If you only look at the surface of the answers, the puzzle may have seemed rather run-of-the-mill:
1-Across. *Onetime owner of Waldenbooks : KMART.
5-Down. *Bullseye logo company : TARGET.
29-Across. *Seller of Geoffrey Bandages : TOYS"R"US. Geoffrey is their giraffe mascot.
30-Down. *Bergdorf competitor : SAKS.
43-Across. *Craftsman company : SEARS.
46-Down. *Costco rival : SAMS CLUB.
But if you can visualize what C.C. has done with their placements (see the grid diagram at the bottom of the page), she elevates the whole thing with the coolest reveal(s) I have ever seen:
9-Across. With 74-Across, what each of the answers to starred clues is : CHAIN. Each of the theme entries is a CHAIN STORE.
74-Across. With 9-Across, what the answers to starred clues form : STORE. And when linked end to end, they form a STORE CHAIN. Brilliant!
And there was plenty else to like in the grid, with several AHA moments and smiles when I "got" the clues.
Across
6. TiVo predecessor : VCR. Obsolescent now?
14. Ancient Asia Minor region : IONIA. I never knew Asia Minor stretched as far as Michigan! ;-)
15. Mobile setting: Abbr. : ALA.bama. I was all over the place on this one. Mobile phone? Mobile home? Aha! The city!!
16. __ trot : HOT TO.
17. Ocean tracker : SONAR.
18. Listen : LEND AN EAR. Nice fill.
20. __ Balls: snacks : SNO.
21. Hoedown honey : GAL.
23. 1841 French ballet heroine : GISELLE. The ballet premiered in Paris in 1841, to huge critical and commercial success. It is still performed to this day.
24. Minn. winter hrs. : CST. Central Standard Time, for C.C.!
25. Gets into a seat : ELECTS. You "get" your favorite pol into a seat, but only if you vote!
27. Compete for the America's Cup : SAIL. I think the last winner in 2013 was the USA team "Oracle."
28. "Gotcha" : AHA.
31. Tic __ mints : TAC.
32. Speck : MOTE.
34. Ryder Cup chant : USA USA. Do you think Davis Love can bring the USA to victory in 2016?
35. "Lux" composer : ENO. Stunning images, capturing light at different times of day. 4:45
36. Austere : STERN.
38. Halloween reactions : EEKS.
40. Spare pieces? : RIBS. Fun misdirection. DH makes the best spare ribs.
47. First name in shipping : ARI. Onassis.
50. Chalk holder : CUE TIP. Because "blackboard tray" wouldn't fit, and besides that, I really wondered if schools even use chalk any more?
54. Price number : ARIA. Nice misdirection - Leontyne Price is an amazing American soprano. I used to have the album of her and Placido Domingo from "Tosca."
55. "Well, lah-di-__!" : DAH.
56. ESPN Deportes language : ESPAÑOL.
58. Many a Persian : TOM. About half of them, I'd say?
59. Stringed instrument : VIOL.
61. Big headache : HASSLE.
62. "Who Gets the Last Laugh?" network : TBS.
63. Running things : IN POWER.
65. Excessively : TOO.
66. Common flight path : ARC.
67. Tom Jones' last Top 10 hit : SHE'S A LADY.
69. Birth-related : NATAL.
71. Let up : EASED.
72. Up to, in store signs : TIL.
73. Romantic text : I LUV U.
75. It may have a patch : EYE. Arrrgh. This year, Talk Like A Pirate Day is September 19, mateys!
76. Discharge, as from the RAF : DEMOB. DEMOBilization.
Down
1. They catch busses at stadiums : KISS CAMS. Loved this clue / entry!! The word "buss" means "kiss."
2. NASA launch : MOON SHOT. Another great entry. Did you know, that mooning someone is not illegal in Maryland?
3. Provide critical comments on : ANNOTATE.
4. Fjord relative : RIA.
6. Depressed areas : VALLEYS. Oh, I was thinking of economic depression.
7. Progressive Field team, on scoreboards : CLE.veland. If nothing else, know your teams, fields, and baseball stars if you want to nail a C.C. puzzle!
8. Sounded right : RANG TRUE.
9. Cartoonist Addams : CHAS. You may remember him best as the brains behind "The Addams Family"? I used to love his morbid cartoons in "The New Yorker."
10. Fine-tunes : HONES.
11. Took courses at midnight? : ATE LATE.
12. Salad bar option : ITALIAN. My favorite is Makoto ginger dressing.
13. SensoTouch 3D shaver, e.g. : NORELCO.
19. Neglect : DISUSE. Not to be confused with "misuse."
22. Baseball's Moises : ALOU. See? What'd I tell ya at 7d?
26. Rebel org. : CSA. Confederate States of America.
33. Slip : ERR.
37. "Way to go!" : NICE.
39. "Captain Phillips" setting : SEA. So simple, but would you believe, I had to wait for perps to be sure?
41. Orchard unit : BUSHEL.
42. Take apart : SEPARATE.
44. Fats Waller contemporary : ART TATUM. Here's the two of them together. 5:23
45. Border river, to Mexicans : RIO BRAVO. Gringos call it the "Rio Grande."
48. Shower covering : RAIN HAT. I was wondering why anyone would wear anything while they were taking a shower?
49. "Fingers crossed" : I HOPE SO. Nice.
51. Campus aides, for short : TAs. Teaching Assistants.
52. Trendy : IN STYLE.
53. Golf Galaxy buy : POLO.
57. Ex-Soviet leader Brezhnev : LEONID.
60. Sore sort, maybe : LOSER. How about someone who has snow-blowed and shoveled more than 100" of snow this winter, huh??!?!?!
64. Get one's feet wet : WADE. Which is what we'll be doing when it all starts to melt!
68. Tinkering letters : DIY. Do It Yourself.
70. Pub pint : ALE.
That's it for now - I have to go check out all the sales!!
Marti
Notes from C.C.:
1) Rich makes the reveal entry cool, Marti, My CHAIN clue is simply: "With 74-Across, what the answers to the starred clues form. Then "See 9-Across" for STORE. I also clued GISELLE as "Bündchen who's Forbes' highest-paid model for 7 consecutive years". Gosh!
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