Theme: "Big Time" - The first word can follow "Big".
23A. Breakfast order : CHEESE OMELETTE. Big cheese. I use the OMELET spelling. You?
36A. Fruity pastry shop purchase : APPLE TURNOVER. Big Apple.
51A. Unite : BAND TOGETHER. Big Band.
78A. Wedding acquisition, perhaps? : BROTHER- IN- LAW. Big brother.
95A. Stab : SHOT IN THE DARK. Big shot.
111A. 1949 Crosby film set in Ireland : TOP O' THE MORNING. Big top. Unfamiliar with the film.
17D. Fan of Pat and Vanna, familiarly : WHEEL WATCHER. Big wheel.
60D. Ones not at home on the range : CITY SLICKERS. Big city.
Simple
theme. I mentioned before that Rich prefers this type of "words that
can follow/precede" theme on weekdays, unless the theme really excites
him to warrant a Sunday.
Impressive chunks of white spaces in upper left & lower right corners.
Themeless look. This is very hard to pull off with sparkly and clean
fill.
Across:
1. Suffered a setback : RELAPSED
9. Shared spirit : ETHOS. We also have PATHOS (63. Pity-evoking quality)
14. Bit by bit : SLOWLY
20. Swimwear option : ONE PIECE
21. "High waving heather __ stormy blasts bending": Emily Brontë : 'NEATH
22. Tie up : TETHER
25. Writ word : HABEAS. Habeas corpus.
26. NFL lineman-turned-actor Alex : KARRAS. Is he a gimme to you?
27. Powder first marketed as Hudson's Soap : RINSO
28. Burned in a thurible : CENSED
29. Spanish liqueur : ANIS
30. Rolled __ : OATS. I've been having overnight oats every morning since March 31. Pomegranates are now in season. So good with overnight oats.
32. Garage event : SALE
33. Directed : LED
35. Abbr. for old dates : BCE
41. Twistedly funny : WRY. PK is having problem with her iMac, Irish Miss. Hopefully her computer guy fixes her glitch soon.
42. "Absolutely!" : YES SIREE
44. __ bread : RAISIN. Not BANANA or GARLIC.
45. Still-life subject : VASE. I tried EWER first. It showed up later at 76. Still-life subject : EWER
46. Tabasco, por ejemplo : ESTADO
47. Illusions in an act : MAGIC
49. Foppish neckwear : ASCOT
55. Yokels : HICKS
58. Drag, e.g. : RACE. Got via crosses.
61. Delete : ERASE
62. What X may mean : TEN. Also 88. M, on many forms : MALE
64. Bird: Pref. : AVI
65. Bernadette et al.: Abbr. : STES
66. Tammany Hall Tiger artist : NAST (Thomas)
68. U.K. country : ENG
69. Kugel ingredient : POTATO. Never had Kugel before.
71. Middle of Christmas? : ESS
74. Spa feature : SAUNA
76. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT
77. First name in dance : TWYLA (Tharp). Not ADELE.
81. Work for : SERVE
83. Court tie : DEUCE. Oh, tennis.
84. Trypanosome transmitter : TSETSE. The fly is back.
90. Energy output : EFFORT. Did not come to me easily.
92. Concepts : THEORIES
94. 2001 boxing biopic : ALI
98. Richie's dad, to the Fonz : MR. C
99. F1 neighbor on PCs : ESC
100. U. of Maryland player : TERP
101. "No problem" : EASY. And 103. "No problem" : OK BY ME
102. Sandra Denton, in a hip-hop trio : PEPA. Salt-N-Pepa. Got me.
105. Rapper __ Shakur : TUPAC
108. Kitchen gadget : PEELER. D-Otto brought his potato peeler to Florida when he visited his sister. His legendary potato dumplings need serious prep work.
110. Louisiana cuisine : CREOLE
114. Set : HARDEN
115. Stirred : AWOKE
116. Scolds severely : RIPS INTO
117. Newspaper ad, commonly : INSERT
118. Baltimore's __ Harbor : INNER. Aleppo moment.
119. Least seasoned : GREENEST. Also 3. Most skeptical : LEERIEST
Down:
1. "__ baby ... " : ROCK-A-BYE. Got via crosses.
2. Adds value to : ENHANCES
4. Mimes : APERS. Noun "Mimes".
5. Italian coastal city : PISA
6. Understands : SEES
7. Friendly front? : ECO. Eco-friendly.
8. JFK, e.g. : DEM
9. Sign up : ENLIST
10. Many a senior : TEEN. Also 19. Jr. and sr. : YRS
11. They may be tipped : HATS
12. "The Simpsons" bus driver : OTTO. And our Meals on Wheels driver as well. D-Otto volunteers for several causes.
13. Byron's "__ Walks in Beauty" : SHE
14. Mount named for a friend of George Vancouver : ST HELENS. I did not know who George Vancouver is. Now I know.
15. Not quite a ringer : LEANER. Drew a blank. Horseshoe score.
16. Wagering places: Abbr. : OTBs
18. Band heads : LEADERS
24. "Symphony in Black" artist : ERTE
28. Sturgeon delicacy : CAVIAR. This is how I first tried caviar. On sliced baguette.
30. Reveal in a poem? : OPE
31. Taproom quencher : ALE
32. Letters in the sand? : SOS. I like this clue.
34. Easter decorating supply : DYE
36. Opera that premiered in Cairo in 1871 : AIDA
37. Characterized by : PRONE TO
38. Impulse : URGE
39. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee the same year as Clapton and Taylor : RAITT. Got via crosses.
40. Wall recess : NICHE
43. Word from Tonto : SABE. Kemo Sabe.
45. Big name in sporting goods : VOIT. This stumped some last time.
47. Rap sheet routines: Abbr. : MOs. MO = modus operandi.
48. Turn gray, maybe : AGE
50. Rap (with) : CHAT. I did not know "Rap with" means "Chat with". So I was rapping with Boomer. Told him that pumpkin pie should be called "squash pie". Pumpkin is too stringy. What you get in a can is mostly a mixture of various winter squashes.
52. Rap's Dr. __ : DRE
53. Shock source : TASER
54. Tedium : ENNUI
56. Hawaiian coffee district : KONA
57. U.S. Army E-6 : SSGT
58. Spellbound : RAPT
59. Swear to be true : AVOW
63. Hymnal that's often richly illustrated : PSALTER. Learning moment for me.
65. Rating unit : STAR
67. Massachusetts cape : ANN
70. On the safer side : ALEE
72. "Ditto!" : SO DO I
73. Back on the ocean : STERN
74. Champagne word : SEC
75. "Odds __ ... " : ARE
78. Sooner than : BEFORE
79. Sluglike "Star Wars" alien : HUTT. I only know Jabba the Hutt.
80. "Dilbert" intern : ASOK. Learned from doing crosswords.
82. Heated : VEHEMENT
85. Facebook feature : TIMELINE
86. Medusa's hair, after Athena got done with it : SERPENTS. Vivid clue.
87. Dish requiring special utensils : ESCARGOT. Had no idea how to eat these when I first tried.
88. Questel who voiced Betty Boop : MAE, Unknown figure to me.
89. Loser : ALSO-RAN
91. Data-uploading letters : FTP. OK, File Transfer Protocol.
92. 6-pt. scores : TDs
93. Loft filler : HAY
95. Salon appliance : STYLER. Also the name of Sting's wife. I doubt Rich will ever use it though. A bit obscure.
96. Winter warmer : HEATER
97. Apiece : EACH
102. Secure, on a farm : PEN IN
104. Portend : BODE
105. College __ : TOWN
106. Conversant with : UP ON
107. Nose (around) : POKE
108. Vitalian, for one : POPE. Aleppo moment. Did not know Pope Vitalian.
109. Gaelic tongue : ERSE
110. See 111-Down : CHI. And 111. With 110-Down, Eastern discipline : TAI
112. Bit of work : ERG
113. Fallen space station : MIR. Fell to Earth in 2001.
Last
Monday I met with Andrea Carla Michaels, the Monday Queen of NYT
crosswords. We walked around Lake Harriet where Andrea grew up. She
showed me her childhood home,
which is gated now. Andrea now lives in San Francisco, but might move
back to MN someday. She used to be a standup comedian and has so many
interesting stories to tell. Wish you guys were walking along with us. Click here for a few more pictures.
