Theme: "Secret Agent" - REP spans across each common phrase.
23A. *Scenic souvenirs : PICTURE POSTCARDS. My youngest sister-in-law still sends us postcards wherever she travels.
36A. *Acupuncturist's target : PRESSURE POINT. Painful to watch, but acupuncture does work, for some.
59A. *Nonconformist, idiomatically : SQUARE PEG
67A. *Cookies sent from home, say : CARE PACKAGE. What's your favorite Christmas cookie?
77. *Repair shop item : SPARE PART
95A. *Tense subject? : FUTURE PERFECT. Grammar.
115A. *British Sunday meal staple : YORKSHIRE PUDDING. Yellowrocks' & TTP's Christmas meal. I never had it. They don't look like puddings to me.
15D. *Protected area : NATURE PRESERVE
51D. *Smokey Bear's bailiwick : FIRE PROTECTION
125A. Agents "hiding" in the answers to starred clues: REPS
Nicely designed grid. It takes skills (and luck) to intersect theme entries. At
times, intersecting results in compromises in fill. But for theme dense
grid, whether weekday or Sunday grid, intersecting actually makes
smooth filling possible.
I think this is Erik Agard's first Sunday puzzle. Congratulations! He's the young kid in black T-shirt.
Across:
1. To be, to Balzac : ETRE. Balzac sure knew love and cheats.
5. Perfume oil : ATTAR
10. "It __ to me ..." : SEEMS
15. Classic pop favorite? : NEHI
19. Number on le menu : PRIX. Price.
20. "Next week on ..." ad : PROMO
21. It's blocked by sunblock : UV RAY
22. Gives the sack : AXES
26. Slow roller on a baseball diamond? : TARP. What were you picturing?
27. Cuddle, in a way : SPOON
28. Delivered a sermon : PREACHED
29. Little green man? : GUMBY
30. Place for a pin : LAPEL
33. "Eww, more than I need to know!" : TMI
34. Take exception : DEMUR
41. One way or another : SOMEHOW
45. "Malcolm in the Middle" dad : HAL
46. Get rid of : LOSE
47. Egyptian Christians : COPTS. Chickie's son-in-law is one.
49. Prefix with cab : PEDI. That guy over there has no chance.
50. Flips (through) : RIFFLES
53. Oscar-winning foreign language film based on a Fugard novel : TSOTSI. No idea. Oscar 2005.
56. Sap : DRAIN
57. Fesses up to : ADMITS
58. Memorable tumbler : JILL. Jack and Jill.
62. Browns quickly : SEARS
63. To-do list items : DUTIES
65. Aptly named fruits : UGLIS. It's actually quite juicy.
66. Shore flier : ERNE
69. "¿Cómo __ usted?" : ESTA
73. Apt to mope : POUTY. What happened, baby?
75. Sofa cushion concerns : STAINS
76. Legal right : DROIT. Also new to me. Quite similiar to French "right". A droite.
81. Old-style "once" : ERST
82. One just starting : NOVICE
83. Intense passion : ARDOR
84. Van Gogh masterpiece : IRISES. Van Gogh loved yellow.
86. Totals : COMES TO
87. Fall guy : GOAT
88. Three-star mil. officer : LT GEN
90. Wheel with a knife nearby : EDAM. Tricky clue.
92. __ de Cologne : EAU
93. Seventh-inning ritual : STRETCH
100. Space __ : CADET
100. Space __ : CADET
102. Zip : NIL
103. "It's the Hard-Knock Life" musical : ANNIE
104. Singer LuPone : PATTI
107. Didn't go along : RESISTED
110. Guitar parts : NECKS. I see the necklace, not the pendant.
114. Et __ : ALII
118. O'Brien predecessor and successor : LENO. Jimmy Fallon is the funniest. Talented too.
119. Video game plumber : MARIO
120. Looks for a vein : MINES
121. Pierre's South Dakota? : ETAT. Awesome clue!
122. Eight-legged team : OXEN. I felt stupid!
123. Rhett's last words : A DAMN
124. Actress MacDowell : ANDIE. Long time L'Oréal spokeperson.
Down:
1. "House" actor : EPPS (Omar)
2. Voyage : TRIP
3. Puerto __ : RICO
4. Lauds : EXTOLS
5. Earth Day mo. : APR
6. Afternoon ora : TRE. Ora = Hour. Italian.
7. Brings down : TOPPLES. I really like Xi Jinping, China's new president. Every time I look at Hu Jintao, I see my old boss, who had me tailed for a week after I left Shanghai. Jerk!
8. Love of Latin : AMOR
9. Faced head-on, as a challenge : ROSE TO
10. To the point : SUCCINCT
11. Cole Porter's "Well, Did You __?" : EVAH
12. Put one's foot in it : ERRED
13. Most miffed : MADDEST
14. Part of MS-DOS: Abbr. : SYs
16. Teacher's handout : EXAM
17. Rosemary, e.g. : HERB
18. "__ with my little eye ..." : I SPY
24. Señor's "some" : UNAS
25. Author Hoag : TAMI. Again, learned from doing Xword.
29. Mess (up) : GUM
31. Whines : PULES. I think I'd have whined too if I were Jordan (Bill's grandson). I sure do not want to play tennis or anything when it's cold and dark.
32. Oldest of the gods, in Plato's "Symposium" : EROS. No idea. I don't believe it.
35. Cal. pages : MOs
36. Put into words : PHRASE
37. Takeover engineer : RAIDER
38. Composer of the "Beetlejuice" score : ELFMAN (Danny). Impressive filmography.
39. Diminutive : PETITE. Don't google. Guess what's the height of average American women?
40. Chuck : TOSS
42. Rattletrap : HEAP
43. Garfield's pal : ODIE
44. Building addition : WING
48. Agreeably sharp-tasting : PIQUANT
52. NYPD ranks : LTs
54. Typos and such : SLIPS
55. Fatty-acid esters : OLEATES. This word looks very unhealthy.
56. Soft & __: Dial product : DRI
58. MacGyver, so to speak : JURY RIG. We had MacGyver discussions long time ago.
60. Trendy fleece-lined boots : UGGs. Not trendy any more.
61. Malt beverage : ALE
63. It's often raw : DATA
64. Goosebump raiser : SCARE
67. Target on the green : CUP. Golf.
68. Mouth : KISSER
70. "Evidently" : SO I SEE
71. "Fresh entertainment" mint : TIC TAC
72. Eschewed cooking : ATE OUT
74. On top of, to poets : O'ER
76. Abbey title : DOM. So is FRA.
77. Yields to gravity : SAGS. Don't you wish the excess fat will only go to your boobs?
78. Bapt. or Meth. : PROT
79. Feast of Esther month : ADAR. Their "June".
80. Nonkosher : TREF. Learned from doing Xword.
82. Certain club restriction : NO MEN. Ladies' club.
85. Together : IN UNISON
86. Cereal box title : CAP'N. Crunch.
88. HDTV feature, often : LCD
89. Pulitzer-winning Cormac McCarthy novel : THE ROAD. Was made into a film, starring Viggo Mortensen.
91. Like a McJob : DEAD END
94. Mai __ : TAI
96. Wednesday's mom, to Gomez : TISH. "The Addams Family".
97. Last syllable : ULTIMA. New word to me also.
98. Fruit discard : RIND
99. Thing out on a limb : FEEDER. Bird feeder. Really "on a limb".
101. Caesar's land : TERRA
104. __ Alto : PALO
105. Michael's "Family Ties" role : ALEX. Michael J. Fox.
106. Pea piercer : TINE
108. Milk choice : SKIM
109. Leprechaun's turf : ERIN. I tried to find a simple sterling four-leaf clover pendant in early summer. No luck. What the stores had were all too fancy or pricey for me. I ended up with a pretty butterfly.
111. Mention : CITE
112. Sack opener? : KNAP. Knapsack.
113. Boot camp NCOs : SGTs
115. Soprano Sumac : YMA
116. I.M. with plans : PEI. He was born in Guangzhou, but grew up in Hongkong & Shanghai.
117. Employ : USE
C.C.
