting for the 10th season of "Survivor" : PALAU. Nailed it. Had to put it in one of my grids once.

59. Words to a captain : AYE AYE
 

65. Inept shepherd : BO PEEP

68. Biker's invite : HOP ON

69. Gettysburg Campaign VIP : LEE

70. Dairy sight : COW. Not EWE.

73. Adidas competitor : AVIA

74. Horse of the Year, 1960-'64 : KELSO. All crosses.

75. City SSW of Seville : CADIZ. Had C???Z earlier on. So, easy fill.

77. Old studio letters : RKO

81. Ones wrapping around a pole? : ELVES. Oh, wrapping gifts in North Pole.

82. Casual top : POLO. Thought of TANK first.

83. Crescent piece : ARC

84. Prayer starter : O GOD

88. Leave for a bit : STEP OUT

90. Memorable 1893 defendant : BORDEN. Stumped me. I sure need "Lizzie" in the clue.

91. "__ a pity" : 'TIS

92. Ready to eat : RIPE. We only harvested one cucumber this year. So weird. Next year we'll only grow tomatoes & green beans.

93. Follower : MINION

94. Boxster maker : PORSCHE

98. Rustle (up) : SCARE

100. 2000s NCAA president __ Brand : MYLES. No idea. 

101. Shinto temple entrance : TORII. Literally "Bird perch". Tori = Bird.

103. General Arnold of WWII : HAP

108. Old Nair rival : NEET

109. Draft recipient : PAYEE

110. Fail to say : ELIDE

111. Spread measure : ACRE

112. Two caplets, say : DOSE

113. They may follow teams : SLEDS. Dog teams. Great clue.

114. Do a lawn repair job : RESOD

115. Luau music makers : UKES

Down:

1. Concrete-reinforcing rod : REBAR

2. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI

3. Accident consequence, perhaps : TRAFFIC JAM. Lovely Down.

4. Triple __ : SEC

5. Just-in-case item : SPARE

6. Part of a traveler's budget, perhaps : TOLLS

7. Chartres cleric : ABBE

8. Board game with cheese-shaped tokens : MOUSE TRAP. Both of the Down 9's are great as well.

9. British novelist Barbara : PYM

10. Electric guitar innovator : LES PAUL. And 64. Electric guitar wood : ALDER

11. End of a list : OTHERS

12. Attribute, with "up" : CHALK

13. White wine apéritifs : KIRs

14. Theologian who opposed Luther : ECK (Johann). Total stranger to me.

15. Gotten up : ARISEN

16. Cocktail invented in Puerto Rico : PINA COLADA. Lovely as well.

17. Trendy berry : ACAI

18. Related : TOLD. Verb again.

24. Rockers Van __ : HALEN

26. Like sons and daughters : FILIAL. Filial piety (Xiao) is an extremely important virtue in Chinese culture.  Respecting and taking care of your parents and elders are instilled in us from an early age.

29. Beatles nonsense syllables : OB-LA. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da".

32. Cold, to Carlos : FRIO

34. "Oh dear!" : MY MY

35. Specialty : AREA

37. Only : SOLE

38. Jupiter and Saturn : ORBs. Thought of GODS first.

39. Chip, Skip or Harry of broadcasting : CARAY. Holy cow! I did not know this: Chip is Skip's son. Skip is Harry's son.

40. Quite big : OBESE

41. Some TVs : RCAs

42. Surrounding glow : AURA

43. Poll man : GALLUP

44. Company cars, as a group : FLEET

45. Block, beaver-style : DAM UP

49. Stuff : CRAM

50. For nothing : FREE. And 52. Wearing nothing : BARE

53. Large mackerel : WAHOO. Huge! I tried a can of broiled mackerel from our Asian grocery store yesterday. So so. The only canned fish I really like is roasted eel. Do you know that brand, Jayce?

54. Actor Ladd : ALAN

58. Patients' main MDs, to insurers : PCPS (Primary Care Physicians)

59. AARP concern : AGEISM

60. Santa __ Valley: California wine region : YNEZ

61. Endure : BEAR

62. Leading : AHEAD

63. Take it easy : LOLL

65. Spiked cakes : BABAs. Baba au rhum. Never had it.

66. Hardly secret : OVERT

67. Per-unit pay scales : PIECE RATES

70. Verify with several sources : CROSS-CHECK. Some of Seymour Hersh's articles are really thinly sourced.

71. Norman's home: Abbr. : OKLA. I was thinking of the 1066 invaders.

72. Winter fabric : WOOL

74. Stomach discomfort : KNOT

75. Customers : CLIENTELE

76. Romance novel publisher : AVON. New to me. I read lots of romance novels in my college years.

79. Barrel maker : COOPER

80. Hot-and-cold fits : AGUE

81. Prefix with morph : ENDO

82. Three-pronged letters : PSIs

85. Generic trendsetters : JONESES. Oh, Keep up with the Joneses.

86. "Redemption" author : URIS (Leon)

87. "Let __!": "Get going!" : IT RIP

89. PNC Park player : PIRATE. Hi there, TTP!  Thanks for the Spaetzle idea. So what happened at the golf awards dinner two weeks ago? Were you voted the league secretary again?

90. Charged : BILLED
 

93. "Not a chance!" : MY EYE

94. Where to see many El Greco works : PRADO

95. No longer squeaky : OILED

96. Le __, France : HAVRE

97. Pentathlon blades : EPEES

98. Painting medium : SAND

99. "Pinocchio" goldfish : CLEO. I forgot.

100. One of a daily trio : MEAL. Felt stupid blanking on the answer.

102. Publisher Chandler : OTIS. L. A. Times.

105. ENVY and OMEN laptops : HPS. Don't own their laptop. But our printer is HP ENVY.

106. Distribution word : PER

107. Water under le pont : EAU. Water under the bridge.

Merl Reagle's memorial service will be held today (Sept 27, 2015) from 5pm-8pm. The gathering will be at the University of Tampa’s Vaughn Center, 9th floor, and all are invited.

(Added later: Here is a short clip of Merl at the movie "Wordplay". Thanks, Tony!)

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to those who celebrate! This is my favorite Chinese holiday after Spring Festival. It always takes place on August 15th (full moon) in Chinese lunar calendar. The sweet mooncakes are available only for a short period of time.

C.C.