Sunday August 9, 2015 Gail Grabowski

 Theme:  "Forgotten"- EN is removed from each theme entry.

 

23A. Seasonally decorated doorways? : FALL ARCHES. Fallen arches.

25A. Inept burger joint cook? : BUNS BURNER. Bunsen burner.

47A. Prospector's pooch? : GOLD RETRIEVER. Golden retriever.

97A. Uncultivated area in Roseanne's back forty? : BARR WASTELAND. Barren wasteland.

122A. Snake looking scared? : QUAKING ASP. Quaking aspen.

126A. Sales pitch for an Austrian pistol? : GLOCK SPIEL. Glockenspiel. Learning moment to me. I also did not know Glock's Austria connection.

36D. Gals' gathering before the flick? : CHICK DINNER. Chicken dinner.

46D. Allergen survey? : RAGWEED POLL. Ragweed pollen.

Another classic Gail G grid. 6 theme entries  are placed in Across slots and 2 in Down spots. Gail also made sure that none of her fill (non-theme answers) was 10-letters or longer. Sometimes long fill can confuse solvers about the theme entries.

Gail is all about smoothness. She's not one to surprise you with long splashy fill.
 

Across:       

1. Dramatist Connelly : MARC. Stumped immediately. Wiki said "He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930." Gail also gave us new clues for KEANE (87A. Award-winning Disney animator Glen) and RENE (95A. Peace Nobelist Cassin).  Crossings made the last two easy to obtain.

5. Invite to enter : ASK IN

10. Mall draw : SALE

14. "Take a chance!" : TRY IT

19. 1997 film apiarist : ULEE. Ulee's Gold.

20. Glittery stone : GEODE

21. Available : OPEN

22. Reason for wobbling, perhaps : HEELS. Drew a blank on the intersecting THURBER (14D. Longtime New Yorker cartoonist James). Been forever since I wore heels.

27. One begins "Rhapsody in Blue" : TRILL. For a whole while, I only had ULEE in this  whole left corner.

28. Casual wear : SLACKS

30. Sword-wielding legend : ZORRO

31. "No worries, dude" : I'M COOL

33. Viewpoints : SLANTS. And 58. Viewpoint : ANGLE

35. Crime-fighting film cyborg : ROBOCOP

39. Condescending sort : SNOB. Also 112D. Supercilious sort : SNOOT

41. Hoodwinks : FOOLS

43. Prefix with centric : ETHNO

44. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" band, briefly : CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). I knew the crossing CLARO (44D. Mild smoke), so CCR was in. Otherwise, ELO, my other go-to band.

52. Sch. in Ames : ISU

53. Rye buy : LOAF

55. Whittle (down) : PARE

56. Some fitness ctrs. : YMCAs

57. Maker of Veriton computers : ACER. My screen is Acer.

 

60. "What a shame!" : SO SAD

63. Carol contraction : 'TIS

64. Sign on a B'way booth : TKTs

65. Not as experienced : RAWER

66. Digital jewelry : TOE RING. Great clue.

69. Identified : NAMED

71. Like he-man push-ups : ONE-ARM

73. Ill-fated woman? : PANDORA

75. The Clintons, notably : YALIES

78. Citation or Corsair : EDSEL. I wanted HORSE.

80. Lets out a bit : LOOSENS

82. Small amount : PINCH

83. Dry riverbed : WADI

85. Victim of curiosity : CAT

88. Tijuana title : SENOR. 102. 88-Across feature : TILDE. Señor.

89. Longtime Kentucky hoops coach : RUPP

90. Deep depression : CHASM

93. Registered, with "in" : SANK

96. Excitement : ADO 

101. Casting aid : ROD

104. "The Great Dictator" Oscar nominee : OAKIE. I need "Jack" in the clue.

105. Shredded : TORE

107. Most sacred : HOLIEST. And 119. Sacred structure : SHRINE

110. Potpourri pieces : PETALS

113. Fragrant resin : BALSAM

117. Modern storage area, with "the" : CLOUD

  

121. Choose to play for pay : GO PRO

128. A lot : OFTEN

129. Wasatch Mountains resort : ALTA. 131. Sight from Taormina : ETNA. Instinctive fill for me.

130. __ shirt : ALOHA

  

132. Bond player before Dalton : MOORE

133. Level : TIER

134. "Dragonwyck" author : SETON (Anya)

135. Cherished : DEAR

  

Down:

1. Civilian attire : MUFTI. I used it once in my own grid before.

2. Thing to set : ALARM. And 3. Thing of the past : RELIC

4. Ensemble of eight in the score of Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5" : CELLOS. No idea. Might be Rich's clue.

5. Cabinet dept. : AGR

6. Brief times : SECS

7. "Expect great things" retailer : KOHL'S.  I wish they would give me the final price instead of percent off gimmick.

8. Perfect : IDEAL

9. Brand that includes Taster's Choice : NESCAFE

10. Often-exaggerated tale : SOB STORY. Have you guys read or watched "The Bridges of the Madison County"?

11. Calcutta Tech grad on "The Simpsons" : APU

12. Kay of "Rich Man, Poor Man" : LENZ. Stranger to me.

13. Belgian painter James : ENSOR. This has become a gimme.

15. Establish a fresh foothold : RE-ROOT

16. Hankering : YEN

17. Key for Satie? : ILE. Erik Satie was French, hence ILE. But he was also a musician. Very tricky "Key" clue.

18. Original D&D co. : TSR. Appeared in yesterday's grid. I'll copy what Splyter said "- Tactical Studies Rules - ah yes, how I spent my junior high school days....I liked being Dungeon Master - is that TMI~?"

24. During : ALONG

26. Dude : BRO

29. Granny __ : KNOT

32. Aerial stunt : LOOP

34. Poor, chance-wise : SLIM

37. Advent : ONSET

38. Does some bartending : POURS

40. Big blowout : BLAST

42. The Amish, e.g. : SECT

 

45. Mystery middle name : CONAN. Arthur Conan Doyle. ALLAN won't fit.

48. React to humidity, in a way : DROOP

49. Close again : RE-SEAL

50. Ineffectual : VAIN

51. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" piece : ESSAY. Love that piece. Reminds me of my own spoken English. 

54. Pet parasite treatment : FLEA DIP. Never had a flea dip. Don't own pets.

57. Artist's studio : ATELIER

59. Throws wildly, say : ERRS

61. River of Tuscany : ARNO

62. Was fairly successful : DID OK

67. Narrow margin : NOSE

68. "Summer Nights" musical : GREASE

70. Weather reporters : MAPS. 84. Speaker's output : AUDIO. No people here.

72. Tourist attraction : MECCA. Xi'an is a tourist mecca.

74. Year's record : ANNAL

76. Money-saving, commercially : ECONO

77. Scintilla : SHRED

79. "If I Only Had the Nerve" singer : LAHR (Bert).  "The Wizard of Oz".

81. French governing group : SENAT

83. Fury : WRATH

 

86. Islands staple : TARO. Dim sum staple as well.

91. Kids' baseball card deal : SWAP. Not many kids collect baseball nowadays. The prices are getting ridiculous.

92. Matches the scorecard, so to speak : MAKES PAR. So I followed Tom Watson for a few holes at the 3M Championships (Senior Tour) two weeks ago. Alas, the thrill was gone.

94. A lock may be in one : KNOB. Got via crosses as well.

97. No-nonsense route : BEELINE

98. "Dark side" sci-fi group : SITH

99. SWAT team supply : TEAR GAS

100. Fast races : DRAGS

103. Haggle : DICKER

106. Took off to team up : ELOPED

108. Hamlet, to Gertrude : SON

109. Pull with effort : TUG AT

 

111. De Gaulle's birth city : LILLE. Gimme.

114. Ill will : SPITE

115. "The Hunger Games" setting : ARENA. I was worried that the answer was an exotic place unknown to me.

116. Back biter? : MOLAR. Nailed as well.

118. "Lobster Telephone" artist : DALI

120. Lovelorn nymph : ECHO

122. Iranian pilgrimage site : QOM. Or QUM.

123. Tabloid pic subject : UFO

124. From __ Z : A TO

125. Fr. holy woman : STE

127. Leavenworth locale: Abbr. : KAN

Boomer and I met with crossword constructors Andrea Carla Michaels, Tom Pepper and Andrea's friend Lori last Wednesday. Andrea was gorgeous and cheerful as ever. She really is an angel. Gary/TTP, Tom Pepper has two holes-in-one. And he speaks Latin. Lori is an avid golfer as well. You can click here for more pictures. That dog is Tevah.

Andrea, Tom, C.C. and Boomer

Lori and Andrea

Lake Calhoun, August 5, 2015

C.C.