Sunday January 22, 2023 lan Massengill & Doug Peterson

Theme:  "Play It Again" - Each song is rephrased as if it's remake.

23. Lizzo "remake" of the Beatles' "I Feel Fine"?: GOOD AS HELL.

25. Dua Lipa "remake" of Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine"?: LEVITATING.

35. Taylor Swift "remake" of the Eagles' "Take It Easy"?: YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN.

 61. Marvin Gaye "remake" of Glenn Miller's "In the Mood"?: LET'S GET IT ON.

70. Steve Miller Band "remake" of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You"?: ABRACADABRA.

91. Jay-Z/Alicia Keys "remake" of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York"?: EMPIRE STATE OF MIND.

111. Ed Sheeran "remake" of the Rays' "Silhouettes"?: SHAPE OF YOU.

113. Lady Gaga "remake" of the J. Geils Band's "Love Stinks"?: BAD ROMANCE.

lan Massengill's debut. Congrats, Ian! You have a fantastic collaborator.

All these songs are very well-known. Even if you don't know the song, the "remake of ..." parts will provide you with enough clues.

Across: 

1. Pesters online, in a way: SPAMS.

6. Dorothy Gale's dog: TOTO.

10. Wore: HAD ON.

15. Three-time WNBA MVP Leslie: LISA. First one to dunk in WNBA history

19. Divvy up: ALLOT.

20. Husband of Psyche: EROS.

21. "Just tell me": I GIVE.

22. Iraq neighbor: IRAN.

27. Snookums: SWEETIE. Qin ai de, in Chinese.

28. Defiant admission of dishonesty: SO I LIED.

30. Thirsts (for): LUSTS.

31. Least refined: RUDEST.

33. Early console letters: NES.

34. Accessory for Mr. Monopoly: TOP HAT.

41. "__ have to do": IT'LL.

42. "Creed" director Coogler: RYAN. He also directed "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever".

43. Wimbledon surface: RYEGRASS.

48. Petting zoo horse: PONY.

49. LAX regulator: FAA.

51. Find repugnant: DESPISE.

54. Folder's loss: ANTE.

55. Doo-wop syllable: SHA.

56. To no avail: VAINLY.

58. Get-up-and-go: PEP. Have some ginseng chicken soup. Very nourishing.

59. Descendant: SCION.

60. "Will you let me?": COULD I.

64. Direct means of access: HOTLINE.

67. Slow-cooked courses: STEWS. I like oden.

69. Anthem played at Blue Jays games: O CANADA.

72. Conditional release: PAROLE.

74. "Rumble in the Jungle" locale: ZAIRE.

75. Trifling amount: SOU.

76. Cowhand's seat: SADDLE.

77. Media-regulating gp.: FCC.

80. One-named supermodel: EMME. Her real name is Melissa Miller.

81. Most efficient: LEANEST.

84. __ socket: EYE.

85. Corn holder: SILO.

86. Final request: LAST WISH. "I've had enough ..." That's what Boomer said. Then I gave him the morphine. Saddest night of my life.

88. Pet food brand: IAMS.

90. Allowing a draft: AJAR.

97. Dicey: UNSAFE.  

101. Connections: INS.

102. Paste-up pieces: REPROS.

103. Cola originally named Brad's Drink: PEPSI.

104. Dips for Easter: EGG DYES.

107. Keeps adding to, as mashed potatoes: HEAPS ON.

115. Actor Stonestreet: ERIC.

116. Yankee manager before Girardi: TORRE (Joe). Assistant to Rob Manfred now.

117. Big name in footwear: ALDO.

118. Resolves a tense problem, say: EDITS. Grammar-wise.

119. Ahi, for one: TUNA.

120. Irritable: CROSS.

121. Knitter's ball: YARN.

122. Station: DEPOT.

Down:

1. Hangs loosely: SAGS.

2. Snowbank creator: PLOW. We've got 52 inches of snow this season. I totally wowed David with some of my snow pictures/clips. He lives in York, England. He has never seen so much snow.

3. Banana Boat After Sun Gel ingredient: ALOE.

4. Using contemporary styles: MODERNLY.

5. Work in a park, perhaps: STATUE.

6. Snickered: TEHEED.

7. Vein contents: ORE.

8. "Anna Karenina" novelist: TOLSTOY. So complicated.

9. Scandinavian capital: OSLO.

10. Jewish campus group: HILLEL. Named after Hillel the Elder.

11. AARP concern: AGEISM.

12. Plunge: DIVE.

13. "Metamorphoses" poet: OVID.

14. __ worth: NET.

15. Brightened: LIT UP.

16. Like Oscar Wilde: IRISH.

17. With 45-Down, West Coast racing venue: SANTA. 45. See 17-Down: ANITA.

18. Teen sensation, perhaps: ANGST.

24. Fries, e.g.: SIDE.

26. As a companion: ALONG.

29. Harebrained: INANE.

32. Maroon: STRAND.

34. Affectedly dainty: TWEE. Not a word I use.

35. Litter cries: YIPS.

36. Brief "Then again ... ": OTOH.

37. Wing support: ULNA.

38. Suffragist Elizabeth __ Stanton: CADY. Learned from doing crosswords.

39. Faucet problems: DRIPS.

40. Cries of dismay: OYS.

44. Wisconsin city between Milwaukee and Chicago: RACINE.

46. Tolerated: STOOD.

47. Medicinal shrub: SENNA.

49. Flora partner: FAUNA.

50. Had a bug: AILED.

52. Gush forth: SPEW.

53. Place for a pawdicure: PET SPA.

56. Word with mail or box: VOICE.

57. Iberian capital: LISBON.

59. No longer novel: STALE.

60. Dry red wine: CLARET.

61. Actress Thompson: LEA. She's from Rochester, Minnesota.

62. Motown Records founder Berry: GORDY.

63. Maître's milieu: ECOLE.

64. Brownish green: HAZEL.

65. First president with a Twitter account: OBAMA.

66. Pares: TRIMS.

68. Accurate: TRUE.

71. Tokyo-based brewery: ASAHI. Meaning "morning sun" in Japanese. The other day I was explaining to Tom Pepper what Ninja really means and how expressive the Nin part is, with a heart under a blade. Then I realized that he has no idea what a blade or heart looks like in Chinese characters or kanji, or where the character starts and ends. Jayce would know it immediately.

Ninja Kanji

73. "__ Fideles": ADESTE.

76. ESPN datum: STAT.

77. Vanuatu neighbor: FIJI.

78. Family circle: CLAN.

79. Twine: CORD.

81. Guacamole ingredient: LIME.

82. Predict-ability?: ESP. Nice clue.

83. Spacek of "Bloodline": SISSY.

85. 1941 Bogart role: SAM SPADE.

87. Group pic: WEFIE. Still call it selfie. The most famous one.

89. Italian dessert wine: MARSALA.

92. Struggles: RIGORS.

93. Provides (with): ENDUES.

94. "Julie & Julia" writer/director: EPHRON (Nora). The author of "Julie & Julia" just passed away at the age 49.

95. Froyo topping: OREO.

96. Made bubbles: FOAMED.

97. In a huff: UPSET.

98. 1960s jacket style: NEHRU.

99. Nadal's birthplace: SPAIN.

100. Pet adoption org.: ASPCA.

104. __ effort: E FOR.

105. Sandwich with tzatziki sauce: GYRO.  This is the sandwich from my hometown Xi'an. Rou jia mo.

106. Site for a bidding war: EBAY.

108. Salon sound: SNIP.

109. Bi- quadrupled: OCTO.

110. Place for a clutch: NEST.

112. Non-Rx: OTC.

114. Musical arcade game, for short: DDR. Dance Dance Revolution.

 

 

A few extra notes:

1) Belated "Happy Birthday" to our sunny sumdaze (Reenee), who has brought so much joy to our blog. Thanks for being our Monday sherpa, Renee! Thanks for your sweet cards to me also.

2) I made a puzzle for the USA Today to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. It's edited by Erik Agard. Click here to solve. 

 

3) Here are a few more pictures from Guangzhou. Lesley took the first two in front of a shopping center. The 3rd one is the law firm she works for. The 4th one is Carmen's home.

Happy Year of the Rabbit!