TITLE: HOLY MOLY
Eleven days ago, it was my privilege to blog a fun Wednesday offering by our blog mistress C.C. and fellow blogger/constructor Agnes Davison - Irish Miss to us regulars (and irregulars for that matter). (Correction: Davidson.)
Today our own version of Cagney and Lacy present us with nine substitutions where, as you can see in the grid below, an H in one word of a common phrase is changed to an M which results in a silly phrase and accompanied by clever cluing.
Getting the gimmick early facilitated the solve and a good time was had by all! Let's see what silliness tempered with expertise our friends presented in today's themers, some of which actually exist:
22. Check for doneness? : FEEL THE MEAT (HEAT) - This man does this for a living
24. Drama written in code? : MORSE (HORSE) PLAY - Here ya go!
36. President's daily delivery? : MAIL (HAIL) TO THE CHIEF - If you send MAIL TO THE CHIEF of the Winnebago tribe in Winnebago, NE, he'll pick it up here
51. North Pole yoga need? : SANTA MAT (HAT)
67. Iditarod trainee? : MUSH (HUSH) PUPPY - How cute is this Siberian Husky?
81. Ace accountant : TAX MAVEN (HAVEN) - A company in Manimajra Chandigarh, India
93. Cat's tail, maybe? : MOUSE (HOUSE) DETECTIVE
110. Spy with a sweet tooth? : DONUT MOLE (HOLE)
112. Burrower servicing borrowers? : MONEY (HONEY) BADGER - A group in an online game called EVE. Nah, I hadn't heard of it either.
Now let's look the rest of C.C.'s and Agnes's High Minded entries
Across
1. Library attention-getter : PSST
5. Secretly kept in the message loop, for short : BCCED - Blind Carbon CopiED- They'll never know you told everyone!
10. Prior president who swore in two subsequent presidents : TAFT - Our 350 lb. president had this bathtub made, became the Chief Justice and swore in Coolidge and Hoover
14. Spicy : RACY
18. Trick : DUPE
19. NutraSweet developer : SEARLE - Aspertame used under the name NutraSweet has been controversial
20. Donor drive target : ALUM
21. Penne __ vodka : ALLA
26. Tylenol result, ideally : RELIEF
27. Juice-and-fish-broth product : CLAMATO - It sounds like an SNL made- up product
29. Weather Channel concern : STORM
30. Brown on a shelf : DAN - I love Dan's books but in other quarters...
31. USC, for one : SCH
33. Like most cheeseburgers : CALORIC - Dictionary.com -
35. Teeny tiny : WEE
40. Poppycock : ROT
42. IMF division?: Abbr. : INTL - International Monetary Fund
43. Vintage vehicle : REO
44. It helps you focus : LENS - In action -
45. Bronco's bailiwick : CORRAL
48. "The Simpsons" disco devotee : STU
49. Chew the fat : JAW
50. Wish were here : MISS - My lovely bride always misses her kitty when we travel
53. Universe of Energy locale : EPCOT - A good dark, cool place to take a nap after you've seen it as many times as I have
55. Cell dweller : CON - Not all CONS are in cells in Joe Arpaio's AZ jail
56. Having a kick : TANGY
58. Preventative power : VETO
59. Foam finger number : ONE
60. "That hurts!" : OUCH
62. The end of its name is also its natl. airline : UAE and 118. Milan moolah : EURO - The UAE airline is the sponsor of the AC Milan Soccer team and this jersey will cost you €89,95
63. Scout rider : TONTO
64. Yoga position : ASANA
69. Mayflower notable : ALDEN - Below is a picture of John Alden's 8th Great Granddaughter Norma Jean Mortenson Baker who became, well, you know...
70. Waits for an agent, maybe : HOLDS
71. The __ Store : UPS - United Parcel Service
72. Minor tiff : SPAT
73. It's only make-believe : ACT - Are you faking it?
74. "That's clear" : I SEE
75. Plants of immortality, to ancient Egyptians : ALOES
77. God in the Vatican : DIO - An expose' of the Vatican's Bank Of God
78. SeaWorld performer : SHAMU
83. Lab gel : AGAR
85. Grafton's "__ for Burglar" : B IS - Sue's titling gimmick is always an easy fill
86. Usually single-stranded molecule : RNA
88. Twists, e.g. : DANCES - Morticia and Lurch gettin' down
89. Scheme : PLOT
90. Had the most points : LED
91. Short cut : SNIP
92. Sun. speech : SER and 98. Yawn-inducing : BANAL - Verbal Sominex at our church
96. Sharp criticism : JAB
99. Rulers in a line : DYNASTS - I suppose a DYNASTY would have these
101. You can't live without it : AIR - You can go 3 min without AIR, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. Give or take.
102. Tolkien monster : ORC
103. Taste enhanced by shrimp paste : UMAMI - A tasty clue we've had quite often as of late
105. Make more than : OUT EARN
107. Joined forces : ALLIED
115. Sea once home to 1,100-plus islands : ARAL
116. Dell operator : USER
117. Chews the scenery : EMOTES
119. Bear's advice : SELL - Warren Buffet - "Buy when everyone else is SELLING"
120. Pharmacy pickups : MEDS
121. Big Pharma dept. : R AND D
122. Aligned, with "in" : SYNC
Down
1. Sharable doc format : PDF
2. Court figure : SUER
3. "C'mon, let's go!" : SPEED IT UP - After 50 yrs., I just sit in the car and wait!
4. Like revealing memoirs : TELL ALL
5. Hearty comfort food : BEEF STEW - Dinty Moore in our house
6. Short filmmaker? : CAM - This breakout hit from the Sundance Film Festival was shot with the CAM on an iPhone 5S and this is one of its 89. Movie promoters : POSTERS
7. Exhibit with a baby : CRECHE - The one with Jesus can't be put on public property
8. Its logo contains Hebrew letters : EL AL - "To the skies" in Hebrew
9. Separates : DETACHES
10. Wrapped Mexican fare : TAMALES
11. Many : A LOT OF 113. Weather-sensitive airport stat : ETD'S - A LOT OF ETD'S were altered by 100 mph winds in Omaha last week
12. Public outcry : FUROR
13. Corp. symbols : TMS - ™
14. Mesmerized : RAPT
15. Give the green light : ALLOW
16. Limerick neighbor : CLARE - Not much of a common dry land border
17. "I did it!" : YAY ME
19. Pronoun for a skiff : SHE
23. Salon treatment : TINT
25. Accompanist? : ESCORT - When you need a good ESCORT in Louisville, KY...
28. Common town ctr. : MAIN ST
32. John of "Star Trek" (2009) : CHO - Only the first generation Star Trek peeps are in my memory bank
34. Twist in a tale : IRONY - I'll bet you know the elements of this short story from the master of IRONY - O'Henry
36. Wrong at the start? : MIS
37. Certain entrance fee : ANTE
38. Speak : ORATE
39. Assure : CLINCH
41. John of "Hairspray" (2007) : TRAVOLTA
45. Shrewd : CAGEY
46. Change, as a will : AMEND
47. Foamy eye-opener : LATTE
49. First name in virology : JONAS - After contracting polio, FDR started the March Of Dimes that provided much funding for Salk's vaccine that came too late for the president
50. Mop tamer : MOUSSE
51. Acknowledge the general : SNAP TO and 76. Acknowledge the general : SALUTE
52. Tom or Jerry : TOON
54. Denounces : CONDEMNS - SILENT N was a fill for "44 A Solemn ending" on Wednesday
55. "Off" is often printed on one : COUPON
57. Live-in nanny : AU PAIR - French for "on par" or "equal to"
61. LaserJet printers : HPS
63. Dash gauges : TACHS
64. Words after make or take : A HIT - If you have to take A HIT to make A HIT, you may need new friends
65. "That's a shame" : SO SAD - "Dear Dad, No mon, no fun, your Son" "Dear Son, Too bad, SO SAD, your Dad"
66. Siri's Amazon counterpart : ALEXA
67. Grand Canyon rentals : MULES
68. Computer download : UPDATE - After missing several new roads, I paid to UPDATE this system in my car
73. Lines for an audience : ASIDE - Frank does this all the time in House Of Cards
75. Big name in labels : AVERY - We use AVERY 5360 labels for Christmas card address labels
79. One who may cease to exist when underappreciated? : MR NICE GUY - Never made my collection
80. USC part: Abbr. : UNIV
82. Nailed the test : ACED IT
84. Filmy fabric : GOSSAMER - Sinatra sang "A trip to the moon on GOSSAMER wings" was just One Of Those Things
85. Backstabbed : BETRAYED and 96. Biblical backstabber : JUDAS
87. Jungle chest-beater : APE who never 93. Treated very roughly : MAULED Fay Ray
90. Floral ring : LEI
91. Progress : STRIDES
94. Yoplait competitor : DANNON
95. Cuba libre ingredient : COLA - Hmmm... what brand of COLA should I use?
97. Love, Italian-style : AMORE - "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie"
100. Loop in a cattle drive : NOOSE
104. Think (over) : MULL
106. Arco de Constantino locale : ROMA - Isn't that building to the right famous too? 😁
108. Versatile NFL defenders : LBS - An average NFL LB weighs 235 LBS
109. "Nebraska" Oscar nominee : DERN - A wonderful movie about small town life and aging
111. Tight-lipped : MUM
114. Mythical bird : ROC
Hoping you don't need the Heimlich Maneuver after my commentary, let's hear from you, the Huddled Masses:
