23. Coiffure created using a mirror?: SELF-MADE MANE. Self-made man.
25. Catholic leader appealing to a younger demographic?: TEEN POPE. Teen pop. Wiki says "Pope John XI (931–935) was 20 at the beginning of his papacy. Youngest pope.
41. Aggressive tie feature?: POWER STRIPE. Power strip.
46. Becoming a full-grown dog?: PUPPY FATE. Puppy fat.
66. Topper for a tiny barn?: MINI VANE. Mini van.
70. Result of a hotel sprinkler malfunction?: WET SUITE. Wet suit.
89. Abundant greens?: BUNNY HOPE. Bunny hop.
92. Sleazy bar offering?: INSTANT WINE. Instant win.
112. Sad Rogaine result?: DOWN PATE. Down pat. Fun image.
114. Superhero beachwear?: SWIMMING CAPE. Swimming cap. Should have avoided 16. Gown complement: CAP.
All the added E's are silent. No syllable is added to any of the entries. Did I miss any other layer?
Heavy themage. Total 10. Yet David still manages a 140-worder.
Across:
1. Apes: MIMICS.
7. Wise advisers: SAGES.
12. "That's how it __!": GOES.
19. Parks with games: ARENAS.
20. Plane figure: PILOT. I'm glad the Southwest pilot camera was just a joke. Scary.
21. Emotion linked to schadenfreude: ENVY.
22. "'I __ you liked your drink,' sez Gunga Din": OPE. Hope. And 90. Luck, to the Bard: HAP.
27. Pry: SNOOP.
28. Nailed: ACED.
29. School support gps.: PTAS.
31. '50s TV innovation: COLOR. My dad got us one in the late 1980s.
32. Longing: YEN.
33. Slender bit of stemware: FLUTE. This is Chinese flute Dizi.
35. Woos: COURTS.
37. Branch of Islam: SHIA.
38. One often seen in a parlor: PIANO. Our editor Rich Norris is a piano player.
39. Establish firmly: ENROOT.
40. Coll. major: ENG.
49. Soft leathers: SUEDES.
50. Convert to ready money: CASH IN.
52. Pharma offerings: MEDS.
53. Downed: ATE. And 63. Much party food: SNACKS. Guangzhou's 7-Eleven stores have wonderful snacks. I really miss those sticky rice dumplings.
54. Game with plenty of kicks: SOCCER.
57. Extremity: END.
58. Window coolers: ACS.
59. Some pvt. equity ventures: LBOS.
61. Ejection: OUSTER.
69. Not Rep. or Dem.: IND. And 45D. Strongly favoring one side: PARTISAN.
72. Termination: DEMISE.
73. Two trios: SESTET. Six.
75. Alike, in Arles: EGAL.
76. Tats: INK.
77. Letters on a tap: IPA. Beer tap.
79. Basilica display: MOSAIC.
82. Challenge to "You're wrong!": AM I
83. Horse hue: ROAN.
85. "Manic" time in a 1986 hit: MONDAY. Manic Monday.
87. Duped: FOOLED.
95. WWII carrier: LST.
96. Krishna, for Vishnu: AVATAR.
98. Events with vandalism: RIOTS.
99. Surprised greeting: OH HI.
101. Small size: PETITE. Do any of you shop at Express?
102. "Inferno" part: CANTO.
103. Wall et al.: Abbr.: STS.
106. Signs: OMENS.
108. Bento box staple: RICE. Japanese moms spend lots of time on their kids' bento box.
109. Sulk: POUT.
110. Inborn: NATAL.
117. Period: ERA.
118. Part of Xerxes I's realm, nowadays: IRAN. The king in "300". He has lots of piercings in the movie.
119. Where sailors go: TO SEA.
120. Called from a sty: OINKED.
121. "L.A. Law" actress: DEY (Susan)
122. Audition cry: NEXT.
123. Reactions to mosquitoes: SWATS. Mosquitoes here in MN are vicious.
124. Derisive looks: SNEERS.
Down:
1. Sizable: MASSY. Not a word I use.
2. Goddess of peace: IRENE.
3. Fruit served in balls: MELON.
4. Dope: INFO. Thanks for the info on your smart vacuums. I'll stick to dumb one.
5. Settings for many ghost stories: CAMPFIRES.
6. U.S. number-issuing agcy.: SSA.
7. Ronnie of the Ronettes: SPECTOR. Unfamiliar to me. The singer with the second tallest hair?
8. Actress Anouk: AIMEE.
9. Pleased: GLAD.
10. Geological period: EON.
11. Squish: STEP ON.
12. Elude: GET AROUND.
13. Convenient, as shopping: ONE-STOP. Tiny ONE dupe: 43. Tyke: WEE ONE.
14. Night before: EVE.
15. Coordinate audio and video: SYNC. My iPod Classic sometimes triggers the "Power surge on the USB port" error. Do any of you use a powered USB hub? Dell says I need one for 11-year-old iPod.
16. Asset in a crisis: COOL HEAD.
17. Names (to): APPOINTS.
18. House of Lords group: PEERAGE.
24. Frighten: DAUNT.
26. Places to buy stamps: Abbr.: POS. Post Offices.
30. Romanticized 18th-century highwayman Dick: TURPIN. Wiki says he's an "English highwayman whose exploits were romanticized following his execution in York for horse theft."
34. Dogie catcher: LASSO.
35. Middling grades: CEES.
36. Frequent auto race sponsor: STP.
38. One on foot, in signs: PED.
41. One of a Biblical 150: PSALM.
42. Offer more than: OUTBID.
44. Clinches: ICES.
47. Workout ctrs.: YMCAS.
48. Grass used on some golf greens: FESCUE. Never heard of the term.
51. Sheep tender: HERDSMAN.
55. Baskin-Robbins buy: CONE.
56. Word with stick or ball: CUE.
58. Army-forming insect: ANT.
60. Like a monkey: SIMIAN.
62. OKC-to-Tulsa dir.: ENE.
63. "Go __ Watchman": Harper Lee novel: SET A.
64. Rwanda's capital: KIGALI.
65. Pollen producer: STAMEN.
67. Title Brooklyn lawyer in an Alabama courtroom: VINNY. "My Cousin Vinny".
68. Want as a price: ASK.
70. Jazz guitarist Montgomery: WES.
71. Leave out, in speech: ELIDE.
74. Little dogs: TOYS.
77. In a hurry, maybe: IMPATIENT.
78. Appropriate for versification: POETIC.
80. Otherwise: IF NOT.
81. 18th/19th-century agricultural innovation: COTTON GIN. Eli Whitney invented it. Handpicking cotton is hard on hands.
83. Mount with carved heads: RUSHMORE.
84. Coming: ON THE WAY.
86. Ominous: DIRE.
88. Paper cut cries: OWS.
89. Full-__: purebred: BLOODED.
91. More than exhaust: OVERTAX.
93. Psychological wounds: TRAUMAS. Has any of you read Sebastian Junger's "Tribe"?
94. "__ a stinker?": Bugs Bunny: AIN'T I.
97. Manhattan Project projects: A TESTS.
100. Quaint stopover: INN.
102. Heavenly body with a tail: COMET.
103. Vampire's undoing: STAKE.
104. Slim candle: TAPER.
105. Flexible Flyers, e.g.: SLEDS.
107. PR firm's forte: SPIN.
109. Leaning Tower site: PISA. My favorite Pisa guy.
111. Common adolescent affliction: ACNE.
113. "You __ here": ARE.
115. "Golly!": WOW.
116. Refusals: NOS.
C.C.
