Theme: Put a Lid on It!
24A: Winner's prize in a programming competition?: VICTORY LAPTOP
29A: Frijoles prep area? BEAN COUNTERTOP
41A: Writing surface available only occasionally?: PERIODIC TABLETOP
54A: Peak that reeks?: FOUL TIPTOP
78A: Crew cut after a sloppy wrestling match?: MUD FLATTOP
88A: Milk of Magnesia bottle cap?: PHILLIPS SCREW-TOP
99A: Proof of evil purchases?: PANDORA'S BOXTOP
110A: Shirt needing a chemical rinse: SEPTIC TANK TOP
15D: Convertible for a Canadian hockey player? MAPLE LEAF RAGTOP
40D: "Say hello to your average asphalt contractor?": MEET JOE BLACKTOP
The last one is playing on the movie title "Meet Joe Black", isn't it? I still don't understand the cluing rationale of 15D. I know the Toronto Maple Leafs. Is RAG the nickname for a hockey player? I have never heard of PHILLIPS SCREW before.
Nice theme, great theme title too. The lid is the word TOP. All the above theme answers feel like Jeopardy's "Before and After".
Dan Naddor mentioned his love for "heavy themage" in his interview. This grid has 10 theme entries, some of them are very long, two 16, two 15. The two shortest ones still have 10.
I had my normal struggle with LAT Sunday. Could not get into the constructor's wavelength. When I read 93A: Prepare to be shot, I did not think of the happy "Say Cheese" POSE. I pictured something horrible, you know, like the photo of Daniel Pearl in handicuff, with a gun at his head.
My favorite clue today is for C-SPAN (46D: House shower). You have to think outside the box, show-er, C-SPAN covers and shows the activities of the House of Representatives. It's like "Parisian flower?" for SEINE river. River flows, flow-er, not the real flower.
Across:
1A: Offering at the fast foodery El Pollo Loco: BREAST. Stumped immediately. Have never heard of this chicken franchise El Pollo Loco, Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken".
7A: Intimidate: DAUNT
17A: Add one's two cents: CHIME IN. Thought of OPINE.
19A: Long Island university: ADELPHI. I forgot. Saw this answer somewhere before.
21A: Like some trucks going uphill: IN LOW. No idea. Why?
22A: 1982 Toto hit: ROSANNA. Here is the clip. I've never heard of the band, nor the song.
23A: Star who's out?: HAS-BEEN. I like this clue.
26A: Fish caught in pots: EELS. Oh, I had no idea that EELS are caught in pots.
27A: Fatty acid salt: OLEATE. I forgot also. It's clued as "Soap ingredient" in our puzzle before. Did not know there is "salt" in soap.
33A: "I didn't know that": GEE
34A: Former Radiohead label: EMI. Easy guess, since Radiohead is a British band.
35A: Circle dance: HORA. Often clued as "Jewish dance".
36A: Soprano Maria: CALLAS. "La Divina". Maybe Ari Onassis should have married her instead of Jackie.
39A: Start of an idea: GERM. I like this clue.
49A: Midas's undoing: GREED. He later did change his view about gold/money, didn't he?
51A: Confuse: CROSS UP. New phrase to me.
52A: Charlie Brown's cry: AARGH. See this picture. He cried so after he missed the football.
57A: Newton fruit: FIGS. Fig Newton.
58A: Hold back: RESTRAIN
60A: Penn, e.g.: Abbr.: STA. I wrote down STS.
61A: "There's hoping...": I PRAY. Did not come to me easily.
63A: One of the Simpsons: JESSICA. D'oh. The real Simpsons (Jessica and Ashely). I was thinking of the animated "Simpsons". I did get STU (97A: "The Simpsons" disco guy) immediately.
66A: Sluggishness: INERTIA
69A: Japanese chess: SHOGI. Literally "General's Chess". Gi means "chess". A corruption of Chinese qi (chess).
71A: Charger's org: AFC. Penned in NFL again.
73A: Sign of desperation: LAST GASP
77A: Syngman of Korea: RHEE. The first president of South Korea. RHEE is the same as Chinese Li (as in Jet Li).
83A: 10th century emperor dubbed "the Great": OTTO I. No idea. I was way off, thinking of the Russian Emperor PETER the Great.
84A: Poet's feet: IAMBI. I wrote down IAMBS.
86A: One working on the sheep: SHEARER
87A: Ideal of dieters: NO CAL. More ideal than NO FAT.
94A: Escargots: SNAILS
98A: Many ATM deposits: CKS. First time I see CK in a crossword.
108A: Smooth routine: GROOVE
113A: Fundraising events: DINNERS. Thought of RAFFLES.
117A: "No damage done": IT'S OKAY
118A: Farm song refrain: EIEIO. The lyric of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" does not make any sense to me, esp EIEIO.
119A: Latvia neighbor: ESTONIA. See this Baltic region map. And Russia, Lithuania, all end in IA. Romania too.
121A: Alan and Diane: LADDS. I forgot who Diane LADD is. She is Laura Dern's mother.
122A: Elements on the road: HONDAS. HONDA Element. I was thinking of gravels/stones.
Down:
1D: "Humph!": BAH
2D: Food std.: RDA. Recommended Daily/Dietary Allowance. I don't know which is correct.
3D: Some Caltech grads: EES (Electrical Engineers). Stumped again. Just not used to this EE abbreviation.
4D: Truman veep Barkley: ALBEN. No idea. Wikipedia says ALBEN Barkley was actually the first veep. His grandson coined the title to replace the long "Mr. Vice President". And he was the only vice president to marry while in office.
6D: Area defined by an el: THE LOOP. Have heard THE LOOP in Chicago. Had no idea it's "defined by an el".
7D: Fairway chunk: DIVOT. I am often amazed by the huge chunks of DIVOTS on the golf courses. Some golfers hit their balls so hard.
8D: Doddering: ANILE. Could only think of senile.
9D: Gastric woe: ULCER
10D: Absent from: NOT AT. Had trouble getting this multiple-word answer.
11D: "Scotty, __ beam up": TWO TO. Unknown to me. Not a "Star Trek"/"Star Wars" fan. I could only find "Beam me up, Scotty".
12D: Call (out): CRY
13D: Jan. 1st, e.g.: HOL. See EVE clued as "Dec. 31, e.g." more often.
14D: Columbus sponsor: ISABELLA
16D: Opposite of exo-: ENTO. Prefix for "Inner". Exo is "outer".
17D: When some ties are broken: IN OT (Overtime)
25D: Gym unit: REP (Repetition)
29D: Lazarus, for one: BEGGAR. I thought he was a leper.
30DL Become visible: EMERGE
31D: They put on shows: AIRERS. Would not have got the answer if not for the across fills. Too abstract to me.
32D: GRF's veep: NAR (Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller). Tough clue. I actually know Ford's veep is Rockefeller, but I knew neither's middle name. GRF is Gerald Ruldoph Ford.
33D: Shoot the breeze: GAB. Wanted YAK.
36D: Crime boss: CAPO. I need "Mafia" in the clue for CAPO to emerge.
37D: Places in the heart: ATRIA. I like this clue too.
38D: Saturated: SOGGY
43D: Magic, on scoreboards: ORL. Orlando Magic. Another good clue.
44D: Last Supper question: IS IT I. Who asked this question?
47D: "For shame": TUT. Sometimes it's TSK.
48D: Acidity nos.: PHS. Thought of 7. PH7=neutral. <7> 7 alkaline.
50D: Freedom from govt. control: DEREG (Deregulation)
55D: Clandestine maritime org.: ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence). Often clued as "Sailor's Org." in our old puzzle.
56D: Worst: PITS. New slang to me.
59D: "__ sure you know ...": AS I'M
62D: Climber's spike: PITON
64D: Champs-Élysées sights: CAFES. Yes indeed. Along with those lovely shops.
65D: Company with a spokesduck: AFLAC. Ben Affleck once mentioned that AFLAC had never approached him for commercials.
67D: "Evil Woman" grp.: ELO. Here is the clip. I guessed. Three letter music grp is often ELO.
68D: Eschew the doorbell: RAP
69: Persian potentates: SHAHS
70D: Surround: HEM IN. Another multiple word.
72D: Gideon Fell's creator: CARR. Have never heard of this author John Dickson CARR nor the character Gideon Fell.
74D: Fire sale phrase: AT COST
75D: Such that one might: SO AS TO
76D: Rubbernecking cause: PILE-UP
77D: Fabric flaw: RIP. What is a RIP flaw?
80D: The N.L. doesn't use them: DHS (Designated Hitters). A.L. does use them.
81D: Trip souvenir: TEE. Mine was HAT.
82D: Credit-reporting company now called Experian: TRW (Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc.). A complete stranger to me.
85D: '50 political slogan: I LIKE IKE. I have this button. A reproduction.
89D: Parisian pronoun: ILS. French for "they".
90D: Airport safety org.: TSA (Transportation Security Administration). Created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
91D: Kind of kick: ONSIDE. Stumped again. Vaguely remember someone explained ONSIDE kick on the blog before.
92D: Avoid perishing: PUBLISH
96D: Discuss: GO INTO
99D: __ Tour: PGA. And LPGA, Sr. PGA (Champions) & European Tour.
100D: Synthetic fiber: ARNEL. Was it a gimme to you? I've never heard of this fiber. Dictionary defines it as "a brand of fiber manufactured from cellulose triacetate", whatever that is.
101D: Finnish mobile phone giant: NOKIA. Holy cow. I always thought it's a Swedish company.
102D: Fussed over, with "on": DOTED
103D: Egg-shaped: OVOID
104D: Some auction sales: REPOS
105D: It's a gas: XENON. Yes, indeed, it's a gas. A noble gas.
111D: Aries or Taurus: CAR. I was thinking of Zodiac. Good clue.
112D: Pennington et al: TYS. No idea. I've never heard of this guy, host of "Extreme Makerover: Home Edition". TY Cobb is more famous in my opinion.
115D: Estuary: RIA
116D: Airline to Stockholm: SAS. "Airline to Amsterdam" would be KLM, both have three letters.
Answer grid.
C.C.
24A: Winner's prize in a programming competition?: VICTORY LAPTOP
29A: Frijoles prep area? BEAN COUNTERTOP
41A: Writing surface available only occasionally?: PERIODIC TABLETOP
54A: Peak that reeks?: FOUL TIPTOP
78A: Crew cut after a sloppy wrestling match?: MUD FLATTOP
88A: Milk of Magnesia bottle cap?: PHILLIPS SCREW-TOP
99A: Proof of evil purchases?: PANDORA'S BOXTOP
110A: Shirt needing a chemical rinse: SEPTIC TANK TOP
15D: Convertible for a Canadian hockey player? MAPLE LEAF RAGTOP
40D: "Say hello to your average asphalt contractor?": MEET JOE BLACKTOP
The last one is playing on the movie title "Meet Joe Black", isn't it? I still don't understand the cluing rationale of 15D. I know the Toronto Maple Leafs. Is RAG the nickname for a hockey player? I have never heard of PHILLIPS SCREW before.
Nice theme, great theme title too. The lid is the word TOP. All the above theme answers feel like Jeopardy's "Before and After".
Dan Naddor mentioned his love for "heavy themage" in his interview. This grid has 10 theme entries, some of them are very long, two 16, two 15. The two shortest ones still have 10.
I had my normal struggle with LAT Sunday. Could not get into the constructor's wavelength. When I read 93A: Prepare to be shot, I did not think of the happy "Say Cheese" POSE. I pictured something horrible, you know, like the photo of Daniel Pearl in handicuff, with a gun at his head.
My favorite clue today is for C-SPAN (46D: House shower). You have to think outside the box, show-er, C-SPAN covers and shows the activities of the House of Representatives. It's like "Parisian flower?" for SEINE river. River flows, flow-er, not the real flower.
Across:
1A: Offering at the fast foodery El Pollo Loco: BREAST. Stumped immediately. Have never heard of this chicken franchise El Pollo Loco, Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken".
7A: Intimidate: DAUNT
17A: Add one's two cents: CHIME IN. Thought of OPINE.
19A: Long Island university: ADELPHI. I forgot. Saw this answer somewhere before.
21A: Like some trucks going uphill: IN LOW. No idea. Why?
22A: 1982 Toto hit: ROSANNA. Here is the clip. I've never heard of the band, nor the song.
23A: Star who's out?: HAS-BEEN. I like this clue.
26A: Fish caught in pots: EELS. Oh, I had no idea that EELS are caught in pots.
27A: Fatty acid salt: OLEATE. I forgot also. It's clued as "Soap ingredient" in our puzzle before. Did not know there is "salt" in soap.
33A: "I didn't know that": GEE
34A: Former Radiohead label: EMI. Easy guess, since Radiohead is a British band.
35A: Circle dance: HORA. Often clued as "Jewish dance".
36A: Soprano Maria: CALLAS. "La Divina". Maybe Ari Onassis should have married her instead of Jackie.
39A: Start of an idea: GERM. I like this clue.
49A: Midas's undoing: GREED. He later did change his view about gold/money, didn't he?
51A: Confuse: CROSS UP. New phrase to me.
52A: Charlie Brown's cry: AARGH. See this picture. He cried so after he missed the football.
57A: Newton fruit: FIGS. Fig Newton.
58A: Hold back: RESTRAIN
60A: Penn, e.g.: Abbr.: STA. I wrote down STS.
61A: "There's hoping...": I PRAY. Did not come to me easily.
63A: One of the Simpsons: JESSICA. D'oh. The real Simpsons (Jessica and Ashely). I was thinking of the animated "Simpsons". I did get STU (97A: "The Simpsons" disco guy) immediately.
66A: Sluggishness: INERTIA
69A: Japanese chess: SHOGI. Literally "General's Chess". Gi means "chess". A corruption of Chinese qi (chess).
71A: Charger's org: AFC. Penned in NFL again.
73A: Sign of desperation: LAST GASP
77A: Syngman of Korea: RHEE. The first president of South Korea. RHEE is the same as Chinese Li (as in Jet Li).
83A: 10th century emperor dubbed "the Great": OTTO I. No idea. I was way off, thinking of the Russian Emperor PETER the Great.
84A: Poet's feet: IAMBI. I wrote down IAMBS.
86A: One working on the sheep: SHEARER
87A: Ideal of dieters: NO CAL. More ideal than NO FAT.
94A: Escargots: SNAILS
98A: Many ATM deposits: CKS. First time I see CK in a crossword.
108A: Smooth routine: GROOVE
113A: Fundraising events: DINNERS. Thought of RAFFLES.
117A: "No damage done": IT'S OKAY
118A: Farm song refrain: EIEIO. The lyric of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" does not make any sense to me, esp EIEIO.
119A: Latvia neighbor: ESTONIA. See this Baltic region map. And Russia, Lithuania, all end in IA. Romania too.
121A: Alan and Diane: LADDS. I forgot who Diane LADD is. She is Laura Dern's mother.
122A: Elements on the road: HONDAS. HONDA Element. I was thinking of gravels/stones.
Down:
1D: "Humph!": BAH
2D: Food std.: RDA. Recommended Daily/Dietary Allowance. I don't know which is correct.
3D: Some Caltech grads: EES (Electrical Engineers). Stumped again. Just not used to this EE abbreviation.
4D: Truman veep Barkley: ALBEN. No idea. Wikipedia says ALBEN Barkley was actually the first veep. His grandson coined the title to replace the long "Mr. Vice President". And he was the only vice president to marry while in office.
6D: Area defined by an el: THE LOOP. Have heard THE LOOP in Chicago. Had no idea it's "defined by an el".
7D: Fairway chunk: DIVOT. I am often amazed by the huge chunks of DIVOTS on the golf courses. Some golfers hit their balls so hard.
8D: Doddering: ANILE. Could only think of senile.
9D: Gastric woe: ULCER
10D: Absent from: NOT AT. Had trouble getting this multiple-word answer.
11D: "Scotty, __ beam up": TWO TO. Unknown to me. Not a "Star Trek"/"Star Wars" fan. I could only find "Beam me up, Scotty".
12D: Call (out): CRY
13D: Jan. 1st, e.g.: HOL. See EVE clued as "Dec. 31, e.g." more often.
14D: Columbus sponsor: ISABELLA
16D: Opposite of exo-: ENTO. Prefix for "Inner". Exo is "outer".
17D: When some ties are broken: IN OT (Overtime)
25D: Gym unit: REP (Repetition)
29D: Lazarus, for one: BEGGAR. I thought he was a leper.
30DL Become visible: EMERGE
31D: They put on shows: AIRERS. Would not have got the answer if not for the across fills. Too abstract to me.
32D: GRF's veep: NAR (Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller). Tough clue. I actually know Ford's veep is Rockefeller, but I knew neither's middle name. GRF is Gerald Ruldoph Ford.
33D: Shoot the breeze: GAB. Wanted YAK.
36D: Crime boss: CAPO. I need "Mafia" in the clue for CAPO to emerge.
37D: Places in the heart: ATRIA. I like this clue too.
38D: Saturated: SOGGY
43D: Magic, on scoreboards: ORL. Orlando Magic. Another good clue.
44D: Last Supper question: IS IT I. Who asked this question?
47D: "For shame": TUT. Sometimes it's TSK.
48D: Acidity nos.: PHS. Thought of 7. PH7=neutral. <7> 7 alkaline.
50D: Freedom from govt. control: DEREG (Deregulation)
55D: Clandestine maritime org.: ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence). Often clued as "Sailor's Org." in our old puzzle.
56D: Worst: PITS. New slang to me.
59D: "__ sure you know ...": AS I'M
62D: Climber's spike: PITON
64D: Champs-Élysées sights: CAFES. Yes indeed. Along with those lovely shops.
65D: Company with a spokesduck: AFLAC. Ben Affleck once mentioned that AFLAC had never approached him for commercials.
67D: "Evil Woman" grp.: ELO. Here is the clip. I guessed. Three letter music grp is often ELO.
68D: Eschew the doorbell: RAP
69: Persian potentates: SHAHS
70D: Surround: HEM IN. Another multiple word.
72D: Gideon Fell's creator: CARR. Have never heard of this author John Dickson CARR nor the character Gideon Fell.
74D: Fire sale phrase: AT COST
75D: Such that one might: SO AS TO
76D: Rubbernecking cause: PILE-UP
77D: Fabric flaw: RIP. What is a RIP flaw?
80D: The N.L. doesn't use them: DHS (Designated Hitters). A.L. does use them.
81D: Trip souvenir: TEE. Mine was HAT.
82D: Credit-reporting company now called Experian: TRW (Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc.). A complete stranger to me.
85D: '50 political slogan: I LIKE IKE. I have this button. A reproduction.
89D: Parisian pronoun: ILS. French for "they".
90D: Airport safety org.: TSA (Transportation Security Administration). Created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
91D: Kind of kick: ONSIDE. Stumped again. Vaguely remember someone explained ONSIDE kick on the blog before.
92D: Avoid perishing: PUBLISH
96D: Discuss: GO INTO
99D: __ Tour: PGA. And LPGA, Sr. PGA (Champions) & European Tour.
100D: Synthetic fiber: ARNEL. Was it a gimme to you? I've never heard of this fiber. Dictionary defines it as "a brand of fiber manufactured from cellulose triacetate", whatever that is.
101D: Finnish mobile phone giant: NOKIA. Holy cow. I always thought it's a Swedish company.
102D: Fussed over, with "on": DOTED
103D: Egg-shaped: OVOID
104D: Some auction sales: REPOS
105D: It's a gas: XENON. Yes, indeed, it's a gas. A noble gas.
111D: Aries or Taurus: CAR. I was thinking of Zodiac. Good clue.
112D: Pennington et al: TYS. No idea. I've never heard of this guy, host of "Extreme Makerover: Home Edition". TY Cobb is more famous in my opinion.
115D: Estuary: RIA
116D: Airline to Stockholm: SAS. "Airline to Amsterdam" would be KLM, both have three letters.
Answer grid.
C.C.
