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Philosophical argument for belief in God / SUN 12-23-18 / Arabic name that...
Constructor: David Alfred BywatersRelative difficulty: Easy-Medium (9:23)THEME:"Labor Contract(ion)s"— familiar phrases have the letter string "ion" either added or taken away, i.e. they are either...
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Taboo alternative to beef / MON 12-24-18 / Dry region covering most of...
Constructor: Brendan Emmett QuigleyRelative difficulty: Easy-Medium (2:54)THEME: HITCHING A RIDE (55A: Getting picked up by the side of the road ... or what 20-, 30- and 39-Across are literally...
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Film buff's channel in brief / TUE 12-25-18 / Range for yodelers /...
Constructor: Bruce HaightRelative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (for a Tuesday) (3:57)THEME: "O TANNENBAUM" (57A: Seasonal song with a hint to the last words in 178-, 25-, 37- and 45-Across) — all the...
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Greek-born New Age musician / WED 12-26-18 / 1950s Project Blue Book subject...
Constructor: Howard BarkinRelative difficulty: Easy (Easy-Medium by the clock, but I have Holiday Hangover—mostly non-alcoholic, but still... it's clearly affecting my brain and hand agility)...
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Song sung by Elvis in "Blue Hawaii" / THU 12-27-18 / Brooklyn attraction /...
Constructor:Mary Lou Guizzo and Jeff ChenRelative difficulty:Challenging (feels like it shouldn't have been this tough, but it took 5:30 over my fairly bloated Thursday average) (17:24)THEME: THEME—...
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Host Bert of old games shows / FRI 12-28-18 / 1997 Notorious BIG hit whose...
Constructor: David SteinbergRelative difficulty: Medium (though w/ some potentially deadly Naticks* if your Name Game is not *tight*) (5:44)THEME: noneWord of the Day: ALAIN RENÉ LESAGE (54A: "Gil...
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African tree with hanging fruit / SAT 12-29-18 / Natchez Delta Queen for two...
Constructor: Robyn WeintraubRelative difficulty: Easy (7:01, should've been Way faster)THEME: noneWord of the Day: BAOBAB (28A: African tree with hanging fruit) — Adansonia is a genus of deciduous...
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Zoroastrianism's sacred text / SUN 12-30-18 / Mesopotamian mother goddess /...
Constructor: Luke VaughnRelative difficulty: Medium (felt easier, but there are some patches ...)THEME:"No Duh!"— so ... phrases with "the" have "no *the*" in them, creating ... honestly, calling these...
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Cry of triumph / MON 12-31-2018 / Quarry / Spirited horse / Make a goof
Hello! Happy almost New Year! It's Clare again, switching it up this month by doing the last Monday of the month instead of the least Tuesday. Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. I'm...
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First victim of sibling rivalry / TUE 1-1-19 / League that used red white...
Constructor: Gary CeeRelative difficulty: Easy to Easy-Medium (3:14)THEME: PASSABLE (61A: Barely adequate ... or what the starts of 17-, 26-, 37- and 50-Across are)— first words of aforementioned...
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Last ruler of United Kingdoms of Sweden Norway / WED 1-2-19 / Monk known as...
Constructor: Jacob StulbergRelative difficulty: Medium (4:15) (I have this feeling it might play slightly harder for folks, on average—lots of, let's say, unusual fill)THEME: forks!— clues are [___...
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Boardom / THU 1-3-19 / Best selling erotic novelist Leigh / Followers of Baal...
Constructor: Timothy PolinRelative difficulty: Medium to Medium-Challenging (5:59)THEME: WALL — east and west halves of grid are completely separated by line of black squares. Three different answers...
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Literally dwarf dog / FRI 1-4-19 / Small mammals that secrete musk used in...
Constructor: Neil Padrick WilsonRelative difficulty: Medium to Medium-Challenging (skewed pretty easy until I hit the upper NE) (6:03)THEME: noneWord of the Day: BAR SINISTER (11D: Heraldic charge...
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Gymnast who won all-around gold in Rio / 1972 hit with lyric you can bend but...
Constructor: Andrew ZhouRelative difficulty: Challenging (I got annoyed and kind of bored and walked away at one point, so my time's pretty inflated) (10:34)THEME: noneWord of the Day: XERISCAPING...
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Fish dish that Nobu restaurants are noted for / SUN 1-6-19 / 19000 foot...
Constructor: Zhouqin BurnikelRelative difficulty: Easy (8:36)THEME:"Breaking News"— theme answers are meant to be taken as self-referential, with each successive themer representing a letter in the...
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Duel overseer in Hamlet / MON 1-7-19 / Cheap cigar slangily / Singer with...
Constructor: Andrew KingsleyRelative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (for a Monday) (3:26)THEME: double vowel progression, For Some Reason ... ?— left side of grid has answers that start PAT PET PIT POT...
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Old Palm smartphone / TUE 1-8-19 / Cozy accommodations for traveler...
Constructor: Freddie ChengRelative difficulty: Medium (though for me it was more Medium-Challenging) (for a Tuesday) (3:50)THEME: ABSTRACT ART (61A: What may be created using the answers to the six...
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Aperitif with black currant liqueur / WED 1-9-19 / Toyota hybrids jocularly /...
Constructor: Trenton CharlsonRelative difficulty: Easy-Medium (3:56)THEME: TMI — as in "Too Many 'I's!" ("I" is the only vowel in the grid)Theme answers:all of them?Word of the Day: Otto FRISCH (41D:...
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Synagogue singer with hokey humor / THU 1-10-19 / Japanese box meal /...
Constructor: Jeff Slutzky and Derek BowmanRelative difficulty: Easy to Easy-Medium (the latter for me, but I solved very ploddingly, with sleep in my eyes, so...) (AH ... wait, it's oversized? OK, then...
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Rapidly cooled as metal / FRI 1-11-19 / Music style associated with George...
Constructor: Jim Horne and Jeff ChenRelative difficulty: Easy (untimed—solved on paper, on my clipboard, early in the morning, in front of my Christmas tree, which, yes, it's still up, I love it)THEME:...
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