Theme: "Aluminum Siding" - AL (symbol of Aluminum) is inserted into each theme answer.
23A. Easy summer listening? : BEACH ALBUM. Beach bum.
25A. Important exam for shady lenders? : SHARK FINAL.
Shark fin. We used to have the expensive shark fin soup at our annual
company New Year's dinner. It's supposed to be aphrodisiac and good for
your skin.
41A. Thoroughbreds' annual dance? : RACING FORMAL. Racing form.
49A. Diet for conspirators? : CABAL FARE. Cab fare. Fare changes its meaning also. Same as the SHARK in 25A. Nice.
61A. Really bad bubbly? : BRUTAL CHAMPAGNE. Brut champagne.
78A. Lager shipping route? : BEER CANAL. Beer can.
85A. Prayer book for kids? : JUNIOR MISSAL. Junior/Miss.
104A. Last-minute jilters? : ALTAR HEELS. Tar Heels.
106A. Flower hater's bugbear? : PETAL PEEVE. Pet peeve.
Our second encounter withwho added AH sound to his LAT debut.
Another
well-designed grid, with all 9 themers are placed Across, exactly how
I'd handled the gridding. I love grids with four or more pairs of
splashy long non-theme fill.
Across:
1. Seriously deteriorates : ROTS
5. Item sold in sheets : STAMP
10. "Social contract" philosopher : LOCKE (John)
15. Pit-__ : A-PAT. Fill-in-the-blank is often a partial. So slim chance for BULL.
19. To be, to Bizet : ETRE
20. Pelican State sub : PO BOY. Food! Never had one.
21. Behavioral guide : ETHIC
22. Moneyed, in Málaga : RICO
27. "I have to go out!" : ARF. Or GRR.
28. Van Gogh setting : ARLES
29. Kadetts, e.g. : OPELS. My last-filled area. I did not know what Kadetts are.
30. "Let me repeat ... " : I SAID
31. Mixes, as cards : RIFFLES
33. Set out : EMBARK
35. Novelist Waugh : ALEC
36. Wrath : IRE
37. Record player : STYLUS. Would have nailed it with a "needle" hint.
38. Ciudad Bolívar's river : ORINOCO. Know it because Enya's "Orinonco Flow".
45. De Matteo of "The Sopranos" : DREA
46. Black dog : LAB. And 47. King dog : CUJO
48. Calm : ALLAY. And 52. Substitute for a bad word : BLEEP. Both clues are verbs. I like this kind of misleads.
51. Celestial altar : ARA
53. Reheats : WARMS
55. Nutritional figs. : RDAs. Not any more.
56. "Cheers" role : SAM. And 57. "Cheers" order : ALE
58. Island setting for the 10th season of "Survivor" : PALAU. Nailed it. Had to put it in one of my grids once.
59. Words to a captain : AYE AYE
65. Inept shepherd : BO PEEP
68. Biker's invite : HOP ON
69. Gettysburg Campaign VIP : LEE
70. Dairy sight : COW. Not EWE.
73. Adidas competitor : AVIA
74. Horse of the Year, 1960-'64 : KELSO. All crosses.
75. City SSW of Seville : CADIZ. Had C???Z earlier on. So, easy fill.
77. Old studio letters : RKO
81. Ones wrapping around a pole? : ELVES. Oh, wrapping gifts in North Pole.
82. Casual top : POLO. Thought of TANK first.
83. Crescent piece : ARC
84. Prayer starter : O GOD
88. Leave for a bit : STEP OUT
90. Memorable 1893 defendant : BORDEN. Stumped me. I sure need "Lizzie" in the clue.
91. "__ a pity" : 'TIS
92. Ready to eat : RIPE. We only harvested one cucumber this year. So weird. Next year we'll only grow tomatoes & green beans.
93. Follower : MINION
94. Boxster maker : PORSCHE
98. Rustle (up) : SCARE
100. 2000s NCAA president __ Brand : MYLES. No idea.
101. Shinto temple entrance : TORII. Literally "Bird perch". Tori = Bird.
103. General Arnold of WWII : HAP
108. Old Nair rival : NEET
109. Draft recipient : PAYEE
110. Fail to say : ELIDE
111. Spread measure : ACRE
112. Two caplets, say : DOSE
113. They may follow teams : SLEDS. Dog teams. Great clue.
114. Do a lawn repair job : RESOD
115. Luau music makers : UKES
Down:
1. Concrete-reinforcing rod : REBAR
2. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI
3. Accident consequence, perhaps : TRAFFIC JAM. Lovely Down.
4. Triple __ : SEC
5. Just-in-case item : SPARE
6. Part of a traveler's budget, perhaps : TOLLS
7. Chartres cleric : ABBE
8. Board game with cheese-shaped tokens : MOUSE TRAP. Both of the Down 9's are great as well.
9. British novelist Barbara : PYM
10. Electric guitar innovator : LES PAUL. And 64. Electric guitar wood : ALDER
11. End of a list : OTHERS
12. Attribute, with "up" : CHALK
13. White wine apéritifs : KIRs
14. Theologian who opposed Luther : ECK (Johann). Total stranger to me.
15. Gotten up : ARISEN
16. Cocktail invented in Puerto Rico : PINA COLADA. Lovely as well.
17. Trendy berry : ACAI
18. Related : TOLD. Verb again.
24. Rockers Van __ : HALEN
26. Like sons and daughters : FILIAL. Filial
piety (Xiao) is an extremely important virtue in Chinese culture.
Respecting and taking care of your parents and elders are instilled in
us from an early age.
29. Beatles nonsense syllables : OB-LA. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da".
32. Cold, to Carlos : FRIO
34. "Oh dear!" : MY MY
35. Specialty : AREA
37. Only : SOLE
38. Jupiter and Saturn : ORBs. Thought of GODS first.
39. Chip, Skip or Harry of broadcasting : CARAY. Holy cow! I did not know this: Chip is Skip's son. Skip is Harry's son.
40. Quite big : OBESE
41. Some TVs : RCAs
42. Surrounding glow : AURA
43. Poll man : GALLUP
44. Company cars, as a group : FLEET
45. Block, beaver-style : DAM UP
49. Stuff : CRAM
50. For nothing : FREE. And 52. Wearing nothing : BARE
53. Large mackerel : WAHOO. Huge! I tried a can of broiled mackerel from our Asian grocery store yesterday. So so. The only canned fish I really like is roasted eel. Do you know that brand, Jayce?
54. Actor Ladd : ALAN
58. Patients' main MDs, to insurers : PCPS (Primary Care Physicians)
59. AARP concern : AGEISM
60. Santa __ Valley: California wine region : YNEZ
61. Endure : BEAR
62. Leading : AHEAD
63. Take it easy : LOLL
65. Spiked cakes : BABAs. Baba au rhum. Never had it.
66. Hardly secret : OVERT
67. Per-unit pay scales : PIECE RATES
70. Verify with several sources : CROSS-CHECK. Some of Seymour Hersh's articles are really thinly sourced.
71. Norman's home: Abbr. : OKLA. I was thinking of the 1066 invaders.
72. Winter fabric : WOOL
74. Stomach discomfort : KNOT
75. Customers : CLIENTELE
76. Romance novel publisher : AVON. New to me. I read lots of romance novels in my college years.
79. Barrel maker : COOPER
80. Hot-and-cold fits : AGUE
81. Prefix with morph : ENDO
82. Three-pronged letters : PSIs
85. Generic trendsetters : JONESES. Oh, Keep up with the Joneses.
86. "Redemption" author : URIS (Leon)
87. "Let __!": "Get going!" : IT RIP
89. PNC Park player : PIRATE. Hi there, TTP! Thanks for the Spaetzle idea. So what happened at the golf awards dinner two weeks ago? Were you voted the league secretary again?
90. Charged : BILLED
93. "Not a chance!" : MY EYE
94. Where to see many El Greco works : PRADO
95. No longer squeaky : OILED
96. Le __, France : HAVRE
97. Pentathlon blades : EPEES
98. Painting medium : SAND
99. "Pinocchio" goldfish : CLEO. I forgot.
100. One of a daily trio : MEAL. Felt stupid blanking on the answer.
102. Publisher Chandler : OTIS. L. A. Times.
105. ENVY and OMEN laptops : HPS. Don't own their laptop. But our printer is HP ENVY.
106. Distribution word : PER
107. Water under le pont : EAU. Water under the bridge.
Merl
Reagle's memorial service will be held today (Sept 27, 2015) from
5pm-8pm. The gathering will be at the University of Tampa’s Vaughn
Center,
9th floor, and all are invited.
(Added later: Here is a short clip of Merl at the movie "Wordplay". Thanks, Tony!)
(Added later: Here is a short clip of Merl at the movie "Wordplay". Thanks, Tony!)