GENRE FUSION
OR
"I WANNA ROCK GARDEN"
Twisted Sister, "I wanna rock" garden
Splynter here, subbing for our unhappy hostess, who had her infusion done this past week, and was not feeling well. This is my first time blogging a Sunday grid, but not my first Christina Iverson puzzle - her last LA Times contribution was Memorial Day this year; I blogged her Wednesday crossword back in Nov 2024. Since I have no reference to any previous Sunday statistics, I can say that we have no circles, a few names, 50 four- but not foul- letter words, and not only are all the theme answers unique, but two of the 9-letter Downs are unique* as well. I thought this was a well-made, clever crossword - the theme answers are a playful 'expansion' that ties an in-the-language phrase to a musical genre;
23. Title of a memoir written by Madonna's daughter?: MOM AND POP MUSIC
39. Young and adorable Twisted Sister enthusiast?: PRECIOUS METAL HEAD
56. Exclamation upon finding "Honky Tonkin'" in the dumpster?: IT'S A FREE COUNTRY ALBUM
75. Spend every waking moment in one's Rolling Stones-themed bedroom?:
LIVE UNDER A ROCK POSTER - I grew up with Iron Maiden, who had the best posters
The Trooper & Aces High, two of their coolest
89. Accidentally books the hip-hopper with no rhythm?: GETS A BAD RAP ARTIST
111. Go-to for Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie?: COMMON FOLK SONG
My favorite was not the Metal or ROCK reference, but the one genre I probably like the least -
IT'S A FREE COUNTRY ALBUM~!
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Card game also called contract whist: OH HELL - new one to me; more here
7. Jerks: SPASMS
13. Southwestern people: APACHE
19. Affectionate knuckle rub: NOOGIE
20. Many a social media opinion: HOT TAKE - Essentially, statements that play Devil's Advocate by raising people's ire - e.g., anything political posted here on the Corner
22. Comedy series starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross: MR. SHOW - never heard of this; I do know David Cross, as he appeared in Men in Black 1 & 2
25. Trig function: COSINE
26. Scraped (by): EKED
27. Gawk: GAPE
28. Clarinet kin: OBOE
30. Antlered deer: BUCKS - STAGS didn't work
31. Plus: ASSET - AND - 119A. Column on a record: LOSSES - this second clue stumped me because with the musical references of the theme, I was thinking of "record" as "LP"
33. Premier League team, to fans: MAN U - Manchester United - English soccer/football
35. Taken __: startled: ABACK
37. FD employee: EMT - a change-up on the typical clue for this abbr answer
45. Like fuzzy fruit: MOLDY - ah, not PEACH or KIWIS, but the ones gone bad . . . .
47. Recipe nos.: AMTS
48. Dowser's objective: WELL - WATER was too many letters
49. Confidentiality doc: NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement; I will need this for my board games
50. Actor Rickman: ALAN - He made a compelling villain in "Die Hard"
"Die Hard" IS a Christmas movie in my home
51. Brought forth: BEGAT - there's a lot of Biblical begatting, too
53. Some nonalcoholic pours: BEERS - Years ago, I drank a half-dozen O'Doul's at a gentlemens' club; all you get are trips to the bathroom and a nagging headache
55. Sound from an enthusiastic diner: MOAN - I guess; I personally don't usually associate a moan with something good - or - food
60. "Thanks a __!": "LOT~!"
61. Count (on): RELY
62. Thakhek locale: LAOS - More like Saturday cluing, filled via perps
63. __ bran: OAT
64. Amazes: WOWS
65. Be a cast member of: ACT IN
67. Scribbles (down): JOTS
69. Hat with a tassel: FEZ - everything you ever wanted to know about "The Fez"
Steely Dan from the album "The Royal Scam"
70. Inventor Sikorsky: IGOR - no, EYE-gor . . . .
71. Smudge on Santa's suit: SOOT
72. Letters on some protective lip balm: SPF - Sun Protection Factor
81. All the __: RAGE
82. Thick-__ boots: SOLED
83. Foil alternatives: ÉPÉES
84. Storybook bear: PAPA
85. German cry: ACH
86. French bean?: TETE - Frawnche for "head"
87. Transparent: OPEN
88. Colorful relative of a violet: PANSY
95. Knock: DIS - as in disrespect
96. Actress Hannah: DARYL - I know her from Blade Runner, Splash and Roxanne - her IMDb
97. Site with a Fashion Finds section: ETSY - the website here
98. Informal attempts: STABS
100. Like a Brit's proverbial milk: SPILT - as opposed to "Spilled"
102. Fashionably __: LATE
104. Prefix with fill or complete: AUTO - curses, Autocorrect~!
106. Italian musical phrase often abbreviated as "a2": A DUE - two players, in unison
109. Immature, in a way: LARVAL - $2 word
115. Playful aquatic mammals: OTTERS
116. One might end on a high note: SOPRANO
117. Bug with pincers and a flat body: EARWIG
118. Gym: PHYS. ED. - semi-meh; gym may be an abbr for gymnasium, but gym class - better
120. Biases: SLANTS
DOWN:
1. "I'll treat": "ON ME."
2. Bit of fishing gear: HOOK
3. "Finally, I can sleep in my own bed!": "HOME AT LAST~!" - appeared one other time in the NYT
4. "Golly!": "EGADS~!"
5. Maya who designed the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery: LIN - her Webpage
6. Actor Heath: LEDGER - I liked him in "A Knight's Tale", and as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" - died at 28yrs old from a prescription drug overdose in NYC - his Wiki
7. Mart: SHOP
8. Catholic leader: POPE
9. Bread box?: ATM - another alternative clue for an over-used fill
10. "The Simpsons" disco guy: STU
11. Workers who may use concrete saws: MASONS - I tried PAVERS
12. Slopes habitué: SKI BUM
13. Regal competitor: AMC - Movie theatres
14. The big leagues: PRO BALL
15. Given that: AS SUCH
16. Get cold feet: CHICKEN OUT
17. Beep: HONK - I tried "TOOT"
18. Some flock members: EWES - AND - 42D. Fancy jugs: EWERS
21. System starter: ECO - ECOsystem
24. Party spread: PÂTÉ - "What am I, chopped liver~?"
29. Spot to get a bite: EATERY - can I get some PATE~?
32. Mole: SPY
33. Words to live by: MOTTO - Dah~! Not CREDO
34. Swimming powerhouse in the Olympics, for short: AUStralia - I was not sure where this clue was going; even after it filled via perps, I had to check online; here's a medal count by country
36. Model material: BALSA
37. Drafts folder filler: E-MAIL
38. Very, to Vivaldi: MOLTO - Italian
40. Not forthcoming: CAGEY
41. Big Apple product: iMAC - I tried iPAD
43. Savage of "MythBusters": ADAM - I know him....
44. Savage of "Savage Love": DAN - I do NOT know him
46. Genetic material: DNA
51. Cold __ coffee: BREW
52. Slithering swimmers: EELS
53. "Children of," in temple names: B'NAI - Hebrew
54. Berkshire school: ETON - I was thinking Berkeley, and tried UCLA - hey, I am EAST coast....
55. Degs. for entrepreneurs: MBAs
57. Panicked, perhaps: FROZE - Fight, Flight or Freeze~?
58. Super: ULTRA
59. Game of luck: LOTTO
64. "I don't believe __ met": "WE'VE"
65. Posthumous Pulitzer winner James: AGEE - good WAG on my part
66. Firewood quantity: CORD
67. One might start with a knock: JOKE - As in, "Knock Knock, who's there~?"
68. "My bad!": "OOPS~!"
69. Hit below the belt: FIGHT DIRTY *- I tried SUCKER PUNC, ran out of spaces
70. Ran in place, maybe: IDLED
71. Trademarked element of Play-Doh: SCENT - HA~! I tried "TASTE" first
72. Gives up: STANDS DOWN *- neat contradictory clue/answer
73. "Is __ OK?": response to a request for Coke: PEPSI - in the South, the question is always "What kind of Coke do you want~?" "I'll have a Diet Pepsi."
74. Becomes ragged: FRAYS
75. Weblike fabric: LACE
76. Milk carton phrase: USE BY
77. Some: NOT ALL - that would be the definition....
78. "How can I ever __ you?": REPAY
79. Abbr. on old phones: OPERator; here's a funny Millennial video
Four minutes to dial a number....
80. Place for a couples retreat: SPA
81. Joplin work: RAG - SCOTT Joplin - The Entertainer kind of rag
86. Steak __: TARTARE - Basically, raw beef - a recipe
87. Batter's stat: OPS - Baseball lingo for On-Base Plus Slugging
88. Gp. that might plan a readathon: PTA
90. Soothing balms: SALVES - ALOES was too short
91. Make more suitable: RETOOL
92. "Resume speed," to a musician: A TEMPO - definition
93. Colon, at times: IS TO - analogy; see 35A.
94. Wraps: STOLES
99. Iraqi port city: BASRA
100. Piggie's favorite dish in the "Elephant and Piggie" books: SLOP - makes sense
101. Line on a trail map: PATH
103. Bldg. coolers: A/Cs - gotta put my big window unit in; we are going to get close to 100° this week here in Connecticut 😝
104. Green Gables girl: ANNE
105. Blurry craft in tabloid pics: UFOs
107. Storage __: UNIT
108. Quiche need: EGGS
110. Acid letters: LSD
112. Peacock title: MRS. - Definitely Saturday cluing, and a reference to the board game Clue; I had an inkling this was what we were looking for; I also considered "MRT", as Mr. T was in the NBC "Peacock" show "The A-Team"
113. Western treaty gp.: OAS - Organziation of American States - the Wiki
114. Actor Penn: KAL - His IMDb; I knew of him from "House, M.D."
Splynter
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