Theme: "Ch-Ching!" - CH is added to the start of each theme answer. All entries go through a spelling change.
23A. Part of a dairy's financial statement? : CHURNINGS REPORT. Earnings report.
46A. Doesn't eat with one's mouth closed? : CHEWS AND AAHS. Oohs and aahs.
71A. Vacant seat you only thought you saw? : CHAIR APPARENT. Heir apparent.
95A. Spread for Sunday morning coffee hour? : CHAPEL BUTTER. Apple butter.
122A. Glance at the blackboard? : CHALKWARD MOMENT. Awkward moment.
16D. What Alice's adventures began with? : CHASE IN THE HOLE. Ace in the hole.
52D. Pizza scraps? : CHEESY PICKINGS. Easy pickings.
Much easier than last Sunday's puzzle. I caught onto the theme immediately and filled in all the free CH's.
It's a great follow up to Donna Levin/Bruce Venzke's "Th-, Th-, That's All, Folks" puzzle we had in July. I think I've seen SH addition also.
This type of spelling change theme is more challenging than the simple letter addition gimmick. You really need to be creative in coming up with a workable set.
Across:
1. Old story : MYTH. I had LORE first.
5. They're often exposed in ski lodges : BEAMS. Never been to a ski lodge, this looks lovely.
10. Radio option : AM FM
14. Religious factions : SECTS
19. River in the Bernese Alps : AARE. Easy crosses, even if you don't know the river.
20. Started anew at the campsite : RE-LIT
21. Pump, for one : SHOE
22. Summer gripe : I'M HOT
26. Tropical vine : LIANA. Or Liane. Like this.
27. Truckers' competition : ROADEO
28. 2013 Masters champ Scott : ADAM. I met him and Justin Rose long time ago.
29. Whom Dennis often menaced : MR. WILSON. Nailed it.
31. Bass ending : OON
32. __ factor : ICK
34. Paper punditry : OP-EDS
37. Common Market letters : EEC
38. Slim fish : EEL. Hmm, roasted eel, the best food ever. Then fresh Lychee.
39. Retired boomer : SST
40. Karmann __: sports car : GHIA. Got via crosses.
42. Hardly handy : INEPT
44. Dry-eyes solution : SALINE
49. German finale : ENDE. German for "End".
50. Dash devices : TACHS
53. Doctrinal suffix : ISM
54. Strings for Orpheus : LYRE
55. Wash. setting : PST. I noticed the . mark.
56. Onetime Ritz competitor : HI HO
57. Smidge : IOTA
60. "That's what they tell me" : SO I GATHER. I wanted So I'VE HEARD. Not enough space.
64. Double Stuf treats : OREOS
66. Astronauts' gear : G-SUITS
68. Cab cousin : ZIN. Cabernet.
69. Running bird : EMU
70. Take advantage of : USE
75. Right-to-left lang. : HEB
(Hebrew). Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan are written from
right-to-left also. Hard to read, esp since they still use traditional
Chinese characters, while mainland China use simplified version. Can you
tell the differences?
76. Some light bulbs : GEs
77. Capek's robot play : R.U.R.
78. Competed in a regatta, perhaps : SAILED
79. Future moss : SPORE
81. Settings for Monet : HAYFIELDS. I thought of gardens and water lilies when I think of Monet.
85. Genetic chains : RNAS. Plural again.
86. Actor Ken : OLIN
87. Spot on a card : PIP
88. City east of Wichita : IOLA. No idea. This crosses another unknown SLADE (84D. "Same Time, Next Year" playwright Bernard) and stumped me. My last-to-fill area.
90. Former telecom company : MCI
92. Seasonal tunes : NOELS
93. Gung-ho : AVID
99. Louis XV furniture style : ROCOCO. Nailed it.
102. Hacienda brick : ADOBE
103. Bounce in a cave : ECHO
104. Passenger vehicle : CAR. Thought of CAB first.
107. Antlered animal : ELK
108. The law has a long one : ARM
110. Horace poem : EPODE
112. "__ So Shy": Pointer Sisters hit : HE'S
113. Suffix with lact- : OSE
114. Jefferson Airplane genre : ACID ROCK. Easy crosses as well.
117. Dinghy movers : OARS
119. Put sows below cows? : RHYMED. The answer presented itself.
121. Like horses : MANED
126. Journalistic slant : ANGLE
127. Twelve __: neighbor of Tara : OAKS
128. Houston athlete : ASTRO. Do you believe in jinks?
129. Thing south of the border : COSA. Just Spanish for "Thing", right?
130. Asked : POSED
131. Like some audiobooks : ON CD
132. Dublin-born poet : YEATS
133. Uncommon blood type: Abbr. : A NEG
Down:
1. Users' shortcuts : MACROS. Can you give me an example, TTP/D-Otto?
2. Bumpkins : YAHOOS
3. One forging a doctor's note, maybe : TRUANT
4. Driven drove : HERD. Nice clue.
5. Eggy pastry : BRIOCHE. Are you a good baker, Steve?
6. Dusk, to Donne : EEN
7. Minuscule lake plant : ALGA
8. Make a mess of : MISDO
9. Secure for the trip : STRAP IN
10. Poisonous slitherer : ASP
11. Old reciprocal electrical unit : MHO
12. Thing to fill out : FORM
13. Dover distance : METRE
14. Mineral used in glassmaking : SILICA
15. Mickey Mouse enemy __ Eagle : EMIL. Never heard of it.
17. Constantly : TO NO END
18. Marvel Comics superhero? : STAN LEE. Wow, he's still alive.
24. Stable sounds : NEIGHS
25. Fix text : EMEND
30. "Scream" director Craven : WES. Passed away a few weeks ago.
33. New Zealand bird : KIWI
35. Agreement : DEAL
36. Fixes : SPAYS
41. St. Francis' home : ASSISI
43. Via, à la Burns : THRO
45. "__ we forget" : LEST
46. Polite sneeze : CHOO. Why is it "Polite"?
47. Pepé Le Pew's pursuit : AMOUR
48. Appropriated : SEIZED
50. "His house is in the village __": Frost : THOUGH
51. With 74-Down, dramatic Navy mission : AIR SEA. And 74. See 51-Down : RESCUE
55. Slacks : PANTS
58. Reunión attendees : TIAs
59. How some stock is sold : AT PAR
61. Sling spirits : GIN. Oh, Singapore Sling.
62. "Kicked-Up Sandwiches" author : EMERIL. Obtainable if you know Emeril and his signature "kick up a notch".
63. Knighted Flemish painter : RUBENS
65. Rx : SCRIP. Not a word I use.
66. Spaghetti sauce staple : GARLIC
67. Quick ride : SPIN
72. Nuanced color : HUE
73. "Democracy is two wolves and __ voting on what to have for lunch": Franklin : A LAMB. Nice clue for a partial.
80. In need : POOR
82. Stereotypical pooch : FIDO
83. Qatar's capital : DOHA
89. Each : A POP
91. Rash symptom : ITCH
92. Arkansas River tributary : NEOSHO.
Another unknown. Wiki says "The name "Neosho" is generally accepted to
be of Native American (most likely Osage) derivation, meaning "clear,
cold water", referring to local freshwater springs."
93. Visitors center handout : AREA MAP
94. Mount Rainier, e.g. : VOLCANO
96. You don't have to turn its pages : E-BOOK. We just had "Real page-turner?" for AVID READER yesterday.
97. Took out in cuffs, say : LED AWAY. We also have 111. Take out : ERASE. And 115. Take out : DELE
98. Hot drink holder : THERMOS
100. Checked the ID of : CARDED
101. Guatemala gold : ORO
104. Singles bar lure : COME ON. All's quiet in Splyner's "Blue-eyed Girl" front.
105. Sort of, with "in" : A SENSE. A rare 6-letter partial.
106. Sale indicator : RED TAG
109. "Wedding Bell Blues" soloist Marilyn : MCCOO. Got via crosses.
116. "Star Trek" villain : KHAN
118. Monterrey miss: Abbr. : SRTA
120. Song with arm motions : YMCA
123. "Best in Show" org. : AKC
124. '60s hallucinogen : LSD
125. Gere title gynecologist : DR. T. Guilty of putting it in my own puzzle.
Montana updates:
She has settled down her son's estate and has been volunteering to help local senior citizens review their Part D plans. She drives a long way to the office most of the days and enjoys her work.
C.C.
