Theme: "Book Case" - With THE (66A. Word that precedes the start of each answer to a starred clue to form a 112-Across best-seller), each theme answer starts with a John Grisham legal thriller. And THE is placed at the very center of the grid.
23A. *Protectorate, e.g. : CLIENT STATE. I know it as "Puppet state". The Client.
28A. *Pirate lords' group in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" : BRETHREN COURT. No idea. Wikia shows that "The Brethren Court is composed of the nine Pirate Lords, the greatest pirates in all the Seven Seas". The Brethren.
34A. *Rises to the occasion : SUMMONS UP COURAGE. Needs "the", no? "Summons up the courage". The Summons.
59A. *Trios and quartets, e.g. : CHAMBER MUSIC. The Chamber.
71A. *Salsa, e.g. : PARTNER DANCE. The Partner.
93A. *Some undergrad awards : ASSOCIATE DEGREES. The Associate.
100A. *They're hard to sway : FIRM BELIEVERS. The Firm.
112A. Author with over 275 million books in print : JOHN GRISHAM
Here
is a list of his thrillers. Quite a few start with THE, but no workable
phrases start with "Litigators", "Testament", "Racketeer",
"Confession" or "Rainmaker". Alex's theme entries are quite complete.
Constructors are very thorough with research and theme answer selection.
What's your favorite Grisham book? Mine is "The Pelican Brief".
Across:
1. Google __ : CHROME. Browser. I like my Firefox.
7. Propels, as shells : OARS
11. Back to school, once? : MARM. Tricky clue. Schoolmarm.
15. Triangle calculation : AREA
19. Clipper's find : COUPON. Have you ever used Groupon?
20. Dry and crack : CHAP
21. City near Santa Barbara : OJAI. Chickie's daughter lives here.
22. "A Few Good Men" co-star Moore : DEMI. Probably my favorite Kevin Bacon movie.
25. Drive aimlessly : TAKE A SPIN. Great fill.
27. Mythological name meaning "all-gifted" : PANDORA. I did not know the "all-gifted" meaning. Bill G is getting gifts every day, then, with his various Pandora stations.
30. Post-bath powder : TALC
32. Cooper's tool : ADZE
33. City, quickly : URB. "Quickly" indicates an abbr.
42. Divulge : BLAB
45. Set right : ORIENT
46. Matches in a pot : SEES
47. Sheeps' clothing? : WOOLS. Lovely clue.
49. Far from 100% : ILL
50. Unbelievable : FISHY
51. Fillers of envs. : LTRs
52. Physicist Tesla : NIKOLA
53. Romantic murmur : COO
54. Some univ. staff : TAs
55. Relative of -ship : HOOD. Adulthood. Friendship. Distant relative, I guess.
56. Battleship success : HIT. Board game again.
57. Super Bowl III winning coach : EWBANK (Weeb). The only coach to win both NFL and AFL championships. Joe Namath days.
63. Italian who was a contemporary of Euler : LAGRANGE.
Total stranger to me. Wiki said this guy "became the first professor of
analysis at the École Polytechnique upon its opening in 1794." I know a
guy who graduated there.
65. Strategic WWI river : MARNE. Needed crossing help.
67. Trickier to drive on : ICIER
68. Traveler's oasis : HOTEL BAR. Steve Kroft said "Yes!"
76. Texas oil city : ODESSA
77. Welcome home? : MAT. Nice clue also.
78. "Other people," to Sartre : HELL. Hell is other people.
79. "__ work is done" : OUR
80. Zip : NIL
81. Co-Nobelist with Rabin and Peres : ARAFAT. 1994. The year I left Xi'an and my loving family.
84. Lucas princess : LEIA
85. Clothing prefix meaning "small" : PETTI. As in petticoat.
87. Proper : DUE
88. "Super Bass" singer Nicki : MINAJ. Not fond of her. You?
89. Weaving component : WEFT
90. Neverland creator : BARRIE
91. Increases, with "up" : AMPS
96. Alley __ : OOP
98. Currency honoring Mandela : RAND
99. Actress Kunis : MILA. She and Ashton are a cute couple.
106. Soloist in a 1925 Broadway title song : NANETTE. Oh, "No, No, Nanette".
111. Result of sleeping in : LATE START
114. Disney CEO since 2005 : IGER (Bob)
115. Coagulate : CLOT
116. 84-Down for Fonda : ULEE. And 84. Something for a star : LEAD ROLE
117. Disentangle after a fumble recovery : UNPILE
118. Sci-fi escape vehicles : PODS
119. Touch up : HONE
120. Neuter, in a way : GELD
121. Transgressor : SINNER
Down:
1. Soyuz insignia : CCCP. Soyuz is Russian for "Union".
2. Hidalgo greeting : HOLA
3. Trash : RUIN
4. Slanted column : OPED. With slanted views.
5. Speech problem : MONOTONY
6. Fee payer, perhaps : ENTRANT
7. 31-day mo. : OCT
8. "... thou damned whale!" speaker : AHAB
9. Sources of daily pressure : RAT RACES
10. Some small suits : SPEEDOS
11. Good sense : MOTHER WIT. Holy cow. I never heard of this phrase.
12. Close to closed : AJAR
13. Earn big time, with "in" : RAKE
14. Look : MIEN
15. Accumulate on a surface : ADSORB. Not a word I use. "Absorb", yes.
16. Lincoln or Bush : REPUBLICAN
17. Arabian commander : EMIR
18. Informal negative : AIN'T
24. "Do the Right Thing" pizzeria : SAL'S
26. Puncture lead-in : ACU. My uncle (mom's older brother) is an expert in acupuncture.
29. Lao-__ : TZU
31. One who's always right? : CUSTOMER. Indeed.
34. Capital of Cyprus? : SOFT C. The first letter in Cyprus is soft. The answer is normally CEE.
35. Dickens' Heep : URIAH
36. "__ Solemnis": Beethoven work : MISSA. Sadly, I know nothing about classical music.
37. Word of indifference : MEH
38. Unseen : PERDU
39. Mission control go-ahead : A-OK
40. Ooze : GOO
41. Fashion magazine spin-off : ELLE GIRL. I thought it was discontinued a while ago.
43. Word after string or sing : ALONG
44. British fellow : BLOKE
48. Got steamed : SAW RED
51. Literary Doone : LORNA
52. Not as inclement : NICER
55. Collections of plant specimens : HERBARIA. Learning moment for me. Herb aria.
56. Pair of cymbals : HI-HAT
58. Vamp Theda : BARA. Does she look attractive to you?
60. Fr. titles : MMES
61. Aromatic fir : BALSAM
62. Annual parade celeb : ST PAT. And 77. Parade twirler : MAJORETTE. Parade echos.
63. Accounting entry : LINE ITEM
64. Boston-D.C. service : ACELA
68. Pilot maker : HONDA
69. Hatred : ODIUM
70. Moved with Scotty's help : TELEPORTED. "Star Trek"
72. Eighth Commandment taboo, per KJV : THEFT. King James Version.
73. __ Dame : NOTRE
74. Affectionate nickname : CUTIE
75. Ohio natives : ERIEs
82. Q&A part: Abbr. : ANS (Answer)
83. Musical fourths : FAs
85. "24 Caprices for Solo Violin" composer : PAGANINI
86. Fumble, say : ERR
89. "Rubáiyát" vessel : WINE JUG. "...A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread..."
90. Minsk's country : BELARUS
92. Brett who played Oscar Madison's TV wife : SOMERS. I only know Suzanne Somers.
94. LeBron, again, briefly : CAV
95. Parking lot mishap : DING
97. __ Kids: "Sesame Street" brand : PBS
100. Go wild : FLIP
101. Conniving Shakespearean soldier : IAGO
102. Permanently mark : ETCH
103. "Mission: Impossible" theme composer Schifrin : LALO
104. Retired Monopoly token : IRON
105. Poet Silverstein : SHEL
107. "Those Guys Have All the Fun" subject : ESPN. I passed by ESPN's Shanghai Office in 1999 and I had no idea what ESPN was about.
108. Slender : THIN
109. Account : TALE
110. Part of FEMA: Abbr. : EMER
113. Nancy Drew's guy : NED
C.C.
