Thursday September 10, 2015 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: A LOW KEY Thursday, like this hilarious LOW KEY Comedian

Mary Lou's lovely Thursday exercise got me with LACT_/SAM_. I didn't know SAMI but had a good feeling about LACTO. Her LOW KEY theme used the gimmick that the word KEY could be appended to the last word in the  four down fills with asterisks to form a common phrase. The first word of the amended phrase was also LOW on the  vertical fill and so LOW KEY!

3. *Event for A-listers, say : PRIVATE FUNCTION - Where the elite meet and FUNCTION KEY on my MacBook Pro. Any of the 11 on the top row

11. *The Hagia Sophia, for nearly a millennium : BYZANTINE CHURCH - Constantinople CHURCH and CHURCH KEY - puncture or cap removal type

27. *Sirius' constellation : CANIS MAJOR - The winter constellation and MAJOR KEY signatures in music

29. *Space to maneuver : WIGGLE ROOM - Plausible denial or ROOM KEY (modern version) that all my Florida kids got and half managed to lose at one time or another

58. With 59-Down, subdued, and a hint to the answers to starred clues : LOW. 59. See 58. Down - KEY and there you have the reveal: LOW KEY

Marti is off in Europe sightseeing, staying with friends and helping to kick off Oktoberfest in Bavaria. I am her envious and barely adequate pinch hitter.

Across   
     
1. Oz. sextet : TSPS - 6 TSPS per oz. abbr/abbr. Not Kazie's Oz.

5. Hamlet's foppish courtier : OSRIC - Yeah, I knew that!

10. Abba not known for singing : EBAN - ABBA Eban who held many posts in Israeli government 

14. Other, in Orizaba : OTRO - Español - "On the other hand" becomes "pro OTRO lado"

15. __ Park: Knott's Berry Farm city : BUENA

16. Connecticut town for which a disease is named : LYME - Less favorable notoriety than Buena Park

17. Sinn __ : FEIN - An Irish political party. Name means "Ourselves"

18. 100-eyed guardian of Io : ARGUS - Yikes! I'm pretty sure we wouldn't see eye to eye to eye to eye... 

19. Weizman of Israel : EZER - Seventh president of Israel

20. Bean used in falafel : FAVA - They were also a side dish in a grotesque meal in Silence Of The Lambs.

21. Half a comedy duo : MEARA - Part of Stiller and Meara and mother to Ben Stiller

22. Two-time MLB all-star Ron : GANT - Now host of Good Morning Atlanta, a city where he once played

23. Three-handed game : SKAT - Aggressive SKAT play

24. Wrench handle? : ALLEN - I loved this clue. My bike requires ALLEN wrenches on most bolts

25. Stats for QBs : INTS - When your number of INTerceptionS exceed your number of COMPletionS, you will probably have to seek other employment

26. "Clueless" co-star __ Dash : STACEY - I know it's lame, but I was CLUELESS about Stacey

28. Johannesburg section : SOWETO - SOWEstern Townships. 

30. Salad option : CAESAR - Et tu?

31. Social calls : VISITS 

33. "__ Wiedersehen" : AUF - Literally means "until we see again". AUF Wiedersehen, Marti!

34. It often says "Hello" : NAME TAG

38. FDR loan org. : NHA - National Housing Agency was part of FDR's alphabet soup

39. "Pardon me, Giuseppe" : SCUSI - Dean Martin sang "Grazie, Grazie, SCUSI, Prego"

41. CPR provider : EMT - First responders run TO danger

42. Something in your eye : GLEAM

44. Wires, e.g. : SENDS - Used mainly to transfer money today

45. Mr. Rogers : ROY

46. Dairy prefix : LACTI - LACTOse occurred to me first 

47. Brown shade : CAMEL

49. "He that __ down with dogs shall rise up with fleas": Franklin : LIETH - Birds of a feather...

51. Bar made by Hershey's : KIT KAT 

53. Enterprise bridge regular : MR SULU

56. "Vous êtes __": Paris map words : ICI - You are here!

57. Dog days mo. : JUL - A fairly cool July on the prairie this year

59. Kitchy-__ : KOO

60. Cartoonist Chast : ROZ - Clueless redux

61. Disney's Bob Iger, e.g. : CEO

62. Dash prefix : ODO - The ODOmeter on your car's dashboard. Can they still be turned back?

63. Frequent co-producer of U2 albums : ENO - A frequent cwd commodity

64. "__: Miami" : CSI

65. 54-year-old doll : KEN - Middle-aged KEN and Barbie

66. VCR button : REW

67. Sweet tuber : YAM - YAMS with brown sugar, marshmallows and football. Now that's Thanksgiving!

68. Bulls and bucks : HE'S - Both male

 Down:

1. Farnham Fops - TOFFS - A gaggle of TOFFS

2. Outback condiment : STEAK SAUCE

4. Piano pieces : SONATAS

5. Period since 2009 : OBAMA ERA

6. Without a doubt : SURELY - From my "funniest movie ever"

7. Courtly : REGAL

8. Hardens : INURES

9. 18th-century Italian adventurer : CASANOVA - Oh, it's called adventuring 

10. Poetic laments : ELEGIES - Was I the only one who read this in high school?

12. "I'll say!" : AMEN TO THAT - Right on, brother!

13. "Darn it!" : NERTS

30. Mama known for singing : CASS - "...and everyone's getting' fat 'cept Mama CASS"

32. Scandinavian native : SAMI- Not a clue, er no idea. These are Indigenous people living in the very north of Sweden, Finland and Norway. Tundra is a SAMI word used in many other languages. 

35. Jazzman Saunders : MERL - SF jazz organist/keyboard player

36. Expressive music genre : EMO

37. Texter's sign-off : TTYL - Talk To You L8r

40. Home to Pierre: Abbr. : S DAK - Where Lewis and Clark encountered Teton Sioux or Lakota tribes

43. Back muscles, briefly : LATS - Latissimus Dorsi

48. Czerny piano piece : ETUDE

50. "__ roll!" : I'M ON A

51. Bit of excitement : KICK 

52. Frozen treat : ICEE

54. Shed : LOSE

55. Strong arms? : UZIS - I'll bet EZER Weizman knew his way around one

C.C. was very LOW KEY when we visited with her and Boomer but I wonder how many of my other crossword friends here. There are a lotta hot buttons out there! Who knew a comma could raise IRE?

Husker Gary

Wednesday, September 9, 2015, Pawel Fludzinski and Amy E. Hamilton

Theme: It's another Wednesday, By Cracky!   We are presented with beautifully common two-word phrases, beginning coincidentally with B and C.  Is this a bold concept?  

20 A. *Competition won by a knockout? : BEAUTY CONTEST.  I have to admit I love this brilliant clue.  In one sense, a knockout is physically incapacitating one's opponent in a combat sport.  in another it's lady of beguiling charm.

But why chose?

36 A. *Certain cutlet : BONELESS CHICKEN.  As the name suggests, this is a cut of chicken with the bones removed.

Or so we are led to believe

53 A. *Nonviolent revolution : BLOODLESS COUP.   A Coup [d'état] is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually by a group of insiders.  It's bloodless if done by non-violent means.

You never know what gifts Mr. Google will provide

4 D. *Dressing with Buffalo wings : BLUE CHEESE.  Blessedly cool to balance/contrast the heat of buffalo chicken.

Also serving Buffalo Calimari

31 D. *Arm-strengthening reps : BICEP CURLS.  The barbell is curled upward from waist level to the chest.

Big contraction

And the unifier -- 66 A. Recently retired NCAA football ranking system, and, as a plural, a hint to the answers to starred clues : BCS.    Acronym Finder lists 106 various things, from Bar Code Scanner to Bangladesh Civil Service that might be indicated by the abbreviation BCS.    But, with the beginning of football season we have the somewhat more topical BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. This was a system in place from 1998 through 2013 that used 5 Bowl games involving 10 of the top rated college football teams in a vain attempt to define a national champion.   Whether this was worth doing is a topic I'll let remain undiscussed.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here - though with symphony season back in session perhaps I should be Classical Bumpa, at least for today.  [Wait - that's backwards.  Oh, well.] At any rate, we have five long horizontal and vertical two-word theme answers, one a grid spanner, with the initials B and C.  We needn't go back to Old Testament times, nor will our excursion take us to British Columbia, Boston College, nor Baja California.   Let's see if we can blithely conquer this puzzle, before conceding.

Across:

1. "Hardball" station : MSNBC.   Chris Matthews hosts this politically oriented program.  'Nuff said.

6. McCain's org. : GOP.   John and the Grand Old Party.  'Nuff said.

9. Mardi Gras mementos : BEADS.  Mardi Gras will land on Feb 9 in 2016.  Are you ready?

I guess there is some sort of tradition about earning them

14. São __, Brazil : PAULO.  The most populous city in Brazil, the Americas, the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.  It's named for Saul of Tarsus, who became St. Paul.

15. Body spray brand : AXE.

Body Conjured?

16. Baseball Hall of Famer Murray or Mathews : EDDIE.    Steady Eddie Murray was a first baseman and designated hitter for the Baltimore Orioles, 1977-1988. He played until 1997 for several more teams.  Eddie Matthews played 3rd base for the Braves as they were stationed in Boston, Milwaukee and then Atlanta from 1952 through 1966.  After a partial year in Houston, he finished up with the Tigers in 1968.

17. Arrange ahead of time : SET UP.

18. Irish actor Stephen : REA.   Best actor nominee for his performance in The Crying Game, and has been in many more films and TV series.

Source

19. Jeans accent : RIVET.

Bluejeans Characteristic

23. Magazine fig. : CIRC.  The abbrv'd figure is CIRCulation.

25. Easily led sorts : SHEEP.   Figuratively speaking.  We keep venturing dangerously close to politics.

Wouldn't be prudent

26. Seminary subj. : REL.  And now RELigion!  What did I do to deserve this?

27. Kerfuffles : HOOHAS.   Altercations, brouhahas, etc. This word also has other definitions, which you may discuss amongst yourselves.

29. Easily roused crowd : RABBLE.  Sheep with teeth and claws?

32. Single : UNWED.  Once wed, you are double, I suppose.

33. Highest North American peak, to natives : DENALI.   And to everybody, now.  [Well, almost] Formerly Mt. McKinley, so named in 1896 by a gold prospector who supported the then presidential candidate. This was made official by President Wilson in 1917.  To be clear, pretty much everyone in Alaska has always called it by the Athabascan name, meaning great one.  The Alaska Board of Geograhic Names changed it back to DENALI in 1975, and has been petitioning the Federal government to follow suit ever since..  It is located in a national park that has been named DENALI since 1980.  {Reference}

41. Not quite boil : SIMMER.  If you can't stand the heat  .  .  .

42. Grammar class subject : TENSE.  A verb characteristic expressing a time reference; Frex., past, present or future.   Once in grammar class the teacher asked me, "What tense would it be if you said, 'I have money?'"  My answer was, "Pretense."

43. Slide subject : AMOEBA.  Tiny critter on a microscope slide.  This has nothing to do with baseball, nor trombones.  I hope.

46. Common motel prohibition : NO PETS.   This refers to your animal friends, and presumably does not extend to physical contact.

47. Turned on : LIT.  As a light bulb.

48. With no affection : ICILY.  As, for example, when encountering one's ex.

52. Corp. bigwigs : CEOS. Chief Executive OfficerS.

57. First name on a 1945 bomber : ENOLA Gay.  Delivered a nuke.

58. SoCal team, on scoreboards : LAA.  Los Angeles Angels.  Long shot for a wild card this year.

59. Athenian with harsh laws : DRACO.  In the 7th century B. C. he replaced oral laws that could be arbitrarily applied and interpreted with a written constitution that was publicly displayed.  These laws led to the death penalty for even minor offenses, and were more lenient to the upper classes.

62. Race with batons : RELAY.  The baton is passed from runner to runner on a team, at set distance intervals.

63. Clean one's plate : EAT.   Figuratively,  except for the Sprats, of course. 

64. Respected church member : ELDER.

65. Deuce beaters : TREYS.  Twos and threes in a deck of cards.

67. Pitcher's arm, say : ASSET.  But only if he can get a grip.  

Down

1. U.S. Army cops :. Military Police (plural S.)

2. Encl. with a manuscript : SAE.  Self Addressed Envelope.

3. Type of ale : NUT BROWN.  

Not a rave review

5. Nightclub of song : COPA.  A Barry Manilow song that I will not link.

6. Brooks of C&W : GARTH.   A County singer who I will not link.

7. Daisy variety : OX EYE.  So prolific it is now considered to be a noxious weed.

Bad Chrysanthemum?

8. Flower child's parting word : PEACE.  

Is that an ox eye daisy?

9. Swiss capital : BERN.   Neither Francs nor Euros; instead the capital city.

10. Revise text : EDIT.

11. Sooner or later : ADVERB.  Self-referential clue.

12. Semi-filling liquid : DIESEL.  Fuel for semi tractor trailer rigs, not light beer.

13. Come to terms : SETTLE.   Reach an agreement.

21. Pearl Harbor's __ Arizona Memorial : USS.  United States Ship, a prefix applied to a commissioned ship of the U. S. Navy.  This is only used during the time that the ship is commissioned. 

22. Personality with an online book club : OPRAH.   Winfrey (b. January 29, 1954.)

23. Carp family fish : CHUB.  A common fish name applied to a variety of families and genera.

24. Prefix with sphere : IONO-.   The upper region of the atmosphere, from about 40 to over 600 miles of altitude, where the molecules of the atmosphere are ionized by solar radiation and cosmic rays.

28. Go off-script : AD LIB.

30. 2005 Bush Supreme Court nominee : ALITO.  Samuel (b. April 1, 1950)

33. Mil. award : DSM.  Distinguished Service Medal.   British, awarded from 1914 to 1993.

34. L.A.-to-Tucson dir. : ESE.  East-SouthEast.

35. ATM giant : NCR.  National Cash Register.

37. Phishing medium : EMAIL.

38. Rollerblading safety gear : KNEE PADS.  So they don't get skinned.

Protective armor

39. José's "this" : ESTO.   Spanish.

40. Loch near Inverness : NESS.   Scottish Lake with a mythical monster.

43. Angels' slugger Pujols : ALBERT.  He was more of a slugger, and hit for higher average with the Cardinals from 2001 through 2011.   Things fell off dramatically when he changed uniforms in 2012. This year the HR's are back on track, but the average is still slipping.

Baseball coverage

44. Martin of "Adam-12" : MILNER.  Sadly, passed away on Monday.

"I was never a celebrity"

45. "Lawrence of Arabia" Oscar nominee : O'TOOLE.   Irish stage and screen actor ((2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) 

Holds the record for most Oscar nominations without a win

46. 1785-'90 U.S. capital : NYC.  New York City.

49. Star : CELEBrity.  O'Toole, not Milner.

50. Newton associated with apples, not figs : ISAAC.  (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726)  English physicist and mathematician.  Very clever clue, too.  

51. Exams for future J.D.s : LSATS.  Law School Admission TestS.

54. Nivea rival : OLAY.   Skin care products.

55. Diary pages : DAYS.   

56. Old Greek theaters : ODEA.  Plural of ODEON.  Ancient Greek or Roman structures used for performances in singing, poetry, and theater.   I imagine some of the performances were odious.

60. Average grade : CEE.  Spelt out letter name.

61. Food scrap : ORT.  From Middle English, with cognates in German and Dutch; evidently derived from ǣt, Old English for food. 

Well, that wraps it up for today.  Lots of themeage, and some clever cluing but also a lot of 3-letter verticals, many of which were abbrvs.  There's always a trade-off.  And thus end my blog comments.

Big Cool Regards!
Jz[&C]B

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 Fred Piscop

Theme: We Three - Me, Myself And I.

17A. "Am I supposed to take this seriously?" : "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

39A. "Oops, thought you wouldn't hear that" : "TALKING TO MYSELF"

62A. Nursery rhyme plum finder's boast : "WHAT A GOOD BOY AM I!"

Argyle here. A simple theme delivered by three grid spanning answers. A minor annoyance, not having the AND but ok. All three are in the form of a spoken phrase which keeps things tight. A lot fewer proper names than Monday and some interesting words to boot should keep most solvers happy.

Across:

1. Ponzi scheme, e.g. : SCAM

5. Diplomat's specialty : TACT

9. Tire pattern : TREAD

14. Word of amore : CARA

15. Worker protection org. : OSHA. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

16. Wheel spokes, geometrically : RADII

20. Catholic sacrament of confession and forgiveness : PENANCE

21. Least healthy : SICKEST

22. LAX posting : ETA

23. British peer : EARL

25. "Alice" diner owner : MEL. TV series(1976–1985). I haven't seen any reruns of it in my area.

26. Cloistered sister : NUN

27. Four-song discs, briefly : EPs. (extended play)

29. Cut with acid : ETCH

33. Post-spill carpet spot : STAIN

36. Clean vigorously : SCRUB. To get the spot out?

38. Weed chopper : HOE. Much easier than breaking up sod.

42. Pound sound : [ARF!]

43. Lugged : TOTED

44. Bill's attorney general : JANET Reno

45. __ estate : REAL

47. Estonia or Ukr., once : SSR. (Soviet Socialist Republic)

48. Ten, in Toulouse : DIX

49. Tuna in a sushi bar : AHI

51. Shortest-shadows time : NOON

53. "Liquor not provided" letters : BYO. (Bring Your Own) I live in a 'dry' town.

56. Starts to melt : SOFTENS

60. Aged at the brewery : LAGERED. I didn't know LAGER could be used as a verb but I'm probably in the minority with all the brew meisters around.

64. Started the pot : ANTED

65. Shipping option : RAIL

66. Nights of anticipatory revelry : EVES

67. Like poorly drained rock gardens : MOSSY

68. Family map : TREE

69. Word of admonition : DON'T

Down:

1. Suffix with land or sea : SCAPE. Landscape / Seascape

2. Insertion mark : CARET

3. Sports venue : ARENA

4. Early Yucatán settler : MAYA

5. Bird on a Froot Loops box : TOUCAN Sam.

6. "Jeopardy!" contestant : ASKER

7. Windy City station, on Amtrak skeds : CHIcago

8. Little boys : TADS

9. Split second : TRICE

10. Rub the wrong way : RANKLE

11. Slight advantage : EDGE

12. Gets in one's sights, with "at" : AIMS

13. Cola request from a calorie watcher : DIET

18. Blood bank quantity : ONE UNIT

19. Chinese appetizer : DIM SUM. We usually get some comments about the best DIM SUM. I only question should the clue have been appetizers?

24. Speaker's stand : LECTERN

26. Suffix with no-good : NIK

28. Cattle poker : PROD

30. In those days : THEN

31. Old King or Nat King : COLE

32. Test the weight of : HEFT

33. Marquee name : STAR

34. Button on a deli scale : TARE. To account for the weight of the container.

35. __ Romeo: sports car : ALFA. I expect an update from Anon T.

36. Superiors of cpls. : SGTS.

37. "Heavens to Betsy!" : "BY JINGO!". Quaint.

40. Snooping (around) : NOSING

41. Jazz band instrument : SAX

46. Foam-topped coffeehouse drinks : LATTEs

48. Not impossible : DOABLE. A word heard often here on the corner.

50. Intoxicating, as wine : HEADY

52. Any Everly Brothers tune, now : OLDIE

53. Curtain call cry : "BRAVO!". Also "Brava!".

54. Red Sea country : YEMEN

55. Pindar, notably : ODIST. An Ancient Greek.

56. Did pool laps : SWAM

57. "It can't be!" : "OH, NO!"

58. "Minnesota" pool legend : FATS. Fictional pool hustler. Rudolf Wanderone changed his nickname to Minnesota Fats to cash in on the fame of the name thus proving his ability to hustle.

59. Place in order : SORT

61. Gave the once-over : EYED

63. Rowboat mover : OAR

One last song. "We Three" by the Ink Spots.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Funny, Anon-T (Tony) just sent me this picture last night. His '86 Alpa Romeo Spider. Tony mentioned on the blog a few times about the troubles he went through to get the car from Florida to Texas.

Anon T (Tony)

Monday, September 7, 2015 Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

Theme: Connection - One word that works with four different words.

62A. Perform a cheerleader's feat, and a hint to what 17-, 23-, 40- and 50-Across' first words have in common : DO THE SPLITS...and the connection is SPLIT.

17A. Sensible : LEVEL HEADED. Split level, like a house.

23A. Actor's tryout : SCREEN TEST. Split screen, like this film, Woodstock(1:12).

40A. Romantic anniversary getaway : SECOND HONEYMOON. Split second.

50A. Concert memento : TICKET STUB. Split ticket, when a voter doesn't follow party lines and votes for candidates from more than one party.

Argyle here. Personally, after the last three puzzles, I was ready for a Monday.

Across:

1. __ fit: tantrum : HISSY

6. Alabama civil rights march city : SELMA

11. Muddy farm abode : STY

14. Send to seventh heaven : ELATE. Like a pig in a sty.

15. Earlier : PRIOR

16. Drain-clearing chemical : LYE

19. Alias, for short : AKA. (also known as)

20. Private school attendee : PREPPIE

21. Actor Rob of "90210" : ESTES. Rob Estes was born on July 22, 1963 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. He appears as Harry Wilson on 90210, the fourth series of the Beverly Hills, 90210 continuity. Prior to this role, Estes starred in the franchise's second series as Kyle McBride, and appeared in the guest role of Sam Towler years earlier.

27. Padlocked fasteners : HASPS

32. Maintained, as beliefs : HELD TO. Colloquialism?

33. Extremely : EVER SO. Colloquialism?

35. Wheel tooth : COG

36. Judge's garb : ROBE

43. 1970s-'80s sketch show : SCTV. (Second City Television)

44. Letters of obligation : IOU. Sound it out.

45. Took by force : SEIZED

46. "Full House" acting twins : OLSENS. They both portrayed Michelle Tanner, the youngest daughter in the Tanner family.

49. January, to Juan : ENERO. The start of verano.

54. Irish actor Milo : O'SHEA

55. Hopi homes : PUEBLOs

61. Hard __ rock : AS A. Do not play if easily offended. Very suggestive.

66. Pester for payment : DUN

67. Bull on a glue container : ELMER

68. Assume as fact : POSIT

69. Up to now : YET

70. Curbs, with "in" : REINS

71. Sandwich cheese with ham : SWISS

Down:

1. "SOS!" : "HELP!"

2. Robert who played Anthony Soprano Jr. : ILER

3. Keep in reserve : SAVE

4. Ladder rung : STEP

5. Shrill bark : [YELP!]

6. Orator's delivery : SPEECH

7. Chapter in history : ERA

8. Jar cover : LID

9. Cohort of Curly and Larry : MOE. Not the bartender today.

10. Intensely devoted : ARDENT

11. List of candidates : SLATE. Straight ticket.

12. Tricycle riders : TYKES

13. Bread-baking need : YEAST

18. "__ Girl Friday": 1940 Cary Grant comedy : HIS

22. Enter angrily : STORM IN

24. Runner-up's demand : RECOUNT

25. North Carolina university : ELON

26. Outer margins : EDGES

27. Gas brand with collectible toy trucks : HESS. Hess has been sold to Speedway but does that make the Hess trucks even more collectible?

28. With, in France : AVEC

29. Breakaway religious group : SECT

30. Egg on : PROVOKE

31. ID on an IRS form : SSN

34. Creator of praiseful poems : ODIST

37. Move like slime : OOZE

38. Afrikaans speaker : BOER

39. Prefix with skeleton : ENDO

41. Sod-busting tools : HOEs

42. "__-haw!" : YEE. Almost done!

47. Orchestra conductor, e.g. : LEADER

48. Building custodians : SUPERs. Shortened superintendent.

50. Sycophant : TOADY

51. Magazine edition : ISSUE

52. Repeated unison rallying cry : CHANT

53. Urban transport : BUS

56. Omar of "House" : EPPS

57. Low __: cheap shot : BLOW

58. Italian actress Virna : LISI

59. Elevator pioneer : OTIS

60. Former Mach 2 fliers, briefly : SSTs

63. World Cup cry : ¡OLÉ!

64. Texter's "Keep the details to yourself" : TMI. (Too Much Information)

65. One in a coop group : HEN

Argyle

Sunday, September 6, 2015 Melanie Miller

Theme:  "Again" - A is added to the front of the second word in each theme entry.

 22A. Comedy club road sign? : CHUCKLE AHEAD. Chucklehead. The clue makes me smile.

 33A. Distaste for jury duty? : TRIAL AVERSION. Trial version. I like the big transition from version to aversion.

 52A. Digression to a cabbie? : PASSENGER ASIDE. Passenger side.

 70A. Erase? : RUB THE WRONG AWAY. Rub the wrong way.

 91A. Prize for the fastest delivery? : MATERNITY AWARD. Maternity ward. Nice change also. 

107A. Drag one's feet on the gangplank? : SHUFFLE ABOARD. Shuffleboard.

123A. Doctors' agreement? : MEDICINE AMEN. Medicine man. Nice change also.

I adore this theme & theme answers, esp those entries where the new A-words share no roots with the old A-less words.

Super smooth grid also, hallmark of Melanie Miller & Gail G. They might stump you with a twisty or  unfamiliar clue, not a strange entry.  

Across:

1. "__ the fruited plain!" : ABOVE.  "America the Beautiful".

6. "The Lion King" hero : SIMBA. No NALA today,

11. Holds : OWNS

15. Senior exec : CEO

18. Kvetch : CAVIL. I like both words.

19. Lament : BEMOAN

20. Kitchen protection : MITT. I bought a box of frozen egg tarts last week. All gone now, Jayce!

21. Type of current : AIR

24. Magnifies : ENHANCES

26. Get control of : TAME

27. Italian wine region : ASTI

28. Breakfast brand : EGGO. So I finally tried Eggo. No too bad. Egg tarts are better.

 

30. Two to one, for one : RATIO

31. King with fiddlers : COLE. I could only think of the fiddling NERO (46A. Emperor after Claudius)

37. Circus performers : ACROBATS

41. Four Seasons alternative : OMNI

42. Brand used in cones : EDY'S

43. Like moccasins : SLIP-ON

44. Pipe smoker's gadget : TAMP. Got via crosses.

48. Tout de suite : ASAP.  I wonder if Splynter uses "Tout de suite" in his daily conversations.

 

55. Immoral profit : LUCRE

56. Sonnet preposition : ERE

57. White-tailed eagle : ERNE

58. First European to sail to India : DA GAMA

61. Beer seller's concern : AGE

62. Said with a pinched nose : NASAL

65. Mollusks with beaks : OCTOPI

68. Hill worker : SENATOR. And 110D. Political employees : AIDES

74. Keeper, in a big way : PACK RAT. Boomer is one.

77. Road race city : LE MANS. Wiki says it's "the world's oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France".

78. Pre-Columbian people : INCAS

82. Conspiracy theory subj. : UFO

83. Top-drawer : CHOICE

86. Discontinued depilatory : NEET

88. Trading card stat : RBI. Be careful. Some of the old-looking cards are re-prints.

89. Party co-founded by Arafat : FATAH. So what's the difference between Fatah and PLO?

 

96. Worry : FRET

97. Tax __ : LOSS

99. Kid stuff : TOYS

100. Original : PRIMAL

101. Seriously injure : MAIM

103. O'Neill's "__ Christie" : ANNA

105. "Honest!" : SO HELP ME

112. Assigned amount of work : LOAD

113. Zany adventure : CAPER

114. Teller of stories : LIAR

115. Luxury Swiss watch : RADO. Belong to the Swatch Group. We also have OMEGA (11D. Arch-like letter).

117. Wine cellar item : CASK

121. Like potatoes pre-prep : UNPEELED. Here is D-Otto's Potato Dumpling recipe. He and his wife Susan make those every Christmas. 

 

127. Opponent : FOE

128. Fully assuage : SATE

129. Electrical measure : AMPERE

130. Tell stories, in a way : WRITE

131. December purchase : FIR

132. Biggest of three '50s-'60s TV brothers : HOSS . "Bonanza". I got via crosses.

133. River through Orléans : LOIRE

134. Clothing giant Bauer : EDDIE

 

Down:

1. No. on a bill : ACCT

2. Island band The __ Men : BAHA. "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

3. Female gamete : OVUM

4. Squad raiders : VICE COPS

5. Caribou kin : ELK

6. Super Bowl prize? : SEAT. Got via crosses also. Nice clue.

7. Paintball cry : I'M HIT

8. Sitcom beer server : MOE. OK, "Simpsons".

 9. Petting zoo call : BAA.  And 60. Kitten's "Got milk?" : MEW. Can you imagine a blog post written by Dave, Irish Miss?

10. From Quito, say : ANDEAN

 12. Bring around : WIN OVER

13. Unspecified power : NTH

14. Van Gogh's "The __ Night" : STARRY

15. Low-maintenance plants : CACTI

16. Three-note quintet : E I E I O

17. Bean in Hollywood : ORSON

19. Harassed : BESET

23. Fitness promoter born of French immigrants : LALANNE. My juicer is Jack LaLanne.

25. New Providence port : NASSAU

29. She put the ruby slippers on Dorothy : GLINDA. The Good Witch.

32. Slim woodwind : OBOE

34. Tomato option : ROMA

35. Little patience testers : IMPS

36. Pre-1868 Tokyo : EDO. Modern sushi was invented in Edo period. Sushi rice, though sticky, is different from sticky rice, Yellowrocks. Think of Japanese rice cake Mochi, it's made of sticky rice. Trader Joe's has this sinful Mochi Ice Cream.

37. Sun Valley alternative : ASPEN. Ski resort.

38. Nurse Barton : CLARA

39. Heads up : RISES

40. Offensive smell : STENCH

45. Knife-like ridge : ARETE. This and ESKER always remind me of Spitzboov.

47. Neurofeedback readout : EEG

49. Stray dismissal : SCAT

50. 2012 Affleck thriller : ARGO

51. Equal : PEER

53. Cave : GROTTO

54. Barking up the wrong tree, e.g. : IDIOM

55. Tropical veranda : LANAI. This one looks so nice.

59. How DVDs may be sold : AS A SET

63. Early solution for bad weather : ARK. Nice clue.

64. Reel : LURCH

66. Baby barn critter : OWLET

67. Paid leader? : PRE. Pre-pay.

69. "Who is John Galt?" writer Rand : AYN

71. Word of disapproval : BAH

72. McPhee's job, in a 2005 film : NANNY. Drew a blank. "Nanny McPhee".

73. Layered rock : GNEISS

74. Locomotive output : PUFF

75. Hardly within shouting distance : AFAR

76. Refuge for a frequent flier? : COTE. Nailed it.

79. Runner's bane : CRAMP

80. Delano : FDR :: __ : Garfield : ABRAM. Middle name. Nailed it also.

81. Move furtively : SIDLE

84. Online exchange : IMs

85. Winter melon : CASABA. In China, this kind of big gourd is called "winter melon". Cantonese love their winter melon soup

87. Pacific weather event : TYPHOON

90. Cost of bread? : ATM FEE. Another great clue.

92. Sicilian smoker : ETNA

93. Drag strip sound : ROAR

94. It may be residential : AREA

95. Joker : WILD CARD

97. Tiny, in a tiny way : LIL

98. They're folded in kitchens : OMELETS

102. In a new way : AFRESH

104. Unexceptional : NORMAL

 

106. Nostalgia source : OLDIE

107. Oxford mark : SCUFF. Oxford shoes.

 

108. Red River capital : HANOI. And 122. Mekong River language : LAO. No plural form in Lao neither. Or "the", my biggest problem.

109. Has the __ hand : UPPER

111. Less soggy : DRIER

116. Piece of farmland : ACRE

118. In an atmosphere of : AMID

119. Space exploration acronym : SETI

120. Spot for a bouncing baby boy : KNEE

124. Rock genre : EMO

125. Printer spec. : DPI. Dots Per Inch.

126. Livestock lady : EWE 

I just learned that there are nine Xi'an Famous Foods restaurants in New York City. Have any of you eaten there? I pored over their menu and found their food visually authentic. Try their cold noodles and pork burgers if you happen to be there.

 C.C.