This wonderful C.C. Sunday puzzle, which she told me is her favorite of the year, is clever on many levels. As I sometimes do, I decided to put the grid at the front of the write-up to better display the intricacy of her work. Her gimmick is revealed in the lengthy clue of
52. Ownership claim ... and a hint to the relationship of each answer to a starred clue to a word it intersects : IT'S MINE.
As you can see below she intersected an entire word (clued with an *) with the front or back part of a multiple word phrase. The icing on this word cake was that the stand-alone word required adding an 'S so that the conjoined phrase made sense and truly showed the title of "IT'S MINE". Wow!
Stupid me barged through this exercise oblivious to the juxtaposition of two words that are connected (darn trees do block the forest). When I ran across the reveal, I laughed out loud and quoted that great American philosopher Homer Simpson by exclaiming, "Doh!"
Coupled with C.C.'s always fiendish/clever cluing this was truly a great time. She said it was a very difficult construction but we all benefit from her efforts.
Let's take a look at her possessive pairing genius:
5. *Second-longest reigning British monarch : VICTORIA and 22. Ill-kept confidence : OPEN SECRET yield VICTORIA'S SECRET by making the first word possessive and using the second word in OPEN SECRET. Wearing items from here might guarantee you will have a very OPEN SECRET...
9. *First of all? : ADAM and 24. Seasonal drink : APPLE CIDER yield ADAM'S APPLE by making ADAM possessive and using the first word in APPLE CIDER. This is the Laryngeal Prominence on the thyroid cartilage that is usually much more prominent in men.
42. *English surgeon Henry : GRAY and 44. Vet student's workplace : ANATOMY LAB yield GRAY'S ANATOMY. Here is Henry's original drawing of the larynx with the Thyroid Notch/Adam's Apple
y
93. *First human woman, in Greek myth : PANDORA and 117. Specialized slicing tools : BOX CUTTERS yield PANDORA'S BOX that of course contains all the evils of the world. It appears that Pan might be shopping at VICTORIA'S SECRET
Now for I. Indiana home for Jackson 5 - GARY and II. Court ruling without a trial - SUMMARY JUDGEMENT which yield GARY'S SUMMARY:
Across
1. Twinkler : STAR
5. Block from the White House : VETO - C.C.'s original clue was Block from Obama and Rich modified it. I like 'em both
9. Sunburn salve : ALOE
13. Others, in Oaxaca : OTROS - OTROS también les encantará este rompecabezas (Others will also love this puzzle)
18. Almond __: candy : ROCA - I have learned that this is a thing
19. Like jeggings : TIGHT - Standard clothing in schools today
20. Fist bumps : DAPS - A more complicated DAP
21. Talked a blue streak? : SWORE
26. Tossed a bone to : PLACATED
27. Playground retort : AM SO - Are not, AM SO, Are not, AM SO, ad nauseum
28. Up-to-the-minute : LATEST
29. "I never __ purple cow ... ": Burgess : SAW A - "I'd rather see one than be one"
30. New Mexico county bordering El Paso : OTERO and 27. Chicago's __ Center : AON. Natick for me -I chose unwisely at their crossing for my standard one bad Sunday cell
32. Dance partner : ESCORT
34. Mr. or Mrs. : ABBR and 83. Country on St. George's Channel : IRE.
36. Hard-to-imagine period : EON
37. It's charged : ION - Here are two atoms becoming charged IONS and voila - Sodium Fluoride
38. Winds up or winds down : ENDS
45. Talks like Daffy : LISPS
47. Mo. town : ST.L. - Sorry ST.L., the Rams belong in L.A.
48. Like a paddling surfer : PRONE
49. With 113-Across, "Funeral in Berlin" author : LEN and 113. See 49-Across : DEIGHTON
50. Waikiki wingding : LUAU
51. Sounded nostalgic about : SIGHED AT - One man's lament
55. Tiger, e.g. : CAT
56. Churchill, notably : ORATOR - "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" May 1940
58. Curaçao cocktail : MAI TAI
60. American Red Cross founder Barton : CLARA
62. Prankster's missile : WATER BOMB
64. "Popeye" pirate : SEA HAG
66. Racing Unsers : ALS
68. Zen garden piece : STONE and 74. Potted dwarf : BONSAI - I feel peaceful just looking at it
71. Kept from squeaking : OILED
73. Lifesaver, initially : EMT
77. Sticks figure : YOKEL
79. Drive-thru burger chain whose name has two hyphens : IN-N-OUT
81. Make a home : RESIDE
82. Squat : NIL - Nuttin'
84. Summary : OVERVIEW
86. It has Air, Mini and Pro versions : I-PAD
88. Part of a circ. : SEG(ment)
89. Fervently wishes : PRAYS
91. Stooge with a bowl haircut : MOE - MOE's younger brother Curly replaced their brother Shemp in the trio
92. Center of Florida? : EPCOT
94. Govt. guidelines : STDS
95. Name on the 1984 album "My Kind of Country" : REBA
96. Cologne cooler : EIS - Ich möchte keine EIS in meinen Scotch (I don't want any ice in my scotch) Tin?
97. NYC commuter letters : MTA
98. Thunder sound : PEAL
100. Pains : THROES
103. Courier and Roman : FONTS - or a seasonal one
105. King with a pipe : COLE
108. Very destructive : LETHAL
111. Nursery cry : MAMA
119. Chugged, say : DRANK
120. Links seen at pga.com : URLS - Electronic links not grass ones
121. Doctoral candidate's hurdles : ORALS - Not intimidating at all
122. Furry sci-fi creature : EWOK
123. Huffy states : SULKS
124. Duma vote : NYET - Nyet, Nyet Nannette!
125. Lose intensity : WANE
126. Prevent : DENY
Down
1. Letters connected to theater capacity : SRO - Sure, you can get some SRO tix to see the Cubs in their first World Series in 71 years!
2. Collectible baseball card brand : TOPPS - C.C. gave me a George Brett TOPPS card that is prominently displayed in my sunroom
3. Boston-to-D.C. rail service : ACELA
4. Took off : RAN AWAY
6. Blue heron kin : EGRET
7. Peter Benchley thriller : THE DEEP
8. Giants great Mel : OTT - A 1933 Doudney Mel OTT rookie card will set you back $532
10. Slip : LAPSE
11. Facing : OPPOSITE - Our crossword friends, recto and verso, are opposite/facing pages
12. Bilingual subj. : ESL
13. Award declined by George C. Scott : OSCAR - Goldie Hawn shrieked, "Oh my God, the winner is George C. Scott!" She knew he had said he would not show up.
14. Company with a blue bird logo : TWITTER
15. Used Lyft, say : RODE
16. Mining haul : ORES
17. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT - File under Learned/Forgot
19. Leaves for a Chinese dinner : TEA
23. Line crosser : SCAB - A 2000 movie with a more gentle name for football SCABS who crossed a union line
25. SpaceX CEO Musk : ELON
31. Carlo __: wine brand : ROSSI
33. Money immediately available : COLD CASH
35. Book jacket entry : BLURB
40. It's in our genes : DNA
41. Disappeared from view : SET
42. Looks really happy : GLOWS
43. Upgrade, as on Yelp : RERATE
46. Send for : SUMMON
47. Type of massage : SHIATSU
48. Student advocacy gp. : PTA
50. Folk tales : LORE
53. Earth goddess : GAEA
54. Subj. with unknowns : ALG
57. Approaching the hour : TEN TO
59. Coarsely insulting, as language : ABUSIVE
61. Vice squad incursions : RAIDS
63. Classic for which Pavarotti won a Grammy : O SOLE MIO
65. Frenzied : HECTIC
67. Did some farm work : SEEDED - The Sower on top of the capital in Lincoln, Nebraska
70. Legal scholar Guinier : LANI
71. Lacking width and depth : ONE-D
72. Worst of the worst : DREGS
74. Drink, in Dover : BEV
76. Hot : IRATE
78. Foreman stat : KO'S
80. Have a loan from : OWE TO
82. "Fresh Air" airer : NPR
87. Treat on a stick : POPSICLE
90. "Really, Captain Obvious?" : YA THINK?
94. Scheduled : SLOTTED
96. Perry's creator : ERLE - Stanley Gardner
97. CalArts degree : MFA - Maybe not the best degree to find a job
99. Eight, to Mozart : ACHT - He wrote his first symphony when he was ACHT
101. Street fare seekers : HACKS - aka Taxis. Named for Hackney Cabs in Britain. Hackney is the name for a horse suitable for driving or riding
102. Luxurious fur : SABLE - Wearing this fur can be risky
104. Bonnie or Clyde : TEXAN
106. Lerner collaborator : LOEWE
107. Company with an ironically crooked logo : ENRON - Many pensions at Nebraska Natural Gas disappeared with them
108. Shadow targets : LIDS
109. Beige shade : ECRU
110. Marsh duck : TEAL
112. Computer game title island : MYST
114. Gloomy fellow : GUS
116. Ballerina's hairdo : BUN
117. Tool for Cupid : BOW
118. Hawk's domain : SKY
Now it's time for I. McGuffey book - READER and II. Viewer's opinion - AUDIENCE FEEDBACK which yield READER'S FEEDBACK:
