Theme: "Straight A's" - What AAA is, to each of the four cross-referenced entries.
23A. One who has blown a gasket, perhaps: STRANDED MOTORIST.
39A. AAA, to a 23-Across: EMERGENCY SERVICE.
56A. Old recording accessory: VCR REMOTE.
58A. AAA, to a 56-Across, usually: BATTERY SIZE. Nice that the first two sets of theme entries are placed consecutively.
77A. North Carolina baseball team: DURHAM BULLS.
93A. AAA, for the 77-Across: MINOR LEAGUE LEVEL.
79A. Office builder?: MICROSOFT.
113A. AAA, for 79-Across: BOND CREDIT RATING.
We've seen many Definition type puzzles. None with this cross-referencing twist. Neat twist.
Total 104 theme squares. Rich's minimum is 84. So, quite a lot to deal with.
Most of you know Victor Barocas from our Minnesota Crossword Tournament, which was canceled this year.
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| C.C., Tom Pepper, George Barany, Victor Barocas, Michael David & David Liben-Nowell |
Across:
1. Derby town: EPSOM.
6. One of 256 in a gal.: TBSP.
10. Davis of "Dr. Dolittle": OSSIE. Ruby Dee's husband.
15. Pale tone: ECRU.
19. Bread in a Hillel sandwich: MATZO. Never had it.
20. Learn: HEAR.
21. __ William Scott of "American Pie" films: SEANN. Unfamiliar to me. Wiki says he was born in Cottage Grove, Minnesota.
22. Second person in Paris?: VOUS. Cute clue.
26. Top-notch: A-ONE.
27. Livestock identifier: EAR TAG.
28. Greek vowel: ETA.
29. Jay or A: ALER. American Leaguer. Gluey. Oh, but TTP, I was so impressed that you remember my old avatar. It's not Joe Mauer though. It's Justin Morneau. They were the hugely poplular M & M Boys when I started this blog.
31. Soviet Union : Salyut :: USA : __: SKYLAB. I only know Mir.
33. Inventor Whitney: ELI.
35. Classic fruity drinks: NEHIS.
37. Living area in "The Martian," with "the": HAB. No idea, but happy for the new clue.
45. Chilly: ALOOF.
48. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.
49. One-time Jets home: SHEA.
50. Indiana Jones' real first name: HENRY. Learning moment.
51. "House" star Hugh: LAURIE. He also wrote this book. Great reviews on Amazon.
53. Friend to Tarzan: APE.
54. "Three and out" football play: PUNT.
55. Shell propeller: OAR.
62. Pre-op test: EKG.
63. Wrath: IRE.
64. Friend of Che: FIDEL.
65. Brontë sister: EMILY.
66. "The cookies are done!" sound: DING. Anyone tried these Danish cookies?
68. Religious acts: RITES.
69. Like some ukes: OVAL.
70. Baggy: LOOSE. I need to tell you about this crazy trend: upside down jeans. Look at the price tag.
72. First name in sci-fi: JULES.
73. School opening?: PRE. Preschool.
74. Faux __: PAS.
82. Convoy member: RIG.
83. Pop singer Brickell: EDIE.
84. Debtor's letters: IOU.
85. Adverb in the "Star Trek" intro: BOLDLY. "... to boldly go where no one has gone before..."
86. Rock with bands: AGATE. Drew a blank.
89. Put on a mission: SEND.
90. Wanton want: LUST
92. Like the center of attention: FOCAL.
97. Frehley of Kiss: ACE.
98. Dismal, poetically: DREAR.
99. Sgt.'s underling: PVT.
100. Stills, say: IMAGES.
103. Transit map dot: STOP.
105. 1003, to Tiberius: MIII.
108. Verdi's "__ tu": ERI. Meaning "It was you".
110. Copy illegally: PIRATE.
112. "Daily Planet" byline name: LANE.
117. MLBer with 696 home runs: A-ROD.
118. Fist fight fists: DUKES.
119. Soothing agent: ALOE. My aloe developed root rot problem. This plant is surprisingly fragile.
120. Prisoner's place, in an 1894 adventure novel: ZENDA. "The Prisoner of Zenda"
121. Snowblower brand: TORO. Based here in MN.
122. Thus far: AS YET.
123. Are inclined: TEND.
124. Rye blight: ERGOT.
Down:
1. Common core?: EMS. Just the letters in Common.
2. Liver spread: PATE.
3. European Parliament meeting city: STRASBOURG. Madame Tussaud was born here. Wiki further states that "Strasbourg is one of the de facto capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels and Luxembourg), as it is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe".
4. Missouri's __ Mountains: OZARK.
5. "Spamalot" name: MONTY.
6. What's "afoot," to Holmes: THE GAME.
7. Home for a tulip: BED.
8. Likewise, with "the": SAME.
9. Doolittle, to Higgins: PROTEGEE.
10. Bear, in Barcelona: OSO.
11. Blood fluids: SERA.
12. Move easily: SAIL.
13. Lacking feeling: INSENSATE. Not a word I use.
14. Major course: ENTREE. Look at this dish Carmen emailed me.
15. Like many a politician's answers: EVASIVE.
16. Deep-fries: COOKS IN OIL. I mostly stir-fry.
17. Mystical character: RUNE.
18. Like many eBay products: USED.
24. Glen relative: DALE.
25. Cooper work: TALE. Does the clue refer to this Cooper?
32. Read the riot act to: BERATE.
34. Big-time: IN SPADES.
36. Title for Kate Middleton, briefly: HRH. Meghan Markle too.
37. Split in two: HALVE.
38. Shakespearean cry of woe: ALACK. Also 47. Shakespearean cry of disgust: FIE.
40. Ready to pick: RIPE.
41. Inclined channels: CHUTES.
42. Streisand title role: YENTL.
43. Nonsensical: CRAZY.
44. Charlotte's Jane: EYRE.
46. Bobby enshrined in a Toronto hall: ORR. Hockey Hall of Fame.
52. "The Monster" rapper: EMINEM.
57. Website suffix: ORG.
58. Small servings: BITES.
59. Surf music feature: REVERB.
60. Sumac of Peru: YMA.
61. RSVP part: SIL.
64. Topped off: FILLED UP.
66. Cry from Homer: D'OH.
67. "Love __ Battlefield": Pat Benatar hit: IS A.
68. Court decision: RULING.
69. Member of Sauron's army, in Tolkien: ORC.
70. Video game brother: LUIGI. Mario's brother.
71. Certain transplant need: ORGAN DONOR.
72. Where Herod reigned: JUDEA.
73. Pope during the French Revolution: PIUS VI. All crossing.
74. Offering downloadable content: PODCASTING. My iPoad went through 3 factory resets in the past few months.
75. Company with a duck in its logo: AFLAC.
76. Flair: STYLE.
77. Nip at a bar: DRAM.
78. "Stop fooling around!": BE SERIOUS. Nice fill.
79. Pouty face: MOUE.
80. Wind-knocked-out sound: OOF.
81. Cal Poly campus site, initially: SLO. OK, San Luis Obispo.
84. Behave cruelly towards: ILL- TREAT.
87. Sea battle weapon: TORPEDO.
88. "I kissed thee __ I killed thee": "Othello": ERE.
91. Trying to resist the rich dessert, say: TEMPTED.
94. Wavelength symbol: LAMBDA. See this explanation. That amplitude is half of what I thought it is. What then do you call the value between the very high to the very low?
95. Even once: EVER.
96. Retreat: LAIR.
101. Barely hit: GRAZE.
102. Food processor?: EATER. Not my BELLY.
103. Venetian blind part: SLAT.
104. Root for a luau: TARO. I made these iconic Singapore Yam Cake last week. I don't know why they call it Yam Cake:
1) It's made of taro root. Not yam.
2) It's steamed. Not baked
3) It's savory. Not sweet.
106. Black: INKY.
107. Output from Rodin's thinker?: IDEE. Just French for "idea".
109. Not in operation: IDLE.
111. Prefix with skeleton: ENDO.
114. Minn. winter hours: CST. Local shout-out.
115. Bromide particle: ION.
116. Gangster's piece: GAT.
C.C.
