Theme: "Secret Stash"(St as h). The "ST" of common phrases is replaced with "H", to make pun-y new phrases. As in:
24A. Jack Benny in his patented pose? : HAND UP COMIC. Pun on "STand up comic", which was a forte of Jack Benny. He always put his hand to his cheek when delivering his lines.
26A. One military stint after another? : CHAIN HITCH. Everyone who sews knows the "chain STitch". This is a funny pun on soldiers who continually re-up.
37A. Causes serious damage at sea? : HACKS THE DECK. "STacks the deck" is getting an advantage early. But the pun on this one has a very different meaning.
61A. Getting flattened by a gridiron lineman? : HUMBLING BLOCK. Oooh, to get put down by a lineman?? How humbling. It could be a STumbling block to any QB's career!
75A. Hollywood hopeful's pursuit? : PUBLICITY HUNT. Maybe they could do a publicity STunt to get recognized?
97A. Cad on his best behavior? : TEMPERED HEEL. Tempered STeel is tough stuff.
111A. Coven gatherings? : HAG PARTIES. STag parties are more fun, I bet.
24A. Jack Benny in his patented pose? : HAND UP COMIC. Pun on "STand up comic", which was a forte of Jack Benny. He always put his hand to his cheek when delivering his lines.
26A. One military stint after another? : CHAIN HITCH. Everyone who sews knows the "chain STitch". This is a funny pun on soldiers who continually re-up.
37A. Causes serious damage at sea? : HACKS THE DECK. "STacks the deck" is getting an advantage early. But the pun on this one has a very different meaning.
61A. Getting flattened by a gridiron lineman? : HUMBLING BLOCK. Oooh, to get put down by a lineman?? How humbling. It could be a STumbling block to any QB's career!
75A. Hollywood hopeful's pursuit? : PUBLICITY HUNT. Maybe they could do a publicity STunt to get recognized?
97A. Cad on his best behavior? : TEMPERED HEEL. Tempered STeel is tough stuff.
111A. Coven gatherings? : HAG PARTIES. STag parties are more fun, I bet.
117A. Give a ride to roadside yokels? : PICKUP HICKS. Did you ever play "Pickup STicks"?
14D. One going from theater to theater? : SHOW HOPPER. A show STopper would stop a show hopper. (Try saying that on three times fast...)
73D. Pawnbroker's niche? : HOCK MARKET. STock market might as well be a hock market, these days!
Marti here, again blogging a delightful offering from Don G. and C.C. So, let's get to it!
Across:
1. Award named for a Muse : CLIO
5. Carlisle's wife in "Twilight" : ESME
9. "No prob!" : A SNAP
14. Kane's Rosebud, e.g. : SLED. Did you all remember "Citizen Kane", starring Orson Welles?
18. Loch with sightings : NESS
19. Financial claim : LIEN
20. Hooch source : STILL
21. "I'd like a say" sounds : AHEMS
22. St. Petersburg is on it : BALTIC SEA
28. Recently retired NBAer : YAO. Yao Ming just retired from the Houston Rockets. He was 7' 6" tall. I could give him a job painting my ceilings!
29. Mac-PC battles, e.g. : AD WARS
30. Hole advantage : ACE
31. Expression of disdain : TUSH
33. Semicircular structure : ARCH. Like this one, in St. Louis.
34. "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" Newbery Medal-winning author : AVI. The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Avi is the single-named author of this 2003 winner.
42. Hautboy, more commonly : OBOE
46. Certain boss's group : GANG
48. 2, at Putt-Putt : PAR
49. Saintly Mother : TERESA
50. 29-Across units : SPOTS
51. Spider automaker : ALFA ROMEO
54. Cop's catch : PERP. Or what we cruciverbalists refer to as "the crossing answer".
55. Tradition-challenging genre : POP ART
56. Pageant topper : TIARA
57. "¿Cómo __?" : ESTA. (Ummm...need help here). I think it means "How goes it?" Lucina?
59. Under-the-hood knock source, perhaps : ENGINE ROD
65. You may read it before turning a page : (OVER)
66. Poehler of "SNL" : AMY
67. Wee start? : PEE
68. "... boy __ girl?" : OR A
69. UAL West Coast hub : SFO. United Airlines / San Francisco.
70. Consequence of over-toasting?: Abbr. : DUI. Used to be DWI (Driving while intoxicated). Now more often DUI, or "driving under the influence"...of hash, coke, pot, liquor, etc. Much more comprehensive.
73. Piltdown man, say : HOAX. Famous paleontological hoax by Charles Dawson (eerily similar to Charles DARWIN). It took over 40 years before it was exposed.
79. Stuff, pad, cover, etc. : UPHOLSTER
83. Hopper : FROG
84. Indian melodies : RAGAS
85. Breaks bread? : SLICES
86. Conn of "Grease" : DIDI. She played "Frenchie". Remember her?
89. "I'm not making this up!" : TRUE STORY. DH tells so may wild stories, that when he is serious he always has to tell me, "True story..."
91. Dweebs : DORKS
92. Elegy, for example : LAMENT
94. What big girls don't do, in a '60s hit : CRY. Our first musical interlude by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons...
95. Sport with Shinto rituals : SUMO
96. "Up and __!" : AT 'EM
100. Sch. in Nashville : TSU. Tennessee State University. Go Tigers!
101. Magician's opening : ABRA...ca-dabra
103. Bailiff's request : RISE
104. Pres. after JAG : CAA. James A Garfield was president for only 200 days, when he was shot by an assassin. He was succeeded by Chester A. Arthur.
106. Tilde feature? : SHORT I
109. Word after Wuzzy : WAS. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear...
120. Ritual before a fall, hopefully? : RAIN DANCE
121. First pot chips : ANTES
122. Shower time : APRIL
123. Repair : MEND
124. Scientology's __ Hubbard : L. RON
125. Now, in the ER : STAT
126. Kid's choice word : MEENY. Or, eeny - whatever floats your boat!
127. __ listening : EASY. Typified by this one by Barry Manilow.
128. Give, but expect back : LEND. I'd give you a hand, but I expect it back...
Down:
1. "Street Signs" network : CNBC. This program focuses on the day's market action. In addition, prominent Wall Street analysts, investors and executives regularly appear on the program to offer their perspective.
2. Wife of Jacob : LEAH
3. Cuba, to Cubans : ISLA
4. Old Roman port : OSTIA
5. "Your Stinginess" : EL CHEAPO. Loved this answer!
6. "You bet, señor!" : SI SI. I wonder if C.C. was the inspiration?
7. Assemble : MEET
8. Puts into law : ENACTS
9. Shade of blond : ASH
10. "Don't move!" : STAY HERE
11. "Project Runway" judge Garcia : NINA. C.C knows all these people's names.
12. Designer Gucci : ALDO. I bet she knows him, too!
13. Like cats and dogs: Abbr. : PLU. Funny clue/ans. for "plural".
15. 1964 British Open champ : LEMA. Ironically, while flying a small plane to an exhibition appearance in 1966, he was killed when the plane crashed...on a golf course.
16. Qatar bigwig : EMIR
17. Mil. medals : DSCs. Distinguished Service Crosses
21. Current initials : AC / DC. (Back in Black?)
23. Foot part : INCH. Heel?
25. Use a lot? : PARK
27. Pizza the __: "Spaceballs" role : HUTT. A spoof of Jabba The Hut in Star Wars.
32. Herding dog name : SHEP
33. Here, in Havana : ACA
34. First name in mystery : AGATHA. Christie.
35. Drug for anxiety : VALIUM
36. Disrepute : INFAMY
38. Followed : CAME NEXT
39. Kmart founder : KRESGE
40. Yankees all-time hit leader Jeter : DEREK. HA! A baseball name I actually knew...
41. "Home Run Derby" airer : ESPN
43. Hog wild? : BOAR
44. Juan's "other" : OTRO
45. Abbr. before a year : EST'D. Established.
47. Duds : GARB
50. Loudness unit : SONE
52. "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-__": Irish lullaby : RAL
53. Handicapper's hangout, briefly : OTB. Off-track betting (parlor).
55. Turning point : PIVOT
58. Jesus of baseball : ALOU. Jesus, you'd think I would have all these names memorized by now...
60. "Beats me" : GO FIGURE.
62. "No thanks" : I PASS
63. Heavenly body : ORB
64. Little lower? : CALF. I chuckled at this one. I was thinking of DH scratching my back!
69. Burn badly : SCORCH
70. Where many bats are seen : DUGOUT. Wanted belfry.
71. Takes weapons from : UNARMS
72. Fitting room "That looks fabulous!" : IT'S YOU!
74. Corrida cries : OLES
75. Dress fussily : PRIMP.
76. NYC subway : IRT. Interborough Rapid Transit.
77. Mos. and mos. : YRS. Abbr. of mos. indicates abbr. for "years".
78. Bowlers, e.g. : HATS. Or, Boomer, for example!
79. Food stamp : USDA. United States Department of Agriculture.
80. Novel idea : PLOT
81. Take on : HIRE
82. Dutch treat : EDAM
87. Fur trader's supply : DEERSKIN
88. Cross letters : INRI. Latin, "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum". "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews".
90. Head turner, say : EYE CANDY
92. Green span : LEA
93. New Ager John : TESH
97. Stumble : TRIP
98. "Oh, no!" : DEAR ME
99. Hog fat : LARD
102. Heat meas. : BTUs. British thermal Units.
105. Even a little : AT ALL
106. Places with lots of white robes : SPAs
107. Request from one who's stumped : HINT. Uh, I coulda used a few while doing this puzzle!
108. Numerical prefix : OCTA
109. Rub dry : WIPE
110. Lot size : ACRE
112. Mother of the Titans : GAEA
113. Ones knocked off during strikes : PINS
114. Memo starter : IN RE. (Not to be confused with 88d). I always thought this was Latin for "in res". But nope, it's just short for "In regards..."
115. MBA course : ECON. omics
116. iPhone command : SEND
118. It may be cured : HAM
119. Crafty : SLY. Yep, those two are crafty ones, C.C. and Don!!
Answer grid.
Bye-Bye for now!
Marti
Note from C.C. & Don:
I thought it would be fun to take advantage of the hidden *AS* in a word and make a letter substitution puzzle. The first word I proposed to Don was actually SMASH (SM AS H), which did not yield enough phrases for us to choose. Don suggested STASH. I'm not a punny person, but with many trials and errors, we came up with a good number of potential theme answers. The type of puns in this puzzle require surface sense and a certain humor. By generating enough examples that seemed promising, we were able to have some fun with it. We both learned from the experience how to look at changed phrases in a way that the solver can enjoy the unexpected nature of an exquisite alteration.
