Thursday, March 28, 2013 Jeff Hyson and Victor Barocas

Theme: "Whatever floats your boat!"

20A. New Year's Day staple, familiarly : ROSE BOWL PARADE. The official name is the "XXXth Rose Parade," sponsored by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation.

32A. Place to learn to crawl : SWIM CLASS. Australian or American crawl.

43A. It has a handle and flies : TACKLE BOX. Fun riddle for the clue!

56A. Place to split a split : ICE CREAM PARLOR. Aw, sweet.

And the unifier:

68A. What one might see in a 20-, 32-, 43- or 56-Across : FLOAT.

Just missing a V for a pangram (or Victor?) I was racking my brain, trying to figure out the theme as I went along. Nope. No chance. Without the unifier, I doubt if I would have "got" it. So I had a real "AHA" moment, which should please Victor no end. (^0^)

Marti here, blogging for our Thursday puzzlers. I have had the great pleasure of blogging a couple of Victor’s puzzles, so it was wonderful to see him team up here with another new constructor, Jeff Hyson (isn’t he some kind of tea I have spotted before in crosswords??) Unlike Jeff, BEQ’s #3 ACPT had me scratching my head. The first entry was CAPTCHA, if that will give you any hint…

Across:

1. Short glasses? : SPECS. I wanted "shots" at first.

6. 1979 exile : SHAH.

10. "Collective unconscious" coiner : JUNG. I put myself dangerously near to a coma by reading on and on about this. So, I will eschew any link...

14. Necklace material : CORAL.

Nicolaas Rubens wearing a coral necklace, by Peter Paul Rubens

15. Big Island port : HILO.

16. "Beauty ___ the eye..." : IS IN.

17. President who appointed Sotomayor to the Supreme Court : OBAMA.

18. Loads : A LOT.

19. Beatles movie : HELP.

23. One making sidelong glances : EYER. One who sees beauty?

24. Bias-___ tire : PLY.

25. Mil. roadside hazard : IED. Improvised Exploding Device.

26. Highest of MLB's "minors" : AAA. Division in the minor league of baseball.

28. Ode relic : URN.

29. Animation unit : CEL.

37. "Harold and Maude" director Hal : ASHBY.

39. Aptly named 22-Down : LE CAR. And 22-Down. 39-Across automaker : RENAULT. French automaker.

40. Band since 1980 that disbanded in 2011 : R.E.M. The name was chosen at random from a dictionary.

41. Freeway no-no : U-TURN.

42. "The Wizard of Oz" device : IRONY.

45. Comăneci score : TEN. At the 1976 Olympics, Nadia became the first female gymnast to score a perfect "10."

46. "Now I ___ me..." : LAY.

48. Getting-in approx. : ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.

49. 90210, e.g. : ZIP.

50. Stylist's supply : GEL.

52. Run in the heat? : MELT.

60. Goes downhill fast : SKIS. The season is winding down, but there's still some great skiing out there.

61. Ricelike pasta : ORZO.

62. Worthless : SORRY. As in, "You're a sorry excuse for a man!"

63. Confined, with "up" : PENT.

64. "Terrif!" : NEAT.

65. Lena and others : OLINS.

66. Surfers' guides : FAQS. Internet surfers. Frequently Asked Questions.

67. ___ qua non : SINE. Latin for "without which [there would be] nothing."

Down:

1. Make a point : SCORE.

2. NOLA sandwich : PO' BOY. A New Orleans, Louisiana classic. Where's your favorite place to get them, Hahtoolah?

3. Wipe clean : ERASE.

4. One concerned with composition and angles : CAMERA MAN.

5. Hunk : SLAB. Oh. Sorry, I was thinking of this kind of hunk.

6. Wrapped accessory : SHAWL.

7. Like links golf courses : HILLY.  "Link" comes from Old English "hlinc," which means "ridge." Links courses are typically found along the seashore, built on sand dunes.

8. Crooked : ALOP.

9. Bloviator's talk : HOT AIR. Love that word!  I'm going to use it in a sentence today.

10. Muslim holy war : JIHAD.

11. Exploited : USED.

12. "Aida" backdrop : NILE.

13. Macroeconomics fig. : GNP. Gross National Product. Jazzbumpa knows everything about economics.

21. Gem for a Scorpio, perhaps : OPAL.

27. Fake nail material : ACRYLIC. Don't they look real?

28. "Semper Fi" org. : USMC. Short form of "Semper Fidelis" ("Always Loyal"), the motto of the United States Marine Corps.

29. Carp family fish : CHUB. Pretty fish.

30. Spanish Civil War battle site : EBRO. The Ebro river was the site of one of the bloodiest and most devastating battles of the war.  Map.

31. Snowshoe hare hunter : LYNX.

32. Narrow cut : SLIT.

33. Are in the past? : WERE. Fun clue!

34. Emblem : ICON.

35. Pretentiously showy : ARTY.

36. "Wide Sargasso ___": Jean Rhys novel : SEA.

38. Overpower : STEAMROLL.

44. Plant in an underwater forest : KELP.

47. Golf green borders : APRONS.

49. Citrus peels : ZESTS.

50. Certain strip native : GAZAN. From this strip.

51. Overact : EMOTE.

53. California town whose name means "the river" : EL RIO. Pop. 7,198.

54. Doone who turned out to be Lady Dugal's daughter : LORNA.

55. Secret rendezvous : TRYST.

56. Furniture store that also sells Swedish meatballs : IKEA.

57. Quatre et un : CINQ. 4+1=5. French.

58. "...___ saw Elba" : ERE I. Our favorite crossword palindrome.

59. Starting from : AS OF.

60. No. at the beach : SPF. Sun Protection Factor. Dennis knows how important this is!

See you all next week!

Hugs,

Marti

Wednesday, March 27, 2013 C. C. Burnikel

Theme:  Just take it two days at a time.  Common words that can all precede the word "DAY" and thus describe a recognized event are stacked in the puzzle so that they can be considered paired.

13A. *Shady spot : ARBOR.  A garden alcove formed by trees or climbing plants over a trellis.  ARBOR DAY.  A day devoted to the planting and care of trees, nationally on the last Friday in April, but at various times from January through May around the continental U.S. and the first Friday of Nov. in Hawaii.

16A. *Furry forecaster? : GROUNDHOG. A burrowing rodent (Marmota monax), also known as the woodchuck, whistle-pig, or land-beaver.  Nobody knows how much wood it would chuck.  GROUNDHOG DAY.  Feb 2. when the eponymous rodent is coaxed from its cozy hole in the ground to give a mostly inaccurate prediction about the duration of winter.  Also the title and subject of a now classic movie.

27A. *Jolly Roger, e.g. : FLAG. A piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, a signaling device, or decoration.  Roger's design is more distinctive than jolly.

FLAG DAY.  Celebrated on June 14th, commemorates the adoption of the U.S. Flag by the 2nd Continental Congress on that day in 1777.

30A. *Formal beginning : INAUGURATION.  The start of a new operation, practice or administration.  INAUGURATION DAY.  The day of the official swearing in of a U. S. president to signal the beginning of her/his administration.

45A. *Freedom from control : INDEPENDENCE.  A condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population exercise self-government.   INDEPENDENCE DAY.  Celebrated in the U.S. on July 4th, commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence of the 13 colonies from the Kingdom of Great Britain.  The rest is history.

48A. *Leave the ground : LEAP.  Launch oneself skyward, an activity that before which one should generally look.

LEAP DAY.  Feb 29, the added day in leap year, making the most miserable month even longer.  Big mistake, IMHO.

61A. Big name in publishing, and a visual hint to the three adjacent pairs of answers to starred clues : DOUBLEDAY.   Famous publisher of many fiction and non-fiction books.  DOUBLE  DAY.  Two days at a time, or one day at a time if you live under a double star.

Hi, gang, it's JzB guiding you though a nifty DOUBLE play turned by our fearless leader and dynamic soloist.  Come along, let's make a day [or two] of it.

Across:

1. '60s activist Bobby : SEALE.  Co-founder of the Black Panther Party

6. Forward sail : JIB.  A triangular staysail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel.

9. Flavonoids-rich berry : ACAI.  Comes from a variety of palm tree.

14. Mesabi Range output : ORE.  I can dig it.

15. Not for minors : ADULT.  The minors can't dig it.  Relates to the language, visuals or situations of a publication or production.

18. Chain with a red cowboy hat logo : ARBY'S.  They have a good fish sandwich this time of year.

19. Some spring rolls? : SOD.  Rolls of green grass.  Clever.

20. Former "Today" co-anchor Curry : ANN.  Her departure was not amiable.

21. Plant sold in animal-shaped pots : CHIA.    Makes a great gift.

22. Gave away, as true feelings : LET ON. As ANN did on her last Today day.

25. One __ time : AT A.  Unless you live under a double sun.

33. Lip balm stuff : ALOE.  Common ointment for puzzlers.

35. Subleased : RELET.

36. __-ray Disc : BLU.

37. Gives substance to, with "out" : FLESHES.  Otherwise all you have is a skeleton.

39. Decks out : ATTIRES.  Puts clothing on. After fleshing out. Proper sequencing is important.

41. L.A.'s __ Center: second-tallest building in California : AON.  A mere 62 stories, located at 707 Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles.

42. Salsa ingredient : ONION.  Tomatillo doesn't fit.

44. Hard-to-hit server : ACER.  An unreturnable serve is an ACE.

49. Stoplight color : RED.  Poorly timed ones make me see RED.

50. "Done!" : THERE!  See! Told ya'!

53. Vagrant : HOBO.  A wandering laborer, not just an ordinary bum. Vagrants are beggars, so this isn't quite right.

55. PSAT takers : JRS.  High School juniors take the Pre-Scholastic Achievment Test.

57. Acct. accrual : INT.  If accounts accrue interest, do no-accounts accrue disinterest?

59. Summers in China? : ABACI.  The original digital calculators.  Clever again.

64. "My Little Grass Shack" singer : DON HO.  Is his little grass shack filled with tiny bubbles?

65. Die down : EBB.  As when the bubbly goes flat.

66. Hoover rival : ORECK.  Vacuum cleaners.

67. A&W rival : DAD'S.  Old Fashioned Root Beer.  Full of tiny bubbles.

68. Versatile Scrabble tile : ESS. The letter "S" spelt out.

69. Small bite : TASTE. 

Down:

1. Loses muscle tone : SAGS. Not to be confused with Cooper's Droop.

2. Dashing Flynn : ERROL.  Famous buckler of swashes.

3. Dwelling : ABODE.  The place where I abide

4. Reed of The Velvet Underground : LOU.  Not my cup of Earl Grey.  YMMV.

5. Compass point ending : ERN.  Suffix for East-; West-; North-; and South-.  Any direction the sea-eagle may fly.

6. Poet Keats : JOHN  A quote:

For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake

7. Historic toolmaking period : IRON AGE.  After the bronze age, metallurgy became more sophisticated, and men learned to make useful things out of iron, a. much harder and more durable metal. 

8. Importune : BEG.  What HOBOS don't do.

9. Lacking purpose : ADRIFT.  Much better than being ASEA.

10. Tropical rum drink : CUBA LIBRE. Rum and Coke over ice with a lime wedge.  Probably not Tinbeni's cup of Earl Grey.

11. Prince __ Khan : ALY.  I wanted AGA, but that was his dad.

12. "__ in the bag!" : IT'S.  It is.  Really

15. "That hits the spot!" : AAH.  Like a nice cold CUBA LIBRE.

17. "Body of Proof" actress Delany : DANA.  Cute, but I don't recognize her.

21. Insertion symbol : CARET.   This thing "^" tells you where to put it in.

23. Cancún uncles : TIOS.  Spanish.

24. Like many an easy grounder : ONE HOP.  Who would have imagined our first baseball reference wouldn't occur until 24D?

26. New Orleans school : TULANE. 

28. IM user : AOLER.  AOL users can send Instant Messages to other AOL users

 

29. Safari sights : GNUS.  A word derived from the indigenous Khoikhoi name for the Wildebeest, the Afrikaans name for wild cattle.

31. Like grizzlies : URSINE.  They go bear in the woods.

32. Tack on : ATTACH. [Cf 59D]

33. Solo : ALONE.  As in flying an airplane, performing music, or constructing a crossword puzzle

34. Pitch in : LEND A HAND.  Help somebody

37. Flunk out : FAIL.

38. Año beginner : ENERO.  January begins the year.  Más españoles.

40. Slurpee cousin : ICEE.  Do you suppose Tinbeni enjoys these?

43. PennySaver ad subjects : ODD JOBS.  Or, what HOBOS might do.

46. Big times : EPOCHS.  Can denote any of various times or time spans; geologically speaking, less than a period and greater than an age.

47. Black-box analyzers: Abbr. : NTSB.  National Transportation Safety Board

51. Takes for a spin : RIDES. 

52. Pass : ENACT.  As, a law.

54. Theater program item : BIO.  Biography

 

56. Chafes : RUBS.  Probably the wrong way.

58. Little one : TYKE.

59. Tack on : ADD. Hey look - a clecho! [Cf 32D]

60. Accessorizing wrap : BOA.  A long thin stole of feathers or fur worn around a woman's neck

61. Below-average grade : DEE.  The letter "D" spelt out.

62. Parking place : LOT.  For some reason I had a LOT of trouble with this one.

63. Stat for R.A. Dickey : ERA.  Earned Run Average.  And a perfect ending with some more baseball. Robert Allen Dickey is a pitcher who has bounced around both leagues, spent some time with the Twins, and is now with the Blue Jays.  Last year, while with the Mets he led the N.L. in strikeouts, and won the Cy Young award.

OK, folks, THERE!  A fun puzzle with a clecho, some top-notch pitching and a ONE HOP hit into a DOUBLE play.  Hope you enjoyed the game.  See ya' next time.

Cool Regards!

JzB

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: Shoot! - Various projectiles start off today's theme entries.

17A. Sleight-of-hand scam : SHELL GAME. The classic hide the pea under one of three walnut shells.

30A. Agenda item : BULLET POINT. The dot before item in a list.

49A. Filmed like most of today's films : SHOT IN COLOR

65A. Fight fiercely to the end : SLUG IT OUT

70A. Armory supply, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 30-, 49- and 65-Across : AMMO

Argyle here. A well stocked armory may even have stones for your sling shot.

Across:

1. PC screens largely replaced by LCDs : CRT's. liquid crystal display/cathode ray tube

5. Exchange goodbyes : PART

9. Breed, as salmon : SPAWN. A major event for grizzly bears, bald eagles and ad men.

14. Ghostly glow : AURA

15. "Nothin' doin'!" : "UH, UH!"

16. "Dallas" matriarch : ELLIE. A character on the TV series, Dallas, Miss Ellie was portrayed by Barbara Bel Geddes.

19. Cold temperatures : TEENS

20. Fountain of Rome : TREVI. Facts of Trevi Fountain LINK.

21. Levies on smokes and booze : SIN TAXES

23. Prefix with present : OMNI

26. Playfully shy : COY

27. Houston of Texas : SAM. LINK. A great example of the use of bullet points.

36. World's largest rainforest : AMAZONIA

38. Pearl Jam singer Eddie : VEDDER. Here doing a solo with Clarence(his electric ukulele) on Letterman. LINK.(4:05)

39. Early whirlybird, for short : GIRO. It seems gyro means other things although they share the same Greek root.

40. Winding curve : ESS

42. Body wash brand : OLAY. "I love the smell of OLAY cream (the original). Been using it since my college days." C.C., July 21, '09.

43. Dressy ties : ASCOTS

46. Mariachi's headwear : SOMBRERO

51. Hyphenated ID : SSN. xxx-xx-xxxx

52. Fair-hiring abbr. : EOE. (Equal Opportunity Employer)

53. Wax-wrapped cheese : EDAM. Question: Which cheese appears most in crosswords?

55. Alphabet soup, so to speak : MIXED BAG

60. Have an inkling : SENSE

64. Abrasive mineral : EMERY

68. Barely burn : SINGE

69. Continental cash : EURO

71. Left one's seat : STOOD

72. Slight impression : DENT

73. Author Uris : LEON. Published Exodus in 1958.

Down:

1. Plaster bandage : CAST

2. Essen's region : RUHR. Germany.

3. "Magic __ House": kiddie lit series : TREE. Jack and Annie's Excellent Adventures

4. Battleship barrage : SALVO. Spitzboov, care to share one of your favorite photos?

5. Curly-tailed pooch : PUG

6. "So that's what that means!" : "A-HA!"

7. Caribbean liquors : RUMS

8. It might be broken at a party : THE ICE. You'll need it for the Piña Coladas.

9. Prepare some letterpress printing : SET TYPE. Speaking of old type setting equipment...Irish Miss, how is the Times Union doing with their new press? (It broke down on the second day in use.)

10. Appeal : PLEA

11. Author Haley : ALEX. "Roots: The Saga of an American Family".

12. Bistro beverage : WINE

13. Stack's role in "The Untouchables" : NESS

18. "How low can you go?" competition : LIMBO. LOL Now the question is how low can I go and still get back up.

22. Grounding rule, perhaps : NO TV

24. Convent resident : NUN

25. "On second thought, that's not true" : "I LIE"

27. Long stories : SAGAs

28. Pennsylvania Mennonites : AMISH

29. Call before "Polo!" : "MARCO!"

31. Dogie catcher : LASSO

32. Reminder to take out the trash? : ODOR

33. Fritters away time : IDLEs

34. Gets within a stone's throw of : NEARS. The first ammo?

35. Check for size : TRY ON

37. Type of baggy '40s suit : ZOOT

41. One and only : SOLE

44. Colored, hippie-style : TIE-DYED

45. Snooty sort : SNOB

47. '60s chic : MOD

48. "The Godfather" hoodlum Luca : BRASI. Luca Brasi was a feared personal enforcer for the Corleone family.

50. Discontinued : CEASED

54. Lead or zinc : METAL

55. Military chow hall : MESS

56. "You're looking at the one and only" : "I'M IT"

57. Strange: Pref. : XENO

58. Therefore : ERGO

59. Scrapbook adhesive : GLUE

61. Alaskan seaport : NOME. Way up north, end point of the Iditarod.

62. Osaka wrestler : SUMO

63. Henry VI's school : ETON

66. Spigoted server : URN

67. Came down with : GOT. I hope you are all feeling well.

Argyle

Monday, March 25, 2013 David Steinberg

Theme: Flippers - Eight, count 'em, eight two word entries that make sense no matter which word comes first.

13A. Borscht vegetable : RED BEET. There are other colored beets with a slightly different taste.

15A. Aromatic hybrid blossom : TEA ROSE. So named for their tea scent.

19A. Original M&M's filling : MILK CHOCOLATE. Now with a variety of fillings, including dark chocolate, crisped rice, mint chocolate, peanuts, almonds, orange chocolate, coconut, pretzel, wild cherry, cinnamon, raspberry, and peanut butter. Get them for Easter.

35A. Product of boiled sap : MAPLE SUGAR. A timely entry.

41A. Tree with brilliant foliage : SUGAR MAPLE

54A. Brown cow product? : CHOCOLATE MILK. Old joke: Where does chocolate milk come from? Brown cows!

63A. Beverage blend using buds : ROSE TEA. I prefer rose hips(or a different bud). Ya' dig?

64A. The color of embarrassment : BEET RED. Beet white never caught on.

Argyle here. If you missed it, check out our young constructor's interview. (side bar) Since it was such an easy solve on the theme(you had two chances to get each one), it's only fair you might find a couple of harder clues in there. A sweet start to the week.

Across:

1. Playtex purchase : BRA

4. Org. with a "Most Wanted" list : FBI

7. Bygone fast flier, briefly : SST. But it will never be gone from crossword memory.

10. Salsa or guacamole : DIP

17. Corroded : ATE INTO. Found this hard to parse, sitting in the grid.

18. Having material that "may not be suitable for children," per the MPAA : RATED PG

21. Very wide shoe size : EEEE

22. Downs' opposites : UPS'

23. Suffix with web or nanny : CAM

26. Considers really cool : DIGS. I'm hip, Daddy-o.

29. South American pack animal : LLAMA

31. Vegas rollers : DICE

38. Monogram component : INITIAL

40. Buffalo nickel or Mercury dime : OLD COIN

43. Feminine ending : ENNE

44. Orange container : CRATE

45. Tickle Me __ : ELMO

47. Above, to Shelley : O'ER

48. "__ had enough!" : I'VE

50. "This is __ test" : NOT A. I'm lucky I've never had to hear this warning.

60. Helter-skelter : CHAOTIC. Might be the scene after hearing the preceding.

62. Surround with troops : BESIEGE

65. Haven't yet paid : OWE

66. Sphere : ORB

67. Mandela's org. : ANC. (African National Congress)

68. Some SAT takers : SR's

Down:

1. Author Stoker : BRAM. His novel? "Dracula"

2. Fix, as shoelaces : RETIE. What Moms do before knot-tying lessons.

3. One-named singer of "Skyfall" : ADELE

4. Used an épée, say : FENCED

5. "Little Women" woman : BETH

6. "Was __ harsh?" : I TOO

7. Razor sharpener : STROP. A flexible strip of leather used to maintain the blade of a straight razor. I better add a picture.

8. Flippered fish eaters : SEALS

9. "Hasta la vista!" : "TA-TA!"

10. Twelve-sided figure : DODECAGON. (doh-dek-uh-gon)

11. Way to the www : ISP

12. ... square __ in a round hole : PEG. or even a dodecagon hole.

14. Mountain wheels : BIKE. Bike riders, what are your wheels?

16. No longer working: Abbr. : RET.

20. Tip of a crescent : CUSP

24. With all one's strength : AMAIN. Does ever crossword puzzle need an 'a'-word?

25. Strategic WWI French river : MARNE. During a quieter time.
 

27. Muslim official : IMAM

28. Elaborate celebration : GALA

29. '60s psychedelic drug : LSD

30. Fortune magazine founder : LUCE.  Henry Luce.

31. Bee Gees genre : DISCO

32. Get used (to) : INURE

33. Holder of Cubans : CIGAR CASE
 

34. State, to Jacques : ÉTAT

36. Laze : LOLL

37. Grades K-6: Abbr. : ELEM.

39. Wrath : IRE

42. Banana throwaway : PEEL

46. "Be right there!" : "ONE SEC!"

48. More slippery, as roads : ICIER

49. Eng. lesson with synonyms : VOCAB. ulary

51. Neglect to mention : OMIT

52. Wedding cake layers : TIERS

53. Author Horatio : ALGER

55. Tough row to __ : HOE

56. Director Preminger : OTTO

57. "Mamma Mia!" quartet : ABBA. (palindrome section)

58. New driver, typically : TEEN

59. Sneakers brand : KEDS. Taylor Swift wears them.

60. __-Magnon : CRO. did not wear them.

61. By what means : HOW

Argyle

Sunday March 24, 2013 Michael Blake & Myles Callum

Theme: "If Ever I Would Leave You" - I is removed from each theme entry.

23A. CliffsNotes bio of a civil rights leader? : CONDENSED MLK. Condensed milk.

36A. Junk-rated salad? : BBB LETTUCE. Bibb lettuce.

64A. Popular cosmetic surgery? : NOSE ABATEMENT. Noise abatement.

92A. Winnebago-driving elder? : OLD MAN RVER.  Old Man River.

111A. Prison? : CON COLLECTOR. Coin collector.

17D. Art teacher's tip for drawing a lion? : REMEMBER THE MANE. Remember the Maine.

42D. What the team's goat mascot did? : SWALLOWED THE BAT. Swallowed the bait.

Noticed there are no extra I's in the theme entry at all? Nice touch. Sometimes we see letters removed from the key words, but not completely from all theme answers.

Of course, there are still 21 I's in non-theme entries. Hard to completely avoid a common letter when there are 375 empty squares to fill.

This grid only has 138 words & 66 black squares. Fairly low compared with the 144 & 78 norm we get on Sundays.

Across:

1. Term attributed to architect Le Corbusier : ART DECO. New trivia to me. More familiar with our Xword stalwart Erté.

8. Black cloud : anger :: light bulb : __ : IDEA

12. Amazon checkout option : GIFT-WRAP

20. Everest climbers : SHERPAs

21. Brits' outerwear : MACs

22. "Who would refuse that?!" : I'D LOVE TO. 8D. "That's about it" : I'M DONE. 35. "My turn" : I'M NEXT. All nice entries.

25. Shoebox creations : DIORAMAS

26. Worshipped : ADORED

27. Five-star : A-ONE

28. "Awakenings" drug : L-DOPA

29. Biblical suffix : ETH

30. Curtail : PARE

31. It can be spun two ways : YARN

33. Author Potok : CHAIM. "My Name is Asher Lev".

35. Hungary's Nagy : IMRE. Learned from doing Xwords.

38. Stereotypical Monroe roles : BIMBOS. Poor Marilyn.

40. TV funded by "Viewers Like You" : PBS

43. Arctic explorer John : RAE

44. Gretzky, once : OILER. Edmonton Oilers.

45. TV reporter Peter : ARNETT. Been out of news for quite some time.

46. Oregon Coast Aquarium city : NEWPORT. Only know the one in RI.

48. "Sesame Street" crank : OSCAR

49. Garson of Hollywood : GREER

50. Some 6-Downs : CLARKS. And 6D. Snack stand array : CANDY BARS

51. NYU, for one : SCH

52. Edinburgh native : SCOT

54. Bonus, in adspeak : XTRA. Love the Xtra serum (left) I got yesterday. Smells divine. Eager to try the shampoo/conditioner after I'm done with this write-up.

57. Beat : PULSE

58. Monkeyshines : ANTICS

61. "Give Peace a Chance" co-songwriter : ONO

62. Crossword solver's ref. book : THES. OK, thesaurus.

63. Lip-reading alternative: Abbr. : ASL

68. Terrestrial newt : EFT

69. Frat jacket P's : RHOS

71. Title for Connery : SIR

72. Online persona : AVATAR. Turn blue! It's very simple.

73. One about to shoot : AIMER

75. Small flightless bird : KIWI

76. Sticks on : ADDS

78. Miguel's "more" : MAS. No mas!

79. Mena of "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" : SUVARI. Never saw the movie. But "Mena" is enough. She's Kevin Spacey's daughter in "American Beauty". (Correction: Spacey's daughter is played by Thora Birch.)

80. Story in la maison : ETAGE

82. Pros' foes : ANTIS

85. Approached dusk : LATENED. Spell check does not like this word.

86. Title for Dickens's Defarge : MADAME

88. Liquid fat : OLEIN

89. It may be tapped : ALE

90. Rare shoe width : EEE

91. Team with a star in its logo : ASTROS. American League now.

95. Slangy negatives : NAHS

96. Getting warm : CLOSE

97. "Uh, excuse me ..." : AHEM

98. Pet pad : CAGE

102. Pavarotti's trio : TRE

103. Not in any way : NO HOW

105. Kindle read : ZINE

107. Colonel Klink's clink : STALAG. Never saw "Hogan's Heroes". Wiki says Stalag is a contraction of Stammlager, "base camp". Stamm = Base, same as our Stem then. Lager = Camp.

109. Applied during a massage : RUBBED IN. Melissa knows her oils.

113. Causing worry : ALARMING

114. Film adventurer, informally : INDY. I only know the films are Indie films. (Argyle: Indiana Jones.)

115. Lose freshness : GO STALE. And 49D. Toast, with "a" : GONER. Minor dupe. GO/GONE. Tough to spot when constructing.

116. '70s fad items shipped in boxes with air holes : PET ROCKS

117. Most '90s Prizms : GEOS

118. Parched : ATHIRST. Kind of like AREEL, ALOP, yes?

Down:

1. Tin Pan Alley gp. : ASCAP

2. Tenant in Carlton the Doorman's building : RHODA. Stumper for me. But Valerie Harper is one brave woman.

3. Voice above baritone : TENOR

4. Snoop Dogg's discoverer : DR. DRE.  Learned this trivia from cluing DRE.

5. Sport with feinting : EPEE

7. William Donovan's WWII org. : OSS. Donovan created OSS and was considered the father of CIA.

9. Rhett's last word : DAMN

10. Varied : ECLECTIC

11. Use the reference desk : ASK

12. More flighty : GIDDIER

13. Down in the dumps, say : IDIOM. Nice clue.

14. Dud : FLOP

15. __ Bora: Afghan mountain area : TORA

16. Harpers Ferry's st. : WVA. Yellowrocks might have visited Harpers Ferry.  She really has an encyclopedic mind.

18. Semi-quickly : AT A TROT

19. Most swanky : POSHEST

24. Title for Devereux : EARL. Earl of Essex.

28. Moms, before knot-tying lessons : LACERS

32. Act as accomplice to : ABET

34. Symbolic dance : HULA

36. On the blink : BROKEN

37. Japanese TV pioneer : TOSHIBA. The TO part stands for Tokyo.

38. MacLane who played General Peterson on "I Dream of Jeannie" : BARTON. Never heard of him. Was it a gimme to you?

39. Spleen : IRE

40. Pirates' home : PNC PARK. Twins play at Target Field. Corporate names!

41. Jim of "According to Jim" : BELUSHI

47. Common string that omits Q : PRS.  Phone. 7.

48. Twice tetra- : OCTA

51. Bergen dummy : SNERD

53. Unconscious states : COMAS

55. Ring figure : REFEREE

56. In the saddle of, traditionally : ASTRIDE

58. Thespian's whisper : ASIDE

59. Ohio cager, briefly : CAV. Can't picture LeBron James returning there.

60. Triathlete's need : STAMINA

65. Siouan speakers : OSAGES

66. Updated midflight nos. : ETAs

67. More high-strung : TAUTER

70. Long-necked strings : SITARs

74. Bobby Rydell's "__ Got Bonnie" : I'VE

77. Sickly-looking : SALLOW

79. King novel with two apostrophes in the title : 'SALEM'S LOT. From Wiki: The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town where he lived as a boy between the ages of 9 through 13 (Jerusalem's Lot, or 'Salem's Lot for short) in Maine to discover that the residents are all becoming vampires.

81. Latin lover's word : AMO.

83. Sparks and Beatty : NEDs

84. Mountain, e.g. : TIME ZONE. Art of cluing. "Mountain or Pacific" will give the answer away. 

85. Cleanse : LAVE

86. Seductress : MANTRAP. Hmmm, let me guess what Barry will say: I really wanted MAN EATER. I don't think I've ever seen a woman referred to as a MAN TRAP before.

87. Generally speaking : AS A RULE

88. Chinese teas : OOLONGs

93. Kwan and Kerrigan : NANCYS. "The World of Suzie Wong" is a popular seller at Hong Kong Airport.

94. Prefix with stat : RHEO

96. Armor problem : CHINK. Alright!

98. Sonoran flora : CACTI

99. A train may be headed for it : ALTAR. Great clue.

100. Plymouth pokies : GAOLs. The beauty salon I visited in Guangzhou is next to a police station. I heard beating and crying all the times and thought nothing of human rights or whatever. I just thought those bad guys deserved the punishment. No surprise I'm for waterboarding.

101. Wetlands wader : EGRET

103. 2013 Northeast superstorm : NEMO. The blizzard.

104. Like Pindar's poetry : ODIC

106. Chinese intro : INDO. Indochina. The real intro is "Ni hao" ("Hello!"). Ni = You. Hao = Good. Sounds very ungrammatical, doesn't it? "You're very beautiful" in Chinese is "Ni Hen Piao Liang", literally "You very beautiful".  Ungrammatical too. Ni = You. Hen = Very. Piao Liang = Beautiful. No "are" in this case.

108. "Intelligence for Your Life" radio host : TESH (John)

110. Cold comment : BRR

111. Short pack item : CIG

112. Flushing Bay airport letters : LGA

C.C.