Theme: "Kidding Pool" - Y in each familiar phrase is changed into ING.
22A. Taking inventory at the Tropicana plant? : ORANGE COUNTING. Orange County.
39A. Miniature golf with clowns and windmills? : SILLY PUTTING. Fun clue image. Silly putty.
57A. Boxer catching flies? : SHAGGING DOG. Shaggy dog. Fly balls.
81A. Making bad wagers? : UGLY BETTING. "Ugly Betty" is produced by the beautiful Salma Hayek.
98A. Part of a supermarket uniform? : BAGGING PANTS. Baggy pants. Despite the extreme cold weather here, some kids still drop their baggy pants. Drives me crazy.
119A. Nocturnal animal in a hammock? : ROCKING RACCOON. "Rocky Raccoon". Beatles song.
30D. Putting Tonka Trucks in the attic? : TOY STORING. "Toy Story". Woody!
53D. Gently tossing rifles? : GUN LOBBING. Gun lobby.
Five changes occur in the second word, 3 in the first word. No odd man out.
There
are a few straying Y's in the theme entries. We would not have got the
fun phrases had Mike excluded them from his choices.
Very
smooth fill. Love those 6's (28) and 7's (14). Stacked 6's are not
easy to fill cleanly, esp if they're quad-stacked & crossed by more
stacked 6's and 7's, like Mike's upper right & lower left corners.
Across:
1. Two-time '90s US Open champ : EDBERG (Stefan). 1991 & 1992.
7. Red-hot sauce : TABASCO. Sure a hot entry.
14. Studio sign : ON AIR
19. __ Patri: hymn : GLORIA
20. Bunker portrayer : O'CONNOR (Carroll)
21. Frolic : PRANCE
24. Tattered : RAGGED
25. Name on a tablet : BAYER. Aspirin.
26. OR hookups : IVs
27. Most thick, as fog : DENSEST
28. Rogers contemporary : AUTRY (Gene)
32. Laser pointer battery : AAAA
34. Mark successors : EUROS. Oh, German mark.
36. Inter __ : ALIA
37. "This might not be good" : UH OH. So, Don in PA, what did you do when you lost the electricity and internet connection for so long? Read lots of books?
38. Electees : INs
42. Like thrift store bread : DAY OLD. Thrift stores have bread? I go there for sports memorabilia mainly.
44. '60s-'70s Mets coach Eddie : YOST. No relation to Ned.
46. Gp. that funds psychiatric drug testing : NIMH. Stumper. National Institute of Mental Health.
47. Black or white drink : RUSSIAN. Nice clue.
49. Seriously harms : MAIMS
52. __ Tamid: synagogue lamp : NER. Saw this before. Forgot.
53. Indian state : GOA. Wiki said it's India's smallest & richest state.
56. In-flight stat : ALT
60. Fly off the handle : ERUPT
62. Traveling with the band : ON TOUR
64. Manet's "__ at the Folies-Bergère" : A BAR. The picture looks familiar, not the name though.
65. Score : TWENTY
66. Iberian river : EBRO
68. Listing : ATILT
71. Equipment for 74-Across : SKATE. And 74. Lake Placid Olympics star Eric : HEIDEN
73. Role for Ingrid : ILSA. "Casablanca".
76. "I could __ horse!" : EAT A
78. Emphatic rebuke : NO NO NO
80. Bedding : LINEN
84. ASCAP alternative : BMI. Broadcast Music, Inc
87. H.S. subject : ENG
88. Bandleader Brown : LES
90. Vega of "Spy Kids" : ALEXA. Stranger to me also. She looks sweet.
91. Late riser : LIE-ABED
93. Jai __ : ALAI
95. Hamburger's one : EINS. Not the burger. People from Hamburg.
97. In a scary way : EERILY
104. Brief afterthoughts : PSS
106. Law school tyro : ONE L
107. Gallic phone greeting : ALLO. It's just "Wei" in Chinese.
108. Sunset dirección : OESTE. Is it pronounced the same as "West"?
109. Old draft deferment : TWO A
111. Rims : EDGES
112. Panama relatives : BOATERS. Hats.
114. __ polloi : HOI
116. Alphabetical list : INDEX
118. Tab function : INDENT
125. __ sale : ESTATE. I just love this lower left corner. So clean!
126. Tiny dividers : AMOEBAE. Or AMOEBAS.
127. Sailor's omen : RED SKY
128. Ruins : DOOMS
129. Lessees : TENANTS. Hope Marti's tenants treasure her hard work.
130. Braves' div. : NL EAST
Down:
1. __ trip : EGO
2. MSRP poster : DLR. OK, Dealer.
3. Flowing scarf : BOA
4. Coastal raptor : ERN
5. Cathy who played Pan : RIGBY. Drew a blank. Peter Pan.
6. Earth goddess : GAEA
7. No challenge at all : TOO EASY
8. Upscale Honda : ACURA
9. Rocker __ Jovi : BON
10. Debate side : ANTI
11. Whine : SNIVEL
12. Roman Republic official : CONSUL
13. Dot follower : ORG
14. Setting for "The Plague" : ORAN
15. Badgers : NAGS AT
16. Seraphim and cherubim, to Giovanni : ANGELI. Plural of Angelo, right?
17. Strands at Chamonix, perhaps : ICES IN
18. Sale indicator : RED TAG
21. Suppose : PRESUME
23. Photo lab color : CYAN
27. Armstrong's admission : DOPING. I was so disappointed in Lance, Jayce.
28. Actress Lindley : AUDRA. Was she a gimme to you?
29. Ryder competitor : U-HAUL
31. Frat letters : RHOS
33. Very, in scores : ASSAI
35. Rembrandt van __ : RYN
38. Pocatello native : IDAHOAN
40. Autobiography featuring Ike : I, TINA
41. Tossed : THREW
43. Lean : LIST
45. Texter's "Yikes!" : OMG. I bet Steve passed by this sign a few times. I had an "OMG, can they say that?" moment when I saw it. Those Chinese characters just mean "Happy Ending". So blatant.
48. Astro ending : NAUT
50. Old British roadsters : MGBs
51. Pierre's home: Abbr. : S DAK
54. Declines, with "out" : OPTS
55. "Back __!" : AT YA
58. "Peer Gynt Suite" composer : GRIEG (Edvard)
59. Praying figure : ORANT. Learned from doing Xwords.
61. Corral, with "in" : REIN
63. Connection point : NODE
65. Converses, e.g., slangily : TENNIES. What's your favorite sneaker brand?
66. Actress Jennifer : EHLE. Crazy spelling. I guess Zhouqin looks crazy to you too.
67. '60s counterculture event : BE IN
69. Like an unreal land? : LA LA. Hi there, LaLaLinda! Creature, too. So glad both of you are back.
70. "Until next time," in IMs : TTYL (Talk to You Later)
72. Slave : TOIL
75. Zhou __ : ENLAI. Loved him. No one compares to him.
77. Red as __ : A BEET
79. Fancy molding : OGEE
81. Grammarians' concerns : USAGES
82. Live : EXIST
83. Bronze shade : TAN
85. Brawl : MELEE
86. Poems describing rustic life : IDYLS
89. The United States, in Nuevo Laredo : EL NORTE. The north.
92. Controversial infielder : A-ROD. Drafted by the Mariners, Mike's team.
94. Tape speed unit: Abbr. : IPS. Inches per Second.
96. Eager learners, metaphorically : SPONGES
98. Coddled : BABIED
99. King in "The Tempest" : ALONSO
100. "My pleasure!" : GLAD TO
101. Cheerleaders' cheer : GO TEAM
102. Where batters are seen : AT HOME
103. Recent rightist : NEOCON. Oh,
I just told you last Sunday that I liked Washington Post. I did not
know that they have a paywall. I was informed earlier this week that I
used up my free Feb articles already. Stupid NBC. Now Bill G and I can't bond.
105. __ City, Iraq : SADR
110. Be victorious in : WIN AT
111. Office component : EXCEL
113. Rhinitis docs : ENTs
115. Company name that begins with its founder's initials : IKEA
117. Merit : EARN
119. Singer? : RAT. Very clever clue. Sing-er.
120. Arabic "son of" : IBN
121. Start of a beginner's piano scale : C D E
122. Spanish she-bear : OSA
123. Signs off on : OKs
124. Big Apple news initials : NYT
I
think Marti is going to attend this year's ACPT (American Crossword
Puzzle Tournament). Anyone else on our blog? Don't miss the Friday night
Cru Dinner organized by the super nice Mike Alpern. You'll meet lots of
constructors & fellow solvers. Click here for more photos & the buffet dinner menu. Jicama in the salad, Hahtoola!
C.C.
