Theme: "L-iminated"- L is removed from each theme answer.
23A. Comment after a big raise? : THE POT THICKENS. The plot thickens.
42A. Faux furs left out in the cold? : FROSTED FAKES. Frosted Flakes.
60A. Chicago athlete in Denver? : MILE HIGH CUB. Mile high club.
84A. Gem named for a dinosaur? : BARNEY STONE. Blarney Stone.
99A. Fair-haired castaway? : BEACHED BLOND. Bleached blond. Lots of girls sported silver hair last summer. Not easy to be DYED (Covered the gray, say) in silver gray. Very complicated procedures.
120A. Running buddy's question? : YOUR PACE OR MINE? Your place or mine?
33D. Green Giant deal? : PEA BARGAIN. Plea bargain.
56D. Slacks for the boardroom? : POWER PANTS. Power plant.
The stray L's in MILE HIGH CUB and BEACHED BLOND might bother some purists, but they're fun phrases.
Lovely grid arrangement. No cheater square! Hard to do that on a Sunday.
Across:
1. Padlock part : HASP
5. Boldly forward : PERT. 18D. Gets boldly forward with : SASSES. Clue echoes.
9. Yrs. before college : EL-HI
13. Only major league team without a no-hitter to its credit : PADRES. I did not know this trivia. I asked Boomer. He answered "Marlins". We're no good.
19. Polynesian getaway : OAHU
20. Small number : A FEW.
21. Aslan of Narnia, e.g. : LION.
As Marti linked last week, Met Gala featured a China theme this year.
So much fun for me to watch each red carpet interpretation of various
Chinese flowers/animals.
22. Parthenon dedicatee : ATHENA
26. Range ropes : REATAS. Or RIATAS.
27. Mosaic part : TESSERA. New word to me. Its plural is Tesserae. Not *S.
28. Didn't let go of : KEPT
30. Takes the wrong way? : ROBS. Fun clue.
31. Scholarly piece : PAPER
34. Assign : ALLOT
37. Express sorrow : CRY. So is SOB.
38. Garden annoyance : MOLE
39. Dark clouds, perhaps : OMEN
40. Prison canary? : RAT. Nailed it. We also have 77. Field scurrier : MOUSE
45. Row : SPAT
46. Recess retort : AM SO
48. Cargo unit : TON
49. "Pshaw!" : FIE
50. Dwindle : SUBSIDE
52. Start of many a tribute : ODE TO
54. Pertinent : APROPOS
59. Greenhouse gas regulator: Abbr. : EPA
63. Pad : ABODE
64. Satisfied, as a debt : REPAID
66. Yucatán native : MAYAN
67. Arrived suddenly : BLEW IN
68. Bit of kelp, say : ALGA. I eat Wakame often. Kelp is too tough. It's good for veggie miso stock though.
70. Come down hard : TEEM. Like rain. Not a word I use.
72. Asian cuisine : THAI. Lemonade is lucky.
74. Do a farming job : SEED
75. Uncouth : COARSE
81. One hoping to find a school : ANGLER. School of fish!
83. Skylark sound : TRILL
86. Life : PEP
89. Physically aware : SENSATE. Not a word I use.
91. Fathered : SIRED
92. Unprocessed information : RAW DATA. Big gimme for all of us.
94. Hatch, e.g.: Abbr. : SEN. Orrin Hatch.
95. Helena-to-Lincoln dir. : ESE
96. Islamic official : IMAM
98. Rural roadside stops : INNS
105. Don Ho's instrument : UKE
106. Doctor's order : STAT
107. Bonnie Raitt, for one : ALTO. Got via crosses.
108. Gathering that may involve a wagon : TEA. What wagon? We call it tea cart.
109. Calls for : NEEDS
111. So last week : PASSE
112. Captures : NABS
113. Sea raptors : ERNS
115. Computer output device : PRINTER. What printer are you using? Ours is HP Envy. So so.
118. Food label reader, perhaps : DIETER. I cook by feel and instinct.
126. Preposterous, as an idea : INSANE
127. Shipbuilding tool : ADZE
128. Little red schoolhouse lady : MARM
129. Steady : EVEN
130. Brahms' symphonies, e.g. : TETRAD. No idea. I'm a classic music idiot.
131. Tenderfoot : NAIF
132. Shampoo additive : ALOE. I tried this clue for ACAI once. Rich did not use it.
Down:
1. Like some wings : HOT
2. Warm-bath reaction : AAH. I'll say "Ahh" only when it's hot.
3. Yachting pronoun : SHE
4. Out-of-style Boy Scout shelters : PUP TENTS. By the way, do any of you remember the big Chinese earthquake in 1976?
Over half a million people died. I have faint memory of sleeping
outside in a big tent. Wiki mentioned under Damage that "Tremors were
felt as far away as Xi'an approximately 760 km (470 mi) away." I was 5
at the time.
5. Gently touches : PATS
6. Little newts : EFTS
7. Zaps : REHEATS
8. Dancer's move : TWIRL
9. FDR was one : ELK. Unknown trivia. Because the clue is an abbreviation, I though the answer might be DEM.
10. Moment of dishonesty : LIE
11. Protest on the road : HONK
12. Cricket, for one : INSECT
13. Bowlful next to the chips : PARTY DIP
14. Put away : ATE. I put EAT first. Fooled by the tense.
15. Hindu duty : DHARMA. How do they decide where to put H? I have trouble spelling Gandhi also.
16. Seized again : RETOOK
17. Allow : ENABLE
24. "... sadness comes __ me": Longfellow : O'ER
25. Baby moose : CALF
29. Factory-built home : PREFAB
31. Western chasers : POSSE. And 99. 31-Down quarry : BANDIT
32. Energize : AMP UP. I tried PEP UP.
35. Former Sandinista leader : ORTEGA
36. Like the Cheshire Cat's grin : TOOTHY
40. Send forth : RADIATE
41. 2001 French romantic comedy : AMELIE. Loved the movie.
43. Tracked winter vehicle : SNO-CAT
44. Wild : FERAL
47. Trick reaction : OOH. Did you try "Doh"?
51. Bart Simpson, e.g. : IMP. Hi there Spitzboov!
53. Reduce in intensity : DIM
55. Quite hefty : OBESE. And 117. Hefty volume : TOME. One of our blog readers read "Dream of the Red Chamber", a hefty Chinese classic. I was totally impressed.
57. Jim Davis canine : ODIE
58. Summon, with "for" : SEND
61. Buildup of fluid : EDEMA
62. Tip a tam : UNHAT. Not a word I use.
65. British noblemen : EARLS
67. Standout : BIG NAME.
I just learned that our Steve lives in the same area as Miley Cyrus.
And he sees her from time to time at their local coffee shop &
Trader Joe's.
68. 97-Down pair, frequently : ACTS. And 97. Play with songs : MUSICAL
69. Passed-down learning : LORE
71. Smidgen : MORSEL
73. Inuit wear : ANORAK
76. Cut back : SLASH
78. Choral parts may be sung in it : UNISON
79. Not agitated : SERENE
80. Discriminating ability : EYE
82. Jack __, treasury secretary since 2013 : LEW. Known for his loopy signature.
84. Spree : BENDER
85. Cold War missile prog. : SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)
87. Old lab heaters : ETNAS
88. Kid's adhesive : PASTE
90. Struggled for balance : TEETERED
93. Removed pieces from : DISARMED
100. Five-time Tony nominee Stritch : ELAINE
101. Ideally : AT BEST
102. Marquee partner : CO-STAR
103. Fig tree variety : BANYAN. Have you seen fig trees in person?
104. "Transcendence" actor : DEPP. Never saw the movie. Johnny Depp & Brad Pitt are not my type.
110. Many a TV series : DRAMA
111. In accordance with : PER
114. Vending machine buy : SODA
116. First-century emperor : NERO
119. Bambi family member : ENA. Aunt Ena.
121. Israeli weapon : UZI
122. Field official : REF
123. Creeping evergreen : IVY
124. Wedding page word : NEE
125. Stamp out : END
C.C.
