Theme: "Labor Disputes" - Each theme entry is punnily re-imagined as what the union group did during contract talks.
23A. During contract talks, a marching band __ : STEPPED OUT OF LINE. Craig
could put the 17-letter or 13-letter theme entry in this slot also, but
we would have had more 3-letter entries to deal with.
33A. During contract talks, a cruise ship's crew __ : MISSED THE BOAT
47A. During contract talks, a postal union __ : PUSHED THE ENVELOPE. The actions are all related to the clue occupations of course.
64A. During contract talks, a veterinarians' association __ : FOUGHT LIKE CATS AND DOGS. Sparkly grid-spanner.
78A. During contract talks, a divers' group __ : WENT OFF THE DEEP END
94A. During contract talks, an opera company __ : FACED THE MUSIC
107A. During contract talks, a fighters' club __ : TOOK THE GLOVES OFF
I think this is Craig's first Sunday puzzle. Congratulations! Are you this Craig?
What a fun theme. Very John Lampkin-like. Heavy themage too. Total 113 theme squares and only 140 words.
Across:
1. "Yowza!" : JEEZ. "Yowza!"= Lucina. "Woohoo!" = Misty.
5. Virtuous : CHASTE
11. Numéro avant six : CINQ. French for five. Also 103. Avril follower : MAI. April/May.
15. __ speak : SO TO
19. "Amarantine" Grammy winner : ENYA
20. Stopped : HALTED
21. Diamond family name : ALOU. Vowel-rich.
22. Nile menace : CROC. No ASP/ASPS today.
26. All ears : RAPT
27. __ story : SOB
28. One awarding stars, perhaps : RATER
29. Peter Fonda title role : ULEE. Ulee's Gold. Quite a moving movie.
30. Nimble : LITHE. Not AGILE.
31. Thomas associate : ALITO. Clarence Thomas.
37. Woody and others : ALLENs
39. Caribou, e.g. : DEER. We also have 109. Disney doe : ENA
40. Ducks : AVERTS
41. Fragrant shrub : LILAC. Spring has finally arrived in MN. The two trails we explored this week are greening up.
42. Panache : STYLE
45. Shuts up, with "down" : PIPES
51. Beach letters : SPF
54. Bouncing babies? : JOEYS. Cute clue.
55. Plot twist : IRONY
56. Part of BC: Abbr. : COLL. Boston College. I thought BC was referring to British Columbia.
57. Yogurt topping : GRANOLA
61. Dental problem : DECAY.
My hygienist told me to use these proxy brushes from inside out, as she
found pockets on the inner side of my teeth. I found it impossible to
follow her instructions.
63. Unlucky gambler's wishful words : I'M DUE. Keep dreaming.
69. Get ready to surf : LOG ON
70. Not just happen once : RECUR
71. Crude : BOORISH
72. City north of Des Moines : AMES
73. Mythical hunter : DIANA. Thought of ORION first.
75. "Canst thou not minister to __ diseased": Macbeth : A MIND
77. One-handed Norse god : TYR. Tuesday god.
85. Paris divider : SEINE
86. Wash off : RINSE
87. Spelunkers' haunts : CAVES
88. Drops off : ABATES
91. Pierre's st. : S DAK. The abbr. told you the answer won't be ETAT.
93. Most artful : SLIEST
98. Winner of the first two Super Bowl MVPs : STARR (Bart). Here he is with Brett Favre in 2015.
99. Runs through a sieve : RICES
100. Instrument with a flared bell : OBOE. New clue angle.
101. Part of a cast : ACTOR
106. On : ATOP
111. Jazzman Saunders : MERL. Unknown to me.
112. Clog or pump : SHOE
113. Common soccer score : ONE ONE. Or ONE NIL.
114. Memorable times : ERAS
115. Vortex : EDDY
116. Oenophile's adjective : OAKY
117. Fritters away : WASTES
118. Squat : ZERO. Also 68. Squat : NONE
Down:
1. Zooey's role in "New Girl" : JESS. Easy crosses.
2. Prefix with dermal : ENTO
3. Gives the once-over : EYEBALLS
4. Nuke : ZAP
5. Breaks the rules : CHEATS. You have to know the rules to break them.
6. Didn't get a say : HAD TO
7. Lotion additive : ALOE
8. __ und Drang : STURM
9. Annual Vietnamese celebration : TET. Same date as Chinese New Year.
10. Pre-1868 Tokyo : EDO. Lots of Japanese movies we watched in the late 1980's were set in the Edo Period.
11. Square dance figure : CALLER
12. Admission of deceit : I LIED
13. Large chamber group : NONET. We also have 18. Large chamber groups : OCTETS
14. N.Y. neighbor : QUE (Quebec)
15. Copyists of yore : SCRIBES
16. Webster, notably : ORATOR
17. One of the original Monopoly tokens still in use : TOP HAT. Got via crosses.
24. Robin Hood foe : PRINCE JOHN. Fresh fill!
25. __ box : FUSE. Fill-in-the-blank clue can be hard. Too many choices.
30. Bank insurance? : LEVEE. Great clue.
32. Jacob's first wife : LEAH. Our Chickie's real name.
34. Inactive : IDLE
35. Spotted : SEEN
36. __ hour : HAPPY
37. Peak seen from Grindelwald : ALP
38. Greater N.Y. school : LIU (Long Island University)
42. Lift : STEAL
43. Your of yore : THY
44. Last word of Joyce's "Ulysses" : YES. Below is the last line. Lots of YESes there, Misty!
"I
was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like
the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me
under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another… then
he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my
arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts
all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I
will Yes."
45. Ruses : PLOYS
46. Physics particle : ION
48. Numbskull : DOLT
49. Anglican priest : VICAR
50. Latin 101 word : ERAT. E in QED.
51. "Me too!" : SO DO I. Not SO AM I.
52. Power connections : PLUGS
53. Blood relative? : FLESH. Oh, flesh and blood.
56. Starfleet VIP : CMDR (Commander). Spitzboov's rank when he retired. Commander Al. Very cool.
57. Key above F : G FLAT
58. Spacious : ROOMY
59. Boring bit :AUGER
60. Private nonprofits: Abbr. : NGOS. NGO= Non-Governmental Organization. Common abbr. in news media.
61. After-dinner drink : DECAF
62. Old French coin : ECU
63. "Isn't that something!" : I DO DECLARE. Great fill.
65. Steamed : IRATE
66. Number-picker's game : KENO. Every casino has it.
67. Stomach : ABIDE
73. Jefferson, theologically : DEIST
74. B&B, e.g. : INN
75. Philip of "Kung Fu" : AHN. I mentioned a while ago that AHN (Korean) = ANG (As in Ang Lee)
76. Enero, por ejemplo : MES. Month.
78. Lawn invaders : WEEDS
79. Monastic titles : FRAS
80. "Kon-__" : TIKI
81. Good "pocket" holding in Hold 'em : PAIR
82. Eternally : EVERMORE
83. Video game letters : NES
84. Summer hrs. : DST
85. In a precipitous fashion : STEEPLY.
I finally received the 25% subsidy on my health insurance. It's
retroactive of Jan 2017, so I did not need to pay anything this month.
Yay! What a big relief.
88. Many a chalet : A-FRAME
89. Set, as a trap : BAITED
90. Pact : ACCORD
91. Bandit chaser of film : SMOKEY. Police.
92. 1983-'84 #1 hit "Say Say Say," say : DUET
93. Potbellies : STOVES
95. Ruckus : HOO-HA
96. Modern read : E-BOOK. What are you reading now, D-Otto?
97. Zoo sights : CAGES
98. __ Age : STONE
102. Coagulate : CLOT
104. Miles away : AFAR
105. "That being the case ... " : IF SO
107. General of culinary fame : TSO
108. Reporter's query : HOW. Watch this clip. NBC News did a short piece on Will Shortz two days ago. Wouldn't be refreshing to see a piece on Rich Norris?
110. "__ who?" : SEZ
