Sunday Nov 21, 2015 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "Forced Re-entry" - REE sound is added to each theme entry, changing spelling as needed.

23A. Forgetting to put the milk in the fridge? : GROCERY NEGLIGENCE. Gross negligence.

51A. Backdrop for a gangster film? : CRIME SCENERY. Crime scene.

83A. Warning sign for an art dealer? : FORGERY AHEAD. Forge ahead.

111A. Well-protected garment room? : BULLETPROOF VESTRY. Bulletproof vest.

16D. A little Egyptian magic? : SORCERY OF THE NILE. Source of the Nile.

 

37D. Well-designed room for a tot? : PRACTICAL NURSERY. Practical nurse.

I like 23A and 16D the best, as the transformed words and the old ones have different roots. But not many nouns ending in workable *RY, so Pam's choices are rather limited.

Maybe I've had Paris/Brussels in mind the past days. Noticed quite a few PARIS (5D. Métro home) ties, with mostly alliterative clues:

43A. Between, in Bordeaux : ENTRE

86A. French royalty : NOBLESSE

12D. Brest brainstorms : IDEES 

30D. Mer shade : AZUR 

33D. Seine sun : SOLEIL

70D. Reims rejection : NON

112D. Fleur-de-__ : LIS. Or LYS at times.

Across:

1. Italian seaport : BARI. Easy start. Otherwise, I might not have got BUG (1D. Spy's favorite plant?).

5. Lupone on Broadway : PATTI

10. Alligator relative : CAIMAN

16. Old boomer : SST. Old and retired.

19. Conversant with : UPON

20. Like most people : ASIAN

21. Shout from Speedy Gonzales : ANDALE. "Hurry up" in Spanish.

22. "... the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied __ with the pale cast of thought": Hamlet :

O'ER

26. HDTV brand : RCA

27. Flights connect them : STORIES. Lovely clue.

28. Country rocker Steve : EARLE

29. Actress Dash : STACEY. No idea. She looks familiar though.

31. Sail support : MAST

32. Blue state : SADNESS

34. Pieces of pizza in Plymouth? : ZEDS. Just the two letters in pizza.

35. Secures, as a package : TAPES

38. "Arbitrage" star : GERE. All crosses.

39. Words from the unconvinced : OH SURE. Not "I doubt".

42. "Catch-22" pal of Yossarian : ORR

46. Religious zeal : IDOLATRY

49. Omani money : RIAL

54. __ bran : OAT

57. Treat made with ground almonds : MACAROON. Yeah, Paris!

59. Succeeds : MAKES IT

60. Some PX patrons : PFCs

61. Braid, e.g. : ENTWIST. Not a word I use. Twist, yes.

62. Top (out) : MAX

63. Agent : DELEGATEE. Not a word I use. Delegate, yes.

65. Rascally sort : IMP. Hi there, Spitzboov!

66. Price place : TAG

67. Jump in the pool, perhaps? : BET. Tricky little clue.

68. Durable wood : ASH

69. Another time : ONCE AGAIN

73. "The Beverly Hillbillies" dad : JED

74. Blood-filtering organs : SPLEENS

78. Sound of the wind, perhaps : MOAN. All crosses.

79. Skin blemish : AGE SPOT

81. Working for Christmas, say : SEASONAL

82. NBC weekend fixture : SNL. Marc Maron finally got his white whale.

 

85. In __: unmoved : SITU

88. Auditing giant __ & Young : ERNST And 91. Credit __: Zurich-based financial group : SUISSE. Both have offices in Guangzhou.

90. Delay : LAG

92. Razor brand : ATRA

94. Wiesbaden wheels : OPELS

96. PC key : CTRL

97. Honeymoon options : SAFARIS. Where did you spend your honeymoon?

101. Islamic branch : SHIA

103. Mary Hartman portrayer Louise : LASSER. Stranger to me. Wiki said she was married to Woody Allen for a few years.

106. Desi's daughter : LUCIE

107. Players with masks : GOALIES. Hello, Stud! You really do have it.

110. Keats' "__ to Psyche" : ODE

115. Flat filler : AIR. Tire.

116. Panini cheese : ASIAGO

117. Skateboarding leap : OLLIE

118. Pro foe : ANTI. Also 55. Pro : ACE

119. Round Table knight : KAY. King Arthur's foster brother.

120. Trojan War sage : NESTOR

121. Pops, to tots : DADAS

122. Bread often served with ghee : NAAN. Muslims in China make this kind of naan. It's not brushed with ghee, nor does it have any dairy ingredient. Delicious though.

Down:

2. Car loan nos. : APRS. Annual Percentage Rates.

3. Cheer : ROOT

4. It's often personal : INCOME

6. So far : AS YET

7. Spam holders : TINS. Real spam. Steve loves Spam musubi.

8. The Wizard of Menlo Park, initially : TAE

9. Ready to roll : IN GEAR

10. Stone memorial : CAIRN. Just pile of stones.

11. Right __ : ANGLE

13. Part of many superhero names : MAN. Tiny dupe with 50. Posse members : LAWMEN

14. World Series qualifier: Abbr. : ALCS. American League Championship Series.

15. Hair removal choice : NEET

17. Break away : SECEDE

18. Cube holders : TRAYS. Ice cubes.

24. Clean the slate : ERASE

25. Work on the docks : LADE

32. Come across as : SEEM

35. "It Wasn't All Velvet" memoirist : TORME. Easy guess due to "The Velvet Fog" nickname.

36. Suffix with Unit : ARIAN. Every Sunday puzzle has a few "Meh" entries.

38. It might be silly : GRIN

40. Twain contemporary : HARTE

41. Disorderly digs : STY

44. Boot camp VIPs : NCOs

45. Word with turkey or fox : TROT

46. "That's disgusting!" : ICK. Have any of you had Durian before? It smells awful, banned on some planes, trains. So tasty. Pricey too.

47. Formally turned over, as land : DEEDED

48. Beginning : ONSET

52. Periodical with a URL : EMAG

53. Early rock horn : SAX

56. "Four Quartets" monogram : TSE

58. Big name in morning talk : RIPA

60. Leisurely walks : PASEOS. Not a word I use.

62. Parsons' places : MANSES

64. Sadie Hawkins Day suitors : GALS

66. Supermodel Cheryl : TIEGS. She grew up here in MN.

67. Testing stage : BETA

69. Meditation sounds : OMS

71. Suffolk slammers : GAOLS. Alliteration again.

72. Matches : AGREES

73. Something to jump for : JOY. What I did when Rich accepted my first puzzle. 

74. John in Dublin : SEAN

75. Protective sports equipment : PADS

76. Birth-related : NATAL

77. Wallops : SLUGS

80. Start to date? : PRE. Predate.

81. Hospital fluids : SERA

83. Some NFL ball carriers : FBS (Fullbacks)

84. Towel specification : HER'S

87. Spa supplies : OILS

89. Fabric often decorated with pastoral scenes : TOILE

 

91. Arenas : STADIA

92. "What __!": "I've been had!" : A RIP

93. Steering apparatus part : TIE ROD

95. Pal : PAISAN. This looks like PAYSAN, French for "peasant".

96. Potter's made him invisible : CLOAK. Harry Potter.

98. __ once : ALL AT

99. En __: on a streak, in sports slang : FUEGO. "Fire" in Spanish. Not slang in our little household.

100. One with a part : ACTOR. Nailed it.

101. Balkan capital : SOFIA

102. They're loaded : HAVES. All crosses.

104. "Voice of Israel" author : EBAN (Abba).

105. Sly tactic : RUSE

107. Olympian's prize : GOLD

108. Italian hot spot : ETNA

109. Miss, overseas: Abbr. : SRTA

113. Ending with pay : OLA

114. Yang counterpart : YIN. Dates and ginger are Yang. Cucumbers and most green veggies are Yin.

How do you normally prepare hard-boiled eggs? Do you remove eggs from heat as soon as water comes to a boil like this one? I just cook them in hot boiling water for 10 minutes, but can never get an easy-to-peel perfect egg. 

C.C.

Sunday Oct 11, 2015 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "Bringing Your 'A' Game" - Long E sound is changed into Long A sound.

21A. What echolocation is used for? : WHALE BEARINGS. Wheel bearings.

31A. Bit of theatrical thievery? : COPPING A PLAY. Copping a plea.

51A. Fight at the coffee shop? : CAFFEINE FRAY. Caffeine-free.

68A. Barbie and Ken's servant? : VALET OF THE DOLLS. Valley of the Dolls.

89A. Aversion therapy tool? : HATE DETECTOR. Heat detector. Two of the sound changes happen with the first words.

104A. Quick question at the building site? : WALL STRAIGHT? Wall Street.

121A. Cosmetics counter freebie? : SHOPPING SPRAY. Shopping spree.

I certainly did not have my A game today. My stupid loose tooth, the dental visit last Friday  and future periodontist visits have been bothering me endlessly.

I normally can sense the theme from get-go, at times by the puzzle title alone. Not many proper names today, but the few really got me. 

Across:      

1. "Ivy Mike" test weapon : H-BOMB. Never hear of the "Ivy Mike". Filled in ?BOMB and moved on.

6. Bush trip : SAFARI. Tricky area to disentangle. I kept thinking of the two presidents.

12. University of Idaho city : MOSCOW

18. Group at Asgard : AESIR

19. Listen to completely : HEAR OUT.  Big "thank you" to those who gave me advice & comfort last week.

20. Working parents' aid : DAYCARE

23. Spice up : ENLIVEN

24. Hound : NAG. Ah, OK.

25. Hayworth's second husband : WELLES. I know this trivia.

26. Shrek, notably : OGRE

28. Unaffiliated: Abbr. : IND. And  38. Liberal side? : ELL. This refers to the letter on either side of Liberal.

29. Strikes down : REPEALS

36. Dessert table vessel : URN

37. Acted indolently : LOLLED

39. First name in exploring : LEIF (Ericson)

42. Conn of "Grease" : DIDI. I can never remember her name.

45. Dismissals in a '70s-'80s game show : GONGS

47. __ Rock: Australian attraction : AYERS. Also known as Uluru.

54. Flair : ELAN

56. Go flat? : LIE. Lovely clue.

57. Hosp. titles : DRs

58. Ornamental shrub : SPIREA

59. Space travel meas. : LT-YR

60. Bubbly region : ASTI

61. Speak pompously : SPOUT. Not ORATE.

63. Lift charge : CAB FARE. Thanks to crosses.

66. Epic Trojan warrior : AENEAS

72. Garden feature : GAZEBO. Our Hmong neighbor built a gazebo in his backyard.

75. Banking control : AILERON. Plane's banking.

76. Sponsorship : AEGIS

80. It might be gray : AREA

81. Change one's mind about changing : STET. Another tricky clue.

84. "The Wizard of Oz" prop : TIN HAT

86. Maniacal leader? : EGO. Egomaniacal.

87. Punster : WIT

88. Passion : ZEAL

92. "The Family Circus" creator : KEANE

94. Passover month : NISAN

96. Hematology prefix : SERO. Had S??? earlier on, then waited.

97. Melissa Joan of "Melissa & Joey" : HART. Stranger to me.

98. The Snake R. runs through it : IDA
 

100. Pleasure trip : JUNKET

102. Oliver Stone's alma mater : NYU. Unknown trivia to me.

108. Catalog giant : SPIEGEL. Still in business?

112. Supermarket letters : IGA

113. Bangkok bread : BAHT. For Lemonade's Oo. So sweet. I love her flower crown.

114. Quakers in the forest? : ASPENS. The clue made me smile.  

116. Anago or unagi : EEL

118. One who puts you to sleep : SANDMAN.  Got via crosses also. Nice clue.

125. Seat of Washington's Snohomish County : EVERETT. What's it famous for?

126. Portuguese wine : MADEIRA

127. Beethoven dedicatee : ELISE

128. Fixes, as a seam : RESEWS

129. Stretchable, in product names : ELASTO. Learning moment to me also.

130. Collaborative 2012 Streisand album : DUETS

Down:

1. "Cactus Flower" Oscar winner : HAWN (Goldie). Have any of you watched the movie?

2. "The View" alum Joy : BEHAR

3. Missouri tributary : OSAGE

4. Part of a GI's URL : MIL

5. Craft __ : BREWER

6. Arctic barkers : SEALS

7. River to the Rhein : AARE

8. California city nickname : FRISCO. Two of my sisters-in-law live in Bay Area. They don't call it Frisco.

9. Chicago's __ Center : AON

10. Word after scatter or throw : RUG

11. "Come on in" : IT'S OPEN

12. Horsemanship school : MANEGE. New word to me.

13. Olive desired by Bluto : OYL

14. School subj. : SCI

15. Nitpick : CAVIL. I like this word.

16. Cutesy nickname for a former home of the Orlando Magic : ORENA. Short for Orlando Arena. This might stymie some.

17. Darling girl : WENDY

19. "'__ is empty / And all the devils are here'": "The Tempest" : HELL

20. Laura of "Jurassic Park" : DERN

22. Tortilla chip go-with : BEAN DIP

27. Role for Sally or Sandra : GIDGET. Needed crosses as well.

30. Bit of smoke : PUFF. Easy in retrospect.

32. Lingerie brand : OLGA. Never wore this brand.

33. Tricky tactic : PLOY

34. Severus Snape portrayer Rickman : ALAN

35. Work at : PLY

37. Hitchcock survival film : LIFEBOAT. My favorite Hitchcock movie is "To Catch a Thief". What's yours?

39. Some TV screens : LCDs

40. Morgan or Wyatt : EARP
 

41. Words often before "then" : IF SO

43. Way to pack fish : IN ICE. I could not get TIN/CAN out of my brain.

44. Emulate the Piper : DE-RAT

46. Breed of dog? : SLY. Nailed it as well.

48. End of a threat : ELSE

49. Poet Dove : RITA

50. Jaime's half-dozen : SEIS. I though "Jaime" indicates the answer is French?

52. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTAB

53. One-named children's singer : RAFFI. Another stranger to me.

55. Shrunken sea : ARAL

59. Most suspicious : LEERIEST

60. "As I Lay Dying" father : ANSE. No idea.

62. Iris holder : UVEA

64. Hawks, on NBA scoreboards : ATL

65. Butler of literature : RHETT

67. Lift up : ELATE

69. Throw a fight, say : LOSE

70. Where, in Juárez : DONDE. No idea. I can nail basic French words, but not Spanish.

71. "__ Majesty's Secret Service" : ON HER

72. Stare : GAWK

73. India born in Denver : ARIE. India Arie. I know her.

74. Sweater letter : ZETA

77. "__ grip!" : GET A

78. Inventor Sikorsky : IGOR

79. Laundry room step : SORT. I had SOAK first.

82. Beach shade : TAN

83. Seder prophet : ELIJAH

85. Penitent : ATONING. I'm sure atoning now for my misspent bar-hopping youth, D-Otto/Gary.

88. Puzzle pieces in Penzance? : ZEDS. Letter Z. (Thanks, Owen.)

89. Display, in a way : HANG. Lovely clue also.

90. Pharaoh's cross : ANKH

91. Big belt : CHUG. Simple entry, but completely got me. 

93. It means nothing at all : NIL

95. "No argument here" : SUITS ME

99. Turns up at home? : AT BATS. Home plate.

101. Troop encampments : ETAPES. Learned from doing crosswords.
 

103. Agreed with : YESSED

104. Older partner, hopefully : WISER. Hopefully.

105. Tequila source : AGAVE

106. Where to see x's in boxes : LANES. Strikes in bowling. Not tic-tac-toe.

107. Blog, at times : RANT. Rich must have fun cluing this one.

108. Predecessor of Gerald : SPIRO

109. Elizabeth of "La Bamba" : PENA. Another unknown figure.

110. Goosebump-inducing : EERIE

111. " ... to say the __" : LEAST

115. Hot rod : SPIT. Barbecue! Nice clue.

117. Strong alkalis : LYES. Guilty of using the plural myself.

119. Hip-hop Dr. : DRE

120. Persian plaint : MEW

122. Kubrick's out-of-control computer : HAL

123. "Ghost" psychic __ Mae Brown : ODA. Fun character. I love "Ghost".

124. Like mice and men: Abbr. : PLU (Plural)

C.C.

Sunday August 30, 2015 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "Male Bonding" - MAN is added into each theme answer.

 27A. One whose citations are always on target? : QUOTATION MARKSMAN. Quotation marks.

 47A. Where go-betweens learn their craft? : MIDDLEMAN SCHOOL. Middle school.

 63A. Civil civil servant? : FRIENDLY FIREMAN. Friendly fire.

 74A. Show segment that included shots of New York City? : LETTERMAN OPENER. Letter opener.

 94A. Work force breakdown? : MANPOWER FAILURE. Power failure.

 114A. Ambiguous packing instructions? : MANHANDLE WITH CARE. Ambiguous indeed. Handle with Care. 

So we have four 15's and two 17's. Total 94 theme squares. Manageable themeage. Anytime you go over 100 theme squares, fill will suffer.

Such a clean grid. No splashy long fill. It's difficult to arrange long slots when your theme answers are all quite long. 9s, 10s and 11's are more pliable. 

  

Across:

1. Insignificant disruption : BLIP. All four corners of this grid are sectioned off. Unusual.

 

5. Part of a familiar Latin sequence : AMAS

9. Make very thirsty : PARCH

14. Those girls, in Guadalajara : ELLAS

19. Start to correct? : AUTO. Auto-correct.

20. Riga native, e.g. : BALT

21. 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year Stoudemire : AMAR'E. We had him before. I just could not remember his name. How cool to have this jersey number!

22. "There!" : VOILA

23. Demolish, in Dover : RASE

24. 1968 self-titled folk album : ARLO

25. Introvert : LONER. Our LaLaLinda is one. You're missed, pal.

26. __ wrench : ALLEN

31. "Fore!" site : TEE

32. Phishing catch: Abbr. : SSN

33. Share with followers, in a way : RE-TWEET. Rare lovely RE* entry.

34. Chaucer works : TALES

36. Salon service : PEDI

37. D.C. team : NATS

40. Pathfinders and such : NISSANS

44. Toledo homes : CASAS. Same as Italian. There's a nice Italian restaurant in Guangzhou. It's called La Casa. I had my very first Caesar salad there.

51. California city with an annual classical music festival : OJAI

52. Give up : CEDE

53. __ Palmas: Canary Islands port : LAS

54. Shredder : TEARER. Glue entry.

55. Aslan's land : NARNIA

57. Past curfew : LATE

60. "Children of the Poor" author : RIIS (Jacob). I got via crosses.

62. Fund-raising orgs. : PTAS

66. Tree in a carol : PEAR

67. "__: Cyber": 2015 spin-off : CSI

68. Hammered : LIT

69. Dedicated lines : ODE

71. Foolhardy : RASH

83. Block brand : LEGO

84. Med. research org. : NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health). I can never remember this one either.

85. Come across as : SEEM

86. Subject of passing concern? : ESTATE. Great clue.

87. Not on edge : AT EASE

89. Some Caltech grads : EES

91. Bar freebie : NUTS

93. What bar patrons may run : A TAB. And 100. Up-good connection : TO NO. Partials.

98. Flora and fauna : BIOTA

99. Scout shirt feature : EPAULET

101. Hebrew for "skyward" : EL AL

103. Candidate who opposed NAFTA : PEROT

105. Researcher's reference : ALMANAC

108. Dallas NBAer : MAV (Mavericks)

111. Director's bane : HAM

118. Great quantity : OCEAN

120. Ancient Aegean region : IONIA

121. Florida's __ City : DADE

122. Drummer Van Halen : ALEX. I only know Eddie Van Halen.

123. Part of a beach house collection : SHELL. Been a long time since I last saw a beach.

124. Desilu co-founder : ARNAZ

125. Resolve, with "out" : IRON

126. Artist Magritte : RENE

127. "Our Gang" pooch : PETEY. Got via crosses.

128. Rope loop : NOOSE. Thought of RIATA, then LASSO.

129. Breton or Gael : CELT

130. Awareness-raising TV ads : PSAs

Down:

1. Root beer that "has bite!" : BARQ'S. Never had root beer before.

2. Waikiki wingdings : LUAUS

3. Fighting words : IT'S ON

4. One concerned with rhythm : POET. Hi there, Owen!

5. Tapered off : ABATED

6. Nautical : MARITIME

7. Let : ALLOW

8. Paving unit : STONE

9. Like some consonants : PALATAL. This upper section was the last to fall for me. As the following two clues stumped me.

10. "El __ brujo": de Falla work : AMOR. Wiki says it means "literally, Spell-bound Love or The Bewitched Love".

11. Relative position : RANK. Easy in retrospect.

12. High spot : CREST

13. Novelist Hesse : HERMANN

14. Fade from sight : EVANESCE. I've only used Evanescent.

15. "OMG ur 2 funny" : LOL

16. Bouncy tune : LILT

17. Captain's direction : ALEE

18. Sensible : SANE

28. Son of Zeus : ARES

29. Darn : MEND

30. Highly regarded groups : A-LISTS

35. Double curve : S-SHAPE

36. "The Age of Reason" writer : PAINE (Thomas)

38. No. preceded by a code : TEL

39. Excessive flattery : SMARM

41. Cardiologist's concern : AORTA

42. Musical deficiency : NO EAR

43. Some shooters, for short : SLRs. I like this clue also.

44. NCAA division : CONF (Conference)

45. Slightly cracked : AJAR

46. Asian wrap : SARI. Have you heard of "Ao dai"? Vietnamese national dress. Very pretty.

48. In a slothful way : IDLY

49. Unheeding : DEAF

50. Home to billions : ASIA. Thank God China only started One-Child Policy in 1978. I can't imagine life without my little brother, who was born in 1975.

52. Rakes : CADS

56. Move very carefully : INCH

58. Arcade concern : TILT

59. Cat Nation people : ERIES

61. Part of, plotwise : IN ON. Not land "plot".

64. Actress Taylor : LILI

65. French 101 word : ETRE

66. Spices (up) : PEPS. Try some wasabi in your avocado. Yum!

70. Completes : DOES. I just changed all the old Pamela Amick Klawitter or Pam
Klawitter labels in our blog to Pam Amick Klawitter. Now all her puzzles will be under one label.

71. Put another hole in, as a keg : RE-TAP

72. Gemini docking target : AGENA. Got via crosses also.

73. Get in a lather : SOAP UP

75. 911 situation: Abbr. : EMER

76. It may be grand : THEFT

77. Where to see available courses : MENU

78. River to the Strait of Tartary : AMUR. Russia/China border river.  It's called "Black Dragon River" in Chinese.

79. Cybersales : E-TAIL

80. Partnership for Peace gp. : NATO. Easily guessed.

81. __ de Louisiane : ETAT

82. 2000s sitcom set in Houston : REBA

83. Not even a little cool : LAME

84. Big name in sports caps : NEW ERA. Read here, Majestic has the MLB jersey monopoly.

88. Common way to swear : SOLEMNLY

90. __ Tomé : SAO

92. One Direction band member, e.g. : TEEN IDOL. They're breaking up. 

95. Ian Fleming or James Bond : ETONIAN

96. Stupefied : IN A DAZE

97. Veg out : LOLL

98. Composer of six unaccompanied cello suites : BACH

102. Not yet visible : LATENT

104. Detailed, briefly : THORO

106. Front VIP : MEDIC. Battlefront.

107. Mindful : AWARE

108. NFL players, e.g. : MALES. And 109. Game site : ARENA

110. Bugs : VEXES

111. "H" on a blue road sign: Abbr. : HOSP

112. Pang : ACHE

113. Comply with : MEET. Lots of 4-letter answers in this puzzle.

115. Year in Sicily : ANNO

116. Actress Vardalos et al. : NIAs

117. Moan and groan : CARP

119. Pub buy : ALE

 C.C.

Sunday March 1, 2015 Pamela Amick Klawitter

Theme:  "Say What?" -  The spoken phrase in each clue modifies the first word of each theme answer & serves as an example of the whole theme answer. 

22A. "I got a C" : PASSING COMMENT. In my school days, it's 60.

37A. "Edison was born in 1847 and died in 1931" : LIFE SENTENCE

67A. "This is my fishing spot--please find your own" : BANK STATEMENT. Barry G loves fishing. But he's too polite to utter that statement.

96A. "Heart, liver, kidneys, ... " : ORGAN RECITAL

117A. "I survived boot camp!" : PRIVATE MESSAGE. Love the clue/answer.

16D. "That's the worst synopsis I've ever read!" : SUMMARY JUDGMENT

45D. "Do you know how to copy this disk?" : BURNING QUESTION

Fun theme. I like Sundays when the theme answers are all solid in the language and the clues play a major part in the gimmick.

Nice theme placement also. Those top/bottom 6/7 breaks are not easy to fill in cleanly.

Across:     

1. Prohibition specifics : TABOOS. And18D. Prohibition notable : NESS (Eliot). Clue echo.

7. Embodiment : EPITOME. My first Across fill.

14. Bad flareup? : ARSON. Great clue. Was thinking of arthritic flare-up.

19. Yukon neighbor : ALASKA

20. Supermodel Schiffer : CLAUDIA. The iconic Guess girl.

21. Ring bearer, often : SPOUSE. Another great clue.

24. Causes for pauses : COMMAS. Rhyming clue.

25. Bordeaux bud : AMI

26. End of a series, briefly : ET AL

27. Worldwide cultural org. : UNESCO

29. Adams and Grant : AMYs

30. Fish order : SOLE

32. Exeter exams : A-LEVELS. Got via crosses.

35. 1986 rock autobiography : I, TINA. Big gimme for all crossword vets.

41. Bases for deviation : NORMS

44. Put up with : ABIDE

46. '80s IBM models : XTs. No idea.

47. Eagle-eyed raptors : ERNES

49. Word from a pro : YEA. The "in favor of" pro.

50. Rig : TRUCK

51. C-ration successors : MREs

53. __ set : JET

54. Obstacle to progress : LOGJAM

56. Atmospheric prefix : AERI. Always want AERO.

57. French for "under" : SOUS. Underground: Sous terre.

58. Tries to buy, on eBay : BIDS ON

60. Arrivals at home? : RUNS. Home plate.

61. Bach choral works : CANTATAS

63. Market order : SELL

64. Worked (up) : RILED

66. Govt. assistance program : SSI

70. Econ. yardstick : GNP. No GDP error today due to the easy NANOS (71D. Some iPods).

73. North of Nogales : NORTE. Same root.

75. Hammer sites : EARS. Nailed it.

76. Grade school exhibits : DIORAMAS

78. They're deliberately broken so they can be fixed : EGGS. I love banana egg pancakes.

80. Oft-swiped item : ID CARD

82. Vicious and others : SIDs

83. Little houses on the prairie : PENS. All crosses. Clever clue also.

84. Kitchen toppers : TOQUES

86. Gator tail? : ADE. Gatorade.

87. Hairy "pet" : CHIA. So, do any of you eat Chia seeds?

88. "Ready __ ... " : OR NOT

89. R&B group __ Hill : DRU

90. Start to foam? : STYRO. Styrofoam.

92. White wine apéritif : KIR

93. FDR and JFK : INITS. Tricky clue. Makes you think of DEMS

94. Moves very slowly : SEEPS

100. Farm call : SOOEY

102. StubHub offerings : TICKETS. Husker Gary buys concert tickets from StubHub.

103. Actress Gilbert of "The Big Bang Theory" : SARA

107. Riga resident : LETT

109. Pinpoint : LOCATE

112. "Let __ There": Newton-John hit : ME BE. Not familiar with the song.

114. Price __ : WAR

115. Panini cheese : ASIAGO.  And 15D. It's often grated : ROMANO

121. Exactly right : SPOT ON

122. Control on a wing : AILERON. For Dudley.

123. Just-in-case items : SPARES

124. Ecclesiastical council : SYNOD

125. Weatherproofing application : SEALANT

126. City where the Alcázar is located : TOLEDO. Lucina might have visited this place.

Down:

1. Salamanca snacks : TAPAS

2. Memorable shrine : ALAMO

3. Pho soup garnish : BASIL. I don't like basil at all.

4. Org. that employed Julia Child during WWII : OSS. She graduated from Smith College. OSS employees were mostly from prestigious colleges those days. 

5. Steinbeck's Tom Joad, e.g. : OKIE

6. Capital east of Gallup : SANTA FE. Never heard of Gallup, NM. What's it famous for, Owen?

7. "Turn! Turn! Turn!" source: Abbr. : ECCLES. No idea.

8. Gaza Strip gp. : PLO

9. "Who __": 2001 #1 country hit : I AM. Unfamiliar to me also. I don't like country songs.

10. Uproars : TUMULTS

11. Danish seaport : ODENSE

12. "Battle Hymn of the Republic" possessive : MINE. Was it gimme for you? I was stumped.

13. Wolfs down : EATS

14. Pvt. address : APO

17. Anthem opener : O SAY

21. Alexander Graham Bell, e.g. : SCOT

23. Major blow : GALE

28. Diez squared : CIEN. Diez = 10.  Dix in French.

31. Draw out : ELICIT

33. Aggravates : VEXES

34. Frodo's forest friends : ENTS

36. Words before many words : IN SO.  Far trickier a clue than " ___  many words".

38. Texting shrug : IDK. I Don't Know.

39. Space __ : NEEDLE

40. Increasingly rare screens : CRTS

42. Average : MEAN

43. Shopping club : SAM'S

44. Gray ones are debatable : AREAS. Gray areas.

48. Causes of unusual weather : EL NINOs. It's plurable, D-Otto?

50. Tic __ : TACs

51. Sounded like the wind : MOANED

52. '60s secretary of state : RUSK (Dean). JFK era.

53. Leaves painfully : JILTS. Not an easy clue for me.

55. LSAT cousin : GRE

57. Supporter of a strong, centralized government : STATIST. New word to me.

58. What a sports star may sport : BEARD

59. Company founded by Gem State brothers : ORE-IDA. I did not know this trivia. 

62. Condensed, condensed : ABR (Abridged). The second "condensed" indicates abbr.

63. Gawk : STARE

65. Paper size: Abbr. : LTR

68. Salt : SEA DOG

69. 16th-century date : MDII. 1502.

72. Head-turner of a sort : PSST

74. The Cowboys of the Big 12: Abbr. : OSU. Oklahoma State.

77. March followers : APRILS

78. SFO postings : ETDs

79. Quayle follower : GORE. VP.

81. Vocalist Vikki : CARR

82. Green 2001 title hero : SHREK. Easily obtainable via crosses.

85. Canadian pump name : ESSO

87. Pub. concern : CIRC. Circulation. Pub is for "Publisher" I suppose.

88. "Bird-Wire" link : ON A. Bird on a wire.

91. It has a string attached : YO-YO

92. Big name in stunt jumping : KNIEVEL

93. "We did the right thing" : IT'S BEST. Not a phrase I used.

95. Chip source : POTATO

97. Number one Hun : ATTILA. We learned a lot about Genghis Khan in school. Somehow not Attila the Hun.

98. Binding material : CEMENT

99. Column couple : ITEM. Oh, newspaper columns.

101. Tar Heel State campus : ELON

104. Tuned in : AWARE

105. Flowed furiously : RAGED

106. Sandbox rebuttal : ARE SO

107. Girl : LASS

108. Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, e.g. : ESPY. Never heard of  Jimmy V.

110. Bk. reviewers? : CPAS. I nailed it also.

111. Singer India.__ : ARIE

113. Old Bruin nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito.

116. Word on U.S. coins : GOD

118. Celestial altar : ARA

119. Gross __ : TON

120. Muppet monkey Minella : SAL. Stranger to me also.

 C.C.