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CROSSWORD SETTER: Kathy Wienberg
THEME: “Tee” Time … today’s themed answers are common two-word phrases, but with -TY (a “tee” sound) added to the first word:
22A. Nickname for an accident-prone L.A.P.D. sergeant? : CASUALTY FRIDAY (from “casual Friday”)
27A. Cry from an errant burger flipper? : PATTY DOWN! (from “pat down”)
44A. Victoria’s Secret job description? : PANTY HANDLER (from “panhandler”)
66A. Gulf Coast port that’s gone bonkers? : BATTY MOBILE (from “Batmobile”)
89A. Three houses flipped this week, e.g.? : REALTY NUMBER (from “real number”)
104A. Hooters menu? : BUSTY FARE (from “busfare”)
114A. Biscuits with no sharp edges? : SAFETY CRACKERS (from “safecrackers”)
40D. Protective covering for a pier? : JETTY LINER (from “jetliner”)
44D. Sign seen at a Heartbreakers concert? : PETTY ROCKS (from “Pet Rocks”)
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 17m 13s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Contents of some tubs : LARD
Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called “suet”. Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily so it has to be “rendered” or purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call “lard”. Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as “tallow”.
5. Copacetic : A-OK
Something described as “copacetic” is very fine, very acceptable.
20. Acid head? : AMINO
Amino acids are essential to life in many ways, not least of which is their use as the building blocks of proteins.
22. Nickname for an accident-prone L.A.P.D. sergeant? : CASUALTY FRIDAY (from “casual Friday”)
Jack Webb played Sergeant Joe Friday on “Dragnet” on both TV and radio … and what a voice he had! Off the screen Webb was a lover of jazz, and he played the cornet. It was within the world of jazz that he met and fell in love with Julie London, the famous singer with “the smoky voice”. The couple married and had two kids together.
25. Stat : AT ONCE
The exact etymology of “stat”, a term meaning “immediately” in the medical profession, seems to have been lost in the mists of time. It probably comes from the Latin “statim” meaning “to a standstill, immediately”. A blog reader has helpfully suggested that the term may also come from the world of laboratory analysis, where the acronym STAT stands for “short turn-around time”.
29. Chatty Cathy types : TALKERS
Chatty Cathy is a doll that was produced by Mattel from 1959 to 1965. Chatty Cathy could utter eleven phrases when a ring on a cord was pulled at the back of the doll. The speech was generated by a tiny phonograph record that was housed in the doll’s abdomen.
33. Chaps : HES
“Chap” is an informal term for “lad, fellow”, especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.
34. “Able was I ___ I saw Elba” : ERE
The three most famous palindromes in English have to be:
– Able was I ere I saw Elba
– A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
– Madam, I’m Adam
One of my favorite words is “Aibohphobia”, although it doesn’t appear in the dictionary and is a joke term. “Aibohphobia” is a great way to describe a fear of palindromes, by creating a palindrome out of the suffix “-phobia”.
35. Brit. reference sets : OEDS
The “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) contains over 300,000 “main” entries and 59 million words in total. It is said it would take a single person 120 years to type it out in full. The longest entry for one word in the second edition of the OED is the verb “set”. When the third edition was published in 2007, the longest entry for a single word became the verb “put”. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most-quoted author in the OED is William Shakespeare, with his most quoted work being “Hamlet”. The most-quoted female author is George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Evans).
44. Victoria’s Secret job description? : PANTY HANDLER (from “panhandler”)
Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 in San Francisco, California. The founder wanted to create an environment where men were comfortable buying lingerie for their wives or girlfriends, an alternative to a department store.
“To panhandle” is “to beg”. The term has been in use since the very early 1900s and probably comes from the sticking out of one’s hand and arm, like the handle of a pan.
48. In better shape : HALER
“Hale” is an adjective meaning “healthy”. Both the words “hale” and “healthy” derive from the the Old English “hal” meaning healthy.
51. Weather forecast that’s hard to predict? : HAIL
Hailstones are “hard”.
53. Milliner’s accessory : HATPIN
A milliner is someone who makes, designs or sells hats. Back in the 1500s, the term described someone who sold hats made in Milan, Italy, hence the name “milliner”.
54. Lemonade go-with in an Arnold Palmer : ICE TEA
The drink named for golfer Arnold Palmer is made from lemonade and ice tea. The drink named for fellow golfer John Daly is also made from lemonade and ice tea, but with vodka added …
56. Farmer’s place : DELL
“The Farmer in the Dell” is a nursery rhyme and singing game that probably originated in Germany.
The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell
58. Some trattoria orders : RISOTTOS
Risotto is an Italian rice dish that is usually served as a first course in Italy, but as a main course here in North America.
64. Groups of quail : COVEYS
The Middle French word for a “brood”, in the sense of a “brood of quail” is “covée”. We took covée” into English as “covey”, a collective noun used for quail.
65. Avant-garde : EDGY
People described as avant-garde are especially innovative. “Avant-garde” is French for “advance guard”.
66. Gulf Coast port that’s gone bonkers? : BATTY MOBILE (from “Batmobile”)
Mobile, Alabama was the first capital of French Colonial Louisiana, and was founded in 1702. The city takes its name from the Mobilian tribe of Native Americans who lived in that area.
The Batmobile was first introduced in the world of comic books in 1939. It started out as a simple, red convertible, with nothing special to recommend it. Over the years though, the car evolved and became more and more sophisticated. The Batmobile always had pride of place in the Batman tales, but once in a while Batman would take the Batplane, Batboat and Batcycle out for a spin.
69. Multitalented Minnelli : LIZA
The actress and singer Liza Minnelli is the daughter of Judy Garland and movie director Vincente Minnelli. Liza won her only Oscar for her lead performance in 1972’s “Cabaret”. She has also won an Emmy, Grammy and Tony, and is one of the very few entertainers to have made that “sweep”.
74. ___ Institute (astronomers’ org.) : SETI
SETI is the name given to a number of projects that are searching for extraterrestrial life. The acronym stands for “search for extraterrestrial intelligence”. One of the main SETI activities is the monitoring of electromagnetic radiation (such as radio waves) reaching the Earth in the hope of finding a transmission from a civilization in another world.
77. Literally, “fried noodles” : CHOW MEIN
“Chow mein” has two slightly different meanings on the East and West Coasts of the US. On the East Coast, “basic” chow mein is a crispy dish, whereas on the West Coast it is a steamed dish that is relatively soft. On the East Coast the steamed dish is available, but under the name “lo mein”. On the West Coast, the crispy dish is also on the menu, as Hong Kong style chow mein.
85. Hershey chocolate-and-caramel candy : ROLO
Rolo was a hugely popular chocolate candy in Ireland when I was growing up. Rolo was introduced in the thirties in the UK, and is produced under license in the US by Hershey. I was a little disappointed when I had my first taste of the American version as the center is very hard and chewy. The recipe used on the other side of the Atlantic calls for a soft gooey center.
88. Targets of the Dodd-Frank Act : BANKS
The Dodd-Frank Act became law in 2010 and was a response to the Great Recession during the late 2000s. Sponsored by Senator Chris Dodd and by Representative Barney Frank in the House, the act tightened financial regulations.
89. Three houses flipped this week, e.g.? : REALTY NUMBER (from “real number”)
The terms “realty” and “real estate” date back to the later 1600s, and are derived from the earlier meaning “real possession”, something one owns that is tangible and real.
“Real numbers” are numbers that can be written on a number line. Almost all numbers that we can think of are “real numbers”. Infinity is not a real number, and nor are “imaginary numbers”, e.g. the square root of minus 1.
92. Whedon who directed 2012’s “The Avengers” : JOSS
Joss Whedon is a director whose big break came with his creation “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Whedon also co-wrote the Pixar hit “Toy Story”, and wrote and directed the superhero film “The Avengers”. Joss’s father Tom Whedon was a screenwriter for the sitcoms “Alice” and “The Golden Girls”, and Joss’s grandfather John Whedon wrote for “The Donna Reed Show” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. That’s quite a pedigree …
95. N.F.L. QB Newton : CAM
Cam Newton plays quarterback for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. One interesting thing about Newton is that he is a pescetarian, eating seafood but not the flesh of other animals. Sounds fishy to me …
99. Feature of the western end of the Champs-Élysées : ARCH
L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile in Paris was built to honor those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. It is the second largest triumphal arch in the world, after the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, North Korea. If you are visiting Paris, don’t just take a picture of the arch, be sure to go inside and see the marvelous chambers and carvings, and wander around on top of the arch and enjoy the magnificent view.
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world. It is the main thoroughfare in Paris, home to the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde. The name “Champs-Élysées” is French for Elysian Fields, a place where the righteous went after death according to Greek mythology.
101. Surfer’s worry : RIPTIDE
Riptides are stretches of turbulent water caused by the meeting of different currents in the ocean.
104. Hooters menu? : BUSTY FARE (from “busfare”)
The female wait staff at a Hooters restaurant are usually referred to as Hooters Girls. Apparently, each female waiter is required to sign a document acknowledging and affirming the following:
- My job duties require I wear the designated Hooters Girl uniform.
- My job duties require that I interact with and entertain the customers.
- The Hooters concept is based on female sex appeal and the work environment is one in which joking and entertaining conversations are commonplace.
112. Cave deposits : GUANOS
Guano is the droppings of seabirds, bats and seals. It is prized as fertilizer as it doesn’t really smell, and contains high levels of phosphorous and nitrogen. The word “guano” means “seabird droppings” in the Quichua language spoken in the Andes region of South America.
117. Deceptive pitch : SINKER
A pitch called a sinker ball, drops as it leaves the pitcher’s hand and heads for home plate.
123. Physics units : RADS
A rad is a unit used to measure radiation levels that is largely obsolete now. The rad has been superseded by the rem.
Down
2. 2009 Best Picture nominee set in the 22nd century : AVATAR
In the James Cameron epic “Avatar”, the “blue people” are the Na’vi, the indigenous species that lives on the lush moon called Pandora. The main Na’vi character featuring in the film is the female Neytiri. According to Cameron, Neytiri was inspired by the Raquel Welch character in the movie “Fantastic Voyage” and the comic book character Vampirella.
3. Fix, as a pump : RESOLE
A pump is a woman’s shoe that doesn’t have a strap. Such shoes are probably called “pumps” because of the sound they make while walking in them.
5. Airplane maneuverer : AILERON
In traditional aircraft designs, pitch is controlled by the elevator and roll is controlled by the aileron. On some newer aircraft these two functions are combined into single control surfaces called “elevons”.
8. Little bit : SMIDGEN
Our word “smidgen”, meaning a small amount, might come from the Scots word “smitch” that means the same thing or “a small insignificant person”.
11. Georgetown player : HOYA
The athletic teams of Georgetown University are known as the Hoyas. The name is derived from “Hoya Saxa”, a traditional cheer yelled out at Georgetown games as far back as 1893. The term is a mixture of Greek and Latin, with the Greek word “hoya” meaning “such” or “what”, and “saxa” translating from Latin as “rocks” or “small stones”. The cheer is usually rendered in English as “what rocks!”.
17. “All Glory, Laud and Honor,” e.g. : HYMN
“All Glory, Laud and Honour” is an English translation of a very old Latin hymn “Gloria, laus et honor”. The original dates back to 820 CE, when it was written by Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans during reign of Charlemagne.
20. Botanical cover : ARIL
The casing surrounding many seeds is called the aril, and it may be quite fleshy. This fruit-like characteristic makes it desirable as a food and aids in the dispersion of the seeds.
23. Wearing the most bling, say : FLASHIEST
Bling-bling (often simply “bling”) is the name given to all the shiny stuff sported by rap stars in particular i.e. the jewelry, watches, metallic cell phones, even gold caps on the teeth. The term comes from the supposed “bling” sound caused by light striking a shiny metal surface.
28. One of the Avengers : THOR
The Avengers are a team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. The original lineup, which dates back to 1963, consisted of Ant-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and the Wasp. Soon after their formation, the Avengers rescued Captain America trapped in ice, and thereafter he joined the team. There is a 2012 movie called “The Avengers” that features Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor.
30. First family name : SETH
According to the Bible, Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve, coming after Cain and Abel. Seth is the only other child of Adam and Eve who is mentioned by name. According to the Book of Genesis, Seth was born after Cain had slain his brother Abel.
38. Banned fruit spray : ALAR
The chemical name for Alar, a plant growth regulator and color enhancer, is daminozide. Alar was primarily used on apples but was withdrawn from the market when it was linked to cancer.
39. Family name of Pope Leo X, Leo XI and Clement VII : MEDICI
The House of Medici was a dynasty from the the Italian Republic of Florence. The Medici family went into the world of finance and built the largest bank in Europe in the 15th century. Significantly, the Medicis produced four Popes around this time, and then the family moved from the status of common citizens to become hereditary Dukes of Florence. By the middle of the 18th century the family ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, but ended up fiscally bankrupt.
41. Venus and Mars, so to speak : OPPOSITES
“Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” is a very popular 1993 book about male-female relationships by John Gray. Gray’s thesis is that relationships benefit from understanding that men and women are different, have different needs, communicate differently, are metaphorically from two different planets.
42. It’s in the eye of the beholder : IRIS
The iris is the colored part of the eye with an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.
43. Security Council veto : NON
“Oui” is “yes” in French, and “non” is “no”.
The United Nations Security Council has 15 members, 5 of whom are permanent and who have veto power over any resolution. The 10 non-permanent members are elected into place, and hold their seats for two years. The UN charter requires that authorized representatives of the member nations are always present at UN headquarters so that the Security council can meet at any time. The permanent members are:
– China
– France
– Russia
– United Kingdom
– United States
44. Sign seen at a Heartbreakers concert? : PETTY ROCKS (from “Pet Rocks”)
The singer-songwriter Tom Petty first became interested in rock and roll music when he met Elvis Presley at ten-years-old. Later Petty was inspired to get into a band when he saw The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. He became the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and later cofounded the supergroup called the Traveling Wilburys.
The Pet Rock lives on in history even though the fad really only lasted about 6 months, in 1975. It was enough to make Gary Dahl a millionaire though. His next idea, a “sand farm”, didn’t fly at all.
48. What a limo may be for : HIRE
The word “limousine” actually derives from the French city of Limoges. The area around Limoges is called the Limousin, and it gave its name to a cloak hood worn by local shepherds. In early motor cars, a driver would sit outside in the weather while the passengers would sit in the covered compartment. The driver would often wear a limousin-style protective hood, giving rise to that type of transportation being called a “limousine”. Well, that’s how the story goes anyway …
57. Debussy composition : LA MER
“La Mer” is a group of three lovely symphonic sketches for orchestra by the French composer Claude Debussy. Listen to it, and you can feel yourself at the ocean. “La Mer” is French for “The Sea”.
63. Community service club : ROTARY
The first Rotary Club meeting was held in 1905 in Chicago in the office of one of the four businessmen who attended. The name “Rotary Club” was chosen as the plan was to “rotate” the locations of the meetings to the offices of each of the club’s members in turn.
67. Country capital with the world’s tallest building before the Burj Khalifa : TAIPEI
The building known as Taipei 101, in the capital of Taiwan, is so-called because it has 101 floors. It was the tallest skyscraper in the world from 2004 until 2010, when the Burj Khalifa was completed in Dubai.
Burj Khalifa is a spectacular skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world, and has been so since the completion of its exterior in 2009. The space in the building came onto the market at a really bad time, during the global financial crisis. The building was part of a US$20 billion development of downtown Dubai that was backed by the city government which had to go looking for a bailout from the neighboring city of Abu Dhabi. The tower was given the name Burj Khalifa at the last minute, apparently as a nod to the UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan who helped to broker the bailout.
71. Part of AMPAS : ARTS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is the organization that gives the annual Academy Awards also known as the “Oscars”. The root of the name “Oscar” is hotly debated, but what is agreed is that the award was officially named “Oscar” in 1939. The first Academy Awards were presented at a brunch in 1929 with an audience of just 29 people. The Awards ceremony is a slightly bigger event these days …
77. “Later” : CIAO
“Ciao” is the Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.
82. Simple sandwich, simply : PBJ
Peanut butter and jelly (PB&J or PBJ)
84. Actor Alan : ALDA
Alan Alda had a great television career, perhaps most memorably on “M*A*S*H”. Alda won his first Emmy in 1972, for playing Hawkeye Pierce on “M*A*S*H”. He won his most recent Emmy in 2006 for his portrayal of Presidential candidate Arnold Vinick in “The West Wing”. When it comes to the big screen, my favorite of Alda’s movies is the 1978 romantic comedy “Same Time, Next Year” in which he starred opposite Ellen Burstyn.
86. Longtime Sudanese president ___ al-Bashir : OMAR
In response to a 2003 rebellion in the Darfur region of Sudan, the Sudanese government embarked on a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the non-Arab population in the region. Hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths ensued, and eventually Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir was indicted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. al Bashir is still in office.
89. First name in country music : REBA
Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007.
90. Sabotage : TORPEDO
There is a story that disgruntled textile workers would kick their wooden shoes, called sabots, into the looms in order to disable them so that they didn’t have to work. This act of vandalism was named for the shoe, an act of … sabotage.
91. Troop group : BRIGADE
In an army, a brigade is made up of three to six battalions. Three or more brigades go to make up a division.
93. Communion hosts, e.g. : WAFERS
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.
97. Gentlemen: Abbr. : MESSRS
The abbreviation “Messrs.” is used at the head of a list of male names, in place of “Misters”. It is an abbreviation of the French “messieurs”, the plural of “monsieur”.
98. Physics units : DYNES
A dyne is a unit of force. The name “dyne” comes from the Greek “dynamis” meaning “power, force”.
102. Brownish purple : PUCE
The name of the purple shade known as “puce” has a strange derivation. “Puce” came into English from French, in which language “puce” means “flea”. Supposedly, puce is the color of a flea!
107. It’s a drag : TOKE
“Toke” is a slang term for a puff on a marijuana cigarette or on a pipe containing the drug.
111. Sandy shade : ECRU
The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Contents of some tubs : LARD
5. Copacetic : A-OK
8. Military band : SASH
12. Showy debut : SPLASH
18. Turning brown, as a banana : OVERRIPE
20. Acid head? : AMINO
21. How some papers are presented : ORALLY
22. Nickname for an accident-prone L.A.P.D. sergeant? : CASUALTY FRIDAY (from “casual Friday”)
24. ___ note : RANSOM
25. Stat : AT ONCE
26. Avoided a tag, say : SLID
27. Cry from an errant burger flipper? : PATTY DOWN! (from “pat down”)
29. Chatty Cathy types : TALKERS
31. Bit of pond slime : ALGA
33. Chaps : HES
34. “Able was I ___ I saw Elba” : ERE
35. Brit. reference sets : OEDS
37. Captivate : ENAMOR
40. Bridge : JOIN
44. Victoria’s Secret job description? : PANTY HANDLER (from “panhandler”)
47. Copy, briefly : REPRO
48. In better shape : HALER
51. Weather forecast that’s hard to predict? : HAIL
52. Low : SAD
53. Milliner’s accessory : HATPIN
54. Lemonade go-with in an Arnold Palmer : ICE TEA
56. Farmer’s place : DELL
58. Some trattoria orders : RISOTTOS
60. Landlord’s business : RENTALS
62. Wing it? : SOAR
64. Groups of quail : COVEYS
65. Avant-garde : EDGY
66. Gulf Coast port that’s gone bonkers? : BATTY MOBILE (from “Batmobile”)
69. Multitalented Minnelli : LIZA
72. Source of add-on damages in a lawsuit : TRAUMA
74. ___ Institute (astronomers’ org.) : SETI
75. NASA vehicle : ORBITER
77. Literally, “fried noodles” : CHOW MEIN
79. Help for motorcycle daredevils : RAMP
81. Having the most marbles : SANEST
82. List for a recital : PIECES
83. Word with green or brain : PEA
85. Hershey chocolate-and-caramel candy : ROLO
87. Personal highs : BESTS
88. Targets of the Dodd-Frank Act : BANKS
89. Three houses flipped this week, e.g.? : REALTY NUMBER (from “real number”)
92. Whedon who directed 2012’s “The Avengers” : JOSS
93. Nut : WEIRDO
94. Khan : Mongolia :: ___ : Russia : TSAR
95. N.F.L. QB Newton : CAM
98. Little bit : DAB
99. Feature of the western end of the Champs-Élysées : ARCH
101. Surfer’s worry : RIPTIDE
104. Hooters menu? : BUSTY FARE (from “busfare”)
110. Nap : PILE
112. Cave deposits : GUANOS
113. “Volunteers?” : ANYONE?
114. Biscuits with no sharp edges? : SAFETY CRACKERS (from “safecrackers”)
117. Deceptive pitch : SINKER
118. Plumbing or bricklaying : TRADE
119. Christ, with “the” : REDEEMER
120. Overage : EXCESS
121. Edit menu option : UNDO
122. “___ your head” : USE
123. Physics units : RADS
Down
1. Put on the map : LOCATE
2. 2009 Best Picture nominee set in the 22nd century : AVATAR
3. Fix, as a pump : RESOLE
4. Plastered : DRUNK
5. Airplane maneuverer : AILERON
6. ___-in clause : OPT
7. Answer sheets : KEYS
8. Little bit : SMIDGEN
9. Relief : AID
10. Piece of cake : SNAP
11. Georgetown player : HOYA
12. Postal employee : SORTER
13. Speaks up? : PRAYS
14. End of many country names : -LAND
15. In addition : ALSO
16. Diamond-shaped road sign : SLOW
17. “All Glory, Laud and Honor,” e.g. : HYMN
19. Campaign … or campaign topic : RACE
20. Botanical cover : ARIL
23. Wearing the most bling, say : FLASHIEST
28. One of the Avengers : THOR
30. First family name : SETH
32. + + + : ANDS
36. Couple : DYAD
38. Banned fruit spray : ALAR
39. Family name of Pope Leo X, Leo XI and Clement VII : MEDICI
40. Protective covering for a pier? : JETTY LINER (from “jetliner”)
41. Venus and Mars, so to speak : OPPOSITES
42. It’s in the eye of the beholder : IRIS
43. Security Council veto : NON
44. Sign seen at a Heartbreakers concert? : PETTY ROCKS (from “Pet Rocks”)
45. Field : AREA
46. Subject in metallurgy : ALLOYS
47. Figure on a utility bill : RATE
48. What a limo may be for : HIRE
49. Served well? : ACED
50. What some mascara does to lashes : LENGTHENS
53. Remains suspended : HOVERS
55. iTunes category : ALBUMS
57. Debussy composition : LA MER
59. Nerve-racking performance, maybe : SOLO
61. “Likewise” : SAME
63. Community service club : ROTARY
67. Country capital with the world’s tallest building before the Burj Khalifa : TAIPEI
68. Like AARP The Magazine : BIMONTHLY
70. Spice : ZEST
71. Part of AMPAS : ARTS
73. Knocks the socks off : AWES
76. Hon : BABE
77. “Later” : CIAO
78. Almost : NEAR
80. + : PLUS
82. Simple sandwich, simply : PBJ
84. Actor Alan : ALDA
86. Longtime Sudanese president ___ al-Bashir : OMAR
89. First name in country music : REBA
90. Sabotage : TORPEDO
91. Troop group : BRIGADE
93. Communion hosts, e.g. : WAFERS
95. Moviedom : CINEMA
96. Dug : ADORED
97. Gentlemen: Abbr. : MESSRS
98. Physics units : DYNES
100. Ticket : CITE
102. Brownish purple : PUCE
103. “Givee” : TAKER
104. Part of a trophy : BASE
105. Operating system developed at Bell Labs : UNIX
106. Align : SYNC
107. It’s a drag : TOKE
108. Queue after Q : R-S-T-U
109. Acquire : EARN
111. Sandy shade : ECRU
115. Selfies around 2012-13, e.g. : FAD
116. Low-___ : RES
Decent grid. Cheeky, a little irreverent. I will only guess it's an accident that RADS appeared in the same Sunday NY Times with a front page story about the evolution of Chernobyl.
I agree. It was a lot of fun, and not too hard. The themed answers were pretty clever, we thought.
I liked the puzzle, but it sticks in my craw that "ice tea" is used rather than the proper "iced tea."
Bill finished this in SEVENTEEN MINUTES????? How is that even possible for a Sunday???
I never felt comfortable in this one, coming close to throwing in the towel quite a few times. But, perseverance paid off, and I finished, without error, in 53:50.
36:13, no errors. A bit of stretch on some of the clues, but all answers eventually became obvious. Beautiful sunny day, sat outside and took my time with this one.
Yes, I have to second the question about BB's time on this, or any Sunday for that matter. Use of some kind of electronic hyper-speed?
I just took a look at Rex Parker's reported time, and it was 8:47. So I'm glad to trust and admire Bill's time as well. (I still don't know how they do it.)
Re Bill's time: I did this puzzle a week ago on my iPad and it took me 41:18. Just now, I repeated it on paper in the Denver Post and it took me 21:13, even though I thought I was writing pretty much non-stop. So do I believe the times reported by Bill and Rex? Yes, I do. Human capabilities are incredibly variable from person to person and, for any particular individual, from one time to another. Many years ago, at Iowa State University, in a freshman physics course, I was subjected to an extremely difficult test. For 45 minutes, I hammered away at the 16 problems on it, unable to do even one of them. Then, I went into some kind of manic overdrive. In the remaining 15 minutes, I solved 12 of the problems and, as I walked out of the room, I solved the remaining 4 problems in my head. That night, I hardly slept and it took me a day or two to calm down and return to some kind of normal functioning. As it turned out, almost everyone failed the test and the results were thrown out by the professor; moreover, the TA who created the test was reprimanded for it. Unpleasant as it was, the experience gave me a real appreciation for the latent capabilities of a brain under stress. (The trick, of course, is to manage the stress … 🙂
I have often mused over times like these. To get an idea of what they really mean, I copied over my completed grid without reading a single clue. Just wrote one letter after another (with the answer already in place). That took 4:35. I then just read the across clues as written, no thought whatsoever, just read them. That took another 1:42. So just reading the across clues, not thinking at all, and sloppily filling in the grid without hesitation took 6:17. To say I am in awe in an understatement. Kudos to those who can do it. (Sorry if this posts multiple times. I've tried a few times and it doesn't seem to "take." Trying another browser now.)