23A. Foppish fed?: MANICURED LAWMAN. Manicured lawn.
37A. Hotel housekeeper's concern?: BLANKET FORMAT. Blanket fort.
67A. Woman's surprise party for her kids' kids?: GRANDMA SCHEME. Grand scheme.
96A. "One man's trash ... "?: JUNKYARD DOGMA. Junkyard dog.
115A. Sniffle over some Austen?: READ EMMA AND WEEP. Read 'em and weep.
16D. Ask for a doggie bag?: TAKE THE REMAINS. Take the reins.
49D. Frequent February craft project?: MAKING OF HEARTS. King of hearts.
Reminds me of the "Main Events" I did for the club. Same gimmick. MA-in.
Great selection of original phrases. MANICURED LAWMAN probably should have been avoided due to the straying MA in MANICURED.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms on our blog!
Across:
1. Stops up: DAMS. Yep, D-Otto, Yangtze river is called Chang Jiang in China, as Jayce mentioned.
5. Some shells: AMMO.
9. Blokes: CHAPS.
14. Bee's landing place: PETAL.
19. Abbr. covering unlisted items: ET AL.
20. Part of the rural scenery: BARN. Very soon Santa's 23-acre farmland where he grew up with will be someone's.
21. Yoga term meaning "force": HATHA. Easy guess. HATHA yoga.
22. Elevate: EXALT.
26. National capital on Cape Verde: DAKAR.
27. Dr. __ Hahn on "Grey's Anatomy": ERICA.
28. Best possible: IDEAL.
29. They hang at parties: STREAMERS.
31. Word from the French for "little wing": AILERON. Learning moment for me.
33. Tech tutorials site: CNET. Unaware that they offer tutorials there.
35. Dadaism pioneer: ERNST (Max).
36. Federal hush-hush org.: NSA.
41. Easter entrée: HAM.
44. Rockies roamer: MOOSE.
45. Some HDTVs: SANYOS. Sanyo is now owned by Panasonic. Been dreaming of this. Someday.
46. Like San Francisco's Coit Tower: DECO.
47. It's everything, they say: TIMING.
50. 1910s conflict: WWI.
53. Spike with films: LEE. Just Spike Lee.
54. "Two mints in one" sloganeer: CERTS.
55. Brazen: BRASSY.
56. Muppets watchers: TOTS. Followed by 58. Muppets' address, briefly: SESAME ST.
61. Upscale retailer: SAKS.
62. Gave a leg up: BOOSTED.
65. Rattler's weapon: VENOM.
66. Air pump letters: PSI. Pounds per Square Inch.
70. Edwards, e.g.: Abbr.: AFB.
73. Net, but not Jet or Met: NBAER.
75. Like some massages: SENSUAL. The TAO has a prominent ad in Las Vegas. Steve will see it again next week. Big Easy probably did not see his TAO (way).
76. Bitter __: PILL.
77. Certain dietary abstinence: VEGANISM. Then you've got to eat more soy products for protein, including Natto rice. Do you guys eat raw eggs?
81. Part of a squirrel's stash: WALNUT.
83. __ for the ride: ALONG.
84. BOLO equivalent: APB. BOLO = Be On the LookOut.
87. Old atlas letters: SSR.
88. Burdens: ONUSES.
89. Plentiful: RIFE.
90. Potato often used for fries: RUSSET. Also 118. Hanukkah fare: LATKE.
93. Pub stickers: DARTS.
95. Slangy assent: YEH.
99. Toss in: ADD.
102. IRS convenience: E-FILE.
104. Like four-leaf clovers: RARE.
105. The one that got away: ESCAPEE.
107. "Do tell!": I'M ALL EARS. Sparkly fill.
111. Shot in the dark: GUESS.
113. Openings for Tolkien and Rowling?: Abbr.: INITS. J. R. R. & J.K.
114. Nursery rhyme dieter: SPRAT.
119. Sporty old Ford: T-BIRD.
120. So: ERGO.
121. Beginning to bat?: ACRO. Acrobat.
122. Lessened: EASED.
123. Jack of "The Wizard of Oz": HALEY. OK, the Tin Man.
124. Celine of pop: DION.
125. Staff notation: REST.
Down:
1. Hardly dignify: DEMEAN.
2. Pioneering game consoles: ATARIS.
3. Heavy envelope makeup: MANILA.
4. Pizza purchase: SLICE. Pizza Hut is very popular in China.
5. Monkey in "Aladdin": ABU.
6. Places to tie up: MARINAS.
7. "A horse, of course, of course": MR ED. Mister Ed is the preferred entry. DR WHO is also frowned upon by editors. DOCTOR WHO is the entry.
8. In a circle near a diamond: ON DECK.
9. Skiers' retreats: CHALETS.
10. Hesitate while speaking: HAW.
11. 24-hr. banking spots: ATMS.
12. Old-style "Wicked!": PHAT.
13. Riviera resort: SAN REMO. Alfred Nobel died here.
14. Know-it-all: PEDANT.
15. High school hurdles: EXAMS.
17. Banned orchard spray: ALAR.
18. P.O. box fillers: LTRS.
24. Copies made on onionskin, probably: CARBONS.
25. Word with fast or passing: LANE.
30. Baseball stats: ERAS.
32. Informal science: OLOGY.
34. Big name in nonstick cookware: T-FAL. Red in the center.
38. Unit of force: NEWTON.
39. Scrabble vowel value: ONE.
40. Bartender's array: RYES.
42. Fifth book of the New Testament: ACTS.
43. More than half: MOST. This is my good friend Lesley and her son Eric. Many kids in Guangzhou wear the jade-on-a-red-string (good luck talisman) as Eric does.
46. Test-drive car, e.g.: DEMO.
47. Recipe meas.: TBSP.
48. Some S&L plans: IRAS.
51. "The __ are lovely, dark and deep": Frost: WOODS.
52. "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME.
54. House prop: CANE. Dr. House.
57. Really bombed: STANK.
59. First name in ramp-to-ramp jumping: EVEL.
60. Univ. term: SEM. Semester.
62. You may hum a few: BARS.
63. Trio of asses?: ESSES. Just the three letters in asses.
64. Bikini specs: D CUPS.
67. Funk band Kool & the __: GANG.
68. Outdoorsy sort's retailer: REI.
69. Dresser's concern?: HAIRDO. Dress-er.
71. Harmful gas outlet: FLUE.
72. Crunchy lunches: BLTS. We finally planted our Big Girl/Boy tomato plants.
74. Nemesis: BANE.
76. Favorable aspect: PLUS.
77. What prices may do: VARY. I bought these amazing Carolina Herrera for Target set for $10. Been storing all my precious stuff in. It was that much and more A PIECE (99. For each one) in the start.
78. Wiesel with a Nobel: ELIE.
79. Halloween staple: MASK.
81. Bait, often: WORMS.
82. Hot wings chaser, perhaps: ANTACID. Thank God I don't have a stomach problem.
85. Aspiring therapist's maj.: PSY.
86. Black or brown critter: BEAR.
90. "No cellphone at dinner," say: RULE. Everyone lives on WeChat now.
91. Dig up: UNEARTH.
92. Shakespearean genre: TRAGEDY.
94. Back in the day: AGES AGO.
96. Unexpectedly and unhappily single: JILTED.
97. Starr-struck one?: DRUM. Nice clue. Ringo Starr.
98. Held: DEEMED.
100. Tries to prevent: DETERS.
101. Pharaoh, for one: DESPOT. And 106. Egypt's Sadat: ANWAR.
103. Space cadet: FLAKE.
107. Cartographer's speck: ISLE.
108. Hollywood rating gp.: MPAA. Motion Picture Association of America.
109. Sitcom that starred a singer: REBA.
110. Windsurfing need: SAIL.
112. Wrapped wear: SARI.
116. "Compton" album maker: DRE.
117. Rouen rejection: NON. Alliteration.
C.C.
