Theme: "Slightly-off Broadway" - One letter is dropped from each play.
24A. Show about shoeless Shem? : BARE FOOT IN THE ARK. Barefoot in the Park.
39A. Show about auto club service? : ON THE TOW. On the Town.
57A. Show about an unusual car? : THE ODD COUPE. The Odd Couple.
71A. Show about sorry predators? : THE PIRATES OF PENANCE. The Pirates of Penzance.
90A. Show about inventions in the military? : PRIVATE LIES. Private Lives. The only unknown musical to me.
104A. Show about baseball's Hodges as the life of the party? : FUNNY GIL. Funny Girl. Gil Hodges was the winning manager of the 1969 World Series.
122A. Show about a pageant contestant with rhythm? : BEAUTY AND THE BEAT. Beauty and the Beast.
I don't think the dropped letters P, N, L, Z, V, R & S (no dupes!) spell out anything. Just a tight set of 7 musicals that make surface sense once a letter is dropped.
I think this is Jim Quinlan Sunday debut. Lemonade blogged his first LAT back in April. Jim took advantage of the moderate theme material (total 89 squares) and gave us a solid grid. No obscure names or places or words in this puzzle. Very clean.
Across:
1. Performs like Drake : RAPS. Drake is the Taylor Swift of rap.
5. Holy struggle : JIHAD
10. Seek guidance, in a way : PRAY
14. Start of a waste line? : HASTE. Haste makes waste.
19. Like zero : OVAL
20. Speak : ORATE. And 61. Speak : STATE
21. Madden : RILE
22. Toss out : EXPEL
23. Man, for instance : MALE. Tried ISLE first.
27. Indigenous Alaskans : ALEUTS
29. Tropicana option : PULP. Orange juice. Not the Vegas casino.
30. Baked __ : ZITI. Never tried it. No cheese for me.
31. Ruler divs. : CMs
32. Hole in the head : NOSTRIL
34. Sound often prohibited? : PEEP. "Not a peep out of you!"
36. "A Delicate Balance" playwright : ALBEE
41. Hoarse condition : CROUP. Got via crosses. I can never remember this word.
44. Snuck by : ELUDED
47. Word after top or trade : SECRET
49. Southern stew thickener : OKRA
51. Greeted the day : AROSE
52. One of 256 in a gal. : TBSP
56. Hide : SKIN
59. Common default font : ARIAL. Our blog default is Georgia.
63. Camper's utensil : SPORK
64. "Falling Skies" airer : TNT
65. VIP : BIGWIG. What Marc Maron is now.
67. Chinese-born poker star Johnny : CHAN. No idea. Wiki said he was born in Guangzhou. That red character on his T-shirt spelled out CHAN in Cantonese.
69. Curved fastener : U-BOLT
77. Sink hole : DRAIN
78. One of three squares : MEAL. Square meals.
79. Modern reading : eBOOKS
81. Place to check your balance : ATM
84. Stop by : END AT
86. Bronze place : THIRD
89. Expensive : STEEP
93. Mustard weapon, possibly : ROPE. Colonel Mustard. Stumped me.
95. Good name for a Whirlpool spokesman? : EDDY
96. Buff : TONED
97. Turn at the tables : ROLL. Casino action, right?
98. Satisfied comment : IT'LL DO. This section remained elusive for a long time. I just could not get the crosses easily.
100. Man cave setup : STEREO
102. Close in films : GLENN. Glenn Close.
109. Weight watcher's concerns : CARBS. Not me. I love carbs.
111. Bee's knees : MOST. I wanted BEST.
113. Elton John's "__ Saved My Life Tonight" : SOMEONE
114. National Humor Mo. : APR. Crosses makes the answer easy.
116. Idina Menzel voiced her in "Frozen" : ELSA
119. One may be taken in desperation : STAB. Take a stab.
121. Give in : RELENT
127. Exam for jrs. : PSAT
128. Fab : BOFFO. Learned from doing crosswords.
129. Hedge formation : MAZE
130. Enterprise competitor : ALAMO
131. Rock follower? : ETTE. Rockette.
132. Composer Bruckner : ANTON
133. Went 76 on Route 66, say : SPED
134. Possessive type? : DEMON. I had DEMO? early on, but could not nail it. Stupid.
135. Slacker's opposite : DOER
Down:
1. Pizzeria shaker contents : ROMANO. So what's your favorite junk food? Pizza? This is mine.
2. Arthurian isle : AVALON
3. Most susceptible to burning : PALEST. Sunburn.
4. Clue seeker : SLEUTH
5. Contractors' destinations : JOB SITES
6. "This American Life" host Glass : IRA
7. Only nonvocal instrument in Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols" : HARP
8. Really enjoyed : ATE UP. Very similiar to how I eat my Shin noodles. Boiled egg and green onions.
9. Ricochet : DEFLECT
10. Ace : PRO
11. Cracker with a scalloped edge : RITZ
12. Et __ : ALII
13. Gossip : YENTA
14. Laugh syllable : HEH
15. 83-Down tool : AXE. And 83. Video game involving breaking and placing blocks : MINECRAFT. Fell easily. Never played it though.
16. In la-la land : SPACED OUT
17. Academic period : TERM
18. Chicago-based order : ELKS. Did not know they're based in Chicago.
25. TUV neighbor on some phones : OPER
26. Game piece : TILE
28. "__ chic!" : TRES
33. Hair : LOCKS
35. "Hunny" lover : POOH
37. Golden relatives? : BLACK LABS. Nailed it also.
38. Cannes coin : EURO
40. Legal document : WRIT
42. Lute family members : UKES
43. Support : PROP UP
45. British Open network : ESPN
46. Anti-bug compound : DEET
48. Pass : ENACT
50. PDF creator : ADOBE
52. PC key with two arrows : TAB
53. Brolly carrier : BRIT. I
did not know the meaning of Brolly, British for umbrella. Answer
slightly dupes the clue for ESPN. Hard to avoid this on Sundays.
54. [Ah, me!] : SIGH
55. Poked, puma-style : PAWED
57. Dollhouse staples : TEA SETS
58. Remotely piloted craft : DRONE
60. Many a deaf person : LIP-READER. Also got via crosses.
62. Foes of us : THEM
66. __ squid : GIANT
68. First name in lexicography : NOAH (Webster)
70. Govt. security : T-NOTE
72. Shotgun caller : RIDER. I had to ask Boomer what it means. He said the front passenger seat next to the driver is called a shotgun seat.
73. Two-handed, perhaps : ANALOG. Oh, clock.
74. Try a new line, say : FLIRT. I want RE???.
75. Like Vassar since 1969 : CO-ED
76. Scratched (out) : EKED
80. Binoculars user : SPY
81. Flats, in the U.S. : APTS. So U.S. indicates an abbreviated answer?
82. Home run pace : TROT
85. Cash box : TILL
87. Massage deeply : ROLF
88. Mark above a "See me!" note : D PLUS. I
mentioned earlier, I was bogged down in this area. Wish I had attended
some sort of school here. Felt very disadvantaged over lots of simple
stuff.
91. __ Bradley handbags : VERA
92. Sch. level : ELEM
94. Sitcom sewer worker : ED NORTON. "The Honeymooners". Saw similar clue before. Still got me. Never watched the show.
98. As an option : INSTEAD
99. Complimentary words from a bartender : ON ME. I was thinking of something flattering.
101. Get in line : OBEY
103. Munch : NOSH
105. Cried out, as in pain : YELPED
106. Attends : GOES TO
107. Not learned : INNATE
108. Varsity athlete's honor : LETTER. Those stacks in lower right and upper left are not easy to fill cleanly. Great job by Jim.
110. Poetry contests : SLAMS
112. Put aside : TABLE
114. Palindromic pop group : ABBA
115. Lowly worker : PEON
117. [Just like that!] : SNAP
118. Carving tool : ADZE
120. Show elation : BEAM. Lots of 4-letter words in this puzzle.
123. Supposed abduction vehicle : UFO
124. Whole bunch : TON
125. Stevens of Alaska : TED. Bridge to nowhere.
126. "Yo te __": Spanish lover's words : AMO
Joann
has kindly kept me in the loop of Husker Gary's progress. Things look
very promising at the moment. Gary does lots of diligent walking every
day, and X-rays are performed every morning to monitor his progress.
Joann emailed me this yesterday:
"Gary called me this morning and said that the x-ray of the can barium
stuff they gave him earlier in the week is now moving through out his
intestinal system which is so great to hear! Gary is thinking the
Doctors will start him on a diet of cream soups and puddings later
today. Then they can monitor how that flows as well. We both want to
make sure everything is glowing normally before he is dismissed. "
Looks like he can go home to Joann and Lily soon. You've been through so much, Gary!
 |
| Joann & Gary |
C.C.
