(If your paper does not carry the puzzle we're blogging on Sundays, click here to solve on line or print out a copy.)
Theme: "Having the last Laugh" - HA is contained at the end of each theme entry.
21A. Imposing WWI weapon : BIG BERTHA. Also a Golf club brand. Boomer bought an almost new Big Bertha driver at a garage sales for $5 earlier this year. He still slices, but is very happy with his distance.
27. Kim's "Sex and the City" role : SAMANTHA. Relatively short theme entry, but if you try yourself, you'll realize that Liz's *HA choices are limited.
39. "The Impossible Dream" musical : MAN OF LA MANCHA. Still remember Susan Boyle?
53A. Barista's chocolaty creation : CAFE MOCHA
65A. Bumbling fictional spies : BORIS AND NATASHA
83. "Righto!" : YOU BETCHA. The first Minnesotan phrase I learned.
97A. Warren Buffett's nickname : ORACLE OF OMAHA. I have his autographed photo.
105A. Longfellow hero : HIAWATHA. "The Song of Hiawatha",
119A. Lover of 105-Across : MINNEHAHA. Literally "laughing water". Lucina visited our Minnehaha Falls last time she was here.
Notice
there's no HA ending word in non-theme entries? No AHA, OSHA or ALOHA
that constructors use frequently. It's a conscious decision Liz took. So
the theme is not distracted.
I sensed what the theme was after reading the title. It has to be *HA, since *LOL is impossible.
Across:
1. Islands with giant tortoises : GALAPAGOS. Stumped from the start. Look, it's huge.
10. Annual report feature : GRAPH
15. Big Ten sch. : PSU. Penn State. The Nittany Lions. I feel sorry for Joe Paterno. I shouldn't, but I do.
18. Drunk : INEBRIATE
19. Blues legend Smith : BESSIE. Faintly recall this name.
20. Batting material, perhaps : WOOL
22. Thing : ENTITY
23. Football fan's channel : ESPN
24. In __: actually : ESSE
25. 1985 Chevy Chase film : FLETCH. What's the film about?
29. Step between stories : STAIR. Nice clue.
31. Air balls miss them entirely : RIMS. Jeremy Lin's rookie card reached over 20K in those Linsanity days. Nuts!
34. Scraps for Lassie : ORTS
35. Hard-rock link : AS A
38. Geographical suffix : ERN. Western, for example.
44. Sam who employed Diane and Carla : MALONE. Never saw "Cheers".
46. Screwdriver, for one : HAND TOOL. Well, Splynter, COCKTAIL fits also.
47. Part of Chagall's theater work : MURAL
48. Turner autobiography : I, TINA. This used to stump me in my early crossword solving days, in 2008. How long have you been solving Xwords?
49. To a greater extent : MORE SO
50. "Body of Proof" network : ABC. Starring Dana Delany.
52. Floor square : TILE
55. U.K. defense gp. : RAF
57. One having trouble with his sisters? : LISPER. Clever clue.
59. IOC part: Abbr. : INTL
60. Garden product word : GRO. I'm letting my overabundant Thai chili air-dry. I pickled some. Still pretty hot.
61. Give __: care : A FIG
63. __ in Juliet : J AS
64. Explosive stick : TNT
70. Otto's "Oh!" : ACH. Hi there, D-Otto, another cat lover.
73. Chem class component : LAB
74. Stable environment? : BARN. Oh, that stable.
75. Switch settings : ONs
76. "Space Ghost" cartoonist Alex __ : TOTH. No idea. EddyB would have got him easily.
80. Not on the level : SLOPED
82. Purring pet : CAT. Cute. Mart will love this.
85. Four: Pref. : TETR
86. Half an attention-getter : YOO
88. Leggy waders : HERONS. And 26D. Leggy wader : CRANE.
91. Modern data units : BYTES
92. 5:1, e.g. : RATIO
94. Intervals between related events : TIME LAGS
96. Go bananas : LOSE IT
99. Time line period: Abbr. : CEN (Century).
100. Square root of nove : TRE. Alright, nove is 9 then. Chinese for "three" is very simple: San.
101. RAM units : MEGS. Megabytes? Shouldn't it be MBs?
102. Haydn sobriquet : PAPA
103. Stock deal : TRADE
109. "Not so fast!" : SLOWER
111. Butter amt. : TBSP
115. Land in el mar : ISLA
116. Jet-setter's destination : EUROPE. Did you read "A Year in Provence"? Lovely.
121. Fishing spot : PIER
122. Omits in speaking : ELIDES
123. "The Accidental Tourist" author : ANNE TYLER. She was born in MN.
124. Flat sound : SSS
125. Miata maker : MAZDA
126. Sees the point of the discussion? : READS LIPS. Nice clue also.
Down:
1. Taunt : GIBE. I always confuse this word with JIBE.
2. Licorice-flavored liqueur : ANIS
3. Piano parts : LEGS
4. French clerics : ABBES
5. Beginning of school? : PRE. Pre-school.
6. Travelocity quote : AIR FARE
7. Larry of country : GATLIN. Well, to me, it's this guy, Larry in real life.
8. Remaining : OTHER
9. Subway commuter's hope : SEAT
10. Mil. bigwig : GEN
11. 18 to 20 in a sequence : RST. Alphabetically.
12. Yard sale caveat : AS IS
13. Fillable bread : PITA
14. Kid's attention getter : HEY MOM
15. One may follow a signature : POSTSCRIPT. Consonant-heavy.
16. Junior-to-be : SOPH
17. Forearm bone : ULNA
19. Derrieres : BEHINDS. I just mentioned to JD the other day that I did not know Italy is so hilly. No wonder girls there all have sexy behinds.
20. Flipped : WENT NUTS
28. Composer Khachaturian : ARAM
30. Popular coffee hr. : TEN AM
32. Stop along the highway : MOTOR INN
33. Bay Area airport letters : SFO
35. Friends in Rome : AMICI. The single is Amico then?
36. Evil guy : SATAN
37. "Need __?" : A LIFT
39. "The Social Network" actress Rooney __ : MARA
40. Rye buy : LOAF
41. Priest's robe : ALB
42. "Jump" band Van __ : HALEN
43. Wide-awake : ALERT
45. Hamburger order, perhaps: Abbr. : ONE LB
46. Santa's favorite snack cakes? : HO HOS. Yes, Argyle?
49. Adam's favorite fast food sandwich? : McRIB. Funny.
51. Stock designation : CLASS B. Well, Tinbeni knows. CNBC & Crosswords & Coffee are his breakfast.
54. Sweet Rosie of song : O'GRADY. Drew a blank. Never heard of the song.
56. Turkish title : AGA
58. Boy chaser? : ISH. Boyish.
61. Cursed thing : ANATHEMA
62. Manhattan's __ Drive : FDR. Guessed.
63. Two-faced deity : JANUS
66. Flamenco concert shout : OLE
67. Legal gp. : ABA. Lemonade is going to be a new grandpa next week. 69. 67-Down mems. : ATTYs
68. Bugs and Elmer, e.g. : TOONS
70. Elroy Jetson's dog : ASTRO
71. See-through : CLEAR
72. "3 Alarm" candies : HOT TAMALES. Strange name for candies.
77. Large chamber music group : OCTET
78. "A League of __ Own" : THEIR. Did any of you like "Little Big League"?
79. Speed : HASTE
81. Mall battle : PRICE WAR
82. Salon creation : COIF
83. Stretching discipline : YOGA
84. WWII saver's purchase : E-BOND
87. Plains Indian : OTO
89. Goes by : ELAPSES
90. 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby : RAHAL. EddyB would have nailed this entry. Man, I missed his cryptic comments.
93. Big name in lingerie : OLGA. Not fond of this brand.
95. Clean, in a way : MOP
96. Found out : LEARNED. Was shocked when I learned of Mo Yan's Nobel Prize award.
98. Hold in high regard : ESTEEM
99. Richard of "The Flamingo Kid" : CRENNA
103. Tie that binds : TWINE
104. __ alcohol : ETHYL
105. Swinging joints? : HIPS. Mo Yan also wrote this book. Most of his books have a raw, sexual content.
106. Fertility goddess : ISIS. As you know, religion was forbidden when I grew up. You seldom see God or Goddess reference in Chinese literature.
107. Hilo dance : HULA
108. Painted Desert st. : ARIZ
110. Barbra's "Funny Girl" co-star : OMAR
112. Tourist haven east of Java : BALI. Bra brand also.
113. "George of the Jungle" elephant : SHEP. No idea.
114. What many players shoot for : PARS. I think Boomer has 3 or 4 birdies this whole summer.
117. Unmatched : ODD
118. Stew veggie : PEA
120. UFO drivers, ostensibly : ETs. You can now find them in Madame Tussauds Museums.
C.C.
JD's Italy series continues. Today, we visit Florence. JD said:
"After reading "The Agony and the Ecstasy" I was anxious to see Florence.
Unfortunately the Statue of David was in a museum that was closed, but in
the square there were many statues, and one was a replica of David. In the
photo of the parade, he is on the left. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del
Fiore is their main church. It is covered in various shades of green, pink
and white marble. Santa Croce Basilica was filled with so many sculptures,
paintings, and is the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo, Rossini and
many others. There is way too much to see in a day." Click here for more photos.
