Constructed by: Gail Grabowski
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
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Theme: Company’s Coming
Today’s themed answers are common phrases with the letters CO inserted:
Bill’s time: 17m 34s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
9…Superfluity..FRILL
A “superfluity” is an excess, coming from the Latin “super” meaning over, and “fluere” meaning “to flow”. So, something “superfluous” is “overflowing”, beyond what is required.
20…NYC tourist attraction..MOMA
The founding of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City was very much driven by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the wife of John D. Rockefeller, son of the oil magnate. Working with two friends, Abby managed to get the museum opened in 1929, just nine days after the Wall Street Crash. The MoMA’s sculpture garden bears the name of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and has done so since 1949.
21…”The Great Dictator” Oscar nominee..OAKIE
Jack Oakie was the stage name of actor Lewis Offield, who was originally from Missouri. Offield was raised in Oklahoma, and for this reason picked up the nickname “Oakie”. The “Jack” in his stage name came from the first character that he portrayed in a play. Oakie played Benzino Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”, a character that was very much based on Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
23…Nickel that’s worth big bucks?..MAJOR COIN (from “major in”)
The 5-cent American coin known as a nickel is actually made up of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The first nickel was introduced in 1866, and was named the “Shield nickel” due to the shield design on the front of the coin. The current design is the Jefferson nickel, which was introduced in 1938.
27…One might not hold up in court..ALIBI
“Alibi” is the Latin word for “elsewhere” as in, “I claim that I was ‘elsewhere’ when the crime was committed … I have an ‘alibi’”.
30…Remote hiding places?..SOFAS
“Sofa” is a Turkish word meaning “bench”.
31…Pic Sans Nom, par exemple..ALPE
Pic Sans Nom is a peak in the French Alps. The name “Pic Sans Nom” translates from French as “Peak Without Name”, which is odd, as I think it’s named “Pic Sans Nom” …!
33…Guanaco cousin..LLAMA
Similar to the llama, the guanaco is a camelid that is native to South America. The wool of the guanaco is valued for its soft feel, and is even more highly prized that the wool of the llama.
35…Does a salon job..FROSTS
The process of highlighting the hair by bleaching selected strands is known as “frosting”. Yeah, I knew that …
39…”Life Below Zero” channel, familiarly..NAT GEO
The National Geographic Channel is jointly owned by Fox and the National Geographic Society, and was launched in 2001.
“Life Below Zero” is BBC documentary series (shown in the US on the Nat Geo channel) that follows the lives of six subsistence hunters in remote areas of Alaska. Sounds interesting …
42…Chef known by his first name..EMERIL
Emeril Lagasse is an American chef, born in Massachusetts. Lagasse first achieved notoriety as executive chef in Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Now famous for his television shows, his cuisine still showcases New Orleans ingredients and influences. Lagasse started using his famous “Bam!” catchphrase in order to keep his crew awake during repeated tapings of his show.
46…Part of an academic address..EDU
The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified.
55…Allison of jazz..MOSE
Mose Allison is a pianist and singer of the jazz blues genre of music. Allison was born, raised and educated in Mississippi, but launched and maintained his career in New York.
57…Hershey bar..SKOR
Skor is a candy bar produced by Hershey’s. “Skor” is Swedish for “shoes”, and the candy bar’s wrapping features a crown that is identical to that found in the Swedish national emblem. Skor is sold in Canada as Rutnam. What “shoes” have to do with candy, I don’t know …
58…”The Count of Monte Cristo” author..DUMAS
“The Count of Monte Cristo” is an 1844 novel by the French author Alexandre Dumas. Dumas’ other famous title is “The Three Musketeers”.
60…Czar’s edict..UKASE
In Imperial Russia, a “ukase” was a proclamation issued by the government or the tsar.
63…Homework helpers..DADS
That was me, up to the point when the kids left me behind …
64…Clare’s land..EIRE
One of my favorite counties in Ireland is Clare, home of the Burren, a beautiful, desolate landscape, as well as the world-famous Cliffs of Moher that greet the Atlantic Ocean.
70…Welcome center?..CEE
There’s a letter C (cee) at the center of the word “welcome”.
71…Ideal takeover?..DREAM COUP (from “dream up”)
A coup d’état (often just “coup”) is the sudden overthrow of a government, and comes from the French for “stroke of state”. The Swiss-German word “putsch” is sometimes used instead of “coup”, with “Putsch” translating literally as “sudden blow”.
75…Oscar winner Lee..ANG
Taiwanese director Ang Lee sure has directed a mixed bag of films, mixed in terms of genre but not in terms of quality. He was at the helm for such classics as “Sense & Sensibility” (my personal favorite), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hulk”, “Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi”.
80…Prestigious prize..NOBEL
The Peace Prize is the most famous of the five prizes bequeathed by Alfred Nobel. The others are for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. There is also a Nobel Prize in Economics that is awarded along with the original five, but it is funded separately and is awarded “in memory of Alfred Nobel”. Four of the prizes are awarded by Swedish organizations (Alfred Nobel was a Swede) and so the award ceremonies take place in Stockholm. The Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and that award is presented in Oslo.
83…Bone up quickly..CRAM
The phrasal verb “to bone up” means “to study”, and is student slang that dates back to the 1880s. The term probably comes a series of books used by students back then called “Bohn’s Classical Library”.
90…Affluent, in Andalusia..RICO
Andalusia (“Andalucia” in Spanish) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities in the Kingdom of Spain, and is the most southerly. The capital of Andalusia is the old city of Seville. The name Andalusia comes from its Arabic name, Al-Andalus, reflecting the region’s history as the center of Muslim power in Iberia during medieval times.
91…Court prop..GAVEL
A gavel is a small hammer that one raps on a table or desk to call a meeting to order, or perhaps to signify a sale at an auction.
93…At deuce..TIED
In tennis, if the score reaches “deuce” (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the “advantage”. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. If the one of the players is calling out the score then if he/she has the advantage then that player announces “ad in” or more formally “advantage in”. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?
95…OAS charter member..ECUA
“Ecuador” is the Spanish word for “equator”, which gives the country its name.
The Organization of American States (OAS) has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. All the independent states in the Americas are members of the group except Honduras, which had its membership suspended after the country’s 2009 coup.
96…Defense secretary __ Carter..ASH
Ash Carter took over as Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration when Chuck Hagel resigned in 2015. Carter is a scientist by training, with a doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
97…Burlesque stand-up act?..COMEDIAN STRIP (from “median strip”)
“Burlesque” came into English from French, although the word is rooted in the Italian “burla”, the word for a joke, or mockery. A burlesque is work of literature, drama or music that is intended to amuse and cause laughter. Burlesques in the US took on a variety show format and were popular in the US from the 1860s. Over time, the variety acts started to include female striptease, and the term “burlesque” has come to be mainly associated with such entertainment. The derivative verb “to burlesque” means “to imitate mockingly”.
101…Puts away too much, briefly..ODS
Overdoses (ODs)
104…”Purple Rain” musician..PRINCE
The singer Prince was born in Minneapolis, and he lives there to this day. He took his name from his father, a jazz musician who used the stage name Prince Rogers.
“Purple Rain” is a 1984 song by Prince that is the title track from an album of the same name. The album in turn was a soundtrack, of the film “Purple Rain”. The song reached #2 in the charts in 1984, but then made it to #1 soon after Prince’s death in 2016.
105…Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” e.g…SONNET
“Ozymandias” is a sonnet written by Percy Bysshe Shelley that was first published in 1818:
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
107…”For honest men and bonie __”: Burns..LASSES
Here are a few lines from the anglicized version of the poem “Tam O’Shanter” by Robert Burns:
This truth finds honest Tam o’ Shanter,
As he from Ayr one night did canter;
Old Ayr, which never a town surpasses,
For honest men and bonny lasses.
109…1983 Mr. T comedy..DC CAB
“D.C. Cab” is a comedy movie released in 1983 starring Mr. T. I don’t hear many good things about the film, although there is a special appearance by Irene Cara of “Fame” fame …
112…Shocks, in a way..TASES
“To tase” is to use a taser, a stun gun.
115…Iroquoian family members..HURONS
The Native Americans known as the Wyandot people are also called the Huron. The Wyandot people mainly inhabit a reservation in Quebec.
125…Parka with different sleeve lengths?..COAT ISSUE (from “at issue”)
A parka is a hooded, often fur jacket that is worn in cold weather. The original parka was a pullover design, but nowadays it is usually zipped at the front. “Parka” is the Russian name for the garment , absorbed into English in the late 1700s via the Aleut language.
127…”The Tempest” spirit..ARIEL
Ariel is a spirit, a character who appears in William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and who becomes a servant of the magician Prospero. Ariel was actually viewed as a male character when the play was first staged, and the text of the play supports this assumption. Many believe that the part was originally played by a boy actor, and over time the tendency has been to use female actors, but not exclusively.
128…Fox football sportscaster Long..HOWIE
Howie Long is a retired NFL defensive end who is now a sportscaster for Fox Sports Networks. Long tried some acting after retiring from the the NFL, and appeared alongside John Travolta in the 1996 action movie “Broken Arrow”. Howie’s son Chris is also a defensive end in the NFL, and son Kyle is an NFL guard.
129…”The Mikado” executioner..KO-KO
“The Mikado” is a wonderful comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, set in the exotic location of Japan. “Mikado” is a former term for the “Emperor of Japan”. In the opera, Ko-Ko is the name of the Lord High Executioner of Titipu.
130…Couture monthly..ELLE
“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. “Elle” is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.
Haute couture, literally “high dressmaking” in French, is a name given to the creation of exclusive fashions. A couturier is someone who creates or sells such fashions.
131…Classic rock opera..TOMMY
“Tommy” is the fourth album recorded by the British band called the Who. “Tommy” was the original “rock opera” and was adapted for both the stage and screen, with both adaptations becoming huge successes. The title character has an uncanny ability to play pinball, giving rise to the hit song “Pinball Wizard”.
Down
1…Tomato variety..ROMA
The Roma tomato isn’t considered an heirloom variety, but it is very popular with home gardeners, especially those gardeners that don’t have a lot of space. It is a bush type (as opposed to vine type) and needs very little room to provide a lot of tomatoes.
2…Emphatic type: Abbr…ITAL
Italic type leans to the right. The style is known as “italic” because the stylized calligraphic form of writing originated in Italy, probably in the Vatican.
3…Suva’s nation..FIJI
Suva is the capital city of Fiji, and is located on the island of Viti Levu. Suva is the largest city in the South Pacific.
5…Letters on some SUVs..GMC
GMC is a division of General Motors (GM) established in 1901 that started out as “GMC Truck”.
“SUV” is an initialism standing for Sports Utility Vehicle, and is a term that was introduced by our marketing friends. Using the term Sports Utility Vehicle was a very clever way to get us to pay a lot of money for what was essentially a station wagon on a truck chassis, or at least it was back then.
11…Cold War prez..IKE
When the future president was growing up, the Eisenhower family used the nickname “Ike” for all seven boys in the family, as “Ike” was seen as an abbreviation for the family name. “Big Ike” was Edgar, the second oldest boy. “Little/Young Ike” was Dwight, who was the third son born. Dwight had no sisters.
The term “Cold War” was first used by the novelist George Orwell in a 1945 essay about the atomic bomb. Orwell described a world under threat of nuclear war as having a “peace that is no peace”, in a permanent state of “cold war”. The specific use of “cold war” to describe the tension between the Eastern bloc and the Western allies is attributed to a 1947 speech by Bernard Baruch.
13…Former host with a TV “Garage”..LENO
“Jay Leno’s Garage” is a weekly show that has aired on TV since 2015. The show originated as a web series for NBC, but popularity dictated a move to primetime. The show focuses on Jay Leno’s Big Dog Garage located in Burbank, California that houses his huge collection of cars and motorcycles.
16…NCAA div. with Seminoles..ACC
Florida State University (FSU) is located in Tallahassee, the state capital of Florida. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Seminoles (sometimes “the ‘Noles”). The team name was chosen in 1947 by the students in a vote, and alludes to the Seminole people who originally lived in the state. Most of the Seminole now live in Oklahoma, after their forced relocation by the US government in the 1840s.
17…Jersey greeting?..MOO
Jersey cattle were originally bred on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands, off the coast of France. If you’ve seen Elsie the Cow, the mascot of Borden in the US, then you’ve seen a Jersey cow.
26…Closest pal, in text..BFF
Best friend forever (BFF)
32…Hardy work..POEM
Thomas Hardy was a novelist and poet from Dorset in England. Hardy thought of himself mainly as a poet, but he is best remembered for some very fine novels, such as “Far from the Madding Crowd”, “The Mayor of Casterbridge”, “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” and “Jude the Obscure”.
37…Caruso and Domingo..TENORS
Enrico Caruso was an Italian tenor from Naples, famous as one of the first opera singers to embrace the phonograph technology of the early 1900s. He made 290 recordings that were released between 1902 and 1920, and today they’re all available on CD or as digital downloads.
Plácido Domingo is a Spanish tenor, from Madrid. Famously, Domingo was one of “The Three Tenors”, the performing trio that brought classical arias to the masses. The other two “Tenors” were fellow-Spaniard José Carreras and Italian Luciano Pavarotti.
38…System with speakers..STEREO
Monophonic sound (“mono”) is sound reproduced using just one audio channel, which is usually played out of just one speaker. Stereophonic sound is reproduced using two audio channels, with the sound from each channel played out of two different speakers. The pair of stereo speakers are usually positioned apart from each other so that sound appears to come from between the two. Quadraphonic sound (4.0 surround sound) uses four audio channels with the sound played back through four speakers often positioned at the corners of the room in which one is listening.
40…Break point situation..AD OUT
In tennis, if the score reaches “deuce” (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the “advantage”. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. If the one of the players is calling out the score then if he/she has the advantage then that player announces “ad in” or more formally “advantage in”. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?
43…”Unböring” furniture chain..IKEA
“Unböring” is a marketing campaign that IKEA launched in 2002.
44…”The Swedish Nightingale” Jenny..LIND
Jenny Lind was a Swedish opera singer who was as popular off the stage as she was on. She had many suitors, including the great composers Mendelssohn and Chopin, as well as the author Hans Christian Andersen. Andersen wrote three fairy tales that were inspired by Lind, including one called “The Nightingale”, which ultimately led to Lind becoming known as “The Swedish Nightingale”.
49…Schindler with a list..OSKAR
Oskar Schindler is the protagonist in the Steven Spielberg movie “Schindler’s List”. Schindler was a real person who survived WWII. During the Holocaust, Schindler managed to save almost 1,200 Jews from perishing by employing them in his factories. After the war, Schindler and his wife were left penniless having used his assets to protect and feed his workers. For years the couple survived on the charity of Jewish groups. Schindler tried to make a go of it in business again but never had any real success. He died a pauper in 1974 in Hildesheim, not far from Hanover. His last wish was to be buried in Jerusalem. Schindler was the only former member of the Nazi Party to be buried on Mount Zion.
50…Writer Zora ___ Hurston..NEALE
Zora Neale Hurston was an American author, most famous for her 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Like the author, the main character in the novel is an African American woman, a part played by Halle Berry in a television movie adaptation that first aired in 2005.
51…Its sessions begin and end with bells..NYSE
The roots of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) go back to 1792 when a group of 24 stock brokers set up the New York Stock & Exchange Board. They did so in an agreement signed under a buttonwood tree outside 68 Wall Street. That document became known as the Buttonwood Agreement. Today, the NYSE is located in National Historic Landmark building with the address 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
54…Capital of Sicily..PALERMO
Palermo is the capital of the Italian autonomous region of Sicily. Palermo was founded by the Phoenicians over 2700 years ago.
61…Swedish import..SAAB
SAAB stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. SAAB was, and still is, mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automotive division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011. A Chinese consortium purchased the assets of SAAB Automotive in 2012, and so SAAB vehicles are in production again. The new vehicles are using the SAAB name, but cannot use the SAAB griffin logo, the rights to which have been retained by the mother company.
62…Pulitzer playwright Rice..ELMER
Elmer Rice was a playwright from New York City. Rice’s most famous play is “Street Scene”, a work that won the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
69…Many 1969 Woodstock arrivals..VANS
1969’s Woodstock Music & Art Fair was held on a dairy farm located 43 miles southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York. 400,000 young people attended, and saw 32 bands and singers perform over three days.
73…Start of a fitness motto..USE IT …
… or lose it.
74…Singer Cetera..PETER
The musician Peter Cetera was one of the original members of the rock band Chicago. After his days with Chicago, Cetera built a successful solo career for himself.
77…Yearwood of country..TRISHA
Trisha Yearwood is an American country music singer. She was discovered by the man who is now her third husband, country music legend Garth Brooks.
78…Pudding starch..SAGO
When I was growing up in Ireland I was very familiar with pearl sago, which is very similar to pearl tapioca. Pearls of sago are simply little balls of sago starch used to make breads, pancakes, biscuits, or the steamed puddings that we ate as kids. Sago comes from pith of the sago palm tree. To get at the starch the tree has to be cut down and the trunk split to reveal the pith. The pith is crushed and manipulated to make the starch available, which is then washed out of a fibrous suspension. One sago palm tree yields about 150-300 kg of starch. Personally I love the stuff, but then, I am a bit weird …
85…Mae West persona..VAMP
A “vamp” (short for vampire) is a seductive woman. The term was first used in reference to the sultry performance of actress Theda Bara in the 1915 film “A Fool There Was”. The movie’s title is a quotation from Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 poem “The Vampire”. Bara’s role was positioned as a “vampire”, a woman out to seduce a man, launching the use of “vamp” as an alternative term for a “femme fatale”.
Mae West was always pushing the envelope when it came to the “sexy” side of show business, even in her early days in Vaudeville. One of the first plays in which West starred on Broadway was called “Sex”, a work she penned herself. The show was a sell-out, but city officials had it raided and West found herself spending ten days in jail after being convicted of “corrupting the morals of youth”. She started in movies in 1932, already 38 years old. West used her experience writing plays to rewrite much of the material she was given, and so really she was totally responsible for her own success and on-screen appeal.
92…Crucial unifying element..LINCHPIN
A linchpin is a clip or fastener that is used on the end of an axle to prevent a wheel from sliding off. The term is also used figuratively to describe anything that is a vital element in a system.
94…One in a buffet stack..DISH
Our word “buffet” comes from the French “bufet” meaning “bench, sideboard”. So, a buffet is a meal served from a “bufet”.
100…Eponymous swindler..PONZI
Charles Ponzi was born in Luigi, Italy in 1882 and arrived in the US in 1903, flat broke having gambled away all his money on the voyage to Boston. Ponzi devised a scheme to buy what were known as “international reply coupons” through friends in Italy, which he had sent to him in the US so that he could redeem them on this side of the Atlantic. As the value in the US was greater than that in Italy, he could make a handsome profit. This was in itself an “illegal” transaction, buying an asset in one market at a low price, then immediately selling it in another market at a higher price. But it’s what he did next that became known as a Ponzi Scheme. He couldn’t redeem his coupons quickly enough due to red tape so he approached other investors, initially friends, and had them give him cash so that he could buy more coupons in Italy. He promised the investors he would double their money, which they did initially. Many people wanted to get in on the scheme seeing that Ponzi was able to make the new investors a profit and double the money of the original investors. Eventually, somebody did the math and word started to get out that the investment was risky, so the number of new investors started to fall. Without sufficient new investors Ponzi couldn’t double the money of his latest investors, and the whole scheme unraveled.
108…Former JFK lander..SST
The most famous supersonic transport (SST) is the retired Concorde. Famously, the Concorde routinely broke the sound barrier, and cruised at about twice the speed of sound. Above Mach 2, frictional heat would cause the plane’s aluminum airframe to soften, so airspeed was limited.
110…Strong lagers..BOCKS
A bock is a strong lager from Germany, first brewed in the town of Einbeck. The famous brewers of Munich adopted the style of beer, calling it Einbeck after the town of its origin. However, with the Bavarian accent “Einbeck” came out as “ein Bock”, the German for “a billy goat”. The name “bock” stuck, and so you’ll very often see a billy goat on the labels of bock beers.
111…Sanyo headquarters city..OSAKA
Sanyo is a Japanese electronics manufacturer based near Osaka and founded in 1947. The company name means “three oceans” reflecting the company’s original aim to sell its products all around the world (across three oceans: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian).
116…Palindromic time..NOON
Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in Ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.
118…Fram Museum city..OSLO
The Fram Museum in Oslo is devoted to history of Norwegian exploration of the polar regions. Opened in 1936, the museum is particularly focused on the three Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. The central exhibit is the ship named “Fram” that was used by all three celebrated explorers. The Fram is believed to have sailed further north and further south than any other wooden vessel.
122…Metal precioso..ORO
In Spanish, “oro” (gold) is a “metal precioso” (precious metal).
123…Gusto..VIM
“Vim” and “pep” are words that both mean “energy, power”.
126…Pajama part..TOP
Our word “pajamas” (“PJs” for short) comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. In the British Isles the spelling is “pyjamas”.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…Overrun..RIFE
5…Toothpaste portion..GLOB
9…Superfluity..FRILL
14…”Same here”..AS AM I
19…Psych ending..-OTIC
20…NYC tourist attraction..MOMA
21…”The Great Dictator” Oscar nominee..OAKIE
22…Intel mission..RECON
23…Nickel that’s worth big bucks?..MAJOR COIN (from “major in”)
25…Eco-friendly lighthouse?..GREEN BEACON (from “green bean”)
27…One might not hold up in court..ALIBI
28…Basic element..STAPLE
30…Remote hiding places?..SOFAS
31…Pic Sans Nom, par exemple..ALPE
33…Guanaco cousin..LLAMA
35…Does a salon job..FROSTS
39…”Life Below Zero” channel, familiarly..NAT GEO
42…Chef known by his first name..EMERIL
45…Not yet fulfilled..UNMET
46…Part of an academic address..EDU
47…Rearrangement of suitcase contents?..SECOND PACKING (from “send packing”)
52…I, at times..ONE
53…Easy win..ROMP
55…Allison of jazz..MOSE
56…Mighty small..TEENY
57…Hershey bar..SKOR
58…”The Count of Monte Cristo” author..DUMAS
60…Czar’s edict..UKASE
63…Homework helpers..DADS
64…Clare’s land..EIRE
65…Flair..STYLE
66…Sung syllables..LA LA LA
68…”That’s true, but … “..EVEN SO …
70…Welcome center?..CEE
71…Ideal takeover?..DREAM COUP (from “dream up”)
75…Oscar winner Lee..ANG
76…Attacks with force..STORMS
79…Puzzle..BEMUSE
80…Prestigious prize..NOBEL
83…Bone up quickly..CRAM
84…Assert with confidence..AVER
88…Zero out, say..RESET
89…Well past its prime..STALE
90…Affluent, in Andalusia..RICO
91…Court prop..GAVEL
93…At deuce..TIED
95…OAS charter member..ECUA
96…Defense secretary __ Carter..ASH
97…Burlesque stand-up act?..COMEDIAN STRIP (from “median strip”)
101…Puts away too much, briefly..ODS
102…One of a hand truck’s pair..WHEEL
104…”Purple Rain” musician..PRINCE
105…Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” e.g…SONNET
107…”For honest men and bonie __”: Burns..LASSES
109…1983 Mr. T comedy..DC CAB
111…”This isn’t good!”..OH NO!
112…Shocks, in a way..TASES
115…Iroquoian family members..HURONS
117…Goes like crazy..ZOOMS
121…Where fowl spies meet?..COVERT COOPS (from “covert ops”)
125…Parka with different sleeve lengths?..COAT ISSUE (from “at issue”)
127…”The Tempest” spirit..ARIEL
128…Fox football sportscaster Long..HOWIE
129…”The Mikado” executioner..KO-KO
130…Couture monthly..ELLE
131…Classic rock opera..TOMMY
132…Without stopping..ON END
133…Break sharply..SNAP
134…Completely convinced..SOLD
Down
1…Tomato variety..ROMA
2…Emphatic type: Abbr…ITAL
3…Suva’s nation..FIJI
4…Environment-friendly carrier..ECOBAG
5…Letters on some SUVs..GMC
6…One way to hang..LOOSE
7…Pass over..OMIT
8…Yawn-inspiring..BANAL
9…Aid for dealing with pea soup..FOG LAMP
10…Red-centered serving..RARE MEAT
11…Cold War prez..IKE
12…”None of it is true!”..LIES!
13…Former host with a TV “Garage”..LENO
14…It only offers partial coverage..AREA RUG
15…Ticket period..SEASON
16…NCAA div. with Seminoles..ACC
17…Jersey greeting?..MOO
18…Vacation stop..INN
24…Gets to..RILES
26…Closest pal, in text..BFF
29…Implored..PLED
32…Hardy work..POEM
34…Curving..ARCED
36…Sign of breakfast burning?..SMOKING BACON (from “smoking ban”)
37…Caruso and Domingo..TENORS
38…System with speakers..STEREO
39…Some intellectuals..NERDS
40…Break point situation..AD OUT
41…Abs trainers?..TUMMY COACHES (from “tummyaches”)
43…”Unböring” furniture chain..IKEA
44…”The Swedish Nightingale” Jenny..LIND
48…Was able to..COULD
49…Schindler with a list..OSKAR
50…Writer Zora ___ Hurston..NEALE
51…Its sessions begin and end with bells..NYSE
54…Capital of Sicily..PALERMO
57…Cross-referencing words..SEE NOTE
59…Come off as..SEEM
61…Swedish import..SAAB
62…Pulitzer playwright Rice..ELMER
67…Elevated point..ACME
69…Many 1969 Woodstock arrivals..VANS
72…Boots..OUSTS
73…Start of a fitness motto..USE IT …
74…Singer Cetera..PETER
76…Many a signature..SCRAWL
77…Yearwood of country..TRISHA
78…Pudding starch..SAGO
81…Lose in a chase..ELUDE
82…Numerical extreme..LEAST
85…Mae West persona..VAMP
86…”Did you __?”..EVER
87…Overhauled..REDID
92…Crucial unifying element..LINCHPIN
94…One in a buffet stack..DISH
97…Without a doubt..CLEARLY
98…Courtroom figure..ACCUSED
99…In the neighborhood..NEAR
100…Eponymous swindler..PONZI
103…Think the world of..ESTEEM
106…Rope loops..NOOSES
108…Former JFK lander..SST
110…Strong lagers..BOCKS
111…Sanyo headquarters city..OSAKA
113…Off-the-wall feedback?..ECHO
114…Before you know it..SOON
116…Palindromic time..NOON
118…Fram Museum city..OSLO
119…Ponder, with “over”..MULL
120…Flower child?..SEED
121…Stealthy animal..CAT
122…Metal precioso..ORO
123…Gusto..VIM
124…Be beholden to..OWE
126…Pajama part..TOP
Whew! That was not easy! DCCAB and BOCKS had me stumped. I managed to finish though, and the puzzle was just short of headache-inducing. All in all, a nice way to start Sunday.
Our dog, an eight year old lemon beagle, used to hide in our pajama bottoms for his naps, and we could never find him. Hence his name; Pjay, short for Pajama Bottoms. Pjay drags a ratty old blanket around with him, so I’m thinking we should have named him “Linus.”
Enjoy your Sunday, folks!
I had a tough time with this too, but no issues with BOCKS for some reason..
I had no idea of Ash Carter’s background. How did a guy that smart ever get into politics??
justjoel – I assume that’s Pjay in the pic with you?
Best –
Yep, Jeff, that’s our little mischief maker! He is so very spoiled.
I give!
From the title I guessed that every long answer would add CO.
I got COVERT coOPS and GREEN BEAcoNS.
“That’s enough!”, said I.
These Sunday pun slogs actually DO give me a headache.
Ms. Grabowski has given us a solid puzzle with an OK theme here. My only nit pick: 39D … “Some intellectuals” = NERDS. Well, yeah — but so are some dumbasses. Like all stereotyping, this clue/answer is claptrap.
My oh my! Aren’t we antebellum today, AS AM I when nostalgia hits me… like remembering the UKASES from the Fifties. Obviously the NE corner did me in, especially when the Seminoles are in the ACC CONFERENCE which is in the NCAA DIVISION ONE (friends from Florida – put away your tomahawk chops!). C’mon, editors, do your job!
26:56, no errors, iPad. Pretty straightforward …
In honor of my maternal heritage, I used to buy a bock beer (can’t remember its name) from Norway; it was available only intermittently (and I don’t think it’s available here at all these days). When I want a beer now (half a dozen times a year), I have a Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout … very tasty stuff …
I think that Norwegian beer was Ringnes Bock …
Danish Carlsberg on tap! None better!
In Canada Skor is still called Skor. I have never heard of Rutnam