Theme: The world's most beautiful mountain - or repeated K's splitting the a phrase or name - K2
Hello everyone - Steve here with a Sunday stunner. Goodness gracious - was it just me or was this a three-coffee puzzle? I went back to brew another pot of Peet's French Roast twice over! Don and C.C. had me reeling, it seemed that every clue was a challenge. Thank heavens for "One K = Two K's" otherwise I'd still be scratching my head!
Two K's in each theme answer means a tough task to come up with the crosses - there's a good reason why a K rates 5 points in Scrabble, it's not easy to use! Kudos (10 points!) to Don and C.C. for being able to make this one work.
So let's look at the theme answers first:
23A. Geisha wear : SILK KIMONO. My Japanese girlfriend would wonder if there was any other material!
35A. Oven seen at Colonial Williamsburg : BRICK KILN. Jefferson's house at Monticello was built from Williamsburg bricks.
43A. Be complimentary (of) : SPEAK KINDLY. As all of us would regarding Don and C.C.'s puzzle!
72A. Form of bank fraud : CHECK KITING. I hope anyone who wrote a check to the IRS today isn't planning on doing this with it.
92A. Warehouse worker : STOCK KEEPER. I worked in a warehouse when I was going through college. I'm not sure that "keeper" accurately describes the relationship of the workers to the stock *ahem*
105A. Friendly greeting : CHEEK KISS. So European. Learn to say "mwah mwah" whilst air-cheek-kissing in Italy or France and all vocabulary and pronunciation sins are forgiven!
119A. Prepare a seder, say : COOK KOSHER. Food!
14D. Football surprise : QUICK KICK. Probably a surprise to Coach too. Kicking is not something to be taken lightly.
80D. He debuted in Action Comics in 1938 : CLARK KENT. Super! Such a nice man.
Across:
1. C-section docs : OBS
4. Carrying on : WAGING
10. See 88-Down : BEST
14. Al Jazeera's country : QATAR. I'm never sure if you're allowed to play this in Scrabble, but it's a great Q-with-no-U word!
19. Top of some suits : BRA. This one made me laugh out loud. After a week of terribly proper business meetings, suits to the fore, the thought of someone wearing a bra to match an ultra-conservative bottom would have livened things up immensely.
20. Where Excalibur was forged : AVALON. King Arthur's sword. It was returned to the Lady of the Lake when Arthur died.
21. Terrier of mystery films : ASTA
22. One-time TV medical expert Art : ULENE
25. Hollywood Walk of Fame feature : STAR. You should be able to earn one for crossword construction - I'd camp out all night for Don and C.C.'s unveiling!
26. Intestinal : ILEAC
27. Attorney general before Dick Thornburgh : ED MEESE
28. Minor key of Beethoven's "Moonlight" : C SHARP. Music is a closed book to me. I thought this had to be "something-FLAT".
30. Hornswoggle : CON. This is why I love the English language. I have never seen the word "hornswoggle" before, and I'm only repeating it because I've never typed it before either.
31. Memorial __-Kettering: NYC hospital : SLOAN
32. Almost win : PLACE. Or, as I heard in a NASCAR preview today, "Second is first of the losers". That's harsh.
39A. Gmail outbox folder : SENT
40. Cuthbert of "24" : ELISHA
41. Shatner's "__War" : TEK. Short-lived series "officially" co-authored by William and writer Ron Goulart
42. "And how!" : DO I
48. Ventilate : AIR OUT
50. Corp. symbols : TMS. Registered Trade Marks. The red triangle™ on a bottle of British Bass Ale was the world's first trade mark!
53. Youngest Brontë : ANNE. And least well-known?
54. Diamond head? : DEE
55. Chews out : SCOLDS
56. Become useless, as a well : RUN DRY
58. Places to perch : ROOSTS
61. Cold War prez : IKE
62. __ Mountains: Missouri range : OZARK. Thank goodness for a band named the Ozark Mountain Daredevils who I saw on tour in England 1n 1978, otherwise I'd be looking at a blank section of the puzzle right here!
63. Stick a fork in : SPEAR
65. "This __ emergency!" : IS AN
67. Cheeky : BOLD
71. "Scarlett" setting : TARA. Funny, I was there this week - the Turner HQ in Atlanta is built to look like the Tara plantation house.
74. Password creator : USER. Password forgetter, in my case. I'm also pretty terrible at remembering the answers to the "unlock" questions!
75. Surfboard fin : SKEG
76. Jocular "Gotcha" : AH SO!
77. __ Birds: cellphone game : ANGRY
78. The "a" sound in "afire" : SCHWA. Is is only me that wonders why an "a" sound is described mainly with a SHHHHWWWW noise?
79. ATM maker : NCR. I'm a "PIN pattern" guy - I remember my PIN not by the digits, but by where it is on the keyboard. This worked fine until I went to Hong Kong, and found that the ATM keypads are "upside down" with the high digits at the top.
81. Seek advice from : TURN TO
83. "This is yours now!" : TAKE IT
84. Presses on : IMPELS
87. Lennon's lady : ONO
88. Droids, e.g. : PDA'S A Personal Digital Assistant sounds very old-school nowadays, but it was awesome back then when they came with little plastic pencils to write with!
90. Mule's parent : ASS
91. Umbrella-garnished drink : MAI TAI
97. African snake : ASP. Oh hey - here's our Nile Biter! Thank you all for not using that clue.
98. Kick and Zero colas : RCS. I have no idea about this one. Help, please?
100. Joins forces : UNITES
101. They may be rolled over, for short : IRAS
109. Outcast : LEPER
110. Extremely thin : GAUNT. 109A's are usually this, right?
111. Terr. that's now two states : DAK. Wow, now that is one obscure clue!
112. Have a go at : TACKLE
114. Deals with : SELLS TO
116. Big name in china : SPODE. Bone china from England, to be precise. You were either a Wedgwood or a Spode family.
118. Dip in "Swan Lake"? : PLIÉ. A ballet move - you must have the E-acute accent for the full effect!
122. "Whether __ or lose ..." : WE WIN
123. Mary Kay rival : AVON. "Ding-Dong - Avon Calling"
124. Hilltop homes : AERIES
125. Cold-climate seabird : AUK. I'd never thought of this before, but does Auckland, New Zealand have anything to do with the seabird?
126. Painter of café scenes : MANET. I always have to wait for the cross to decide between Monet and Manet.
127. Scads : TONS
128. Egyptian currency : POUNDS
129. Decorates mischievously, for short : TP'S. I think this is unique to the USA? I'd never seen a yard festooned with toilet paper before I moved here.
Down:
1. Haunt : OBSESS.
2. It has a bit part : BRIDLE. Mean, tough clue. I loved this one!
3. Sockeye, e.g. : SALMON
4. Arouse from sleep : WAKEN. Hmmm. I would have rather seen either "Awaken" for "Arouse", or "Waken" for "Rouse". Not a fan of this clue/answer.
5. Car rental company founder Warren : AVIS
6. Locker room strategy : GAME PLAN
7. U.N. workers' gp. : ILO. The International Labor Organization. Or the International Labour Organisation, your choice.
8. Persona __ grata : NON
9. Italian dumplings : GNOCCHI. Sage, butter, Parmesan. Food!
10. Party to remember : BASH
11. Abbr. on a cornerstone : ESTAB. I recently found my grandfather's name on the cornerstone of a hospital in Warrington, England, established in 1903.
12. Beatles drummer after 10-Across : STARR. Richard Starkey, following in the footsteps of Pete Best.
13. La Brea attraction : TAR PIT
15. Perfectly fine : ALL OK
16. Justin Bieber, e.g. : TEEN IDOL
17. Gasteyer of "SNL" : ANA
18. DVR button : REC
24. "Endymion" poet : KEATS. The poem is a thing of beauty, a joy forever.
29. Penn of "Milk" : SEAN
33. Take a shine to : LIKE
34. Set a price of : ASK
36. Discontinuing : CEASING
37. Hard on the eyes, in a way : LOUD
38. Minor quibbles : NITS
40. Counting-rhyme starter : EENY
44. It may have a theme : PARK
45. Bridge installer's deg. : DDS Department of Driver Services? This would work for installing bridges, but no - we're looking for Doctor of Dental Surgery here.
46. "Get over yourself!" : LET IT GO
47. Private aye : YESSIR! All one word, too!
49. Sears associate : ROEBUCK
50. Harness racing events : TROTS
51. Mall melodies : MUZAK
52. Simple trap : SNARE. I'd rate a 52D as cunning, a 57D as simple ...
57. "The facts, ma'am" series : DRAGNET
58. Runner-up's demand : RECOUNT
59. Former acorn : OAK. You could look at this another way and say an oak is an acorn's precursor.
60. Language in which "Shazbot!" is a profanity : ORKAN. Nanu, Nanu!
63. "Zip it!" : SHH
64. Basil-based sauces : PESTOS. I'm not entirely sure that pesto has a plural.
66. Whichever : ANY
68. Milo of film and stage : O'SHEA. I always assumed that Milo and Tessie were siblings, but no. Milo was Irish and Tessie was Welsh, so now I know.
69. Comedian Black : LEWIS
70. Cries of annoyance : DRATS
72. Turning green in the backseat, say : CAR SICK. That was me. Sorry, Dad
73. One may be returned for a TD : INT. Also called a "pick six" - an interception to pick off the pass, run the ball back for a touchdown and six points.
78. Encl. with an autograph request : SASE I can never remember if it's a Stamped Self-Addressed Envelope or a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. In England it's a SAE (stamped, addressed envelope). The English don't care if you address it to yourself or the Queen as long as it's got a stamp on it!
82. Kanga's little one : ROO
83. GI's lullaby? : TAPS. The most haunting few bars of music.
84. All-in-one Apple : iMAC
85. Beer-brewing mixture : MASH. My local pub in England was called the "Mash Tun". It was a perfect crossword pub!
86. "Zip it!" : PIPE DOWN
88. With 10-Across, Beatles drummer before 12-Down : PETE
89. Moccasin material : DEER SKIN. Is a moose a deer's kin?
93. Gather discriminately : CULL
94. Patella : KNEECAP
95. Nap, in British slang : KIP
96. Iranian money : RIALS. Pounds and Rials today - Capital!
99. Stick to policy : SIT PAT, Why do you Stand Pat in Poker, but Sit Pat in business?
102. Charge : RUSH AT
103. Get in the game : ANTE UP. You can 99D after you do this
104. Long-legged waders : STORKS
106. "Embraced by the Light" author Betty : EADIE
107. Round of shots : SALVO
108. Boxy Toyota : SCION
110. Explain away, with "over" : GLOSS
113. Griffey and Griffey Jr. : KENS
115. Squeezed (out) : EKED
116. Seeker in personals, briefly : SWM. This Single White Male filled this in without a pause.
117. Stew veggie : PEA. I had peas for dinner tonight, but not in a stew.
120. LBJ's antipoverty agcy. : OEO. Lyndon Johnson's Office of Economic Opportunity.
121. Sch. named for an evangelist : ORU. Oral Roberts University, a basketball powerhouse in Tulsa, OK
Answer grid.
Wow. That's all from me - hats off to Don and C.C. for a real challenge today!
