Sunday, October 4th, 2026 ~ Zhouqin Burnikel

RANGE OF MOTION

Good morning Cornerites. You got the Big Dash T here coming to you on the Corner's frequency.
Do you copy? Over.

Now y'all respond with "That's a big 10-4 good buddy" and we'll kick off National CB Radio Day just right.

Hi Y'all!
Today we get another beauty from our fearless hostess, C.C.. And this one's a doozy of a thinker - I'm not even sure how she came up with the concept. I'm going to start with the reveal just so the themers make a bit more sense:

106 Down. Wyoming range, or when read as three parts, how the answers to the starred clues were formed?: TETONS.

If you solved this puzzle with no idea of the goings on, consider parsing 106d as "TE" TO "NS" (TE -> NS).

It's really just a two letter substitution puzzle in common phrases turning them whimsical but, it's so cleverly done, I didn't notice until after a brief study post solve.

Let's review the themers:

22. *Motto of a calligraphy enthusiast?: FOR THE LOVE OF PENS. "[Oh,] For the love of PETE" is the common phrase.

34. *Transgressions included in textbooks?: HISTORIC SINS. Many texts omit the SINS of the winners 'cuz the winners write the history. Proper tellings include those SITEs' sins.

52. *Devoted followers of painter O'Keeffe?: GEORGIA STANS. Georgia STATE is a .edu but super-fans (STANS) of Georgia O'Keeffe enjoy her suggestive(?) flowers.
 

Flower Abstraction, 1924

71. *Timepiece worn by a "Star Wars" pilot?: HAN'S WATCH. A HATE WATCH is viewing a despised show or movie to mock it. I'm sure they made Harrison Ford remove his wristwatch after the test episode.
// j/k -- HAN was the Pilot of the Millennium Falcon

92. *Dropping hints about the release of a director's cut, perhaps?: TEMPTING FANS. Only true FANS TEMPT FATE & watch the director's cut. Oy! there's a reason those scenes are not in the movie.

107. *Blueprints for a new wardrobe?: FASHION PLANS. A FASHION PLATE is an illustration of a clothing style. I, of course, had to look that up.

123. *Like a sawmill without disposal facilities?: ALL BARK AND NO BINS. LOL! Once the logs are milled with the BITE of the saw, sans BINS, there's nowhere to put the leftover BARK. My fave of the themers. *chefs kiss*

Across:

1. Beauty entrepreneur Elizabeth: ARDEN.

Her WikiP

6. Resort near Snowbird: ALTA.

10. 28-Across flow: [28. Sicilian peak: ETNA] LAVA.

14. Captain with an ivory leg: AHAB. I didn't recall it was ivory.

18. Frisbee maker: WHAM-O.

19. Like samosas and wontons: FRIED.

20. Vein contents: ORES.

21. Spanish "nothing": NADA.

22. [See: Theme]

25. Turning point?: KNOB.

26. Mono- kin: UNI.

27. Brand of kitchen gadgets: OXO.

28. Sicilian peak: ETNA. 10a told us it flows LAVA.

29. Locale for clam diggers: SEASHORE. Beach was too short.

31. Weapon in Clue: LEAD PIPE.

Upper Left

34. [See: Theme]

36. Second chance for a student: RE-TEST. Did y'all ever get these? I had profs that would 2x test you and then give you average of grades but never a "try again, dummy." //oh, I take that back - one prof would give you a second chance but you'd get worst of the two grades - that's so you couldn't boost your score.

38. Canonized Mlle.: STE. A Holy Lady of France.

39. In the style of: ALA.

40. Like much music of the 1990s: ON CD. I was looking for Grunge (#Nirvana) but ON Compact Disc works.

43. Jaguar's roar: VROOM. Har, har.

45. Inexact no.: EST. Estimate

47. Birds similar to crows: ROOKS.

Rook v Crow v Raven

52. [See: Theme]

56. Dessert that may have a lattice crust: PEACH PIE.

Yum!

58. Alfa __: sports cars: ROMEOS.

Obligatory

59. Cause of a quick blessing: SNEEZE. Cute.

61. College official: REGENT. Dean was too short and NCAA Ref too long.

62. Chemical suffix: ENE.

63. Scratchy sound: RASP.

66. Most twisted: WRIEST.

68. Indoor rowers: ERGS.

69. Part of LGBTQ+: GAY. #2 in the list.

71. [See: Theme]

74. Actress Arthur: BEA.

She refused Comicus his Vnemployment Insvrance

75. Video file format: MPEG.

77. Country that borders 14 other countries: RUSSIA.

78. Jekyll's counterpart: HYDE. Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of those two.

80. __-pitch softball: SLO.

83. Off the mark: ASTRAY.

85. Sudden bursts: SALVOS.

88. 46-Down deliverer: [46. Public address: SPEECH] ORATOR.

90. Trial version of a puzzle app, e.g.: GAME DEMO.

92. [See: Theme]

95. Take the wheel: STEER.

Dare ya' to STEER this STEER

96. Hill worker?: ANT. Is a "?" needed?

98. User without an account: GUEST.

99. Small ensemble: TRIO.

100. Assn.: ORG.

102. Hard water?: ICE.

105. Backspace over: DELETE.

107. [See: Theme]

113. Nonconformist: MAVERICK.

James Garner as Maverick

117. Invisible ink?: UV TATTOO. A tat with specialized fluorescent inks that glow brightly under blacklight or UV. Huh, new to me.

118. "This instant!": STAT.

120. Accessory for a fish tank: NET.

121. Versailles monarch: ROI.

122. Rotary phone part: DIAL.

123. [See: Theme]

127. Walking pace: GAIT.

128. Piece in Azul or mahjong: TILE.

129. Patronage: AEGIS.

130. Spanish boys: NINOS.

131. Concludes: ENDS.

132. Sunrise locale: EAST.

133. "Hey, c'mere!": PSST.

134. Like a haunted house: SCARY.

Down:

1. Just terrible: AWFUL.

2. River past Arles: RHONE.

3. Classmate of Beavis: DARIA.

4. AED-trained pro: EMT.

5. Zero chance: NO HOPE.

6. __/ace: LGBTQ+ orientation: ARO.

7. In real time: LIVE.

8. Saw things?: TEETH.

9. Lover of Aphrodite: ADONIS. Greek mythology.

10. Chop (off): LOP.

11. Playground retort: ARE SO.

12. Put on a pedestal: VENERATE.

13. Criticize harshly: ASSAIL.

14. Symbols in Egyptian iconography: ANKHS.

Symbol of Life

15. Capital city that's home to Turtle Tower: HANOI.

It's Turtles All The Way Down

16. Embellish: ADORN.

17. Naive ones: BABES.

19. Series of setbacks, in slang: FLOPERA. A portmanteau of FLOP and OPERA #S***Show

23. Travel permit: EXIT VISA.

24. Like sprinters: FAST.

30. In short supply: SCARCE.

32. Hip-hop pioneer from Compton: DR DRE.

33. Those, in Tijuana: ESOS.

35. Support for a driver: TEE.

37. Little ones: TOTS.

40. Fantasy monster: OGRE.

41. Very bright: NEON.

42. "I need a ride home": COME GET ME.

44. "I'll be!": MAN.

46. Public address: SPEECH. An 88a, ORATOR, delivers these.

48. "I'll be!": OH GEE.

49. Marian Anderson, for one: OPERA STAR I doubt she was in any FLOPs.

Her WikiP

50. "It's Too Late" singer Carole: KING.

51. Scenographer's designs: SETS.

53. Like many horror films: GORY.

54. Genre for Talking Heads: NEW WAVE.

55. Repeated word in a Doris Day classic: SERA.

57. Works in a gallery: ART.

60. Concealer target: ZIT.

64. Moo __ shrimp: SHU.

65. Relay: PASSON.

67. Hesitant around strangers: SHY.

70. Reach consensus: AGREE.

72. Govt. intel org.: NSA. No Such Agency.

This sign made me giggle when I saw it in the 2000's

73. Bank deposit?: SILT.

74. North Atlantic hazard: BERG.

75. GQ and Cosmo: MAGS.

76. Exam for HS jrs.: PSAT.

77. Reuben bread: RYE.

Kenny & Ziggy's Rubin

79. "Stop right there": DONT EVEN.

81. "The Real" co-host Love: LONI.

82. Approximately: ORSO.

84. Deft: ADROIT.

86. "R u kidding!?": OMG.

87. Root veggie: SPUD.

89. Subsequently: AFTER.

91. Flower on Mississippi's state quarter: MAGNOLIA.

Yep, there it is.

93. Swarm (with): TEEM.

94. Christmas and Easter: ISLANDS. Nice misdirection.

97. "__ we meet again": TIL.

101. Take turns: ROTATE.

103. "Mi __ es su ... ": CASA.

104. Catch in a snare: ENTRAP.

106. [See: Theme]

107. Sundae topping: FUDGE.

108. Like swifts, but not Swifties: AVIAN. Cute clue.

109. Prim and proper: STAID.

110. Hits the brakes: HALTS.

111. Matters of opinion?: POLLS.  Nice.

112. Sushi bar bottles: SAKES.

114. Supermodel Shayk: IRINA.

115. "The Weir" playwright McPherson: CONOR.

116. __-face: smooching: KISSY.

119. Social media labels: TAGS.

124. Get in a pool: BET.

125. Trivial complaint: NIT.

126. Shaving brand: BIC.

The Grid:

Range of Motion

Y'all have a great Sunday!
Cheers, -T

Monday, September 21st, 2026 ~ Janice Luttrell

An Odd Flush.

Hearts SUIT Flush

In poker, a flush is all cards of the same suit. Today, we have postfixes that uses SUIT in different contexts.

Good morning solvers! And welcome to another Janice Monday.

Let's start w/ the reveal:

57. Do the same, and what the ends of 17-, 25-, and 42-Across can do: FOLLOW SUIT.

17. "Just act naturally!": BE YOURSELF. SUIT YOURSELF.

Suit Yourself

25. Vietnam War film directed by Stanley Kubrick: FULL METAL JACKET. SUIT JACKET.

42. Quickly resolved legal matter: OPEN AND SHUT CASE. SUITCASE.

Pretty simple gimmick but cute nonetheless. Let's see what else suits Janice's puzzle...

Across:

1. Dot-__: online businesses: COMS. Another financial bubble that pop'd.

5. Capital of South Korea: SEOUL.

10. Clever remark: QUIP.

14. Shape of many a car logo: OVAL.

15. Inner circle: CADRE.

16. Caterer's coffee servers: URNS.

17. [See: Theme]

19. AirPods holders: EARS. Ha! I kept trying to think if there was a name for their little recharger pods.

20. Chocolaty treats that may have walnuts: BROWNIES.

21. Portable device with a touchscreen: TABLET.

23. Baby bear: CUB.

24. __ farewell: said goodbye: BADE.

25. [See: Theme]

33. Between ports: ASEA.

34. Second-string players: B-TEAM. Ask ChatGPT to produce an image...

“I love it when a cookout comes together.”

35. Lamb's mother: EWE.

36. Sow's opposite: REAP.

37. Renewable energy option: SOLAR.

38. Safari park roarer: LION.

39. Gloomy __: pessimistic sort: GUS.

40. Comedian Wyatt: CENAC. Wyatt Cenac was a writer and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from '08 to 2012.  He continues to do standup and other projects.

Wyatt Cenac

41. Annoys: IRKS.

42. [See: Theme]

46. Finishes up: ENDS.

47. Part of FTW and BTW: THE. For THE Win & By THE Way #TextSpeak

48. Talks back to: SASSES.

51. Morton who plays Circe in "The Odyssey": SAMANTHA.

Samantha Morton

56. Help in wrongdoing: ABET.

57. [See: Theme]

59. Genuine: REAL.

60. Face-to-face exams: ORALS.

61. Prefix with skeleton: ENDO.

62. Like a couch potato: IDLE.

63. Move, as a root-bound houseplant: REPOT.

64. Consider to be: DEEM.

Down:

1. Salad with bacon and eggs: COBB.

Yummers

2. "Back to you," in radio lingo: OVER.

Oveur Over

3. BLT spread: MAYO.

Two Airplane! clips FTW!

4. Insincere round of applause: SLOW CLAP.

Colbert is not impressed

5. Book copier of old: SCRIBE.

6. Loosen (up): EASE.

7. Poems of praise: ODES.

8. Address that often starts with "www": URL. Technically, it starts with the scheme which, nowadays, is most oft the protocol HTTPS. I have, however, used ftp:// and gopher:// .

The URL Format

9. Not quite closed: LEFT AJAR. When is a door not a door? When it's AJAR! *rim-shot* 😄

10. Montreal's province: QUEBEC.

11. Eurasian border river: URAL.

12. Memo heading: INRE.

13. Soft "Hey, you!": PSST.

18. E pluribus __: UNUM. Latin.

22. Singer Lambert: ADAM.

24. Laundry whitener: BLEACH.

25. North Dakota city: FARGO.

26. Spend all of: USE UP. No more. It's gone.

27. Rental contract: LEASE.

28. Govt.-issued investments: T-BONDS.

29. Book of maps: ATLAS.

30. Knightley of "Bend It Like Beckham": KEIRA.

Keira Knightley

31. Furry "Star Wars" creatures: EWOKS.

32. Uptight: TENSE.

37. Summons: SENDS FOR.

38. Officially permitted to drive, say: LICENSED.

40. Walking stick: CANE.

43. Big name in milk chocolate: NESTLE.

44. Ultimate: UTMOST.

45. Melt: THAW.

48. South Asian silk dress: SARI.

49. Tucked in for the night: ABED.

50. Barking marine mammal: SEAL.

51. Smack: SLAP.

52. French greeting: ALLO.

53. Song: TUNE.

54. Keep out of sight: HIDE.

55. Tiny particle: ATOM.

58. Mine yield: ORE.


The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: N/A
ESPs: SAMANTHA, KEIRA, ALLO
Fav: SLOW CLAP

Cheers, -T

The turkey just needs to be himSELF. R.I.P. Mitch

Sunday, August 30, 2026 ~ Zhouqin Burnikel

"As PER Usual"

As PER C.C., it's Anon T subbing on this final August Sunday. September starts in two days and the weather will begin cooling off enough to get back to weekend biking and after work pickleball.

C.C. has provided us an Insert Three Letters puzzle that turns normal phrases into a A BIT of whimsy. Let's us play...

23. Bonus for never giving up?: PERSEVERANCE PAY. SEVERANCE PAY - your layoff package. The PERSERVERANCE PAY is what you keep getting to stay w/ the company that just laid off 20% of your team.

39. Big spender?: PRODIGAL PERSON. The parable of the PRODIGAL SON who was a spendthrift PERSON.

58. Device that might buzz during a night out?: SOCIAL BEEPER. A SOCIAL BEE lives in a colony. A BEEPER set to silent mode "buzzes" when it vibrates.

83. Elaborately embroidered falsehoods?: GRAND PERJURY. A GRAND JURY will indict a ham sandwich for PERJURY.

101. Green light for a lunar expedition?: MOON PERMISSION. This is my fav. JFK gave PERMISSION for the MOON MISSION at Houston's Rice University.
 

JFK's Moon Challenge

119. People who pack picnic lunches?: HAMPER OPERATORS. A picnic HAMPER is another name for a picnic basket and a HAM is an amateur radio OPERATOR.

32. Special offers at a body shop?: BUMPER DEALS. A BUM DEAL the car's BUMPER.

46. Gathering for chile lovers?: PEPPER RALLY. A PEP RALLY for PEPPERs.

Across:

1. Draw of a dim sum cart: AROMA.

Yum!

6. Space balls?: ORBS.

Another Mel Brooks Classic

10. "Sesame Street" basics: ABCS. I grew up on Sesame Street #GenX

14. Zipper alternative: SNAPS. Fasteners.

19. Mushroom with a pitted cap: MOREL.

Morel Mushrooms

20. Home of the Nazca Lines: PERU. I first read that as lions and was wondering which NCAA school I was looking for :-)

Nazca Lines

21. Coachella aesthetic: BOHO. I assume slang for bohemian.

22. Fit to eat, to Muslims: HALAL. Even if you're not Muslim, Halal Guys is yummy.

23. [See: Theme]

26. __ acid: AMINO.

27. Part of a play: SCENE. Act I, SCENE I opens with a dark and stormy night.  -Snoopy

28. Fusses over, with "on": DOTES.

29. Some contract negotiators: AGENTS.

30. Nursery arrival: BABY.

33. Win the heart of: ENAMOR.

35. Flight board stats: ETDS. Estimated Time of Departure.

37. Quick meeting?: SESH. Oy! Lazy for session. #KidsTheseDays

38. Actor Simu: LIU.
 

Simu Liu

39. [See: Theme]

42. Recliner part: ARM REST. I kept trying to think if there was a word for the lever on the side of a La-Z-Boy that wasn't, um, lever ;-)

44. Ibiza, por ejemplo: ISLA.

There it is.

45. Like draft beer: ON TAP. Anytime I visit a new town, I ask, "Do you have anything local ON TAP?"

47. Totally stoked: HYPED. ampED also fits.

48. UFO engineers: ETS. Extra Terrestrials fly Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon [né Unidentified Flying Objects].

50. Blue-roofed breakfast chain: IHOP. Née International House of Pancakes.

53. Symbol of resistance: OMEGA. Here's how big a nerd I am; I didn't even think uprisings, but went right to ohm.

56. Tick away: ELAPSE.

58. [See: Theme]

61. Kitchen cover-ups: APRONS. Cloche fits for the singular.

63. Just slightly: ABIT.

65. Disc golf obstacle: TREE.

66. Blueprint deet: SPEC.

67. Spearheaded: LED.

68. Actor Sheridan: TYE.

Tye Sheridan

70. Cause for a blessing: ACHOO. Gesundheit.

72. Key below ~: TAB. Hand up if you didn't even need to look at your keyboard.

74. Legal addendum?: ESE. Ha! Legalese - aka legal jargon.

75. Think piece?: IDEA. Oops, I had op-ed

77. "This Is Us" director Ken: OLIN.

Ken Olin

79. Trade show: EXPO.

81. Spoiled: MARRED.

83. [See: Theme]

86. "Buck-a-shuck" delicacy: OYSTER.

88. "Tropic Thunder" actor Nick: NOLTE. A very funny movie (R-LV) with a surprise in the credits.

Nolte is at 1:05

89. Gooey lump: GLOB.

90. Sock end: TOE.

91. Dining hall offerings: MEALS.

94. Swahili for "lion": SIMBA.

Simba is presented - Lion King

96. Washington Spirit player Morgan: ESME.

99. Mollusk often pan-seared: SCALLOP.

101. [See: Theme]

105. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU. Geaux Tigers!

106. Hip-hop's Salt-N-__: PEPA. Female rappers from the late '80's / early 90's.

109. Loads and loads: A TON.

110. Mean: INTEND.

111. Gave the once-over: EYED.

112. Virtual persona: AVATAR. Mine is a gray-shaded "-T" w/ the word "Anonymous" spelled out in the top crossbar.

114. Nonglossy lipstick option: MATTE. Non-glossy anything is MATTE. Or flat. Or eggshell. Or satin. Or, no, that's it... satin is when it starts getting a sheen. It all has to do with how much light is reflected by the (war) paint.

116. Blissful spots: EDENS.

118. Starbucks size: VENTI. I'm the grump that just asks for a large.

119. [See: Theme]

124. Fizzled out: ENDED.

125. Slushy treat: ICEE.

126. Singer India.__: ARIE.

127. Vibe: TENOR.

128. Great balls of fire: STARS.

129. Fuse together: MELD.

130. Give conditionally: LEND.

131. Canary feed: SEEDS.

Tweety popped his SEEDS

Down:

1. Electric violin hookup: AMP. Having AMP here nixes ampED at 47a.

2. Orange sushi topping: ROE.

Yummers!

3. Hockey great Bobby: ORR.

4. Like a bad breakup: MESSY.

5. Sir __ Guinness: ALEC.

6. Anxiety-reducing feature of some tests: OPEN NOTES.

7. Double-check, in a way: REREAD.

8. Garment once called a corselet-gorge: BRA.

9. Optical effects caused by ice crystals: SUNDOGS. A halo caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sundogs typically appear as a pair of subtly colored patches of light, around 22° to the left and right of the Sun [WikiP].

Sundogs

10. Help in a burglary: ABET.

11. Girl who lost her sheep: BO PEEP.

12. Morally pure: CHASTE.

13. Vegan milk option: SOY. More like soy juice.

14. Deep carpet: SHAG.

15. Tells all: NAMES NAMES. Dirty rat!

16. Dress shape: A-LINE.

17. Trousers: PANTS.

18. Wade clumsily: SLOSH. I remember the joy of sloshing through puddles in my yellow goulashes. I didn't have to clean up the mess :-)

24. Zigs or zags: VEERS.

25. Color similar to salmon: CORAL. Turn in your man card if you can see the difference ;-)

29. Org.: ASSN.

30. Yawn-inducing: BLAH. Not Bore :-(

31. Light as can be: AIRY.

32. [See: Theme]

34. Nintendo virtual personae: MIIS. You create a Mii AVATAR on your Wii.

36. Bit of moisture: DROPLET.

39. Intellectual stickler: PEDANT. Well, actually... :-)

40. Secular: LAIC.

41. Great Plains people: OTOE.

43. Settle elsewhere, casually: RELO. RELOcate.

46. [See: Theme]

49. Nokcha or sencha: TEA.

51. __ fade: haircut with shaved sides: HI TOP.

Hi Top

52. Sculling tool: OAR.

54. Noisy migratory birds: GEESE.

55. Curved: ARCED.

57. Mil. mind game: PSYOP. Psychological Operation. Mess w/ the advisary's head.

58. [Not my error]: SIC.

59. None of the above: OTHER.

60. Smiles brightly: BEAMS.

61. Square up: ALIGN.

62. Pascal of "The Last of Us": PEDRO.

Vote for Pedro

64. Folk instrument: BANJO.

Steve Martin

69. Gracefully refined: ELEGANT. [See: Steve above]

71. Clearasil rival: OXY.

73. Gotham City hero: BATMAN.

76. Power source for a warp drive in "Star Trek": ANTIMATTER.

Spock mentions antimatter at 1:08

78. Offline, online: IRL. In Real Life aka Meat Space.

80. "Away from work" letters: OOO. Out Of Office. Could just be WFH that day #ThursdayCallback

82. Casting need: REEL.

84. Promotional sample: DEMO.

85. Lyft alternative: UBER. Rideshares.

87. "You got that right!": YES INDEED.

90. Take for a spin, perhaps: TEST. Do you scare the dealer a bit when you take a test drive? I want to see what the machine will do on a short on-ramp in Houston traffic :->

92. Come up short: LOSE.

93. Tater: SPUD. The Idaho tuber.

95. Hog with tusks: BOAR.

97. Strike down, biblically: SMITE. Old Testament had a lot of smote folks runnin' around.

98. Corundum, for one: MINERAL.

Corundum

100. Hackathon participant: CODER. Or just a hacker :-)

Defcon 34

102. Pulpy refuse: POMACE. Pomace, pumace, or marc is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit. [WikiP]

103. Molar cover: ENAMEL. Teeth.

104. Enter via cracks: SEEP IN.

106. Covers a lot of ground?: PAVES. Cute.

107. Special occasion: EVENT.

108. Bear in a bamboo forest: PANDA.

111. Lauder of cosmetics: ESTEE.

113. Lends a hand: AIDS. and ABETs?

115. Pranked with Charmin: TPED. Rollin' the trees.

117. D.C. ballplayers: NATS. The Washington Nationals.

119. "That's the guy!": HIM. Who, me?

120. Minecraft block: ORE.

121. Lowest sudoku number: ONE.

122. Casting need: ROD.

Everyone needs ROD Stewart in their movie, no?

123. Soon-to-be alums: SRS. Seniors ready to graduate get the ask for the alumni fund before getting their diploma. #TrueStory

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: Bore -> BLAH, op-ed -> Idea
ESPs: SUNDOGS
Fav: OMEGA's clue

Y'all have a great Sunday!

Cheers, -T

Sunday, July 26, 2026 ~ Zhouqin Burnikel

"9 to 5"

Hi All!
Today we get a letter-substitution puzzle from our very own C.C.. Each themed clue is straight forward but the fill seems a bit of(?).  Let's dig in and see what she has in store.

23. *Command to turn: FACE LIFT. In the Army, it was "LEFT, FACE." //Drill gave the direction first to give us a moment to remember our left from our right :-)

He Flunked Flanks

29. *Recovers somewhat: FEELS BITTER. FEELS BETTER. If you've only somewhat recovered from defeat, you may still feel bitter.

45. *Flourishing: LIVING WILL. LIVING WELL - yeah, I'm doin' alright.

49. *Perform a daring act: BILL THE CAT. The expression "BELL THE CAT" derives from a fable about mice agreeing that putting a bell on the cat is a great idea. The hitch - it's a great idea if someone else is dumb enough to try - so no one does.

Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County's Bill The Cat

70. *Makes explicitly clear: SPILLS OUT. SPELLS OUT. #Snitch :-)

94. *Person who works a lot?: AUTO DIALER. An AUTO DEALER works the car lot a lot.

96. *Ink-filled tool for illustrators: DRAWING PIN. A PEN for DRAWING pictures.

112. *Places to drop envelopes: LITTER BOXES. Put your post in a LETTER BOX.

Letters go here -- dogs, maybe, but not cats.

123. Start of a spelling rule, or a rule to keep in mind while answering the starred clues: I BEFORE E.

I before E except after C (unless it sounds like an A as in neighbor and weigh (unless the word is just weird)).
//I found this silly sentence on Reddit: I before E except when your "foreign neighbor Keith receives eight counterfeit beige sleighs from weird feisty caffeinated weightlifters."
One can always count on the internet for giggles.

Ahem.

I forgot to read the Sunday Title first. As I came upon 29a, I thought, "What's the theme?"
I read "9 to 5" (?) and thought, "I'll title the puzzle 'I Before E.'"
Then I got to 123a, and realized that's where C.C. was already going.  Alas.

But wait, what is 9 to 5? Simple, it's like a substitution cipher. Take the 9th letter of the alphabet and put it where the 5th letter goes. 9 to 5. Cute. But it gets better...

Everything's better w/ Dolly

Across:

1. Do something: ACT.

4. Career fair haul: SWAG.

Cybersecurity SWAG for the bath.

8. Claim forcefully: ASSERT.

14. Insert, as a link: EMBED. I was thinking a chain's LINK b/f an HTML hyperLINK.

19. Prepping period: LEAD TIME. The more lead time, the more you better prepare.

21. Mammals with big calves: WHALES. Ha!

22. Stains with ash: SOOTS.

23. [See: Theme]

24. Winter cap feature: EARLAP. LAP or FLAP? I looked it up: Earlap - A flap connected to headgear to protect the ear from cold or physical harm. From Old English ēarlæppa.

25. Jam: SNARL. Think traffic, not preserves.

26. Clarifying phrase: AS IN. PAT - P as in Pterodactyl, A as in Aisle, and T as in Tsunami. //Thanks RustyB!

27. Too sure of oneself: SMUG. Can you think of a three letter donkey-related word for this trait? I can ;-)

29. [See: Theme]

31. Coup target: ETAT. French: coup is "blow" or "strike" and état is "state."

33. Small camping shelter: PUP TENT. A small triangular shelter fit more for a dog than humans. In the Army, you & a buddy carried half-shelters.

They're pretty small

35. Slowpoke's place: REAR.

36. "Despacito" singer Fonsi: LUIS. A Puerto Rican singer.

39. Part of LAPD: LOS.

40. Nonprofit org. with a school for aspiring moviemakers: AFI. American Film Institute (which named Blazing Saddles the Funniest Film of All Time on Brooks' 100th Birthday //thanks Ray-O!).

42. Infatuated: GAGA. Is Lady GAGA infatuated with herself or ladies?

45. [See: Theme]

49. [See: Theme]

52. Dedicated poem: ODE.

53. Tudyk of "Firefly": ALAN. I've never seen Firefly, but Alan was great in Resident Alien. [TV-MA]

Alan Tudyk

54. Emulate Alysa Liu: ICE SKATE.

Alysa won gold in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic games

56. Bark beetle target: ELM.

57. Fancy-schmancy: POSH. If you get too fancy in our hacker Discord channel, someone will inevitably post this:

Ooh La La

59. Previously: ONCE.

61. Relaxed sigh: AHH.

62. Novel at the center of Bloomsday celebrations: ULYSSES. Bloomsday is a commemoration of James Joyce.

64. Westernmost city in Texas: EL PASO. I did Basic there [Ft. Bliss] in '88... In July!

66. McIntosh or Macintosh: APPLE. Cute - the fruit and computer, respectively.

68. Poison Ivy, to Robin: ENEMY.

She debuted in '66's Batman #181

69. Seasoning for kimchi: SALT.

70. [See: Theme]

72. Insects in a colony: ANTS.

75. Apex predators of the sea: ORCAS.

77. New York City's __ Place: ASTOR. The WikiP.

78. Baseless: UNTRUE. Alternative facts?

80. Vidal of hair care: SASSOON. If you don't look good, we don't look good. #Tagline

83. Vader's childhood nickname: ANI. Star Wars franchise.

84. Southernmost Ivy: PENN.

86. Party leader?: HOST. Ha!

87. Software-driven F/X: CGI. Computer Generated Images create the special effects (F/X).

88. Improviser's concluding phrase: AND SCENE.

Colbert

91. Fat-heavy diet: KETO.

93. "Look what I found!": OHO.

94. [See: Theme]

96. [See: Theme]

99. Org. running many missions: NASA.

100. Snack for a frog: FLY.

101. Of vital importance: KEY.

102. Speak unclearly: SLUR.

103. Ione of "La Brea": SKYE.

Ione Skye

105. Lions and tigers: FELINES.

109. Gets the picture: SEES.

112. [See: Theme]

115. High-five sound: SLAP.

118. Starts to work together: GELS.

120. In flames: AFIRE.

121. Make public: EXPOSE.

123. [See: Theme]

125. Spot of land: ISLET.

126. Lower in fat: LEANER. Opposite of KETO.

127. Trial spin on a bike: TEST RIDE.

128. Parts in a play: ROLES.

129. Daisylike flowers: ASTERS.

A Purple Daisy - Gregor [98d], you have some 'splain' to do.

130. Tuck away: STOW.

131. Telepath's ability: ESP.

Down:

1. __ Romeo: motorsport brand: ALFA.

'86 Alfa Spider

2. Discontinue: CEASE.

3. Implicit: TACIT.

4. Busiest airport in MO: STL. St. Louis, Missouri's Lambert International Airport. When visiting Pop, we'll sometimes opt for STL instead of connecting into SPI through ORD.

5. Nintendo consoles that debuted in 2006: WIIS.

6. Switch on the radio?: AMFM. Amplitude Modulation/Frequency Modulation are methods of imposing information onto a carrier wave.

7. "Rise and shine!": GET UP.

8. Dazzle: AWE.

9. Vertical passages: SHAFTS.

10. Draped wedding garment: SAREE. I looked it up - sari and saree are both acceptable spellings of the same dress.

11. Discovery astronaut Ochoa: ELLEN.

She was the director at JSC, Houston.

12. "I'm gonna be straight with you ... ": REAL TALK.

13. Cough syrup amts.: TSPS.

14. OPI rival: ESSIE. Youngest uses Holo Taco.

Her Starry Night Nails

15. Sequence of film cuts: MONTAGE.

16. Regattas: BOAT RACES.

17. Raison d'__: ETRE.

18. High-end camera initials: DSLR. Digital Single-Lens Reflex.

20. National park north of Anchorage: DENALI. Before and after it was Mt. McKinley.

28. Shorebird with webbed feet: GULL.

30. Easily broken: BRITTLE.

32. Salade niçoise fish: TUNA.

Yummers!

34. __-sci: POLI. Political Science.

37. Nome dome home: IGLOO.

38. Bird with a long neck: SWAN.

41. Display flagrantly: FLAUNT. Should I EMBED [14a] Brooks' The Producers' [2005] Uma? Heck yeah!

43. Destructive wind: GALE.

44. Bank lobby devices: ATMS.

45. Leisurely gait: LOPE.

46. Subjects of fan clubs: IDOLS.

47. "Roman Holiday" scooter: VESPA.

Hepburn & Peck on a Vespa

48. Like some heated posts: IN CAPS. e.g. I'M YELLING AT YOU!!!!

49. Command: BEHEST.

50. "Kinda": ISH.

51. "What's up, bro!": HEY MAN. The opening lyric to...

Suffragette City

55. Reports by hotline: CALLS IN.

58. Head lights?: HALOS.  Cute - a ring of overhead light.

60. Prefix with graph or gram: EPI.

63. Electronica instrument: SYNTH.

Geddy's Steampunk-themed Synth (it's a mini-MOOG underneath)

65. Hybrid thoroughfare with frequent access points: STROAD. A portmanteau of Street and Road. Trying to figure out what stroad means took me down a traffic engineering labyrinth. Google at your own peril.

67. Smoothing tool: PLANER.

68. Shout of discovery: EUREKA.  What Archimedes famously shouted when he realized he could calculate the volume of any shape by putting it in a bath (with rubber duckies, I presume).

70. Open-toed shoe: SANDAL.

71. Alley-__: OOP.

73. Scouting unit: TROOP.

74. Gimbap alternative: SUSHI. Gimbap is Korea's take on sushi. WikiP has the History of the dish.

Looks good (& the fish is cooked :-))

76. Cypress, for one: CONIFER. Needled trees.

78. Up to: UNTIL.

79. Ian Fleming's alma mater: ETON. A POSH school.

80. Glance over: SCAN.

81. Amazon contents: AGUA.

82. Quits fidgeting: SITS STILL. Yeah, not my strong suit. #ADHD

83. Card with a single pip: ACE.

85. Front page material: NEWS.

89. Cunning folks: SLY FOXES.

90. Garden with forbidden fruit: EDEN.

92. Responsibility: ONUS.

95. Home for a squirrel: OAK TREE. Which is, famously, not a conifer.

97. Some deli loaves: RYES. Ok, no!, C.C., you can't get away w/ RYE w/o me mentioning

Ziggy's Reuben

98. Genetics pioneer Mendel: GREGOR. Of crossbreeding pea [and daisies?] fame.

101. Piehole: KISSER. Your maw, yap, trap, mouth.

104. Throws, in slang: YEETS. What the kids say when wanting to forcefully dispose of something. E.g. "Yeet it off the balcony."

106. Kiwi in Kyoto, say: EXPAT. LOL! A New Zealander in Japan.

107. Sierra __, Africa: LEONE.

108. Features of some skirts: SLITS. Where's Splynter when we need him? :-)

110. Quietly unnerving: EERIE.

111. Snow day rides: SLEDS.

112. Dragon's place: LAIR. When I played video games, Dragon's Lair cost $1 whilst the other games were $0.25. Ergo, I only watched arcade buddies blow $$$ just to die at this scene (again).

Dragon's Lair - a LaserDisc "cutscene" video game.

113. "In that case ... ": IF SO.

114. Grammy-winning banjoist Fleck: BELA. Not Steve Martin? Ok, let's hear him.

Bela's Youtube Channel

116. Help out on a heist: ABET.

117. Cozumel coin: PESO.

119. Ooze: SEEP.

122. Workplaces for some RNs: ERS. Some Nurses work the Emergency Room.

124. Texter's "Victory!": FTW. For The Win! we get The Grid.

The Grid

WO: last -> REAR (35a)
ESPs: LUIS, ASTOR, SKYE, SAREE, STROAD
Fav: I really enjoyed the alliteration in IGLOO's clue.

I hope y'all found a LINK or two in the expo for a nifty diversion this Sunday morning.

Cheers, -T