Theme: "PR Stunt"
Good Sunday morning. Today C.C. presents a puzzle so dazzling, adding PR to the themers, the press must cover it. Let's take a look:
22a. Ultrathin bicycle chain holder?: LIGHT SPROCKET. Remove the PR and you get light socket.
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| This light-weight set of sprockets [a gear] will set you back $280 |
40a. Divinely inspired binge session?: THE HOLY SPREE. The Holy See. It's not a body of water, like I used to think, but the government of the Catholic Church in the Vatican.
58a. Number important to bakers?: VANILLA PRICE. Vanilla Ice. I'll spare you a rap song.
81a. Guaranteed ball catchers?: PROVEN GLOVES. Oven Gloves. I've stopped using them. All cotton side-towels work just fine and you don't have to walk over to get a mitt.
97a. Question from a grocery mister?: SHALL WE SPRAY. Shall we say?
118a. Fairyland queen?: SPRITE MANAGER. Site Manager.
34d. Garment for a gingerbread cookie?: PRALINE SKIRT. A-Line Skirt.
39d. Avid fan of Chunky Garden pasta sauce?: PREGO BOOSTER. Ego Booster. If you want to boost my ego, lie to me about how much you enjoyed this expo ;-)
Across:
1. "Alright, Still" singer Lily: ALLEN. Never heard of her or the song.
6. Split asunder: CLEAVE. This is a fun word 'cuz it's a contranym. Cleave means to tear apart but also means to cling to. [Cite [49:31 - Cleave is @2:30]]
12. Sought a dog treat: BEGGED.
18. Computer in a messenger bag: LAPTOP. My laptops go in a backpack along with a second monitor and various cables and lockpicks.
20. Throws in the trash: TOSSES. We learned Thursday to recycle eWaste.
21. Real: GENUINE. In my head I pronounce it like Mr. Haney [Pat Buttram] from Green Acres.
22. [See: Theme]
24. "Hold your horses!": EASY NOW. Just slow down your gumption.
25. Purple palm berry: ACAI.
26. High-pitched bark: YELP. Yip was too short.
27. Modern art?: ARE. LOL! Thou art -> You ARE.
28. Weighty burden: ONUS.
29. Poultry farm sight: COCK.
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| Foghorn Leghorn |
31. Meat in a Cuban sandwich: HAM.
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| Yum! |
33. Comics dog with a long tongue: ODIE.
34. Drain pipe material: PVC.
37. Stay-at-home worker?: UMP. Cute. In Baseball the UMP is at home plate.
40. [See: Theme]
44. Cookie with a churro flavor: OREO. There's a churro stand not far from me - they're good. A churro is pâte à choux (cream puff) batter, piped into hot fat, deep-fried until crisp, and shaken with cinnamon-sugar.
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| I checked. They exist(ed). |
45. Trunk: TORSO. Not on an elephant nor a train :-)
47. Peddle: SELL. It's funny, I can recognize peddle from pedal but, when it comes to writing it out, I get confused.
48. Seats for the faithful: PEWS.
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| You can buy it here |
49. Delany of "China Beach": DANA. China Beach was a TV series on ABC ('88 to '91) and she was the lead actress, or so I've Googled.
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| Dana Delany |
50. Sherlock adversary Adler: IRENE. She only appeared in the short story "A Scandal in Bohemia."
51. "I know kung fu" character: NEO.
I love this movie!
52. Land in the Seine: ILE.
53. "Get a hold of yourself!": COOL IT.
55. Batter's practice area: CAGE.
56. Plot progression: ARC.
58. [See: Theme]
61. Succulent harvested for its gel: ALOE.
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| Sorry Splynter, it's obligatory :-) |
62. Judged to be: DEEMED.
64. Bracelet closure: CLASP.
65. Nancy Drew's beau: NED.
66. "Nicely done!": BRAVO.
68. Scent: AROMA.
70. Yonder things: THOSE.
72. "Hamilton" actress Phillipa: SOO. Perps
74. The "L" of Samuel L. Jackson: LEROY.
76. Thrill-seeker's activity: BUNGEE. Everything you wanted to know. I'm still not doing it.
78. Quiet attention-getter: PSST.
81. [See: Theme]
84. Doctor's orders, for short: RXS.
85. Middling: OKAY. I like the clue here.
86. Refuse to give in: INSIST.
87. Jaden's role in "The Karate Kid": DRE. The 2010 reboot of the movie. I had to LIU after the solve 'cuz I had no idea.
88. Spanish uncle: TIO. Makes sense since TIA is an aunt.
90. Resume highlight: SKILL.
91. Fancy party: FETE.
92. Som tam cuisine: THAI.
93. Small earring: STUD.
95. Intrinsically: PER SE.
96. Flintstones Vitamins shape: FRED.
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| Mom doled these out daily. |
97. [See: Theme]
100. Asphalt alternative: TAR. On a Southwest flight after a bumping landing, the announcer said, "Oooh, that wasn't the pilot's fault; that was the asphalt."
101. Turk. neighbor: SYR. Turkey and Syria are neigbors.
102. Dude from Dundee: SCOT. The company I work for has an office is Aberdeen and that's the only place I've been in Scotland.
103. Pocket-sized: WEE.
104. "What __ have you got?": ELSE.
106. "The Alienist" author Caleb: CARR.
107. Find work for: USE.
109. Drink with cardamom: CHAI. Chai just means tea in Hindi. My co-worker from India laughs when anyone says chai tea: "Why are you saying tea tea?"
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| Marsala Chai |
111. Cast down?: MOLT.
115. Pack of camels: CARAVAN.
118. [See: Theme]
121. One with a cordial rivalry: FRENEMY. A portmanteau of Friend and Enemy.
122. Exactly right: DEAD ON.
123. Fancy party: SOIREE. At my last company we called our Christmas Party a soiree on the invites. One of the partners thought is was funny and pretentious so he'd be funny and pretentious when he said this word.
124. Auction bids: OFFERS.
125. Pitching battles?: AD WARS. This was cute. Not a (baseball) tie in the 10th inning reference, but ads. Eight clever stunts in ongoing ad wars.
126. Word between God and you: BLESS. LOL! Not a prayer nor a scene in Oh, God but God Bless You - like gesundheit.
Down:
1. Gnocchi __ Romana: ALLA.
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| Recipe |
2. Nonclerical: LAIC.
3. Org. for women who are great drivers: LPGA. Not cars but Lady's Professional Golf Association.
4. Set of principles: ETHIC.
5. "Ha, fooled ya!": NOT.
6. Lower left PC key: CTRL.
7. Contract flaw: LOOPHOLE.
8. Upper left PC key: ESC. Nice clecho.
9. Dickinson's advice column: ASK AMY. I know of AMY Dickinson from Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me - she's a very competitive guest.
10. Turn suddenly: VEER.
11. Haim sister mentioned in Taylor Swift's "No Body, No Crime": ESTE. Perps.
12. Fitted cap: BEANIE.
13. Succeed: ENSUE.
14. Fellas: GUYS. Or Dudes (whether or not a SCOT [see: 102a])
15. Liquor in a Negroni: GIN. Negroni is a cocktail, made of equal parts gin, vermouth rosso (red, semi-sweet), and Campari, generally served on the rocks, and commonly garnished with an orange slice or orange peel. It is considered an apéritif. [WikiP]
16. Capital One's virtual assistant: ENO. Did music's Brian voice this? ;-) //that's a joke - Brian ENO is puzzledom's favorite music man. ENO is also ONE (part of Capital One) spelled backwards
17. Drops on the lawn: DEW.
19. "Ha, fooled ya!": PSYCH. Clecho! And what I wanted for NOT! at 5 down.
21. Crystal hunter's finds: GEODES.
23. Some toy doggies: PEKES.
30. __-Missouria Tribe: OTOE.
32. Everywhere: ALL OVER.
33. "1984" author: ORWELL. Prepare. 1984 is coming 40 years late.
34. [See: Theme]
35. Marco Polo's hometown: VENICE. I've actually been to his home in Venice. It's a little off the beaten path - at least that's how DW & I got there.
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| UNESCO image |
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| My snap |
36. Like many candies: COATED.
37. City east of Syracuse: UTICA.
38. Principled: MORAL.
39. [See: Theme]
41. Consequently: HENCE.
42. Go around in circles: SPIN.
43. Diver on Louisiana's state seal: PELICAN. I lived in North Louisiana for ~8 years so this was a gimme.
44. Scent: ODOR.
46. Mocking smile: SNEER.
53. Redeems, as a check: CASHES.
54. Info on a political rival: OPPO. Opposition Research.
56. Pre-Christmas season: ADVENT. A four week period where you light a candle each Sunday leading up to Christmas. Lucina can explain.
57. Corp. shake-up: REORG. Oy! Last week at my Corp., a re-org was announced and layoffs are impending.
59. Brick made of soil and straw: ADOBE.
60. Balloon material: LATEX.
63. Like some city races: MAYORAL. I kept thinking of fun runs / marathons.
67. Happy hour picks: ALES. Hand up if you order that expensive scotch at a happy hour 'cuz you're too cheap to buy it IRL.
69. Not-to-be-missed: MUST SEE. Y'all remember NBC's MUST SEE TV of Seinfeld & Friends?
71. Gave an address: SPOKE. Orated didn't fit.
72. Gussies (up): SPIFFS. In slang, "Church it up."
73. Cantankerous: ORNERY. Mom said I was ornery. I assumed it meant impishly entertained.
75. Overly familiar: OLD HAT.
77. Category: GROUP.
79. Pico de gallo, e.g.: SALSA. I love pico and oft sauté it for scrambled eggs.
80. "The Accidental Tourist" novelist Anne: TYLER. Name.
82. Fought (for): VIED.
83. Face concealer: VEIL. Oh, not makeup.
89. AI field: IT SECTOR. I didn't realize last week when I posted an IT SECTOR joke that I was cribbing from the wrong puzzle and may have given a spoiler.
90. 1974 espionage spoof: SPYS.
92. Tough to solve: THORNY.
94. Night vision?: DREAM.
97. Leaves in a hurry: SCRAMS.
98. Sister show of "SmackDown": WWE RAW. Wrestling shows.
99. Smith or Jones, sometimes: ALIAS. In HS, we used Townes - more believable and, if "they" looked it up, it'd get our buddy in trouble :-)
102. Piggy bank filler: SAVER. Not the coins but the person inserting them. Cute, C.C., cute.
105. Spam, e.g.: EMAIL.
106. Sugar crop: CANE.
107. Food safety org.: USDA. United States Department of Agriculture.
108. Ignored the limit: SPED.
110. Chick tenders: HENS. Ha! Not snacks for tots but the bird that tends to baby chic.
112. EverQuest monster: OGRE.
113. Some bell-bottoms: LEES. Oh, please - let's not go retro and bring those back.
114. Number before cuatro: TRES. Spanish counting. Uno, dos, TRES, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ochoe, nueve, diez. Two semesters of Spanish and that's as little as I remember. Father Guido Sarducci was right! [3:55]
115. Exec. who holds the purse strings: CFO. Chief Financial Officer.
116. "I want my bone!": ARF. You didn't really think you'd escape an Anon -T review w/o some heavy metal, did you?
117. B-ball official: REF. Basketball is REFereed.
119. State next to Ore.: IDA. Oregon & Idaho.
120. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB. A ritzy part of SFO just south of Lombard St.
The Grid:
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| The Grid |
Thank you, C.C. for another wonderfully fun puzzle!
Cheers!, -T
