Sunday Dec 30, 2012 Pancho Harrison

(If your paper does not carry the puzzle I'm blogging on Sundays, click here to solve on line or print out a copy. We don't know why the LA Times newspaper does not carry this puzzle on Sundays. It's just the way it is.)

Theme: "Missing Piece" - GUN can follow the last word of each theme entry.

23A. Item on a resolution list : STOP SMOKING. Smoking gun.

25A. Wiggly belt? : JELLO SHOT. Shotgun.

47A. Flour or sugar, e.g. : FOOD STAPLE. Staple gun.

 

70A. Classic comedy duo : BOB AND RAY. Raygun.

93A. Sucker that debuted in 1931 : TOOTSIE POP. Popgun.

117A. '60s-'70s compact resurrected in 2012 : DODGE DART. Dart gun.

 

121A. Vigorous effort : ELBOW GREASE. Grease gun. 123. Use 121-Across on : SCOUR

36D. Fixture in many an office hallway : CANDY MACHINE. Machine gun.
 
40D. Tyke : LITTLE SQUIRT. Squirt gun. I just love this picture.

Left to right: Grady (11 months), Truman 3 & Cameron (2 weeks)

120D. Piece that can follow the ends of the nine longest puzzle answers : GUN

Sensitive theme given the Sandy Hook tragedy. But remember Rich arranges his puzzle schedule a month in advance. Pancho created this puzzle months ago.

Pancho is the first LAT constructor we encountered when the Tribune made puzzle change in March 2009, so his name will always be special to me.

Across:

1. Argentine grassland : PAMPA

6. Teacher's request : SEE ME

11. Cell unit: Abbr. : MIN

14. Wise words : ADAGE

19. Oklahoma natives : OTOES

20. Poetry middle name : ALLAN. Edgar Allan Poe.

21. "Double Fantasy" artist : ONO

22. Pageant accessory : TIARA

27. Abate : EASE UP

28. Headliner : STAR

29. Choose to participate : OPT IN

30. Dr. concerned with rhythm : DRE. Rapper.

31. __ tai : MAI

33. Some are inflated : EGOS

35. Stick-to-it-iveness : TENACITY

40. Listed in England? : LEANT. We just LEANED.

42. Those, in Tijuana : ESAS

44. Look askance : GLANCE

45. __ test : ACID

51. High degrees : NTHS

52. Floride, e.g. : ETAT. Floride is French for Florida. I thought it's some kind of chemical product.

53. Desdemona's husband was one : MOOR. Othello.

54. Stage direction : ENTER

55. One may be coed : DORM

56. Words to one taking off : DON'T GO. Won't work. Just let him go.

58. Fictional plantation : TARA

61. "Madness put to good use": Santayana : SANITY

63. Richard's "Stakeout" co-star : EMILIO (Estevez). Richard Dreyfuss. 100A.

64. Blast from the past : OLDIE. So many good Chinese oldies are on YouTube.

66. Marcus's partner : NEIMAN

69. Closet contents, maybe : LINEN

73. Snacks in shells : TACOS

75. Jet-setter's transport, perhaps : CESSNA

77. Dutch painter of "The Cat Family" : STEEN (Jan). Drew a blank.

78. Blessing elicitor : AHCHOO

79. Deal with, as thirst : QUENCH

82. Andean ancient : INCA

83. Trailing : BEHIND

84. Baseball family name : ALOU. 3/4 are vowels, hence its frequent appearances in Xwords.

87. Prefix meaning "vinegar" : ACETO

89. Further : ALSO

91. Supermodel Sastre : INES. She was the Trésor spokemodel. I like Trésor, a lot.

92. Pueblo Revolt tribe : HOPI. Easy guess. Unaware of the Revolt.

96. M.I.T. grad, often : ENGR

97. Opposed : AVERSE

99. Splendor : POMP

100. "I have no idea" : GOT ME

102. It's often between two periods : SENTENCE. D'oh moment!

105. Tiff : SPAT

107. Ready, as a keg : TAP

108. But, to Brutus : SED

111. Brink : VERGE

113. Pablo __ y Picasso : RUIZ. What am I, chopped liver? OK, suspension!

115. Plant with stickers : NETTLE

124. Path to enlightenment : ZEN. The character looks like this in Chinese. I don't think Dave will ever be in a  Zen-like state. His brain is way too active.

125. Notre Dame's river : SEINE. Not the Notre Dame Steve & Irish Miss had in mind.

126. River frolicker : OTTER

127. Wimbledon courts, in essence : LAWNS

128. Cockpit calc. : ETA. I wonder why they call it cockpit.

129. Vampire's undoing : STAKE

130. Oscar winner Witherspoon : REESE. She won Oscar for "Walk the Line". Nice movie.
        

Down:

1. Got set for a shot? : POSED. Instinctive fill for me.

2. Fragrant extract : ATTAR

3. Yellowstone bellower : MOOSE. And 7. Yellowstone buglers : ELKS

4. Latino Muppet prawn : PEPE. 100A.

5. Took over : ASSUMED

6. __ Paulo : SAO

8. A-list : ELITE

9. Got by : MANAGED

10. Captivate : ENGROSS

11. Spell-casting art : MOJO

12. Not up to it : INEPT

13. "Cape Fear" actor : NOLTE (Nick)

14. Really hard to hum along to : ATONAL

15. Bad-mouth : DIS

16. "That's the spot!" : AAH

17. Miracle-__ : GRO. Do you snip the tops of your tomato plants to stop growth? I feel you can get bigger tomatoes this way.

18. Use the feed bag : EAT

24. Assigner of G's and R's : MPAA

26. Teddies and such : LINGERIE. So, how many bras do you think an average American woman own?

32. Data : INFO

34. Fill to the bursting point : SATE

37. Digging : INTO

38. Sch. staffer : TCHR. Oh no!

39. Polite rural affirmative : YES 'M

41. Very affected : TOO TOO

43. Without : SANS

45. __ energy : ATOMIC

46. Fang : CANINE

48. Toothbrush handle? : ORAL B. Great clue.

49. Home-school link: Abbr. : PTA

50. 1974 title role for Dustin : LENNY. RATSO fits as well.

52. Henry James biographer Leon : EDEL. Haven't seen this answer for a long time.

53. Alley Oop's kingdom : MOO

57. Infomercial cutter : GINSU

59. Nutritional stds. : RDAs

60. "__ a stinker?": Bugs Bunny line : AIN'T I

62. Church pledge : TITHE

65. Site of a Biblical plot : EDEN

67. In need of a massage : ACHING

68. Midday event : NOONER

70. Baccarat call : BANCO

71. One may include a walk-off homer : RECAP. Not an easy clue.

72. Like pre-digital recordings : ANALOG

74. Fixes the fairway, say : SODS

76. Made tidy : NEATENED

78. Blood typing letters : ABO

80. Bus. driver? : CEO. Didn't see the .

81. URL opener : HTTP

84. Cries of discovery : AHAs

85. It means nothing at Arthur Ashe Stadium : LOVE. Indeed.

86. Go on first : OPEN

88. Bolivian bears : OSOs

90. Tea serving? : SPOT

94. Dazzle : IMPRESS

95. Scout shirt feature : EPAULET. The shoulder piece. 

96. Largest penguin : EMPEROR

98. Breaks off : SEVERS

101. In-flight beverage? : TANG. Nice clue.

103. It doesn't last : CRAZE. I just don't see the beauty of Boyfriend jeans. The holes are great. But the jeans feel so slouchy.

104. White-plumed wader : EGRET

106. Long bone : TIBIA

108. Condition : STATE

109. "It's nobody __ business" : ELSE'S

110. Caterpillar rival : DEERE

112. Mount near Catania : ETNA. In Sicily.

114. Doze, with "out" : ZONK

116. Head of France? : TETE. Literally, "head", in France.

117. High-speed PC connection : DSL

118. Andean tuber : OCA. Our local grocery stores do not carry these. I wonder if they taste like taros.

119. Daily newspaper index : DOW

122. Pint-size : WEE

C.C.