23. *Like Disneyland, vis-à-vis theme parks : PROTOTYPICAL. This is the only entry where two OTs are together.
25. *Perform efficiently : GO TO TOWN (Edited later: The two OTs here are together also.)
48. *Tryst venue : NO-TELL MOTEL. And 57. Bit of 48-Across talk : COO
67A. *Bit of campaign nastiness : POTSHOT
90A. *Get-rich-quick buy : LOTTO TICKET. We met a guy who pulled a Mickey Mantle 1/1 special insert from a $2.99 pack he bought at Walmart. He sold on eBay for $15K.
113. *Writer's bottom line? : FOOTNOTE
116. *1978 Commodores hit : TOO HOT TA TROT. Not familiar with the song. You, Argyle?
13D. *Absolutely perfect : HOTSY-TOTSY
73D. *"Zilch" : NOT ONE IOTA
117D. There are two of them in each starred ans. : OTs
The reason all the theme entries are starred is because some of the non-theme fill are longer or of same length as the theme answers. The constructor & editor did not want any potential confusion.
Look at these great entries:
22A. "I like your invention!" : "GOOD IDEA!"
93A. Oscar winner's words : "I'M HONORED"
16D. "Remind me" : "I DON'T RECALL"
66D. "Honestly ..." : "TRUTH BE TOLD"
90D. Lesser-of-evils situation : LOSE LOSE
Simply amazing. But it's nothing out of ordinary for Liz Gorski, whose originality and creativity are awe-inspiring. She does what others can't. She's always the first. The only.
Across:
1. Madison Ave. figure : AD REP. Or AD MAN.
6. DEA employees : NARCS
11. Convert into an anesthetic : ETHERIFY. New word to me. Makes sense.
19. Much of Egypt : SAHARA
21. Hawaiian welcome : ALOHA. "Ni Hao" in Chinese. Ni = You. Hao = Good.
26. Rd. atlas listings : STs
27. Dessert cart array : PIES
28. Friars Club main courses? : ROASTS. Ha ha, "main courses!"
30. Tokyo-based electronics giant : NEC (Nippon Electric Company)
31. Dancer Falana : LOLA.
32. Crochet loop : PICOT. I forgot. I googled this word a while ago.
34. "Take a shot at it" : YOU TRY
37. Meal : REPAST
40. Amy Winehouse's reaction to rehab, in the song : NO, NO, NO. "...They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, no, no, no...". From her famous "Rehab" song.
41. British Invasion drummer : STARR (Ringo)
42. Baker with the breakout album "Rapture" : ANITA
43. Oft-quoted Yogi : BERRA
44. Unwanted tabloid fame : NOTORIETY. Poor Kristen Stewart.
50. Mad as __ hen : A WET
51. Berry touted as a superfood : ACAI
52. Old Russian ruler : TSAR
53. "WKRP" costar with Gary, Gordon, Howard et al. : LONI (Anderson). Marti likes her.
54. __ Island: NY/NJ landmark : ELLIS
55. Hearty partner : HALE
56. Current designation : AC/DC
58. DNA shape : COIL
61. "May It Be" singer : ENYA. So beautiful.
63. __ Wolf: Disney comics kid : LI'L. No idea. I googled, Li'l Bad Wolf showed up. Same kid?
64. "They'll Do It Every Time" cartoonist Jimmy : HATLO. Stranger to me also.
69. Green course : SALAD
71. Drop the ball : ERR
72. First-year law student : ONE-L
75. Wreck : RUIN
76. Job particular : SPEC
78. Letters to creditors? : IOUs
80. Central Florida city : OCALA
82. They may stay till closing time : SOTS. So many wonderful bars in Guangzhou.
84. Four-ring-logo company : AUDI. I wonder what kind of ring said "Buy me" to Irish Miss during her visit to Maine.
88. "The lady __ protest ...": "Hamlet" : DOTH
89. Lake __, Blue Nile source : TANA
95. Nebraska's largest city : OMAHA
96. Physicist Bohr : NIELS
97. Twix or Trix, e.g. : BRAND
98. "Permission granted" : IT'S A GO
100. "Juno and the Paycock" playwright : O'CASEY (Sean)
101. Boil : SEETHE . I don't know how I reacted if I were Husker Gary's niece.
103. Caterpillar rival : DEERE
104. Some faux outerwear : FURS
105. Routine : ACT
106. Ahab's kingdom : ISRAEL. All friendly letters, hence its frequent appearance in crossword.
109. Confirmation, e.g. : RITE
110. __TV: Court TV, since 2008 : TRU
120. Joined the Navy : ENLISTED. Ah, for Spitzboov/D-Otto/eddyB.
121. Rob of "90210" : ESTES
122. St. Francis's birthplace : ASSISI
123. Six-pack units : SODA CANS.
124. Score notations : RESTS
125. Prop for Monet : EASEL
Down:
1. Deadly snakes : ASPS
2. Blowgun missile : DART
3. P-like letters : RHOs
4. Enjoy, with "up" : EAT. My cherry tomatoes are especially good this year.
5. Offer : PROPOSAL
6. Afternoon breaks : NAPs
7. "American Gladiators" co-host Laila : ALI. The only Laila I know.
8. Mythical bird : ROC
9. Patio bagful : CHARCOAL
10. Tavern : SALOON
11. Nog basics : EGGS
12. Traffic sound : TOOT
14. Shogun stronghold : EDO. Modern sushi started in Edo Era.
15. Score slow-up: Abbr. : RIT
17. Not as many : FEWER
18. '50s TV adventurer __ Derringer : YANCY. Sigh. No idea. The only thing I want from '50s is the baseball cards. I like '60s though. The fashion, the cat eyes, Jane Birkin.
20. Leaning : ATILT24. Vote for : YEA
29. Like some 20th-century music : ATONAL
31. Indirect and creative, as thinking : LATERAL
32. White House entrance : PORTICO
33. Memo starter : IN RE
35. Stick in a scull : OAR
36. Dickens baddie Heep : URIAH
37. Lose control : RANT
38. Baseball's Slaughter : ENOS. And 110. Speaker of Cooperstown : TRIS
39. Pocket bread : PITA
40. Light on Broadway : NEON
41. Oktoberfest purchase : STEIN
43. College QB, often : BMOC (Big Man on Campus)
45. Barn baby : OWLET. Thought of PK for no reason.
46. Sylvester's "Rocky" co-star : TALIA
47. Triangular sign : YIELD
49. Honorary legal deg. : LLD
54. K-12 : EL-HI
59. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA
60. The Bengals of the Big Sky Conf. : ISU (Idaho State University). Don't know anything about this conference.
62. Widow in "Peer Gynt" : ASE. Peer Gynt's mother.
64. Alpine heroine : HEIDI
65. Forster's "__ With a View" : A ROOM
67. Flier : PLANE
68. In "Wicked," say : ON STAGE. Hahtool liked "Wicked".
70. Trees favored by giraffes : ACACIAS. Kazie mentioned they were called wattles in Oz.
74. Online greeting : E-CARD
76. Ancient public walkway : STOA
77. SFO setting : PST
79. Brief : SHORT
81. Fancy-schmancy : LA-DI-DA
83. Emperor after Galba : OTHO. He reigned for only 3 months. This appeared a few times in in the old Wayne R. Williams puzzles.
85. Luau instruments : UKES
86. Take-out order? : DELE. Great clue.
87. Wee : ITSY
91. "A Book of Verses underneath the Bough" poet : OMAR
92. Bump up : INCREASE
94. Slangy turndown : NAH
99. Seesaw : TEETER
100. "I'm __ here!" : OUTTA
101. They may be blown or cracked : SAFES. What were you thinking?
102. Low-budget lead-in : ECONO
104. In good shape : FIT
107. British submachine gun : STEN
108. Wine list heading : REDS
109. Supreme leader? : ROSS (Diana). "The Supremes". Nothing Iran related.
111. It's romantic to give one : ROSE. I want these.
112. Condo expense: Abbr. : UTIL
114. __ Maria: liqueur : TIA
115. Presidential policy support gp. : NSC (National Security Council)
118. Worked (up) : HET
119. Flight safety org. : TSA
Answer grid.
C.C.
