Sunday July 15, 2012 Gareth Bain

Theme: "Say What?" - Say can precede the first word(s) in each theme entry.

23A. Area for religious zeal : AMEN CORNER. Golfers are all familiar with Augusta's Amen Corner. Say "Amen".

25A. Actress turned princess : GRACE KELLY. She epitomized elegance. Say grace.

42A. Jackie Coogan's "Addams Family" role : UNCLE FESTER. Say uncle.

47A. A Bible, to many : THE WORD OF GOD. Say the word. I just can't focus on my Bible.

68A. 1961 Marvelettes #1 hit : PLEASE MR. POSTMAN. Say "Please".

93A. O'Neill play : AH, WILDERNESS! Not familiar with the play. Say "Ah".

96A. "I'm full!" : NO MORE FOR ME. "Say no more".

116A. Start of an opinion : I DO BELIEVE. Say "I do".

119A. Everly Brothers classic : BYE BYE LOVE. Say "Bye Bye".

Simple, elegant & original. Love it. I like that two of the theme entries are familiar songs.

9 theme entries with 101 squares are not easy to deal with, luckily the entry length are grid-friendly for Gareth. Constructors love 10's on Sunday, since you can place them side by side. The 11's and 12's have a malleable 2-letter overlap.

Across:

1. Old West gunslinger Jack : SLADE. Wiki said he was "a stagecoach and Pony Express superintendent, instrumental in the opening of the American West and the archetype of the Western gunslinger."

6. Converse : CHAT

10. Sound off : OPINE

15. Wall St. hedgers : ARBs. Arbitragers.

19. "Enough of that!" : CAN IT. 29A. "Told you!" : SEE

20. Like gossamer : AIRY

21. Nobelist Curie : MARIE

22. Joint malady : GOUT. Strict diet for gout sufferers. They can't eat sardines.

27. Contemptible : BASE

28. __ voce: softly : SOTTO

30. "Who'd've thought?!" : I'LL BE. Needs "Well" in front.

31. Political handout : TRACT

33. Suffix with Zola : ESQUE. So, what kind of style is Zola-esque?

36. Rapper __ Dogg : NATE. Also the name of Jazzbumpa's grandson, who aspires to be a Tiger someday.

38. Shade of gray : ASH

40. Dragon slayer's destination : LAIR. Every Chinese wants his/her son grow up to be a "dragon", meaning "highly successful".

51. Rummage event : YARD SALE. Neighborhood yard sales are always fun.

52. Big dos : BASHES. Not AFRO (37D. High style).

53. Personal account, briefly : BIO

54. Roughly : OR SO

55. Big weight : TON

56. Et __ : ALII

57. Quaint graphic, for short : LITHO. Lithograph.

59. Ferdinand II, por ejemplo : REY. "King" in Spanish. "Rei" in Portuguese.

60. Dropped off : SLEPT

62. Chef's measure : TEASPOON. I cook by feel.

65. "The Raven" opener : ONCE. "Once upon a midnight dreary..."

67. Hobbits' home, with "The" : SHIRE. We had this before.

72. "... all snug in __ beds" : THEIR

74. Organ parts : KEYS. Are you thinking of EYES/EARS?

75. Volcanic depressions : CALDERAS. New word to me. And 104. Like volcanoes : CONIC

79. Longest river in France : LOIRE

80. Club date : GIG. So simple.

82. Eventually become : END UP

84. Human plant? : MOLE. Tricky clue.

85. Bruins legend : ORR (Bobby)

86. Superior at work : BOSS

87. Pussycat's partner : OWL. "The Owl and the Pussycat".

88. Deceive : LEAD ON

90. Queen who bankrolled Columbus : ISABELLA. Long gimme.

98. Round-of-four game : SEMI. I only know Final Four.

99. Sugar suffix : OSE

100. Starts to doze : NODS

101. Derby setting : EPSOM

106. King of Judea : HEROD

109. Realm from 800-1806: Abbr. : HRE

111. 2001-'08 White House Deputy Chief of Staff whose middle name is Whitehouse : HAGIN (Joe). Wow, I have no memory of this guy at all. He reported to Andrew Card. That's a prescient middle name.

113. Whipped cream amount : GLOB

121. "Farewell, Luigi!" : CIAO

122. Sea eagles : ERNES

123. English horn relative : OBOE

124. Crockett contemporary : BOWIE (James). Alamo.

125. Mfg. guidelines : STDs

126. India's first one took place in 1974 : N-TEST. New trivia to me. China's first was in 1964. My grandma reminded me often the great "Three Years of Natural Disasters" (1958-1961) when at least 15 millions died of hunger. Drought.

127. Cheer : YELL

128. They generate interest : BONDS. Another great clue.

Down:

1. Sign of healing : SCAB

2. Very high priest? : LAMA. High indeed.

3. It can knock you out : ANESTHESIA. Number.

4. Eatery with its own lingo : DINER

5. "Yadda yadda yadda": Abbr. : ETC

6. Major artery : CAROTID

7. Insinuate : HINT

8. Rugged ridge : ARETE. Classic crosswordese.

9. They're hardly old hands : TYROS

10. Texter's "Heavens to Betsy!" : OMG

11. Interstellar unit : PARSEC. About 3.26 light-years. Doesn't look like a word.

12. "Dies __": hymn : IRAE

13. Clairol hair-coloring brand : NICE 'N EASY. I dyed my hair red for a short period in college. I was out of my mind.

14. Width designation : EEE

15. Forever young, seemingly : AGELESS. Isn't she cool?

16. Kaiser __ : ROLL

17. Filament container : BULB

18. Eyelid problem : STYE

24. Annual black-tie affair, with "the" : OSCARS. Have you ever watched/listened to any Sacha Baron Cohen interview as himself? He's extremely intelligent.

26. Cashed, as a forged check : KITED

32. Skin irritation soother : ALOE

34. Status __ : QUO

35. Sturm __ Drang : UND. Hi there, Spitzboov!

38. Swinging time? : AT BAT

39. Rock often containing quartz : SHALE

41. Kilmer's nestful : ROBINS. "...A nest of robins in her hair..."

43. Ancient strings : LYRE

44. Certain tuber, slangily : TATER

45. Skip church, in a way? : ELOPE. We were married by a judge.

46. Musical with the song "Seasons of Love" : RENT

48. A secret may be told in one : WHISPER

49. Be the right size : FIT. This is perfect. Angelina who?

50. Call it a night : GO HOME

54. Nabisco trademark : OREO

57. Mauna __ : LOA

58. Ham __ : ON RYE

60. River herring : SHAD

61. Guy with wires : LINEMAN. Know nothing about football. What "wires"?

63. Ballet bend : PLIE

64. Anthem contraction : O'ER

66. "Strangers and Brothers" novelist : C P SNOW. Stumper.

67. Tee buyer's options, briefly : SML

69. ER readouts : EKGs

70. Racing craft with an anatomical-sounding name : SCULLS. Thanks for the helpful clue.

71. Exploit : TAP

72. Common statue : TORSO

73. Distiller Walker : HIRAM

76. Bull rider's protector : RODEO CLOWN

77. Posted __: didn't break even : A LOSS

78. Have a feeling : SENSE

79. Filet mignon cut : LOIN

80. Pro shop purchase : GOLF SHIRT. And 81. World Golf Hall of Famer Aoki : ISAO. Minor "Golf" & GOLF dupe.

83. "One for the road" offense, briefly : DWI

86. Wasn't colorfast : BLED

88. Snicket of children's books : LEMONY. What would be your pen name?

89. St. Patrick's land : ERIN

91. Rare great apes : BONOBOS. No wonder I've heard of them. Rare!

92. Lose ground? : ERODE

93. Roadie's load : AMP. 95. 93-Down measurement unit : DECIBEL

94. Cock and bull : HEs

97. '50s Superman player George : REEVES. The only Reeves I know is Keanu.

102. "This will be awesome!" : OH BOY

103. Equivocator's word : MAYBE

105. Block house : IGLOO. Sounds good. So hot here.

106. Sounds from a wino : HICs

107. Work on one's work : EDIT

108. "The __ Not Taken": Frost : ROAD

110. Artist Magritte : RENE. Surrealist. This is not a pipe.

112. Rock sci. : GEOL

114. Banished Roman poet : OVID

115. Waggle-dancing insects : BEES. Melissa is enjoying her annual Girls' Weekend at Shasta right now.

117. Deighton of thrillers : LEN

118. Superlative finish : EST

120. Go back : EBB

Answer grid.

C.C.

Sunday, July 8th 2012, David Steinberg

Theme: Got Milk? or The Famous Crossword Cookie

Our friend the Oreo is such a staple of crossword fare that it's fun to see it given center-stage and the star of the show. All six theme answers have OREO contained within them, and to spice things up a little (if you can have a spicy milk cookie?) each OREO stands alone with no crosses.

18A. One dealing with spirits : LIQUOR STORE OWNER

29A. Tony Award won four times by Tommy Tune : BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

90A. 1983 World Series champs : BALTIMORE ORIOLES

107A. Spanish saint who wrote the encyclopedic "Etymologiae" :
ISIDORE OF SEVILLE

46D. Removed by hand, in a way : TORE OUT

48D. Put up points against : SCORE ON

Hi everyone, Steve here coming off the bench for C.C. I'm really torn about this theme - I saw there was something odd about the grid when I noticed the sets of four lights with no crosses, but it took some time for the penny to drop. The payoff seemed a little meager though - just six theme answers in total and what seemed to me to be a lot of scrappy fill around them.

Having said that, I did enjoy dealing with something unusual, and some of the fill really was a delight. As a bonus, this is a pangram.

Let's have a look at the rest of the solution:

Across:

1. "The Godfather" actor : CAAN

5. Furry '80s fad items : CHIA PETS. I'd have described these as more grassy or mossy than furry

13. Protest of a kind : FAST

17. Gymnast Korbut : OLGA

19. "Kinsey" star Neeson : LIAM

20. "That dress is perfect!" : ITS SO YOU! I've used this myself, sometimes just to get out of the store!

21. It may be uncharted : ISLE

22. Korea divider, briefly : D.M.Z. The Demilitarized Zone is about 2 miles wide and runs east-west across the country at Latitude 38N, or the 38th Parallel in popular parlance.

23. Anti-apartheid org. : A.N.C. Nelson Mandela's party, the African National Congress, which has taken the majority vote in every post-apatheid election, the first being in 1994.

24. Outing that includes birding : NATURE WALK. My friend Heidi and I had a nature walk of our own this morning up to the Hollywood sign - it's a pretty good hike. Here's a view you rarely see of the back of the sign from the top of the hill:

31. Spillane's "__ Jury" : I THE

32. Postwar British leader : ATTLEE. Clem Attlee won a huge majority victory over Winston Churchill in the 1945 election (Churchill replaced him again in 1951) In hindsight, it seems extraordinary that a leader of Churchill's stature could lose an election only two months after the hostilities in Europe ended and the Allies were still at war with Japan. King George VI ("The King's Speech") was reportedly not happy with the result, and when Attlee went to the King with the traditional request for permission to form a Government, neither man spoke for some time. Finally Attlee said to the King - "I've won the election" to get the reply "I know, I heard it on the news".

33. Peach or plum : HUE

36. National Soccer Hall of Famer since 1993 : PELE. Also the Hawaii'an Volcano Goddess, leaving some soccer-mad middle-school pupils confused.

38. Cold War enemy, informally : RED RUSSIA

43. Prereqs for some Harvard applicants : L-SATS. The Law School Admission Test.

45. One looking for stars : TALENT SCOUT

47. Flies across the Atlantic? : TSETSES. I don't think I've ever seen this pluralized before, one always seems bad enough.

49. Caspian country : IRAN

50. Hawaiian coffee region : KONA. I think Pele drank Kona coffee?

51. Volcano output : EJECTA. Oh - a themelet here - Pele and Kona, now Ejecta! This was new to me, I fiddled around with MAGMA and LAVA and variations thereof. Needed the crosses for this one.

53. Made a touchdown : ALIT

54. Timecard abbr. : HRS. Overtime Hours are nice!

55. Vel attachment? : CRO

56. __ Bora: Afghan region : TORA

60. Marge Simpson's mother-in-law : MONA

61. Foofaraw : ADO

62. Harley-Davidson's NYSE symbol : HOG. New to me - I like this!

63. All-in-one Apple : iMAC

64. City SSW of Moscow : OREL. The town was named after the former Dodgers Hall-Of-Fame baseball pitcher Orel Hershiser. No wait - I've been reading too much Wikipedia!

65. __ Tin Tin : RIN

66. Old comm. giant : I.T.T. Still going, but no longer the communications giant it once was.

67. The Sunni, e.g. : SECT

68. Pointed : ACUATE

71. Mideast pooh bah : EMIR

72. Small combo : TRIO

73. Equitably divided : PRO RATA

76. Survey an enemy position : RECONNOITER, My word of the day.

79. Rhett's last words : A DAMN

80. Fine-tune : CALIBRATE

84. Tenn. neighbor : N.CAR.

85. Gym safety item : MAT

86. What a criminal might be on? : THE LAM

88. Aptly named shaving lotion : AFTA

93. Miner's dream : MOTHER LODE

97. College sr.'s challenge : G.R.E. Before you take the LSTAT you need to make sure your pass your Graduate Record Examination

98. Classic Jaguar : XKE. Better known as the "E-Type". Here's a lovely example in British Racing Green. Wait 'til I win the Lotto!

I did have an XJS myself, but sadly I needed a Lotto win to afford to keep it on the road, so now I just have the photo-memories:

100. "Hi, sailor!" : AHOY. Very cute clue and answer!

101. Up and running : ON STREAM

106. Lawn liming target : ACID

108. Leader after Mao : DENG

109. Mete (out) : DOLE

110. More spirited : FEISTIER

111. Sommer of Berlin : ELKE

Down:

1. Hardly friendly : COLD

2. Out on __ : A LIMB

3. Visually rapt : AGAZE

4. '60s theater, briefly : NAM

5. Lock up : CLINCH

6. Ones trying to get picked up : HITCHERS. Not one of my favorites - Hitchhikers, surely?

7. Stanford-Binet nos. : IQs Who knew? Not me!

8. It borders It. : AUS. I've skied from Austria to Italy, and back. For some strange reason, you don't need a passport when you criss-cross the borders between France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria on skis.

9. Cutesy-__ : POO

10. Mock tail? : ERY

11. 1992 presidential also-ran : TSONGAS. If I ever knew Paul Tsaongas, I'd completely forgotten about him. Thank you, crosses.

12. Scottish royal family : STUARTS

13. Texter's hedge : FWIW. For What it's Worth, I thought this was something else, IMHO.

14. Looped handle : ANSA

15. Move, as merchandise : SELL

16. "Star __" : TREK

23. When many retire : AT TEN. That's way past my bedtime.

25. Jacques of "Jour de Fête" : TATI. Funniest Frenchman ever, although you might argue that's not saying a great deal.

26. Cramming, say : UP LATE. At least Five after Ten.

27. Scoreboard initials : RHE. I'd love to tell you what this means, but I have no idea, and I watch ESPN 24/7

28. Lace place : EYELET. Really?

30. Burglar's undoing : SILENT ALARM

33. Experiences : HAS

34. Jeep or Land Rover, briefly : UTE

35. Mountain road feature : ESS

36. Room with a sofa : PARLOR

37. "Seinfeld" role : ELAINE

39. 13th/14th-century German mystic : ECKHART

40. Desperate : DO OR DIE

41. Talks and talks : RUNS ON

42. Tony winner Hagen : UTA

44. Word with analysis or significance : STATISTICAL. Loved this one. It's not often you see a "word with" clue where you've got a 12-letter word as the answer.

45. Italian lover's coo : TI AMO

51. Very spicy fare : EROTICA. This was my final fill, I just could not get away from thinking about food (Food!)

52. Slow equine pace : JOG-TROT

55. Bell : CHIMER

57. Mario Puzo novel : OMERTA

58. More likely to be R-rated : RACIER

59. One playing a part : ACTOR

69. "I don't believe it" : CAN'T BE

70. Remote insert : AA CELL

71. Tarzan creator's monogram : E.R.B. I live close to Tarzana, a town in the San Fernando Valley named for Edgar Rice Burrough's hero.

73. Cooking spray : PAM

74. Old vitamin bottle letters : R.D.A. Recommended Daily Amount. I suppose it must be called something else now, given that the clue says "old".

75. Meal starter? : OAT. I had EAT! first.

77. 7 on the Beaufort scale : NEAR GALE. I love the Beaufort Scale names. "Cap'n, it's blowing a Near Gale out there!" "Really? I was expecting Fresh Gale. Wake me if it looks like a Strong Gale, and take down the mainsail the second you feel a Whole Gale or we'll lose the mainmast"

78. How ballerinas dance : ON TOE. No, sorry, this one just doesn't work for me.

81. Violist's clef : ALTO. I recall some rather feisty discussions about clefs a few months ago.

82. Fired : LAID OFF

83. Colossal : IMMENSE

87. Laugh syllable : HAR

89. Not so flexible : FIRMER

91. Word relative : EXCEL

92. Short-legged lizard : SKINK. How I knew this I have no idea, I'm sure I've never knowingly seen a skink. I've seen lots of lizards, just never stopped to measure their legs.

93. Inn employee : MAID

94. Quite : OH SO

95. Labor : TOIL

96. University of Chicago site __ Park : HYDE

99. Sphere's lack : EDGE

102. Cinque e uno : SEI

103. Man cave staples : TV'S

104. Slowing, on a score: Abbr. : RIT. "Ritardando"

105. Member of The Whiffenpoofs : ELI

106. Soft drink ending : ADE

Answer grid.

And a soft blog ending from me. Hope you all have a great Sunday, be safe and see you all soon.

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.

Sunday June 24, 2012 Joel D. Lafargue

Theme: "Novelties" - TT is inserted into common phrase.

23A. Not a waste of time carving? : WORTH THE WHITTLE. Worth the while.

36A. Tinker Bell's blabbing? : FAIRY TATTLES. Fairy tales.

60A. Municipal mascot? : TOWN CRITTER. Town crier.

87A. Pane in an infested attic? : BATTY WINDOW. Bay window.

108A. Lollipop for a dog? : SETTER SUCKER. Seer sucker.

127A. Butterfly? : FREQUENT FLITTER. Frequent flier.

15D. Duke's Droid? : PATTY PHONE. Pay phone.

78D. Where smoking remnants are stored? : BUTTS DEPOT. Bus depot.

This is our first encounter with Joel D. Lafargue. Google shows has quite a few puzzles in the Simon & Schuster series, apart from his NY Times in 1997.

This puzzle is a pangram, e.g., every letter is used at least once in the grid. It has a total 96 theme squares. Rich's minimum is 84. Gridding gets more challenging if you have over 100 theme squares. Very often you end up with way too many 3-letter words, hence more abbrs & undesirble fill. This grid has 24 3-letter words. Sometimes we get this many in a 15*15 grid.

Across:

1. Pay to see cards : CALL

5. He played Senator Vinick on "The West Wing" : ALDA (Alan)

9. "Ma! (He's Making Eyes __)": 1921 song : AT ME. Easy to get. Don't know the song.

13. Urge forward : IMPEL

18. B&O part : OHIO

19. Mistake : FAULT

21. Marina feature : PIER

22. Mazda two-seater : MIATA

26. Anti-apartheid author Alan : PATON. No idea. He wrote this book: "Cry, the Beloved Country".

27. Art in a park : STATUE

28. Noticed : SEEN

29. Union chapter : LOCAL

31. "Star Trek" spinoff, briefly : TNG (The Next Generation)

32. Alway : E'ER

33. Jupiter, to Saturn : SON. Not the planets I was picturing.

34. Tendency toward disorder : ENTROPY. We used to have a poster using this as his avatar name.

42. Screenplays : SCRIPTS

45. "Not __ eye in ... " : A DRY. 2D. "There'll be __ time ..." : A HOT. 37D. Like __ in the headlights : A DEER. 39. In __: miffed : A PET. 59D. __ the finish : IN AT. 5 partials. 1 more than Rich's Sunday limit.

46. Busy IRS mo. : APR

47. __ Team : DREAM

50. Frome of fiction : ETHAN. Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome".

51. Farm spread : LEA

52. Type of daisy : OXEYE

54. Be of use : AVAIL

57. Name whose Japanese symbols mean "ocean child" : YOKO. I mentioned this on the blog before.

58. Foul-smelling : FETID

64. Revival prefix : NEO

65. Political theorist Hannah : ARENDT. Well, she does have the political look. Stranger to me.

67. First skipper? : NOAH. Clever clue.

68. Run-down urban dwelling : TENEMENT

70. Not quite closed : AJAR

72. Blade : KNIFE

75. Sushi bar soup : MISO. A little Tofu, a few sprinkles of green onion. Simple & perfect.

76. Amount so far : SUBTOTAL

80. Whom Cordelia called "As mad as the vex'd sea" : LEAR. Cordelia is King Lear's youngest.

82. "Maybe later" : NOT NOW

86. It has a Bklyn. campus : LIU (Long Island University). Splynter knows. He attended RPI though. Same as Spitzboov.

91. 27-day pope of 1605 : LEO XI. Such a short reign.

92. __'acte : ENTR

94. Range rover : STRAY. Nice clue.

95. Blue shoe material of song : SUEDE

97. Limo passenger, often : VIP. We saw a beat-up limo in flea market last week.

98. Place and Kett : ETTAs

100. Flight units : STEPS

103. Moo goo __ pan : GAI. Literally "Chicken" in Cantonese. Mandarin is "Ji". Quite different. "Ye Ji" means "wild chicken", slang for "hooker".

104. "Smooth Operator" singer : SADE. So, Grumpy, what kind of music do you like?

105. Eponymous microbiologist Louis : PASTEUR

111. Most cherished : DEAREST

114. "Norma __" : RAE

115. Previously : AGO

116. "Color me surprised" : GEE

118. Airbus A380, vis-à-vis most other planes : WIDER

119. Bond foe : DR NO

121. Clumsy mistakes : BLOOPS

125. Breakfast cereal prefix : ALPHA. Alpha-Bits.

130. Franny's title brother, in a Salinger novella : ZOOEY."Franny and Zooey". Learning moment for me. I think it's time to put Zooey Deschanel on the clue map. She's everywhere now.


131. Support girder : I-BAR

132. Yes-Bob link : SIREE

133. Italian peak : ETNA. In Sicily.

134. Pre-deal round : ANTES

135. Silent yeses : NODS

136. Comes out with : SAYS

137. Retinal cells : RODS

Down:

1. Intimidates : COWS

3. Old Sicilian coin : LIRA

4. Hard-to-win game : LOTTERY. Our neighbor Dwayne won $100K some time ago. Now he lost his house.

5. Like net income : AFTER TAX

6. __-di-dah : LAH

7. Club charges : DUES

8. Angels' div. : AL WEST. Pujols is heating up.

9. On-target : APT

10. Best-seller list datum : TITLE

11. Juicy gourd : MELON. I love seedless mini watermelons. You? I wish I could grow them in MN.

12. Raises : ERECTS

13. Plead with : IMPLORE

14. "O patria __": "Aida" aria : MIA

16. Thames school : ETON

17. Kent's Smallville sweetie : LANG (Lana)

20. It's periodically rung out : THE OLD. [Deskpalm!]

24. "The Kingfish" Long of early 20th-century politics : HUEY (Long). For Haltool. I thought his nickname is "The King" due to "All the King's Men".

25. __ tube : INNER

30. Circle piece : ARC

35. Sympathetic sorrow : PITY

36. Farmer Al __: Paul Terry toon : FALFA. Did you nail this, eddyB? I drew a blank.

38. Boiling : IRATE

40. Check for fit : TRY ON

41. Burn the surface of : SEAR

43. Hoodwinked : TAKEN

44. Schnozzola : SNOOT

48. Prefix with fauna : AVI

49. Quarterback Hasselbeck : MATT. For the Titans.


52. Pin money source : ODD JOB

53. Furry sci-fi creature : EWOK. "Star Wars".

55. Gossip page pair : ITEM

56. Colleague of Trotsky : LENIN. "Colleague" struck me as funny. I guess I'm used to the "Comrade" address.

61. Turkic flatbread : NAN

62. Hot dog topping : CHILI. Recipe for disaster.

63. Do some cobbling on : RESOLE

66. Cheerios : TA TAS

69. Dust speck : MOTE

71. Band with the 2010 album "Infestation" : RATT. Very helpful clue.

73. Wetland : FEN

74. St. Louis's __ Bridge : EADS. Named after its designer Eads.

76. Catch some z's : SLEEP

77. Utah's __ Mountains : UINTA. I can never remember this name.

79. P.O. deliveries : LTRS

81. Coloring cosmetic : ROUGE

83. Evans's news partner : NOVAK (Bob). Heavily involved in the Valerie Plame leak scandal.

84. Nitrous __ : OXIDE

85. Drop remover : WIPER

88. China's Sun __-sen : YAT. Chiang Kai-shek succeeded him. They were brothers-in-laws.

89. Forks in the road : WYES

90. Have on : WEAR

93. Assess : RATE

96. Neutralizes, as a bomb : DISABLES

99. Shipping routes : SEAWAYS

101. Hidden : PERDU. I thought it's "Lost" due to English translation of Proust's "A la Recherche du temps perdu".

102. Rude looks : STARES

104. Moped's cousin : SCOOTER

106. Rhody the Ram's sch. : URI (University of Rhode Island)

107. Brightly colored perch : REDFIN. OK, makes sense.

109. Court activity : TENNIS. Not judge's court.

110. Fruit with a wrinkly rind : UGLI. Quite juicy and sweet.

112. __-Croatian : SERBO

113. Traction aid : TREAD

116. Mideast strip : GAZA

117. Tar Heel State university : ELON. I bet Jayce has a better & topical clue for ELON.

120. Another, in Ávila : OTRA

122. Bart and Lisa's bus driver : OTTO. "The Simpsons".

123. Await judgment : PEND

124. Ladies in Mex. : SRAS

126. Half a bray : HEE. Hee-haw.

128. PT separators : QRS. Man, alphabet. P Q R S T.

129. Enchanted : FEY. JFK once described Jackie's style as "fey". That's how I learned this meaning.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Sunday June 17, 2012 Gareth Bain

Theme: "Double-O Seven" - O is replaced by OO in 7 common phrases.

23A. Where chicks learn their ABCs? : KINDERGARTEN COOP. Kindergarten Cop.

34A. Midday duelers? : NOON COMBATANTS. Non-combatants.

59A. Establishment boasting whiskey and pedicures? : BEAUTY SALOON. Beauty salon.

71A. Lowdown on Wrigley's? : BUBBLEGUM POOP. Bubblegum pop. Unfamiliar with this music genre.

82A. Deposit on a brownstone entrance? : STOOP PAYMENT. Stop payment.

105A. Quaint caption for a cavalry photo? : HERE BE DRAGOONS. Here be dragons. This base phrase is also new to me.

124A. Question about a noisy pet owl? : HOOT ENOUGH FOR YOU. Hot enough for you?

There are a few straying O's which are unreplaced (and irreplaceable) in 34A & 124A. Can't be too strict in this situation. Otherwise, we'd have lost the fun entries.

A few OOs in non-theme entries also. I bet Gareth Bain considered not to include them but eventually kept them as he wanted solid fill. And his fill is always, always solid.

Some of you probably are not aware of this: Gareth is based in South Africa and his English features "flavour" rather than our "flavor". So he faces some serious challenges in his crossword construction & solving.

Across:

1. Mell Lazarus comics matriarch : MOMMA. Gimmie, eddyB?

6. Clublike weapons : MACES

11. Latin trio member : AMAT (He loves). Amo, amas, AMAT.

15. Son of Homer : BART. 61D. 15-Across's Squishee provider : APU. The Kwik-E-Mart owner.

19. Bite the bullet, e.g. : IDIOM

20. Inundated : AWASH

21. Chorus syllables : LA LA. Hi there Linda.

22. On the quieter side : ALEE

26. Colorful horse : ROAN

27. Keying in : ENTERING

28. Switch ending : EROO. Switcheroo.

29. President after Calvin : HERBERT (Hoover)

31. Critical hosp. area : ICU

32. Witticism : MOT

33. Bizet's "Habanera," e.g. : ARIA

42. Mushrooms, say : GROWS. Did you want FUNGI also?

46. Irish-born actor Milo : O'SHEA

47. Nina who had a 1959 hit with "I Loves You, Porgy" : SIMONE. Why bad grammar in the song title, Argyle?

48. Slow-on-the-uptake response : OH, I GET IT. I say this often.

51. Little green men : ALIENS

53. Web or sky follower : CAM

54. Do some gliding : SOAR

55. She played WKRP's Jennifer : LONI (Anderson)

56. Parka feature : HOOD

57. Chapter of a sort : ERA

63. They connect stories : STAIRS. Not the tale stories.

67. Champagne toast? : SALUT. Champagne the wine region in France.

66. Mailing H.Q. : GPO

68. Part of a gig : MEG. OK, Gigabyte, Megabyte. 1 Gig = 1024 Meg.

76. Little green men : ETs

77. British noblemen : EARLS

79. __ Jima : IWO

80. Mistreat : ILL-USE

87. Literary preposition : O'ER

88. Antarctica's __ Ice Shelf : ROSS. What's the difference between ice shelf and ice sheet?

92. Barflies : SOTS

93. Family depiction : TREE. Lots of people here in MN has (Correction: have!) Norwegian/Swedish background. Do you have Scandinavian blood also, D-Otto?

94. Unprocessed : RAW

96. Peloponnesian War side : SPARTA. Against Athens.

98. Yellow turnip : RUTABAGA. This looks delicious. Where is our foodie Steve?


100. Hot pot spot : TRIVET

103. Special forces unit : A TEAM

104. Ring centerpiece : STONE. Unlike Irish Miss, I wear no ring. How about you?

108. Highlander : GAEL

111. Facilities, for short : LAV

112. Greek securities org. : ASE. Athens Stock Exchange. Unknown to me.

113. Lady in a harbor : LIBERTY. Statue of Liberty.

116. Yemeni seaport : ADEN

118. Decisive experiment : ACID TEST

123. Avocado's shape : OVAL

127. Brain part : LOBE. CrossEyedDave's brain is wired with some real fun stuff.

128. Whenever : ONCE

129. Bottled benefactor : GENIE

130. Wields a hoe : WEEDS

131. God of hawks? : ARES. War god, hence "of hawks" with "?".

132. Retired boomers : SSTs

133. Barack's second High Court appointee : ELENA (Kagan)

134. Grammy winner Jones : NORAH. Like her voice, Bill? Congrats on the anniversary, by the way!

Down:

1. Lecturer's aid : MIKE

2. God with raven messengers : ODIN

3. Register freebie : MINT

4. Statistical calculation : MODE

5. "__ Pie" : AMERICAN. Too much. I prefer "American Graffiti".

6. Wine buys : MAGNUMS

7. Like happy tails : AWAG

8. Airport rental : CAR

9. Italian noble family : ESTE

10. Civil War general with a Shawnee middle name : SHERMAN. William Tecumseh Sherman. New trivia to me.

11. "Jo's Boys" author : ALCOTT

12. Red Guard leader : MAO. The Red Guards were all students, from middle school to colleges.

13. Dual-purpose island word : ALOHA

14. Become thinner : TAPER

15. Campy 1968 Fonda title role : BARBARELLA. Dennis won't forgive Jane Fonda.

16. Burn remedy : ALOE

17. Seat warmer? : REAR. Fun clue.

18. Hiking gear item : TENT

24. Wealthy, in Juárez : RICO

25. "For __": Beatles' song : NO ONE

30. "The Avengers" co-star : RIGG (Diana)

34. Saver of pairs : NOAH. Thanks for Noah's Ark info, Rose.

35. Scandinavian capital : OSLO

36. Indiana neighbor : OHIO

37. They may be pressing : NEEDS

38. Antacid option : BICARB

39. Docs' lobby: Abbr. : AMA

40. Pyramid, perhaps : TOMB

41. Chimney schmutz : SOOT

43. Two-time Oscar nominee for portraying Henry II : O'TOOLE (Peter). Did not know this trivia either.

44. Triumph against odds : WIN OUT

45. Tours of duty : STINTS

49. Small sum of money, slangily : HAY

50. Org. with many unhappy returns? : IRS. I like this clue also.

52. 12-time Pro Bowl NFLer Junior : SEAU. So sad. You never know what's going on in others' life.

54. Finland, in Finland : SUOMI. New word to me.

58. Umbrella spoke : RIB

60. Spur : EGG ON

62. Egyptian snakes : ASPS

64. Recipe amt. : TBSP

65. Icky stuff : SLIME

68. Mr. and Mr. : MESSRS

69. Give the cook a day off, perhaps : EAT OUT. I'm the cook in our house.

70. Cavern : GROTTO

72. Woolly mammal : EWE. So, who's the one who might make a EWE turn?

73. Worked the fields : PLOWED

74. José's hooray : OLE

75. Partly mine : OURS

78. California's most populous county : LOS ANGELES. MJ sent me the LA Times newspaper with my first solo puzzle, I was so moved. I'm lucky to have many caring readers, and a first-class blogging team.

81. Poets' Muse : ERATO

83. Gp. to benefit students : PTA

84. Bol. neighbor : ARG

85. "Woo-hoo!" : YEAH

86. Salt Lake City daily, briefly : TRIB

89. One dunked after school : OREO

90. One of the Berenstains : STAN. Stan and Jan Berenstain. And 99. Berenstain critter : BEAR

91. Wal-Mart wholesale club : SAM'S

95. Monopoly abbr. : AVE

97. Computer scrolling key : PAGE DOWN

100. Bit of sports news : TRADE. Are you surprised by R. A. Dickey's continued dominance? He was a Twin.

101. Dish best served cold, so it's said : REVENGE

102. Respiratory conduit : TRACHEA.

106. Causes to beam : ELATES

107. "Dream on!" : AS IF

109. Value system : ETHOS

110. Rhone's capital : LYONS

113. Kinks hit whose title is spelled out in the lyrics : LOLA. " ... I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola L-O-L-A Lola Lo lo lo lo Lo - la..."

114. Novello of old films : IVOR

115. Ruth not in the Bible : BABE. Sweet!

117. Holiday song : NOEL

118. Votin' no on : AGIN

119. Palm smartphone : TREO

120. Observer : EYER

121. Happy Meal option : SODA

122. Fanny : TUSH

125. Mo. known for color changes : OCT

126. A in French? : UNE. "?" is unnecessary.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Sunday June 10, 2012 John Lampkin

Theme: "Baby Talk" - One word in each common phrase is replaced by a tot word.

23A. Kissing game? : SPIN THE BABA. Spin the bottle.

44A. Thing sliding down an aisle? : BRIDAL CHOO CHOO. Bridal train.

68A. Popular party appetizers? : PIGGIES IN BLANKIES. Pigs in blankets. This is similiar to the Cantonese sausage bun. The sausage there is sweet though.

91A. Dire circumstance, idiomatically? : HELL OR HIGH WAWA. Hell or high water.

118A. "Ego Trippin'" rapper? : SNOOP BOWWOW. Snoop Dogg.

26D. Waistline concern? : WUV HANDLES. Love handles.

64D. Romantic night out? : DIN DIN DATE. Dinner date.

Look at how the two Down theme entries intersect PIGGIES IN BLANKIES? Lovely! I can picture John's excitement when he discovered that he could make them interlock.

Interlocking theme entries creates compromises at times, but also creates smoother grid when you have lots of theme entries.

As always, brilliant clecho (clue echo). Just look at this list:

16A. Spot order? : SIT

19A. Tile with ordered spots : DOMINO

120A. Spot : EYE

127A. Scary spots in suspense movies : LEDGES

92D. Try to spot, with "for" : LOOK

Across:

1. A bundle, maybe : MOOLAH. And TILL (7. Money box)

11. Fully fills : SATES

20. Anderson who sang with Ellington : IVIE. Learned her name from doing Xwords. Wiki says she was born in Gilroy, CA, where our Garlic Girl lives.

21. The 31-Across's Quakers : U PENN. 31A. College hoops org. : NCAA

22. Stout relative : ALE

25. Recessed photo frame : SHADOWBOX. I think Dennis has one with all his medals/ribbons.

27. With 98-Across, "The most beautiful face in the world? It's yours" speaker : ESTEE. 98A. See 27-Across : LAUDER. Nice to have both filled in the grid.

28. Turner of records : TINA

29. "__ a Lady" : SHE'S. Tom Jones. I like his "Sex Bomb".

30. Lousy-sounding sausage : WURST

33. Movie promo : TRAILER

36. Wine holders : VATS

37. Compassionate : HUMANE. Foreign word to the despicable troll on our blog.

41. Some are tributarios : RIOS

42. Tchaikovsky's middle name : ILICH. Who knows!

48. Old ad challenge to wannabe artists : DRAW ME

52. Leer at : OGLE. Thought of Jazzbumpa' OGLE definition a while ago.

53. Rest atop : LIE ON

54. Filmmaker Lee : ANG. Literally "Peace".

56. Cause of kitchen tears : ONION

57. Brooks of comedy : MEL

58. Waterfall sounds : ROARS

59. Wordplay user : WIT

61. Iditarod front-runner : LEAD DOG. JD once met with an Iditarod winner. Jeff King, I think.

63. Half a 45 : B-SIDE

65. Zeno, e.g. : STOIC

67. Like sack dresses : BELT-LESS

72. Fran Drescher sitcom : THE NANNY. I can hear her nasal voice.

74. Miller's Willy : LOMAN. From "Death of a Salesman".

75. Lab protection org.? : ASPCA. Lab dog.

78. Andy with record-setting serves in excess of 150 mph : RODDICK. He's quite witty.

79. Barnyard beast : ASS

80. Cheney's successor : BIDEN

83. Dorm VIPs : RAs

84. Words often heard before a large number : ONE IN (a million)

85. Big Papi's team : SOX. For Linda. Big Papi is the nickname of David Ortiz, who used to be with the Twins. The ex-Twin I miss most is Johan Santana.

87. One of the Minor Prophets : HOSEA

88. Bloke : GENT

89. Animation pioneer : DISNEY

95. Critical times : D-DAYS

97. Pos. and neg. : OPPs

99. Large land mass : ASIA

102. Court activity : MOTIONS

104. Noah's eldest : SHEM. So, how many people boarded Noah's Ark?

106. Keebler cracker : ZESTA

108. 15th-century English ruling house : YORK

109. Going nowhere : IDLE

111. Doctor Bartolo, in "The Barber of Seville" : BASSO. Is Doctor Bartolo a bad guy? I know nothing about "The Barber of Seville".

116. Observatory tool : TELESCOPE

121. Cut off during pursuit : HEM IN

122. Aural cleaner : Q-TIP

123. "The Hairy Ape" playwright : O'NEILL (Eugene)

124. Coral isle : CAY

125. Bring joy to : ELATE

126. Steinway's partners? : SONS. Steinway & Sons. Both John & Rich are pianists.

Down:

1. Catalog stuff: Abbr. : MDSE

2. "Forgetful me!" : OOPS

3. Forget to include : OMIT

4. It may be broken on the road : LINE. White line on the road?

5. Beetle's appendage : ANTENNA

6. Water, to chemists : HOH. Reminded me of the HOO puzzle Bruce Sutphin & Doug Peterson constructed last Dec. They mistakenly thought water is HOO.

7. Talus neighbor : TIBIA

8. Terrible tsar : IVAN

9. Booze, facetiously : LIBATION

10. Low area? : LEA. Low is "Cattle call" here. Noun. And 50. Lows : MOOS. Verb.

11. Japanese restaurant staple : SUSHI

12. Orbital point farthest from the sun : APHELION. Gimme to Spitzboov/Bill G. New word to me.

13. Thistlelike plant : TEASEL

14. Stop : END

15. Winter blanket : SNOW

16. Native Israeli : SABRA

17. Runner-up's lament : I LOST

18. Campus armful : TEXTS

24. JFK posting : ETA

29. Merit badge site : SASH

32. String quartet member : CELLO. And 96. Musician with a 1712 Stradivarius : YO-YO MA.

34. Sinbad's giant egg-layer : ROC

35. Relieve (of) : RID

37. "Ivy Mike" test weapon : H-BOMB. Never heard of "Ivy Mike".

38. Eggs on : URGES

39. Multi-legged critters : MILLIPEDES

40. Juice drink suffix : ADE

41. Sits in a cage, say : ROOSTS

43. Zagreb resident : CROATIAN

45. Covert govt. group : CIA

46. "A Bell for Adano" author : HERSEY. Hey, "Adano" as a clue!

47. Feedbag morsel : OAT

49. Common : WIDESPREAD

51. Many MIT grads : ENGS

55. Watkins __: N.Y. road-racing town : GLEN. No idea, but Argyle knows all the road racing in N.Y.

58. Won back : REGAINED

59. Skid row figures : WINOS

60. Long-range nuke : ICBM

62. Grazer with a rack : ELK

66. Paints for Pissarro : OILS

67. Exile : BANISH

69. Health supplements co. : GNC

70. Colonial well fillers : INKS

71. Dwells on to excess : LABORS

72. Plodded : TROD

73. Hägar's daughter : HONI. Pronounced as "Honey", correct?

76. "Please, Daddy?" : CAN WE? John has two daughters.

77. "__ Is Born" : A STAR

79. Drop from the staff : AXE. Fire.

81. Agnus __ : DEI

82. Aerie builder : EAGLE. Fun to see "Aerie" as clue too.

86. "Come on, that's enough!" : OH STOP IT

87. Enters, as a cab : HOPS INTO

88. D.C. school named for a president : GWU

90. Verb for Popeye : YAM. "I yam what I yam..".

93. TLC provider : LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse)

94. Fido's Easter treat : HAM BONE. The clue made me smile.

99. Montezuma, e.g. : AZTEC

100. "Later!" : SEE YA

101. R&B's __ Brothers : ISLEY

103. Sherlock's adversary Adler : IRENE

104. Feeds, as pigs : SLOPS

105. Cool, old-style : HEP

107. Tennis legend : ASHE (Arthur)

110. Rub out : DO IN. Kill.

112. Quite impressed : AWED. The other day I marveled at Marti's eclectic hobbies & skills to Boomer. He said: "But what's her bowling average?"

113. Moonshine mouthful : SWIG. Quite a few alliterative clues in this puzzle.

114. Like some providers : SOLE

115. Feathered head-turners : OWLS. Wow, all the owls will be pleased with this clue!

117. Animation collectible : CEL. Speaking of collectibles, do any of you own the original Stratego? Splynter is looking for one.

118. Quilting units: Abbr. : SQs

119. Arg. neighbor : BOL (Bolivia)

Answer grid.

C.C.