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Sep 21, 2014

Sunday, September 21, 2014, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Taco Filling

We are very close to the autumnal equinox of equal day and night and I'm sure you'll find this puzzle will give you an equal measure of fun themeage and sparkling fill. It's not jusT A COincidence that our lovely blog mistress is today's constructor! Where else could a brilliant woman from China construct a puzzle about Hispanic food but in America? As she wrote, WHAT A COUNTRY!

C.C. has identified the word TACO as being the filling between words in common phrases just as these fillings below are used in actual tacos! ¡Muy Bueno!

Four of her theme fills were the last two letters of one word and the first two of another

23A. Nissan Bluebird competitor : TOYOTA CORONA - Became the number one nameplate in the world in 1997 surpassing the VW Beetle

66A. February 1945 summit : YALTA CONFERENCE - Many thought FDR was very sick at this conference. He died two months later.


88. Strong morning drink : ROBUSTA COFFEE- One of the two main types

115A. Christmas rental : SANTA COSTUME - Argyle apparel?

and three used the A as an article

29A. "That's enough out of you!" : PUT A CORK IN IT 

45A. Didn't panic : KEPT A COOL HEAD - Despite someone saying "Put a cork in it"

108A. Yakov Smirnoff catchphrase : WHAT A COUNTRY - Part of his funny 1985 beer commercial


Add in great six ten-letter vertical fills and learning and we have an very nice Sunday!

Across
    
1. Gardener's enemy : APHID - Literally small suckers

6. C to C, say : OCTAVE - It's the interval between Some and where when you sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. OH COME ON, you tried it, didn't you?

12. Anti-drug ads, e.g. : PSA'S - Public Service Announcements. There are some graphic anti-texting ones out now

16. Try a little of : SIP 

19. World's largest energy consumer : CHINA - It takes a lot for 1.3 billion people

 
20. Like some pullovers : HOODED

21. No-luck link : SUCH - CCR sang "I ain't no senator's son"

22. Likewise : TOO

25. Family rec center : YMCA - The largest one in North America will be here in Fremont, NE after the aquatic center is added this fall

26. Unified : ONE - Italy just before it was unified

27. Artist Yoko : ONO

28. Berserk : AMOK

32. Conclude one's case : REST - TV's Perry Mason seldom had to REST his case before someone jumped up and confessed in open court

34. Bordeaux bud : AMI 

35. They bite : TEETH - so do these in your TACO


36. Notable survivor of the Trojan War : AENEAS - Also Homer's subject in The Aeneid

37. Felix Leiter's org., in Bond films : CIA - Anybody remember Gust Avrakotus?

38. Golfer's pocketful : TEES - They can be hard to get in the ground in February

40. Pen handle? : BIC - Ever had a waiter with a dozen in his apron?

42. German gripe : ACH - Is ACH du lieber (ADL) "OMG" in Deutsch?

43. Storied ball dropper : GALILEO - I didn't try it but I was where he did it more than 400 yrs after the event

52. CCXI x V : MLV - Just a minute...


53. Attila, for one : HUN - Did someone ever call him "hon"?

54. Firth or fjord : INLET

55. 1,000-yr. realm : HRE - On what show did Linda Richman say, "The Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, Roman nor an Empire, Discuss..."

56. Org. that promotes hunter safety : NRA

57. Sour British brew : ALEGAR - VineGAR made from ALE according to Webster

59. Sno-Cat feature : TREAD - Keep that end down and the tin side up

60. __ Mason: investment giant : LEGG - Okay

61. Lang. of Luther : GER - He wrote his 95 Theses in Latin which were then translated into his native German. The original Castle Cathedral door in Wittenburg, where they were posted, burned but his Theses are on the bronze door there now


62. Mmes., in La Mancha : SRAS

63. Lamb Chop creator Lewis : SHARI

64. Cartoon girl with a talking backpack : DORA - The Explorer, but how 'bout Dumb DORA

65. Campus bigwig : DEAN - Wormer?

70. Doggy bag item : BONE

73. "__ you one" : I OWE - Can I get that in writing?

74. Creek croakers : TOADS

75. Meat order specification : LEAN - Makes for the best TACOS

78. "Just the Way You __" : ARE - She loved me that way when we were first married...

79. Works at home, maybe : UMPS - Going unnoticed is a perfect game for them

80. Prepares, as for action : GIRDS


81. Heavy herbivores : HIPPOS - Africa's most dangerous animal after the mosquito

83. Remote button : REW 

84. Milano Mr. : SIG - Signore abbr.

85. Split causes : RIFTS - A 1912 Republican RIFT gave us POTUS Woodrow Wilson

86. PC-to-PC system : LAN - Local Area Network

87. Letter before chi : PHI

91. Like a sleeping baby : ANGELIC 

93. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN E - Thanks Vanna!

94. Lap dog, briefly : POM - ...eranian

95. Newspaper section : ARTS - Ah yes, the thea-tuh!

97. Crossed paths with : MET - Remember the guy going to St. Ives?

98. City with a Kansas State campus : SALINA

101. Café lighteners : LAITS - Cafe au lait- I'll have mine straight up Mr. Barista

105. WWII domain : ETO - European Theater of Operations

106. USAF noncom : TSGT - Tech Sergeant (E-6)

110. Corn holder : SILO - Also missiles

112. "That feels so nice!" : AAH

113. Rand who created John Galt : AYN

114. Political period : TERM - Some would love limits on these

118. Weightlifting beneficiary : PEC - Want good PECS?

119. Actress Lena : OLIN

120. Oscar winner Kidman : NICOLE - She won while she was still feeling empty after her divorce from Tom

121. Spikes, as punch : LACES - Field goal holders are supposed to get the football LACES away from the kicker

122. Atlanta-to-Miami dir. : SSE

123. Teases, with "on" : RAGS

124. Initial phases : ONSETS

125. Quite heavy : OBESE

 Down:

 1. Lineman? : ACTOR - Clever! I have nightmares about acting and not knowing my lines

2. Mealtime annoyances : PHONE CALLS - It's an election year

3. Classic Western shout : HI YO SILVER

4. Rescuer of Odysseus : INO - I learned her name and gender

5. Some Dropbox contents : DATA

6. "Seriously!" : OH COME ON

7. Browsing activity marker : COOKIE - I clear these out of my browser periodically

8. A.L. East team : TOR - onto Bluejays

9. Become a mother, maybe : ADOPT - We did ADOPT a kitten on September 10th and she saw no reason why  I should be doing my LA Times Crossword on my lap desk as I do every morning
10. Field of action : VENUE

11. Skype appointment : E DATE - Okay

12. Futures dealer? : PSYCHIC - Hey pick the lotto numbers!

13. Sport with a referee called a gyoji : SUMO - The gyoji had better stand back!

14. Ghana's capital : ACCRA - Home to 2.3 million

15. "Hurry up!" : SHAKE A LEG

16. Wiltshire monument : STONEHENGE - The Autumnal Equinox tomorrow will draw an, uh, interesting crowd to STONE HENGE


17. Ancient region of Asia Minor : IONIA - Now in Turkey

18. Millay and Milton : POETS - Edan St. Vincent and John respectively

24. Bobby Jones, for his entire golfing career : AMATEUR - He made his living as a lawyer and retired from competition at 30

30. Time to swing : AT BAT - A C.C. puzzle without baseball? OH COME ON!

31. Snow measure : INCH - One inch of rain can equal ten inches of show. We had a three inch rain last week...

33. __ chi : TAI

39. Downhill, e.g. : SKI RACE - Going down a mountain on two slats at interstate highway speeds? What could possibly go wrong, Marti?

41. Makes sense : COHERES

43. Robin Roberts' show, initially : GMA - Good Morning America. Also the great first line to the chorus of City of New Orleans

44. Jokhang Temple city : LHASA

46. Cuban Liberation Day month : ENERO

47. Court figure : PLAINTIFF - PLAINTIFF Stella Liebeck wanted $18,000 from McDonalds for spilling hot coffee on her leg. They refused and she wound up with $600,000 from a court

48. "Airplane!" hero Striker : TED - Funniest movie ever?

49. It has keys and stops : ORGAN - Where do you even start?

50. Geometry product : AREA

51. "Shucks!" : DARN

58. "Let's Get It On" singer : GAYE - Marvin

59. Signs of spring : THAWS

60. Men with manors : LORDS - Cute! LORD Grantham will be back in his Downton Manor soon on PBS!

63. Temporary fix : STOP GAP - Stop gap tax levies never seem to go away

64. Jordan River outlet : DEAD SEA - Lowest land point on the planet

65. Like some pockets : DEEP

67. Put a cap on : LIMIT - A LIMIT OF five potato chips? Yeah, right!

68. Strong suit : FORTE

69. Hold on tight : CLING

70. Virologist who worked with Epstein : BARR - Nearly 95% of adults have had had the Epstein Barr Virus sometime in their life

71. Layered snack : OREO

72. Big name in athletic shoes : NEW BALANCE

76. Nonsense : APPLESAUCE - Famous APPLESAUCE scene with horrible Bogie imitation from cheesy TV

77. Koufax quartet : NO HIT GAMES - One of the true gentlemen of the game who also retired at 30 because of extreme arm pain from his incredible curve ball

79. Clay or Webster, briefly : US SENATOR

80. Picture file suffix : GIF

81. Millennium Falcon pilot : HAN SOLO - Princess Leia became Mrs. HAN SOLO in the book series

82. [Not a typo] : SIC - Yore (SIC) enjoying C.C. puzzle, ain't (SIC) you?

85. Punic Wars fighter : ROMAN - How Rome beat Hannibal and the Carthaginians
86. Some fruit pie crusts : LATTICES

89. Workbook chapter : UNIT - Unit One in science books is always measurement

90. Op-Ed pieces : COLUMNS

92. Rescue pro : EMT - We have full time ones here but small towns depend on volunteers

96. Add more flavoring to : RE-SALT - The driveway has frozen over again and so...

98. Exchanges : SWAPS

99. "Now I remember" : AH YES - A big part of the song Maurice Chevalier sang to Hermione Gingold

100. Amtrak express : ACELA - Capable of 150 mph

102. "__ big deal!" : IT'S NO 

103. Get ready for a fight : TRAIN - On his first morning of TRAINING, Rocky drank raw eggs. Remember?

104. Matches audio to video, say : SYNCS - The Husker radio broadcast does not SYNC with the TV. The audio for the Fresno game was 3 seconds late

107. This and that : THESE

109. HP Photosmart insert : ORIG - Don't forget your ORIG. on the HP copier

111. Where the Storting makes legislative decisions : OSLO

116. Ballet support? : TOE

117. Check : TAB

Husker Gary