Sunday December 30, 2018 Gary Larson

Theme: "Calling Forth" - S sound is changed into Th sound,  changing spelling as needed.

23A. Off-season at a nudist camp?: CLOTHING TIME. Closing time.

28A. Dollhouse Christmas decoration?: PEEWEE WREATH. Pee Wee Reese.

43A. Defrost in the microwave?: POWER THAW. Power saw.

51A. Two, for most folks?: THUMB TOTAL. Sum total.

68A. Aha moment sensation?: THINKING FEELING. Sinking feeling.

89A. Geek chic?: MATH APPEAL. Mass appeal.

98A. Underwear catalog?: THONG BOOK. Songbook.

111A. Cinderella's coach?: MYTH CARRIAGE. Miscarriage.

122A. Suffering from stress-related weight gain?: WORRIED THICK. Worried sick.

Remember Gary's "Sounds Like a Snooze" back in August? In that puzzle, he changed S to Z sound. 

This is a great followup. Similar style with 9 theme entries. The designing for that grid was harder due to those knotty Z's.

 

 Across:

1. Close to closed: AJAR. "When is a door not a door?" - Hahtooolah!

5. Salad veggie: RADISH.

11. Its "M" stands for "Motoren": BMW.

14. Batty: DAFT.

18. Ashton's spouse: MILA (Kunis).  Ashton Kutcher.

19. 2002 "Friends" Emmy winner: ANISTON. I like her a lot. So sweet and kind.

21. French monarch: ROI.

22. Barbarian: OGRE.

25. Stock female roles: INGENUES.

27. Caribbean getaway: ST. THOMAS. Probably not the getaway spot for our two saints.

30. Reveal, poetically: OPE. Open.

31. Sale limitation word: PER.

32. Early Indo-European: ARYAN.

33. Hot: STOLEN.

36. Abandon: DESERT.

38. Silver and gold: METALS. Or MEDALS.

45. Cubes for cooking: DICES.

48. Longtime Dolphins coach: SHULA (Don)

49. Reggae's __ Kamoze: INI. Unknown to me. Wiki says "His name means "mountain of the true God".

50. Ham, to Noah: SON.

53. English critic Kenneth: TYNAN. Another learning moment. That's a great quote.

56. Folks: PEOPLE.

60. Worker in a garden: BEE.

61. Apple variety: ROME.

62. Capital south of Vienna: ZAGREB. Tinbeni's old haunt.

64. Links prop: TEE.

65. Broom-__: comics witch: HILDA.

67. "As Time Goes By" pianist: SAM. "Casablanca". 

73. Pops: DAD.

76. Frozen summer coolers: ICEES.

77. Propel, in a way: OAR.

78. Words to live by: MOTTOS.

82. Biblical prophet: AMOS.

84. Grab a bite: EAT.

85. Type of plane: ASTRAL.

88. One at a family reunion: NIECE.

92. Minor player: COG.

94. With 130-Across, weekly U.S. magazine with a cryptic crossword: THE. 130. See 94-Across: NATION.

95. Beat out: ONE-UP.

96. More cunning: SLIER.

101. Aslan's land: NARNIA.

103. "Juno and the Paycock" playwright: O'CASEY.

105. Combat zones: ARENAS.

106. Most letters, nowadays: EMAIL.

109. Tiny insect egg: NIT.

110. Cyst of no concern: WEN.

116. Con artists: FLEECERS.

121. Atmosphere: AMBIENCE. Lovely fill.

124. __ tissue: SCAR.

125. Scout group: DEN.

126. Kia SUV: SORENTO.

127. Author Bombeck: ERMA.

128. Victim of a fabled upset: HARE.

129. Drink suffix: ADE. My favorite lemonade stand.

131. Back-to-school time for many: Abbr.: SEPT.

Down:

1. Gremlins and Pacers: AMCS.

2. Abandon at the altar: JILT.

3. Heaps: A LOT.

4. Filthy quarters: RAT HOLE.

5. Duds, old-style: RAIMENTS. No wonder I'm not familiar with. Old-style. 

6. Kournikova of tennis: ANNA.

7. Quarters: DIGS.

8. Novel ending?: IST. Novelist.

9. Mushroom stems: STIPES. I just call them stems.

10. Went deep at the park: HOMERED.

11. Pipe material: BRIER.

12. Bank contents: MONEY.

13. Early American home: WIGWAM. This one looks warm and cozy.

14. Ready to serve: DONE. Tiny clue/answer dupe: 16. Done, in Verdun: FINI.

15. Contents of el mar: AGUA.

16. Be a bundle of nerves: FRET.

17. Radio host John: TESH.

20. Society page word: NEE.

24. Optimist: HOPER. I've only used "No hoper".

26. The "E" in E. & J. Gallo: ERNEST.

29. Strapped-on accessory: WATCH.

31. Nave seat: PEW.

33. Phelps broke his gold-medal record: SPITZ (Mark)

34. Skater Harding: TONYA.

35. Because of, with "to": OWING.

36. Copenhagen native: DANE.

37. Confirmation, e.g.: RITE.

39. Norse god associated with storms: THOR. Thunder!

40. Jam ingredients: AUTOS. Traffic jam.

41. Andean wool source: LLAMA.

42. "The Crucible" setting: SALEM.

44. Letters after I?: HOP. ? should prevent you thinking of JKL.

46. Jazz pianist Blake: EUBIE.

47. Common sense: SMELL. Got this body wash for Christmas. Lovely smell.

52. Obscure: BEDIM.

54. __ show: ART.

55. Soft drink brand since 1924: NEHI.

57. Elevator innovator: OTIS.

58. Cartridge holder: PEN.

59. Colorful blocks: LEGOS.

63. Flexor muscle, informally: BICEP.

65. German title: HERR. I'll just copy and paste what TTP said last time: "Damen and Herren are on some doors in Germany. Good thing for the images to teach foreigners that Da Men use the one marked Herren."

66. Before long, quaintly: ANON.

69. Some tides: NEAPS.

70. __ One: vodka brand: KETEL.

71. Lucrative, contractually: FAT.

72. VW hatchback: GTI.

73. Friend of Pythias: DAMON. Read the myth here. Quite moving. I want to be Damon. Pythias is hard to say.

74. Appliance maker since 1934: AMANA.

75. Grandparent, often: DOTER.

79. Wyoming's __ Range: TETON.

80. Former #1 LPGA golfer Lorena: OCHOA.  She was here for the US Open many years ago.

81. Goes after: SEEKS.

83. Evade: SHUN.

85. One of the Baldwins: ALEC.

86. Hurting: ACHY. Boomer woke up Saturday morning with back pain. Made me nervous. He did feel better later on. This bone cancer is sure tough!

87. John in London: LOO.

90. Separately: APIECE.

91. Garlicky sauce: AIOLI.

93. Chewed persistently: GNAWED ON.

97. Former name of Myanmar's most populous city: RANGOON.

98. Asian celebration: TET. Same day as our Spring Festival. Feb 5, 2019.

99. Welcome: GREET.

100. They may empty in a brawl: BENCHES.

102. Actress Plummer: AMANDA.

104. NATO alphabet letter after Romeo: SIERRA.

107. Rainbowlike: ARCED.

108. Cara of "Fame": IRENE.

111. Bangers partner: MASH.

112. Gym site: YMCA.

113. Skier's aid: T-BAR.

114. Put in a position: HIRE. And 123. No longer working: Abbr.: RET.
 
115. Sympathetic sounds: AWS.

117. Jared of "Suicide Squad": LETO.

118. Where Cork is: EIRE.

119. Dudley Do-Right's org.: RCMP.

120. 32-card game: SKAT.

Boomer Updates:

He had one more blood draw last Thursday, the result is still not posted on his "My HealtheVet" account.

He will have another blood draw on January 9th and every month in 2019. VA Pharmacy Care will follow up every time he has the blood draw. If Boomer's numbers (kidney and liver) are normal, The Pharmacy Care will send us one more month of Zytiga & prednisone.

Thanks again for your love and support this year. It would be a much tougher journey without you guys here constantly cheering up Boomer and giving me advice.


Have a healthy and happy 2019!

C.C.