Theme: "Making A Dent" - DING is added to each theme entry.
23. Fraudulent budget increase for cleaning supplies?: BRILLO PADDING. Brillo pad.
33. Those waiting for Facebook friend acceptance?: PENDING PALS. Pen pals.
40. Pre-flight pandemonium?: WILD BOARDING. Wild boar.
65. Banking at a beach ATM?: FUNDING IN THE SUN. Fun in the sun.
91. Growing bulb?: BUDDING LIGHT. Bud Light.
97. Major curves on a mountain road?: EPIC WINDING. Epic win.
113. Ocean trip for relationship strengthening?: BONDING VOYAGE. Bon voyage.
I remember we had a DING deletion theme a while ago. Not a DING addition.
Great title! Our standard Sunday word, black square count. A bit heavier on names in the fill.
Across:
7. Honi's comics dad: HAGAR. "Hägar the Horrible".
12. Jungian concerns: PSYCHES.
19. Ricky Martin's surname, by birth: MORALES. Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales.
21. Mindless: INANE.
22. Stuffed meat dish: ROULADE. Is it a familiar dish to you?
25. Together: EN MASSE.
26. Walk in the park, say: AMBLE.
27. Ending with neur-: OSES.
28. Role for Ingrid: ILSA. "Casablanca".
30. False __: STEP.
31. Lucie's dad: DESI. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem play Lucy and Ricky in "Being the Ricardos".
32. Start of a classic dramatic question: ET TU.
36. Iain's negative: NAE.
38. Concerning: IN REGARD TO. Or "with regard to".
44. Big spreads: ESTATES.
49. Challenge, as testimony: IMPEACH.
50. Air issues org.: EPA.
51. "I knew it __ you": WAS.
53. "Oy vey!": AH ME.
54. Seal the deal: SIGN.
55. Hungry request: MORE. Next Tuesday is Chinese Spring Festival. I'm hungry for jiazi.
57. Fire: CAN.
58. Folding ladder feature: A FRAME.
60. H, to Kronos: ETA. Who's Kronos? I'm more familiar with Cronus spelling.
61. Word of accusation: LIAR.
63. Mil. rhyme for "Yahtzee": ROTC. New clue angle.
64. Lost steam: SLOWED.
69. Shape-fitting game: TETRIS.
72. "The __ Show": GONG. Here's Gong Li, the most famous Chinese actress.
73. Feed bag bits: OATS.
74. Deg. of distinction: PHD.
77. Just about: ALMOST.
78. Letters to a lender: IOU.
79. Part of CPA: Abbr.: CERT. Certified.
81. Modeling supply: GLUE.
82. Stray: ROAM.
83. Atl.-based network: CNN.
84. Shut out: BAN.
85. Embrace, as a custom: ESPOUSE.
88. Ancient Assyrian capital: NINEVEH. No idea. Wikipedia says it
"was the largest city in the world for approximately fifty years until
the year 612 BC. Today, it is a common name for the half of Mosul that
lies on the eastern bank of the Tigris."
93. First Black person to host a successful TV variety show: FLIP WILSON.
96. Whole lot: TON.
101. Record speeds, for short: RPMS.
103. "__ Smile": Hall & Oates hit: SARA.
107. Park way: PATH.
108. Scott of "Hawaii Five-0": CAAN.
109. "Oh": I SEE.
110. Statehouse official: Abbr.: LT GOV.
111. At Notre Dame, say: IN PARIS. Notre Dame de Paris.
117. Saw-toothed: SERRATE.
118. Strand at a chalet, say: ICE IN.
119. More frivolous: SILLIER.
120. Like a best friend: CLOSEST.
121. One of the Allman Brothers: GREGG. He was married to Cher for sometime.
122. Lots: PLENTY.
Down:
1. Boast in a 1987 Michael Jackson hit: I'M BAD.
2. "Chestnuts roasting ..." co-writer: TORME.
3. Exam no-nos: CRIBS.
4. Tony winner who portrayed TV's Barney Miller: HAL LINDEN.
5. Vogue alternative: ELLE.
6. __ gratias: DEO.
7. Use to conceal, as a bed: HIDE UNDER.
8. Added conditions: ANDS.
9. Chicken, in a Cantonese dish: GAI. Moo goo gai pan.
10. Wilson of Heart: ANN.
11. Saskatchewan capital: REGINA.
12. What a chair does: PRESIDES. Chairperson.
13. Spoken sounds: SONANTS. Learning moment for me.
14. "Delish!": YUM. Yummers on our blog.
15. Simple fastener: CLASP.
16. "__ mañana": HASTA.
17. Car that didn't go far: EDSEL.
18. Percolates: SEEPS.
20. Precise location: SPOT.
24. Moving: ASTIR.
29. Pres. or CEO: LDR. Leader.
32. Fed. anti-discrimination org.: EEOC.
33. __ Palace: castle on the Portuguese Riviera: PENA. Another learning moment.
34. Word with white or cream: EGG.
35. "America's __ Talent": GOT.
37. Legal gp.: ABA.
39. Ready: RIPE.
40. One way to crack: WISE.
41. "You found the right person": I'M IT.
42. Patti Tavatanakit was its Rookie of the Year for 2021: Abbr.: LPGA. She's a Thai.
43. Jazz pianist __ Jamal: AHMAD.
45. Quarterback Rodgers: AARON. Packers.
46. Soften: THAW.
47. One-named body-image advocate: EMME.
48. Sesame __: SEED.
51. Bulb measure: WATT.
52. Nightly news figure: ANCHOR.
56. Where it all started: ORIGIN.
57. One side of an issue: CON. And PRO.
58. Mgr.'s second-in-command: ASST.
59. Wintry strains: FLUS.
61. California's San __ Obispo: LUIS.
62. Part of MIT: Abbr.: INST.
63. Fix: RIG.
65. "The most striking figure in Starkfield," in a Wharton classic: FROME. Ethan Frome.
66. Twelve, half the time: NOON.
67. African antelope: GNU.
68. Polished off: EATEN.
69. Alpine lake: TARN.
70. Weena's race, in a Wells classic: ELOI. "The Time Machine". Morlocks eat them.
71. IRS agent: T MAN.
74. Bit of talk show self-promotion: PLUG.
75. One may fall over a crowd: HUSH.
76. Something specific, informally: DEET. Detail.
79. Heels: CADS.
80. Showing support for: ENDORSING.
81. Take a limo, say: GO IN STYLE.
83. Special occasion service: CHINA SET. Carmen's special Spring Festival flowers. I don't know the name of the flowers in that big red Fortune vase, Carmen said they were very pricey.
84. Sofia's home: Abbr.: BULG. Bulgaria. They produce the best roses.
86. Some NCOs: SGTS.
87. Arafat's gp., once: PLO.
89. Group for ex-GIs: VFW.
90. Brings forth: ELICITS.
91. Recycling receptacle: BIN.
92. How deals are usually sealed: IN PEN.
94. Kissing at the bar, briefly: PDA. Public Display of Affection.
95. Hit the jackpot: WIN BIG.
97. Protestant denom.: EPISC.
98. Group of experts: PANEL.
99. Geek Squad member, for short: IT PRO.
100. Burns a little: CHARS.
102. Parts of gigs: MEGS.
104. Word from a coach: AGAIN.
105. Where to find words for words: ROGET.
106. Label giant: AVERY. By the way, where do you get your return address labels?
109. "Gotcha, man": I DIG.
110. Loaf: LOLL.
112. Pop's Carly __ Jepsen: RAE. "Call Me Maybe" .
114. Text-scanning tech.: OCR.
115. Called before: NEE.
116. Limo passenger: VIP.
Boomer's radiation went well last week. He did scare me on Monday when he had a fall inside the radiation room. His left knee sometimes buckles, even with the walker. Thankfully no more accidents after that. He handled the extreme cold and long walks like the old Boomer!
We start more rounds of VA hospital visits on Feb 7, not daily, just two to three times a week for his PT, OT, chemo (will know more soon), MRI and other scans, neurosurgeon follow-up, spinal cord injury follow-up, diabetes visit, etc.
C.C.
