Theme: Gross Word - Letter C in common phrases is changed into letter G.
27A. Tammany Hall expo?: GRAFT FAIR. Craft Fair. Wikipedia says Tammany Hall served as "an engine for graft and political corruption". And the term "Tammany Hall" is now used to refer to a corrupt system of buying or controlling votes.
29A. Result of a run?: STOCKING GAP. Stocking Cap. A bit of clear nail polish can fix the stocking run.
52A. Glutton for fuzzy fruit?: PEACH GOBBLER. Peach Cobbler. Sweet! My favorite theme entry today.
79A. Low-priced drink holder?: ECONOMY GLASS. Economy Class.
105A. Mr. Clean?: GRIME SOLVER. Crime Solver.
109A. Telemarketing at dinnertime?: PHONE GALL. Phone Call. Gall indeed.
37D. Award for the best flop?: GOLD TURKEY. Cold Turkey. Flop = Turkey. Fun answer.
42D. Kid in a ditch?: TRENCH GOAT. Trench Coat. Kid = young goat. Thought of Windhover and his kidding/lambing.
Normally I love the theme titles on Sunday puzzles. Always clever, succinct and to the point. Not today though. I was expecting real "gross" words embedded in each theme entry. The "Gross Word" & "Crossword" play somehow does not work for me.
The theme concept itself is marvelous. All the original base phrases are common and solid. Sometimes an unfamiliar idiom or slang can stump a non-native speaker in understanding and the subsequent appreciating of the rationale/cleverness of the newly formed theme phrase.
There's always a simple & quiet elegance with Gail's puzzles. They seldom intimidate me (I nailed most of her tricky wordplay today) and I often feel fully engaged. Sometimes I zone out halfway on Sunday puzzles. Had to peek at the answer sheet for a few person's names.
Across:
1. Junk, e.g.: BOAT. Did not fall into the MAIL trap.
5. Lawrence's men: ARABS. "Lawrence of Arabia".
10. Adapter letters: AC/DC
14. Sired: BEGOT
19. High style: UPDO. High hair style.
20. Principle: TENET
21. Stadium replaced by Citi Field: SHEA. The old Mets' stadium. Replaced in 2009.
22. Brand on a range: AMANA
23. Hard to fathom: DEEP
24. Monthly reading for some: METER. Utility meter.
25. Markers: IOUS. New meaning of "markers" to me.
26. Railroad car: DINER
31. Before now: EARLIER
32. Cultivate: RAISE. And GREW (105D. Cultivated). I am very into clue weaving.
33. Talk about salvation, e.g.: Abbr.: SER (Sermon)
36. Wealthy widow: DOWAGER. Someone please count the total alliteration in this puzzle.
40. Childish retort: AM TOO
43. Single-minded sort: NERD
44. Excuse that's often exaggerated: SOB STORY. Got me.
45. Mystery writer Nevada: BARR. Sure a mystery to me. Have never heard of this writer. She was born in Nevada.
46. "Quit fidgeting!": BE STILL
49. Gp. that supports malpractice damage award limits: AMA. So do I.
50. Sculptor Nadelman: ELIE. Nope. Another mystery figure to me. Elie is Hebrew for "high".
51. Thing to grind: AXE. An axe to grind.
55. Inferior cookware: TIN POTS
57. Day-care charges: TOTS. My sister-in-law owns a Day-care center.
58. Put in stacks, say: SORT. So simple in retrospect.
61. Dais VIP: EMCEE
62. 2009 A.L. MVP Joe Mauer, e.g.: TWIN. Hmm, this is for KQ and me. Thanks, Gail/Rich.
66. Pirate's loot: SWAG. Slang.
68. Makeup item: ROUGE
71. Ones acting badly: HAMS. Every actor hams, bad or good.
73. It's sometimes enough: ONCE. Once is enough.
75. Like Dorothy's magical shoes: RUBY RED. Silver in the original novel. Ruby red films better.
77. Identify: PEG
84. Frat party supply: KEG. And BEER (8D. Brewski).
85. Wide-eyed: AGOG
87. "Told you so!": SEE?
88. "Too much information!": SPARE ME. What I always want to say to Jose Canseco.
89. __ majesty: high treason: LESE. Literally "injured" in French.
90. Open-bodied antique auto: ROADSTER
92. Verve: ELAN
93. Vestibule: FOYER
94. Posh properties: ESTATES. Alliteration again. Posh Spice jumped into my mind first.
95. Font flourish: SERIF. Another alliteration.
97. Film noir blade: SHIV. The prison knife.
100. Carrier more likely to be tipped: CANOE. Very descriptive clue.
101. Accumulates: PILES UP. Put in AMASSES first.
112. Burn slightly: SEAR. Or CHAR.
113. Ad infinitum: NO END
114. Utah ski resort: ALTA. The name escaped me. Close to the Salt Lake City.
115. Cybermemo: E-NOTE. I'd like to see E-LOVE someday.
116. Nail to the wall: HANG
117. Oklahoma native: OSAGE. O Sage!
118. Jupiter neighbor: MARS
119. Lost strength: WANED
120. Affectedly flamboyant: ARTY
121. Try to prevent: DETER. And HINDER (98D. Impede).
122. Dutch cheese: EDAM. Named after the Dutch town where the cheese was first produced.
Down:
1. Move slightly: BUDGE
2. Verdi work: OPERA. Have not seen AIDA for a while.
3. "Be __ ...": start of a polite request: A DEAR
4. Penthouse place: TOP FLOOR
5. Charge for cash: ATM FEE. Sigh. ATM itself or ATM combined answer often give me fits, no matter how easy it's clued.
6. Get back, as lost trust: RE-EARN. And RE-RIG (32D. Get (a ship) ready to sail again). One RE prefix is enough.
7. Start to knock?: ANTI. Start of the word antiknock. Nailed it.
9. Orchestra sect.: STR (String)
10. The way things stand: AS IT AS
11. Go for: CHOOSE
12. Court tie: DEUCE. Tennis court.
13. Port container: CASK. "Port" here is wine.
14. Half of a "Which do you want first?" pair: BAD NEWS. Great clue/answer. I always want good news first. You?
15. Leave the country, perhaps: EMIGRATE
16. Turf controller: GANG. And EDGER (70D. Turf tool). Another clue weaving.
17. Draft status: ONE A
18. Infield protector: TARP. Baseball reference is always welcome!
28. DVR brand: TIVO
29. Urban play area: SANDLOT
30. Indicators of equal pressure: ISOBARS
35. Adam's third: SETH. Brother of Abel and Cain.
36. Capitol cap: DOME. Another alliteration.
38. One of a noted quintet: ERIE. The five Great Lakes "quintet".
41. Saying: MAXIM
43. White House advisory gp.: NSC (National Security Council)
44. Topping for chips: SALSA
46. Push in some chips: BET
47. Right direction?: EAST. Right on the map. My favorite clue today.
48. Heavily financed deals, briefly: LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts)
52. Pound product: POEM. Pound here is poet Ezra Pound.
53. Incidentally, in chat rooms: BTW
59. Heavenly bodies: ORBS. Poetically.
60. Hall of Fame goalie Patrick __: ROY. No idea. Don't follow hockey.
63. Beau: WOOER
65. Two-stripers, e.g.: Abbr.: NCOS
67. Fat unit: GRAM. 1 G = 9 calorie.
69. Ninnies: GEESE. Wanted ASSES again.
72. Sonnet sections: SESTETS. The last six lines of a sonnet.
74. Augustus, for one: EMPEROR. Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
76. Benefit: USE
77. Whittle: PARE
78. Bigheads: EGOS
80. Bocce pair?: CEES. There are a pair of letter Cs in the word Bocce.
81. Certain Ivy Leaguer: YALIE
82. 1980s-'90s women's tennis player who was #1 for a record total of 377 weeks: GRAF (Steffi). And LOVE GAME (89D. Shutout for 82-Down). Shutout game.
83. Actor Cariou: LEN. Easy guess.
86. Sydney salutation: G'DAY MATE. For Kazie.
91. Drenched: STEEPED
93. Grind, in a way: FILE. Oh, nail.
95. Scholar: SAVANT
96. Get-up-and-go: ENERGY
97. Spot remover: SPONGE
100. Spelled-out: CLEAR
102. Dressing recipient: SALAD. Love Waldorf Salad.
103. Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF = Ultra High Frequency. Not a familiar abbr. to me.
104. Suffix with proto-: PLASM. Suffix meaning "tissue"/"living substance".
106. Sofer of soaps: RENA. One more alliteration.
107. Pic to click: ICON
108. Org. concerned with ergonomics: OSHA
109. Masquerade (as): POSE
110. Pressure: HEAT. Why? I don't get it.
Answer grid.
C.C.
27A. Tammany Hall expo?: GRAFT FAIR. Craft Fair. Wikipedia says Tammany Hall served as "an engine for graft and political corruption". And the term "Tammany Hall" is now used to refer to a corrupt system of buying or controlling votes.
29A. Result of a run?: STOCKING GAP. Stocking Cap. A bit of clear nail polish can fix the stocking run.
52A. Glutton for fuzzy fruit?: PEACH GOBBLER. Peach Cobbler. Sweet! My favorite theme entry today.
79A. Low-priced drink holder?: ECONOMY GLASS. Economy Class.
105A. Mr. Clean?: GRIME SOLVER. Crime Solver.
109A. Telemarketing at dinnertime?: PHONE GALL. Phone Call. Gall indeed.
37D. Award for the best flop?: GOLD TURKEY. Cold Turkey. Flop = Turkey. Fun answer.
42D. Kid in a ditch?: TRENCH GOAT. Trench Coat. Kid = young goat. Thought of Windhover and his kidding/lambing.
Normally I love the theme titles on Sunday puzzles. Always clever, succinct and to the point. Not today though. I was expecting real "gross" words embedded in each theme entry. The "Gross Word" & "Crossword" play somehow does not work for me.
The theme concept itself is marvelous. All the original base phrases are common and solid. Sometimes an unfamiliar idiom or slang can stump a non-native speaker in understanding and the subsequent appreciating of the rationale/cleverness of the newly formed theme phrase.
There's always a simple & quiet elegance with Gail's puzzles. They seldom intimidate me (I nailed most of her tricky wordplay today) and I often feel fully engaged. Sometimes I zone out halfway on Sunday puzzles. Had to peek at the answer sheet for a few person's names.
Across:
1. Junk, e.g.: BOAT. Did not fall into the MAIL trap.
5. Lawrence's men: ARABS. "Lawrence of Arabia".
10. Adapter letters: AC/DC
14. Sired: BEGOT
19. High style: UPDO. High hair style.
20. Principle: TENET
21. Stadium replaced by Citi Field: SHEA. The old Mets' stadium. Replaced in 2009.
22. Brand on a range: AMANA
23. Hard to fathom: DEEP
24. Monthly reading for some: METER. Utility meter.
25. Markers: IOUS. New meaning of "markers" to me.
26. Railroad car: DINER
31. Before now: EARLIER
32. Cultivate: RAISE. And GREW (105D. Cultivated). I am very into clue weaving.
33. Talk about salvation, e.g.: Abbr.: SER (Sermon)
36. Wealthy widow: DOWAGER. Someone please count the total alliteration in this puzzle.
40. Childish retort: AM TOO
43. Single-minded sort: NERD
44. Excuse that's often exaggerated: SOB STORY. Got me.
45. Mystery writer Nevada: BARR. Sure a mystery to me. Have never heard of this writer. She was born in Nevada.
46. "Quit fidgeting!": BE STILL
49. Gp. that supports malpractice damage award limits: AMA. So do I.
50. Sculptor Nadelman: ELIE. Nope. Another mystery figure to me. Elie is Hebrew for "high".
51. Thing to grind: AXE. An axe to grind.
55. Inferior cookware: TIN POTS
57. Day-care charges: TOTS. My sister-in-law owns a Day-care center.
58. Put in stacks, say: SORT. So simple in retrospect.
61. Dais VIP: EMCEE
62. 2009 A.L. MVP Joe Mauer, e.g.: TWIN. Hmm, this is for KQ and me. Thanks, Gail/Rich.
66. Pirate's loot: SWAG. Slang.
68. Makeup item: ROUGE
71. Ones acting badly: HAMS. Every actor hams, bad or good.
73. It's sometimes enough: ONCE. Once is enough.
75. Like Dorothy's magical shoes: RUBY RED. Silver in the original novel. Ruby red films better.
77. Identify: PEG
84. Frat party supply: KEG. And BEER (8D. Brewski).
85. Wide-eyed: AGOG
87. "Told you so!": SEE?
88. "Too much information!": SPARE ME. What I always want to say to Jose Canseco.
89. __ majesty: high treason: LESE. Literally "injured" in French.
90. Open-bodied antique auto: ROADSTER
92. Verve: ELAN
93. Vestibule: FOYER
94. Posh properties: ESTATES. Alliteration again. Posh Spice jumped into my mind first.
95. Font flourish: SERIF. Another alliteration.
97. Film noir blade: SHIV. The prison knife.
100. Carrier more likely to be tipped: CANOE. Very descriptive clue.
101. Accumulates: PILES UP. Put in AMASSES first.
112. Burn slightly: SEAR. Or CHAR.
113. Ad infinitum: NO END
114. Utah ski resort: ALTA. The name escaped me. Close to the Salt Lake City.
115. Cybermemo: E-NOTE. I'd like to see E-LOVE someday.
116. Nail to the wall: HANG
117. Oklahoma native: OSAGE. O Sage!
118. Jupiter neighbor: MARS
119. Lost strength: WANED
120. Affectedly flamboyant: ARTY
121. Try to prevent: DETER. And HINDER (98D. Impede).
122. Dutch cheese: EDAM. Named after the Dutch town where the cheese was first produced.
Down:
1. Move slightly: BUDGE
2. Verdi work: OPERA. Have not seen AIDA for a while.
3. "Be __ ...": start of a polite request: A DEAR
4. Penthouse place: TOP FLOOR
5. Charge for cash: ATM FEE. Sigh. ATM itself or ATM combined answer often give me fits, no matter how easy it's clued.
6. Get back, as lost trust: RE-EARN. And RE-RIG (32D. Get (a ship) ready to sail again). One RE prefix is enough.
7. Start to knock?: ANTI. Start of the word antiknock. Nailed it.
9. Orchestra sect.: STR (String)
10. The way things stand: AS IT AS
11. Go for: CHOOSE
12. Court tie: DEUCE. Tennis court.
13. Port container: CASK. "Port" here is wine.
14. Half of a "Which do you want first?" pair: BAD NEWS. Great clue/answer. I always want good news first. You?
15. Leave the country, perhaps: EMIGRATE
16. Turf controller: GANG. And EDGER (70D. Turf tool). Another clue weaving.
17. Draft status: ONE A
18. Infield protector: TARP. Baseball reference is always welcome!
28. DVR brand: TIVO
29. Urban play area: SANDLOT
30. Indicators of equal pressure: ISOBARS
35. Adam's third: SETH. Brother of Abel and Cain.
36. Capitol cap: DOME. Another alliteration.
38. One of a noted quintet: ERIE. The five Great Lakes "quintet".
41. Saying: MAXIM
43. White House advisory gp.: NSC (National Security Council)
44. Topping for chips: SALSA
46. Push in some chips: BET
47. Right direction?: EAST. Right on the map. My favorite clue today.
48. Heavily financed deals, briefly: LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts)
52. Pound product: POEM. Pound here is poet Ezra Pound.
53. Incidentally, in chat rooms: BTW
59. Heavenly bodies: ORBS. Poetically.
60. Hall of Fame goalie Patrick __: ROY. No idea. Don't follow hockey.
63. Beau: WOOER
65. Two-stripers, e.g.: Abbr.: NCOS
67. Fat unit: GRAM. 1 G = 9 calorie.
69. Ninnies: GEESE. Wanted ASSES again.
72. Sonnet sections: SESTETS. The last six lines of a sonnet.
74. Augustus, for one: EMPEROR. Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
76. Benefit: USE
77. Whittle: PARE
78. Bigheads: EGOS
80. Bocce pair?: CEES. There are a pair of letter Cs in the word Bocce.
81. Certain Ivy Leaguer: YALIE
82. 1980s-'90s women's tennis player who was #1 for a record total of 377 weeks: GRAF (Steffi). And LOVE GAME (89D. Shutout for 82-Down). Shutout game.
83. Actor Cariou: LEN. Easy guess.
86. Sydney salutation: G'DAY MATE. For Kazie.
91. Drenched: STEEPED
93. Grind, in a way: FILE. Oh, nail.
95. Scholar: SAVANT
96. Get-up-and-go: ENERGY
97. Spot remover: SPONGE
100. Spelled-out: CLEAR
102. Dressing recipient: SALAD. Love Waldorf Salad.
103. Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF = Ultra High Frequency. Not a familiar abbr. to me.
104. Suffix with proto-: PLASM. Suffix meaning "tissue"/"living substance".
106. Sofer of soaps: RENA. One more alliteration.
107. Pic to click: ICON
108. Org. concerned with ergonomics: OSHA
109. Masquerade (as): POSE
110. Pressure: HEAT. Why? I don't get it.
Answer grid.
C.C.
