Theme: "Say Cheese!" - Cheese puns.
23A. Cheese tray displays? : BRIE ARRANGEMENTS. Pre-arrangements.
45A. Real cheese? : TILSIT LIKE IT IS.
Unfamiliar with Tilsit cheese. Wiki says it "is a light yellow
semi-hard smear-ripened cheese, created in the mid-19th century by
Prussian-Swiss settlers".
69A. Cheesehead's accessory? : FETA IN ONE'S CAP. Feather in one's cap. Reminds me of this fun picture.
97A. Cheese graters? : ROQUEFORT FILES. The Rockford Files. Golden entry for cheese puns.
123A. Highland cheese? : LOCH NESS MUENSTER. Loch Ness Monster.
16D. Cheese-growing plot? : GARDEN OF EDAM. Garden of Eden.
63D. Cheese factory supplies? : CHEDDAR BOXES. Chatterboxes.
I
absolutely have no grasp on pun theme and admire constructors who can
pull it off regularly. Finding soundalike words is a challenge to me,
not to mention injecting enough fun and surprising factors to the theme
clues.
Ed
took full advantage of the manageable 7-entry theme grid (8/9/10 are
trickier, but not for Mr. Ed) and gave us a sparkly puzzle. He has ten
8-letter fill in the grid. Just look at the upper left edge. Three 8's
and a long themer. Amazing.
Across:
1. Put away the leftovers? : EAT. I put in ATE. Right direction.
4. Stagecoach shout : WHOA.
For some reason, stagecoaches were not popular in old China. Emperors
or other VIPs or new brides all traveled in chair sedans.
8. Charge : ACCUSAL
15. Like much brandy : AGED. 61. Brandy flavor : APPLE. Clue echo. We also have 29. Screwdriver component : VODKA
19. Avian water source : BIRD BATH
21. Heated dispute : RHUBARB. I'm in love with this left edge.
22. Go ballistic : RAVE
25. Scientologist Hubbard : L. RON
26. X-Men co-creator Lee : STAN
27. Full of holes : POROUS
28. GPS info : RTE
30. Jet black : ONYX. Thought of EBON first.
32. Prepare for the prom : DRESS. No prom in our school.
34. Pastina relative : ORZO
36. Moray or conger : EEL
37. Repress : GAG
38. Exams for future J.D.'s : LSATs
41. One-customer link : PER
43. Partners' phrase : YOU AND I
49. Bologna bone : OSSO
50. Dirt cake ingredient : OREO. Unfamiliar with dirt cake or CHESS PIE (9. Classic Southern dessert). Google Images also showed some Dirt pie pictures. Is it the same as Dirt cake?
51. Queen Victoria's toy, for short : POM. I only knew the current queen loves Corgis.
52. Looks at : BEHOLDS
54. Shaky : IFFY
57. They may be good losers : DIETERS. Fun clue.
60. Coke by-product : TAR
61. One-named "Skyfall" singer : ADELE
62. Meager : SCANT
64. Strip stake? : BET. Oh, strip poker. (Correction: Strip here is The Strip. Thanks, Peter.)
66. Lever in a limo : GAS PEDAL
68. Unspecified degree : NTH
74. iPhone purchase : APP
75. Abandoned buildings, say : EYESORES. There's a big office building complex near our home. Been empty for a few years.
77. D.C. insider : POL
78. Raw bar selection : CLAMS. Never had raw clams. You? We also have 107. Shell-shedding creature : CRAB
80. Catkin producer : ALDER
81. Half a dance : CHA
83. "My 60 Memorable Games" author : FISCHER (Bobby). Chess players seem to have fantastic memory. Speed chess astonishes me.
86. Change the decor of : RE-DO
87. Diamond nickname : THE BABE (Ruth)
90. Affliction : WOE
91. Creamy color : ECRU. Creamy makes me think of food. Not cream color.
95. Puffin relatives : AUKS. Learned from doing crosswords.
100. Bunch of clowns in a circus stunt, say : CARLOAD. Vivid clue.
103. Word of enjoyment : YUM
104. Wipe out : ERASE
105. "__ been a puppet, a pauper ... ": Sinatra lyric : I'VE
106. "Foolery ... does walk about the __ like the sun": Shakespeare : ORB. Constructors work hard for fresh clues.
109. Syrian president : ASSAD
111. Title for Helen Mirren : DAME
113. Foam : FROTH
115. Make hay? : MOW. Lovely.
117. Like the talus : TARSAL
120. First name in desserts : SARA
122. Idée __ : FIXE
126. Twilight times : EVES
127. Packs, in a way : ENCASES
128. Military encampment sight : ARMY TENT
129. Take it easy : REST
130. Prepare, as dough for zeppole : DEEP-FRY. Never heard of zeppole. Look like mini donuts.
131. Early depictor of today's Santa Claus : NAST (Thomas)
132. Muddy quarters : STY
Down:
1. Goes out : EBBS
2. Like missiles in a dogfight : AIR TO AIR
3. Percussion instrument : TRIANGLE. Also 5. Instrument featured in "Waltz of the Flowers" : HARP
4. Ring org. : WBA
6. Other, to Quixote : OTRO
7. Grief : A HARD TIME. Not fond of the extra A.
8. Have a row : ARGUE
10. Summa __ laude : CUM
11. Lyft competitor : UBER
12. __ Domingo : SANTO
13. Channel with many branches : ARTERY
14. Avg. newborn's 7.5 : LBS. What's yours? Boomer was a big baby: 9 lbs and 10 oz.
15. "Alice's Restaurant" arrestee : ARLO
17. Summoned : EVOKED
18. North America's highest peak : DENALI
20. Naysay : DENY
24. Language of Oslo, in Oslo : NORSK
29. Paris pronoun : VOUS. You.
31. First year of Claudius' reign : XLI. 41. Got via crosses.
33. Meyers of late-night TV : SETH
35. Places staffed by vets : ZOOS. Ed wanted us to think of Army vets.
37. Old Pontiac with a V8 engine : GTO
39. Key holder in much religious artwork : ST PETER. I never paid attention to what's in his hand. Wiki says it's the key of heaven.
40. Scads : A LOT
42. Hoot : RIOT
44. Off-topic remark : ASIDE
46. It's often drawn through straws : SODA
47. Clampett portrayer : EBSEN
48. Forms into metallic waste : SLAGS
53. Stoker creation, briefly : DRAC (Dracula)
55. Plane features : FLAPS
56. Shepherd's cry : YELP. Dog.
58. Likely to experience : IN FOR
59. Batting stat : RBI. "Batting" shouldn't be part of the clue.
62. Distinctive manner : STYLE
65. Premier : TOP
67. Potpourri holders : SACHETS
68. Get close to : NEAR
70. Debugging pro : TECH.
Dear TTP lost his dog Charlie last weekend. They were very close,
taking walks every day, rain or snow. I sobbed reading his email about
driving Charlie to the vet for the last ride.
71. "My Name Is __ Lev": Potok novel : ASHER
72. Like some ATM withdrawals : NO FEE
73. Cotton gin inventor Whitney : ELI
76. East Asian capital : SEOUL
79. "Whose woods these __ think ... ": Frost : ARE I. Some partials are tricky to clue.
82. Birth announcement words : A BOY
84. Athos, for one : SWORDSMAN
85. "The Last of the Mohicans" sister : CORA. No idea.
87. Old Russian dynast : TSAR
88. Blue-green color : AQUA
89. Lead that misleads : BUM STEER. Learned from doing crosswords. Not a phrase I use.
92. Subarctic and Mediterranean : CLIMATES
93. Deferential : REVERENT
94. "What's the ___?" : USE
96. NYC mayor after Beame : KOCH
98. Therapy subjects : FEARS. Fears are natural.
99. Gratified : FED
100. Valuables holder : COFFER. This
is similiar to my mom's, except hers was red color. Her parents gave it
to her when she married my dad. In it there were pretty bed sheets, quilts and other exquisitely hand-made clothing items. Also a small jar of precious sugar,
which was rationed then. She was worried that my little brother and I
would put our fingers in the sugar jar. Sugar was only used for goodies
during Chinese Spring Festival.
101. Come : ARRIVE
102. Brooklyn crooner Vic : DAMONE
108. Italian bowling game : BOCCE
110. Likely to talk back : SASSY
112. Kind of D.A. : ASST
114. Acid __ : TEST
116. Sound of a blow : WHAP. Is this a common word? My WHAM would not work.
118. Ambient quality : AURA
119. NASA lunar transports : LEMs
121. Like some gallery patrons : ARTY
123. Headed up : LED
124. Bad check letters : NSF.
We go burned at a card show. The guy bought a few pricey
jersey & signed cards and wrote us a bad check. Such a painful & costly
experience. St Peter will not give him the key.
125. Ochs Sulzberger pub. : NYT
To those who get the wrong grid today, please click here
for the correct puzzle. On the top right, you should see Print or
Download button. The above link will disappear in a week. If you still have trouble, please email me
crosswordc@gmail.com, I'll send you the correct grid.
C.C.
