Theme: Not I - You! Long U sound (in various spellings) is added to consonant-beginning parts of common phrases, the resulting theme phrases, some of which experience spelling changes, are then humorously clued.
23A. Organize guards? : UNITE WATCHMEN. The base phrase is nightwatchmen.
31A. How the Knicks of 1985-2000 may have rested their hopes? : ON A EWING AND A PRAYER. On a wing and a prayer. Patrick Ewing.
43A. Where the Oregon swim team practices? : EUGENE POOLS. Gene pools.
59A. Backlash from a Canadian territory? : THE WRATH OF YUKON. The Wrath of Khan.
68A. Reverse course against one's better judgment? : TAKE A U-TURN FOR THE WORSE. Take a turn for the worse. Perfect grid spanner.
78A. Answer to "Man, where can I find good music videos online?" : TEST YOUTUBE, BABY. Test tube baby.
95A. Grateful words for a delivery company? : UPS I LOVE YOU. P.S. I Love You. Very sappy movie.
103A. Headline about declining sales of Nesquik? : YOOHOO'S LAUGHING NOW. Who's laughing now? I've never heard of Nesquik or Yoohoo chocolate milk. Don't eat any dairy products.
121A. Card in the game Car Flop Monopoly? : DO NOT PASS YUGO. Do not pass go. Yugo is the worst car in history, isn't it?
The constructor covered all the possible spellings for the long U sound, no? U, EW, EU, YU, YOU & YOO. Rather exhaustive.
Amusing theme. Heavy themage too. Nice & long theme entries. I like the title too.
Also a pangram. And no cheater square. Very John Lampkin like. But I spotted no cross-reference or clue echos, which are heavily featured in John's puzzles.
Across:
1. To blame : AT FAULT. He's to blame/AT FAULT.
8. Porch tune, maybe : CAROL. The "tune" is a duplication with the answer TUNE in 2D.
13. Spa treatment : MASSAGE. Hi, Melissa.
20. Washington's coin : QUARTER
21. Yoga posture : ASANA. Thought of Lucina and her always cheerful posts!
22. Fancy furs : ERMINES
25. Friday show? : DRAGNET. Sergeant Friday.
26. Prefix with plane : AERO. Aeroplane.
27. Lavish affection : DOTE
28. Roman's 103 : CIII
30. Oenophile's concern : NOSE. Oenophile = One who loves wine.
37. Take a shot : TRY
40. Post-OR area : ICU
41. Caspian feeder : URAL. Tried ARAL first.
42. Major ISP : AOL
48. Auto designer Ferrari : ENZO. He has become a gimme.
50. Chat room "Incidentally ..." : BTW. Needs to be reclued to avoid the "chat" duplication with the answers IDLE CHAT (29D. "Nice weather we're having" and the like).
53. Was too sweet : CLOYED
54. Meter opening : ODO. Opening for the word odometer. The clue needs a question mark. To be consistent with 92A.
55. Lab animals : MICE
57. Not stuffy : AIRY
58. Roll call response : HERE
63. Agt. under Ness : T-MAN
66. Retailer with blue-and-yellow megastores : IKEA
67. Lure sneakily : ROPE IN
75. Set straight : ORIENT
76. Execute perfectly : NAIL
77. Hun king of myth : ATLI. Same as Attila the Hun.
83. Ernest's unseen friend, in films : VERN. No idea. What film?
87. Chop finely : HASH
88. Mineo and a mule : SALS. Fun clue. A man and a mule.
89. Resistance unit : OHM
90. Andy's deputy : BARNEY. "The Andy Griffith Show".
92. Mock ending? : ERY. Ending for the word mockery.
93. McGregor of "Star Wars" films : EWAN
97. Maker of Good Grips kitchen tools : OXO. Annette was just talking about Oxo products.
98. College srs.' tests : GRES. Foreign students take GRE too, if they want to study for Masters in the US.
101. A, in Avignon : UNE. Alliteration.
102. Set, as a price : ASK
111. Summer quaffs : ADES. Can picture the groan in Barry G's face.
112. Navigate : WEND
113. Jumble wordplay: Abbr. : ANAG. Man, we really have some anagram experts on the blog. Awesome blossoms!
114. In __: stuck : A JAM
118. Rise again : RESURGE
125. Bridge call : NO TRUMP
126. Papal garment : ORALE. The cape over his vestments.
127. Fail : GO UNDER
128. Show contempt for : SNEER AT
129. Normand of silents : MABEL. Her name escaped me. Saw this clue before.
130. Reagan A.G. : ED MEESE
Down:
1. Turquoise hue : AQUA
2. Use a fork, in a way : TUNE. Tuning fork?
3. Off the foul pole, e.g. : FAIR. Baseball.
4. Threepio's pal : ARTOO. Stumper. "Star Wars" droid.
5. Salt Lake City athlete : UTE
6. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace : LEW. Stranger to me.
7. Switch to a better model : TRADE UP
8. Saguaros : CACTI. They are in Gunghy's photos.
9. Visibly terrified : ASHEN
10. Try to sink, maybe : RAM. OK.
11. Like a family sharing a vehicle : ONE CAR
12. Pacific weather phenomenon : LA NIÑA
13. TV and radio : MEDIA
14. Sheet music abbr. : ARR. Arranged?
15. "'S a __ request": Burns : SMA. Better than the "Wee" clue yesterday.
16. Cell user's need : SIGNAL. Cellphone.
17. Tee off : ANNOY
18. Canada __ : GEESE
19. Perfumer's compound : ESTER
24. Drag : TOW
32. Number of Dvorák symphonies : NINE. Needed crossing help.
33. Breezed through : ACED
34. Astronaut Grissom : GUS
35. Guerra's opposite : PAZ. Spanish for "Peace". Guerra is "war". Got me.
36. Milne tyke : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".
37. PC troubleshooter : TECH
38. Have power over : RULE
39. Lab assistant in a 1939 film : YGOR. Or IGOR.
44. Some canines : EYE TEETH
45. "Impressive!" : OOH
46. Work of Sappho : ODE. Sappho is the Greek poet. A Lesbian. The word "lesbian" is derived from her birthplace island Lesbos.
47. In a funk : LOW
49. "The Matrix" hero : NEO
50. Helmet wearer : BIKER
51. Mousquetaires count : TROIS. Three. Did not know Mousquetaires = Musketeers in French. 'The Three Musketeers".
52. Crossword inventor Arthur : WYNNE. In 1913.
55. Hammerhead cousin : MAKO
56. Anatomical passage : ITER
57. Way to make steak : AU POIVRE. Poivre is French for "pepper".
59. Demolition supply : TNT
60. Biathlete's gear : RIFLE
61. Agonize : FRET
62. Cry of distress : YOWL
64. Umpteen : MANY
65. Self starter? : AUTO. Like autograph/autobiography. "Self" prefix. Somehow I am not fond of this clue.
68. "__ moon, Alice!": Gleason catchphrase : TO THE
69. Toward the back : AREAR. I checked. It's in the dictionary.
70. Inviting, as lips : KISSY. Only know kissable.
71. Straighten out : UNTANGLE
72. Brother of Fidel : RAUL. The Castros.
73. Birds' bills : NIBS
74. Stable staple : HAY. Nice alliterative & rhyming clue.
79. Dream Team's team : USA
80. Gillespie's genre : BOP
81. Doctors hear a lot of them : AHS
82. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Incorporated. New abbr. to me.
84. "The Council of Elrond" singer : ENYA
85. Flying Clouds, e.g. : REOS. Had this identical before.
86. Syllable from Curly : NYUK. Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk. Three times.
90. Beethoven's birthplace : BONN
91. Chevy subcompact : AVEO. What's the name origin, Santa?
93. Prefix with skeleton : EXO. "Outside" prefix.
94. Court : WOO
95. Pres. before RBH : USG. Ulysses S. Grant. RBH = Rutherford B. Hayes. Blank spots for me.
96. Carousel sight : LUGGAGE. Carousel is the revolving belt in the airports.
97. "Yeah, right!" : OH SURE
99. Like coin flips : RANDOM
100. Author Welty : EUDORA. Peeked at the answer sheet.
103. Fish stories : YARNS
104. Cinema name : ODEON
105. Compass dirección : OESTE. "West" in Spanish.
106. Took four of four, say : SWEPT
107. Oahu outsider : HAOLE. Just remember it as A HOLE.
108. Drone's gathering, briefly : INTEL. Intelligence.
109. Be off one's guard : NAP
110. __ Manor: "Batman" mansion : WAYNE. Learning moment.
115. Hardy's "obscure" stonemason : JUDE. Hardy's novel "Jude the Obscure". Too obscure a clue for me.
116. Seemingly forever : AGES
117. Greedy cry : MORE
119. 1921 Capek play : R.U. R. Where the word "robot" was first used.
120. ABC talk show, for short : GMA
122. Put the cuffs on : NAB
123. Grass in strips : SOD
124. Bottom line : SUM
Answer grid.
Here is Part VIII of Kazie's Oz series. Various Sydney Harbour pictures. Brilliant night shots. The last installment of her trip will appear tomorrow.
C.C.
PS: I have a question for Firefox Browser users: Do the links today appear in blue color in your screen? They look gray in my computer, but blue when I go to Internet Explorer.
23A. Organize guards? : UNITE WATCHMEN. The base phrase is nightwatchmen.
31A. How the Knicks of 1985-2000 may have rested their hopes? : ON A EWING AND A PRAYER. On a wing and a prayer. Patrick Ewing.
43A. Where the Oregon swim team practices? : EUGENE POOLS. Gene pools.
59A. Backlash from a Canadian territory? : THE WRATH OF YUKON. The Wrath of Khan.
68A. Reverse course against one's better judgment? : TAKE A U-TURN FOR THE WORSE. Take a turn for the worse. Perfect grid spanner.
78A. Answer to "Man, where can I find good music videos online?" : TEST YOUTUBE, BABY. Test tube baby.
95A. Grateful words for a delivery company? : UPS I LOVE YOU. P.S. I Love You. Very sappy movie.
103A. Headline about declining sales of Nesquik? : YOOHOO'S LAUGHING NOW. Who's laughing now? I've never heard of Nesquik or Yoohoo chocolate milk. Don't eat any dairy products.
121A. Card in the game Car Flop Monopoly? : DO NOT PASS YUGO. Do not pass go. Yugo is the worst car in history, isn't it?
The constructor covered all the possible spellings for the long U sound, no? U, EW, EU, YU, YOU & YOO. Rather exhaustive.
Amusing theme. Heavy themage too. Nice & long theme entries. I like the title too.
Also a pangram. And no cheater square. Very John Lampkin like. But I spotted no cross-reference or clue echos, which are heavily featured in John's puzzles.
Across:
1. To blame : AT FAULT. He's to blame/AT FAULT.
8. Porch tune, maybe : CAROL. The "tune" is a duplication with the answer TUNE in 2D.
13. Spa treatment : MASSAGE. Hi, Melissa.
20. Washington's coin : QUARTER
21. Yoga posture : ASANA. Thought of Lucina and her always cheerful posts!
22. Fancy furs : ERMINES
25. Friday show? : DRAGNET. Sergeant Friday.
26. Prefix with plane : AERO. Aeroplane.
27. Lavish affection : DOTE
28. Roman's 103 : CIII
30. Oenophile's concern : NOSE. Oenophile = One who loves wine.
37. Take a shot : TRY
40. Post-OR area : ICU
41. Caspian feeder : URAL. Tried ARAL first.
42. Major ISP : AOL
48. Auto designer Ferrari : ENZO. He has become a gimme.
50. Chat room "Incidentally ..." : BTW. Needs to be reclued to avoid the "chat" duplication with the answers IDLE CHAT (29D. "Nice weather we're having" and the like).
53. Was too sweet : CLOYED
54. Meter opening : ODO. Opening for the word odometer. The clue needs a question mark. To be consistent with 92A.
55. Lab animals : MICE
57. Not stuffy : AIRY
58. Roll call response : HERE
63. Agt. under Ness : T-MAN
66. Retailer with blue-and-yellow megastores : IKEA
67. Lure sneakily : ROPE IN
75. Set straight : ORIENT
76. Execute perfectly : NAIL
77. Hun king of myth : ATLI. Same as Attila the Hun.
83. Ernest's unseen friend, in films : VERN. No idea. What film?
87. Chop finely : HASH
88. Mineo and a mule : SALS. Fun clue. A man and a mule.
89. Resistance unit : OHM
90. Andy's deputy : BARNEY. "The Andy Griffith Show".
92. Mock ending? : ERY. Ending for the word mockery.
93. McGregor of "Star Wars" films : EWAN
97. Maker of Good Grips kitchen tools : OXO. Annette was just talking about Oxo products.
98. College srs.' tests : GRES. Foreign students take GRE too, if they want to study for Masters in the US.
101. A, in Avignon : UNE. Alliteration.
102. Set, as a price : ASK
111. Summer quaffs : ADES. Can picture the groan in Barry G's face.
112. Navigate : WEND
113. Jumble wordplay: Abbr. : ANAG. Man, we really have some anagram experts on the blog. Awesome blossoms!
114. In __: stuck : A JAM
118. Rise again : RESURGE
125. Bridge call : NO TRUMP
126. Papal garment : ORALE. The cape over his vestments.
127. Fail : GO UNDER
128. Show contempt for : SNEER AT
129. Normand of silents : MABEL. Her name escaped me. Saw this clue before.
130. Reagan A.G. : ED MEESE
Down:
1. Turquoise hue : AQUA
2. Use a fork, in a way : TUNE. Tuning fork?
3. Off the foul pole, e.g. : FAIR. Baseball.
4. Threepio's pal : ARTOO. Stumper. "Star Wars" droid.
5. Salt Lake City athlete : UTE
6. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace : LEW. Stranger to me.
7. Switch to a better model : TRADE UP
8. Saguaros : CACTI. They are in Gunghy's photos.
9. Visibly terrified : ASHEN
10. Try to sink, maybe : RAM. OK.
11. Like a family sharing a vehicle : ONE CAR
12. Pacific weather phenomenon : LA NIÑA
13. TV and radio : MEDIA
14. Sheet music abbr. : ARR. Arranged?
15. "'S a __ request": Burns : SMA. Better than the "Wee" clue yesterday.
16. Cell user's need : SIGNAL. Cellphone.
17. Tee off : ANNOY
18. Canada __ : GEESE
19. Perfumer's compound : ESTER
24. Drag : TOW
32. Number of Dvorák symphonies : NINE. Needed crossing help.
33. Breezed through : ACED
34. Astronaut Grissom : GUS
35. Guerra's opposite : PAZ. Spanish for "Peace". Guerra is "war". Got me.
36. Milne tyke : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".
37. PC troubleshooter : TECH
38. Have power over : RULE
39. Lab assistant in a 1939 film : YGOR. Or IGOR.
44. Some canines : EYE TEETH
45. "Impressive!" : OOH
46. Work of Sappho : ODE. Sappho is the Greek poet. A Lesbian. The word "lesbian" is derived from her birthplace island Lesbos.
47. In a funk : LOW
49. "The Matrix" hero : NEO
50. Helmet wearer : BIKER
51. Mousquetaires count : TROIS. Three. Did not know Mousquetaires = Musketeers in French. 'The Three Musketeers".
52. Crossword inventor Arthur : WYNNE. In 1913.
55. Hammerhead cousin : MAKO
56. Anatomical passage : ITER
57. Way to make steak : AU POIVRE. Poivre is French for "pepper".
59. Demolition supply : TNT
60. Biathlete's gear : RIFLE
61. Agonize : FRET
62. Cry of distress : YOWL
64. Umpteen : MANY
65. Self starter? : AUTO. Like autograph/autobiography. "Self" prefix. Somehow I am not fond of this clue.
68. "__ moon, Alice!": Gleason catchphrase : TO THE
69. Toward the back : AREAR. I checked. It's in the dictionary.
70. Inviting, as lips : KISSY. Only know kissable.
71. Straighten out : UNTANGLE
72. Brother of Fidel : RAUL. The Castros.
73. Birds' bills : NIBS
74. Stable staple : HAY. Nice alliterative & rhyming clue.
79. Dream Team's team : USA
80. Gillespie's genre : BOP
81. Doctors hear a lot of them : AHS
82. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Incorporated. New abbr. to me.
84. "The Council of Elrond" singer : ENYA
85. Flying Clouds, e.g. : REOS. Had this identical before.
86. Syllable from Curly : NYUK. Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk. Three times.
90. Beethoven's birthplace : BONN
91. Chevy subcompact : AVEO. What's the name origin, Santa?
93. Prefix with skeleton : EXO. "Outside" prefix.
94. Court : WOO
95. Pres. before RBH : USG. Ulysses S. Grant. RBH = Rutherford B. Hayes. Blank spots for me.
96. Carousel sight : LUGGAGE. Carousel is the revolving belt in the airports.
97. "Yeah, right!" : OH SURE
99. Like coin flips : RANDOM
100. Author Welty : EUDORA. Peeked at the answer sheet.
103. Fish stories : YARNS
104. Cinema name : ODEON
105. Compass dirección : OESTE. "West" in Spanish.
106. Took four of four, say : SWEPT
107. Oahu outsider : HAOLE. Just remember it as A HOLE.
108. Drone's gathering, briefly : INTEL. Intelligence.
109. Be off one's guard : NAP
110. __ Manor: "Batman" mansion : WAYNE. Learning moment.
115. Hardy's "obscure" stonemason : JUDE. Hardy's novel "Jude the Obscure". Too obscure a clue for me.
116. Seemingly forever : AGES
117. Greedy cry : MORE
119. 1921 Capek play : R.U. R. Where the word "robot" was first used.
120. ABC talk show, for short : GMA
122. Put the cuffs on : NAB
123. Grass in strips : SOD
124. Bottom line : SUM
Answer grid.
Here is Part VIII of Kazie's Oz series. Various Sydney Harbour pictures. Brilliant night shots. The last installment of her trip will appear tomorrow.
C.C.
PS: I have a question for Firefox Browser users: Do the links today appear in blue color in your screen? They look gray in my computer, but blue when I go to Internet Explorer.
