54. Virtually zero, and where the ends of 20-, 32- and 43-Across are literally situated: NEXT TO NOTHING. That means they start with a synonym for zilch.
20. Player who shoots par regularly: SCRATCH GOLFER. Zero handicap.
32. Floppy disk backup device: ZIP DRIVE. Nil.
43. Ballad for a valentine: LOVE SONG. Zero score in tennis.
Argyle here. No complaints.
Across:
1. Most musicals have two: ACTS
5. Start to faceted or purpose: MULTI
10. Modern organizers, for short: PDAs. (personal digital assistant)
14. Countenance: MIEN
15. In front: AHEAD
16. Wine prefix: OENO. Vowel friendly.
17. First chip in the poker pot: ANTE
18. Football with scrums: RUGBY
19. Songwriter Kristofferson: KRIS
23. Malted relative: SHAKE
24. Magnolia State school, familiarly: OLE MISS. University of Mississippi.
27. Baseball misplays: ERRORS
31. Calendar page: MONTH
35. Forest official: RANGER
36. Angsty rock genre: EMO
37. Michelangelo statue: PIETA
39. R&B's __ Hill: DRU. Such costumes!
40. Changes gears: SHIFTS
46. Start of a Poitier film title: TO SIR, WITH LOVE.
47. Seek ambitiously: ASPIRE
48. O. Henry works: STORIES. Easy to overthink this one.
50. Mexican dip: SALSA
58. Slick-talking: GLIB
60. Jokes and such: HUMOR
61. Cupid: AMOR
62. Save for binge-watching, say: TIVO
63. '50s nuclear trial: A-TEST
64. Dressed in: WORE
65. River of Hades: STYX
66. Barcelona babies: NENEs
67. Joint commonly replaced: KNEE
Down:
1. Accumulate, as a fortune: AMASS
2. Easy-peasy task: CINCH. This puzzle?
3. Aquarium fish: TETRA
4. Moved stealthily: SNEAKED
5. Artist Chagall: MARC
6. "Nah": "UH UH"
7. __ Mason: investment giant: LEGG. Founded in 1899 as a brokerage firm in Baltimore, MD.
8. No-nos: TABOOs
9. Poem of rustic life: IDYLL
10. Critters hunted with a hugely popular 2016 mobile app: POKÉMON
TITLE: SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT Did one of these wonderful toys ever find its way into your home? When the string was pulled and released, it played the sound of the animal selected by the center arrow.
Don and C.C. took the premise of this toy and turned it into a very clever gimmick for today's puzzle. They took some common phrases that contain an animal and made a silly phrase using the SOUND associated with that animal in place of the animal's name. How cool is that? No reveal was necessary as you can see in these theme fills. 21. Sign of a lawn tractor problem? : HISS (SNAKE) IN THE GRASS - I don't care to be close enough to hear this sound
26. Inhospitable medical fraud? : COLD QUACK (DUCK) - Not a frigid fowl!
67. "Ahooga!" producer? : SILLY HONK (GOOSE) and 119. Posting that periodically reposts itself? : MIGRATORY TWEET (BIRD) - If they went south this winter and I didn't, how come they're SILLY? A specific and general bird reference.
71. Hard golf club to swing? : GRUNT (PIG) IRON - An intermediate product of the smelting of iron ore usually shaped in ingots
96. Excitement about the producer of the original "Charlie's Angels"? : SPELLING BUZZ (BEE) - Dirt on Aaron Spelling or attempts on these words
111. Playful crib liner? : SQUEAK (MOUSE) PAD - Here's an adversarial one
Now let's see what else Don and C.C. have for us in this, uh, HOOT of a puzzle: Across 1. Director's shout : ACTION - Clint Eastwood doesn't shout this because, "It even makes the horses nervous." He simply says "Begin".
7. Sulky-pulling horse : PACER 12. Woods on a tee : TIGER - Tiger's meteoritic career seems to be flaming out 17. With alarming suddenness : WHAMMO 18. Independent African nation since 1993 : ERITREA - Do you know where it is on this map? The answer is under the grid at the bottom of this write-up.
20. Arizona neighbor : SONORA 23. Frigid : ARCTIC 24. Iowa's state tree : OAK 25. Bucket list items, say : GOALS 28. __ Schwarz : FAO - I'll bet you know this movie, the star on the right and the song they are playing in this scene at the FAO Schwarz Toy Store.
30. Plant with edible leaf sheaths : LEEK 32. Clump on a lawn : TUFT 33. Org. that dropped "Lawn" from its name in 1975 : USTA - Grass/Lawn tennis surfaces used to be the most common but are rare now due to maintenance costs 34. Flexible pronoun substitute : HE OR SHE - Have you ever been to a Gender Reveal Shower?
37. Exit : LEAVE 39. Number for a pair : DUET 43. One way to learn : ASK 44. Like the viva voce part of some exams : ORAL - Latin for "with living voice" 48. 15-member sports org. : ACC - Clemson won the ACC and National Championship this year
49. Dorm room, perhaps : STY 50. Some float in place with the tide : PIERS 52. Irish brew : RED ALE 54. Pampas birds : RHEAS 57. Make more attractive : SWEETEN 59. "Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat" author : AMY TAN 60. Restless desire : ITCH - Tom Ewell is the other person in this iconic scene from The Seven Year ITCH
63. MGM motto word : ARS 64. Bottled surprise : GENIE 66. Pet Shop Boys label : EMI 73. Sch. in Tempe : ASU 74. Island veranda : LANAI - Word I learned on The Golden Girls 75. Anti-bullying ad, e.g. : PSA 77. 2014 "Cosmos" presenter __ deGrasse Tyson : NEIL 78. Register, as a sale : RING UP - I'll bet C.C. knew the umpire just did RING UP this batter
80. Sounded displeased : SNORTED 83. Did pre-heist planning at : CASED 87. How some goods are quickly sold : AT COST 88. See eye to eye : AGREE 89. Director DuVernay : AVA 92. Conceptual artist Yoko : ONO 93. Ritz alternative : HI HO 94. Schubert's "The __ King" : ERL - Not on my playlist
100. '70s jazz band Spyro __ : GYRA 102. Model X maker : TESLA 103. Type of counter seen in kitchens? : CALORIE - High tech method using your 108. Part of iOS : SYST
104. Vogue rackmate : ELLE - My subscription has lapsed 106. Make a move : STIR 110. "Monsters, __" : INC 113. "The game didn't go well" : I LOST 115. "Top Hat" studio : RKO 118. Card game with tricks : EUCHRE - Contents of a standard EUCHRE deck
124. Common boot feature : LACING - One question in a recent survey asked whether I UNLACE my shoes when I remove them. I do. You? 125. August birthstone : PERIDOT - New word for me 126. Sherpas' language : NEPALI - Mt. Everest is Sagarmāthā in NEPALI 127. Moves like a monarch : FLITS 128. Rent-a-car choice : SEDAN 129. Swimmer's bane : CRAMPS Down 1. Dr. Seuss title ender : A WHO 2. Seed used in smoothies : CHIA - Also a funky gift
3. Group on a mission : TASK FORCE 4. Uses Facebook Chat, briefly : IMS 5. "Jeepers!" : OMIGOSH 6. Ill-advised move : NO NO - Trying to dunk over LeBron James
7. Market before building : PRESELL 8. 2008 bailout beneficiary : AIG 9. Shaq's pos. : CTR 10. Obama __ : ERA 11. Get out of a pickle : RESCUE - This guy did not get out of one
12. __ wrench : TORQUE 13. Held at the station : IN CUSTODY 14. Suggested subtly : GOT AT 15. Former "Weekend Today" co-host Hill : ERICA 16. Pool triangle : RACK 18. Jennifer of "Zero Dark Thirty" : EHLE 19. Starting with : AS OF - AS OF today there are 44 days until Spring! 20. Down : SAD 22. Scout's find, ideally : TALENT 27. Old Fords : LTDS - 1984 Ford LTD Crown Victoria
29. Genesis vessel : ARK 31. One with lasting merit : KEEPER 32. Den focal point : TV SET 34. I-beam relative : H BAR - An I-beam on its side?
35. Every partner : EACH - EACH and every one of you 36. Takes in : HAS 38. Ovine sign : ARIES 40. Poland neighbor : UKRAINE - Probably easier to spot than ERITREA
42. Prefix with -lexic : DYS 43. Voice of the difficult homeowner in "Up" : ASNER 45. Yelp contributor : RATER 46. Enterprise rival : ALAMO 47. October Revolution figure : LENIN 51. The Skatalites music genre : REGGAE - Pioneers of Ska music
53. Ipecac, for one : EMETIC 55. Be on the disabled list, say : AIL 56. Galaxy Note accessory : STYLUS 58. Transitional state : WAKING 61. Local branch : CHAPTER 62. Doll : HON 65. Blue __: German wine brand : NUN 67. She played Buffy : SARAH - After seven seasons, she had become "annoyed" with the role
68. Question in Matthew : IS IT I - Engendered by Jesus' statement "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me" 69. Day break? : LUNCH 70. __ cavity : NASAL 72. Stevedore's org. : ILA - Brando won an academy award playing Terry Malloy who took on the ILA
75. Gets ready to operate : PREPS 76. Braces (oneself) : STEELS 79. Return from searching? : GOOGLE HIT 81. Brian who has coached two Olympic skating gold medalists : ORSER and 85. Longtime Wyoming senator Mike : ENZI - Two names I didn't know and will forget 82. Indian lentil stew : DAL 84. Chip flavoring : SOUR CREAM 86. Nap : DOZE 90. Spoils recipient : VICTOR 91. Ducks, on ESPN crawls : ANA - The Anaheim Ducks NHL team 95. Farrier's tool : RASP 97. Overdo the flattery : LAY IT ON - The master
98. Shiny craft store supply : GLITTER 99. It's good in Quebec : BON 101. Itches : YEARNS - ITCHes is both fill and clue today 102. Cleans : TIDIES 104. The same : EQUAL 105. "All My Children" Emmy winner on her 19th try : LUCCI 107. Pipe smoker's gadget : TAMP 109. Tab target : SLOT
111. __-starter : SELF 112. Brewery unit : KEG 114. Media player command : SYNC 116. Large seaweed : KELP 117. Spunkmeyer of cookie fame : OTIS 120. Hurdle for srs. : GRE 121. Disencumber : RID 122. Govt. lawyer : ADA 123. Employment org. created in 1935 : WPA Here's the grid and if you wish to comment, we will not say, uh, NEIGH:
Well
I just about smoked through this puzzle, despite having no answers for
the first three long Across fills. A pinwheel grid with triple 10-letter
corners meant easier 4-letter fills for crossings, and some of them
were too much of a 'gimme'for
a Saturday construction. Hey, they gotta throw us a bone once in a
while, no~? Very few proper names, I knew all of them, and several
other clues were in my wheelhouse as well. One from each corner;
1. Runway covering : TARMACADAM - here I thought this was redundant, as TAR and MACADAM were the same thing, but I went looking and discovered I was wrong
57. Flipper, for one : BOTTLENOSE - I started with "TV----", but 'character' was too long; for some reason, I thought dolphins were "bottleNECK". Ooops
So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish
13. Not yet on the shelves : UNRELEASED - my book is unreleased - and uh, unwritten, right now....
24. 1956 rockabilly hit : BE-BOP-A-LULA - before my time, but the phrase appears in this song, which I have linked before, but I think it's worth hearing again
The Afterlife
Paul SimONWARD~!
ACROSS:
11. Border : ABUT - dah~! Not EDGE
15. Hedge : EQUIVOCATE
16. Mellow, with "down" : TONE
17. Source of sweet-scented spice : NUTMEG TREE
18. Car alarm : HORN
19. What suspects may be charged with : TASERS - suspect or perp~? One can be a suspect without getting tased in the process - I hope
32. Pan Am competitor : TWA - ugh. I tried UAL, then NWA, and finally got it right
34. Darken, in a way : TAN - ooh, I was close with DYE at first
35. Ordered : BOSSED
- yesterday my senior boss thought he'd tell me how to load one of my
trucks - so I said to him "why don't you just go sit in the office~?"
36. Manage poorly : ILL USE
38. Leftover bit : ORT - gimme
39. Kid's cry : "MOM~!"
41. Dresses : ATTIRES - ah, the verb, not the noun
42. Like some horses : PIED - pondered "ROAN"
44. Hunting dogs : COONHOUNDS
46. Business opening : AGRO - thought it was agrI, but....
47. Letter-shaped fastener : T-NUT
48. Depict artistically : LIMN
49. Certain game extensions, briefly : OTs - the NY Rangers won in OT on Thursday
50. Force user : OBI-WAN - I use the Force - it keeps me sober
56. Hand or foot : UNIT - measures, not "limbs"
59. "Constant Craving" singer : LANG - k.d., and I remembered this song
60. Police may look for one : EYEWITNESS
61. Gucci or Rossi : ALDO - perps
62. Some talk show personalities : RADIO HOSTS
DOWN:
1. Big top, e.g. : TENT - gimme
2. Water color : AQUA
3. Groovy things : RUTS - "LPs" was too short
4. Street performer : MIME - gimme
5. Claim : AVER
6. Minor players : COGS
7. Perform : ACT - gimme
8. War-torn Sudanese region : DARFUR - featured in this song from Thievery Corporation
9. Got stuffed : ATE A LOT
10. Join for a drink, say : MEET UP WITH - only if it's coffee - OK, Diet Coke, too
11. Close behind : AT HEEL
12. Library feature : BOOK RETURN
14. Gentle quality : TENDERNESS
22. Flat-panel TV component : LCD - had in, took it out
25. Hardly fresh : UNORIGINAL
26. Code-breaking game with colored pegs : MASTERMIND - ah, I remember this game, but I never played it
27. __ Kids: "Sesame Street" brand : PBS - perps
28. Am or Fm : ELEMent - almost got me; I went with BAND first, but this is Americium and Fermium
29. Fictional Soviet sub : RED OCTOBER - I can think of a more difficult way to clue this on Saturday - e.g. "sub captained by Ramius"
33. Chorus line? : ALTO
37. Voice of Master Viper in "Kung Fu Panda" films : LIU
40. Flamenco guitarist Carlos : MONTOYA - perps gave me MONT---, and given the occupation/first name....
41. Social worker? : ANT - gimme
43. "What's the rush?" : "DON'T GO...."
45. Kicked to the curb : OUSTED
50. A little of this, a little of that : OLIO - I have not seen this in a puzzle for a long time - but I don't get to the weekday puzzles much
51. One of the March sisters : BETH - I had the -ET-, so I figured BETH was a good choice
52. __ time : IN NO
53. Tribulations : WOES
54. No. 2 : ASST. - Always reminds me of Dr. Evil
55. Headland : NESS - new definition for me
58. Light head? : TWI - twilight; second "lead-in" clue in the grid (46a.), which is unusual
Our 2016 frequent Friday filler JW is back for his first of the new year. He circles his wagons to give us 4 themers, 2 grid-spanning wrapped around a middle reveal which is a must to locate the theme if you did not have circles. With circles, this solved itself.
17A. "Epic fail!" : THATWAS TERRIBLE (15).WASTE Management dominates the collection business in SoFla.
25A. Like some cheddar : EXTRA SHARP (10). TRASH to me doesn't have the smell.
52A. Electrical backup supplies : SPARE FUSES (10). REFUSE is an old fashioned word, and somewhat timely. This is not a political comment but a quotation. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Emma Lazarus, the base of the Statue of Liberty.
60A. Two of the three founders of the Distilleria Nazionale di Spirito di Vino : MARTINI AND ROSSI (15). DROSS is also fancier, and brings to mind dregs, or mineral waste, scum formed on the surface of molten metal. (various sources).
The reveal:
36. "I don't believe a word!" ... or, the truth about this puzzle's circles : IT'S ALL GARBAGE (13).
As with all JW puzzles, we have some new stuff like SETTERS, TANGLES, THE TIDE,
MAHI MAHI, AT A LIMIT, GET UPSET and ENCLOSES.
Barry G., where are you, I have some circles for you? For the rest, here is what I see.
Across:
1. Suggests, with "of" : SMACKS. Really tough place to start, it smacked of Friday difficulty.
7. Cashbox feature : HASP.
11. Wagner's "__ Rheingold" : DAS. Morse loved this music.
14. Uses Blue Apron, say : EATS IN. This COMPANY has created a niche for the millennials to feel good about eating at home without having to shop or make decisions.
15. Baseball family name : ALOU.
16. Space bar neighbor : ALT. Both sides.
20. Lady Gaga's "__ It Happens to You" : TIL. An emotionally charged topic, which you may want to AVOID.
21. Presidential nickname : IKE. My earliest memories are of this non-politician as president. I have a vivid mental picture of his photo on the wall of Big Brother Bob Emery's wall.
22. Makeup remover : TISSUE. Simple and probably factually correct.
23. Put out : EMIT.
28. "Ghostbusters" actor : RAMIS. This enormously talented man wrote many of the best comedies. LINK. He also appeared in many of them. TRIBUTE.
30. Shanghai-born ex-NBA center : YAO. At seven feet six inches he stood out even in the NBA.Sadly his feet could not support his 311 pounds-running and jumping, even as size 18.
31. German : Kopf :: French : __ : TETE. A heady clue for sure.
32. Does really well : SHINES.
34. U.S. intelligence org. : NSA.
42. Deborah's "The King and I" co-star : YUL. I got to see him perform in a revival of the King and I on Broadway. It was awesome.
43. Clearly presented : COGENT. Law school is intended to teach the ability to present cogent arguments.
45. Removed : SHED. Picture a child coming in from the cold removing his garments, or for the romantic, the trail of clothing leading to the bedroom.
49. Nation SE of Cyprus : LEB. Anon? Is the SE a clue that this is an abbreviation?
51. Item on a chain, perhaps : WATCH.
55. One may be broken : RULE.
56. Afghanistan's national airline : ARIANA. My learning moment, as despite past experience with owning a travel agency, I was not aware of this AIRLINE.
57. Northwest Passage explorer : RAE. A pioneer and the SUBJECT of controversy.
59. Word with hole or holder : POT. So sweet.
64. Bridge action : BID.
65. Brown family shade : ECRU.
66. "I'm on board" : AGREED.
67. Década division : ANO.
68. Food buyers' concerns : DYES.
69. Scary flier : TSETSE. The return of the dreaded fly. See 2D. Polynesian catch : MAHI MAHI.
Down:
1. English hunters : SETTERS. There are many kinds but the ENGLISH are hunting dogs.
3. Unable to increase : AT A LIMIT. New fill, but I am not sure.
4. Mo. hours : CST. Central Standard Time.
5. Christchurch native : KIWI. New Zealand.
6. Common animal kingdom tattoo subject : SNAKE.
7. Bowler, e.g. : HAT.
8. Cakes go-with : ALE. Only because I have blogged so much of JW did this make sense. His love of Shakespeare dredged this LINK from memory.
9. In a way, in a way : SORTA.
10. One unlikely to experiment : PURIST.
11. Uses a 22-Across on, as tears : DABS AT. Yes many a tissue gets used with certain movies. What are your favorite tearjerkers?
12. Come-hither quality : ALLURE.
13. Dear : STEEP. Really needed perps; we do not use dear to mean expensive much any more.
18. Hot : SEXY. Do you all watch the Victoria Secret TV specials?
`
19. "__ serious?" : IS HE?
24. Pantry stack : TINS. More from across the pond, as in the USA we stack cans..
26. Picks a fight (with) : TANGLES.
27. Civil rights icon Parks : ROSA.
29. Red __ : SEA.
33. Calculating : SLY.
35. Chip shot path : ARC. Anyone watching Tiger playing in the desert?
37. Ripsnorter : LULU. Two old fashioned words.
38. Bit of Christmas morning detritus : BOW. Ribbons, boxes etc.
39. Thickening agent : AGAR. Time to refresh our recollection of this secret AGENT.
40. Flip : GET UPSET.
41. Goes around : ENCLOSES. Another harder to parse until it is filled by perps.
44. SEC powerhouse, familiarly : THE TIDE. The Crimson Tide from Alabama. One of the schools i mentioned in first ever Corner post.
45. Runner's woe : SPRAIN.
46. Shag, e.g. : HAIRDO. Same # of letters as CARPET. I blame Dorothy Hamill.
47. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT.
48. Like some court motions : DENIED.
50. "Feel the __": 2016 campaign slogan : BERN. Now this is clearly political.
52. Iconic Rio carnival activity : SAMBA. They have an annual competition where they appear to spend all their money n the headdress, and not on any other clothing. R-RATED.
53. Like : FANCY. More old fashioned fill that you may or may not fancy.
54. Nasser's successor : SADAT. Anwar Sadat, here is a LIST.
58. Physics units : ERGS.
61. Fight cause : IRE.
62. Mozart's birthplace, now: Abbr. : AUStria. He was born in Salzburg. LIFE.
63. Natural resource : ORE. There's gold in them thar hills!
After so many Fridays, solving JW feels right; I think i have a sense of his sensibilities- like cakes and ale- maybe NC and Steve will chime in. In the meantime, thanks for reading and do not forget to use our sponsors. lemonade out.