Thursday, January 19, 2012 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: "Wanna play a round?" (Classic duffer's pick-up line...) The word PLAY is positioned AROUND the ends of the theme entries:

17A. Nuts : PLAIN CRAZY. Am I nuts, or just plain crazy?

25A. Switching device : POWER RELAY. I drew this, just to show you an example:

37A. Keeps at it : PLUGS AWAY. Originally a seaman's term from 1627 meaning to use a "stopper". Classic example is Hans Brinker, who "plugged" the hole in the dike...

50A. "We want you here" : PLEASE STAY. Even Anons are welcome in this corner (as long as you PLAY nice!)

And the unifier:

60. Dally, and a literal hint to 17-, 25-, 37- and 50- across : PLAY AROUND

Marti here, with another fun Thursday offering from our dynamic duo!!

Across:

1.Fair color? : AZURE. The blue of a fair, or cloudless sky.

6.Skippy rival : JIF. Do you like chunky or creamy peanut butter? Then we have 6D. 6-Across container: JAR. And 31A. Cover: LID. Perhaps on a JAR of JIF or Skippy?

9.Gillette razor : ATRA

13.Moses' mount : SINAI

14.Like the Gobi Desert : ARID

16."House" actor Robert ___ Leonard : SEAN. This guy, who plays Dr James Wilson, Dr. House's confidante. (From C.C.: Shout-out to Seen.)

19.Agcy. whose seal features a shock of corn : USDA. United States Department of Agriculture.

20.First area to fill in on a form : LINE A. Is anyone getting their tax forms together yet?

21.Harry Potter series ender? : ZED. British "Z"

23.Up to, briefly : TIL

24.Street Cry, to Street Sense : SIRE. "Street Cry" and "Street Sense" are both racehorses. Devious clue, that I needed every perp to solve...

29."Here Come the ___":1945 college comedy : COEDS. This one, OTOH, was sussed simply from the word "college".

32."Leda and the Swan" poet : YEATS. Did anyone else fill in "Keats"?

33.Swing voter: Abbr. : IND. -ependent.

34.Store sign : OPEN

36."Yeah, right!" : I'LL BET

39.Jackie Chan genre : ACTION. Loved him in "Shanghai Noon" with Owen Wilson.

42.Four-legged king : LION

43.Fruit often dried : FIG

46.Novel opening : PART I. "Don Quixote" is an example of a novel that was published in two parts.

47.Row of seats : PEW

48.___ queen : DRAMA

53.Targets : AIMS

54.Texas Rangers manager Washington : RON

55.Pat-down org. : TSA. I bet Dennis would make a good TSA agent...

56.Golfer's feat : EAGLE. Have you ever had one, Husker G or Boomer?

58.Table scraps : ORTS

64.Stringed instrument : VIOL

65.Bygone Dodge : OMNI

66.One may bring eternal bad luck : CURSE

67.Selection word : EENY. meeny, miny, moe...

68.William, to Charles : SON. Princes of the British Empire.

69.Cold metal? : STEEL

Down:

1.Egyptian cobra : ASP

2. Umpteen, with "a" : ZILLION. I used to say a "gazillion".

3.Not made public : UNAIRED

4.Came down : RAINED.

5.Mozart's "___ kleine Nachtmusik" : EINE. Yay, a chance to link one of my favorite compositions, with an interesting bar graph visual. 6:01

7.Tax-sheltered savings, briefly : IRA. Individual Retirement Account. For those filling in Line A...

8.Effervesced : FIZZED. Like soda in scotch...Oh, the horror! (per Tinbeni)

9.SW school whose mascot carries a pitchfork : ASU. Arizona State University. The Sun Devils.

10.Research site : TEST LAB

11.Give off : RADIATE

12.Word with stock or market : ANALYST

15.Yarn colorer : DYER

18.Graduation flier : CAP. Like these at 2:50, from "Legally Blonde". 3:49

22.Terra firma : DRY LAND

24.Phys., e.g. : SCI. -ence

26.Jackie's designer : OLEG. Cassini. Of course, C.C. knows all the designers.

27.Actress with six Oscar nominations by age 33 : WINSLET. Kate. Her first oscar was in 2009 for "The Reader".

28.Hard to grasp : EELY

30.Cadenza performer : SOLOIST. According to Merriam-Webster, a cadenza is a "Technically brilliant sometimes improvised solo passage toward the close of a concerto".

35.One may not be intended : PUN

36.WWII battle site, for short : IWO. Jima.

37.Fillable bread : PITA

38.Old Sony brand : AIWA

39.Give the okay : APPROVE

40.Unit often burned off : CALORIE. I burn off my calories on the treadmill, yoga mat, and now with my X-box 360 Kinect.

41.Capital nearest to Philadelphia : TRENTON. WAG for me.

43.What "you always pass...on your way to success": Mickey Rooney : FAILURE

44.Vast : IMMENSE

45.Electric alternative : GAS. I burn oil, and wince every time I hear the oil truck pull up to the driveway.

47.Book of sacred poems : PSALMS

49.Seasoned stew : RAGOUT

51.Hockey Hall of Fame nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins Hall of Famer.

52.Thumbs-up vote : YEA

57.Curved pieces : ARCS

59.Devilish : SLY. Or, a description of the Arizona State University team...

61.Roberto's 2012, e.g. : ANO. "Roberto" indicates a Mexican name. So, 2012 would be a "year" in Spanish.

62.One of two complementary Asian forces : YIN. and its counterpart: Yang.

63.___ Monte Foods : DEL. I don't serve any canned vegetables in my house.

Answer grid.

And that wraps up this Thursday puzzle. I can't wait to hear what you all thought of it!

Hugs,

Marti

Constructor's note from C.C.:

"This is one of the very earlier puzzles Don and I collaborated. We tried to find a nice mix of P*LAY, PL*AY and PLA*Y 2-word phrases. PLASTIC SURGERY & PROFANITY DELAY were the two other candidates we considered but discarded. I want to thank Dudley for giving us a detailed explanation of POWER RELAY". (Note from Marti: Dudley did not help me with my drawing.)

Wednesday Jan. 18, 2012 Jeff Stillman

C.C. needed a pinch hitter and looked down the bench and all she saw was a Husker Gary just called up from the Nebraska League. So here I am taking my first swings at bat in the LA Times League.

Jeff's fun puzzle contained the theme in the clues and then the superfluously unnecessary answers. Very nice.

20A. Redundant position?: CLOSE PROXIMITY. Is there a far proximity?

25A. Redundant alert?: ADVANCE WARNING. Would spotting a zero on Dec. 8th would be late warning?

42A. Redundant habit?: REGULAR ROUTINE. A rut or a groove?

48A. Redundant guesses?: ROUGH ESTIMATES. Don't trust any estimate but Splynter's

Let's start on my initial first puzzle (huh?)

Across:

1. Summoned, with "for" : RANG. Lurch - "You rang?"

5. Skedaddle : SCAT. You kids get out of my yard!

9. Travolta facial feature : CLEFT.

14. Symphony member : OBOE

15. Okla., from 1890 to 1907 : TERR. The shameful Trail of Tears ended here

16. Pick up : LEARN. Granddaughter is LEARNing to drive in my PICKUP

17. Carnival sight : TENT

18. Slight advantage : EDGE

19. Plus : ASSET

23. "The Time Machine" people : ELOI

24. Low in a lea : MOO

32. Traffic stopper : SIREN. A red light or a well turned ankle!

33. Beauties : GEMS

34. South American vacation spot : RIO. A city to blame it on

35. IRS employee : T-MAN. Not even they understand the tax code

36. Pay : WAGES

38. Pizzeria fixture : OVEN. Me when I was 18!

39. Poetic time of day : EEN

40. View from Toledo : ERIE. Look, you can see Klinger's house by the lake.

41. Sitcom set at Mel's Diner : ALICE

46. Nothing but __: perfect hoops shot : NET

47. Kiss and cuddle, British-style : SNOG

55. Trunks : COREI New to me (Correction: The answer is TORSI)

56. Prefix with stat : RHEO. Home of the OHM

57. All-night party : RAVE. I'm cashin' in at 11 pm

58. Oscar night VIP : EMCEE

59. Detective Peter of old TV : GUNN. Great Theme!

60. Canadian tribe : CREE. Helped wimpy me fish in Saskatchewan.

61. Hamlet in "Hamlet" and others : LEADS

62. Auto pioneer : OLDS

63. Driven drove : HERD

Dow:

1. VMI program : ROTC. Now coed

2. Victim in Genesis : ABEL. No advance warning for this attack either.

3. Taboo : NO-NO. Also a baseball no-hitter.

4. Settles a score : GETS EVEN. Bama did that on Jan. 9

5. Apply, as a brake : STEP ON

6. Comedian __ the Entertainer : CEDRIC

7. Golden Fleece vessel : ARGO. Always a home port for you here Jason!

8. "Jurassic Park" menace, briefly : T-REX. Great movie!

9. Dins : CLAMORS

10. Tissue abnormality : LESION.

11. Houston-to-Tampa direction : EAST. My first Florida groups flew from Houston to Orlando over the gulf. Next time I'll look for Tin!

12. Glenn of The Eagles : FREY

13. Explosive letters : TNT. Trinitrotoluene.

21. Stylish vigor : ELAN

22. Mosque officials : IMAMS

25. Anouk of "La Dolce Vita" : AIMEE. Ah, the sweet life!

26. Sturm und __ : DRANG

27. Halloween vandal, perhaps : EGGER

28. Teeny : WEE

29. "The Empire Strikes Back" director Kershner : IRVIN. Not a clue.

30. Reunion attendee : NIECE. Of course in France, she'd be a Nice niece.

31. Departed : GONE

32. Silver fineness meas. : STER

36. Ire : WRATH

37. __ Jordan: Nike brand : AIR. Their re-release caused riots in malls

38. Member of a small ruling class : OLIGARCH. Common pejorative word in elections

40. Poetic laments : ELEGIES

41. Speck : ATOM

43. New : UNUSED

44. Belgian seaport : OSTEND. Find it?

45. Marriages : UNIONS.

48. 1960 Olympics city : ROME

49. Sea predator : ORCA. New cautions are now taken at Sea World. They call them KILLER whales for a reason.

50. Consequently : ERGO. Ergo, C.C. had to settle for Gary

51. Rabbi's house of worship : SHUL. Ok.

52. Container weight : TARE

53. Penultimate fairy tale word : EVER. Like the Kardashian marriages?

54. Future flower : SEED

55. Address bk. entry : CEL. House wall phone may be going bye bye (Correction: Should be TEL)

Answer grid.

This was fun to do and beat the 2o line limit! I hope to get better in the future. C.C. was a fabulous and patient tutor!

Husker Gary

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 Matt Skoczen

Theme: "HB, B.W." - A celebration of Betty White's 90th birthday.

9A. With 66-Across, actress born 1/17/1922 : BETTY 66A. See 9-Across : WHITE

18A. 20-Across role for 9-Across : ROSE and 20A. Sitcom co-starring 9/66-Across : "THE GOLDEN GIRLS"

37A. Dramedy on which 9/66-Across had a recurring role : "BOSTON LEGAL"

55A. Sitcom co-starring 9/66-Across : HOT IN CLEVELAND and 61A. 55-Across role for 9-Across : ELKA

Argyle here. I hope you had a chance to watch TV special honoring Betty White last night. If you want to know more about the three shows in the theme, I will give you a link to their Wikipedia page and a clip from the shows. The Golden Girls / Clip.(8:27); Boston Legal / Clip.(0:40) She played a recurring character named Catherine Piper. There are longer clips but not in English; Hot in Cleveland / Clip.(0:20)

Good thing I got those last two from the perps because I never saw her on "Boston Legal" and never heard of "Hot in Cleveland". Now Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", that I know. The puzzle is OK; it has a lot of theme which means some compromises. Matt has given us Sunday puzzles before.

Across:

1. __ Romeo: sports car : ALFA. Italian.

5. Cleveland NBAers : CAVS. (Cavaliers)

14. Weevil's target : BOLL. Cotton.

15. __ II razor : TRAC

16. Love, in Italia : AMORE

17. Fit to __ : A TEE

19. Infuriates : RILES

23. Really revel in : EAT UP

24. Neptune's realm : SEA

25. NFL position : CTR. (center)

27. "Baby and Child Care" author : DR. SPOCK

30. Entertain in style : REGALE

33. Congestion site : SINUS

36. Frasier's brother : NILES. TV (David Hyde Pierce)

40. Buckeye State sch. : OHIO U

42. Miss America accessory : TIARA

43. Message on a dirty car : WASH ME

45. Becomes fond of : WARMS TO

50. White House advisory gp. : NSC. National Security Council.

51. Skater Midori : ITO. She is the 1989 World Champion and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. She is the first woman to land a triple/triple jump combination.

54. Went out with : DATED

60. Suppress : SIT ON

62. "American ___" : IDOL

63. Fur tycoon : ASTOR

64. Lender's security : LIEN

65. Canadian vocalist Vannelli : GINO. Clip (2:32)

67. Not as much : LESS

68. Political cartoonist Thomas : NAST

Down:

1. Died down : ABATED

2. Mandrake the Magician's assistant : LOTHAR. Lothar is looking rather mod.

3. Armadas : FLEETS

4. Good thing to get in competition : A LEG UP

5. PC corner key : CTRL

6. Yankee slugger, familiarly : A-ROD

7. Flower holders : VASEs

8. Public embarrassment : SCENE

9. Italian seaport : BARI. Map

10. Mideast VIP : EMIR

11. One in a phone bill list : TOLL CALL

12. Bridge support : TRESTLE

13. "That's affirmative!" : "YES!"

21. Marsupial that plays dead : OPOSSUM

22. Long-snouted swimmer : GAR.

26. Legal thing : RES

28. Op. __: footnote abbr. : CIT. (the work has been cited)

29. Necktie feature : KNOT

31. Fencing challenge : "EN GARDE!"

32. Italian actress Scala : GIA. Image She was in "The Guns of Navarone" (1961). Died too young.

34. Prefix with form : UNI

35. Cabbagy side dish : SLAW

37. Dunkable Italian cookies : BISCOTTI. Must be leftovers from yesterday. ("Biscotti" is the plural form of biscotto.)

38. "That's amazing!" : "OOH!"

39. Generation : ERA

40. BYOB word : OWN. Bring Your Own Bottle. If you want something stronger, see below.

41. Cannabis preparation : HASHISH. "It's not mine. I'm holding it for a friend."

44. German article : EIN

46. Bad-mouth : MALIGN

47. Ballparks : STADIA. Plural of stadium.

48. Dovetail sections : TENONs. The projections on the right piece are the tenons and the slots on the left piece that receive them are the mortises.

49. Less than 100 shares of stock : ODD LOT

52. Immune system agent : T-CELL

53. Kukla's puppet pal : OLLIE. They interacted with Fran. Kukla, Fran and Ollie was an early TV show using puppets, originally created for children but soon watched by more adults than children. It did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed. It first aired from 1947–1957.

56. __ one's own horn : TOOT

57. About, on a memo : IN RE. (in the matter of)

58. Barely gets, with "out" : EKEs. Eek, another EKE.

59. Soccer moms' rides : VANS

60. Went out with : SAW

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.

Happy 21st wedding anniversary to Ron (Jazzbumpa) and Gloria! I know you'll make it special, Ron.

Monday, January 16, 2012 Janice Luttrell

Theme: Hang Your Hat Here - Whether you have just a cap, a ten-gallon, or un chapeau, you can find a home for it today.

20A. Dairy food with loose curds : COTTAGE CHEESE

38A. Dip for veggies : RANCH DRESSING

57A. Tenderloin often served with Béarnaise sauce : CHÂTEAUBRIAND

55D. Place to live, one of which starts the three longest puzzle answers : ABODE

Argyle here. Debut(?) puzzle for our constructor today. Three nice long themes and a unifier in a pleasing grid. No complaint from me.

Across:

1. Actress Anderson : LONI. Here is a WKRP clip(1:26) where she is laying it on for a Mr. "Breezy".

5. Like one who limps : LAME. Like Dr. House.

9. Exhausted, with "out" : WIPED. Yes, I had TIRED first. Good fake-out.

14. Sportscaster Hershiser : OREL. And 51D. Los Angeles ballplayer : DODGER. In 1988, he won the Gold Glove, Cy Young Award, the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP with the Dodgers.

15. Director Kazan : ELIA

16. Biscotti flavoring : ANISE. More food.

17. Sagacious : WISE

18. Computer storage medium : DISC

19. Aquarium fish : GUPPY. Learn more, if you want, here.

23. Pub pint : ALE

24. Buddhist sect : ZEN

25. Many shoppers buy on it : CREDIT

28. Bare minimum : LEAST

30. Jibs and spinnakers : SAILS

33. Often-flowery verse : ODE

34. "Is it soup __?" : YET. Hard to believe but I can't find a video of this Lipton commercial.

36. Letters before an alias : AKA. (also known as)

37. Bed with a mate : TWIN

42. "I've Gotta __": Sammy Davis Jr. hit : BE ME. Recorded by a lot of singers.

43. Fair-hiring inits. : EEO. (Equal Employment Opportunity)

44. "Casablanca" pianist : SAM

45. Honest prez : ABE

46. Idyllic places : EDENS

48. Lukewarm : TEPID

52. Internal Revenue Code expert : TAX PRO

54. Stable diet? : HAY

56. Brian with the album "Music for Airports" : ENO. It's time for Mr. ENO to take a rest.

61. Pandemonium : CHAOS

63. Jackson 5 member : TITO. The third of the ten Jackson children.

64. Glitch : SNAG

65. Songstress Lena : HORNE. She didn't sing "I've got to be me".

66. Gunk : CRUD

67. Remote button : MUTE

68. Broke off, as talks : ENDED

69. Ballyhoo : HYPE

70. Suffix with road or hip : STER. Roadster or Hipster.

Down:

1. Like diet beverages : LOW-CAL. Low-Calorie.

2. Baltimore bird : ORIOLE

3. Lipton rival : NESTEA

4. Abba's "__ the Music Speak" : I LET. Clip.(5:19) One of their last songs.

5. Rocky projection : LEDGE

6. Martians and such : ALIENS

7. Catchall abbr. : MISC.

8. For one : EACH

9. Track transactions : WAGERS

10. Occupied, as a lavatory : IN USE

11. "Put a lid on it!" : "PIPE DOWN!" plus 47D. "Zip your lip!" : "SHUT UP!". Is our constructor a mother? I wonder.

12. Sixth sense, for short : ESP

13. Susan of "L.A. Law" : DEY

21. Ancient Mexican : AZTEC

22. Mercedes-Benz model series : E CLASS. Dennis?

26. Beatnik's "Gotcha" : "I DIG"

27. Finger count : TEN

29. "Auld Lang __" : SYNE

31. Hank with 755 career homers : AARON

32. Tina Turner's ex : IKE

35. Precisely, after "on" : THE DOT

37. Game-stopping call : "TIME!". A few called this weekend, eh?

38. Country singer McEntire : REBA

39. "Don't leave home without it" convenience : AMEX CARD. American Express Card.

40. Poor grade : DEE

41. Mythical man-goat : SATYR

42. Halloween decoration : BAT

46. Rubbed off the board : ERASED

49. Bar snack item : PEANUT

50. Present from birth : INNATE

53. "E.T. __ home" : PHONE

58. Cut with acid : ETCH

59. Breezy : AIRY. For Mr. Breezy, see 1-Across.

60. Doctrines : ISMs

61. Revolutionary Guevara : CHE. Castro's friend.

62. Darlin' : HON'

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday January 15, 2012 Peter A. Collins

Theme: Stout and Thin - Parse the title as "ST out and TH in", i.e, ST is replaced with TH in each theme entry.

23A. "My priest has met Pulitzer-winning playwright Henley"? : FATHER KNOWS BETH. Father knows best. Beth Henley.

39A. Dinner served on a wooden strip? : THE LATH SUPPER. The Last Supper.

41A. Blast from Babe? : RUTH BELT. Rust belt. Babe Ruth.

71A. Compliment to a young genius? : WHY YOU LITTLE THINKER. Why you little stinker.

100A. Small compartment for lifting self-esteem? : EGO BOOTH. Ego boost.

102A. Nonsense talk from an inner city? : GHETTO BLATHER. Ghetto blaster.

122A. Reason for foggy coop windows? : BREATH OF CHICKEN. Breast of chicken.

This puzzle title reminds me of Peter Wentz's "Find out" puzzle, in which D is replaced by F in each common phrases. You need to parse the title as "F in/D out".

When constructors place all their theme entries in Across, they can then non-theme Downs which are longer than the shortest theme entries. Peter took full advantage of that and gave us quite a few nice long Downs.

Across:

1. See-through dessert : JELL-O

6. "It's just __ said ..." : AS I

9. Rite site : ALTAR

14. Shooter's setting : F-STOP. Not the gunman "shooter".

19. Oriole-related, e.g. : AVIAN

20. Pugsley, to Gomez : SON. Easy guess. I've never watched "The Addams Family".

21. Carried : BORNE

22. "That's __!": mom's admonition : A NO-NO

26. Hull parts, often : KEELS

27. Gator tail? : ADE. Gatorade. Fun clue.

28. Secant's reciprocal : COSINE

29. Princess from Alderaan : LEIA. "Star Wars".

30. Have a blast, with "up" : EAT IT

31. Outcome : RESULT

33. Greenish-yellow fruit : CITRON. Looks like lemon.

35. Gonzaga University city : SPOKANE

37. Goofballs : NUTS

45. New York Harbor's __ Island : ELLIS

46. Suffix with Carmel : ITE . Carmelites is a "Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name", according to Wiki. St Teresa was a Carmelite.

47. Green pod : OKRA

48. She walked Asta : NORA. "The Thin Man".

50. Graceful woman : SYLPH

52. Made a jumper, maybe : SEWED

56. Tide during the moon's first quarter : NEAP

57. Star in Virgo : SPICA. Gimme for Spitzboov & Bill G. I drew a blank.

59. Member of the fam : SIS

61. Polynesian drink : KAVA. Sedating.

62. Protect, as during a gym routine : SPOT. I don't get this clue, Dummy.

64. Relieved remark : AT LAST

68. Neat time : GAS. Neat clue.

70. Bill's "excellent adventure" partner : TED. From "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure".

75. Efron of "High School Musical" : ZAC. Here he is. Not the high school boy anymore.

76. What Nixon and Kennedy have in common? : ENS. Do you like this clue?

77. Insect with eyespots on its wings : IO MOTH. No idea. Cute. D-Otto's pig is cute too.

78. Black, to Balzac : NOIR

79. Pitching stats : ERAs

81. Sushi fish : EEL. Ah, food!

83. Risky meeting : TRYST. "Risky" makes it exciting.

85. Lobster meat source : CLAW

88. Bits of progress : DENTS. Make a dent.

90. Uses a Kindle : READS

94. Key with three sharps: Abbr. : A MAJ

95. Premium coffee variety : KONA. From Hawaii.

96. One-eighty : UEY

98. Turn __ ear : A DEAF

107. Son of Isaac : ESAU

108. Verbena family plant : LANTANA. See here.

109. Like magma : MOLTEN

111. Big house locale : ESTATE

115. Columbia et al. : IVIES

116. First light : DAWN

118. Workshop grippers : CLAMPS

120. Novelist Buntline : NED. What did he write?

121. Pola of the silents : NEGRI. Rudolph Valentino's lover.

125. Caused to submit : TAMED

126. Guadalajara-to-Puerto Vallarta dirección : OESTE. "West".

127. __ later date : AT A

128. Hollywood's Hayek : SALMA. Natural beauty.

129. Focused look : STARE. What you guys do to my link above.

130. Director of the last four Harry Potter films : YATES (David)

131. "Can't Help Lovin' __ Man" : DAT

132. Lock on top? : TRESS

Down:

1. "Aladdin" heavy : JAFAR. No idea, Santa!

2. Skirt : EVADE

3. Beers for dieters : LITES

4. __-di-dah : LAH

5. Bridge opening : ONE CLUB. Bridge terms always stump me.

6. More than wonders : ASKS

7. Drive-in chain with carhops : SONIC

8. Complicit : IN ON IT

9. Crunched muscles : ABS

10. Southeastern pine : LOBLOLLY. Oh, so this is called loblolly.

11. Shipbuilding dowel : TREENAIL. Again, not familiar with the term. Do you use them, Splynter/Jerome?

12. No voter : ANTI

13. Go over and over : RE-HASH

14. Deceptions : FAKE-OUTS

15. Preview : SNEAK PEEK. Nice upper right corner.

16. Dancer's technique : TOE TAP

17. Surfing, say : ONLINE

18. Word with board or boy : POSTER

24. Powdered rock used as an abrasive : ROTTEN STONE. Same as pumice stone?

25. "__ people ..." : WE THE. Constitution.

32. Bummed : UNHAPPY

34. Kinfolk: Abbr. : RELs

36. Omega preceder : PSI

38. Sty fare : SLOP

40. Rx amts. : TSPS

41. Friend of Harry and Hermione : RON. "Harry Potter" again.

42. Mandolin kin : UKE

43. Source of an alley racket : TRASH CAN

44. Court event : TRIAL

49. When the Sugar Plum Fairy appears in "The Nutcracker" : ACT II

51. Fan setting : HIGH

53. 1815 battle site : WATERLOO

54. Even once : EVER

55. Senior, to Junior : DAD

58. Guy who's high in a loft? : ALTO. Why "in a loft"?

60. Patron of workers : SAINT JOSEPH. I thought he's the patron of carpenters only.

63. Santana's "__ Como Va" : OYE. Here is a clip.

65. Buck passer, briefly? : ATM. And 66. 65-Down feature : SLOT.

67. Aquarium denizen : TETRA

69. __-cone : SNO

71. Share ending : WARE. Shareware.

72. Manual reader : USER

73. Culinary herb : THYME. I'm guessing this is a common herb in Jayce's or Barry G's family.

74. Oust : KICK OUT

75. Athens : omega :: London : __ : ZED. Last letter in alphabet.

80. Speech therapy candidate : STUTTERER

82. Sharon of "Boston Public" : LEAL

84. Wise : SAGE

86. Pantry annoyance : ANT. Always a welcome sight here at the corner.

87. Nursery cry : WAH

89. Save for later : SET ASIDE

91. '60s Batman portrayer : ADAM WEST

92. Set off : DETONATE

93. Satirist Mort : SAHL

97. Over there, old-style : YON. Hither and yon.

99. Retrieve : FETCH

101. McCartney, notably : BASSIST

102. Flashes : GLINTS

103. Attack, as one's work : HAVE AT

104. Puzzle : ENIGMA

105. Record label founded by Diddy : BAD BOY. Ha, gimme for me.

106. Insert more rounds : RE-LOAD. Ammo.

110. 1990s treaty acronym : NAFTA. U.S.-Mexico-Canada commerce treaty.

112. Electronic monitor site : ANKLE. Ankle monitor. House arrest.

113. Crawls (with) : TEEMS

114. Writer Ferber and others : EDNAs

117. Region : AREA

119. Aspiring GP's exam : MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)

123. Some NFL receivers : TEs (Tight Ends)

124. One in a jam, maybe : CAR. Nice clue too.

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday to KQ!

C.C.