Theme: Without Aspirations - The aspired initial H is dropped from each common phrase, resulting in spelling changes in each case. Sound remains the same.
23A. Wink? : GIVE THE EYE SIGN. Give the high sign.
27A. Garden with soothing plants? : ALOED GROUND. Hallowed ground. Aloed is a word?
43A. Components of a last call? : ALE AND FAREWELL. Hail and Farewell. Not familiar with this base phrase.
62A. What you'll see in a cornfield? : EAR THERE AND EVERYWHERE. Here, there and everywhere.
80A. Sniggler's skill? : THE EELING TOUCH. The healing touch.
97A. Meditation training method? : OM SCHOOLING. Home schooling.
106A. How Popeye treats Olive? : ACCORDING TO OYL. According to Hoyle.
Great concept. Very consistent theme entry conversion. More fun than simply drop a H ("Hole in one" to "Ole in one"), as the gimmick becomes apparent quickly in the latter.
I mentioned this before. There is always an unpredictability element in Ed's theme. He always surprises & delights.
Across:
1. Suncatchers : PRISMS. Consonants heavy.
7. Lobster __ diavolo : FRA. Fra Diavolo = "Brother Devil" in Italian. I've never used the sauce before.
10. Zoo employee : VET
13. Sugar bowl location : TEA SET. Not football bowl game.
19. Assertive retort : CAN TOO
20. Run amok : RAMPAGE
22. "Honey, __": Shania Twain hit : I'M HOME. Here is a clip. Guessable answer.
25. Cube automaker : NISSAN
26. In toto : AS A WHOLE
29. Rx's : MEDs. 39D. Scrip writers : MDs
30. Slasher film setting: Abbr. : ELM ST. "A Nightmare on Elm Street".
33. Sturgeon yield : ROE
34. It.'s there : EUR. "It."= Italy.
35. Dutch city near Arnhem : EDE. 3-letter Dutch city is always EDE. No idea on what it's famous for.
36. Put a second layer on : RE-COAT
38. Ugandan despot : AMIN
40. "The Wrestler" actress : TOMEI (Marisa)
42. Place to dream : BED. What's your recurring dream? Mine often are about exams.
46. Almost boiling, as milk : SCALDED
49. Got up : AROSE
50. Rocker Rose : AXL
51. Showy bloomers : DAHLIAS. Named after Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. Lovely color.
52. Charitable offering : ALMS
53. Tantrum : FIT. OK, throw a fit/tantrum.
54. Decorates with Charmin, briefly : TPs
57. Inventor Howe : ELIAS. Sewing machine.
58. Papal court : CURIA. New word to me.
60. Good, in Grenoble : BON. "Bon appétit!".
61. Stimulate : WHET
67. California's __ Valley : NAPA
68. Child's plaything : TOY
69. More than annoyed : IRATE
70. Greek fabulist : AESOP
71. Pulitzer poet Lowell : AMY. Clear Ayes linked quite a few of her poems in the past.
72. Raucous bird call : CAW
73. Kilted kinfolk : CLAN. Scottish English is gibberish to me.
74. Conceals : SCREENS. Unaware of this "screen" meaning.
76. Eagles, on scoreboards : PHI
77. Milky white gems : OPALS
79. Sonnet parts : STANZAS
85. "Defence of Fort McHenry" poet : KEY. The poem later became the lyrics of our national anthem.
86. Pricey timepiece : ROLEX
87. Tweed nemesis : NAST (Thomas)
88. Teed off : ROILED
90. Corp. big shots : VPs
93. 401(k) relative : IRA
94. Slo-mo replay subjects : TDs
95. Like 20 Questions questions : YES NO
96. Shekels : GELT. Money.
102. Confused state : DISARRAY
105. Mollycoddle : DOTE ON. I like the word "mollycoddle".
109. Maroon : ENISLE. This is real word.
110. Soon to be at : NEARING
111. Local academic community resenter, perhaps : TOWNIE
112. Part of a circle : SECTOR
113. Musical syllable : TRA
114. Blast : GAS
115. Paintball sounds : SPLATS
Down:
1. SimCity, for one : PC GAME. Never played it. How about you, Desper-otto & Grumpy?
2. Cultivated : RAISED
3. Overrun : INVADE
4. Cioppino and gumbo : STEWS. Cioppino is fish stew. Never had it. I never had/watched many things mentioned in crossword.
5. Light lover : MOTH
6. Arty NYC locale : SOHO
7. Grub : FREELOAD
8. Florida baseballer : RAY. Tampa Bay Rays.
9. Soul, to Zola : AME. Learned from doing Xword.
10. Colorado resort : VAIL. Ski resort for Marti.
11. French Toaster Sticks maker : EGGO
12. Largest of the Canaries : TENERIFE. Looks like a beautiful place to bring a date, Splynter.
13. Hint : TINGE
14. Muslim dignitary : EMIR
15. "Is that a fact" : AH SO
16. "Tough noogies!" : SO SUE ME
17. Chicago mayor Rahm __ : EMANUEL. This guy is tough.
18. Coiled plant support : TENDRIL. See here.
21. Exam for jrs. : PSAT
24. Light source: Abbr. : ELEC
28. Lady of La Mancha : DONA
31. __ de mer : MAL
32. Enter surreptitiously : STEAL IN
36. Mealtime pleasure : RELISH. Ah, Steve, food again! I baked medjoor dates filled with coconut flakes & almonds the other day. Delicious.
37. Historic Icelandic work : EDDA
38. Years in Cuba : ANOs
40. Phone message : TEXT
41. Nocturnal predator : OWL. Argyle is our owl, always keeping an alert eye on the blog.
42. Golf ball material : BALATA. Some kind of rubber.
44. Bony-plated forager : ARMADILLO. Great answer.
45. Forecast word : RAINY
46. Low bow : SALAAM. As a kid, I really hated visiting older relatives during Spring Festival. Had to kneel down, touched my head in the ground and kowtowed to them.
47. Happy as a lark? : CHIRPY. Happy clue.
48. Mortgage provision : ESCROW
51. Cortese of "Jersey Shore" : DEENA. The girl on right. I can't really tell her from the annoying Snooki.
52. Coach Parseghian : ARA
53. What trees may keep you from seeing? : FOREST
54. Hemingway title setting : THE SEA
55. Argentine icons : PERONS
56. Way up or down : STEPS
59. Slangy road reversal : UEY
60. It's placed : BET. True.
61. Asthmatic : WHEEZY
63. Online commerce : E-TAIL. So many temptations.
64. Solver's smudge : ERASURE. Pen & Wite-Out for me.
65. Little League game arrival : VAN
66. Gave a heads-up : WARNED
72. Square cereal : CHEX
73. Suffragist Carrie : CATT. League of Women Voters founder.
75. Slice at a party : CAKE. So, if you have to prepare a Christmas meal consisting of dishes starting with letter U only, what food would you consider?
76. Start to pour? : PEE. First letter in pour.
77. Diagonally : ON A SLANT
78. R relatives : PGS. Oh, Rated R, Rated PG.
79. Big blasts : SHINDIGS
80. Old TV tubes : TRIODES
81. Glandular secretion : HORMONE. It's called estrogen for girls, right?
82. Adaptable : ELASTIC
83. China starter : INDO. Indo-China. Or CEE.
84. Funny Bill, familiarly : COS. Bill Cosby.
89. Butcher's cut : LOIN
90. Gentlemen's home? : VERONA. "The Two Gentlemen of Verona".
91. Ilsa's request to Sam : PLAY IT. "Play it, Sam". My favorite line is "We'll always have Paris". Sometimes I wonder what my life would be had I moved to Brussels in 2001 rather than the US.
92. Dos : STYLES
94. Xerography material : TONER. How's the new printer, eddyB?
95. "Son of Frankenstein" role : YGOR
96. Rumble in the jungle? : GROWL. I could hear it.
98. "__ la vie!" : C'EST
99. Entire: Pref. : HOLO. Wow, I did not know this before.
100. One who may eat her words? : ICER. Sweet clue.
101. March Madness org. : NCAA
103. Pepper & Preston: Abbr. : SGTs
104. Resting upon : ATOP
107. Tractor-trailer : RIG
108. Biological marker : DNA
Answer grid.
A note to regular posters: We'd love to celebrate your birthday on the blog. Please email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) if your name is not included in Dennis' original list. Thanks. And best wishes, Ron Worden!
C.C.
23A. Wink? : GIVE THE EYE SIGN. Give the high sign.
27A. Garden with soothing plants? : ALOED GROUND. Hallowed ground. Aloed is a word?
43A. Components of a last call? : ALE AND FAREWELL. Hail and Farewell. Not familiar with this base phrase.
62A. What you'll see in a cornfield? : EAR THERE AND EVERYWHERE. Here, there and everywhere.
80A. Sniggler's skill? : THE EELING TOUCH. The healing touch.
97A. Meditation training method? : OM SCHOOLING. Home schooling.
106A. How Popeye treats Olive? : ACCORDING TO OYL. According to Hoyle.
Great concept. Very consistent theme entry conversion. More fun than simply drop a H ("Hole in one" to "Ole in one"), as the gimmick becomes apparent quickly in the latter.
I mentioned this before. There is always an unpredictability element in Ed's theme. He always surprises & delights.
Across:
1. Suncatchers : PRISMS. Consonants heavy.
7. Lobster __ diavolo : FRA. Fra Diavolo = "Brother Devil" in Italian. I've never used the sauce before.
10. Zoo employee : VET
13. Sugar bowl location : TEA SET. Not football bowl game.
19. Assertive retort : CAN TOO
20. Run amok : RAMPAGE
22. "Honey, __": Shania Twain hit : I'M HOME. Here is a clip. Guessable answer.
25. Cube automaker : NISSAN
26. In toto : AS A WHOLE
29. Rx's : MEDs. 39D. Scrip writers : MDs
30. Slasher film setting: Abbr. : ELM ST. "A Nightmare on Elm Street".
33. Sturgeon yield : ROE
34. It.'s there : EUR. "It."= Italy.
35. Dutch city near Arnhem : EDE. 3-letter Dutch city is always EDE. No idea on what it's famous for.
36. Put a second layer on : RE-COAT
38. Ugandan despot : AMIN
40. "The Wrestler" actress : TOMEI (Marisa)
42. Place to dream : BED. What's your recurring dream? Mine often are about exams.
46. Almost boiling, as milk : SCALDED
49. Got up : AROSE
50. Rocker Rose : AXL
51. Showy bloomers : DAHLIAS. Named after Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. Lovely color.
52. Charitable offering : ALMS
53. Tantrum : FIT. OK, throw a fit/tantrum.
54. Decorates with Charmin, briefly : TPs
57. Inventor Howe : ELIAS. Sewing machine.
58. Papal court : CURIA. New word to me.
60. Good, in Grenoble : BON. "Bon appétit!".
61. Stimulate : WHET
67. California's __ Valley : NAPA
68. Child's plaything : TOY
69. More than annoyed : IRATE
70. Greek fabulist : AESOP
71. Pulitzer poet Lowell : AMY. Clear Ayes linked quite a few of her poems in the past.
72. Raucous bird call : CAW
73. Kilted kinfolk : CLAN. Scottish English is gibberish to me.
74. Conceals : SCREENS. Unaware of this "screen" meaning.
76. Eagles, on scoreboards : PHI
77. Milky white gems : OPALS
79. Sonnet parts : STANZAS
85. "Defence of Fort McHenry" poet : KEY. The poem later became the lyrics of our national anthem.
86. Pricey timepiece : ROLEX
87. Tweed nemesis : NAST (Thomas)
88. Teed off : ROILED
90. Corp. big shots : VPs
93. 401(k) relative : IRA
94. Slo-mo replay subjects : TDs
95. Like 20 Questions questions : YES NO
96. Shekels : GELT. Money.
102. Confused state : DISARRAY
105. Mollycoddle : DOTE ON. I like the word "mollycoddle".
109. Maroon : ENISLE. This is real word.
110. Soon to be at : NEARING
111. Local academic community resenter, perhaps : TOWNIE
112. Part of a circle : SECTOR
113. Musical syllable : TRA
114. Blast : GAS
115. Paintball sounds : SPLATS
Down:
1. SimCity, for one : PC GAME. Never played it. How about you, Desper-otto & Grumpy?
2. Cultivated : RAISED
3. Overrun : INVADE
4. Cioppino and gumbo : STEWS. Cioppino is fish stew. Never had it. I never had/watched many things mentioned in crossword.
5. Light lover : MOTH
6. Arty NYC locale : SOHO
7. Grub : FREELOAD
8. Florida baseballer : RAY. Tampa Bay Rays.
9. Soul, to Zola : AME. Learned from doing Xword.
10. Colorado resort : VAIL. Ski resort for Marti.
11. French Toaster Sticks maker : EGGO
12. Largest of the Canaries : TENERIFE. Looks like a beautiful place to bring a date, Splynter.
13. Hint : TINGE
14. Muslim dignitary : EMIR
15. "Is that a fact" : AH SO
16. "Tough noogies!" : SO SUE ME
17. Chicago mayor Rahm __ : EMANUEL. This guy is tough.
18. Coiled plant support : TENDRIL. See here.
21. Exam for jrs. : PSAT
24. Light source: Abbr. : ELEC
28. Lady of La Mancha : DONA
31. __ de mer : MAL
32. Enter surreptitiously : STEAL IN
36. Mealtime pleasure : RELISH. Ah, Steve, food again! I baked medjoor dates filled with coconut flakes & almonds the other day. Delicious.
37. Historic Icelandic work : EDDA
38. Years in Cuba : ANOs
40. Phone message : TEXT
41. Nocturnal predator : OWL. Argyle is our owl, always keeping an alert eye on the blog.
42. Golf ball material : BALATA. Some kind of rubber.
44. Bony-plated forager : ARMADILLO. Great answer.
45. Forecast word : RAINY
46. Low bow : SALAAM. As a kid, I really hated visiting older relatives during Spring Festival. Had to kneel down, touched my head in the ground and kowtowed to them.
47. Happy as a lark? : CHIRPY. Happy clue.
48. Mortgage provision : ESCROW
51. Cortese of "Jersey Shore" : DEENA. The girl on right. I can't really tell her from the annoying Snooki.
52. Coach Parseghian : ARA
53. What trees may keep you from seeing? : FOREST
54. Hemingway title setting : THE SEA
55. Argentine icons : PERONS
56. Way up or down : STEPS
59. Slangy road reversal : UEY
60. It's placed : BET. True.
61. Asthmatic : WHEEZY
63. Online commerce : E-TAIL. So many temptations.
64. Solver's smudge : ERASURE. Pen & Wite-Out for me.
65. Little League game arrival : VAN
66. Gave a heads-up : WARNED
72. Square cereal : CHEX
73. Suffragist Carrie : CATT. League of Women Voters founder.
75. Slice at a party : CAKE. So, if you have to prepare a Christmas meal consisting of dishes starting with letter U only, what food would you consider?
76. Start to pour? : PEE. First letter in pour.
77. Diagonally : ON A SLANT
78. R relatives : PGS. Oh, Rated R, Rated PG.
79. Big blasts : SHINDIGS
80. Old TV tubes : TRIODES
81. Glandular secretion : HORMONE. It's called estrogen for girls, right?
82. Adaptable : ELASTIC
83. China starter : INDO. Indo-China. Or CEE.
84. Funny Bill, familiarly : COS. Bill Cosby.
89. Butcher's cut : LOIN
90. Gentlemen's home? : VERONA. "The Two Gentlemen of Verona".
91. Ilsa's request to Sam : PLAY IT. "Play it, Sam". My favorite line is "We'll always have Paris". Sometimes I wonder what my life would be had I moved to Brussels in 2001 rather than the US.
92. Dos : STYLES
94. Xerography material : TONER. How's the new printer, eddyB?
95. "Son of Frankenstein" role : YGOR
96. Rumble in the jungle? : GROWL. I could hear it.
98. "__ la vie!" : C'EST
99. Entire: Pref. : HOLO. Wow, I did not know this before.
100. One who may eat her words? : ICER. Sweet clue.
101. March Madness org. : NCAA
103. Pepper & Preston: Abbr. : SGTs
104. Resting upon : ATOP
107. Tractor-trailer : RIG
108. Biological marker : DNA
Answer grid.
A note to regular posters: We'd love to celebrate your birthday on the blog. Please email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) if your name is not included in Dennis' original list. Thanks. And best wishes, Ron Worden!
C.C.
