Theme: Subtext - The initialism of each four common phrases spans across another four two-word common phrase.
23A. Its abbreviation is hidden in 61-Across : LAUGHING OUT LOUD (LOL)
61A. Flight school hurdle : SOLO LANDING
73A. Its abbreviation is hidden in 36-Across : IN MY OPINION (IMO)
36A. 1993 literature Nobelist : TONI MORRISON. She called Clinton "our first Black president".
116A. Its abbreviation is hidden in 97-Across : THANKS IN ADVANCE (TIA)
97A. Like opposers of the Roe v. Wade decision : ANTI-ABORTION
46D. Its abbreviation is hidden in 17-Down : TALK TO YOU LATER (TTYL)
17D. They're less than grand : PETTY LARCENIES. I like this one a lot. So unexpected, all consonants.
I think those letters are initialism, to be exact. Read here for a succinct summary of Acronym, Initialism and Abbreviations. NATO, Scuba are acronyms. They're pronounced as one word. TTYL or IMO, on the other hand, is initialism and pronounced letter by letter.
Neat concept. All common in text-speak. Ambitious grid, with low word count and low black square count. Look at those stacked long edge entries. No picnic. It's always challenging to fill when there are 3 rather than 4 black square groups poking into the grid (called Fingers in cruciverb language). Hence a few compromise here and here.
This might be Leonard Williams' first LA Times puzzle. If so, congratulations!
Across:
1. Rite using water : BAPTISM. Total 21 7-letter entries in this grid.
8. Leaves in water : TEA BAGS. Always loose leaves for me. You, Jayce?
15. Subject : TOPIC
20. Botanical bristles : ARISTAE. Plural of arista. And 31D. Roman marketplaces : FORA. Plural for forum. And 52D. Polar lights : AURORAE. I use S-ending for all.
21. Without being expressed in words : TACITLY
22. Elysiums : EDENS. Castles for a certain long-leg lover.
25. Dodge SUV model : NITRO. Part of TNT also.
26. Pays attention, informally : LISTENS UP
27. Cop, in Cannes : FLIC. You all know this?
28. Swiss district : CANTON. Also the historical name for current Guangzhou, where I had lots of fun for 6 years.
29. Sale warning : AS IS
30. Enjoy a salon, maybe : TAN
31. Adversary : FOE
32. Khloé Kardashian __ : ODOM. She'll be tweeting her presence in a crossword.
34. Long-haired bovine : YAK
35. Agnus __ : DEI. And 63. Gilberto's god : DIOS. Spanish. 105D Reason-based faith : DEISM. Same root, right? Shouldn't be in the same grid.
39. Bisset co-star in "The Mephisto Waltz" : ALDA (Alan). Not familiar with the film.
40. Conger, e.g. : EEL
41. Rocky peak : TOR
42. Yoko Ono genre : NEO-DADA. Also new to me. Absurd!
44. 1945 conference site : POTSDAM. 15 miles southwest of Berlin, see this map.
48. Elemental : BASIC
51. Fish with sucker-like organs : REMORAS. They suck on sharks. Why not? Free ride.
54. Word of sorrow : ALAS
55. Pacific island nation : FIJI
57. Here, to José : ACA
58. Slip in a pool parlor : MISCUE
59. Chronicle anew : RE-LOG
65. West end : ERN. Western.
66. Sound of disapproval : TSK
67. Bailiff's instruction : RISE
69. Nonspecific ordinal : NTH
70. __ doing: thereby : IN SO
71. Japanese drama : NOH. Literally "talent" or "ability".
72. Addams family cousin : ITT
76. Hubert's successor : SPIRO (Agnew). Hubert Humphrey. From Minnesota.
78. Water or wind, e.g. : ERODER. And 11D. One working on charges : BILLER. Also 103. Comic book artists : INKERS. I'm sure the constructor would have changed the first two into ERODED or BILLED if he had an option.
80. Large load : TON
81. Tiny time fraction: Abbr. : NSEC
83. Scorch : SEAR
84. Repeat : SAY OVER
86. Fencing supplies : EPEES
88. Antarctic waters : ROSS SEA. Happy Feet.
90. Good hole cards in Texas Hold 'em : ONE PAIR. OK, I trust you. Not a poker player.
92. Sporty coupes : GTS
94. Was the right size : FIT
95. Hera's spouse : ZEUS
101. CBS forensic drama : CSI
104. Rose of rock : AXL
105. Cutting remarks : DIGS.
106. More, in Monterrey : MAS. "No mas!"
107. Prof's address ending : EDU
108. H.S. VIP : PRIN. Alright, Principle. (Correction: It's Principal. Thanks, D-Otto.)
109. Attend to, in a way, as a tiny tot : DIAPER
111. Son of Adam : ABEL
113. Large-venue music genre : ARENA ROCK. Like which band?
115. Emperor crowned in 962 : OTTO I. First Holy Roman emperor. Hi there D-Otto!
118. Stinks : REEKS
119. Reason for a siren : AIR RAID
120. More minuscule : TEENIER
121. Relevant, to a lawyer : AD REM. This reminds me of Lemonade's Milli-helen in measuring a girl's beauty. Helen had a face that "launched a thousand ships". What do you think of Gong Li's Milli-helen number?
122. Bizarre : STRANGE.
123. Gofer's list : ERRANDS
Down:
1. Love song : BALLAD.
2. Ask for __: request more pay : A RAISE. Very rarely do we see a 6-letter partial in LAT.
3. Only reigning pope to write an autobiography : PIUS II. No clue. How come no other pope followed him then? Must be a bad idea.
4. Some Air Force NCOs : T-SGTs. Technical Sergeants.
5. Spillane's "__ Jury" : I THE
6. College founded by Norwegian immigrants : SAINT OLAF. Here in Minnesota.
7. Smart one : MENSAN. Hey, the one I know is a Dummy.
8. Sporty car roof : T-TOP
9. __ Claire, Wisconsin : EAU
10. Represent : ACT FOR
12. French possessive : A TOI. Give me this, je suis A TOI!
13. Natural sugar : GLUCOSE
14. Barrett of Pink Floyd : SYD
15. Midmorning hr. : TEN AM
16. Hopkins's "Thor" role : ODIN
18. Encroachment : INROAD
19. Hall of Fame fullback Larry : CSONKA. I can never remember this name.
24. "Give 'er some gas!" : GUN IT
28. Censures : CONDEMNS
33. Means of access : DOOR
36. Newsman Koppel : TED
37. Company with a Pegasus trademark : MOBIL. And 40. Standard Oil name : ESSO.
38. Quechua speaker : INCAN
39. Bustling times : ADOS
43. Pals : AMIGOS
44. Paints the town red : PARTIES
45. Fake fat : OLESTRA
47. Bette's "Divine" nickname : MISS M
49. Krispy cracker : SALTINE
50. Corporate raider Carl : ICAHN. Darn it, I realized I had googled him before.
53. Lisbon lady : SENHORA
56. Milne's Roo, e.g. : JOEY
60. "For pleasures past I do not __ ...": Byron : GRIEVE
62. "Hop __": Seuss work : ON POP
64. Toward the center : INNER
68. Well maintained : IN REPAIR. Sounds like broken, no?
74. Cheri of "SNL" : OTERI
75. Piano, e.g.: Abbr. : INSTR. OK, Instrument.
77. Sibilant attention-getter : PSST
79. Pulls on : DONS
82. Jobs at Apple, say : CO-FOUNDER. Steve Jobs.
85. __ a bell: was familiar : RANG
87. They may be bruised : EGOS
89. Envy, for one : SIN
91. Baseball announcer's cry : IT'S A HIT. Ready for some baseball, LaLaLinda?
93. Unrelenting : STERN
95. "Butterfly" co-star who won the 1982 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress : ZADORA (Pia). Did not know the Razzie Award trivia. I bet Buckeye does.
96. Left the building : EXITED
98. Supreme Egyptian deity : AMEN RA. Quite a few different spellings. AMON RA as well.
99. Like Serbs or Croats : BALKAN
100. Form concepts : IDEATE. Hey, it's a real word.
101. "The Citadel" author A.J. __ : CRONIN
102. Prompted to attack, with "on" : SICCED
108. One of yoga's five vital forces : PRANA. Another learning moment.
110. Go slowly (along) : POKE
112. 2008 Libertarian presidential candidate : BARR (Bob). Where was I? Did not recall this name at all.
113. Hill helper : AIDE. Capitol Hill.
114. Testify : AVER
116. Sometime classroom leaders, briefly : TAs
117. Milano Mr. : SIG. Short for signore.
Answer grid.
C.C.
23A. Its abbreviation is hidden in 61-Across : LAUGHING OUT LOUD (LOL)
61A. Flight school hurdle : SOLO LANDING
73A. Its abbreviation is hidden in 36-Across : IN MY OPINION (IMO)
36A. 1993 literature Nobelist : TONI MORRISON. She called Clinton "our first Black president".
116A. Its abbreviation is hidden in 97-Across : THANKS IN ADVANCE (TIA)
97A. Like opposers of the Roe v. Wade decision : ANTI-ABORTION
46D. Its abbreviation is hidden in 17-Down : TALK TO YOU LATER (TTYL)
17D. They're less than grand : PETTY LARCENIES. I like this one a lot. So unexpected, all consonants.
I think those letters are initialism, to be exact. Read here for a succinct summary of Acronym, Initialism and Abbreviations. NATO, Scuba are acronyms. They're pronounced as one word. TTYL or IMO, on the other hand, is initialism and pronounced letter by letter.
Neat concept. All common in text-speak. Ambitious grid, with low word count and low black square count. Look at those stacked long edge entries. No picnic. It's always challenging to fill when there are 3 rather than 4 black square groups poking into the grid (called Fingers in cruciverb language). Hence a few compromise here and here.
This might be Leonard Williams' first LA Times puzzle. If so, congratulations!
Across:
1. Rite using water : BAPTISM. Total 21 7-letter entries in this grid.
8. Leaves in water : TEA BAGS. Always loose leaves for me. You, Jayce?
15. Subject : TOPIC
20. Botanical bristles : ARISTAE. Plural of arista. And 31D. Roman marketplaces : FORA. Plural for forum. And 52D. Polar lights : AURORAE. I use S-ending for all.
21. Without being expressed in words : TACITLY
22. Elysiums : EDENS. Castles for a certain long-leg lover.
25. Dodge SUV model : NITRO. Part of TNT also.
26. Pays attention, informally : LISTENS UP
27. Cop, in Cannes : FLIC. You all know this?
28. Swiss district : CANTON. Also the historical name for current Guangzhou, where I had lots of fun for 6 years.
29. Sale warning : AS IS
30. Enjoy a salon, maybe : TAN
31. Adversary : FOE
32. Khloé Kardashian __ : ODOM. She'll be tweeting her presence in a crossword.
34. Long-haired bovine : YAK
35. Agnus __ : DEI. And 63. Gilberto's god : DIOS. Spanish. 105D Reason-based faith : DEISM. Same root, right? Shouldn't be in the same grid.
39. Bisset co-star in "The Mephisto Waltz" : ALDA (Alan). Not familiar with the film.
40. Conger, e.g. : EEL
41. Rocky peak : TOR
42. Yoko Ono genre : NEO-DADA. Also new to me. Absurd!
44. 1945 conference site : POTSDAM. 15 miles southwest of Berlin, see this map.
48. Elemental : BASIC
51. Fish with sucker-like organs : REMORAS. They suck on sharks. Why not? Free ride.
54. Word of sorrow : ALAS
55. Pacific island nation : FIJI
57. Here, to José : ACA
58. Slip in a pool parlor : MISCUE
59. Chronicle anew : RE-LOG
65. West end : ERN. Western.
66. Sound of disapproval : TSK
67. Bailiff's instruction : RISE
69. Nonspecific ordinal : NTH
70. __ doing: thereby : IN SO
71. Japanese drama : NOH. Literally "talent" or "ability".
72. Addams family cousin : ITT
76. Hubert's successor : SPIRO (Agnew). Hubert Humphrey. From Minnesota.
78. Water or wind, e.g. : ERODER. And 11D. One working on charges : BILLER. Also 103. Comic book artists : INKERS. I'm sure the constructor would have changed the first two into ERODED or BILLED if he had an option.
80. Large load : TON
81. Tiny time fraction: Abbr. : NSEC
83. Scorch : SEAR
84. Repeat : SAY OVER
86. Fencing supplies : EPEES
88. Antarctic waters : ROSS SEA. Happy Feet.
90. Good hole cards in Texas Hold 'em : ONE PAIR. OK, I trust you. Not a poker player.
92. Sporty coupes : GTS
94. Was the right size : FIT
95. Hera's spouse : ZEUS
101. CBS forensic drama : CSI
104. Rose of rock : AXL
105. Cutting remarks : DIGS.
106. More, in Monterrey : MAS. "No mas!"
107. Prof's address ending : EDU
108. H.S. VIP : PRIN. Alright, Principle. (Correction: It's Principal. Thanks, D-Otto.)
109. Attend to, in a way, as a tiny tot : DIAPER
111. Son of Adam : ABEL
113. Large-venue music genre : ARENA ROCK. Like which band?
115. Emperor crowned in 962 : OTTO I. First Holy Roman emperor. Hi there D-Otto!
118. Stinks : REEKS
119. Reason for a siren : AIR RAID
120. More minuscule : TEENIER
121. Relevant, to a lawyer : AD REM. This reminds me of Lemonade's Milli-helen in measuring a girl's beauty. Helen had a face that "launched a thousand ships". What do you think of Gong Li's Milli-helen number?
122. Bizarre : STRANGE.
123. Gofer's list : ERRANDS
Down:
1. Love song : BALLAD.
2. Ask for __: request more pay : A RAISE. Very rarely do we see a 6-letter partial in LAT.
3. Only reigning pope to write an autobiography : PIUS II. No clue. How come no other pope followed him then? Must be a bad idea.
4. Some Air Force NCOs : T-SGTs. Technical Sergeants.
5. Spillane's "__ Jury" : I THE
6. College founded by Norwegian immigrants : SAINT OLAF. Here in Minnesota.
7. Smart one : MENSAN. Hey, the one I know is a Dummy.
8. Sporty car roof : T-TOP
9. __ Claire, Wisconsin : EAU
10. Represent : ACT FOR
12. French possessive : A TOI. Give me this, je suis A TOI!
13. Natural sugar : GLUCOSE
14. Barrett of Pink Floyd : SYD
15. Midmorning hr. : TEN AM
16. Hopkins's "Thor" role : ODIN
18. Encroachment : INROAD
19. Hall of Fame fullback Larry : CSONKA. I can never remember this name.
24. "Give 'er some gas!" : GUN IT
28. Censures : CONDEMNS
33. Means of access : DOOR
36. Newsman Koppel : TED
37. Company with a Pegasus trademark : MOBIL. And 40. Standard Oil name : ESSO.
38. Quechua speaker : INCAN
39. Bustling times : ADOS
43. Pals : AMIGOS
44. Paints the town red : PARTIES
45. Fake fat : OLESTRA
47. Bette's "Divine" nickname : MISS M
49. Krispy cracker : SALTINE
50. Corporate raider Carl : ICAHN. Darn it, I realized I had googled him before.
53. Lisbon lady : SENHORA
56. Milne's Roo, e.g. : JOEY
60. "For pleasures past I do not __ ...": Byron : GRIEVE
62. "Hop __": Seuss work : ON POP
64. Toward the center : INNER
68. Well maintained : IN REPAIR. Sounds like broken, no?
74. Cheri of "SNL" : OTERI
75. Piano, e.g.: Abbr. : INSTR. OK, Instrument.
77. Sibilant attention-getter : PSST
79. Pulls on : DONS
82. Jobs at Apple, say : CO-FOUNDER. Steve Jobs.
85. __ a bell: was familiar : RANG
87. They may be bruised : EGOS
89. Envy, for one : SIN
91. Baseball announcer's cry : IT'S A HIT. Ready for some baseball, LaLaLinda?
93. Unrelenting : STERN
95. "Butterfly" co-star who won the 1982 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress : ZADORA (Pia). Did not know the Razzie Award trivia. I bet Buckeye does.
96. Left the building : EXITED
98. Supreme Egyptian deity : AMEN RA. Quite a few different spellings. AMON RA as well.
99. Like Serbs or Croats : BALKAN
100. Form concepts : IDEATE. Hey, it's a real word.
101. "The Citadel" author A.J. __ : CRONIN
102. Prompted to attack, with "on" : SICCED
108. One of yoga's five vital forces : PRANA. Another learning moment.
110. Go slowly (along) : POKE
112. 2008 Libertarian presidential candidate : BARR (Bob). Where was I? Did not recall this name at all.
113. Hill helper : AIDE. Capitol Hill.
114. Testify : AVER
116. Sometime classroom leaders, briefly : TAs
117. Milano Mr. : SIG. Short for signore.
Answer grid.
C.C.
