Theme: "Someting's Missing" — H's are removed from familiar phrases creating new wacky phrases 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:
- 27A: Plan a Big Apple heist? (CASE MANHATTAN).
- 42A: Snorkeling? (TANKLESS TASK).
- 60A: Portfolio for retirement planning? (SAVING KIT).
- 70A: Do a Gap stockroom job? (SORT PANTS).
- 86A: Clothes dryer, so it's said? (SOCK ABSORBER).
- 101A: Made off with the meat? (COPPED SIRLOIN).
- 37D: Iguana pals in Ecuador? (TREE AMIGOS).
- 45D: Shamu's arena? (SEA STADIUM).
Crosswordese 101 Round-up:- 21A: What Spanish Olympians go for (EL ORO).
- 53A: Scratch (out) (EKE).
- 116A: River to the North Sea (YSER).
- 3D: Razor brand (ATRA).
- 28D: Want ad abbr. (EEO).
- 52D: Speaker in the Hall of Fame (TRIS).
- 68D: Funny Bombeck (ERMA).
- 105D: Political cartoonist Thomas (NAST).
Everything Else — 1A: Mardi Gras accessory bit (BEAD); 5A: Relished (ATE UP); 10A: Skinny sort (SCRAG); 15A: Soprano Gluck (ALMA); 19A: Until (UP TO); 20A: Latte variant (MOCHA); 22A: Ready to be driven (TEED); 23A: Father (SIRE); 24A: "We're finally __ own": "Ohio" lyric (ON OUR); 25A: Needle (TEASE); 26A: Hullabaloo (TO-DO); 30A: Consequence of a strong punch? (SHINER); 32A: Believe (FEEL); 33A: Squirrel (away) (SALT); 34A: Windblown (AEOLIAN); 35A: Possibility (OPTION); 38A: "__ Mio" (O SOLE); 40A: Microwave maker (AMANA); 41A: Florist's staple (FERN); 45A: Utah airport initials (SLC); 48A: Less restricted (FREER); 50A: Sediment (LEES); 51A: Get affectionate, with "up" (COZY); 52A: Santa's reindeer, e.g. (TEAM); 54A: Excuse (ALIBI); 56A: Direct, as one's future (SHAPE); 58A: Where "The Nude Maja" hangs (PRADO); 59A: Where Mandela was pres. (RSA); 62A: Out of bed (ARISEN); 63A: Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, e.g. (MUPPET); 65A: Peanut product (OIL); 66A: Most likable (NICEST); 68A: Online reading material (E-ZINES); 72A: All alternative (ANY); 75A: Unyielding (RIGID); 76A: Intended (MEANT); 78A: It might be verbal (ABUSE); 79A: Small 52-Across (DUO); 80A: Academic (MOOT); 81A: Southern collective? (Y'ALL); 82A: U.S. Treasurer Rosie (RIOS); 83A: Car in a Beach Boys song (T-BIRD); 85A: FAQ response (ANS.); 90A: Subterfuge (RUSE); 91A: Playboy bunny and others (LOGOS); 92A: "Amo, Amas, I Love __" (A LASS); 93A: Canine cover (ENAMEL); 95A: Nonwinner (ALSO-RAN); 98A: Ban target (ODOR); 99A: Seriously injure (MAIM); 100A: What you may do before you weep? (READ 'EM); 106A: Jingled (RANG); 107A: Snoozing (ADOZE); 109A: Al __ (DENTE); 110A: 1944 turning point (D-DAY); 112A: Payment made by hand? (ANTE); 113A: Race official (TIMER); 114A: Oak, in a nutshell (ACORN); 115A: Choice word (ELSE); 117A: Twitch (SPASM); 118A: Got off the road, in a way (TOWED); 119A: Permits (LETS); 1D: Certain Volkswagen (BUS); 2D: Sweeping (EPIC); 4D: Has no problems (DOES FINE); 5D: You might need it when you're flustered (A MOMENT); 6D: Like Romantic music (TONAL); 7D: MBA's course (ECON); 8D: "Nope" ("UH-UH"); 9D: Lightweight umbrellas (PARASOLS); 10D: Avoids a trial (SETTLES); 11D: Line holder, on a ship (CLEAT); 12D: Equine color (ROAN); 13D: Horace's "__ Poetica" (ARS); 14D: Doesn't push, with "on" (GOES EASY); 15D: Fifth-century warrior (ATTILA); 16D: Téa of "Jurassic Park III" (LEONI); 17D: Mythical sorceress (MEDEA); 18D: Embellish (ADORN); 29D: One might be hard to believe (TALE); 31D: Response to being held up, maybe (HONK); 34D: Blow away (AMAZE); 35D: Put on the market (OFFER); 36D: Car allowance, preferred parking, etc. (PERKS); 38D: Half a quarter? (ONE BIT); 39D: Unit of wound thread (SKEIN); 40D: Upon (ATOP); 43D: 1993 survival film (ALIVE); 44D: Improvisational style (SCAT); 46D: Stow cargo (LADE); 47D: "Hurry up!" ("C'MON!"); 49D: Croaked (RASPED); 55D: Track circuits (LAPS); 56D: Avoid (SKIRT); 57D: Dagger handle (HILT); 58D: Car radio feature (PRESET); 61D: Thug (GOON); 62D: Book between John and Romans (ACTS); 64D: The Big __: pitcher Randy Johnson's nickname (UNIT); 66D: Agnew's natterers (NABOBS); 67D: Occupied (IN USE); 69D: National park through which the Virgin River runs (ZION); 70D: Room in a casa (SALA); 71D: An 86-Across may break them up (PAIRS); 73D: Ratched or Houlihan (NURSE); 74D: Tyrolean refrain (YODEL); 76D: Little Richard's Georgia hometown (MACON); 77D: Fraternal group (ELKS); 81D: Where asanas are seen (YOGA MATS); 82D: Found hilarious (ROARED AT); 84D: Victoria's Secret catalog poser (BRA MODEL); 86D: Ticked off (SORE); 87D: Salon snafu (BAD PERM); 88D: Cuisine for Babe (SLOP); 89D: Bump from behind (REAR-END); 91D: One of the inn crowd (LODGER); 94D: Zilch (NIL); 95D: Orderly display (ARRAY); 96D: Is inclined (LEANS); 97D: "À votre __!" (SANTE); 98D: Trickles (OOZES); 99D: Anglican Church headdress (MITRE); 101D: Unresponsive state (COMA); 102D: Empire State Building style (DECO); 103D: Put one over on (SNOW); 104D: Unoccupied (IDLE); 108D: Guacamole, for one (DIP); 111D: "Of course" ("YES").
14 comments:
Oh, another of those "get the H outta here" puzzles. Not very creative!
I did like the SOCK ABSORBER though... I'm doing my laundry right now and I'm sure I'll be calling my dryer that!
I found that most of the cluing was strained a bit, for example: "Portfolio for retirement planning" (SAVING KIT), "Windblown" (AEOLIAN), "AMO, AMAS, I Love___" (ALASS), etc.
I had HAFT instead of HILT and so that threw me off.
Best part of the puzzle:
BRA MODEL crossing with T-BIRD.
And... using the Beach Boys song in the clue. Wow! Back in 1955 I was a teenager and my good friend Myra got a T-BIRD from her daddy, so I always ROARED AT this song.
I didn't like the clue "Southern collective" for Y'ALL... I use that all the time, and I'm not from the South.
Y'ALL have a great weekend !
Solid Sunday romp for me.
The LAT Calendar ("Bursztyn") puzzle is this one as well this week. Anybody know if this marks a permanent change?
Whereas the "Drop a letter" thingy
(along with the "Add a letter" thingy)
is somewhat standard practice on Sunday puzzles, this one was more "Ho-Hum" as each theme was revealed.
Can't remember a single theme where the answer made me think: "Good one, that was clever!"
Did like "A votre SANTE!"
("To your health!" in French)
Yeah, I make a TOAST everyday at Sunset. Cheers!
Eh, I liked some of this but hated most of it. ALL of the theme answers sucked. Tankless Task, Sock Absorber, Copped Sirloin. I'm supposed to relax on a Sunday not be subjected to pain. Not all is lost tho. Liked Nurse Ratched and Houlihan. Also, "What you may do before you weep". Read 'em! I've done more than my fair share of that. LOL! I realize I took a really low road on this blog last Sunday, but I can't resist again today. The answers to 44 D and 89 D should go hand in hand. I'll raise a toast to the constructor and editor who has the gonads to let such a thing go through.
CHEERS!
@Martin: I heard from Sylvia that this is a mistake. Her puzzle is actually printed in the paper, but it's not available online. If it becomes available later this week, I'll post it!
@PG,
Thanks.
Well maybe being a novice I enjoyed this puzzle more than you nattering nabobs of negativism and effete effeminate snobs. I danced to Little Richard in the 50s and couldn't believe I knew he was from Macon GA. I'm getting better at this thanks to you, Puzzle Girl. Thank you.
Over an hour; DNF; but still enjoyable...
... except for the NE. That was the last to fall: I had to Google ALMA and LÉONI since I'd never heard of either of them; and also ATTILA for the spelling. One-T-two-Ls, or two-Ts-one-L? The whole corner had me too baffled to figure it out from crosses. Of course, the fact that I had 18D as ADdto instead of ADORN didn't help any -- I needed red letter help on that one. I thought MEDEA as soon as I got the M, but resisted filling her in because I didn't know she was a sorceress.
A lot of my problem with that section was that it's overly heavy on knowledge-based clues. Of the four down words, three (ATTILA, LÉONI, and MEDEA) are facts you simply have to know (or look up), as is the top (i.e. most important) cross, ALMA. Packing such clues so tightly makes it far more challenging to get, from crosses, answers one happens not to know.
OK, enough of that.
I also had HAFT instead of HILT; more red letters.
Also Googled: MUPPET, RIOS.
I liked "Southern collective?" -> Y'ALL.
And that 82A was clued as "U.S. treasurer Rosie". Thanks for the courtesy to non-Yanks.
And INUSE crossed with ABUSE on the U.
I chuckled at SOCK ABSORBER, once I finally got it. (It took me a while to get the ABSORBER part; I was looking for a word with the sense of "eater".) "An 86-Across may break them up" -> PAIRS was a bonus. Clues that reference each other are often just annoying, but this time it tickled my funnybone -- I guess because the answer being referenced already had done.
Surprise: I thought SKEINs were only for yarn; I'd assumed thread would be too fine to be manageable without a spool. Go figure.
To @dolly and @anab01 preceding this, I quote @JNHome: ""get the H outta here" with yawls abusive commercial URL/inks!
Having said "y'all" since returning from FtBenningGA'62 to SE MI (and 6'90 moving to wNC), I've adopted "yawls" as its possessive singular or plural form.
@Martin, 'glad you too missed the 2nd LAT Sunday puzzle, and that PGirl may yet post it.
Lastly, regarding 82A clue "U.S. Treasurer Rosie", 'twas ironic that Sunday morning I s-mailed to the "Dept of Treasury" my 2009 U.S. Income Tax return amended for me to receive the Credit as the 6/30 homebuyer via my realtor "Rosie".
were can i find the answers to 8/8 puzzle bt sylvia bursztyn?
@Anonymous, it's A Vine Thing, thanks perhaps to PGirl, that the 8/8 puzzle/solution as of this morning are via http://games.latimes.com/index_crossword.html?uc_feature_code=lacal
shouldn't 38A be osolo(mio) not o sole?
@Anonymous^
The song is "O Sole Mio", "My Sun".
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