Theme: "Hail to the Chief" - Each theme answer is clued as if it's related to a US president.
24A. Presidential thoroughfare? : MADISON AVENUE. Wiki says that Madison Square is named after President Madison. I presume it's the same for the Avenue.
39A. Presidential records? : LINCOLN LOGS. Named after President Lincoln.
54A. Presidential teams? : BUSH LEAGUE. Unrelated to President Bush. So works perfectly as a theme answer.
71A. Presidential horse? : FORD BRONCO. Ditto this one.
83A. Presidential quintet? : JACKSON FIVE. Ditto this one.
102A. Presidential resistance? : GRANT IMMUNITY. This one is the best with the original "Grant" as a verb.
3D. Presidential tweet? : WASHINGTON POST
50D. Presidential stand-ups? : GARFIELD COMICS
This
type of theme works the best when the key words in the original phrases
have nothing to do with the presidents. But it's impossible to come up
with a set for Sundays.
I like the clue angle, and the grid only has 140 words (same as Marti's last week). You can be assured that I'll rack it up to 144.
Across:
1. Chauffeur's ride : TOWN CAR. Lincoln!
8. Glass-tinting element : COBALT
14. Pin sites : ALLEYS. Bowling pins.
20. Otter's prey : ABALONE. I don't think I had abalones before. You?
21. Key of Beethoven's "Für Elise" : A MINOR. Had ?MINOR. Then waited.
22. Fly under the radar : LIE LOW
23. Splits evenly : BISECTS
26. __Kosh B'gosh : OSH
27. Bigger fish to fry? : KEEPERS. Nice clue.
29. Ask : POSE. As a question.
30. Chem class suffix : IDE
31. Mayberry kid : OPIE
33. Bard's "bleak" : DREAR
34. Dieting setback : GAIN
36. Surname preceder, perhaps: Abbr. : INIT. Oh, middle initial.
37. It may be a hit : SONG
38. Brewery container : VAT
42. Spurs to action : GOOSES
45. Rookie rockers' recordings : DEMOS
46. Major __: Sherwood Forest attraction : OAK. Hey, I know it.
47. Beach house features : STILTS. I did not know those supporting posts are called stilts also.
48. Subdued : MUTED
49. Dome of the Rock floor plan shape : OCTAGON.
Wiki said Dome of the Rock is "Jerusalem's most recognizable
landmark". Hahtoola & Yellowrocks must have visited the place.
53. Horatian works : EPODES
56. Botanist Gray : ASA
57. "Writing on the wall" word : MENE. Full message here:
58. What some buds detect : TASTE. Taste buds.
59. Fed. collection agency : IRS. Boomer had to get D-Otto's advice for some deduction issue.
60. Hugging duo : ARMS
61. Sandra Denton, in a hip-hop trio : PEPA. I always thought Salt-N-Pepa is a duo. No idea about their real names. So which one is Pepa?
62. Hunting wear : VESTS
63. Irish nationalist Robert : EMMET. Unknown to me.
65. Usually fuzzy tabloid pics : UFOs
66. Seacrest's show, to fans : IDOL. Ryan Seacrest.
67. Bend's state: Abbr. : ORE. Hope the ousted governor is not from Bend.
68. Mild oaths : DRATS
69. 1492 Bahamas lander : NINA
70. Children's author Asquith : ROS
74. College address ending : DOT EDU
76. Poncherello portrayer on "CHiPs" : ESTRADA (Erik)
78. Itty-bitty : EENSY
79. Trail-making mollusks : SNAILS
80. "... further __ ..." : ADO
81. Word with free or secret : AGENT
82. Addressed the nation, say : ORATED
87. SADD concern : DWI
88. Like raw silk : ECRU. I haven't had mulberries for years.
91. 1997 film apiarist : ULEE. Ulee's Gold.
92. Camembert's department : ORNE. Got via crosses. I know it starts with O though.
93. Obsessed (on) : DWELT
95. Springfield's only tavern : MOE'S
96. H.S. equivalency test : GED
97. Poet Teasdale : SARA
99. "Cloud Shepherd" sculptor : JEAN ARP. Full name for a change.
101. Spartan Stadium sch. : MSU
106. Less likely to be named homecoming king : NERDIER
108. "Because you're worth it" company : L'OREAL. Do you have The Body Shop in your area? It's owned by L’Oréal. Wish we had one in MN.
109. Late news time : ELEVEN
110. A pad may protect it : KNEECAP
111. English assignments : ESSAYS
112. Like subarctic winters : SEVERE. I wonder how those pioneers survived the Minnesota winters.
113. Certifies : ATTESTS
Down:
1. They're off-limits : TABOOS. And 25. It's off-limits : NO NO
2. San Luis __, Calif. : OBISPO
4. Marlins' div. : NLE. National League East.
5. Prepare to fire : COCK
6. Got in the game : ANTED
7. Books : RESERVES
8. Charged : CAME AT
9. Horoscope columnist Sydney : OMARR. Learned from doing xwords.
10. eBay offers : BIDS
11. "Star Wars" saga nickname : ANI. Darth Vader's boyhood nickname.
12. Spanish article : LOS
13. Hot spot, with "the" : TROPICS
14. Troubled word : ALAS
15. Like much radio : LIVE
16. Boo Radley creator Harper : LEE. Now we have a better way to clue the dreaded partial SET A.
17. Current phenomenon : EL NINO
18. Cat's "Get it?" : YOU DIG?
19. Gummy bears and such : SWEETS
28. Snow __ : PEAS
32. Perfect self, in psychoanalysis : EGO IDEAL. Too sophisticated for me.
34. Dreidel letter : GIMEL. Another unknown. One of the four Hebrew letters.
35. Battery terminal : ANODE
36. "Past Imperfect" memoirist Chase : ILKA
39. Underworld river : LETHE
40. Exodus insect : LOCUST
41. Hoops Hall of Famer Thurmond : NATE
43. Fútbol cheer : OLE
44. OH and OK : STS (States)
45. Cleans with Old English : DUSTS. Holy smokes! Never heard of Old English.
47. Olympic pool sights : SPEEDOS
48. Requirement : MUST
49. Fiends of fantasy : OGRES
51. Notable Mormon family : OSMONDS. The Donny & Marie show in Flamingo costs $90.
52. Junkanoo parade city : NASSAU. OK,
Wiki says Junkanoo is "a street parade with music, dance and costumes
in many towns across The Bahamas every Boxing Day & New Year's
Day". Learning moment for me also.
53. Ottoman, e.g. : EMPIRE
54. Predicated : BASED
55. "We __ please" : AIM TO. A special "Thank you" to Gary for blogging last Sunday's puzzle and Argyle for snipping several Answer Grids and taking care of the
blog while I was away.
58. __ cotta : TERRA. A must-see if you visit Xi'an.
60. Uncle Henry's wife : AUNTIE EM
62. Practice with dolls : VOODOO
63. Physicist Mach or artist Max : ERNST
64. Eponymous store founder : MACY. Macy's left our ghetto area a while ago.
68. "No man is an island" poet : DONNE
71. Rages : FADS
72. Word from a proctor : BEGIN
73. Kent portrayer on the big screen : REEVE
74. Modern evidence : DNA
75. Muffin grain : OAT
77. Toothed tool : RAKE
79. Major tea exporter : SRI LANKA. Look at this list. I'm surprised that Kenya is a major tea exporter as well.
81. Some chalets : A-FRAMES
82. John Irving's "A Prayer for __ Meany" : OWEN. Hi there Owen!
83. Manage, as multiple tasks : JUGGLE. I can only focus on one thing at a time.
84. Final Olds models : ALEROS
85. Sources of aromatic wood : CEDARS
86. "Cheers" shout : NORM
87. Wrestler Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock : DWAYNE. I often confuse him with Vin Diesel.
89. Move to a new table : RE-SEAT
90. Takes by force : USURPS
93. Hardly encourage : DETER
94. Nottingham's river : TRENT
97. Court postponement : STAY
98. Needs a doctor, maybe : AILS
99. Baloney : JIVE
100. __-à-porter: ready-to-wear : PRET. I also loved the movie. Our crossword buddy Stephen Rea is in it.
103. Teachers' org. : NEA
104. Suffix meaning "little" : ULE. As in globule.
105. Calif. neighbor : NEV
107. Fourth grade? : DEE. The fourth letter in grade. (Edited letter: ABCDF grading! Holy smokes!)
Happy
Birthday to Hondo (Skip)! Are you still attending the card shows in
winter time? Hope you can cruise away from the cold winter soon.
Left to Right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana |
C.C.