Sunday January 10, 2021 Fred Piscop

Theme: "Gimme a Hand!"* - The first word in each theme is a poker phrase.

22A. *Smell awful: DRAW FLIES.

24A. *Do a garage job: CHECK THE OIL.

103A. *Walk off the job: CALL A STRIKE.

105A. *Cause a disturbance: RAISE CAIN.

31D. *Speculate, in a way: DEAL IN FUTURES.
 
33D. *Have what it takes: CUT THE MUSTARD.

37D. *Do a washday chore: FOLD LAUNDRY.

42D. *Try to deceive one of the base runners: BLUFF A THROW.

We seldom see asterisks in LAT puzzle titles. Often puzzles with asterisks in the theme entries have a reveal in the grid. 

Fred put four theme entries Across and four in Down. Rich probably was worried the theme entries were not prominent for some solvers as we do have a few long 8s in the mix. Hence the asterisk.

This is a typical Fred Piscop construction. You won't see obscure names or weird abbrs in his grids. Only 14 three-letter entries. Plenty of common four - and five-entries.

Here's a picture of Fred with David Kahn & Liz Gorski, ACPT, 2011.

Across:

1. Fighting, after "at": ODDS.

5. Fabled loser: HARE.

9. Battle of heavyweights: SUMO. Adult sumo wrestlers can eat up to 10,000 calories a day.

13. Nail alternative: SCREW.

18. Turkish currency: LIRA.

19. Not quite round: OVAL.

20. Luxury sheet material: SATIN. Is it comfy though?

21. Slopping the hogs, e.g.: CHORE.

26. Shove off: SET SAIL.

27. Like loud crowds: AROAR.

29. Applied fragrant hair dressing to: POMADED. When I lived in Guangzhou in the late 1990s, lots of guys had this hairstyle in Guangzhou & Hong Kong area. Might be mousse. This is Andy Lau, by the way.

30. Tire pattern: TREAD.

32. Golden: AURIC.

34. Hanoi holiday: TET.

35. Social function: AFFAIR.

38. "Cast of thousands" member: EXTRA.

40. Davis Cup org.: USTA. United States Tennis Association. The women's equivalent of the Davis Cup is Billie Jean King Cup.

42. Many Eng. degrees: BAs.

45. Othello and kin: MOORS.

46. Titled women: DAMES. Helen Mirren is one.

47. Last checkbox, often: OTHER.

48. Set aflame: LIT.

49. Misfortunes: ILLS.

50. Tom and buck: MALES.

51. SAT prep teacher, often: TUTOR. Hi, Bill G!

Barbara & Bill

52. Firecracker part: FUSE.

53. "Toy Story" bully: SID. Google says he's the "evil neighbor kid of Andy".

54. Evaded the bouncer, maybe: GOT IN.

55. Bat-maker's tool: LATHE.

56. Go through quickly: RIFLE.

57. Reserve, as a date: HOLD OPEN.

59. Home with smoke flaps: TEPEE. Learning moment for me.

 

60. Dancing pro: HOOFER.

61. Suffix suggesting wealth: AIRE. Like "millionaire".

62. Ulna locale: FOREARM.

64. Chaplin of "Game of Thrones": OONA.

65. Drew out: EDUCED.

67. Many airport rides: UBERS.

68. E is the only vowel that doesn't begin any of their names: US STATES. Great clue angle.

72. Napkin material: LINEN.

73. Unemotional: STONY.

74. Destiny and source of the phoenix: ASHES.

75. Managed care gp.: HMO.

76. Some eligible receivers: ENDS.

77. Informed, with "in": CLUED.

78. Communion site: ALTAR.

79. Frigate front: PROW. Not STEM.
 
80. Tourist's rental: CAR. Now I realized that the Santa Fe we rented from Budget in Las Vegas must be their top-of-the-line car. Rental companies probably don't buy the most basic versions.

81. Nitpickers split them: HAIRS.

82. Of great scope: BROAD.

83. Composed tweets, say: WROTE. And 59. Gain popularity on Twitter: TREND.

84. Give it a whirl: TRY.

85. Cost to play: ANTE.

86. Brut, compared to sec: DRIER.

87. Ate, with "down": CHOWED. A few more food references: 88. Words with stew or pickle: IN A. 13D. Cream cheese serving: SCHMEAR. 56D. Turnips and parsnips: ROOTS. 58D. Prepares ham for an omelet, say: DICES.

89. Tender spots: SORES.

91. Took a chance: DARED.

93. Adorn with sequins: SPANGLE.

97. Toyed with, cat-style: PAWED.

99. Coming and going: GERUNDS. Chinese is much simpler, we just add "zheng zai" in front of all verbs.  Wo zheng zai type (I'm typing). Wo zheng zai eat. (I'm eating).

107. Photoshop, e.g.: ALTER.

108. Printer powder: TONER.

109. "Winning __ everything": ISN'T. It's the only thing in sports.

110. Austen classic: EMMA.

111. Stains on reputations: BLOTS.

112. Knocks out, in a way: AWES.

113. Flat-nosed dogs: PUGS.

114. Like some pockets: DEEP. When we go out, Boomer only wears his sweatpants with zipper pockets on. We also had a few scares with his wallet, Gary!

Down:

1. Auto pioneer: OLDS.

2. Potentially ruinous: DIRE.

3. "Doggone it!": DRAT.

4. Reacted to a punch: SAW STARS.

5. More saintly: HOLIER.

6. St. Teresa's home: AVILA.

7. "Norma __": RAE.

8. Designer Schiaparelli: ELSA.  We've been in "Frozen" land for a long while.

9. Roughly one-third of Africa: SAHARA.

10. Where embryos develop: UTERI.

11. Emcee's lapel attachment: MIC.

12. Like GIs in the kitchen: ON KP. Meal for a Chinese soldier. Those red berries in the soup are goji berries, nutrient-dense.

14. Play badly?: CHEAT.

15. Cross above an altar: ROOD.

16. Vowel-rich lake: ERIE.

17. Join with a blowtorch: WELD.

20. Rubs clean: SCOURS.

23. Anna of "The Emoji Movie": FARIS. She was married to Chris Pratt, who's now married to Katherine Schwarzenegger.

25. Wobble: TOTTER.

28. Hotels.com quotes: RATES.

35. Horse-and-buggy group: AMISH. There's sweet Amish family in our local Annadale flea market. They sell all kinds of jams.

36. Four-page sheet: FOLIO.

39. Magneto's enemies: X MEN. Ian McKellen played Magneto in "X-Men" movies.

 

41. Slipper, for one: SHOE.

43. Big-box store division: AISLE.

44. Rodeo bovine: STEER.

46. Take out: DATE.

47. __ Banks: OUTER. Never been there. We did drive to Myrtle Beach for a golf vacation ages ago.

50. Minibike relative: MOPED.

51. Cantina appetizers: TAPAS.

52. Shrek's love: FIONA.

54. "The Elements of Bridge" author Charles: GOREN.

55. Having one's doubts: LEERY.

60. Car washer, at times: HOSER.

63. Bassoon cousins: OBOES.

65. Send to the Hill: ELECT.

66. Currency of Jordan: DINAR.

69. Migratory herring: SHAD. Do you like pickled herrings? Most grocery stores have them on sale during the new year period. Probably a Minnesota thing.

70. Portray fury or fear: EMOTE.

71. Spread, as seed: SOWED.

73. X-Acto knife cut: SLIT.

74. Skin cream additive: ALOE.

77. Venice features: CANALS.

78. Respond to reveille: ARISE.

79. Manufactured: PRODUCED.

81. Homes for gliders: HANGARS. Star Tribune had an article saying that the flight schools here are much busier than before the pandemic. 

82. Suds maker: BREWER.

83. Placement word: WHERE.

86. Ducklings' dads: DRAKES.

87. Reaches a peak: CRESTS.

88. Chesapeake Bay, e.g.: INLET.

90. Offer a view: OPINE.

92. Winery process: AGING.

93. Worker during a walkout: SCAB.

94. Dark cloud: PALL.

95. Choral part: ALTO.

96. Kett of old comics: ETTA. Not many ways to clue this entry.

98. Faucet annoyance: DRIP.

100. Point a finger at: NAME. Name names.

101. Coin depicting a torch: DIME.

102. Totally lose it: SNAP.

104. Obey the coxswain: ROW.

106. Pac-12 sch.: ASU.

Happy birthday to dear JD, who has generously shared with us many of her grandkids' pictures over the years. This one was taken on at Cameron’s 4th birthday in 2014.

C.C.