Theme: "Eureka Moments" - Common phrases are re-interpreted as what the inventor did when/before/after he invented the said item in the clue.
23A. In inventing his elevator, Otis __ : ROSE TO THE OCCASION
31A. Nervously testing his new invention, the Aqua-Lung, Cousteau __ :
TOOK A DEEP BREATH
54A. In inventing the hot air balloon, the Montgolfier brothers __ : GOT CARRIED AWAY. I like this entry the most.
89A. Tired, but pleased to have invented the air conditioner, Carrier __ : COOLED HIS HEELS
105A. Proving his invention of the joy buzzer to be a complete success, Adams __ :
SHOCKED EVERYONE
118A. Immediately upon inventing the box camera (but not the lens cap), Eastman __ :
SNAPPED HIS FINGERS. This kind of "His" dupes are allowed in the theme selection.
16D. After inventing the forerunner to the modern toilet, Harington __ :
FLUSHED WITH PRIDE. So I did not know who Harington is, and googled "Flushed with Pride", and this guy Thomas Crapper came up. Gosh, what a name!
39D. To celebrate inventing his revolutionary engine, Watt __ : BLEW OFF SOME STEAM
I'm
so in awe of Paul's creativity in coming up with 8 long theme entries
and his skill in designing and filling this grid with only 140 words and
70 black squares.
There are total 124 theme squares. The two Down 16's intersect two of the long Across entries. I could not imagine what would happen if Rich nixed one of his theme answers. This grid would be extraordinarily hard if he could not make the intersection happen. The gridding would be a nightmare.
Across:
1. Squabble : TIFF. Or SPAT.
5. "Dr. Strangelove" subject : A-BOMB
10. Packs again, at the checkout : RE-BAGS
16. Tasseled top : FEZ
19. Shivering state : AGUE
20. Lite to the max : NO-CAL. In the old days, I'd put down ??EST first.
21. Sellers of used texts : ALUMNI. Used text books, right? Unheard of in my college days. Our textbooks were very cheap.
22. Vientiane local : LAO
26. Troop-lifting gp. : USO
27. 1985, for Marty McFly : PRESENT. Needed crossing help. I never watched Back to the Future series.
28. Producer of steamy fare? : WOK. Sweet clue. Do you own a wok, D-Otto?
29. Some dorm rooms : MESSES
37. Open, as a deadbolt : UNBAR
41. Oscar winner Sorvino : MIRA. She speaks Chinese.
42. Square on a game square : TILE. I like this clue also.
43. Winning the lottery, for most : DREAM. Our old neighbor won $100K and ended up bankrupt.
46. Soft wood : BALSA
47. Saw logs : SNORE
49. Periodontist's concern : GUMS
51. Old Norse poetry collection : EDDA
52. Black Sea port : ODESSA
57. Old Sony brand : AIWA
58. GoPro product, briefly : CAM. They're everywhere.
60. New branch : SHOOT
61. Thin plate : LAMINA
62. Enterprise counselor : TROI. Star Trek.
63. Fonda's title beekeeper : ULEE. Ulee's Gold. Great movie. Detoxing is hard.
65. Concert finish? : INA. Concertina.
66. Banned bug spray : DDT
67. Slew : TON
68. Roadside light : FLARE
70. Vein locales : MINES
72. Hal who produced Laurel and Hardy films : ROACH. Also Our Gang.
74. Striped-shirt wearer : REF
76. Too easy : LAX
77. Emmy winner Arthur : BEA
78. Rail vehicle : TRAM
80. Doing business : OPEN
83. 1970s-'80s FBI bribery sting : ABSCAM. As in American Hustle.
85. Firewater : HOOCH. I did not know the meaning of "Firewater".
87. Certain screecher : OWL
88. Janis' comics husband : ARLO
92. Attendees of Connecticut's Battell Chapel : YALIES. OK, the chapel is inside Yale, Jayce's alma mater.
94. Orange-nosed Muppet : ELMO
95. Boomers' kids : XERS. Gen Xers.
96. "__ in Provence": Mayle best-seller : A YEAR. I loved the book. I bet many people visited France simply because of this book.
98. Bog flora : SEDGE
99. Take-off programs? : DIETS. Not the take-off I had in mind.
101. Middling grades : CEES
103. Deli offering : HERO
104. Low pair : TREYS. I can never remember this word.
109. 2009 World Series MVP Hideki : MATSUI. Fun guy. Very generous also.
111. How-to letters : DIY
112. Big memory unit : TERABIT. Gimme for TTP and Anon-T.
117. Can : AXE
124. Hot brew : TEA
125. Filled pastry : ECLAIR. Want to taste my Chocolate Bundt with hot fudge?
126. Singer John : ELTON
127. Stink : REEK
128. Scary film street : ELM
129. Pickup game side : SHIRTS. And Skins.
130. Outfielder's "I don't got it!" : YOURS. I had ?OURS and still could not nail it. Dumb!
131. Additions : ANDs.
Down:
1. Campsite cover : TARP
2. Helper with a hunch : IGOR
3. Combine : FUSE
4. Bank statement entries : FEES
5. Not allowed : A NO-NO. Better without the "Not" in the clue.
6. Toast starter : BOTTOMS. Up.
7. Scot's "Crikey!" : OCH
8. West of "I'm No Angel" : MAE
9. Poison carriers : BLOW DARTS. Not a familiar term to me.
10. Hullabaloo : RACKET
11. Portuguese pronoun : ELA
12. Tour vehicle : BUS
13. Burgundy bud : AMI
14. "Harry Potter" garden pest : GNOME
15. Singer O'Connor : SINEAD. Known for her Nothing Compares 2 U.
17. Facility : EASE
18. Menageries : ZOOS
24. Pet shop fish : TETRAS
25. Miler Sebastian : COE
30. Transmit continuously, as video : STREAM
32. Checkers cry : KING ME
33. Buck back? : AROO. Buckaroo.
34. Where to go whole hog? : PIG ROAST. Great clue/answer. Nothing tastes as delicious as the small ration of pork we got at each Spring Festival.
35. Spill, with "out" : BLURT
36. Do followers : RE MI
37. German sub : U-BOAT
38. Low point : NADIR
40. Besiege : ASSAIL
44. Hersey's bell town : ADANO. A Bell for Adano.
45. Mesoamerican language family : MAYAN
48. Coneflower genus : ECHINACEA. This is one of the ingredients in the hot tea recipe Sandy sent to me for my flu two weeks ago. It boosts your immune system.
50. Infrequently, to Dickinson : SELDOMLY. A boring 8-letter fill.
53. Luxury SUV : ACURA MDX. Nice consonant clusters in the end.
55. Tiptop : A-ONE
56. Census info, e.g. : DATA
59. Drummer Van Halen : ALEX
64. Like some seals : EMBOSSED. Not the aquatic seals.
66. Tie : DRAW
69. Latin wings : ALAE
71. The "I" in I.M. Pei : IEOH. Tricky spelling even to me. You won't find such spelling in any Chinese name nowadays. So old.
73. Fossil fuel transport : COALER. Learning moment to me also. It's a ship.
74. Hustled : RACED
75. Carlo Levi's "Christ Stopped at __" : EBOLI
79. Prayer counter's beads : ROSARY
81. Poetic lament : ELEGY
82. Holders of glasses : NOSES. Nice clue also.
84. Cleaning supplies : CLOTHS
85. Payroll addition : HIREE
86. Fat Albert catchphrase : HEY HEY HEY. Big learning moment to me.
90. "Shucks" : HECK
91. Unwelcome look : LEER
93. Opposite of ahead : ASTERN
97. Cheer on : ROOT FOR
100. They're loaded : SOUSES. Life is hard for an alcoholic. Been there.
102. Matzo meals : SEDERS
106. Piece of cake : CINCH
107. YouTube find, for short : VID
108. Helmut's denials : NEINS
109. Partner : MATE
110. Eponymous skater Paulsen : AXEL
113. Indian tourist city : AGRA
114. "Where've you __?" : BEEN
115. Inflamed : IRED. A bit strained.
116. Tut relatives : TSKS
119. Woodcutter Baba : ALI
120. Ryder Cup number : PAR
121. Service station of a sort : PIT. OK, like pit stops.
122. U.N. workers' group : ILO (International Labor Organization)
123. Early Beatles bassist Sutcliffe : STU
C.C.
