Theme: BG's AEIOU
23A: Red-eye service?: OVERNIGHT BAGGAGE CLAIM (OVERNIGHT BAGGAGE, BAGGAGE CLAIM)
43A: Above disagreement?: TOO PROUD TO BEG TO DIFFER (TOO PROUD TO BEG, BEG TO DIFFER)
68A: Speaking of major expenses?: TALKING BIG TICKET ITEMS (TALKING BIG, BIG TICKET ITEMS)
97A: Organic fuel delivery is delayed?: PEAT BOGS DOWN IN TRAFFIC (PEAT BOGS, BOGS DOWN IN TRAFFIC)
119A: '50s sci-fi/dance movie?: JITTERBUG-EYED MONSTERS (JITTERBUG, BUG-EYED MONSTERS)
The clue for 119A is inaccurate. The order should be reversed to "50s dance/sci-fi movie". Still, I could not find anything about "BUG-EYED MONSTERS" movie this morning. Or did I read the answer wrongly?
I caught the BAG, BEG, BIG, BOG, BUG vowel progression very early on, but did not get the "Before and After" concept until the very end. I am not good at this "Before & After" word game. Have never watched "Wheel of Fortune".
Nevertheless, it's a very unique puzzle, with five 21-letter running-through theme entries, the least I've seen since I started blogging in late Jan. I am not clear about TMS puzzle rule, but LA Times requires at least 6 theme entries (minimum 84 theme squares) for a Sunday 21*21. NY Times requires a minimum of 80 theme squares (at least 5 theme entries I presume).
Did you notice that SONTAG (40D: "Illness as Metaphor" writer) comes up a lot on Sundays? I think I've also seen enough of AGORA (82D: Old Greek market).
Across:
1A: Formal judicial order: WRIT. Habeas corpus is the most important WRIT.
5A: Make oneself presentable: CLEAN UP
12A: Designed to conform: ADAPTIVE
21A: Red phone: HOT LINE. I don't understand this Hillary "Red Phone" parody. Who are those characters in the middle of the clip?
22A: Bad repute: DISFAVOR. Are they really interchangeable?
34A: Balanced conditions: STASES. The singular form is STASIS. The plural for equilibrium can be equilibria or equilibriums.
39A: Old English characters: EDHS. How so?
40A: Fort Stewart neighbor: SAVANNAH. Pure guess. I've never heard of Fort Stewart before.
51A: Bad pun: GROANER. New to me. Can you give me an example?
52A: Verbena plant: LANTANA. Also unknown to me. I don't think I've seen this kind of flowering plant before, have you?
76A: Radioactivity pioneer: CURIE. I suppose this can refer to either of the couple. Without this answer, MME (23D: Fr. woman's title) could be clued as "CURIE title".
77A: In good working order: A-OK. Funny how the same hand-gesture can mean different thing in different culture.
83A: Wall St. letters: NYSE. And ASE (14D: NASD competitor). I am more familiar with AMEX & NASDAQ though. Are there any differences that I am not aware of?
90A: Poetic time of day: MIDMORN
101A: Jerkwater: ONE-HORSE. I did not know the meaning of "Jerkwater". What a strange name!
126A: Blood deficiency (var.): ANAEMIA. Dates, you need lots of sweet dates, they are very rich in iron content.
128A: Marine celebrities?: SEA STARS. Very nice clue.
129A: Author of "Kissing the Gunner's Daughter": RENDELL (Ruth). I've never heard of the book nor the author. Nice library.
Down:
5D: Hot lunch?: CHILI DOG. I've never quite understood this food Chili. Does it always have beans in it?
10D: Two-toed sloth: UNAU. I forgot. Here is a two-toed sloth UNAU. And this is a three-toed sloth AI".
31D: "Star Trek" role: UHURA. Nope. I've never watched "Star Trek". She is the communications officer on the Enterprise. I did get LEIA (88D: "Star Wars" role). How to pronounce UHURA?
32D: Windows basis: MS-DOS
34D: Actress Thompson: SADA. I filled in EMMA first. Have never heard of SADA Thompson. Here is SADA in "Family". Do you like "The Princess Bride"?
42D: Can't be beat: NO-LOSE. The clue feels like it's asking for a verb, doesn't it?
46D: Water depth: abbr.: FTH. I suppose it's for FATHOM. Not a familiar abbreviation to me.
48D: Insect: pref.: ENTOM. As in ENTOMOLOGY.
49D: Levels in London: RASES. I like our RAZES. Good alliteration in the clue. "Levels in Leeds" is great too.
57D: Stallone sequel: ROCKY II.
69D: Rolling Stones hit: ANGIE. Here is the song. It sounds so sad.
70D: Auto racer Niki: LAUDA. I googled his name. Wikipedia says this former Austrian Formula one champion owns 2 airlines: LAUDA Air and Niki.
71D: Farm: GRANGE. This is a new word to me. Isn't GRANGE a kind of music genre?
73D: Violet essence: IONONE. Another new word to me. Dictionary says it's "a colorless to yellowish liquid, C13H20O, having a strong odor of violets and used in perfumes."
91D: Old Greek coin: OBOL. No idea. Here is some very interesting information about OBOL & Hades.
95D: Type of molecular geometry: TRIGONAL. New to me also. Same as triangular I suppose.
99D: In the act of: DOING. This clue just feels so awkward to me.
104D: Indian princes: RAJAS. Wouldn't have got 119A without the letter "J" from RAJAS.
106D: Siamese fighting fish BETTA. No idea. Dictionary says it's also called "Fighting fish". Wow, what a strange idea to put a plant and fish together in a vase.
109D: Befell:: TIDED. I did not know that TIDE can mean "Befall" also.
C.C.
23A: Red-eye service?: OVERNIGHT BAGGAGE CLAIM (OVERNIGHT BAGGAGE, BAGGAGE CLAIM)
43A: Above disagreement?: TOO PROUD TO BEG TO DIFFER (TOO PROUD TO BEG, BEG TO DIFFER)
68A: Speaking of major expenses?: TALKING BIG TICKET ITEMS (TALKING BIG, BIG TICKET ITEMS)
97A: Organic fuel delivery is delayed?: PEAT BOGS DOWN IN TRAFFIC (PEAT BOGS, BOGS DOWN IN TRAFFIC)
119A: '50s sci-fi/dance movie?: JITTERBUG-EYED MONSTERS (JITTERBUG, BUG-EYED MONSTERS)
The clue for 119A is inaccurate. The order should be reversed to "50s dance/sci-fi movie". Still, I could not find anything about "BUG-EYED MONSTERS" movie this morning. Or did I read the answer wrongly?
I caught the BAG, BEG, BIG, BOG, BUG vowel progression very early on, but did not get the "Before and After" concept until the very end. I am not good at this "Before & After" word game. Have never watched "Wheel of Fortune".
Nevertheless, it's a very unique puzzle, with five 21-letter running-through theme entries, the least I've seen since I started blogging in late Jan. I am not clear about TMS puzzle rule, but LA Times requires at least 6 theme entries (minimum 84 theme squares) for a Sunday 21*21. NY Times requires a minimum of 80 theme squares (at least 5 theme entries I presume).
Did you notice that SONTAG (40D: "Illness as Metaphor" writer) comes up a lot on Sundays? I think I've also seen enough of AGORA (82D: Old Greek market).
Across:
1A: Formal judicial order: WRIT. Habeas corpus is the most important WRIT.
5A: Make oneself presentable: CLEAN UP
12A: Designed to conform: ADAPTIVE
21A: Red phone: HOT LINE. I don't understand this Hillary "Red Phone" parody. Who are those characters in the middle of the clip?
22A: Bad repute: DISFAVOR. Are they really interchangeable?
34A: Balanced conditions: STASES. The singular form is STASIS. The plural for equilibrium can be equilibria or equilibriums.
39A: Old English characters: EDHS. How so?
40A: Fort Stewart neighbor: SAVANNAH. Pure guess. I've never heard of Fort Stewart before.
51A: Bad pun: GROANER. New to me. Can you give me an example?
52A: Verbena plant: LANTANA. Also unknown to me. I don't think I've seen this kind of flowering plant before, have you?
76A: Radioactivity pioneer: CURIE. I suppose this can refer to either of the couple. Without this answer, MME (23D: Fr. woman's title) could be clued as "CURIE title".
77A: In good working order: A-OK. Funny how the same hand-gesture can mean different thing in different culture.
83A: Wall St. letters: NYSE. And ASE (14D: NASD competitor). I am more familiar with AMEX & NASDAQ though. Are there any differences that I am not aware of?
90A: Poetic time of day: MIDMORN
101A: Jerkwater: ONE-HORSE. I did not know the meaning of "Jerkwater". What a strange name!
126A: Blood deficiency (var.): ANAEMIA. Dates, you need lots of sweet dates, they are very rich in iron content.
128A: Marine celebrities?: SEA STARS. Very nice clue.
129A: Author of "Kissing the Gunner's Daughter": RENDELL (Ruth). I've never heard of the book nor the author. Nice library.
Down:
5D: Hot lunch?: CHILI DOG. I've never quite understood this food Chili. Does it always have beans in it?
10D: Two-toed sloth: UNAU. I forgot. Here is a two-toed sloth UNAU. And this is a three-toed sloth AI".
31D: "Star Trek" role: UHURA. Nope. I've never watched "Star Trek". She is the communications officer on the Enterprise. I did get LEIA (88D: "Star Wars" role). How to pronounce UHURA?
32D: Windows basis: MS-DOS
34D: Actress Thompson: SADA. I filled in EMMA first. Have never heard of SADA Thompson. Here is SADA in "Family". Do you like "The Princess Bride"?
42D: Can't be beat: NO-LOSE. The clue feels like it's asking for a verb, doesn't it?
46D: Water depth: abbr.: FTH. I suppose it's for FATHOM. Not a familiar abbreviation to me.
48D: Insect: pref.: ENTOM. As in ENTOMOLOGY.
49D: Levels in London: RASES. I like our RAZES. Good alliteration in the clue. "Levels in Leeds" is great too.
57D: Stallone sequel: ROCKY II.
69D: Rolling Stones hit: ANGIE. Here is the song. It sounds so sad.
70D: Auto racer Niki: LAUDA. I googled his name. Wikipedia says this former Austrian Formula one champion owns 2 airlines: LAUDA Air and Niki.
71D: Farm: GRANGE. This is a new word to me. Isn't GRANGE a kind of music genre?
73D: Violet essence: IONONE. Another new word to me. Dictionary says it's "a colorless to yellowish liquid, C13H20O, having a strong odor of violets and used in perfumes."
91D: Old Greek coin: OBOL. No idea. Here is some very interesting information about OBOL & Hades.
95D: Type of molecular geometry: TRIGONAL. New to me also. Same as triangular I suppose.
99D: In the act of: DOING. This clue just feels so awkward to me.
104D: Indian princes: RAJAS. Wouldn't have got 119A without the letter "J" from RAJAS.
106D: Siamese fighting fish BETTA. No idea. Dictionary says it's also called "Fighting fish". Wow, what a strange idea to put a plant and fish together in a vase.
109D: Befell:: TIDED. I did not know that TIDE can mean "Befall" also.
C.C.
