Theme: "It'll Have to Do" - TLE is added to the end of each theme entry.
22A. Container for mystery meat? : SPAM BOTTLE. Spambot, which send out spam. That's why Captcha is used in our blog.
31A. Action scene in "True Blood"? : VAMPIRE BATTLE. Vampire bat.
49A. Courage of Manhattanites? : NEWYORK METTLE. New York Met.
71A. Cloak for a road trip? : HIGHWAY MANTLE. Highwayman.
92A. Reaction to an alarm? : RISING STARTLE. Rising star.
102A. Baby's pre-vacation note to self? : PACK RATTLE. Pack rat.
3D. Venue for poetry readings in space? : SLAM SHUTTLE. Slam shut.
62D. Livestock kept between buildings? : ALLEY CATTLE. Alley cat.
Fun theme. Reminds me a bit of this BLE added NYT puzzle. And the theme set is tighter here, with TLE added to the second word only.
Also, fantastic grid design. Noticed how four of the theme entries intersect? I'd probably try a paralleled two 9's in the upper right and lower left corners, not 3. Julian Lim is so good. That's why our Lucina loves him!
Across:
1. Skip it : PASS
5. Jotting on a Post-it : MEMO
9. Lowest of the low : NADIR
14. Artist who was an admirer of Freud : DALI. He was? I know Dali and Mia Farrow were close friends. Surreal!
18. Partner : ALLY
19. Invites over : HAS IN
20. "Invisible Cities" author Calvino : ITALO
21. Well-versed in : UP ON
24. How some sleep : NAKED. Do you?
25. Nanny __: security devices : CAMS
26. Fiddled (with) : TAMPERED
27. Word repeated after "que," in song : SERA
28. Lure into crime : ENTRAP
30. Rapture : ECSTASY
34. Pakistani city : LAHORE. Capital of Punjabi.
35. Order to pounce : SIC 'EM
36. Like some personalities : DYNAMIC
37. Fluent speakers avoid them : UMs
38. Dull finish : MATTE. 72. Bright finish : GLOSS
39. Runner on snow : SKI. We went on a long nature walk yesterday. Still ice and snow on some lakes.
41. Out of breath : SPENT
42. Ones giving marching orders: Abbr. : SGTs
44. Like NES video games : RETRO
45. Pulitzer winner Walker : ALICE. The organic food pioneer is Alice Waters. I used to confuse those two.
47. Opposite of exo- : ENDO
48. Hamilton's prov. : ONT. "Prov." sure helped.
52. Crew member : TAR. Sailor.
53. Topple : FALL OVER
55. Satan's little helpers : IMPS
56. Mil. decoration : DSM
58. Wrote with limited characters : TWEETED. Information overload.
59. Vineyard grape : PINOT
61. Assess flight risk, in a way : SET BAIL
65. Crossword heading: Abbr. : ACR (Across)
66. Weirdo : WACK
67. Panaceas : CURE-ALLS. Looks strange piled together.
68. Report card calamities : EFs.
75. __ Fáil: Irish "stone of destiny" : LIA. Our old puzzle used to feature this word often.
76. Villain's base : LAIR
78. Architect Saarinen : ELIEL. Eero's father.
79. High-ranked Atlanta school : EMORY
80. Bane for bugs : DEET
81. Wrapped up : ENDED
83. Windy City airport code : ORD
84. Water filter brand : BRITA
85. Pivotal : KEY
86. Paleness causes : ANEMIAS. Did not know this word is plurable.
88. __ Manor: "Batman" setting : WAYNE
89. High light? : BEACON. Great clue.
95. Two guys out to dinner, say : MAN DATE. Wanted BRO DATE.
96. Noted lawmaker : NEWTON. Law of gravity. I was thinking of DRACO-like lawmaker.
97. MLB credits : RBIs. Twins beat the Rangers yesterday, Bill.
98. Concert setup, briefly : PA SYSTEM
99. "Look no further than me" : I'M IT
100. Require : EXACT
104. What a ponytail covers : NAPE. "Do you know my name?"
105. River measure : WIDTH
106. "Coffee __?" : OR TEA
107. Earthenware pot : OLLA
108. Turned right : GEED. Gee = Right. Haw = Left.
109. Puréeing aid : SIEVE
110. Hardy's "Pure Woman" : TESS. "Tess of the D'Urbervilles".
111. Drudge : PEON
Down:
1. Washed-out shade : PASTEL
2. Andean herd member : ALPACA
4. Diagnostician's clues : SYMPTOMS
5. Brit's bro : MATEY
6. Abbr. before a year : ESTD
7. Part of a GI's URL : MIL. For Military.
8. Late lunch hour : ONE. And 9. Late dinner hr. : NINE PM
10. __ 2600: old video game console : ATARI
11. Capital NW of Monrovia : DAKAR. Capital of Senegal. Click on the map. It'll enlarge.
12. Loire land : ILE
13. Passed on a 19-Down : RODE BY. 19. Silver in movies : HORSE. Lone Ranger's horse Silver.
14. Versatile roll : DUCT TAPE
15. Common rental : APARTMENT
16. California city name meaning "pretty knoll" : LOMA LINDA. Loma means "knoll" then. New to me.
17. Yard worker? : INSPECTOR. OK, Scotland Yard.
23. Is worthy of, as repeating : BEARS. It bears repeating that...
27. Hook underling : SMEE
29. Persian breads : NANS. I always thought of NAN as Indian bread. Has no idea that the Iranians eat Nan too. Chinese Muslims call theirs Nang. Delicious.
31. In __ fertilization : VITRO
32. One may be supporting : ACTOR. Nice clue.
33. Queen's decree : EDICT
35. Dionysian reveler : SATYR
38. Asked to be stroked, perhaps : MEWED
39. Pursued one's dreams? : SLEPT. Sweet!
40. Press packets : KITS
42. Out of shape : SOFT. Huh? Never heard "Out of shape" expressed as "SOFT". Long winter here. I'm SOFT.
43. Eat like a chinchilla : GNAW
44. Stargazer's state : REVERIE
45. Supplies for Rambo : AMMO
46. Geriatrician's concern, with "the" : ELDERLY
49. V-shaped mark : NOTCH
50. Twisted : KINKY
51. First name in makeup : ESTEE. To me, this is their best product. Get this for your wife/girlfriend. They'll love you.
54. Cow patch : LEA
57. Wharton Sch. conferral : MBA
59. Played with, cat-style : PAWED
60. Alphabet addition? : ICAL. Alphabetical.
61. Kama __ : SUTRA
63. Rival of Bjorn : ILIE (Nastase)
64. Some srs.' source of stress : LSAT
66. Propeller noise : WHIR
67. Thou tenth : C-NOTE. Sometimes it's C-SPOT. Thou is Thousand here.
68. Webinars, e.g. : E-LEARNING. I guess we e-learn every day.
69. Mortgage acronym : FANNIE MAE. So is Freddie Mac.
70. Glancing blow : SIDESWIPE
73. Sophie player : MERYL. "Sophie's Choice". Pure talent.
74. Nitrogen compound : AMINE
77. Sent payment : REMITTED
80. What bad traffic sometimes comes to, with "a" : DEAD STOP
82. "The Flintstones" answer to Fido : DINO
84. Swings at home : BATS. Home plate.
85. Maasai Mara game reserve locale : KENYA
87. '60s-'70s veep and family : AGNEWS. Spiro Agnew.
88. Twist in agony : WRITHE
89. City about 300 miles from Baghdad : BASRA. Iraq's second largest city, after Baghdad.
90. 1887 La Scala premiere : OTELLO. Based Shakespeare's "Othello".
91. Like the lion slain by Hercules : NEMEAN. Nemean lion.
93. __ union : TRADE
94. "Suburgatory" airer : ABC TV. Never watched "Suburgatory". Wiki says it's a portmanteau of "suburban" and "purgatory".
95. Nets : MAKES
98. Statistician's figs. : PCTs
101. It may be seen opposite VI : XII. Clock.
102. Nursery container : POT
103. "The Kids __ All Right": 2010 Best Picture nominee : ARE
C.C.
