Title: "Signs of the Time" - The first part of each theme entry is a Vietnam Zodiac animal.
23. *Canaries: RAT FINKS.
24. *Bar food served with blue cheese and vegetable sticks: BUFFALO WINGS.
36. *Orange flowers that represent wealth in some Asian traditions: TIGER LILIES.
43. *"Peace Train" singer: CAT STEVENS.
49. *Atlanta event for sci-fi fans: DRAGONCON.
65. *Sacred Hopi ritual: SNAKE DANCE.
71. *Western, slangily: HORSE OPERA.
90. *Absurdly chaotic situation: GOAT RODEO.
92. *Playground fixture: MONKEY BARS.
98. *Spray behind a speedboat: ROOSTER TAIL.
113. *Sheet with a folded corner: DOG-EARED PAGE.
116. *Ashtray for trash, e.g.: PIG LATIN.
Reveal:
126. Vietnamese New Year, which is represented by the Zodiac animals at the starts of the answers to the starred clues: TET.
I
originally submitted RAT RACES, Patti thought the plural form was
awkward and suggested RAT FINKS instead. She also redid the section
between CAT STEVENS & HORSE OPERA. Can you guess why? I think I know
the problem.
Ten of the Vietnamese zodiac animals are the same as the Chinese ones, but they
have buffalo and cat instead of rabbit and ox.
Across:
1. Muscles toned by planks: ABS.
4. Does, e.g.: SHES.
8. Goes out swinging?: GOLFS. I like Ben Hogan's swing.
13. Longest reptile in the world: PYTHON.
19. "Gosh, that was a long time ago": I FEEL OLD.
21. Buck in the Baseball Hall of Fame: O'NEIL. Looks who's behind O'Neil.
22. Bring back on board: RE-HIRE.
26. Gets slippery: ICES UP.
28. Patronize, as a hotel: STAY AT. 42. Really bothered: ATE AT. Dupes.
29. Hush-hush docs: NDAS.
30. Bundle of hay: BALE.
32. Caustic cleaners: LYES.
34. Enter stealthily: SNEAK IN.
40. __ Domani: Italian wine brand: ECCO.
41. Promising letters?: IOU.
52. Actress Shawkat: ALIA.
53. Museum item: RELIC.
54. "Thumbs up" answers: YESES.
55. Smashing success: HIT.
56. Provided at no cost: COMPED.
59. Wealthy: RICH.
60. "r u coming soon?": ETA.
62. Call to the on-deck circle: BATTER UP. 106. Some ballpark figs.: ERAS.
64. Beads on blades: DEW.
73. "One Mississippi" star Notaro: TIG.
74. Dulse and nori seaweeds, e.g.: RED ALGAE.
76. __-mo video: SLO.
77. Coup target: ETAT.
79. "You can't do that!": NO FAIR.
80. Aggravate: IRK.
83. Top-tier celebs: A LIST.
87. Basic font: ARIAL.
89. Window shade: TINT.
95. Russian crepes: BLINI.
96. Short "Stop!": TMI. Patti's clue.
97. Vinaigrette acronym: EVOO. Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
101. Act omnipotent: PLAY GOD.
104. Burkina __: FASO.
105. Assns.: ORGS.
107. Total accord: UNISON.
109. Mogadishu resident: SOMALI.
120. "Let me rephrase that ... ": I MEANT.
121. Appointed: NAMED.
122. Soul mate: TRUE LOVE.
123. Sandwiches made with bolillos: TORTAS.
124. Secret rendezvous: TRYST.
125. Black bit inside a papaya: SEED. Ripe papaya of course. The
inside of a green papaya is like this. And you all know I love green
papaya salad. Mild. No peppers please.
Down:
2. Graphic designer's deg.: BFA.
3. Part of a match: SET.
4. Deli apparatus: SLICER.
5. Fine-tune: HONE.
6. Community group with a deer logo: ELKS.
7. SoCal campus with Mission Revival architecture: SDSU. San Diego State University.
8. Lump of goo: GOB.
9. Heavy loads: ONUSES.
10. Some boxing punches: LEFTS.
11. World Cup overseer: Abbr.: FIFA.
12. Leaves in stitches: SLAYS.
13. Safeguard: PROTECT.
14. Tree with flexible wood: YEW.
15. Weigh, in a way: THINK OVER.
16. Main language of India: HINDI.
17. Heart, but not soul: ORGAN.
18. Legendary loch: NESS.
20. Use TurboTax, perhaps: E-FILE. Have not bought the 2023 version yet.
25. Pool divisions: LANES. What's the temp in your local pool, Glenn/Renee/Wendy? Ours is 79F (I used to think it's 80F). And it was 76.5 on Friday. They
were replacing the pump.
27. Easily influenced: PLIANT.
30. "Free your pores" brand: BIORE.
31. __ frescas: fruity Mexican drinks: AGUAS.
33. So far: YET.
35. Maker of eco-friendly Vero computers: ACER.
36. Neat and clean: TIDY.
37. PC hookup: LAN.
38. Rash symptom: ITCH.
39. Sainted pope called "the Great": LEO I.
43. Put into gear?: CLOTHE.
44. Have the intention of: AIM TO.
45. Thin candle: TAPER.
46. Drop in pronunciation: ELIDE.
47. More pleasant: NICER.
48. Phonetic symbol: SCHWA.
50. __ Squad: Best Buy tech support team: GEEK.
51. KitchenAid rival: OSTER.
52. Covered California statute, for short: ACA.
57. Critical-care ctrs.: ERS.
58. Club fees: DUES.
61. Major Yemen port: ADEN.
62. Starts: BEGINS.
63. Quite cold: POLAR. Not cold here. Been an incredibly mild winter.
65. Cook dim sum, say: STEAM. The three squares on the top left
are taro cakes, traditional Spring Festival food in Guangzhou. I'm going
to make them next Saturday.
66. Part of TNT: NITRO.
67. "Encore!": AGAIN.
68. Big deal: ADO.
69. Trade pact from 1994 to 2020: NAFTA.
70. Debussy's "__ de lune": CLAIR.
72. Casual collared shirt: POLO.
75. Sketchy subject?: ART.
78. Waiting room directive: TAKE A SEAT. Not many snazzy fill in the grid. 12 theme entries & a short reveal in the exact order is demanding.
80. Digs in the snow: IGLOOS.
81. Versailles residents: ROIS.
82. Philosopher Immanuel: KANT.
84. Pet pendant: ID TAG.
85. Tractor-trailers: SEMIS.
86. Plug away (at): TOIL.
88. Impose, as a tax: LEVY.
91. Hair __: TIE.
93. Cultured products?: YOGURTS.
94. Bret with four Gold Gloves: BOONE. Sorry for another name. Bret Boone was at his height when I arrived in the US. I was following Ichiro then.
95. Red Sox, on scoreboards: BOS.
98. Hot spots: RANGES.
99. Got going: ROLLED.
100. "Judge Judy" event: TRIAL.
101. Product pitch: PROMO.
102. Light brew: LAGER.
103. Failed to: DIDN'T.
104. Like bubble baths: FOAMY.
106. Make a long story short?: EDIT.
108. Trade jabs: SPAR.
110. Makes a choice: OPTS.
111. Bog down: MIRE.
112. Shivering fit: AGUE. Patti's least favorite entry in the grid.
114. "Blonde" star de Armas: ANA.
115. Summer hrs. in Philly: EDT.
117. Kiddo: TOT.
118. "Or so __ heard": I'VE.
119. Pickleball need: NET.
Belated "Happy Birthday" to Bill G. How's everything, Bill? How's Jordan?
Here is a picture of Barbara, Bill and their three grandkids. This picture was taken a while ago when Bill still went out daily for his bike ride and coffee.
My friend Lesley sent me these few pictures from the festive Guangzhou. The second one is a winter plum tree.
