Theme: "Excess Baggage" - BAG is added to each theme entry.
23A. Self-defense overkill? : HANDBAG GRENADE. Hand grenade. Hottest handbag at the moment.
33A. Red wines aged in autos? : AIRBAG PORTS. Airports.
50A. KEGO on your radio dial? : GASBAG STATION. Gas station. What is KEGO?
70A. Direct route to Loserville? : DIRTBAG ROAD. Dirt road.
90A. Entertaining show in a run-down hotel? : FLEABAG CIRCUS. Flea circus.
104A. Consumer Reports first aid recommendations? : ICE BAG PICKS. Ice picks.
121A. Activist grocery clerk? : PAPER BAG PUSHER. Paper pusher.
Normally puzzle titles do not repeat the key words of the themes. But "Excess Baggage" captures the gimmick so well.
Easier than our normal Sunday, probably because the theme came to me early on.
Across:
1. Corn at a picnic : EARS
5. Proofer's mark : STET
9. Wind surge : GUST
13. Protozoa genus : AMOEBA. The spelling Barry G prefers.
19. First Nations tribe : CREE
20. Kitchen aid : CAN OPENER
22. Elephant in the Jungle of Nool : HORTON. Dr. Seuss's "Horton Hears a Who"
25. Because : IN THAT
26. Secure : OBTAIN
27. Orbital extremes : APOGEES
29. The ones right here : THESE
30. Shocked, in a way : TASED
35. Water carriers : PIPES
38. Garbage collectors : BINS
41. Rose to great heights : SOARED
42. Dashboard Confessional music genre : EMO. Guessed.
43. Expanding concern? : OBESITY. And 32D. Plan to take off : DIET. Both fun clues.
46. Edible mollusks : ABALONES. I lived in a small city near Tsingtao for half a year. Amazing seafood/beer/government corruption there.
54. Get stuck (on), mentally : FIXATE
55. Ocean gathering : SCHOOL
56. Thread holder : ETUI
57. Series of turns, usually: Abbr. : RTE
58. Secret alternative : BAN
59. Solar __ : PLEXUS. OK, it's located in your stomach area.
63. Foreword, briefly : INTRO
65. Takes to the streets : RIOTS
67. Part of the Constitution that describes Cong. powers : ARTI. Short for article?
73. Stockings : HOSE
74. They may have spurs : BOOTS
76. Unfamiliar : ALIEN
77. How chicken may be served : ON RICE. I'd like some UNAGI (10D. Eel, at sushi bars) on my rice.
79. Bugler with horns : ELK
80. Chicago-based superstation : WGN. I wonder why Chicago is always so corrupt, TTP/Abejo?
82. Growing business : FARM
84. California peak rumored to hide advanced beings called Lemurians : SHASTA. Melissa knows this.
88. Giggle : TEE HEE
94. Vending machine options : SODA POPS
97. After Effects and Final Cut Pro : EDITORS. Both video editors. I googled.
98. Mount Rushmore prez : ABE. Did you know he's the most written person after Jesus and Shakespeare?
99. Pabst brand : STROHS. Windhover/Abejo is our authority on beers.
101. Large green moth : LUNA
102. Mythical enchantress : MEDEA. Lemonade's wife, in myth.
109. Rear-__ : ENDER
111. Retail benchmark : SALES
112. Close enough : IN RANGE. Made me think of Chris Kyle. Bradley Cooper is going to play him in the movie "American Sniper".
115. "Shortly" : IN A SEC
119. Like some domestic help : LIVE IN
124. "The Human Condition" writer Hannah : ARENDT. Haltoola might know her. Not me.
125. Contraption : APPARATUS
126. Italian capital : EURO. Money. Not ROME/ROMA.
127. They're popular in Japanese gardening : MOSSES
128. Unusable, as a cellphone : DEAD
129. It may be used to walk the dog : YO YO
130. Obey a red light : STOP
Down:
1. Chamber bouncer : ECHO
2. Many a Yemeni : ARAB
3. Borrow for a price : RENT
4. Unflappable : SEDATE
5. Checks out, as groceries : SCANS
6. Hash attachment : TAG
7. H.S. course : ENG
8. __ Bora: Afghan region : TORA
9. Italy's largest seaport : GENOA
11. Ritual meals : SEDERS
12. South American arboreal snake : TREE BOA. So they live in trees?
13. Hawaiian tuna : AHI
14. Least populous state capital : MONTPELIER. Wiki said "The population was 7,855 at the 2010 census".
15. Traditional : ORTHODOX
16. Wild blue yonder : ETHER. I don't understand this clue. Why "Wild"?
17. Sing one's own praises : BOAST.
So Boomer now has 14 perfect games. Lumpy, one of his friends, has 75.
Can you believe it? Lumpy is not tall, nor does he look muscly. He does
manage a bowling center.
18. Kitty starters : ANTES
21. Verve : PEP
24. Leaning : BIAS
28. Swedish import : SAAB
31. Dies down : EBBS
34. Payola, e.g. : GRAFT
35. Correctly assesses : PEGS
36. Apple variety : iMAC
37. Elegant : POSH
39. Cryptologic govt. org. : NSA
40. Something to build on : SITE
43. Checked out : OGLED. For our leg-loving Splynter.
44. Hair color immortalized by a Renaissance painter : TITIAN RED. Did you all get this easily?
45. In its early stages : YOUNG
47. Jar Jar Binks's home planet : NABOO. Strange land to me.
48. Virginie et Floride : ETATS. States, in French.
49. Horse __ : SENSE
51. Hasbro reaction game : BOP IT. New to me. Is it played alone?
52. Email letters : AOL
53. Short blaster? : NITRO. The N in TNT.
57. Revved engine sound : ROAR
60. Capital of Shaanxi province : XI'AN.
Yeah, my hometown. Capital of Zhou & Qin Dynasties, hence my
Mandarin name Zhouqin. So, when you Google "Xi'An Zhouqin", what's the
first image you see?
61. Modern search result : URL
62. Strong, drinkwise : STIFF
64. Small-government proponent Paul : RON
66. "__ the train a-comin'": Johnny Cash lyric : I HEAR.
67. Covers for a crook, say : ABETS
68. Battle on a log : ROLEO. Learned from doing Xwords.
69. Tipped, as a dealer : TOKED
71. Bluesy Memphis street : BEALE
72. Some are compact : DISCS
75. Brushed off : SWEPT ASIDE. Nice answer.
78. Vital life force, to acupuncturists : CHI. Literally "breath"/"air". It's different from the Chi in Tai Chi, which means "Grand".
81. Storied officer __ Ludwig von Trapp : GEORG. "The Sound of Music".
83. Junk __ : MAIL
85. Gob : SCAD. Often in plural.
86. Den focus, familiarly : TUBE. Not the "Scout den".
87. Sailing : ASEA
89. Stars no longer shining : HAS-BEENS
91. A/C measure : BTU
92. Unrivaled : A-ONE
93. Nana : GRAN
95. 1969 Arkin/Moreno comedy : POPI. Never heard of it. Alan Arkin/Rita Moreno.
96. Soccer protection : SHIN PAD
100. Minor injury : SCRAPE. I'm amazed by how stubborn my hamstring injury is. Still a dull pain when I do some leg stretch.
102. Options list : MENU. Options is under Tools in my Firefox browser.
103. Takes out mistakes : ERASES
104. Faith of nearly a quarter of Earth's population : ISLAM
105. Where "Aida" premiered : CAIRO
106. Rivendell inhabitants : ELVES. Gimme for Marti/Jazzbumpa. Both avid fans of "The Lord of Rings".
107. Key letter : KAPPA. This Greek "Key" clue often stumps me.
108. "Golf Begins at Forty" author : SNEAD (Sam). Could be HOGAN, judging by the title.
110. Souse : DIPSO
113. Lab warning : GRR. Dog!
114. Cybermarket since 1995 : eBAY
116. Latched, say : SHUT
117. Designer Saarinen : EERO
118. Prune : CROP. Trim.
120. Some Windows systems : NTS
122. From __ Z : A TO
123. Chap : GUY
C.C.
