Theme: "Bull Session" - BLE is added to each theme answer. My *BLE pronunciation is different from the "bull" sound. How about yours?
11A. Lowly glowworm? : HUMBLE BUG. Humbug.
23A. Turkey's affectionate peck? : GOBBLE SMACK. Gobsmack. I've only used "gobsmacked".
36A. Beach brawl? : MALIBU RUMBLE. Malibu rum.
44A. Lens cover for a low Earth orbiter? : HUBBLE CAP. Hubcap.
65A. "Those are stone fragments, all right"? : AY, THERE'S THE RUBBLE. Ay, there's the rub.
88A. Mogul mishap? : SKI BUMBLE. Ski bum. Great clue.
93A. Slip while washing dishes? : SPONGE BOBBLE. SpongeBob.
112A. Warning about an escaped horse? : STABLE ALERT. Stay alert. This is the only one that has spelling change.
119A. Henry VI's "O, God forgive my sins, and pardon thee!"? : NOBLE EXIT. No Exit.
Unusual first themer placement today. Normally HUMBLE BUG will be placed in 25-Across spot. 11A and 22A are broken into two.
Mr. Ed, who has plenty of themeless experiences, took a bold approach. Those triple stacks of 9's on the top right and lower left are hard to fill in cleanly.
Across:
1. Fours, on most Augusta National holes : PARS. On most other courses as well.
5. Gauguin's island retreat : TAHITI
20. Mine, in Montreal : A MOI Also 61A. French postcard word : AVION. 13D. Marne moms : MERES And 104. To be, to a Breton : ETRE. Hello Splynter!
21. Old block seller : ICEMAN. Ice block.
22. Spy : OPERATIVE. And 30. Spy mission, for short : RECON
25. Source of a fond melody : SERENADER. Needed crosses for both of the 9's.
26. Prefix with arthritis : OSTEO. Other than apple cider vinegar and honey a try, Knox gelatin is said to be good for arthritis also.
27. Sharer of the prize : CO-WINNER
29. D, for a driver : GEAR
34. News anchor Burnett et al. : ERINs
35. Ross on a commemorative 3-cent stamp : BETSY
41. Service station offering : AIR
42. Blue-and-yellow megastore : IKEA. Sweden's national colors.
43. Snap back : RECOIL
50. Merged labor org. : CIO
51. Letter-shaped bike locks : U-BOLTS. It's just called U-locks, right?
52. Bit of information : DETAIL
53. Chicken-king link : A LA
54. Former U.N. chief : ANNAN (Kofi). Studied here at the Macalester College.
56. Three times due : SEI. Due is "two" in Italian. Also 71A. New, to Dante : NUOVA. I only knew the Spanish NUEVO.
57. Far from choice : LOW END
58. Adds a soundtrack to : DUBS
59. Command to a boxer : SIT
63. Rips into : TEARS AT
69. What the god Mars' symbol represents : MALE SEX. I did not know this.
72. Vote in favor : YEA
73. Leave out : OMIT
74. Some dorm accommodations : SUITES. Not my college dorm.
77. Ernest J. Keebler, for one : ELF
79. Arcade coin : TOKEN
83. Story opening? : SOB. Sob story. I was thinking of "ONCE upon a time...".
84. Early cinema sex symbol : HARLOW (Jean). Don't think I saw any of her movies. Quite severe eyebrows.
85. Makes fuzzy, as one's vision : BLEARS. Not a word I use.
87. Actress Gardner : AVA
90. Tie the knot : SAY I DO
91. Ended a flight : ALIT
92. Map abbr. : RTE
95. Footnote ref. : OP. CIT.
98. Dirty money : LUCRE
101. Reform Party candidate Perot : H. ROSS. Minnesota is a caucus state. We gave Marco Rubio his only win so far.
102. Narrow inlets : RIAs
103. Orthodontic appliance : RETAINER
106. Sources of heavenly strains? : HARPS. Great clue. Got me.
110. Halite extraction worker : SALT MINER
116. Whatever number : ONE OR MORE
117. Port SW of Buffalo, N.Y. : ERIE, PA. Nailed it.
118. Reeded instrument : OBOE
120. Stinging crawler : RED ANT
121. Crow's-nest support : MAST
Down:
1. When repeated, a Samoan port : PAGO
2. Cookie man Wally : AMOS
3. Gen. __ E. Lee : ROBT
4. Site of the world's longest railway : SIBERIA. The answer filled in itself.
5. Sudden death cause : TIE
6. Some window extensions, for short : ACs
7. Hesitant sound : HEM
8. Apple for the teacher : iMAC. Not going to touch this brand after what D-Otto went through.
9. Nogales nosh : TACO
10. Where there's a quill? : INKWELL. Another great clue.
11. Mubarak of Egypt : HOSNI. He's still alive.
12. Ivy League sch. : U PENN
14. Fox's title : BR'ER
15. PC interconnection : LAN
16. Curio case : ETAGERE. Nothing on it. But this one looks quite fancy.
17. Plumbing fixture uncommon in North America : BIDET. Kazie has one in her home.
18. Iris locations : UVEAs
19. Redistricting eponym : GERRY. Gerrymandering.
24. 1924 co-defendant : LOEB. Drew a blank, though I've heard of Leopold and Loeb.
28. Dander : IRE
31. Bus stop spot : CURB
32. Embossed cookies : OREOs
33. Berserk : NUCLEAR. New meaning of "nuclear" to me.
35. One in a wallet : BILL
36. Flaky mineral : MICA
37. Related : AKIN
38. "Worthy Fights" co-author Panetta : LEON. Don't know the book, but Panetta alone is enough.
39. Whodunit why : MOTIVE
40. Grafton's "__ for Burglar" : B IS
41. Comply with : ABIDE BY
44. Emulate Paul Bunyan : HEW
45. 4 x 4, briefly : UTE
46. Language of southern Africa : BANTU
47. Thing to fight for : CAUSE
48. Jessica of "Barely Lethal" : ALBA. She also founded The Honest Company.
49. Ago : PAST
51. Blood amounts : UNITS
52. "Pearly Shells" singer : DON HO
55. Up to now : AS YET
57. Yoga position : LOTUS
58. "The Circus of __": 1935 novel adapted into a 1964 Tony Randall film : DR LAO
60. "Ditto" : THE SAME
62. "What else __?" : IS NEW
64. Sticks by, as a stickup man : ABETS
65. Court defense : ALIBI. Not basketball court.
66. Bedroom community : EXURB
67. Soprano Lear : EVELYN. Stranger to me.
68. Capital on Interstate 40 : RALEIGH
69. Tree-hugging greenery : MOSS
70. Out of control : AMOK
75. In bed, maybe : ILL. Lots of fresh but tricky clues in this puzzle.
76. Part of a foot : TOE
78. Sound engineer's device : FADER
80. Political pundit Marvin : KALB. Wiki said he hosted "Meet the Press" for a few years. I miss David Gregory.
81. Like some film geniuses : EVIL
82. Hoopster Archibald : NATE
84. Jabba, for one : HUTT
85. Chinese steamed bun : BAO.
It's Baozi. No one calls it BAO alone. Often round in shape. Actually
Chinese call "steamed bun" Mantou, which are rectangular and served with
every meal in Xi'an.
 |
| Baozi |
 |
| Mantou |
86. Prefix with call : ROBO
89. __-Myers Squibb: Big Pharma firm : BRISTOL
90. "For Hire" detective : SPENSER
91. Son of David : ABSALOM. This grid has quite a few names.
93. Mumbai mister : SRI
94. DOL division : OSHA. Department of Labor.
95. Welles of "War of the Worlds" : ORSON
96. Grand on stage : PIANO
97. Biblical spy : CALEB
98. Fine china : LENOX
99. Biological incubators : UTERI
100. Proofing mark : CARET. Also 109. Proofing mark : STET
103. Ancient mariner's story, e.g. : RIME
105. Sneak attack : RAID
107. Self-named sitcom : REBA
108. Ones in a league of their own : PROS. Another great clue.
111. GI fare : MRE
113. Emmy recipient Arthur : BEA
114. Hosp. staffer : LPN
115. Put away : EAT. Look at this Japanese New Year's food spread Martin Herbach prepared two months ago. I spotted lotus roots immediately. Sashimi on the lower right. See the black beans on the red lacquer plate? Martin told me he soaked them for 8 hours, then simmered for 6 hours with rusty nails. I'm not kidding, Steve/Jayce. Real rusty nails. He said "I string them on pine needles from my garden and dust them with gold flakes." He's a real food connoisseur (and test-solver for the New York Times crosswords).
C.C.
