Theme: "Interjection" - TER is added to each familiar phrase.
I don't quite get the title "Interjection" and the theme gimmick
connection. Can you explain to me? Should I just parse it as "In-TER-jection"?
23A. Period after one round too many? : TEETER TIME. Tee time.
28A. Fertilized egg? : CHILD STARTER. Child star.
53A. Benefit from barn raising? : BETTER THE FARM. Bet the farm.
87A. Where Monet got his physical? : PAINTER CLINIC. Not familiar with "Pain clinic".
109A. Tipsy gym helper? : TIGHT SPOTTER. Tight spot. You need a spotter in lifting weights.
120A. Joking after a midterm? : TEST BANTER. Test ban.
36D. Need some trough repair? : BUST A GUTTER. Bust a gut.
43D. 1970s presidential fundraiser? : CARTER RALLY. Car rally.
Classic
Gail Grabowski grid, always 5 or 6 theme entries Across, and 2 Downs.
She also likes pinwheel style for her weekday puzzles.
Half of the TERs are added to the end of first word, half to the second word. Very consistent.
Across:
1. Speech therapist's concerns : LISPS
6. Work on the street : PAVE
10. DOL division : OSHA
14. The Christina in Wyeth's "Christina's World" : OLSON. Got via crosses. Wiki said she suffered from Polio.
19. For this purpose : AD HOC
20. Rotten to the core : EVIL
21. Be inclined : LEAN
22. Scope : RANGE
25. "Shoot!" : DANG
26. Duplicity : GUILE
27. "Golf Begins at Forty" author : SAM SNEAD. I nailed it.
31. Capital of Denmark? : DEE. The capital letter in Denmark.
32. It may be blank : STARE
33. Signal to begin speaking : TONE. Answering machine.
34. Out-of-favor sunscreen compound : PABA
37. Certainty : FACT
40. Flock member : BIRD
42. Reacted to a sour note : WINCED
46. Like many laps : SWUM
47. Herding dogs : CORGIS
49. Vichy vacation times : ETES. Paris is empty in summer.
51. Thing to grind : AXE
52. State legal VIPs : AGS. Attorneys general.
56. Stephen of "Interview With the Vampire" : REA
57. Pretends : LETS ON
59. Oil can letters : SAE. I can never remember what it stands for: Society of Automotive Engineers)
60. Paretsky's Warshawski and Grafton's Millhone, briefly : TECS. Detectives.
61. Key not used by itself : CTRL
62. Isn't kidding : MEANS IT
64. Tom : MALE CAT. All the three Toms I know via this blog are incredibly nice guys.
67. "Never, at any crisis of your life, have I known you to have a handkerchief" speaker : RHETT (Butler). "Gone With the Wind".
68. Semisoft cheeses : GOUDAS
70. Advertisers say it sells : SEX. Sex sells.
71. Musical weakness : TIN EAR
73. Reject with contempt : SPURN
75. Suitable for most audiences : RATED PG
78. Complete with crayons : COLOR IN
81. Mention : CITE
82. Whirled : SPUN
83. Rosy-fingered goddess : EOS
85. Herbal tea : TISANE. Remember the tisane scene in "Le Divorce?". Read here.
86. Social pest : ANT
91. JFK alternative : LGA
92. Surname for an unknown : DOE
93. Jazzy James : ETTA
94. Take a turn : ROTATE
95. Tremendously : A LOT
96. Low clouds : STRATI
98. "Breaking Bad" lawyer Goodman : SAUL. Finally. I linked this poster a few times in the past.
100. Usher's find : SEAT
102. Pandora's box, e.g. : MYTH
103. Three-part figs. : SSNS
105. Dropped-egg sound : SPLAT
107. Magnolia St. campus : USM (University of Southern Mississippi)
113. Flash drive connections : USB PORTS. With Drop box, now flash drives are almost unnecessary.
118. Sister of Calliope : ERATO
119. School acronym : EL-HI. Elementary ( school) + high (school). Super friendly letter combo, hence its frequent appearance in crosswords.
122. Box cutter, e.g. : RAZOR
123. Wheels that are longer than cars? : LIMO. Nice clue.
124. Push for : URGE
125. City near Florence : SIENA
126. Cockamamie : INANE
127. Car buyer's aid : LOAN
128. Chew (out) : REAM
129. Rigged supports : MASTS
Down:
1. Pull-down beneficiaries : LATS.
2. Mind matter : IDEA
3. Son of Noah : SHEM. I also know HAM.
4. 1945 conference site : POTSDAM. Faintly recall this name. It's close to Berlin.
5. Crime locale : SCENE
6. Gp. opposed to factory farming : PETA
7. Enthusiastic : AVID. And 8. Enthusiasm : VIM
9. Campaign poster word : ELECT
10. Pre-1000 Celtic language : OLD IRISH
11. Caulk, e.g. : SEALER
12. Crew member : HAND. Oh, deckhand.
13. Inner turmoil : ANGST
14. Life form : ORGANISM
15. Actress Ambrose of "Six Feet Under" : LAUREN. Stranger
to me. Never watched "Six Feet Under". I wanted embed that picture,
but Google sent me below email 2 days ago. How am I supposed to know
which pictures I can or can't embed?
"Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog is
alleged to infringe upon the copyrights of others. As a result, we have
reset the post(s) to \"draft\" status. (If we did not do so, we would be
subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits.
The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end
of this message.) This means your post - and any images, links or other
content - is not gone. You may edit the post to remove the offending
content and republish, at which point the post in question will be
visible to your readers again."
16. Tizzy : SNIT
17. Not look well? : OGLE. A smile after I got it.
18. "When hell freezeth over!" : NE'ER
24. Atoll former : REEF
29. Behavior pattern : HABIT
30. Airport structures : TOWERS
32. Broadcast online in real time : STREAM
34. Miserere, for one : PSALM. Wow, I never heard of Miserere before. It's Latin for "Have mercy".
35. "Shucks!" : AW GEE
38. Do one's part : ACT
39. No-frills beds : COTS
41. Loss : DEFEAT
44. Bring to bear : EXERT
45. Coped (with) : DEALT
48. "You're the One That I Want" musical : GREASE. Was this a gimmie to you?
50. Bit of strategy : TACTIC
53. Merchant vessel elision : BOSUN
54. Oklahoma's "Wheat Capital" : ENID. New trivia to me.
55. And such: Abbr. : ETC. Do you think plural ETCS is legit?
58. Big yawn : SNORE
61. Complete confusion : CHAOS
63. Site of some mammoths' demise : TAR PIT
65. Spearheaded : LED
66. Consider it likely : EXPECT
67. Museum artifact : RELIC
69. Places for sweaters? : SAUNAS. Sweat-ers, those who sweat.
72. "Me? Uh-uh!" : NOT I!
73. Quite a bit : SCADS
74. Wine grape : PINOT
76. Big bang producer : TNT
77. Bring up the rear : GO LAST
79. Cash bar? : INGOT. Great clue also.
80. "'__ the Arizona Skies": 1934 John Wayne movie : 'NEATH
82. Glossy materials : SATINS
84. Location : SITE
87. Place to buy a tank : PET STORE. Fish tank.
88. Violent outburst : ERUPTION
89. "Good Times" actress : ROLLE (Esther)
90. Museum funder: Abbr. : NEA
95. Pungent cleanser : AMMONIA
97. Actor Kutcher : ASHTON. He and Mila Kunis are a great couple. Hope this embed is safe.
99. Bronchial woe : ASTHMA
101. Ernest of country music : TUBB
104. Write letters? : SPELL. I like this clue also.
106. Pianist Rubinstein : ARTUR. Or Arthur. Click here.
108. Twitch : SPASM
109. Actress Polo : TERI
110. Country on the Caspian : IRAN
111. Disputed strip : GAZA
112. Mixed bag : OLIO. You all think of me, right?
113. Open-organizing org. : USGA (United States Golf Association)
114. Mushroom piece : STEM
115. Hwys. with nos. : RTES
116. No-frills shelter : TENT
117. Toledo titles: Abbr. : SRAS
121. Quaint "before" : ERE
Dudley sent me this sweet picture yesterday. He said:
"Within the blog family, there are certainly some cute little kids, but I
submit that my grand-niece Lillie is the cutest of all. Here she is
thanking a dear family friend who had done a very generous favor."
C.C.