Theme: "Extra! Extra!" - The first word spells out "What's black and white and red (read) all over?"
23. *Bugs line : WHAT'S UP, DOC?
28. *Classic novel with the chapter "My Breaking In" : BLACK BEAUTY
37. *"End of discussion!" : AND THAT'S FINAL
51. *John Adams' home after the Market Street mansion : WHITE HOUSE
68. *"That's how the cookie crumbles" : AND SO IT GOES
88. *Whodunit staple : RED HERRING
96. *Soap set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania : ALL MY CHILDREN
105. *No spring chicken : OVER THE HILL
118. Answer to the spoken riddle hidden in the answers to starred clues : A NEWSPAPER
We also have GAZETTES (27A. Martha's Vineyard papers). Part of the clue dupes the answer a bit.
Simple
theme. When I saw "hidden" in the reveal clue, I thought the key words
might be hidden in the middle and span across each theme answer.
Across:
1. Duchamp genre : DADA. Nailed it. Easy upper left corner.
5. Toot one's own horn : GLOAT. Had BOAST.
10. In the thick of : AMONG
15. Prepare for a birth, in a way : NEST. Got me. I did not think of birds.
19. Not supportin' : AGIN
20. Moose meeting place : LODGE
21. Check : DETER. Simple one-word clue is often a bit tricky.
22. Munch Museum city : OSLO
25. Seat of New York's Oneida County : UTICA
26. Common parade street : MAIN
30. Babs Bunny, e.g. : DOE
31. Website for techies : CNET
33. Single or double : BED. You had HIT also, right?
34. Title teacher in a 1967 film : SIR. "To Sir, with Love". I thought of Mr. Tibbs, who's not a teacher.
43. Guinea pig, e.g. : PET
46. Part of a Latin trio : AMAS. Amo, amas, amat.
48. It may be close : SHAVE
49. Meter reading : USAGE
50. Eggs in a clinic : OVA
54. Air quality concern : SMOG
55. Sounds heard with a stethoscope : RALES. And 114D. Arid : SERE. Both are words we used to see a lot in the old Wayne R. Williams puzzles.
57. Hyundai sedan : SONATA
58. Glue base : GELATIN
60. Agcy. with facilities in Denver and West Point : US MINT. Did not know the West Point locale. Thought the answer might be military-related.
61. Ben Jonson epitaph words : ORARE. "Pray for Ben Jonson”.
63. Like pre-Easter diets : LENTEN
65. Comédie part : ACTE
66. To be, in Paris : ETRE
72. Hardy heroine : TESS
73. Capone nemesis : NESS
74. Everett of "Citizen Kane" : SLOANE. Drew a blank. Just could not get into "Citizen Kane".
75. Cryptic letters : RUNES
77. Drying-out sites : REHABS
79. Quake danger : TSUNAMI. Scary image.
83. Delivery van assignments : ROUTES
86. Baker with Grammys : ANITA. Nailed it.
87. BC and Cal, e.g. : SCHS. Thought of Canada.
90. Base VIP : GEN
91. Popular Girl Scout cookie : SAMOA
93. Indian wrap: Var. : SAREE. SARI is the correct wrap.
94. Grumpy mood : SNIT
95. Prior to, poetically : ERE
100. Mdse. : GDS (Goods)
101. Gentle treatment, briefly : TLC
102. Weighty refs. : OEDs. Oxford English Dictionary. Light when online.
103. Some dishwashers : GEs
111. Polytheistic creed : PAGANISM. I thought "Polytheistic" is some kind of plastic.
116. Rate of speed : PACE
117. Pope's muse : ERATO. Alexander Pope.
120. Like many a quote: Abbr. : ANON
121. Home to the Sforza Castle : MILAN. Well, Splynter might know this castle. Not me.
122. "Buckaroo Holiday" ballet : RODEO. Also unknown to me. See here.
123. Driver's warning : FORE. On the tee box. Not HORN.
124. Advance : LEND
125. Argues vehemently : YELLS
126. German steel hub : ESSEN
127. Secondhand : USED
Down:
1. University of Georgia athlete, familiarly : DAWG. Already had DAW? in place, so easy answer.
2. Ottoman general : AGHA
3. Actress Cameron : DIAZ
4. Paid for a hand : ANTED
5. Wheat protein : GLUTEN. If you like Shanghai cuisine, you probably know dried gluten. Very tasty when properly prepared.
6. Easy gait : LOPE
7. Bookie's numbers : ODDS
8. Back in the day : AGO
9. Sleuth, slangily : TEC. Detective.
10. Former minors : ADULTS
11. Prefix with ethics : META. New word to me: meta-ethics.
12. Of the ear : OTIC
13. Banjo part with frets : NECK
14. Bit of this, bit of that : GRAB BAG. Thought of our own grab bag cards. Kids like them.
15. Rootless one : NOMAD
16. Jacob's womb-mate : ESAU
17. Cut (open), as a letter : SLIT
18. Tiger with a red scarf : TONY. Tony the Tiger.
24. Ancient gathering place : STOA. Or AGORA.
28. __ noir : BETE
29. Sushi bar suppliers : EELERS. Love eel, never met an eeler.
31. Scene using stunt drivers : CHASE
32. Piercing site : NAVEL
34. Cutting tools : SAWS
35. Letters before two cents? : IMHO. Loved the clue.
36. Whatever the weather : RAIN OR SHINE. And 43. Tricky force tactic : POLICE STING. Great fill.
38. Brit. medal : DSO. Distinguished Service Order
39. Tough guy : THUG. Those Isis guys are just thugs. I won't call them tough guys.
40. Going through the roof : FUMING. And 66. Infuriate : ENRAGE
41. Sees through : IS ONTO
42. Critic who won't quit : NAG
44. Some are blessed : EVENTS
45. Sweet and sour : TASTES. Have you had Kabocha before, Jayce/Steve? Eager to see if D-Otto likes his.
47. Eyes persistently : STARES AT
52. Pilot's update, briefly : ETA
53. Heckle, say : HARASS
54. Editor's "Leave it" : STET
56. Many open mic night performers : AMATEURS
59. Sci-fi staple : ALIEN
60. On the fence : UNSURE
62. Blowup: Abbr. : ENL
64. "I do not see why I should __ turn back": Frost : EER
67. Many a concertgoer : TEENER. Most of us just say "teenager".
69. Many a startup : DOT COM
70. Move nonchalantly : SASHAY. Hi there, Lucina!
71. Burden : ONUS
76. "Neither snow __ rain ... " : NOR
78. Lava rock : BASALT
80. "It's __!": speakeasy warning : A RAID
81. Keyboardist Saunders and crossword immortal Reagle : MERLS. We'll never see a genius like Merl again.
82. Pegged : ID'ED
84. Oklahoma's "Wheat Capital" : ENID
85. LAPD ranks : SGTS
87. Tee sizes, initially : SML. Huh, "initially?"
89. Nautical pronoun : HER. Had SHE.
92. Speculative lead-to-gold practice : ALCHEMY
93. Author Silverstein : SHEL
97. Eyes in texts : COLONS :-0
98. Encourages : EGGS ON. Come back often LaLaLinda.
99. Minimum-range tide : NEAP
101. Graph revelation : TREND. Gary would have linked a terrific graph.
104. Major mix-up : SNAFU
105. Down Under gem : OPAL
106. Rooftop sight : VANE
107. Micro- or macro- subj. : ECON
108. Buffalo's lake : ERIE
109. Area where a pass may be needed : HALL. All crosses. Disadvantage of never attending any school here. No "hall passes" in our schools.
110. Angled print: Abbr. : ITAL
111. Xing people? : PEDS. Ah, I was thinking of stars. Xing (level tone) means "star" in Chinese.
112. __ bit: slightly : A WEE
113. Wall St. highlights : IPOs
115. '60s TV barn resident : MR ED
118. "__ You Experienced": Hendrix album : ARE
119. Negatives : NOS
Happy
Birthday to our pilot Dudley, who's been with the blog for over five
years. Any adventurous plans today, Dudley? This picture was taken
during Montana's visit to Northeast in September, 2013.
 |
| Left to right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana |
C.C.
