Thursday, December 25, 2014 John Lieb

Theme: "Santa's Helpers"

Merry Christmas, everyone! This was a very fun puzzle, hiding Santa's little helpers in the grid.

18. Eponymous Detroit exec : EDSEL FORD.

19. Speaks for __ : ITSELF.

31. Keebler cookie brand : E.L. FUDGE.

32. "Go right ahead" : FEEL FREE. Help yourself to another E.L. FUDGE cookie, Santa!

54. Actress Jenna et al. : ELFMANS. I remember her from "Dharma & Greg."

55. Third quarters? : TWELFTHS. 1 quarter is a quarter, 2 quarters are eighths, and 3 quarters are twelfths?

36. Seasonal children's book about a watchful worker, who is graphically represented eight times in this puzzle : THE ELF ON THE SHELF. The book comes with a posable elf.

Unusual grid, with 16 columns instead of the typical 15.  And unusual theme, but really cute with all those ELFs posing on their 3-black-square-shelves! (See diagram at the bottom.) I found this one to be Friday-tough in certain sections. I'm curious to see if you had the same problems I did, so let's go over them one by one: 

Across

1. Resting places : CAMP SITES. Not sure how the two are necessarily related, but perps forced me.

10. Port south of Hamilton, Ont. : ERIE, PA. Shout out to Abejo!

16. Approximately : ON OR ABOUT.

17. One in a shower : METEOR. Great clue. I was picturing something like this.

20. "Gnarly!" : RAD.

21. Lean-__ : TOs. In your resting place?

22. Bit of baby talk : GOO.

23. Vine genus : CLEMATIS. A couple perps gave me this one - I grow them every summer on a trellis in my garden.

27. Gains : PROFITS.

33. Star Wars letters : SDI. Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative.

34. Author Fleming : IAN.

35. Swiss river : AAR.

43. Feminine principle : YIN. Male is Yang.

44. Guitar, slangily : AXE. This took three perps. But the ELF nailed it, I bet.

45. __ green : PEA.

46. Dives : PLUMMETS.

50. Gives a hand : DEALS TO.

56. '80s Peppard co-star : MR. T. On "The A-Team."

57. Pres. after JAG : CAA. James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.

58. Canada's smallest prov. : P.E.I. Prince Edward Island.

59. 1962 Best Picture title locale : ARABIA. Lawrence of.

62. Refuel, as red blood cells : OXYGENATE. I filled it in immediately.

66. House speaker before Boehner : PELOSI. She, on the other hand, took a couple perps.

67. House flipper, e.g. : RENOVATOR. The ELF did a Mickey Mouse job on his kitchen reno.

68. 2002 eBay acquisition : PAYPAL.

69. False claims : PRETENSES.


Down

1. Pressure : COERCE.

2. Still __: nonetheless : AND ALL.

3. Rapper who played Chuck Berry in "Cadillac Records" : MOS DEF.

4. Calculus lead-in : PRE.

5. Pitcher Maglie : SAL.

6. Pugilists' org. : IBF. International Boxing Federation. Of course, the ELF nailed it.

7. Schoolmate of Blair, Jo and Natalie on "The Facts of Life" : TOOTIE. The brace-wearing, roller-skating girl who always said "We're in trouuuu-ble!"

8. Barcelona bread : EUROS. So much easier to remember the currency of all the European countries now, isn't it?

9. Criteria: Abbr. : STDS. Standards.

10. Ellis Island arrival : ÉMIGRÉ.

11. Update the workshop : RETOOL. Santa promised that next year, the ELF would actually get some power tools.

12. Cancellation notice : ITS OFF.

13. Big shoes to fill? : EEE.

14. Beltway insider, for short : POL. The Capital Beltway in Washington, D.C., that is.

15. Sound from the pound : ARF.

24. Deliberate : MUSE. The verb, not the adjective.

25. Extra: Abbr. : ADD'L.

26. "I've waited all week for this!" : TGIF. My regular comment every Friday.

27. Phnom __ : PENH.

28. Requiem title word : IRAE. "Dies Irae," or "Day of Wrath."

29. Blue-green shade : TEAL.

30. Medieval peon : SERF. I kept reading this as "Medieval POEM."

32. The way it goes : FATE.

34. "New Sensation" band : INXS. I always used to pronounce this as "inks," until I found out it should be "In ex-ESS."

36. Kind : TYPE.

37. Incline : HILL.

38. Ample, informally : ENUF. Have you had ENUF with the ELF, already?

39. Feed in a stable : OATS.

40. Sport with blades : EPEE.

41. Elite commando : SEAL. Acronym for SEa, Air and Land.

42. Word with mile or marathon : HALF.

47. 1997 Hanson #1 hit : MMMBOP. Never heard this one. It reached #1 in 27 countries, including the US.

48. Tomei of "My Cousin Vinny" : MARISA. Ah, MARISA, good to see you back!

49. Require : ENTAIL.

50. Wrestler Johnson known as "The Rock" : DWAYNE.

51. March observance, for short : ST. PATS.

52. Hall of Fame placekicker Lou Groza's apt nickname : THE TOE. I totally forgot this one.

53. Basketry twigs : OSIERS.

55. One imposing levies : TAXER.

57. Inc. cousin : CORP.

59. Online store offering : APP.

60. Stephen of "In Dreams" : REA.

61. Prince __ Khan : ALY.

63. Grasped : GOT.

64. Christmas __ : EVE. Bad ELF!  You get coal in your stocking this year.

65. Indian flatbread : NAN.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good...morning?

Marti Elf

Notes from C.C.:

1) Please click here for a special "Gift Exchange" puzzle from Erik Agard, who made two of my favorite LA Times Monday puzzles last year. Quite a few bloggers, crossword constructors, top solvers contributed to the clues. 

2) Happy Birthday to our always positive and caring Yellowrocks (Kathy). Hope you have a fantastic visit with your son, grandson and daughter-in-law today. We also say Happy Birthday to our math professor Fermatprime, who's been with the blog since 2009. Happy Birthday also to car expert Zcarguy, who pops in to the blog from time to time. I faintly recall Zcarguy grew up in Lebanon. 

 

Kathy & Buddha, Japan, 2008. Kathy speaks Japanese.

 

Fermatprime (Lorraine)

Zcarguy & his wife

Saturday, Dec 20th, 2014, John Lieb

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,J,Q,X,Y,Z)

Blocks: 29

  We have seen John before, this year, and I thought I was going to sail to a quick finish - I was racing through some of the long fill - but then the NE did me in for too long....oh well.  Oh, and I was totally off-point in a minor area of the SE, too.  Long line of unused letters today, but we have had seven on a Saturday.  Triple 9-letter across corners, triple 8-letter downs, and two 12-letter spanners;

32. 1970 Top 40 song with the lyric "And I'm lucky that you're mine" : RUBBER DUCKIE - I think I've heard it - link away~!

38. Nickname for the NFL draft's last pick : Mr. IRRELEVANT - half perps, half educated guess - but it makes sense; the Wiki

ACROSS:

1. Go figure? : DO THE MATH - I have been looking for funny T-shirts for Christmas - I liked this one

10. Scented candle option : LILAC - Once I filled AVE MARIA, and WAGed CAROUSED, the ---AC made me realize this was not "TAPER"

15. One may become an exurb : RURAL AREA

16. Carew's Twins roommate : OLIVA - Oh, I know C.C. nailed this one~!

C.C. & Tony Oliva

17. Monopoly duo : UTILITIES - I started putting in RAILROADS, which fit - but there's FOUR of those.  Duh. 

18. Inspiration for some Yahtzee categories : POKER - Had it, took it out, ended up trying it again

19. Reasons for handshakes : DEALS

20. Large volume : TOME

22. Alt-rock subgenre : EMO

23. Material for Caesar : GAGS - Ah, Sid Caesar

24. Russian crepes : BLINI

26. Egyptian __: cat breed : MAU - once I saw it, the V-8 can flew

27. Warm time for Nancy? : ETE - Is Nancy Frawnche~? I guess....

28. Nursery nourishment : LOAM - Good WAG on my part - I was in that nursery, not the kiddies

29. Slinky ad feature : STAIRS - oh, THAT Slinky - you know my mind was here - and see, Nancy is American, I'm sure

34. Restraining device : MANACLE

37. Numskull : AIRHEAD

40. High regard : ESTEEM

41. Alice's workplace : MEL'S - the Alice of TV fame

42. 1956 milestone for Ford: Abbr. : IPO - I put in LBO - which is, um, totally wrong

45. __ anglais: English horn : COR

46. Actor Ken and others : OLINS

48. Hitch : TOUR - the 'meh' clue for the day

49. Its Batman version contains a Joker : UNO

50. Like some annoying blog posts: Abbr. : ANON - let's see who pops in today~!

51. Coming-out party? : BELLE - har-har

52. Quality of a good math proof : RIGOR - still no algebra

54. Zen-like "Caddyshack" mantra : BE THE BALL - I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of this movie

57. Grenoble's river : ISERE

58. Hoops matchups : ONE-ON-ONES - basketball, not earrings

59. Former lab heaters : ETNAS - outdone by Bunsen

60. Like many lotteries : STATEWIDE

DOWN:   

1. Lowly worker : DRUDGE

2. Best in a mess : OUT-EAT - I had OUT--T, and this just wouldn't come to me

3. ER protocol : TRIAGE

4. "Vapor Action" brand : HALLS

5. 2013 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey champs : ELIs - another WAG

6. Place to wrestle : MAT

7. George W.'s first press secretary : ARI - perps

8. Driver's appointment? : TEE TIME - nailed it

9. Sports : HAS ON - I had the "---ON" part, so no misdirection for me

10. Make big strides : LOPE

11. U.N. workers' gp. : ILO

12. 2002 Lil' Bow Wow film : LIKE MIKE - I had '--KE--KE', and a vague recollection crept into my mind - IMDb

13. Prayer sung by Desdemona in "Otello" : AVE MARIA

14. Carried on : CAROUSED

21. Makes bad calls? : MIS-DIALS

24. Hall of Fame pitcher who managed the Yankees to a 1978 title : BOB LEMON - more baseball for C.C.

25. Tag : LABEL

28. Ill-gotten loot : LUCRE

30. Chances : TURNS

31. Vier times zwei : ACHT - German 4 X 2 = 8 - still no algebra

32. Special : RARE

33. Poetic rapper : RAVEN - ah, that kind of rapper - as on a door....

34. Only woman with two Nobel prizes, formally : Mme CURIE - Oddly, I filled this in with only the -CU- in place; and she WAS French, technically - the Wiki

35. Insurance fraud perpetrator, perhaps : ARSONIST

36. Ammonia component : NITROGEN

39. Distinguished : EMINENT - I think the "arsonist" clue made me read this as "extinguished" first

42. Historic island palace : IOLANI - I'm a big fan of Hawaii Five-O, both the old and the new - some trivia, including the palace

43. __ pork : PULLED - I, um, had BALLed pork to start - my palace was LElani, and, well, cut me some slack - it's been a long month

44. Uncreative threat : OR ELSE

47. Latin rock group Los __ : LOBOS

48. First sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy : TEBOW

50. "Iliad" war god : ARES

51. Factor opening : BENE - benefactor

53. Mouths, anatomically : ORA

55. See 56-Down : TEA - circumferential, I got all the letters via perps

56. With 55-Down, sore throat soother : HOT

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 12th, 2014, John Lieb

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,Q,X)

Blocks: 27

     This would be a second LAT solo puzzle from Mr. Lieb, who had a Sunday back in 2012, right after C.C.'s B-day.  The last puzzle we saw from John was a duo with David Quarfoot this past Thanksgiving.  Today's offering got done only with a huge number of W.A.G.s on my part, and there was quite a few names dropped, and some 'strange' fill, too.  Triple 9's and 8's in the corners, with two 12-letter spanners;

39a. Emma Frost portrayer in "X-Men: First Class" : JANUARY JONES - and a proper name

31. One of the moveable feasts : EASTER SUNDAY - Timely - and we just had a moveable feasts puzzle

oooooonnnnnnwwwwwaaaarrrrrddd~~~~~!!!!

ACROSS:

1. Extremely lame, in slang : WEAK SAUCE - new phrase to me; my last fills in the grid were the "S" and "U" - starting off with a 'strange' fill....

10. "The Zoo Story" dramatist : ALBEE - and continuing with a proper name

15. One with breaking news : ANCHORMAN

16. Conger cousin : MORAY - Eels

17. African kingdom : SWAZILAND - Africa #1

18. Lite-__: classic Hasbro toy : BRITE - some of these Lite-Brite works of art are over the top; WARNING~!; some racy content

19. 3 part? : ARC - when you write the number '3', it has two arcs

20. Do followers : RE MI - musical D'oh~!, not a hair "do"

21. Ad lib : WING IT

22. Scott who played the lead in 1976's "Bugsy Malone" : BAIO - proper name

24. Maintain the status quo : SIT PAT

26. Cádiz cycle : ANO - one year, and a semi-clecho @ 60a. Month abroad : ENERO - technically, the second "January" in the puzzle

27. Old Colgate competitor : IPANA - 5 letters, and an old toothpaste? 

29. Spam producer : 'BOT - computer spam; Hormel makes the meat kind

30. "Splendor in the Grass" screenwriter : INGE - proper name

35. Mitty creator : THURBER - proper name

38. As you like it : TO TASTE

 

41. Backwoods possessive : HIS'N - and HERS'N~!!?!?

42. Letters before P, perhaps : V.S.O. - found on Cognac, Very Superior Old Pale

43. State tree of Texas : PECAN - leaming moment; nailed it, D-otto?

47. Sch. where chapel service attendance is mandatory : ORU - Oral Roberts Univeristy

48. Silk-spraying movie monster : MOTHRA - ah, used to love those Saturday afternoon monster movies

51. It only makes sense when it's broken : CODE - "It only makes cents when broken" is a dollar

52. Oil sources : OLIVES

54. Wine quality : NOSE

56. Collection to burn : CDs - Dah~!  Fooled me

57. High fliers : KITES

58. Traumatic expression : ACTING OUT

61. Klondike product with a shell : CHOCO-TACO

62. V-shaped fortification : REDAN - The Wiki; I should have known this; I am a huge castle lover - I get a calendar every year....

63. Postgame finger-pointer : SORE LOSER

DOWN:

1. Hot stuff : WASABI - The "I" from IPANA was in the odd, last position here, but then the light bulb shown brightly

2. Swaddle : ENWRAP

3. Mimosa family member : ACACIA

4. AM radio abbr. : kHz - the Frequency at which Amplitude Modulated radio broadcasts (as in your car) is between 535-1605 kilohertz

5. Liszt's "Harmonies du __" : SOIR

6. City on the Rhone : ARLES - anyone else try "ESSEN" first? ( I just checked; it's on the Ruhr )

7. One of the five basic taste sensations : UMAMI - another 'strange' one; the Wiki; from the Japanese, for "delicious taste"

8. "Am I seeing things?" : "CAN IT BE?"

9. Intention : END - Dah~! Not AIM

10. Extent : AMBIT

11. Bereft, old-style : LORN

12. Outlaws : BRIGANDs

13. Causing agita : EATING AT

14. Good way of seeing : EYE-TO-EYE

21. Nicklaus rival : WATSON - Jack and Tom, two respected golfers - and proper names

23. Kind of lead a closer often has to protect : ONE RUN - so baseball has arrived for 2014; I am keyed up for the Stanley Cup playoffs in hockey now

25. __-Novo: Benin's capital : PORTO - Africa #2

28. "Rubáiyát" rhyme scheme : A A B A - more 'strange'

30. "Soon" : "IN A SEC~!"

32. Electronic control mechanisms, briefly : SERVOS

33. Tabloid scoop : TRYST

34. Sun Bowl Stadium coll. team : UTEP - More Texas; University at El Paso

35. '80s Shatner cop show : T. J. HOOKER - never watched it; still think he's "Captain Kirk"

36. Mr. Clean's lack : HAIRLINE - well, I knew it was HAIR something, or something HAIR

37. Not appropriate : UNSUITED

40. He played Harold in "Harold & Kumar" films : JOHN CHO - proper name

44. Winter warmers : COCOAs

45. Cite as proof : ADDUCE

46. Counselor at Troy : NESTOR - proper name

48. Elementary particle : MESON - too complicated when I checked the Wiki

49. Centrifuge component : ROTOR

50. "Cold __": 1977 hit for Foreigner : AS ICE - Run, Tin, Run~!

53. First name in fashion : VERA - Wang, proper name

55. Hydroxyl compound : ENOL

58. Short coolers? : ACs - Air Conditioners; around here, it's mostly "A/C", but I have heard some people call it "AirCon"

59. Pontiac co-designed by John DeLorean : GTO

Splynter

Saturday, Nov 23rd, 2013, John Lieb & David Quarfoot

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing F,J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 29

     Started out really well, but this one crushed me and good - nothing really difficult word-wise, but the cluing was so vague that red-letters came up early, and even that wasn't good enough. John Lieb has appeared here before; C.C. mentioned David Quarfoot as one of the top themeless constructors. 

John Lieb

David Quarfoot

Pinwheel grid design of 9-letter and 8-letter corners, and nothing longer.  No spanners, and as discussed before, when you get a 15-letter answer, it usually opens the puzzle up a bit.  Some answers of note;

1. Holiday portmanteau : TURDUCKEN - The combination of a turkey, duck and chicken, one stuffed inside the other - have to say I have not tried this dish yet....

13. Kyoto-based entertainment company : NINTENDO - They make the Wii console, too - I tried the golf, and it just frustrated me; bowling was more enjoyable

35. Minor obstacle? : BABY GATE - Oh, so good~! Took a long time for anything in the south to take shape for me....now, if I can just work this thingy here, and then slide that over there....

63. Stud revelations : HOLE CARDS - Poker; oh, THAT kind of stud; it annoys me when I get into a mindset, then stay trapped inside - I was thinking 2x4 framing lumber and males the whole time.  Hole Cards are the two you're ( usually ) dealt face down to start a hand

$F%X&#ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

10. Turned up : ON END - ugh, that kind of turned "up"

15. Hoops situation involving a bonus free throw : ONE AND ONE - Basketball, when a player is fouled (?) - not my game

16. Odds, essentially : RATIO

17. Tennessee's state reptile : BOX TURTLE - Aww

18. Pointless : INANE

19. Mental health org. : APA - well, I figured it was an "A - A" group, the "P" is for Psychological, and here's a music link

20. Longest-serving Dodger coach Manny : MOTA - echo (echo)(echo) "...now batting - Manny (Manny)(Manny) Mota (Mota)(Mota)

21. Puts forth : POSITS

22. Bucks : GELT - Money slang

24. Like some sins : MORTAL - Yay~! I got one~!

26. Holiday serving : LEG - Oh so vague....I can think of a better clue for this;

27. Dental crown alternative : ONLAY

29. People magazine Sexiest Man Alive of 1999 : GERE - I started with gOre - Um, that's not right

30. Harmonia's daughter, in Greek myth : INO

31. Vituperate : CURSE AT

34. Menu option : UNDO - Just had this - SEND, EDIT, VIEW, FILE, etc

35. Program, perhaps : BOOKLET

38. Chaac, to Mayans : RAIN GOD -various spellings

40. Looking frightened : ASHY

41. Pretend, in a way : LIP SYNC

43. NCAA year-end games system : BCS - Bowl Championship Series - the Wiki; My buddy Mike is in Philly this weekend, I worked too late to go; next weekend he starts a whirlwind tour of the East Coast NFL and college games to promote his new "Quarterback Touchdown" game

44. Word with sugar or spice : MILL - Sugar Mill, Spice Mill - took forever to see this; again, I got stuck on Spice GIRL, and Sugar PILL

45. Put in : ELECT - Ugh, that kind of  "PUT"

49. Slangy agreement : YAH - Yea, Yep, just keep at it

50. Common hand span : OCTAVE - I am bruised on the forehead from the V-8 can; the hand can span the keys of a keyboard, which is an octave ( 13 keys )

53. Catch in pots : EELS - DAR~! Seen it before, couldn't remember

54. Receives : GREETS

56. Shakespearean "over there" : YONDer - Poetic

58. Go on : YAK

59. Doddering : ANILE - SEnile, yes, Anile, no.  Denile is not just a river in Egypt

60. Cut : EDITED OUT

62. Sign of emptiness : TO LET - as in apartments for rent; the one at mom's house has finally been filled, and the guy seems OK - let's see what happens Dec 1

64. Toponymic dairy items : EDAMS - toponymic meaning name derived from a place; in this case, the Dutch cheese

65. Summer TV offering with a "Jaws of Steel Collection" DVD : SHARK WEEK - I am pleased to say this one did actually come to me, sort of a logical educated WAG; I do not care for the show; not a big fan of sharks - they are cool, but I like

DOWN:

1. Lesser Antilles island : TOBAGO

2. Sealed : UNOPEN - meh

3. Old drugstore chain : REXALL - I tried READES, and it got me part-way there

4. "Can't Help Lovin' __ Man" : DAT

5. Word on a bill : UNUM - E Pluribus Unum - Latin; 'One from Many'

6. Storage medium : CD-ROM

7. Actor Yaphet __ of "Midnight Run" : KOTTO - also Parker in Alien (on the right in the image) - what was the cat's name?  Anyone?

8. Swell : ENLARGE - I started with ENGORGE - say, where's my mind?

9. Formerly : NEE

10. Yankee foe : ORIOLE - baseball for C.C.

11. Some flatbreads : NANS

12. Selling using servers : ETAILING - "E" word; online shopping, and Cyber Monday happens to be "BLACK MONDAY" at UPS

14. Acts altruistically : DOES GOOD

21. Bash, affectedly : "PAR-TAY~!"

23. Tasteless : TACKY - like the preceeding answer?

25. Rushes : TEARS - tAres, not tEErs

28. Co-star of Steve in "The Magnificent Seven" : YUL

32. They may be dug up : RELICS - had it in, took it out, put it back in

33. Circus elevator : STILT - D-oh~!  Took W-A-A-A-A-Y too long to get

34. Godfather, sometimes : UNCLE

36. Academy affirmation : OSCAR NOD - great clue/answer

37. 1985 #1 hit for Ready for the World : OH SHEILA - I grew up with the song, but didn't recall the artist's name

39. Like Vivaldi's "Spring" : IN E - put in the "IN" and wait....

42. "Imagination Taking Shape" sloganeer : PLAY-DOH - Great slogan, too~!

44. Church compositions : MOTETS

46. Kiddie lit character with a detachable tail : EEYORE - Learning moment; I did not know this

47. Composer Debussy : CLAUDE

48. Reproachful warning : TSK TSK - my biggest "MEH" of the day

51. "There!" : VOILA - I definitely did not get my "Ta-DA~!!" on this puzzle

52. Join : ENTER

55. He or I, e.g. : ELEMent - way cool clue that did not fool me; Helium and Iodine

57. Sea level? : DECK - I had DOCK, which stumped me for the longest time; I was thinking dry land - sailors (tars, etc.,) might have been on the ship's deck wavelength

60. Half-hearted responses : EHs

61. Crow cousin : DAW

Splynter

Sunday July 1, 2012 John Lieb

Theme: When Worlds Collide - The "World" in each theme entry is replaced by another word. (Correction: World can precede and follow the below green-highlighted word in each theme entry.)

24A. View from much of the Oregon coast? : WATER WITHOUT END. Water world. World Without End, the Ken Follett novel JD/Lemonade loves. I think Haltool is a fan too.

36A. What Ceylon, Siam and Upper Volta are nowadays? : DEAD TO THE ATLAS. Dead to the World. World Atlas.Irish Miss/Lucina might know this book.

51A. List of The Duke's films? : WAYNE'S HISTORY. Wayne's World. World history.

68A. Double eagle in a PGA event? : SHOT HEARD 'ROUND THE TOUR. Shot heard 'round the world. Bobby Thomson's home run. "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!". World tour.

89A. Battleship game setting? : SEA OF WARCRAFT. SeaWorld. World of Warcraft.

101A. Hank Aaron's 715th home run, at the time? : BRAVE NEW RECORD. Brave New World. Aaron was with the Braves at the time (1974). Plus, it's indeed a brave record, as he received lots of hate mail and even death threats. I like this clue a lot. World record.

119A. Pneumatic tube in a drive-thru? : WONDER OF THE BANK. Wonder of the World. World bank.

I think this is John Lieb's LA Times debut. And a Sunday. Congratulations! What a wonderful achievement.

Love the fill today. Lively and clean. The clues are entertaining too, esp these few:

106A. Character in "Scooby-Doo"? : HYPHEN. Got me.

11D. Lemon aids? : TOWS. Not something eye-related to aid our Lemonade.

44D. Runner down under? : STYX. River of Hades.

Across:

1. Spruce (up) : SPIFF. And 101D. Strengthened, with "up" : BEEFED

6. Employees with many perks? : BARISTAS. I sure was not thinking of coffee when I read "perks".

14. 45 holder : SLEEVE

20. Mother-of-pearl : NACRE. This and ETUI are two crossword words I learned very early on.

21. Intimate : ONE TO ONE

22. Really well-off : LOADED. So shocked Katie Holmes is divorcing Tom Cruise. They were such a happy couple.

23. "You __ big trouble, mister!" : ARE IN

26. Kid-friendly, in a way : RATED G

28. Country singer who was an 8-year-old "Star Search" contestant : RIMES (LeAnn). Did not know this trivia.

29. Yank : TUG

30. Delight at the comedy club : SLAY. Who doesn't like Louis C.K.?

31. Site of the first cover-up? : EDEN. Nice clue. Fig leaf cover-up.

32. Rise: Abbr. : INCR

34. He appointed Sandra to the Supreme Court : RONALD (Reagan)

41. Racetrack sounds : NEIGHS

45. Comic Amsterdam : MOREY. Of "The Dick Van Dyke Show".

46. Board-certified talk show host : DR. OZ. Google shows he's certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

47. Attribute : TRAIT

48. Pop-up ads, e.g. : COME-ONS

55. Do impressions of : APE

56. Wrong : NOT SO

58. 2002 Streisand album : DUETS. See the cover. Another unknown to me.

59. Latin law : LEX

60. "Bohemian Rhapsody" addressee : MAMA. Not my favorite Queen's song.

62. Browning and more : POETS

66. Carp cousins : DACES. Carp is a popular food fish in China.

76. Tall, dark and handsome : MANLY.What? I always associate MANLY with just masculine. Macho guy, not necessary "Tall, dark and handsome".

77. Actress Zellweger : RENEE

78. Sheet of stamps : PANE

79. Subside : EBB

82. Petal picker's word : LOVES

84. "It follows that ..." : AND SO

88. With it : HIP

94. Spicy stews : RAGOUTS

96. "Fun, Fun, Fun" car : T-BIRD. The Beach Boys.

97. Savvy about : ONTO

98. Possessive in many church names : PAUL'S. St. Paul's, right?

99. Triangular soil deposits : DELTAS

108. __ Domini : ANNO

109. Samoa's largest city : APIA. And capital.

110. "The Cosby Show" son : THEO

113. U.K. award : OBE. Order of the British Empire.

114. Oro y __: Montana's motto : PLATA

117. Alaska's __ Sound : NORTON. Never heard of it before, Spitzboov!

123. Intertwines yarn : KNITS

124. "Later, dude" : I'M GONE

125. High standing : EMINENCE

126. "Star-cross'd" lover : ROMEO. Why Star-cross'd rather than "Star-crossed"?

127. Battle of Thermopylae victor, 480 B.C. : XERXES. I bet Jayce nailed this one. The Persian king in "300". He creeps me out.

128. Utter failure : DISASTER

129. Trim : ADORN

Down:

1. Trapped : SNARED

2. Float site : PARADE

3. Lipton product : ICE TEA. Now I'm used to its D-less form.

4. Facebook request : FRIEND ME. Man, you can waste lots of time there.

5. Repel, with "off" : FEND

6. Katniss's weapon in "The Hunger Games" : BOW. Has any of you read or watched "The Hunger Games"?

7. Lawless state : ANARCHY

8. Hang up the spikes : RETIRE

9. Paparazzi's target : ITEM

10. Ticked off : SORE

12. Singer DiFranco : ANI

13. Scrapes : SET-TOS

14. The 1973 Mets' "Ya Gotta Believe!," e.g. : SLOGAN. Coined by Tug McGraw, father of Tim
McGraw.

15. Hoover's wife : LOU. I don't know. But isn't LOU a man's name?

16. Humbly apologizes : EATS DIRT

17. Pulitzer-winning biographer Leon : EDEL. This entry appeared a lot a lot in the old Wayne R. Williams puzzle. Always clued as "Henry James biographer".

18. __ cava : VENA

19. Vortex : EDDY. Hi there hockey nut Vortex!

25. Barbarian : HUN

27. "Buon __": Italian greeting : GIORNO. Italians are so passionate. Asians are rather reserved.

33. Explosive trial : N-TEST

34. Flattened : RAZED

35. "Decisions, decisions ..." : LET'S SEE

37. Homer, for one : TOON

38. Oral health org. : ADA

39. "__ and stop me!" : TRY

40. Horror star Chaney : LON

42. London lockup : GAOL. I often wonder if Splynter's English has a slight British accent.

43. Bring aboard : HIRE

48. "Overhead" engine parts : CAMS

49. Moonfish : OPAH

50. It might be cc'd : MEMO. I don't like G-mail. It doesn't show clearly whether an email is CC'ed to others.

51. Cord under a tarp : WOOD. I don't get this clue. (Added later: firewood. Thanks for the answer, everyone.)

52. Abrupt : SUDDEN

53. Word with gas or oil : HEAT

54. Dry skin tip-off : ITCH

57. More agile : SPRYER. Sprier feels more right to me.

61. Dough-dispensing convenience, briefly : ATM

63. Overcharge, say : ERR. I wonder what makes a Tom Ford lipstick so expensive. It doesn't feel special to me, except the package.

64. Turf __: common football injury : TOE

65. Important star : SUN

67. Gas additive brand : STP

69. Like some kindergarten programs : HALF-DAY

70. Plenty, in verse : ENOW

71. Menlo Park middle name : ALVA. Thomas Alva Edison.

72. Clutter-free : NEAT

73. Iolani Palace site : OAHU. JD visited the Palace before.

74. Condo, e.g. : UNIT

75. Set components : REPS

79. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD

80. Nixon confidant Rebozo : BEBE

81. Judge's setting : BAIL

83. Disdain : SCORN

85. Haggard : DRAWN

86. The lord in "The Lord of the Rings" : SAURON. For Jazzbumpa.

87. Stare at rudely : OGLE

90. Like many faithful adherents : ORTHODOX

91. Genetic material : RNA

92. Off-rd. ride : ATV

93. One who isn't with us : FOE

95. Movie props? : OSCAR NOD. Great answer.

98. Hail Marys, often : PENANCE

100. Future ferns : SPORES

102. Floating : NATANT. New word to me. Natant

103. Cigar brand that comes in grape and peach flavors : OPTIMO. Did not know this. But I was shocked to find an cigarette ad in our Sunday's Parade magazine a few weeks ago.

104. Violent protester : RIOTER

105. Ted of "CSI" : DANSON

107. "Game of Thrones" airer : HBO

110. Chocolate caramel bar : TWIX

111. Parcheesi destination : HOME. Never played Parcheesi.

112. Rocket scientist, e.g.: Abbr. : ENGR

114. Frat letters : PHIS

115. Jazzy Horne : LENA

116. Fivers : ABES

118. Cajun staple : OKRA. I saw Okra chips in our local grocery store the other day. Looks tasty.

120. Topeka-to-Peoria dir. : ENE

121. "Ew, I didn't need that mental picture!" : TMI

122. Plunk preceder : KER

Answer grid.

Thanks for the nice birthday wishes yesterday! I won't be here next weekend due to a big family reunion out of the town. Steve will guide you through next Sunday's puzzle.

C.C.