Theme:"Retirement" - Five different beds make a downturn in the grid.
26A. Royal title: HIS MAJESTY THE KING. Turns down to 28D. ---: KING.
40A. First hit, perhaps: DEBUT SINGLE. Turns down 43D. ---: SINGLE.
59A. Fred or George Weasley: IDENTICAL TWIN. Turns down to 62D. ---: TWIN.
83A. Kids' summer fun spot: SLEEPAWAY CAMP. Turns down to 87D. ---: CAMP.
104. War hero/actor who played himself in "To Hell and Back": AUDIE MURPHY. Turns down to 106D. ---: MURPHY.
Reveal:
118. Item on the housekeeping checklist, or a hint to completing five puzzle answers: TURN DOWN THE BED.
As I mentioned before, Across Lite can't handle blank clues. If you leave the down theme entry blank, Across Lite will show NO CLUE in the puzzle. So Rich normally just uses " ---". They should be blank in the newspaper format.
On the surface, not a ton of themage. But in reality, this type of turning theme is tricky to executive. Often you can't start with Row 3 due to turning action.
On the surface, not a ton of themage. But in reality, this type of turning theme is tricky to executive. Often you can't start with Row 3 due to turning action.
Across:
1. Baroque music family name: BACH.
5. Busy months for CPAs: APRILS. Taxing months For D-Otto too.
11. Lays into: ASSAILS.
18. AAA part: Abbr.: ASSOC.
20. Head huggers: BEANIES.
22. Obeyed a triangular sign: YIELDED.
23. Mountain dew source: STILL. Is this short for distillery?
24. Reaches via plane: LANDS AT.
25. Salad greens: ENDIVES. Which one do you like better: Curly endive or Belgian endive?
29. Toyland notables: BABES.
30. Poet's palindrome: ERE.
31. Common Market letters: EEC. European Economic Community.
32. "__ shall live your epitaph to make": Shak.: OR I
33. One-time filler: AT A.
34. First-ranked competitor: TOP SEED.
38. Polyester fabric: DACRON
44. Org. concerned with brownfields: EPA.
45. Class with angles: TRIG.
47. Step down: RESIGN.
49. Longfellow's bell town: ATRI. "The Bell of Atri".
50. Eye care brand: RENU.
52. Pampering spot: SPA.
54. Was in front: LED.
55. Painful sequence: OWS.
58. Suffix with ball: OON.
63. Brush fire op: EVAC.
64. NBA scoring stat: PPG. Points Per Game.
65. Corn holders: COBS.
66. Minimally adjusts: TWEAKS.
70. Aden Young's "Rectify" role: DANIEL. Not familiar with the TV drama.
72. It's fixed by a bank: CD RATE.
75. Milk sources: DAIRIES.
76. Tabloid material: SLEAZE.
77. Lord in a Christmas song, e.g.: LEAPER. I had to ask Boomer. "... ten lords a leaping" from "The 12 Days of Christmas".
78. Busy, as decor: ORNATE.
79. Casual Friday surprise: SUIT.
80. Pack animal: ASS.
81. Parasite in the dust: MITE.
88. Bit of broth: SIP.
Classic Cantonese soup: pork ribs with corn, dates and carrots.
Cantonese have a small bowl of soup with their dinner every day.
89. Do some carpentry: SAW.
90. Symbolic uncle: SAM.
93. Maple-syrup-to-be: SAP.
94. Words with bow or scarf: TIE A. Tiny partial.
95. Winter glider: SLED.
97. Amphibious assault troop carrier: AMTRAC. Dictionary says is stands for Am(phibious) + Trac(tor). Learning moment for me.
100. __ bar: TIKI.
103. Flow blocker: DAM.
107. Menu listing: OPTION.
109. Belgian diamond center: ANTWERP.
111. The Mustangs of Dallas coll. football: SMU. Bush 43 library is there.
112. When doubled, a hip-hop dance: NAE. Wiki shows me this GIF. Alright, we all can nae nae.
113. Friend of Pooh: ROO.
115. Kinda-sorta cousin: ISH.
116. Dark side Darth: VADER.
124. Steep slopes: ESCARPS. Not a word I use.
126. Gather dust: LIE IDLE.
127. Give one's address, maybe: ORATE. Nice clue.
128. Spot-on: SO RIGHT.
129. Took the deal: SETTLED.
130. Western Wyoming county: TETON.
131. Sign of alertness: OPEN EYE.
132. Hard rain metaphor: SHEETS.
133. Email folder: SENT.
Down:
1. Big do: BASH.
2. Spumante source: ASTI.
3. Forensic detectives, briefly: CSIs. OK, Crime Scene Investigators.
4. "A Study in Scarlet" detective: HOLMES.
5. Competent: ABLE.
6. Porridge veggies, old-style: PEASE.
7. Went off on Twitter: RANTED.
8. Racing series including the "500": INDYCAR.
9. Agenda, e.g.: LIST.
10. Upright swimmer: SEAHORSE. Oh, hello!
11. Floor support?: AYE. House/Senate floor.
12. Mythical voyager: SINBAD.
13. Composed: SEDATE.
14. "Arabian Nights" character: ALI BABA.
15. Contraction with two apostrophes: I'D'VE.
16. Denim purchase: LEES. Here are the trends of 2019. I like decorated jeans. But wide jeans, no!
17. '60s antiwar gp.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.
19. Red wine choice: CLARET.
21. With 67-Down, controversial MLB period: STEROID. And 67. See 21-Down: ERA. Boomer has to take steroid every day, otherwise, he might have adrenal crisis. His body just does not produce enough adrenaline due to Zytiga.
27. Heckler's input: JEER.
34. Garr on screen: TERI.
35. Slanted column: OPED.
36. It's usually easy to see through: PANE.
37. DJ's collection: DISCS.
39. Cartoon frame: CEL.
41. Perfect spot: UTOPIA.
42. Saint-__: Riviera resort: TROPEZ.
46. Transcript no.: GPA.
48. Besides Jan., only month with two federal holidays: NOV. Here is a list of Chinese national holidays. Nothing in Nov. and Dec.
51. Open, in a way: UNCAP.
53. Union setting: ALTAR.
56. Rolls into a ball: WADS UP.
57. Gorsuch predecessor: SCALIA.
60. Pole emblems: TOTEMS.
61. Two-nation peninsula: IBERIA.
63. Shapely leader?: ESS. Just the letter S in Shapely.
68. Specks in a river: AITS.
69. Topples (over): KEELS.
71. Packaging abbr.: NET WT.
72. Minor league baseball level: CLASS A.
73. "The Untouchables" studio (1959-'63): DESILU. Desi & Lu(cille). I've only seen Kevin Costner's "The Untouchables".
74. Croaked: RASPED.
75. John in court: DOE.
79. Photo tint: SEPIA.
82. Defunct carrier: TWA.
84. Opposite of fast: EAT. Nice clue also.
85. Hill staffer: AIDE.
86. Senior __: YEAR.
90. Seat of the Bishop of London: ST PAUL'S.
91. Vital vessels: ARTERIES.
92. Juin preceder: MAI. French June/May. We also have 98. Peak in France: MONT.
96. Contempt: DISDAIN.
99. Propellant developed to replace gunpowder: CORDITE. Another learning moment.
101. Do some craftwork: KNIT.
102. Sweater's comment: IT'S HOT. Sweat-er.
105. Come out: EMERGE.
108. Pool toy: NOODLE. Wish I knew how to swim.
110. Start of the fire?: WHERE'S.
114. Big-eyed baby: OWLET.
116. Brandy bottle letters: VSOP.
117. Crop unit: ACRE.
119. The Hague's home: Abbr.: NETH.
120. Beatty and Kelly: NEDS.
121. Restrain: BATE.
122. Thames campus: ETON.
123. Wreck reminder: DENT.
124. That, in Tijuana: ESO.
125. Abbr. on some business cards: STE.
Agnes
emailed me this gorgeous dining table centerpiece. She said she had it
custom-designed by her local florist. So pretty! Dear Santa used to
visit Agnes when he went to the big VA hospital. He would then tell me
how neat Agnes' house was.
Belated
Happy Birthday to Dear Bill G, who's been with this blog for over 10
years. So sorry I forgot your important milestone last Thursday, Bill!
Did Barbara take you to a special restaurant to celebrate? What did you
have?
 |
| Bill and his wife Barbara |
C.C.
