Theme: Heros Welcome - SUB (hero sandwich) is inserted into familiar phrases.
23A. Confidential town green projects?: (SUB) ROSA PARKS. Base phrase is civil rights activist Rosa Parks. "Sub rosa" is literally "under the rose" in Latin. From the old practice of hanging a rose over a meeting as a symbol of confidentiality.
28A. Inferior salad dressing ingredient?: (SUB)STANDARD OIL. Standard Oil.
33A. What a white flag indicates?: COMBAT (SUB)MISSION. Combat Mission.
50A. Pine tar?: BATTING (SUB)STANCE. Batting Stance. Baseball players use pine tar (substance) to improve grips on balls/bats.
65A. Early 1600s threat to the English throne?: KING JAMES (SUB)VERSION. King James Version. King James reigned from 1567 to 1625.
82A. Government overseer of the mortgage crisis?: (SUB)PRIME MINISTER. Prime Minister.
94A. Dannon disciples?: YOGURT (SUB)CULTURE. Yogurt Culture. The good bacteria, right, Al?
101A. Bookkeeper's gift?: (SUB)TOTAL RECALL. Total Recall.
115A. Sensational sapphire, say?: (SUB) LIME STONE. Limestone.
Just what we always expect from Dan Naddor: heavy themage, fun & long theme entries and playful clues. All of the SUBs are nicely sandwiched in. Yogurt Culture is the only base phrase I am not familiar with. I also did not know that the plural form for hero is heros when it means hero sandwiches.
Jazzbumpa should love this puzzle. Lots of music references in the grid:
41A. Musical work: OPUS
54A. Song for which Pavarotti won a 1980 Grammy: 'O SOLE MIO. Here is a clip. Italian for "My Sun".
58A. "Evita" role: CHE. The "Evita" narrator.
119A. Stereo knob: TREBLE
6D. "Red Seal" record co.: RCA
17D. "Dedicated to the __ Love": 1960s hit: ONE I. Easy guess.
31D. Very, in music: ASSAI (uh-SAHY). What's Italian for "enough"? Similar to Assai, isn't it?
33D. Jazzy Laine: CLEO. Nope. Complete stranger.
50D. Key with five sharps: Abbr.: B MAJ. I blanked.
51D. Concert souvenirs: STUBS
70D. Jazz club unit: SET
99D. Tuba's first note?: OOM. Oom-pah is the rhythmical sound made by a tuba.
My favorite clues today are the three with "it":
21A. It's not free of charge: ION. Ion is charged atom.
27A. It might be a bust: STATUE. Indeed.
35D. It may be held at lunchtime: MAYO. Related to today's SUB theme.
Across:
1. Zingers: BARBS
6. Dennis in comics, e.g.: RASCAL. Shout-out to our morel guy Dennis who loves flying United. And URCHIN (43D. Ragamuffin).
12. Phone button letters: GHI. The 4 button.
15. Prince William's alma mater: ETON
19. Voodoo relative: OBEAH (OH-bee-uh). In West Indies. I can never remember this sorcery name.
20. Iron target: CREASE. Was imagining a golf iron.
22. One of a 15th century trio: NINA. Columbus's ship.
25. Old English pub proprietors: ALEWIVES
30. Gillette razor: ATRA
45. Slightest: LEAST
46. Metallic money: SPECIE. The coined money. Same root as species?
47. Chaperon: ESCORT
49. Big name in ice cream: EDY. Edy's. To be exact.
57. U.S. security: T-NOTE. Treasury security.
60. "Tahitian Women on the Beach" artist: GAUGUIN (Paul). Here is the painting.
64. Trounce: WHIP
71. Divide: PART
72. Wave through, as at a guard station: LET PASS
73. Reef dweller: EEL. Did not know eels dwell in reefs.
74. "Just as I thought!": OHO
75. Grave: ACUTE. As in grave/acute shortage of food/medical supplies in Haiti.
77. Hostage negotiator's group: SWAT TEAM
88. Letters before F?: TGI. Oh, TGIF. I wanted CDE, thinking of alphabet.
89. Vehicle with caterpillar treads: SNO-CAT. No idea. Why "caterpillar treads"?
90. Wicker material: RATTAN
91. Procyon or Canopus: F STAR. Always at a total loss of the star classification.
93. Vittles: EATS
99A. Welsh actress Tessie: O'SHEA. Sorry, don't know you. I am used to Milo O'Shea clue. Also not familiar with LILI (109D. Taylor of "Six Feet Under"), which is often clued as "Leslie Caron film". CLEO (33D) also has also a new clue today. Rich Norris is in "Change I Can" mood.
100. Next in line: HEIR. In line to succeed a title.
110. Looked like a wolf: LEERED
114. '60s Defense secretary: MCNAMARA (Robert)
117. Server of many kosher meals: EL AL. The Israeli airline.
118. Sylvester, to Tweety: TAT. Puddy Tat (pussy cat). Not familiar with "The Sylvester and Tweety" at all. Filled in SLY.
120. Malfunction: ACT UP
121. Sing the blues: WAIL. Mournfully. Nice clue.
122. That, in Tijuana: ESO. Or ESA.
123. Becomes pervasive: SETS IN
Down:
1. Head honcho: BOSS. We often see the abbreviated EXEC.
2. Touch: ABUT
4. Drinkers may run them: BAR TABS
5. Berate loudly: SHOUT AT
7. Some dadaist works: ARPS. Jean Arp. Dada pioneer.
8. 12-time Pro Bowl NFLer Junior: SEAU. Now with the Patriots. I simply remember his name as S-EAU.
9. Low-__ diet: CARB
10. Solicits: ASKS
11. For fear that: LEST
12. Designer Versace: GIANNI. Only know his surname.
13. Not abandon, as principles: HOLD TO
14. Sincerely: IN EARNEST
15. Seat of Oklahoma's Garfield County: ENID. Four letter Oklahoma name, what else could it be?
16. Modern recorder: TIVO
18. Cosmos' org.: NASL (North American Soccer League). I've never heard of NY Cosmos.
24. Spanish muralist: SERT (José María).
26. Like some humor: WRY
29. DDE opponent: AES (Adlai E. Stevenson)
34. Refs. that take up lots of shelf space: OEDS. OED = Oxford English Dictionary.
37. Get in the pool: BET. Of course I was thinking of swimming pool.
38. Old AT&T rival: MCI. Now Verizon.
39. "There's no __ team": I IN. Said Michael Jordon.
40. Line part: Abbr.: SEG
41. Andean stew veggie: OCA. Learned these veggies from doing crossword.
42. Something to save for a rainy day: PONCHO. Use ponchos as raincoat?
44. Expensive: STEEP
48. Fr. holy woman: STE (Sainte)
52. Place to get your B.S.: UNIV
53. Token concession: BONE. Throw a couple of bones. Got me.
55. Navel buildup: LINT
56. Tiny bit of work: ERG. The tiny work unit. Fraction of a joule.
60. "__ while they're hot!": GET 'EM
61. Nile biter: ASP. Play on "nail biter".
63. Gloomy guy: GUS
64. Chamberlain of the NBA: WILT. Braggart.
65. Hawaiian priest: KAHUNA. Hey, finally a Hawaiian reference.
66. Collection in which Asimov's story "Robbie" appears: I, ROBOT
68. Hand (out): METE
69. Keister: REAR
71. Riders after robbers: POSSE
75. Heavenly altar: ARA. Latin for "altar".
76. Carthage, for one: CITY STATE. I peeked at the answer sheet.
77. Attempt: STAB
78. Lusty lass: WENCH. I don't associate wench with "lusty".
79. Words following Casca's "Speak, hands, for me!": ET TU. "Et tu, Brute?". Was unaware of what preceded Caesar's last line.
80. Food thickener: AGAR
81. Bog down: MIRE
83. Staples staples, briefly: PCS. The office staples at Staples.
84. Discount rack abbr.: IRR
87. Disco __ of "The Simpsons": STU
91. Charges: FLIES AT. New idiom to me.
92. Track straightaway: STRETCH. Racing track?
95. Mitchell family: O'HARAS. Margaret Mitchell. "Gone With the Wind''.
96. Trattoria dessert: GELATO
97. Former Mideast inits.: UAR (United Arab Republic). The union between Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1961. Don't confuse it with UAE (United Arab Emirates)
98. River to the Ubangi: UELE (WEY-luh). Probably only Barry Silk knows. He used it in an old TMS puzzle before. UELE is on the upper right corner. The word Ubangi is on the upper middle part, under "Central African Republic".
101. Diving duck: SMEW
102. Bruins' home: UCLA
103. __ B'rith: B'NAI. Literally "Sons of" in Hebrew. B'nai B'rith = Sons of the Covenant. Strange apostrophes.
104. Towering: TALL
105. Round nos.: ESTS (Estimates)
106. Restore to health: CURE. HEAL too.
107. Aid's partner: ABET
108. Overseas bar degs.: LLBS. In England. Barrister's deg.
111. Memorization: ROTE
113. Interior, e.g.: Abbr.: DEPT. Department of Interior.
Just discovered Frenchie's blog this morning. Nice photos.
Answer grid.
C.C.
23A. Confidential town green projects?: (SUB) ROSA PARKS. Base phrase is civil rights activist Rosa Parks. "Sub rosa" is literally "under the rose" in Latin. From the old practice of hanging a rose over a meeting as a symbol of confidentiality.
28A. Inferior salad dressing ingredient?: (SUB)STANDARD OIL. Standard Oil.
33A. What a white flag indicates?: COMBAT (SUB)MISSION. Combat Mission.
50A. Pine tar?: BATTING (SUB)STANCE. Batting Stance. Baseball players use pine tar (substance) to improve grips on balls/bats.
65A. Early 1600s threat to the English throne?: KING JAMES (SUB)VERSION. King James Version. King James reigned from 1567 to 1625.
82A. Government overseer of the mortgage crisis?: (SUB)PRIME MINISTER. Prime Minister.
94A. Dannon disciples?: YOGURT (SUB)CULTURE. Yogurt Culture. The good bacteria, right, Al?
101A. Bookkeeper's gift?: (SUB)TOTAL RECALL. Total Recall.
115A. Sensational sapphire, say?: (SUB) LIME STONE. Limestone.
Just what we always expect from Dan Naddor: heavy themage, fun & long theme entries and playful clues. All of the SUBs are nicely sandwiched in. Yogurt Culture is the only base phrase I am not familiar with. I also did not know that the plural form for hero is heros when it means hero sandwiches.
Jazzbumpa should love this puzzle. Lots of music references in the grid:
41A. Musical work: OPUS
54A. Song for which Pavarotti won a 1980 Grammy: 'O SOLE MIO. Here is a clip. Italian for "My Sun".
58A. "Evita" role: CHE. The "Evita" narrator.
119A. Stereo knob: TREBLE
6D. "Red Seal" record co.: RCA
17D. "Dedicated to the __ Love": 1960s hit: ONE I. Easy guess.
31D. Very, in music: ASSAI (uh-SAHY). What's Italian for "enough"? Similar to Assai, isn't it?
33D. Jazzy Laine: CLEO. Nope. Complete stranger.
50D. Key with five sharps: Abbr.: B MAJ. I blanked.
51D. Concert souvenirs: STUBS
70D. Jazz club unit: SET
99D. Tuba's first note?: OOM. Oom-pah is the rhythmical sound made by a tuba.
My favorite clues today are the three with "it":
21A. It's not free of charge: ION. Ion is charged atom.
27A. It might be a bust: STATUE. Indeed.
35D. It may be held at lunchtime: MAYO. Related to today's SUB theme.
Across:
1. Zingers: BARBS
6. Dennis in comics, e.g.: RASCAL. Shout-out to our morel guy Dennis who loves flying United. And URCHIN (43D. Ragamuffin).
12. Phone button letters: GHI. The 4 button.
15. Prince William's alma mater: ETON
19. Voodoo relative: OBEAH (OH-bee-uh). In West Indies. I can never remember this sorcery name.
20. Iron target: CREASE. Was imagining a golf iron.
22. One of a 15th century trio: NINA. Columbus's ship.
25. Old English pub proprietors: ALEWIVES
30. Gillette razor: ATRA
45. Slightest: LEAST
46. Metallic money: SPECIE. The coined money. Same root as species?
47. Chaperon: ESCORT
49. Big name in ice cream: EDY. Edy's. To be exact.
57. U.S. security: T-NOTE. Treasury security.
60. "Tahitian Women on the Beach" artist: GAUGUIN (Paul). Here is the painting.
64. Trounce: WHIP
71. Divide: PART
72. Wave through, as at a guard station: LET PASS
73. Reef dweller: EEL. Did not know eels dwell in reefs.
74. "Just as I thought!": OHO
75. Grave: ACUTE. As in grave/acute shortage of food/medical supplies in Haiti.
77. Hostage negotiator's group: SWAT TEAM
88. Letters before F?: TGI. Oh, TGIF. I wanted CDE, thinking of alphabet.
89. Vehicle with caterpillar treads: SNO-CAT. No idea. Why "caterpillar treads"?
90. Wicker material: RATTAN
91. Procyon or Canopus: F STAR. Always at a total loss of the star classification.
93. Vittles: EATS
99A. Welsh actress Tessie: O'SHEA. Sorry, don't know you. I am used to Milo O'Shea clue. Also not familiar with LILI (109D. Taylor of "Six Feet Under"), which is often clued as "Leslie Caron film". CLEO (33D) also has also a new clue today. Rich Norris is in "Change I Can" mood.
100. Next in line: HEIR. In line to succeed a title.
110. Looked like a wolf: LEERED
114. '60s Defense secretary: MCNAMARA (Robert)
117. Server of many kosher meals: EL AL. The Israeli airline.
118. Sylvester, to Tweety: TAT. Puddy Tat (pussy cat). Not familiar with "The Sylvester and Tweety" at all. Filled in SLY.
120. Malfunction: ACT UP
121. Sing the blues: WAIL. Mournfully. Nice clue.
122. That, in Tijuana: ESO. Or ESA.
123. Becomes pervasive: SETS IN
Down:
1. Head honcho: BOSS. We often see the abbreviated EXEC.
2. Touch: ABUT
4. Drinkers may run them: BAR TABS
5. Berate loudly: SHOUT AT
7. Some dadaist works: ARPS. Jean Arp. Dada pioneer.
8. 12-time Pro Bowl NFLer Junior: SEAU. Now with the Patriots. I simply remember his name as S-EAU.
9. Low-__ diet: CARB
10. Solicits: ASKS
11. For fear that: LEST
12. Designer Versace: GIANNI. Only know his surname.
13. Not abandon, as principles: HOLD TO
14. Sincerely: IN EARNEST
15. Seat of Oklahoma's Garfield County: ENID. Four letter Oklahoma name, what else could it be?
16. Modern recorder: TIVO
18. Cosmos' org.: NASL (North American Soccer League). I've never heard of NY Cosmos.
24. Spanish muralist: SERT (José María).
26. Like some humor: WRY
29. DDE opponent: AES (Adlai E. Stevenson)
34. Refs. that take up lots of shelf space: OEDS. OED = Oxford English Dictionary.
37. Get in the pool: BET. Of course I was thinking of swimming pool.
38. Old AT&T rival: MCI. Now Verizon.
39. "There's no __ team": I IN. Said Michael Jordon.
40. Line part: Abbr.: SEG
41. Andean stew veggie: OCA. Learned these veggies from doing crossword.
42. Something to save for a rainy day: PONCHO. Use ponchos as raincoat?
44. Expensive: STEEP
48. Fr. holy woman: STE (Sainte)
52. Place to get your B.S.: UNIV
53. Token concession: BONE. Throw a couple of bones. Got me.
55. Navel buildup: LINT
56. Tiny bit of work: ERG. The tiny work unit. Fraction of a joule.
60. "__ while they're hot!": GET 'EM
61. Nile biter: ASP. Play on "nail biter".
63. Gloomy guy: GUS
64. Chamberlain of the NBA: WILT. Braggart.
65. Hawaiian priest: KAHUNA. Hey, finally a Hawaiian reference.
66. Collection in which Asimov's story "Robbie" appears: I, ROBOT
68. Hand (out): METE
69. Keister: REAR
71. Riders after robbers: POSSE
75. Heavenly altar: ARA. Latin for "altar".
76. Carthage, for one: CITY STATE. I peeked at the answer sheet.
77. Attempt: STAB
78. Lusty lass: WENCH. I don't associate wench with "lusty".
79. Words following Casca's "Speak, hands, for me!": ET TU. "Et tu, Brute?". Was unaware of what preceded Caesar's last line.
80. Food thickener: AGAR
81. Bog down: MIRE
83. Staples staples, briefly: PCS. The office staples at Staples.
84. Discount rack abbr.: IRR
87. Disco __ of "The Simpsons": STU
91. Charges: FLIES AT. New idiom to me.
92. Track straightaway: STRETCH. Racing track?
95. Mitchell family: O'HARAS. Margaret Mitchell. "Gone With the Wind''.
96. Trattoria dessert: GELATO
97. Former Mideast inits.: UAR (United Arab Republic). The union between Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1961. Don't confuse it with UAE (United Arab Emirates)
98. River to the Ubangi: UELE (WEY-luh). Probably only Barry Silk knows. He used it in an old TMS puzzle before. UELE is on the upper right corner. The word Ubangi is on the upper middle part, under "Central African Republic".
101. Diving duck: SMEW
102. Bruins' home: UCLA
103. __ B'rith: B'NAI. Literally "Sons of" in Hebrew. B'nai B'rith = Sons of the Covenant. Strange apostrophes.
104. Towering: TALL
105. Round nos.: ESTS (Estimates)
106. Restore to health: CURE. HEAL too.
107. Aid's partner: ABET
108. Overseas bar degs.: LLBS. In England. Barrister's deg.
111. Memorization: ROTE
113. Interior, e.g.: Abbr.: DEPT. Department of Interior.
Just discovered Frenchie's blog this morning. Nice photos.
Answer grid.
C.C.
