Theme: "Baby Talk" - One word in each common phrase is replaced by a tot word.
23A. Kissing game? : SPIN THE BABA. Spin the bottle.
44A. Thing sliding down an aisle? : BRIDAL CHOO CHOO. Bridal train.
68A. Popular party appetizers? : PIGGIES IN BLANKIES. Pigs in blankets. This is similiar to the Cantonese sausage bun. The sausage there is sweet though.
23A. Kissing game? : SPIN THE BABA. Spin the bottle.
44A. Thing sliding down an aisle? : BRIDAL CHOO CHOO. Bridal train.
68A. Popular party appetizers? : PIGGIES IN BLANKIES. Pigs in blankets. This is similiar to the Cantonese sausage bun. The sausage there is sweet though.
91A. Dire circumstance, idiomatically? : HELL OR HIGH WAWA. Hell or high water.
118A. "Ego Trippin'" rapper? : SNOOP BOWWOW. Snoop Dogg.
26D. Waistline concern? : WUV HANDLES. Love handles.
64D. Romantic night out? : DIN DIN DATE. Dinner date.
Look at how the two Down theme entries intersect PIGGIES IN BLANKIES? Lovely! I can picture John's excitement when he discovered that he could make them interlock.
Interlocking theme entries creates compromises at times, but also creates smoother grid when you have lots of theme entries.
As always, brilliant clecho (clue echo). Just look at this list:
16A. Spot order? : SIT
19A. Tile with ordered spots : DOMINO
120A. Spot : EYE
127A. Scary spots in suspense movies : LEDGES
92D. Try to spot, with "for" : LOOK
Across:
1. A bundle, maybe : MOOLAH. And TILL (7. Money box)
11. Fully fills : SATES
20. Anderson who sang with Ellington : IVIE. Learned her name from doing Xwords. Wiki says she was born in Gilroy, CA, where our Garlic Girl lives.
21. The 31-Across's Quakers : U PENN. 31A. College hoops org. : NCAA
22. Stout relative : ALE
25. Recessed photo frame : SHADOWBOX. I think Dennis has one with all his medals/ribbons.
27. With 98-Across, "The most beautiful face in the world? It's yours" speaker : ESTEE. 98A. See 27-Across : LAUDER. Nice to have both filled in the grid.
28. Turner of records : TINA
29. "__ a Lady" : SHE'S. Tom Jones. I like his "Sex Bomb".
30. Lousy-sounding sausage : WURST
33. Movie promo : TRAILER
36. Wine holders : VATS
37. Compassionate : HUMANE. Foreign word to the despicable troll on our blog.
41. Some are tributarios : RIOS
42. Tchaikovsky's middle name : ILICH. Who knows!
48. Old ad challenge to wannabe artists : DRAW ME
52. Leer at : OGLE. Thought of Jazzbumpa' OGLE definition a while ago.
53. Rest atop : LIE ON
54. Filmmaker Lee : ANG. Literally "Peace".
56. Cause of kitchen tears : ONION
57. Brooks of comedy : MEL
58. Waterfall sounds : ROARS
59. Wordplay user : WIT
61. Iditarod front-runner : LEAD DOG. JD once met with an Iditarod winner. Jeff King, I think.
63. Half a 45 : B-SIDE
65. Zeno, e.g. : STOIC
67. Like sack dresses : BELT-LESS
72. Fran Drescher sitcom : THE NANNY. I can hear her nasal voice.
74. Miller's Willy : LOMAN. From "Death of a Salesman".
75. Lab protection org.? : ASPCA. Lab dog.
78. Andy with record-setting serves in excess of 150 mph : RODDICK. He's quite witty.
79. Barnyard beast : ASS
80. Cheney's successor : BIDEN
83. Dorm VIPs : RAs
84. Words often heard before a large number : ONE IN (a million)
85. Big Papi's team : SOX. For Linda. Big Papi is the nickname of David Ortiz, who used to be with the Twins. The ex-Twin I miss most is Johan Santana.
87. One of the Minor Prophets : HOSEA
88. Bloke : GENT
89. Animation pioneer : DISNEY
95. Critical times : D-DAYS
97. Pos. and neg. : OPPs
99. Large land mass : ASIA
102. Court activity : MOTIONS
104. Noah's eldest : SHEM. So, how many people boarded Noah's Ark?
106. Keebler cracker : ZESTA
108. 15th-century English ruling house : YORK
109. Going nowhere : IDLE
111. Doctor Bartolo, in "The Barber of Seville" : BASSO. Is Doctor Bartolo a bad guy? I know nothing about "The Barber of Seville".
116. Observatory tool : TELESCOPE
121. Cut off during pursuit : HEM IN
122. Aural cleaner : Q-TIP
123. "The Hairy Ape" playwright : O'NEILL (Eugene)
124. Coral isle : CAY
125. Bring joy to : ELATE
126. Steinway's partners? : SONS. Steinway & Sons. Both John & Rich are pianists.
Down:
1. Catalog stuff: Abbr. : MDSE
2. "Forgetful me!" : OOPS
3. Forget to include : OMIT
4. It may be broken on the road : LINE. White line on the road?
5. Beetle's appendage : ANTENNA
6. Water, to chemists : HOH. Reminded me of the HOO puzzle Bruce Sutphin & Doug Peterson constructed last Dec. They mistakenly thought water is HOO.
7. Talus neighbor : TIBIA
8. Terrible tsar : IVAN
9. Booze, facetiously : LIBATION
10. Low area? : LEA. Low is "Cattle call" here. Noun. And 50. Lows : MOOS. Verb.
11. Japanese restaurant staple : SUSHI
12. Orbital point farthest from the sun : APHELION. Gimme to Spitzboov/Bill G. New word to me.
13. Thistlelike plant : TEASEL
14. Stop : END
15. Winter blanket : SNOW
16. Native Israeli : SABRA
17. Runner-up's lament : I LOST
18. Campus armful : TEXTS
24. JFK posting : ETA
29. Merit badge site : SASH
32. String quartet member : CELLO. And 96. Musician with a 1712 Stradivarius : YO-YO MA.
34. Sinbad's giant egg-layer : ROC
35. Relieve (of) : RID
37. "Ivy Mike" test weapon : H-BOMB. Never heard of "Ivy Mike".
38. Eggs on : URGES
39. Multi-legged critters : MILLIPEDES
40. Juice drink suffix : ADE
41. Sits in a cage, say : ROOSTS
43. Zagreb resident : CROATIAN
45. Covert govt. group : CIA
46. "A Bell for Adano" author : HERSEY. Hey, "Adano" as a clue!
47. Feedbag morsel : OAT
49. Common : WIDESPREAD
51. Many MIT grads : ENGS
55. Watkins __: N.Y. road-racing town : GLEN. No idea, but Argyle knows all the road racing in N.Y.
58. Won back : REGAINED
59. Skid row figures : WINOS
60. Long-range nuke : ICBM
62. Grazer with a rack : ELK
66. Paints for Pissarro : OILS
67. Exile : BANISH
69. Health supplements co. : GNC
70. Colonial well fillers : INKS
71. Dwells on to excess : LABORS
72. Plodded : TROD
73. Hägar's daughter : HONI. Pronounced as "Honey", correct?
76. "Please, Daddy?" : CAN WE? John has two daughters.
77. "__ Is Born" : A STAR
79. Drop from the staff : AXE. Fire.
81. Agnus __ : DEI
82. Aerie builder : EAGLE. Fun to see "Aerie" as clue too.
86. "Come on, that's enough!" : OH STOP IT
87. Enters, as a cab : HOPS INTO
88. D.C. school named for a president : GWU
90. Verb for Popeye : YAM. "I yam what I yam..".
93. TLC provider : LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse)
94. Fido's Easter treat : HAM BONE. The clue made me smile.
99. Montezuma, e.g. : AZTEC
100. "Later!" : SEE YA
101. R&B's __ Brothers : ISLEY
103. Sherlock's adversary Adler : IRENE
104. Feeds, as pigs : SLOPS
105. Cool, old-style : HEP
107. Tennis legend : ASHE (Arthur)
110. Rub out : DO IN. Kill.
112. Quite impressed : AWED. The other day I marveled at Marti's eclectic hobbies & skills to Boomer. He said: "But what's her bowling average?"
113. Moonshine mouthful : SWIG. Quite a few alliterative clues in this puzzle.
114. Like some providers : SOLE
115. Feathered head-turners : OWLS. Wow, all the owls will be pleased with this clue!
117. Animation collectible : CEL. Speaking of collectibles, do any of you own the original Stratego? Splynter is looking for one.
118. Quilting units: Abbr. : SQs
119. Arg. neighbor : BOL (Bolivia)
Answer grid.
C.C.
118A. "Ego Trippin'" rapper? : SNOOP BOWWOW. Snoop Dogg.
26D. Waistline concern? : WUV HANDLES. Love handles.
64D. Romantic night out? : DIN DIN DATE. Dinner date.
Look at how the two Down theme entries intersect PIGGIES IN BLANKIES? Lovely! I can picture John's excitement when he discovered that he could make them interlock.
Interlocking theme entries creates compromises at times, but also creates smoother grid when you have lots of theme entries.
As always, brilliant clecho (clue echo). Just look at this list:
16A. Spot order? : SIT
19A. Tile with ordered spots : DOMINO
120A. Spot : EYE
127A. Scary spots in suspense movies : LEDGES
92D. Try to spot, with "for" : LOOK
Across:
1. A bundle, maybe : MOOLAH. And TILL (7. Money box)
11. Fully fills : SATES
20. Anderson who sang with Ellington : IVIE. Learned her name from doing Xwords. Wiki says she was born in Gilroy, CA, where our Garlic Girl lives.
21. The 31-Across's Quakers : U PENN. 31A. College hoops org. : NCAA
22. Stout relative : ALE
25. Recessed photo frame : SHADOWBOX. I think Dennis has one with all his medals/ribbons.
27. With 98-Across, "The most beautiful face in the world? It's yours" speaker : ESTEE. 98A. See 27-Across : LAUDER. Nice to have both filled in the grid.
28. Turner of records : TINA
29. "__ a Lady" : SHE'S. Tom Jones. I like his "Sex Bomb".
30. Lousy-sounding sausage : WURST
33. Movie promo : TRAILER
36. Wine holders : VATS
37. Compassionate : HUMANE. Foreign word to the despicable troll on our blog.
41. Some are tributarios : RIOS
42. Tchaikovsky's middle name : ILICH. Who knows!
48. Old ad challenge to wannabe artists : DRAW ME
52. Leer at : OGLE. Thought of Jazzbumpa' OGLE definition a while ago.
53. Rest atop : LIE ON
54. Filmmaker Lee : ANG. Literally "Peace".
56. Cause of kitchen tears : ONION
57. Brooks of comedy : MEL
58. Waterfall sounds : ROARS
59. Wordplay user : WIT
61. Iditarod front-runner : LEAD DOG. JD once met with an Iditarod winner. Jeff King, I think.
63. Half a 45 : B-SIDE
65. Zeno, e.g. : STOIC
67. Like sack dresses : BELT-LESS
72. Fran Drescher sitcom : THE NANNY. I can hear her nasal voice.
74. Miller's Willy : LOMAN. From "Death of a Salesman".
75. Lab protection org.? : ASPCA. Lab dog.
78. Andy with record-setting serves in excess of 150 mph : RODDICK. He's quite witty.
79. Barnyard beast : ASS
80. Cheney's successor : BIDEN
83. Dorm VIPs : RAs
84. Words often heard before a large number : ONE IN (a million)
85. Big Papi's team : SOX. For Linda. Big Papi is the nickname of David Ortiz, who used to be with the Twins. The ex-Twin I miss most is Johan Santana.
87. One of the Minor Prophets : HOSEA
88. Bloke : GENT
89. Animation pioneer : DISNEY
95. Critical times : D-DAYS
97. Pos. and neg. : OPPs
99. Large land mass : ASIA
102. Court activity : MOTIONS
104. Noah's eldest : SHEM. So, how many people boarded Noah's Ark?
106. Keebler cracker : ZESTA
108. 15th-century English ruling house : YORK
109. Going nowhere : IDLE
111. Doctor Bartolo, in "The Barber of Seville" : BASSO. Is Doctor Bartolo a bad guy? I know nothing about "The Barber of Seville".
116. Observatory tool : TELESCOPE
121. Cut off during pursuit : HEM IN
122. Aural cleaner : Q-TIP
123. "The Hairy Ape" playwright : O'NEILL (Eugene)
124. Coral isle : CAY
125. Bring joy to : ELATE
126. Steinway's partners? : SONS. Steinway & Sons. Both John & Rich are pianists.
Down:
1. Catalog stuff: Abbr. : MDSE
2. "Forgetful me!" : OOPS
3. Forget to include : OMIT
4. It may be broken on the road : LINE. White line on the road?
5. Beetle's appendage : ANTENNA
6. Water, to chemists : HOH. Reminded me of the HOO puzzle Bruce Sutphin & Doug Peterson constructed last Dec. They mistakenly thought water is HOO.
7. Talus neighbor : TIBIA
8. Terrible tsar : IVAN
9. Booze, facetiously : LIBATION
10. Low area? : LEA. Low is "Cattle call" here. Noun. And 50. Lows : MOOS. Verb.
11. Japanese restaurant staple : SUSHI
12. Orbital point farthest from the sun : APHELION. Gimme to Spitzboov/Bill G. New word to me.
13. Thistlelike plant : TEASEL
14. Stop : END
15. Winter blanket : SNOW
16. Native Israeli : SABRA
17. Runner-up's lament : I LOST
18. Campus armful : TEXTS
24. JFK posting : ETA
29. Merit badge site : SASH
32. String quartet member : CELLO. And 96. Musician with a 1712 Stradivarius : YO-YO MA.
34. Sinbad's giant egg-layer : ROC
35. Relieve (of) : RID
37. "Ivy Mike" test weapon : H-BOMB. Never heard of "Ivy Mike".
38. Eggs on : URGES
39. Multi-legged critters : MILLIPEDES
40. Juice drink suffix : ADE
41. Sits in a cage, say : ROOSTS
43. Zagreb resident : CROATIAN
45. Covert govt. group : CIA
46. "A Bell for Adano" author : HERSEY. Hey, "Adano" as a clue!
47. Feedbag morsel : OAT
49. Common : WIDESPREAD
51. Many MIT grads : ENGS
55. Watkins __: N.Y. road-racing town : GLEN. No idea, but Argyle knows all the road racing in N.Y.
58. Won back : REGAINED
59. Skid row figures : WINOS
60. Long-range nuke : ICBM
62. Grazer with a rack : ELK
66. Paints for Pissarro : OILS
67. Exile : BANISH
69. Health supplements co. : GNC
70. Colonial well fillers : INKS
71. Dwells on to excess : LABORS
72. Plodded : TROD
73. Hägar's daughter : HONI. Pronounced as "Honey", correct?
76. "Please, Daddy?" : CAN WE? John has two daughters.
77. "__ Is Born" : A STAR
79. Drop from the staff : AXE. Fire.
81. Agnus __ : DEI
82. Aerie builder : EAGLE. Fun to see "Aerie" as clue too.
86. "Come on, that's enough!" : OH STOP IT
87. Enters, as a cab : HOPS INTO
88. D.C. school named for a president : GWU
90. Verb for Popeye : YAM. "I yam what I yam..".
93. TLC provider : LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse)
94. Fido's Easter treat : HAM BONE. The clue made me smile.
99. Montezuma, e.g. : AZTEC
100. "Later!" : SEE YA
101. R&B's __ Brothers : ISLEY
103. Sherlock's adversary Adler : IRENE
104. Feeds, as pigs : SLOPS
105. Cool, old-style : HEP
107. Tennis legend : ASHE (Arthur)
110. Rub out : DO IN. Kill.
112. Quite impressed : AWED. The other day I marveled at Marti's eclectic hobbies & skills to Boomer. He said: "But what's her bowling average?"
113. Moonshine mouthful : SWIG. Quite a few alliterative clues in this puzzle.
114. Like some providers : SOLE
115. Feathered head-turners : OWLS. Wow, all the owls will be pleased with this clue!
117. Animation collectible : CEL. Speaking of collectibles, do any of you own the original Stratego? Splynter is looking for one.
118. Quilting units: Abbr. : SQs
119. Arg. neighbor : BOL (Bolivia)
Answer grid.
C.C.
