Theme: "Elongation" - EL is added to each common phrase.
23. Censor of controversial parts of "Messiah"?: HANDEL SANITIZER. Hand sanitizer.
42. Cause of restaurant complaints?: SALAD DELAYS. Salad days.
48. Conventional rubies?: ORTHODOX JEWELS. Orthodox Jews.
69. Sign of a cat burglar?: FELINE PRINT. Fine print.
90. What people and leopards have in common?: VOWEL OF SILENCE. Vow of silence.
98. Stallone hero putting more film in his camera?: ROCKY RELOAD. Rocky Road.
119. Enjoy the track meet?: CATCH A FEW RELAYS. Catch a few rays.
Tried and true theme. I bet every constructor thought of adding EL or removal EL ("Noel") in their construction career.
Smooth grid for a 140-worder. Low 3-letter count (24), the limit for a weekday 15x15 grid.
Across:
5. Spill stopper: LID.
8. Beetle in Egyptian hieroglyphs: SCARAB.
14. Old Eurasian rulers: TSARS.
19. Many a restaurant website page: MENU.
20. Addr. line ending: AVE.
21. Brother of Scar: MUFASA. In "The Lion King".
22. Juice box go-with: STRAW.
26. Hold forth: ORATE.
27. "Top Chef" host Lakshmi: PADMA. India-born. Once married to Salman Rushdie.
28. Knish seller: DELI.
29. __ Morris, "Saved by the Bell" protagonist: ZACK. Unknown to me.
31. Award for good plays: OBIE. Theatrical play.
32. Bagel feature: HOLE.
34. Spots: SEES.
36. Emergency delivery method: AIRLIFT.
38. Family tree woman: GREAT-AUNT. My grandma's younger sister
used to visit us once a year. She could not walk much due to her bound
feet. Hideous practice those days. My poor grandma used layers and
layers of cloth to wrap her feet.
45. Intraoffice IT system: LAN.
46. Memo start: IN RE.
47. Get around: FINESSE.
53. Choir accompaniment: ORGAN.
57. 20th-century Argentine leader: PERON. Juan and Eva.
58. Room in Clue: STUDY. 64. Family room: DEN.
59. Original "Star Trek" actor: TAKEI (George)
62. Nice way to say yes?: OUI. Nice the city.
63. Stubborn animal: ASS.
65. Group email function: REPLY ALL.
67. A, in Aachen: EINE.
74. Shoppe modifier: OLDE.
75. Brand mentioned in the Beatles' "Come Together": COCA COLA.
77. Golf club part: TOE.
78. "I pity the fool" speaker: MR T.
79. Word that's a homophone of its first letter: OWE.
80. Willing subjects: HEIRS. The estate will.
82. Melodious: TONAL.
85. BILLY bookcase sellers: IKEAS.
88. Big dipper: LADLE.
93. Gallery event: ART SALE.
96. __ top: TANK.
97. Kinshasa's country, briefly: DRC. The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Not a common abbr.
102. Research staples: DATABASES.
104. Sister of Laertes: OPHELIA. "Hamlet".
105. Like yellow bananas: RIPE. Bill G mentioned that he only likes green bananas. Are you still there, Bill?
107. Look for gifts, say: SHOP.
108. Green and white: TEAS.
109. Almost never: ONCE. Try to blog a Thursday LAT once, you'll
know the amount of work MM, Bill and all my other team members put on
their writeups. So grateful to them, week after week.
112. Greenish-blue: TEAL.
114. Allow to fluctuate, as a currency: UNPEG. Yuan is pegged to the US Dollar.
117. Type of navel: INNIE.
123. Can't live without: NEEDS.
124. Bible book read during Purim: ESTHER. Also 49. Book after Daniel: HOSEA.
125. Hardly walking distance: FAR.
126. Neutral shade: ECRU.
127. Doesn't do much: IDLES.
128. What a broken escalator can serve as, aptly: STAIRS. I wish our townhome were one-level. It would be easier for Boomer to maneuver.
129. "Go for it!": TRY.
130. Loafer, e.g.: SHOE.
Down:
2. Faithful spring?: LEAP. Leap of faith.
3. Actress Kendrick: ANNA.
4. Founder of an Eastern religion: BUDDHA. My favorite Buddha quote.
5. Euphoria: LA LA LAND. Great fill.
6. Providers of liquid assets?: IVS. I always look away when they jab Boomer.
7. Out of juice: DEAD.
8. Cheese alternative?: SMILE. Say "cheese".
9. Adorable ones: CUTIES.
10. "100 Years... 100 Movies" org.: AFI. American Film Institute.
11. Heckle: RAZZ.
12. On the briny: ASEA.
13. Chain of pubs with beer and video games: BARCADE.
14. General on a menu: TSO.
15. Tot toter: STROLLER.
16. Peninsula between the Red Sea and Persian Gulf: ARABIA.
17. Sanction: RATIFY.
18. Candy store buys: SWEETS.
24. Personified things in Pixar's "Inside Out": EMOTIONS. Mindy Kaling voiced Disgust.
25. Sticky home?: NEST. Home with sticks.
30. Isn't serious: KIDS.
33. Money in Münster: EUROS. Münster, Germany.
35. It may be cracked: SAFE.
37. Prepare for new planting, as a garden: RE-SOIL.
38. Zero-star fare: GLOP.
39. Not seen often: RARE.
40. Spellbound: ENTRANCED.
41. On deck: NEXT.
43. Upbeat melody: LILT.
44. "Master of None" co-creator Aziz __: ANSARI. Me too always derailed his career.
50. Dame Dench: JUDI.
51. First place: EDEN.
52. Musical Lynn contemporary: WYNETTE (Tammy). Loretta Lynn.
54. Commits a hoops violation: GOALTENDS. Here's Wikipedia's
goaltending explanation: "In basketball, goaltending is the violation of
interfering with the ball while it is on its way to the basket and it
is (a) in a downward flight (b) above the basket ring and within the
imaginary cylinder and (c) not touching the rim."
55. "__ Lang Syne": AULD.
56. River to the Mediterranean: NILE.
60. "The Masked Singer" panelist Jeong: KEN. He also hosts "I Can See Your Voice".
61. Able, facetiously: EPT. Apt?
66. Radiohead lead singer/songwriter Thom: YORKE.
67. Subj. including the study of extinctions: ECOL. Ecology.
68. Field of Dreams setting: IOWA. "If you build it, they will come..."
69. Nemesis, e.g.: FOE.
70. Late philanthropist Broad: ELI. Some names are gimmes for me because I do clue research on a regular basis.
71. Like tadpoles: LARVAL.
72. Combine: POOL.
73. A.G. under Clinton: RENO.
76. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" actress Hines: CHERYL.
78. Biscuit whose name describes its shape: MILK-BONE.
81. Part for one: SOLO.
83. Men's grooming brand: AFTA.
84. Exams for future attys.: LSATS.
86. Decent-sized lot: ACRE.
87. Brief periods: SECS.
89. Summer cabin site: LAKESIDE. Before Boomer's cancer, we used to set up at Annadale Flea market. Lots lots of lake homes there.
91. Sport: WEAR.
92. Racing the deadline: IN A HURRY.
94. Chamber music work: TRIO.
95. Spirited events?: SEANCES. Good old clue.
98. Corkscrew pasta: ROTINI.
99. Warmed up the crowd: OPENED.
100. French fashion house: CHANEL. You can buy their bags as long
as you have money. For Hermès Birkin bags, you have to be on a waiting
list. Huge status symbol for many Asian girls.
101. Agitated state: DITHER.
102. Like Beethoven, late in life: DEAF.
103. Pie fruit: APPLES. And
106. Pie fruit: PEARS.
110. Ones getting a lot of props?: CAST. Stage props.
111. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.
113. Split: LEFT.
115. A pop: EACH.
116. Halal cart offering: GYRO.
118. Supergirl symbol: ESS.
120. Greek X: CHI.
121. Tolstoy title word: WAR.
122. Refuse to settle: SUE.
A few extra notes:
1) Here's a happy picture of Dr. Nina (Inanehiker) and her mom Jorae, who turned 90 years old on Friday (Sept 24th). See the crossword she's solving? Nina and I made it together!
2) Happy birthday to Dennis, who helped me greatly in the earlier years of this blog. Dennis was always the first one to post on the blog, followed by Kathy, who was married shortly after and Crockett1947 (Richard), who still posts here from time to time. Dennis fought a scary heath battle in 2019 and is doing great now.
 |
| Dennis, Jan 2010 |
3) Please continue to keep Agnes (Irish Miss) in your thoughts and prayers. It hurts me so much to see her suffer. I'm so used to reading her bubbly email with cheerful emojis.
She'll see an oncologist on Oct 7th and hopefully we'll know more about the next steps. Please email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) if you want to send Agnes an email or a card. We miss your presence on the blog, Agnes, stay strong!
C.C.
