(If your paper does not carry the puzzle we're blogging here on Sundays, Click it to solve on line or print out a copy.)
Theme: Inside Help - SOS spans across two words inside each theme entry.
23A. Infielder traded by the Yankees to get Alex Rodriguez : ALFONSO SORIANO. Now with the Cubs. Great leadoff man.
33A. Bygone U.S. fuel stop : ESSO STATION
42A. "How the Camel Got His Hump" et al. : JUST SO STORIES
57A. Where Hope sprang eternal? : USO SHOWS. Bob Hope.
80A. Japanese food staple : MISO SOUP. My grandma liked fermented soy beans. She never made Miso soup.
95A. "CBS News Sunday Morning" host : CHARLES OSGOOD. Hard to find answers with S & OS spanning. Plenty of SO & S to choose.
103A. Area in the North Atlantic : SARGASSO SEA
116A. Lord Kitchener of Trinidad et al. : CALYPSO SINGERS
120. Help found inside eight puzzle answers : SOS
On
Sundays, I like to guess what the theme is by looking at the puzzle
title. Often I'm wrong. Today I thought AIDE is contained in each theme
answer.
Across:
1. Fowl poles : ROOSTS. Lovely clue.
7. Something for a rainy day : NEST EGG. I always associate this with retirement.
14. Bad mark : STIGMA
20. Lenient sort : SOFTIE. I think Irish Miss is one. Hope your ice maker is working now.
21. Not quite par : ONE OVER. Bogey.
22. Snorkeling site : LAGOON. JD likes snorkeling.
25. Journalist Peter : ARNETT. Covered the Gulf War for CNN.
26. John Irving's "__ of the Circus" : A SON
27. Bit of derring-do : GEST
28. Obi-Wan portrayer : EWAN (McGregor)
30. Ratio words : IS TO
31. Fit to be fried : EDIBLE. Fun clue. Deserves a fun link from Dave. Such an unfaithful rat!
36. Like : A LA
38. Fair-hiring inits. : EOE
39. "Moon River" composer : MANCINI ( Henry). Forgot. Definitely googled his name before.
41. Ran into : MET
45. Select : TAP
47. Jets' former gp. : AFL (American Football League). 1960-1969.
50. Cuts short : ABORTS
51. __ of vantage: favorable position : COIGN. Never heard of this word before.
52. Literary lord : JIM. Conrad novel "Lord Jim". Drew a blank.
53. Court answer : PLEA
54. Lucy Lawless role : XENA
55. Coastal flooding cause : TSUNAMI. Rooted in Japanese, literally "harbor wave".
59. Soft "Hey, you!" : PSST
61. Didn't quite win : PLACED. At the racetrack.
63. You can skip the flat ones : STONES
64. Stage remark : ASIDE
67. Part of a Maui welcome : LEI
69. Barber's challenge : MOP
71. Año starter : ENERO
72. Back from a trip, say : IN TOWN
74. Mideast native : SEMITE
78. One-named supermodel : EMME
82. "West Side Story" number : AMERICA. See here. A few doses of racial slurs.
84. Lift near a lodge : T-BAR. Ski lodge. I think Marti can be a stunt woman. She's so adventurous & fearless.
88. Purim's month : ADAR
89. Stock mkt. opening? : IPO
90. Lean cuisine lover : SPRAT. Good clue. Never tried Lean Cuisine though.
91. Theater district : RIALTO
93. Address bk. datum : TEL
94. Modern address : URL
97. Smashed : LIT. Drunk.
99. Was of use : AVAILED
101. Excessively : TOO
102. Short missions? : OPs. Anyone else reading "No Easy Day"?
106. Fivesome : PENTAD
108. Grenoble girlfriend : AMIE
109. Problem's end? : ATIC. Problematic.
110. It may be used in a pinch : SALT. Clever.
112. Suspicious of : ONTO
114. Iowa and Indiana are in it : BIG TEN
121. Available for work : ON HIRE
122. Most avant-garde : EDGIEST. 5D Least resonant : TINNIEST. Sometimes constructors just could not make snazzier entries work.
123. Earthquake prefix : SEISMO. Quite a long prefix.
124. Walk unsteadily : TOTTER
125. Strengthens : DEEPENS
126. Ridges in ranges : ARETES
Down:
1. Cape Town's home: Abbr. : RSA
2. Dancer enslaved by Jabba the Hutt : OOLA
3. When many trades are made : OFF SEASON
4. Put up with : STOOD
6. His, to Henri : SES
7. Long time follower? : NO SEE. Long time no see. This phrase is rooted in Chinese I think. We say this often.
8. Slaughter on the field : ENOS
9. Spanish muralist : SERT. José María Sert.
10. Vous, familiarly : TOI
11. One of the Peróns : EVA
12. Torah starter : GENESIS
13. Become gradually more desirable to : GROW ON. I have the feeling that "Gangnam Style" won't grow on Jayce. Quirky horse dance. But hey, we have an exciting new clue for PSY.
14. Bias : SLANT
15. Do road work : TAR
16. Start to burn : IGNITE
17. Abandons the band : GOES IT ALONE. Nice long answer.
18. Slogan : MOTTO
19. Dramatist Chekhov : ANTON
24. Gives more than the once-over : OGLES. Here. I've watched almost all parodies of the song, Army, Marines, Navy, etc.
29. The way things stand : AS IT IS
32. Raises : BOOSTS
33. Puzzle : ENIGMA
34. Pretty : SCENIC. Melissa linked this one before. So pretty.
35. Band booster : AMP
36. Comet competitor : AJAX
37. Garage job : LUBE
39. Marshmallowy treat : MOON PIE. A week from now on, I'll be eating moon cakes.
40. Plain font choice : ARIAL
43. Hidden entrance : TRAP DOOR
44. Ft. Worth campus : TCU
46. John of "Good Times" : AMOS
48. A smaller number : FEWER
49. Nab, in oaters : LASSO
52. Karate kin : JUDO
53. Frustrating series of calls : PHONE TAG
56. N.L. Central team : STL
58. Originate : STEM
60. Attaches, in a way, with "on" : SEWS. Boomer is attending a bowling tournament today, with a brand new bowling shirt with his name embroidered on the back.
62. Shade of green : EMERALD
64. Get in one's sights : AIM AT
65. Nasty : SNIDE
66. "There there" : IT'S ALL RIGHT. Another great entry.
68. Hockey great Phil, familiarly : ESPO
70. Upper-bod muscle : PEC
73. Dark genre : NOIR
75. Bag mate of a cleek and a niblick : MASHIE. Old name for 5 iron. Bobby Jones used this word in his "How I Play Golf" series. Cleek is 2 iron. Niblick is 9 iron.
76. Classic Chevy : IMPALA
77. __ Haute : TERRE
79. Strand : MAROON
81. Like a baseball home team : UP LAST
83. Manhattan suffix : ITE
85. Exam many examinees won't look at : BLOOD TEST. Tricky clue.
86. Over : ATOP
87. Fishing gear : RODS
92. Big name in gloves : ISOTONER
94. Hagen of Broadway : UTA
95. Falls : CASCADE
96. Leaves in : STETS
98. "That makes sense" : I GET IT
100. Spoken : VOICED
103. Cousin of a clog : SABOT. Root word for sabotage.
104. Essential acid : AMINO
105. More sound : SANER
106. Cabal activities : PLOTS
107. 1973 #1 hit for the Stones : ANGIE
110. Graf __ : SPEE
111. NCAA member?: Abbr. : ASSN. I like this clue also.
113. "Him __": beau's ultimatum : OR ME
115. Ahead of, in verse : ERE
117. Size above med. : LGE
118. Pound sound : YIP
119. Patience-virtue link : IS A. Patience is a virtue, esp in crossword construction.
C.C.
