Theme: "Hatch Job" - Nine birds are hidden in the theme answers.
25A. *Dreamt of : ALWAYS WANTED. Swan, a hard bird to hide, unlike OWL. The *S WAN* pattern phrases are limited.
27A. *Type of surplus store : ARMY NAVY. Myna. The one I visited is run by a private guy.
32A. *Forgot the past : STARTED OVER. Dove.
64A. *Yellow Monopoly property : VENTNOR AVENUE. Raven.
94A. *School in-crowd : POPULAR KIDS. Lark.
101A. *Tape width, perhaps : HALF-INCH. Finch.
33D. *"Be My Baby" singers : THE RONETTES. Heron.
38D. *Alpine feline : SNOW LEOPARD. Owl, probably the easiest theme entry for Mark.
49D. *Like some flats : LOW RENT. Wren. Crossing the central Across theme answer. Expert gridding work.
104. Signs of spring that are literally hidden in the answers to starred clues : NESTING BIRDS
I
had no idea what the theme was until I came to the reveal. I love
puzzles with reveal entries, provided that the gimmick was not obvious
from the get-go.
Also loved the title, "Hatch job", very clever. Mark managed a low 138-worder despite a heavy 10 themers. I'm convinced that you've got to have themeless construction experience to pull off a 138 or lower.
Quite a few clue echos in this grid also.
Across:
1. Mound site : INFIELD. Pitcher's mound.
8. 1996 Olympic tennis gold medalist : AGASSI
14. Track fastener : SPIKE
19. Jim Brickman fan, perhaps : NEW AGER. Not familiar with the musician.
20. Gathered in a mass : LUMPED
21. Darlings' creator : BARRIE. Peter Pan.
22. Stay with doggedly : CLING TO
23. Dishes set in gelatin : ASPICS. My grandma always had fried tofu inside her aspics.
24. Canine coat? : ENAMEL. Nice clue.
29. Couple maker : AND
30. Equal : ARE
31. Question of concern : YOU OK?
37. Dope (out) : SUSS
38. Eponymous Belgian town : SPA. Good to know this trivia. And 75. Belgium-based imaging company : AGFA. Have not seen this brand for quite some time.
41. Nincompoop : SCHMO. Joe Schmo.
42. German article : DER
43. Word with dive or drops : NOSE. And 59. Words before dare or ever : DO I
44. War of the Ring force : ENTs. The Lord of the Rings.
45. Pact : TREATY
47. Fix, as a model airplane : RE-GLUE
51. Bleep : EDIT OUT
53. Discernible range : EARSHOT
55. Hinduism's Chandra, e.g. : MOON GOD.
Never heard of Chandra. We have a moon goddess called Chang'e in
Chinese fairy tales. Same name as China's lunar exploration program.
57. 2005 horror sequel : SAW II
58. Singer Tori : AMOS
61. Scottish export : TWEED
62. Where texts are often read : CELL. Cell phone.
63. ISP option : MSN
67. "Speak up" requests : EHs
70. Base path? : EVIL. Base ="Despicable" here.
72. Cutting beam : LASER
73. Bouncer's handful : SOT
74. In short order : SOON
75. Some saxes : ALTOS
77. Law office visitors : CLIENTS
79. Part-time player : SEMI-PRO. Not AMATEUR.
81. "I'm outta here" : GOTTA GO. Tiny dupe with 48. Ship out : GO TO SEA
83. Potters' wheels, e.g. : LATHES
85. Home of Mandrake the Magician : XANADU. Another unknown to me.
86. Part of BOGOF : FREE. "Buy one, get one free"
87. Annoyances : RUBS. "Ay, there's the rub" .
89. They're often found in mice : AAs. Computer mouse.
91. Sign of an omission : CARET. ^.
92. Spots : ADS
93. Deere rival : TORO. Based here in MN.
98. Look forward to : AWAIT
99. Game with an Angry Birds version : UNO
100. Cal. column : TUE
111. Tennyson's "lily maid of Astolat" : ELAINE
112. Cuthbert of "24" : ELISHA
114. Steak __ : TARTARE
115. Thought quite a lot of : ADORED
116. More promising : ROSIER
117. In : ELECTEE
118. Downed with a jolt : TASED
119. Wheelhouse : SPHERE
120. Elizabeth I or Prince Harry : REDHEAD. Prince Harry alone is enough for me. I hope he gets back to that pretty girl he used to date. They were a great couple.
Down:
1. Sapa __: ancient South American ruler : INCA. Guessable.
2. Jodie Foster title role : NELL. Nailed this one, though I never saw the movie.
3. Relative of IMO : FWIW
4. Collector's suffix : IANA. ANA is more common, right? Americana.
5. Like rich batter : EGGY
6. Sics on : LETS AT
7. Overwhelmed, with "out" : DROWNED
8. Jackson with a 2015 "Keepin' It Country" tour : ALAN. We also have 102. "The Aviator" actor : ALDA.
9. Austrian painter Klimt : GUSTAV. Marti saw his works in person.
10. Word in current news? : AMPERE. Not current news I had in mind.
11. Scorpion cousin : SPIDER
12. Texas A&M joined it in 2012 : SEC
13. "You're probably right" : I'D SAY SO
14. Some HDTVs : SANYOS
15. Trick : PRANK
16. "Joy of Cooking" author Rombauer : IRMA
17. Capital ESE of Warsaw : KIEV
18. Hard to control : EELY
21. In a fog : BEMUSED
26. Puff __ : ADDER
28. Woke up : ROUSED. Read this, guys. So many LOL moments. Which is your favorite? Mine is #23.
32. Gets out : SCRAMS
34. Pile up : AMASS
35. "American Pastoral" Pulitzer-winning writer : ROTH (Philip)
36. City near Provo : OREM
39. Spitting sound : PTUI
40. Wine commonly served chilled : ASTI
41. Momentum : STEAM. Lose momentum/steam.
43. Beersheba's region : NEGEV. Hebrew for "dry".
44. Series ender : ET AL
46. Feature of some Roy Rogers numbers : YODEL
50. Expose : UNEARTH
52. "Understood" : I SEE
54. Weigh station unit : TON And 105. Weigh station concern : TARE
56. The __: Horace works : ODES
60. "__ be fun!" : IT'LL
62. Polish brand : CUTEX. And 65. Does masterfully : NAILS. Also 76. Master : LORD
64. Credit giant : VISA
66. Crunched things, for short : NOs (Numbers).
68. Large groups : HORDES
69. Weevil feature : SNOUT
71. Poll position? : VOTE. Great clue. Pole/Poll.
74. Egyptian peninsula : SINAI
77. Journalist who has been a host on all "Big Three" networks : COURIC. So sweet and cheerful.
78. 12-time NFL Pro Bowler Junior : SEAU
80. Connie __, winningest MLB manager : MACK. See this list. He also lost more games than any other manager.
82. Responded to a bad joke : GROANED
84. U.S./Soviet pact : SALT I
88. Gets to : BOTHERS
90. Walk easily : SAUNTER
93. Twisted together : TWINED
94. Ground, say : PUNISH
95. Garment easy to get in and out of : ONESIE. For babies!
96. More swank : POSHER
97. Throw a big party for : REGALE
98. Burning : AFIRE
101. Cops, or pressure from them : HEAT
103. Landlocked land : LAOS. More sticky rice is eaten there than any other country. I love mochi balls.
106. Brought up : BRED
107. Hard-to-ignore feeling : ITCH
108. Fixed __ : RATE
109. De Matteo of "Sons of Anarchy" : DREA. She's also in "The Sopranos".
110. Apple product : SEED. Real apple.
113. Cut off : LOP
C.C.
