Theme: E-Literature - Long E sound (in various spellings) is attached to the end of each well-known book.
23A. Specific item in a sleepwear collection? : TWELFTH NIGHT(IE). "Twelfth Night". Shakespeare.
47A. How a rock band's equipment damage was blamed? : ON THE ROAD(IE). "On the Road". Jack Kerouac.
68A. Amazonian oddsmaker? : THE JUNGLE BOOK(IE). "The Jungle Book". Kipling.
95A. Dressing room sprite? : VANITY FAIR(Y). "Vanity Fair". Thackeray.
120A. Fabric softener delivered overseas? : WATERSHIP DOWN(Y). "Watership Down", by Richard Adam. Neither the book nor the author is familiar to me.
17D. Goat's friend? : BILLY BUDD(Y). "Billy Budd". Herman Melville.
74D. Aboriginal Walkman? : NATIVE SON(Y). "Native Son". Richard Wright. Also an unknown book to me.
Very consistent theme. No Long E sound is added to the end of first/middle word.
Not a pangram, as Q is missing. Otherwise a typical John Lampkin puzzle: no cheater/helper squares; lots of fun clues & clechos (clue echos), which are highlighted in green color, as usual.
Also noticeable in this grid are the non-theme long answers. The two Down (STEAL A KISS & SINK OR SWIM) are particularly sparkling. They match in length to the other two 10 theme answers, which could cause theme confusion in certain grids. But not today, as John's theme is self-evident with all those question marked clues.
Across:
1. Risked : AT STAKE
8. Orderly type? : SISTER. Religious order. Nuns.
14. Take a __: attempt : STAB AT
20. Like the movie "Airplane!" : SATIRIC
21. Hardly religious : UNHOLY
22. Vacation choice : CRUISE
25. Bridal trails : AISLES. Nice clue.
26. Rat tail? : A TAT. Rat-a-tat.
27. Robert who played Roderigo in Welles's "Othello" : COOTE. First encounter with this actor. British actor.
28. Royal pain : HASSLE
30. Back muscle, for short : LAT
31. Jacob's first wife : LEAH. His second wife is Rachel, Leah's sister. Shout out to Chickie, Leah in real life.
33. City west of Mesa : TEMPE
35. Complicated : MESSY
37. Indy car's lack : REAR SEAT. Wow, I didn't know this.
40. Plated, in a way : ARMORED. New meaning of "plated" to me.
43. Kyoto ties : OBIs
46. Question : ASK. 19D. Set of questions : TEST. 96D. Uncomplicated type of question : YES OR NO
49. Logging channel : FLUME. And 51. Coal channel : CHUTE.
50. Retriever's retrieval : STICK
52. Store charge, often : TAX
53. Mil. base stores : PXes. PX = Post Exchange. Army posts.
54. More than just nodded : SAID HI
55. Pianist John : TESH. New Ager.
56. Jazz trumpeter's nickname : SATCH. Louis Armstrong? Thought it's Satchmo. And 60. Jazz trumpeter's nickname : DIZ. Dizzy Gillespie.
58. Fixed up : REDID
61. Per se : AS SUCH
63. Bite response : OUCH
66. Fax forerunner : TELETYPE
72. Niblick, nowadays : NINE IRON. Gimme. Watched so many old golf videos.
75. Stuttgart title : HERR. Was ignorant of the city Stuttgart.
76A. Writes John a letter? : ENDS IT. 107A. Intro for John? : DEAR. Nice to work one's name in clues.
80. Thurman of film : UMA
81. Ejects, as lava : SPEWS
83. Hairy herd : BISON. Alliteration.
86. Feast : DINE
87. Kathy of country : MATTEA. Not a fan of country music. Don't know her.
89. Pro __ : RATA
92. N.T. book attributed to Paul : EPH (Ephesians)
93. Second lady after Tipper : LYNNE (Cheney)
94. Certain hip-hop dancer : B GIRL. B stands for breakdance, correct?
98. Author Kesey : KEN
99. __ Trophy: biennial European golf event : SEVE. Might be tough for non-golf fans. Kind of like Ryder Cup, except it's between UK/Ireland & Europe. Named after Seve Ballesteros, genius at short game.
100. From head to foot : CAP-A-PIE. New word to me.
101. The "0" in "4 5 0," on a scoreboard : NO ERRORS. 4 is Runs, 5 is Hits. Also 64D. Indians, on scoreboards : CLE
103. Ruhr valley city : ESSEN
105. See 69-Down : PESCI. And JOE (69D With 105-Across, "GoodFellas" Oscar winner). Good movie.
108. Malaprop or Miniver : MRS
110. Turnover, e.g. : PASTRY
113. Hops-drying kilns : OASTS
115. Advanced teaching deg. : M.S.Ed. Stumper. Master of Science in Education.
118. Part of ASAP : SOON AS
123. Adopt the naturist philosophy : GO NUDE. Can't imagine doing so in public.
124. Consecrate, in a way : ANOINT
125. Architectural molding : CORNICE
126. Fashioned : STYLED
127. Dictators' underlings : STENOS
128. Paddle-wheel craft : STEAMER
Down:
1. Hammett canine : ASTA. "The Thin Man" dog. And 104D. Hammett hero : SPADE. Sam Spade. "The Maltese Falcon".
2. Believed, to Tweety : TAWT. "I tawt I taw a puddy tat!"
3. Smooch in the shadows : STEAL A KISS. Sweet clue/answer.
4. Aggressive pinballer : TILTER.
5. It might mean "I'm hungry!" : ARF
6. Hero's birthplace? : KITCHEN. Hero sandwich.
7. Narcissus snubbed her : ECHO
8. "The Nutcracker __" : SUITE
9. 1959-'60 heavyweight champ Johansson : INGEMAR. Swedish boxer. Alien to me. Looks who's on top!
10. Recital rebuke : SHH. And 36D. Recital highlights : SOLI. Solo plural.
11. Totally : TO THE MAX
12. "Grace Before Meat" essayist : ELIA (Charles Lamb)
13. Some bar shots : RYES. And 15. Shots : TRIES.
14. Climbed : SCALED
16. Mozart's birthplace, now: Abbr. : AUS
18. Boating on the briny : ASEA
24. "It couldn't be worse!" : NOT THAT
29. Barrie baddie : SMEE. In "Peter Pan".
32. "Dilbert" intern : ASOK. No idea. What a weird name, eddyB!
34. Phone on stage, e.g. : PROP
37. Dreads sporter : RASTA. Dreadlocks.
38. Richard's counterpart in the 1956 election : ESTES
39. Girl leader? : ATTA. Atta girl.
41. German border river : ODER. German/Polish border river.
42. Meet, as a challenge : RISE TO
44. Beatnik's "Got it" : I'M HIP
45. Wrest : SEIZE
48. Record holder? : EX-CON. Awesome clue.
49. Slide show effect : FADE IN
54. Smooth and soft : SILKEN
56. Hillary helper : SHERPA. Mountain guide. Edmund Hillary. The first guy to reach Mount Everest. His sherpa Tenzing Norgay is probably the most famous in the world.
57. Actor Grant : HUGH. I like him.
59. __ volente: God willing : DEO
62. Sculptor's tool : CHISEL
65. Ginseng, for one : HERB. And 109. Ginseng, for one : ROOT. Used to put a tiny bit in my soup.
67. Sexy sleepwear : TEDDY. This is tough to unbutton.
70. Open for Christmas : UNWRAP. And 111. Christmas classic opening : 'TWAS
71. Short : BRIEF
72. Ices, maybe : NUMBS
73. A scandal often ruins one : IMAGE
77. Success/failure metaphor : SINK OR SWIM. Just a great answer.
78. Central : INNER
79. Jeremy and friends, in "Zits" comics : TEENS
82. Yemen's capital : SANA
84. It's heard a lot in Los Angeles : SPANISH. And 88. Three, in 84-Down : TRES.
85. Buckeye State : OHIO
90. How a youngster might watch a parade, with "on" : TIPPY TOE. Vivid clue.
91. End in __ : A TIE
93. Apollo's instrument : LYRE
95. Movers with motors : VANS
97. "Great" feature of Jupiter : RED SPOT. Tell me about it, Husker Gary/Spitzboov/Bill G. Is it hot?
100. Quit : CEASED
102. Quimby in Beverly Cleary books : RAMONA. No idea.
106. Play groups : CASTS
108. Texter's output: Abbr. : MSGs
112. Wild harangue : RANT
114. Muscle twitches : TICS
116. Suffix with confer : ENCE. Conference.
117. Colorful worker? : DYER. Good clue for a common word.
119. Of no value, in Normandy : NUL. Like our "null"?
121. Hamburg article : EIN
122. Dr. of hip-hop : DRE. Dr. Dre.
Answer grid.
Inspired by a note from John Lampkin, Lemonade is compiling a list of his favorite LAT puzzles/clues for 2010. Hopefully we'll get it published next week.
C.C.
23A. Specific item in a sleepwear collection? : TWELFTH NIGHT(IE). "Twelfth Night". Shakespeare.
47A. How a rock band's equipment damage was blamed? : ON THE ROAD(IE). "On the Road". Jack Kerouac.
68A. Amazonian oddsmaker? : THE JUNGLE BOOK(IE). "The Jungle Book". Kipling.
95A. Dressing room sprite? : VANITY FAIR(Y). "Vanity Fair". Thackeray.
120A. Fabric softener delivered overseas? : WATERSHIP DOWN(Y). "Watership Down", by Richard Adam. Neither the book nor the author is familiar to me.
17D. Goat's friend? : BILLY BUDD(Y). "Billy Budd". Herman Melville.
74D. Aboriginal Walkman? : NATIVE SON(Y). "Native Son". Richard Wright. Also an unknown book to me.
Very consistent theme. No Long E sound is added to the end of first/middle word.
Not a pangram, as Q is missing. Otherwise a typical John Lampkin puzzle: no cheater/helper squares; lots of fun clues & clechos (clue echos), which are highlighted in green color, as usual.
Also noticeable in this grid are the non-theme long answers. The two Down (STEAL A KISS & SINK OR SWIM) are particularly sparkling. They match in length to the other two 10 theme answers, which could cause theme confusion in certain grids. But not today, as John's theme is self-evident with all those question marked clues.
Across:
1. Risked : AT STAKE
8. Orderly type? : SISTER. Religious order. Nuns.
14. Take a __: attempt : STAB AT
20. Like the movie "Airplane!" : SATIRIC
21. Hardly religious : UNHOLY
22. Vacation choice : CRUISE
25. Bridal trails : AISLES. Nice clue.
26. Rat tail? : A TAT. Rat-a-tat.
27. Robert who played Roderigo in Welles's "Othello" : COOTE. First encounter with this actor. British actor.
28. Royal pain : HASSLE
30. Back muscle, for short : LAT
31. Jacob's first wife : LEAH. His second wife is Rachel, Leah's sister. Shout out to Chickie, Leah in real life.
33. City west of Mesa : TEMPE
35. Complicated : MESSY
37. Indy car's lack : REAR SEAT. Wow, I didn't know this.
40. Plated, in a way : ARMORED. New meaning of "plated" to me.
43. Kyoto ties : OBIs
46. Question : ASK. 19D. Set of questions : TEST. 96D. Uncomplicated type of question : YES OR NO
49. Logging channel : FLUME. And 51. Coal channel : CHUTE.
50. Retriever's retrieval : STICK
52. Store charge, often : TAX
53. Mil. base stores : PXes. PX = Post Exchange. Army posts.
54. More than just nodded : SAID HI
55. Pianist John : TESH. New Ager.
56. Jazz trumpeter's nickname : SATCH. Louis Armstrong? Thought it's Satchmo. And 60. Jazz trumpeter's nickname : DIZ. Dizzy Gillespie.
58. Fixed up : REDID
61. Per se : AS SUCH
63. Bite response : OUCH
66. Fax forerunner : TELETYPE
72. Niblick, nowadays : NINE IRON. Gimme. Watched so many old golf videos.
75. Stuttgart title : HERR. Was ignorant of the city Stuttgart.
76A. Writes John a letter? : ENDS IT. 107A. Intro for John? : DEAR. Nice to work one's name in clues.
80. Thurman of film : UMA
81. Ejects, as lava : SPEWS
83. Hairy herd : BISON. Alliteration.
86. Feast : DINE
87. Kathy of country : MATTEA. Not a fan of country music. Don't know her.
89. Pro __ : RATA
92. N.T. book attributed to Paul : EPH (Ephesians)
93. Second lady after Tipper : LYNNE (Cheney)
94. Certain hip-hop dancer : B GIRL. B stands for breakdance, correct?
98. Author Kesey : KEN
99. __ Trophy: biennial European golf event : SEVE. Might be tough for non-golf fans. Kind of like Ryder Cup, except it's between UK/Ireland & Europe. Named after Seve Ballesteros, genius at short game.
100. From head to foot : CAP-A-PIE. New word to me.
101. The "0" in "4 5 0," on a scoreboard : NO ERRORS. 4 is Runs, 5 is Hits. Also 64D. Indians, on scoreboards : CLE
103. Ruhr valley city : ESSEN
105. See 69-Down : PESCI. And JOE (69D With 105-Across, "GoodFellas" Oscar winner). Good movie.
108. Malaprop or Miniver : MRS
110. Turnover, e.g. : PASTRY
113. Hops-drying kilns : OASTS
115. Advanced teaching deg. : M.S.Ed. Stumper. Master of Science in Education.
118. Part of ASAP : SOON AS
123. Adopt the naturist philosophy : GO NUDE. Can't imagine doing so in public.
124. Consecrate, in a way : ANOINT
125. Architectural molding : CORNICE
126. Fashioned : STYLED
127. Dictators' underlings : STENOS
128. Paddle-wheel craft : STEAMER
Down:
1. Hammett canine : ASTA. "The Thin Man" dog. And 104D. Hammett hero : SPADE. Sam Spade. "The Maltese Falcon".
2. Believed, to Tweety : TAWT. "I tawt I taw a puddy tat!"
3. Smooch in the shadows : STEAL A KISS. Sweet clue/answer.
4. Aggressive pinballer : TILTER.
5. It might mean "I'm hungry!" : ARF
6. Hero's birthplace? : KITCHEN. Hero sandwich.
7. Narcissus snubbed her : ECHO
8. "The Nutcracker __" : SUITE
9. 1959-'60 heavyweight champ Johansson : INGEMAR. Swedish boxer. Alien to me. Looks who's on top!
10. Recital rebuke : SHH. And 36D. Recital highlights : SOLI. Solo plural.
11. Totally : TO THE MAX
12. "Grace Before Meat" essayist : ELIA (Charles Lamb)
13. Some bar shots : RYES. And 15. Shots : TRIES.
14. Climbed : SCALED
16. Mozart's birthplace, now: Abbr. : AUS
18. Boating on the briny : ASEA
24. "It couldn't be worse!" : NOT THAT
29. Barrie baddie : SMEE. In "Peter Pan".
32. "Dilbert" intern : ASOK. No idea. What a weird name, eddyB!
34. Phone on stage, e.g. : PROP
37. Dreads sporter : RASTA. Dreadlocks.
38. Richard's counterpart in the 1956 election : ESTES
39. Girl leader? : ATTA. Atta girl.
41. German border river : ODER. German/Polish border river.
42. Meet, as a challenge : RISE TO
44. Beatnik's "Got it" : I'M HIP
45. Wrest : SEIZE
48. Record holder? : EX-CON. Awesome clue.
49. Slide show effect : FADE IN
54. Smooth and soft : SILKEN
56. Hillary helper : SHERPA. Mountain guide. Edmund Hillary. The first guy to reach Mount Everest. His sherpa Tenzing Norgay is probably the most famous in the world.
57. Actor Grant : HUGH. I like him.
59. __ volente: God willing : DEO
62. Sculptor's tool : CHISEL
65. Ginseng, for one : HERB. And 109. Ginseng, for one : ROOT. Used to put a tiny bit in my soup.
67. Sexy sleepwear : TEDDY. This is tough to unbutton.
70. Open for Christmas : UNWRAP. And 111. Christmas classic opening : 'TWAS
71. Short : BRIEF
72. Ices, maybe : NUMBS
73. A scandal often ruins one : IMAGE
77. Success/failure metaphor : SINK OR SWIM. Just a great answer.
78. Central : INNER
79. Jeremy and friends, in "Zits" comics : TEENS
82. Yemen's capital : SANA
84. It's heard a lot in Los Angeles : SPANISH. And 88. Three, in 84-Down : TRES.
85. Buckeye State : OHIO
90. How a youngster might watch a parade, with "on" : TIPPY TOE. Vivid clue.
91. End in __ : A TIE
93. Apollo's instrument : LYRE
95. Movers with motors : VANS
97. "Great" feature of Jupiter : RED SPOT. Tell me about it, Husker Gary/Spitzboov/Bill G. Is it hot?
100. Quit : CEASED
102. Quimby in Beverly Cleary books : RAMONA. No idea.
106. Play groups : CASTS
108. Texter's output: Abbr. : MSGs
112. Wild harangue : RANT
114. Muscle twitches : TICS
116. Suffix with confer : ENCE. Conference.
117. Colorful worker? : DYER. Good clue for a common word.
119. Of no value, in Normandy : NUL. Like our "null"?
121. Hamburg article : EIN
122. Dr. of hip-hop : DRE. Dr. Dre.
Answer grid.
Inspired by a note from John Lampkin, Lemonade is compiling a list of his favorite LAT puzzles/clues for 2010. Hopefully we'll get it published next week.
C.C.
