Theme: "You Must Be Joking" - A is changed into U in each theme entry.
27A. Flea? : DOGGIE BUG. Doggie bag.
29A. Sign of a barbecuer's inattention? : SMOKING BUN. Vivid clue. Smoking ban. Not in casinos, unfortunately. Sad life in casinos.
48A. Most miles logged in a pickup, say? : TRUCK RECORD. Track record.
64A. Blizzard in Birmingham? : SNOW FLUKE. Snowflake. Never been to Birmingham. Too warm to snow there.
81A. Vessel that inspires ideas? : THINKING CUP. Thinking cap.
99A. Shack made of aluminum wrap? : TIN FOIL HUT. Tin foil hat.
102A. Cowardly lion, once? : YELLOW CUB. Yellow cab. I love the clue.
36D. Prospector's close attachment to his helper? : MULE BONDING. Male bonding.
40D. Reservation for an upper berth? : BUNK DEPOSIT. Bank deposit.
Once
again, Gail started her theme answers in Row 4 rather than the
traditional Row 3. This allowed her to put the two 11's in the Down
slots.
Such a simple and elegant theme. I learned from making my own Sundays that it's hard to achieve Gail's elegance and smoothness. You need to always put solvers in mind when filling the grid.
Across:
1. Item worn diagonally : SASH. I was picturing the one-shoulder T-shirt.
5. Guess : STAB
9. Suffix with techno- : PHOBE
14. Hate the thought of : DREAD
19. Expressive dance : HULA
20. Taylor of "Six Feet Under" : LILI
21. Kind of artery : RENAL
22. Out of practice : RUSTY. My Xi'an dialect is very rusty now. This makes me smile. Xi'an is the capital city of Shaanxi Province.
23. David Cameron's alma mater : ETON
24. "... the __-coloured ink": Shak. : EBON
25. Corkers? : IRISH. Oh, one from Cork.
26. Taper off : ABATE
31. Oz. sextet : TSPs
32. Signs up : JOINS
33. Blowup: Abbr. : ENL (Enlarge)
34. Mutual respect : COMITY. What we have here in our Corner.
37. Action film staples : STUNTS
39. Ever so slightly : A WEE BIT
43. Fundraiser's call list : ALUMS. Boomer's high school is quite aggressive in their fundraising.
44. Geometry subject : PLANE
45. Manner of moving : GAIT
46. 108-card game : UNO
47. Wide margin : MILE
51. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn : ANNA. She played Skyler.
52. Calendrical brink : EVE. Is "Calendrical" a word you use?
53. Common product in Super Bowl ads : BEER. And 89. Colorado-based brewery : COORS
54. Fluffy accessory : BOA
55. Brought out : EVOKED
57. Blood work charges : LAB FEES
59. Ones that tip a lot : CANOES. Lovely clue.
62. Hang on the line : AIR-DRY
63. PBS URL ender : ORG
67. Sault __ Marie : STE
68. Enjoy a home-cooked meal : DINE IN. I wonder how often Splynter dines in. I don't think he or Argyle cooks.
71. Garage capacity : ONE CAR
72. Faddish gift that has ranged from kittens to crocodiles : CHIA PET. Never had one. This stuff does not appeal to me.
76. "Day __": 1969 Peter, Paul and Mary hit : IS DONE
77. Motor oil letters : SAE. For Society of Automotive Engineers. I wanted STP.
78. Dull thing to be in : A RUT. And 60D. Every seven days : A WEEK. To me, these two are partials, though clued otherwise.
79. Flowery tribute : ODE
80. Blood line : VEIN
86. Warts and all : AS IS
87. Follower of directions? : ERN. Western.
88. Industry mogul : CZAR. Drug Czar.
90. Singer/songwriter Travis : TRITT
91. Uses Elmer's on once more : RE-GLUES
93. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE
95. Laudable : WORTHY
96. Play the wrong golf ball, say : ERR. Two-stroke penalty in your league also, Gary?
97. Quarters : ABODE
98. First name in architecture : EERO
107. Break down slowly : ERODE
108. Weeper of myth : NIOBE
109. Like Arizona's typical climate : ARID
110. Raid discovery : KILO. As in drug.
111. Tough tissue : SINEW
112. "The Chew" co-host Hall : CARLA. We had her before.
113. Confirmation, e.g. : RITE
114. Peak near Messina : ETNA
115. Nautical poles : SPARS
116. Long-eared equines : ASSES
117. Safe document : DEED
118. Fiscal __ : YEAR
Down:
1. Storage spot : SHED
2. Modern prefix with fill : AUTO. The software constructors use has a Autofill function.
3. Trudge : SLOG
4. Punter's statistic : HANG TIME
5. Yawning, perhaps : SLEEPY
6. 1970 Poitier title role : TIBBS. Mr. Tibbs.
7. Baseball family name : ALOU
8. Microsoft search engine : BING. Yellowrocks' preferred search engine.
9. Cell user : PRISONER. Prison cell.
10. Recluse : HERMIT
11. Subway selection : ONIONS. They have quite a few restaurants in China.
12. Enjoys the sun : BASKS
13. Inclusive school acronym : EL-HI. Just won't go away.
14. Where to find stories on Friday? : DRAGNET. Joe Friday.
15. Debris : RUBBLE
16. Son of Isaac : ESAU
17. Mail-routing abbr. : ATTN
18. Salon supply : DYE
28. Followers' suffix : ISTs
30. Fresh bean sprout? : NEW IDEA. Another nice clue.
32. Basement buildup : JUNK. Ours is full of worthless baseball cards.
34. Caravan mount : CAMEL
35. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony : OLIVA.
Here he is with Boomer. TTP mentioned how nice Ernie Banks was the
other day. Tony Oliva is the same. Rod Carew is rather distant.
37. Speak indistinctly : SLUR
38. Washington's Sea-__ Airport : TAC
39. Rhine tributary : AAR
41. Word with circle or city : INNER
42. Apple polisher : TOADY
44. Defensive hoops tactic : PRESS
45. "__ your father" : GO ASK
48. Driving need? : TEE
49. Virus in 2014 news : EBOLA. We have an Ebola Czar!
50. __ d'Alene : COEUR
51. Angiogram image : AORTA
53. Initiate : BEGIN
56. Call on : VISIT
58. Carefully controlled refrigerant : FREON
59. First name in late-night : CONAN. Not into this guy.
61. Bears' org. : NFC
65. Respectful reply : NO SIR
66. Linen shades : ECRUS
68. Salvage crew member : DIVER. I meet lots of interesting people in our flea markets. One of the coin dealers is a diver/treasure hunter.
69. Rhone tributary : ISERE
70. Los Angeles-based ISP : NETZERO. I did not know they're based in LA.
73. Military drill syllable : HUP
74. Author Wharton : EDITH
75. In a mood : TESTY
78. Farm fraction : ACRE
82. Is down with : HAS. And 85. Came down with : GOT
83. Pitchers may hold them : ICED TEAS. Of course I was thinking of baseball! Iced Lemon Tea (with honey) is the default summer drink in Hong Kong.
84. Bloodhound asset : NOSE
86. Scrolling convenience : ARROW KEY
88. Dating concerns for teens : CURFEWS. Our college dorm lady closed the door at 11:00pm sharp. Crazy days.
90. Turf maintenance brand : TORO
92. Library, e.g. : LENDER. IRS does not send libraries the tax form instruction booklets this year. Made Boomer mad. Do you all e-file?
93. Detests : ABHORS
94. Bar order : DOUBLE
95. Like many metal joints : WELDED
97. Rap sheet entry : ALIAS
98. Type smaller than pica : ELITE
99. Fool, with "up" : TRIP
100. Macbeth's burial site : IONA
101. Worshipper of the sun god Inti : INCA. I normally spell "worshiper" with one P. You?
102. School attachment? : YARD. I think I put in MARM first.
103. Lackawanna's lake : ERIE
104. Make mention of : CITE
105. Prismatic bone : ULNA
106. Animal that doesn't sound very interesting : BOAR. Ha ha.
107. Season opener? : ESS. So is PRE.
C.C.
