Sunday May 14, 2023 Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Theme: "Hidden Figures" - Each set of circled letters is a movie embedded in another movie.

27. Will Smith title role in a beauty pageant movie?: MISS CONGENIALITY. Ali.

37. Salma Hayek Pinault title role in a body swapping movie?: FREAKY FRIDAY. Frida.

45. Jamie Foxx title role in a globe-trotting movie?: EAT PRAY LOVE. Ray.

68. Dev Patel title role in a boxing movie?: MILLION DOLLAR BABY. Lion.

87. Benicio del Toro title role in a crime thriller movie?: JACK REACHER. Che.

96. Angelina Jolie title role in a space robot movie?: THE IRON GIANT. Gia.

Reveal:

110. Multifeed television setting, and what six of this puzzle's answers display: PICTURE IN PICTURE.

When I first saw the title, I figured "one, two, three, four, etc" were hidden inside. So pleasantly  surprised by Enrique's approach.

I'm not famliar with movie "Lion". Only wish it were a person's name like the other five embedded movies, "Hidden Figures" title would have been perfect. 

Clean and sparkly fill, a hallmark of Enrique. 

6. Dalai Lama's homeland: TIBET. This puzzle was probably edited before the Dalai Lama controversy.

11. Greenlighted: OK'ED.

15. Porpoise kin: ORCA.

19. Celebrate wildly: REVEL. Yesterday was the first time Carmen's granddaughter visited her and Lao Pan. They were ecstatic.

20. Still in it to win it: ALIVE.

21. "When in __ ... ": ROME.

22. Go yachting, say: SAIL.

23. "The L Word" co-creator Chaiken: ILENE. Grid-friendly letter combo.

24. Gastric ailment: ULCER.

25. Point after deuce: AD IN.

26. Mojito garnish: MINT. Never had mojito. 

30. Fun run dist.: ONE-K.

31. Unpaid TV ads: PSAS.

32. Perched upon: ATOP.

33. TV pioneer: RCA.

34. "I can help however you see fit": USE ME.

35. Drum kit pieces: HI-HATS.

41. "Where __ sign?": DO I.

42. Online icon: AVATAR.

44. Unagi and anago: EELS. You can find frozen unagi at our Asian store.

49. Fencing blade: EPEE.

51. That girl: SHE.

54. [I'm trying to scare you!]: BOO.

55. Orderly: NEAT.

56. Square and Squarespace space?: IT SECTOR. Great clue/fill.

59. Misses a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, say: BLOWS IT. Is it weird that I only start to like "Lose Yourself" now?

62. Cause and __: EFFECT.

67. Sophisticated: SUAVE.

72. Luxury car brand: ACURA. Same letter count as LEXUS.

74. Moolah: DO RE MI.

75. Abates: EASES UP.

78. App used for selfie retouching: FACETUNE. I like the before picture though.

81. Tandoori bread: NAAN.

83. "__ Te Ching": philosophical text: TAO.

84. Texter's "Not gonna lie ... ": TBH. To Be Honest.

85. Ritzy: POSH.

91. Extinct bird: DODO.

93. Franklin known as the "Queen of Soul": ARETHA.

95. Sushi garnish: ROE.

100. Overpowering odor: STENCH.

103. Lemon slice: WEDGE.

104. Nonprofit 34-Down ending: ORG. 34. Clickable address: URL.

105. Read quickly: SKIM.

107. Sudsy stuff: SOAP. I got a small sample of this shower gel. Smells amazing.

109. Part of the HOMES mnemonic: ERIE.

115. "I'm down!": LET'S.

116. French for "mine": A MOI.

117. Largish jazz combo: OCTET.

118. Viscounts' superiors: EARLS.

119. "The Sympathizer" Pulitzer winner __ Thanh Nguyen: VIET. This is the same as Chinese "Yue".  The Nam is Vietnam just means "south".

120. Global extremity: POLE.

121. Big spender at a casino: WHALE.

122. Beginning phase: ONSET.

123. Ultimate goals: ENDS.

124. "No ifs, __, or buts": ANDS.

125. In a way: SORTA.

126. Comes (from): STEMS.

Down:

2. Hot dog topper: RELISH.

3. "Me and my big mouth!": I'VE SAID TOO MUCH. Great debut entry. Partnered with another great entry: 51. Keeps on keeping on: STAYS THE COURSE.

4. Place to find boxers and bow ties, say: MEN'S SHOP.

5. Comedian Mapa: ALEC. He's of a Filipino-American. Here with his husband and their kid.

6. Shouts "neener neener" at, say: TAUNTS.

7. Volunteer's offer: I'LL GO.

8. __ curls: BICEP.

9. Well-matched: EVEN.

10. Actress Garr: TERI.

11. Brushing, flossing, etc.: ORAL CARE.

12. Type of bear important to the Alutiiq people: KODIAK. They live in the Kodiak Island, right?

13. Throw off: EMIT.

14. Say no to: DENY.

15. Absorption process: OSMOSIS.

16. Drizzled: RAINED.

17. Movie house: CINEMA. My sister-in-law Connie attends all kinds of film festivals.

18. Element of some computer shortcuts: ALT KEY.

28. Vegan milk choice: OAT. I grew up drinking soy milk.  Standard breakfast for many: soy milk and youtiao.

29. Part of town: AREA.

36. Broadcast: AIR.

37. Most-loved, informally: FAV.

38. GPS suggestion: RTE.

39. Throw forcefully, in slang: YEET. Learned from doing crosswords.

40. Hidden costs, often: FEES.

42. Pie __ mode: A LA.

43. Action urged by some political ads: VOTE NO.

45. Recede: EBB.

46. Web portal co.: AOL.

47. Indigo plant: ANIL. Pretty.

48. Bigfoot kin: YETI.

50. Stuffed pocket: PITA.

52. Carpool lane letters: HOV.

53. Before, in poetry: ERE.

57. Those, in Spanish: ESAS. Also 77. __ favor: POR.

58. Die shape: CUBE.

60. Transfer, as money: WIRE.

61. Venetian blind part: SLAT.

63. Four-term pres.: FDR.

64. Counter person?: FOE. Love the clue.

65. National Mall tree: ELM. Also the first word of a park reserve I've been loving lately. Gorgeous trails inside. I spotted a mama black bear and her two cubs two weeks ago. The trails have since greened up nicely and one of the cubs was sadly deserted last week. 

69. Poems of praise: ODES.

70. Raise, as kids: REAR.

71. Source of misery: BANE.

72. Toward the stern: AFT.

73. Alternative to zin or pinot: CAB.

76. Abu Dhabi's fed.: UAE.

79. High bun, e.g.: UPDO. And 86. Pony accessories?: HAIR TIES.

80. Midday: NOON.

82. Nickname preceder: AKA.

87. MSNBC political analyst Psaki: JEN. The former White House press secretary.

88. QB passing stat: ATT.

89. "You __ so busted!": ARE.

90. Unrelenting: CONSTANT.

91. Processes: DIGESTS.

92. Mother lode material: ORE.

94. Hearty meat and tomato sauce: RAGU. Boomer loved this.

96. Midday: TWELVE.

97. On these pages: HEREIN.

98. Prepped for publication: EDITED.

99. Yield no further clues, as a trail: GO COLD.

100. Hydrate while down with the flu, maybe: SIP TEA. The Chinese way. Ginger & date tea.

101. Brief "Spare me the details": TMI.

102. Apollo Theater locale: HARLEM.

105. Anoushka Shankar's instrument: SITAR.

106. Posed in a team photo, maybe: KNELT.

108. Annoying ones: PESTS.

110. Family nickname: PAPA.

111. "Time for me to take the stage!": I'M ON.

112. Spats: ROWS.

113. Reverberating sound: ECHO.

114. Business bigwigs: CEOS.

Look whose selfie landed in my email box last week? Splynter! He does not comment these days but he still reads the blog. He writes to me when he spots a mistake in my blog post or just wants to cheer me up.