Theme: "Commercial Break" - AD is added into each theme entry.
23A. Skillful adventurers? : ESCAPADE ARTISTS. Escape artists.
35A. Field for feline frolic? : THE CAT'S MEADOW. The cat's meow.
52A. Speech from a queen, maybe? : PROM ADDRESS. Prom dress.
76A. Unusually vicious nocturnal flier? : SUPER BAD OWL. Super Bowl. This one broke the original word into two.
90A. Burned-out hillbilly? : JADED CLAMPETT. Jed Clampett.
107A. Bedtime bugaboo? : LATE NIGHT SHADOW. Late night show.
15D. Sun worshiper's seasonal harangue? : WINTER TIRADE. Winter tire.
59D. Megalith inscribed with saws? : ROCK OF ADAGES. Rock of Ages.
Our blog labels shows that this is the debut Sunday for Joe Kidd. Congratulation! Sunday puzzles are that hard to make, and he gave us a 138-worder.
I grokked the gimmick immediately, as Don G and I once did a similar puzzle with AD IN as reveal. But it did not help my solving.
Across:
1. Huggers : ARMS. Thought of Lucina and her loving sisters. Here we are at Mall of America, 2012.
 |
| C.C., Lucina, Marge, Yoli & Juanita |
5. Spectrum maker : PRISM
10. "The Winner Takes It All" group : ABBA
14. React to a pop idol, perhaps : SWOON
19. Haul : LOOT
20. Fall sign : LIBRA
21. They can be calm or rough : SEAS
22. Specialized vocab : LINGO. We have our own Corner lingo.
26. When rights may be prohibited : ON RED
27. Musical clacker : CASTANET. New term to me.
28. Chooser's words : THAT ONE
30. Pro shop buys : TEES Also 110. Golf selection : IRON
31. Attractive pitcher : EWER. Ah, the baseball reference is at 62. Diamond protector : TARP
32. __ Alley, supply source in the Harry Potter universe : DIAGON. Santa knows.
33. Effective use of lang. : RHET. OK, rhetoric.
39. Neck-to-waist body armor : CUIRASS. New to me also.
42. Laid into : HAD AT
43. Vermont tourist destinations : INNS
44. Stooges' specialty : SLAPSTICK. Great fill.
46. Lasting lead-in? : EVER. Everlasting.
47. __-Indian War : SINO. Have you been to China, Picard?
49. Sinus doc : ENT
50. About : IN RE
51. Pro __: for now : TEM
57. Recognize : READ
58. Chicken Little, memorably : ALARMIST
61. Least friendly : ICIEST
63. Granola bar bit : OAT
64. Ocean predators : ORCAS. Thanks for the nice words about my Orca award.
65. Where Tippecanoe Cty. is : IND
66. Ticket abbr. : SECT
68. Hellish : HADEAN. OK, adjective of Hades.
70. Competitions : CONTESTS
75. Savor, with "in" : BASK
78. Saigon holiday : TET. Same day as Chinese Spring Festival.
79. Northeast Nevada city : ELKO
80. Grand __ Opry : OLE
81. She, in Siena : ESSA
82. First name in gossip : RONA
83. "Whatever" : AS IF I CARE. Another great fill.
86. __ bit: slightly : A WEE
88. One with an IRA, say : SAVER
89. Reversible fabrics : DAMASKS
94. Jim Davis canine : ODIE
95. Name on a pricey handbag : HERMES. This is their famous Birkin bag.
96. Some Ivy Leaguers : ELIS
97. Kelly of talk : RIPA
99. Dapper accessory : TIE CLIP
101. Intrasemester exam : UNIT TEST. No such exam in our schools.
105. 1980s-'90s Commodore computer : AMIGA
109. One fit for a queen? : SHEET. Queen bed.
111. Large chamber group : NONET. Group of nine. We also have 5. Member of a noted octet : PLANET
112. Home repair option, briefly : RE-FI
113. Ad hoc hunters : POSSE. I only associate "ad hoc" with committee.
114. French 101 verb : ETRE
115. Hired hoods : GOONS
116. Sweater mishap : SNAG
Down:
1. Guinness of "Smiley's People" : ALEC
2. Bill awarded her a Presidential Medal of Freedom : ROSA (Parks)
3. Comfy footwear : MOCS
4. Governor's ride : STATE CAR
6. They're added to bills : RIDERS. Tidy dupe with 4D clue.
7. "Yeah, right!" : I BET
8. Span. title : SRA
9. "The War of the Worlds" attacker : MARTIAN
10. Bagel cheese : ASIAGO. Have any of you tried Super Target's sliced sourdough bread?
12. It's passed in a race : BATON
13. AAA member?: Abbr. : ASSN. Same cluing style as "Part of TBS: Abbr." for SYS.
14. __-mo : SLO
16. How some lawyers are paid : ON RETAINER. We had some disputes with our townhouse association last year. They hired a lawyer. We lost. When we got home, I got a jury duty notice.
17. Double-curve molding : OGEE
18. Auction actions : NODS
24. Play with, kitten-style : PAW AT
25. Mississippi senator Cochran and jazz trumpeter Jones : THADS
29. Lets off steam : ERUPTS
32. Luth. or Meth. : DENOM
34. __ Honor : HIS
35. Frat row letter : THETA
36. First president of the Czech Republic : HAVEL
37. Fluid buildup : EDEMA
38. North Dakota's "Magic City" : MINOT. Magic because of what?
39. Art able to : CANST
40. __ metal : SCRAP
41. Brief timetable : SKED. Schedule.
45. Some skinny jeans : LEES. My favorite at the moment is Mudd.
47. Roasting gadget : SPIT
48. Org. with forms : IRS
53. CBS or NBC : AIRER
54. 1983 taxi comedy : DC CAB
55. 20th-century princess : DIANA
56. Hi-__ image : RES
60. Welcoming sight : MAT
62. Blow-up aid : TNT
64. Hymn relative : ODE
65. Visiting Hollywood, say : IN LA. Steve hikes to the Hollywood sign from time to time.
66. Lively dance : SALSA
67. Ice cream treats : ESKIMO PIES. Try Nice Cream if you do not tolerate dairy products. Just frozen bananas, a little peanut butter, cocoa powder. Then blend.
68. Dances with graceful gestures : HULAS
69. Mimic : APER
70. Trig ratio : COSEC
71. They're rarely heard from skilled carpenters : OWS
72. Cook's need : STOVE. We have a GE stove. The "Hot Stovetop" light stays on forever. GE used to stand for quality.
73. Bit of dogma : TENET
74. "Boo!" reaction : START. Shock.
75. Bit of sweat : BEAD
76. Place for a plug : SOCKET
77. Scouts do good ones : DEEDS
82. Jay-Z and others : RAP STARS
84. "Woe __": 1996 grammar book : IS I
85. Steam engine exhaust system : EJECTOR. Just learned from TTP last week that I had not been ejecting my USB devices properly.
86. Campus bldg. : ADMIN
87. Breaking down : WEEPING
88. Worker in a forge : SMITH. Ah, here is a nice Smith.
91. Garfield's gal pal : ARLENE. The pink cat.
92. Like the pre-Easter season : LENTEN
93. Elite slates : A-LISTS
95. Essence : HEART
97. Gravelly sound : RASP
98. Texting qualifier : IMHO
100. '70s tennis star Nastase : ILIE
101. "Hmm ... I doubt that" : UH NO
102. Churchill's 1955 successor : EDEN
103. Den piece : SOFA
104. Part of a pre-fire pile : TWIG
106. Had lunch, say : ATE
108. Gunk : GOO
C.C.
(For a correct PDF file of today's puzzle, please email me: crosswordc@gmail.com)
