Theme: Mal de Mer -"Mer" is added to the ends of various parts of common phrases.
23A. Response to "What's a six-letter answer for 'Silent performer'?"? : MUMMER'S THE WORD. The base phrase is "Mum's the word".
50A. Seaside vacation disappointment? : BEACH BUMMER. Beach bum. We also have PIERS (27. Spots for seaside strolls) and SHORE (30A. Spot for seaside strolls). Three "seaside" clechos (clue echos).
60A. Prison performer? : SLAMMER DANCER. Slam dancer. Slammer is a slang for "prison".
75A. Team in an agricultural all-star game? : THE FARMER SIDE. The Far Side. From Argyle. I don't get the joke.
84A. Station that exclusively plays rapper MC's hits? : HAMMER RADIO. Ham radio. Rapper MC Hammer.
118A. Like steak cooked by an enchanting chef? : CHARMER BROILED. Charbroiled.
32D. Sugary complaint? : CANDIED YAMMER. Candid yam. With a bit of toasted walnuts, delicious!
34D. More cordial old-timer? : WARMER VETERAN. War veteran.
Some of the MERs are inserted to the end of the first word, some the middle word, some the end. Nice variety. Five of the them are attached to a M-ending word.
Like Doug Peterson's last "El Week" (playing on "Hell Week" ), the title "Mal de Mer" is just a title, not a direct summary of the theme, nothing seasick, nothing mal with de mer. But French references aplenty:
70A. Capital of Nord, France : LILLE. Je ne sais pas. De Gaulle's birthplace.
104A. Idée source : TETE. Head in French.
106A. French wine region : RHONE
58D. 1956 star of Vadim's "And God Created Woman" : BARDOT (Brigitte). Gorgeous.
61D. "Les __" : MIZ
71D. M.'s partner : MME. Monsieur/Madame.
85D. Dada co-founder : ARP (Jean)
111D. Fille's father : PERE. Fille = Daughter.
Interesting theme entry placement. The grid has a nice week-day style edges, with two fingers (the black square blocks, called so because they look like fingers poking into the grid) rather than three fingers, resulting in plenty of 7s and 6s on the outside and lots of 3s in the middle, esp Downs, several are abbrs.
Across:
1. Railroad foundation : ROADBED. Had road track in mind.
8. Short chat? : CONFAB. Short for confabulation.
14. Destroys : WRECKS
20. Philosopher's term : A PRIORI. Argument without evidence/analysis.
21. Portugal's second-largest city : OPORTO. Also PORTO, from which port wine gets its name.
22. __ reason : WITHIN
25. Superficiality : FACADE
26. Memo opener : AS PER
28. Professor's end? : IAL.End to the word professorial.
31. Agnus __: Mass prayers : DEIS
32. Poolroom array : CUES
33. Loud bird : MACAW
35. The whole shebang : A TO Z. Colorful clue.
36. Bermuda hrs. : AST. Atlantic Standard Time.
37. Five-time NBA championship-winning coach : PAT RILEY. Came to me without difficulty. We must have seen either his given name or surname in the puzzle before.
40. Shah's land, once : IRAN
42. Manhattan cooler? : ICE. Cocktail.
43. Siskel or Shalit : GENE. Only know former.
44. Sleeveless garment : VEST
45. Dinghy pair : OARLOCKS
47. Mountainous region in Genesis : GILEAD. No idea. In Jordan.
52. Sub in a tub : OLEO. Sub of butter. Nice rhyme. Has a Clear Aye style poetic euphony/rhythm feel.
53. Actress Lupino : IDA
55. Being, to Augustus : ESSE
56. Corn remnants : COBS
66. Full of team spirit : RAH RAH
68. Different : ODD
69. Picture cards? : IDS. ID cards.
71. Super Bowl honoree : MVP. Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.
72. Palindromic "before" : ERE
73. Agitated state : FRENZY
78. Roller on a Rolls : TYRE. Good clue.
79. Rhein tributary : AARE
82. Worked (up) : HET
83. Pair at the altar : I DO'S. Pair of oaths.
90. Sci-fi psychic : EMPATH. I only know empathy, rooted in empath, I presume?
92. Declared : AFFIRMED
95. Powerful energy-market gp. : OPEC
96. Abbey titles : FRAS
97. Mex. title : SRA
98. Bench-presser's pride : PECS
99. "Risky Business" co-star : DE MORNAY (Rebecca). Recognized her face when I googled.
101. Flightless bird, nowadays? : SST. Now grounded, hence "flightless".
108. Heads or tails, e.g. : NOUN. This kind of clue gets me all the time.
109. Repentant one : RUER
110. Wrap-up : RECAP
112. Program file suffix : EXE
113. Relief agcy. founded in the U.K. in 1942 : OXFAM. Stands for Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. Unknown to me.
115. NFL ref, in slang : ZEBRA
116. Sacred birds : IBISES. Sacred in Egypt.
121. Bistro, informally : NITERY
122. Comes up : ARISES
123. Unisex : EPICENE. Does not seem to have "sex" root, does it? Not that I know what "sex" root is.
124. Yellowstone attraction : GEYSER
125. "Candid Camera" bits : PUT-ONS
126. Name of earthshaking importance? : RICHTER
Down:
1. Inn crowd option : RAMADA. Great play on "In crowd".
2. Musical works : OPUSES. Thought of OPERAS first.
3. It's exposed many times during the singing of "YMCA" : ARMPIT. Wow, let's see. Awesome clue.
4. 40% of quarters? : DIMES. Yep. I had to calculate in paper. I can't do mental math.
5. Transvaal settler : BOER. Dutch has those kind of aa clusters.
6. Make a misstep : ERR
7. Argument : DISPUTE. Followed by COHESIVE (8. Like good arguments). Another clecho.
9. Phone abbr. : OPER
10. "__ the time!" : NOW'S
11. Not to : FRO. To and fro.
12. Hotel courts : ATRIA
13. Amazing, in dialect : BODACIOUS. Crockett likes to use this word.
14. Hulk Hogan's '80s-'90s org. : WWF (World Wrestling Federation). Learning moment.
15. River inlets : RIAS
16. __ Sketch : ETCH A
17. Hardly orderly : CHAOTIC
18. "All Summer Long" singer, 2008 : KID ROCK. Great song.
19. Cold signs : SNEEZES
24. Theater section : TIER
29. '40s-'70s Coliseum team : LA RAMS. Needed crossing help.
33. It's not true : MYTH. TALE too.
37. Stew veggie : PEA
38. Cow country : LEA
39. Part of many a mtge. payment : ESC. Escrow?
41. Marlins' div. : NLE. National League East.
43. Trig. prerequisite : GEOM
46. Mus. ensemble : ORCH
47. Become lenient, as on crime : GO SOFT. The judge, right?
48. Offer to a dishwasher : I'LL DRY. Dishwasher does all the work for us.
49. Boss : LEADER
50. Counterfeit : BAD
51. Kentucky college or its city : BEREA. Not familiar with Berea College. What is it famous for?
54. Operations mgrs. : DRS. Directors?
57. Food company named for two states : ORE-IDA. Oregon-Idaho.
59. "Yikes!" : SHEESH
62. Modify : ALTER
63. Bethesda-based research org. : NIH. Unknown trivia to me.
64. Largest OH airport : CLE. You'd think it's Cincinnati.
65. Santa staffer : ELF
67. Car loan abbr. : APR. Annual Percentage Rate. I drew a blank.
74. Grape soda brand : NEHI
76. P-like letter : RHO
77. Makes a drink last : SIPS
80. "Cocoon" Oscar winner : AMECHE (Don). Again, recognized him only after I googled.
81. Fenway souvenir : RED SOX CAP. Man, this opens a slew of possible new entries. Twins' Cap, Twins' Program, Twins' Jersey, etc.
86. Used taxis : RODE
87. Big klutz : APE
88. JFK, but not LAX : DEM. Of course I was thinking of JFK Airport. It would really be a cool clue if LAX were named after a famous Republican.
89. Case-breaking words : I CONFESS. Nice entry.
91. When moms are honored : MAY
92. Guitar's second-lowest : A STRING. Well, Al knows.
93. Hotel soap, say : FREEBIE
94. Easy Street's metropolis? : FAT CITY. Both new slang for me. Comfortable living.
96. Stop in photography? : F NUMBER
100. Engine sound : ROAR
101. Lease prohibition : SUBLET
102. Unruffled : SERENE
103. Wall Street worker : TRADER
105. Facilitates : EASES
107. India's prime minister before Shastri : NEHRU. Intuitive guess. Was ignorant that Shastri is India's second prime minister.
109. Wealthy, in Weimar : REICH. Oh, really? I thought it's a just noun.
113. Roughly : OR SO
114. Marvel Comics heroes : X-MEN
115. Suffix with Paleo- : ZOIC
117. Half of the UAR : SYR. The other half is Egypt.
119. Thames islet : AIT. Classic crosswordese.
120. Sch. in Troy, NY : RPI. Spitzboov's alma mater.
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday, Dennis! Hope it's a memorable one and filled with love, joy and every pleasure you desire.
C.C.
Added later: Damien Peterson is another alias name of Rich Norris, anagram of "Editor's Pen Name".
23A. Response to "What's a six-letter answer for 'Silent performer'?"? : MUMMER'S THE WORD. The base phrase is "Mum's the word".
50A. Seaside vacation disappointment? : BEACH BUMMER. Beach bum. We also have PIERS (27. Spots for seaside strolls) and SHORE (30A. Spot for seaside strolls). Three "seaside" clechos (clue echos).
60A. Prison performer? : SLAMMER DANCER. Slam dancer. Slammer is a slang for "prison".
75A. Team in an agricultural all-star game? : THE FARMER SIDE. The Far Side. From Argyle. I don't get the joke.
84A. Station that exclusively plays rapper MC's hits? : HAMMER RADIO. Ham radio. Rapper MC Hammer.
118A. Like steak cooked by an enchanting chef? : CHARMER BROILED. Charbroiled.
32D. Sugary complaint? : CANDIED YAMMER. Candid yam. With a bit of toasted walnuts, delicious!
34D. More cordial old-timer? : WARMER VETERAN. War veteran.
Some of the MERs are inserted to the end of the first word, some the middle word, some the end. Nice variety. Five of the them are attached to a M-ending word.
Like Doug Peterson's last "El Week" (playing on "Hell Week" ), the title "Mal de Mer" is just a title, not a direct summary of the theme, nothing seasick, nothing mal with de mer. But French references aplenty:
70A. Capital of Nord, France : LILLE. Je ne sais pas. De Gaulle's birthplace.
104A. Idée source : TETE. Head in French.
106A. French wine region : RHONE
58D. 1956 star of Vadim's "And God Created Woman" : BARDOT (Brigitte). Gorgeous.
61D. "Les __" : MIZ
71D. M.'s partner : MME. Monsieur/Madame.
85D. Dada co-founder : ARP (Jean)
111D. Fille's father : PERE. Fille = Daughter.
Interesting theme entry placement. The grid has a nice week-day style edges, with two fingers (the black square blocks, called so because they look like fingers poking into the grid) rather than three fingers, resulting in plenty of 7s and 6s on the outside and lots of 3s in the middle, esp Downs, several are abbrs.
Across:
1. Railroad foundation : ROADBED. Had road track in mind.
8. Short chat? : CONFAB. Short for confabulation.
14. Destroys : WRECKS
20. Philosopher's term : A PRIORI. Argument without evidence/analysis.
21. Portugal's second-largest city : OPORTO. Also PORTO, from which port wine gets its name.
22. __ reason : WITHIN
25. Superficiality : FACADE
26. Memo opener : AS PER
28. Professor's end? : IAL.End to the word professorial.
31. Agnus __: Mass prayers : DEIS
32. Poolroom array : CUES
33. Loud bird : MACAW
35. The whole shebang : A TO Z. Colorful clue.
36. Bermuda hrs. : AST. Atlantic Standard Time.
37. Five-time NBA championship-winning coach : PAT RILEY. Came to me without difficulty. We must have seen either his given name or surname in the puzzle before.
40. Shah's land, once : IRAN
42. Manhattan cooler? : ICE. Cocktail.
43. Siskel or Shalit : GENE. Only know former.
44. Sleeveless garment : VEST
45. Dinghy pair : OARLOCKS
47. Mountainous region in Genesis : GILEAD. No idea. In Jordan.
52. Sub in a tub : OLEO. Sub of butter. Nice rhyme. Has a Clear Aye style poetic euphony/rhythm feel.
53. Actress Lupino : IDA
55. Being, to Augustus : ESSE
56. Corn remnants : COBS
66. Full of team spirit : RAH RAH
68. Different : ODD
69. Picture cards? : IDS. ID cards.
71. Super Bowl honoree : MVP. Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.
72. Palindromic "before" : ERE
73. Agitated state : FRENZY
78. Roller on a Rolls : TYRE. Good clue.
79. Rhein tributary : AARE
82. Worked (up) : HET
83. Pair at the altar : I DO'S. Pair of oaths.
90. Sci-fi psychic : EMPATH. I only know empathy, rooted in empath, I presume?
92. Declared : AFFIRMED
95. Powerful energy-market gp. : OPEC
96. Abbey titles : FRAS
97. Mex. title : SRA
98. Bench-presser's pride : PECS
99. "Risky Business" co-star : DE MORNAY (Rebecca). Recognized her face when I googled.
101. Flightless bird, nowadays? : SST. Now grounded, hence "flightless".
108. Heads or tails, e.g. : NOUN. This kind of clue gets me all the time.
109. Repentant one : RUER
110. Wrap-up : RECAP
112. Program file suffix : EXE
113. Relief agcy. founded in the U.K. in 1942 : OXFAM. Stands for Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. Unknown to me.
115. NFL ref, in slang : ZEBRA
116. Sacred birds : IBISES. Sacred in Egypt.
121. Bistro, informally : NITERY
122. Comes up : ARISES
123. Unisex : EPICENE. Does not seem to have "sex" root, does it? Not that I know what "sex" root is.
124. Yellowstone attraction : GEYSER
125. "Candid Camera" bits : PUT-ONS
126. Name of earthshaking importance? : RICHTER
Down:
1. Inn crowd option : RAMADA. Great play on "In crowd".
2. Musical works : OPUSES. Thought of OPERAS first.
3. It's exposed many times during the singing of "YMCA" : ARMPIT. Wow, let's see. Awesome clue.
4. 40% of quarters? : DIMES. Yep. I had to calculate in paper. I can't do mental math.
5. Transvaal settler : BOER. Dutch has those kind of aa clusters.
6. Make a misstep : ERR
7. Argument : DISPUTE. Followed by COHESIVE (8. Like good arguments). Another clecho.
9. Phone abbr. : OPER
10. "__ the time!" : NOW'S
11. Not to : FRO. To and fro.
12. Hotel courts : ATRIA
13. Amazing, in dialect : BODACIOUS. Crockett likes to use this word.
14. Hulk Hogan's '80s-'90s org. : WWF (World Wrestling Federation). Learning moment.
15. River inlets : RIAS
16. __ Sketch : ETCH A
17. Hardly orderly : CHAOTIC
18. "All Summer Long" singer, 2008 : KID ROCK. Great song.
19. Cold signs : SNEEZES
24. Theater section : TIER
29. '40s-'70s Coliseum team : LA RAMS. Needed crossing help.
33. It's not true : MYTH. TALE too.
37. Stew veggie : PEA
38. Cow country : LEA
39. Part of many a mtge. payment : ESC. Escrow?
41. Marlins' div. : NLE. National League East.
43. Trig. prerequisite : GEOM
46. Mus. ensemble : ORCH
47. Become lenient, as on crime : GO SOFT. The judge, right?
48. Offer to a dishwasher : I'LL DRY. Dishwasher does all the work for us.
49. Boss : LEADER
50. Counterfeit : BAD
51. Kentucky college or its city : BEREA. Not familiar with Berea College. What is it famous for?
54. Operations mgrs. : DRS. Directors?
57. Food company named for two states : ORE-IDA. Oregon-Idaho.
59. "Yikes!" : SHEESH
62. Modify : ALTER
63. Bethesda-based research org. : NIH. Unknown trivia to me.
64. Largest OH airport : CLE. You'd think it's Cincinnati.
65. Santa staffer : ELF
67. Car loan abbr. : APR. Annual Percentage Rate. I drew a blank.
74. Grape soda brand : NEHI
76. P-like letter : RHO
77. Makes a drink last : SIPS
80. "Cocoon" Oscar winner : AMECHE (Don). Again, recognized him only after I googled.
81. Fenway souvenir : RED SOX CAP. Man, this opens a slew of possible new entries. Twins' Cap, Twins' Program, Twins' Jersey, etc.
86. Used taxis : RODE
87. Big klutz : APE
88. JFK, but not LAX : DEM. Of course I was thinking of JFK Airport. It would really be a cool clue if LAX were named after a famous Republican.
89. Case-breaking words : I CONFESS. Nice entry.
91. When moms are honored : MAY
92. Guitar's second-lowest : A STRING. Well, Al knows.
93. Hotel soap, say : FREEBIE
94. Easy Street's metropolis? : FAT CITY. Both new slang for me. Comfortable living.
96. Stop in photography? : F NUMBER
100. Engine sound : ROAR
101. Lease prohibition : SUBLET
102. Unruffled : SERENE
103. Wall Street worker : TRADER
105. Facilitates : EASES
107. India's prime minister before Shastri : NEHRU. Intuitive guess. Was ignorant that Shastri is India's second prime minister.
109. Wealthy, in Weimar : REICH. Oh, really? I thought it's a just noun.
113. Roughly : OR SO
114. Marvel Comics heroes : X-MEN
115. Suffix with Paleo- : ZOIC
117. Half of the UAR : SYR. The other half is Egypt.
119. Thames islet : AIT. Classic crosswordese.
120. Sch. in Troy, NY : RPI. Spitzboov's alma mater.
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday, Dennis! Hope it's a memorable one and filled with love, joy and every pleasure you desire.
C.C.
Added later: Damien Peterson is another alias name of Rich Norris, anagram of "Editor's Pen Name".
