Theme: "Online Chat" - Each theme entry is in the pattern of I* M*. (Hello, Irish Miss!)
22A. Fictional detective whose first name is Endeavour : INSPECTOR MORSE
31A. "Somewhere in Time" band : IRON MAIDEN
55A. Times for reflection : IDLE MOMENTS
90A. Best Actress Tony winner in "Wicked" : IDINA MENZEL. I had "Frozen" reference.
111A. Motel convenience : ICE MACHINE
124A. Knowledge seekers : INQUIRING MINDS. Two are plural answers, so no odd man out.
15D. Xanadu locale, now : INNER MONGOLIA. It's called Shangdu in Chinese. Du means "capital" in Chinese.
59D. Sharpie output : INDELIBLE MARK. So neat! Love the guy.
Reveal entry:
124. GroupMe exchanges, briefly, and a hint to this puzzle's eight longest answers : IMs
Simple theme. Very me.
I
originally proposed ILL-MANNERED and IRISH MUSIC as themers also. Rich
rejected the former as it's the only hyphenated entry. And he did not
feel IRISH MUSIC is idiomatic enough.
Rich changed the theme clues quite a bit, but most of my fill clues survived. Progress! I'm trainable, as Gary often says. Wish I had his cluing talents.
Rich changed the theme clues quite a bit, but most of my fill clues survived. Progress! I'm trainable, as Gary often says. Wish I had his cluing talents.
Across:
1. Fightin' with : AGIN
5. Avid bird watcher? : CAT. Waiting for Dave to find the perfect link.
8. Tournament passes : BYES
12. Dogie collar? : LARIAT
18. Anderson of "WKRP in Cincinnati" : LONI. No other way to clue her.
19. Anise-flavored aperitif : OUZO
20. Place to have poi : LUAU. Never had poi. But I bake taro roots often. The smaller ones like these.
21. Fall color : ORANGE
25. Reprobate : SINNER
26. "Wanna __?" : BET. Did you notice that all those attendees in Steve's London reunion last month are couples? The lady in front of him must be special to him. Wanna bet?
27. Guitarist Paul : LES
28. Namely : TO WIT
29. Fannie __ : MAE. Older than Freddie Mac.
30. Paranormal power : ESP
34. First-rate : STELLAR. Boomer prepared us a stellar New Year's Eve meal on Thursday. Walleye, wild rice & acorn squash. I also had pickled Daikon slices, Jayce!
37. Apple Watch assistant : SIRI
38. Wichita-to-Duluth dir. : NNE
39. Jobs for grad students : TAs
42. "Now I see!" : AHA
43. Counterfeit watchdog, for short : T-MAN
46. Staying power : LEGS. Splynter's expertise. Legs and castles.
48. 1994 comedy with an oxymoronic title : TRUE LIES. Schwarzenegger film.
51. Plan in detail : MAP OUT
53. Celestial circles : HALOES
57. Self-reflective musing : IS IT ME? Rich's clue.
60. Record book : LEDGER
62. Cheese in some bagels : ASIAGO. Never had it. I guess what cheese is to you guys is like Tofu to me. Fried, fermented, fresh, I love them all.
63. PC hookup : LAN
64. Interstate giant : SEMI
66. Magazine extra : INSERT
68. Sci. concerned with climate change : ECOL
69. Digital readouts, briefly : LCDs
71. Uses a straw : SUCKS
73. Hotel with a Gold Passport loyalty program : HYATT. No idea. Rich's clue.
75. Fruit-eating fictional race : ELOI. Sorry, this answer 71-A.
77. Exercise units : REPS
79. Decorative plaster : STUCCO
81. Fray, say : WEAR
83. Golfer Poulter : IAN. Saw him in practice tee once. Gosh, what a waste of brand new Pro V1 balls. Those pros are so pampered. Guess how many balls in this pyramid?
84. Go by : ELAPSE
86. Tapped into : DREW ON
88. Chocolate-filled cookie : MILANO
92. "No bickering!" : BE NICE!
94. Like some rats : ALBINO
95. Unconventional : OUT THERE
97. Fifth pillar of Islam : HAJJ
100. Pitcher Sparky : LYLE. And 101. Throw hard : GUN. Both Rich's clue. I had Julia Roberts ex reference for LYLE. Rich loves his Yankees.
103. That, to Juanita : ESA
104. Bugs with horns : VWs. Rich's clue as well.
106. Afternoon TV fare : SOAP
108. "Fifty Shades of Grey" author : E. L. JAMES. Two more sequels.
114. Casino convenience : ATM
116. Form attachment? : ULA. This answer 71-A. Formula.
117. Mother __ : EARTH
120. Cortez's gold : ORO
121. Dot follower, at times : NET. And 113. Dot follower, at times : COM
122. Slightly larger than tall, at Starbucks : GRANDE
127. Less stuffy : AIRIER
128. Molokai neighbor : MAUI
129. Nice concept? : IDEE. Nice the French city. This beach looks too pebbly to lie on.
130. Skinny : POOP
131. Nudge : POKE AT
132. "American Dad!" dad : STAN. No idea. Also Rich's clue.
133. Express : SAY
Down:
1. Courtroom vouchers? : ALIBIS
2. Sister of Cordelia : GONERIL. Bad girl.
3. Coming up : IN STORE
4. Playful bite : NIP
5. Affects adversely : CUTS INTO
6. __ dye: food-coloring compound : AZO
7. Calorie-laden dessert : TORTE. Also 82D. High in calories : RICH. This is our Rich. The lady on the left is his wife Kim. Look at the words on Rich's shirt. ADIN something? That's a crosswordese!
8. Botch : BLOW
9. Cold War KGB chairman Andropov : YURI. Wow, I don't know him. He sounds very important.
10. Bridge positions : EASTS
11. Take to court : SUE
12. County bordering Santa Fe County : LOS ALAMOS. Rich's clue.
13. Disney mermaid : ARIEL And 19. Mermaid's home : OCEAN. Rich changed my ARIEL clue so we could have a "Mermaid' clue echo here. Of course, I failed to make the connection.
14. Sought a seat : RAN
16. Years and years : AGES. Hard to believe I've been married for almost 15 years.
17. U. of Maryland player : TERP
23. Spreading tree : ELM
24. Spanish peak : MONTE. So Monte Carlo is Spanish then?
29. "Whatever" : MEH
32. Time to see stars : NIGHT. Steve sees stars every day. Some of his friends are actors. He lives in Studio City.
33. Remiss : DERELICT
35. Stun with a gun : TASE
36. Resting easy : AT PEACE
40. Make true : ALIGN
41. Circus attraction : SIDESHOW
44. Car owner's obligation : AUTO LOAN
45. Some Windows systems : NTS. This answer totally 71-A. Sorry, guys.
47. Popular buying club : SAM'S
49. Put to work : USE
50. The king of Spain? : EL REY
52. De Beauvoir, to Sartre : AMIE. Enduring love, though both had other lovers.
54. Wranglers alternative : LEES
56. Lipstick characteristic : MATTE. Lower one.
57. Not up to par : ILL
58. With reverence : SACREDLY. Waste of a 8-letter spot. Such a boring word. But I did not have better option.
61. Unconnected : DISCRETE
65. __ du Louvre : MUSEE. What's your favorite piece there?
67. Sensitive thing to touch : RAW NERVE
70. Lady in a 1955 film : SPANIEL. "Lady and the Tramp".
72. Intrusive vine : KUDZU
74. "Dust to Dust" author Hoag : TAMI
76. Rescuer of Odysseus : INO. Learned from doing xwords. 71-A as well.
78. Bridge measure : SPAN
80. TD Garden NBA team : CELTS
85. Environmental warning : SMOG ALERT.
I worked for a company in Tsingtao after I graduated. The big boss
often took me to Beijing for business. Gosh, always so foggy.
87. 2008 honor for Joe Cocker: Abbr. : OBE
89. Spot check? : LEASH
90. Potent ending? : IAL. 71-A. Potential.
91. Squat : NONE
93. Uninherited wealth : NEW MONEY
96. Creole-speaking island nation : HAITI. And 110. 96-Down governing group : SENAT
98. Icon after "Not a member?" : JOIN NOW. And 99. Anonymous one : JANE DOE. And 107. Upscale boarding facility : PET SPA. Pretty happy with the triple stack. This is made possible by the gluey OWE A (134. __ debt of gratitude).
102. She played Fantine in "Les Misérables" (1998) : UMA
105. Boot camp nickname : SARGE
109. Roman province governed by Pontius Pilate : JUDEA
112. Rock of comedy : CHRIS. Funny guy, Chris Rock.
114. Thing to fill or bridge : A GAP. Partial. 71-A.
115. Rush or Cream : TRIO
118. Water color : AQUA
119. Downfall : RUIN
123. Never, to Nietzsche : NIE
125. Where I-86 and I-15 meet : IDA. Rich's clue.
126. 2015 Etsy milestone, initially : IPO. Our cousin has an Etsy store.
C.C.
