Theme: "PARTING COMPANY" - Each theme answers is a farewell phrase paired with an animal, with the phrases rhyming to the animal names.
22. Response to "See ya later, alligator": AFTER A WHILE, CROCODILE.
38. 22-Across variation in a flower garden?: BYE BYE, BUTTERFLY.
57. 22-Across variation in a desert?: IN A SHAKE, RATTLESNAKE.
82. 22-Across variation in a forest?: TAKE CARE, GRIZZLY BEAR.
102. 22-Across variation in a birdcage?: BE SWEET, PARAKEET.
118. 22-Across variation in Ontario?: HANG LOOSE, CANADA GOOSE.
Cute idea. Each answer follows the same pattern. I'm not famliar with "in a shake" as a goodbye phrase. When I lived in Guangzhou, there was a German lady who sometimes hiked with us. She always said "Stay sweet!"
Congrats to Kaye Brown on her LAT debut!
Across:
1. Starts using, as an accent: ADOPTS. My English has an Xi'an accent.
7. Accumulate: AMASS.
12. Challenging bio course: AP CLASS.
19. Like a network used in machine learning: NEURAL.
20. Finish, as a crossword, e.g.: SOLVE.
21. Evergreen seed: PINE NUT.
25. Anxiety from social media scrolling, for short: FOMO. Fear of Missing Out. The opposite is JOMO, the Joy of Missing Out.
26. Voices above tenors: ALTOS.
27. Used in beta: TESTED.
29. Part of the hook in a 2007 Rihanna hit: ELLA. Her song "Umbrella".
32. "The Pitt" figs.: MDS.
35. Amble (along): TOOTLE.
37. Cautionary __: TALE.
42. Studio Ghibli film about a magical goldfish: PONYO. She became a human in the end.
43. Member of the fam: BRO.
44. Sketch comedy series starring Odenkirk and Cross: MR SHOW. Bob Odenkirk. David Cross.
45. City in western Germany: ESSEN.
47. Iroquois nation: SENECA.
49. Clarinetist's supply: REEDS.
53. Above, poetically: OER.
54. Orb weaver's creation: WEB.
62. "Pull up __": A SEAT.
63. Soprano solo: ARIA.
64. Spoke like a cat: MEOWED.
65. Garden bed planting: BULB. I want more peonies.
68. Peter's adversary in a Prokofiev composition: WOLF. "Peter and the Wolf".
71. "Clueless" source novel: EMMA.
73. Some recital attendees: DADS.
74. Like characters that lean one way?: ITALIC.
77. Require: NEED.
79. Likeness: IMAGE.
87. Part of a pronoun pair: SHE.
88. "Origin" director DuVernay: AVA.
93. Rough it in comfort: GLAMP. Anon-T was vacating in our Boundary Waters region a few weeks ago. Tough guy.
95. "The Phantom Tollbooth" author Juster: NORTON.
98. The NCAA's Tigers: LSU.
99. Broken wagon part in Oregon Trail: WHEEL.
107. Supplant: OUST.
108. __ fin: DORSAL.
109. Bichon frise bark: YIP.
110. Brontë's Jane: EYRE.
111. Wife, in 101-Down: ESPOSA. And
101. Francia's neighbor: ESPANA. Francia is Spanish for France.
113. Film without a major studio: INDIE.
115. 106-Down portrayer McGregor: EWAN. 106. Skywalker mentor: KENOBI.
125. Acrobat's attire: UNITARD.
126. "The Dark Knight __": RISES.
127. Set of grading criteria: RUBRIC. Not a word I use.
128. Scapegoats: PATSIES.
129. Porterhouse, e.g.: STEAK.
130. Averred: SAID SO.
Down:
1. Santa __ winds: ANA.
2. Pt. of HDTV: DEF.
3. Not in the closet: OUT.
4. Assembled on-site: PREFAB.
5. Poi source: TARO. Love taro. Never had poi before.
6. __ poetry: SLAM.
7. Volcanic fallout: ASH.
8. "You're accusing me!?": MOI.
9. Pesto __ Genovese: ALLA. Pesto originated in Genoa.
10. Lithe: SVELTE.
11. Subdivision: SECTOR.
12. Biblical disciple: APOSTLE.
13. Insta grid item: PIC.
14. Benjamin: C NOTE.
15. Graf below a headline: LEDE.
16. Jennifer of "Murder Mystery": ANISTON. So happy to see her in love again.
17. "Aladdin" title: SULTAN.
18. Icy, as a glare: STEELY.
23. Ovens for buns, but not loaves: WOMBS. Also love this clue: 34. Certain delivery worker?: STORK.
24. Satellite dish spot: ROOF.
28. "Gloria in Excelsis __": DEO.
29. Recedes: EBBS.
30. Ancient harp: LYRE.
31. Téa of "Death of a Unicorn": LEONI.
33. "Oh, of course!": DUH.
36. Disinfectant brand: LYSOL.
39. Some fitness orgs.: YMCAS.
40. Wipe away: ERASE.
41. Cutesy: TWEE.
42. In and of itself: PER SE.
46. Appear: SEEM.
48. Activate: ENABLE.
50. Segment of a Taylor Swift show: ERA.
51. Truth or __: DARE.
52. Perform repetitive movements to self-soothe, say: STIM. Like shaking your legs while sitting?
54. East Coast mini-mart: WAWA. I just learned Daiso opened a store in MN in April.
55. Barely achieved, with "out": EKED.
56. Items of varying comfort for Goldilocks: BEDS.
58. "Yee-__!": HAW.
59. Make up (for): ATONE.
60. Language from which "curry" is derived: TAMIL.
61. "I'll keep opening briefcases, Howie!": NO DEAL.
65. Twitch currency: BITS. Not famliar with this.
66. Four Corners state: UTAH.
67. Tahoe or Huron: LAKE.
69. Millipede's multitude: LEGS.
70. Common houseplant: FERN.
72. Actress Poehler: AMY.
75. Poker proclamation: I CALL.
76. Catalan sparkling wine: CAVA.
78. One-seventh of una semana: DIA.
80. Loathe: ABHOR.
81. Davis of "The Fly": GEENA.
83. Stallone franchise: RAMBO.
84. Low-budget pub: ZINE. Publication/Magazine.
85. Polish currency: ZLOTY.
86. "Inside Out" kid: RILEY.
91. The "U" in EULA: USER. EULA stands for End-User License Agreement.
92. Silencing button: MUTE.
93. "Start already!": GET ON IT.
94. Dots: PERIODS.
96. Troy tech univ.: RPI. Hi there Agnes!
97. Playable on a VCR: TAPED.
99. Misery: WOE.
100. Sweep under the rug: HUSH UP.
103. Tax doc IDs: SSNS.
104. Thigh-high waterproof boots: WADERS.
105. Inspire: ELICIT.
108. __ Lama: DALAI.
112. Cpls.' superiors: SGTS.
114. Lighten (up): EASE.
116. Edit __: battles on Wikipedia: WARS.
117. Piscina filler: AGUA. Piscina is Spanish for "pool".
119. Mined resource: ORE.
120. Principals' org.: NEA.
121. Query: ASK.
122. Chicago airport code: ORD.
123. Member of the fam: SIS.
124. Friendly prefix: ECO.
C.C.
