Theme: "Mock Time" - "Ar" sound is changed into "Ah" (Short O) sound.
22A. Drill presses, lathes and the like? : SHOP OBJECTS. Sharp objects.
24A. Ways a fish avoids capture? : COD TRICKS. Card tricks.
41A. Cop's dog-days domain? : HOT BEAT. Heartbeat.
43A. Queue at a rest room, to a tot? : POTTY LINE. Party line.
67A. Time for promoting awareness about electrical hazards? : SHOCK WEEK. Discovery Channel's Shark Week.
93A. Promo for a prominent baby doctor's book? : SPOCK PLUG. Spark plug. Dr. Spock.
95A. Deity's online forum comment? : GOD POST. Guard post.
115A. Aid in moving an army bed? : COT WHEELS. Cartwheel. Two of the base phrases are one-word entries. Consistent.
117A. Late-afternoon marina observations? : DOCK SHADOWS. Dark shadows.
When did you grok the theme? I did not understand what's going on until SHOCK WEEK appeared.
This type of theme is often tricky for me to grasp, probably for other non-native English speakers as well.
Across:
1. GPS determination : LAT (Latitude)
4. Hint : SHADE
9. BlackBerry downloads : APPS
13. '70s tennis star Nastase : ILIE. Look at his personal life. Reminds me of Wilt Chamberlain.
17. Altar agreement : I DO
18. One working on a bench? : PIANIST. Piano bench.
20. Mmes., in Monterrey : SRAs
21. Cloister group : NUNS
26. Small, in Saint-Lô : PETIT
27. 12-Down, e.g. : JET. 12. Retired flier : SST.
28. Hostile calls : HOOTS
30. Serving a purpose : UTILE
31. Summary : RECAP
33. Verbally assault : LAY INTO
35. Nasty : SNIDE
36. Rubs out : ERASES
38. External hard drive capacity prefix : TERA. We don't have a external hard drive.
39. Part of a fancy setting : CHINA
47. "__ Was a Rollin' Stone": Temptations hit : PAPA
51. Basketball tactic : PRESS
52. Some religious sects : CULTS
53. Hard-to-approach type, perhaps : SNOB
54. One going on and on : PRATTLER
56. Waterproof cover : TARP. So is mascara.
58. Pea house : POD. Ha ha, "Pea house". Our sugar peas are not doing well this year. The
beefsteak tomatoes are still green. Too cold a spring. The weeds are
doing great!
60. __-pitch : SLO
61. Most inane : SILLIEST. Not insane. Super funny. Thanks, Dave.
62. Clothing line : SEAM
64. Many an ex-lib : NEO-CON. Ex-liberal.
66. Short read? : MAG
71. Passé TV hookup : VCR
72. Fixed beforehand : PRE-SET
75. Funny Johnson : ARTE
76. Rebel's crime : SEDITION
80. Collecting Soc. Sec. : RET (Retired)
81. Tear : RIP
83. Other considerations : ANDs. Often this kind of little fill stumps me.
85. Ready for the sea : SAILABLE. Spell checker does not like this word.
86. Feed bag feed : OATS
88. Makes : EARNS
90. __ cuisine : HAUTE
92. Property title : DEED
97. Absinthe flavoring : ANISE
98. Topog. map stat : ELEV
99. Just down the road from : NEAR TO
103. Bold poker bet : ALL IN
105. Electromagnetic physicist Michael : FARADAY. I forgot. Lemonade linked this last this guy appeared.
108. Enjoy, as a hammock : LIE ON. I'm not a camper. When I look at this picture, I think of mosquito spray, not how enjoyable Dave's hammock is.
109. Fields of study : AREAS
110. Lazy __ : SUSAN
111. Actress Peeples : NIA
113. Check endorser : PAYEE
120. Sri Lanka setting : ASIA
121. Courtroom fiction name : ERLE. Erle Stanley Gardner.
122. Add value to, as a deal : SWEETEN
123. Unwanted phone connection : TAP
124. Mao's successor : DENG. Here he is again. I didn't like him. He caused confusion in our ideology of China.
125. Lock openers : KEYS. So straightforward.
126. Op-ed piece : ESSAY
127. "The Fountainhead" writer Rand : AYN
Down:
1. Speech imperfection : LISP
2. Stick : ADHERE
3. Horn blower : TOOTER
4. Bro or sis : SIB
5. Muslim's pilgrimage : HAJJ. HADJ is a variant.
6. Slippery as __ : AN EEL
7. Urgings, as of one's conscience : DICTATES. Never thought it can be a noun.
8. New England hrs. : EST
9. Fop's tie : ASCOT
10. Diplomatic formality : PROTOCOL
11. Inflates, as a résumé : PADS
13. Signs off on, in a way : INITIALS
14. Clear : LUCID
15. Woven linen tape : INKLE. Stranger to me. Which part is the INKLE?
16. Latin 101 word : ESSE
18. Fertilizer ingredient : POTASH
19. Warm-weather top : T-SHIRT
23. Typesetting measure : PICA
25. Like undercooked eggs : RUNNY. How do you like your eggs cooked?
29. __ shoestring: with little to spend : ON A
32. Streisand classic : PEOPLE
34. Baker's supply : YEAST
35. Doesn't divulge, as bad news : SITS ON
37. Emphasize : STRESS
40. URL initials : HTTP
42. Big __: WWI cannon : BERTHA. Callaway brand as well.
43. Cocoon occupants : PUPAE
44. Dedicate, as a book at a signing : INSCRIBE. David Sedaris inscribes funny stuff. The title of his Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls is actually from an inscription.
45. Court plea, briefly : NOLO. Nolo contendere.
46. Jet-black, in verse : EBON
47. Correspondent's "Oh, and another thing ..." : PPs
48. NPR journalist Shapiro : ARI
49. South Carolina state tree : PALMETTO. Been a long time since we drove to Myrtle Beach & played tons of golf.
50. Map collection : ATLAS
52. Work for a captain : CREW. Ship.
55. Detroit athlete : TIGER. For Jazzbumpa & LaLaLinda's husband.
57. Set as a price : ASKED
59. Crafty sort : DEVIL
63. Bungle : MESS UP
65. Slices in a pizza, often : OCTAD. Don't miss this
Pizza Crust recipe. My first pizza is a thick-crusted shrimp &
pineapple at Pizza Hut Guangzhou. That's my ideal pizza as well.
68. Typically reddish-brown ape : ORANG
69. Smokers' buys: Abbr. : CTNS (Cartons)
70. "Annie Hall" actress : KEATON (Diane).
72. Paid players : PROs. Tiger. Tigers.
73. Get as a return : REAP
74. It might match cuff links : TIE PIN
77. Big rig fuel : DIESEL
78. Bullfight cry : OLE
79. Actor Beatty : NED. Wish I had never seen Deliverance.
82. Mates : PALS
84. Did a smith's work : SHOED
87. Reprobate : SCALAWAG. Great entry.
89. With regret : RUEFULLY
91. Progress : ADVANCES
94. Kosher deli buy : KNISH. Never had KNISH before. The sweet corn here is $3 for a dozen at the Farm Stand yesterday, Irish Miss.
95. Thyroid and pituitary : GLANDS
96. Clavell novel set in Hong Kong : TAI-PAN. Literally "Big Boss". Cantonese. Tai = Big. Pan = Boss. Both Cantonese and English are spoken in Hong Kong.
98. Historic chapter : ERA
100. Enjoy a story, say : READ. Have you read My Lunches with Orson yet? Sounds very juicy.
101. Prius automaker : TOYOTA
102. Like some airline tickets : ONE WAY
103. Got up : AROSE
104. Allow to enter : LET IN
106. Beasts of burden : ASSES
107. "Heavens!" : YIKES
109. Many a prep sch. : ACAD
110. Sun-cracked : SERE. A regular in our old Tribune days.
112. Film terrier : ASTA. The Thin Man.
114. "Baseball Tonight" channel : ESPN
116. Frightened reaction : EEK
118. Have yet to pay : OWE
119. "Ahem" cousin : HEY
Marti sent me this picture yesterday. She said: "This is one of my favorite flower arrangements, I make at least one every year, when the milkweed pods are ripe. Doesn't it look like a bunch of parakeets sitting around a garden?"
It fooled Boomer, me too if I had not read Marti's note.
C.C.
