Theme: The Clothier's Apprentice - Common phrases involving a sartorial word are humorously re-interpreted & clued as tailor-related. "The Clothier's Apprentice" story is narrated through the combination of clues & answers.
23A. Poor prep technique earned the apprentice the nickname __: TURKEY BASTER. To baste is to sew together loosely. Turkey = Poor.
34A. He thought NASA sewed astronauts' uniforms with the __: SPACE NEEDLE. Have you visited the Space Needle in Seattle?
48A. Mixing up orders from a cop and a priest, he __: COLLARED THE WRONG MAN. Superb choice of "a cop and a priest"(clerical collar). Different collar intimation.
65A. He designed a shirt, but wound up with a vest because he __: LOST THE THREAD. I hate when I lose the thread of conversation in blog Comments section.
82A. Jogging, he forgot about the pin cushion in his pocket and __: GOT A STITCH IN HIS SIDE. Learned a few months ago that "stitch" can refer to a sudden, sharp pain.
100A. He thought inferior fabric came from __: WORSTED WOOL. I understand the fabric term "worsted". But is the wordplay inferior "worst" here used as a verb?
113A. Upon reviewing the apprentice's work, the boss said, "Truly you are a __": TAILOR'S DUMMY. Hilarious!
Today marks the one-year anniversary of our switch to LA Times. What a fun, fine pangram gift from John Lampkin!
John is a musician, so quite a few music references in the grid:
7A. A to A, to Puccini: SCALA. Italian for "scale". We all know La Scala in Milan.
22A. Numbered Beethoven work, e.g.: OPUS
32A. Early prog rock gp.: ELO. Often clued as the "Xanadu" band.
88A. "The Planets" composer: HOLST (Gustav). I strung his name together via crosses.
109A. Wagner work: OPERA. Opera is also a plural of opus, isn't it?
122A. Clarinet and oboe: REEDS
104D. Early strings: VIOLS
Also brilliant word-weaving & echos in today's clues, hallmark of John's puzzles. I've highlighted them in green color in my write-up.
Across:
1. Yak: JABBER
12. Cape Town's country: Abbr.: RSA (Republic of South Africa)
15. Country bumpkin: RUBE
19. Farm vet's specialty: EQUINE. And NAG (73. Not much of a racehorse). And AT STUD (83D. Like some retired racehorses). Dictionary defines At/In Stud as: (of a male animal) offered for the purpose of breeding. New to me. Also SHOE (84. Horse's footwear).
20. Like a purring Jaguar: TUNED
21. Gambler's haunts, briefly: OTB (Offtrack Betting). But the clue is asking for plural OTBS.
25. Langley operative: CIA AGENT. CIA is based in Langley, Virginia. (Thanks for the correction, Haltool.)
27. Rotated car parts: TIRES
28. Ultimatum ender: ELSE. We often have OR ELSE.
29. Subj. concerned with habitats: ECOL
31. Fencing move: LUNGE
33. All over: ANEW
36. Dirty deed doer: DASTARD. Triple alliteration.
39. Eggs in labs: OVA
41. "The Chosen" author Chaim: POTOK. Have never heard of the book.
42. Divinity sch.: SEM (Seminary)
43. Shout in a ring: OLE. Bull ring. And I'LL GET IT (74. Response to a ring). Doorbell ring.
44. Finish, as a cake: FROST. Oh, noun "finish".
46. Kilmer poem ending: A TREE. From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". (Added later: The ending is from Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees".)
54. Sultan's wives: HAREM. Always thought harem refer to the room they live. Have you ever wondered why those Muslim girls' eyes look bright and mysterious? Well, they use KOHL for eyeliner.
57. Feline greeting: MEOW. And HOWL (85D. Wolf's cry).
59. Repeats: ITERATES
61. Vinyls, for short: LPS
62. Robust: HEARTY
64. Sale indicator: TAG
71. Bordeaux choice: CLARET. Bordeaux wine.
76. Hägar's daughter: HONI. Must be a gimme for all your "Hägar the Horrible" fans. Not me.
77. Censor's target: SMUT
79. Approaching: NIGH. So is NEAR.
81. Choose: ELECT
87. Lucy's chum: ETHEL. "I Love Lucy".
89. 1963 Cleo player: LIZ. And NILE (79D. Cleo's river). The latter is asking for an abbreviated answer.
90. Spot order?: SIT. Spot the dog. And AD REP (11D. Spot seller). TV Ad spot.
93. Enjoys a bath: SOAKS. And the consecutive WET (95. Like a bather). And WASH (51D. Bathe), followed directly by AERATED (52. Like hot tub water). John must love Degas.
96. Flamboyance: PANACHE
105. Family mem.: REL
106. "Au revoir": ADIEU. Does anyone know how to pronounce French R properly?
107. Speedy: FAST
108. Flex at the barre: PLIE. Barre is the ballet rail. And BEND (24D. Flex)
111. Varied assortment: MIXED BAG. Olio!
116. Brief confession: I DID
117. GI morale booster: USO
118. Kick out: EXPEL
119. "Enclosed __ please find ...": HEREIN
120. Dates: SEES
121. St. Helens, e.g.: MTN
123. Carol opening: ADESTE. The opening of hymn "Adeste Fideles" (O Come All Ye Faithful").
Down:
1. Took a red-eye, e.g.: JETTED
2. Eagle constellation: AQUILA. Latin for "eagle".
3. Forty-niners' carriers: BURROS. The Gold Rush forty-niners who arrived in CA in 1849.
4. You can pop a wheelie on one: BIKE
5. Hydrocarbon endings: ENES. I don't mind the pluralized form of a chemical ending. How about you chemical expert, Al/Jazzbumpa?
6. King, in Spain: REY
8. Geezer's invectives: CUSS WORDS
9. Part of a.m.: ANTE. Man, I never know that a. m. stands for ante meridiem (before noon).
10. Poe's Annabel: LEE. Poe's "Annabel Lee".
12. Fragonard's paintings exemplify it: ROCOCO ART. The answer emerged itself. Not familiar with the French painter Fragonard. How does Rococo differ from Baroque?
13. Sharp-looking heels?: STILETTOS
15. Rapscallion: ROGUE
16. Overturns: UPENDS
17. Botch: BUNGLE
26. Source of a draft?: ALE KEG. The beer draft. I only felt air draft.
30. Seal, as an oil well: CAP
34. Accessory indicating rank, perhaps: SASH
35. Norse goddess of fate: NORN. Any of the three. The Furies also consist of three goddesses.
37. Chan portrayer: TOLER (Sidney). Total stranger to me.
38. Stag: ALL MALE
40. It's cast in a booth: VOTE
44. Big spread: FEAST. Was imagining a big spread of farmland.
45. Play the vamp: TEMPT
47. Austen novel: EMMA
48. Mail order book: CATALOG
49. Pasta sauce herb: OREGANO. Jeannie's sweet potato with dried herbs sound delectable.
50. Roger of "Cheers": REES. First encounter with this guy.
53. Nasty: NOT NICE
54. Pull (up), as pants: HITCH. And LEG (61. An April fooler might pull yours).
58. One of the Earps: WYATT
60. Tiny one: TOT
62. Cartoonist Foster: HAL. No idea. Wikipedia says he's the cartoonist for "Tarzan" and "Prince Valiant".
63. Enters stealthily: EDGES IN
66. Wood fastener: T-NUT
67. Concoct: HATCH
68. "Exactamundo!": RIGHT
69. K-12 catchall: ELHI (ELementary + HIgh school)
75. Alfred Doolittle's daughter: ELIZA. "My Fair Lady".
77. Ever dedicated: STEADFAST
78. Bygone delivery vehicle: MILK WAGON. I don't have any milkman memory as many of you do.
80. Set up, as software: INSTALLED
86. Croat or Serb: SLAV
90. Hindu masters: SWAMIS
91. Salt used in thyroid treatments: IODIDE
92. "Hi and Lois" baby: TRIXIE. Uh-uh. Nope.
94. "Help!" at sea: SOS
96. Place to tie up: PIER. Tie up the boat.
97. Thickish liqueurs: CREMES
98. No social butterfly: HERMIT. Like Salinger.
99. Comic Boosler: ELAYNE. Is she very famous?
101. Bird feeder filler: SEEDS
102. Furry river critter: OTTER
108. Old King Cole's smoke: PIPE. Simple English nursery rhymes are often stymies to me. Cultural gap.
109. Used too much: OD'ED. Overdosed.
110. Squeaky clean: PURE
112. Dover derrière: BUM. Dover is picked for alliteration again.
114. Forest feller: AXE. One more alliteration.
115. Syllable in oldies: SHA
Answer grid.
A special "Thank You" to Rich Norris for a wonderful year of daily entertainment and education.
C.C.
23A. Poor prep technique earned the apprentice the nickname __: TURKEY BASTER. To baste is to sew together loosely. Turkey = Poor.
34A. He thought NASA sewed astronauts' uniforms with the __: SPACE NEEDLE. Have you visited the Space Needle in Seattle?
48A. Mixing up orders from a cop and a priest, he __: COLLARED THE WRONG MAN. Superb choice of "a cop and a priest"(clerical collar). Different collar intimation.
65A. He designed a shirt, but wound up with a vest because he __: LOST THE THREAD. I hate when I lose the thread of conversation in blog Comments section.
82A. Jogging, he forgot about the pin cushion in his pocket and __: GOT A STITCH IN HIS SIDE. Learned a few months ago that "stitch" can refer to a sudden, sharp pain.
100A. He thought inferior fabric came from __: WORSTED WOOL. I understand the fabric term "worsted". But is the wordplay inferior "worst" here used as a verb?
113A. Upon reviewing the apprentice's work, the boss said, "Truly you are a __": TAILOR'S DUMMY. Hilarious!
Today marks the one-year anniversary of our switch to LA Times. What a fun, fine pangram gift from John Lampkin!
John is a musician, so quite a few music references in the grid:
7A. A to A, to Puccini: SCALA. Italian for "scale". We all know La Scala in Milan.
22A. Numbered Beethoven work, e.g.: OPUS
32A. Early prog rock gp.: ELO. Often clued as the "Xanadu" band.
88A. "The Planets" composer: HOLST (Gustav). I strung his name together via crosses.
109A. Wagner work: OPERA. Opera is also a plural of opus, isn't it?
122A. Clarinet and oboe: REEDS
104D. Early strings: VIOLS
Also brilliant word-weaving & echos in today's clues, hallmark of John's puzzles. I've highlighted them in green color in my write-up.
Across:
1. Yak: JABBER
12. Cape Town's country: Abbr.: RSA (Republic of South Africa)
15. Country bumpkin: RUBE
19. Farm vet's specialty: EQUINE. And NAG (73. Not much of a racehorse). And AT STUD (83D. Like some retired racehorses). Dictionary defines At/In Stud as: (of a male animal) offered for the purpose of breeding. New to me. Also SHOE (84. Horse's footwear).
20. Like a purring Jaguar: TUNED
21. Gambler's haunts, briefly: OTB (Offtrack Betting). But the clue is asking for plural OTBS.
25. Langley operative: CIA AGENT. CIA is based in Langley, Virginia. (Thanks for the correction, Haltool.)
27. Rotated car parts: TIRES
28. Ultimatum ender: ELSE. We often have OR ELSE.
29. Subj. concerned with habitats: ECOL
31. Fencing move: LUNGE
33. All over: ANEW
36. Dirty deed doer: DASTARD. Triple alliteration.
39. Eggs in labs: OVA
41. "The Chosen" author Chaim: POTOK. Have never heard of the book.
42. Divinity sch.: SEM (Seminary)
43. Shout in a ring: OLE. Bull ring. And I'LL GET IT (74. Response to a ring). Doorbell ring.
44. Finish, as a cake: FROST. Oh, noun "finish".
46. Kilmer poem ending: A TREE. From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". (Added later: The ending is from Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees".)
54. Sultan's wives: HAREM. Always thought harem refer to the room they live. Have you ever wondered why those Muslim girls' eyes look bright and mysterious? Well, they use KOHL for eyeliner.
57. Feline greeting: MEOW. And HOWL (85D. Wolf's cry).
59. Repeats: ITERATES
61. Vinyls, for short: LPS
62. Robust: HEARTY
64. Sale indicator: TAG
71. Bordeaux choice: CLARET. Bordeaux wine.
76. Hägar's daughter: HONI. Must be a gimme for all your "Hägar the Horrible" fans. Not me.
77. Censor's target: SMUT
79. Approaching: NIGH. So is NEAR.
81. Choose: ELECT
87. Lucy's chum: ETHEL. "I Love Lucy".
89. 1963 Cleo player: LIZ. And NILE (79D. Cleo's river). The latter is asking for an abbreviated answer.
90. Spot order?: SIT. Spot the dog. And AD REP (11D. Spot seller). TV Ad spot.
93. Enjoys a bath: SOAKS. And the consecutive WET (95. Like a bather). And WASH (51D. Bathe), followed directly by AERATED (52. Like hot tub water). John must love Degas.
96. Flamboyance: PANACHE
105. Family mem.: REL
106. "Au revoir": ADIEU. Does anyone know how to pronounce French R properly?
107. Speedy: FAST
108. Flex at the barre: PLIE. Barre is the ballet rail. And BEND (24D. Flex)
111. Varied assortment: MIXED BAG. Olio!
116. Brief confession: I DID
117. GI morale booster: USO
118. Kick out: EXPEL
119. "Enclosed __ please find ...": HEREIN
120. Dates: SEES
121. St. Helens, e.g.: MTN
123. Carol opening: ADESTE. The opening of hymn "Adeste Fideles" (O Come All Ye Faithful").
Down:
1. Took a red-eye, e.g.: JETTED
2. Eagle constellation: AQUILA. Latin for "eagle".
3. Forty-niners' carriers: BURROS. The Gold Rush forty-niners who arrived in CA in 1849.
4. You can pop a wheelie on one: BIKE
5. Hydrocarbon endings: ENES. I don't mind the pluralized form of a chemical ending. How about you chemical expert, Al/Jazzbumpa?
6. King, in Spain: REY
8. Geezer's invectives: CUSS WORDS
9. Part of a.m.: ANTE. Man, I never know that a. m. stands for ante meridiem (before noon).
10. Poe's Annabel: LEE. Poe's "Annabel Lee".
12. Fragonard's paintings exemplify it: ROCOCO ART. The answer emerged itself. Not familiar with the French painter Fragonard. How does Rococo differ from Baroque?
13. Sharp-looking heels?: STILETTOS
15. Rapscallion: ROGUE
16. Overturns: UPENDS
17. Botch: BUNGLE
26. Source of a draft?: ALE KEG. The beer draft. I only felt air draft.
30. Seal, as an oil well: CAP
34. Accessory indicating rank, perhaps: SASH
35. Norse goddess of fate: NORN. Any of the three. The Furies also consist of three goddesses.
37. Chan portrayer: TOLER (Sidney). Total stranger to me.
38. Stag: ALL MALE
40. It's cast in a booth: VOTE
44. Big spread: FEAST. Was imagining a big spread of farmland.
45. Play the vamp: TEMPT
47. Austen novel: EMMA
48. Mail order book: CATALOG
49. Pasta sauce herb: OREGANO. Jeannie's sweet potato with dried herbs sound delectable.
50. Roger of "Cheers": REES. First encounter with this guy.
53. Nasty: NOT NICE
54. Pull (up), as pants: HITCH. And LEG (61. An April fooler might pull yours).
58. One of the Earps: WYATT
60. Tiny one: TOT
62. Cartoonist Foster: HAL. No idea. Wikipedia says he's the cartoonist for "Tarzan" and "Prince Valiant".
63. Enters stealthily: EDGES IN
66. Wood fastener: T-NUT
67. Concoct: HATCH
68. "Exactamundo!": RIGHT
69. K-12 catchall: ELHI (ELementary + HIgh school)
75. Alfred Doolittle's daughter: ELIZA. "My Fair Lady".
77. Ever dedicated: STEADFAST
78. Bygone delivery vehicle: MILK WAGON. I don't have any milkman memory as many of you do.
80. Set up, as software: INSTALLED
86. Croat or Serb: SLAV
90. Hindu masters: SWAMIS
91. Salt used in thyroid treatments: IODIDE
92. "Hi and Lois" baby: TRIXIE. Uh-uh. Nope.
94. "Help!" at sea: SOS
96. Place to tie up: PIER. Tie up the boat.
97. Thickish liqueurs: CREMES
98. No social butterfly: HERMIT. Like Salinger.
99. Comic Boosler: ELAYNE. Is she very famous?
101. Bird feeder filler: SEEDS
102. Furry river critter: OTTER
108. Old King Cole's smoke: PIPE. Simple English nursery rhymes are often stymies to me. Cultural gap.
109. Used too much: OD'ED. Overdosed.
110. Squeaky clean: PURE
112. Dover derrière: BUM. Dover is picked for alliteration again.
114. Forest feller: AXE. One more alliteration.
115. Syllable in oldies: SHA
Answer grid.
A special "Thank You" to Rich Norris for a wonderful year of daily entertainment and education.
C.C.
