Theme: "Follow the Money" - Cash can precede the last word in each theme entry.
23A. *Unpredictable influence : WILD CARD. Cash card.
97A. *Abundant yield : BUMPER CROP. Cash crop.
32A. *"No idea" : DOESN'T REGISTER. Cash register.
41A. *Where words may be mangled : KARAOKE BAR. Cash bar.
73A. *Home Depot competitor : TRUE VALUE. Cash value.
109A. *Novel about a world traveler? : THE TIME MACHINE. Cash machine.
16D. *Hold answerable : CALL TO ACCOUNT. Cash account.
57D. *Bend under pressure : GO WITH THE FLOW. Cash flow.
Reveal entry:
123. Rebate, and, literally, what the end of each answer to a starred clue can be : CASHBACK
I like that the CARD in the theme entries has different meaning than the CARD in the resulting "Cash *" phrase.
Great grid design also. Noticed how 2 pairs of long theme entries intersect each other? This often eases up the filling, but it takes skill and luck to make intersection happen.
Across:
1. Young boy : LAD
4. Dallas quarterback Tony : ROMO
8. Binding piece : STRAP. I was thinking of contract.
13. Olympics spinner : DISCUS
19. __ pro nobis : ORA
20. Nastase of tennis : ILIE
21. It may be put on a dog : CHILI.
I tried ONION first. At least, I was in the right direction.
22. Sci-fi psychic : EMPATH
25. Go around : ORBIT
26. Baseball Hall of Famer Fingers : ROLLIE. Known for his handlebar mustache.
27. Take over for : RELIEVE. Rollie Fingers was a reliever.
28. Luxury hotel facility : SPA
29. Velvety sweater fabric : CHENILLE. No idea. Googled and found lots of caterpillar images. Turns out it's French for "caterpillar".
31. Turner autobiography : I, TINA
35. Fr. holy woman : STE
36. Regal regalia : ROBES
39. Trail user : HIKER
40. "As __ to breathe were life!": Tennyson : THO'
44. Intimidated : COWED
46. Pub quaff : ALE
49. Tranfusion quantity : UNIT
50. Eat in style : DINE. Marti
just asked me about Dim sum. Guangzhou is truly a food heaven.
Everything is so fresh and cheap. That's why retired folks can afford
the afternoon tea every day. Click on the picture, PK, do you see the green pieces on the shrimp rice? Those are scallions (green onions), ubiquitous in Chinese cooking.
52. Comforted : SOLACED
55. __ bag : DOGGIE. I have a question: "Goodie bag" or "Goody bag", which spelling do you prefer?
58. Sources of energy : CARBS
61. YouTube video source : WEBCAM
62. Eclectic musician Brian : ENO
63. Greeted, with "to" : SAID HI
67. Clodhopper : OAF
69. Pilotless plane : DRONE
70. Mimicked a mouser, maybe : MEWED
75. Pan-fry : SAUTE. I "stir-fry" all the time and I don't use a wok.
76. Crème de la crème : ELITE
77. Cap seen on a brae : TAM
78. Venues for French courses : ECOLES
80. SSA IDs : NOs
81. Percussion instrument : RATTLE
83. Nastiness : SPITE
85. Fly over Africa? : TSETSE. Noun Fly.
88. Without much forethought : IN HASTE
90. Muppet with a unibrow : BERT
92. Lego buys : KITS
93. New Year in Hanoi : TET. Same day as Chinese Spring Festival. Feb 19, 2015.
94. Pertinent, in legalese : AD REM
102. Really selling : HOT
105. Shows astonishment : GASPS
107. Martini's partner : ROSSI
108. Antipollution gp. : EPA. I don't remember a clear morning day in Beijing. Always foggy.
113. Verbal attention-grabbers : PSSTs
115. Work on, in a way, as furniture : RE-FINISH
116. TV spots : ADS
117. Reaffirming response : YES IT IS
119. Doles out : ALLOTS
120. Present one's view : OPINE
124. It may be lined with cedar : CLOSET. Not STREET.
125. Cowl wearers : MONKS
126. Plus : ALSO
127. Menlo Park monogram : TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.
128. Spire sites : TOWERS
129. Dadaist Max : ERNST
130. "That smarts!" : YEOW
131. Jack __, lead singer for the Kingsmen in "Louie Louie" : ELY. I only know Ron.
Down:
1. With little at stake : LOW RISK
2. Diva's encore : ARIETTA. Diminutive of Aria.
3. Slowpoke : DALLIER
4. Brand made with vermicelli : RICE-A-RONI.
So many flavors. By the way, has any of you tried boiled green peanuts? So tasty.
5. Norwegian saint : OLAV
6. Slimy soil : MIRE
7. Wordsmith's ref. : OED
8. Accessory for a marksman : SCOPE
9. Defeat badly : THRASH
10. Eve's genesis : RIB. Easy in retrospect.
11. Baba or a boxer : ALI
12. Re-tiring workforce? : PIT CREW. Great clue/fill.
13. Removal of restrictions, informally : DE-REG
14. "Let me take care of this!" : I'M ON IT
15. "__ Splash": Bobby Darin hit : SPLISH
17. Serving a purpose : UTILE
18. See-through : SHEER
24. Unpleasant noise : DIN. This sounds extreme, but can you imagine being disturbed 5 times a day?
28. "What a shame" : SO SAD
30. Start of an Ed McMahon intro : HERE'S (Johnny)
32. Belle of the ball : DEB
33. More kindly : NICER
34. Ring result, briefly : TKO. Boxing.
37. Steinbeck migrants : OKIES
38. Parlay, e.g. : BET
42. Summer mo. : AUG
43. Nouveau __ : RICHE
45. Wall St. Journal concern, with "the" : DOW. You can find the Wall Street Journal in almost all hotels in Hong Kong. Not always the case with the NY Times. Hong Kong is very business-oriented.
47. Basic shelters : LEAN-TOS
48. '80s attorney general : ED MEESE
51. Ingénue quality : NAIVETE
53. Watch displays, for short : LEDs
54. Incantation start : ABRA
55. Misconduct mark : DEMERIT
56. Like some country bridges : ONE LANE
59. Scout's neckwear : BOLO
60. Author Bellow : SAUL
64. One pressing a suit: Abbr. : ATT
65. Nest eggs for srs. : IRAS
66. Run-down joint : DUMP
68. Charge : FEE
71. Kett of old funnies : ETTA
72. Convention goers: Abbr. : DELS (Delegates)
74. Acid-tongued : ACERB. Same root as "Acid". Should have used another clue.
79. Pigpens : STIES
82. Two after epsilon : ETA
84. Longtime high-tech compatibility standard : IBM PC. So good to have you back, TTP.
86. Burlesque feature : STRIP SHOW
87. Corner key : ESC
89. Jigsaw puzzle starters : EDGES
91. Goes bad : TURNS
92. Some mil. mess duties : KPS
95. Make in a big way, as a point : RAM HOME
96. That: Sp. : ESA
98. One of a pie-throwing trio : MOE. I'd better pay attention to what Chairman Moe says when Masters approaches next year.
99. Say again : RE-STATE
100. Kind of illusion : OPTICAL
101. Hotel housekeeping need : PASS KEY
103. Idle : OTIOSE. Not a word I use, Yellowrocks.
104. Salon specialist : TINTER. Never been a TINTEE. Never heard of this specialist.
106. Ossobuco cuts : SHANKS
109. Stretch of land : TRACT
110. Greeting word : HELLO
111. Seaside phenomena : MISTS
112. Latin clarification : ID EST
114. One of a quint's four : SIB. Oh, quintuples. The little girl on the left has 4 siblings.
117. Harvard rival : YALE
118. Red-letters-in-a-blue-oval gas logo : ESSO
121. Spanish preposition : POR
122. Comfort __ : INN
123. Little island : CAY
Here are these pictures of JD's adorable grandsons and their mom in Halloween costumes.
Cameron
Dylan
Dylan and Mom Shelby
C.C.
