Theme: Alphabetical Pairings - AB, CD, EF, GH, IJ, KL, MN, OP, QR, ST, UV, WX & YZ are the initials of each theme entry.
23A. Catherine of Aragon's successor, marriagewise : ANNE BOLEYN
24A. High-volume pesticide deliverer : CROP DUSTER. Do you use this in your farm, Windhover?
34A. "Cimarron" novelist : EDNA FERBER
41A. Best Picture of 1932 : GRAND HOTEL
55A. Lively folk dances : IRISH JIGS.
Is Jig part of your family reunion activities, Irish Miss? We had Polka
dance last time. Boomer's mother was of Polish/German roots, mostly
Norwegian on his father's side.
58A. Citrusy pie flavor : KEY LIME. Have some!
67A. Attempts to smooth ruffled feathers : MAKES NICE. I wonder if TTP likes Adele's "Skyfall". Amazing voice.
74A. Crankcase components : OIL PANS
77A. Page-turner : QUICK READ.
I'm not sure if "Red Sorghum" by Mo Yan (the new Nobelist) is available
in English. But it's a beautiful book. Definitely not a quick read.
86A. Cardiologist's exam : STRESS TEST
92A. Burkina Faso, once : UPPER VOLTA. Not familiar with Burkina Faso.
113A. Procedures for detecting carpal fractures : WRIST X-RAYS
115A. Restricted parking area, in some cases : YELLOW ZONE
Some key points in this theme:
1) Orderly letter progression;
2) Each symmetrically placed pair must have the same number of letters (AB= YZ letter count wise)
3) All the theme entries should be placed Across for visual effect
4) Most of the theme entries will be on the short side, as there are 12 theme entries (13, Dummy! Thanks, John Lampkin) and it's challenging to put them all Across. More often we see 7 to 9 on Sundays.
When I first started, I thought CREDIT LINE and LOSING TIME are parts of the theme due to their grid placements. But the gimmick quickly revealed itself.
Across:
1. Dominant theme : MOTIF
6. "... __ a puddy tat!" : I TAW
10. Collectible game system : ATARI. I bet its collectible value is not as high as those old baseball cards in Dennis' boxes. He's currently unpacking and just discovered that he had a few 1908 tobacco cards.
15. Confident words : I CAN
19. MasterCard offering : CREDIT LINE
21. Beset by delays : LOSING TIME
25. They could go either way : TOSS-UPS. And 32. Ratio for 25-Across : EVEN ODDS
26. When many lunch : AT NOON. Mine is 11:00am. Yours?
28. Plan : INTEND
29. "Stay" singer Lisa : LOEB. Haven't seen her for some time.
31. PBS benefactor : NEA (National Endowment for the Arts)
38. Physician's gp. : AMA. Boomer's VA doctor said that he could take a handful of Aleve next time his arthritis flared up. The bottle said you should not take no more than 3 per day. Whom to trust?
39. Brush fire op : EVAC (Evacuation)
40. Latin king : REX
48. Fronton balls : PELOTAS. Jai alai balls. Costs over $100/each? Wow! Fronton is Jai alai court. Cesta is the basket. I learned from doing Xword.
52. Lenin's successor : STALIN. This picture (Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin & Mao) was in all our classroom walls.
54. Entertain with extravagance : REGALE
57. Classical lead-in : NEO. Neo-classical.
57. Classical lead-in : NEO. Neo-classical.
59. Rival of Cassio : IAGO. "Othello".
60. Oil used in paint : LINSEED
62. "Lordy!" : EGAD
63. Units in nutrition : GRAMS
69. __ fatty acid : TRANS
70. Russian wheels : LADA. Stumped me last time. Again today.
71. Emit : RADIATE
72. Tach measures: Abbr. : RPMs
76. "Dude!" : BRO
82. Belgian lager, familiarly : STELLA. Stella Artois.
83. Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?" e.g. : SONNET. Have you dated anyone who never said "I love you" to you?
85. In a stuffed-up way : NASALLY
88. It fell after about 15 years : MIR. Hard clue. 1986 to 2001.
90. Pet food brand : IAMS. I also think Marti should keep the new cat. It looks so pert.
91. Landlocked Afr. land : ETH (Ethiopia)
96. Adds moisture to : HYDRATES. I'm a firm believer in moisturizers.
102. Batman after Michael : VAL (Kilmer). Michael Keaton.
103. Sweetheart : BEAU
104. Gold compound : AURATE. Makes sense, AU.
105. Civil War battle site : SHILOH
108. Took in, say : ALTERED
117. Avoids a confrontation : STEPS ASIDE
118. Go through : EXPERIENCE
119. Swedish actress Persson : ESSY. I belong to those 47% who don't know this lady.
120. Marketing data : SALES
121. Brown and Patrick : DANs.
122. Took a shot : TRIED
Down:
1. Hurdle for a would-be doc : MCAT
2. "Just answer yes __!" : OR NO
3. Place in math class? : TENS. Clever clue.
4. "Et tu, Brute?" day : IDES
5. Bone below the femur : FIBULA
6. "Let me get back to you" : I'LL SEE
7. Reason for sudden death : TIE. I hope you thought of sports immediately, otherwise, the clue is pretty heavy.
8. "Dragonwyck" author Seton : ANYA
9. Followed : WENT NEXT
10. Metal giant : ALCOA. Always the first to report quarterly earnings, among the Dow components.
11. Picador's target : TORO
12. Without dissent : AS ONE MAN
13. Mending target : RIP
14. Non-studio pic : INDIE
15. "__ die for!" : IT'S TO. Must be Lucina's homemade tamales! I bought a block of taro cake yesterday and fried some for lunch. Too much rice flour and not enough taro flour, Jayce.
16. Credited in a note : CITED
17. Improve : AMEND
18. Unhip types : NERDS
20. Riding, with "on" : TOP OF
22. "Project Runway" mentor Tim : GUNN. "Make it work!". Like Emeril's "Bam!"
27. __ Tamid: synagogue lamp : NER. Gimme for Lemonade/Hahtool. Completely unknown to me.
30. "Crank up the heat!" : BRR
33. Carpooling convenience : VAN
34. At all : EVER
35. Catalan surrealist : DALI
36. Sgts., e.g. : NCOs
37. First lady before Mamie : BESS
38. Melodic segments : ARIOSI. Plural of Arioso.
39. Dermal opening : EPI. Epidermal.
41. Headly of "Dick Tracy" : GLENNE. No idea.
42. Stowe novel : DRED
43. "Ahem" relative : HEY
44. Lustful looker : OGLER. Here is the most famous Chinese actress: Gong Li. I think she's more beautiful than Bill G's girlfriend Sofia Vergara. Gong Li's debut film is Mo Yan's "Red Sorghum".
45. Subarctic forest : TAIGA
46. Jazz trumpeter Ziggy : ELMAN. Gimme for Pas de chat, or her husband.
47. British city whose natives are called Loiners : LEEDS. Loiners? What does it mean?
49. "I'm holding it!" : THIS
50. Multi-platinum Steely Dan album : AJA
51. Odysseus trio, to Homer : SIGMAS. The three S in Odysseus, I suppose.
53. "The Good Girl" star : ANISTON (Jennifer). I've watched almost all of Aniston's movies. "The Good Girl" is so so. Did you see "Derailed"? It's terrifying.
56. Use spurs on : GOAD
58. Not cut : KEEP IN
60. Picked up : LEARNT
61. Beige shade : ECRU
63. Lip protection : GLOSS
64. "Nick of Time" singer : RAITT (Bonnie)
65. Freud contemporary : ADLER
66. Colorful autumn tree : MAPLE
68. Put the __ on: squelch : KIBOSH. Spitzboov used this phrase at times.
69. Impatient sounds : TSKS
71. Genetic chains : RNAS
73. '70s Lynyrd Skynyrd label : MCA
75. Racing's Unsers : ALs
77. Canal-cleaning device : Q-TIP
78. Way to travel : RAIL
79. Israeli port city : ELAT. It appeared often in the old Wayne R. Willams' puzzles.
80. __ mater : ALMA
81. Peptic opening? : DYS. Dyspeptic.
83. Leaves the harbor : SETS SAIL
84. Working : EMPLOYED
87. Shirt prohibited at most golf courses, ironically : TEE.
89. Yank's foe : REB
92. Initials at O'Hare : UAL
93. Old Spanish coins : REALES. I belong to those 47% who don't know these coins.
94. Knight's quality : VALOR
95. Stay one step ahead of : OUTWIT
96. Anchor cable opening : HAWSE. Forgot. We had this before. CCnesia.
97. Mongolian tents : YURTS
98. Hangs on a line : DRIES
99. Rough, in a way : RASPY
100. Court figs. : ATTs
101. State with a panhandle : TEXAS
102. Shop class holders : VISES
106. __ Park: FDR home site : HYDE
107. Twice tri- : HEXA. "Six" prefix.
109. Israeli statesman Weizman : EZER
110. Package word with a cable car in its "o" : RONI
111. Suffix with defer : ENCE
112. Monopoly card : DEED
114. Pretoria's land: Abbr. : RSA (Republic of South Africa)
116. Hosp. staffer : LPN. Hi there, Blue Iris.
C.C.
