Theme: Audiovisual Aids - Letters AV are inserted into common phrases.
24A. Salon tool for recalcitrant customers? : STYLING GAVEL. Styling gel.
30A. Not the best purple flower? : SUBPRIME LAVENDER. Subprime lender.
45A. Where the experts hang out? : MAVENS' ROOM. Men's room.
64A. Colorado brewer's rodent mascot? : COORS BEAVER. Coors beer.
77A. Culinary product of a French-Italian region? : SAVOY SAUCE. Soy sauce.
97A. Group that ruins commercials? : AD HAVOC COMMITTEE. Ad hoc committee.
104A. Bad news about a tooth? : TWIN CAVITIES. Twin cities.
15D. Prefer Hitchcock's Bodega Bay classic to his other films? : FAVOR THE BIRDS. For the birds.
52D. Cryptologist's rant? : DECODER RAVING. Decoder ring.
This is Dan's favorite theme type, adding/deleting/substituting letters. If you look at Rich's stats, lots of his Friday & Sunday puzzles have such gimmick.
The grid has 68 blocks (We had 84 last Sunday) and only 134 words. Comparatively low. Dan mentioned his target was shooting for low word count. Quite a few nice long entries, but also a number of abbreviations. V is a tough letter to maneuver.
Across:
1. "This __ fine mess you've gotten us into, Ollie!" : IS A. Easy start.
4. Clean the deck : MOP
7. Military team : CORPS
12. Office teams : STAFFS. Staff can be pluralized, Dennis?
18. Three-time all-star closer Robb : NEN. Here he is. Not many famous people are named NEN, or ROBB.
19. Mandlikova of tennis : HANA. Stranger to me.
20. Blocker in a TV : V-CHIP
21. Note in a B major scale : A-SHARP
22. Hunter attachment? : GATHERER. Hunter-gatherer.
26. Tony winner for her Daisy Mae portrayal in "Li'l Abner" (1956) : EDIE ADAMS. Faintly recall her name.
28. Baroque dance : MINUET
29. Suffix with malt : OSE. Sugar suffix.
33. "Artaxerxes" composer : ARNE (Thomas). I only know his "Rule, Britannia".
34. Statistical hypothesis trial : T TEST. What does T stand for?
35. Word before old, and after it : SAME. Same old same old.
36. Web address letters : GOV
37. Illinois city, site of the last Lincoln-Douglas debate : ALTON. Outside my knowledge zone.
38. M.O. : SYS
39. Birch leaf eater : LUNA MOTH. John Lampkin style picture.
43. Algiers citadel : CASBAH
47. Corrida hero : TORERO
50. Like fifth and sixth : ORDINAL. I actually drew a blank. I can be incredibly dumb.
53. "Mad About You" co-star : REISER (Paul)
56. Golfer Crenshaw : BEN. Smooth putting stroke.
57. Answer skillfully : FIELD
58. Sault __ Marie : STE
61. Boss's address? : E STREET. The E Street Band. Bruce Springsteen The Boss.
62. Give-go link : IT A
63. Pawn : HOCK
66. Cheater's device : CRIB
67. Ike's arena: Abbr. : ETO (European Theater of Operation)
68. Was allowed to pay later : RAN A TAB
69. D-Day craft : LST (Landing Ship Tank)
70. Military chaplain : PADRE
71. Directed : LED
72. Brew made in Zoeterwoude : AMSTEL. Named after the Amstel River. I've never heard of the plant site Zoeterwoude.
73. Super Bowl party centerpiece, briefly : HD TV SET. Clusters of consonants.
75. Short fall? : PRECIP. "Short" indicates "shortened form". Good clue.
82. Semicircular antenna housing : RADOME (Radar Dome)
85. See 46-Down : DETECTOR. And 46D. With 85-Across, beachcomber's device : METAL.
86. "I'm impressed!" : WOW
89. Natasha's partner in crime : BORIS
91. "Rhoda" production co. : MTM. Stands for Mary Tyler Moore.
93. Highly caloric : RICH
94. Former "Today" medical expert Art __ : ULENE. No idea.
96. Abba of Israel : EBAN
101. Ohio, e.g.: Abbr. : RIV. OK, river.
102. Enjoys doing : IS INTO
103. Russian Orthodox ruling body : HOLY SYNOD. Nice to know.
108. Rhinestone piano player : LIBERACE
109. Sent to the gallows : HANGED
110. String quartet member : CELLO
111. Get an __ effort : E FOR
112. What's expected : PAR. But birdie is always better.
113. Wool variety : ANGORA
114. Dispatched, as a dragon : SLAIN. Dispatch = Kill.
115. "L.A. Law" actress : DEY (Susan).
116. The orig. 13, e.g. : STs (States)
Down:
1. Eats : INGESTS
2. Naval assignment : SEA DUTY. Any comment, Spitzboov?
3. Côte d'Azur resort : ANTIBES. No idea. A seaport south of Nice.
4. __ Gras : MARDI
5. Wee hr. : ONE AM
6. Pasta topper : PARMESAN
7. Walgreens rival : CVS. I like former.
8. Columbus Day mo. : OCT
9. Run, for one? : RHYME. Run and one rhyme. Good clue.
10. Pier support : PILING
11. PR specialist : SPIN DOC. I've never seen "Spin doctor" abbreviated this way.
12. More judicious : SAGER
13. USAF E-6 : TSGT. Military rank always gives me headache.
14. "Now I understand!" : AHA
16. City in California's Central Valley : FRESNO. And 19. California's Central Valley, e.g. : HEARTLAND.
17. Ill humor : SPLEEN
23. Marching words : HEPS. Marching cadence.
25. New, in Nicaragua : NUEVA
27. Poetry competitions : SLAMs. Stumped me last time.
31. Love, to Virgil : AMOR
32. Turn down : VETO
33. Old orchard spray : ALAR
37. Keep from ending normally : ABORT
40. Sch. founded by Jefferson : UVA (University of Virginia)
41. Wrestling holds : NELSONS
42. Trigger, for one : HORSE. Trigger was Roy Roger's horse.
44. Take the tiller : STEER
45. "Got __?" : MILK
48. Hang it up, so to speak : RETIRE
49. Even if challenged : ON A BET. Did you get it immediately?
50. Be __: assist : OF HELP
51. Mob member : RIOTER
54. Journalist Kupcinet and sportscaster Cross : IRVs
55. "I told you, didn't I?!" : SEE THAT? I like the clue.
59. Precisely : TO A T. Tricky to parse.
60. Some Deco collectibles : ERTEs
61. Fall back : EBB
64. __ santo: Spanish graveyard : CAMPO. Learning moment for me.
65. Light lunch : SALAD
66. Spelunker's spot : CAVE
68. Police operations : RAIDS
70. Recently discontinued retro Chrysler : PT CRUISER. Crazy 4-consonant start.
74. Pair : DUO
76. Number one son? : CAIN. We've seen similar "First lady' for EVE gimmick before.
78. __ Beach, Florida : VERO
79. Neur- ending : OTIC
80. "Ick factor 10!" : YECCH
81. Taught : SCHOOLED
83. MCCLII doubled : MMDIV. 1,250*2=2,504.
84. Ones with a common heritage : ETHNICS
86. Wings eaters' needs : WET NAPS
87. Sandlot game : ONE O' CAT. Kind of baseball game?
88. Garden tools : WEEDERS
89. Krupp with a howitzer named for her : BERTHA. Wow, I never know this origin.
90. Luke's mentor : OBIWAN. "Star Wars".
92. Magic 8 Ball maker : MATTEL
95. Interstellar dist. : LT-YR (Light-year)
97. Carne __: Mexican dish : ASADA
98. "Presto!" cousin : VOILA
99. MGM Resorts casino loyalty program : M LIFE. Nope. No idea. What does M stand for?
100. "Lad ..." : MY BOY. Cute clue.
102. "Congratulations" writer, maybe : ICER
105. "Stop-__": UGK hit : 'N-GO. First encounter with the hip hop duo UGK (Underground Kingz). Rappers drive me crazy with their free spelling.
106. Yalie : ELI
107. Michael, to Kirk : SON. Michael Douglas has been through a lot.
Thanks for the entertainment, Dan. To quote your buddy Jerome, "Great puzzle, Duck!".
C.C.
