Theme: "Brand Awareness" - Each product is rephrased as non-brand related.
21. Southwestern snapshot gallery?: ADOBE PHOTO SHOP.
30. Alerts to some party planners that their guests have arrived?: HOSTESS DINGDONGS.
44. One searching for a river crossing?: FORD EXPLORER.
56. Troves of getting-to-know-you questions?: ICEBREAKERS MINTS.
70. Flipped bar tables?: CONVERSE HIGH TOPS.
82. Veto a very large corsage?: AXE BODY SPRAY.
101. Entertainment at a tailgate party?: FENDER TELECASTER.
Reveal:
113A. Political movement against free enterprise, or a way of reading this puzzle's long answers?: ANTI-CAPITALISM.
Different products in different fields. Very consistent: company name
& its product. And the name is a common noun/verb. So GOOGLE PIXEL
will not work, but APPLE WATCH will.
I love the reveal. Just perfect.
Across:
6. iPad download: APP. Also 76. Apple platform: IOS.
9. Tear: REND.
13. Old-Fashioned option: NEAT. Cocktail.
17. Post-surgery regimen: REHAB.
18. In close combat: TOE TO TOE.
20. Ton o': LOTTA.
23. Like Chartres Cathedral: GOTHIC. Wikipedia says it's "designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979".
24. Drummer Ringo: STARR.
25. Inert gas: NEON.
26. Diver's need: AIR TANK.
27. "Cool your jets": WAIT.
33. Red tide bloom: ALGA.
34. Drag show accessory: BOA.
35. Puts in: ADDS.
36. __ tie: BOLO.
37. Skating biopic starring Margot Robbie: I TONYA.
40. Ending for sub- or ex-: URB.
42. "Nailed It!" host Nicole: BYER. Bake-off show.
43. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN.
47. __ blues: genre that originated in Mississippi: DELTA.
49. Actor Mahershala: ALI. Two Oscars.
50. Yale grads: ELIS.
52. "Look on the bright side!": BE GLAD.
64. Audio giant: BOSE.
65. Passage cleared by a neti pot: SINUS.
66. PBS-funding org.: NEA.
67. Play-__: DOH.
68. Like lechón asado: CUBAN. Roast pork.
69. "No ifs, __, or buts": ANDS.
75. Private aye: YES SIR.
77. Daredevil Knievel: EVEL.
78. "Beach House" singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE.
79. Fawned (over): COOED.
89. Some IRAs: ROTHS.
92. Vampire's curfew: DAWN.
94. Nursery cry: WAH.
95. French star: ETOILE. L'etoile du Nord ("Star of the North”) is our state motto.
96. Pointless event at the Olympics?: EPEE. Because the sword is blunted?
97. Napa product: WINE.
98. Small slitherer: ASP.
100. Last president to keep a White House cow: TAFT.
107. __ mitzvah: BNAI.
108. Guarantees: ENSURES.
109. Meat salad in Lao cuisine: LARB. Minced meat seasoned with fish sauce.
110. Pontificate: ORATE.
112. Lay into: RAIL ON.
118. Rummikub pieces: TILES.
119. Familiar turf: HOME SOIL.
120. Hyper: ULTRA.
121. Rich rocks: ORES.
122. Agape: AWED. You won't believe the amount of snow we got last week.
123. Many OCS grads: LTS.
124. Cicely who wrote the 2021 memoir "Just As I Am": TYSON.
Down:
2. Ref. that could be considered hi-def.?: OED.
3. Comedian Margaret: CHO. Look at her tattoos.
4. Taxi waiting area: CAB STAND.
5. "Likely story": I BET.
6. Pulsating: ATHROB. Also 15. Excited: ATINGLE.
7. Wretch: POOR SOUL.
8. Veterinary patient: PET.
9. Thorny flowers: ROSES. Thanks for the sweet Valentine's Day card, Janice! Moved me to tears.
Janice and her daughter at an Indians Game Pre-COVID |
10. Set of values: ETHOS.
11. When the sun is highest: NOONDAY.
12. Bank acct. addition: DEP.
13. "I'm normally more humble than this ... ": NOT TO BRAG BUT. And 84. "You're too kind!": OH STOP IT. 93. "Let's see ... ": WELL NOW. I love these spoken phrases.
14. Gas additive: ETHANOL.
16. Includes: TACKS ON.
19. Color quality: TONE.
20. Epithet for Shiva: LORD.
22. Oom-__: PAH.
23. Tour stops: GIGS.
26. Tennis great Agassi: ANDRE.
27. Oliver Twist, for one: WAIF.
28. Palo __, California: ALTO.
29. Assistant with a hunch?: IGOR. Hunch-backed.
31. __ chips: TARO. Never had this. Taro is a staple in our fridge though.
32. Picked out of a lineup, briefly: ID'ED.
38. Quite a spell: YEARS.
39. Wheel shaft: AXLE.
41. Male title derived from "brother": BR'ER.
42. Hat edge: BRIM.
43. Supped: ATE.
45. Steinway instrument: PIANO.
46. Above-the-street trains: ELS.
48. Scale divs.: LBS.
51. Pro or con: SIDE.
53. Basketball commentator Rebecca: LOBO.
54. w/o delay: ASAP.
55. Cozy spots: DENS.
56. "Mercy me!": I SAY.
57. French film: CINE.
58. Winds down: ENDS.
59. Plans to go public?: BUS SCHEDULES. OK, public transit.
60. Actor Watanabe: KEN. He's in "The Last Samurai". We also have 62. Japanese drama: NOH.
61. Roof overhang: EAVE.
63. __ party: THIRD.
68. Storage box: CHEST.
70. __-Magnon: CRO.
71. Tony-winning musical "Dear __ Hansen": EVAN.
72. Nero Wolfe creator Stout: REX.
73. Oodles: SLEW.
74. "Mercy Mercy Me" singer: GAYE.
80. Takes care of a draft: EDITS.
81. Great __: DANE.
83. Sheep trills: BAAS.
85. Rotund stove: POTBELLY.
86. "Glass Onion" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN. He also directed "Knives Out".
87. __ Romeo: sports car: ALFA. Hi there, Tony!
88. Hairy legend: YETI.
89. Cite: REFER TO.
90. Like many summer concerts: OPEN AIR.
91. __ strength: measure of tolerance: TENSILE.
97. Noisy bird in a dome-shaped nest: WREN.
99. Hazards: PERILS.
102. Bow-toting deity: EROS.
103. Tempting words in Wonderland: EAT ME.
104. Bawled: CRIED.
105. School basics: ABCS.
106. Lab rodent: RAT.
111. Stretched thin: TAUT.
113. Cry of discovery: AHA.
114. IM pioneer: AOL.
115. "__ Raining Them": Mila Jam remake celebrating the gender spectrum: IT'S.
117. Guy: MAN.
C.C.