Theme: NOT ... (Word/Phrases with NOT missing)
23A: "Not" resisting successfully: WITHSTANDING
25A: "Not" fully present: ALL THERE
38A: "Not" like someone unknown: AS A STRANGER
50A: "Not" partially spoiled: HALF BAD
68A: "Not" to make money: FOR PROFIT
89A: "Not" reaching standard: UP TO PAR
97A: "Not" bother to help: LIFT A FINGER
116A: "Not" wink: BAT AN EYE
118A: "Not" a strong suit: ONE'S CUP OF TEA
37D: "Not" one's biography: ON YOUR LIFE
46D: "Not" overlook: MISS A TRICK
Yes, you need "NOT" to make sense of those above word/phrases!
What a Sisyphean challenge! I came, I saw, and I tanked! My gosh, what a staggering amount of unfamiliar words and names! Overwhelming! It's just as formidable as yesterday's AZAN puzzle, if not more. I toiled so hard, with every breath I took, and still could not complete 2/3 of the grid.
SCLEROMA (12A) was impossible for me, esp since I had no idea who Moshe ARENS (19D) was. Fritz LEIBER was just as hard to crack as a coconut shell. EDUCARDO da Silva was another unyielding name, since I did not know what 61D: At the age of, Lat. (AET) was.
And author ORIANA Fallaci, poet HOUSMAN, S. E. Hinton's middle name (ELOISE), actress Louise LASSER were all strangers to me. I've never heard of ARIOSE (for 102D: Melodic), CONTUSES, or WEIR before.
I have to say I am very traumatized by my solving experience today. An overpowering sense of inadequacy creeps back again. Just feel so helpless and powerless facing such a mind-blowing name-filled Sunday puzzles. Definitely no joy at my Mudville!
ACROSS:
6A: Milk-producing organs: MAMMAE. Singular form is MAMMA. Wow, I have no idea, honestly. MAMMA mia!
12A: Tumorlike hardening of tissue: SCLEROMA. No idea. "Sclero" has a German origin, meaning hard, like SCLEROMETER (instrument for determining with precision the degree of hardness of a substance, esp. a mineral, as by measuring the pressure necessary to pierce or scratch it). And "oma" is a "noun suffix used to form names of tumors, of the kind specified by the base: FIBROMA, MELANOMA. Now it makes sense, doesn't it?
20A: Lead-in alloy: TERNE. Another stranger to me. Dictionary says it's either "TERNE Plate" or "TERNE metal".
21A: Writer Fallaci: ORIANA. Ouch, another hard one. I googled her, then realized that I had searched for her before (for a Feb 18 TMS puzzle). She is the lady who did that infamous Kissinger Vietnam "useless war" interview. Kissinger later regretted tremendously and commented that it was "the single most disastrous conversation I have ever had with any member of the press."
22A: Rhinitis: HAY FEVER. I did not know the meaning of Rhinitis. It's a new word to me. The prefix is "rhino" meaning nose, like RHINOLOGY (science dealing with the nose and its diseases).
26A: Forest edges: TREE LINES
27A: Fine thread: LISLE. Named after LISLE (now named Lille), the city in France.
30A: Collides intentionally: RAMS
31A: Like best friends: TRUEST
34A: Nutritional deprivations: FASTS. Did not like 2 FAST's in one puzzle. See 52D: BELFAST.
35A: S. E. Hinton's middle name: ELOISE. Unknown to me. S stands for Susan. Is she very famous?
43A: Fontanne's partner: LUNT. Another stranger. I've never heard of LUNT, or Fontanne, or the Lund-Fontainne Theatre.
44A: French possessive noun: SES. Goes with singular pronoun Il or elle.
45A: "A Shropshire Lad" poet: HOUSMAN (A. E). Alfred Edward Housman, not familiar with him or his poem.
49A: Back of station?: ARY. Good one. Stationary.
54A: "_ kleine Nachtmusik": EINE. Mozart's piece, literally " a little night music". EINE is an in German (feminine). German is another gender-matter language, tough!
56A: Jagged, as a leaf's edge: EROSE. Saw this clue before.
57A: Micromanager's concern: DETAIL. What is a Macromanager's concern then?
60A: Da Silva of soccer: EDUARDO. Another estranho to me. His name is inferable if you know that damned AET (61D)
62A: Send an overdue notice: REBILL
65A: Kidded around: TEASED
71A: Muckraker Tarbell: IDA. No, nope. No idea. Her life looks very interesting.
72A: Ran off: BOLTED
75A: "The Treasure of the __ Madre": SIERRA. Faintly remember seeing it before. But I could not retrieve it from my dense brain this morning.
76A: "Inventing the __": ABBOTTS. Totally frustrated at this point of my solving. NO! I've never heard of the film.
83A: Bender: SPREE. I should be familiar with this slang, but I am NOT.
85A: Bilgewater: ROT. Did not know that bilgewater is "pretentious or silly talk or writing", but ROT is gettable.
86A: Wilson's predecessor: TAFT. 2 presidents in today's puzzle, see 42A: Pres. Coolidge (CAL). Did not know that Coolidge's nickname is "Silent CAL".
88A: Middling marks: CEES
92A: Anti-war activist Cindy: SHEEHAN. Gimme for me. Too bad, she does not stand a chance to take on Pelosi.
96A: Al Capone feature: SCAR. Unknown to me.
101A: Comic laugh: CACKLE
103A: Stormed: RAGED
106A: Actress Louise: LASSER. She was married to Woody Allen before. I did not know that. I've never heard of LASSER until this morning. Will probably forget her name again soon.
107A: Virginia rail: SORA. Nope, another unknown. I love this SORA portrait.
108A: AC/DC power: ELEC
109A: Psalms word: SELAH. Is this a gimme for you?
111A: Those who obtain: ACQUIRERS. What a strained clue/answer!
121A: Go-between: EMISSARY
122A: Pinup Anderson: PAMELA. Love her funny cameo in "Borat".
123A: Become fixed: SET IN
124A: Bruises without laceration: CONTUSES. Painful! How can I remember this word?
125A: Ghost: SPIRIT
DOWN:
1D: Chem. chart figure: AT. WT. I put AT. NO. first.
2D: Low dam: WEIR. Did not know this before. The only WEIR I know is him, the man on the left who won Masters in 2003.
3D: Comic Johnson: ARTE
4D: "___ the Wind": INHERIT. Sigh... No!
5D: Magnetic induction units: TESLAS. Nailed this one.
6D: Sounds of pains: MOANS. Yes, aching! This whole puzzle is a insufferable!
7D: British composer Thomas: ARNE. He is definitely a TMS stalwart.
8D: Central parts: MIDSTS
11D: Aerie occupants: EAGLETS
12D: Cascades peak: SHASTA. Simply forgot this one, again.
14D: Lovett or Talbot: LYLE. Know Lovett, not Talbot.
16D: Practice: REHEARSE
17D: Cricket segments: OVERS. Anther sigh... I know nothing about cricket. Wikipedia says an OVER is "a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession".
19D: Moshe of Israel: ARENS. My goodness, what's bothering you today? Why so many obscure names?
24D: Work-shift record: TIME CARD
32D: Tabula ___: RASA. Literally "Blank slate", Latin.
34D: Pot - au - __: FEU
36D: Sensational: LURID
38D: Landon and others: ALFS. Highly inferable, even if you don't know much about American presidential election in 1936.
39D: Auto-racing org.: NHRA (National Hot Rod Association)
40D: A-ha!: GOT IT. See 105D: Arrive: GET IN. 123A: Become fixed: SET IN. A preposition or a definite article can sure add some zest to an otherwise boring clue.
43D: Cool: ALOOF
48D: Exigency: NEED
50D: Greek Mercury: HERMES. Hmm, Luxury goods brand again. See 57D: Designer Christian: DIOR.
51D: Some fruits: BERRIES
52D: City on the Lagan River: BELFAST. I made a guess. Have never heard of Lagan River before.
53D: Legendary Hun King: ATLI. Not ATTILA?
58D: Fritz of Sci-Fi: LEIBER. Have never, never heard of him before. Hard to string his name together if you do not get ABBOTTS for 76A.
61D: At the age of : Lat.: AET. No, nope.
70D: Infield protectors: TARPS
73D: Moonfish: OPAH
77D: Very much in Vicky: BEAUCOUP. I like the alliteration of the clue. Merci BEAUCOUP, without you, I would've lost the whole battle at the lower right corner.
78D: Of sound quality: TONAL
79D: Gawk: STARE
87D: Airing on TV: TELECAST
90D: Congressional aide: PAGE
93D: Stashed away: HID
94D: Chess piece: BISHOPS
96D: Wrapped with a decorative cloth: SCARFED. Here is a picture of Madeleine Albright, with her HERMES scarf.
98D: Bowling lanes: ALLEYS
99D: CAB successor: FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). CAB stands for "Civil Aeronautics Board".
100D: Sketcher's need: ERASER
102D: Melodic: ARIOSE. New word for me.
103D: Renaissance fiddle: REBEC. As I could not get CONTUSES for 134A, so I was staring at REBE_ forever. I did toy with the idea of filling in REBEL. It's "a Renaissance fiddle with a pear-shaped body tapering into a neck that ends in a sickle-shaped or scroll-shaped pegbox." Here is a picture.
107D: Crouch: SQUAT
113D: Back end of a kitchen?: ETTE. Good clue.
114DL Bridle strap: REIN. What a tragic finish for Eight Belles yesterday! This is just so sad. But "Denis of Cork" was awesome. They do not Calvin Borel "Bo Rail" for nothing!
115D: Without: Fr.: SANS. I like how this puzzle ends with SANS, kind of NOT eching.
117D: Tahlequah, OK school: NSU (Northeastern State University)
120D: Radio static letters: EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference)
C. C.
23A: "Not" resisting successfully: WITHSTANDING
25A: "Not" fully present: ALL THERE
38A: "Not" like someone unknown: AS A STRANGER
50A: "Not" partially spoiled: HALF BAD
68A: "Not" to make money: FOR PROFIT
89A: "Not" reaching standard: UP TO PAR
97A: "Not" bother to help: LIFT A FINGER
116A: "Not" wink: BAT AN EYE
118A: "Not" a strong suit: ONE'S CUP OF TEA
37D: "Not" one's biography: ON YOUR LIFE
46D: "Not" overlook: MISS A TRICK
Yes, you need "NOT" to make sense of those above word/phrases!
What a Sisyphean challenge! I came, I saw, and I tanked! My gosh, what a staggering amount of unfamiliar words and names! Overwhelming! It's just as formidable as yesterday's AZAN puzzle, if not more. I toiled so hard, with every breath I took, and still could not complete 2/3 of the grid.
SCLEROMA (12A) was impossible for me, esp since I had no idea who Moshe ARENS (19D) was. Fritz LEIBER was just as hard to crack as a coconut shell. EDUCARDO da Silva was another unyielding name, since I did not know what 61D: At the age of, Lat. (AET) was.
And author ORIANA Fallaci, poet HOUSMAN, S. E. Hinton's middle name (ELOISE), actress Louise LASSER were all strangers to me. I've never heard of ARIOSE (for 102D: Melodic), CONTUSES, or WEIR before.
I have to say I am very traumatized by my solving experience today. An overpowering sense of inadequacy creeps back again. Just feel so helpless and powerless facing such a mind-blowing name-filled Sunday puzzles. Definitely no joy at my Mudville!
ACROSS:
6A: Milk-producing organs: MAMMAE. Singular form is MAMMA. Wow, I have no idea, honestly. MAMMA mia!
12A: Tumorlike hardening of tissue: SCLEROMA. No idea. "Sclero" has a German origin, meaning hard, like SCLEROMETER (instrument for determining with precision the degree of hardness of a substance, esp. a mineral, as by measuring the pressure necessary to pierce or scratch it). And "oma" is a "noun suffix used to form names of tumors, of the kind specified by the base: FIBROMA, MELANOMA. Now it makes sense, doesn't it?
20A: Lead-in alloy: TERNE. Another stranger to me. Dictionary says it's either "TERNE Plate" or "TERNE metal".
21A: Writer Fallaci: ORIANA. Ouch, another hard one. I googled her, then realized that I had searched for her before (for a Feb 18 TMS puzzle). She is the lady who did that infamous Kissinger Vietnam "useless war" interview. Kissinger later regretted tremendously and commented that it was "the single most disastrous conversation I have ever had with any member of the press."
22A: Rhinitis: HAY FEVER. I did not know the meaning of Rhinitis. It's a new word to me. The prefix is "rhino" meaning nose, like RHINOLOGY (science dealing with the nose and its diseases).
26A: Forest edges: TREE LINES
27A: Fine thread: LISLE. Named after LISLE (now named Lille), the city in France.
30A: Collides intentionally: RAMS
31A: Like best friends: TRUEST
34A: Nutritional deprivations: FASTS. Did not like 2 FAST's in one puzzle. See 52D: BELFAST.
35A: S. E. Hinton's middle name: ELOISE. Unknown to me. S stands for Susan. Is she very famous?
43A: Fontanne's partner: LUNT. Another stranger. I've never heard of LUNT, or Fontanne, or the Lund-Fontainne Theatre.
44A: French possessive noun: SES. Goes with singular pronoun Il or elle.
45A: "A Shropshire Lad" poet: HOUSMAN (A. E). Alfred Edward Housman, not familiar with him or his poem.
49A: Back of station?: ARY. Good one. Stationary.
54A: "_ kleine Nachtmusik": EINE. Mozart's piece, literally " a little night music". EINE is an in German (feminine). German is another gender-matter language, tough!
56A: Jagged, as a leaf's edge: EROSE. Saw this clue before.
57A: Micromanager's concern: DETAIL. What is a Macromanager's concern then?
60A: Da Silva of soccer: EDUARDO. Another estranho to me. His name is inferable if you know that damned AET (61D)
62A: Send an overdue notice: REBILL
65A: Kidded around: TEASED
71A: Muckraker Tarbell: IDA. No, nope. No idea. Her life looks very interesting.
72A: Ran off: BOLTED
75A: "The Treasure of the __ Madre": SIERRA. Faintly remember seeing it before. But I could not retrieve it from my dense brain this morning.
76A: "Inventing the __": ABBOTTS. Totally frustrated at this point of my solving. NO! I've never heard of the film.
83A: Bender: SPREE. I should be familiar with this slang, but I am NOT.
85A: Bilgewater: ROT. Did not know that bilgewater is "pretentious or silly talk or writing", but ROT is gettable.
86A: Wilson's predecessor: TAFT. 2 presidents in today's puzzle, see 42A: Pres. Coolidge (CAL). Did not know that Coolidge's nickname is "Silent CAL".
88A: Middling marks: CEES
92A: Anti-war activist Cindy: SHEEHAN. Gimme for me. Too bad, she does not stand a chance to take on Pelosi.
96A: Al Capone feature: SCAR. Unknown to me.
101A: Comic laugh: CACKLE
103A: Stormed: RAGED
106A: Actress Louise: LASSER. She was married to Woody Allen before. I did not know that. I've never heard of LASSER until this morning. Will probably forget her name again soon.
107A: Virginia rail: SORA. Nope, another unknown. I love this SORA portrait.
108A: AC/DC power: ELEC
109A: Psalms word: SELAH. Is this a gimme for you?
111A: Those who obtain: ACQUIRERS. What a strained clue/answer!
121A: Go-between: EMISSARY
122A: Pinup Anderson: PAMELA. Love her funny cameo in "Borat".
123A: Become fixed: SET IN
124A: Bruises without laceration: CONTUSES. Painful! How can I remember this word?
125A: Ghost: SPIRIT
DOWN:
1D: Chem. chart figure: AT. WT. I put AT. NO. first.
2D: Low dam: WEIR. Did not know this before. The only WEIR I know is him, the man on the left who won Masters in 2003.
3D: Comic Johnson: ARTE
4D: "___ the Wind": INHERIT. Sigh... No!
5D: Magnetic induction units: TESLAS. Nailed this one.
6D: Sounds of pains: MOANS. Yes, aching! This whole puzzle is a insufferable!
7D: British composer Thomas: ARNE. He is definitely a TMS stalwart.
8D: Central parts: MIDSTS
11D: Aerie occupants: EAGLETS
12D: Cascades peak: SHASTA. Simply forgot this one, again.
14D: Lovett or Talbot: LYLE. Know Lovett, not Talbot.
16D: Practice: REHEARSE
17D: Cricket segments: OVERS. Anther sigh... I know nothing about cricket. Wikipedia says an OVER is "a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession".
19D: Moshe of Israel: ARENS. My goodness, what's bothering you today? Why so many obscure names?
24D: Work-shift record: TIME CARD
32D: Tabula ___: RASA. Literally "Blank slate", Latin.
34D: Pot - au - __: FEU
36D: Sensational: LURID
38D: Landon and others: ALFS. Highly inferable, even if you don't know much about American presidential election in 1936.
39D: Auto-racing org.: NHRA (National Hot Rod Association)
40D: A-ha!: GOT IT. See 105D: Arrive: GET IN. 123A: Become fixed: SET IN. A preposition or a definite article can sure add some zest to an otherwise boring clue.
43D: Cool: ALOOF
48D: Exigency: NEED
50D: Greek Mercury: HERMES. Hmm, Luxury goods brand again. See 57D: Designer Christian: DIOR.
51D: Some fruits: BERRIES
52D: City on the Lagan River: BELFAST. I made a guess. Have never heard of Lagan River before.
53D: Legendary Hun King: ATLI. Not ATTILA?
58D: Fritz of Sci-Fi: LEIBER. Have never, never heard of him before. Hard to string his name together if you do not get ABBOTTS for 76A.
61D: At the age of : Lat.: AET. No, nope.
70D: Infield protectors: TARPS
73D: Moonfish: OPAH
77D: Very much in Vicky: BEAUCOUP. I like the alliteration of the clue. Merci BEAUCOUP, without you, I would've lost the whole battle at the lower right corner.
78D: Of sound quality: TONAL
79D: Gawk: STARE
87D: Airing on TV: TELECAST
90D: Congressional aide: PAGE
93D: Stashed away: HID
94D: Chess piece: BISHOPS
96D: Wrapped with a decorative cloth: SCARFED. Here is a picture of Madeleine Albright, with her HERMES scarf.
98D: Bowling lanes: ALLEYS
99D: CAB successor: FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). CAB stands for "Civil Aeronautics Board".
100D: Sketcher's need: ERASER
102D: Melodic: ARIOSE. New word for me.
103D: Renaissance fiddle: REBEC. As I could not get CONTUSES for 134A, so I was staring at REBE_ forever. I did toy with the idea of filling in REBEL. It's "a Renaissance fiddle with a pear-shaped body tapering into a neck that ends in a sickle-shaped or scroll-shaped pegbox." Here is a picture.
107D: Crouch: SQUAT
113D: Back end of a kitchen?: ETTE. Good clue.
114DL Bridle strap: REIN. What a tragic finish for Eight Belles yesterday! This is just so sad. But "Denis of Cork" was awesome. They do not Calvin Borel "Bo Rail" for nothing!
115D: Without: Fr.: SANS. I like how this puzzle ends with SANS, kind of NOT eching.
117D: Tahlequah, OK school: NSU (Northeastern State University)
120D: Radio static letters: EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference)
C. C.
