Theme: "Big Appetite" - The last words (all animals) are replaced by the bigger animals in the successive theme entries.
22A. Practice good web courtesy? : NOT HURT A SPIDER. Not hurt a fly (back to the reveal theme entry). Like the Jains. Fun clue. Made me think of Internet.
30A. Description of the start of some Road Runner cartoons? : ALONG CAME A BIRD. Along Came a Spider.
53A. Nibbles on Friskies? : EATS LIKE A CAT. Eats like a bird.
61A. Warning for a snoopy Snoopy? : CURIOSITY KILLED THE DOG. Grid spanner. Curiosity killed the cat.
73A. Treatment for a milk hangover? : HAIR OF THE COW. Hair of the dog.
95A. Line that might not calm down Richard III? : DON'T HAVE A HORSE. Don't have a cow. "My kingdom for a horse".
107A. Song that inspired this puzzle : I KNOW AN OLD LADY. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,
C.C. here. Alas, I have no memory of this song, despite a Jeffrey puzzle a few years ago.
Asked Boomer. He started to sing "... I don't know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she'll die...". Then I checked the Wiki page and understood the rationale of Cheri and Victor's approach. Quite neat. Orderly increase of animal size.
You all know Victor Barocas, the very talented and self-effacing crossword constructor and editor of our local Minnesota Crossword Tournament.
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| Victor Barocas, David Liben-Nowell & Michael David |
The 7 theme entries are all fairly long. Total 101 theme squares. Heavy themage. Cheri and Victor still managed to put two great 11's and five 9's in the Down slots.
Across:
1. Plymouth Reliant, e.g. : K-CAR
5. Spanish cathedral city : LEON. Here is the cathedral.
9. Yawner : DRAG
13. Flakes in geology class : MICA
17. Language that gave us "bard" : ERSE
18. Magazine founder Eric : UTNE. Our local Barnes & Noble carries Uten Reader. But no LA Times.
19. Graceful leap : JETE. Clue echo with 36. Graceful leap : AXEL
20. Wasn't plumb : LEANED. I read it as "Wasn't plump".
25. With merchandise, say, as payments : IN KIND
26. Snack cake that can be deep-fried : TWINKIE. I meant to ask. Have any of you had these Oreo pies before?
27. Author Morrison : TONI. Also 89. Mystery author Grafton : SUE
28. Bening of "The Kids Are All Right" : ANNETTE
29. Proof-ending abbr. : QED
33. Foot bone : TALUS
37. Clarifying words : AS IN. V as in Victor.
38. Non-discriminatory hiring abbr. : EOE
39. Et __ : ALII. Put in ALI? then wait.
40. Cruised through : ACED
41. Cool play area, maybe : RINK. Nice clue.
43. "Erie Canal" mule : SAL
45. Frequent mother-and-child painter : CASSATT (Mary)
47. Last verb in the Gettysburg Address : PERISH. "... shall not perish from the earth". Victor always digs deep for different clue angles.
49. Bar game : LIMBO
56. Supreme Roman : EMPEROR
58. Pamplona's kingdom : NAVARRE. Forgot. We had this a while ago.
59. '70s extremist gp. : SLA. Symbionese Liberation Army.
60. Boast opener : VENI. "veni, vidi, vici"
68. Scads : A TON
69. Chilean pronoun : ESO
70. Cellphone setting : VIBRATE
71. Rock band member : BASSIST
78. 1921 Valentino role : SHEIK
79. Breastbones : STERNA. I learned this word from an Alan Cumming/Fresh Air interview.
81. Not let go of : BELABOR
83. __ Moines : DES
85. Jackie's designer : OLEG (Cassini)
86. Tobacco plug : CHAW
88. Record, in a way : TIVO
91. Distinctive flavor : TANG. Also the last major Chinese dynasty with capital in my hometown Xi'an. Zhou, Qin, Han & Tang. That's how I got my Mandarin name.
93. Like details you'd rather be spared : GORY
94. In the stars : FATED
99. Tool for Cinderella : MOP
100. Remove from the box : UNCRATE
101. The __: Horace works : ODES
102. Small detail : MINUTIA
106. 1958 hit that won the first Song of the Year Grammy : VOLARE. Learning moment for me. Wiki says it's Italian for "To fly".
110. Puts up : ERECTS
111. Level : TIER
112. Humor that evokes winces : CORN
113. Myrtle or hazel : TREE
114. Thing to do : TASK
115. Postulates : SAYS
116. Joint for jumping : KNEE. Another nice clue.
117. Large septet : SEAS
Down:
1. Surrey neighbor : KENT
2. Fox's fabled flattery victim : CROW
3. Italian sparkler : ASTI
4. Burger successor : REHNQUIST. The Chief Justice when I first came here.
5. Shocking : LURID
6. Kitchen extension? : ETTE. Kitchenette. Also 55. Trick ending? : ERY. Trickery.
7. Bump-log link : ON A
8. Snugly situated : NESTLED
9. Muslim spirit : DJINN. Also JINNI.
10. Make anew, as a trench : RE-DIG
11. Downed : ATE
12. Lang. of Luther : GER
13. Pretend : MAKE BELIEVE.Also 64. Advantage : INSIDE TRACK. Sparkly 11s.
14. Ab __: from the start : INITIO
15. Middle of England? : CENTRE. Normally a clue for ELL.
16. Threw in : ADDED
20. Housekeeping concern : LINENS
21. Sicilian province or its capital : ENNA
23. Maui music makers : UKEs
24. Combine : POOL
28. Port-au-Prince pal : AMI
30. Pink-slip : AXE
31. "That's enough!" : CAN IT
32. Poses : ASKS
33. Middle X, in a game : TAC
34. Roman wings : ALAE. Learned from doing crosswords.
35. Hall of Fame WNBA star __ Leslie : LISA Incredible career.
36. Ones seeking change : ACTIVISTS
40. Books with legends : ATLASES
41. Warehouse job : RECEIVING
42. Savings plan letters : IRA
44. European peak : ALP
46. "This comes __ surprise" : AS NO
47. Leave in the garage : PARK
48. Kept down : HELD AT BAY. Great fill as well.
50. Sitcom with the episode "Stable for Three" : MR. ED. Mister Ed is the preferred spelling. Rich also prefers Doctor Who rather than DR WHO.
51. Lead singer on "The Joshua Tree" : BONO
52. Not a copy: Abbr. : ORIG
54. Green Hornet's driver : KATO
57. First book of the New Testament : MATTHEW
59. Feudal peasant : SERF
61. Pickup artists? : CABS. Not CONS. The driver can be the "Pickup artist". Not the car itself.
62. Bountiful locale : UTAH. Bountiful, Utah.
63. Left the ground : ROSE
65. Turkish coin : LIRA
66. Corp. raider's ploy : LBO. Leveraged Buyout.
67. Cad : HEEL
72. Devastating 2008 hurricane : IKE
73. Comic strip mother of Hamlet and Honi : HELGA. Hagar the Horrible.
74. "You __": Lionel Richie hit : ARE
75. Launches : CATAPULTS. Love this word.
76. Departure notice? : OBIT
77. Emulated Arachne : WOVE
80. Word with musical or muscle : TONE
82. Reel partner : ROD
84. With 92-Down, Monopoly prop. bordering the Electric Company : STATES. And 92. See 84-Down : AVE
86. Russian Civil War fighter : COSSACK
87. Maximilian I's realm: Abbr. : HRE
89. Chihuahua neighbor : SONORA
90. Ben and Sam : UNCLES
93. Gathered steam : GREW
94. Affectionate : FOND
95. Bed cover : DUVET. Not SHEET.
96. Playwright Moss : HART
97. Baklava sweetener : HONEY. I recall Baklava is favorite at the Spitzboov household. Best wishes for Betty's quick recovery! Relieved to hear the good news for your son too, Wilbur!
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| Spitzboov, Betty and Argyle |
98. Glade targets : ODORS
99. "The Wrong Sort of Bees" author : MILNE
102. Seconds : MORE
103. Shipping deduction : TARE
104. Planning session input : IDEA
105. Positive words : AYEs
107. "__ Not Easy Being Green" : IT'S
108. Soul seller : KIA. Not FAUST. Great clue.
109. Nantes negative : NON
C.C.
