Theme: "For the Fun o' It" - The OF in each theme entry is humorously re-interpreted as O' F*, where F is merged with the next word.
24A. Irritating swarm? : PACK O' FLIES. Pack of lies.
26A. Halloween party invoice? : BILL O' FRIGHTS. Bill of Rights.
50A. Complex airline route map display? : THOUSAND POINTS O' FLIGHT. I had to google "Thousand points of light"
afterward. I missed the whole Bush Sr. presidency. It's likely coined
by Peggy Noonan, who also wrote Bush's "Read my lips: no new taxes"
speech.
62A. Guy who rakes leaves, cleans gutters, etc.? : JACK O' FALL TRADES. Jack of all trades. This is the only theme answer where the word following F does not start with L or R.
83A. What measures one's ability to endure traveling inconvenience? : DEGREE O' FRISK TOLERANCE.
Degree of risk tolerance. Boomer did not go through TSA Precheck when
we traveled last month, yet his boarding pass had special mark, which
allowed him to go through the quick TSA line. Mine did not. Weird.
108A. Blundering physician? : DOCTOR O' FLAWS. Doctor of laws.
112A. Campus phobia? : FEAR O' FRATS. Fear of rats.
We have another new constructor, this is Debbie Ellerin's LAT debut. Congratulations!
I
mentioned before, 15-letter entries often make the weekday puzzle
easier to grid, but grid-spanning 21's are always challenging (19's and
20's are no better). Suddenly you have lots of letters in place (42
letters for Debbie and Jeff). And you have lots of entries that
intersect two theme answers. Hard to make them clean. Today's grid is incredibly clean and smooth.
Across:
1. "The King and I" heroine : ANNA. And 5. "The King and I" (1956) co-star : KERR. We also have YALIE (88. Jodie Foster, e.g.). Jodie Foster also played Anna.
5. Lakers' all-time leading scorer, familiarly : KOBE. Why the additional "familiarly"?
9. Predator of ungulates : PUMA
13. Say yes : OPT IN
18. Horse coloring : ROAN
19. Spirits that come in bottles : GENII. Mine was GENIE, of course.
20. Pioneer in car safety : OTIS. Is this the elevator guy?
21. Puget Sound traveler : FERRY. Not person "traveler". Jeff lives in Seattle.
22. Cantata component : ARIA
23. Sumatran swinger : ORANG
29. Get off the leash : RUN LOOSE
30. ... and then __ : SOME
31. Sell : RETAIL
33. iPhones, e.g. : PDAS
34. They have heads : LAGERS
36. Square __ : KNOT. Could be MEAL/MILE. Also 72A. Cake __ : MIX. Could be PAN. Also 68D. Space __ : CADET. Could be OPERA. This type of fill-in-blanks clue is not easy.
38. DHs, as a rule : RBI MEN. We also have 82. Two masked men may be behind it : HOME. Home plate. Umpire and the catcher.
42. Wise guy : SOLON. Not MAGI, for a change.
43. Razz : TEASE
47. Gecko's grippers : SETAE. New to me.
49. Nagano Olympic flame lighter : ITO (Midori)
54. Johns of Scotland : IANs
55. Missays "say," say : LISPS
56. Weird Al Yankovic song parody : EAT IT. Parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat It".
57. Opponents : THEM. Not FOES.
58. ICU staffers : RNS
59. Torso muscle : PEC
60. Grub : FARE
61. Winner's prize : TITLE. Jeff Chen became a father last October. Here is his beautiful daughter Tess.
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68. Watched over, with "for" : CARED. I miss my grandma so much, esp when I'm sick.
71. Upper limb bone : ULNA
73. Belle of the ball : DEB
76. Mariner's heading : ALEE
77. Occupied, in a way : SAT AT
79. Provoke : INCUR
87. Swing __ : ERA
89. Titter : TEHEE
90. French bean products? : IDEES. Can't fool veteran solvers.
91. Pre-Aztec native : TOLTEC. Hard to come up with fresh clue for this entry.
93. Poster mailer : TUBE
95. Thus far : TO DATE
97. Tarbell and Lupino : IDAs
99. Beaten on the mat : PINNED
103. Mr. Burns' teddy bear on "The Simpsons" : BOBO. Heard of the bear. But did not know he's in "The Simpsons".
104. Handlebar spot : UPPER LIP. Mustache!
114. Saintly glows : AURAE
115. Scads : A TON
116. Leading : ON TOP
117. Giggly redhead : ELMO. Fun clue.
118. Creator of Dogbert, Catbert and Ratbert : ADAMS (Scott). Googled afterward. Those are Dilbert's pets.
119. Emergency room supplies : SERA. Tricky non- S answer.
120. Sloughs off : SHEDS
121. Kurt refusal : NEIN. Very curt.
122. Sonic Dash publisher : SEGA
123. Sub : TEMP
Down:
1. __ League : ARAB
2. Sushi wrapper : NORI. The dark toasted seaweed. I also like them in Ramen noodles.
3. Polish sites : NAIL SALONS. Great clue/answer.
4. Akin : ANALOGOUS
6. Sign at a studio : ON AIR
7. Spree : BINGE
8. Skating figure : EIGHT. I like this clue also.
9. Stops by : POPS IN
10. Three-time Boston Marathon winner Pippig : UTA. Don't recall this name.
11. Very small: Pref. : MICR
12. Invite from the balcony : ASK UP
13. Not FDA-approved, as a drug treatment : OFF-LABEL
14. First female Speaker of the House : PELOSI
15. Salt-N-Pepa, e.g. : TRIO. I mentioned last time I thought they were a duo.
16. Ticks off : IRES. Wish it were IRKS.
17. Home to MMM and JNJ : NYSE. 3M is based here in MN.
19. Errand runner : GOFER
25. Tapped out? : ON DRAFT. I was thinking of "exhausted".
27. Signs : OMENS
28. "Star Trek" actor with a popular Facebook page : TAKEI. Funny guy. Fun cologne name also.
32. Letter writing, for example : LOST ART
34. "Mean Girls" star : LOHAN (Lindsay). Watched the movie ages ago. Quite a few ex-SNL members.
35. Xmas visitor : ST. NICK
37. Professor, at times : TESTER
39. Strength : MIGHT
40. Fictional landlady : ETHEL. "I Love Lucy".
41. "I'm innocent" : NOT ME
42. __-crazy : STIR
44. Mag wheels? : EDS. Magazine big wheels.
45. Smartphone download : APP
46. Nine-tap signal : SOS. Not familiar with "Nine-tap".
48. Parisian pronoun : TOI
51. Frequent "SNL" host Baldwin : ALEC
52. Cassady of the Beat Generation : NEAL.Interesting read.
53. "Honest!" : IT IS!
59. __ Thai : PAD
60. Keys home: Abbr. : FLA. Florida Keys.
61. Everycowboy : TEX
62. Heckle : JEER
63. Something worn : OUTFIT
64. Sudden outburst : FLARE UP
65. Naysayer : ANTI
66. Charm : AMULET. My friend Roberto wears an evil eye.
67. Critical : DIRE
69. Olds model : ALERO. And 70. Buick model : REGAL
73. Executed perfectly : DONE TO A TEE. Nice.
74. Role shared by Fey and Poehler at the last three Golden Globe Awards : EMCEE. They're a great pair.
75. Certain contests : BEES
77. Harbor seal : SEA CALF
78. Letters in many email addresses : AOL
79. Prez after Harry : IKE
80. Highest degree : NTH
81. Amateur golfer Charlie with three top-ten finishes at the Masters : COE. Had no memory of him. I just found out that he died the day I arrived in the US (May 16, 2001).
82. Really enjoyed oneself : HAD A BLAST. Love this fill.
84. They can make your pupils greater : EYE DROPS
85. Dictator's assistant : STENO. Gimme for veteran solvers.
86. No longer burdened by : RID OF
92. Steering system part : TIE ROD
94. Goes for on eBay : BIDS ON. Topps Heritage is just out. It'll take us lots of bidding to complete the Chrome set.
96. Double-reed winds : OBOES
98. Temptation on the rocks : SIREN. Not drinks.
100. Annual coll. tourneys : NCAAs
101. Practice piece : ETUDE
102. Snug headgear : DO-RAG
104. Alleged visitors : UFOs
105. Phnom __ : PENH
106. Hors d'oeuvre spread : PATE. Want some? I just got a big cup of home-made cornichons from Nelson's Meat yesterday.
107. Lacking color : PALE
109. Avatar of Vishnu : RAMA
110. Virus kin : WORM
111. "Darn it!" sound : SNAP
113. Response to an oversharer : TMI (Too Much Information)
C.C.
