Thursday, August 8, 2013 Nancy Salomon

Theme: "Jeers lookin' at you, kid..."

39-Across. Fans' disapproval, and a hint to the starts of the answers to the starred clues : JEERS.

17-Across. *Flashy theatricality : RAZZMATAZZ. Fun word. I started filling in RAZZledazzle...and ran out of squares. Hmpf.

62-Across. *Folk music shindig : HOOTENANNY. Remember this show?

11-Down. *Tantrums : HISSY FITS. Like what my cats throw when I try to give them a pill...

34-Down. *Hidden hazard : BOOBY TRAP. Would make a great name for a line of lingerie.

I am so honored to blog a puzzle by my heroine, Nancy Salomon. Always crisp themes, and great fill.  She is an inspiration to all cruciverbalists out there. I liked how the JEERS were all part of a longer word, and you had to "tease" them out.

Two tens and two nines circle the grid, with the unifier smack in the middle. So here's the scoop on the rest...

Across:

1. Player with a record 14 100-RBI seasons : A-ROD. Oh, I don't think I will comment on this guy right now. But I will point out that he is the first in a string of "letter-followed-by-a-word" answers in this puzzle. ("LFBAW") Not good, not bad - I just thought it was interesting.

5. Dancer's rail : BARRE. Ballet.

10. Fake : SHAM.

14. Numbskull : BOZO.

15. "Love Story" co-star : O'NEAL. Ryan's famous quote from the movie, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." LFBAW? (Nah...)

16. Hookah, e.g. : PIPE.

19. Soccer shower : ESPN. Not the showers in the locker room, but a channel that shows soccer.

20. Parting that's bid : ADIEU. So long, farewell. 2:57.

21. Childlike sci-fi race : ELOI.

22. Abbr. before a date : EST'D. Established.

23. Remitted : SENT IN.

25. Good to go : READY.

27. Medicinal shrubs : SENNAS.

29. Hoists with difficulty : HEFTS.

32. Can opener : TAB. Those little pull-thingys on top.  They have kind of made "church keys" obsolete.

35. Prepare for a bout : SPAR.

36. Cereal usually served hot : FARINA. Remember this stuff?

37. Hardly first-class fare : SLOP. Amusing to see this word right after 36-A.

41. Bowl over : STUN.

42. Snorkeling spots : ATOLLS.

44. Boozehounds : SOTS.

46. Fr. religious figure : STE. Sainte.

47. Dressed for choir : ROBED.

48. Do like Vassar did in 1969 : GO COED.

50. Co-Nobelist Arafat : YASIR. The official Nobel Prize web site spells his name "Yasser." But I guess it's tough to Anglicize his name:

 محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني

52. GI's work detail : KP DUTY.

55. They may be saturated : FATS.

57. Takes for a ride : CONS.

59. Unsteady on one's feet : AREEL. Aaaaa...(LFBAW?)

61. Piece of farmland : ACRE.

64. Landlocked African country : CHAD. Right smack dab in the middle.

65. Like cardinals : AVIAN. Because "Catholic" wouldn't fit...

66. Belg.-based alliance : NATO. North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

67. Copy editor's find : TYPO.

68. Pomme de ___: French potato : TERRE. Literally, "apple of the earth/soil."

69. Tax cheat chaser, briefly : T-MAN. Treasury man. LFBAW.

Down:

1. Incantation opener : ABRA.cadabra!

2. Places to find forks : ROADS.

3. David and Ricky's dad : OZZIE. From the '50s sitcom "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."

4. By the ___: in quantity : DOZENS. Usually cheaper. (And no, I didn't see Steve Martin's 2003 remake of it.)

5. Scary squeezer : BOA.

6. Insect's pair : ANTENNAE.

7. Not fake : REAL. Are they real, or fake?

8. Maugham's "The ___ Edge" : RAZOR'S.

9. Popeye creator Segar : ELZIE. All perps.

10. Ones ignoring limits : SPEEDERS.

12. Date with a Dr. : APPT. Appointment.

13. Heal : MEND.

18. Makes an unsound decision about? : MUTES. Decides to "un" the sound on the TV, e.g.

24. Dressed for dreamland, briefly : IN PJs. Hef must always be in dreamland.

26. "Bingo!" : AHA.

28. "You ___ Beautiful": Joe Cocker hit : ARE SO. Great song. 2:40

30. Threaded fastener : T-NUT. LFBAW.

31. Right upstairs? : SANE. I laughed out loud when I finally figured this one out!

32. Abdicator of 1917 : TSAR. Nicholas II.

33. Violist's clef : ALTO. Ah, I misread the clue as "violinist's clef." The violin clef is the "treble," but the viola clef is the "alto" or "C" clef.

36. Camera setting : F-STOP. LFBAW.

38. "Sure, go ahead!" : PLEASE DO.

40. Fan club focus : ROCK STAR.

43. Brigham Young's gp. : LDS. Latter Day Saints.

45. Auto leasing choice : SEDAN.

48. Furrow : GROOVE.

49. Three-time NBA scoring champ Kevin : DURANT.

51. Mac messaging program : I-CHAT. LFBAW.

53. Early brunch hr. : TEN AM.  TTP, what time did you get to brunch the other day?

54. Busybody : YENTA. Yiddish origin, now Yinglish loanword.

55. Trivia champ's tidbit : FACT.

56. In need of liniment : ACHY.

58. Roulette bet : NOIR. (Black.) Roulette is French for "wheel."

60. City on the Rhône : LYON. Traditionally spelled "Lyons" in English, but "Rhône" is in French, so it calls for the French spelling.

63. Pittsburgh-to-Boston dir. : ENE. Whew! A gimme for the finish.

Now I must bid ADIEU until next week,

Marti

Wednesday, August 7th, 2013 Michael Dewey

Theme: A Helping of Homophones - the theme entries have similar-sounding final words (with different F sound spellings) and the reveal has both words playing the sound-alike game.

17A Hearty har-har: BELLY LAUGH

26A National Geographic’s first natural one appeared in 1914: COLOR PHOTOGRAPH. "Natural" in this context means the photograph was taken on color film and printed "as is", not hand-tinted. This was the picture - a flower garden in Ghent, Belgium.

47A Group on “The West Wing”: WHITE HOUSE STAFF

62A Container that holds two generous glasses of wine (as well as a double dose of this puzzle’s theme?): HALF  CARAFE

Steve here with Michael's midweek masterpiece (I never let a good alliteration opportunity go begging). The final theme answer only works for me if I drop my British pronunciation and turn all-American - I would say it as "HARF CARAFF" and that rather ruins things!

I enjoyed the theme and cottoned on to it after the first two entries, so it made for mostly plain sailing. I always like to make it hard for myself with one goof, and today filling in JAWS as 10D rather than 10A was the culprit.

Let's see what we've got with the rest of the puzzle.

Across:

1 Shaving product “by Mennen”: AFTA

5 Deep voices: BASSI

10 “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” film: JAWS. Best line in the movie, in my ever-so-humble opinion. Second best: "I'm not going to waste my time arguing with a man who's lining up to be a hot lunch."

14 Talk too much: BLAB. That's probably me on this blog.

15 Class clown’s bit: ANTIC

16 Give __: care: A RAP. I never heard this expression before. I love how you can be (mumble) years old and still learn new words and phrases.

19 Low-lying area: VALE

20 Surpasses: EXCEEDS

21 Qualified for the position: HIRABLE

23 Profs’ protégés, briefly: T.A.'S. Teacher's Pets - I mean Assistants.

24 Prefix with trooper: PARA

25 Its 2014 games will be held in Sochi, Rus.: I.O.C. The International Olympic Committee, who in their wisdom awarded these winter games to a resort with a subtropical climate where temperatures in February have been recorded as high as 70F.

31 The Cavaliers of the ACC: UVA. The University of Virginia, members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

32 Average amount: NORM. Does Norm from "Cheers" drink an average amount?

33 Cape near Cod: ANN. It also gives its name to a style of house:

34 Savor the sun: BASK

36 Halfhearted: TEPID

39 Legend with rackets: ASHE. Tennis star Arthur.

42 “Silent” president Coolidge: CAL. I was going to grumble about the abbreviation of Calvin, but then realized his nickname was "Silent Cal"

44 Other, in Oaxaca: OTRO

46 Slippery one: EEL

52 Carpooling letters: HOV. I chuckle sometimes when I think about a the fact that a "high-occupancy vehicle" here in LA consists of two people. Angelenos really do not like carpooling.

53 Loses luster: DIMS

54 Hawaiian tuna: AHI. Food! Hawaiian ahi poke is one of my go-to favorites when I'm on the islands.

55 Do impressions of: IMITATE

57 “All kidding aside”: I MEAN IT. Usually not a good thing to hear from a parent.

61 Fifth-century pope: LEO I

64 Month following Av: ELUL. Crosses all the way.

65 Pension law acronym: ERISA. I had to look up the Employee Retirement Income Security Act which attempts to safeguard pension contributions from employer jiggery-pokery (I think that's an official term in the wording of the law)

66 Soon: ANON. Webster's declares this to be "archaic" but I use it - "See you anon" and I'm only (mumble) years old. Cheek.

67 Method: Abbr.: SYST. System.

68 Device used before applying 1-Across: RAZOR. I wonder if Occam used Afta?

69 Ilk: SORT. One of the world's most tremendous names is Peregrine Moncreiffe of that Ilk, the clan chief of the Moncreiffes.

Down:

1 French cleric: ABBÉ

2 Move a muscle: FLEX.

3 Powder mineral: TALC

4 Can, after “is”: ABLE TO

5 Where there’s no hair apparent: BALD SPOT. Great clue!

6 Literary collections: ANAS

7 VW preceders?: STU. Alphabet.

8 Show exasperation toward: SIGH AT

9 Suzuki with 10 MLB Gold Gloves: ICHIRO. First of two baseball references today - Ichiro is an immensely-talented outfielder now with the New York Yankees.

10 Bean-based beverage: JAVA

11 Indian Ocean arm: ARABIAN SEA

12 Long homer, say: WALLOP. As well as 10 Gold Glove awards, the aforementioned Ichiro also won three Silver Sluggers, so we can safely say he's hit a few wallops in his career.

13 Valedictorian’s big moment: SPEECH

18 Hanker (for): YEARN

22 Sitar music: RAGA. Here's a nice example of the genre.

24 Like some 13-Downs: POMPOUS

26 Babe in the woods: CUB

27 Egg cells: OVA

28 Lewd: LASCIVIOUS. Word of the day for me. I hope I'm never described as this!

29 Otto I’s realm: Abbr.: H.R.E. Second "Abbr." cluing today. The Holy Roman Empire.

30 Genetic material: RNA. Is it an R? Is it a D? I'll wait and see.

35 Kit __ Klub: “Cabaret” setting: KAT

37 “__ now or never”: IT'S

38 Ideal wheels: DREAM CAR. As far as current production cars are concerned, here's mine - the Aston-Martin DB9

40 Playboy nickname: HEF. Mr. Hugh Hefner of dressing-gown fame.

41 Rivendell dweller: ELF. The Lord of the Rings has been very handy for crossword puzzle constructors with all kinds of three-letter denizens of Middle Earth (Orc and Ent are but two more). It also gives me an excuse to post a picture of the lovely Liv Tyler in her role as Arwen.

43 Mother of Helen of Troy: LEDA

45 Milo of the movies: O'SHEA

47 Makes pass, as time, with “away”: WHILES

48 Hardly handsome: HOMELY

49 __ and yon: HITHER. I honestly thought this was the other way around! In England we also have "hither and thither" - try saying that three times quickly.

50 1998 PGA Player of the Year Mark: O'MEARA. He was something of a late bloomer - he played 15 years on the tour before he won his first major (the Masters) and then won the Open Championship the same year, hence his Player of the Year award. Oddly, after that 1998 blaze of glory he never won on the tour again.

51 Pageant toppers: TIARAS

56 Lean: TILT. The L was the last letter for me today. I was thinking "low fat" lean and I didn't know ELUL so I had to play the alphabet game. It was only the second time through that I saw the "other" lean meaning.

57 “Should that be true ...”: IF SO

58 iPod mini successor: NANO

59 “__ one, think that ...”: I FOR

60 Camper’s shelter: TENT

63 Fashion’s Claiborne: LIZ

That's all from me today. Enjoy your collective Wednesdays!

Steve

Tuesday, August 6, 2013 Victor Barocas

Theme: Pop Art - Three series of paintings by a leading figure in the visual art movement.

17A. "A revolution is not a dinner party" leader : MAO TSE TUNG. A series of prints based on a photograph. He used the same technique for Marilyn.

28A. It's "M'm! M'm! Good!" : CAMPBELL'S SOUP

46A. Actress born Norma Jeane Mortenson : MARILYN MONROE

60A. Artist born 8/6/1928 who painted 17-, 28- and 46-Across : ANDY WARHOL

Argyle here. Rather straightforward puzzle for this eccentric artist. There were a few unexpected nuggets, however.

Across:

1. Snack in a shell : TACO

5. Walked the floor : PACED

10. "Survivor" host Probst : JEFF

14. Attending a Lakers home game, briefly : IN LA

15. Indian coin : RUPEE

16. __-friendly : USER

19. Mama's guy, to baby : "DADA"

20. Bird Down Under : EMU

21. Philosopher __-tzu : LAO

22. Month named for an emperor : AUGUST. Sheesh, I keep reading it as Moth.

24. Word in "The Shining" with two mirror-image letters : [REDRUM]. Scary movie.

26. Get the whole family together : REUNE. Back formation from reunion I supose. Found chiefly in NYT puzzles.

33. Out of control : AMOK

35. Granny Smith, e.g. : APPLE

36. Sch. founded by Jefferson : UVA. The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.

37. Strips (of), as property : DIVESTS

40. Made bubbly : AERATED

42. Big diamond : ACE

43. Spring Zodiac sign : ARIES

45. "__ the night ..." : 'TWAS

50. Sunday dinner entrée : ROAST

51. Leaking slowly : OOZING

54. Football field shape : OBLONG. Stretched out square... or circle. I was thinking it may have meant the football itself.

57. Last year's jrs. : SRs

58. Icky stuff : GOO

59. Educator with an elite list : DEAN

64. "Whip It" rockers : DEVO. If you need a reminder. LINK(2:39)

65. Youngest of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : IRINA. (not on my reading list)

66. Road curve : BEND

67. Hand measurement : SPAN

68. Skater Kerrigan : NANCY. She was the one clubbed on her knee in January 1994.

69. Hunch, say : IDEA

Down:

1. Hourglass or stopwatch : TIMER

2. Make __ for oneself : A NAME

3. Sun blocker : CLOUD COVER. The SPF varies.

4. Feed bag morsel : OAT

5. Stereo system signal booster : PREAMP

6. "Car Talk" topic : AUTO. AUDI would have worked, too.

7. PC brain : CPU. (central processing unit)

8. Twilight, to a bard : E'EN. A contraction of even which is a contraction of evening. Those crazy poets!

9. General for whom a Paris airport is named : DE GAULLE

10. Bench warmers? : JUDGES

11. Jacob's twin : ESAU

12. T-men and G-men : FEDS

13. Toga party setting : FRAT. (fraternity house)

18. Skid row area : SLUM

23. Racing family name : UNSER

25. Leaf-gathering tool : RAKE

26. Sales staff member : REP

27. Texas border city : EL PASO

29. Sinks : BASINS

30. Was more important than : OUTWEIGHED

31. Eye part containing the iris : UVEA

32. Goalie equipment : PADS

33. Sandler of "Spanglish" : ADAM

34. Isinglass : MICA. Translucent mineral.

38. Place to get a perm : SALON

39. "Give it another shot" : "TRY AGAIN"

41. Encyclopedia range : A TO Z

44. CPR expert : EMT

47. Like some decals : IRON-ON

48. Ibsen's country : NORWAY. Henrik Johan Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. Wikipedia

49. Alabama-born activist Parks : ROSA

52. Dismal turnout for a party : NO ONE. Shoulda had a toga party.

53. Israel's Meir : GOLDA

54. Bookie's offering : ODDS

55. Answering machine alert : BEEP

56. Eruption output, perhaps : LAVA

57. Together, after "in" : SYNC

61. Second Amendment org. : NRA. (National Rifle Association)

62. Clamor : DIN

63. Sac fly result : RBI. Sac, short for sacrifice, because even though the batter is out, a run scores.

Argyle

Monday, August 5, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Victor Juliet - The two word theme entries begin with the same letters.

18A. Funny bits you need to see : VISUAL JOKES

28A. Personal assessments of worth : VALUE JUDGMENTS

47A. V8 Spicy Hot, e.g. : VEGETABLE JUICE

60A. Music channel host whose abbreviation hints at this puzzle's theme : VIDEO JOCKEY

Argyle here. Another ten days and this could have been clued as V-J Day. Oh well.

Across:

1. Abbr. on old Eurasian maps : SSR. (Soviet Socialist Republic)

4. Video game area : ARCADE

10. Dashboard gauge, briefly : TACH. (tachometer)

14. Green org. with a floral logo : EPA

15. Honeybunch : DEARIE. When a waitress calls me Dearie, why should she get mad when I call her Sweet Cheeks?

16. Scandinavian capital that uses garbage to generate energy : OSLO. But they don't have ENOUGH! LINK.

17. Stephen Colbert asset : WIT

20. Bangkok native : THAI

22. T-shirt size array, briefly : SML. (small, medium, large)

23. Online finance company : E-LOAN

24. Building blocks of matter : ATOMS

25. Cheerios grain : OAT

27. Prefix with verse : UNI

33. Eisenhower and Turner : IKEs

34. Tolkien monster : ORC. Definitely not short for orchid. SCENE(2:59)

35. Post- opposite : PRE-

36. Arnaz of Hollywood : DESI

37. "I give up!" : "UNCLE!"

39. H.S. exam : PSAT

43. Gov. Cuomo's domain : NYS. (New York State)

45. Inner tube filler : AIR

46. Nobelist Morrison : TONI. (1993 Nobel Prize for Literature) She previously won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved in 1988.

51. Animation frame : CEL

52. Govt.-issued ID : SSN. (Social Security number)

53. Often-pressed key : ENTER

54. Negative particle : ANION

56. Former NBAer __ Ming : YAO. What is he doing now? Follow on Twitter.

59. Tapped barrels : KEGS

63. Cooperstown Hall of Famer Mel : OTT

65. Sealed, as a win : ICED

66. "Man of the House" author Tip : O'NEILL. He served as Speaker of the House from 1977 until his retirement in 1987.

67. Division of history : ERA

68. Subtraction word : LESS

69. "Stop dreaming!" : "BE REAL!"

70. Roget entry: Abbr. : SYN. (synonym)

Down:

1. Attach a button, say : SEW

2. Bit of physical comedy with a sprayed beverage : SPIT TAKE

3. Entry points for some rodent nests : RAT HOLES

4. Provide counsel to : ADVISE

5. Portuguese king : REI. Yes, now we need to learn Portuguese.

6. Pop's Mama : CASS. (Cass Elliot)

7. Calla lily family : ARUM

8. Conversation in a screenplay : DIALOG

9. Cooked sushi fish : EEL

10. Hammer or saw : TOOL

11. Invite to dinner, e.g. : ASK OUT

12. Spruces up : CLEANS

13. Egypt's Mubarak : HOSNI. Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak is a former Egyptian President, leader and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Wikipedia

19. Yankee shortstop Derek : JETER. Derek Jeter has strained calf, return uncertain. SI

21. Funny : AMUSING

24. Enthusiastic : AVID

26. Electric current unit : AMPERE. Named after French physicist André Marie Ampère.

29. Knight games : JOUSTS

30. Decorative vase : URN

31. 1983 Mr. T film : DC CAB

32. Planet farthest from the Sun, now : NEPTUNE

38. "__ Abner" : LI'L

40. "C'est la vie" : "SO IT GOES"

41. Family tree subject : ANCESTRY

42. Bleacher part : TIER

44. Simple question type : YES/NO

47. Grand Canal city : VENICE

48. Slurs over : ELIDES

49. "I wouldn't do this for just __" : ANYONE

50. Hyde was his alter ego : JEKYLL. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the original title of a novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. Wikipedia

51. Raise petty objections : CAVIL. (strange word) Word Origin & History "cavil" 1548, from M.Fr. caviller "to mock, jest," from L. cavillari "to satirize, argue scoffingly," from cavilla "jeering". Etymonline

55. Weighty Brit. references : OEDs. (Oxford English Dictionary)

57. Masterful server : ACER. (tennis)

58. Dust Bowl migrant : OKIE

61. LinkedIn listing : JOB. For awhile, I was recieving spam claming to be LinkedIn.

62. She, in Lisbon : ELA. See, more Portuguese.

64. Beachgoer's goal : TAN

Argyle

Sunday August 4, 2013 Paul Hunsberger

Theme: "Lip Service" - X is removed from each theme entry.

 23A. Intuition of some "Star Wars" villains? : THE SITH SENSE. The Sixth Sense.

34A. Weaknesses of a prof's helper? : TA LIABILITIES. Tax liabilities.

 59A. Holiday elves who can't get along? : ARCTIC FOES. Must be Santa's fault! Arctic foxes.

 

81A. Coughing and sneezing? : STATE OF FLU. State of flux.

98A. Fashion collaboration of actor James and a one-named rock-'n'-roller? : MASON-DION LINE. Mason–Dixon line. James Mason & Dion.

 

22D. "Stop adding milk and sugar to these brews!"? : DON'T MESS WITH TEAS. Exactly how I drink tea. Only tea. Don't Mess with Texas.

32D. Dutch South Africans in need of exercise? : HEAVYWEIGHT BOERS. Heavyweight boxers.

115A. Unexpected affection, and an alternate title for this puzzle : STOLEN KISSES

Another grid with theme entry intersection. Lovely. Seldom can I make this approach work, so I'm always in awe when others make it happen.

Also loved the fact that the constructor stole all the kisses away. You can find 25 letters in this grid. Just no X. Tough love!

Across:

1. Sphere of influence : AMBIT. Not an easy start for me.

6. Making waves? : ROWING. great clue.

12. Inbox clogger : SPAM

16. Solstice mo. : DEC

19. Video game princess : ZELDA. And 80. "Super Mario" brother : LUIGI. And 10D. 19- and 80-Across letters : NES.

20. One making bread : EARNER

  

21. Wiry-coated terrier : AIREDALE

25. Bullied : HECTORED 

26. Airport pickup concern, briefly : ETA

27. Good things to keep about you : WITS. Keep your wits about you. 

28. Bob or weave : COIF

30. Actress Campbell : NEVE. Loved "Party of Five".

31. Lint roller target, maybe : CAT HAIR

39. Stage direction : ENTER

41. Back : REAR

42. Purell target : GERM

43. Showy display : ECLAT. There is a booth at the flea market yesterday with "Free Tattoo" sign on. I'm going to explore more next week.

46. Church official : DEACON

48. Penniless one : HAVE NOT

52. Surrendered : WAIVED. Look what's in his hands? Ready to surrender! Dudley, maybe Dave or Gary can teach you how to upload pictures. Or you can just open a blogger account.

CrossEyedDave

54. Hibachi residue : ASH

55. Help-wanted ad periods : AFTs

57. Not all : SOME

58. Daytime __ : EMMY

63. Mane character in Narnia : ASLAN

64. Gush : SPEW

65. Posthumous 2009 George Harrison album : LET IT ROLL. No idea. Wiki said "The track list was selected by George's widow, Olivia Harrison, with some assistance from close friends and family."

66. To the sky : UPWARD

67. British heiress __ Khan : JEMIMA. Lots of tabloid coverage when she dated Hugh Grant, who's now dating a Chinese.

69. Stud spot : EAR

70. Find on the dial : TUNE IN

72. Ten-armed species : SQUIDs

74. Goalie's protective wear : NECK GUARD. For Splynter. Did you listen to our advice and give up the Home Depot girl?

77. See 85-Across : TRUE. And 85. With 77-Across, "Amen!" : TOO

82. Flashy promotion : HYPE

83. Hardly hard up : RICH

84. Wisecrack : JEST

86. Call for : ENTAIL

88. Cowboy hat : STETSON

90. Doyle's narrator : WATSON

93. Wee : EENSY

94. Tug or tub : BOAT

95. Roof rim : EAVE

96. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love" : LOTTA

103. Much-kneaded treatment? : MASSAGE. Nice clue also.

107. Up to it : ABLE

108. Little cut : NICK

109. Like eyes "you can't hide," in an Eagles song : LYIN

111. Time chunk : ERA

112. "Ghastly grim and ancient" poem title critter : THE RAVEN

120. Jersey output : COW'S MILK. Jersey cows. Like HEN'S EGG I saw in a grid sometime ago, COW'S MILK strikes me as redundant, as I connect milk with cows, and eggs with hens. GOAT MILK/GOAT'S MILK is fine.

121. Fancy : ORNATE

122. Verbatim line : QUOTE

123. MD office posting : HRS

124. Skip over : PASS. Good advice to some grumpy anons. Skip over! We like our tomato & pizza & mundane talks.

125. Monster's nickname : NESSIE

126. Flower part : SEPAL

Down:

1. Montezuma subject : AZTEC

2. Maestro Zubin : MEHTA. He's an Indian Parsi. Freddie Mercury is another one. Vidwan said Parsis are very talented or some other adjective.

3. Pasture cry : BLEAT

4. Dog tags, say : IDs

5. __ chi ch'uan : TAI

6. Put back to work : RE-HIRED

7. Brewer's kiln : OAST

8. Pull with effort : WREST

9. Country stopover : INN

11. Like Keats's urn : GRECIAN

12. Indian title : SAHIB

13. Battles with thrown weapons : PIE FIGHTS

14. Orbit bit : ARC

15. 49-Down, as a rookie : MET. And 49. Holder of numerous pitching records who never won a Cy Young Award : NOLAN RYAN. You all nailed this, right? At least, TTP did. I asked on the blog a few months ago how many Cy Young Awards Nolan Ryan won.

16. "Is this too big a chance?" : DARE I

17. French student : ELEVE

18. Hands over : CEDES
24. Noodlehead : TWIT

29. Boathouse item : OAR

33. Get in the game : ANTE

35. Pritzker Prize winner : ARCHITECT. Their Nobel. The Pritzker family owns the Hyatt hotels.

36. Name of 13 popes : LEO

37. Green expanses : LEAs

38. Journalist Kupcinet : IRV

40. Chemical experiment substances : REACTANTS

43. Pasture moms : EWES

44. Tent site : CAMP

45. Gimlet ingredient : LIME JUICE. I like lemon, but not lime.

47. European wine region : ASTI

50. General Bradley : OMAR

51. Lean : TEND. I don't get how these two are equivalents.

53. Some surrealist works : DALIs

55. IM pioneer : AOL

56. Was embarrassed : FELT A FOOL

60. Sleep lab letters : REM. Rapid Eye Movement.

61. Coot relative : CRAKE. Learning moment for me.

62. Overlooked : FORGOTTEN

63. O'Neill's "The Hairy __" : APE

66. Inordinate : UNDUE

68. Early 16th-century date : MDI. 1501.

71. High-tech address : URL

72. Some 35mm cameras : SLRs

73. Pack it in : QUIT

75. Scarf down : EAT

76. Crop circle makers, supposedly : UFOs

78. "Breaking __ Hard to Do" : UP IS. I used to think Neil Sedaka has Japanese roots because of his surname.

79. Long and slimy : EELY

81. Guards : SENTINELS

84. Fonda's "The Grapes of Wrath" role : JOAD

87. Acrobats' gear : NETS

89. Lamont, to Fred Sanford : SON. Sanford and Son.

90. Continues strolling : WALKS ON

91. Prefix with fauna : AVI

92. One who is honored and hopeful : NOMINEE

95. Cause of an env. bulge : ENC. Mine is mainly because of baseball cards inside.

97. Do miserably, in slang : TANK

98. Stick in a box : MATCH. D'oh moment.

99. Not fancy at all : ABHOR

100. Gobs : SLEWS

101. Porcine patter : OINKS. This meaning of "patter" is new to me. I thought it's just a made-up word (one who pats).

102. Those girls, in Oaxaca : ELLAs

104. Memorable moralist : AESOP

105. Actress Scacchi : GRETA. Never heard of her. Italian-Australian.

106. Gallery item : EASEL

110. "Tintin in Tibet" creature : YETI. Onager guess.

113. "MTV Unplugged" lack : AMP

114. Through : VIA

116. Uno e due : TRE

117. Clip-__: ties : ONs

118. High nos. for rocket scientists? : IQs

119. Try to take to the cleaners? : SUE

C.C.