Husker Gary reporting today where our brilliant LA Times Blogspot mistress C.C. Burnikel has given us a lovely Sunday puzzle with a fun theme and always clever cluing! The title and gimmick she used reminded me of this famous tag line for Steve Martin. She has given us eight, two-word themers where the first word starts with "S" and the second with "QU" which amounts to eight SQU's or phonetically: SCUSE.
As you can see in the grid, six of the theme fills were horizontal and two more were vertical and intersected two of the horizontal fills. Last Sunday C.C. called this a "classic Gail Grabowski design".
There's no SCUSE to not enjoy this puzzle and so let's first look at C.C. theme answers:
23. It begins in , April : SECOND QUARTER - Ah April, where I can make my final 2016 payment and fill out another lovely form and my first payment for 2017.
33. Yahoo! Finance offering : STOCK QUOTE - On June 16, a STOCK QUOTE for Yahoo! Inc. would have been $52.59
49. Jamie Lee Curtis or Fay Wray : SCREAM QUEEN - Jamie Lee was a great SCREAM QUEEN in the Halloween franchise. Her mommy was also pretty good at this skill in a Hitchcock classic. Fay Wray only had to contend with an animal that went, uh, ape over her!
86. Test for trivia fans : SPORCLE QUIZ - Probably obscure for most of you but I knew this from subbing. Some teachers let their kids take fun and/or educational quizzes at this online site and they stay occupied. Yay! Below, you must type in as many of the nine countries starting with "L" that you can in 60 seconds. Go!
100. California prison town : SAN QUENTIN - Perhaps you'd like to try the 9 mile swim from SAN QUENTIN to the other famous prison in the neighborhood
117. Pielike veggie dish : SPINACH QUICHE - Looks yummy to me!
15. What screen icons exude : STAR QUALITY - This show calls it the X-Factor
67. Granite excavation site : STONE QUARRY - This wonderful 1979 movie featured characters (including 101. "Far from Heaven" actor : Dennis QUAID) who called their bike team the Cutters because of the STONE QUARRY industry in Bloomington, IN. They raced the Indiana University team. Guess who won.
Now let's look at the rest of the fill from this SUNDAY's QUEEN of the puzzle
Across
1. Mark Cuban's NBA team : DALLAS
7. Scene : LOCALE
13. Quaint light : GAS LAMP
20. Lizard with a "third eye" : IGUANA - The primitive white spot between his two eyes that only detects light and dark
21. Like grandfather clocks : ANALOG - Digital is just so wrong here
22. Tin mints : ALTOIDS
25. In an imposing manner : GRANDLY
26. Things on rings : KEYS
27. Lemons : DUDS
28. "__ Death": Grieg work : ASES - Åse's Death from Peer Gynt. Yeah, I knew that and did not need the crossings. 😅
30. Dot follower : ORG
31. Grips : CLASPS
38. Went for a bite? : FISHED - A statue of a very famous "Gone Fishin'" trip in Mayberry, N.C. Okay it's in Mount Airy, N.C. but still...
41. Review using stars : RATE
43. In __ of : LIEU and 99. Inscribed tablet : PLAQUE - I have received several PLAQUES IN LIEU of cash
44. Glob : WAD
45. Punk rock icon Smith : PATTI - She performed in a benefit concert in 2011 with crossword's favorite Beatle wife
46. Poetic measure : METER
47. Trac II cousin : ATRA
48. Like Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 : IN G
52. Steamed state : IRE
53. "Blue Sky" Oscar winner : LANGE - She made a controversial appearance before the House Agricultural Committee on the strength of her role in this 1980 film.
55. Bun contents : HAIR
56. Wish undone : RUE
57. Executed : DID
59. Legend in one's own mind : TIN GOD
60. Port of 79-Down : ADEN and 79. Nation across the gulf from Somalia : YEMEN
61. Brat's output : SASS
63. What some wallow in : SELF PITY
66. Give up the single life : WED
67. Prepared for a selfie : SMILED - This smile could be gone in a hurry
69. Dana of "Body of Proof" : DELANY
70. Smooching on the bus, for short : PDA - Have you ever chaperoned an adolescent dance?
73. Some studios : ATELIERS - Yeah, I knew that and did not need the crossings. 😅 400 sq. ft ATELIERS in the Robespierre district of Paris run about €800/month.
75. Titles of respect : SIRS
76. Bath buggy : PRAM - Lady Mary could drive from 1 hr. west from Downton Abby to Bath, England to get a PRAM for her baby
77. Lidocaine brand : ICY HOT
80. Sch. with a Harrisburg campus : PSU - Football scandals have rocked this fine school
81. Summer in Provence : ETE
82. Burial isle of many Scottish kings : IONA Yeah, I knew that and did not need the crossings. 😅
83. Ersatz fat brand : OLEAN
84. Activity-tracking letters : GPS - "Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone?"
90. Clyde cap : TAM - You might find one on IONA
91. Jacob's twin : ESAU
93. Poker pile : CHIPS
94. Charlotte __ : RUSSE - "Oh great! Another women's clothing store!" 😡
95. Is for two? : ARE - Stan is one but Stan and Ollie ARE two
96. Stop : QUIT
97. Lyon lover's word : AIME - Je t'aime (I love you)
98. Golf phenom Jordan : SPIETH - Where are the golfers with personality?
103. Pennysaver revenue source : AD SALE
105. American rival: Abbr. : UAL - Give me the cheapest fare. End of discussion
106. Topps figure : STAT
108. Historic Tuscan city : PISA - After teaching about Galileo at PISA for decades, I had a breathless moment when I walked through the arch and saw the leaning tower for the first time
109. Wikipedia entries : BIOS - Isn't C.C. about due to have an entry?
113. "Right on!" : I HEAR YA
120. Prisoner's restraint : LEG IRON - I'll bet you know what character is trying to rid himself of said restraints here
121. __ à trois : MENAGE - What were you thinking?
122. Sophisticated : URBANE
123. Pain reliever : ANODYNE - Yeah, I knew that and did not need the crossings. 😅
124. Think highly of : ESTEEM
125. Eldest Dashwood daughter in "Sense and Sensibility" : ELINOR
Down
1. Pancake shape : DISK
2. Pulitzer novelist James : AGEE - I wonder if C.C. and Boomer have this AGEE card in their collection.
3. "Peanuts" fussbudget : LUCY
4. Golden Triangle country : LAOS
5. Taylor of fashion : ANN
6. Seat at Churchill Downs : SADDLE - Pretty Spartan
7. Heaps kudos on : LAUDS
8. Living it up : ON A SPREE
9. Budget choice : CAR - Once again, show me the price on your rental CAR
10. Ski resort near Snowbird : ALTA
11. "How to Succeed ... " composer Frank : LOESSER - Ya gotta dig pretty deep to find Music and Lyrics by Frank LOESSER.
12. Everglades bird : EGRET
13. Practical joke : GAG
14. "Today" weather anchor : AL ROKER
16. Future sound? : LONG U - FYOO' CHER - The first "U". Love it!
17. Help out : AID
18. 16th-century date : MDL - July 7, 1550 is the traditional date chocolate is believed to have been introduced to Europe
19. Aspiring therapist's maj. : PSY
24. Squat beneficiary : QUAD - Wow!
29. Pool-heating option : SOLAR
31. __ seeds: omega-3 source : CHIA - From a silly gift to health food
32. Fill to the brim : SATE
34. Ticket for speeding, say : CITE - Oldest daughter got out of a speeding ticket in Lincoln but when the officer saw her then last name and said he liked me as a teacher. "Dad, that's the only time it's been worth knowing you!"
35. Being in debt : OWING
36. Latin ballroom dance : TANGO - Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar doing the TANGO in Scent Of A Woman
37. Barely beat : EDGED
38. False impression : FACADE
39. Words of resignation : I TRIED - no comfort when first words were 110. Volunteer's offer : I CAN
40. Strict : STERN
42. Looks after : TENDS
45. "Baloney!" : PSHAW
46. Granola cousin : MUESLI
50. Baseball mascot partner reintroduced in 2013 : MRS MET - They have both come and gone since the 1960's
51. California's state bird : QUAIL - You're my age if you know who sang, "Hey Bird Dog keep away from my QUAIL"
52. Remains in neutral : IDLES
54. "__ takers?" : ANY
58. Mil. roadside danger : IED - Improvised Explosive Device
59. Christmas strands : TINSEL
62. Escapes slowly : SEEPS
64. Mall handouts : FLIERS
65. Medicare program offered by private insurers : PART C
68. Hosp. employees : DRS - Many DRS around here have abandoned their private practices to be "employees" of our hospital for legal reasons
70. "In Search of Lost Time" novelist : PROUST -The Guinness Book Of World Records says it is the longest novel of all time
71. Breakfast pastry : DANISH
72. Blow away : AMAZE
73. "I knew it!" : AHA
76. Spark : PIQUE - These daily exercise never fail to PIQUE my curiosity
77. Tiny bits : IOTAS
78. Santa __ : CLARA
84. Dieter's setback : GAIN
85. Masters strokes : PUTTS
87. Strong cotton : PIMA
88. Where to see slanted columns : OP-ED PAGE - Where you might find Charles Krauthammer and Paul Krugman side-by-side
89. Lake bordering Ontario : ERIE - Last Sunday, Gail Grabowski's ERIES were The Cat Nation People
92. "Lolita" (1962) actress : SUE LYON - In ads the promo was, "How did they make a movie out of this?" The answer seems to have Nabokov's screenplay make Lolita 16 instead of 12 as in the novel and toned down the content
93. Happy hour offerings : CANAPES
98. Scout's accessory : SASH - His SASH runneth over
102. Response at the door : IT'S ME
104. Order to attack : SIC 'EM
107. Windshield option : TINT
109. Netanyahu of Israel, familiarly : BIBI
111. "This is horrible!" : OH NO - Ah, Mr. Bill!
112. Interpreter of signs : SEER
114. Egg source : HEN
115. Narcissist's problem : EGO
116. Hydrocarbon suffix : ANE
118. "Not gonna happen, lassie" : NAE - "Timmy is not in the well girl!"
119. Bing result : URL
Well, I SHOULD QUIT and let you guys hold forth with your pertinent and impertinent remarks.
