Sunday June 6, 2021 Pam Amick Klawitter

 

Theme: "Deactivated" - DE is added to each familiar phrase.

22A. Explanatory words on a map of dictators' homes?: X MARKS THE DESPOT. X marks the spot.

39A. Shipping delivery headache?: PACKAGE DETOUR. Package tour.

63A. Media barrage for Garcia's band?: DEAD BLITZ. Ad blitz.

84A. Northeastern fishing fleet?: LOBSTER DETAIL. Lobster tail.

105A. Valuable painting hanging in the potting shed?: GREEN HOUSE DEGAS. Greenhouse gas.

15D. Why the housing development was postponed?: DELAY OF THE LAND. Lay of the land.

45D. Post-rush hour elation?: TRAFFIC DELIGHT. Traffic light.

Veteran constructors like by D-Otto and Agnes might have gotten the theme before they even started solving. Sometimes title can be very helpful.

Our standard Sunday grid. Seven theme entries. Total 93 theme squares. My comfort level. No other fill is longer than 9-letter long. I think Pam purposely avoided that. She put two theme entries in Down slots and she did not want any theme entry confusion.

Across:

1. Thompson of "Westworld": TESSA.

 

6. 30 minutes at Lambeau Field: HALF.

10. Tabloid twosome: ITEM.

14. Dire March time: IDES.

18. Trade shows: EXPOS.

19. Hanoi's home: ASIA. You probably should remember "Ao Dai", their traditional dress. Someday you might see it a LAT grid.

20. Miffed: SORE.

21. That is, in Latin: ID EST.

25. Type of wheel or chart: COLOR.

26. Diplomat's asset: TACT.

27. Square root of nueve: TRES.  Uno, dos, tres.

28. Handshake alternatives: DAPS. Like this.

29. Way to heat up your sushi?: WASABI. I tried some on my Thanksgiving turkey last year. So good. I used tubed Wasabi of course. Never used fresh one. Very pricey.

30. Business address abbr.: STE.

31. Notable stretches: ERAS.

32. MLB VIPs: MGRS.

33. Sled-pulling pooch: SAMOYED. Unfamiliar to me. So fluffy.

34. Strikingly strange: EXOTIC.

36. Geometry product: AREA.

37. Read carefully, with "over": PORE.

38. Verb attachment: OSE.

42. Corp. money execs: CFOs.

43. Medieval musician: LUTIST.

46. Grafton's "__ for Noose": N IS.

47. Plum kin: APRICOT. Can't wait for the peach & pluot season.

49. Memo start: IN RE.

50. House attachment: LIEN.

52. One may be a lot: ACRE.

54. Garden center brand: ORTHO.

56. Author LeShan: EDA. Learned her name from doing crosswords.

57. "Whadya know!": MY MY.

58. Pub orders: ALES.

59. In a heated way: IRATELY.

61. Disney princess of the kingdom of Enchancia: SOFIA.The series is called "Sofia the First". She's voiced by Ariel Winter.

66. Guy found in kids' books: WALDO.

67. Set-up punch: LEFT JAB. Solid fill.

69. Heavy hammer: MAUL. Never heard of it.

70. Stir up: ROIL.

72. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU.

73. Do what he says: SIMON. Simon Says.

74. Goals: AIMS.

75. Cheryl of "Charlie's Angels": LADD.

76. Pizza chain, familiarly: UNOS.

77. Fords' White House successors: CARTERS.

79. Ref. work that added "livestream" in 2021: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

80. Pre-Easter purchase: EGG DYE.

82. In order: TIDY.

88. Alp ending: INE. Alpine.

89. Man caves, e.g.: DENS.

90. End of an ultimatum: ELSE.

91. Support groups: ALLIES.

94. Storm refuges: CELLARS.

96. O'Rourke of Texas: BETO. Wiki says this is a nickname for "Alberto" or "Roberto". Will be an interesting race if he runs for governor.

97. Barbecue rod: SPIT.

98. "Not interested": NAH.

100. They make an effort: TRIERS.

101. Glee club voice: ALTO.

102. She followed Guthrie at Woodstock: BAEZ (Joan)

103. Kunis of "Black Swan": MILA. Also 110. Ballet attire: TUTU.

104. Noble gas that sounds like a French forest: ARGON. Forest of Argonne.

108. Harry and Jack who co-founded Columbia Pictures: COHNS. Learning moment for me.

109. Poet Khayyám: OMAR.

111. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" character: COMMA. I bet this tricked some. We've seen ["I, Claudius" character] clue in the past.

 112. Span. miss: SRTA.

113. Sounds of scorn: TSKS.

114. Part of a plan: STEP. TTP is great technical writer. I always solve those blog glitches if I follow his steps.

115. Anticipate: AWAIT.

Down:

1. Uses WhatsApp or Viber: TEXTS. Not familiar with Viber. Owned by Rakuten, Japanese online giant.

2. Split result: EX-MATE.

3. Musk's Starship developer: SPACE X.

4. Organize by size, say: SORT.

5. Show curiosity: ASK.

6. Panama's place?: HAT RACK. Panama hat.

7. Firepit contents: ASHES.

8. Fairway considerations: LIES. Uphill lies are easier than downhill lies.

9. It's hot for a while: FAD.

10. "Insecure" actress: ISSA RAE. Nice to see her full name.

11. Company whose signature product resulted from a plan to sell more chewing gum: TOPPS. We sold many packs of old 1987 Topps cards at the flea market over the years. Once a guy ripped open the pack and popped the gum into his mouth. I was so afraid that he'd get sick.

12. Bow-toting god: EROS.

13. Came together: MET.

14. Kid's comeback: I DO SO.

16. Anka hit with a Spanish title: ESO BESO.

17. Big steps: STRIDES.

21. Start of Caesar's boast: I CAME.  The "Veni" in "Veni, vidi, vici".

23. "__ speaking ... ": STRICTLY.

24. Narrowly beat: EDGED.

29. Golden State NBAer: WARRIOR.

31. GPS calculations: ETAS.

32. C-ration successors: MREs. Meals, Ready to Eat.

33. Go bad, as milk: SOUR.

35. Pre-Richie TV role for Ron: OPIE. Ron Howard.

36. Opposite of fer: AGIN.

37. "An Essay on Man" poet Alexander: POPE.

40. Biblical words before and after "for": AN EYE.

41. Anklebones: TARSI.

42. Terra __: COTTA.

43. Fictional 16-year-old von Trapp girl: LIESL.

44. Cancels: UNDOES.

48. Constant news channel feature: CRAWL.

51. Film review site: IMDB.

52. Potter son named for Dumbledore: ALBUS.  This always reminds me of Argyle. At one time, this was his Facebook profile picture.

53. Texting vehicle: CELL.

55. Guy in an exclusive network: OLD BOY.

57. Collegiate focus: MAJOR.

58. Actor Driver: ADAM.

59. Big name in polos: IZOD.

60. Brooklyn "y'all": YOUSE.

62. "Could happen": IT MAY.

64. Off the mark: AMISS.

65. It has its tricks: TRADE.

68. Reindeer rack: ANTLERS.

71. Glorify: IDEALIZE.

74. Wall St. figures: ARBS. Arbitragers.

75. It may be buried: LEDE. Buried the lede.

76. Homely fruit?: UGLI. It's quite juicy. Try it.

78. Long stretches: EONS.

79. About: OR SO.

81. Gold-covered: GILT.

82. Low-calorie mints: TIC TACS.

83. By mistake: IN ERROR.

85. Looks unstable: TEETERS.

86. English John: ELTON.

87. Secures, as a carton: TAPES UP.

89. Mends a sock: DARNS.  Boomer really like Wigwam socks. Diabetic-friendly.

92. Real baffler: ENIGMA.

93. Italian sub layer: SALAMI.

95. "Run" singer Lewis: LEONA. British singer.

96. Stark: BLEAK.

97. Cook in a wok, say: SAUTE. The only way I cook. But with a T-fan pan though. We have flat stovetop.

99. Goes after: HAS AT.

101. Pitchers' assets: ARMS.

102. Ring event: BOUT.

103. Kitty comment: MEOW.

105. Picked up: GOT.

106. Cleveland __, OH: HTS. Heights.

107. Reagan Airport, on luggage tags: DCA.

C.C.