Theme: - "Outside Shots" - PIC bookends each theme entry.
24A. *Trademark on Sealy's home page : POSTUREPEDIC. See here. I presume they just trademarked the name, not the technology.
38A. *Like the "Hunger Games" trilogy : POST-APOCALYPTIC
45A. *1998 Bullock/Kidman film involving sorcery : PRACTICAL MAGIC. Never saw the movie.
60A. *Certain pie lover : PIZZAHOLIC. Do you guys love Hawaiian Pizzas?
64A. *One might help find a lost animal : PET PSYCHIC. Our local WCCO used to have a psychic on from time to time. Not just a pet psychic. She dealt with all kinds of questions.
80A. *Checkout choice : PAPER OR PLASTIC. I always bag myself.
88A. *Furry, green baseball mascot : PHILLIE PHANATIC. Alliteration. This will bring a big smile to Barry Silk.
104A. *Like a 107-Down : PHOTOGRAPHIC.
Reveal entry:
107. Shot surrounding the answers to starred clues : PIC
Veteran solvers can often figure out the theme without the reveal. But often editors require constructors to put a reveal in the lower right, just in case some of the newbies can not grok the theme.
Erik's puzzles are often tricky and nuanced. His grids often have an extra layer. At times, he also makes this type of simple but fresh themes. Treat yourself with his Food for Thought.
Our grid today is also very Erik, clean and modern. And as always, he debuted a few new sparkly entries. Not often do we see a pair of 11's, 10's, paralled 9's, four 8's fill in Down fill alone.
Across:
1. Security gp. with wands : TSA. And 96. 1-Across check : SCAN. Not an ideal cross-reference due to TSA abbr.
4. They can print rcpts. with check images : ATMs
8. Hooch : BOOZE
13. __ Spumante : ASTI
17. Minor league ice org. : AHL. American Hockey League. Calder Cup for the champions.
18. Asked too much : PRIED
20. Chinchilla, e.g. : RODENT
22. Give temporarily : LOAN. Had LEND first.
23. Los Angeles athlete : RAM
26. Lamb pen name : ELIA. Charles Lamb.
27. "Show me the evidence!" : PROVE IT. Great fill.
29. Green Giant morsels : PEAS
30. Some oral meds : GEL CAPS
32. Perfect places : EDENs
33. Nearly 25% of a marathon : TEN K. About 6.2 miles.
34. Marvin Gaye's label : TAMLA. Unknown to me.
36. Understand : SEE
37. "We need to talk" : A WORD. Partial clue would be easier for me.
41. Chocolate __ cake : LAVA
42. Oinker : PIG
43. Is yet to be decided : PENDS
44. Descartes' sum : I AM. I think, therefore I am. I like our Jayce's interpretation. His "donc" makes more sense to me.
49. Make it necessary to decrypt : ENCODE
52. Pepper typically hotter than a jalapeño : SERRANO. I planted them once. The shifted to Thai peppers the next year.
53. Paddle : OAR
54. Conestoga traveler : WAGONER
55. Bars in aisles, briefly : UPC
56. Good name for a funeral director? : MORT. Thought of D-Otto's pop.
57. See 80-Down : BEAR. And 80. With 57-Across, storied hot-porridge eater : PAPA
59. "Ugh, I've heard enough" : TMI
67. "Law & Order: __" : SVU. I've only watched "Law & Order".
68. Walk with a pack : HIKE
69. Brown rectangle? : QUAD. Brown University.
70. "Ben-__" : HUR
71. Outlook alternative : AOL MAIL. Both Rich Norris and Will Shortz use AOL.
74. Joe dispenser : URN
75. Part-time player : SEMI-PRO. Same letter count as AMATEUR.
79. Most loyal : TRUEST
84. "Every kiss begins with __": jeweler's slogan : KAY
85. Trash : WASTE
86. Long swimmer : EEL. The most delicious food in the world!
87. Gauge on the dash : TACH
24A. *Trademark on Sealy's home page : POSTUREPEDIC. See here. I presume they just trademarked the name, not the technology.
38A. *Like the "Hunger Games" trilogy : POST-APOCALYPTIC
45A. *1998 Bullock/Kidman film involving sorcery : PRACTICAL MAGIC. Never saw the movie.
60A. *Certain pie lover : PIZZAHOLIC. Do you guys love Hawaiian Pizzas?
64A. *One might help find a lost animal : PET PSYCHIC. Our local WCCO used to have a psychic on from time to time. Not just a pet psychic. She dealt with all kinds of questions.
80A. *Checkout choice : PAPER OR PLASTIC. I always bag myself.
88A. *Furry, green baseball mascot : PHILLIE PHANATIC. Alliteration. This will bring a big smile to Barry Silk.
104A. *Like a 107-Down : PHOTOGRAPHIC.
Reveal entry:
107. Shot surrounding the answers to starred clues : PIC
Veteran solvers can often figure out the theme without the reveal. But often editors require constructors to put a reveal in the lower right, just in case some of the newbies can not grok the theme.
Erik's puzzles are often tricky and nuanced. His grids often have an extra layer. At times, he also makes this type of simple but fresh themes. Treat yourself with his Food for Thought.
Our grid today is also very Erik, clean and modern. And as always, he debuted a few new sparkly entries. Not often do we see a pair of 11's, 10's, paralled 9's, four 8's fill in Down fill alone.
Across:
1. Security gp. with wands : TSA. And 96. 1-Across check : SCAN. Not an ideal cross-reference due to TSA abbr.
4. They can print rcpts. with check images : ATMs
8. Hooch : BOOZE
13. __ Spumante : ASTI
17. Minor league ice org. : AHL. American Hockey League. Calder Cup for the champions.
18. Asked too much : PRIED
20. Chinchilla, e.g. : RODENT
22. Give temporarily : LOAN. Had LEND first.
23. Los Angeles athlete : RAM
26. Lamb pen name : ELIA. Charles Lamb.
27. "Show me the evidence!" : PROVE IT. Great fill.
29. Green Giant morsels : PEAS
30. Some oral meds : GEL CAPS
32. Perfect places : EDENs
33. Nearly 25% of a marathon : TEN K. About 6.2 miles.
34. Marvin Gaye's label : TAMLA. Unknown to me.
36. Understand : SEE
37. "We need to talk" : A WORD. Partial clue would be easier for me.
41. Chocolate __ cake : LAVA
42. Oinker : PIG
43. Is yet to be decided : PENDS
44. Descartes' sum : I AM. I think, therefore I am. I like our Jayce's interpretation. His "donc" makes more sense to me.
49. Make it necessary to decrypt : ENCODE
52. Pepper typically hotter than a jalapeño : SERRANO. I planted them once. The shifted to Thai peppers the next year.
53. Paddle : OAR
54. Conestoga traveler : WAGONER
55. Bars in aisles, briefly : UPC
56. Good name for a funeral director? : MORT. Thought of D-Otto's pop.
57. See 80-Down : BEAR. And 80. With 57-Across, storied hot-porridge eater : PAPA
59. "Ugh, I've heard enough" : TMI
67. "Law & Order: __" : SVU. I've only watched "Law & Order".
68. Walk with a pack : HIKE
69. Brown rectangle? : QUAD. Brown University.
70. "Ben-__" : HUR
71. Outlook alternative : AOL MAIL. Both Rich Norris and Will Shortz use AOL.
74. Joe dispenser : URN
75. Part-time player : SEMI-PRO. Same letter count as AMATEUR.
79. Most loyal : TRUEST
84. "Every kiss begins with __": jeweler's slogan : KAY
85. Trash : WASTE
86. Long swimmer : EEL. The most delicious food in the world!
87. Gauge on the dash : TACH
93. Toast opener : HERE'S
94. Swanson on "Parks and Recreation" : RON
95. Retract : UNSAY
97. Bespectacled "Scooby-Doo" character : VELMA. Stranger to me.
98. Downward dog surface : YOGA MAT. Another sparkly 7-letter fill.
100. Two-part tune : DUET
101. Mechanics' jobs : REPAIRS. Wish I were efficient as Splynter/TTP/D-Otto. They DYI everything. I could not even take out a bad deck board.
103. Ends' partners : ODDS
108. Came into : GOT
109. End of a bed : FOOT
110. Classic palindrome ending : PANAMA. A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
111. Tuscan hill city : SIENA
112. "__ takers?" : ANY
113. Acronymic anxiety about being excluded from the fun : FOMO. Fear of Missing Out.
114. Progress tracker : METER
115. Team of players : CAST
116. Veto : NIX
Down:
1. Rain delay cover : TARP
2. Some free downloads : SHAREWARE
3. "Talk to Her" Oscar-winning screenwriter Pedro : ALMODOVAR. Probably the most famous Spanish filmmaker. "Volver".
4. Tack on : APPEND
5. One below quatre : TROIS. "Quatre" is hard to pronounce for me.
6. Ocean spray : MIST
7. Chess player's pride : SET
8. Lose cohesion : BREAK APART. Opposite 69. TV drama partly set on a Louisiana farm : QUEEN SUGAR. A great pair of 10's in the middle.
9. "My bad" : OOPS
10. Tribute in verse : ODE
11. Alphabetiser's ending : ZED
12. Puzzles : ENIGMAS
13. Guinness of "Star Wars" : ALEC
14. Embarrassingly outdated : SO LAST MONTH. Fresh fill.
15. Tamsui River capital : TAIPEI. Tamsui means "freshwater". Sui=Water, same as the Shui in Feng shui.
16. "Gimme one moment" : IN A SEC
19. Fools : DUPES
21. Protective lymphocyte : T CELL
25. Pay for a pad : RENT
28. City named by Cortés : VERACRUZ. Got via crosses.
31. Placing, as bricks : LAYING
33. Ancient wrap : TOGA
34. Author Morrison : TONI
35. Power couple? : AC DC. Nailed it.
37. Swiss high points : ALPS
38. __ de gallo : PICO. Looks so fresh.
39. Board game piece : PEG
40. Rabanne of fashion : PACO. Unfamiliar figure to me.
42. Go to bat (for) : PINCH HIT
46. Spanish snack : TAPA
47. Barracks officer, slangily : LOOIE
48. Artist Chagall : MARC
49. Another name for abalone : EAR SHELL. Makes sense. It does look like an ear.
50. God head? : DEMI. Demigod.
51. Benét or Bellinger of R&B : ERIC
54. Hip-hop hitmaker Fetty __ : WAP
56. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" initials : MLK
57. Bingo relative : BEANO. Notice Rich never used "Gas remedy" or something similar?
58. Airport screen no. : ETD
60. H.S. exam : PSAT
61. Novello for whom British music-writing awards are named : IVOR. Used to stump me.
62. Former South African monarchy : ZULU KINGDOM. Another fresh fill.
63. Engine stuff : OIL
64. Engine sound : PURR
65. Arizona retirement city : YUMA
66. Comedian Alonzo's self-named sitcom : CRISTELA. Wiki says "She is the first Latina woman to create, produce, write, and star in her own US network show".
72. Square serving? : MEAL
73. Refuge : ASYLUM
75. What a script may be written on : SPEC
76. Grouse family bird : PTARMIGAN. So well-blended.
77. Pilaf-like product : RICE-A- RONI
78. Publisher Adolph : OCHS
81. Pale : ASHY
82. School gp. : PTA
83. Free __: carte blanche : REIN
85. The Irons of soccer's Premier League : WEST HAM. Wiki says "The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United". Irons sounds better than Ham.
88. Remove with force : PRY OFF
89. African American folk magic : HOODOO
90. Like Candy Crush purchases : IN-APP. In-app purchases.
91. Taiwanese PC brand : ACER. I'm using one.
92. Lines at the door? : TA TAs. Not the Black Friday lines.
93. Jazz devotee : HEPCAT
97. Blood lines : VEINS. Literally.
99. Regarding : AS TO
100. Head : DOME
101. Long-necked pampas bird : RHEA
102. River of Hades : STYX
105. First character in this clue : ONE. The clue number 105.
106. Bit of body art : TAT
C.C.
Here are a few more sweet photos of Lemonade's cute grand kids. Owen sure grows up quickly.
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| Charlotte |
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| Harper |
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| Owen |
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| Left to Right: Grady (Truman's little brother), Truman, Cameron and Dylan (Cameron's little brother) |
