Theme: Heard Down Under
23A: Cookie made with Chianti instead of figs? WINE NEWTON (Wayne Newton)
25A: Wood for sashes?: WINDOW PINE (Windowpane)
34A: Blue Danube relative: PURPLE RHINE (Purple Rain)
50A: Discovery of the mother lode?: MINE EVENT (Main Event)
76A: Put an "X" where you want to cut the cord?: MARK TWINE (Mark Twain)
90A: Female chiropractor?: LADY OF SPINE (Lady of Spain)
105A: Squall at sea?: BRINE STORM (Brainstorm)
107A: "I never forget a face," e. g.: MEMORY LINE (Memory Lane)
Hmm, the Aussie/Kiwi (Down Under) long A pronunciation does sound long I, doesn't it?
LADY OF SPINE is my favorite theme entry. I thought of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Su Ki. She is a real LADY OF SPINE.
Lots of interesting clues in today's puzzle. I had several V-8 moments. Normally I am not fond of ALER (American Leaguer) or NLER (National Leaguer), but today's clue (48A: Ray or Jay) is outstanding. Tampa Bay Rays & Toronto Blue Jays. Nice rhyme.
I was also happy to see MINN (11D: Gopher's home?) again. Golden Gophers is the sports team for the University of Minnesota. I collect those adorable Goldy bobbleheads.
Across:
1A: Titanic obstacle: BERG. The last known Titanic survivor just died last month. She's 2-month old when she boarded Titanic.
9A: Opening frames: JAMBS. I need a "door" hint in the clue.
14A: Try: STAB. Have a try/STAB.
18A: 19th century tale of South Seas travel: OMOO. One more letter, the answer would be TYPEE/MARDI.
19A: Reach via radio: RAISE. Dictionary defines RAISE as "Make contact with by radio", then it gives an example: couldn't RAISE control tower after midnight. New meaning to me.
21A: Girl George?: ELIOT. George ELIOT, who's a "girl". Playing on Boy George. I suppose you can clue SAND as "Girl George" too.
22A: Lobby for: URGE
27A: Like some pens: ERASABLE. Have never used one.
28A: Collect little by little: GLEAN
30A: Snack maker's gizmo: POPPER. Popcorn POPPER.
32A: Samples from a doctor: PILLS
33A: Atheistic: GODLESS. I hope there is a God.
40A: Symbol of penance: ASHES. Oh, that's how we have Ash Wednesday.
41A: Dismayed cry: OY VEY
42A: Carpenter who sang: KAREN. I like her "We've Only Just Begun".
46A: Vientiane native: LAO. It's literally "old" in Chinese. LAO Tzu is literally "old master".
47A: Highest in order: UPMOST. Only knew uppermost.
49A: Scout outing: HIKE
53A: Malt drier: OAST
55A: Yankees' captain: JETER (Derek). I have his rookie card.
56A: Small biological cavities: AREOLES. Why "cavities"? They are just nipple rings.
57A: "I'll say": AND HOW
60D: Had right to: CLAIMED
63A: Unit of work: MAN-HOUR. Normally the answer is ERG.
65A: "My cousin Vinny" Oscar winner: TOMEI (Marisa).
68A: To boot: NO LESS. Why? They are not synonymous to me.
70A: Abates: EASES UP
74A: Hot spots: OVENS. Nice clue. I was thinking of North Korea/Iran.
75A: Money maker: MINT
78A: Buck, for one: MALE. "Tom, for one" too.
81A: Eats into: ERODES
83A: UV index monitor: EPA
84A: Letters on a lunch menu: BLT. Also PBJ. This bento lunch box looks so inviting.
85A: Woolly, perhaps: OVINE. Stumped. Hope ewe got it.
86A: Brilliance: ECLAT
87A: Jellied garnish: ASPIC. Why "garnish"? My grandma always made us ASPIC during Chinese Spring Festival.
89A: Incline: SLANT
92A: Thanksgiving activity: BASTING
95A: Inn group: MAIDS. Great clue.
97A: Troop troupe sponsor, briefly: USO
98A: Frequently traded, in the stock market: ACTIVE. Like the stupid GE stock.
99A: Ballet with a hoedown: RODEO. No idea. It refers to Copland's ballet RODEO I suppose.
100A: Create financial trouble for: STRAITEN. New word to me.
109A: Tartan wraparound: KILT
112A: Work in the cutting room: EDIT
114A: German seaport: EMDEN. See upperleft? North Sea port. I've never heard of it.
116A: Carmine's family?: REDS. Had to check dictionary for "carmine".
Down:
1D: He beat Holyfield twice: BOWE (Riddick). No idea. Have never heard of this boxer. I only remembered Tyson bit Holyfield's ear.
2D: Islamic title: EMIR
3D: Columnist Barnett: RONA. Or Author Jaffe.
4D: Completely loses it: GOES APE
5D: High range: TREBLE. Guessed.
6D: Ketch kin: YAWL. Both two-masted sailboats.
7D: Toy with a tail: KITE
8D: Paul Anka's "__ Beso (That Kiss): ESO. Literally "that".
9D: Lapidary's product: JEWEL. Did not know the meaning of "lapidary".
10D: Item on a forged document, perhaps: ALIAS
12D: Physique: BOD. Needs "slangily", right?
13D: Brief visit: STOPOVER
14D: Price factor: SUPPLY. Plenty of corn & soy in the market this year.
16D: Hooey: TRIPE. To some, it's a delicacy.
16D: David Copperfield's second wife: AGNES. No idea. Have never read "David Copperfield". Thought of Claudia Schiffer, ex-girlfriend of David Copperfield.
17D: Round at the bar: BEERS
20D: Fire trucks: ENGINES
24D: They're at your fingertip: NAILS. My favorite clue.
26D: God for whom Wednesday was named: WODEN. Always thought Wednesday is named after Odin. Dictionary says WODEN is "Anglo-Saxon god identified with Odin."
29D: 2001 U.S. Open champ Hewitt: LLEYTON. I could picture his face. His name escaped me.
32D: Turn on one foot: PIVOT
33D: "Earth in the Balance": GORE. Wikipedia says his "An Inconvenient Truth" is based on this book.
34D: Balearic Islands capital: PALMA. Sigh, both the clue and the answer mean nothing to me. Ibiza is wild.
35D: Carrier that merged with Piedmont in 1989: USAIR. Not familiar with the Piedmont Airlines.
36D: River through the Lake of Geneva: RHONE
37D: Entices: ROPES IN
38D Choir offering: HYMN
39D: '80 Bond portrayer: DALTON (Timothy). Love the current 007 Daniel Craig.
42D: Buckwheat dish: KASHA. I tried buckwheat porridge once. Terrible taste. Cold buckwheat soba noodle is delicious.
43D: Sharp quality: BITE
44D: Strings of islands?: UKES. Nice clue too.
47D: Optic layer: UVEA. Latin for "grape".
49D: Talmud tongue: HEBREW. Talmud is literally "instruction".
51D: Tertiary Period epoch: EOCENE. I forgot. EO is prefix for "early". EOCENE is characterized by the advent of the modern mammalian orders, says the dictionary. And it occurred from 55 to 40 million years ago.
52D: "American Psycho" author: ELLIS. No idea. The book sounds horrifying.
54D: USN VIPS: ADMS (Admirals)
55D: Knight game: JOUST
57D: Arabian Sea's Gulf of __: ADEN
58D: Hack's question: WHERE TO. Hack is taxi driver.
61D: Point in time: MOMENT
62D: Slur over: ELIDE
64D: Symbols of might: OAKS
65D: Crypt: TOMB
66D: Kind of round: OVAL. Indeed.
67D: Get all gooey: MELT. Reminds me of Dali's "The Persistence of Memory".
69D: Metal playing marble: STEELIE
71D: Basso Cesare: SIEPI. No, no, nope. Total stranger to me.
73D: Word spoken with a two-fingered sign: PEACE
76D: Gets into shape: MOLDS
77D: Forever partner?: A DAY. Forever and A DAY.
79D: Fade away: EVANESCE. Another new word to me.
80D: Double checker?: KING. Checkers. Here is Embien's explanation: You make a "king" in checkers by putting another piece on top, thus a "double checker" (the checker piece).
82D: Colts' home before Lucas Oil Stadium: RCA DOME (1984-2007). I guessed. Wikipedia says it's similar in design and appearance to Twins' Metrodome.
85D: Oil source: OLIVE. I was in the crude oil direction.
87D: Ore analysis: ASSAY
88D: Third-party candidate, perhaps: SPOILER
89D: Is frugal: STINTS
91D: Like many mammals: FURRED
92D: Spongy cake: BABKA. The cake with raisins and rum. Diminutive of baba, Polish for "grandmother".
93D: Bitter: ACRID
94D: Underground gate: STILE. Subway turnstile.
95D: "What has God wrought?" sender: MORSE
96D: Commercial developers: AD MEN. Excellent clue.
99D: Route for Bob and Bing: ROAD. ROAD to....
101D: It's a drag: TOKE. OK, TOKE is "a puff of a marijuana cigarette".
102D: Phenomenon measured by a marigraph: TIDE. Had to check the meaning of marigraph: a device that automatically registers the rise and fall of the TIDE.
103D: Oklahoma city: ENID
104D: Trawling gear: NETS
108D: Costar of Teri, Felicity, et al.: EVA (Longoria). From "Desperate Housewives"
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday, Linda, wherever you are!
C.C.
23A: Cookie made with Chianti instead of figs? WINE NEWTON (Wayne Newton)
25A: Wood for sashes?: WINDOW PINE (Windowpane)
34A: Blue Danube relative: PURPLE RHINE (Purple Rain)
50A: Discovery of the mother lode?: MINE EVENT (Main Event)
76A: Put an "X" where you want to cut the cord?: MARK TWINE (Mark Twain)
90A: Female chiropractor?: LADY OF SPINE (Lady of Spain)
105A: Squall at sea?: BRINE STORM (Brainstorm)
107A: "I never forget a face," e. g.: MEMORY LINE (Memory Lane)
Hmm, the Aussie/Kiwi (Down Under) long A pronunciation does sound long I, doesn't it?
LADY OF SPINE is my favorite theme entry. I thought of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Su Ki. She is a real LADY OF SPINE.
Lots of interesting clues in today's puzzle. I had several V-8 moments. Normally I am not fond of ALER (American Leaguer) or NLER (National Leaguer), but today's clue (48A: Ray or Jay) is outstanding. Tampa Bay Rays & Toronto Blue Jays. Nice rhyme.
I was also happy to see MINN (11D: Gopher's home?) again. Golden Gophers is the sports team for the University of Minnesota. I collect those adorable Goldy bobbleheads.
Across:
1A: Titanic obstacle: BERG. The last known Titanic survivor just died last month. She's 2-month old when she boarded Titanic.
9A: Opening frames: JAMBS. I need a "door" hint in the clue.
14A: Try: STAB. Have a try/STAB.
18A: 19th century tale of South Seas travel: OMOO. One more letter, the answer would be TYPEE/MARDI.
19A: Reach via radio: RAISE. Dictionary defines RAISE as "Make contact with by radio", then it gives an example: couldn't RAISE control tower after midnight. New meaning to me.
21A: Girl George?: ELIOT. George ELIOT, who's a "girl". Playing on Boy George. I suppose you can clue SAND as "Girl George" too.
22A: Lobby for: URGE
27A: Like some pens: ERASABLE. Have never used one.
28A: Collect little by little: GLEAN
30A: Snack maker's gizmo: POPPER. Popcorn POPPER.
32A: Samples from a doctor: PILLS
33A: Atheistic: GODLESS. I hope there is a God.
40A: Symbol of penance: ASHES. Oh, that's how we have Ash Wednesday.
41A: Dismayed cry: OY VEY
42A: Carpenter who sang: KAREN. I like her "We've Only Just Begun".
46A: Vientiane native: LAO. It's literally "old" in Chinese. LAO Tzu is literally "old master".
47A: Highest in order: UPMOST. Only knew uppermost.
49A: Scout outing: HIKE
53A: Malt drier: OAST
55A: Yankees' captain: JETER (Derek). I have his rookie card.
56A: Small biological cavities: AREOLES. Why "cavities"? They are just nipple rings.
57A: "I'll say": AND HOW
60D: Had right to: CLAIMED
63A: Unit of work: MAN-HOUR. Normally the answer is ERG.
65A: "My cousin Vinny" Oscar winner: TOMEI (Marisa).
68A: To boot: NO LESS. Why? They are not synonymous to me.
70A: Abates: EASES UP
74A: Hot spots: OVENS. Nice clue. I was thinking of North Korea/Iran.
75A: Money maker: MINT
78A: Buck, for one: MALE. "Tom, for one" too.
81A: Eats into: ERODES
83A: UV index monitor: EPA
84A: Letters on a lunch menu: BLT. Also PBJ. This bento lunch box looks so inviting.
85A: Woolly, perhaps: OVINE. Stumped. Hope ewe got it.
86A: Brilliance: ECLAT
87A: Jellied garnish: ASPIC. Why "garnish"? My grandma always made us ASPIC during Chinese Spring Festival.
89A: Incline: SLANT
92A: Thanksgiving activity: BASTING
95A: Inn group: MAIDS. Great clue.
97A: Troop troupe sponsor, briefly: USO
98A: Frequently traded, in the stock market: ACTIVE. Like the stupid GE stock.
99A: Ballet with a hoedown: RODEO. No idea. It refers to Copland's ballet RODEO I suppose.
100A: Create financial trouble for: STRAITEN. New word to me.
109A: Tartan wraparound: KILT
112A: Work in the cutting room: EDIT
114A: German seaport: EMDEN. See upperleft? North Sea port. I've never heard of it.
116A: Carmine's family?: REDS. Had to check dictionary for "carmine".
Down:
1D: He beat Holyfield twice: BOWE (Riddick). No idea. Have never heard of this boxer. I only remembered Tyson bit Holyfield's ear.
2D: Islamic title: EMIR
3D: Columnist Barnett: RONA. Or Author Jaffe.
4D: Completely loses it: GOES APE
5D: High range: TREBLE. Guessed.
6D: Ketch kin: YAWL. Both two-masted sailboats.
7D: Toy with a tail: KITE
8D: Paul Anka's "__ Beso (That Kiss): ESO. Literally "that".
9D: Lapidary's product: JEWEL. Did not know the meaning of "lapidary".
10D: Item on a forged document, perhaps: ALIAS
12D: Physique: BOD. Needs "slangily", right?
13D: Brief visit: STOPOVER
14D: Price factor: SUPPLY. Plenty of corn & soy in the market this year.
16D: Hooey: TRIPE. To some, it's a delicacy.
16D: David Copperfield's second wife: AGNES. No idea. Have never read "David Copperfield". Thought of Claudia Schiffer, ex-girlfriend of David Copperfield.
17D: Round at the bar: BEERS
20D: Fire trucks: ENGINES
24D: They're at your fingertip: NAILS. My favorite clue.
26D: God for whom Wednesday was named: WODEN. Always thought Wednesday is named after Odin. Dictionary says WODEN is "Anglo-Saxon god identified with Odin."
29D: 2001 U.S. Open champ Hewitt: LLEYTON. I could picture his face. His name escaped me.
32D: Turn on one foot: PIVOT
33D: "Earth in the Balance": GORE. Wikipedia says his "An Inconvenient Truth" is based on this book.
34D: Balearic Islands capital: PALMA. Sigh, both the clue and the answer mean nothing to me. Ibiza is wild.
35D: Carrier that merged with Piedmont in 1989: USAIR. Not familiar with the Piedmont Airlines.
36D: River through the Lake of Geneva: RHONE
37D: Entices: ROPES IN
38D Choir offering: HYMN
39D: '80 Bond portrayer: DALTON (Timothy). Love the current 007 Daniel Craig.
42D: Buckwheat dish: KASHA. I tried buckwheat porridge once. Terrible taste. Cold buckwheat soba noodle is delicious.
43D: Sharp quality: BITE
44D: Strings of islands?: UKES. Nice clue too.
47D: Optic layer: UVEA. Latin for "grape".
49D: Talmud tongue: HEBREW. Talmud is literally "instruction".
51D: Tertiary Period epoch: EOCENE. I forgot. EO is prefix for "early". EOCENE is characterized by the advent of the modern mammalian orders, says the dictionary. And it occurred from 55 to 40 million years ago.
52D: "American Psycho" author: ELLIS. No idea. The book sounds horrifying.
54D: USN VIPS: ADMS (Admirals)
55D: Knight game: JOUST
57D: Arabian Sea's Gulf of __: ADEN
58D: Hack's question: WHERE TO. Hack is taxi driver.
61D: Point in time: MOMENT
62D: Slur over: ELIDE
64D: Symbols of might: OAKS
65D: Crypt: TOMB
66D: Kind of round: OVAL. Indeed.
67D: Get all gooey: MELT. Reminds me of Dali's "The Persistence of Memory".
69D: Metal playing marble: STEELIE
71D: Basso Cesare: SIEPI. No, no, nope. Total stranger to me.
73D: Word spoken with a two-fingered sign: PEACE
76D: Gets into shape: MOLDS
77D: Forever partner?: A DAY. Forever and A DAY.
79D: Fade away: EVANESCE. Another new word to me.
80D: Double checker?: KING. Checkers. Here is Embien's explanation: You make a "king" in checkers by putting another piece on top, thus a "double checker" (the checker piece).
82D: Colts' home before Lucas Oil Stadium: RCA DOME (1984-2007). I guessed. Wikipedia says it's similar in design and appearance to Twins' Metrodome.
85D: Oil source: OLIVE. I was in the crude oil direction.
87D: Ore analysis: ASSAY
88D: Third-party candidate, perhaps: SPOILER
89D: Is frugal: STINTS
91D: Like many mammals: FURRED
92D: Spongy cake: BABKA. The cake with raisins and rum. Diminutive of baba, Polish for "grandmother".
93D: Bitter: ACRID
94D: Underground gate: STILE. Subway turnstile.
95D: "What has God wrought?" sender: MORSE
96D: Commercial developers: AD MEN. Excellent clue.
99D: Route for Bob and Bing: ROAD. ROAD to....
101D: It's a drag: TOKE. OK, TOKE is "a puff of a marijuana cigarette".
102D: Phenomenon measured by a marigraph: TIDE. Had to check the meaning of marigraph: a device that automatically registers the rise and fall of the TIDE.
103D: Oklahoma city: ENID
104D: Trawling gear: NETS
108D: Costar of Teri, Felicity, et al.: EVA (Longoria). From "Desperate Housewives"
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday, Linda, wherever you are!
C.C.
