Theme: "Crescendo" - P is changed into F. All key words go through spelling changes.
23A. Brilliant bit of deception? : LUMINOUS FEINT. Luminous paint.
37A. Taciturn circus entertainers? : QUIET FLEAS. Quiet please.
66A. Panel judging phobic reactions? : JURY OF ONE'S FEARS. Jury of one's peers.
95A. Award ceremony side dish? : NOBEL FRIES. Nobel prizes.
113A. Gradually doze during a long meeting? : FADE BY THE HOUR. Paid by the hour.
14D. Charge in an Everglades water taxi? : ALLIGATOR FARE. Alligator pear. Avocado.
56D. "Charlie's Angels" actress on her sloop? : FARRAH SAILING. Parasailing. Two of the changes happen with the first word.
Matt, are you reading our blog? Great title! The more I solve/make Sunday puzzles, the more I realize how hard it is to find an apt title, esp with sound addition/deletion/replacement theme.
It's a fantastic feeling when you find out that you can make the themers intersect. Intersecting often makes filling easier. But it takes skills and luck to make the intersection happen. Matt also breaks the top.botto edges into 5/7/7 rather than our conventional four parts (4/4/5/5, e.g.) like the left/right edges.
Across:
1. Concentrate : FOCUS
6. Impose restraints on : SHACKLE. Great entry.
13. Talladega sight : RACE CAR
20. Creamy white : IVORY
21. Assemble at a theater, say : QUEUE UP. Crossing its pluralized homophone CUES (9. They often precede entrances).
22. Like Hobart College : ALL-MALE. Unfamiliar with Hobart College.
25. Goes by : ELAPSES
26. Roadie's burden : AMP
27. Source of many med. terms : LAT. OK, Latin.
28. Toledo title: Abbr. : SRA. Notice the alliteration, a common cluing feature for foreign words. Also 98. Brest "but" : MAIS. Also 17. Roberto's residence : CASA
29. Unhurt : INTACT
30. Mississippi explorer : LA SALLE
34. Clemson U. is in it : ACC
36. Like a brioche : EGGY
40. Joshua trees, e.g. : YUCCAS
42. Variety of tricks? : BAG. OK, bag of tricks.
45. Baseball news : TRADES. A few more baseball entries: 93. Switch-hitter with the most career homers : MANTLE. Eddie MURRAY has the same letter count. 117. League championship : PENNANT. And 84D. '60s-'70s bullpen star Sparky : LYLE
46. Skater Babilonia : TAI. And 49. 19th-century French composer Édouard : LALO. I learned both from doing crosswords.
48. Predicament metaphor : BOAT. I don't get this one, D-Otto.
50. "This came as no surprise" : I KNEW
51. Domain : REALM
53. Okay : SO SO
54. Sci. with biomes : ECOL
55. Muscle mag display : PECs
56. On the occasion of : FOR
57. "Breaking Bad" channel : AMC. Also 106. "Breaking Bad" drug : METH. Rich normally eschews the drug reference.
59. Mislead : THROW OFF
61. Crafty : SLY
62. Scotch and soda, e.g. : BAR ORDERS. When was the last time you went to a bar?
65. Passes out : FAINTS
69. Co-star of Boyer in "Algiers" : LAMARR (Hedy)
72. FEMA concerns : DISASTERS
73. Org. found in alleys : PBA. Here is Boomer with Walter Ray Williams, arguably the best bowler in the world. Boomer was attending Walter Ray's clinic yesterday, TTP. He'll bowl the Pro-Am this afternoon. PBA50 stops at Treasure Island (MN) every year.
76. Good place for views : OP-ED PAGE. Nice clue/answer.
79. Service inaccuracy : LET
80. T size : LGE
81. Many a Mideast native : ARAB
82. Florida's __ City : DADE
83. Lanford Wilson's "The __ Baltimore" : HOTL
85. An arm and a leg : LIMBS. Literal. Not PRICEY.
87. Cutting : ACERB
88. Crossword component : GRID
89. Influence : SWAY
90. "__-hoo!" : YOO
91. Makeup mishap : SMUDGE
92. Sequence-shortening letters : ETC
99. Eponymous tree, streetwise : ELM. Do you know most streets in Japan do not have names?
101. Triage priorities : TRAUMAS
102. Get to bubble over? : RE-BOIL. Fun clue for a blah answer.
105. Milne's absent-minded Mr. : PIM
107. Supergirl's symbol : ESS
108. Enlisted mil. rank : PFC
111. Not bright at all : IDIOTIC. Also 11. Folly : LUNACY
118. Its NYSE symbol is "X" : US STEEL. Gimme!
119. Commemorative 1999 Broadway revue : FOSSE. Got via crosses.
120. Part of Procter & Gamble : AND SIGN
121. Savings vehicle named for a sen. : ROTH IRA
122. Jacket material : TWEED. Not SUEDE.
Down:
1. Nike competitor : FILA
2. Reproductive cell : OVUM
3. Cooperation : COMPLIANCY. Compliance is more common.
4. Sch. near Providence : URI
5. Unit, for one: Abbr. : SYN. Unit is a synonym of "one"?
6. Sudden wind increase : SQUALL
7. Disco activity : HUSTLE
8. Pershing's WWI command : AEF. American Expeditionary Forces. We see ETO more often.
10. Actress Knightley : KEIRA
12. Capable, jokingly : EPT
13. Arctic coast explorer : RAE
15. Metallic noises : CLANGS
16. Like some promises, alas : EMPTY. Alas!
18. Oldest Baldwin brother : ALEC. Always dueling with paparazzi.
19. Others : REST. OK, and others (the rest).
24. Five Norse kings : OLAFS
31. Yellow fever mosquito : AEDES. Very irrational spelling.
32. Cioppino, e.g. : STEW
33. "Do I dare to __ peach?": Eliot : EAT A. Peaches are in season now. So good.
35. Bear young : CUBS. Shouldn't it be "Bears young"?
36. Online payment : E-CASH
37. Versatile Unilever brand : Q-TIPS
38. "Family Matters" nerd : URKEL
39. Dressing ingredient : SALAD OIL. My standard dressing is sesame oil & apple cider vinegar & this mustard combo.
41. Ducklike bird : COOT
42. "Almost anything can be improved with the addition of __": Jasper Fforde : BACON. Boomer agrees.
43. In the air : ALOFT
44. Enjoys the links : GOLFS. And 51. Links star McIlroy : RORY
47. Quite a lot : IMMENSELY
49. Martin's partner : LEWIS. Dean Martin. Jerry Lewis.
52. Sock ending : EROO
58. First act? : CREATION. Nice clue as well.
60. Crew members : OARS
62. Tupperware sound : BURP
63. Mail svc. in the sticks : RFD
64. Derisive sound : SSS
66. Burned-out : JADED
67. Unit of work: Abbr. : FT-LB
68. Neurol. readouts : EEGs
69. Ski resort centerpiece : LODGE
70. Split : APART
71. Doc : MEDIC
73. Make susceptible : PREDISPOSE. Not a fill we see often.
74. Canal transport : BARGE
75. Supérieurs des moines : ABBES. Went all French.
77. They often have matching caps : GOWNS
78. State of France : ETAT
81. Honda luxury brand : ACURA
86. No longer relevant : MOOT. Point.
87. Radio option : AM FM
91. Snow remnants : SLUSH
93. Cocktail with an umbrella : MAI TAI
94. Rio Grande city : EL PASO
96. Ice cream company founder : BREYER. Not EDY today.
97. Locale in a 1987 Cheech Marin title : EAST LA. Born in East LA.
98. Mars' pair : MOONS
100. Thick : MIDST
102. Kelly of talk : RIPA
103. First place? : EDEN. Not GOLD.
104. Firmly attach : BIND
109. Protection in a box : FUSE. Boomer and I fixed our garbage disposal without calling the repair guy. Yay! We just put a hex wrench in that hex-shaped hole and turned it back and forth a few times. Don't put potato peels in the disposal!
110. Street __ : CRED
112. UPS unit : CTN. What Splynter deals with daily. Keen eye on the grid pattern yesterday, by the way!
113. Natural coat : FUR
114. In Chinese, the "north" part of China's "northern capital" : BEI. As in Beijing. I mentioned this a while ago. Bei=North. Jing = Capital. Nan= South. So Nanjing is "Southern capital".
115. Terrestrial newt : EFT
116. Question as to technique : HOW?
C.C.
