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WEATHER REPORT

New York Times, Sunday, January 15, 2012

Author:
Finn Vigeland
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
102-Across : "True Colors" singer, 1986
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
2110/20/20106/26/20225
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
10134012
RebusCircleScrabDebutFresh
231.6518766%
Finn Vigeland

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 140, Blocks: 72 Missing: {JQ} Spans: 1 This is puzzle # 2 for Mr. Vigeland. Sunday freshness: 56%
Finn Vigeland notes:

I dreamed this foul-weather puzzle up on a beautiful sunny day. The goal was to think of 21-letter phrases that hadn't before appeared in the Times, and the revealer at 66-Across came to mind pretty quickly. While it was always the idea to have the theme answers go down (and with circles representing raindrops), for some reason, it never crossed my mind to make that revealer go vertically down as well — I was always beholden to the idea that the theme answers should intersect 66-Across.

So, contrary to what Rex Parker wrote in his review, it actually proved very difficult to find theme entries containing cats and dogs, of equal length, and which intersected the central answer at the right moment. As it often is, the weakest of the theme answers (CABLE SITCOMS ... it's not really a real phrase, though I think my clue redeems it) was the first one I came up with, and my favorite themer (BREAKING THE RULES) was the last one in place. Rejected entries include TRAIN ROBBERY (tabby), PROOF OF DELIVERY (poodle), and OBTUSE TRIANGLE (beagle). At one point in time, I also had ANIMAL CRACKER going down the center of the puzzle, clued as something like [Kid's snack ... or what you are when you solve this puzzle?] before I realized that was just a liiiittle too over the top.

1
C
2
O
3
L
4
D
5
C
6
A
7
S
8
E
9
Z
10
A
11
P
12
S
13
P
14
H
15
A
16
S
17
E
18
R
19
O
P
E
R
A
T
O
R
20
I
D
E
E
21
P
H
A
L
A
N
X
22
C
A
S
T
L
E
I
N
23
S
P
A
I
N
24
S
O
R
B
E
T
S
25
A
L
T
26
I
M
S
27
T
I
M
28
S
29
A
I
N
T
E
30
E
31
M
O
T
I
32
C
O
N
33
O
L
D
34
B
35
A
36
G
37
A
38
T
39
C
40
H
41
B
E
A
M
42
T
O
R
T
43
G
E
O
R
G
E
44
L
O
A
45
F
E
R
46
S
A
47
F
E
S
48
I
49
T
R
Y
50
O
R
S
51
U
R
B
A
N
E
52
O
T
I
S
53
M
P
A
A
54
W
N
E
T
55
M
E
L
D
56
A
57
N
N
A
N
58
T
E
E
U
P
59
A
X
E
S
60
N
A
E
61
T
K
O
D
62
A
63
I
R
E
R
64
H
65
E
R
B
66
I
T
S
67
R
A
I
N
I
68
N
G
C
A
T
S
69
A
N
D
D
O
70
G
71
S
72
I
T
E
N
73
X
Y
L
E
M
74
P
R
E
Y
75
M
O
E
76
M
77
A
T
E
78
G
79
R
O
P
E
80
C
81
L
I
M
E
82
E
B
O
N
83
A
B
C
S
84
T
E
N
D
85
F
A
I
R
86
D
87
W
E
E
B
S
88
D
O
O
89
P
H
I
L
90
K
A
R
M
A
91
L
E
G
R
E
E
92
A
D
M
93
I
R
E
94
I
95
N
I
T
96
E
N
97
D
E
D
98
S
R
I
99
M
E
S
M
E
R
100
N
O
M
I
101
N
A
T
E
102
L
A
U
103
P
E
R
104
G
A
D
105
L
106
G
107
A
108
L
109
I
110
V
111
M
112
I
113
R
A
C
L
E
114
D
115
E
U
S
E
116
X
M
A
C
117
H
I
N
A
118
E
P
I
T
H
E
T
119
I
G
E
T
120
E
A
R
M
A
R
K
S
121
H
O
N
E
Y
S
122
C
O
S
Y
123
D
R
Y
E
R
A
S
E
© 2012, The New York Times1/15/12 ( No. 22,713 )
Across
1
DNA testing might reopen one : COLDCASE
9
Uses a 13-Across on : ZAPS
13
"Star Trek" weapon : PHASER
19
Person who's a zero? : OPERATOR
20
What will the French think of next? : IDEE
21
Troop group : PHALANX
22
Dream setting : CASTLEINSPAIN
24
After-dinner choices : SORBETS
25
PC key : ALT
26
Some online communications, for short : IMS
27
QB Tebow : TIM
28
Thérèse de Lisieux, for one : SAINTE
30
:D, e.g. : EMOTICON
33
Battle-ax : OLDBAG
37
Grp. that coordinates E.T.A. and E.T.D. : ATC
40
Letter-shaped girder : HBEAM
42
Basis of a lawsuit : TORT
43
"By ___!" : GEORGE
44
Slip-on : LOAFER
46
Places for rings, maybe : SAFES
48
Humble response to praise : ITRY
50
Organ repair sites, briefly : ORS
51
Polished : URBANE
52
___ B. Driftwood ("A Night at the Opera" role) : OTIS
53
Org. that may assess violence levels : MPAA
54
PBS flagship station : WNET
55
Part of a pinochle round : MELD
56
Former U.N. secretary general Kofi ___ : ANNAN
58
Get ready to drive : TEEUP
59
x, y and z : AXES
60
Scot's "not" : NAE
61
Ousted from the ring, for short : TKOD
62
TV station, e.g. : AIRER
64
Cicely or tarragon : HERB
66
Weather comment represented visually by this puzzle's circled letters : ITSRAININGCATSANDDOGS
72
Major artery through San Antonio : ITEN
73
Plant tissue : XYLEM
74
Hunted : PREY
75
TV tavern keeper : MOE
76
Bud : MATE
78
Feel (for) : GROPE
80
The Mediterranean has a warm one : CLIME
82
Shade of a swan's bill in a Keats poem : EBON
83
Kindergarten stuff : ABCS
84
Gravitate : TEND
85
Not cheating : FAIR
86
Many wonks : DWEEBS
88
Scat syllable : DOO
89
One of the Everly Brothers : PHIL
90
Fate : KARMA
91
Fictional Simon : LEGREE
92
Esteem : ADMIRE
94
Rolling ___ (rich) : INIT
96
Kaput : ENDED
98
Overseas Mr. : SRI
99
Austrian physician who lent his name to an English word ending in "-ize" : MESMER
100
Propose : NOMINATE
102
"True Colors" singer, 1986 : LAUPER
104
Roam : GAD
105
Letters on some N.Y.C. luggage : LGA
108
Actress Tyler : LIV
111
Subject of a Vatican investigation : MIRACLE
114
Artificial plot device : DEUSEXMACHINA
118
"The Conqueror," e.g. : EPITHET
119
"___ it" ("Understood") : IGET
120
Some bills have them : EARMARKS
121
Dolls : HONEYS
122
Brit's teapot cover : COSY
123
Like some boards : DRYERASE
Down
1
Chewed stimulant : COCA
2
Precious girl's name? : OPAL
3
In the event that : LEST
4
2000 title role for Richard Gere : DRT
5
LL Cool J's "Going Back to ___" : CALI
6
"Lemme ___!" : ATEM
7
"That is quite clear" : SOISEE
8
Directional suffix : ERN
9
"Shut your trap!" : ZIPIT
10
Nudists : ADAMITES
11
Nascar Hall of Fame architect : PEI
12
Part of a security system : SENSOR
13
It's lowered to hear music : PHONOGRAPHNEEDLE
14
Taft's partner in a 1947 act : HARTLEY
15
Light reflection ratio : ALBEDO
16
R.S.V.P. facilitator: Abbr. : SAE
17
Tolkien creature : ENT
18
Pharmacies fill them, in brief : RXS
21
Fourth letter after 49-Down : PSI
23
Leaf pores : STOMATA
29
You probably raise your arm for this : ANTIPERSPIRANT
31
It's north of the South : MASONDIXONLINE
32
Stock page listings: Abbr. : COS
34
Big Apple team : BRONXBOMBERS
35
Side (with) : AGREE
36
Heroic deeds : GESTS
37
___ Hall (site on many a campus) : ALUMNI
38
Attacked : TOREAT
39
Shows that can be racier than their network counterparts : CABLESITCOMS
40
Nest maker : HEN
41
Cheating : BREAKINGTHERULES
45
Angry Birds, e.g. : FAD
47
Manipulate to one's advantage : FINAGLE
49
Fourth letter before 21-Down : TAU
53
Track ___ : MEET
54
Prison unit : WARD
57
Security Council veto : NON
58
Mine transport : TRAMCAR
61
___ kwon do : TAE
63
Put away : ICE
65
Big name in frozen desserts : EDY
67
72-Across and others: Abbr. : RTES
68
"Cagney & Lacey" org. : NYPD
69
Bazooka, e.g. : ARM
70
Yokel : GOOBER
71
Martial arts master : SENSEI
76
Lady : MADAM
77
Villa, e.g. : ABODE
79
Portuguese king : REI
81
Tart drink : LIMEADE
82
Doc's reading : EEG
85
Battle wear : FATIGUES
87
Bond : WED
89
Tediously didactic : PREACHY
90
North Korean leader or his father : KIM
93
White Rabbit's cry : IMLATE
95
Certain skiing competition : NORDIC
97
California beach town with a racetrack : DELMAR
101
Vicious : NASTY
103
Doll : PET
106
Player of golf : GARY
107
Climax : ACME
108
The euro replaced it : LIRA
109
Signs : INKS
110
One with a neck and a lip : VASE
111
"I can't get excited about it" : MEH
112
Bit of investors' news, for short : IPO
113
___ Tin Tin : RIN
115
I, to Tiberius : EGO
116
Struck : XED
117
Laugh syllable : HAR

Answer summary:
12 unique to this puzzle.

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