22A. *Criminal justice supervisor : PROBATION OFFICER. On/off.
33A. *"Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!" poet : PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY. He/She.
53A. *Get worse, with no way to stop : SPIN OUT OF CONTROL. In/Out.
80A *Nero Wolfe title that plays on the start of an old adage : WHERE THERE'S A WILL. Here/There.
96A. *1985 #1 hit for Paul Young : EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY. Me/You.
Reveal:
113. Maxim that applies to pairs hiding together in the answers to starred clues : OPPOSITES ATTRACT
What a great reveal. It describes the gimmick perfectly. Quite challenging to come up with a set where the antonyms are together.
I love the first two the most, as the key words ON/OFF, HE/SHE fully contained in other words.
Across:
1. 16th-century date : MDL. 1550.
4. Big name in shoes : MCAN. Not ECCO/NIKE.
8. Batted : WAS UP
13. See 2-Down : LINE. And 2. With 13-Across, write (to) : DROP A
17. Rail commonly found in water? : SORA
18. Perry of fashion : ELLIS
20. Kind of acid in proteins : AMINO
21. Any minute, old-style : ANON
25. Saturn vehicles? : UFOs. Nailed it.
26. Placing side by side : APPOSING
27. Cries of support : OLES. Had RAHS first.
28. Golf shot : STROKE
30. Wrinkly dog : SHAR PEI. Cantonese. Shar = Sand. Pei = Skin. So "Sand skin".
31. Common conjunction : NOR
32. Hanker : ACHE
41. __ Dictionary : URBAN. So many blush-worthy entries there.
44. Arles assents : OUIs
45. Bury : INTER
46. Amber __ : ALE
47. Delhi wrap : SARI
48. A little lower? : CALF. Low-er.
50. Paper size: Abbr. : LTR
51. Anime cousin : MANGA. Called Man Hua in Chinese. Same characters as Japanese. Man = "Whimsical". Ga/Hua just means "picture". Can also be a verb, meaning "draw".
60. Hwy. : RTE
61. "My man!" : BRO. Clue echo with 107. "My man!" : DUDE
62. Notched, as a maple leaf : EROSE.
63. Back in the bay : ASTERN
65. 1965 King arrest site : SELMA
67. Shortened, as a dict. : ABR. We use Abbr. as a hint in crossword clues.
68. Ballade's final stanza : ENVOI. You would think this is French for "envoy".
70. Complete : ENTIRE
73. Assume as fact : POSIT
75. Assist : AID
76. Eats or drinks : HAS. We're going to have Hormel Cure 81 Ham today. Boomer said it's the best. Do you have it in your area?
79. Israel's Golda : MEIR
85. Looked like a wolf? : OGLED
87. Oral health org. : ADA
88. Dovetail : MESH
89. In the Aegean : ASEA
90. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" newsman : TED
91. Word coined by writer Capek : ROBOT. In his "R.U. R" play.
93. Creek croaker : TOAD. Not FROG.
95. Tube, so to speak : TV SET
101. All the time : A LOT
102. Bit of work : ERG
103. Pretenses : FACADES
107. Poetic foot : DACTYL. Often the answer is IAMBUS
110. __-up: hybrid musical piece : MASH
111. Church contribution : OFFERING
112. Wrinkly fruit : UGLI. Our local grocery stores have them. Pretty juicy.
117. Like Beethoven, late in life : DEAF . We also have 92. Ear specialist's science : OTOLOGY
118. Agree to : GRANT
119. Composer of the short piano pieces "Le Yachting" and "Le Golf" : SATIE. I need "Erik" in the clue.
120. Hockey's Bobby et al. : ORRs. Only know one.
121. Go around in circles : EDDY
122. Goes up and down : YO-YOS
123. Once uncool sort who's now sort of cool : NERD
124. Inquisitive-sounding letter : WYE.
Down:
1. Transmute : MORPH
3. Sensation before a delivery : LABOR PAIN. Nice fill.
4. Specialty : METIER
5. Medical center : CLINIC
6. Sleep like __ : A LOG
7. "Delta of Venus" author : NIN. Imagine my surprise to find this book at our dusty flea market.
8. Symbols of thinness : WAFERS
9. Author Martin : AMIS
10. [Not a typo] : SIC
11. Arles article : UNE
12. Company whose German pronunciation has two syllables : PORSCHE. Its Chinese name has three characters.
13. Victory symbol : LAUREL
14. Dope : INFO
15. Cozy corner : NOOK
16. Massachusetts motto opener : ENSE. Our old buddy is back.
17. Healthful retreats : SPAS
19. André Previn's adopted daughter : SOON-YI. Such a complicated life.
23. Quaker in the woods : ASPEN
24. Dentist's directive : FLOSS
29. Heat unit : THERM
32. 2017 World Series champ : ASTRO. Don't cheat. How many teams have never won a World Series?
34. Texter's "seize the day" : YOLO. You Only Live Once.
35. Devotee : BUFF
36. Sword handles : HILTS. Sometimes it's HAFTS.
37. It's usually just before dessert : ENTREE
38. Tilter's tool : LANCE
39. Knighted English composer : ELGAR (Edward)
40. Thirst (for) : YEARN
41. Cold War initials : USSR
42. Deeply engrossed : RAPT
43. Cracker topper : BRIE
48. Long-billed wader : CURLEW. Thank God I don't have that bill. I would have broken mine easily.
49. Elementary particle : ATOM
52. Stop on the Turin-Genoa railway : ASTI. The wine town.
54. Upper, in Ulm : OBER
55. Break off : CEASE
56. Comet's path : ORBIT
57. Needle point? : NORTH. Great clue.
58. Deluxe : LAVISH
64. Pop : SODA
65. Many a retired racehorse : SIRE
66. Tarzan's realm : APEDOM. Spell check does not like it.
69. Dundee disagreements : NAEs
70. Ham it up : EMOTE
71. Israeli desert : NEGEV
72. Piña colada garnish? : TILDE. Garnish, OK.
74. Declaim : ORATE
76. Boo relative : HISS
77. Sheltered in the Aegean : ALEE
78. Bed board : SLAT
81. Hard thing to kick : HABIT
82. Slate or Salon : EMAG
83. Change the decor of : REDO
84. Winding-road sign image : WAVY ARROW. Debut entry.
86. How Steven Wright jokes are spoken : DRYLY
93. Trunks : TORSI
94. Moral obligations : OUGHTS. Ought can be a noun also?
95. "Be silent," in music : TACET
97. Formally approve : RATIFY
98. Baking supplies : YEASTS. I've been eating this to increase my B12 intake. Won't buy again once this bottle is empty. Not fond of its taste. I'm thinking of trying Steve's Marmite next.
99. Fling : AFFAIR
100. Drifted gently : WAFTED
104. Book with a lock : DIARY
105. Yves' ink : ENCRE. Also new to me.
106. PD ranks : SGTs
108. Kept in barrels, maybe : AGED
109. Decked out : CLAD
110. Like early Elvis albums : MONO
111. Bone head? : OSTE. Prefix for "bone".
114. Adept : PRO
115. Wages : PAY
116. Suffix with Caesar : EAN
C.C.
