Theme: "You Oughta Be in Pictures" - U is added to each movie.
23A. Heroic medal whose recipient didn't feel worthy of it? : THE RUED BADGE OF COURAGE. The Red Badge of Courage.
37A. Formal acknowledgment of the end of the calla season? : A FAREWELL TO ARUMS. A Farewell to Arms.
50A. Warnings for Rio sailors? : BUOYS FROM BRAZIL. Boys from Brazil. Unfamiliar to me. Google shows this entry misses "The".
71A. Not a colorful restaurant list? : MENU IN BLACK. Men in Black.
94A. Midnight distress call? : A SHOUT IN THE DARK. A Shot in the Dark.
104A. Clever maneuver by a grade school class? : KINDERGARTEN COUP. Kindergarten Cop.
127A. Classy vehicle for actor Elliott? : THE SOLID GOULD CADILLAC. The Solid Gold Cadillac. Elliott Gould.
Very tight and focused theme set, all movies.
Construction-wise,
this grid is very demanding, with 115 theme squares (I can handle up to
100). And 6 of the 7 theme entries are pretty long. Often grid-spanning
15's make things easier on a weekday grid, but grid-spanning 21's are
nightmares.
Across:
1. Impedes : RETARDS. Put in ?E???DS, then moved on.
8. Trendy : A LA MODE
15. Break the law, in a way : SPEED. Nice clue.
20. Like some reasoning : A PRIORI. I like everything in the NW corner, except LOTTED (30A. Divided into groups for auction). Not a word I use.
21. In vino __ : VERITAS. In wine, there's truth. Similar to a Chinese saying "Drink in, truth out".
22. Threshold : VERGE
26. Distinguishing quality : TRAIT
27. "Mangia!" : EAT
28. Heavy weight : ONE TON. ONE Dupe with 107D. A hundred bucks : ONE C.
29. Cognac bottle letters : VSOP. Very Special Old Pale or Very Superior Old Pale.
32. Argue : JAW
34. Rampant : RIFE
36. "And Winter Came..." album maker : ENYA. Guessed.
46. Game with marriage and kids : LIFE. Never played it.
48. Count in music : BASIE. Count Basie.
49. River rat : NUTRIA. This guy probably knows D-Otto's various cats. How many are in your care now, Tom?
56. Hurdles for future attys. : LSATS
57. Justice Dept. arm : ATF
58. Wonder Woman portrayer Carter : LYNDA
59. __ historique: opera genre : FAIT. Complete stranger.
61. USN officers : LTS. Lieutenants.
62. Jackie's predecessor : MAMIE
64. Bay, say : INLET
68. Role for Ingrid : ILSA. "Casablanca".
70. Throat-clearing sound : AHEM
75. Stat for getting people home : RBIs. Where were you thinking?
79. Like D's, gradewise : POOR
81. __ buddy : BOSOM
82. Body __ : IMAGE
83. Shade of blue : SKY
86. Capital overlooking the Pacific : LIMA
88. Breeze (through) : COAST
91. Garden tool : HOE
92. Save like mad : HOARD. I don't waste stuff, but I don't hoard either.
100. Many a ski house : A-FRAME
102. Tasteless : TACKY
103. Weary : TIRE
108. Cat in a casa : GATO
112. About, legally : IN RE. I used to be stumped by INRI all the time.
113. South end? : ERN. Southern.
114. Pitcher known as "Tom Terrific" : SEAVER. The only Hall of Famer wearing a Mets cap.
116. Doesn't seed, perhaps : SODS
119. 1998 Masters champion : O'MEARA (Mark). Tiger's old buddy. Good old times. Been to the Masters, Husker Gary/Big Easy/Chairman Moe?
124. NRC forerunner : AEC. Atomic Energy Commission. NRC is Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
126. One of the Allmans : DUANE. Same letter count as GREGG, ex of Cher.
131. Cravat cousin : ASCOT
132. Not on any side : NEUTRAL
133. Folksy TV attorney : MATLOCK. Played by Andy Griffith. I drew a blank.
134. Benefits : BOONS
135. Where some ticket selling is done : IN A CAGE. Oh, this is like how they sell tickets at our state fair.
136. Ancient ascetics : ESSENES. Learned from doing crosswords.
Down:
1. Jar : RATTLE
2. Either "You've Got Mail" co-screenwriter : EPHRON. Nora and Delia.
3. Accord : TREATY
4. Carrier that merged with Meridiana in 2013 : AIR ITALY. Got via crosses.
5. Itinerary component : ROUTE
6. Rap Dr. : DRE
7. Team : SIDE
8. Online self-image : AVATAR. Hi there "Stud Chicken"!
9. Conducted : LED
10. Vessel for Jason : ARGO. Hi there, Charlotte's grandpa! Lucky you, Thai chef girlfriend!
11. Countenance : MIEN. This looks like it should be French for "mine", doesn't it?
12. Native Nebraskan : OTOE
13. Foolish : DAFT
14. Usher : ESCORT
15. "Law & Order: __" : SVU
16. Deliberately misconstrues : PERVERTS. Always use this word as a noun.
17. Big times : ERAS
18. "WARMING! Keep within reach of children" brand : EGGO.
Never had Eggo. Jayce, I saw a box of eggless mooncakes in our Asian
store two weeks ago. It's like having salsa without tomatoes.
19. __ South : DEEP
24. Cabo's peninsula : BAJA
25. Cause of kitchen tears : ONION. So, what's your signature dish, Anon-T? You sound like a great cook.
31. 77-year-old duck : DAFFY. He was born in 1937 then.
33. Friday player : WEBB (Jack)
35. Groundbreaking discoveries? : FAULTS. Great clue.
38. Fronded plant : FERN
39. Major conflict : WAR
40. That, in Taxco : ESA
41. Tina's "30 Rock" role : LIZ
42. First name in exploring : LEIF. Son of Eric the Red.
43. Kazakhstan river : URAL
44. Diamond tool : MITT. Baseball diamond.
45. Get wise with : SASS
47. Vacation site : ISLE
50. Ole Miss rival : BAMA
51. Where I-15 and I-80 intersect : UTAH
52. "For the life __ ..." : OF ME
53. Asgard head : ODIN
54. Premier League soccer team, briefly : MANU. Short for Manchester United?
55. Nonclerical : LAIC
60. Sort : ILK
63. Devil : IMP
65. Lending inst. : LIB
66. Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" collaborator : ENO (Brian). I was unaware of this trivia.
67. "Very funny" TV station : TBS
69. Slot machine's one : ARM
71. Word spoken in mock indignation : MOI
72. Funny Bombeck : ERMA
73. Places : LOCI
74. Main Theban deity : AMON. Quite a few 4-letter Egyptian deities.
76. Island band The __ Men : BAHA. Famous for their "Who Let the Dogs Out?".
77. Composer Stravinsky : IGOR
78. Go for : SEEK
80. "Grumpy" film title characters : OLD MEN
82. Old Roman road : ITER. Nailed it!
83. Often-seen abbr. in English drama : SHAK. I sure need a "Bard" hint.
84. Ex-UN chief Annan : KOFI
85. Tale : YARN
87. Film dog : ASTA
89. Alaskan site of the only WWII battle on U.S. soil : ATTU. No idea. See here.
90. Sends, in a way : SHIPS
93. Minnesota-based hotel chain : RADISSON. Yay! For me.
95. Laughing sound : HAR
96. Birth mo. for some Scorpios : OCT
97. Island strings : UKE
98. Actress Daly : TYNE
99. President with an airport named for him : DE GAULLE. Did not expect a French president.
101. Flynn of film : ERROL
105. Sign of spring : GEMINI
106. Rocking place : CRADLE
109. Toyota model : AVALON
110. Bridge holding : TENACE. I can never remember this word, Spitzboov!
111. Hoover rivals : ORECKS
115. Fixes a column, say : EDITS
116. Try : STAB
117. Very : OH SO
118. Like San Francisco's Coit Tower : DECO. Pretty in the evening.
120. Paradise : EDEN
121. South-of-the-border water : AGUA
122. Univ. military program : ROTC
123. Ghostly glow : AURA
125. Occurred : CAME
128. 5-min. NHL periods : OTs
129. Fall behind : LAG
130. "Law & Order" figs. : DAs
C.C.
