Theme: The Ends Justify the Meanings - The end word in each theme answer is split into a compound word, and the first part of which forms a familiar "__ and __" phrase with the start of each theme entry.
23A. Angler's go-to lure?: BREAD AND BUTTER FLY. Bread and Butter. Butterfly. Anglers use artificial flies as lure.
37A. Intermittent photo session?: ON AND OFF SHOOT. On and off. Offshoot.
67A. "Father Knows Best," to some: MOM AND POP CORN. Mom and Pop. Popcorn. I've never watched "Father Knows Best". Is it really corny?
97A. Zigzags?:: IN-AND-OUT LINES. In-and-Out. Outlines.
114A.Wavering conservative faction?: BACK AND FORTH RIGHT. Back and Forth. Forthright. Conservative faction = Right.
16D. Thrill from using a mouse?: DRAG AND DROP KICK. Drag and Drop. Dropkick. Fun clue/answer.
43D. Fancy dance marathon?: HUFF AND PUFF BALL. Huff and Puff. Puffball. Very evocative answer.
Fun theme.
It reminds me slightly of Doug Peterson and Barry Silk's collaboration Sunday puzzle "And another thing...". Different approach of course.
None of the expensive letters J/Q/X/Z is used in this grid. Out of 36 3-letter & 32 4-letter entries, quite a few are abbreviations. Fortunately most of them have become gimmes to me. I've been solving & blogging puzzles for more than two and a half years.
Across:
1. Long cold spell: ICE AGE. Nice clue.
7. "The Whiffenpoof Song" words: BAAS. Wikipedia says "The Whiffenpoof Song" ends in "Baa, baa, humbug!". Unknown to me.
11. Big bang: BLAST. Triple alliteration.
16. Mil. decoration: DSM (Distinguished Service Medal)
19. Grand Canyon nester: CONDOR. Had trouble obtaining the answer.
20. Quartet named for its singers: ABBA. Initials of their first names.
21. Alice's husband in '50s TV: RALPH
22. Reine's spouse: ROI. Reine = Queen (in French)
26. Hole puncher: AWL
27. Dustin's "Kramer vs. Kramer" co-star: MERYL(Streep)
28. "Jingle Bells" contraction: O'ER
29. Some nest eggs, briefly: IRAS
30. Mirrored: IMAGED
32. Sign that makes an angel happy: SRO (Stand Room Only). Angel here refers to a person who finances a Broadway show or a film.
33. Religious symbol: ICON
35. "Hold on __!": A SEC
36. Say over: ITERATE. And REPEAT (121.Echo)
40. __ White: SNOW
41. '90s Olds: ACHIEVA. Replaced by Alero in 1999. New trivia to me.
44. Work at assiduously: PLY
45. Took potshots: SNIPED
47. Lugs: HAULS
48. "A Doll's House" heroine: NORA. I forgot.
50. Passé platters: LPS. Cool clue!
52. Candy named for its creators: M AND M'S. Odd to see M & M's spelled out.
55. Overrun en masse, as ants: INFEST
57. Pedal pusher: CYCLER
59. Minsk's home: BELARUS. Nailed it.
60. Where wildebeest roam: Abbr.: AFR. Wildebeest = Gnu.
61. Possess, to Burns: HAE. "Have".
63. Two bells, at sea: ONE AM. Guessed. Don't really know the bells and the corresponded time.
65. Admission of defeat: I LOST
66. Palindromic Altar: ARA. Literally "Altar" in Latin.
71. Ale servings: Abbr.: PTS (Pints)
72. Yorba __, Calif. : LINDA. Just learned that the Nixon Library is located here.
74. Cockamamie: INANE
75. Here, to Pierre: ICI
76. Letters before a 76-Down: AKA. Nice crossing with ALIAS (76D. See 76-Across).
77. Blues Brothers toppers: FEDORAS. And SNL (118.Where the Blues Brothers began, briefly).
79. Like some outfield walls: PADDED
82. Quartz compound: SILICA
85. Quakers in the woods: ASPENS. Aspen quakes. The "in the woods" did not dissuade me from thinking of the religious Quakers.
86. These, to Thérèse: CES
87. Formerly, formerly: ERST
89. Suitable spot for a statue: NICHE. Triple alliteration in the clue.
90. Has the last of: USES UP
92. TV Guide abbr. : TBA
93. Director's do-overs: RETAKES
95. Sword handle: HAFT
101.1980s-'90s N.Y. senator D'Amato: ALFONSE. I peeked at the answer sheet.
103."Denial __ just a river in Egypt": Twain: AIN'T
104.State with conviction: AVER
105.Sleep lab acronym: REM
108.Bump off: RUB OUT
109.Anthem starter: O SAY
110.Expected: DUE
111.Typical start?: PROTO. Start of the word Prototypical.
113.GP's gp. : AMA
119.Taken as a whole: IN ALL
120.__ worlde: quaintly fashionable: OLDE
122."Rebel Without a Cause" actor Mineo: SAL
123.World carrier: ATLAS. The clue needs a question mark, does it?
124.Lanolin source: WOOL. Did not know the meaning of lanolin: a fatty substance obtained from wool and used in soaps, cosmetics, and ointments.
125.Fuel in a can: STERNO
Down:
1. Some WMDs: ICBMS. Stumper. ICBM = InterContinental Ballistic Missile.
2. Semicircular utensil: CORER. I seldom use our corer.
3. Hot time in Chile: ENERO. January.
4. Beatles' "__ in the Life": A DAY
5. Sanctity: GODLINESS
6. '70s NOW cause: ERA. I know NOW = National Organization for Women. But I don't get the clue.
7. Villains often come to one: BAD END. Wish it's true in real life.
8. Mass. or Miss.: ABBR. Can't get STATE out of my mind.
9. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU. No idea.
10. Make happy: SATISFY
11. Dam damage: BREACH
12. "__ and the Real Girl": 2007 film: LARS. Here is the poster. Doesn't look interesting to me.
13. Franklin's 1936 foe: ALF (Landon)
14. Mid-race statistic: SPLIT TIME. Car race?
15. Part of a Simon & Garfunkel quartet: THYME. "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme". Love the song.
17. Johannesburg area: SOWETO. Nope. What's it famous for?
18. Shower problem: MILDEW
24. Reagan speechwriter: NOONAN (Peggy)
25. Spanish crowd?: TRES. Spanish for "three". Three's a crowd.
31. Military depot: ARSENAL
34. Cleveland hoopster, for short: CAV. Cavaliers.
35. Company with a spokesduck: AFLAC
36. Charge carrier: ION. I blanked on the clue.
37. Crude carrier: OILER. Nice consecutive "carrier' clues.
38. Venue for Minnie Pearl: OPRY
39. CIA predecessor: OSS (Office of Strategic Services)
41. Sashimi fish: AHI. Yummy!
42. Birds named for an island group: CANARIES
46. Monty Python member: PALIN. Someone is pouting for the clue.
49. Neptune's domain: OCEAN
50. O'Brien's successor: LENO
51. Type of school: PREP
53. Pencil or toothbrush, e.g.: MUSTACHE. Devious clue!
54. Retd. boomers: SSTS. Nailed it.
56. Howe'er: THO
58. Ran easily: LOPED
59. College QB, often: BMOC (Big Man on Campus)
62. "Time's Arrow" author: AMIS (Martin). Has anyone read the book?
64. Bases' antitheses: ACIDS
66. Bravo preceder: ALFA. Alfa and Alpha both right.
67. Seine tributary: MARNE. Can never remember this river.
68. Kitty pickup spot: NAPE
69. Spiral molecules: DNAS
70. Grafton's "__ for Ricochet": R IS
73. Argumentative cry: DOES TOO
78. Second: ASSISTANT. Constructors love this kind of ambiguous part of speech.
80. Coming-out: DEBUT
81. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT
83. Make sense of: INTERPRET
84. DDE adversary: AES (Adlai Ewing Stevenson)
86. Audit rep: CPA. And HRS (117. 86-Down billing units).
88. Hot-pot support: TRIVET. Three-legged stand.
91. Somme one: UNE. In French.
92. Wally Cleaver portrayer: TONY DOW. Learned from doing Xword.
94. Reno-to-Elko dir.: ENE
95. Bust chops: HARASS. "Bust chops" is new slang to me.
96. Wellesley grad: ALUMNA. Women's college.
98. Some sonorant sounds: NASALS. Another triple alliteration.
99. "Gorillas in the Mist" subject Fossey: DIAN. Can never commit her name to my brain.
100. Victory emblem: LAUREL
102.Ancient Nile Valley kingdom: NUBIA. Current Egypt-Sudan region. JD said Aida is from Nubia.
105.Ham's "Gotcha": ROGER
106.Frome of fiction: ETHAN
107.Words often etched in stone: MOTTO
109.Sooner St.: OKLA. Lois is there now.
110.Birdbrain: DODO. Our Dodo got her avatar name from the starting two letters of her given & family name.
112.Ready to pluck: RIPE
115.Baseball "Iron Man" Ripken: CAL. So humble!
116.Waitress at Mel's: FLO
Answer grid.
Happy 75th Birthday to Jeannie's Dad!
C.C.
23A. Angler's go-to lure?: BREAD AND BUTTER FLY. Bread and Butter. Butterfly. Anglers use artificial flies as lure.
37A. Intermittent photo session?: ON AND OFF SHOOT. On and off. Offshoot.
67A. "Father Knows Best," to some: MOM AND POP CORN. Mom and Pop. Popcorn. I've never watched "Father Knows Best". Is it really corny?
97A. Zigzags?:: IN-AND-OUT LINES. In-and-Out. Outlines.
114A.Wavering conservative faction?: BACK AND FORTH RIGHT. Back and Forth. Forthright. Conservative faction = Right.
16D. Thrill from using a mouse?: DRAG AND DROP KICK. Drag and Drop. Dropkick. Fun clue/answer.
43D. Fancy dance marathon?: HUFF AND PUFF BALL. Huff and Puff. Puffball. Very evocative answer.
Fun theme.
It reminds me slightly of Doug Peterson and Barry Silk's collaboration Sunday puzzle "And another thing...". Different approach of course.
None of the expensive letters J/Q/X/Z is used in this grid. Out of 36 3-letter & 32 4-letter entries, quite a few are abbreviations. Fortunately most of them have become gimmes to me. I've been solving & blogging puzzles for more than two and a half years.
Across:
1. Long cold spell: ICE AGE. Nice clue.
7. "The Whiffenpoof Song" words: BAAS. Wikipedia says "The Whiffenpoof Song" ends in "Baa, baa, humbug!". Unknown to me.
11. Big bang: BLAST. Triple alliteration.
16. Mil. decoration: DSM (Distinguished Service Medal)
19. Grand Canyon nester: CONDOR. Had trouble obtaining the answer.
20. Quartet named for its singers: ABBA. Initials of their first names.
21. Alice's husband in '50s TV: RALPH
22. Reine's spouse: ROI. Reine = Queen (in French)
26. Hole puncher: AWL
27. Dustin's "Kramer vs. Kramer" co-star: MERYL(Streep)
28. "Jingle Bells" contraction: O'ER
29. Some nest eggs, briefly: IRAS
30. Mirrored: IMAGED
32. Sign that makes an angel happy: SRO (Stand Room Only). Angel here refers to a person who finances a Broadway show or a film.
33. Religious symbol: ICON
35. "Hold on __!": A SEC
36. Say over: ITERATE. And REPEAT (121.Echo)
40. __ White: SNOW
41. '90s Olds: ACHIEVA. Replaced by Alero in 1999. New trivia to me.
44. Work at assiduously: PLY
45. Took potshots: SNIPED
47. Lugs: HAULS
48. "A Doll's House" heroine: NORA. I forgot.
50. Passé platters: LPS. Cool clue!
52. Candy named for its creators: M AND M'S. Odd to see M & M's spelled out.
55. Overrun en masse, as ants: INFEST
57. Pedal pusher: CYCLER
59. Minsk's home: BELARUS. Nailed it.
60. Where wildebeest roam: Abbr.: AFR. Wildebeest = Gnu.
61. Possess, to Burns: HAE. "Have".
63. Two bells, at sea: ONE AM. Guessed. Don't really know the bells and the corresponded time.
65. Admission of defeat: I LOST
66. Palindromic Altar: ARA. Literally "Altar" in Latin.
71. Ale servings: Abbr.: PTS (Pints)
72. Yorba __, Calif. : LINDA. Just learned that the Nixon Library is located here.
74. Cockamamie: INANE
75. Here, to Pierre: ICI
76. Letters before a 76-Down: AKA. Nice crossing with ALIAS (76D. See 76-Across).
77. Blues Brothers toppers: FEDORAS. And SNL (118.Where the Blues Brothers began, briefly).
79. Like some outfield walls: PADDED
82. Quartz compound: SILICA
85. Quakers in the woods: ASPENS. Aspen quakes. The "in the woods" did not dissuade me from thinking of the religious Quakers.
86. These, to Thérèse: CES
87. Formerly, formerly: ERST
89. Suitable spot for a statue: NICHE. Triple alliteration in the clue.
90. Has the last of: USES UP
92. TV Guide abbr. : TBA
93. Director's do-overs: RETAKES
95. Sword handle: HAFT
101.1980s-'90s N.Y. senator D'Amato: ALFONSE. I peeked at the answer sheet.
103."Denial __ just a river in Egypt": Twain: AIN'T
104.State with conviction: AVER
105.Sleep lab acronym: REM
108.Bump off: RUB OUT
109.Anthem starter: O SAY
110.Expected: DUE
111.Typical start?: PROTO. Start of the word Prototypical.
113.GP's gp. : AMA
119.Taken as a whole: IN ALL
120.__ worlde: quaintly fashionable: OLDE
122."Rebel Without a Cause" actor Mineo: SAL
123.World carrier: ATLAS. The clue needs a question mark, does it?
124.Lanolin source: WOOL. Did not know the meaning of lanolin: a fatty substance obtained from wool and used in soaps, cosmetics, and ointments.
125.Fuel in a can: STERNO
Down:
1. Some WMDs: ICBMS. Stumper. ICBM = InterContinental Ballistic Missile.
2. Semicircular utensil: CORER. I seldom use our corer.
3. Hot time in Chile: ENERO. January.
4. Beatles' "__ in the Life": A DAY
5. Sanctity: GODLINESS
6. '70s NOW cause: ERA. I know NOW = National Organization for Women. But I don't get the clue.
7. Villains often come to one: BAD END. Wish it's true in real life.
8. Mass. or Miss.: ABBR. Can't get STATE out of my mind.
9. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU. No idea.
10. Make happy: SATISFY
11. Dam damage: BREACH
12. "__ and the Real Girl": 2007 film: LARS. Here is the poster. Doesn't look interesting to me.
13. Franklin's 1936 foe: ALF (Landon)
14. Mid-race statistic: SPLIT TIME. Car race?
15. Part of a Simon & Garfunkel quartet: THYME. "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme". Love the song.
17. Johannesburg area: SOWETO. Nope. What's it famous for?
18. Shower problem: MILDEW
24. Reagan speechwriter: NOONAN (Peggy)
25. Spanish crowd?: TRES. Spanish for "three". Three's a crowd.
31. Military depot: ARSENAL
34. Cleveland hoopster, for short: CAV. Cavaliers.
35. Company with a spokesduck: AFLAC
36. Charge carrier: ION. I blanked on the clue.
37. Crude carrier: OILER. Nice consecutive "carrier' clues.
38. Venue for Minnie Pearl: OPRY
39. CIA predecessor: OSS (Office of Strategic Services)
41. Sashimi fish: AHI. Yummy!
42. Birds named for an island group: CANARIES
46. Monty Python member: PALIN. Someone is pouting for the clue.
49. Neptune's domain: OCEAN
50. O'Brien's successor: LENO
51. Type of school: PREP
53. Pencil or toothbrush, e.g.: MUSTACHE. Devious clue!
54. Retd. boomers: SSTS. Nailed it.
56. Howe'er: THO
58. Ran easily: LOPED
59. College QB, often: BMOC (Big Man on Campus)
62. "Time's Arrow" author: AMIS (Martin). Has anyone read the book?
64. Bases' antitheses: ACIDS
66. Bravo preceder: ALFA. Alfa and Alpha both right.
67. Seine tributary: MARNE. Can never remember this river.
68. Kitty pickup spot: NAPE
69. Spiral molecules: DNAS
70. Grafton's "__ for Ricochet": R IS
73. Argumentative cry: DOES TOO
78. Second: ASSISTANT. Constructors love this kind of ambiguous part of speech.
80. Coming-out: DEBUT
81. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT
83. Make sense of: INTERPRET
84. DDE adversary: AES (Adlai Ewing Stevenson)
86. Audit rep: CPA. And HRS (117. 86-Down billing units).
88. Hot-pot support: TRIVET. Three-legged stand.
91. Somme one: UNE. In French.
92. Wally Cleaver portrayer: TONY DOW. Learned from doing Xword.
94. Reno-to-Elko dir.: ENE
95. Bust chops: HARASS. "Bust chops" is new slang to me.
96. Wellesley grad: ALUMNA. Women's college.
98. Some sonorant sounds: NASALS. Another triple alliteration.
99. "Gorillas in the Mist" subject Fossey: DIAN. Can never commit her name to my brain.
100. Victory emblem: LAUREL
102.Ancient Nile Valley kingdom: NUBIA. Current Egypt-Sudan region. JD said Aida is from Nubia.
105.Ham's "Gotcha": ROGER
106.Frome of fiction: ETHAN
107.Words often etched in stone: MOTTO
109.Sooner St.: OKLA. Lois is there now.
110.Birdbrain: DODO. Our Dodo got her avatar name from the starting two letters of her given & family name.
112.Ready to pluck: RIPE
115.Baseball "Iron Man" Ripken: CAL. So humble!
116.Waitress at Mel's: FLO
Answer grid.
Happy 75th Birthday to Jeannie's Dad!
C.C.
