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MORAL THINKING

New York Times, Sunday, August 14, 2016

Author:
Ian Livengood
Editor:
Will Shortz
"I can't help you, but the Brady Bunch mom will be happy to assist"?
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
554/12/20109/15/20164
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617667112
RebusCircleScrabblePOWFresh
371.64747%
Ian Livengood

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 140, Blocks: 68 Missing: {QZ} This is puzzle # 54 for Mr. Livengood. Sunday freshness: 58%
Ian Livengood notes:
My first entry in the grid? You guessed it — LATOYA. Once I had a grid that looked fillable, I tried to sniff out any trouble spots. The L???Y? was the only problematic area, so that went ... read more
Jeff Chen notes:
Sound changes, MORAL THINKING hinting at "add-an-AL sound to produce kooky results." I liked that Ian strove for fairly dramatic spelling changes, MARE to MERYL, CARE to CAROL, PEAR to ... read more
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H
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A
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H
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O
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D
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M
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P
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N
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R
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H
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P
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H
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J
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D
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L
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N
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W
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M
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C
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H
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P
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L
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M
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L
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T
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W
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D
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L
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D
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F
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D
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L
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© 2016, The New York Times8/14/16 ( No. 24,386 )
Across
1
Southwestern cliff dwellers : HOPI
5
Means of going down a 36-Down : RAFT
9
Have a hole in one's heart : ACHE
13
Meatheads : DODOS
18
A Swiss army knife has a lot of them : USES
19
Cream of the crop : ALIST
21
Heads for Britain? : LOOS
22
Thick-skinned grazer : RHINO
23
Actress Streep playing a centenarian? : THEOLDGRAYMERYL
26
News show group : PANEL
27
Soup accompaniers, often : SALTINES
28
Like the settings of typical Grant Wood paintings : RURAL
29
Unruffled : SERENE
30
___ the top : OVER
31
Risky business for a compiler of quotations? : BARTLETTPERIL
33
Good shot? : SNIPER
36
Counterparts of files : RANKS
37
Smart : HIP
38
Not obvious to most : SLY
39
Evident worrywart : PACER
40
Done quickly : HASTY
41
Protested from the stands : JEERED
44
___ Kitchen (frozen food brand) : AMYS
45
Not wandering, say : RAPT
46
Attorney general's investigation target : SCAM
47
Like funk, now : RETRO
51
Low-___ : RES
52
Alaskan beer container? : KODIAKBARREL
56
Beat the tar out of : WHUP
57
Honorific for a colleague : ESTEEMED
59
Vetoes : NIXES
60
Lies ahead : AWAITS
62
Co. captains? : EXECS
63
Typographical no-no : WIDOW
64
SiriusXM star : STERN
65
Some fine wool : MERINO
67
Charming group? : COVEN
68
Some True Value purchases : TOOLSETS
71
Bad way to go? : AWOL
72
Promote singer Crow's music? : MARKETSHERYL
75
P pronounced like an R : RHO
76
Pequod's co-owner : PELEG
78
Meets with : SEES
79
James who sang "Good Rockin' Daddy" : ETTA
80
Throat part : CRAW
81
Shade in : DARKEN
83
Layers : PLIES
85
Wilderness Road trailblazer : BOONE
86
Fitness grp. : AMA
89
Nat ___ (channel) : GEO
90
Self-righteous types : PRIGS
91
Hung out : LOLLED
92
Debt for comedian Will? : BILLOFFERRELL
96
Poet : BARD
97
Celsius of the Celsius scale : ANDERS
98
Safe place : VAULT
99
"Hamilton" and "1776" : MUSICALS
103
Beat : TIRED
104
"I can't help you, but the Brady Bunch mom will be happy to assist"? : HANDLEWITHCAROL
106
___ Durkheim, so-called "father of sociology" : EMILE
107
Nervous people are on it : EDGE
108
Who wrote "A great flame follows a little spark" : DANTE
109
Part of some small buildings : LEGO
110
Gulf cash : DINAR
111
Charges : FEES
112
Monopoly holding : DEED
113
Like a headlining act, typically : LAST
Down
1
Preceder of snaps : HUTS
2
Dept. of Labor branch : OSHA
3
Lose a tan, say : PEEL
4
Uranium 238 and strontium 90 : ISOTOPES
5
Original "S.N.L." cast member : RADNER
6
Rags-to-riches writer : ALGER
7
January detritus : FIRS
8
Body image grp. : TSA
9
Sirens, e.g. : ALERTS
10
Pinkish orange : CORAL
11
According to ___ (by the rules) : HOYLE
12
Subj. for an au pair, maybe : ESL
13
Product possibly named after a real physician : DRPEPPER
14
One stop on Chicago's Blue Line : OHARE
15
Greasy spoons : DINERS
16
Common soccer score : ONENIL
17
100% : SOLELY
20
Caligula, e.g. : TYRANT
24
Gallbladder neighbor : LIVER
25
Like dirty water : MURKY
29
Ruckus : STIR
31
"Enough!," to a Roman : BASTA
32
___ park : THEME
33
"___ me!" : SPARE
34
Focus of onomastics : NAMES
35
Frost-covered biochemical solid? : ICYSTEROL
36
See 5-Across : RAPID
40
Hell of a location? : HADES
41
Banana Republic competitor : JCREW
42
Good listeners : EARS
43
Big name in Scotch : DEWARS
45
"Love Actually," e.g. : ROMCOM
46
Battle of Hastings participants : SAXONS
48
Like actor Flynn post-dieting? : THINERROL
49
A good thing to get out of : RUT
50
Black ___ : OPS
52
Gung-ho : KEEN
53
Cutting costs? : KNIVES
54
Bathroom fixture : BIDET
55
One of the Jacksons : LATOYA
58
Banished : EXILED
61
"I'm still waiting ...?" : WELL
63
Roused : WOKEN
64
Gets ready to do a load, say : SORTS
65
Driving aid : MAP
66
65-Across producer, maybe : EWE
67
Plains dwellers : CREE
68
Arrondissement heads? : TETES
69
Macduff, for one : THANE
70
Disseminated : SOWED
73
Request from : ASKOF
74
Katherine who co-starred in "27 Dresses" : HEIGL
77
It stops talking : GAGORDER
80
Telemarketer's action : COLDCALL
82
Notable whistle blowers : REFS
83
Green shampoo : PRELL
84
Sang gracefully : LILTED
85
___ acid : BORIC
86
Died down : ABATED
87
Little fingers or toes : MINIMI
88
Buzz in space : ALDRIN
90
Tut-tutters : PRUDES
91
Attacked, with "out" : LASHED
93
One-eyed female on "Futurama" : LEELA
94
Shake : EVADE
95
The Cascades, e.g. : RANGE
96
Monument Valley sighting : BUTTE
99
"Gimme!" : MINE
100
Common calculus calculation : AREA
101
Signs (on) : LOGS
102
Booking time : SLOT
104
Bunny boss : HEF
105
Small lump of tobacco : WAD

Answer summary: 9 unique to this puzzle, 1 unique to Shortz Era but used previously.

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