Theme: "The More the Merrier" - IES is added to each theme entry, which is then clued as the plural form of the newly formed word.
25A. Trendy tots' footwear? : HIP BOOTIES. Hip boot.
27A. Tipsy tour members? : HIGH ROADIES. High road.
45A. Bakery products made with white chocolate? : LIGHT BROWNIES. Light brown.
83A. Complimentary hotel apparel? : GUEST NIGHTIES. Guest night. New term to me.
98A. "Check out those platters of candy and fudge!"? : LOOK GOODIES. Look good.
104A. Tournament-changing scores? : BIG BIRDIES. Golf tournament. Big Bird.
35D. Snacks Batman can't have? : ROBIN COOKIES. Robin Cook.
40D. Protective tops for cattle drivers? : RANGE HOODIES. Range hood.
Notice
how most of the root words change drastically. That's the desired
effect in this type of theme. Some changes are less strong.
Gail uses her standard Sunday setup. Two Downs and 6 Across. But she used only 68 black squares and no cheaters this time.
Across:
1. Made a mess of : BLEW. Not a gimme clue.
5. Authorizes : OKAYS
10. Audibly jarred : AGASP. Quite a few AGASP moments for me the past two months.
15. Off the premises : AWAY
19. Coastal South American capital : LIMA
20. Unenthusiastic about, with "for" : NOT UP
21. Hard wear : ARMOR
22. "Good job!" : NICE. My comment to 21A clue.
23. Wistful word : ALAS
24. Words after do or before you : I DARE
30. How Steak Diane is traditionally served : FLAMBE. Never had Steak Diane, Big Easy!
31. Ermine cousin : MINK
32. One may be responsible for rain : DEITY.
I remember incense sticks my Grandma burned to make the rain stop. Our
roof was leaking in various spots. God did not hear for a week.
34. Came down : POURED
38. Gambler's concern : SPREAD
41. "Dog Whisperer" Millan : CESAR
43. Starting point : STEP ONE
44. Extended time off, briefly : LOA. Leave of Absence. I had to Google to see what it means.
49. HVAC measure : BTU
50. It's near the humerus : ULNA
52. Hard to keep up? : POUTY. Also got via crosses.
53. Musical shortcoming : NO EAR
54. Publication sales fig. : CIRC (Circulation)
55. Diploma word : MAGNA. Magna cum laude. Same letter count as SUMMA.
57. Sit in a cellar, say : AGE
58. Opposite of belt : CROON
59. Co-star of Keanu in "The Whole Truth" : RENEE
60. Isn't serious : PRETENDS
62. Stake-driving tools : MAULS. Only know it as a verb.
63. Many a March birth : PISCES
64. Chef's supply : HERBS. Cilantro is widely used in China. Not others. We also have 83. Bouquet __ : GARNI. Just a bunch of herbs. I don't think it has cilantro.
65. Has to repeat, maybe : FAILS. Oh, courses.
66. Mouthy retort : DID SO
67. Superhuman : BIONIC
69. "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" rapper : DR DRE
70. Pay attention : TAKE NOTE. So blessed to have the two Toms to guide me through this computer crisis.
73. More than apologize : ATONE
74. New York governor Andrew : CUOMO. Vowel-rich, hence its frequent appearance. Same as 78. University town near Bangor : ORONO
75. Catch a bug, say : AIL
76. Amassed, with "in" : RAKED
77. When tripled, a story shortener : YADA
79. Brilliant display : ECLAT
81. Emphatic assent, in Sonora : SI SI
82. Govt.-issued aid : SSI
86. Changed-my-mind key : ESC
87. Protective film : ACETATE. I forgot. We had this before.
89. Boundaries : EDGES
90. Zeroes in on : AIMS AT
92. Stunning instruments : TASERS
93. "The Picasso of our profession," to Seinfeld : PRYOR. I tried a few Pryor clips and did not find him to be that funny.
95. Folk first name : ARLO
96. Unabbreviated : ENTIRE
108. Gaucho's turf : LLANO
109. Couture monthly : ELLE
110. Kibbles 'n Bits shelfmate : ALPO
111. Brief concession : I LOSE
112. "Don't care what they do" : LET 'EM
113. Upswing : RISE
114. Elaborate ruse : HOAX
115. Cookware brand : PYREX. Two Srabbly Xes at the bottom.
116. Puts one over on : SNOWS
117. Call for : NEED
Down:
1. Hardly thrilling : BLAH
2. Taylor of "Six Feet Under" : LILI
3. Webby Award candidate : EMAG. E-magazine. Do you use E-mag or E-zine?
4. Words written with an index? : WASH ME. This index refers to Windex, right? (Updated: index finger. Thanks, Anonymous!)
5. Party bowlful : ONION DIP. Slight dip dupe with 13. Noodle sometimes served with a dipping sauce : SOBA. Soba time is coming soon.
6. Longtime photo lab supplier : KODAK
7. Somewhat : A TAD
8. Doctor Zhivago : YURI
9. Passes in a blur : SPEEDS BY
10. "How relaxing!" : AAH
11. Ill-gotten gains : GRIFT. Not LUCRE.
12. With room to spare : AMPLY
14. Provider of cues : PROMPTER
15. Get in on the deal : ANTE UP
16. __ Fit: video exercise game : WII
17. Par-four rarity : ACE. I guess it can happen if it's a short Par-four.
18. "No doubt" : YES
26. Penetrating winds : OBOES
28. Capital of Yemen : RIAL. Money. Not Sana'a.
29. Scorch : SEAR
33. Strict control : IRON RULE
36. Primary course : ENTREE.
Boomer's standard lunch these day is one pork chop and a bowl of
coleslaw. Very good for his blood sugar but he gets hungry around
3:30pm.
37. They may be wild : DEUCES
38. Rough patch : SLUMP
39. Really cold : POLAR. Winter is here again. We had gorgeous spring weather last week.
41. Guzzles : CHUGS
42. Novel conclusion : ETTE
43. Phillips of "I, Claudius" : SIAN. Stranger to me.
46. Incites : GOADS
47. Angora and alpaca : WOOLS. Spell check does not like the plural form.
48. Modernists, informally : NEOs
51. Signal receiver : ANTENNA
54. Citation Mustangs, e.g. : CESSNAs. Hi there, Dudley!
56. Cliff dwelling : AERIE
58. Coptic Museum city : CAIRO
59. Bill add-on : RIDER
61. "The Blacklist" network : NBC
62. Contingency funds : MAD MONEY. Learning moment for me. Our new PC was bought with the MAD MONEY then.
63. Water__: dental brand : PIK
65. Illegal laundering operation, say : FRONT
66. __ Lama : DALAI. Twin Cities has a large Tibetan community.
67. Reacts to, as a dog does the moon : BAYS AT
68. Minnesota lake : ITASCA. Gimme for me.
69. OutKast and others : DUOs
70. Is inclined : TILTS
71. "The Gondoliers" bride : TESSA. Learned from doing crosswords.
72. Royal order : EDICT
74. First Nations tribe : CREE
75. Heat rub target : ACHE.
Boomer has to use the rub (called Blue Goo in our house) before his
bowling night. Both his Monday and Friday leagues are very strong. 300
game happens every week. So does 800 series. One guy has over 80 perfect
games.
78. Surpass : OUTSTRIP
79. Deep-fried appetizers : EGG ROLLS
80. Elegant cafés : TEA ROOMS
84. Object of adoration : IDOL
85. Rural structure : SILO
88. Driver's starting point : TEE BOX. Golf season starts soon for TTP and Gary. Gary already played this year.
91. In step with the times : MODERN
93. Earlier offense : PRIOR
94. Singer Della : REESE
95. Late-'60s Maryland governor : AGNEW. Only know him as Nixon's VP.
97. In a laid-back manner : IDLY
99. Author Robert __ Butler : OLEN. Another unknown.
100. Green Hornet sidekick : KATO
101. Netman Nastase : ILIE
102. Apart from this : ELSE
103. Flower child? : SEED. Sweet clue. So eager to start our little garden again. Always dismal veggie yield. But flowers grow well.
104. "What nonsense!" : BAH
105. Worldwide workers' gp. : ILO
106. Scholastic meas. : GPA
107. It sells in advertising : SEX
Here is a sweet picture of Dear Santa Argyle, who celebrated his birthday last week with his sister Laura and cousin Merle.
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| Merle, Laura & Argyle |
