Theme: "Pair Options" - Three options: 1. The complete humorous answer to the clue. 2. The stand alone partners that begin the answer. And 3. The last word of the pairs changes its meaning and used in another stand alone phrase.
23A. Ring from Chuck Berry? : ROCK AND ROLL CALL. ROCK AND ROLL, ROLL CALL.
32A. Tiny decathlon entrant? : TRACK AND FIELD MOUSE. TRACK AND FIELD, FIELD MOUSE.
54A. Contest for a free night at the inn? : ROOM AND BOARD GAME. ROOM AND BOARD, BOARD GAME.
71A. Trait of a gentleman in training? : HIT AND MISS MANNERS. HIT AND MISS, MISS MANNERS.
92A. Show that makes teens cringe? : MOM AND POP CONCERT. MOM AND POP, POP CONCERT.
107A. Fixture that refunds money for unused time? : FAIR AND SQUARE METER. FAIR AND SQUARE, SQUARE METER.
125A. Mess hall handout? : RANK AND FILE MENU. RANK AND FILE, FILE MENU.
Surprise! Argyle here. I had my doubts about this puzzle when it started with AGITA but it all worked out in the end.
Across:
1. Gut feeling : AGITA. A physical feeling, like indigestion.
6. Vegging out : IDLE
10. Bratz product : DOLL
14. "Ain't happening" : "NO HOW"
19. Receive useful information about : GET A LINE ON
21. "East of Eden" director Kazan : ELIA
22. French story : ÉTAGE. Today's French lesson: maison à deux étages - two-storey house.
25. Bizarre : WEIRD
26. "Off the Court" author : ASHE. Tennis great, Arthur Ashe.
27. Willingly : LIEF. Akin to love. I believe we had this before.
28. Lummox : OAF
29. Small batteries : AAs
31. Frat party purchase : KEG
37. Writer who worked on Friday? : DEFOE. Friday is a character in Daniel Defoe's novel, "Robinson Crusoe".
40. Monopolize : HOG
41. Bank features : SAFES
42. Nueve menos ocho : UNO. Spanish, 9-8=1.
43. Off! ingredient : DEET
47. Duck, say : REACT
50. Cybermemos : E-NOTES
58. Respite : LULL
59. "Flash of Genius" actor Alan : ALDA
60. Entrance : DOOR
61. See eye to eye : JIBE
62. Lofty home : AERIE
63. Tex-Mex snacks : NACHOS
65. World leader who said "Every little thing counts in a crisis" : NEHRU. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of independent India (1947–64).
68. __-en-Provence, France : AIX
70. Homer's neighbor : NED. From The Simpsons.
76. "That's it!" : "A HA!"
78. Downed : ATE
79. Passé : DATED
80. Party catchphrase : SLOGAN
83. Like frat parties : NOISY
85. Timbuktu's land : MALI
88. [Oh my God!] : [GASP!]. The brackets indicate the response is non-verbal and why my GOSH was wrong.
90. "Star Trek: T.N.G." counselor : TROI. I believe because the abbreviation was within the quotes and that T.N.G.(The Next Generation) is the common way the show is written, that an abbreviated answer is NOT indicated.
91. Potent start? : OMNI. Omnipotent.
96. Lipton rival : NESTEA
98. "Bummer" : "AW, GEE"
99. Small monkey : TITI
100. Summer overseas : ÉTÉ. In France.
101. Perp's cover : ALIAS. Or 123A. Perp's cover : ALIBI
103. "Uh-uh" : "NAH"
105. Grannies : NANAs
115. Affair twosome? : EFs. The letters 'F'.
116. General on a menu : TSO
117. Dull finish? : ARD. Dullard.
118. Worm, often : LURE. In this computer age, VIRUS was the first thing to come to mind at the word, WORM.
119. Egg cell : OVUM
129. 9 to 5, e.g. : RATIO. Tricky.
130. "The Neverending Story" author : ENDE. German fantasy novel by Michael Ende, first published in 1979.
131. Some bed makers : HOTEL MAIDS
132. Offspring : SCION
133. "Agreed!" : "DEAL!"
134. Spanish cordial : ANIS
135. Letter-shaped opening : T-SLOT
Down:
1. Tourist city SE of New Delhi : AGRA
2. Metros and Prizms, at first : GEOs. Little vehicles.
3. Longing : ITCH
4. Grow fond of : TAKE TO
5. __ carte : À LA
6. Hindi is a subgroup of it : INDIC
7. 12-time All-Star Jeter : DEREK
8. Bath sponge : LOOFAH
9. Photographer's order: Abbr. : ENL.
10. Morning brew order : DECAF
11. Norwegian king, 995-1000 : OLAF I
12. Rap name adjective : LI'L
13. "Deck the Halls" sequence : LA, LA, LA. Do rappers have Christmas albums?
14. Some anchors : NEWS MEN
15. Suffix with Capri : OTE. A native or inhabitant of Capri.
16. Verse often about nature : HAIKU
17. Fairy tale baddies : OGREs
18. Divisive element : WEDGE
20. Attending a Dodgers home game, say : IN LA. A stadium without a corporate name, wow!
24. Tenant : LODGER
30. Google revenue source : AD FEE
33. Prynne's stigma : RED A. From Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
34. "I Feel Bad About My Neck" author Ephron : NORA. A collection of essays.
35. Abbr. on a shingle : ESTAB.
36. Neapolitan song title opening : 'O SOLE
37. Boxer who held titles at four different weights : DURAN. "No mas"
38. __ Gay : ENOLA
39. What-eats-what orders : FOOD CHAINS. Great explanation.
44. Wraps up by : ENDS AT
45. Tokyo, before 1868 : EDO
46. Govt. security : T-BOND
48. Fine-tune : ADJUST
49. Special effects technique, briefly : CGI. Computer-Generated Imagery.
51. Gets jealous : TURNS GREEN
52. "Night" author Wiesel : ELIE
53. Vehicle on a Christmas card, perhaps : SLED
55. Half a fish : MAHI
56. Central Utah city : OREM
57. Average : MEAN
62. Rink maneuver : AXEL
64. Our Gang assent : "OTAY!"
66. Covering up : HIDING
67. Golfer Gary Player's homeland: Abbr. : RSA. Republic of South Africa.
69. Place to be : IN SPOT
72. Pixar fish : NEMO
73. "Let __!" : ME GO
74. One way to cope : ADAPT
75. Drilling gp. : ROTC
76. Like Mr. X : ANON
77. Main website page : HOME
81. Main artery : AORTA
82. Evenings, in ads : NITEs
84. George Harrison learned it in the '60s : SITAR
86. Rack up : AMASS
87. Bar code? : LAW. The legal bar.
89. __-fi : SCI
92. Big pipes : MAINS
93. "Gracias" reply : "DE NADA"
94. High-fiber fruit : PEAR
95. "Ladies dancing" carol contingent : NINE
97. Joy : ELATION
102. Was gaga over : ADORED
104. Got a grip : HELD ON
106. Kitchen drawers? : AROMAs
107. Dreads : FEARS
108. Big name in supplemental insurance : AFLAC
109. Last Supper question : "IS IT I?"
110. Brief interview? : Q AND A
111. "Family Matters" nerd : URKEL
112. Civilian garb : MUFTI
113. Ohio natives : ERIEs
114. Divulge : TELL
120. Concealing garb : VEIL
121. Erase : UNDO
122. Has to : MUST
124. Short life story? : BIO
126. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN 'E'
127. FDR home loan org. : NHA. National Housing Agency.
128. ER staff member : EMT
Answer grid.
Argyle
1) Constructors' Notes:
"Don came up with this theme. It is a little inspired by the "Wheel of Fortune" "before and after" trick, or the similar "Jeopardy" occasional category. Don cannot recall the inspirational phrase that kicked it off. It may have been MOM AND POP CONCERT. We reviewed many potential phrases, trying to come up with entries where the shared middle word has a different meaning in the newly formed phrases. The grid went through a couple revisions. We had too many proper names in the first submission."
2) Personal Note:
Very sad news from Creature. She lost her husband yesterday from a fall he took at their cabin. She would like to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. Our condolences go out to her from here at the Corner.
