Thursday, May 17 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Triple Play. Not a baseball theme, but you can sing along with a Latin "cha cha cha" dance track.

19A. Trousers in the Liberace Museum?: CHI-CHI CHINOS. Probably covered in rhinestones and other sparkly stuff.

32A. Less colorful African carpet?: DRABBER BERBER. The Berber people are indigenous to North Africa. This traditional carpet definitely isn't drab:

39A. Surfeit of sweets?: BONBON BONANZA. Bonbons originated from the French in the 17th century, meaning "good-good".

53A. Made-to-order drum?: CUSTOM TOM-TOM. Officially, a cylindrical drum without snares.

Another nice puzzle from Jeffrey. The names in the long downs could have caused some conniptions, but that's what makes for skilled construction and editing - it's all about the crosses if the proper name is unknown to you, Claire Danes in my case. Throw in some crunch and some Thursday-level cluing and you've got yourself an enjoyable romp into Cruciverb-land.

What else have we got? Let's go and look:

Across:

1. Selfies, e.g.: PICS

5. Consumer protection org.: B.B.B. Better Business Bureau.

8. Grey Poupon variety: DIJON. Mustard. Grey Poupon is one of the better-known brand names.

13. "I must be cruel, __ to be kind": Hamlet: ONLY

14. Bar mixer: COLA. Coke and Pepsi are the cola heavyweights. Some think that Coke tried to trademark the word "cola" - not so, they trademarked Coca-Cola, the script of the name and the design of the bottle.

15. Slip away from: EVADE

16. __ all-time low: AT AN. David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" just popped into my head:

"Ashes to ashes, funk to funky

We know Major Tom's a junkie

Strung out in heaven's high

Hitting an all-time low"

17. "Beat it!": SCAT!

18. Bit of Blake: VERSE. The most well-known Blake is William:

"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, 

hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour."

22. Guffaw syllable: HAR. Har.

23. Estadio cheer: OLÉ

24. Hardware item: NUT.

25. Overalls part: BIB. The part covering the chest.

28. Aquarium fish: TETRA

30. Title for Maggie Smith: DAME. British actress of renown. Played the redoubtable Dowager in "Downton Abbey"

 "I couldn't have electricity in the house, I wouldn't sleep a wink. All those vapors floating about."

31. "Mr. Robot" TV network: USA. I'll take your word for it, I haven't seen the show

35. Morales of Netflix's "Ozark": ESAI. There's actress Natalie also.

37. Father of octuplets on "The Simpsons": APU. Must be a while since I've seen the show, I didn't realize he had any kids, let alone eight.

38. Not yet up: ABED

"And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

Henry V, Act IV sc iii

44. Many a craft beer: ALE

45. Folk singer Axton: HOYT. Thank you, crosses. Not my genre.

46. Scenic highway offerings: VIEWS. There are some fabulous ones in my part of the world, particularly from the Pacific Coast Highway.

48. "Absolutely": YES

49. Hose users: Abbr.: FDS. I had to think about this one for a second - Fire Departments

50. Holm of "The Hobbit": IAN

51. GI address: APO. Army Post Office

56. Cold dish: SALAD

59. Island off Tuscany: ELBA. "Able was I, ere I saw Elba".

60. Whodunit canine: ASTA. "The Thin Man" was the movie.

61. Interspersed with: AMONG

62. Nectar flavor: PEAR

63. User of black lipstick, perhaps: GOTH. There is an unofficial "Bat's Day" for Goths at Disneyland each year. It's quite an odd sight, all these supposedly gloomy folk riding "It's a Small World".

64. Gumption: MOXIE

65. Nursery purchase: SOD

66. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA. Let's have a little New Age backing track.

Down:

1. Cook in hot milk, say: POACH

2. Since: IN THAT. In the causative sense - "I like a Riesling since it pairs well with spicy food"/"I like a Riesling in that it pairs well with spicy food". Food!

3. "Homeland" Emmy winner: CLAIRE DANES. Thank you, crosses.

4. Harmonized, with "in": SYNC

5. Lawn game: BOCCE. Most cultures seem to have a derivative of lawn bowls, be it crown bowls, bocce, boules, pétanque, even curling.

6. Vanilla: BLAH. "Meh" in modern lingo.

7. Drive someone home?: BAT IN A RUN

8. Fan: DEVOTEE

9. Composer Charles: IVES

10. 8-Across holder: JAR. I like the cross-references when the entries themselves cross. I've got a jar in my fridge, it goes into my home-made mayonnaise when I whip up a batch. Yum!

11. Goes overboard (on): OD'S

12. Wedding notice word: NÉE

14. Forensics facility, briefly: CSI LAB. I wanted DNA LAB first, but resisted the urge.

20. Circle dance: HORA

21. Unfeeling: NUMB

25. Masters champ in 2012 and 2014: BUBBA WATSON. A lefty, he hit an incredible hook shot out of the trees onto the 10th green in a playoff with Louis Oosthuizen to secure his first major.

26. "That's clear": I SEE

27. Meter writer: BARD. He of "Henry V" fame, above.

29. Twin Cities daily, familiarly: TRIB. The Star Tribune.

30. Home __: DEPOT

33. Slow-but-steady progress: BABY STEPS

34. Demolish: RAZE

35. Former Skype owner: EBAY. I didn't know that. We use Skype for Business, it saves a ton of money when you have a lot of international conference calling and presentations.

36. Dover fish: SOLE

40. "Dang!": OH FUDGE!

41. Some assents: NODS

42. Video game figure: AVATAR

43. Spanish lad: NIÑO. Now, here's a thing - the letter Ñ in Spanish is a completely different letter, it's not just an accented "N". Which leads the pedant in me to suggest that you should not cross it with a regular "N" as is here - Ian Holmes does not spell his name i-a-eñe.

47. Inconsistent: SPOTTY

50. Boast in a 1987 Michael Jackson hit: I'M BAD

52. Lincoln neighbor: OMAHA. Nebraskans, both.

53. "__ help you?": CAN I

54. Muffin spread: OLEO

55. Sorcerer in fantasy games: MAGE

56. "Grace and Frankie" actor Waterston: SAM. More crossing help. Thanks!

57. Latin trio word: AMO, Amas, Amat

58. Cured salmon: LOX. Lox is salt-cured. The stuff most people call "lox" nowadays is actually "nova" and is a smoke-cure. Whatever the debate, it's Food!

And with a drum roll on the tom-tom and a pic of the grid, and with a very cool explanation of lox, nova, smoked salmon and gravlax, that's all from me!

Steve

Wednesday, May 16 2018, Jared Tamarkin

Theme: Cloud-hidden, whereabouts unknown.*

20. Old Glory: AMERICAN FLAG.

28. "Don't incriminate yourself!": ADMIT NOTHING. Good advice.

44. 1983 Lionel Richie #1 song: ALL NIGHT LONG.

9. With 65-Across, it has a 54-Across, so they say: EVERY.

65. See 9-Across: CLOUD.

54. Upside of 9-Across/65-Across ... and, chemically speaking, what each pair of circles represents: SILVER LINING. 

I loved EVERYthing about this puzzle. Looks to be Jared's debut at the Corner. Theme-heavy, with lots to appreciate, including lots of artistic references. AG is the chemical symbol for SILVER (from the Latin word "argentum" meaning "silver"), flanking (or lining) three long answers.

*Van Morrison quotes the poem Searching for the Hermit in Vain, by Chia Tao (777-841) in his tune Alan Watts Blues. Watts includes the poem in the intro page to his book Cloud Hidden.

Across:

1. __ media: MASS.

5. Last year's frosh: SOPH.

14. Bug bite symptom: ITCH.

15. Indonesian boat: PROA. New word for me.

16. British prime minister before Brown: BLAIR.

17. "Cooking From the Hip" chef Cat __: CORA.

18. Prilosec target: ACID.

19. Well-manored men?: LORDS. Great clue.

23. Pigs and hogs: SWINE.

24. Nov. voting time: TUES.

25. Dead heat: TIE.

31. Platters from the past: LPS. LP = Long Playing, refers to the 10- or 12-inch diameter vinyl records, popular again. Any collectors here?

34. "Otello" baritone: IAGO.

35. "__ and Louis": 1956 jazz album: ELLA. Speaking of LPs ...

36. Marjoram kin: OREGANO.

38. Like the Constitution, 27 times: AMENDED.

41. "Unforgettable" father or daughter: COLE.

42. Nerve cell transmitter: AXON.

43. Sci-fi extras: ETS.

49. Guitar great Paul: LES.

50. Bring in: REAP.

51. New, to Neruda: NUEVA. Neruda was born and died in Chile, and wrote his poetry in Spanish.

57. Storage towers: SILOS.

60. City on its own lake: ERIE.

61. Morally repugnant: EVIL.

62. Fill with delight: ELATE.

63. Pie containers: TINS.

64. "La Dolce __": VITA. Italian for the sweet life. Also the title of a 1960 film by Frederico Fellini.

66. Ford contemporary: OLDS. Olds Motor Vehicle Co. was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897.

67. Eden exile: ADAM.

Down:

1. Layered silicate: MICA.

2. Tiny physics units: ATOMS.

3. Threaded hardware: SCREW.

4. Islamic law: SHARIA.

5. Guy who is out of this world?: SPACEMAN. Not Superman.

6. Killer whale: ORCA.

7. Indicate with an index finger: POINT TO.

8. Lived it up: HAD FUN.

9. Online marketing technique: E-BLAST.

10. YouTube journal: VLOG.

11. Musical gift: EAR.

12. Relieved (of): RID.

13. Trips around the sun: Abbr.: YRS.

21. Gandhi's land: INDIA.

22. Early-to-mid-August baby: LEO.

25. El Niño feature?: TILDE. Love this clue.

26. Shoreline recess: INLET.

27. "Jeepers!": EGADS.

29. "May __ now?": I GO.

30. Lady bird: HEN. Another great clue. Also a 2017 film.

31. From this area: LOCAL.

32. Humble worker, briefly: PROLE. Another new word for me, "a member of the working class."

33. Succeeds commercially: SELLS.

37. Bk. with the ark story: GEN.

38. Rocker Rose: AXL. Also Eddie Murphy's character in the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop.

39. Like a particularly dark sky after sunset: MOONLESS.

40. The blahs: ENNUI.

42. In imminent danger: AT PERIL. Sounds odd - usually hear IN peril.

45. Opened or closed, as a lens aperture: IRISED. If you say so.

46. Hairdresser's goop: GEL.

47. Must: HAVE TO.

48. Swiss convention city: GENEVA.

52. Brilliantly colored: VIVID.

53. Soul singer Baker: ANITA.

54. Annual Jan. speech, in Twitter hashtags: SOTU. State of the Union.

55. Orange skin: RIND.

56. Flashy rock genre: GLAM.

57. "Wait a __!": SEC.

58. Under the weather: ILL.

59. Poet __-tzu: LAO. "Music in the soul can be heard by the universe."

Tuesday, May 15, 2018, Joe Kidd

"Bad Penny"

17. Purina product for a young tabby: KITTEN CHOW.

22. Nickname for Coolidge: SILENT CAL.  “You can’t know too much, but you can say too much.”

51. Toe-tapping number: DANCE TUNE.

57. Riviera gambling destination: MONTE CARLO.   It is probably not possible to place a bet for one hundredth of a Euro at a Monte Carlo casino.

CENT appears in each of the four answers, but not spelled as such.   Thus, they are incorrect or invalid, or "bad."

35. With "a," someone undesirable ... and what's found in the circled letters?: BAD PENNY.

"Pennies today are viewed as nearly worthless by many people (although not so many as a year ago), but when the term “bad penny” first appeared in the 18th century, pennies were serious money.  This made them ripe targets for counterfeiters, and to reach into your pocket or purse and discover that you had ended up with such a counterfeit coin, a “bad” penny, was a depressing and annoying experience."

"A bad penny always turns up” is a very old proverb that dates back to at least the mid-18th century and is probably much older.  The general sense of the phrase is, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, “the predictable, and often unwanted, return of a disreputable or prodigal person after some absence, or (more generally) to the continual recurrence of someone or something.”  A “bad penny” is a person whose presence is unwelcome on any occasion, but whom fate perversely employs to torment you by making said person appear (“turn up”) repeatedly, often at the worst possible times."
Source: The Word Detective. 

Across:
1. Lymph __: NODE.

5. Offended smack: SLAP.

9. Catch some rays?: FISH.

13. Universal blood type, for short: O NEG.

14. Cursed: SWORE.   Not here, please.

15. First bet in a summer World Series: ANTE.  World Series of Poker.

16. Sharp tooth: FANG.

19. Actress Hagen: UTA.

20. Comes down with: GETS. 

21. Boca __, Florida: RATON.

 The laziest city in the country ?

25. Looks embarrassed: IS RED. 

27. Popeye's energy source: SPINACH.

28. Syst. for the hearing-impaired: ASL.  American Sign Language

30. Sci-fi writer Bradbury: RAY.  A favorite of mine was Fahrenheit 451.  “You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”  - Ray Bradbury

31. Extreme degree: NTH.

32. Grand Canyon State sch.: ASU.  Arizona State University.

33. Theater level: LOGE.

34. __ Dhabi: Persian Gulf port: ABU.

36. Fragrant evergreens: PINES.

38. More than pique: IRE.

39. Nutritious berry: ACAI.

40. Fitting: APT.

41. Toy dog, briefly: POM.  Pomeranian.  Sorry, Irish Miss.  We get another Spitz breed of dog.  Last time I had a dog in the cw it was the Shiba Inu. 


43. "__ be an honor": IT'D.  Really, it would.

44. Tokyo's former name: EDO.

45. Most obsequious: OILIEST.

49. Force back: REPEL.

53. Classroom fixtures: DESKS.

55. Mai __: tiki drinks: TAIS.

56. Burgundy on screen: RON.  "Ron Burgundy is San Diego's top-rated newsman in the male-dominated broadcasting of the 1970s, but that's all about to change for Ron and his cronies when an ambitious woman is hired as a new anchor."  IMDb.

59. Group activity at a Jewish wedding: HORA.

60. Mystical old letter: RUNE.

61. Bargaining group: UNION.

62. Still unfilled, as a position: OPEN.

63. Ocular woe: STYE.

64. TV screen meas.: DIAG.

65. Sassy: PERT.


Down:

1. Easy to prepare, in adspeak: NO FUSS.

2. How bettors may act: ON A TIP.

3. Alaska's __ National Park: DENALI.

More than a mountain

4. Breakfast staple: EGG.

5. Light activator: SWITCH.

6. Heaps of, informally: LOTSA.

7. Sculpture, paintings, etc.: ART.

8. Look closely (at): PEER.

9. Britannica fodder: FACTS.

10. How people react to slasher films: IN HORROR.

11. Prehistoric period: STONE AGE.

12. Chop with an axe: HEW.

14. Book of drawing paper: SKETCH PAD.

18. Clipper's target: NAIL.

20. Annoying flying insect: GNAT.


23. Boredom: ENNUI.

24. Cut with a surgical beam: LASE.

26. Easter coloring: DYE.

29. "Sneaking" feeling: SUSPICION.


32. Annoying crawling insect: ANT.

33. Word after time or term: LIMIT.

34. Pantomimed: ACTED OUT.   Played a part.

37. Apple with earbuds: IPOD.

39. "Into Thin __": Jon Krakauer book: AIR.  After reading "Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster" you may want to read "The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest" by Anatoli Boukreev. 

42. Corrida cheers: OLES.

44. Actress Sommer: ELKE.

45. Bump's place, idiomatically: ON A LOG.

46. Liechtenstein locale: EUROPE.   Europe : LIECHTENSTEIN

47. Nighttime noisemaker: SNORER.

48. Lodger: TENANT.

50. Makeup maven Lauder: ESTEE.

52. Sunlit lobbies: ATRIA.

54. Gulf War weapon: SCUD.

57. Dash of flavor?: MRS.

58. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase: AN I.

59. Make like a bunny: HOP.

See all y'all later n'at !

Here's the grid:

Oh wait.   One more.   For Irish Miss:

A "majestic puffball"

Monday May 14, 2018 Paul Coulter

Theme: (Split) Word Chain - Four rows of words form a word chain.

14. With 15-Across, station with a hook and ladder: FIRE. Firehouse.

15. With 16-Across, indoor chores: HOUSE. Housework.

16. With 28-Across, tireless sort: WORK. Work horse.

28. With 31-Across, big biting insect: HORSE. Horse fly.

31. With 32-Across, sticky strip: FLY. Flypaper.

32. With 40-Across, bills to pay with: PAPER. Paper money.

40. With 42-Across, financier: MONEY. Money man.

42. With 43-Across, strength needed for a team job: MAN. Man power.

43. With 61-Across, turn off, as a computer: POWER. Power down.

61. With 62-Across, Australia: DOWN. Down under.

62. With 63-Across, attempt: UNDER. Undertake.

63. With 14-Across, become ignited: TAKE. Take fire.

Boomer here. Happy Monday everyone! Demanding theme for a Monday, but C.C. said "Amazing grid work".  

I certainly hope that all of you young ladies out there had a happy and satisfying Mother's Day.  Congratulations to your families!  I had an interesting week.  I bowled in the Minneapolis "700 Club" tournament.  This is a 4 game scratch (no handicap) tournament for any bowler who has had a 700 + series in league.  There are 5 divisions separated by age, and I am in the "Older than dirt" division. (70+).  The tournament is held across 8 lanes so we move after each game.  I do not recall ever bowling a set like the one I had last Thursday.  254 - 262 - 140 - 246!  I left 4 splits in the ugly 3rd game but still recovered enough (902) series to win my division.  Sometimes it pays to be older than dirt.

Across:

1. Big name in PCs: ACER.  Makes me think of my 1975 AMC Pacer.  Great idea but they should have made one that was more dependable.

5. Play idly, as a guitar: THRUM. Now is this a strum with a thumb ?

10. Not that: THIS.

17. Particle for Fermi: ATOM. Nobel-winning physicist Enrico Fermi.

18. Out-of-use anesthetic: ETHER.

19. Blunted blade: EPEE. I never could figure out how a sword got this name.

20. One fighting back: RESISTER.

22. "The Quiet American" novelist Graham __: GREENE. - wrote novels and short stories before my time.

24. First stage of grief: DENIAL.

25. Firmly resolved (against): DEAD SET.

26. Election winners: INS

27. Company head: BOSS. The head is usually the CEO.  A boss is in charge of a chain gang.  "When I came down to Old Hannah, had a number for my name.  They chained us together and we started cuttin' cane"

37. Big cheese: EXEC. He could be a CEO

38. Wide shoe size: EEE.

39. Azerbaijan's capital: BAKU. If you have never been to Azerbaijan, you probably came to this blog to get the answer.  Welcome!

44. Censor's target: SMUT.

46. Friend of Frodo: SAM. Frodo Baggins/Sam Gamgee. Green eggs and ham, Sam I am!

47. Elk relative: RED DEER. I don't believe these are prominent in the U.S.  We have brown deer in Minnesota, but there is one around Christmastime with a red nose.

51. Dungarees: DENIMS.

54. Mistakes: ERRORS. A baseball stat with Runs, Hits, and Left on base.

55. Hand-tightened fasteners: WINGNUTS. A famous product of Ideal to connect wires,  I am sure Graybar has sold millions of them.

57. Galway Bay's __ Islands: ARAN.

58. New Orleans NFLer: SAINT. Lost to the Vikings last playoff with an unbelievably ridiculous "Hail Mary" pass to Stephon Diggs.

60. Lotion additive: ALOE. - C.C. has an Aloe Vera plant in our home.

64. "Do it, or __!": ELSE.  Or ELSE what ?

65. Wordsworth words: POESY.  Sounds like catcher Buster of the Giants, but spelled differently.

66. Fed. power dept.: ENER. I know they are talking energy, but we don't buy our power from the feds, do we?

Down:

1. A long way off: AFAR.  "We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar".

2. Credited in a footnote: CITED.  If you text while driving you may get CITED.

3. Like jagged edges: EROSE.  Did anyone send or receive an "E rose" for Mother's Day? It's sort of like an email but it smells nicer.

4. Wax nostalgic: REMINISCE.

5. Angle symbols: THETAS.

6. Marriott or Hyatt: HOTEL. Well known national names,  I prefer the "Orleans" in Las Vegas.  Bowling lanes on the second floor.

Boomer, 2018, the Orleans

7. German industrial region: RUHR.

8. Apply: USE.

9. Traffic slowdown spots: MERGES. We have a ton of these this year in MN.  Late Spring, no the powers that be a fixing every road in the greater Metropolitan area.  Took me an hour each way to and from the bowling tournament I mentioned earlier.  (The bowling center was a whopping 15 miles from my home.)

10. Coarse cloth: TWEED. Tweedle Dee Dee, Tweedle Dee Dum.

11. Aspirations: HOPES.  My Mom's name was Hope. Happy Mother's Day Mom, wherever you are!

12. Cara of "Fame": IRENE. Good night.

13. Trapshooting: SKEET.

21. Triangle ratio: SINE. This math went well over my head.

23. Farrier's abrasive tool: RASP.

25. Elder statesman: DOYEN.

27. Sound from the fold: BLEAT.

28. Sewn edge: HEM. If a sewn edge is a hem, then what is a haw?

29. Kitchenware brand: OXO. Not a common name.  I think they make Farberware.

30. Stimpy's sidekick: REN.

31. Thigh bone: FEMUR. Connected to the HIP bone.

33. Loathe: ABOMINATE.

34. Cat foot: PAW. Father's Day is next month for Opie and all of you who have a Paw.

35. Just get (by): EKE.

36. Capek's robot play: R.U. R.

41. 1914 battle river: YSER. I've heard of it, it's in Europe somewhere, but I don't think I could find it on a map.

43. Hunger twinge: PANG.

45. Really botch: MESS UP.  Error did not work, plus we already had it.

46. "Who goes there?" guard: SENTRY.

47. Aptly named novelist: READE.

48. Swashbuckling Flynn: ERROL. Errol was a bit before my time and I managed to never see an Errol Flynn movie.  The only black and white films I saw were the Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy.  "Hard boiled eggs and nuts" is one of my favorite expressions.

49. Tied chess games: DRAWS.  I used to play chess but I was no good.  Somehow "Stalemate rings a bell but if you only have five letters to fill, Draws are okay.

50. "Death, be not proud" poet: DONNE.

51. Uses the good china: DINES. What's it called if you use paper plates ?

52. Disney's Chinese warrior: MULAN.

53. Feed, as a fire: STOKE.

55. Like a 10-lane highway: WIDE. - I saw 16 lanes (8 coming and 8 going) in Atlanta once.  Minnesota traffic could use that however we don't have plows wide enough for winter wear.

56. Tarot reader: SEER.

59. Chilean year: ANO.

Boomer

Sunday May 13, 2018 Amy Johnson

Theme:  "Mother's Day" - MA is added to each theme entry.

23A. Foppish fed?: MANICURED LAWMAN. Manicured lawn.

37A. Hotel housekeeper's concern?: BLANKET FORMAT. Blanket fort.

67A. Woman's surprise party for her kids' kids?: GRANDMA SCHEME. Grand scheme.

96A. "One man's trash ... "?: JUNKYARD DOGMA. Junkyard dog.
 
115A. Sniffle over some Austen?: READ EMMA AND WEEP. Read 'em and weep.
 
16D. Ask for a doggie bag?: TAKE THE REMAINS. Take the reins.

49D. Frequent February craft project?: MAKING OF HEARTS. King of hearts.

Reminds me of the "Main Events" I did for the club. Same gimmick. MA-in.

Great selection of original phrases. MANICURED LAWMAN probably should have been avoided due to the straying MA in MANICURED.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms on our blog!

Across:

1. Stops up: DAMS. Yep, D-Otto, Yangtze river is called Chang Jiang in China, as Jayce mentioned.

5. Some shells: AMMO.

9. Blokes: CHAPS.

14. Bee's landing place: PETAL.

19. Abbr. covering unlisted items: ET AL.

20. Part of the rural scenery: BARN. Very soon Santa's 23-acre farmland where he grew up with will be someone's.

21. Yoga term meaning "force": HATHA. Easy guess. HATHA yoga.

22. Elevate: EXALT.

26. National capital on Cape Verde: DAKAR.

27. Dr. __ Hahn on "Grey's Anatomy": ERICA.

28. Best possible: IDEAL.

29. They hang at parties: STREAMERS.

31. Word from the French for "little wing": AILERON. Learning moment for me.

33. Tech tutorials site: CNET. Unaware that they offer tutorials there.

35. Dadaism pioneer: ERNST (Max).

36. Federal hush-hush org.: NSA.

41. Easter entrée: HAM.

44. Rockies roamer: MOOSE.

45. Some HDTVs: SANYOS. Sanyo is now owned by Panasonic. Been dreaming of this. Someday.

 

46. Like San Francisco's Coit Tower: DECO.

47. It's everything, they say: TIMING.

50. 1910s conflict: WWI.

53. Spike with films: LEE. Just Spike Lee.

54. "Two mints in one" sloganeer: CERTS.

55. Brazen: BRASSY.

56. Muppets watchers: TOTS. Followed by 58. Muppets' address, briefly: SESAME ST.

61. Upscale retailer: SAKS.

62. Gave a leg up: BOOSTED.

65. Rattler's weapon: VENOM.

66. Air pump letters: PSI. Pounds per Square Inch.

70. Edwards, e.g.: Abbr.: AFB.

73. Net, but not Jet or Met: NBAER.

75. Like some massages: SENSUAL. The TAO has a prominent ad in Las Vegas. Steve will see it again next week. Big Easy probably did not see his TAO (way).

76. Bitter __: PILL.

77. Certain dietary abstinence: VEGANISM. Then you've got to eat more soy products for protein, including Natto rice. Do you guys eat raw eggs?

80. Civil War topper: KEPI.

81. Part of a squirrel's stash: WALNUT.

83. __ for the ride: ALONG.

84. BOLO equivalent: APB. BOLO = Be On the LookOut.

87. Old atlas letters: SSR.

88. Burdens: ONUSES.

89. Plentiful: RIFE.

90. Potato often used for fries: RUSSET. Also 118. Hanukkah fare: LATKE.

93. Pub stickers: DARTS.

95. Slangy assent: YEH.

99. Toss in: ADD.

102. IRS convenience: E-FILE.

104. Like four-leaf clovers: RARE.

105. The one that got away: ESCAPEE.

107. "Do tell!": I'M ALL EARS. Sparkly fill.

111. Shot in the dark: GUESS.

113. Openings for Tolkien and Rowling?: Abbr.: INITS. J. R. R. & J.K.

114. Nursery rhyme dieter: SPRAT.

119. Sporty old Ford: T-BIRD.

120. So: ERGO.

121. Beginning to bat?: ACRO. Acrobat.

122. Lessened: EASED.

123. Jack of "The Wizard of Oz": HALEY. OK, the Tin Man.

124. Celine of pop: DION.

125. Staff notation: REST. 

Down:

1. Hardly dignify: DEMEAN.

2. Pioneering game consoles: ATARIS.

3. Heavy envelope makeup: MANILA.

4. Pizza purchase: SLICE. Pizza Hut is very popular in China.

5. Monkey in "Aladdin": ABU.

6. Places to tie up: MARINAS.

7. "A horse, of course, of course": MR ED. Mister Ed is the preferred entry. DR WHO is also frowned upon by editors. DOCTOR WHO is the entry.

8. In a circle near a diamond: ON DECK.

9. Skiers' retreats: CHALETS.

10. Hesitate while speaking: HAW.

11. 24-hr. banking spots: ATMS.

12. Old-style "Wicked!": PHAT.

13. Riviera resort: SAN REMO. Alfred Nobel died here.

14. Know-it-all: PEDANT.

15. High school hurdles: EXAMS.

17. Banned orchard spray: ALAR.

18. P.O. box fillers: LTRS.

24. Copies made on onionskin, probably: CARBONS.

25. Word with fast or passing: LANE.

30. Baseball stats: ERAS.

32. Informal science: OLOGY.

34. Big name in nonstick cookware: T-FAL. Red in the center.

38. Unit of force: NEWTON.

39. Scrabble vowel value: ONE.

40. Bartender's array: RYES.

42. Fifth book of the New Testament: ACTS.

43. More than half: MOST. This is my good friend Lesley and her son Eric. Many kids in Guangzhou wear the jade-on-a-red-string (good luck talisman) as Eric does. 

44. Unsuccessful swing: MISS. I could still hear John Gordon's dramatic "Swing and a miss.."

46. Test-drive car, e.g.: DEMO.

47. Recipe meas.: TBSP.

48. Some S&L plans: IRAS.

51. "The __ are lovely, dark and deep": Frost: WOODS.

52. "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME.

54. House prop: CANE. Dr. House.

57. Really bombed: STANK.

59. First name in ramp-to-ramp jumping: EVEL.

60. Univ. term: SEM. Semester.

62. You may hum a few: BARS.

63. Trio of asses?: ESSES. Just the three letters in asses.

64. Bikini specs: D CUPS.

67. Funk band Kool & the __: GANG.

68. Outdoorsy sort's retailer: REI.

69. Dresser's concern?: HAIRDO. Dress-er.

71. Harmful gas outlet: FLUE.

72. Crunchy lunches: BLTS. We finally planted our Big Girl/Boy tomato plants.

74. Nemesis: BANE.

76. Favorable aspect: PLUS.

77. What prices may do: VARY. I bought these amazing Carolina Herrera for Target set for $10. Been storing all my precious stuff in. It was that much and more A PIECE (99. For each one) in the start.

78. Wiesel with a Nobel: ELIE.

79. Halloween staple: MASK.

81. Bait, often: WORMS.

82. Hot wings chaser, perhaps: ANTACID. Thank God I don't have a stomach problem.

85. Aspiring therapist's maj.: PSY.

86. Black or brown critter: BEAR.

90. "No cellphone at dinner," say: RULE. Everyone lives on WeChat now.

91. Dig up: UNEARTH.

92. Shakespearean genre: TRAGEDY.

94. Back in the day: AGES AGO.

96. Unexpectedly and unhappily single: JILTED.

97. Starr-struck one?: DRUM. Nice clue. Ringo Starr.

98. Held: DEEMED.

100. Tries to prevent: DETERS.

101. Pharaoh, for one: DESPOT. And 106. Egypt's Sadat: ANWAR.

103. Space cadet: FLAKE.

107. Cartographer's speck: ISLE.

108. Hollywood rating gp.: MPAA. Motion Picture Association of America.

109. Sitcom that starred a singer: REBA.

110. Windsurfing need: SAIL.

112. Wrapped wear: SARI.

116. "Compton" album maker: DRE.

117. Rouen rejection: NON. Alliteration.

C.C.