Theme: "Name Game" - Name can follow the first word in each theme entry.
24A. 1983 novel partly set in a graveyard : PET SEMATARY. Pet name. The novel is by Stephen King. Cemetery is purposely misspelled. Read here (the fourth one).
45A. Classic detective played by William Powell : NICK CHARLES. Nickname. Asta!
54A. Bibliophile's prize : FIRST EDITION. First name. I had the first edition of "The Godfather" once. Alas, it's not worth much.
75A. Simple to operate : USER- FRIENDLY. Username.
86A. Office staple : FILE CABINET. File name.
107A. Any top-25 NFL career scoring leader : PLACE KICKER. Place name.
38D. Cheating deterrent : CODE OF HONOR. Code name.
41D. A 36-Across may be one : TRADE SECRET. Trade name. And 36A. Proprietary formula, perhaps : RECIPE
This is a classic 8-themer design: 6 Across, 2 Down. Though often the first theme entry starts or ends at the grid edge rather than in the middle.
I
think crossword answers often reflect the interests & background of
the constructor. How old do you think Joel D. Lafargue is?
Simple theme, a few tricky spots for me.
Across:
1. Pacific island nation : FIJI. Vijay Singh is the Big Fijian.
5. Eastern teachers : LAMAS
10. __ bar : SNACK
15. Frequent autograph signer : IDOL
19. Quaint plaint : EGAD
20. Man with memorable thumbs : EBERT (Roger)
21. Really cold : POLAR. I don't remembering a colder winter. The highs today is 8 below. Tomorrow is worse.
22. Extra : MORE
23. Singular : LONE
26. Bakery buys : BUNS
27. Arboreal rodents : TREE RATS
29. From square one : ANEW
30. Tap : SPIGOT
32. Steams (up) : FOGS
33. Cannes conclusion : FINIS
35. Baffled "Jeopardy!" contestant's effort : STAB. Take a stab.
39. Salon treatments : MANIS. And 112. Salon treatment : PEDI. Hi there Lucina and Dudley? :-)
40. Frankie Valli singing style : FALSETTO
44. Bonding agent : EPOXY
47. Needing training : RAW
48. Sourdough's strike : LODE. I suppose those sourdough guys invented the sourdough bread.
49. Item sold in a kit : MODEL
50. Ohio pro : CAV (Cavaliers)
51. Letter successor, to a large degree : EMAIL
53. Non-metallic rocks : ICE. Fun clue.
58. "Spamalot" co-creator : IDLE (Eric)
59. 2000 film set in a confectionery : CHOCOLAT. With Juliette Binoche. Love her. "Damage" is one of my favorites. "Damaged people are dangerous..."
61. __ exam : ORAL
62. Fitting to the max : APTEST
64. Cold, in Calais : FROID. We all know sang-froid (cold blood). Cool!
65. Stupefies : DAZES
67. DeMille specialties : EPICS
68. Taken as __: in its entirety : A WHOLE. A rare 6-letter partial.
70. Secret rival? : SURE. Deodorants. Not familiar with SURE.
71. Greatly disliked thing : ANATHEMA
74. Engage in braggadocio : CROW
79. Rip off : COP
80. Salon dye : HENNA
82. Back in time : AGO
83. Least quantity : MINIM. I always use "Minimum".
84. Actor's accessory : PROP
85. That, in Toledo : ESO
90. French peninsular city : BREST. We've seen LAIT clued as "Brest milk?" before.
91. It won't hold water : STRAINER. Another great clue.
93. Horse features : MANES. Have any of you used Mane 'n Tail shampoo? They were originally for horses. My hair grows like weeds. I hope to gallop someday.
94. Marks common in stories : QUOTES
95. Landings: Abbr. : ARRS
96. Muffet fare : CURDS
97. Bedroom community, briefly : BURB
98. Joe or java : COFFEE
101. Major affair : GALA
102. He played Arnold Vinick on "The West Wing" : ALAN ALDA. Full name.
106. Diva's moment : ARIA
111. Transmission speed unit : BAUD.
Wiki said "the baud unit is named after Émile Baudot, the inventor of
the Baudot code for telegraphy". Learning moment for me also.
113. One often turned on : LIGHT. Great clue.
114. Top-tier invitees : A-LIST
115. Gospel writer : LUKE
116. What one star may mean : POOR
117. Nods, often : YESES
118. Freebies on pillows : MINTS
119. Fall locale : EDEN. Biblical fall.
Down:
1. Pool surface : FELT
2. "M*A*S*H" mess server : IGOR. Is this a gimme to you? Totally stranger to me.
3. Boy's mother : JANE. Boy is Tarzan's son? Wiki said the boy is called Jack (ape name Korak).
4. Parisian obsession : IDEE FIXE
5. Classic French firearms company : LEPAGE. Also a learning moment to me.
6. Does lookout duty for, say : ABETS
7. Subway Series team : METS. And Yankees of course.
8. MGM motto word : ARS. "Ars gratia artis" (art for art's sake)
9. Multi-office rental: Abbr. : STE. Never saw "Suite" abbreviated this way.
10. __ rice : SPANISH
11. Staff figures : NOTES
12. What there oughta be : A LAW
13. Jam ingredient? : CAR. Nailed it.
14. Mrs. Blake Carrington on "Dynasty" : KRYSTLE. Another stranger to me. Played by Linda Evans.
15. Drink : IMBIBE
16. Henning of magic : DOUG
17. "Deal __ Deal" : OR NO
18. For fear that : LEST
25. More than excited : MANIC
28. Like challah dough : ROPY. I had some nova lox yesterday. It's smoked. Lox itself is not smoked, isn't it, Lemonade/Hahtoola?
31. No longer in : PASSE
33. Diamond side : FACET
34. Trimming tape : INKLE. I forgot. We had this before.
35. Cannon barrage : SALVO
36. Thing of the past : RELIC
37. Significant period : EPOCH
39. Center : MIDST
40. Weak : FRAIL
42. Call before the game? : TAILS. Oh, heads or tails.
43. Immature hooter : OWLET. It still amuses me that Rich won't allow HOOTERS in a grid.
45. Org. headquartered near Colorado's Cheyenne Mountain : NORAD. Needed crossing help.
46. Assume the role of : ACT AS
49. Surroundings : MILIEU
52. Author Albom : MITCH. He wrote "Tuesdays with Morrie".
54. Blockhead : FOOL
55. Leveling machine : DOZER
56. High dudgeon : IRE
57. Flamethrower compound : NAPALM. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".
60. Broken nursery rhyme item : CROWN. Jack and Jill.
63. "Bummer" : PITY
65. Red pig : DUROC. Alien to me as well. I wonder if Windhover raises these pigs. This one has an incredibly long body.
66. Bit of setter speech : ARF
67. Say "Enough!" : END IT
68. Liniment targets : ACHES
69. Grab forcefully : WREST
70. "Like a Rock" singer : SEGER (Bob). So, what's your favorite song of 2013? I really loved Lana Del Rey's "Young & Beautiful". Give Lorde's "Royals" a try. Like it?
71. Frank and Rice : ANNES
72. Seuss' Thidwick, e.g. : MOOSE
73. Date bk. listings : APPTS
76. Quarterly report line : SALES
77. "Yes, it does bother me!" : I MIND. Not an objection I use.
78. Some, in Stuttgart : EINES
81. In flames : AFIRE
84. Likely : PROBABLE
87. As an answer : IN REPLY
88. Charms : AMULETS
89. Israeli prime minister before Sharon : BARAK (Ehud)
90. Expend, as fuel : BURN
92. Cool and Lam detective series pen name : A A FAIR. Erle Stanley Gardner's pseudonym. Read more here.
94. Milk buys : QUARTS
96. Buried treasure : CACHE
97. Consecrated : BLEST
98. Smythe's comics barfly : CAPP (Andy). Reg Smythe is the cartoonist. Another unknown figure to me.
99. Oft-twisted treat : OREO
100. Generic pet name : FIDO
101. Jokes : GAGS
102. Related : AKIN
103. Praise highly : LAUD
104. Blue Devils' home : DUKE. Coach K.
105. Arabian Peninsula port : ADEN
108. Invention: LIE
109. Seuss' Sam-__ : I AM
110. MDX ÷ X : CLI. 151.
Husker
Gary's Crossword Corner map is now linked under Olio in our blog front
page. If you want to be on the map, please contact Gary
(gschlapfer@gmail.com).
C.C.
