The lovely pairing of Don and C.C. never wears out its WELCOME and today they present us with a very entertaining Sunday puzzle where the word WELCOME can be an ADDITION to each of the last words of eight phrases to make another phrase. Their gimmick is revealed in:
119. Breath of fresh air ... or, literally, what the last word of eight long Across answers can be : WELCOME ADDITION - This is what Lily has been to us two empty-nesters!
23. Town gathering place : COMMUNITY CENTER - WELCOME CENTER. You're in the Army now...
45. Gardener's purchase : SEED PACKET - The WELCOME PACKET - What each new prisoner gets from the Federal Bureau of Prisons
70. Purpose of some government credits : TAX RELIEF - WELCOME RELIEF provided by a squirrel chiropractor
84. Astrological sector : ZODIAC SIGN - A very famous WELCOME SIGN
93. Hidden : OUT OF SIGHT - A WELCOME SIGHT in many "oaters"
Across
1. "Thunderstruck" band : AC/DC
5. Alberta resort town : BANFF
10. Heavenly spheres : ORBS
14. Caps' partners : GOWNS
19. Manhattan or Queens, briefly : BORO - Borough
20. City NW of Orlando : OCALA
21. Bryan's "Breaking Bad" role : WALT - Suiting up to cook some meth for altruistic reasons
22. Formed for a specific purpose : AD HOC
26. Dough : MOOLA
27. Bombards with bogus offers : SPAMS
28. One of a toon septet : DOPEY
31. Highway deterrent : RADAR - They got me for doing 39 mph in a 30 mph zone last week but I kept my hands on the wheel, was very respectful, took full responsibility and got off with a warning
33. Arabian Peninsula port : ADEN
35. Acidity levels: Abbr. : PH'S
36. Pennant trio? : ENS - PENNANT
37. Sherpa's domain: Abbr. : MTN - A human pack mule
38. Ivory or Coast : SOAP
40. Lions' homes : DENS
43. "Eureka!" : AHA
48. Witch's familiar, maybe : CAT - I got CAT incidentally and then went to the web to find out what the heck this is - A familiar or familiar spirit is a supernatural being that helps and supports a witch or magician. In western culture this is usually a black CAT.
49. Shtick figures : COMICS
53. Coastal flier : ERN
54. Eurasian capital : ANKARA - The capital in this capital is the Turkish Lira
57. Jet with suits? : CESSNA - This $23.6M Cessna Citation can hold 12 "suits"
59. Eastern way : TAO
61. Remains in the cooler : DOES TIME
62. "You're on!" : ITS A DEAL
66. Cardinal, e.g. : BIRD
67. Some NASA missions : EVA'S -Extra Vehicular Activities are just that - ACTIVITIES that occur outside the space craft during a NASA mission. Nit, nit, nit...
68. Fleeces : ROBS
72. Artist's choices : HUES
73. Bamboozle : DUPE
74. Teased : RODE
75. Retail focus : CONSUMER
77. "Priest" in a Nash poem : ONE-L LAMA
79. Runway retiree of '03 : SST
80. Cantaloupe cousin : CASABA - I can never discern much taste to them
86. Disc golf starting point : TEE PAD
90. Friend of Harry : RON - No clue on Harry Potter characters but it filled itself in
91. Guarantee : ENSURE
92. Place to see a facial mask : SPA
95. Bummed : SAD
96. K follower : MART
98. Acting opportunity : ROLE - Guess who was the first choice for the ROLE of Forrest Gump
99. __ Spiegel: German magazine : DER - The Mirror
100. Attention that can help healing, briefly : TLC
103. Kettle cover : LID - An idiot who looks like me once made popcorn in a kettle sans LID.
105. Titicaca, por ejemplo : LAGO - El LAGO Titicaca se encuentra entre Perú y Bolivia (Lake Titicaca is located between Peru and Bolivia)
107. Bacon with six degrees? : KEVIN
113. Italian-born three-time Oscar winner : CAPRA - It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes To Town and You Can't Take It With You
115. Night fliers : MOTHS
118. It helps when picking up : PRONG
122. Rice/Lloyd Webber musical : EVITA
123. Sheikh, e.g. : ARAB
124. "__ Fire": Denzel Washington movie : MAN ON - 39% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Shamelessly manipulative and sadistically violent", said one critic
125. Visiting the Getty Mus., say : IN LA
126. Business bigwig : BARON
127. Workout stat : REPS
128. Santa __ racetrack : ANITA
129. Training locale : CAMP
Down
1. Basics : ABC'S
2. Joint venture : CO-OP
3. Boots brand with Bouncing Soles : DR MARTENS - DOC MARTENS didn't fit
4. Charge : COMMAND - The most infamous Charge COMMAND in American history?
5. "___ voyage!" : BON
6. Heavy metal relative : ACID ROCK - There's just something wrong about hearing The London Philharmonic playing Light My Fire.
7. Brussels-based defense gp. : NATO
8. Pest control device : FLY PAPER
9. Confronted : FACED
10. Beat year after year after year ... : OWN
11. "Phooey!" : RATS
12. "This is disgusting!" : BLEH
13. Sharpening tool : STROP - Can you spot the one in this picture?
14. Many unscripted programs : GAME SHOWS
15. Gas additive, perhaps : ODOR
16. Incredulous response : WHO ME?
17. Pitching legend Ryan : NOLAN - A punching expert too!
18. Improvises with nonsense syllables : SCATS
24. Amer. currency : USD
25. Set one's sights on : EYED
30. Hit hard : WHACKED
32. Yoga poses : ASANAS
34. Maker of Candy Buttons : NECCO - The Candy Shoppe at the New England Confectionary COrporation in Revere, MA
37. Little more than : MERE
39. Preceder of an alt. name : AKA
41. "I'm gonna pass" : NAH
42. Schoolwork : STUDIES
44. Dabblers : AMATEURS - Ed McMahon always told Johnny that drinking on New Year's Eve was for AMATEURS
45. Short time : SEC
46. Short breaths : PANTS
47. Turkic Russian : TATAR
50. "Enough already!" : I GIVE - Tap Out today
51. Deep sleeps : COMAS
52. Mario Paint console, initially : SNES - Can you read Super Nintendo Entertainment System?
56. Greek vacation isle : CORFU
58. Composer with a Helsinki academy named for him : SIBELIUS - Born in Hämeenlinnain 1865 and died in Järvenpää in 1957
60. Smart guys? : ALECS
63. Basic matter : ATOMS and 82. Nobelist who developed a model for 63-Down : BOHR - I taught the BOHR ATOM for years
64. Arp's school : DADAISM
65. Palindromic file extension : EXE
66. Storage unit : BIN
68. Talk nonstop : RUN ON
69. Pro-and-con newspaper pair, perhaps : OPEDS
71. Powerball, e.g. : LOTTO
72. Flip side? : HEADS
73. Catch a few z's : DOZE
74. Entered quickly : RACED IN - What are heroic first responders did when others ran from the Trade Center Buildings
76. VirusScan developer : MCAFEE
78. "60 Minutes" correspondent : LARA LOGAN
79. Traffic tangle : SNARL
81. Pope Francis' birthplace : ARGENTINA - A young Jorge Mario Bergoglio and his family in Buenos Aires
83. Sugar bowl visitor : ANT
85. H.S. benchmark : GPA
87. Pole, for one : EUROPEAN
88. WWII venue : ETO
89. Circle in a fabric pattern : POLKA DOT
94. Harebrained : IDIOTIC
97. It's filled and folded : TACO
100. Not exactly high-strung : TYPE-B
101. Tadpole, say : LARVA
102. Group in robes : CHOIR
104. Big name in Scotch : DEWAR
106. __ ray : GAMMA
108. ROTC school near D.C. : VMI - It became co-ed in 1997
110. Not tricked by : ONTO
111. Are no more : WERE
112. "__ That Bass": Gershwin song : SLAP
114. Hindu princess : RANI
116. __ oak: Mediterranean tree : HOLM
117. Start of a gridiron play : SNAP - QB should be on the same page as the center
120. "48 Hours" airer : CBS
121. It might be recombinant : DNA
Any and all are WELCOME to offer any comments:
THE GRID
