Theme: "Bringing Your 'A' Game" - Long E sound is changed into Long A sound.
21A. What echolocation is used for? : WHALE BEARINGS. Wheel bearings.
31A. Bit of theatrical thievery? : COPPING A PLAY. Copping a plea.
51A. Fight at the coffee shop? : CAFFEINE FRAY. Caffeine-free.
68A. Barbie and Ken's servant? : VALET OF THE DOLLS. Valley of the Dolls.
89A. Aversion therapy tool? : HATE DETECTOR. Heat detector. Two of the sound changes happen with the first words.
104A. Quick question at the building site? : WALL STRAIGHT? Wall Street.
121A. Cosmetics counter freebie? : SHOPPING SPRAY. Shopping spree.
I
certainly did not have my A game today. My stupid loose tooth, the
dental visit last Friday and future periodontist visits have been
bothering me endlessly.
I normally can sense the
theme from get-go, at times by the puzzle title alone. Not many proper
names today, but the few really got me.
Across:
1. "Ivy Mike" test weapon : H-BOMB. Never hear of the "Ivy Mike". Filled in ?BOMB and moved on.
6. Bush trip : SAFARI. Tricky area to disentangle. I kept thinking of the two presidents.
12. University of Idaho city : MOSCOW
18. Group at Asgard : AESIR
19. Listen to completely : HEAR OUT. Big "thank you" to those who gave me advice & comfort last week.
20. Working parents' aid : DAYCARE
23. Spice up : ENLIVEN
24. Hound : NAG. Ah, OK.
25. Hayworth's second husband : WELLES. I know this trivia.
26. Shrek, notably : OGRE
28. Unaffiliated: Abbr. : IND. And 38. Liberal side? : ELL. This refers to the letter on either side of Liberal.
29. Strikes down : REPEALS
36. Dessert table vessel : URN
37. Acted indolently : LOLLED
39. First name in exploring : LEIF (Ericson)
42. Conn of "Grease" : DIDI. I can never remember her name.
45. Dismissals in a '70s-'80s game show : GONGS
47. __ Rock: Australian attraction : AYERS. Also known as Uluru.
54. Flair : ELAN
56. Go flat? : LIE. Lovely clue.
57. Hosp. titles : DRs
58. Ornamental shrub : SPIREA
59. Space travel meas. : LT-YR
60. Bubbly region : ASTI
61. Speak pompously : SPOUT. Not ORATE.
63. Lift charge : CAB FARE. Thanks to crosses.
66. Epic Trojan warrior : AENEAS
72. Garden feature : GAZEBO. Our Hmong neighbor built a gazebo in his backyard.
75. Banking control : AILERON. Plane's banking.
76. Sponsorship : AEGIS
80. It might be gray : AREA
81. Change one's mind about changing : STET. Another tricky clue.
84. "The Wizard of Oz" prop : TIN HAT
86. Maniacal leader? : EGO. Egomaniacal.
87. Punster : WIT
88. Passion : ZEAL
92. "The Family Circus" creator : KEANE
94. Passover month : NISAN
96. Hematology prefix : SERO. Had S??? earlier on, then waited.
97. Melissa Joan of "Melissa & Joey" : HART. Stranger to me.
98. The Snake R. runs through it : IDA
100. Pleasure trip : JUNKET
102. Oliver Stone's alma mater : NYU. Unknown trivia to me.
108. Catalog giant : SPIEGEL. Still in business?
112. Supermarket letters : IGA
113. Bangkok bread : BAHT. For Lemonade's Oo. So sweet. I love her flower crown.
114. Quakers in the forest? : ASPENS. The clue made me smile.
116. Anago or unagi : EEL
118. One who puts you to sleep : SANDMAN. Got via crosses also. Nice clue.
125. Seat of Washington's Snohomish County : EVERETT. What's it famous for?
126. Portuguese wine : MADEIRA
127. Beethoven dedicatee : ELISE
128. Fixes, as a seam : RESEWS
129. Stretchable, in product names : ELASTO. Learning moment to me also.
130. Collaborative 2012 Streisand album : DUETS
Down:
1. "Cactus Flower" Oscar winner : HAWN (Goldie). Have any of you watched the movie?
2. "The View" alum Joy : BEHAR
3. Missouri tributary : OSAGE
4. Part of a GI's URL : MIL
5. Craft __ : BREWER
6. Arctic barkers : SEALS
7. River to the Rhein : AARE
8. California city nickname : FRISCO. Two of my sisters-in-law live in Bay Area. They don't call it Frisco.
9. Chicago's __ Center : AON
10. Word after scatter or throw : RUG
11. "Come on in" : IT'S OPEN
12. Horsemanship school : MANEGE. New word to me.
13. Olive desired by Bluto : OYL
14. School subj. : SCI
15. Nitpick : CAVIL. I like this word.
16. Cutesy nickname for a former home of the Orlando Magic : ORENA. Short for Orlando Arena. This might stymie some.
17. Darling girl : WENDY
19. "'__ is empty / And all the devils are here'": "The Tempest" : HELL
20. Laura of "Jurassic Park" : DERN
22. Tortilla chip go-with : BEAN DIP
27. Role for Sally or Sandra : GIDGET. Needed crosses as well.
30. Bit of smoke : PUFF. Easy in retrospect.
32. Lingerie brand : OLGA. Never wore this brand.
33. Tricky tactic : PLOY
34. Severus Snape portrayer Rickman : ALAN
35. Work at : PLY
37. Hitchcock survival film : LIFEBOAT. My favorite Hitchcock movie is "To Catch a Thief". What's yours?
39. Some TV screens : LCDs
40. Morgan or Wyatt : EARP
41. Words often before "then" : IF SO
43. Way to pack fish : IN ICE. I could not get TIN/CAN out of my brain.
44. Emulate the Piper : DE-RAT
46. Breed of dog? : SLY. Nailed it as well.
48. End of a threat : ELSE
49. Poet Dove : RITA
50. Jaime's half-dozen : SEIS. I though "Jaime" indicates the answer is French?
52. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTAB
53. One-named children's singer : RAFFI. Another stranger to me.
55. Shrunken sea : ARAL
59. Most suspicious : LEERIEST
60. "As I Lay Dying" father : ANSE. No idea.
62. Iris holder : UVEA
64. Hawks, on NBA scoreboards : ATL
65. Butler of literature : RHETT
67. Lift up : ELATE
69. Throw a fight, say : LOSE
70. Where, in Juárez : DONDE. No idea. I can nail basic French words, but not Spanish.
71. "__ Majesty's Secret Service" : ON HER
72. Stare : GAWK
73. India born in Denver : ARIE. India Arie. I know her.
74. Sweater letter : ZETA
77. "__ grip!" : GET A
78. Inventor Sikorsky : IGOR
79. Laundry room step : SORT. I had SOAK first.
82. Beach shade : TAN
83. Seder prophet : ELIJAH
85. Penitent : ATONING. I'm sure atoning now for my misspent bar-hopping youth, D-Otto/Gary.
88. Puzzle pieces in Penzance? : ZEDS. Letter Z. (Thanks, Owen.)
89. Display, in a way : HANG. Lovely clue also.
90. Pharaoh's cross : ANKH
91. Big belt : CHUG. Simple entry, but completely got me.
93. It means nothing at all : NIL
95. "No argument here" : SUITS ME
99. Turns up at home? : AT BATS. Home plate.
101. Troop encampments : ETAPES. Learned from doing crosswords.
103. Agreed with : YESSED
104. Older partner, hopefully : WISER. Hopefully.
105. Tequila source : AGAVE
106. Where to see x's in boxes : LANES. Strikes in bowling. Not tic-tac-toe.
107. Blog, at times : RANT. Rich must have fun cluing this one.
108. Predecessor of Gerald : SPIRO
109. Elizabeth of "La Bamba" : PENA. Another unknown figure.
110. Goosebump-inducing : EERIE
111. " ... to say the __" : LEAST
115. Hot rod : SPIT. Barbecue! Nice clue.
117. Strong alkalis : LYES. Guilty of using the plural myself.
119. Hip-hop Dr. : DRE
120. Persian plaint : MEW
122. Kubrick's out-of-control computer : HAL
123. "Ghost" psychic __ Mae Brown : ODA. Fun character. I love "Ghost".
124. Like mice and men: Abbr. : PLU (Plural)
C.C.
