Thursday May 4th 2017 Craig Stowe

Theme: METEing out. Our four themers have a letter scramble as nicely explained by the reveal:

61A. Collectors' event, and a hint to what's hidden in the answers to starred clues : SWAP MEET

And here are the players:

18. *"Thinking ... " : LET ME SEE ... When I saw these together I thought there might be a theme here. Alas not. (Correction: 18A is a theme entry.)

20A. *Shakespeare play set on an enchanted island : THE TEMPEST. Source of much crossword angst trying to decide between "Arial" and "Ariel".

32A. *Busker's performance, perhaps : STREET MAGIC. David Blaine is the master of this genre. Quite amazing.

42A. *They may be crowned : WISDOM TEETH. Not mine. They were yanked at what I felt was a ridiculously early opportunity and left the rest of my teeth to spend the remainder of their lives rearranging themselves. Jokes about British dentistry are not misplaced. My first dentist (before numbing was invented) operated a drill with a treadle, much like a sewing machine. I was five. The trauma Dr. Cotton caused me still keeps me awake at night.

57A. *Proven longterm : TIME-TESTED. I have time-tested recipes. Feel free to inquire (enquire?) if you have a particular need.

OK, here we go! I liked the theme, I loved how the clue lengths allowed the blog entries to step down nicely - look upstairs and you'll see what I mean. Talking of upstairs, I was in an office building today which had its three-year fire drill. Walking down 21 flights seemed mean; but the posh folk upstairs had 35 to cope with.

Nice job from Craig. Let's see what else we've got!

Across:

1. Overlook : IGNORE

7. Monte Mario's city : ROMA Nice learning moment. I had **MA and guessed LIMA. Was wrong.

11. Gravy, on menus : JUS. OK, so, restaurant owners - when you say "Prime rib with au jus", you know you're saying "Prime rib with with juice"? You have been told.

14. At anchor : MOORED

15. Somber notice : OBIT

16. German direction : OST. Let's try this from memory - Nord, Sud, Ost, Oest, I think.

17. "Proceed as planned" : IT'S A GO



22. Period in ads : NITE

23. Lair : DEN

24. Bladed tool : AXE. Conveniently with or without the "E" for constructors.

25. Ancient Greek theater : ODEON

26. "Thought I should share," briefly : FYI. "For your information, Steve's blogs suck".

28. Pit gunk : TAR We have the La Brea (The Tar) Tar Pits here in LA. So let's go visit The Tar Tar Pits.

30. __-wolf : SHE

31. Candy heart word : LUV

38. Specialty : AREA.

40. Vital circulation component : AORTA. Fair enough, you're missing an aorta, your circulation is not working too well

41. Provocative : RACY

45. __ Alamos : LOS. "The Poplars". If you ever find yourselves in Los Alamitos (The Little Poplars) make a beeline for "The Fish Company" restaurant. Not many saplings to be seen, but the best Fish & Chips I've ever had.

46. "Forgot About __": Grammy-winning duet featuring Eminem : DRE

47. Actor Stephen : REA

48. Army crawler : ANT

49. Stale : PASSÉ

52. One in a cheering crowd : FAN

54. Moving wheels : VAN. Nice clue, U-Haul or equivalent.

56. Classic "You as well?" : ET TU, Brute?

63. Hot : ON FIRE

64. Wheels : CAR

65. First name at Woodstock : ARLO. Crossword enthusiasts know the lineup at Woodstock better than the musicians themselves.

66. Canadian coin : TOONIE. Two Canadian Dollars, eh Canadian Eh? It's aboot a buck fitty. (See what I did there? I'm tri-lingual)

67. Tick off : IRE. Pretty much hated this. "Let me ire you", "I'm sorry I ired you"? No. Flat-out no. Did you ire me with this clue? No, you irked me.

68. First queen of Carthage : DIDO

69. Performer with 20 Oscar nominations : STREEP Now there's some serious bragging rights.

Down:

1. Tag line? : I'M IT Usually not a good situation,

2. Many a black-clad teen : GOTH

3. Serious downturns : NOSE-DIVES. Not serious if you nose-dive into one of my dinners.

4. Talk with style : ORATE

5. University officials : REGENTS

6. Ancient Dead Sea kingdom : EDOM Thank you, crosses, Not really up on my Old Testament much.

7. Swiss luxury brand : ROLEX, Wimbledon sponsors since before sponsors were officially "allowed"

8. Quite heavy : OBESE. "Quite" heavy? Master of understatement there, I think.

9. Baker's protection : MITT

10. Bread machine? : ATM. "Machine" is in the name. So it's an ATM. Just as it's not a PIN number, it's a PIN. Rant over.

11. Leader of the animated Pussycats : JOSIE

12. Was of __: helped : USE TO

13. Dutch Golden Age artist : STEEN. Fond of a lot of people,brawling, dogs and wine.

19. Make lovable : ENDEAR

21. Echo : PARROT

25. Electrical unit : OHM.

Schrodinger, Heisenber and Ohm are in a car.

They get pulled over. Heisenberg is driving and the cop asks him "Do you know how fast you were going?"

"No, but I know exactly where I am" Heisenberg replies.

The cop says "You were doing 55 in a 35." Heisenberg throws up his hands and shouts "Great! Now I'm lost!"

The cop thinks this is suspicious and orders him to pop open the trunk. He checks it out and says "Do you know you have a dead cat back here?"

"We do now, you idiot!" shouts Schrodinger.

The cop moves to arrest them. Ohm resists.

26. Glitch : FLAW

27. Cosmonaut Gagarin : YURI. First man in space.

29. "... love hath made thee __ snake": "As You Like It" : A TAME

30. Put into words : STATE

33. Poetic adverb : ERE

34. Endless, poetically : ETERNE. A poetic double

35. Aspic-coated French chicken dish : GALANTINE. Food! Here's a classic (and, frankly, not very appetizing-looking) rendition:

36. Tappable image : ICON

37. Dermatologist's concern : CYST

39. Accumulates : ADDS UP

43. Mine output : ORE

44. One without : HAVE NOT

49. "Casino" co-star : PESCI. I missed the "I", I always want to call him Joe PESCE. Corrected finally, when ERE didn't make much sense. "My Cousin Vinnie" - a must-watch every time I'm channel-hopping

50. In conflict, seriously : AT WAR

51. Gawk : STARE

52. Specialty : FIELD. We had "AREA" earlier. Similar enough.

53. Defensive retort : AM TOO. More playground antics.

55. Concerning : AS FOR

57. Actress Hatcher : TERI

58. Wee ones : TOTS. Taters? Yum.

59. Lackawanna's lake : ERIE

60. Word with freeze or fry : DEEP

62. Ticked off : MAD. Not IRE. Now I'm happy.

I started a new consulting gig this week, and so far so good. Hope you all have a great Thursday!

Aaaaaannnnd *drum roll* ........ here's the grid.

Steve

Wednesday, May 3, 2017, Thomas Takaro

Title: I CAN'T GET NO... 

Thomas has given us a fun mid-week puzzle which was a pleasure to solve. However, like the cartoon below, the gimmick evaded me and then hit me OUT OF left field!

Every starred answer was a two word phrase to which OUT OF can be added to either word and make two more common phrases. Very nice.

The fill went very smoothly with only this proper noun speed bump on the way

11. Tony-winning actress for "Miss Saigon" : LEA SALONGA - A name we had recently and I had already forgotten but it solved itself.

THEME ANSWERS, (plus adding OUT OF to first word):

18. *Cubicle, e.g. : WORK SPACE - becomes OUT OF WORK and OUT OF SPACE. - Conducting research while OUT OF WORK?

27. *Singing skill that enables good phrasing : BREATH CONTROL - OUT OF BREATH and OUT OF CONTROL - Breath holding is now a sport called Static Apnea. Here German Tom Sietas beats Brazilian Ricardo Bahia

45. *Number after a circled "c" : COPYRIGHT DATE - OUT OF COPYRIGHT and OUT OF DATE - In Canada, books are OUT OF COPYRIGHT 50 yrs after the author's death. That's January, 2015 for Ian Fleming

60. *Unobstructed view : SIGHT LINE - OUT OF SIGHT and OUT OF LINE - Less is more.

...and the reveal

69. Lacking, and what can go with each word in the answers to starred clues : OUT OF - This silly 1920's song tells of the vendor who is OUT OF bananas!

Now, before I am OUT OF time...

Across

1. Greek played by Anthony Quinn : ZORBA

6. Small plateau : MESA

10. Slick-talking : GLIB - Have I got a lemon car for you!

14. "That is to say ... " : I MEAN

15. Channel showing many games : ESPN

16. Sommelier's prefix : OENO - What he probably won't tell you

17. Incessantly : NO END

20. Kids' racing vehicles : GO KARTS

22. Chicken __ king : ALA - A high school favorite of mine when served on homemade biscuits

23. Prefix with pass or plus : SUR

24. Cultural funding org. : NEA

25. Mottled : PIED

26. MGM motto word : ARS

32. Get an __: ace : A ON

33. Casino gratuity : TOKE - Short for TOKEN of appreciation

34. Overseer : BOSS - The dealer above must call out "TOKE for the dealer" and tap the table to satisfy the pit BOSS that he or she is not stealing.

37. Harbor protectors : JETTIES - The Bussleton JETTY in Western Australia is well over a mile long and has its own railroad

39. "Vitruvian Man" artist : DA VINCI - Robert and Sophie find her dead grandfather in the Louvre posed as the Vitruvian Man at the beginning of The DA VINCI Code

42. Pacific Rim continent : ASIA

43. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI - "All women behave the same"

44. Jupiter or Mars : GOD

50. EPA pollution std. : AQI

52. Wetland plant : REED

53. Capri suffix : OTE - CAPRIOTE - A resident of the beautiful island of Capri or a conical hat worn by Spanish Clerics. Yeah, I know what they look like.

54. Bit of wordplay : PUN

55. Aviation stat. : ALT - At an ALT of ~50 miles, the sky starts to turn black and you are on the threshold of space


56. "Flags of Our Fathers" setting : IWO JIMA - The Marine Memorial is a sculpture of the raising of the flag on IWO JIMA's Mt. Suribachi and is just "a stone's throw" north of Arlington National Cemetery

63. Inn postings : RATES

64. Cosmopolitan rival : ELLE

65. Gold diggers' objectives : ORES

66. First in a line of Russian princes : IVAN I - 14th century Grand Duke Of Moscow

67. River crossed by Charon : STYX

68. Old or Wild follower : WEST - A 9-part series that tells all you need to know about The West and how it was won/stolen. It may not make you feel very proud.

Down

1. Zest : ZING - "ZING, ZING, ZING went my heartstrings"

2. Melville novel set on Tahiti : OMOO - His second novel - a sequel to Typee and four years before the one about that big fish, uh, mammal

3. Really stink : REEK

4. Split fruit? : BANANA - ~800cal but...

5. Mario who won IndyCar races in four different decades : ANDRETTI

6. Sussex stable area : MEWS - A row of houses or apartments converted from stables. Now you know as much as I do.

7. Anka's "__ Beso" : ESO - This has been a frequent visitor this spring


8. Common sports injury : SPRAIN - The Morris Boot is a way to ice 'em down and still be somewhat mobile

9. Short sock : ANKLET - When you don't need the boot

10. Rep. group : GOP

12. Run up, as debts : INCUR - $19,000,000,000,000 and counting here in the U.S.A. Your share is ~ $61,290.

13. Afrikaans speakers : BOERS

19. Iraq's __ City : SADR

21. Western border lake : TAHOE - Or a humongous SUV




25. "The Purloined Letter" writer : POE - Dupin replaces The Purloined Letter with a fake

27. Westernmost Mexican state, familiarly : BAJA - BAJA California is the home of my best friend from school (I'd say ELHI if I didn't despise that word)

28. Small deer : ROES - A Eurasian deer

29. With allure : ENTICINGLY

30. Bank statement listings: Abbr. : CKS - I can't be out of money, I still have some CKS!

31. Japanese sash : OBI


35. Edinburgh native : SCOT - Edinburgh native Stu Sutcliffe quit the Beatles to pursue an art career. They did however, picture him on this famous cover - Far left, third row from the top. I doubt that he got any royalties.

36. Agree (with) : SIDE

38. Eastern spiritual path : TAO

39. One may be fetching : DOG

40. __ of hands : A SHOW

41. Director De Sica : VITTORIO - Did you see his academy award winner Il Giardinao dei Finzi-Contini? Me either.

43. Spanish hero El __ : CID

46. Start to fall? : PRAT - A PRAT fall by Patrick Swayze in Ghost

47. Soccer penalty card color : YELLOW

48. Make more time for hobbies, say : RETIRE - Yeah, like crossword puzzles

49. "Here we go again" feeling : DEJAVU - Didn't I just blog a puzzle recently...

50. Cathedral areas : APSES 

51. Blanket that's often hand-sewn : QUILT

56. Superlative suffix : IEST

57. "Do __ once!" : IT AT


58. Less, musically : MENO - With (Un) slightly (poco) less (MENO) motion (mosso) as you see here

59. "Not a chance!" : AS IF - AS IF I knew what Un poco meno mosso meant!

61. Bad spell : HEX

62. Game console letters : NES


Now for some comments from you that hopefully are not OUT OF whack:

The Grid

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Chin up, bucko - No need to abandon all hope ye who enter here, so long as you parse 37-Across as AB and ON.

37. Leave high and dry ... or, when divided into three parts, what the answers to starred clues are encompassed by: ABANDON. AB-AND-ON

16. *Bath towel material: ABSORBENT COTTON

22. *Bart and Lisa's grandpa: ABE SIMPSON

49. *"Falcon Crest" actress: ABBY DALTON

59. *Book that's been shortened: ABRIDGED VERSION

Argyle here with our fearless leader. Two grid spanners and a couple long climbers are practically her signature.

Across:

1. Accessory for Supergirl: CAPE

5. Volkswagen Routan, for one: VAN. Model years‎: ‎2009–2014

8. Put into words: SAID

12. Andes animal: LLAMA. The Andes Mountains are the longest and one of the highest mountain ranges in the world. They are located in South America and stretch 4,500 miles from north to south, along the west coast of the continent.

14. Belgrade native: SERB

15. Pinnacle: ACME

19. Pilates class need: MAT

20. Note from the boss: MEMO

21. Data storage media: DISKS

26. Washroom bowls: BASINS

28. "People are saying ... ": "RUMOR IS ... "

32. Saudi's neighbor: OMANI

33. Neeson of the "Taken" films: LIAM

35. Rare Hawaiian goose: NENE. The Hawaiian name nēnē comes from its soft call.

36. Huff Post owner: AOL. The Huffington Post. AOL acquired the Huff Post in 2011.

40. One of a golfer's pocketful: TEE

41. Mex. ladies: SRAs. (señora)

43. Loosen, as laces: UNDO

44. Spew lava and ash: ERUPT

46. Online live-stream lecture: TED TALK. TED(Technology, Entertainment, Design)

48. __ Rico: PUERTO

52. "Haven't the foggiest": "GOT ME"

55. "It's __": "Nobody wins": A TIE

56. Cookie fruit: FIG

63. Male with a thick mane: LION

64. Totals: ADDS

65. "Yes and no": "SORTA"

66. Bluesy James: ETTA

67. Believe, as a story: BUY

68. Tuckered out: BEAT

Down:

1. Chowder ingredient: CLAM

2. Jessica of "Good Luck Chuck": ALBA.  A fish monger?

3. Picnic side dish: PASTA SALAD

4. Revealing rock genre: EMO

5. Scorpion's poison: VENOM

6. Gallery showing: ART

7. "The Voice" network: NBC

8. Audited, as a class: SAT IN ON

9. Circus performances: ACTs

10. "Everything's fine": "I'M OK"

11. Many man caves: DENS

13. Country south of Georgia: ARMENIA

14. 18-wheeler: SEMI

17. "Porgy and __": BESS

18. Former NBA forward Lamar: ODOM

23. Coal holder: BIN

24. Museum with a Goya Gate: PRADO. Puerta de Goya (Goya Gate), at Prado Museum's north façade, features statue of famed painter outside.

25. Sport with silk-clad referees called gyoji: SUMO

26. Brag: BOAST

27. Love, to Casanova: AMORE

29. Shoot back: RETURN FIRE

30. Ham-handed: INEPT

31. Take care of: SEE TO

33. Tall and lean: LANKY

34. Gary's st.: IND. (Indiana)

38. Onion or shallot: BULB

39. Fixes, as Fido: NEUTERS

42. Mountain climber's need: STAMINA. This had me thinking of equipment. I blame it on PITON from the other day.

45. Rock's __ Speedwagon: REO

47. Still in the sack: ABED. A word, sorry.

48. Ballet knee bend: PLIE

50. Papa: DADDY

51. Off-road rides: Abbr.: ATVs. (all-terrain vehicle)

52. Wind warning indicated by two red flags: GALE

53. "In memoriam" piece: OBIT

54. Relaxed gait: TROT

57. Bitty bit: IOTA

58. Bitty biter: GNAT

60. Shoot the breeze: GAB

61. Academic URL ending: .EDU

62. Have a good cry: SOB

Argyle

Monday, May 1, 2017 Bruce Haight

Theme: Down in front - Allow me to ush you to your seat. Let me see your ticket. Right this way.

20. Bygone airplane area: SMOKING SECTION

36. Line up: STAND IN A ROW

43. Position behind the steering wheel: DRIVER'S SEAT

57. "Exactly!" ... and a hint to where 20-, 36- and 43-Across' ending words may be found: "THAT'S THE TICKET!"

Rabbit rabbit! Argyle here. Not an arena ticket either, no aisle or tier. Easy-peasy but not insulting our intelligence puzzle, IMHO. Interesting note: no J,Q,U,X,Y,or Z.

Across:

1. Sacrificial __: LAMB

5. Paintball impact sound: [SPLAT!]

10. "__ of Green Gables": ANNE. "Are we facing Anne overload? With a new series and 3 TV movies, we might find out soon." CBC News

14. Geometry calculation: AREA

15. Largest city in North Africa: CAIRO

16. Yule song: NOEL

17. Some toy dogs, for short: POMs. (Pomeranians)

18. Llama habitat: ANDES. The South American mountain range.

19. Weekend-starting letters: TGIF. (Thank God It's Friday)

23. Subsided: EASED

24. Statutes: LAWs

25. Electric car brand: TESLA !!

29. Apple music players: i-PODS

33. Home for mil. jets: AFB. (Air Force Base)

39. Be concerned: CARE

41. "Cut corners" or "slash prices": IDIOM

42. Landlocked African republic: MALI

46. Part of a relay race: LEG

47. Coffee lightener: CREAM

48. "Rubber Duckie" singer on Sesame Street: ERNIE

50. Mocking remark: GIBE

53. Works with a needle: KNITS

62. Mop, as decks: SWAB

63. "Fingers crossed": "I HOPE"

64. "Drinks are __!": ON ME

65. Unit seized by a narc: KILO. (kilogram, 2 lb 3 oz)

66. Some surrealist paintings: DALIs. (Salvador Dalí)

67. Info: DOPE

68. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR. The story of "The Rite of Spring". (40:56)

]

69. Pass, as a law: ENACT

70. Wide-spouted pitcher: EWER

Down:

1. Forgetful moment: LAPSE

2. Cinnamon roll lure: AROMA

3. Notes to staff: MEMOs

4. Slam dunk or lay-up: BASKET ball.

5. Read electronically: SCAN

6. Twinge of hunger: PANG

7. Tupperware covers: LIDs. [Urp!]

8. Staggering: AREEL. I don't want to hear about A-words.

9. Puccini opera: TOSCA. More traditional than "The Rite of Spring".

10. Designed to minimize junk email: ANTI-SPAM

11. Scrubbed, as a NASA mission: NO GO

12. Nuremberg no: NEIN. (negation)

13. North Pole worker: ELF. They're off for the summer.

21. "Beware the __ of March": IDES

22. Bed size: TWIN

26. Mix: STIR

27. Chaps: LADS

28. Licorice-flavored seed: ANISE

30. Spoken: ORAL

31. Big name in pineapples: DOLE

32. Big gulp: SWIG

33. Band with a voltage symbol in its logo: AC/DC

34. Jamie of "M*A*S*H": FARR. Max Klinger.

35. Soft French cheese: BRIE

37. Not just a talker: DOER

38. "__ idiot!": "Doh!": I'M AN

40. "Green Acres" co-star: EVA GABOR

44. Radiate: EMIT

45. Word with bar or torch: TIKI

49. Make cryptic: ENCODE

51. Back of a hit 45 record: B-SIDE. But sometimes a hit, too.

52. Patriot Allen: ETHAN

54. "No need to tell me": "I KNOW". Teenager's answer to everything.

55. Phoenix suburb: TEMPE

56. Take the wheel: STEER. Hands up for those that have switched drivers while moving.

57. Bird's nest component: TWIG. Big twigs in an osprey's nest.

Live Feed

58. Symbol of sanctity: HALO

59. Mexican "Hi!": "¡HOLA!"

60. Grand-scale film: EPIC

61. Experiment: TEST

62. Schuss or slalom: SKI

Argyle

Sunday April 30, 2019 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "Haiku" - LINE can follow each word of the three-part phrase.

23A. *What it often is on a summer day : HOT OUTSIDE. Hotline. outline. Sideline.

36A. *One-to-one conversation : PRIVATE PHONE CHAT. Private line. Phone line. Chat line.

59A. *Scuba divers' bash : UNDERWATER PARTY. Underline. Waterline. Party line.

83A. *Highly sought-after charter captain : TOP FISHING GUIDE. Top line. Fishing line. Guideline.

99A. *Iconic suburban symbol : WHITE PICKET FENCE. White line. Picket line. Fence line.

15D. *Awkward TV silence : DEAD AIR TIME. Deadline. Airline. Timeline.

68D. *Sale indicator : RED PRICE TAG. Red line. Priceline. Tagline.

Reveal:

119A. Feature of haiku, and of the answers to starred clues : THREE LINES

I think this is the first time we see such a three-part theme in LAT. Some of theme entries are not quite solid in-the-language. Just nature of the game.

We've seen a few both words that can precede/follow gimmick, which is already very hard to make. Three part is just incredible.

Across:     

1. Word heard in Bedrock : YABBA. "Yabba Dabba Doo!". From "The Flintstones". I drew a blank.

6. West Point letters : USMA. We also have 10. Military setting : BASE

10. Dark horses : BAYS

14. Sam seen in bars : ADAMS. This Sam.

19. Scott who wrote "Island of the Blue Dolphins" : O'DELL. Any of you read the book?

20. A golf green may be shaped like one : PEAR. Like this. I thought of OVAL.

21. Face cream additive : ALOE

22. Paganini's birthplace : GENOA

25. Rodeo goad : SPUR

26. Bother a lot : EAT AT. Not NAG AT

27. WWII spy gp. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services

28. Big mouths : MAWS. Not YAPS.

29. Tampico trio : TRES. We also have 7. José's half-dozen : SEIS

31. Mask wearers : BANDITS. Wanted GOALIES.

33. Salem-to-Portland dir. : NNE

34. Chihuahua or Maltese, in dog shows : TOY

35. Slangy sib : SISTA

43. Texter's "Just a thought ... " : IMHO

47. Candy aisle choice : ROLO. Not SKOR.

48. Kid in a '60s sitcom : OPIE. And 37. 48-Across player : RONNY

49. K-12, in brief : ELHI. El(ementary) + Hi(gh school). Often draws objections from our retired teacher crowd.

50. Its flag features a six-pointed star : ISRAEL

52. Scale starting words : ONE TO

54. 911 responder : EMT

56. Barbecue supply : BUNS. Not RUBS.

58. Functional : UTILE

63. "Wayward __": Shyamalan TV series : PINES. New to me.

64. Salon supply : DYE. Not GEL today.

65. Ancient region of Asia Minor : GALATIA. This clue often calls for IONIA.

66. Longship crew : NORSEMEN

68. Half a track? : RAIL. Two rails on a track.

69. London's "Ye Olde Mitre," e.g. : PUB. Steve might have been here many times.

71. "The Way __": 2007 Timbaland hit : I ARE. I thought it might be I WAS.

72. Loud speakers : STENTORS. Ha ha, I actually know this word. 

76. Travelocity enticement : LOW FARE

79. Pooh, to Roo : PAL

82. Broadway restaurant founder : SARDI. Sardi's.

86. Office holders? : CLIPS. Great clue.

87. Gilbert who created TV's "The Talk" : SARA

88. The Silver St. : NEV

89. Graphic start : ORTHO. No "Garden products brand" today. By the way, Anon-T, we planted both seeds and flowers. The flowers survived the cold weather, thankfully.

90. Warns : ALERTS

92. Frees : RIDS

94. They catch a lot of shrimp : NETS

97. Continue : GO ON

98. Sitcom pioneer, familiarly : DESI

103. Word with link or letter : CHAIN. Lovely clue as well.

105. French article : UNE

106. Damage : MAR

107. Haunted house sounds : SCREAMS

110. Lacking : SANS

112. Eye opener? : OPTI. I thought the clue was asking for DEAD/EVIL/SHUT.

113. Improve, in some cases : AGE. This qualifier makes me smile.

116. Cutie : TOOTS

117. Chop __ : SUEY

 122. Charged : RAN AT

123. Sport with double touches : EPEE. New clue angle.

124. Slices of history : ERAs

125. Minnesota's "10,000" : LAKES. Wisconsin says it has  more lakes than Minnesota. They count big puddles.

126. Play area : STAGE

127. Cold War initials : SSRS

128. Hide from an animal : PELT. Another nice clue.

129. Treacherous type : SNAKE. Girls who were born in Year of the Pig should not date guys who were born in Year of the Snake.

Down:

1. Pirate's syllables : YO HO. Partial.

2. They're often about nothing : ADOs

3. Adds to the pool : BETS

4. Rain-__ bubble gum : BLO

5. Smith grad : ALUMNA

6. High hairdo : UPSWEEP

8. Satiric magazine founded in 1952 : MAD

9. Kid-to-kid retort : ARE TOO

 

11. Hurdle for Hannibal : ALPS

12. Mirror image? : YOU. Not MOI.

13. Homeland of tennis star Novak Djokovic : SERBIA

14. "The X-Files" extra : AGENT. Normally a clue for ETS.

16. Protester : ANTI

17. Defensive ditch : MOAT

18. H.S. hurdles : SATs

24. Ma non __: not too much, in music : TANTO. No idea. I can't read sheet music.

30. Cub great Sandberg : RYNE

32. Bubbly source : ASTI

34. Lincoln Center attraction, familiarly : THE MET

35. Eastern faith : SHINTO. Shin - God. To has the same meaning as Chinese TAO (way).

36. Word in a Marines slogan : PROUD

 38. __-France : ILE DE. Very limited way to clue this partial.

39. Register a preference : VOTE

40. St. Peter's Basilica sight : PIETA

41. Exile isle : ELBA

42. Make, as butter : CHURN

44. Katahdin is its highest peak : MAINE. Never hard of Mount Katahdin.

45. Beatrix Potter's real first name : HELEN. Also a new trivia to me.

46. Cries after fútbol goals : OLEs

51. Freudian conscience : SUPEREGO

53. Player in a loft : ORGANIST

55. Vacation choice : TRIP

57. Aleppo native : SYRIAN

60. Reservations can help avoid one : WAIT. You have to have a reservation at our neighborhood Fantastic Sams. Otherwise, 30 minutes wait, at least.

61. Apportions : ALLOTS

62. Eighth-century pope : PAUL I. Not PIUS I.

67. Puppeteer Tony : SARG

 70. Cap'n's aide : BOSN

72. Room at the Louvre : SALLE

73. Doesn't give up : TRIES

74. Enter noisily : ROAR IN. Not a phrase I use.

75. Nautical pole : SPRIT. Forgot. We had this before. Spell checker flashes it.

77. Word of origin : WHENCE

78. Marathon practice run : FIVE-K

79. Spike for Hillary : PITON. Edmund Hillary.

80. Like some focus groups : AD HOC. We often have "committee" in the clue for a fat gimme.

81. Freetown currency : LEONE

82. Slew : SCAD. Normally plural, right?

84. Grow pale : FADE

85. Push : URGE

91. Did a few laps : SWAM

93. Made on a wheel : SPUN

95. Play set on an island, with "The" : TEMPEST. Got via crosses as well.

96. Cabinet department : STATE

100. Greets the villain : HISSES

101. Conforming : IN STEP (with)

102. Elegant trimmings : FRILLS

104. Speed : HASTE

107. Orch. section : STRS. Strings. Gluey fill constructors dread to use.

108. Primer layer : COAT

109. Novelist Jaffe : RONA

110. Psychic : SEER

111. Motion carriers : AYES. I like this clue also. Lots of S's in this little section.

112. Tough test : ORAL

113. Self-titled 1974 pop album : ANKA

114. Many a techie : GEEK

115. Latin being : ESSE

118. FedEx rival : UPS

120. Otto I's realm: Abbr. : HRE

121. Knighted McKellen : IAN. He was on Fresh Air a while ago. Funny guy.

Thanks for letting me know the puzzles in your local paper. I fear I'm the lone voice here asking our local Star Tribune to change the puzzles. So sad. Why their syndicate does not publish LAT crosswords is beyond me. I start to doubt if the Trib Variety Editor even solves crosswords.

C.C.