Sunday February 5, 2023 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Three's Company" - The first word of each theme entry is a homophone of first part of a common phrase. The second part suggests a group of things.

 

24A. Dvorak, Masaryk, Havel?: CZECH MATES. Checkmates.

39A. Holiday, Hampton, Red Roof?: INN CROWD. In crowd.

60A. Queen, drone, worker?: BEE TEAM. B team.

66A. Pharoah, Chou, Leno?: JAY CREW. J Crew.

87A. First, Second, Third?: BASE TRIO.

103A. Galahad, Lancelot, El Cid?: KNIGHT CLUB. Night club.

3D. ChapStick, Burt's Bees, Lip Smacker?: BALM SQUAD. Bomb squad.

34D. Bering, Coral, Baltic?: SEA SECTION. C section.

50D. King Arthur, Gold Medal, Pillsbury?: FLOUR CHAIN. Flower chain.

73D. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday?: WEEK LINKS. Weak links.

I don't pronounce "balm" and "bomb" the same. How about you? The others are total homophones to me.

Very inspired theme from Ed. I don't recall such a trio clue approach. The theme entries are short by nature. There are just not many phrases starting with J, B and C, then you have to add the second "group" layer. Very tight.

Across:

1. Creature of __: HABIT.

6. Profound: DEEP.

10. Golden Arches pork sandwich: MCRIB. Here's the rice noodles with char siu I had at a Hong Kong-style restaurant last Thursday with the Eucharistic minister Bill and his wife Margaret, both are still very involved in my life. 

 

15. Crime novelist Buchanan: EDNA.

19. Lingering evidence: TRACE.

20. One-named singer from Ireland: ENYA.

21. Pimento holder, perhaps: OLIVE.

22. Mireille of "Big Love": ENOS.

23. Big brawl: MELEE.

26. Riveted: RAPT.

27. Wee woolly one: LAMB.

28. Bit of heckling: BOO.

29. Great Plains people: KIOWA. From Wikipedia: "Today, they are federally recognized as Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma with headquarters in Carnegie, Oklahoma. As of 2011, there were 12,000 members. The Kiowa language (Cáuijògà), part of the Tanoan language family, is in danger of extinction, with only 20 speakers as of 2012. Look at this image. It has three tones.

30. Asian island capital: TAIPEI. Pei means "north". So it's in the north of Taiwan. Same as the "Bei" in Beijing, also meaning "north".

32. More mad: SORER.

34. Sp. misses: SRTAS.

35. Suez Canal ship: OILER. And 45. Harbor haulers: TUGS.

36. Find not guilty: ACQUIT. Our local Star Tribune covered the Richard Liu case thoroughly. He settled the lawsuit. He's like China's Jeff Bezos.

38. Jeans line: SEAM.

42. Circular: ROUND.

43. Declares: STATES.

46. Evergreen tree: FIR.

47. Fair __ coffee: TRADE.

48. Touch lightly: KISS.

49. Small amphibians: EFTS. So orangey. I wonder how long they live.

51. Number of billiard ball colors: NINE.

52. Down in the dumps: SAD.

53. Cathedral topper: SPIRE.

55. Exclusively: ONLY.

56. Music genre with accordions: POLKA.

57. Voucher: CHIT.

58. Home buyer's option: CONDO.

62. Two-bit: CHEAPO.

64. Continental org.: THE EU.

65. Measure of brainpower: IQ TEST.

67. Aesop's grasshopper, e.g.: IDLER.

68. Some golf trophies: CUPS. The famous Claret Jug.

69. MacDowell of "Four Weddings and a Funeral": ANDIE.

70. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB.

71. Longtime NPR news analyst Roberts: COKIE. Quite a few names here.

73. "I knew it __ you": WAS.

76. With 92-Across, "The Dragons of Eden" writer: CARL. 92. See 76-Across: SAGAN.

77. Actress Merrill: DINA.

78. Elisabeth of "Leaving Las Vegas": SHUE.

79. Put up: ERECT.

81. Prefix with meter: ODO.

82. "Severance" actor Scott: ADAM. Also a well-known golfer.

 

84. Make right: REPAIR.

86. Panasonic TV line: VIERA. Learned from doing crosswords.

89. Purple flower: IRIS.

90. Boris who won three Wimbledon championships in the 1980s: BECKER.

91. City on the Seine: PARIS. Also 95. Azadi Tower city: TEHRAN.

94. Boardroom stand: EASEL.

97. Assertive to a fault: PUSHY.

98. Wily: SLY.

99. Michelle, to Barack: WIFE.

102. Cooking show appliance: OVEN.

106. Strength: SINEW.

107. Marshy land: MIRE.

108. Radii neighbors: ULNAE.

109. Dynamic start?: AERO. Aerodynamic.

110. Lower joint: ANKLE.

111. Ran, as dye: BLED.

112. Scholarly article reviewers: PEERS.

113. "Probably shouldn't open this in your cubicle" shorthand: NSFW. Not Safe For Work.

114. Younger siblings, probably: PESTS.

Down:

1. Web programming language: HTML. HyperText Markup Language.

2. Focus of study: AREA.

4. Frozen over: ICEBOUND. Not a word I use. I've been snowbound a few times this winter.

5. Light shirt: TEE.

6. Interior design: DECOR.

7. Automaker Ferrari: ENZO.

8. Organ with a lens: EYE.

9. Hoarders: PACK RATS.

10. "Dune" actor Jason: MOMOA.

11. Lobster portions: CLAWS.

12. "Let You Love Me" singer Ora: RITA.

13. "So __ heard": I'VE.

14. Topping: BESTING.

15. More creepy: EERIER.

16. Genetic fingerprints: DNA PROFILES. And 33. Vanpool, e.g.: RIDESHARE. Ed is also a great themeless constructor.

17. "Nothing doing": NOPE.

18. Prosecco kin: ASTI.

25. Blackjack request: HIT ME.

28. Wager: BET.

31. MLB playoff event: ALCS. American League Championship Series. Also 104. Nats' div.: NLE. NL East.

35. Responsibility: ONUS.

36. Liberal __: ARTS.

37. Red Sox manager Alex: CORA.

38. Recipe instruction: STIR.

39. __-bitty: ITTY.

40. Pretend not to notice: WINK AT.

41. __ journal: DREAM. I think our Splynter used to keep one.

43. Bunny slope conveyance: SKI TOW.

44. Mail recipient: SENDEE.

51. Short messages: NOTES.

54. Plumbing part: PIPE.

55. 16 oz.: ONE LB.

56. Personal sources of aggravation: PET PEEVES.

57. Poet Day-Lewis who wrote mysteries as Nicholas Blake: CECIL. Learning moment for me. He's the father of actor Daniel Day-Lewis.

59. Worrywart's lament: OH DEAR.

60. Squabble: BICKER.

61. Prefix with distant: EQUI.

62. Manitoba's country: CANADA.

63. All the Earth's water: HYDROSPHERE.

66. Social reformer Riis: JACOB. Often we get RIIS.

70. Fancy transport: LIMO.

72. French affirmatives: OUIS.

74. Part of a plot, maybe: ACRE.

75. One of Old Glory's 50: STAR.

77. Place of honor: DAIS.

78. Graffiti artist's handful: SPRAY CAN.

80. Fermented beverage in Asian cuisine: RICE WINE. Sake, mirin, etc.

82. Gillette razor: ATRA.

83. "Down the hatch!": DRINK UP.

85. Elite __: March Madness round: EIGHT.

88. Merited: EARNED.

90. __ window: BAY.

92. Baking staple: SUGAR.

93. Campfire remnants: ASHES.

94. Macaroni shape: ELBOW.

95. Many an archaeological site: TOMB. The most famous tomb in China. An hour away from where I grew up.

96. Hardly holy: EVIL.

97. Evergreen tree: PINE.

98. Banzai Pipeline feature: SURF. Hawaii.

100. Sensed: FELT.

101. Woolly ones: EWES.

105. French article: LES.

106. Drain: SAP.

Belated "Happy Birthday" to Bill G! So sorry I missed your birthday. Life has been hectic. Hope you had a great day with your kids and grandkids. This picture was taken ages ago when Bill used to go out daily for his bike ride and coffee.

Bill and His Wife Barbara and Grand-kids

Our Steve Marron sent me this stunning picture yesterday while hiking to the Hollywood Sign. Steve is now with the Universal Pictures.