Thursday, October 22nd, 2015 David Poole

Theme: Feathered Friends. Five people's names who sound like birds replace the birds themselves in the noun. Hilarity ensues.

17A. Ditty from 1970s-'80s NFL wide receiver Lynn? : SWANN SONG. Pittsburgh Steelers Hall-of-Famer.

25A. Unwinding places for actor Russell? : CROWE BARS. The blog "Waiter Rant" revealed that Mr. Crowe, when eating out, doesn't behave like a spoiled brat and tips well. Good to know.

38A. Tough spot for actor Walter? : PIDGEON HOLE. Apparently this is how an urban pigeon adapts to apartment living. Their country cousins may have more space.

49A. Easter adornment made by politician Dan? : QUAYLE EGG. Food! Three of these make a very small omelet.

61A. Facial feature of actor Ethan? : HAWKE EYES. Are they deep and dreamy? I have no idea.

Spot the odd one out in the theme entries - a swan has a song (in legend), a pigeon may perch in a hole, roughly 50% of the adult quail population has the capacity to lay eggs and a hawk certainly has eyes, apparently sharp ones. But a crow? I don't believe a crow has ever had bars. There's some other odd-ones-out too - CROWBAR is one word, the others are two, and QUAYLE needs a letter-change from the bird, the others don't. It feels inconsistent to me.

I confess to being a little underwhelmed with this one - you could play "Word Association" and get three or four of the names without thinking: Actor Russell? CROWE! Actor Ethan? HAWKE! Politico Dan? QUAYLE! You get the idea.

So let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Lead-ins to some online games : ADS. I don't play computer games, but I can't see the producers missing the opportunity to push some product before you get the chance to play.

4. Magnetic induction unit : TESLA. I didn't know this usage, but there's been enough of Nikola round recently that it wasn't a problem.

9. Nobelist Curie : MARIE. Husband Pierre also - he didn't fit. She beat him 2-1 in the Nobel Prize throwdown.

14. Petal plucker's word : NOT. Unloved, so sad.

15. Use at the table : EAT ON. Odd - I eat OFF plates and silverware, not on them.

16. Dunderhead : IDIOT

19. Replicate : CLONE

20. Fighting against : ANTI

21. Rarely seen item on casual Friday : TIE

22. Enjoy Whistler : SKI. Nice clue for this little word. Another mention of the artist at 58A.

23. Rule : REIGN

30. Sagittarius, e.g. : ARCHER

32. Sign of hope : RAY

33. See 8-Down : LEE.

34. Mass __ : TRANSIT. Had to wait for a few crosses before I could fill in this one.

37. Wander : ROVE

40. Computer menu heading : FILE

42. Hockey positions : WINGERS. Soccer too. Rugby also. Sports a-plenty.

43. Big club in Atlantic City? : ACE. Four suits to choose from. How about the Ace of Spades? [Rated BG13 (Blog Guidance) for Heavy Metal Content]

44. Neurologist's printout, briefly : E.E.G.

45. Find out about : DETECT

53. Gretzky, during most of the '80s : OILER. Edmonton hockey eh? The Great One.

54. Foreign __ : AID

55. __ Cruces : LAS. Wikipedia says this places is also known as "The City of The Crosses" which is kinda stating the obvious considering "Las Cruces" means "The Crosses".

57. Not : NARY

58. Emulate Whistler : PAINT. Here's his famous and pensive-looking mother. Maybe she's wondering when he's going to stop messing around with oils and look for a proper job.

63. Bike wheel feature : SPOKE

64. "Little Miss Sunshine" Oscar winner : ARKIN. Las Cruces got me most of the way here.

65. Rebellious Turner : NAT

66. Structural support : TRUSS

67. Kids around : JESTS

68. Some municipal trains : ELS

Down:

1. "Broken Arrow" co-star : ANSARA. No idea, so thank you, perps. The late actor Michael.

2. Wet blanket : DOWNER

3. Radio problem : STATIC. I wanted "Running low on Ne-Hi" first.

4. Notable Downing Street number : TEN. The British Prime Minister's residence. You used to be able to walk right up to the door and get your picture taken with the jolly policeman (unarmed, naturally) guarding the place. Times have changed.

5. "__ of Eden" : EAST. I came late to reading Steinbeck and this was my first. I couldn't believe how fresh it seemed.

6. Stiff-upper-lip type : STOIC

7. Hardly a social butterfly : LONER

8. With 33-Across, "Life of Pi" director : ANG. This name has finally sunk into my pea-brain. Nailed it!

9. Pluto's master : MICKEY

10. Improvise in a sketch : AD LIB

11. 2014 World Cup city : RIO. I timed my visit imperfectly last time down there - I arrived exactly a week after the final.

12. Charged particle : ION

13. Printemps follower : ÉTÉ. Summer follows Spring in France, just like here. I ate one of the most memorable meals of my life at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Raymond Blanc's Michelin-starred restaurant in .... England, oddly enough.

18. Lingerie purchase : NIGHTIE

22. Bundled up : SWATHED

24. Pi Day celebrant, stereotypically : NERD. March 14th.. It doesn't works in in the UK when you have the day before the month. This year was awesome - add the year and a specific time in the morning, and you got:

26. Circular gasket : O-RING. Infamously the culprit of the space shuttle Challenger explosion.

27. Soothing succulent : ALOE

28. Accelerate, with "up" : REV

29. Understand : SEE

31. Common allergen : RAGWEED. I tried RAGWORT first and needed a little unpicking in that area.

35. Mont Blanc covering : NEIGE. Not quite as much neige en été, plenty more en hiver. Thankfully Wiki refrains from informing us that "this alpine feature, also called Mount White ..."

36. Emilio Estevez, to Martin Sheen : SON

37. "Goosebumps" series author : R.L.STINE. More crosses- I've seen this name before, even commented on it in the blog and still couldn't remember it.

38. Court answer : PLEA

39. Twistable treat : OREO

40. Website help sect. : F.A.Q. Frequently Asked Questions. C.C. maintains the "Olio" section (link at the right of the blog) which comprises our FAQ collection.

41. Post-op area : ICU

44. Privileged groups : ELITES

46. Stand-up comic Boosler : ELAYNE. If you say so.

47. Breakfast choice : CEREAL. "Choice" is a stretch here. John Pinette agrees.

48. No-tell motel meetings : TRYSTS

50. Pulls hard : YANKS

51. Intimidating look : GLARE

52. Rubbernecks : GAWKS

56. Monty Python segment : SKIT

58. Vancouver setting: Abbr. : P.S.T. My side of the country, or it will be when I get back there in about four hours time. According the flight tracker, I'm somewhere north of Lake Erie close to the Canadian border at the moment, blogging happily with power and WiFi.

59. 30-day mo. : APR

60. Note from one who's short : IOU Nice cluing again for a short fill.

61. "The __": Uris novel : HAJ

62. "No, No, Nanette" foursome : ENS. Waving at the neighboring ELS. The golfer and the Navy get a cluing rest today. I like this one!

Some nice fill and cluing cheered me up after my "meh" theme-reaction, so fair play to David.

On a crossword note, if you've ever done a puzzle in an in-flight magazine, you'll realize what a quite fantastic job the constructors and editors of the NYT and LAT do (I'm not counting myself in that company). The quality is generally really shabby. The one I did in the United magazine yesterday had at least 10 entries that Rich would have thrown out without a pause. A few months ago I did one where the constructor had obviously reworked a section but forgot to update the clues to match the new answers - that was a challenge!

That's it from me!

Steve

Wednesday, October 21, 2015, John Lieb

Title: CC Rider

We denizens of this site quickly saw our lovely leader C.C. in the gimmick of double C's in each two word phrase where the first word ends in C and the second word begins in C. However, John's fine hump day offering invoked the original use of CC for the Carbon Copy method of producing a messy facsimile as seen in this blurry CC of an interesting 1958 typewritten letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to JFK.

Today, of course it is mainly used as a way to send a duplicate email to another recipient electronically sans the messy paper

Theme answers:

16. Three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee : ERIC CLAPTON - First as a member of this group, then a member of Cream and then as a solo artist

22. Master thespian's skill : DRAMATIC CHOPS -Yeah, I've heard she's got 'em. Do you remember this movie?

49. Brew produced without pesticides : ORGANIC COFFEE - This must be good  because it says so!

58. "One Thousand and One Nights" transport : MAGIC CARPET - Or a ride offered by this group

The theme reveal:

65. Duplicates, briefly ... and a hint to 16-, 22-, 49- and 58-Across : CC'S 

John's fun gimmick could also have referred to CC's of medicine, Closed Captioning  we use for Downton Abbey or, as previously mentioned, the very nice lady in Minneapolis who runs this electronic popsicle stand.

Across  
    
1. Punch kin : ADE - Not a JAB

4. Refuse : TRASH - Turn down garbage - REFUSE REFUSE

9. Debussy's sea : MER - I'll bet you can figure out this 1914 American song lyric here in French "Par la MER, par la MER, par la belle MER" (*answer at the bottom)

12. __ Scotia : NOVA

14. Makes arrangements for : SEES TO - What Joann will do for our kitty when we travel again

15. Chopper : AXE

18. Sleep phase initials : REM

19. 1990s Polish president : WALESA - Lech, the electrician who became president, helped Poland into a post-communist era

20. Ocean State sch. : URI - The Fightin' Rams of the University of Rhode Island

21. California's __ Valley : SIMI

25. Pretentious sort : SNOB - Dontcha just hate 'em?

27. Used Grecian Formula on : DYED - Not enough vanity with me for that

28. Uses for a fee : RENTS

29. Civil War nickname : ABE

30. Artist's shade : HUE

31. "La Bamba" actor Morales : ESAI - A frequent flyer on this airline

33. Burroughs' feral child : TARZAN - I think we know the pithy dialog below

35. Welcomes to one's home : ASKS IN

39. Actress Sommer : ELKE

41. Sets for binge watchers : TVS - Hey, it's a Jetson's marathon!

42. Rapid-fire weapon : UZI

43. Fireplace piece : GRATE

46. Maker of Air Zoom sneakers : NIKE - How would these look on a 69 yr old retired teacher? Yeah, I thought so too.

48. Eyewear, in ads : SPEX

52. Regatta implements : OARS

53. Shout of support : RAH

54. Burglars' concerns : ALARMS

57. Former AT&T rival : GTE

60. See 62-Across : LEE

61. Endless, poetically : ETERNE

62. With 60-Across, big name in desserts : SARA - They had the best jingle with a double negative that was in C.C.'s lovely Monday puzzle.

63. Harris and Asner : EDS - I best remember Ed Harris as Gene Kranz uttering, "Failure is not an option" in Apollo 13

64. Gave the wrong idea : LED ON

Down

1. Once again : ANEW

2. Latina toon explorer : DORA - The Explorer

3. Superhero's nemesis : EVILDOER

4. Long Island Iced __: cocktail : TEA - No Lipton in there!

5. Public stature : REPUTE

6. Not sidesaddle : ASTRIDE - It would never do for Lady Mary of Downton Abbey to sit ASTRIDE

7. Hard to arouse : STOIC - Even sidesaddle, she would look STOIC

8. Sweetie pie : HON

9. Ohio county or its seat : MARION - Named for "The Swamp Fox" Francis Marion. Look who played him on TV

10. Not obliged to pay : EXEMPT - UN envoy and their parking tickets

11. Neglectful : REMISS

13. Harsh : ACERB - ACERBIC is a form more familiar to me

14. Focus of an annual 26-Down contest : SLAM DUNK 

17. Jefferson Davis was its only pres. : CSA - The story of Jeff Davis being captured while disguised in  women's clothes was untrue but gained a life of its own

21. Mideast chieftain : SHEIK - Do you remember Ray Stevens' now VERY un-pc song about the "SHEIK of the burn in' sands"?

23. Reply to Bligh : AYE

24. Ill-mannered : CRASS

25. Convened : SAT

26. Hoops gp. : NBA

30. Drummer Alex Van __ : HALEN

32. Avoid embarrassment : SAVE FACE - Better than this

34. Epsilon followers : ZETAS 

36. Large political spending org. : SUPER PAC - They raised $828,224,700 for the 2012 election 

37. Ending with civil or social : IZE

38. Put the kibosh on : NIX - 1935 Variety headline translated - "Rural people don't like movies about rural people"

40. Behind bars : ENCAGED

41. Ring result, briefly : TKO

43. Help in many a search : GOOGLE

44. Like many violent films : R-RATED - MPAA says "This rating is given for strong and frequent language and violence, nudity for sexual purposes and the abuse of drugs."

45. Goes with the flow : AGREES

47. Asian MLB outfielder with a record 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons : ICHIRO - As a Mariner, Yankee and Marlin (after playing for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan for 9 years)

48. Craftsman retailer : SEARS 

50. Really boiling : IRATE

51. Jeb Bush's st. : FLA

55. Cougar maker, for short : MERC

56. Dots on a subway map: Abbr. : STAS - The Kingston Trio sang "Charlie handed in his dime at the Kendall Square STAtion and he changed for Jamaica Plain"

58. Voice legend Blanc : MEL

59. Channel founded by Turner : CNN

*Song lyric in English was "By the SEA, by the SEA, by the beautiful SEA"

A rerun of a something I have previously posted: If our blog mistress's doctor wanted to sent her med dosage to Walgreens and a copy to her, he would "CC the CC's to C.C." 


Husker Gary

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 Gareth Bain

Theme: Rock On!

17A. *Cardiologically healthy, as a diet : HEART SMART

25A. *Affectionate apron inscription : KISS THE COOK

40A. *Commuter's headache : RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC

50A. *Title for Aretha Franklin : QUEEN OF SOUL

63A. Musical conductor ... and, literally, what the start of each answer to a starred clue is : BANDLEADER

Argyle here. Rock bands with one word names lead off two or three word in language phrases. A grid spanner anchors the middle with solid little blocks all around. A couple of descending strings help tie it all together. Should prove entertaining. I'm not comfortable with the reveal; it seams to be asking for a Shaw or Goodman. The answers lead off with a band, not a bandleader. HEADBAND. My nit.

Feel free to link your favorite song by these groups.

Across:

1. "Goodbye, Columbus" author Philip : ROTH

5. High anxiety : ANGST

10. Me-time resorts : SPAs

14. Fencing choice : EPEE

15. Trip the light fantastic : DANCE

16. Quarterback-turned-congressman Jack : KEMP. NY congressman after QBing for Buffalo Bills. VP candidate with Bob Dole.

19. River of Pisa : ARNO

20. Wide variety : ARRAY

21. Gauge showing rpm : TACH. (tachometer)

23. How Marcie addresses Peppermint Patty : SIR. from Peanuts.

24. Howl at the moon : BAY. Been there, done that.

29. On its way : SENT

30. Handmade scarf stuff : YARN

31. Radar dot : BLIP

34. Chic modifier : TRÈS

37. Pay hike : RAISE

43. See eye to eye : AGREE

44. __ fide: in bad faith : MALA

45. "Teh" for "The," say : TYPO

46. Dry as the Atacama : ARID. Some like it Chile.

48. Omelet necessities : EGGS

54. Fabric flaw : RIP

57. Address bar address : URL

58. Pilot's alphabet ender : ZULU. An alternate ending is Zebra.

59. Wear away gradually : ERODE

61. Long-billed wader : IBIS

66. Charge : RATE

67. "Lucky" aviator, familiarly : LINDY. Charles Lindbergh

68. Stew veggies : PEAS

69. Was sure about : KNEW

70. Crème de la crème : ELITE

71. Footprint part : SOLE

Down:

1. Detox program : REHAB

2. Word before house or after horse : OPERA

3. In need of tissues : TEARY

4. Wife of Zeus : HERA

5. Promos : ADs

6. "China Beach" war zone, for short : NAM

7. Swarming pests : GNATS

8. "Ice Age" saber-toothed squirrel : SCRAT. He managed to get some product endorsements.

9. Easily annoyed : TETCHY. Same as touchy?

10. Caribbean music : SKA

11. Be the epitome of : PERSONIFY

12. Prenatal test, for short : AMNIO. (Amniocentesis)

13. Hybrid utensil : SPORK

18. Kid : TYKE

22. "Do I __ Waltz?": Rodgers/Sondheim musical : HEAR A. 1965 Broadway

26. A big fan of : INTO

27. Doodle on the guitar : STRUM

28. Summer camp activities : CRAFTS

29. Globe : SPHERE

31. Lingerie item : BRA

32. Carry with effort : LUG

33. Descendant of Jacob : ISRAELITE

35. Obama __ : ERA

36. Fifth cen. pope called "The Great" : ST. LEO

38. Small taste : SIP

39. Environmental prefix : ECO

41. "57 Varieties" brand : HEINZ

42. Classico rival : RAGU

47. Look-alike : DOUBLE

49. High spirits : GLEE

50. Peculiarity : QUIRK

51. Living in the city : URBAN

52. Swing wildly : FLAIL

53. Branch of Islam : SUNNI

54. Event with lots of horsing around? : RODEO

55. Flawless : IDEAL

56. Intrinsically : PER SE

60. Emulates Eminem : RAPS

62. Darn things : SEW

64. Prohibited pesticide : DDT. (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)

65. Chemical in Drano crystals : LYE

Argyle

Monday, October 19, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Hidden Word - A word hidden in the middle of four responses and the reveal in the middle of the puzzle.

17A. Presidency's last days, e.g. : END OF AN ERA

25A. Pre-cable reception aid : ROOF ANTENNA

36A. Anonymous writer, maybe, and a hint to the devotee hidden in 17-, 25-, 50- and 60-Across : SECRET ADMIRER

50A. Commentator dissecting chips and putts : GOLF ANALYST

60A. Usual sitcom length (including ads) : HALF AN HOUR

Argyle here, right in the open. C.C. has a seven letter column dead center. Not a common grid but some of the best fill is in those columns. I'm a fan. (Not a secret.)

Across:

1. Rifle filler : AMMO

5. Campus bigwigs : DEANS

10. Ending for brides, chamber or milk : MAID

14. Teller of fibs : LIAR

15. Humanlike machine of sci-fi : ROBOT

16. Edit menu option : UNDO

19. '90s TV title toon teen : DOUG. Mostly unknown to me. Wiki.

20. Attaches with string : TIES ON

21. Prefix with deed or lead : MIS

23. Quaint lodging : INN

24. Six-pack muscles : ABs

29. Stop for a moment : PAUSE

31. Abolish : BAN

32. Leading the field : ON TOP

33. Three: Pref. : TRI

34. Rapper __ Kim : LIL'

35. PC key near Ctrl : ALT

41. Kit__: candy bar : KAT. Stocked up for Halloween?

42. "Bossypants" memoirist Tina : FEY

43. "__ you ready?" : ARE

44. Fire-setting crime : ARSON

47. Boxing count : TEN

48. Gets a glimpse of : SPOTS

53. Bro or sis : SIB

54. Expected landing hr. : ETA

55. Wobbly walker : TOT

56. Green film on bronze : PATINA. And what have we learned about PATINA from Antiques Roadshow? Leave the PATINA alone.

58. Clear liquors : GINS

63. First chip in a pot : ANTE

64. "In other words ... " : "I MEAN ... "

65. Cabinet dept. concerned with nukes : ENER. (Energy)

66. Leaning Tower city : PISA

67. Stadium levels : TIERS

68. __ buco: veal dish : OSSO

Down:

1. Brewpub fixture : ALE TAP

2. Typically 18-inch-long baseball collectibles : MINI-BATS. A budding FAN.

3. Double-checked : MADE SURE

4. Gold medals, to Spaniards : OROs

5. Pipe clog dissolver : DRANO

6. Scads of centuries : EON

7. Prez on a penny : ABE

8. Painter Rockwell : NORMAN. Happy Fan.

9. A red wine one is hard to get out : STAIN

10. Stick-in-the-__ : MUD

11. Consecrate using oil : ANOINT

12. "Beats me" : "I DUNNO"

13. Steal a pup : DOGNAP

18. Links warning : "FORE!"

22. Vodka order, familiarly : STOLI. (Stolichnaya)

26. Memorial column, for short : OBIT

27. Pita filling : FALAFEL. Main ingredients: Fava beans or chickpeas.

28. Catch in a sting : ENTRAP

30. Bored with : SICK OF

34. Permit : LET

35. "Trainwreck" actress/screenwriter Schumer : AMY

37. Attacked on foot : RAN AT

38. Reject as false : DENY

39. Causes of disappearing beaches : EROSIONS

40. Entourages : RETINUES

44. Issue in May-December romances : AGE GAP

45. Spiral pasta : ROTINI

46. Slopes : SLANTS

47. Japanese floor mat : TATAMI

48. Laurel of Laurel and Hardy : STAN

49. "Handmade fresh all day" pizza chain : SBARRO

 

51. Like three Cy Young games : NO HIT

52. Bridge measures : SPANS

57. "The Cosby Show" son : THEO. Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

59. Baltic or Aegean : SEA

61. Sara whom "nobody doesn't like" : LEE

62. At a distance : FAR

Argyle

Sunday, Oct 18, 2015 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

Theme: "Ch-Ching!" - CH is added to the start of each theme answer. All entries go through a spelling change.

23A. Part of a dairy's financial statement? : CHURNINGS REPORT. Earnings report.

46A. Doesn't eat with one's mouth closed? : CHEWS AND AAHS. Oohs and aahs.

71A. Vacant seat you only thought you saw? : CHAIR APPARENT. Heir apparent.

95A. Spread for Sunday morning coffee hour? : CHAPEL BUTTER. Apple butter.

122A. Glance at the blackboard? : CHALKWARD MOMENT. Awkward moment.

16D. What Alice's adventures began with? : CHASE IN THE HOLE. Ace in the hole.

52D. Pizza scraps? : CHEESY PICKINGS. Easy pickings.

Much easier than last Sunday's puzzle.  I caught onto the theme immediately and filled in all the free CH's.

It's a great follow up to Donna Levin/Bruce Venzke's "Th-, Th-, That's All, Folks" puzzle we had in July. I think I've seen SH addition also.

This type of spelling change theme is more challenging than the simple letter addition gimmick. You really need to be creative in coming up with a workable set.

Across:

  

1. Old story : MYTH. I had LORE first.

5. They're often exposed in ski lodges : BEAMS. Never been to a ski lodge, this looks lovely.

10. Radio option : AM FM

14. Religious factions : SECTS

19. River in the Bernese Alps : AARE. Easy crosses, even if you don't know the river.

20. Started anew at the campsite : RE-LIT

21. Pump, for one : SHOE

22. Summer gripe : I'M HOT

26. Tropical vine : LIANA. Or Liane. Like this.

27. Truckers' competition : ROADEO

28. 2013 Masters champ Scott : ADAM. I met him and Justin Rose long time ago.

29. Whom Dennis often menaced : MR. WILSON. Nailed it.

31. Bass ending : OON

32. __ factor : ICK

34. Paper punditry : OP-EDS

37. Common Market letters : EEC

38. Slim fish : EEL. Hmm, roasted eel, the best food ever. Then fresh Lychee.

39. Retired boomer : SST

40. Karmann __: sports car : GHIA. Got via crosses.

42. Hardly handy : INEPT

44. Dry-eyes solution : SALINE

49. German finale : ENDE. German for "End".

50. Dash devices : TACHS

53. Doctrinal suffix : ISM

54. Strings for Orpheus : LYRE

55. Wash. setting : PST. I noticed the . mark.

56. Onetime Ritz competitor : HI HO

57. Smidge : IOTA

60. "That's what they tell me" : SO I GATHER. I wanted So I'VE HEARD. Not enough space.

64. Double Stuf treats : OREOS

66. Astronauts' gear : G-SUITS

68. Cab cousin : ZIN. Cabernet. 

69. Running bird : EMU

70. Take advantage of : USE

75. Right-to-left lang. : HEB (Hebrew). Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan are written from right-to-left also. Hard to read, esp since they still use traditional Chinese characters, while mainland China use simplified version. Can you tell the differences?

76. Some light bulbs : GEs

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

78. Competed in a regatta, perhaps : SAILED

79. Future moss : SPORE

81. Settings for Monet : HAYFIELDS. I thought of gardens and water lilies when I think of Monet.

85. Genetic chains : RNAS. Plural again.

86. Actor Ken : OLIN

87. Spot on a card : PIP

88. City east of Wichita : IOLA. No idea. This crosses another unknown SLADE (84D. "Same Time, Next Year" playwright Bernard) and stumped me. My last-to-fill area.

90. Former telecom company : MCI

92. Seasonal tunes : NOELS

93. Gung-ho : AVID

99. Louis XV furniture style : ROCOCO. Nailed it.

102. Hacienda brick : ADOBE

103. Bounce in a cave : ECHO

104. Passenger vehicle : CAR. Thought of CAB first.

107. Antlered animal : ELK

108. The law has a long one : ARM

110. Horace poem : EPODE

112. "__ So Shy": Pointer Sisters hit : HE'S

113. Suffix with lact- : OSE

114. Jefferson Airplane genre : ACID ROCK. Easy crosses as well.

117. Dinghy movers : OARS

119. Put sows below cows? : RHYMED. The answer presented itself.

121. Like horses : MANED

126. Journalistic slant : ANGLE

127. Twelve __: neighbor of Tara : OAKS

128. Houston athlete : ASTRO. Do you believe in jinks?

129. Thing south of the border : COSA. Just Spanish for "Thing", right?

130. Asked : POSED

131. Like some audiobooks : ON CD

132. Dublin-born poet : YEATS

133. Uncommon blood type: Abbr. : A NEG

  

Down:

1. Users' shortcuts : MACROS. Can you give me an example, TTP/D-Otto?

2. Bumpkins : YAHOOS

3. One forging a doctor's note, maybe : TRUANT

4. Driven drove : HERD. Nice clue.

5. Eggy pastry : BRIOCHE. Are you a good baker, Steve?

6. Dusk, to Donne : EEN

7. Minuscule lake plant : ALGA

8. Make a mess of : MISDO

9. Secure for the trip : STRAP IN

10. Poisonous slitherer : ASP

11. Old reciprocal electrical unit : MHO

12. Thing to fill out : FORM

13. Dover distance : METRE

14. Mineral used in glassmaking : SILICA

15. Mickey Mouse enemy __ Eagle : EMIL. Never heard of it.

17. Constantly : TO NO END

18. Marvel Comics superhero? : STAN LEE. Wow, he's still alive. 

24. Stable sounds : NEIGHS

25. Fix text : EMEND

30. "Scream" director Craven : WES. Passed away a few weeks ago.

33. New Zealand bird : KIWI

35. Agreement : DEAL

36. Fixes : SPAYS

41. St. Francis' home : ASSISI

43. Via, à la Burns : THRO

45. "__ we forget" : LEST

46. Polite sneeze : CHOO. Why is it "Polite"?

47. Pepé Le Pew's pursuit : AMOUR

48. Appropriated : SEIZED

50. "His house is in the village __": Frost : THOUGH

51. With 74-Down, dramatic Navy mission : AIR SEA. And 74. See 51-Down : RESCUE

55. Slacks : PANTS

58. Reunión attendees : TIAs

59. How some stock is sold : AT PAR

61. Sling spirits : GIN. Oh, Singapore Sling.

62. "Kicked-Up Sandwiches" author : EMERIL. Obtainable if you know Emeril and his signature "kick up a notch".

63. Knighted Flemish painter : RUBENS

65. Rx : SCRIP. Not a word I use.

66. Spaghetti sauce staple : GARLIC

67. Quick ride : SPIN

72. Nuanced color : HUE

73. "Democracy is two wolves and __ voting on what to have for lunch": Franklin : A LAMB. Nice clue for a partial.

80. In need : POOR

82. Stereotypical pooch : FIDO

83. Qatar's capital : DOHA

89. Each : A POP

91. Rash symptom : ITCH

92. Arkansas River tributary : NEOSHO. Another unknown. Wiki says "The name "Neosho" is generally accepted to be of Native American (most likely Osage) derivation, meaning "clear, cold water", referring to local freshwater springs."

93. Visitors center handout : AREA MAP

94. Mount Rainier, e.g. : VOLCANO

96. You don't have to turn its pages : E-BOOK. We just had "Real page-turner?" for AVID READER yesterday.

97. Took out in cuffs, say : LED AWAY. We also have 111. Take out : ERASE. And 115. Take out : DELE

98. Hot drink holder : THERMOS

100. Checked the ID of : CARDED

101. Guatemala gold : ORO

104. Singles bar lure : COME ON. All's quiet in Splyner's "Blue-eyed Girl" front.

105. Sort of, with "in" : A SENSE. A rare 6-letter partial.

106. Sale indicator : RED TAG

109. "Wedding Bell Blues" soloist Marilyn : MCCOO. Got via crosses.

116. "Star Trek" villain : KHAN

118. Monterrey miss: Abbr. : SRTA

120. Song with arm motions : YMCA

123. "Best in Show" org. : AKC

124. '60s hallucinogen : LSD

125. Gere title gynecologist : DR. T. Guilty of putting it in my own puzzle.

Montana updates:

She has settled down her son's estate and has been volunteering to help local senior citizens review their Part D plans. She drives a long way to the office most of the days and enjoys her work.

C.C.