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Constructed by: Fred Piscop
Edited by: Rich Norris
Today’s Theme: Gimme a Hand!
Themed answers each start with a term used in poker, the card game:
- 22A *Smell awful : DRAW FLIES
- 24A *Do a garage job : CHECK THE OIL
- 103A *Walk off the job : CALL A STRIKE
- 105A *Cause a disturbance : RAISE CAIN
- 31D *Speculate, in a way : DEAL IN FUTURES
- 33D *Have what it takes : CUT THE MUSTARD
- 37D *Do a washday chore : FOLD LAUNDRY
- 42D *Try to deceive one of the base runners : BLUFF A THROW
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 13m 48s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
5 Fabled loser : HARE
“The Tortoise and the Hare” is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The cocky hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.
9 Battle of heavyweights : SUMO
Sumo is a sport that is practiced professionally only in Japan, the country of its origin. There is an international federation of sumo wrestling now, and one of the organization’s aims is to have the sport accepted as an Olympic event.
18 Turkish currency : LIRA
The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira, which is divided into 100 kuruş. In 1927, the Turkish lira replaced the Ottoman lira, which had been in use since 1844.
20 Luxury sheet material : SATIN
The material known as “satin” takes its name from “Zayton”, the medieval Arabic name for the Chinese port city of Quanzhou. Quanzhou was used for the export of large amounts of silk to Europe.
29 Applied fragrant hair dressing to : POMADED
Pomade is perfumed ointment, mainly used for grooming the hair. The word “pomade” comes from the Latin “pomum” meaning “apple”, as the original ointment recipe used smashed apples.
32 Golden : AURIC
The prefix “auri-” is used to mean “gold”. “Aurum” is Latin for “gold”.
34 Hanoi holiday : TET
The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.
Hanoi (“Hà Nội” in Vietnamese) was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state. Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is located in the delta of the Red River, and is just over 50 miles from the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.
40 Davis Cup org. : USTA
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national organization governing the sport of tennis in the US. The USTA was founded way back in 1881 as the United States National Lawn Tennis Association.
The Davis Cup is referred to as the “World Cup of Tennis” as teams from competing countries play in a knock-out format. Although there are now over 120 nations competing, it all started in 1900 with an event featuring teams for just the US and Great Britain. That first competition came about when four members of the Harvard University tennis team wanted to challenge the British. One of the Harvard players was Dwight D. Davis. Davis designed the format for the tournament, and bought a sterling silver trophy using his own money. The event was called the International Lawn Tennis Challenge at first, but this evolved into the Davis Cup, taking the name of the trophy awarded to the winning nation.
42 Many Eng. degrees : BAS
English (Eng.)
45 Othello and kin : MOORS
The most famous Moor in literature has to be Othello, the title character in William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello, the Moor of Venice”. The word “Moor” describes various peoples of North Africa, usually of the Muslim faith. At the height of their geographic influence the Moors occupied much of the Iberian peninsula, calling it Al Andalus (from which modern Andalusia gets its name).
51 SAT prep teacher, often : TUTOR
Today, the standardized test for admission to colleges is known as the SAT Reasoning Test, but it used to be called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, which led to the abbreviation “SAT”.
53 “Toy Story” bully : SID
In the 1995 Pixar hit “Toy Story”, the toys are owned by a boy named Andy Davis. Andy’s neighbor is a not-so-nice boy named Sid Phillips. Sid gets a big kick out of destroying and torturing his own toys, and those owned by others.
59 Home with smoke flaps : TEPEE
A tepee (also written as “tipi” and “teepee”) is a cone-shaped tent traditionally made from animal hides that is used by the Great Plains Native Americans. A wigwam is a completely different structure and is often a misnomer for a tepee. A wigwam is a domed structure built by Native Americans in the West and Southwest, intended to be a more permanent dwelling. The wigwam can also be covered with hides but more often was covered with grass, reeds, brush or cloth.
60 Dancing pro : HOOFER
“Hoofer” is an American slang term for “dancer”.
62 Ulna locale : FOREARM
The radius and ulna are bones in the forearm. If you hold the palm of your hand up in front of you, the radius is the bone on the “thumb-side” of the arm, and the ulna is the bone on the “pinky-side”.
64 Chaplin of “Game of Thrones” : OONA
Oona Chaplin is an actress from Madrid in Spain. Chaplin is getting a lot of airtime these days as she plays Talisa Maegyr on HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Oona is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and is named for her maternal grandmother Oona O’Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.
67 Many airport rides : UBERS
The basic service offered by ride-hailing company Uber is known as UberX. The service provides a private ride for up to four passengers in a standard car. UberXL provides a minivan or SUV with room for up to 6 passengers.
72 Napkin material : LINEN
Our word “napkin” dates back to the 1300s, when it had the same meaning as today. The term comes from the old French word “nape” meaning “tablecloth” and the Middle English suffix “-kin” meaning “little”. So, a napkin is a little tablecloth.
74 Destiny and source of the phoenix : ASHES
A phoenix is a fabulous bird of Greek mythology, which can also be found in the mythologies of Persia, Egypt and China. The phoenix is a fire spirit, which lives from 500 to 1000 years. At the end of its lifespan, it builds a nest for itself (a pyre) and self-ignites, burning itself and the nest, creating a pile of ashes. A young phoenix arises from the ashes and the cycle starts all over again.
75 Managed care gp. : HMO
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) or Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). Make your choice, if you can …
76 Some eligible receivers : ENDS
That would be football.
78 Communion site : ALTAR
The Communion rite is the part of the Mass in the Roman Catholic tradition. The rite involves distribution of the Communion bread (the host, a wafer) to the faithful.
79 Frigate front : PROW
Back in the 1600s, a frigate was a warship designed for maximum maneuverability and speed. In today’s parlance, the term describes a warship assigned to the protection of other warships and merchant vessels, with an emphasis on anti-submarine warfare.
86 Brut, compared to sec : DRIER
Sparkling wines can be classified according to sweetness. These classifications are, from driest to sweetest:
- Brut Nature
- Extra Brut
- Brut
- Extra Dry
- Dry
- Semi-Dry
- Sweet
93 Adorn with sequins : SPANGLE
Sequins are ornamental discs that glisten and are often used to decorate clothing. The term “sequin” was first recorded in the early 1800s. Prior to that date, “sequin” was the French name for a former Italian and Turkish coin. The ornamental discs were so called as they were deemed to resemble gold coins.
99 Coming and going : GERUNDS
A gerund is a form of a verb that can be used as a noun. For example, the gerund of the verb “to solve” is “solving”, as in the phrase “we really enjoyed the solving experience”.
105 *Cause a disturbance : RAISE CAIN
As Cain was the first murderer according to the Bible, he is associated with evil or trouble. The idiom “raise Cain” is the equivalent of “raise Hell” and “raise the Devil”. In all cases, the meaning is to bring back evil or to cause trouble.
107 Photoshop, e.g. : ALTER
Photoshop is a wonderful piece of software used for editing graphics. When I first bought a copy of Photoshop, it was really expensive (about $300 in 1995), but now there are cost-effective, stripped-down versions available. Also, the full version of Photoshop is now only available as a monthly subscription service.
108 Printer powder : TONER
The key features of a laser printer (or copier) are that it uses plain paper and produces quality text at high speed. Laser printers work by projecting a laser image of the printed page onto a rotating drum that is coated with photoconductors (material that becomes conductive when exposed to light). The areas of the drum exposed to the laser carry a different charge than the unexposed areas. Dry ink (toner) sticks to the exposed areas due to electrostatic charge. The toner is then transferred to paper by contact and is fused into the paper by the application of heat. So, that explains why paper coming out of a laser printer is warm, and sometimes powdery.
110 Austen classic : EMMA
Jane Austen’s novel “Emma” is the tale of Emma Woodhouse and the wonderful George Knightley. At the end of the story, Emma marries Knightley and her young friend Harriet marries Robert Martin, who had been trying to get Harriet’s attention practically from page one of the novel. Emma interfered in that troubled courtship.
113 Flat-nosed dogs : PUGS
The pug is a dog breed of Chinese origin. Our current family pet is a boxer/pug cross, and is a good-looking mutt!
Down
1 Auto pioneer : OLDS
Ransom Eli Olds was a pioneer in the automotive industry, and the founder of the Oldsmobile and REO brands. Olds introduced the first modern “stationary” assembly line (Henry Ford’s famous innovation was the “moving” assembly line). As a result, it can be argued that the Oldsmobile Curved Dash was the first mass-produced, low-priced automobile, rather than the Ford’s Model T.
6 St. Teresa’s home : AVILA
Ávila is famous for the walled defenses around the old city (“la muralla de Ávila”) that date back to 1090. They were constructed out of brown granite, and are still in excellent repair. There are nine gateways and eighty-towers in all. Even the cathedral built between the 12th and 14th centuries is part of the city’s defenses, so it looks like an imposing fortress.
St. Teresa of Ávila (also known as St. Teresa of Jesus) was a Carmelite nun living in Spain in the 1500s. She is particularly noted for her writings on Christian meditation and mental prayer.
7 “Norma __” : RAE
“Norma Rae” is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called “Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance”.
8 Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA
Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer, and a great rival of the perhaps more famous Coco Chanel. Schiaparelli was most successful between the two World Wars, but her business closed in 1954 as she failed to adapt to changing tastes after WWII.
9 Roughly one-third of Africa : SAHARA
The name “Sahara” means “greatest desert” in Arabic. The Sahara is just that, a great desert covering almost 4 million square miles of Northern Africa. That’s almost the size of the United States.
10 Where embryos develop : UTERI
“Uterus” (plural “uteri”) is the Latin word for “womb”.
11 Emcee’s lapel attachment : MIC
The term “emcee” comes from “MC”, an initialism used for a Master or Mistress of Ceremonies.
12 Like GIs in the kitchen : ON KP
The initialism “KP” is US military slang that stands for either “kitchen police” or “kitchen patrol”.
13 Cream cheese serving : SCHMEAR
The word “schmear” comes from the Yiddish word “shmir” meaning “spread”. The phrase “the whole schmear” is a relatively recent one, dating back to around 1969 and coming from the world of business.
15 Cross above an altar : ROOD
A rood is a crucifix that specifically symbolizes the cross on which Jesus was crucified.
16 Vowel-rich lake : ERIE
Lake Erie is the fourth-largest of the five Great Lakes by area (Lake Ontario is the smallest). The lake takes its name from the Erie tribe of Native Americans that used to live along its southern shore. Erie is the smallest of the Great Lakes by volume and the shallowest, something for which nearby residents must be quite grateful. Being relatively shallow, much of Erie freezes over part way through most winters putting an end to most of the lake-effect snow that falls in the snow belt extending from the lake’s edge.
23 Anna of “The Emoji Movie” : FARIS
Comic actress Anna Faris broke through to the big time when she landed a leading role in the 2000 horror parody “Scary Movie”. She reprised that “Scary Movie” role in three sequels. TV audiences will likely recognize Faris as the main character in the sitcom “Mom”. Faris was married to fellow actor Chris Pratt from 2009 until 2018.
“The Emoji Movie” is a 2017 animated film that has been panned widely by the critics. It did well at the 38th Golden Raspberry awards, winning for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screen Combo and Worst Screenplay.
28 Hotels.com quotes : RATES
The Hotels.com website gives the user the ability to book hotel rooms online. It was founded in 1991 as the Hotel Reservations Network (HRN). Expedia took over HRN in 2002, and purchased the domain name “Hotels.com”, just the domain name, for about $11 million!
33 *Have what it takes : CUT THE MUSTARD
The expression “to cut the mustard” means “to meet expectations”. Apparently, the origins of the phrase are unclear, but some suggest it may come from “cut the muster”. But “cut the muster” has a very different meaning, i.e. “not turn up for a military parade”. I’ve also heard people use “cut the mustard” and “not pass muster” interchangeably. It’s all so confusing …
35 Horse-and-buggy group : AMISH
The Amish are members of a group of Christian churches, and a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish church originated in Switzerland and Alsace in 1693 when it was founded by Jakob Ammann. It was Ammann who gave the name to the Amish people. Many Amish people came to Pennsylvania in the 18th century.
36 Four-page sheet : FOLIO
Some common book formats/sizes are folio, octavo and quarto. For an octavo book for example, sixteen pages of text are printed, eight pages on each side of a “full-size” piece of paper. The pages are formed by folding the sheet of paper three times in half, giving a group of sixteen pages printed on eight leaves (after separation). The size of the resulting pages of course depends on the size of the original sheet, but each page is one eighth the size of that original (hence the name octavo). Nowadays the octavo size refers to books that are between eight and ten inches tall. If you do the math, folio books are twice the size of quarto, and quarto twice the size of octavo.
39 Magneto’s enemies : X-MEN
In the Marvel Comics universe, Magneto is a powerful mutant, and an enemy of the X-Men. As his name implies, Magneto’s superhuman ability is that he can generate and control magnetic fields. Magneto has been portrayed on the big screen in the “X-Men” series of films by Sir Ian McKellen, and by Michael Fassbender.
41 Slipper, for one : SHOE
The shoe known as a slipper is usually light, loose and comfortable, and is generally made to be worn indoors. The shoe’s name comes from the fact that the foot “slips” into it quite easily.
42 *Try to deceive one of the base runners : BLUFF A THROW
That would be baseball.
43 Big-box store division : AISLE
A big-box store is a very large retail outlet, and one that is often part of a chain.
44 Rodeo bovine : STEER
A steer is a male bovine that was castrated when young and is then raised for beef. The term “steer” comes from the Old English “steor” meaning “bullock”.
47 __ Banks : OUTER
The Outer Banks are a 200-mile long chain of barrier islands lying just off the coast of North Carolina (and a small section of Virginia). The seas of the Outer Banks have a reputation as being very treacherous and so are nicknamed the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
50 Minibike relative : MOPED
The word “moped” was coined in 1952 by a Swedish journalist named Harald Nielsen. The term is a portmanteau of “motor” and “pedal”.
51 Cantina appetizers : TAPAS
“Tapa” is the Spanish word for “lid”, and there is no clear rationale for why this word came to be used for an appetizer. There are lots of explanations cited, all of which seem to involve the temporary covering of one’s glass of wine with a plate or item of food to either preserve the wine or give one extra space at the table.
52 Shrek’s love : FIONA
Princess Fiona is the title character’s love interest in the “Shrek” series of films.
54 “The Elements of Bridge” author Charles : GOREN
Charles Goren was a world champion bridge player from Philadelphia. Goren published many books on the game, and had a daily bridge column that appeared in almost 200 newspapers. He even had a weekly column in “Sports Illustrated”. Goren introduced several techniques and systems that eventually became part of the modern Standard American bidding system that is used by many bridge players today (including me!).
56 Turnips and parsnips : ROOTS
The names of veggies cause me grief sometimes. What’s called a turnip here in the US, we call a swede back in Ireland. An Irishman’s turnip is a rutabaga over here. Thank goodness a potato is a potato, or I’d just give up altogether 🙂
The parsnip is a root vegetable that is usually left in the ground through winter frosts in order to increase the roots sugar content. Parsnips can be so sweet that they were commonly used as sweeteners before sugar beets and sugar cane became readily available. Parsnip juices were collected and evaporated to produce a brown residue that resembled honey.
59 Gain popularity on Twitter : TREND
In the world of Twitter, for example, a phrase that is getting “tagged” by users more than other phrases is said to be “trending”.
63 Bassoon cousins : OBOES
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.
Our modern bassoon first appeared in the 1800s and has had a place in the concert orchestra ever since.
65 Send to the Hill : ELECT
The designer of Washington D.C., Pierre L’Enfant, chose the crest of a hill as the site for the future Congress House. He called the location “Jenkins Hill” and “Jenkins Heights”. Earlier records show the name as “New Troy”. Today we call it “Capitol Hill”.
66 Currency of Jordan : DINAR
The Jordanian dinar (JD) has been the currency of Jordan since 1950. As well as being used in Jordan, the Jordanian dinar is recognized as legal tender in the West Bank, alongside the Israeli shekel.
69 Migratory herring : SHAD
The shad is also known as the river herring. The eggs (roe) of the shad are prized as a delicacy in the Eastern US.
73 X-Acto knife cut : SLIT
The X-Acto knife was invented in the thirties by a Polish immigrant, although his intention was to come up with a scalpel for surgeons. The knife couldn’t cut it as a scalpel though (pun!), because it was difficult to clean. The inventor’s brother-in law suggested it be used as a craft knife, and it is still around today.
74 Skin cream additive : ALOE
Aloe vera is a succulent plant that grows in relatively dry climates. The plant’s leaves are full of biologically-active compounds that have been studied extensively. Aloe vera has been used for centuries in herbal medicine, mainly for topical treatment of wounds.
77 Venice features : CANALS
The city of Venice (“Venezia” in Italian) in northeast Italy is built in a saltwater lagoon on the Adriatic Coast, on 117 small islands. The classic transportation along the waterways is the gondola, but this is really only used for tourists these days, as well as on ceremonial occasions. The locals rely on the motorized water-buses.
78 Respond to reveille : ARISE
“Reveille” is a trumpet call that is used to wake everyone up at sunrise. The term comes from “réveillé”, the French for “wake up”.
81 Homes for gliders : HANGARS
“Hangar” is a French word for “shed”. The French first started using the term to mean “shed for airplanes” in the very early 1900s.
82 Suds maker : BREWER
“Brewski”, “suds” and “cold one” are slang terms for “beer”.
86 Ducklings’ dads : DRAKES
A male duck is a drake, and a female duck is a hen. That said, a female is sometimes just referred to as a duck!
88 Chesapeake Bay, e.g. : INLET
Chesapeake Bay is on the Atlantic coast and is surrounded by the states of Maryland and Virginia. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the whole country, with over 150 rivers and streams draining into it, including the Potomac.
93 Worker during a walkout : SCAB
We first started calling strikebreakers scabs in the early 1800s, and before that a scab was a person who refused to join a trade union (back as early 1777). The word “scab” probably comes from the use of “scab” as a symptom of a skin disease, and so is a term that is meant to insult.
94 Dark cloud : PALL
A pall is a cloth used to cover a casket at a funeral. Pallbearers actually carry the coffin, covered by the pall. The phrase “casting a pall over”, meaning to create a dark mood, is metaphorical use of the “pall” over the casket.
96 Kett of old comics : ETTA
“Etta Kett” was a comic strip that first ran in 1925. The strip ceased to be published in 1974, when creator Paul Robinson passed away. The initial intent was to offer tips to teenagers on manners and social graces, hence the name of the title character Etta Kett (sounds like “etiquette”).
101 Coin depicting a torch : DIME
The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.
104 Obey the coxswain : ROW
The coxswain of a boat is one in charge of steering and navigation. The word “coxswain” is shortened to “cox”, particularly when used for the person steering and calling out the stroke in a competition rowing boat.
106 Pac-12 sch. : ASU
Arizona State University (ASU) has a long history, and was founded as the Tempe Normal School for the Arizona Territory in 1885. The athletic teams of ASU used to be known as the Normals, then the Bulldogs, and since 1946 they’ve been called the Sun Devils.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Fighting, after “at” : … ODDS
5 Fabled loser : HARE
9 Battle of heavyweights : SUMO
13 Nail alternative : SCREW
18 Turkish currency : LIRA
19 Not quite round : OVAL
20 Luxury sheet material : SATIN
21 Slopping the hogs, e.g. : CHORE
22 *Smell awful : DRAW FLIES
24 *Do a garage job : CHECK THE OIL
26 Shove off : SET SAIL
27 Like loud crowds : AROAR
29 Applied fragrant hair dressing to : POMADED
30 Tire pattern : TREAD
32 Golden : AURIC
34 Hanoi holiday : TET
35 Social function : AFFAIR
38 “Cast of thousands” member : EXTRA
40 Davis Cup org. : USTA
42 Many Eng. degrees : BAS
45 Othello and kin : MOORS
46 Titled women : DAMES
47 Last checkbox, often : OTHER
48 Set aflame : LIT
49 Misfortunes : ILLS
50 Tom and buck : MALES
51 SAT prep teacher, often : TUTOR
52 Firecracker part : FUSE
53 “Toy Story” bully : SID
54 Evaded the bouncer, maybe : GOT IN
55 Bat-maker’s tool : LATHE
56 Go through quickly : RIFLE
57 Reserve, as a date : HOLD OPEN
59 Home with smoke flaps : TEPEE
60 Dancing pro : HOOFER
61 Suffix suggesting wealth : -AIRE
62 Ulna locale : FOREARM
64 Chaplin of “Game of Thrones” : OONA
65 Drew out : EDUCED
67 Many airport rides : UBERS
68 E is the only vowel that doesn’t begin any of their names : US STATES
72 Napkin material : LINEN
73 Unemotional : STONY
74 Destiny and source of the phoenix : ASHES
75 Managed care gp. : HMO
76 Some eligible receivers : ENDS
77 Informed, with “in” : CLUED …
78 Communion site : ALTAR
79 Frigate front : PROW
80 Tourist’s rental : CAR
81 Nitpickers split them : HAIRS
82 Of great scope : BROAD
83 Composed tweets, say : WROTE
84 Give it a whirl : TRY
85 Cost to play : ANTE
86 Brut, compared to sec : DRIER
87 Ate, with “down” : CHOWED …
88 Words with stew or pickle : IN A …
89 Tender spots : SORES
91 Took a chance : DARED
93 Adorn with sequins : SPANGLE
97 Toyed with, cat-style : PAWED
99 Coming and going : GERUNDS
103 *Walk off the job : CALL A STRIKE
105 *Cause a disturbance : RAISE CAIN
107 Photoshop, e.g. : ALTER
108 Printer powder : TONER
109 “Winning __ everything” : ISN’T
110 Austen classic : EMMA
111 Stains on reputations : BLOTS
112 Knocks out, in a way : AWES
113 Flat-nosed dogs : PUGS
114 Like some pockets : DEEP
Down
1 Auto pioneer : OLDS
2 Potentially ruinous : DIRE
3 “Doggone it!” : DRAT!
4 Reacted to a punch : SAW STARS
5 More saintly : HOLIER
6 St. Teresa’s home : AVILA
7 “Norma __” : RAE
8 Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA
9 Roughly one-third of Africa : SAHARA
10 Where embryos develop : UTERI
11 Emcee’s lapel attachment : MIC
12 Like GIs in the kitchen : ON KP
13 Cream cheese serving : SCHMEAR
14 Play badly? : CHEAT
15 Cross above an altar : ROOD
16 Vowel-rich lake : ERIE
17 Join with a blowtorch : WELD
20 Rubs clean : SCOURS
23 Anna of “The Emoji Movie” : FARIS
25 Wobble : TOTTER
28 Hotels.com quotes : RATES
31 *Speculate, in a way : DEAL IN FUTURES
33 *Have what it takes : CUT THE MUSTARD
35 Horse-and-buggy group : AMISH
36 Four-page sheet : FOLIO
37 *Do a washday chore : FOLD LAUNDRY
39 Magneto’s enemies : X-MEN
41 Slipper, for one : SHOE
42 *Try to deceive one of the base runners : BLUFF A THROW
43 Big-box store division : AISLE
44 Rodeo bovine : STEER
46 Take out : DATE
47 __ Banks : OUTER
50 Minibike relative : MOPED
51 Cantina appetizers : TAPAS
52 Shrek’s love : FIONA
54 “The Elements of Bridge” author Charles : GOREN
55 Having one’s doubts : LEERY
56 Turnips and parsnips : ROOTS
58 Prepares ham for an omelet, say : DICES
59 Gain popularity on Twitter : TREND
60 Car washer, at times : HOSER
63 Bassoon cousins : OBOES
65 Send to the Hill : ELECT
66 Currency of Jordan : DINAR
69 Migratory herring : SHAD
70 Portray fury or fear : EMOTE
71 Spread, as seed : SOWED
73 X-Acto knife cut : SLIT
74 Skin cream additive : ALOE
77 Venice features : CANALS
78 Respond to reveille : ARISE
79 Manufactured : PRODUCED
81 Homes for gliders : HANGARS
82 Suds maker : BREWER
83 Placement word : WHERE
86 Ducklings’ dads : DRAKES
87 Reaches a peak : CRESTS
88 Chesapeake Bay, e.g. : INLET
90 Offer a view : OPINE
92 Winery process : AGING
93 Worker during a walkout : SCAB
94 Dark cloud : PALL
95 Choral part : ALTO
96 Kett of old comics : ETTA
98 Faucet annoyance : DRIP
100 Point a finger at : NAME
101 Coin depicting a torch : DIME
102 Totally lose it : SNAP
104 Obey the coxswain : ROW
106 Pac-12 sch. : ASU
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11 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 10 Jan 21, Sunday”
Comments are closed.
10:49, no errors.
Couple of errors.. 60A/60D.. thought a dancing pro might be a LOAFER instead of a HOOFER and someone washing a car might be a LOSER instead of a HOSER.. And I was sure Shreks love was FIANA not FIONA.. How many times did I watch Shrek and I missed FIONA!! YIPES!!
16:50, no errors. Remarkably straightforward solve (perhaps to mollify all the potential lynchers from a couple of days ago … 😜).
35:05 no errors…this seemed to be the easiest Sunday puzzle I can remember…99A was the only answer that I needed crosses to solve.
Stay safe.😀
I hope that this time next week I will still be saying Go Ravens🙏🙏🙏
25:15, one square off (uterO instead of uterI), giving two errors
was surprised that “altar” was in a clue and was an answer.
… not to mention ALTER (another answer!) … and LATHE (yet another answer! … and a near-anagram of ALTER!).
(Sorry. I was overtaken and seduced by a silly mood … 😜)
No errors; no lookups. One spot was difficult because I had entered
“keep open” instead of “hold open” but after realizing that the horse and
buggy group answer was “Amish”, I was able to back off and change
that section.
All in all a rather easy puzzle, but as I’m not a poker player or much of
a card player, the theme escaped me once again. .
I agree with everyone above, a remarkably easy puzzle.
23 minutes, 15 seconds, 8 errors sprinkled throughout. Just a few terms I didn’t know, like ROOD and POMADED. News to me.
13:57 no errors
Thanks for the explanation of the theme. I had no clue.
HOLIER, AVILA, and ROOD make an interesting cluster near the top. Also we had both ALTAR and ALTER.
EDUCED is a cool word.