Theme: "Grid Lines" - Familiar phrases are re-interpreted as if they are lines spoken in the situation specified in the clues.
23A. Borderline? : PAPERS, PLEASE. The airport immigration officers actually just looked at my visa. The visa guy at the American Consulate in Guangzhou checked my various papers.
29A. Deadline? : I'M IN HEAVEN. I'm still undecided about heaven.
43A. Beeline? : I LOVE YOU, HONEY. For Melissa, who is taking extended leave from our blog due to family matter.
60A. Skyline? : GET OFF OF MY CLOUD. The Rolling Stones song. Slight dupe with the OFF at the intersecting RUNOFF.
68A. Dateline? : YOUR PLACE OR MINE. So apt.
90A. Neckline? : KISS ME, YOU FOOL. Argyle said it's "A classic line from romantic comedies". Where did it originate?
102A. Unemployment line? : YOU'RE FIRED. Donald Trump.
111A. Foul line? : THAT'S NOT FAIR. So who are you rooting for: Cardinals or the Red Sox? Ortiz was never that good when he was with the Twins.
Total 100 theme squares. Perfect.
I'm
so happy to blog a John Farmer puzzle. As I mentioned before, John
always delights me with his creative themes or innovative approach to a
tried theme.
 |
| John Farmer, Xword Info |
In
today's puzzle, John arranged all his theme entries in Across. Since
his shortest theme entries have 10 letters, he did not put any 10-letter
non-theme fill in Across to confuse solvers. He put them (4) in Down. The grid also features two smooth 9's and eight lovely 8's.
Across:
1. Chocoholic, e.g. : ADDICT. I'm not. You?
7. Stadium near Citi Field : ASHE
11. Young socialite : DEB
14. Corsica neighbor : ELBA
18. Maternity dress choice : MUUMUU. How unusual. Four U's.
19. Agenda details : ITEMS
21. Actress Gardner : AVA
22. Cry out for : NEED
25. McCarthy era paranoia : RED SCARE. Thank God I did not join the Chinese Communist Party. US government would not have approved my immigration.
27. "Citizen Kane" prop : SLED. Rosebud.
28. Civil rights leader Chavez : CESAR
31. Course expectation : PAR. Golf course.
32. Copier abbr. : LTR
34. Progressing according to plan : ON TARGET
35. Natural selection adherent : DARWINIST
40. Port for a mouse : USB. Remember the old days when we had to use wired mouse & keyboard?
42. Anger : IRE
45. Refrain syllable : TRA
46. Beaut : GEM
49. Arizona tribe members : PIMAS. So are HOPIS.
50. Timber fungus : DRY ROT
51. Remedy for wearing of the green? : SOD. Golf green, correct?
52. Emerald City pooch : TOTO. "The Wizard of Oz".
53. Precursor to rocksteady music : SKA. Wiki said Rocksteady is "a successor to ska and a precursor to reggae".
54. Airport accessible via BART : SFO
55. Almond-flavored cordial : AMARETTO
57. She brought Tzeitel and Lazar together : YENTE. Saw "Fiddler on the Roof" long long time ago. Don't remember those names.
64. Children's author Asquith : ROS. She stumped some last time. Click here. I presume she writes those posts herself?
65. Apt. ad spec : RMs
66. Number on some watches : VII
67. Chem. pollutant : PCB
74. Some former polliwogs : TOADS
77. Get together at the factory, in a way : UNIONIZE
78. Words With Friends 10-pointer : ZEE.
79. Art to dye for? : TAT (Tattoo)
80. Big biceps, at the gym : GUNS
81. Reason for a 33-Down : TIE. 33D. Post-election election : RUNOFF
82. "The quality goes in before the name goes on" manufacturer : ZENITH. Owned by LG now.
86. Pal of Porky : DAFFY
88. Old spy gp. : OSS ( Office of Strategic Services). 1942-1945. Later became CIA.
89. Raided the fridge : ATE
92. Cholesterol abbr. : HDL. The good one.
93. "__-haw!" : YEE
94. Source of "helicopter seeds" : MAPLE TREE. I don't know those seeds are called "helicopter seeds".
95. 1989 Roseanne Barr title role : SHE-DEVIL. Never saw it. With Meryl Streep.
99. __ Paulo : SAO
104. Shrub in a patch : BRIER
106. West Coast sch. : UCLA
110. Spider-Man, for Peter Parker : ALTER EGO
114. MS Word files : DOCS
115. Big time : EON
116. Lucifer : SATAN
117. What John has and Joan does not : SHORT O. Tricky clue. Joan has LONG O.
118. Washed-out : ASHY
119. "Do, or do not. There is no __": Yoda : TRY
120. Respond to flattery, maybe : MELT. Ha ha.
121. Shown the door : OUSTED
Down:
1. Current units : AMPS
2. __ citizenship : DUAL
3. Bamboozle : DUPE
4. Chatted with online : IM'ed
5. Mangy mutt : CUR
6. Birthplace of the Italian Renaissance : TUSCANY. And 20D. Six, in 6-Down : SEI
7. Feels bad : AILS
8. Underhand : STEALTHY
9. Cupid's target : HEART
10. Ambulance letters : EMS
11. "Dream Lover" singer : DARIN (Bobby)
12. It may be blessed : EVENT
13. Reason to keep something under your hat? : BAD HAIR DAY. Now my hair grows longer and I'll have lots of bad hair days in winter.
14. Keep in a coop : ENCAGE
15. Pull up stakes : LEAVE
16. Artist's headgear : BERET
17. Yemen coastal city : ADEN
24. "... and that's final!" : PERIOD
26. California mission founder JunÃpero : SERRA
30. Stage name of musician Richard Melville Hall : MOBY
31. Fruity concoctions : PIES
35. Green Teletubby : DIPSY. Learning moment for me.
36. How great minds think? : ALIKE
37. The Colosseum, the Forum, etc. : ROMAN RUINS
38. Ky. neighbor : WVA
39. __ La Table: high-end cookware shop : SUR. Never heard of it. Google shows they have one store in ritzy Edina.
41. Words before keys or wheels : SET OF
44. Approximately : OR SO
45. Agee of '60s-'70s baseball : TOMMIE. I think I have this card. Not worth anything.
46. Defend : GO TO BAT FOR
47. Response to a double-crosser : ET TU
48. Atmosphere : MOOD
51. 2000 US Open champ Marat __ : SAFIN. Unknown figure to me.
52. AT&T, e.g. : TELCO
56. Dept. store slip : RCPT
58. TimeCutter mowers, e.g. : TOROS
59. "A Season on the Brink" airer : ESPN. About Bobby Knight. It's ESPN's first TV movie, per Wiki.
60. Torino thanks : GRAZIE
61. Show runner : EMCEE
62. J.A. Prufrock's creator : TSE (T.S. Eliot)
63. Egg: Pref. : OVI
68. Old Serbian auto : YUGO
69. Heavy load : ONUS
70. Source of patter? : LITTLE FEET. Pitter patter of little feet.
71. Hall of Famer who played the same position as Pee Wee : OZZIE (Smith). Shortstop. My first reaction is ERNIE (Banks). Anyone thought of ROBIN (Yount) or even HONUS?
72. Big name in little candy : REESE'S
73. Saks department : MEN'S
75. Green Goblin portrayer in Spider-Man films : DAFOE (Willem)
76. Fashion : STYLE
83. Forever celebrated : IMMORTAL
84. Constant Comment, e.g. : TEA. Wow, never heard of this tea. But I drink loose Chinese tea anyway.
85. Character in "Ben-Hur"? : HYPHEN. Wickedly clever clue, John!
86. "Happy Trails," e.g. : DUET
87. p.m. : AFT
89. Dangerous snake : ADDER
90. Petty on a track : KYLE. Son of Richard Petty.
91. Medium-dry sherry : OLOROSO. Mean "scented" in Spanish.
92. Charge against Galileo : HERESY
95. Some parts of Handel's "Messiah" : SOLOs
96. Storage cabinet : HUTCH. China hutch.
97. Snap : VIGOR
98. Dramatic __ : IRONY
100. Wind down : ABATE
102. "Blah ..." : YADA. I bet Husker Gary watched every "Seinfeld" episode. I probably missed a few.
103. Skid row woe : DTS
105. "__ It Romantic?": Rodgers and Hart song : ISN'T
106. Roswell craft : UFOS
107. Express lane roller : CART
108. Diet-friendly : LITE
109. Yankee nickname : A-ROD. Aroid.
112. Play killer : HAM
113. Cal. column : THU (Thursday). Calendar.
For those solvers whose paper only carries LA Times Sunday grid, I'd like to share with you this lovely poem our regular OwenKL wrote:
Ode to Crossword Puzzles
Owen Lorion, 5/11/98
Oh, grid of lines, squares black and white,
You can ofttimes be my delight
As I wrack my brain at your odious challenge,
Then try for the crosswords, an olious melange.
My spelling was poor -- you helped to improve it.
My hubris was great -- you helped to reprove it.
I once thought I had a wide vocabulary,
But often you send me to thumb my dictionary.
Proper names are the worst, of people and places;
I'm forgetful of maps, I'm forgetful of faces.
And then there's those words, archaic, obscure,
That I'm learning to use with aplomb so demure.
But my favorite task, that makes puzzles a dream,
Is to guess at the thesis, to determine a theme.
Some puzzles don't have this. Fie on them, fie!
I want puzzles with riddles, like ice cream on pie.
I want puns, I want wordplay, and what is more
I want to wish cruciverbalists my thanks galore!
