Theme: "First Things First" - The first word can follow "First".
23A. Trust builder? : ESTATE PLANNER. First estate. The clergy.
31A. Result of losing two points, perhaps : LOVE- THIRTY. Unfamiliar to me. Common Tennis term? First love.
52A. Concern for gardeners : FROST WARNING. First frost. No change of meaning on "frost" here.
75A. Wriggler on a hook : NIGHT CRAWLER. First night.
92A. Teacher's bane, at times : CLASS CLOWN. First class.
104A. Mozart's "The Hunt," for one : STRING QUARTET. First string.
37D. Any one of the NFL's top 25 career scoring leaders : PLACE KICKER. First place.
40D. They're spoken in anger : CHOICE WORDS. First choice.
I don't recall seeing a word that can precede/follow type from Mr. Ed. First for me.
 |
| Ed Sessa, Xword Info |
Ed
is one of those few constructors who are experts at building both themed
and themeless puzzles. This Sunday puzzle showcases his skills nicely.
Lots of sparkly long fill in this 140-worder with 8 themers.
Across:
1. Unflappability : APLOMB.. Fantastic start.
7. Responds to an alarm : AWAKES
13. Bliss : ECSTASY. Love this word as well.
20. Counterman? : GEIGER. Gimme for veteran solvers. Geiger counter,
21. On deck : UP NEXT
22. "Raging Bull" fighter : LAMOTTA (Jake). We also have 38. Descendant of the English Bulldog : BOXER
25. Clink : SLAMMER . 24. See 25-Across : PEN
26. Sent messages, before faxes and email : TELEXED. What's the first time you had internet access? 1999 for me.
27. Bit of body art : TAT. "Bit" indicates an abbreviated answer.
29. Julia of "Legends of the Fall" : ORMOND. First encounter with this actress.
30. Meat cut : LOIN
35. Convey : IMPART
39. Son of Donald : ERIC
40. Shares an email with : CCs
43. Pigeon hangouts : SILLS. Not COTES/COOPS.
44. Voice of TV's Fat Albert : COSBY. Not a welcome name.
45. Get online shopping help, say : HAVE A CHAT. Had an interesting experience with a company based in China last year. Asian sizes tend to be smaller, hence the online chat.
47. Sports org. with three major divisions : NCAA. Division I, II and III.
48. Student of Socrates : PLATO
49. Hired car : TAXI
50. TV exec Arledge : ROONE
51. Tolkien monster : ORC
55. Protest gone bad : RIOT. Still sad about the 1989 protest/riot.
56. Piggy : TOE
57. Gambling game : LOTTO
58. Veers : ZAGs
59. Pound units : OUNCES
61. Urban of country : KEITH. Happy couple.
63. Rooting area : STY. Great clue.
64. Shot with English : MASSE. Give it some English (spin),
65. Reach by schooner, say : SAIL TO
67. Canal through Oneida Lake : ERIE
69. Half of a record : B SIDE
71. Trap that's spun : WEB
74. Gremlins, e.g. : AMCs
78. __-Wan Kenobi : OBI
79. Some price changes : HIKES. Minnesota is giving a 25% relief on the health insurance hikes last year, D-Otto!
81. Whoop-de-__: lively parties : DOOs
82. WWII issue : E BOND
83. Suffix with Jumbo : TRON
84. Glacial expanses : ICE SHEETS
86. Night noise : SNORE
87. Edge along : SIDLE
88. Happy hour sponsor : BAR
89. Kyrgyzstan range : ALAI. I confused this range
with Altai. That Wiki articled mentioned Chinese mountain range Tian
Shan, meaning "Mountain of Heaven". Tian = Heaven. Shan = Mountain.
90. Refrigerant trade name : FREON
91. Troubles : NAGS AT
94. Celebrity : FAME
95. Like Jack and Jill, ultimately : FALLEN
98. __ lepton: physics particle : TAU. Stranger to me. We also have 68. P-like letters : RHOs
99. Fiber source : OAT BRAN. Never had it or any bran. I have a question, Steve. In this Jamie Oliver clip, did he use our old-fashioned rolled oats? Judging by the time, they seem to be steel-cut oats in sliced pieces.
102. The littlest bit : ONE IOTA
109. Verify : CONFIRM
110. Colored tee, perhaps : TIE DYE
111. Bawled (out) : REAMED
112. Aflutter : IN A FLAP. Got via crosses.
113. Hill group : SENATE
114. Border maintainers : EDGERS. Not GUARDS.
Down:
1. Time of one's life : AGE
2. Fruit fly or gnat : PEST
3. Loser's ad word : LITE
4. Nebraska city named for a Native American tribe : OGALLALA. I just noticed the Sioux tribe name is spelled Oglala. Always thought it's Ogalala.
5. Streakers in showers : METEORS. Smiled at this clue.
6. Withdrawal in 2016 headlines : BREXIT. Great fill/clue as well.
7. "Should __ acquaintance ... " : AULD
8. FDR program : WPA. Always need crossing help.
9. Gothic novelist Radcliffe : ANN
10. Understanding : KEN. Beyond my ken/understanding.
11. Oxford college : EXETER
12. Classic Fender guitar, briefly : STRAT. Gimme for Bill G/Splynter.
13. Golfing countryman of Player : ELS. Gary Player was in our 3M tournament last year. Quiet.
14. Unit of heat : CALORIE
15. Diminutive two-seater : SMART CAR
16. "Pinball Wizard" opera : TOMMY. Drew a blank.
17. Spherical opening? : ATMO
18. WWII British firearm : STEN
19. Spot to spot Spot : YARD. The art of cluing, Irish Miss!
28. WWII alliance : THE AXIS
31. Was beaten by : LOST TO
32. U-shaped river bend : OXBOW
33. "Oy __!" : VEY
34. Monte of Cooperstown : IRVIN. Old timer. I don't think we have any of his original cards.
35. Schoolyard argument : IS NOT
36. Itsy-bitsy : MICRO
38. Bit of braggadocio : BOAST. Poor Boomer lost all his matches to a 80-year-old on Friday night. He always tries hard though, but the nerve pain sometimes is unrelenting.
41. Transport for Chingachgook : CANOE. Got via crosses. "The Last of the Mohicans".
42. Editors' marks : STETS
44. Quilter's need : CLOTH
45. Dangle : HANG
46. Pedal problems : CORNS. I sure was not thinking of "foot".
48. Subatomic particle : PROTON
49. Serving convenience : TRAY
52. Flutter by like a butterfly : FLIT
53. Templo Mayor builder : AZTEC
54. Driven to act : GOADED
60. Tablet buyer, usually : USER. And 94. 60-Down's info source : FAQ
62. "It's nobody __ business" : ELSE'S
63. Poses : SITS
64. Pooh creator : MILNE
65. Ahmedabad address : SAHIB. Wiki says that "In 2012, The Times of India chose Ahmedabad as the best city to live in in India".
66. Livorno lady friend : AMICA. vs. Amico.
67. Hard one to work with : EGOTIST
69. Thick-furred primate : BABOON
70. Like court testimony : SWORN
72. Virus first identified in Zaire : EBOLA
73. IQ test pioneer : BINET (Alfred). Learned from doing crosswords.
76. Thoughts : IDEAS
77. Extend one's Self? : RENEW. Self magazine.
80. Petroleum produced from rock fragments : SHALE OIL
83. Jazz standard that became an LSU fight song : TIGER RAG. Guessable. LSU Tigers.
85. Hyundai compact : ELANTRA. Word without meaning.
86. "No seats" letters : SRO
87. Performed a ballroom dance : SAMBAED
90. 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug : FLUTIE
91. The great outdoors : NATURE. Getting warmer here. So happy to walk outdoors again.
92. Site of an ascent : CLIFF
93. Playbill listings : CASTS
95. Central points : FOCI
96. In short order, in verse : ANON
97. Dunham of "Girls" : LENA
99. Ornate arch : OGEE
100. My way : AT ME. Can you give me an example of how the clue matches the answer?
101. __-do-well : NE'ER
103. Band accessory : AMP
105. Neurotic toon pooch : REN. Ren & Stimpy,
106. Potato source: Abbr. : IDA (Idaho)
107. Paper read on the LIRR, perhaps : NYT
108. Cardinal points, briefly? : TDs. Arizona Cardinals.
Happy
Birthday to dear LaLaLinda, a die-hard Red Sox fan. Linda still reads
our blog faithfully, but health has prevents her from posting daily.
Your presence is very much missed here, Linda!
C.C.
