Sunday, January 8, 2017 Paul Coulter

Theme:  "Dine Out" - Parse the title as as "D in E out".  E is replaced by D in each theme entry.  The changes all happen with the last letter of a key word,

23A. Basis for evaluating an archaeology dig? : EARNINGS PER SHARD. Earnings per share.

35A. Warning to Bo Peep that her sheep are really hiding nearby? : HERD'S LOOKING AT YOU, KID. Here's looking at your, kid. But it's grammatically correct to say "Herd are looking at you", right?

58A. "When leaving the beach, hose off your feet before putting on your shoes"? : SAND ADVICE. Sane advice is not a familiar phrase to me.

68A. Must choose among less volatile investment options? : HAVE A BOND TO PICK. Have a bone to pick.

81A. Infant dressed for rain? : BABY BOOTED. I would not know how to clue it. Baby bootee.

100A. Have a good day birding? : FIND FEATHERED FRIENDS. Fine- feathered friends.

 

119A. Paragraph in a lemon law? : DUD PROCESS CLAUSE. Due process clause.

What a great title!

There are some stray E's in the theme answers. It's impossible to replace all of them, given that E is the most frequently used letter in English.

Paul's approach is quite consistent. No first letter or middle letter E to D change. 

 

Across:

1. Get hot online : GO VIRAL. Surprised that Paul crossed it with GOER (1. Attendee).

 

8. Slithery squeezer : BOA

11. San Francisco/Oakland separator : BAY

14. Signature Southern vegetable : OKRA. Constructors love Vowel??Vowel combo.

18. Treeless tract : OPEN AREA

20. High esteem : RESPECT

22. Motley : PIED. Never used this word other than Pied Piper

25. "Goodness gracious!" : EGAD

26. "Wide Sargasso Sea" author Jean : RHYS. Wiki says "The novel is written as a prequel and response to Charlotte Brontë's noted novel Jane Eyre".

27. Chain founded by Ingvar Kamprad : IKEA

28. 2016 A.L. Manager of the Year Francona, familiarly : TITO. Known for ending Red Sox's 86-year drought. We also have ARM (105. Pitcher's pride).

29. Heartthrob : FLAME

30. Medicare segment : PART A

32. As to : IN RE

34. Called the shots : LED

44. "The Sage of Concord" : EMERSON

45. Romeo or Juliet : TEEN. Thought of  ROLE first.

46. South of France : MIDI. Why is South of France called "Le Midi"?

47. Holds firmly : RIVETS

48. Dilates : WIDENS

50. Times for vespers : EVES. I forgot the meaning of "vespers". Could only picture the Bond Girl Vesper.

54. Knock for a loop : STUN. Tiny dupe with 113. Stunned accusation : ET TU

55. Schleps : TOTES

62. Jiffs : SECs

64. Slip cover : DRESS

66. Yorkshire river : OUSE. We also have 126. River to the Fulda : EDER

67. Bygone bird : MOA. Locally known as Mall of America. I went to Zara the second day it opened.

73. Bossy remark? : MOO. Great clue.

76. Wine center NNE of Monaco : ASTI

77. Flaw-spotting aid : LOUPE

78. Canterbury's county : KENT

85. Bas-relief medium : GESSO. Learned from doing crosswords.

87. Dashed : TORE

89. Cavaradossi's "Recondita armonia," for one : ARIA. Of the five words in the clue, I know two.

90. Cooper's creations : STAVES

92. Green need : PUTTER. Golf green.

94. Bring in : REAP

98. Where Java may be found : ASIA

99. Before : EARLIER

106. Meh : DRAB

107. Breaks : RIFTS

108. Nursing a sprain, perhaps : GIMPY. Not a word I use.

110. "Good going!" : NICE

 

114. Come together : KNIT

118. Fever with chills : AGUE

123. Needle holder : PINE. You wanted ETUI, didn't you?

124. Espionage asset : STEALTH. Great word. Consonant-rich.

125. More frothy : YEASTIER

127. It's used for some trips : LSD

128. WWII venue : ETO (European Theater of Operations)

129. __ step: deceptive hoops tactic : STUTTER. Learning moment for me.

 

Down:

2. Moonfish : OPAH

3. Darned : VERY

4. Quaint stopovers : INNs

5. Italian counterpart of the BBC : RAI. Stands for Radiotelevisione Italiana. We had this last year. 

6. Prince Valiant's son : ARN

7. Shackle : LEG IRON

8. Onetime California oil town : BREA

9. "__ the fields we go" : O'ER

10. Kind of prof. : ASST

11. Marching orders? : BEAT IT. Great fill/clue.

12. Radar or laser : ACRONYM. Did not know laser is an acronym.

13. Accountant's initialism : YTD

14. European automaker that was originally a sewing machine company : OPEL. Interesting trivia.

15. Rwanda's capital : KIGALI. Got via crosses.

16. Didn't just criticize : REAMED

17. Put on : ADDED

19. Invite for : ASK TO

21. Honor society leader? : PHI. Oh,  Phi Beta Kappa.

24. Reach a high : PEAK

29. Clan clash : FEUD

30. "Hey ... over here!" : PSST

31. "__ good name is ne'er retriev'd": John Gay : A LOST. Also got via crosses.

33. King of France : ROI

35. "His," to Bierce : HERS. We had this clue a while ago.

36. Gives off : EMITS

37. Variety show : REVUE

38. Soak : DRENCH

39. "Yea, verily" : IT IS SO

 

40. Outlaw Kelly : NED

41. Thug's thousands : GEES

42. "The King and I" role : ANNA

43. City on the Dnieper : KIEV

48. Winning Super Bowl III coach Ewbank : WEEB. I tried to use him in a puzzle once.

49. Busybodies : SNOOPS

51. Get-up-and-go : VIM

52. "Foucault's Pendulum" author : ECO

53. Yellow __ : SEA. Between China and South Korea. We call it Huang Hai, literally "Yellow Sea". Hai = Sea. But in Cantonese, Hai means "Yes", same as Japanese.

56. Start of a tribute : ODE TO

57. Pride and prejudice : TRAITS. Got via crosses.

59. Fools : DUPES

60. Faulkner's "__ Lay Dying" : AS I

61. Card collection : DECK. Not baseball cards.

63. Car from Trollhättan : SAAB

65. NBC show since 1975 : SNL

69. After-dinner drink letters : VSO

70. Literary fold : DOG EAR. So simple in retrospect.

71. Third of seven: Abbr. : TUES

72. "Fine" holder of fish? : KETTLE. Fun clue.

73. Wharton deg. : MBA

74. Crew member : OAR

75. Kimono closer : OBI. Kimono is so pricey. Lots of girls just wear Yukata. It has OBI also. 

79. Away from the office : NOT IN

80. In a tough spot : TREED

82. It's a long story : YARN. No SAGA today.

83. South Dakota, to Pierre : ETAT. Good old clue.

84. Pizzazz : DASH

86. Eyeball-bending work : OP ART

88. Drops the ball : ERRS

91. Go (for) : VIE

93. 1999 "A God in Ruins" novelist : URIS. Not familiar with the book.

95. Go around in circles? : EDDY. Another great clue.

96. It's south of Eur. : AFR

97. Small change : PEANUTS

99. Gushes : EFFUSES

100. Standoffish : FRIGID. The "Standoffish" weather here in Minnesota makes me feel tough. Very Fargo-like.

101. Protected, as from prosecution : IMMUNE

102. Put up with : ABIDED. The Hotmail/Outlook rehaul last year is driving me nuts, TTP. They create double space every time I press Enter.  Read here. The glitch has been on for over three years, thought I only encountered this since the rehaul. I'm not sure this happens to every user. I did not notice this problem with Argyle's emails. It's also incredibly slow. I've been using Gmail more and more.

103. Art Deco artist : ERTE

104. Scatterbrained : DITSY

105. Slack-jawed : AGAPE

109. House of Lords member : PEER

111. Balancing pro : CPA. Are you a CPA, D-Otto?

112. Agatha contemporary : ERLE

113. Bounce back : ECHO

114. Nicky of "Boston Public" : KATT. Stranger to me.

115. Jour's opposite : NUIT. Day and night.

116. "Got it" : I SEE

117. Amer. Samoa, e.g. : TERR

119. ISP alternative : DSL. No. ISP offers DSL service.

120. Polo Grounds legend : OTT (Mel).

121. Be-bopper : CAT

122. The Tigers of the SEC : LSU

So what keyboard are you using? We're going to buy a new one soon and I'd like to know your suggestion. Thanks.

Happy Birthday to Patti Varol, Rich's assistant and editor for the Crossword Club. Patti taught me by example on how to make clean puzzles. I'm so grateful for her unfailing patience and attention to details.

C.C.

PS: To those who get the wrong grid today, please click here for the correct puzzle. On the top right, you should see Print or Download button. If you still have trouble, please email me crosswordc@gmail.com, I'll email me the grid. (I've removed the puzzle link. Email me if you need the grid.)