We are very close to the autumnal equinox of equal day and night and I'm sure you'll find this puzzle will give you an equal measure of fun themeage and sparkling fill. It's not jusT A COincidence that our lovely blog mistress is today's constructor! Where else could a brilliant woman from China construct a puzzle about Hispanic food but in America? As she wrote, WHAT A COUNTRY!
C.C. has identified the word TACO as being the filling between words in common phrases just as these fillings below are used in actual tacos! ¡Muy Bueno!
23A. Nissan Bluebird competitor : TOYOTA CORONA - Became the number one nameplate in the world in 1997 surpassing the VW Beetle
66A. February 1945 summit : YALTA CONFERENCE - Many thought FDR was very sick at this conference. He died two months later.
88. Strong morning drink : ROBUSTA COFFEE- One of the two main types
and three used the A as an article
29A. "That's enough out of you!" : PUT A CORK IN IT
45A. Didn't panic : KEPT A COOL HEAD - Despite someone saying "Put a cork in it"
108A. Yakov Smirnoff catchphrase : WHAT A COUNTRY - Part of his funny 1985 beer commercial
Add in great six ten-letter vertical fills and learning and we have an very nice Sunday!
Across
1. Gardener's enemy : APHID - Literally small suckers
6. C to C, say : OCTAVE - It's the interval between Some and where when you sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. OH COME ON, you tried it, didn't you?
12. Anti-drug ads, e.g. : PSA'S - Public Service Announcements. There are some graphic anti-texting ones out now
16. Try a little of : SIP
19. World's largest energy consumer : CHINA - It takes a lot for 1.3 billion people
20. Like some pullovers : HOODED
21. No-luck link : SUCH - CCR sang "I ain't no senator's son"
22. Likewise : TOO
25. Family rec center : YMCA - The largest one in North America will be here in Fremont, NE after the aquatic center is added this fall
26. Unified : ONE - Italy just before it was unified
28. Berserk : AMOK
32. Conclude one's case : REST - TV's Perry Mason seldom had to REST his case before someone jumped up and confessed in open court
34. Bordeaux bud : AMI
35. They bite : TEETH - so do these in your TACO
36. Notable survivor of the Trojan War : AENEAS - Also Homer's subject in The Aeneid
37. Felix Leiter's org., in Bond films : CIA - Anybody remember Gust Avrakotus?
38. Golfer's pocketful : TEES - They can be hard to get in the ground in February
40. Pen handle? : BIC - Ever had a waiter with a dozen in his apron?
42. German gripe : ACH - Is ACH du lieber (ADL) "OMG" in Deutsch?
43. Storied ball dropper : GALILEO - I didn't try it but I was where he did it more than 400 yrs after the event
52. CCXI x V : MLV - Just a minute...
53. Attila, for one : HUN - Did someone ever call him "hon"?
54. Firth or fjord : INLET
55. 1,000-yr. realm : HRE - On what show did Linda Richman say, "The Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, Roman nor an Empire, Discuss..."
56. Org. that promotes hunter safety : NRA
57. Sour British brew : ALEGAR - VineGAR made from ALE according to Webster
59. Sno-Cat feature : TREAD - Keep that end down and the tin side up
60. __ Mason: investment giant : LEGG - Okay
61. Lang. of Luther : GER - He wrote his 95 Theses in Latin which were then translated into his native German. The original Castle Cathedral door in Wittenburg, where they were posted, burned but his Theses are on the bronze door there now
62. Mmes., in La Mancha : SRAS
63. Lamb Chop creator Lewis : SHARI
64. Cartoon girl with a talking backpack : DORA - The Explorer, but how 'bout Dumb DORA
65. Campus bigwig : DEAN - Wormer?
70. Doggy bag item : BONE
73. "__ you one" : I OWE - Can I get that in writing?
74. Creek croakers : TOADS
75. Meat order specification : LEAN - Makes for the best TACOS
78. "Just the Way You __" : ARE - She loved me that way when we were first married...
79. Works at home, maybe : UMPS - Going unnoticed is a perfect game for them
80. Prepares, as for action : GIRDS
81. Heavy herbivores : HIPPOS - Africa's most dangerous animal after the mosquito
83. Remote button : REW
84. Milano Mr. : SIG - Signore abbr.
85. Split causes : RIFTS - A 1912 Republican RIFT gave us POTUS Woodrow Wilson
86. PC-to-PC system : LAN - Local Area Network
87. Letter before chi : PHI
91. Like a sleeping baby : ANGELIC
93. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN E - Thanks Vanna!
94. Lap dog, briefly : POM - ...eranian
95. Newspaper section : ARTS - Ah yes, the thea-tuh!
97. Crossed paths with : MET - Remember the guy going to St. Ives?
98. City with a Kansas State campus : SALINA
101. Café lighteners : LAITS - Cafe au lait- I'll have mine straight up Mr. Barista
105. WWII domain : ETO - European Theater of Operations
106. USAF noncom : TSGT - Tech Sargent (E-6)
110. Corn holder : SILO - Also missiles
112. "That feels so nice!" : AAH
113. Rand who created John Galt : AYN
114. Political period : TERM - Some would love limits on these
118. Weightlifting beneficiary : PEC - Want good PECS?
120. Oscar winner Kidman : NICOLE - She won while she was still feeling empty after her divorce from Tom
121. Spikes, as punch : LACES - Field goal holders are supposed to get the football LACES away from the kicker
122. Atlanta-to-Miami dir. : SSE
123. Teases, with "on" : RAGS
124. Initial phases : ONSETS
125. Quite heavy : OBESE
Down:
1. Lineman? : ACTOR - Clever! I have nightmares about acting and not knowing my lines
2. Mealtime annoyances : PHONE CALLS - It's an election year
3. Classic Western shout : HI YO SILVER
4. Rescuer of Odysseus : INO - I learned her name and gender
5. Some Dropbox contents : DATA
6. "Seriously!" : OH COME ON
7. Browsing activity marker : COOKIE - I clear these out of my browser periodically
8. A.L. East team : TOR - onto Bluejays
9. Become a mother, maybe : ADOPT - We did ADOPT a kitten on September 10th and she saw no reason why I should be doing my LA Times Crossword on my lap desk as I do every morning
11. Skype appointment : E DATE - Okay
12. Futures dealer? : PSYCHIC - Hey pick the lotto numbers!
13. Sport with a referee called a gyoji : SUMO - The gyoji had better stand back!
14. Ghana's capital : ACCRA - Home to 2.3 million
15. "Hurry up!" : SHAKE A LEG
16. Wiltshire monument : STONEHENGE - The Autumnal Equinox tomorrow will draw an, uh, interesting crowd to STONE HENGE
17. Ancient region of Asia Minor : IONIA - Now in Turkey
18. Millay and Milton : POETS - Edan St. Vincent and John respectively
24. Bobby Jones, for his entire golfing career : AMATEUR - He made his living as a lawyer and retired from competition at 30
30. Time to swing : AT BAT - A C.C. puzzle without baseball? OH COME ON!
31. Snow measure : INCH - One inch of rain can equal ten inches of show. We had a three inch rain last week...
33. __ chi : TAI
39. Downhill, e.g. : SKI RACE - Going down a mountain on two slats at interstate highway speeds? What could possibly go wrong, Marti?
41. Makes sense : COHERES
43. Robin Roberts' show, initially : GMA - Good Morning America. Also the great first line to the chorus of City of New Orleans
44. Jokhang Temple city : LHASA
46. Cuban Liberation Day month : ENERO
47. Court figure : PLAINTIFF - PLAINTIFF Stella Liebeck wanted $18,000 from McDonalds for spilling hot coffee on her leg. They refused and she wound up with $600,000 from a court
48. "Airplane!" hero Striker : TED - Funniest movie ever?
49. It has keys and stops : ORGAN - Where do you even start?
50. Geometry product : AREA
51. "Shucks!" : DARN
58. "Let's Get It On" singer : GAYE - Marvin
59. Signs of spring : THAWS -
60. Men with manors : LORDS - Cute! LORD Grantham will be back in his Downton Manor soon on PBS!
63. Temporary fix : STOP GAP - Stop gap tax levies never seem to go away
64. Jordan River outlet : DEAD SEA - Lowest land point on the planet
65. Like some pockets : DEEP
67. Put a cap on : LIMIT - A LIMIT OF five potato chips? Yeah, right!
68. Strong suit : FORTE
69. Hold on tight : CLING
70. Virologist who worked with Epstein : BARR - Nearly 95% of adults have had had the Epstein Barr Virus sometime in their life
71. Layered snack : OREO
72. Big name in athletic shoes : NEW BALANCE
76. Nonsense : APPLESAUCE - Famous APPLESAUCE scene with horrible Bogie imitation from cheesy TV
77. Koufax quartet : NO HIT GAMES - One of the true gentlemen of the game who also retired at 30 because of extreme arm pain from his incredible curve ball
79. Clay or Webster, briefly : US SENATOR
80. Picture file suffix : GIF
81. Millennium Falcon pilot : HAN SOLO - Princess Leia became Mrs. HAN SOLO in the book series
82. [Not a typo] : SIC - Yore (SIC) enjoying C.C. puzzle, ain't (SIC) you?
85. Punic Wars fighter : ROMAN - How Rome beat Hannibal and the Carthaginians
89. Workbook chapter : UNIT - Unit One in science books is always measurement
90. Op-Ed pieces : COLUMNS
92. Rescue pro : EMT - We have full time ones here but small towns depend on volunteers
96. Add more flavoring to : RE-SALT - The driveway has frozen over again and so...
98. Exchanges : SWAPS
99. "Now I remember" : AH YES - A big part of the song Maurice Chevalier sang to Hermione Gingold
100. Amtrak express : ACELA - Capable of 150 mph
102. "__ big deal!" : IT'S NO
103. Get ready for a fight : TRAIN - On his first morning of TRAINING, Rocky drank raw eggs. Remember?
104. Matches audio to video, say : SYNCS - The Husker radio broadcast does not SYNC with the TV. The audio for the Fresno game was 3 seconds late
107. This and that : THESE
109. HP Photosmart insert : ORIG - Don't forget your ORIG. on the HP copier
111. Where the Storting makes legislative decisions : OSLO
116. Ballet support? : TOE
117. Check : TAB
