Theme: - "Dual Personalities" - Each noun phrase is punnily re-interpreted as if it's the surname combo of two famous people.
23A. Builder hired by Sharon and James? : STONEMASON. Sharon Stone. James Mason.
25A. Tender reminiscence for Donna and Courtney? : SUMMER LOVE. Donna Summer. Courtney Love.
36A. European destination for James and Jill? : GALWAY, IRELAND. James Galway. Jill Ireland.
56A. Play area for Lucille and Sally? : BALL FIELD. Lucille Ball. Sally Field.
58A. Favorite island for Eva Marie and Ricky? : SAINT MARTIN. Eva Marie Saint. Ricky Martin.
75A. Brand for Carrie and Vincent? : FISHER PRICE. Carrie Fisher. Vincent Price.
77A. Roadside accumulations for Hank and Tyra? : SNOW BANKS. Hank Snow. Tyra Banks. Noticed there are two plural theme entries? Rich does not like odd man out.
91A. Vacation for Billie and Tom? : HOLIDAY CRUISE. Billie Holiday. Tom Cruise.
111A. Financial strategy for Martin and Soupy? : SHORT SALES. Martin Short. Soupy Sales. Too bad MARTIN is also in the answer for 58A. Is there other famous SHORT?
113A. Book for Ellen and Ted? : PAGE TURNER. Ellen Page. Ted Turner.
Another fantastic debut. I think this professor might be our Anton Shurpik.
Heavy
themage. Total 106 squares, which does not leave room for long fill.
Only two 8-letter non-theme entries. But the grid is solidly built &
filled. No weird words/names.
I still don't get the AULD clue (38D. Nae like a bairn). How can "Nae" be old? (Edited later: Got it. Thanks, everyone. I did not know know "Nae" can mean "Not" as well.)
Across:
1. Homer, usually : BLAST. I love easy upper left corner.
6. Dermatologist's concern : WART
10. Short copy? : REPRO. Got me.
15. Considerable account : SAGA. I read it as "Considerable amount".
19. Home with a view : AERIE. Fun clue.
20. One-on-one sport : EPEE
21. Zebra genus : EQUUS. Rare Double U.
22. Passing remarks? : OBIT. Nailed it of course.
27. Aquiline facial features : HOOK NOSES. Same as Roman noses, right?
28. Imprint : STAMP
29. Helpers : AIDES
30. Having both oars in the water : SANE. New saying to me. All crosses.
31. Sneaky guy? : PETE. And 6D. Sneaky one : WEASEL
32. Clarifying Latin phrase : ID EST
33. Friend of Frodo : SAM. Here they are.
42. Some chalcedonies : AGATES
44. Offended : HURT
45. Spanish article : LOS
46. "Wow!" : BOY!
49. "Brava!" elicitor : ARIA. My favorite Aria. I think of Steve every time I walk by the hotel, which has a nice Greek restaurant he likes.
50. Chisels, e.g. : TOOLS
52. Rap sheet listing : PRIOR
55. Roof edge : EAVE
60. It could be a lot : ACRE. I've come such a long way in crossword solving. This would stump me a few years ago.
61. Television news staples : CLIPS
62. Lacking : ABSENT
63. Winter air : CAROL
67. Good ones have straight faces : LIARS. Got via crosses. I did think of poker faces, but not LIARS.
68. Flummoxed : AT SEA
69. Melodious : ARIOSE. And 101. Melody : TUNE
71. Sailing vessels : BARKS. Plural, so no BARGE.
72. Peak in Thessaly : OSSA. Also, 89. It's about 200 mi. S of Vesuvius : MT ETNA. Gimmes for veteran solvers.
82. Shoe widths : EEES. And 9D. Shoe length : TEN
83. Blood line : AORTA
84. Pens and needles : STYLI
85. __-down: post-exercise activity : COOL
86. 35mm camera option : SLR
87. Sporty Pontiac : GTO
88. "Charles in Charge" star Scott : BAIO
96. __ roll : EGG. Good egg rolls always have taro root as an ingredient.
97. Cut partner : PASTE. Cut and paste.
102. Ammunition storage site : DUMP. New meaning to me.
104. Follow, as advice : ACT ON
105. Ruth chaser of 1961 : MARIS (Roger). #9. I loved the movie 61*.
106. Landing areas for some fliers : HELIPORTS
114. Spot on a board : SEAT
115. Für whom Beethoven wrote his "Bagatelle in A Minor" : ELISE. What else goes with Für?
116. Norse thunder god : THOR
117. Vaquero's need : REATA
118. To be, in old Rome : ESSE
119. Part of a calm-ocean simile : GLASS. I know "smooth as glass", not the calm ocean connection. Makes sense.
120. Cheek : SASS
121. Onagers, e.g. : ASSES. Onager is Asian wild ass.
Down:
1. Big party : BASH
2. Mother of Apollo and Artemis : LETO
3. Buck's rear? : AROO. Buckaroo. Or EROO.
4. Scuttles : SINKS
5. Adolescent : TEENAGE. Still remember Teenage Dream? Can't believe it's been five years.
7. Vaulted recess : APSE
8. Classic autos : REOs
10. One on a break : RESTER. Every Sunday puzzle has a few wobbly fill.
11. More than liken : EQUATE
12. Beat soundly : PUMMEL
13. Butcher's cut : RUMP
14. Verb ending : OSE. Verbose. Not IZE.
15. Dependable : SOLID
16. Domicile : ABODE
17. Yields to pressure : GIVES
18. Nuke trial : A-TEST
24. Like some vows : MONASTIC
26. Evidence may be seized during them : RAIDS. I was in quite a few.
28. Rotisserie component : SPIT
33. Automaker that filed for bankruptcy in 2011 : SAAB
34. Indian tourist city : AGRA. Marc Maron raved about a pumpkin curry dish he had in London. I just could not get into curry.
35. Send : MAIL
37. __ milk : WHOLE. Time for steaming hot soy milk in the morning.
39. Jr. and sr. : YRS
40. Quite often : A LOT
41. Old-time actress Shearer : NORMA
43. Youngest world chess champion before Kasparov : TAL. Three-letter chess answer is always TAL.
46. "America the Beautiful" lyricist Katharine Lee __ : BATES. All crosses.
47. Like Bo-Peep's charges : OVINE
48. Busybody : YENTA
51. Anthem preposition : O'ER
52. Event in a rink : PAIRS. All crosses. I did not expect a S ending answer.
53. Saws with the grain : RIPS
54. Connections : INs
55. In the past, in the past : ERST
57. Bogus : FALSE
58. Satisfy : SLAKE
59. Rhyme scheme for Frost's "The Road Not Taken" : ABAAB. All crosses.
61. Approximately : CIRCA
63. Trysting places, perhaps : CAFES. Or BARS. Steve Kroft knows it well.
64. Prospero's servant : ARIEL
65. Staircase part : RISER
66. Sounds of amazement : OOHS
67. French dairy product : LAIT. I bought some fresh dates on Friday. Should I wait until they're red
to eat? They taste very different from the fresh red dates I had in
Paris.
70. Poetic Muse : ERATO
71. Cold response : BRR
72. "I've Got a Crush __" : ON YOU. My teenage dream.
73. La preceder : SOL
74. Summer clothing catalog item : SWIMSUIT. And 76. Summer cooler : POOL
77. Place up the river? : STIR
78. Big club : ACE. I had A?E, and thought of AXE first.
79. Mark down : NOTE
80. Big ape : KONG
81. Smelting waste : SLAG
84. Fluid-containing pouch : SAC
87. Belgian port city : GHENT. Nailed it.
88. Common call enders : BYEs
90. Deep-fried Japanese dish : TEMPURA. So tasty.
92. Napoli's home : ITALIA
93. Browbeating : DURESS
94. Absinthe flavorings : ANISES
95. Time killers : IDLERS
97. No longer stylish : PASSE. That's our bags in early 1980s. The five red characters say "Serve the People".
98. Flu symptoms : ACHES
99. Protective Greek structures : STOAS
100. Sacher dessert : TORTE. Lucky Marti!
103. Looks carefully (over) : PORES
105. Strip __ : MALL
106. Droll acknowledgment of a weak joke : HA HA
107. Group therapy challenges : EGOS
108. Genetic strands : RNAS
109. Rodin's thinker? : TETE. Gimme.
110. Mmes., in Málaga : SRAS
112. Circ. part : SEG
113. Liq. units : PTS. The last row in crossword grids are often S-heavy.
C.C.
