23A. *Filled pastry : CREAM PUFF. Cold cream.
29A. *Protective sports gear : SHOULDER PADS. Cold shoulder.
41A. *Prop in an iconic "Psycho" scene : SHOWER CURTAIN. Cold shower.
66A. *Ragtime dance : TURKEY TROT. Cold turkey.
68A. *Flower named for a legendary beast : SNAPDRAGON. Cold snap.
89A. *Contents of an abandoned one may be sold at auction : STORAGE LOCKER. Cold storage.
104A. *What will fix misteaks? : SPELL CHECKER. Cold spell.
15D. *2017 Broadway musical based on the rivalry between Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein : WARPAINT. Cold war. Two of the Down 8's intersect two other Across entries. Those stacks of 8s in the upper and lower left are tough to pull off.
81D. *Lawyer's backlog : CASELOAD. Cold case.
Reveal:
111. It ushers in lower temperatures ... and what the answers to starred clues can have : COLD FRONT
Rich normally keeps this type of words-that-can-precede/follow for weekdays, unless the reveal entry really catches his interest.
This theme works the best when the key word change meanings. In this set, SHOWER, STORAGE and CASE remain the same.
Across:
1. Grand-scale poetry : EPOS. Also 38. Pope output : POEM. Alexander Pope.
5. Corrosive stuff : ACID. Also 6. Corrosive substances : CAUSTICS
9. Mariner org. : NASA. Unaware of the Mariner program.
13. Like an eddy : ASWIRL
19. An 80-footer is a long one : PUTT. I made a long one when I played my very first round. So excited.
20. Square to look through : PANE
21. Got on in years : AGED
22. Old propeller site : BEANIE. Never heard of propeller beanie.
25. Commend : CITE
26. "And God Created Woman" (1956) star : BARDOT
27. Done, for Donne : O'ER
28. Afterthought preceder : ALSO. BunnyM, I also love your posts. Always thoughtful and caring.
31. Had a sample : TRIED IT
33. Wickiup, e.g. : HUT. Wickiup is new to me. Primitive hut.
35. Most common draw in Scrabble : AN E. Odd to have an article in front.
36. Hanukkah toy : DREIDEL
39. Intolerant type : BIGOT
45. Janvier, across the Pyrenees : ENERO
46. Old TV knob : HOR
47. Gather in bundles : SHEAVE
48. Quick-getaway auditorium seat site : LAST ROW
50. Bygone : OLDEN
53. Actor Cage, in tabloids : NIC
54. CBS golf analyst Baker-Finch : IAN. He's from Australia.
55. Recited confidently : REELED OFF
60. Earthquake prefix : SEISMO. Hi there Jayce! Why can't you have venison burgers?
62. Wise guy : SAGE
70. __ facto : IPSO
71. Military camps : ETAPES
73. Farthest from the action, as arena seats : NOSEBLEED
74. Hogwash : ROT
75. Photog's item : NEG
77. Henri's health : SANTE. "A votre sante!"
78. Dentist's find : ABSCESS. Got via crosses.
83. Fusion, for one : ECO-CAR
87. Rap music article : THA
88. Westernmost African capital : DAKAR. Senegal's capital. Have any of you tried West African-style peanut butter chicken?
93. Ukrainian port, to locals : ODESA
94. Bowser's brand : IAMS
96. Flash : INSTANT
97. Astound : AWE. Inanehiker (Nina) on our blog is a doctor, who quieted my unease with her read of my recent blood test.
98. Hammett hound : ASTA
99. Soaked : WET
100. DNA component : ADENINE
107. Cry to Silver : HI YO
108. Crime boss : DON
109. Commotion : UPROAR
110. Comparable : AKIN
113. Split : CLEAVE
114. Dispatch : SEND. Average person checks his/her email 15 times a day.
115. Bailiwick : AREA
116. Ray, for one : ALer. Gluey fill. Tampa Bay Rays.
117. Hopper and Gabler : HEDDAS. Gluey fill.
118. Nervous : EDGY
119. Not : NARY
120. Italian noble family : ESTE
Down:
1. Spaceship Earth site : EPCOT
2. More refined : PURER
3. Ferrell's "SNL" cheerleading partner : OTERI
4. Penn, e.g.: Abbr. : STA
5. User : APPLIER. Odd *ER word.
7. Dope : INFO
8. Hi-__ : DEF
9. Morgen's opposite : NACHT. Night.
10. Currency exchange fee : AGIO. Learned from doing crossword.
11. Attack : SET UPON
12. Ross Sea penguin : ADELIE. Happy feet.
13. French clerics : ABBES
14. Scorch : SEAR
16. At risk : IN DANGER
17. Former Spanish Sahara territory that is neither a river nor has any gold : RIO DE ORO. Helpful clue. Like our grape nuts.
18. Tennis calls : LETS
24. Sierra __ : MADRE. Not LEONE.
29. Ottoman bigwig : SULTAN
30. Doo-wop syllable : DUM. No idea.
32. Uncle of Prince Wm. : EDW. Both Wm and EDW look odd.
33. "Take it" : HERE
37. "Well, that's obvious" : DUH
38. Game equipment : PIECES. We saw a Kirby Puckett game-used jersey at a store for $10K. Crazy.
39. Wanna-__: poseurs : BEs
40. Pull : TOW
41. Hip sound? : SHORT I. The i in Hip.
42. Stay out of sight : HOLE UP
43. Waiters take them : ORDERS
44. "We Try Harder" company : AVIS. Which is your favorite rental car company? We're going back to Payless. Bad experience with Dollar.
48. Reading lights : LAMPS
49. Battery pole : ANODE
51. Nevada city on I-80 : ELKO
52. Born : NEE
54. Golfer Aoki : ISAO. He should come to 3M. Both Jack Nicklaus & Gary Player were here this year.
56. Salon specialists : DYERS
58. Campus house, maybe : FRAT
59. Clotheshorse : FOP
61. Quaint lodging : INN
62. Casa room : SALA
63. Tommy Lee Jones' "Men in Black" role : AGENT K
64. "Faust" author : GOETHE
65. Win the love of : ENDEAR
67. Beliefs : TENETS
69. NFL ball carriers : RBs. Running backs.
72. Spanish wine descriptor : SECO. Dry.
76. More unpleasant, as details : GORIER
78. Stink : ADO
79. Troublemaker : BAD APPLE. Great fill.
80. Like kebabs : SKEWERED. Xi'an style. Lots of red pepper.
82. Stat for Aroldis Chapman : ERA. Rich is a Yankee fan. Patti is a Met fan.
84. Tilt : CANT
85. Govt. prosecutors : AGs. Attorney Generals.
86. Mall tenant : RETAILER
89. Walloped : SMACKED
90. Singer Billie Holiday's nickname : LADY DAY. Unknown to me.
91. __ a kind : ONE OF
92. Moving supply: Abbr. : CTN (Carton)
94. Book end? : ISH. Bookish.
95. Military command : AT EASE
98. Plot makeup : ACRES
99. Playwright Wasserstein : WENDY. Also new to me.
101. Stars watched by many : IDOLS
102. Good-sized chamber group : NONET. Group of nine.
103. Between, in Brest : ENTRE. Alliteration.
104. Quite : SUCH
105. Spewed magma : LAVA
106. Double-decker game piece : KING. Googled afterwards. Never played Pinochle. (Checkers. Thanks, WikWak.)
107. Bar mitzvah dance : HORA
111. Fire : CAN
112. Actress Charlotte : RAE
C.C.
