Sunday April 22, 2018 Victor Barocas

Theme: "Number One Fan"- EGO  is hidden in the very middle each theme entry.

23. Neighbor of Montenegro: HERZEGOVINA.

34. Knew unfavorable things about: HAD THE GOODS ON.

43. Put the blame on: SCAPEGOATED.

56. In the "Other" column: UNCATEGORIZED.

67. Solving a problem boldly: CUTTING THE GORDIAN KNOT.

77. Tony Gwynn, notably: SAN DIEGO PADRE.

94. Ill-advised: MISBEGOTTEN

102. Complaint about monotony: HERE WE GO AGAIN.

117. Narcissistic trait exhibited perfectly by this puzzle's eight other longest answers: EGOCENTRISM.

In this type of hidden theme, often the hidden word span across two or more words. In today's case, we have a few one-word entries due to extra "centrism" layer.

Nice to see Victor Barocas' byline again. He's incredibly talented and self-effacing.

Left to right:

C.C., Tom Pepper, George Barany, Victor Barocas, Michael David & David Liben-Nowell. Missing David Hanson (Rosebud).

Across:

1. Jennifer Saunders Britcom: AB FAB. Absolutely Fabulous.

 
6. Supporting structure: TRUSS.

11. When tripled, "and so on": YADA. "Seinfeld".

15. Scandinavian language: SAMI.

19. PowerPoint unit: SLIDE.

20. Greek goddesses of the seasons: HORAE.

21. K.C. Royal, e.g.: ALER. American Leaguer. Gluey.

22. Snapchat co-founder Spiegel: EVAN. Husband of Miranda Kerr.

25. Gaiety: MERRIMENT.

27. Fleeced female: EWE.

28. Put up: ERECT.

29. Goalkeeper's success: SAVE.

30. Mournful melody: DIRGE.

31. Fleece-seeking vessel: ARGO.

37. Cabinetmaker's cylinder: DOWEL ROD. We also have 4. Carpentry tool: ADZ.

41. Obama : Bo :: FDR : __: FALA.

42. Pre-riot state: UNREST.

45. Bamm-Bamm's mom: BETTY. The Flintstones.

47. Like Chichén Itzá pyramids: MAYAN.

48. Harp constellation: LYRA.

49. Brought in: HIRED.

51. "Don't Bring Me Down" rock gp.: ELO.

54. Comparison phrase: IS TO.

60. Knuckler's lack: SPIN. R. A. Dickey was a Twin, ages ago.

63. T or F, maybe: ANS. The initial of our TTP.

65. Astronomer Hale: ALAN.

66. Japanese comics: ANIME.

73. Favorite's surprise: UPSET. Dupe with 126. Beginning: ONSET.

74. Learning method: ROTE.

75. Knee-injury initials: ACL.

76. Uncle __: BEN'S. Not BUCK.

82. Sailor's saint: ELMO.

84. U.N. worker protection gp.: ILO. International Labour Organization.

85. Normand of silents: MABEL.

86. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT.

88. Port near Sapporo: OTARU.

92. Holy, to Henriette: SACRE. I have fond memory of this place.

96. "A Fish Called Wanda" actor: CLEESE.

99. Important pipe: MAIN.

101. German state named for a river, with "the": SAARLAND. The Saar River.

106. Audible alert: BEEP.

107. Greek marketplace: AGORA.

108. Plot measure: ACRE.

109. "Swell!": NEATO.

112. Caraway-flavored bread: RYE.

115. Exam for intellectual property lawyers: PATENT BAR. Debut entry.

120. Medical suffix: ITIS.

121. Actress Fanning: ELLE.

122. Eatery freebies: MINTS.

123. Command to attack: SIC 'EM.

124. Japanese PCs: NECS.

125. Useless, battery-wise: DEAD. Yay, my 11-year-old iPod came alive again.

127. Imitation: APERY.  Not a word I use.

Down:

1. 1975 Wimbledon champ: ASHE.

2. Botched: BLEW.

3. "Ask me anything": FIRE AWAY.

5. Wax maker: BEE.

6. "__: Ragnarok": 2017 superhero film: THOR. Chris Hemsworth.

7. Meander: ROVE.

8. Robert of "Vega$": URICH.

9. Resident of America's highest capital: SANTA FEAN. Hi there Owen!

10. Coral __: SEA.

11. Piano brand: YAMAHA.

12. Advil alternative: ALEVE. Boomer's hands sometimes have these spotty purplish spots. They often go away in a few days. His bowling buddy Don said it's due to various pain killers. Boomer had another bad fall a few weeks ago due to the stupid snow. Hurt his shoulder/elbow pretty bad. He had to take those pain killers.

13. Reduction of legal constraints, briefly: DEREG.

14. Part of ETA: Abbr.: ARR.

15. With a touch of sweetness: SEMI-DRY.

16. Opposed: AVERSE.

17. Tropical fruits: MANGOS. I once bought two mangoes that refused to ripen. Very weird.

18. What manslaughter lacks: INTENT. That would be murder.

24. Composer Telemann: GEORG.

26. Words of denial: I DON'T.

29. Mo.'s largest airport: STL.

32. Did some home maintenance: REPAINTED.

33. Narrow valleys: GLENS.

35. Pops: DAD.

36. Surpass: OUTDO.

37. Mil. award: DSM.

38. Plant also called a New Zealand yam: OCA. Still have not found these tubers in our local grocery stores.

39. Wuyi Mountains tea: OOLONG. Gimme for me.

40. It breaks in the morning: DAY.

44. Play about Capote: TRU.

45. Actress Vaccaro: BRENDA. Stranger to me.

46. Mind reader?: EEG.

49. Anaheim baseball cap feature: HALO.

50. Name dropped by TASS in 2014: ITAR.

51. Paperless periodical: E-ZINE.

52. Subpar car: LEMON.

53. "Waiting for Lefty" playwright: ODETS.

55. Earth tone: TAN.

57. Not free-range: CAGED.

58. Fled on foot: RAN.

59. Item gifted with a fountain pen: INK BOTTLE. I used to dread our calligraphy class.

60. "Pardon me, Giulia": SCUSI.

61. Post-larval: PUPAL.

62. "__ problem": IT'S NO. Tiny dupe: 68. "Lord, is __?": Matthew: IT I.

64. Dance floor flasher: STROBE.

69. What optimists don't give up: HOPE.

70. List-ending abbr.: ET AL.

71. Summer brew: ICE TEA. Or ICED TEA. Spring is finally here. Reaching 60s today. Our first 60s in five months.

72. Every one of: ALL.

78. Roast host: EMCEE.

79. Needlefish: GAR.

80. Controlling: REINING IN.

81. RN workplaces: ERS.

83. "S.W.A.T." star Shemar: MOORE. Unfamiliar to me.

87. Crunch targets: ABS.

89. Not for free: AT A PRICE.

90. Toon canine: REN.

91. Grand Forks sch.: UND. University of North Dakota.

92. One looking ahead: SEERESS. Great clue.

93. City near Lake Nasser: ASWAN.

94. Hamm of soccer: MIA.

95. Neighbor of Cameroon: GABON.

96. "Cat's in the Cradle" singer Harry: CHAPIN.

97. Papal representative: LEGATE.

98. Designed to light a fire?: EROTIC. Oh!

99. Damaged: MARRED.

100. Iron __: AGE.

103. Triangular building feature: GABLE.

104. City including the former site of a Seminole War fort: OCALA. Vowel-rich.

105. Glowing signs: NEONS.

110. Entr'__: ACTE.

111. Evaluate: TEST.

113. Flemish river: YSER.

114. One of 11 for Julia Louis-Dreyfus: EMMY.

116. Texas senator Cruz: TED.

117. Moody rock genre: EMO.

118. PreCheck org.: TSA.

119. Swindle, in slang: RIP.

I don't have any update on Argyle. I got overly optimistic last Sunday when he replied quite a few emails. Since then I have not been able to reach him. His friend Jennifer said he's doing OK and he's been using his computer. So let's hope he'll stop by the blog when he feels like it.

Thanks again for the well wishes and cards (weekly from Agnes!) you've sent to him.  And your tablet gift, D-Otto. And your ready-to-Amazon external keyboard, Anon-T.

Thank you so much for the kindness and generosity.

C.C.