Theme: El Week - Common phrases with letter L inserted after Letter F, followed by different vowel sounds, which remain unchanged after the transformation.
23A. Automatic whipper? : FLOG MACHINE. Fog Machine. Short O.
29A. Early-week occasion for wearing sensible footwear? : FLAT TUESDAY. Fat Tuesday. Short A.
43A. Country with the tastiest cuisine? : MOST FLAVORED NATION. Most Favored Nation. Long A.
67A. Some food fighters? : CHICKEN FLINGERS. Chicken Fingers. Short I.
95A. Line in an admiral's pep talk? : FLEET, DON'T FAIL ME NOW. Feet, Don't Fail Me Now. An unknown album to me. Long E.
111A. Where legendary firefighters are honored? : HALL OF FLAME. Hall of Fame. Long A.
119A. Quartet of couch potatoes? : THE FLAB FOUR. The Fab Four. The Beatles. Short A.
I don't get the title. "El", yes, why "Week"?
111A is basically a repeat of 43A Long A scheme. Maybe Doug can't find a Long I or Long U (or short U) phrase with 11-letters. I can think of Fight Song, Fighting Irish, neither works. In a funk with short U sounds nice. But then flunk is a verb.
Very smooth solving. Some of the long Downs are just awesome. Several baseball and golf references today:
51A. Level just below the majors : AAA. Baseball "level". Sitting atop UMPS (60. Home bodies?). Home plate. And YOGI (4D. Teammate of Mickey and Whitey) and ALOU (14. Jesus of '60s-'70s baseball).
And:
76A. Golf clinic subject : GRIP. Strong or weak.
42D. Golf clinic subjects: STANCES. Can you believe that I actually read Ben Hogan's secret fundamentals on golf?
112D. Duck call? : FORE. You duck when golfer shouts "Fore". I was fooled.
I guess IRON (81. Dietary need) could be clued as golf related too. Maybe CHEATED ON (11D. Was unfaithful to) too. Ha ha, now Tiger can hit his balls in any hazard he wants...
Across:
1. Kids' game for car trips : I SPY
5. River through British Columbia : FRASER. Have never heard of the river.
11. Michael of "Juno" : CERA. Another unknown. Canadian.
15. Hebrew prophet : AMOS. Hebrew meaning "burden".
19. Big Apple neighborhood near Greenwich Village : NOHO (North of Houston Street). SoHo is South of Houston Street.
20. Gun, to a hood : ROSCOE. New slang to me.
21. Truck : HAUL. Verb.
22. Actress Gershon : GINA. Here she is.
25. Gas brand in Canada : ESSO
26. Shangri-la : EDEN
27. Iconic WWII riveter : ROSIE. Rosie the Riveter.
28. "Rock and Roll, Hoochie __": 1974 hit : KOO. What does "Hoochie Koo" mean?
32. Slithery Egyptian : ASP. Wow, can you describe ASP as if it were a person?
33. Tack on : APPEND
36. Colorado natives : UTES
37. __ Cup: chocolate candy : MALLO. Nope. Have never heard of this candy.
38. Language of India : HINDI. Shout-out to Vidwan. So many languages there.
40. Yard neatener : EDGER
42. Sources of wisdom : SAGES
47. Where the source of the Amazon is : PERU
48. Showy lily : SEGO. Sego lily.
49. Words before a kiss : I DO. Wedding.
50. Opposite of bien : MAL
54. Political surprise : U-TURN
56. Subway barrier : STILE
58. It's a gas : NEON. Fun clue.
61. Euro predecessor : PESETA. Spanish currency before Euro.
63. No-goodniks : CADS
65. Business mag : INC. Well, maybe Vidwan reads this magazine.
66. Go after : SEEK
72. Sixth Greek letter : ZETA. Can't remember the order.
75. Louis XIV, par exemple : ROI
77. Shrubs with small, reddish fruit : SUMACS. Fruit & FRUITS (41D) duplication.
82. A8 automaker : AUDI
84. Amherst sch. : UMASS (University of Massachusetts)
87. Tiny South Pacific nation : NAURU. About 8 square miles in area.
88. Jenna's "The Office" role : PAM. No idea. I've never watched "The Office".
89. TiVo precursor : VCR
90. Polynesian paste : POI. Just had some boiled taro the other day.
92. Final Four letters : NCAA
94. News squib : ITEM
100. Increases sharply : SOARS
101. Viz. relative : ID EST. The full form of i.e.. Viz. = That is to say/to wit.
102. NFL Network sportscaster Rich : EISEN. First encounter with this fellow.
103. Fowl quarters : COOPS
104. Grandmotherly nickname : NANA
105. Room for brooms : CLOSET. Ours is in the garage.
108. Photo __ : OPS
114. 1040EZ issuer : IRS
115. Set one's sights on : AIM AT
117. Maker of Karlstad living room furniture : IKEA. Easy guess.
118. Lena of Tinseltown : OLIN
122. Motocross surface : DIRT
123. City with many pits : RENO. Pits here refer to "the pits", the worst, correct? (From Argyle: Wow, PIT can mean a lot of things. In this case it means the area or room of a casino containing gambling tables. In bowling, it is the area where the fallen pins gather. Of course, there are the pits in racing, too. And many more!)
124. Set the dial to : TUNE IN
125. Toni Morrison novel : SULA. What's it about?
126. "Only Time" singer : ENYA
127. Units of work : ERGS
128. __ Fables : AESOP'S
129. Anthem opener : O SAY
Down:
1. Red leader? : INFRA. Leader to the word infrared.
2. Individual efforts : SOLOS
3. Matchmaker's supply : PHOSPHORUS. Was thinking of the marriage matchmaker. Not one who makes real matches.
5. Monastic title : FRA
6. Heaps at a quarry : ROCK PILES
7. "... who lived in __" : A SHOE. "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe...".
8. Descendant : SCION
9. Long, long time : EON
10. Yachting hazard : REEF
12. Ohio's time zone : EASTERN
13. Autumn colors : RUSTS. Still hot summer here.
15. In olden days : AGES AGO
16. Hussein in the White House? : MIDDLE NAME. Obama's middle name. The clue somehow bothers me.
17. "Paper Moon" co-stars : O'NEALS. Ryan and Tatum O'Neal.
18. 2009 Panasonic acquisition : SANYO. Unknown trivia to me.
24. Had in mind : MEANT
30. Competed on a sled : LUGED
31. Send with a click : EMAIL. And PDFS (34. Some 31-Down attachments).
35. __ volente: God willing : DEO
39. Confident words : I SURE CAN. Nice entry.
41. Trail mix tidbits : DRIED FRUITS. Crossed three theme entries.
43. Apportion : METE
44. Maxwell Smart's occ. : AGT
45. Mel Blanc's meal ticket : VOICE
46. Together with : AMONG
47. Small seal : PUP
52. Goon : APE. I associate goon with thug.
53. Say "What?" : ASK
55. Ultimate : NTH
57. "Metropolis" director Fritz : LANG. Stumped me last time.
59. Augsburg article : EIN. German "a". Alliteration.
60. 1898 sinker : USS MAINE. Look, there are four ships named USS MAINE.
62. Stars in the sky? : AIR ACES. Nice clue.
64. Like some chances : SLIM
68. Squash venue : COURT. Oh, I was thinking of veggie squash.
69. Poke fun at : KID
70. "It's dandy for your teeth" toothpaste : IPANA. Only familiar with the "Brusha, brusha, brusha" line.
71. Be on the ticket : RUN. Run for the office.
72. USPS acronym : ZIP
73. Time in history : ERA
74. Shenanigans : TOMFOOLERY. Reminded me of Sallie's "shenanigan" remark of Lois. So funny!
78. Self-directed : AUTONOMOUS. Both 74 & 78 intersect two theme entries.
79. Rowers : CREW
80. Adder's target : SUM. Not the snake "adder".
83. Portable music players : IPOD NANOS. Mine is Classic.
85. Course with a fair: Abbr. : SCI. I don't get the "fair" reference here.
86. Register printout : SALES SLIP
89. Left-hand page : VERSO. Recto is right-hand page.
91. Graveyard shift hr. : ONE AM
93. Lille lady friend : AMIE
96. Capital of Buenos Aires Province : LA PLATA. Literally "silver".
97. Ringing up, old-style : DIALING
98. Consumer protection agcy. : FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Not a familiar abbr. to me.
99. Pub sign abbr. : ESTAB. Established I suppose.
100. Absorb deeply : SOAK IN
103. Wag a finger at : CHIDE
104. Panther, Jaguar, or Lion, briefly : NFLER. Good clue for a boring answer.
106. Debt securities : LIENS
107. Monteverdi title character : ORFEO. No idea. Have never hard of this opera. Wikipedia says Orfeo = Orpheus, the Greek myth guy who went to Hades to rescue his wife.
109. Longtime "Idol" name : PAULA (Abdul). Of course, she's not with "Idol" any more.
110. Dogcatcher's pickup : STRAY
113. Blues legend James : ETTA
116. In that case : IF SO
120. Coloration : HUE
121. Ques. response : ANS.
Answer grid.
C.C.
23A. Automatic whipper? : FLOG MACHINE. Fog Machine. Short O.
29A. Early-week occasion for wearing sensible footwear? : FLAT TUESDAY. Fat Tuesday. Short A.
43A. Country with the tastiest cuisine? : MOST FLAVORED NATION. Most Favored Nation. Long A.
67A. Some food fighters? : CHICKEN FLINGERS. Chicken Fingers. Short I.
95A. Line in an admiral's pep talk? : FLEET, DON'T FAIL ME NOW. Feet, Don't Fail Me Now. An unknown album to me. Long E.
111A. Where legendary firefighters are honored? : HALL OF FLAME. Hall of Fame. Long A.
119A. Quartet of couch potatoes? : THE FLAB FOUR. The Fab Four. The Beatles. Short A.
I don't get the title. "El", yes, why "Week"?
111A is basically a repeat of 43A Long A scheme. Maybe Doug can't find a Long I or Long U (or short U) phrase with 11-letters. I can think of Fight Song, Fighting Irish, neither works. In a funk with short U sounds nice. But then flunk is a verb.
Very smooth solving. Some of the long Downs are just awesome. Several baseball and golf references today:
51A. Level just below the majors : AAA. Baseball "level". Sitting atop UMPS (60. Home bodies?). Home plate. And YOGI (4D. Teammate of Mickey and Whitey) and ALOU (14. Jesus of '60s-'70s baseball).
And:
76A. Golf clinic subject : GRIP. Strong or weak.
42D. Golf clinic subjects: STANCES. Can you believe that I actually read Ben Hogan's secret fundamentals on golf?
112D. Duck call? : FORE. You duck when golfer shouts "Fore". I was fooled.
I guess IRON (81. Dietary need) could be clued as golf related too. Maybe CHEATED ON (11D. Was unfaithful to) too. Ha ha, now Tiger can hit his balls in any hazard he wants...
Across:
1. Kids' game for car trips : I SPY
5. River through British Columbia : FRASER. Have never heard of the river.
11. Michael of "Juno" : CERA. Another unknown. Canadian.
15. Hebrew prophet : AMOS. Hebrew meaning "burden".
19. Big Apple neighborhood near Greenwich Village : NOHO (North of Houston Street). SoHo is South of Houston Street.
20. Gun, to a hood : ROSCOE. New slang to me.
21. Truck : HAUL. Verb.
22. Actress Gershon : GINA. Here she is.
25. Gas brand in Canada : ESSO
26. Shangri-la : EDEN
27. Iconic WWII riveter : ROSIE. Rosie the Riveter.
28. "Rock and Roll, Hoochie __": 1974 hit : KOO. What does "Hoochie Koo" mean?
32. Slithery Egyptian : ASP. Wow, can you describe ASP as if it were a person?
33. Tack on : APPEND
36. Colorado natives : UTES
37. __ Cup: chocolate candy : MALLO. Nope. Have never heard of this candy.
38. Language of India : HINDI. Shout-out to Vidwan. So many languages there.
40. Yard neatener : EDGER
42. Sources of wisdom : SAGES
47. Where the source of the Amazon is : PERU
48. Showy lily : SEGO. Sego lily.
49. Words before a kiss : I DO. Wedding.
50. Opposite of bien : MAL
54. Political surprise : U-TURN
56. Subway barrier : STILE
58. It's a gas : NEON. Fun clue.
61. Euro predecessor : PESETA. Spanish currency before Euro.
63. No-goodniks : CADS
65. Business mag : INC. Well, maybe Vidwan reads this magazine.
66. Go after : SEEK
72. Sixth Greek letter : ZETA. Can't remember the order.
75. Louis XIV, par exemple : ROI
77. Shrubs with small, reddish fruit : SUMACS. Fruit & FRUITS (41D) duplication.
82. A8 automaker : AUDI
84. Amherst sch. : UMASS (University of Massachusetts)
87. Tiny South Pacific nation : NAURU. About 8 square miles in area.
88. Jenna's "The Office" role : PAM. No idea. I've never watched "The Office".
89. TiVo precursor : VCR
90. Polynesian paste : POI. Just had some boiled taro the other day.
92. Final Four letters : NCAA
94. News squib : ITEM
100. Increases sharply : SOARS
101. Viz. relative : ID EST. The full form of i.e.. Viz. = That is to say/to wit.
102. NFL Network sportscaster Rich : EISEN. First encounter with this fellow.
103. Fowl quarters : COOPS
104. Grandmotherly nickname : NANA
105. Room for brooms : CLOSET. Ours is in the garage.
108. Photo __ : OPS
114. 1040EZ issuer : IRS
115. Set one's sights on : AIM AT
117. Maker of Karlstad living room furniture : IKEA. Easy guess.
118. Lena of Tinseltown : OLIN
122. Motocross surface : DIRT
123. City with many pits : RENO. Pits here refer to "the pits", the worst, correct? (From Argyle: Wow, PIT can mean a lot of things. In this case it means the area or room of a casino containing gambling tables. In bowling, it is the area where the fallen pins gather. Of course, there are the pits in racing, too. And many more!)
124. Set the dial to : TUNE IN
125. Toni Morrison novel : SULA. What's it about?
126. "Only Time" singer : ENYA
127. Units of work : ERGS
128. __ Fables : AESOP'S
129. Anthem opener : O SAY
Down:
1. Red leader? : INFRA. Leader to the word infrared.
2. Individual efforts : SOLOS
3. Matchmaker's supply : PHOSPHORUS. Was thinking of the marriage matchmaker. Not one who makes real matches.
5. Monastic title : FRA
6. Heaps at a quarry : ROCK PILES
7. "... who lived in __" : A SHOE. "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe...".
8. Descendant : SCION
9. Long, long time : EON
10. Yachting hazard : REEF
12. Ohio's time zone : EASTERN
13. Autumn colors : RUSTS. Still hot summer here.
15. In olden days : AGES AGO
16. Hussein in the White House? : MIDDLE NAME. Obama's middle name. The clue somehow bothers me.
17. "Paper Moon" co-stars : O'NEALS. Ryan and Tatum O'Neal.
18. 2009 Panasonic acquisition : SANYO. Unknown trivia to me.
24. Had in mind : MEANT
30. Competed on a sled : LUGED
31. Send with a click : EMAIL. And PDFS (34. Some 31-Down attachments).
35. __ volente: God willing : DEO
39. Confident words : I SURE CAN. Nice entry.
41. Trail mix tidbits : DRIED FRUITS. Crossed three theme entries.
43. Apportion : METE
44. Maxwell Smart's occ. : AGT
45. Mel Blanc's meal ticket : VOICE
46. Together with : AMONG
47. Small seal : PUP
52. Goon : APE. I associate goon with thug.
53. Say "What?" : ASK
55. Ultimate : NTH
57. "Metropolis" director Fritz : LANG. Stumped me last time.
59. Augsburg article : EIN. German "a". Alliteration.
60. 1898 sinker : USS MAINE. Look, there are four ships named USS MAINE.
62. Stars in the sky? : AIR ACES. Nice clue.
64. Like some chances : SLIM
68. Squash venue : COURT. Oh, I was thinking of veggie squash.
69. Poke fun at : KID
70. "It's dandy for your teeth" toothpaste : IPANA. Only familiar with the "Brusha, brusha, brusha" line.
71. Be on the ticket : RUN. Run for the office.
72. USPS acronym : ZIP
73. Time in history : ERA
74. Shenanigans : TOMFOOLERY. Reminded me of Sallie's "shenanigan" remark of Lois. So funny!
78. Self-directed : AUTONOMOUS. Both 74 & 78 intersect two theme entries.
79. Rowers : CREW
80. Adder's target : SUM. Not the snake "adder".
83. Portable music players : IPOD NANOS. Mine is Classic.
85. Course with a fair: Abbr. : SCI. I don't get the "fair" reference here.
86. Register printout : SALES SLIP
89. Left-hand page : VERSO. Recto is right-hand page.
91. Graveyard shift hr. : ONE AM
93. Lille lady friend : AMIE
96. Capital of Buenos Aires Province : LA PLATA. Literally "silver".
97. Ringing up, old-style : DIALING
98. Consumer protection agcy. : FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Not a familiar abbr. to me.
99. Pub sign abbr. : ESTAB. Established I suppose.
100. Absorb deeply : SOAK IN
103. Wag a finger at : CHIDE
104. Panther, Jaguar, or Lion, briefly : NFLER. Good clue for a boring answer.
106. Debt securities : LIENS
107. Monteverdi title character : ORFEO. No idea. Have never hard of this opera. Wikipedia says Orfeo = Orpheus, the Greek myth guy who went to Hades to rescue his wife.
109. Longtime "Idol" name : PAULA (Abdul). Of course, she's not with "Idol" any more.
110. Dogcatcher's pickup : STRAY
113. Blues legend James : ETTA
116. In that case : IF SO
120. Coloration : HUE
121. Ques. response : ANS.
Answer grid.
C.C.
