Theme: Ling-uistics - Ling is inserted into familiar phrases.
24A. Migration of gregarious birds?: STAR(LING) TREK. "Star Trek". Starlings are gregarious and noisy birds.
50A. Bovine argument at the lanes?: OX BOW(LING) INCIDENT. I've never heard of the movie "The Ox-Bow Incident". "The" is cut in the new phrase. Bowling lanes.
71A. Game for lazy kids?: ID(LING) TAG. ID Tag.
95A. Drinking too much?: PICK(LING) YOUR BRAIN. Pick Your Brain. Do you find the new phrase amusing?
122A. Courtroom intuition?: LEGAL FEE(LING). Legal Fee.
3D. Result of way too much praise?: EGO TRIP(LING). Ego Trip.
31D. McCarthy suspicion?: RED INK(LING). Red Ink.
58D. Affleck on the mound?: BEN HUR(LING). "Ben-Hur". Ben Affleck. My favorite theme phrase.
74D. Quartet of storytellers?: FAB(LING) FOUR. Fab Four. The Beatles. Did not know fable can be a verb.
Besides the "quartet" in the last theme clue, we also have several Latin "group" clues:
21A. Common sonnet line quintet: IAMBI. Stumped me. Plural of iambus.
42D. Deadly septet: SINS
111D. Salty septet: SEAS
Clever theme and dense theme answers. But the two affixes, real as they are, feel so forced to me:
128A. Prefix with -nomic: GASTRO. Gastronomic. Gastro means "stomach".
82D. Psychological suffix with para-: NOIA. Paranoia. Noia means "conditions of mind".
Across:
1. Full of: Suff.: OSE. As in verbose. Often clued as "Sugar suffix".
4. Played (around): HORSED
10. Helmsman's challenge: SHOAL. Sandbank.
15. PC programs: APPS (Applications)
19. Truck stop sight: RIG
20. Ring of color: AREOLE. Or AREOLA (AREa + OLA). Like these two rings. And of course, the beautiful Katrina Kaif.
22. Model T contemporaries: REOS
26. Eden-to-Nod direction: EAST. East of Eden.
27. Release to attack: LET AT. Release the dog?
29. President who attended Eureka College: REAGAN. Eureka College is in Illinois.
30. Responds to "Come again?": ITERATES. "Come again?" = "Excuse me?"
32. Go from pub to pub: BARHOP. My wasted precious youth in Guangzhou.
36. Yr.-end period: DEC
37. Gary's home: INDIANA. Gary is a city in Indiana. Nailed it.
41. Squirrel's partner, to Boris and Natasha: MOOSE. From "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show".
44. Mosque toppers: DOMES. What's the name of the prayer cap Muslims wear?
48. Very softly, in music: PPP. P, PP & PPP all indicate "soft" in varying degree.
53. Will Varner's daughter-in-law in "The Long, Hot Summer": EULA. Got the answer from crosses.
55. Beethoven dedicatee: ELISE. "Für Elise".
56. Krakatoa's country: INDONESIA. Easy guess. I've never heard of Krakatoa, an volcanic island in Indonesia.
57. Bounces on a court: DRIBBLES. Basketball.
59. Handful: FEW. Not many.
62. Home in bed, maybe: SICK
63. Radical campus gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)
65. Most passengers in "Titanic," e.g.: EXTRAS. The cast, not the real passengers.
68. Disney lioness: NALA. "The Lion King" lioness. I wrote down ELSA ("Born Free" lioness) first. And today ELSA is clued as 118D: Supermodel Benitez, an unknown Mexican model to me.
73. As a joke: IN FUN
80. Like many home movies: ON TAPE
84. West Point letters: USMA (United States Military Academy)
87. Like material goods: TANGIBLE. Tangible goods.
89. Amusement park rides: MONORAILS
92. Best of the best: ELITE. Crème de la crème.
94. Declined: SLID. As price.
99. Part of TGIF: IT'S
100. 1972 U.S./Soviet pact: SALT I. Well, I am sure it's not called SALT I at that time.
101. Denounces: DAMNS
102. Write: SET DOWN. And PENS (114D. Writes). I love this kind of clue echos.
104. Southernmost Canadian prov.: ONT (Ontario)
108. "__ at the Opera": A NIGHT. Nope, have never heard of this Marx Brothers film.
111. Temporary fixes: STOPGAP
116. Conqueror of Mexico: CORTES (Hernando). Also an unknown figure to me. Wikipedia says his expedition caused the fall of the Aztec empire.
121. Rank below marquis: EARL. The answer emerged itself.
126. __ breve: ALLA. An indication to play in cut-time. Alla is Italian for "according to the". Learned from doing Xword.
127. Mural opening?: INTRA. Intramural. Valid (and clever) prefix cluing.
129. Half of dos: UNO
130. Smirnoff alternative: SKYY. So blue. No wonder the name.
131. State in northeast India: ASSAM. The tea state.
132. Certain Nebraskan: OMAHAN. Warren Buffett is called "Oracle of Omaha".
Down:
1. Dental floss brand: ORAL-B
24A. Migration of gregarious birds?: STAR(LING) TREK. "Star Trek". Starlings are gregarious and noisy birds.
50A. Bovine argument at the lanes?: OX BOW(LING) INCIDENT. I've never heard of the movie "The Ox-Bow Incident". "The" is cut in the new phrase. Bowling lanes.
71A. Game for lazy kids?: ID(LING) TAG. ID Tag.
95A. Drinking too much?: PICK(LING) YOUR BRAIN. Pick Your Brain. Do you find the new phrase amusing?
122A. Courtroom intuition?: LEGAL FEE(LING). Legal Fee.
3D. Result of way too much praise?: EGO TRIP(LING). Ego Trip.
31D. McCarthy suspicion?: RED INK(LING). Red Ink.
58D. Affleck on the mound?: BEN HUR(LING). "Ben-Hur". Ben Affleck. My favorite theme phrase.
74D. Quartet of storytellers?: FAB(LING) FOUR. Fab Four. The Beatles. Did not know fable can be a verb.
Besides the "quartet" in the last theme clue, we also have several Latin "group" clues:
21A. Common sonnet line quintet: IAMBI. Stumped me. Plural of iambus.
42D. Deadly septet: SINS
111D. Salty septet: SEAS
Clever theme and dense theme answers. But the two affixes, real as they are, feel so forced to me:
128A. Prefix with -nomic: GASTRO. Gastronomic. Gastro means "stomach".
82D. Psychological suffix with para-: NOIA. Paranoia. Noia means "conditions of mind".
Across:
1. Full of: Suff.: OSE. As in verbose. Often clued as "Sugar suffix".
4. Played (around): HORSED
10. Helmsman's challenge: SHOAL. Sandbank.
15. PC programs: APPS (Applications)
19. Truck stop sight: RIG
20. Ring of color: AREOLE. Or AREOLA (AREa + OLA). Like these two rings. And of course, the beautiful Katrina Kaif.
22. Model T contemporaries: REOS
26. Eden-to-Nod direction: EAST. East of Eden.
27. Release to attack: LET AT. Release the dog?
29. President who attended Eureka College: REAGAN. Eureka College is in Illinois.
30. Responds to "Come again?": ITERATES. "Come again?" = "Excuse me?"
32. Go from pub to pub: BARHOP. My wasted precious youth in Guangzhou.
36. Yr.-end period: DEC
37. Gary's home: INDIANA. Gary is a city in Indiana. Nailed it.
41. Squirrel's partner, to Boris and Natasha: MOOSE. From "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show".
44. Mosque toppers: DOMES. What's the name of the prayer cap Muslims wear?
48. Very softly, in music: PPP. P, PP & PPP all indicate "soft" in varying degree.
53. Will Varner's daughter-in-law in "The Long, Hot Summer": EULA. Got the answer from crosses.
55. Beethoven dedicatee: ELISE. "Für Elise".
56. Krakatoa's country: INDONESIA. Easy guess. I've never heard of Krakatoa, an volcanic island in Indonesia.
57. Bounces on a court: DRIBBLES. Basketball.
59. Handful: FEW. Not many.
62. Home in bed, maybe: SICK
63. Radical campus gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)
65. Most passengers in "Titanic," e.g.: EXTRAS. The cast, not the real passengers.
68. Disney lioness: NALA. "The Lion King" lioness. I wrote down ELSA ("Born Free" lioness) first. And today ELSA is clued as 118D: Supermodel Benitez, an unknown Mexican model to me.
73. As a joke: IN FUN
80. Like many home movies: ON TAPE
84. West Point letters: USMA (United States Military Academy)
87. Like material goods: TANGIBLE. Tangible goods.
89. Amusement park rides: MONORAILS
92. Best of the best: ELITE. Crème de la crème.
94. Declined: SLID. As price.
99. Part of TGIF: IT'S
100. 1972 U.S./Soviet pact: SALT I. Well, I am sure it's not called SALT I at that time.
101. Denounces: DAMNS
102. Write: SET DOWN. And PENS (114D. Writes). I love this kind of clue echos.
104. Southernmost Canadian prov.: ONT (Ontario)
108. "__ at the Opera": A NIGHT. Nope, have never heard of this Marx Brothers film.
111. Temporary fixes: STOPGAP
116. Conqueror of Mexico: CORTES (Hernando). Also an unknown figure to me. Wikipedia says his expedition caused the fall of the Aztec empire.
121. Rank below marquis: EARL. The answer emerged itself.
126. __ breve: ALLA. An indication to play in cut-time. Alla is Italian for "according to the". Learned from doing Xword.
127. Mural opening?: INTRA. Intramural. Valid (and clever) prefix cluing.
129. Half of dos: UNO
130. Smirnoff alternative: SKYY. So blue. No wonder the name.
131. State in northeast India: ASSAM. The tea state.
132. Certain Nebraskan: OMAHAN. Warren Buffett is called "Oracle of Omaha".
Down:
1. Dental floss brand: ORAL-B
2. It's usually a hit: SIDE A. Cassette. I was thinking of baseball hit.
4. Concerns, with "with": HAS TO DO. Multiple words again.
5. Scrap: ORT. One of the very early crosswordese I've learned.
7. Angry: SORE
8. First name in scat: ELLA (Fitzgerald). The scat queen.
9. Condescend: DEIGN
10. Enlists: SIGNS ON. Penned in JOINS IN first.
11. Monopoly token: HAT
12. Ahab's father in the Bible: OMRI (OM-rahy). No idea.
13. Help the wrong way?: ABET
14. Enjoyed: LIKED
15. Three-digit ID: AREA CODE
16. Gardening moss: PEAT
17. Photographer's suggestion: POSE. Too short for SAY CHEESE.
18. Old Atl. crossers: SSTS. Atl. = Atlantic.
28. "Kung Fu" actor: AHN (Philip). I mentioned a few times before that the Korean name Ahg = Chinese Ang (as in Ang Lee). It can be either surname or given name.
33. Digital dots: PIXELS
35. "If the fans don't come out to the ballpark, you can't stop them" speaker: YOGI (Berra)
39. Made a racket: NOISED. I was picturing tennis racket rather than "noise' racket.
40. Nursery reactions: AWS
43. Credits follow it: ENDING. D'oh, film credits.
46. City WNW of Stillwater, Oklahoma: ENID. Easy guess.
47. RR stops: STAS
48. Pitcher Martinez: PEDRO. With the Phillies. Not really a bad World Series for him.
54. Didn't miss __: A BEAT
60. Beach birds: ERNES
4. Concerns, with "with": HAS TO DO. Multiple words again.
5. Scrap: ORT. One of the very early crosswordese I've learned.
7. Angry: SORE
8. First name in scat: ELLA (Fitzgerald). The scat queen.
9. Condescend: DEIGN
10. Enlists: SIGNS ON. Penned in JOINS IN first.
11. Monopoly token: HAT
12. Ahab's father in the Bible: OMRI (OM-rahy). No idea.
13. Help the wrong way?: ABET
14. Enjoyed: LIKED
15. Three-digit ID: AREA CODE
16. Gardening moss: PEAT
17. Photographer's suggestion: POSE. Too short for SAY CHEESE.
18. Old Atl. crossers: SSTS. Atl. = Atlantic.
28. "Kung Fu" actor: AHN (Philip). I mentioned a few times before that the Korean name Ahg = Chinese Ang (as in Ang Lee). It can be either surname or given name.
33. Digital dots: PIXELS
35. "If the fans don't come out to the ballpark, you can't stop them" speaker: YOGI (Berra)
39. Made a racket: NOISED. I was picturing tennis racket rather than "noise' racket.
40. Nursery reactions: AWS
43. Credits follow it: ENDING. D'oh, film credits.
46. City WNW of Stillwater, Oklahoma: ENID. Easy guess.
47. RR stops: STAS
48. Pitcher Martinez: PEDRO. With the Phillies. Not really a bad World Series for him.
54. Didn't miss __: A BEAT
60. Beach birds: ERNES
61. Conestoga driver: WAGONER. Did not know wagon can be a verb. Also did not know the real name for this kind of wagon.
66. Good-sized sizes: XLS. Needs an abbr. hint in the clue.
67. Apt name for a cook?: STU. A good name indeed. Stew.
69. Opposing forces: ANTIS
71. Under consideration: IN MIND
72. Outfit: ATTIRE
75. Illuminated indirectly: UPLIT. Uplight is a verb?
76. Calls for: NEEDS
80. Flatware company, or the New York community where it began: ONEIDA. Literally "erected stone".
81. Calls the game: UMPS. Baseball.
83. Part of the pkg.: INCL. ENCL too.
85. Bit of plankton: ALGA
88. Rat-__: A-TAT
90. Ready for action after an injury, in sports: OK TO PLAY. I can't believe I was right.
91. Mozart's No. 1 through No. 41: SYMS. Symphonies? New abbreviation to remember then.
93. Scale divs.: LBS
96. A buck: ONE CLAM. Nailed it. Clam is slang for money.
97. "What's the __ Wond'rin'": "Carousel" song: USE OF. No idea. Here is a clip.
98. Nine-sided shape: NONAGON. Nona is a prefix for 9.
103. Mich. neighbor: WIS
105. Shire of "Rocky": TALIA. She also played the annoying Connie in "Godfather". Most of the actor/actress today were gimmes to me.
107. Ragú rival: PREGO. Ah, we just had plenty of discussion on tomato sauce.
109. Co-creator of Yogi and Boo Boo: HANNA. Hanna-Barbera cartoons. YOGI is an answer in the grid, albeit clued differently.
110. Town on the Firth of Clyde: TROON. Royal Troon Golf Club has held several British Opens.
112. Converse: TALK. Oh, I was thinking of "opposite' converse.
113. Paris hub: ORLY. Charles de Gaulle too.
115. Some NCOs: SGTS
117. Squad: TEAM. Sports squad.
119. Group that opposed the Jedi: SITH. "Star Wars".
123. Neighbor of Scorpius: ARA. Latin for "altar". Three letter star is always ARA.
124. Org. with a lot of heaters?: NRA. Heater is slang for "gun". It's an "Org. with a lot of haters" too, gun-haters.
Answer grid.
To Canadian solvers, your Mail and Globe Saturday 21*21 is by Wayne R. Williams (the previous TMS editor) and the puzzle is not on-line. Do feel free to post questions at the Comments section if you need help.
C.C.
66. Good-sized sizes: XLS. Needs an abbr. hint in the clue.
67. Apt name for a cook?: STU. A good name indeed. Stew.
69. Opposing forces: ANTIS
71. Under consideration: IN MIND
72. Outfit: ATTIRE
75. Illuminated indirectly: UPLIT. Uplight is a verb?
76. Calls for: NEEDS
80. Flatware company, or the New York community where it began: ONEIDA. Literally "erected stone".
81. Calls the game: UMPS. Baseball.
83. Part of the pkg.: INCL. ENCL too.
85. Bit of plankton: ALGA
88. Rat-__: A-TAT
90. Ready for action after an injury, in sports: OK TO PLAY. I can't believe I was right.
91. Mozart's No. 1 through No. 41: SYMS. Symphonies? New abbreviation to remember then.
93. Scale divs.: LBS
96. A buck: ONE CLAM. Nailed it. Clam is slang for money.
97. "What's the __ Wond'rin'": "Carousel" song: USE OF. No idea. Here is a clip.
98. Nine-sided shape: NONAGON. Nona is a prefix for 9.
103. Mich. neighbor: WIS
105. Shire of "Rocky": TALIA. She also played the annoying Connie in "Godfather". Most of the actor/actress today were gimmes to me.
107. Ragú rival: PREGO. Ah, we just had plenty of discussion on tomato sauce.
109. Co-creator of Yogi and Boo Boo: HANNA. Hanna-Barbera cartoons. YOGI is an answer in the grid, albeit clued differently.
110. Town on the Firth of Clyde: TROON. Royal Troon Golf Club has held several British Opens.
112. Converse: TALK. Oh, I was thinking of "opposite' converse.
113. Paris hub: ORLY. Charles de Gaulle too.
115. Some NCOs: SGTS
117. Squad: TEAM. Sports squad.
119. Group that opposed the Jedi: SITH. "Star Wars".
123. Neighbor of Scorpius: ARA. Latin for "altar". Three letter star is always ARA.
124. Org. with a lot of heaters?: NRA. Heater is slang for "gun". It's an "Org. with a lot of haters" too, gun-haters.
Answer grid.
To Canadian solvers, your Mail and Globe Saturday 21*21 is by Wayne R. Williams (the previous TMS editor) and the puzzle is not on-line. Do feel free to post questions at the Comments section if you need help.
C.C.
