21A. Steepin' oats in water?: SOAKIN' GRAIN. Soaking rain.
27A. Marathoner's lookin'-happy flush?: RUNNIN' GLOW. Running low.
53A. Result of tossin' an old mitt on the fire?: BURNIN' GLOVE. Burning Love.
82A. Layin' off football legend Red?: FIRIN' GRANGE. Firing range. Red Grange.
111A. Takin' first place at the Olympics?: GETTIN' GOLD. Getting old.
119A. Muttered complaint about a toe woe that's really hurtin'?: BLEEPIN' GOUT. Bleeping out.
3D. Lettin' the family elder onto the plane?: BOARDIN' GRAMPS. Boarding ramps.
58D. Preparin' husbands-to-be?: TRAININ' GROOMS. Training rooms.
Rich helped me tweak the clues. I original forced all the elided "Ing" word in the starts of the clues.
After Rich OK'ed my theme entries (you don't need to send-in clued grids for Sunday puzzles), I fiddled with a few grids. Was super-excited when I discovered that I could intersect four of the Across theme entries with two other Down entries. This does not happen often.
Across:
1. Fatah party chairman: ABBAS. Mahmoud.
6. Battle souvenirs: SCARS.
11. Vanilla extract meas.: TSP. Time for overnight oats again. You need a little big vanilla extract..
14. Super Bowl stats: TDS.
17. Fairy tale villain: CRONE.
18. Saintly glows: AURAS.
19. "Desperate Housewives" character: BREE.
20. __ & Chandon Champagne: MOET.
23. Take, as advice: HEED.
24. A few: SOME.
25. Provider of a big lift: CRANE. Oh, I like the image. Rich's clue.
26. Bush and Nixon: Abbr.: VPS. Bush Sr.
29. Whale group: POD.
30. Lack of trouble: EASE.
32. "See ya later": I GOTTA GO.
34. Processed food?: ATE.
35. Hopkins' role in "Thor": ODIN.
37. Johnson Space Center humanoid project: ROBONAUT. Gary probably knew this.
39. Put faith in: TRUSTED.
41. Dunham and Horne: LENAS. Bad fill. Plural name is always undesirable.
43. Disallow: BAN.
44. "Cool it!": STOP.
46. Great Lakes natives: ERIES.
47. Beaufort scale word: GALE.
49. Pol. neighbor: LITH. Lithuania.
51. __ wait: lurk: LIE IN.
56. Chinese ethnic group that's the world's largest: HAN. I'm a Han. We have 56 ethnic groups in China. 92% are Han people.
57. Org. seeking far-out life: SETI.
60. Physicians' org.: AMA.
61. 50% of MIV: DII.
62. Fledgling: NASCENT.
64. Goat sound?: HARD G. Just the letter in Goat.
66. 2007 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee: HAMM. Mia. Thanks for correcting my clue errors, Rich!
68. 1995 Stallone title role: DREDD.
70. Stand for a canvas: EASEL.
72. Base information?: DATA. Lovely. Rich's clue. Not DATA plan yet, Big Easy, the front door was prioritized. Always took me forever to open it and remove the keys, but things got impossible the past few weeks.
73. Energize: AMP UP.
75. Split into thirds: TRISECT.
77. Gym exercise unit: REP.
79. "__ the Senate!": Darth Sidious: I AM. Not familiar to me.
80. Snippy retort: IS SO.
81. Occurrence: HAP. Not a word I use. Wish I could have removed it. Gluey.
85. Unrefined: CRASS.
87. Custardy pastry: FLAN.
88. Voice-activated iPad app: SIRI.
89. Blink, say: REACT.
91. Sign word beckoning a Canadian driver: ESSO.
94. Waze lines: Abbr.: STS.
96. Surprise in a bottle: GENIE.
99. In an edgy way: TESTILY.
101. Pigs with four tusks: WARTHOGS. Wiki says "The tusks are used for digging, for combat with other hogs, and in defense against predators – the lower set can inflict severe wounds."
104. Petri dish gelatin: AGAR.
105. Blur in a tabloid pic: UFO.
106. "Cheers" actress Bebe: NEUWIRTH.
108. Escalator handle?: OTIS.
110. Cape Town locale: Abbr.: RSA. Republic of South Africa.
113. Phase out: END.
115. First king of Crete: MINOS.
117. Mushroomed: GREW.
118. Brownie, maybe: GIRL.
122. Yale's Ingalls Rink designer Saarinen: EERO.
123. Males who meow: TOMS. D-Otto and his wife take care of quite a few meowers. The other Tom is a dog person.
 |
| TTP's buddy Charlie |
124. "Nothing for me": I'M SET.
125. Cause for a pause: COMMA.
126. "L.A. Law" actress: DEY (Susan).
127. CDC overseer: HHS. Health & Human Services.
128. Sounds shocked: GASPS.
129. Big Bertha's birthplace: ESSEN.
Down:
1. Apt. coolers: ACS.
2. Etiquette on frat row: BRO CODE.
4. "My Way" lyricist: ANKA.
5. It flows below the Pont Neuf: SEINE. Pont Neuf = New Bridge.
6. Droop: SAG.
7. Slider option: CURVE BALL. Bert Blyleven! Also 98. Nolan Ryan's 1.69 in 1981: Abbr.: ERA. And 42. Dove into home, say: SLID.
8. "I don't give __!": A RAP.
9. Granola morsel: RAISIN. I love throwing in raisins in my coleslaw.
10. Job application no.: SSN.
11. Former Senator Lott: TRENT.
12. Witnessed visiting: SEEN AT.
13. Purebred family tree: PEDIGREE.
14. "You missed it": TOO LATE! Left my aloe vera plant on our deck two days ago. It rained unexpectedly. I hope my plant survives.
15. Reduces in rank: DEMOTES.
16. __ prunes: STEWED.
19. Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir: BHUTTO.
20. Chinese sauce additive: MSG. Here is the hugely popular sauce in China. With MSG of course. What Jayce said before, MSG never gave me headache or other discomfort.
22. In the area: NEAR.
27. Beat soundly: ROUT.
28. Keep healthy: NOURISH.
29. D.C. dealmaker: POL.
31. One may be choked back: SOB. Still tear up easily thinking of Argyle. Always thought he would be back.
33. Deep cuts: GASHES.
36. Chapati alternative: NAAN. Chapati is also called Roti.
38. Chip topper: ONION DIP.
40. "Nothing Compares 2 U" singer O'Connor: SINEAD.
45. Prepares (for): PLANS.
48. Geraint's beloved: ENID.
50. Show stoppers: TV ADS.
52. Trainee: INTERN.
53. Island band The __ Men: BAHA. No other way to clue BAHA.
54. Fish sauce taste: UMAMI. Fish sauce is an important ingredient in Kimchi making.
55. Saddle bands: GIRTHS.
56. Summer itch cause: HEAT RASH. I developed sun rash on my arms a few summers ago. Very odd. All gone now.
59. Luggage tie-on: ID TAG.
63. Director DeMille: CECIL.
65. Up for it: GAME.
67. Mideast capital: MUSCAT.
69. Wipe clean: ERASE.
71. Centipede's many: LEGS.
74. Popular soup mushroom: PORCINI. Porcini Risotto for Blue Hen, our gourmet chef.
76. Diligence: EFFORT.
78. Fuddy-duddy: PRIG.
83. Unable to back out: IN TOO DEEP.
84. 58.4 square miles, for Minneapolis: AREA. The first time I heard of Minneapolis was when I was watching "In the Line of Fire". The lady was killed simply because she was from Minneapolis.
86. Verbosely: AT LENGTH.
89. Foul caller: REFEREE.
90. Arcane stuff: ESOTERY. Spell check does not like this word.
92. Gulps down: SWILLS.
93. Reddish-brown chalcedony: SARD.
95. SFPD rank: SGT.
97. Postulate starter: I ASSUME.
99. Pulled: TUGGED.
100. Manga series about gaming: YU-GI-OH. Yu-Gi = Game. Oh = King.
102. Louise's pal: THELMA.
103. __ Valley: SIMI.
107. They often get hooked: WORMS.
109. From that time: SINCE.
My grandma and me in our little kitchen. She was kneading that big
dough when I came into the kitchen. She was about 80 or 81
then. All her clothes were hand-made.
112. Quantity in a brace: TWO.
114. Capone adversary: NESS.
116. Oxfam and PETA, for two: NGOS. Non-Governmental Organizations.
119. Trending: BIG.
120. Hoops stat: Abbr.: PTS.
121. What a Hawaii vacationer may come home with: TAN.
C.C.
