Theme: "Do the Dishes" - The last word of each common phrase is replaced by its food homophone.
23A. Score a seafood morsel in a bite of paella?: PULL A MUSSEL. Pull a muscle.
25A. Carefully check some deli stock?: SCREEN LOX. Screen locks.
53A. Hamburgers and hot dogs sold at a NASCAR race?: TRACK MEAT. Track meet.
66A. Ingredient that tends to fly out of the stand mixer?: WILD FLOUR. Wild flour.
82A. Make an unusual choice while making borscht?: SKIP A BEET. Skip a beet.
112A. Sketch the Thanksgiving turkey before it's carved?: DRAW A FOWL. Draw a foul.
114A. Request to a fishmonger for smaller portions?: BREAK MY SOLE. Break My Soul.
41D. "This herb is amazing!"?: GREAT THYME. Great time.
45D. Avoid the downside in a corn investment?: HEDGE MAIZE. Hedge maze.
This theme was inspired by another food idea Steve had. I pervaded him to go with the "verb & food item" so "Do the Dishes" works nicely as a title.
The theme clues went through substantial changes. Patti's are much more imaginative than our originals.
Just FYI, all my future LAT puzzles will have the Zhouqin Burnikel byline.
Across:
1. Saoirse of "Lady Bird": RONAN. Her parents are Irish.
6. Casino request: HIT ME.
11. Go to the polls: VOTE.
15. Ship's staff: CREW.
19. IRS option: E FILE.
20. Lakers legend Shaquille: ONEAL.
21. Nutrient in dried beans: IRON. I eat tofu every day. Plenty of iron. No beans.
22. Letter before kappa: IOTA.
27. City viewed from Holmenkollbakken: OSLO. It's ski jumping hill in Oslo. Never heard of it until I read Steve's clue. He might have skied there.
28. Miles and meters: UNITS.
29. Decree: FIAT.
30. Intel microprocessor: XEON.
31. Kelp and sargassum: SEAWEEDS. Sargassum is brown seaweed.
33. Sour: TART.
35. Mosque leader: IMAM.
37. Certain, for sure: Abbr.: SYN. I love this clue. Patti's also. Certain is a synonym of sure.
38. __ firma: TERRA.
40. Patterns in an aviary: PLUMAGES.
44. Most bashful: SHIEST.
47. Low-pressure technique: SOFT SELL.
49. Numbered hwy.: RTE.
50. No Doubt lead singer Stefani: GWEN.
51. "__ a wrap": THAT'S.
56. Landscaping supply: SOD.
57. Travis or Haggard of country music: MERLE.
58. Polite interruption: AHEM.
60. Court proceeding: TRIAL. So pricey to have a lawyer to handle this probate issue. Gosh. Hope to have this thing wrapped up soon.
61. Restricted zone: NO-GO AREA.
63. Scottish lowland: GLEN.
64. Kind: SORT.
65. Magician Jillette: PENN.
70. Understands: GETS.
72. Repast: MEAL. I got papaya salad from our Asian grocery store for Thanksgiving. So spicy. I just can't handle hot pepper.
74. 50+ group: AARP.
75. Golfing compliment: NICE SHOT.
78. Steam room: SAUNA.
79. Lid woe: STYE.
80. Raga instrument: SITAR.
81. Ming who is the tallest player in the basketball Hall of Fame: YAO. He's 7'6".
84. Stocky dog: BOXER.
85. Little devils: IMPS.
86. "The Long Goodbye" Oscar winner Ahmed: RIZ. British actor.
87. Biometric recognition method: FACE SCAN.
90. Talks back: SASSES.
92. Artists' lofts: ATELIERS.
95. Mike Brady or Phil Dunphy: TV DAD. The latter from "Modern Family".
97. Mauna __: LOA.
98. Scraped (by): EKED.
99. Warthog feature: TUSK.
100. Far from calm: IN A PANIC.
105. Utter delight: GLEE.
107. Picnicker's worry: RAIN.
109. Battle of the brands: AD WAR.
111. Credit alternative: CASH.
116. Aria deliverer: DIVA.
117. Ignored the limit: SPED.
118. Abundant: AMPLE.
119. Noggins: DOMES.
120. "Please don't go!": STAY.
121. Letters on egg cartons: USDA.
122. Speedy: RAPID.
123. Piques: SNITS.
Down:
2. Functional: OF USE.
3. Wafer named for its flavor: NILLA.
4. Admits: ALLOWS IN.
5. Read Across America org.: NEA.
6. Beagle, for one: HOUND.
7. Refuse to bend: INSIST.
8. Reason to hit the books: TEST.
9. Super conductors?: MAESTROS. Steve's clue. I love it.
10. Annex shape, perhaps: ELL.
11. Take a trip to: VISIT.
12. Killer whale: ORCA.
13. Chimichanga wrap: TORTILLA. Never had this.
14. Chemical suffix: ENE.
15. Picture house: CINEMA.
16. Caramel-filled treat: ROLO.
17. Town across the Thames from Windsor: ETON.
18. Spa treatment: WAX.
24. Jack kin: MUENSTER. No cheese for me.
26. Reason to hit the books: EXAM.
29. Campus brothers: FRAT.
32. __ contact: EYE.
34. Bark: ARF.
36. Punishes with a fine: MULCTS. Did this word give any of you trouble?
39. Oldest Haim sister: ESTE. Danielle, Este and Alana Haim.
40. Pricey salon job: PERM.
42. Citation shortener: ET AL.
43. Movie location: SET.
44. In one fell __: SWOOP.
46. Pitched: THREW.
48. Court fig.: STENO.
50. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" channel: GSN.
52. Jai __: ALAI.
54. Retail giant that owns Food 4 Less and Ralphs: KROGER. I don't think we have a Kroger here in Minnesota.
55. Swamps: MIRES.
57. "See ya!": MANANA.
58. Actress Woodard: ALFRE.
59. Pitch in: HELP.
62. Outdo: ONE UP.
63. Aussie greeting: G DAY.
67. Drink with foam art: LATTE.
68. Operating system developed by Bell Labs: UNIX.
69. Ceremonies: RITES.
71. Melodramatic fare: SOAPS.
73. Chem class cost: LAB FEE.
76. Garage cacophony: CAR ALARM.
77. How-__: manuals: TOS.
78. Comedy bit: SKIT.
79. Min. parts: SECS.
80. Movsesian who co-hosts "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend": SONA. Does your paper have the "Movesian" spelling? Patti corrected the error, but your local paper might still have the typo.
82. Sp. woman: SRA.
83. Dangling jewelry: EAR DROPS.
84. Unhappy returns?: BAD KARMA.
85. "Elon Musk" biographer Walter: ISAACSON. I told Steve not to
use Elon Musk, way too divisive. So he went with Steve Jobs. Then Patti
used Elon Musk. Shows you how much I know Patti's preferences.
88. Bowl over: STUN. And 108. Blown away: AWED.
89. Walgreens rival: CVS.
91. Soak (up): SOP.
93. Elbow room: LEEWAY.
94. Furniture chain founded in Sweden: IKEA.
96. Hindu festival of lights: DIWALI. One of Patti's test solvers grew up in India.
99. Actress Swinton: TILDA.
101. Blunt, as truth: NAKED.
102. Supermodel Campbell: NAOMI.
103. Spot of land: ISLET.
104. Game with rooks: CHESS.
105. Sandpaper surface: GRIT.
106. Etna emission: LAVA.
110. "The Idol" actress Lily-Rose: DEPP. Johnny Depp's daughter.
112. Driller's deg.: DDS.
113. Tallahassee sch.: FSU.
114. Watering hole: BAR.
115. Fantasy football stat: YDS.
OK, guys, I finally got a "bent elbow" now. I need to work on rotating my shoulders more so the recovery arm is "over the top" rather than "on the side". I'm going to try Renee's "reach out in front of your nose" idea.
The biggest problem is now my kicks. With a kickboard, I kick like a pro, left/right, left/right, very rhythmic. Without my kickboard, my legs seem to kick randomly. Sometimes I have the mini dolphin kicks mixed in. Sometimes I stop kicking for a second, esp when I breathe. I don't know why. I'm going to wean myself off the kickboard.
C.C.
