Sunday April 3, 2022 David Alfred Bywaters

Theme: - "Coming to Terms" - COM is added to each familiar phrase.

23A. Grill a bit too long?: COMBUST ONE'S CHOPS. Bust one's chops.
 

39A. "No Time for Sergeants," e.g.?: NONCOM FICTION. Non-fiction.
 

57A. Palatial mansion navigation need?: HALL COMPASS. Hall pass.

 

69A. TV series with funny animals?: PET SITCOM. Pet sit.
 

79A. Fresh food fight?: FRUIT COMBAT. Fruit bat.
 

93A. Endorse certain property barriers?: COMMEND FENCES. Mend fences.

114A. Immortal confection?: COMFIT FOR THE GODS. Fit for the gods.

Some avid solvers might have guessed the letter addition gimmick after seeing David's byline. He has a distinctive style and he is brilliant in wordplay. Such a creative brain.

If you want to solve more puzzles, go to his website. He publishes a new puzzles every Saturday.

Across:

1. Well-trodden ways: PATHS.

6. Fountain favorite: MALTED.

12. Encountered: MET.

15. Darns, say: SEWS. 20. Go too far: OVERDO. I learned how to alter the waist size last year. But I overdid it. Boomer was so uncomfortable in the new shorts. 

 

19. In the area of: ABOUT. 26. 19-Across, on a memo: IN RE.

21. The Pac-12's Sun Devils: Abbr.: ASU.

22. Fall lead-in?: PRAT. Pratfall.

27. Title TV role for Sandra Oh: EVE. "Killing Eve".

28. Comme une jeune fille: PETITE. Like a young girl. 112. Miembro de la familia: TIO. All in.

29. Sound from a snorter: OINK.

30. Stairway alternative: RAMP.

31. Oppressive ruler: DESPOT.

33. Won't let go: DETAINS.

36. __ bean: PINTO. Do you like bean burritos?

37. Estimate words: OR SO.

42. Venomous slitherers: ASPS.

45. Text letters often in blue: URL.

47. Way more than drizzle: POUR. And 110. Saturate: DRENCH. We do need to fix our front bumper, fog light and a few other items. The quote just stunned us, even though TTP warned us before. Thankfully our car is still drivable. We'll need to stay dry though. Rain probably will rust the stuff inside.

48. Qtys.: AMTS.

49. One may be saved or taken: SEAT.

50. Stew veggies: PEAS.

52. Fishing nets: SEINES.

54. Tough H.S. tests: APS.

61. Old Norse poetic work: EDDA. Prose too.

62. Wild way to run: AMOK.

63. Dismiss contemptuously: SPURN.

64. Novel features: PLOTS.

66. Na+ or Cl-: ION.

67. "The Munsters" matriarch: LILY. There's a new film coming soon.

68. Sheltered from the sun: SHADY.

71. Host: EMCEE.

72. Make special mention of: NOTE.

73. Beer nickname: BUD.

74. Joan __: OF ARC.

75. Name on the "Robot" sci-fi series: ISAAC. Asimov.

76. Miner's finds: ORES.

77. Stuck in __: A RUT.

82. Go beyond dating: WED.

83. Neckwear accessory: TIE PIN.

85. Arid: SERE. Old regular.

86. Prefix with cumulus: ALTO.

87. Achy: SORE.

88. More than just comfortable: RICH. Shutout to our editor Rich Norris. Make sure you solve next Sunday's LAT. It's the last puzzle edited by Rich.

Rich and his wife Kim

91. Weaken: SAP.

92. Source of class struggle?: TEST. Nice clue.

98. Cut: PARE.

100. Opera highlights: ARIAS.

101. Commercial bigwigs: AD EXECS. Many ad agencies have moved their Asian Pacific HQs from Hong Kong to Shanghai.

103. Less verbose: TERSER.

107. Edges: RIMS.

108. Grooming style named for a continent: AFRO.

113. "Hunny" lover: POOH.

118. Besides that: ELSE.

119. Feel bad about: RUE.

120. Court errors: FAULTS.

121. Confused conflict: MELEE. Shanghai used to be a model for COVID control. Now it's a different story.

 

122. Oolong and pekoe: TEAS.

123. Boot a grounder, say: ERR.

124. Joint effort, briefly: COLLAB. Collaboration.

125. Visionaries: SEERS.

Down:

1. Measured, with "off": PACED.

2. Too good for: ABOVE.

3. Reference library array: TOMES. Here's our local library.

4. Wheel center: HUB.

5. Daze: STUPOR.

6. Apple juice eponym: MOTT.

7. Confront opposite: AVOID.

8. Far from festive: LENTEN.

9. Arboreal apex: TREETOP.

10. Harris and a horse: EDS. This clue make me chuck. Mr. Ed.

11. Happy companion?: DOC. The Seven Dwarfs.

12. 20th-century Chinese ideology: MAOISM. I just linked this last week. It says "Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought!" No idea why it's not called Maoism in China, always "Mao Zedong Thought".

13. "Around the Horn" channel: ESPN.

14. Elephant feature: TUSK.

15. Haunted house occupants, it's said: SPIRITS.

16. Titular Verdi bandit: ERNANI. We had this before.

17. Become fond of: WARM TO. 

18. Go faster, with "it": STEP ON.

24. Attacks: SETS UPON.

25. Award recipient: HONOREE.

32. Closing pieces: POSTLUDES.

34. Portuguese year: ANO. I only knew it's Spanish for "year". 

35. Post-op places: ICUS.

36. Chance-of-rain nos.: PCTS. Percentages.

38. Utah city that's an anagram of an Italian city: OREM. Rome.

40. Admirers, as a group: FANDOM.

41. "Let me clarify ... ": I MEAN.

42. Cigar end, in two senses: ASH. OK, in two senses.

43. Coast: SEASHORE.

44. Examined by touch: PALPATED.

46. Eagerly accepted, as compliments: LAPPED UP.

51. Shaker grains: SALT.

53. Foolish ways: IDIOCIES. Did not know it's plurable.

54. Friendly: AMICABLE.

55. Ferret relatives: POLECATS.

56. Largest of the Inner Hebrides: SKYE.

58. __ wolf: CRY.

59. Just fair: SO SO.

60. Word after scared or bored: STIFF. I'm just shaken when I'm scared.

62. Yale, for five U.S. presidents: ALMA MATER.

65. Big name: STAR.

68. Winter forecast: SNOW.

69. Mashed into a paste: PUREED.

70. French vineyards: CRUS.

71. "__ Beso": 1962 Anka hit: ESO.

73. Scot's tot: BAIRN.

75. Winter road hazard: ICE PATCH. So happy not to see it in our driveway now. 

 78. Done with, perhaps: TIRED OF.

80. Ensnare: TRAP.

81. Tyke on a trike: TOT.

83. One may stand on them to reach a high shelf: TOES. I have a step stool like this.

84. Prime time time: NINE.

87. Big hits: SMASHES.

89. Third-century date: CCX. 210. I'm 200.

90. Attentive: HEEDFUL.

93. "Arabian Nights" vehicle: CARPET.

94. Colorful songbird: ORIOLE.

95. Cocktail named for a plant: MIMOSA.

96. __ John: meat brand: FARMER.  Learning moment for me.

97. Book predecessor: SCROLL.

99. Fixes the edge of: RE-HEMS.

102. Sealy rival: SERTA.

104. Didn't take well?: STOLE.

105. Down source: EIDER.

106. Valentine's Day gift: ROSES.

108. Traditionally, amount of land plowable by one man in one day with a team of oxen: ACRE. Good to know this, thanks, David!

109. Common par: FOUR.

111. Govt. accident investigator: NTSB.

115. "Brockmire" network: IFC. Independent Film Channel.

116. Confucian path: TAO.

117. "I had no idea": GEE.

Last time I mentioned that Boomer responded very well to his first chemo, but his PSA shot up after the second chemo. Tomorrow we're going to VA Ramsey for one more blood draw to see if the third chemo worked. If his PSA goes down, he'll have his fourth chemo on April 14th. If not, we'll have more scans at the VA hospital in Minneapolis and Dr. Downs and his team will let us know the next steps.

Dr. Downs is retiring soon. He was just relocated to Houston a few months ago. We were surprised when he told us the news.

C.C.