Theme: "Cross Country" - Two countries which share two letters are merged in each theme answer.
23A. Border sharers of Europe? : SANMARINORWAY (San Marino & Norway)
41A. Border sharers of Europe and Asia? : SPAINDONESIA (Spain & Indonesia)
52A. Border sharers of South America and Asia? : CHILEBANON (Chile & Lebanon)
69A. Border sharers of Europe and Asia? : UNITEDKINGDOMAN (United Kingdom & Oman)
94A. Border sharers of Asia and Africa? : NEPALGERIA (Nepal & Algeria)
101A. Border sharers of Asia? : MYANMARMENIA (Myanmar & Armenia)
124A. Border sharers of North America and Asia? : JAMAICAMBODIA (Jamaica & Cambodia)
How
observant of Peter to find this different approach to a country theme. He's one of the most innovative constructors in the country. You never know what to expect in a Peter A. Collins grid.
This is his Xword Info photo. Looks like some kind of music fest to me.
Across:
1. Family nickname : MOMMA
6. Waltz king : STRAUSS
13. Artificial surface football injury : TURF TOE. Commonly associated with players who play on artificial turf. Pain in big toe joint.
20. Places : AREAS
21. Kitchen worker's wear : HAIRNET
22. In the zone : ON A ROLL
25. Slows : RETARDS
26. Ignore : SNUB
27. Dyeing occasion : EASTER
28. Named person : DESIGNEE. You would think it's designatee.
29. Harry Potter's Hedwig, e.g. : OWL. I'm glad the clue is not asking for Harry Potter's owl.
31. Building near a track, maybe : STABLE
34. End of many addresses : COM
35. Energize, with "up" : AMP
38. Frosty coat : HOAR
46. Ranee's wrap : SAREE
48. Relax, with "out" : VEG
50. Burn covering : SALVE
51. Birth of __ : AN ERA
55. Acronymous WWII gun : STEN
56. Three-star off. : LT GEN. No google. Guess who's the first ever LT GEN in the US?
57. Give a charge to : IONIZE
58. "Go placidly __ the noise ...": Ehrmann : AMID
60. With 17-Down, "Cross Creek" Oscar nominee : RIP. And TORN (17. See 60-Across). It's clued as a name because TORE (13D. Hurried) is also in the grid. Ideally one of them should have been removed.
62. Shore thing : SAND. Sure thing.
63. We're-together link : IN THIS. A rare 6-letter partial.
64. Start of something big? : MACRO. Prefix for "big". Microsoft = Microcomputer & Software
66. Dirt road feature : RUT
68. Jeans giant : LEE
74. Poetic body : ORB
77. E. Berlin's Cold War home : GDR (German Democratic Republic)
78. Chapel topper : SPIRE
79. Some Great Lakes natives : MIAMIS. Is this related to Miami?
83. Bit of salon artistry : COIF
85. "Gross!" : EEW. I use EWW.
87. Dirty : SOIL
88. Sun Bowl city : EL PASO
89. It merged with Molson in 2005 : COORS. Now Molson-Coors.
91. With 97-Across, like many catalogues : MAIL. 97. See 91-Across : ORDER. Do you use "catalog" or "catalogue"?
96. Recess retort : AM TOO
99. Sigma preceder : RHO
100. Music rights gp. : ASCAP
104. "__ it get to me" : I LET
106. Surprised cries : OHs
107. Thrice, in Rx's : TER. Learned from doing xwords.
108. Makes impure : TAINTS
110. Madonna, according to the stars : LEO. Not the stars I had in mind.
112. Boorlike : CLODDISH
116. Actress Headly : GLENNE. Unknown to me.
119. Dazzling duo in Dover? : ZEDS. Two Z's in Dazzling.
123. Pub-crawl : CAROUSE
127. Enigma machine user : ENCODER
128. Rapidly : IN A SNAP
129. Heavenly helper : ANGEL. Argyle is my Angel.
130. Most prized : DEAREST. And Dearest.
131. Enjoys a few ribs? : BANTERS. Jazzbumpa would love this clue.
132. Gaggle members : GEESE
Down:
1. Serious service : MASS
2. Setting for Camus' "The Plague" : ORAN. Gimme for veteran solvers.
3. It's taken after an order is given : MENU. Big "D'oh"!
4. Fast ballroom dance : MAMBO
5. Simile center : AS A
6. Branch of Islam : SHIA
7. Salon services : TANS
8. Civil disturbances : RIOTS
9. Stops at the Sorbonne? : ARRETS. French for "stops".
10. Opens, in a way : UNWRAPS
11. "__ of Love": 1989 film : SEA
12. Porker's place : STY
14. Paris-based cultural org. : UNESCO
15. Reasoned : RATIONAL
16. Archaeologist's finds : FRAGMENTS
18. Renaissance faire word : OLDE
19. "Anything __?" : ELSE
24. Change places, briefly? : RELO
28. Regis University city : DENVER. What are they famous for?
30. Aftereffect of an overlong run, maybe : WHEEZING
32. Cote sounds : BAAS
33. Light tune : LILT
35. Computer code acronym : ASCII
36. Minorca's capital : MAHON. Oh, look, it's also called Mao (Below Shangri-La). Never heard of it.
37. Lithograph, e.g. : PRINT
39. Co-star of Richard in "The Night of the Iguana" : AVA (Gardner). Richard Burton.
40. Distinguish from the original, as a corrected file : RE-NAME
42. "Casino" star : DE NIRO
43. "Love Story" author : SEGAL (Erich)
44. 2011 East Coast hurricane : IRENE
45. History Channel owner : A AND E. Tricky to parse.
47. Philanthropist Yale : ELIHU
49. Flip out : GO MAD
53. Other than : BESIDE
54. Minor furniture damage : NICKS
59. Dullards : DRIPS
61. Pound : PUMMEL
65. Often sautéed veggie : ONION. I made Apple & Sage pork the other day, Jayce. Recipe here. I used one Honeycrisp. We have lots of foodies on the blog: Steve, D-Otto, Marti, TTP, Lucina, Anon-T, Pizza Dave, Irish Miss & Dudley. Barry G seems to cook a bit. Never heard of Lemonade talks about cooking. Argyle does not cook at all.
67. Pregame party site : TAILGATE
70. Quake follower : TREMOR
71. Rosey of the Rams' Fearsome Foursome : GRIER. From
Wiki: "After Grier's professional sports career he worked as a
bodyguard for Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign and
was guarding the senator's wife, Ethel Kennedy, during the Robert F.
Kennedy assassination. Although unable to prevent that killing, Grier
took control of the gun and subdued the shooter, Sirhan Sirhan."
72. Oracle site : DELPHI
73. Mullets hide them : NAPES
74. William of __, logician known for his "razor" : OCCAM
75. Not at all tight : ROOMY
76. Organisms of a region : BIOTA
80. First name in medieval traveling : MARCO (Polo)
81. Basketball Hall of Famer Thomas : ISIAH. He always stumps some on our blog.
82. They're sold in bars : SOAPS. What's your favorite soap brand?
84. Knocking spot : FRONT DOOR
86. Friendliness : WARMTH. Made me think of Creature & LaLaLinda. They don't post often but they read us every day.
90. "This guy ..." : SOME DUDE. Cool!
92. Notion : IDEA
93. Director Riefenstahl : LENI. Also learned from doing xwords. She did some propaganda films for the Nazi.
95. Common letters in an email address : AOL
98. Auctioneer's helper : RING MAN. New term to me also.
102. Wakes up : ARISES
103. "About time!" : AT LAST
105. Grades K-5: Abbr. : ELEM
109. La Rive Gauche locale : SEINE. The Left Bank.
111. Imperiled layer : OZONE
112. Sent an email dupe to : CCed
113. Penny or passing follower : LANE
114. Aquatic predator : ORCA
115. Barcelona-born architect : SERT. José María Sert. Known for his murals at 30 Rock.
117. Tar Heel St. : N. CAR
118. Siestas : NAPS
120. Lawn border : EDGE
121. Peters out : DIES
122. Rep's goal : SALE
124. Three-sided sail : JIB
125. California's Santa __ : ANA
126. Major interest, slangily : BAG. Oh, hockey is not in my bag then, Splynter.
Speaking of Splynter, here is a new photo of the Stud with his UPS truck.
C.C.
