Theme: "The Doctor Is In" - MD is embedded in the middle of each theme entry.
23A. Perry Mason story, e.g. : COURTROOM DRAMA. Which is your favorite? I never understood the fun in #23. I like "A Few Good Men" the most.
45A. Symbol of a bettor's certainty : BOTTOM DOLLAR
54A. Post-hurricane assessment : STORM DAMAGE.
Guangzhou is a subtropical city. I always dreaded when we had big
typhoons. I lived in the very old part of the town. The water drainage
was so bad that I couldn't go home without a raft.
73A. Like some locomotives : STEAM-DRIVEN
81A. Coen or Stone : FILM DIRECTOR. Here is my favorite director: Zhang Yi-Mou. He directed "Red Sorghum" (based on Nobel laureate Mo Yan's novel), "Hero" (Jet Li movie), the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Most importantly, he grew up in my hometown Xi'An.
103A. Made-to-order : CUSTOM-DESIGNED
32D. Winners can be determined by one : RANDOM DRAWING
36D. Coffee break treat : CREAM DOUGHNUT. I always spell it as "Donut".
104D. Puzzle title people hidden in eight long answers : MDS
Look what I found! Today's constructor Arthur S. Verdesca is a MD. One other website shows he's 83 years old, 16 years younger than our other LAT constructor Bernice Gordon.
Simple theme. I grokked the gimmick very early on.
Across:
1. Obama attorney general Holder : ERIC. Easy start.
5. Rattle : FAZE
9. Bros : BUDS
13. Online letters : EMAILS
19. Commandment opener : THOU. "Thou shalt not...".
20. One missing roll call, perhaps : AWOL
21. Per person : A POP
22. Deadhead's idol : GARCIA (Jerry)
26. Insatiable : GREEDY
27. Some deer : BUCK
28. Shorten, as a skirt :RE-HEM. And 60D. Revealing garb : MINIs. Every girl seemed to wear this Zara skirt this past summer. Zara, Zara, please come to Minnesota!
29. Bad acting : SIN
30. Onetime Rus. state : SSR
33. Busy buzzer : BEE
34. Strains : TAXES
35. Restraint usually seen in pairs : MANACLE. Big D'oh!
39. Montana motto metal : PLATA. "Oro y Plata".
41. Yemen's capital : SANA'A
42. Do clerical work : FILE
43. Stimpy's pal : REN. Popular dog in xwords.
44. Zest source : RIND
48. SFO listing : ETD
49. Everyday connectors : ANDs
50. Jesus of baseball : ALOU. 3/4 are vowels, hence its frequent appearances our grids.
51. Durban dough : RAND.
Here is what Wiki says: Durban is famous for being the busiest port in
South Africa and Africa. Shanghai is the busiest in the world.
52. Bloom holder : VASE
53. Fight stopper : TKO (Technical Knockout)
58. Disney king : SIMBA. "The Lion King"
59. "Fearful" feature of Blake's Tyger : SYMMETRY. Read here.
61. Tasman and a Genesis shepherd : ABELs
62. Sneeze cause : DANDER
63. Took the plunge : DIVED
64. Tapestry behind which Polonius hid : ARRAS
65. Abstain from : FORGO
66. "The Weaver of Raveloe" : MARNER (Silas)
68. Unit or sect suffix : ARIAN. Strange suffix.
69. Surgical tie : LIGATURE. New word to me.
72. Oil well firefighter Red : ADAIR
75. Catch : GET
76. Shooting marbles : TAWS. Has any of you played TAWS before?
77. Stub __ : A TOE
78. Voyaging, say : ASEA
79. Scorch : CHAR
80. Letters seen before Fridays : TGI
85. Where TV's "Charlie's Angels" was set : IN LA
86. A, for Mozart : EIN
87. Riles up : IRES
88. Gets ready to shoot : COCKS
89. Dick Tracy creator Chester : GOULD. Another learning moment for me.
90. Access, in a way : LOG ONTO
92. Cats in Cádiz : GATOS. Los Gatos!
93. Seek redress : SUE
95. Rope on the briny : TYE. For Spitzboov. I was stumped.
96. Classic auto : REO
97. Irish tenor Tynan : RONAN. Gimme for Irish Miss.
98. Brazilian range __ do Mar : SERRA. Never heard of it.
100. Minor league baseball level : CLASS A
108. House minority leader : PELOSI (Nancy)
109. '40s film critic James : AGEE
110. Nihilistic art movement : DADA
111. Follow : OBEY
112. Carl with Emmys : REINER. Bob Reiner's father. (Edited later: Rob Reiner! Thanks, TTP.)
113. Supply in a farm country store : FEED
114. Certain terrier's isle : SKYE
115. Big wind : GALE
Down:
1. And so on: Abbr. : ETC
2. Letter after pi : RHO
3. Signed promise : IOU
4. Restrain : CURB
5. Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," e.g. : FARCE
6. Stirred : AWOKE
7. Madhouses : ZOOS
8. Disease-struck tree : ELM. Hard to find fresh way to clue ELM, or OREO.
9. Legal hurdle : BAR EXAM
10. Toward the front : UP AHEAD
11. Stadium protectors : DOMES
12. Cyberjunk : SPAM
13. Deli sandwich : EGG SALAD. Not for my taste. I do like Potato salad with eggs in it though.
14. Coleridge storyteller : MARINER
15. __ football : ARENA
16. Curling surface : ICE
17. Eye protector : LID
18. Utter : SAY
24. Big wind : TUBA
25. Pipe cleaner : DRANO
30. Jack and the missus of verse : SPRATS
31. Spring toy : SLINKY
34. "The Genius of Keyboard" jazzman : TATUM (Art). I was unaware he's called that.
35. "Toad of Toad Hall" playwright : MILNE
37. Doesn't disturb : LETS BE
38. Make cherished : ENDEAR
40. NFL six-pointers : TDs
41. It may be long : STORY
42. Loses strength : FLAGS
45. Baker's preparation : BATTER. I had never used an oven until I came to the states. We don't bake bread there. We steam.
46. Prayer opener : O LORD
47. Scary tests : ORALS
52. 20, in Toulouse : VINGT. French for Abejo!
54. Lop off : SEVER
55. "Beavis and Butt-head" spin-off : DARIA. Total stranger to me.
56. Milhous : Nixon :: __ : Garfield : ABRAM
57. Lennon's "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except __ My Monkey" : ME AND
58. Kitchen wrap : SARAN
62. Mark for future reference : DOG-EAR. Please Don't! And please don't be so mean and hide behind your anonymous mask and attack regulars on our blog.
64. Thin as __ : A REED. I use A RAIL.
65. McGarrett's outfit, familiarly : FIVE-O. Hawaii Five-O.
66. Hot Wheels maker : MATTEL
67. Slow work : ADAGIO
68. Basic building material : ATOMs
69. Leans : LISTS
70. "No kidding" : REALLY
71. Online financial site : E-TRADE
73. Pope in Attila's time : ST LEO. They met each other, correct?
74. Book displays : RACKS
77. Like a dogfight missile : AIR-TO-AIR
79. AFL partner : CIO
81. Tactful handling : FINESSE
82. Song title words before "for Miles" : I CAN SEE. No idea. The Who's "I can see for Miles".
83. Took turns in succession : ROTATED
84. Budget, in brand names : ECONO
89. Spice Girl Halliwell : GERI
91. Small-screen Bean : ORSON
92. Overcharge : GOUGE
93. Run-down : SEEDY
94. Bears, to Ovid : URSAE
97. North Amer. WWII fliers : RCAF. OK, Royal Canadian Air Force.
98. The Missouri R. runs through it : S DAK
99. All excited : AGOG
100. ER procedure : CPR
101. Dixie general : LEE
102. Poetic fighter : ALI
105. Bird's org. : NBA. Larry Bird.
106. Slippery one : EEL
107. Salon stock : DYE
The
fifth annual Crosswords LA tournament was held in Santa Monica on
October 26. For those who weren't able to attend, the puzzles are now
available for purchase. The cost is $10, with proceeds donated to
support the charity Reading to Kids (http://readingtokids.org).
You'll receive crosswords by Elizabeth Gorski, Jeffrey Harris, Aimee
Lucido & Zoe Wheeler, Todd McClary, Andrea Carla Michaels, Pete
Muller, Trip Payne, and David Steinberg. All expertly edited by Tyler
Hinman. The Puzzle Pack also includes a fun Ferris wheel-themed puzzle
suite by John Doppler Schiff.
Please head on over to http://crosswordnexus.com/store/ to download the Puzzle Pack!
C.C.
