Theme: "Stop, Thief!" - Each them entry is punnily reinterpreted as if the thief indicated in the clue stole the item.
23A. The liquor store thief __ : BOOSTED SPIRITS. Totally different spirits. Nice.
35A. The restaurant thief __ : GRABBED DINNER
95A The gym thief __ : LIFTED WEIGHTS. Too heavy to steal.
113A. The art thief __ : KNOCKED OFF WORK. Different "work" as well.
16D. The condiment thief __ : PINCHED SALT. I use "pinch of salt". Not "Pinch salt".
29D. The chocolate thief __ : STOLE KISSES. Different "kisses" as well.
50D. The poultry thief __ : POACHED EGGS. Here the original noun phrase became a verb phrase.
67D. The casino thief __ : SWIPED CARDS. The casinos probably give those playing cards away.
The theme reminds me of some of the John Lampkin Sunday puzzle. Tons of fun.
The
grid is also nicely designed. We don't often see four Across and four
Down themer placement, unless there are some intersections going on.
Across:
1. Carrier with only kosher meals : EL AL
5. Vamoosed : FLED
9. Classic name in shoes : MCAN. Not AVIA or NIKE.
13. Place of worship : CHAPEL. Not CHURCH.
19. Default consequence : REPO
20. Have standing : RATE. Can you give me an example of how the clue/answer match?
21. "Gotcha" : AH SO. Rarely do we see this entry now.
22. Oscar nominee in four different decades : DE NIRO. Not STREEP.
26. Present for Garfield? : CATNIP. Cute clue.
27. With great skill : EXPERTLY
28. They may be run off : COPIES. And 89. Maker of 28-Across : XEROX
30. Reduces to small pieces : RICES
31. Browser's destination : SITE. Thankfully Explorer still exists in Windows 10 after the upgrade.
32. Farm house : COOP
33. Bit of clothing : STITCH
40. Surg. areas : ORs
41. Diminish : EBB
44. Rolled down the runway : TAXIED
45. Means of access : INs
46. Horror film sounds : WAILS
48. One looked up to : IDOL. Or HERO.
49. Mt. Hood's state : OREG
50. Creator of one who pondered "Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore"
: POE. The Raven.
51. Secret supply : CACHE
52. "Even __ speak ... " : AS WE
53. Really poor : SAD
54. Enter with rage : STORM IN
57. "The Ballad of John and __" : YOKO. Are you familiar with May Pang?
59. Hand on deck : MATE
60. "SNL" parody Baba __ : WAWA
61. Player's fixed contribution : ANTE. Oh poker.
63. Fire sign? : PINK SLIP. Great clue also.
65. Element #33 : ARSENIC
68. Some selective socializers : SNOBS
70. Lawmaking bodies : SENATES
71. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium city : NEW DELHI. I like trivia clue.
73. Trade : SWAP
74. Unlikely : SLIM
75. All in : AVID
76. Rivulets seen after swirling, to a wine taster : LEGS. Unfamiliar with the term.
78. Exam in which letters are read : EYE TEST. Simple in retrospect.
80. Rockies hrs. : MST
83. Casual pace : LOPE
84. Discourage : DETER
86. Trig. ratio : COS. Cosine.
87. Copacetic : JAKE. I did not know the meaning of "Copacetic" or this "Copacetic" meaning of JAKE.
88. Signed, say : OK'ed
90. RSVP part : SIL
91. "I was evidently mistaken" : SO IT IS. Got via crosses.
93. Goal for a H.S. dropout : GED
94. Coll. conferral : DEG
98. Priests, e.g. : CLERGY
101. Pinot __ : GRIS. Not NOIR.
102. Unfavorable aspects : ILLs. Tricky little clue.
103. Debussy's "__ de Lune" : CLAIR
105. Great Plains language family : SIOUAN
107. Got rid of : UNLOADED
111. Stereotypical long beard grower : HERMIT
115. Salad veggie : ENDIVE. Both are called Endives. The curly one is a bit bitter. By the way, Lucina, I buy taro roots at our local grocery stores.
116. Quito's land: Abbr. : ECUA
117. Reason for an admonition : NO NO
118. Mother of Charlie Woods : ELIN. I know Tiger has two kids. Did not know their names: Same & Charlie.
119. Nail or tack : FASTEN. Verb rather than noun.
120. Court period: Abbr. : SESS
121. Growl : GNAR. Never heard of this word before.
122. Overrule : DENY
Down:
1. Kathryn of HBO's "Oz" : ERBE
2. 16th-century pope : LEO X
3. Each : A POP
4. Gets routed : LOSES BIG. Sparkly fill.
5. Bit one's nails, perhaps : FRETTED
6. Served, as soup : LADLED
7. Online handicraft market : ETSY
8. Bank acct. starter : DEP. OK, deposit.
9. Color from the French for "chestnut" : MAROON. Learning moment to me.
10. Michigan native : CHIPPEWA. Also 24. Five Nations unit : TRIBE
11. Bubbly region : ASTI
12. Aroma detectors : NOSES. Looking forward to receiving this soybean paste. Hopefully it's as good as my grandma's. It's definitely an acquired taste/smell.
13. Atlanta-based health agcy. : CDC
14. Game with tricks : HEARTS
15. Playful : ANTIC
17. Cleveland's lake : ERIE
18. Trims, as branches : LOPS
25. Screen array : ICONS
32. Movie houses : CINEMAS
34. Org. with complex forms : IRS. I don't recall my Dad paid any taxes when he worked. But his salary was low. For a long period it was RMB49/month. About $8. But everything was free then. You did not need to pay for housing, medical bills, education, etc.
35. Classic Pontiacs : GTOs
36. __ avis : RARA
37. Cut : AXED
38. A-line designer : DIOR
39. Suggestive : RACY
42. Pee-wee Herman accessory : BOW TIE
43. Substitutes for bad words : BLEEPS
47. Restaurant with a smile in its logo : IHOP. Unaware of their new logo. I went there once. Ages ago.
48. Start of a Seuss classic : I AM SAM
51. Toronto skyline landmark : CN TOWER
54. Well-thought-out : SANE
55. Woven fabric : TWILL
56. Stopping points : INNs
58. First-year law students : ONE-Ls. Doesn't the L stand for Law?
60. __ bliss : WEDDED
62. Auction site : EBAY
64. Heal, as broken bones : KNIT
65. Not digital : ANALOG. I have to change battery for my Timex every year. Is it the same case with you?
66. Bridge violation : REVOKE
69. Genus subdivision : SPECIES
72. Eisner's Disney successor : IGER (Bob)
77. Small-runway mil. craft : STOL. Short TakeOff and Landing. Gluey fill.
79. Gave it away : TOLD
80. Adding and subtracting : MATH
81. "SNL" staple : SKIT
82. Hardy's "Pure Woman" : TESS
85. Meager : EXIGUOUS. Not a word I use.
87. Cut in tricky patterns : JIGSAWED
89. Millennial's parent, briefly : Xer
90. Perform horribly : STINK
91. Bring on the market : SELL FOR
92. __ Olay : OIL OF. Just Olay now.
94. Originate (from) : DERIVE
96. Brawl : FRACAS
97. "Little Women" co-star of Kirsten, Claire and Trini : WINONA. Got via crosses.
99. Allowable extreme : LIMIT
100. "Holy cow!" : YIKES. Try this color-blindness test
if you can spare one minute. I tested twice, the first time it says I'm
a Tritan, the second time it says I'm normal. D-Otto is a strong
Deutan. Sounds like a giant.
103. Restaurant opener : CHEF. Normally.
104. Actress Olin : LENA
106. At a former time : ONCE
107. Japanese noodle : UDON. This and Soba.
108. Give sparingly : DOLE
109. Yeats' home : ERIN
110. Big Apple fashion initials : DKNY. Widely copied in China.
112. Common base : TEN
114. Course with vocab. : ENG
C.C.
