Sunday August 18, 2024 Rebecca Goldstein

Theme: "Toss and Turn" - Synonyms of "throw" are placed directly under BUS.

22. "The Biggest Small Town in America": COLUMBUS.

26. Seem legit: PASS THE SMELL TEST.

49. Way of the samurai: BUSHIDO CODE.

54. Chat with an investor who gets in on the ground floor?: ELEVATOR PITCH.

77. Three-martini meal depicted in "Mad Men": BUSINESS LUNCH.

83. Hot romance?: SUMMER FLING.

97. Ghost follower: BUSTER.

Reveal:

102. Betray for personal advantage, and what's depicted five times in this puzzle: THROW UNDER THE BUS.

113. Stuff in a skillet: CAST IRON.

 

Stunning construction!

For stacking gimmick, we often see a short upper or lower entry, but in this puzzle, all the theme entries are at least 8-letter long except BUSTER. Also, except the I in FLING, every other "throw" letter under the B is a consonant. This makes the B? slot hard. 

Across:

1. Duolingo awards: BADGES.

7. Blow one's stack at the poker table?: LOSE BIG. Nice fill and clue.

14. Peach center: PIT. I love white peaches.

17. Not sustain, in a way: OVERRULE.

20. Lovingly, on a score: AMOROSO.

21. Breakfasted: ATE. Do you all use breakfast as a verb?

23. "Ask E. Jean" columnist: CARROLL.

24. Early operating system: UNIX.

25. Toss a chip into the pot: ANTE.

29. Real beaut: LULU.

31. Icy coat: HOAR.

32. Aches (for): YEARNS.

33. Streamer's device, briefly: CAM.

36. Hold: POSSESS.

38. Letter after upsilon: PHI.

41. All __ jazz: THAT.

42. In the thick of: AMIDST.

44. Chuckle noise: HEE.

45. "__ noches": BUENAS. Chinese for "good night" is very short: "wan an".

47. Gem surface: FACET.

48. Celebrity chef Tila: JET. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he was born to Thai Chinese parents.

57. DNA depiction: GENE MAP.

58. Points of pride?: GAY BARS. Another great fill and clue.

59. Skulk member: FOX. A group of foxes is a skulk.

60. Copenhagener, e.g.: DANE.

61. More artful: DEFTER.

65. GPS heading: ENE.

66. Friendly reminder, for short: PSA.

68. Come to the surface: EMERGE.

70. "My word": I SAY.

71. Permanent body art: TAT.

73. Author Sendak: MAURICE. "Where the Wild Things Are" was made into a movie.

75. Parade official: MARSHAL.

85. Scroogian outburst: BAH.

86. Accustom: INURE.

87. Long-eared hound: BEAGLE.

88. Gov. lawyers: DAS.

89. Shoe holder at an airport, for short: TSA BIN.
 
90. Munich pub order: BIER. Plural is "Biere".

93. Tapas seasoning: SAL.

94. Pollutes: LITTERS.

96. GPS displays: STS.

99. Epic party: BASH.

100. Frosh residence, often: QUAD.

107. German Film Award: LOLA. The statuette is called Lola.

111. Abba of the Knesset: EBAN.

112. Modern genre with dark elements: NEO NOIR.

115. Vote for: AYE.

116. Maslany of "Orphan Black": TATIANA. Canadian actress.

117. Neat and trim: CLEAN CUT.

118. Letters on an Australia trip itinerary: MEL. Melbourne.

119. Iditarod entrant: SLED DOG.

120. In no way looks forward to: DREADS.

Down:

1. Mouth of the Orinoco?: BOCA. Boca means "Mouth" in Spanish.

2. Maker of Anew skin care products: AVON. Just filed bankruptcy.

3. Shoulder press target, briefly: DELT.

4. Unappealing grub: GRUEL.

5. "Uh" equivalent: ERM.

6. Second story?: SUB-PLOT. OK, secondary story.

7. Milk sugar: LACTOSE.

8. Indigenous Nebraskans: OMAHAS.

9. Knottier, maybe: SORER.

10. __ on the side of caution: ERRS.

11. Fireworks sound: BOOM. Fireworks are supposed to scare away evil spirit Nian. Chinese New Year is called "Xin Nian".

12. Speck in the sea: ISLE.

13. "Goodness me": GOLLY.

14. "You Pick Two" chain: PANERA.

15. "You might want to check again": IT ISN'T.

16. Chats on the phone: TEXTS.

18. Feasts with fire dancers: LUAUS.

19. Snaky shape: ESS.

24. Four Corners state: UTAH.

27. Roasting option: SHEET PAN.

28. Discloses: LETS ON.

30. Act better than, in a way: UPSTAGE.

33. Espresso shop: CAFE.

34. Activist Clooney: AMAL.

35. Little cupboard raiders: MICE.

37. Rainbow __: frozen dessert: SHERBET.

38. Hard work before a deadline: PUSH.

39. Chuckle noise: HEH.

40. Montoya who sought a six-fingered man: INIGO. In "The Princess Bride".

43. David Copperfield portrayer Patel: DEV.

45. Tampa Bay pro: BUC.

46. Pitching aces?: AD EXECS. Product-pitching.

48. Bliss: JOY.

49. K-pop boy band: BTS.

50. Surrender: CEDE.

51. Representative Ilhan: OMAR. She's in Connie's district.

52. "Aw shoot!": DANG.

53. Blade in a bout: EPEE.

55. Tuna tail?: TARTARE. Tuna tartare.

56. Outrage: IRE.

59. Region that includes Indonesia and Japan: FAR EAST.

61. Loses brightness: DIMS.

62. Hairy biblical twin: ESAU.

63. Produce produce: FARM. Look at this zucchini walnut bread Janice sent to me. So so good. Boomer's mouth would be watering.

64. Short message of appreciation: TYSM. Thank You So Much.

66. Father, in Portuguese: PAI. Learning moment for me. Now we can avoid the [__ gow poker] clue angle.

67. Catch some rays: SUNBATHE.

69. Songwriter Etheridge: MELISSA.

72. Italian racers, familiarly: ALFAS. Tony's Alfa Romeo.

73. Arena at Penn Sta.: MSG. Madison Square Garden. Penn Station.

74. "That's sorta right": ISH.

76. __ National: kosher brand: HEBREW. We also have 91. Setting for "Fauda" and "Shtisel": ISRAEL.

77. Legislative creation: BILL.

78. French article: UNE. And 79. Spanish article: UNA.

80. Apt rhyme for stubs: NUBS.

81. Lit __: CRIT.

82. Egg layers: HENS. Lay-ers.

84. Airport near Astoria: Abbr.: LGA.

88. Kitchen sink item: DISH RAG.

89. Tied up: TRUSSED.

90. "See ya!": BUH-BYE.

92. Posh British school: ETON.

94. Nicaragua native: LATINO.

95. Brand in blue packets: EQUAL.

97. Nonstarters: B TEAM. And 101. Spot for tackles in the NFL: D LINE.

98. Puny pups: RUNTS.

99. Inclusive: BROAD.

103. YouTube CEO Mohan: NEAL. Unknown to me also.

 

104. Love (on): DOTE.

105. Oklahoma city northwest of Oklahoma City: ENID.

106. Keep a guest list private, maybe: BCC.

108. Oceanic predator: ORCA.

109. Screaming, say: LOUD.

110. Insects with a pharaoh variety: ANTS.

114. La Brea __ Pits: TAR.

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