Theme: "Strictly Speaking" -
Clues are key here. Each consists of 2 words. The second word describes
each spoken phrase type:
words/expression/request/talk/assertion/statement; the first word aptly
describes the content of each phrase.
24A. Heated words? : GREAT BALLS OF FIRE. Heated, FIRE.
32A. Blanket expression? : I'VE GOT YOU COVERED. Blanket, COVERED.
56A. Formal request? : SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME. Formal, DANCE.
82A. Frank talk? : HOT DOGS, GET YOUR HOT DOGS. Frank, HOT DOGS.
110A. Bald assertion? : THAT'S GOT TO BE A WIG. Bald, WIG.
118A. Mission statement? : REMEMBER THE ALAMO. Mission, ALAMO.
Hard to describe this theme succinctly & clearly. Thank God for Argyle, who's always there for me.
Ed gave us 2 grid spanners & lots of nice long words today. The grid only has 68 black squares. I definitely need 76 to 78.
Across:
1. "Thick & Fluffy" breakfast brand : EGGO
5. He edged TED in 1948 : HST. I don't know who TED is. OK, Thomas Edmund Dewey.
8. __ out: thoroughly : INSIDE
14. Brutus accomplice : CASCA. He was the first to stab Caesar.
19. Mouthy minor : BRAT
20. 18-Down reaction : OOH. And 18D. Wonder : AWE
21. British magazine founded in 1709 : TATLER. Click here. The magazine was founded in 1901. But the first issue was 1709? Needs Yellowrocks' though research.
22. On the bias : ASKEW
23. Head honcho : BOSS. And 64. Head honcho : MR. BIG
27. Symbolic yet insubstantial : TOKEN
29. Dash letters : RPM
30. Kitty's bit : ORT
31. Performed an entrechat : LEAPT. I'll leave the comment to Pas de chat.
37. Winding way, maybe : ROAD. And 39. Winding way, maybe : DETOUR.
40. Tulsa sch. : OSU
41. One rushing into a relationship? : ELOPER
43. Pinocchio's peccadillo : LIE
44. Plural maker : ESS. Can't be more straightforward.
45. Big oil source : GUSHER
47. Luau garland : LEI
48. Justice Kagan : ELENA. I linked the love letter Ruth Bader Ginsburg's husband Marty wrote to him shortly before he died. No one commented? Sigh. It was so moving.
50. "What __ God wrought?" : HATH
51. Org. with an Arrow of Light award : BSA
54. Hook's mate : SMEE
66. Peterhof Palace resident : TSAR. Oh, I just noticed yesterday that the newspaper call Putin's soon-to-be-ex-wife Putina. Does it mean that my surname would be Burnikel-na in Russian?
67. Foundry waste : SLAG
68. "La Bohème" heroine : MIMI
69. News item : REPORT
70. Where most states have their own page : ATLAS
72. Sky : FIRMAMENT. Oh well, you guys never said "blue firmament" on the blog. How could I know?
75. "First Blood" hero : RAMBO
76. Opening bout, briefly : PRELIM
78. Verging on : NEAR
79. 1-Down relative : NEAP. 1D. Coastal recession : EBB TIDE
81. Dancer's restraint : REIN. Santa's Dancer.
86. One way to make up for lost time : RUSH
87. Suggest, as a price : ASK
88. Unfolds, in verse : OPES. Opens.
89. White House nickname : DUBYA. He'll be sad to learn that Mel Brooks refused the earlier Kennedy Center honor because he was the president.
92. Mil. support gp. : USO
95. Old Flatbush field : EBBETS. Ebbets Field.
98. First word of Dante's "Inferno" : NEL. Who knew?
101. Dossier letters : AKA
102. New Hampshire city : NASHUA. Looks pretty. What is it famous for?
105. Miss Piggy's pronoun : MOI
106. Comfy (with) : AT HOME
108. Friends : BUDS
113. Not the best plan for becoming a millionaire : LOTTO. Our neighbor won 100K then gambled all his money away. He even lost his house.
115. Orch. section : STR
116. Confessional music genre : EMO
117. Ecuadoran province once famous for its gold : EL ORO. Makes sense. Do you use Ecuadorian or Ecuadoran as the adjective?
123. Preceders of las : TRAs
124. Coeur d'__ : ALENE
125. Fluoride beneficiary : ENAMEL. And 126. Fluoride-in-water meas. : PPM. Man, parts per million.
127. Italian noble family : ESTE
128. Mortise mate : TENON
129. One-person craft : KAYAKS. For Marti.
130. Gender-specific pronoun : SHE. She's in Italy right now.
131. It's in Off! : DEET
Down:
2. Record tracks : GROOVES
3. Seals that avoid water? : GASKETS. Not the cute seal.
4. Cooperstown's Lake : OTSEGO. Anyone visited Cooperstown?
5. Slop slurper : HOG
6. Rueful : SORRY
7. Winnie's title? : THE POOH
8. Old comm. giant : ITT. GTE for Abejo.
9. Queen Amidala's "Star Wars" home : NABOO. I forgot. We had this before.
10. Crave, with "for" : STARVE
11. Schoolyard threat : I'LL TELL
12. Sun City developer Webb : DEL. Lucina might know him.
13. Interjections of indecision : ERs
14. Stylish eatery : CAFE
15. Equidistant : AS FAR
16. It's planted in the snow : SKI POLE. Needs Lucina's V-8 Splash.
17. Sure : CERTAIN
25. Play the jester : AMUSE
26. Like many shoppes : OLDE
28. Chewy confection : NOUGAT. Do you have a sweet tooth?
33. Aphorisms : TRUTHS
34. Sidewalk sides : CURBS
35. Eggs from the sea : ROE
36. Protestant denom. : EPISC
38. Latin goddess : DEA. Feminine form of DIO?
42. Pea jacket relative : REEFER
46. China supporter : SHELF. Most of the starting China in clues is just china.
49. Smallest of the roaring cats : LEOPARDS. What are the biggest?
50. Coat-of-arms science : HERALDRY
52. Common church name : ST. MARY'S
53. Take __ view of : A DIM
55. La Méditerranée, e.g. : MER
56. Bacteria in grapelike clusters : STAPH
57. Houston player : ASTRO. Gary mentioned that Ed Grimes (who? from me too) holds the MLB record of 17 consecutive games with an RBI. Click here. Look at the stats on the right. Total 18 career RBIs.
58. Double-parker who gives out tickets : VALET
59. "The Divided Self" author R.D. : LAING. No idea. Scottish psychiatrist.
60. Come to terms : AGREE
61. Waiter's question ending : A MENU
62. Forty-__ : NINER
63. He said "I die," and then did : ROMEO. Thus, with a kiss I die.
65. School collars : ETONs
71. Great Plains language family : SIOUAN
73. First name in spydom : MATA. Mata Hari.
74. Sierra Nevada resort : TAHOE
77. Classic British two-seaters : MGs
80. Can opener : POP TAB
83. "Cut out the racket!" : SHUSH
84. Vermont ski resort : OKEMO. Wanted STOWE.
85. One who sits for SATs : TESTEE
89. Brief application : DAB
90. A pricey one may be made of koa wood : UKULELE. Gary showed this clip of Warren Buffet playing ukulele on CCTV last time. What a classic guy, esp the way he handled his unusual love affair.
91. Broken mirror, for some : BAD OMEN
93. __ Na Na : SHA
94. Remain beyond, as one's welcome : OUT-STAY
96. Waterside stopover : BOTEL
97. Computer image formats : BITMAPS
98. Stable : NO WORSE
99. Dubai or Sharjah : EMIRATE. All parts of UAE, whose official religion is Muslim. Man, can you imagine US has an official religion?
100. You can build a 5,922-piece Taj Mahal replica with the largest one ever made : LEGO SET. Nice trivia.
103. First step in a progression : A TO B
104. Often-allergic condition : ASTHMA
107. Suspended : HALTED
109. Note taker using symbols : STENO
111. With "The," L.A. theater at which Neil Diamond recorded "Hot August Night" : GREEK. Is this very well-known?
112. Pizazz : OOMPH
114. Govt. agents : T-MEN
118. See 119-Down : RAT. 119. Reaction to a 118-Down : EEK. No-clue clue.
120. Genetic building blocks : RNA
121. Michaels and Franken : ALs
122. Partner of 'earth? : 'OME. Hearth & home.
Happy Birthday to dear Annette, who was very active on the blog for some time. Any special plans today, Annette?
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| Annette & Lemonade, April 2012 |
C.C.
