Theme: "For Mom" - Each theme entry is in the pattern of M* O* M*.
22A. Tycoon, e.g. : MAN OF MEANS
27A. Euterpe : MUSE OF MUSIC. Often as a clue for EUTERPE.
44A. Antacid name since 1872 : MILK OF MAGNESIA
63A. Takes action : MAKES ONE'S MOVE. Surprised to see MADE OF MONEY (111A. Rich, and then some). Same verb: Makes/Made.
72A. Encounter stiff competition : MEET ONE'S MATCH. ONE, THE and OF dupes are generally OK.
95A. Willpower : MIND OVER MATTER
Reveal:
122A. Apt time to recognize this puzzle's honoree : MONTH OF MAY. Very nice. Double duty.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms on our blog!
MOON OVER MIAMI is missing. Otherwise, Bruce gives us a near complete set of M* O* M* entries. Perfect partner puzzle to Ed Sessa's POP we had a while ago.
We often see two-word initial grids. Three words are much tougher to pull off even for a weekday.
Across:
1. Sharp group : MENSA. Nailed it.
6. Stage award : OBIE
10. "Kisses, dahling" : MWAH. Air kiss sound.
14. NASA nods : A-OKs
18. Beatles' "White Album" song whose title follows "If you want me to" : I WILL. Got via crosses.
19. Cost of living? : RENT. Nice clue.
20. "Yikes!" : OH NO
21. Beatnik's "Gotcha" : I'M HIP
24. Biblical verb : DOTH
25. Bete __ : NOIRE
26. On one's game : IN A GROOVE. Bruce is on top of his game.
29. Unyielding : SET
30. Map feature : SCALE. And 39. Map abbr. : AVE. Map clue echo.
32. Crux : HEART
33. Resort of a sort : SPA
36. One brought to a potluck : DISH. So what's your signature dish?
40. Drubbing : ROUT
41. Boater or bowler : HAT
48. Remove : DETACH
50. Con : ANTI
51. K.T. of country music : OSLIN. Not many ways to clue her.
52. Offer to pay : BID
54. Venezia casino winner : SETTE. Seven. Venice. Anyone been to The Venetian in Vegas?
55. Fill with merchandise : STOCK
57. Transcript info : GPA
58. One digging hard rock? : MINER. Gimme for regulars.
60. Just like that : AS IS
61. Greet with a beep : HONK AT
22A. Tycoon, e.g. : MAN OF MEANS
27A. Euterpe : MUSE OF MUSIC. Often as a clue for EUTERPE.
44A. Antacid name since 1872 : MILK OF MAGNESIA
63A. Takes action : MAKES ONE'S MOVE. Surprised to see MADE OF MONEY (111A. Rich, and then some). Same verb: Makes/Made.
72A. Encounter stiff competition : MEET ONE'S MATCH. ONE, THE and OF dupes are generally OK.
95A. Willpower : MIND OVER MATTER
Reveal:
122A. Apt time to recognize this puzzle's honoree : MONTH OF MAY. Very nice. Double duty.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms on our blog!
MOON OVER MIAMI is missing. Otherwise, Bruce gives us a near complete set of M* O* M* entries. Perfect partner puzzle to Ed Sessa's POP we had a while ago.
We often see two-word initial grids. Three words are much tougher to pull off even for a weekday.
Across:
1. Sharp group : MENSA. Nailed it.
6. Stage award : OBIE
10. "Kisses, dahling" : MWAH. Air kiss sound.
14. NASA nods : A-OKs
18. Beatles' "White Album" song whose title follows "If you want me to" : I WILL. Got via crosses.
19. Cost of living? : RENT. Nice clue.
20. "Yikes!" : OH NO
21. Beatnik's "Gotcha" : I'M HIP
24. Biblical verb : DOTH
25. Bete __ : NOIRE
26. On one's game : IN A GROOVE. Bruce is on top of his game.
29. Unyielding : SET
30. Map feature : SCALE. And 39. Map abbr. : AVE. Map clue echo.
32. Crux : HEART
33. Resort of a sort : SPA
36. One brought to a potluck : DISH. So what's your signature dish?
40. Drubbing : ROUT
41. Boater or bowler : HAT
48. Remove : DETACH
50. Con : ANTI
51. K.T. of country music : OSLIN. Not many ways to clue her.
52. Offer to pay : BID
54. Venezia casino winner : SETTE. Seven. Venice. Anyone been to The Venetian in Vegas?
55. Fill with merchandise : STOCK
57. Transcript info : GPA
58. One digging hard rock? : MINER. Gimme for regulars.
60. Just like that : AS IS
61. Greet with a beep : HONK AT
67. Metro barrier : STILE
70. Title of honor : SIR
71. Russian refusals : NYETs. Also 53. Reject : DENY
77. Toy, perhaps : LAP DOG
81. Novelist Seton : ANYA. Learned from doing crosswords.
82. Invite to one's loft, say : ASK UP
83. Jones many keep up with? : DOW. Great clue. Not the "Joneses."
86. Blush relative : ROUGE Also 74. Compact supplies : EYE SHADOWS
87. Dummy Mortimer : SNERD. I used to confuse him with SNERT.
89. Do wrong : SIN
90. One way to split : IN TWO
92. Move, at Coldwell Banker : RELO
93. Heave-ho : OUSTER
99. Medical research org. : NIH
100. Comics resident of the Okefenokee Swamp : POGO
102. NATO founding member : USA. And 104. Part of NATO: Abbr. : ORG
103. Jimmy on sausage labels : DEAN
105. Brass, e.g. : ALLOY
107. Prayer leaders : IMAMs
109. 76-Down brand : RCA.76. Best Buy buy : HDTV. Triple alliteration. Agnes' forte.
114. Land : TOUCH DOWN
120. Major pain : AGONY
121. Becloud : BLUR
123. Pond denizens : NEWTS
124. Indian tourist city : AGRA. Taj Mahal. Xi'an is popular with tourists also.
125. Bind, in a way : GLUE
126. Swerves : VEERS
127. Gas across the border : ESSO. Northern border.
128. Highlander : GAEL
129. Clutter : MESS
130. "Fiddler" meddler : YENTE. My high-school best friend was introduced to her husband by a matchmaker. They're still together.
Down:
1. "La Bohème" role : MIMI
2. McGregor of "Trainspotting" : EWAN
3. Familia girl : NINA
4. Trudges : SLOGS
5. Creamy sauce : ALFREDO. Are those basil?
6. __ Biscuit, product debut of 1912 : OREO. New trivia to me. Biscuit sounds salty.
7. '50s-'60s sitcom nickname : BEAV
8. "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" author Hammond __ : INNES. Stranger to me.
9. "MIB" characters : ETs. Men in Black.
10. Construction units : MODULES
11. Word of possession : WHOSE
12. Mandatory bet : ANTE
13. Words after "jolly" in an iconic ad : HO HO HO. The Jolly Green Giant.
14. Affaire de coeur : AMOUR
15. "Really?!" : OH IS THAT SO. Sparkly fill.
16. Diva Te Kanawa : KIRI
17. Something to build on : SPEC. On spec.
21. Cons : INMATES. The facial place I used to visit in Guangzhou was next to the police station. I could hear cops yelling and beating. In those days, I just thought bad guys deserved it.
23. Theme : MOTIF
27. Whiz : MAVEN
28. Big beef : FEUD. Not KOBE.
31. Kid's plea : CAN I
33. Ping-Pong shot : SMASH
34. __ bean : PINTO. I think these are the beans Boomer uses in his Chili.
35. "Good Eats" host Brown : ALTON
37. Sun blocker : SMOG
38. Briefcase fastener : HASP
40. Ruin, weatherwise : RAIN ON
42. "Double, double toil and trouble" time : ACT IV
43. This and this : THESE
45. Energize : KICK-START. Another great fill.
46. Rock genre : GLAM
47. Heron cousin : IBIS
49. Baseball or football : TEAM SPORT
56. Simpson trial figure Kaelin : KATO. Forgot. We had him before.
58. Chicago exchange, briefly, with "the" : MERC. Oh, Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
59. Stagger : REEL
62. Fey in American Express ads : TINA
64. "Pronto!" : ASAP
65. Do-it-yourselfer's buy : KIT. TTP almost DIYs everything. From computers to water leaks. What a guy.
66. Hollywood Walk of Fame symbol : STAR
68. Not as much : LESS
69. __ Pie : ESKIMO. Never had it.
72. Wall builder : MASON
73. Boredom : ENNUI
75. Certain bond, briefly : MUNI. Boring but safe.
78. Caused by : DUE TO
79. Rubberneck : OGLER
80. Maestro Solti : GEORG. One more name 91. Author Chomsky : NOAM
84. Outstanding : OWED
85. Modeled, say : WORE
88. Arranges strategically : DEPLOYS
90. "In my opinion ... " : I'D SAY
94. It's on the house : ROOF. Literal. Not FREE,
96. X, at times : NUMERAL. Got via crosses.
97. Progressive movement : MARCH. I like this new clue angle.
98. Antipasto fish : ANCHOVY
101. Exerciser's accessory : GYM BAG. Nice.
106. Slowly, in music : LENTO
107. Toughen : INURE. Or ENURE.
108. Ripped off : STOLE
110. Website charge : AD FEE
111. Locks in a barn? : MANE. Another great clue.
112. What seems like forever : AGES
113. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : OLGA
115. Duty : ONUS
116. Pac-12 team : UTES. Utah Utes.
117. Harbinger : OMEN
118. Imperfection : WART. Do you know Wabi-sabi? There's beauty in imperfection.
119. Where Anheuser-Busch is BUD : NYSE
122. "Ben-Hur" studio : MGM
120. Major pain : AGONY
121. Becloud : BLUR
123. Pond denizens : NEWTS
124. Indian tourist city : AGRA. Taj Mahal. Xi'an is popular with tourists also.
125. Bind, in a way : GLUE
126. Swerves : VEERS
127. Gas across the border : ESSO. Northern border.
128. Highlander : GAEL
129. Clutter : MESS
130. "Fiddler" meddler : YENTE. My high-school best friend was introduced to her husband by a matchmaker. They're still together.
Down:
1. "La Bohème" role : MIMI
2. McGregor of "Trainspotting" : EWAN
3. Familia girl : NINA
4. Trudges : SLOGS
5. Creamy sauce : ALFREDO. Are those basil?
6. __ Biscuit, product debut of 1912 : OREO. New trivia to me. Biscuit sounds salty.
7. '50s-'60s sitcom nickname : BEAV
8. "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" author Hammond __ : INNES. Stranger to me.
9. "MIB" characters : ETs. Men in Black.
10. Construction units : MODULES
11. Word of possession : WHOSE
12. Mandatory bet : ANTE
13. Words after "jolly" in an iconic ad : HO HO HO. The Jolly Green Giant.
14. Affaire de coeur : AMOUR
15. "Really?!" : OH IS THAT SO. Sparkly fill.
16. Diva Te Kanawa : KIRI
17. Something to build on : SPEC. On spec.
21. Cons : INMATES. The facial place I used to visit in Guangzhou was next to the police station. I could hear cops yelling and beating. In those days, I just thought bad guys deserved it.
23. Theme : MOTIF
27. Whiz : MAVEN
28. Big beef : FEUD. Not KOBE.
31. Kid's plea : CAN I
33. Ping-Pong shot : SMASH
34. __ bean : PINTO. I think these are the beans Boomer uses in his Chili.
35. "Good Eats" host Brown : ALTON
38. Briefcase fastener : HASP
40. Ruin, weatherwise : RAIN ON
42. "Double, double toil and trouble" time : ACT IV
43. This and this : THESE
45. Energize : KICK-START. Another great fill.
46. Rock genre : GLAM
47. Heron cousin : IBIS
49. Baseball or football : TEAM SPORT
56. Simpson trial figure Kaelin : KATO. Forgot. We had him before.
58. Chicago exchange, briefly, with "the" : MERC. Oh, Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
59. Stagger : REEL
62. Fey in American Express ads : TINA
64. "Pronto!" : ASAP
65. Do-it-yourselfer's buy : KIT. TTP almost DIYs everything. From computers to water leaks. What a guy.
66. Hollywood Walk of Fame symbol : STAR
68. Not as much : LESS
69. __ Pie : ESKIMO. Never had it.
72. Wall builder : MASON
73. Boredom : ENNUI
75. Certain bond, briefly : MUNI. Boring but safe.
78. Caused by : DUE TO
79. Rubberneck : OGLER
80. Maestro Solti : GEORG. One more name 91. Author Chomsky : NOAM
84. Outstanding : OWED
85. Modeled, say : WORE
88. Arranges strategically : DEPLOYS
90. "In my opinion ... " : I'D SAY
94. It's on the house : ROOF. Literal. Not FREE,
96. X, at times : NUMERAL. Got via crosses.
97. Progressive movement : MARCH. I like this new clue angle.
98. Antipasto fish : ANCHOVY
101. Exerciser's accessory : GYM BAG. Nice.
106. Slowly, in music : LENTO
107. Toughen : INURE. Or ENURE.
108. Ripped off : STOLE
110. Website charge : AD FEE
111. Locks in a barn? : MANE. Another great clue.
112. What seems like forever : AGES
113. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : OLGA
115. Duty : ONUS
116. Pac-12 team : UTES. Utah Utes.
117. Harbinger : OMEN
118. Imperfection : WART. Do you know Wabi-sabi? There's beauty in imperfection.
119. Where Anheuser-Busch is BUD : NYSE
122. "Ben-Hur" studio : MGM
