Theme: Just Do It - "Do" is inserted to familiar phrases.
23A. Unlikely bar snack?: BEER (DO)NUTS. Beer Nuts. Peanuts/oil/salt. Go well with beer.
25A. Hair stylist's blunder?: GOOFED UP(DO). Goofed Up.
48A. Place marker in "The Compleat Angler"?: FISHING (DO)G-EAR. Fishing Gear.
95A. Paid athletes with upscale apartments?: PROS AND CON(DO)S. Pros and Cons. The clue does not correspond well with the answer, does it?
120A. Tennis great's swimwear?: GRAF SPEE(DO). Graf Spee, the German warship. Steffi Graf is Agassi's wife.
124A. Typical dog's motto?: SEMPER FI(DO). Semper Fi, Marines' motto. "Always faithful".
36D. "What a jerk!": HE'S ONE (DO)OFUS. He's One of Us. Funny entry.
41D. Bringin' up a crime boss portrayer?: RAISIN' BRAN(DO). Raisin Bran. The omission of g in the clue hints an omission of g in the answer. Marlon Brando played the mafia boss Don Corleone in "The Godfather".
And NIKE (117D. Apt company for this puzzle?). How convenient that Tiger is nowhere to be found in the grid! Nike Golf would never have taken off without Tiger and his "Just do it" attitude. Whatever Tiger then did!
We tend to praise constructors for certain awe-inspiring clever clues. Sometimes those clues are from the quiet editor Rich Norris himself. Today's puzzle gives us a good opportunity to see Rich's mind at work, unfiltered. Nora Pearlstone is one of Rich's alias names. Anagram of "Not a Real Person".
And it's a good puzzle. A full range of DO insertion positions: In the beginning, in the middle and in the end of a word respectively. As the norm with Sunday puzzles, quite a few tricky & entertaining clues. My favorite is BURP (39D. Newborn's achievement?). The clue for ACT (31A. Don't just sit there) fits today's theme pretty well.
Across:
1. Apply crudely: DAUB. And SPLAT (56A. Paint spill sound).
5. Practice exercise: DRILL
10. Man __: 1920 Horse of the Year: O'WAR. The greatest racing horse ever, right?
14. Interface developed for the Intel x86 family of microprocessors: MS-DOS. Windows forerunner,
19. Juanita's "this": ESTA. The masculine "this" is ESTO.
20. Arabian peninsula capital: SANA'A. And ADEN (118D. Port of Yemen). We also have SHEBA (108D. Biblical queendom), the present day Yemen.
21. Part: ROLE. And OSCAR (71D. Actor's dream).
22. Southern New Mexico county: OTERO. Unknown to me. Literally "isolated hill" in Spanish.
27. Try: TASTE. Oh, try the food.
28. South side?: GRITS. Side dish.
30. Quarrel: DUST-UP
35. Hilo exchanges: ALOHAS. Greeting exchanges.
39. Santa __: BARBARA. Named after Saint Barbara.
43. A single bounce, in baseball: ONE- HOP. Another baseball reference is ALOU (12D. Baseball's Matty). Brother of Felipe.
46. Glacial ridge: ARETE (uh-REYT). Often just clued as "Mountain ridge".
47. Sch. founded by Jefferson: UVA. In 1819.
52. Beaver, to Ward: SON
53. Churn: ROIL
57. Soprano Lily: PONS. Vaguely remember that Buckeye likes her.
58. Ligurian Sea city: PISA. On the Arno River.
59. Kitchen tools: DICERS
62. Class: ELEGANCE. Grace Kelly had aplenty.
64. Beatles girl with a "little white book": RITA. The Beatles’ “Lovely Rita". The meter MAID (74A. Household servant).
66. Snack brand sold in twists and puffs: CHEETOS
69. Pan-fried: SAUTEED. Forgot the difference between saute and stir-fry.
70. Singer with The Velvet Underground in the '60s: NICO. Not a familiar name to me. She has an otherworldly look.
72. Nice piece of change: TIDY SUM. Was worried that "Nice" here might be the French city.
75. Talky get-together: GABFEST
78. Like eagles: TALONED
80. 82-Across cry: MEOW. And STRAY CAT (82A. Alley wanderer).
84. Equiangular geometric figure: ISOGON. Iso is a prefix for "equal".
86. Lower Manhattan neighborhood: NOHO. Stands for North of Houston Street. Soho is South of Houston.
88. Jazz home: UTAH. Utah Jazz.
89. Legend creator: ACURA. Honda's luxury car division.
92. Sugar source: CANE
93. Maker of nonstick cookware: T-FAL
94. British golfer Poulter: IAN. Gimme. Met him in person. Look at the pants he wore. Very colorful character.
99. Kin of -kin: ULE. I did not know -kin is a diminutive suffix too. Dictionary gives lambkin as an example.
100. Like some waves: TIDAL
102. Eye shadow?: SHINER. Did not know "shiner" is slang for "black eye".
103. Cuts into: INCISES. Root word for incisive.
105. Kept a partner up, maybe: SNORED. Oh, bedding partner.
107. Rather modern: NEWISH
110. Scale's fifth: SOL. Musical scale.
111. Primarily: MAINLY
114. Jewish community orgs.: YMHAS. YMHA = Young Men's Hebrew Association.
116. Arm bones: ULNAS. Or ulnae.
126. Vaudeville show: REVUE
127. Race: TEAR. Why?
128. They're usually made of African Blackwood: OBOES. New trivia to me.
130. Explorer Amundsen: ROALD. No idea. Norwegian explorer. The first person to reach both the North and South Pole. Roald is just like English Ronald, isn't it?
131. Vodka in a blue bottle: SKYY. Very blue.
132. '30s veep John __ Garner: NANCE. Roosevelt’s first veep. I forgot. We had this clue before.
133. Mothers' groups?: DENS. Den mother is a woman who supervises a den of Cub Scouts. New to me also.
Down:
1. Charging result: DEBT
2. On the Aegean: ASEA
3. Old Navajo enemies: UTES. The answer emerged itself.
4. It may be picked up at a pub: BAR TAB
5. British mil. award: DSO (Distinguished Service Order)
6. Made a jingle: RANG
7. Accustom: INURE
8. "Aeneid" language: LATIN. "Aeneid" is a Latin epic poem by Virgil, recounting the adventures of Aeneas after the fall of Troy.
9. Puzo novel, with "The": LAST DON. Pretty good.
10. Dot follower, perhaps: ORG. Internet address "dot".
11. Vocational course: WOOD SHOP. Again, got the answer from crosses.
13. Calls the game: REFS
14. Sectional home: MODULAR. Sectional sofa.
15. Daze of wine and rosés?: STUPOR. I like the clue, playing on "Days of Wine and Roses".
16. Security pmt.: DEP (Deposit). Placed side by side with another abbreviated answer ORD (17D: Diner req.). I had a mess in this corner.
18. Great Lakes' __ Canals: SOO
24. Java choice: DECAF
26. LAX info: ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)
29. Album track: SONG
32. Three-tone chord: TRIAD
37. Medical stat?: AT ONCE. "Stat" is ASAP for doctors. Not the sports stats.
38. Detected: SENSED
40. To have, to Henri: AVOIR
42. Gelatin garnish: ASPIC. Delicious!
44. Eye blatantly: OGLE
45. Bell sounds: PEALS
49. Horizontal bar dismount: HECHT (Hekt). Did not know this horizontal bar has a special name. Sounds German, isn't it, Kazie/Spitzboov?
50. Op art viewer's cry, maybe: I SEE IT
51. Elite unit: A-TEAM
54. Queen with a Grammy: LATIFAH. Queen Lafifah.
57. Like a good waiter: PATIENT
60. Prynne's stigma: RED A. From "The Scarlet Letter".
61. Pens and needles: STYLI. Playing on "pins and needles".
63. Micronesia's largest island: GUAM. "Where America's Day Begins".
65. __-deucy: ACEY
67. Baja bears: OSOS. Spanish for "bears". Alliteration.
68. Shell alternative: SUNOCO. And TACOS (77D. Food in shells). Different Shell/shell.
73. Mullally of "Will & Grace": MEGAN. Is this actress very famous?
75. Astronauts' wear: G-SUITS
76. Accomplish: ATTAIN
79. Orphan boy of old comics: DONDI. His name appeared several times in our old puzzles.
81. Jonah's problem: WHALE. He was swallowed by a whale. Bible story.
83. Keister: TUSH
85. Bright signs: NEONS. Bright indeed.
87. Pamplona chorus: OLES
90. Future time of need, metaphorically: RAINY DAY. Nice clue.
91. Writer Tyler: ANNE. Recognized her face when I googled.
95. Smiling, probably: PLEASED
96. Damp at daybreak: DEWY. Hmmm, dewy!
97. Ivy League color: CRIMSON. Harvard color.
98. Search all over: SCOUR
101. As much as you can carry: ARMFUL. The grammar of the clue confused me.
104. Undernourished: ILL-FED. Like some of those models.
106. Onion __: DIP. With a bit of chives.
109. Rye lead-in: HAM ON. Ham on rye sandwich.
112. Bottom lines: NETS
113. Vichyssoise veggie: LEEK. Potato too. Vichyssoise is a thick soup of potatoes and leeks.
115. Design detail, briefly: SPEC
119. Lays down the lawn: SODS. Punning on "Lays down the law".
120. Boxer's warning: GRR. Or ARF.
121. Classic wheels: REO
123. Transit end?: ORY. The end of the word "transitory".
125. L.A.-to-Tucson dir.: ESE
Answer grid.
See you next Wednesday!
C.C.
23A. Unlikely bar snack?: BEER (DO)NUTS. Beer Nuts. Peanuts/oil/salt. Go well with beer.
25A. Hair stylist's blunder?: GOOFED UP(DO). Goofed Up.
48A. Place marker in "The Compleat Angler"?: FISHING (DO)G-EAR. Fishing Gear.
95A. Paid athletes with upscale apartments?: PROS AND CON(DO)S. Pros and Cons. The clue does not correspond well with the answer, does it?
120A. Tennis great's swimwear?: GRAF SPEE(DO). Graf Spee, the German warship. Steffi Graf is Agassi's wife.
124A. Typical dog's motto?: SEMPER FI(DO). Semper Fi, Marines' motto. "Always faithful".
36D. "What a jerk!": HE'S ONE (DO)OFUS. He's One of Us. Funny entry.
41D. Bringin' up a crime boss portrayer?: RAISIN' BRAN(DO). Raisin Bran. The omission of g in the clue hints an omission of g in the answer. Marlon Brando played the mafia boss Don Corleone in "The Godfather".
And NIKE (117D. Apt company for this puzzle?). How convenient that Tiger is nowhere to be found in the grid! Nike Golf would never have taken off without Tiger and his "Just do it" attitude. Whatever Tiger then did!
We tend to praise constructors for certain awe-inspiring clever clues. Sometimes those clues are from the quiet editor Rich Norris himself. Today's puzzle gives us a good opportunity to see Rich's mind at work, unfiltered. Nora Pearlstone is one of Rich's alias names. Anagram of "Not a Real Person".
And it's a good puzzle. A full range of DO insertion positions: In the beginning, in the middle and in the end of a word respectively. As the norm with Sunday puzzles, quite a few tricky & entertaining clues. My favorite is BURP (39D. Newborn's achievement?). The clue for ACT (31A. Don't just sit there) fits today's theme pretty well.
Across:
1. Apply crudely: DAUB. And SPLAT (56A. Paint spill sound).
5. Practice exercise: DRILL
10. Man __: 1920 Horse of the Year: O'WAR. The greatest racing horse ever, right?
14. Interface developed for the Intel x86 family of microprocessors: MS-DOS. Windows forerunner,
19. Juanita's "this": ESTA. The masculine "this" is ESTO.
20. Arabian peninsula capital: SANA'A. And ADEN (118D. Port of Yemen). We also have SHEBA (108D. Biblical queendom), the present day Yemen.
21. Part: ROLE. And OSCAR (71D. Actor's dream).
22. Southern New Mexico county: OTERO. Unknown to me. Literally "isolated hill" in Spanish.
27. Try: TASTE. Oh, try the food.
28. South side?: GRITS. Side dish.
30. Quarrel: DUST-UP
35. Hilo exchanges: ALOHAS. Greeting exchanges.
39. Santa __: BARBARA. Named after Saint Barbara.
43. A single bounce, in baseball: ONE- HOP. Another baseball reference is ALOU (12D. Baseball's Matty). Brother of Felipe.
46. Glacial ridge: ARETE (uh-REYT). Often just clued as "Mountain ridge".
47. Sch. founded by Jefferson: UVA. In 1819.
52. Beaver, to Ward: SON
53. Churn: ROIL
57. Soprano Lily: PONS. Vaguely remember that Buckeye likes her.
58. Ligurian Sea city: PISA. On the Arno River.
59. Kitchen tools: DICERS
62. Class: ELEGANCE. Grace Kelly had aplenty.
64. Beatles girl with a "little white book": RITA. The Beatles’ “Lovely Rita". The meter MAID (74A. Household servant).
66. Snack brand sold in twists and puffs: CHEETOS
69. Pan-fried: SAUTEED. Forgot the difference between saute and stir-fry.
70. Singer with The Velvet Underground in the '60s: NICO. Not a familiar name to me. She has an otherworldly look.
72. Nice piece of change: TIDY SUM. Was worried that "Nice" here might be the French city.
75. Talky get-together: GABFEST
78. Like eagles: TALONED
80. 82-Across cry: MEOW. And STRAY CAT (82A. Alley wanderer).
84. Equiangular geometric figure: ISOGON. Iso is a prefix for "equal".
86. Lower Manhattan neighborhood: NOHO. Stands for North of Houston Street. Soho is South of Houston.
88. Jazz home: UTAH. Utah Jazz.
89. Legend creator: ACURA. Honda's luxury car division.
92. Sugar source: CANE
93. Maker of nonstick cookware: T-FAL
94. British golfer Poulter: IAN. Gimme. Met him in person. Look at the pants he wore. Very colorful character.
99. Kin of -kin: ULE. I did not know -kin is a diminutive suffix too. Dictionary gives lambkin as an example.
100. Like some waves: TIDAL
102. Eye shadow?: SHINER. Did not know "shiner" is slang for "black eye".
103. Cuts into: INCISES. Root word for incisive.
105. Kept a partner up, maybe: SNORED. Oh, bedding partner.
107. Rather modern: NEWISH
110. Scale's fifth: SOL. Musical scale.
111. Primarily: MAINLY
114. Jewish community orgs.: YMHAS. YMHA = Young Men's Hebrew Association.
116. Arm bones: ULNAS. Or ulnae.
126. Vaudeville show: REVUE
127. Race: TEAR. Why?
128. They're usually made of African Blackwood: OBOES. New trivia to me.
130. Explorer Amundsen: ROALD. No idea. Norwegian explorer. The first person to reach both the North and South Pole. Roald is just like English Ronald, isn't it?
131. Vodka in a blue bottle: SKYY. Very blue.
132. '30s veep John __ Garner: NANCE. Roosevelt’s first veep. I forgot. We had this clue before.
133. Mothers' groups?: DENS. Den mother is a woman who supervises a den of Cub Scouts. New to me also.
Down:
1. Charging result: DEBT
2. On the Aegean: ASEA
3. Old Navajo enemies: UTES. The answer emerged itself.
4. It may be picked up at a pub: BAR TAB
5. British mil. award: DSO (Distinguished Service Order)
6. Made a jingle: RANG
7. Accustom: INURE
8. "Aeneid" language: LATIN. "Aeneid" is a Latin epic poem by Virgil, recounting the adventures of Aeneas after the fall of Troy.
9. Puzo novel, with "The": LAST DON. Pretty good.
10. Dot follower, perhaps: ORG. Internet address "dot".
11. Vocational course: WOOD SHOP. Again, got the answer from crosses.
13. Calls the game: REFS
14. Sectional home: MODULAR. Sectional sofa.
15. Daze of wine and rosés?: STUPOR. I like the clue, playing on "Days of Wine and Roses".
16. Security pmt.: DEP (Deposit). Placed side by side with another abbreviated answer ORD (17D: Diner req.). I had a mess in this corner.
18. Great Lakes' __ Canals: SOO
24. Java choice: DECAF
26. LAX info: ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)
29. Album track: SONG
32. Three-tone chord: TRIAD
37. Medical stat?: AT ONCE. "Stat" is ASAP for doctors. Not the sports stats.
38. Detected: SENSED
40. To have, to Henri: AVOIR
42. Gelatin garnish: ASPIC. Delicious!
44. Eye blatantly: OGLE
45. Bell sounds: PEALS
49. Horizontal bar dismount: HECHT (Hekt). Did not know this horizontal bar has a special name. Sounds German, isn't it, Kazie/Spitzboov?
50. Op art viewer's cry, maybe: I SEE IT
51. Elite unit: A-TEAM
54. Queen with a Grammy: LATIFAH. Queen Lafifah.
57. Like a good waiter: PATIENT
60. Prynne's stigma: RED A. From "The Scarlet Letter".
61. Pens and needles: STYLI. Playing on "pins and needles".
63. Micronesia's largest island: GUAM. "Where America's Day Begins".
65. __-deucy: ACEY
67. Baja bears: OSOS. Spanish for "bears". Alliteration.
68. Shell alternative: SUNOCO. And TACOS (77D. Food in shells). Different Shell/shell.
73. Mullally of "Will & Grace": MEGAN. Is this actress very famous?
75. Astronauts' wear: G-SUITS
76. Accomplish: ATTAIN
79. Orphan boy of old comics: DONDI. His name appeared several times in our old puzzles.
81. Jonah's problem: WHALE. He was swallowed by a whale. Bible story.
83. Keister: TUSH
85. Bright signs: NEONS. Bright indeed.
87. Pamplona chorus: OLES
90. Future time of need, metaphorically: RAINY DAY. Nice clue.
91. Writer Tyler: ANNE. Recognized her face when I googled.
95. Smiling, probably: PLEASED
96. Damp at daybreak: DEWY. Hmmm, dewy!
97. Ivy League color: CRIMSON. Harvard color.
98. Search all over: SCOUR
101. As much as you can carry: ARMFUL. The grammar of the clue confused me.
104. Undernourished: ILL-FED. Like some of those models.
106. Onion __: DIP. With a bit of chives.
109. Rye lead-in: HAM ON. Ham on rye sandwich.
112. Bottom lines: NETS
113. Vichyssoise veggie: LEEK. Potato too. Vichyssoise is a thick soup of potatoes and leeks.
115. Design detail, briefly: SPEC
119. Lays down the lawn: SODS. Punning on "Lays down the law".
120. Boxer's warning: GRR. Or ARF.
121. Classic wheels: REO
123. Transit end?: ORY. The end of the word "transitory".
125. L.A.-to-Tucson dir.: ESE
Answer grid.
See you next Wednesday!
C.C.
