Theme: "Ah, Me!" - Clues are key today, all two words in the pattern of * Me.
23A. "Trust me" : TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. For the first/last theme slot, 15's are easier than 13's to deal with.
39A. "On me" : THIS IS MY TREAT. Heard this a lot in Guangzhou.
71A. "Help me" : HOW ABOUT A HAND?. A middle 13-letter entry is like a middle 7 in a 15*15.
100A. "Tell me" : WHAT'S THE STORY?
118A. "Search me" : I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE. "Beats me" works as well.
16D. "Let me" : I'LL BE GLAD TO DO THAT. Two long 17's in the Down slots today.
33D. "Kiss me" : PLANT ONE RIGHT HERE
I saw no label for Dana Olsen in our blog, so this must be a debut. Congratulations!
This grid is expertly laid out with only 68 black squares, sure feels like it's designed by an old pro.
Across:
Across:
1. Man with memorable thumbs : EBERT (Roger). Straight shooter.
6. Watch displays, briefly : LCDs
10. Indian butter : GHEE. Secret to good naan.
14. Brief concession : I GIVE. The "brief" made me think the answer is an abbr.
19. Opposite of neo- : PALEO
20. Childlike sci-fi race : ELOI
21. __ cloud: distant solar system region : OORT
22. "Amadeus" director Forman : MILOS. Liked the movie. Don't remember the director. Wiki said he also directed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
26. Latvians, e.g. : BALTS
27. Caribbean music genre : SKA
28. Extremely cold : GELID. Not a word I use.
29. Mother in a colony : QUEEN BEE. Nice clue.
31. Accuse of misconduct : IMPEACH
35. Soprano Dame Nellie __ : MELBA
37. Westminster gallery : TATE
38. Condiment for pommes frites : SEL. I was surprised that our foodie Steve never had creamed honey. How about you, Marti/D-Otto/Yellowrocks/Avg. Joe?
43. Classic muscle car : GTO
46. Spring : LEAP. Verb.
48. Match decision : TKO. Boxing match.
49. Bad news from home? : YER OUT. Home plate.
50. Quarterback's call : PLAY
51. Voice of the difficult homeowner in "Up" : ASNER (Ed)
53. __'acte : ENTR
56. What a pump may supply : AIR
57. Small amounts : DRAMS
58. Manchester measurement : METRE
59. __ dream: optimist's philosophy : DARE TO
62. Ogled : LEERED AT
64. Expel : OUST
66. Tennessee team : TITANS
68. Linda's role in "Dynasty" : KRYSTLE. Linda Evans. I forgot. We had her a few months ago.
69. Form 1040 no. : SSN
74. Poetic contraction : O'ER
75. Faculty retirees : EMERITI
77. List in a subsequent printing, perhaps : ERRATA
78. Auctioneer's word : SOLD
80. Dixie bread : CORN PONE. I just call it "corn bread".
82. Themes : TOPICS
84. New York governor Andrew : CUOMO
87. Opera highlights : ARIAS
88. Clumsy sort : OAF
90. Three-time speed skating gold medalist Karin : ENKE. No idea.
91. Passed, as a bad check : KITED
92. Students' goals: Abbr. : DEGs (Degrees)
93. Vote out : UNSEAT
96. __ Jima : IWO
98. Edible herring : SHAD
99. Sturdy wood : ASH
104. Is for you? : ARE. I got it immediately.
105. Chamber music piece : TRIO
107. Greet warmly : SEE IN. As I mentioned to Husker Gary, we live in a ghetto area. I seldom open our door. It looks like the drug guy is moving away, so that's good news.
108. Jordan, for one : NBA STAR
110. Goes over again : REHASHES
114. Davis of "Dr. Dolittle" : OSSIE
116. Bit of chat room shorthand : IMO
117. Beth preceder : ALEPH. First Hebrew letter.
124. Nobelist Curie : MARIE
125. Line at the dock : ROPE
126. ER tests : ECGs
127. Like a wolfman : HAIRY
128. Transports using runners : SLEDS. Nice clue also.
129. Fancy pitcher : EWER
130. Actor John __-Davies : RHYS. Wiki said "He is perhaps best known for playing the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy". Another unknown figure to me.
131. Kate's TV roomie : ALLIE. Quite a few names in this puzzle.
Down:
1. Skillful, kiddingly : EPT
2. Farm cry : BAA
3. The Hartford logo : ELK
4. Candy company mogul Harry : REESE
5. Suri's parents, in entertainment media : TOMKAT. Happy times. Now North West's parents are everywhere.
6. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace : LEW
7. Tub trouble : CLOG
8. "The Sound of Music" song : DO-RE-MI
9. Edges furtively : SIDLES
10. Parting word : GOODBYE
11. Old TV knob abbr. : HOR
12. La Salle of "ER" : ERIQ
13. Words to Brutus : ET TU. And 18. Being, to Brutus : ESSE
14. "What a loooong day!" : I'M BEAT
15. Really big : GIANT
17. Formal choice : VOTE
24. America's Cup entry : YACHT
25. Obscured by haze : FILMY
30. Louisiane, par exemple : ETAT
31. Mullah's faith : ISLAM. Liked what PK/Jayce said yesterday. That part of the world is a circle we can't square.
32. Reagan's second attorney general : MEESE (Ed). And 42. Reagan's alma mater : EUREKA
34. Followed a trail, say : HIKED
36. Gillette razor : ATRA
40. Piano composition : SONATA
41. Stir up : ROIL
44. Cantina fare : TAMALE. I see this at Trader Joe's. You don't put cheese in your tamales, Lucina, do you?
45. Raw bar item : OYSTER
47. Machu Picchu locale : PERU
50. Corp. exec : PRES
52. Sends again : RE-SHIPS
54. Erie or Huron : TRIBE
55. Comeback : RETORT
57. Marine maintenance site : DRY DOCK. Not a familiar term to me.
60. Bull: Pref. : TAURO
61. Like many home movies : ON TAPE
63. Seashore fliers : ERNS
65. Miss Gulch's bugbear : TOTO
67. Participated temporarily : SAT IN
70. Campfire snacks : S'MORES
72. Johnny's "Edward Scissorhands" co-star : WINONA (Ryder)
73. Cope : HACK IT
76. Genetic strands : RNAs
79. Baseball Hall of Famer Aparicio : LUIS. We pulled an autographed Luis Aparicio card a few years ago.
81. Word with Side or End : EAST
83. Affix, as a button : SEW ON
85. Anne of comedy : MEARA
86. Harder to account for : ODDER. D-Otto, in Mandarin, Yangtze is "Chang Jiang". Chang = Long, Jiang = River. So "Long River". People from Guangzhou/Hong Kong/Macao where Cantonese is spoken will know Yangtze.
89. Spill, with "up" : FESS
93. "Oops" : UH OH
94. Enjoyed a friend's mom's cooking : ATE OVER. Yellowrocks, can you share your recipe for the Green Beans Amandine?
95. "__ Dreams": 1986 #1 hit : THESE. Never heard of it.
97. Once around : ORBIT
100. They may be made after coin tosses : WISHES
101. Former Disney exec : EISNER (Michael)
102. Tell : SNITCH
103. Big name in pianos : YAMAHA
106. Expeditious : RAPID
109. L.A.'s region : SOCAL
110. Smacks into : RAMS
111. Flier to Ben Gurion : EL AL
112. Sinn Fein's land : EIRE. I always associated Sinn Fein with IRA.
113. Production : SHOW
115. Like French toast : EGGY
119. Barbary __ : APE
120. Covert WWII gp. : OSS (Office of Strategic Services). Now CIA.
121. Rapper __ Kim : LIL
122. Sch. with a Narragansett Bay campus : URI
123. Storm feature : EYE
C.C.
