Theme: "The Last Shall Be First" — Theme answers are familiar compound words with their two parts reversed, creating new wacky words clued "?"-style.
[Note: This is the syndicated L.A. Times puzzle. It does not appear in the actual newspaper, but is available for free at cruciverb.com.]
Theme answers: - 23A: Hayride musical group? (WAGON BAND).
- 25A: Results of a burglar's bumps and bruises? (TAKING PAINS).
- 38A: Bleating art? (GOATSCAPE).
- 42A: Brief film on kneading and baking? (BREAD SHORT).
- 61A: Contest related to the knife toss? (FORK PITCH).
- 78A: Violinist who loves the spotlight? (STRING HAM).
- 96A: Handy lint-removing tool? (POCKET PICK).
- 98A: Primitive projectile that's like new? (MINT SPEAR).
- 118A: Disaster at a Ritz factory? (CRACKER FIRE).
- 120A: Astronaut's alien squeeze? (MOON HONEY).
Everything Else — 1A: Prayer start (LORD); 5A: Assertive comeback (AM SO); 9A: Sir Toby of "Twelfth Night" (BELCH); 14A: Done with (RID OF); 19A: 1970 Neil Young protest song (OHIO); 20A: Spa option (PEEL); 21A: Donovan who played Amber in "Clueless" (ELISA); 22A: January, in Juárez (ENERO); 27A: Choice (PRIMO); 28A: "The Thieving Magpie" composer (ROSSINI); 30A: Jumpers, e.g. (DRESSES); 31A: "Thou shouldst not have been old till thou __ been wise": "King Lear" (HADST); 32A: Like a hoops shot (ARCED); 33A: Sexually attractive (NUBILE); 35A: Justice Dept. org. (DEA); 37A: Valuable deposit (ORE); 47A: "Full Metal Jacket" gp. (USMC); 48A: __ populi (VOX); 49A: Not easy to hang onto (EELY); 50A: Some have prizes inside (CEREALS); 52A: "Alrighty then" ("OKEY-DOKE"); 56A: Rock genre (EMO); 57A: Director Vittorio De __ (SICA); 58A: Matched, as a bet (SEEN); 60A: Parroted a Persian (MEOWED); 64A: Afternoon celeb (SOAP STAR); 67A: Ruin (SPOIL); 68A: Hipbone prefix (ILIO-); 70A: Trim (NEAT); 71A: Carpentry files (RASPS); 75A: Early development (NASCENCY); 80A: Phrase on a mailing label (SEND TO); 83A: Semi-convertible auto roof (T-TOP); 85A: Vermilion and cardinal (REDS); 86A: Santa __ winds (ANA); 87A: Fund source (TREASURY); 90A: Unlike the life of the party (ASOCIAL); 92A: __ Blair: George Orwell's birth name (ERIC); 93A: Classified ad letters (EEO); 94A: Boss (HEAD); 102A: Covert __: spy missions (OPS); 103A: Soft & __ (DRI); 104A: Beat (RHYTHM); 105A: Prepare, as merchandise for a sale (RETAG); 108A: Cruise, for one (ACTOR); 112A: Tenor Pavarotti (LUCIANO); 115A: Impose (OBTRUDE); 117A: Joe of "Hill Street Blues" (SPANO); 122A: German thanks (DANKE); 123A: Like the verbs "cast" and "cost": Abbr. (IRREG.); 124A: German earth (ERDE); 125A: Part of NEA: Abbr. (EDUC.); 126A: Dispatches, as a dragon (SLAYS); 127A: 1980s-'90s Olds (CIERA); 128A: Certain title (DEED); 129A: Classification (TYPE); 1D: Like acidic detergents (LOW PH); 2D: "BUtterfield 8" novelist (O'HARA); 3D: Stiff (RIGID); 4D: End of the world (DOOMSDAY); 5D: LAPD broadcast (APB); 6D: Anne of "Awakenings" (MEARA); 7D: Hombre's address (SEÑOR); 8D: It's often hard to settle (OLD SCORE); 9D: Happen (BETIDE); 10D: Vigor (ELAN); 11D: Preferences (LIKINGS); 12D: Drama set in Vegas (CSI); 13D: Return, as graded papers (HAND BACK); 14D: Staves off (REPELS); 15D: "Hang on!" ("IN A SEC!"); 16D: Agnus __: Mass prayers (DEIS); 17D: D-day invasion river (ORNE); 18D: Composer Lukas (FOSS); 24D: Wrote down (NOTED); 26D: Mettle (GRIT); 29D: Perfect Sleepers, e.g. (SERTAS); 34D: Man of Messina (UOMO); 36D: Computer data acronym (ASCII); 39D: State purposefully (AVOW); 40D: Nudge (POKE); 41D: Left one's mark on (EXED); 42D: Complaints (BEEFS); 43D: Clean again, as a floor (REMOP); 44D: Ecuadoran province named for its gold production (EL ORO); 45D: Feverish (HECTIC); 46D: Divine counselor (ORACLE); 47D: Apply to (USE ON); 51D: Bandleader Brown (LES); 53D: 911 respondent (EMT); 54D: Has strong desires (YEARNS); 55D: Biker's headgear, perhaps (DO-RAG); 57D: Water balloon impact sounds (SPLATS); 59D: Rob Roy refusals (NAES); 62D: In a manner of speaking, slangily (KINDA); 63D: Suggestion (HINT); 65D: "The Alamo" co-star Jason __ (PATRIC); 66D: Unbroken sequence (STREAK); 69D: Oars in a quad scull, e.g. (OCTAD); 72D: Lewis with Lamb Chop (SHARI); 73D: Go to pieces (PANIC); 74D: Slap (SMACK); 76D: Insignificant amount (SOU); 77D: Informal his (YOS); 79D: Whittled on the porch, say (IDLED); 80D: Restrain (STEM); 81D: "Oh the joys that came ... __ was old!": Coleridge (ERE I); 82D: Night light (NEON); 84D: Corny gadget? (POPPER); 88D: Bombast (RHETORIC); 89D: "Righto" ("YEAH"); 91D: Like some ball attendees (COSTUMED); 92D: Milton or Virgil (EPIC POET); 95D: Large wardrobe (ARMOIRE); 97D: Criticize severely (TRASH); 99D: Devious (TRICKY); 100D: Jiggles (SHAKES); 101D: Joe __, confrontational '50s-'60s talk show host (PYNE); 102D: Former Sandinista leader (ORTEGA); 106D: Dig deeply? (ADORE); 107D: Glittery rock (GEODE); 109D: Frequent Cronyn co-star (TANDY); 110D: Outdo (ONE-UP); 111D: Automaker Henry (ROYCE); 112D: Some time displays, briefly (LCDS); 113D: River through Magnitogorsk (URAL); 114D: Site of Jesus' first miracle (CANA); 116D: Fox's title (BRER); 119D: Time assoc. with a common superstition (FRI.); 121D: Novelist Buntline (NED).
Theme answers: 
10 comments:
Overall a rather easy Sunday puzzle, but I did get stuck in the SE which slowed me down a bit, so I could finish my breakfast. BELCH !!!!
The TRICKY theme was fun... flip-flops always are.
Had to look up ROYCE and had EPICURES istead of EPICPOETS. Also 69D OCTAD for "Oars in a quad scull" baffled me, but really it's pretty clever.
I SORTA liked all the casual words like YEAH, IN A SEC, ONE UP, YOS, OKEY DOKE, and KINDA.
Love the word NUBILE. I'll have to try that one out on someone today, however I may get a SMACK (Slap).
Does anyone remember this from "Clockwork Orange"? ROSSINI
Beautiful day in Chicagoland... time to go putter in my garden.
Good puzle.
Whew! This was a hard slog. I finally resorted to several googles just to get it over with. This is not to say I didn't like the puzzle, I did....a lot. Each theme answer got at least a smile, if not a LOL (especially loved GOATSCAPE for "bleating art?") The puzzle's title made it easy to guess what the theme would be.
OBTRUDE and BETIDE were toughies. Had to look up a few of the names to get 'er done. Tons of misdirection, but fun. I had MOON before NEON for "night light." Favorite answers with clever clues were POPPER and OLD SCORE.
Partly enjoyed this puzzle but, like @Shrub5 and @JNH, had to google, primarily because it was taking too long and there were too many pop proper names, (popropers?).
Also had trouble in the deep SE primarily because I read NEA as National Endowment for the Arts resulting in "natl" for 125A, not. Also, didn't know 117A SPANO and 111D ROYCE.
IMO, one thing this puzzle had going for it was the minimum of worn-out crosswordese. Sure there was the occassional ANA, EMO, URAL, and DEIS, but for a puzzle that's almost twice as big as a weekday, the density was low.
WOTD is OBTRUDE.
@JNH, tx for being there.
Google Account is gone, grrr.
Rube
Am I the only one who had the puzzle "the Snausages Made Me Do It"?
@Anon 5:09, see Orange's explanation in the comments on the Merl Reagle puzzle that appears in the dead-tree LAT.
With Neil Young's OHIO rolling around my head I had a great time with this flip-flop theme.
Wanted "70's college activity" for STREAK.
Had to look for the OBTRUDE (all crosses) there were several of these.
The Y in MOONHONEY got me ROYCE, and that R got me ACTOR since I wanted short for Cruise.
LIKE @JNH like the casual stuff, esp. YOS.
Learned the Ecuadoran Province ELORO, Director SICA and 50-60 radio guy PYNE.
Time for a POPPER, hmmm what could that be?
You can always tell when the good weather sets in... few comments!
Lemme OBTRUDE here 'bout BETIDE which I recall from the following warning oft threatened by one of my 6th grade nuns back 'bout 19'n'51:
"If you don't ... woe BETIDE you!"
or: "...your name will be mud."
Took a long time to do this without Googling, but enjoyed it. One funny mistake I made at first was LAMBSCAPE - even though by then I knew what the theme was! :)
Post a Comment