Theme: Selective Collective
27A: Group of pooches: OODLES OF POODLES
120A: Group of tropical fish: MASSES OF WRASSES
16D: Group of swine: SCORES OF BOARS
34D: Group of food fish (var.): SCADS OF SHADS
37D: Group of jumpers: LOADS OF TOADS
39D: Group of jumpers, briefly: SLEWS OF ROOS
59A: Group of male donkeys: STACKS OF JACKS
I've never heard of the tropical fish WRASSES (120A). Why there is a "var." mark for 34D?
What a puzzle! Now I feel like a raisin in the morning sun, not dried up and not plump either. I think I still have some moisture left.
I've never filled in so many blanks on a Sunday puzzle. The simple rhyming theme certainly helped. And there was no obscure medical/chemical term intersecting one another to frustrate me.
Had to do a few googling and a few V-8 moment wite-outs in the end. But today's efficient solving makes me feel rather smart. Not much to complain except the clue for SASH (86A: Pageant ID). The abbreviated ID is asking for an abbreviated answer. A simple "Pageant wear" will do the job.
Across:
9A: Type of committee: AD HOC. And another Latin phrase: HIC (77A: __ jacet).
21A: Dentition: TEETH. Dention and teething are synonymous, not TEETH, right?
25A: Mediterranean island nation: MALTA. Its capital is Valletta.
26A: Parkinson's medication: L-DOPA. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before.
32A: Gang follower?: STER. Gangster, mobster, teamster, etc.
36A: Kind of tea or remedy: HERBAL
60A: "__ the Explorer": DORA. Lovely DORA bedding set for a small girl.
80A: Switched switch: OFF ON. I don't understand the grammar of the clue.
88A: Both haves of a fly?: TSES. Tsetse. I guess there is no other better way to clue TSES.
89A: "The Right Stuff" org.: NASA. Pure guess. I've never heard of the movie "The Right Stuff" .
92A: Prairie coverage: OAT GRASS. Oh, I did not know that this grass is called OAT GRASS. So different from wheatgrass.
95A: Swanson of Hollywood: GLORIA. She appears in almost every JFK biography due to her affair with Joe Kennedy Sr.
97A: Disney World attraction: EPCOT. Have you been to EPCOT Center?
107A: Everett of "Citizen Kane": SLOANE. I googled his name. I found the movie hard to follow.
111A: such being the case: AS IT IS
123A: Plant with two seed leaves: DICOT. No idea. See this Monocot vs DICOT link. What are "two seed leaves"?
128A: Century plant: AGAVE. The fiber AGAVE yields is called sisal hemp.
132A: Desert traveler: NOMAD
133A: DOD part: DEPT. DOD is Department of Defense.
Down:
1D: Poetic stanza: STROPHE. I would not have got this word without the across fills.
2D: Spaces between leaf veins: AREOLES. The singular form is AREOLA, which was clued as " Ring around the pupil" last time.
4D: Space station of old: SKYLAB. From 1973-1979. MIR was de-orbed in 2001.
6D: New bread abroad: EUROS. I like this clue.
9D: Start of sphere: ATMO. Atmosphere.
10D: View from Mount Pisgah: DEAD SEA. Where is Mount Pisgah? I only see Mount Nebo.
15D: Capp of comic strips: ANDY. Hmm, I'd love the clue to be ANDY Garcia related.
17D: Long-snouted animal: TAPIR. He is ugly, like a pig. I did not know his name before.
28D: Day's march: ETAPE. Again, without the adjacent fills, I would not have obtained this word. I don't think I understood "Day's march" last time when we had the discussion.
29D: Bay window: ORIEL. See this link.
45D: Animal fat: LARD. It's pork fat. Suet is beef/mutton fat.
47D: Thin wdt.: NAR. Narrow? What is "wdt"? Width?
50D: Defeat decisively: TROUNCE
51D: Bombing runs: SORTIES
52D: Corey of "Murphy's Romance": HAIM. Another google. Have never heard of Corey HAIM or "Murphy's Romance" before.
53D: Silents star Theda: BARA. The Vamp. I often confuse her with the "It" girl Clara Bow.
55D: Oscar winner Kedrova: LILA. She won Oscar for "Zorba the Greek".
63D: Supreme Court Justice Black: HUGO. What case is he famous for?
74D: Far from the flock: LOST
94D: Diamond of "Night Court": SELMA. Is she the pretty girl on the front row? I've never heard of her name before.
96D: Fretting: IN A STEW
98D: Tapioca source: CASSAVA. Have you had fresh CASSAVA before?
102D: Yellowstone attraction: GEYSERS. Great picture.
108D: Eviction: OUSTER
109D: Trooper's gun: RADAR. Or the Nehi drinker (M*A*S*H).
119D: Vincent Lopez theme song: NOLA. I could only find this theme music clip, not the song.
C.C.
27A: Group of pooches: OODLES OF POODLES
120A: Group of tropical fish: MASSES OF WRASSES
16D: Group of swine: SCORES OF BOARS
34D: Group of food fish (var.): SCADS OF SHADS
37D: Group of jumpers: LOADS OF TOADS
39D: Group of jumpers, briefly: SLEWS OF ROOS
59A: Group of male donkeys: STACKS OF JACKS
I've never heard of the tropical fish WRASSES (120A). Why there is a "var." mark for 34D?
What a puzzle! Now I feel like a raisin in the morning sun, not dried up and not plump either. I think I still have some moisture left.
I've never filled in so many blanks on a Sunday puzzle. The simple rhyming theme certainly helped. And there was no obscure medical/chemical term intersecting one another to frustrate me.
Had to do a few googling and a few V-8 moment wite-outs in the end. But today's efficient solving makes me feel rather smart. Not much to complain except the clue for SASH (86A: Pageant ID). The abbreviated ID is asking for an abbreviated answer. A simple "Pageant wear" will do the job.
Across:
9A: Type of committee: AD HOC. And another Latin phrase: HIC (77A: __ jacet).
21A: Dentition: TEETH. Dention and teething are synonymous, not TEETH, right?
25A: Mediterranean island nation: MALTA. Its capital is Valletta.
26A: Parkinson's medication: L-DOPA. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before.
32A: Gang follower?: STER. Gangster, mobster, teamster, etc.
36A: Kind of tea or remedy: HERBAL
60A: "__ the Explorer": DORA. Lovely DORA bedding set for a small girl.
80A: Switched switch: OFF ON. I don't understand the grammar of the clue.
88A: Both haves of a fly?: TSES. Tsetse. I guess there is no other better way to clue TSES.
89A: "The Right Stuff" org.: NASA. Pure guess. I've never heard of the movie "The Right Stuff" .
92A: Prairie coverage: OAT GRASS. Oh, I did not know that this grass is called OAT GRASS. So different from wheatgrass.
95A: Swanson of Hollywood: GLORIA. She appears in almost every JFK biography due to her affair with Joe Kennedy Sr.
97A: Disney World attraction: EPCOT. Have you been to EPCOT Center?
107A: Everett of "Citizen Kane": SLOANE. I googled his name. I found the movie hard to follow.
111A: such being the case: AS IT IS
123A: Plant with two seed leaves: DICOT. No idea. See this Monocot vs DICOT link. What are "two seed leaves"?
128A: Century plant: AGAVE. The fiber AGAVE yields is called sisal hemp.
132A: Desert traveler: NOMAD
133A: DOD part: DEPT. DOD is Department of Defense.
Down:
1D: Poetic stanza: STROPHE. I would not have got this word without the across fills.
2D: Spaces between leaf veins: AREOLES. The singular form is AREOLA, which was clued as " Ring around the pupil" last time.
4D: Space station of old: SKYLAB. From 1973-1979. MIR was de-orbed in 2001.
6D: New bread abroad: EUROS. I like this clue.
9D: Start of sphere: ATMO. Atmosphere.
10D: View from Mount Pisgah: DEAD SEA. Where is Mount Pisgah? I only see Mount Nebo.
15D: Capp of comic strips: ANDY. Hmm, I'd love the clue to be ANDY Garcia related.
17D: Long-snouted animal: TAPIR. He is ugly, like a pig. I did not know his name before.
28D: Day's march: ETAPE. Again, without the adjacent fills, I would not have obtained this word. I don't think I understood "Day's march" last time when we had the discussion.
29D: Bay window: ORIEL. See this link.
45D: Animal fat: LARD. It's pork fat. Suet is beef/mutton fat.
47D: Thin wdt.: NAR. Narrow? What is "wdt"? Width?
50D: Defeat decisively: TROUNCE
51D: Bombing runs: SORTIES
52D: Corey of "Murphy's Romance": HAIM. Another google. Have never heard of Corey HAIM or "Murphy's Romance" before.
53D: Silents star Theda: BARA. The Vamp. I often confuse her with the "It" girl Clara Bow.
55D: Oscar winner Kedrova: LILA. She won Oscar for "Zorba the Greek".
63D: Supreme Court Justice Black: HUGO. What case is he famous for?
74D: Far from the flock: LOST
94D: Diamond of "Night Court": SELMA. Is she the pretty girl on the front row? I've never heard of her name before.
96D: Fretting: IN A STEW
98D: Tapioca source: CASSAVA. Have you had fresh CASSAVA before?
102D: Yellowstone attraction: GEYSERS. Great picture.
108D: Eviction: OUSTER
109D: Trooper's gun: RADAR. Or the Nehi drinker (M*A*S*H).
119D: Vincent Lopez theme song: NOLA. I could only find this theme music clip, not the song.
C.C.
