Theme: "Seeing (See ING) Progress" - ING orderly progresses from left to right in the grid.
22. Fit: IN GOOD SHAPE.
29. Arrives like a brainstorm: SPRINGS TO MIND.
51. Start of a hopeful chant: RAIN RAIN GO AWAY.
69. Absolutely zero: NOT A SINGLE ONE.
88. Ignore mistakes, say: LET THINGS SLIDE.
105. Disney theme park: ANIMAL KINGDOM.
119. Family film feature: HAPPY ENDING.
It
would be perfect in all ING span across multi-words, but sometimes it's
impossible, esp given the orderly progression constraints. Love the
HAPPY ENDING as last themer.
Across:
6. Blobby sci-fi villain: JABBA. Jabba the Hutt.
11. Biker's protective wear: LEATHERS.
19. In the know: AWARE.
20. Fitness motto starter: USE IT.
21. Removes faded flowers from: DEADHEADS. Unfamiliar with this use. Only know the Grateful Dead connections.
24. Brand with a Jumpman logo: AIR JORDAN.
25. Regret: RUE.
26. School near Windsor: ETON.
27. Stiles of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?": RYAN.
28. "Friends" friend: ROSS. Nerdy.
34. A, to Beethoven: EINE.
36. Fair: SO SO. Quite a few SO's today: 6. "Precisely like this": JUST SO. 77. "Ciao": SO LONG. And a little bit of 87. Juice with a lizard logo: SOBE. Abbreviation of South Beach.
37. Formal talk: ADDRESS.
39. Deer sir: STAG.
43. Droid from Naboo, familiarly: ARTOO. Detoo.
46. Volume unit: SONE.
48. Go inside: ENTER.
50. Long, long tail?: AGO. Nice clue.
55. Tower engineer: EIFFEL.
57. Simone's state: ETAT. Is this a typical French name or does it just refer to Simone de Beauvoir?
58. Dagger of yore: SNEE.
59. Mosque official: IMAM.
61. Bound to be: FATED.
62. "I, Claudius" role: NERO.
63. Collapsed: CAVED IN.
66. Like some fried food: OILY. I love fried food, esp those yau gok during Spring Festival. These haves peanuts and coconut flakes inside.
68. Letters on a bathroom tube: ADA.
72. Dealer-busting org.: DEA.
75. Meter starter: ALTI.
76. Compared with: VIS-A-VIS. Nice to see its full form.
77. Places where quiet is often demanded: SETS.
78. Cut of the loot: SHARE.
81. River past Logroño: EBRO. A la Wiki: Logroño is the capital
of the province of La Rioja and situated in northern Spain. Traversed in
its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a
place of passage – such as the Camino de Santiago.
84. It's raised at a circus: TENT.
85. Obligation: ONUS.
86. Many surfers: AOLERS. Our editor is one.
92. Letters on a GI's letters: APO.
93. Absorb, as a spill: SOP UP.
95. Twitter rampage: RANT. Look at these pictures. Hope D-Otto's Phil the Philodendron survive.
96. Hale-Bopp, for one: COMET.
97. Alphabetically first V8 ingredient: BEET. Nice clue angle.
99. Yawning cause: BOREDOM.
101. Place to make a rial deal: OMAN. Rial deal. Cute.
103. Some tributes: ODES.
111. Part of many a plot: ACRE.
113. Bristol bye-bye: TA TA.
115. Bit of politeness from a hat-tipper: MAAM. Boomer always tips his hat.
116. That guy, to Guy: LUI.
117. Subject of many a watch: BLUE WHALE. Heaviest animal on earth.
123. Enthusiastic to a fault: OVER-EAGER. Hahtoolah would have linked something funnier to 124 you guys.
124. Elicit a chuckle: AMUSE.
125. A detective may act on one: HUNCH. Re-booting the PC did not help with my right click problem last Thursday. I figured it was a Google glitch as it did not affect any other sites I visit. The problem went away on Friday morning.
126. Spoofs: PARODIES.
127. Minibike kin: MOPED.
128. __ music: SHEET.
Down:
2. Accept the blame: OWN UP.
3. Wild party: RAGER.
4. "No seats" sign: SRO.
5. Job listing abbr.: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity.
7. "Take __ at it": A SHOT.
8. Bingo cousin: BEANO.
9. Marcel Marceau clown persona: BIP. Learned from doing crosswords.
10. Snacked: ATE.
11. Princess with cinnamon-bun locks: LEIA.
12. Not kidding: EARNEST.
13. Asleep in Eng. class?: ADJ. Oh, asleep is an adjective.
14. Cause of sticker shock at the florist?: THORN. Another great clue.
15. They may be unsung: HEROES.
16. "CSI" actor George: EADS.
17. Old food label figs.: RDAS.
18. I-9 ID: SSN.
21. Thoughts of the beach while in class, e.g.: DAYDREAM.
23. MIT offerings: DEGS. Degrees.
27. Boxing div.: RND. Rounds.
30. Suspects: IS ONTO.
31. Jordanian queen dowager: NOOR. Queen Noor. So elegant.
32. José's hand: MANO.
33. A light bulb may symbolize one: IDEA.
35. "It's clear now": I SEE.
38. Multi-lingual Irish singer: ENYA.
40. First golfing U.S. president: TAFT. Oh good to know.
41. Pulitzer-winning author James: AGEE.
42. __ standard: GOLD.
43. Bowl, say: ARENA.
44. Was highly regarded: RATED.
45. Formal wear item: TIARA.
46. 1983 Indy 500 champ Tom: SNEVA.
47. Fancy moldings: OGEES.
49. Throw very hard: RIFLE.
52. Berkshire racecourse: ASCOT.
53. Deadlocked: IN A TIE.
54. Alleged creation of Buffalo's Anchor Bar: WINGS. Never had Buffalo wings.
56. Wray of "King Kong": FAY.
60. Herd mentality output?: MOOING.
64. Golfer's gouge: DIVOT.
65. Pasta restaurant closing?: INI.
67. RPI and NIH: INSTS. Institutes.
69. Cards, for short: NLERS. Cardinals/National Leaguers.
70. Tiberius' tongue: LATIN. 120. 70-Down trio opener: AMO.
71. Blessed __: EVENT.
72. Casual Friday fabric: DENIM.
73. Musical workout, at times: ETUDE.
74. Singer's perfect pitch, say: ASSET.
75. "... chips-down" link: ARE.
78. Swedish auto: SAAB.
79. Bit of optimism: HOPE.
80. Lotion additive: ALOE.
82. Fuzzy memory: BLUR.
83. One taking a class over: REPEATER.
89. Picard's counselor: TROI. Here is our Picard's counselor.
90. Jon of "Mad Men": HAMM.
91. Checkout action: SCAN.
94. Stamps: POSTAGE.
98. Figure with a cape: TORERO.
100. __ kit: Ancestry.com item: DNA.
101. Signed off on: OKAYED.
102. Speechless player: MIME.
104. Like morning fields: DEWED.
106. Stimulate: AMP UP.
107. Memory miscue: LAPSE.
108. Pass-rushing group, briefly: D LINE. OK, Defensive Line.
109. Prevention amount: OUNCE.
110. Strength: MIGHT.
111. Inventing middle name: ALVA. Thomas Alva Edison.
112. Card holder, maybe: CUER.
114. Pub mugfuls: ALES.
117. Jazzy genre: BOP.
118. Yokohama yes: HAI. Same in Cantonese.
119. Omelet filler: HAM.
121. Bright students' org.: NHS. National Honor Society.
122. "How obvious": DUH.
C.C.
