Sunday December 19 2021 Jeffrey Wechsler

 

Theme: - "The Long and Short of It" - The long I sound (in *IGHT) is replaced by a short I sound.

26. Sweaters in King Arthur's court?: KNITS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Knight of the Round Table.

34. Offshore retreat for comedians?: THE ISLE OF WIT. The Isle of Wight.

62. Query to a U.K.-focused think tank?: GOT ANY MORE BRIT IDEAS. Got any more bright ideas?

72. Altered the revealing side of a dress?: MADE A SLIT ADJUSTMENT. Made a slight adjustment.

98. Siblings who produce court orders?: WRIT BROTHERS. Wright brothers.

111. Dieters' interim report on smaller-sized clothes?: WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIT. We have just begin to fight.

Super tight set. Long I-t sound is replaced by a short i-t.

And a rare 136-word grid. Normally we get a 144-worder. This means we get more fill in the 6-and 7-word length. 

Cannot tell you enough how much I admire Jeffrey, a truly original. You'll never see him dupe a theme that's been done before.

 
Across:

1. Make a face, perhaps: SCULPT. Really make a face. Not mugging for camera.

 

7. Tab on old cash registers: NO SALE.

13. Tarkington tween: PENROD.  Unknown to me. Booth Tarkington.

19. Disagreeable: ORNERY.

20. Brunch fare: OMELETS.

22. Like zebras and donkeys: EQUINE.

23. __ pin: metal fastener: COTTER.

24. They know their stuff: SAVANTS.

25. Plants with flavorful and irritating varieties: SUMACS. Here's the flavorful spice. It's also in Za'atar.

29. "Ciao!": SEE YA.

30. Shiraz's country: IRAN. 16. Currency of 30-Across: RIAL.

31. PC shortcut key: ALT.

32. Earth goddess: GAEA.

43. NL West team: PADRES.

47. Thing thrown from a tree?: SHADOW. Nice clue.

48. Hotel selection: ROOMS.

49. Director Kazan: ELIA. He directed "East of Eden". His name popped up a lot in Tracy & Hepburn.

50. Clog (up): STOP.

53. Amsterdam's Anne Frank House, e.g.: MUSEUM.

56. Swindle: ROOK.

57. "Best ever" acronym: GOAT. Greatest of All Time.

58. Harsh-smelling: ACRID.

60. Spectrum maker: PRISM.

68. Pic, in Peru: FOTO.

69. Buffalo QB Josh: ALLEN. Sorry I don't know him. Saw the sign behind the other play's helmet?

70. Utah ski resort: ALTA.

80. Work with pupils: TEACH.

81. Mazda two-seater: MIATA.

82. Adverb for Descartes: ERGO.

83. Police force acronym: SWAT. Here's the Beijing SWAT.  The four Chinese characters say "Beijing Special Police".

86. Venue for the premiere of Handel's "Water Music": THAMES.

90. Genesis casualty: ABEL.

91. Come across: MEET.

92. Capital of Yemen: SANA'A.

94. Allows access: LETS IN.

96. Diner counter array: STOOLS. Xi'an has 16 COVID cases right now. Many places are closed.

101. Tusked beast: BOAR.

103. Like the lower half of the Polish flag: RED. See here.

104. Allows access, poetically: OPES.

106. Major appliances: OVENS.

119. March: PARADE.

120. Out of the loop: UNAWARE.

121. Prison with a Greek eponym: ATTICA.

122. Worshipper: ADORER. We all adore Jeffrey.

123. Lead off: GO FIRST.

124. Kitchen gadget: PEELER.

125. Defy: RESIST.

126. Biological quintet: SENSES.

127. Members of the genus Vipera: ADDERS.

Down:

1. Saves, with "away": SOCKS. Boomer has a big plastic Pepsi bottle just like this. He used to threw in the winning money from his pot games.

 

2. Pot boiler in "Macbeth": CRONE.

3. Remove, as a knot: UNTIE.

4. Female driver Ortiz of "Fast & Furious" films: LETTY. Learning moment for me. Played by Michelle Rodriguez.

5. Augur: PRESAGE.

6. Rookie: TYRO.

7. Cosa __: NOSTRA.The Sicilian Mafia. As mentioned in Mario Puzo's books.

8. Missouri River city: OMAHA.

9. Ordinal for Uranus: SEVENTH.

10. Bygone fruit spray: ALAR.

11. Longtime TV host who gives automotive advice in "Popular Mechanics": LENO.

12. Caesar's penultimate words: ET TU.

13. Mortar partner: PESTLE.

14. Congo line?: EQUATOR. Did you read "Conga line"?

15. More than cold: NUMB. Cold here. But last Wednesday was very warm. A tornado touched down in Minnesota. First time in December.

17. In the distant past: ONCE.

18. __ Arc, Arkansas: DES. What's it famous for?

21. Common ID: SSN.

27. Quaint word of revulsion: FIE.

28. South Asian lentil dish: DAL. Is this too spicy for your taste these days, Vidwan?

33. Evaluate: ASSAY.

35. Sam-I-Am offering: HAM.

36. Rutgers URL ending: EDU.

37. Android alternative: IOS.

38. Won all the games: SWEPT.

39. Official note from the boss: FORMAL MEMO. I just call it a memo.

40. What beaux do: WOO.

41. Texter's letters for two cents?: IMO. Cute clue.

42. "That's unfortunate": TSK.

43. Simon who played Scotty in 2009's "Star Trek": PEGG.

44. Distant: ALOOF.

45. Unicellular alga: DIATOM. New term to me.

46. Onomatopoeic rapping: RAT-A-TAT-TAT.

47. Notebook type: SPIRAL.

51. Network for film buffs: TCM.

52. Gold in La Paz: ORO.

54. Sch. near Providence: URI. The University of Rhode Island.

55. Term starter: MID. Midterm.

59. Chopped liver purveyor: DELI. A few more food items: 64. Sammie with crunch: BLT.  73. Put away: EAT. 78. __ fresca: pico de gallo: SALSA.

61. Something taken on a bus: SEAT.

63. Transfer point: NODE.

65. Twenty quires: REAM.

66. Bay of Bengal's ocean: INDIAN.

67. Sound system: STEREO.

71. Madonna companion, in much art: ANGEL.

74. Dresden "Drat!": ACH.

75. Word on old tablets: SHALT.

76. Hook partner: JAB.

77. The VW Amarok, e.g.: UTE. Not familiar with the car. VW Amarok.

79. Little ones: TOTS.

83. Bismarck-to-Tucson dir.: SSW.

84. Journalist Hemingway's assignment: WAR.

85. Singer DiFranco: ANI.

87. "No big deal": MEH.

88. Summer at the Sorbonne: ETE.

89. Bygone geopolitical abbr.: SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic.

93. Wears down: ABRADES. Not a word I use.

95. Meteorological lines: ISOBARS.

97. Put on display, with "out": TROTTED.

99. Go back: REVERT.

100. Dedicated verse: ODE.

101. Engenders: BEGETS.

102. Brutus Buckeye is its mascot: Abbr.: OSU.

105. Intrinsically: PER SE. Also the name of pricey restaurant.

107. Made an official choice: VOTED.

108. IRS option: E FILE.

109. More amiable: NICER.

110. Marquee names: STARS.

111. Enjoy the kiddie pool: WADE.

112. Cupid analog: EROS.

113. Sreenivasan of PBS News: HARI. Wikipedia says he was born in Mumbai, India. So happy that Jeffrey found this new clue angle.

114. Oft-corked container: JUG.

115. Chicago pizzeria franchise, familiarly: UNOS.

116. Security source: SAFE.

117. Hotel bed request: TWIN.

118. Valley with vintners: NAPA.

119. Course goal for many: PAR.

Two extra notes: 

1) Here's Spitzboov's obit. Thanks for the link, Ray! Thanks also for visiting Spitzboov and talking with him while he was sick. Thanks also for all your sweet comments, everyone. I sent the Monday blog link to his family. His son Mark read them and was very touched.

2) Please continue to keep Boomer in your thoughts and prayers. He's going to get a CT scan and then bone scan next Thursday. We hope they can take actions soon to relieve his pain. We also hope they can help him with the loss of balance issue. He falls so easily now.

C.C.