Thursday, January 8, 2015 Steve Blais

Theme: "Put 'er There!"

17-Across. Film with the song "Maniac" : FLASH DANCE. Memorable song and video. 4:00

24-Across. Film in which Garbo said, "I want to be alone" : GRAND HOTEL. Classic line. 0:10

54-Across. "Unsafe at Any Speed" author : RALPH NADER. Not just about the Corvair. But Holy Cow!  The paperback sells on Amazon for $150?

63-Across. "That's news to me!" : I HAD NO IDEA. Really? $150?!?!

The reveal is situated smack dab in the middle of the grid:
38-Across. Private club ritual, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : SECRET HANDSHAKE. The SHAKE indicates that HAND will be mixed up in the other theme entries. Very clever! There was lots to like in this puzzle, so let's get started.

Across

1. Plenty : LOADS. I almost wanted "a ton," but it was too short.

6. Cologne scent : MUSK. I don't really like musky colognes. Or colognes, period.

10. "Now it makes sense!" : I SEE.

14. 2011 Cricket World Cup winner : INDIA. They beat out Sri Lanka by 6 wickets. (Sure, I knew that...)

15. Actress Gray of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" : ERIN. TV series 1979 - 81. Never saw it. And 37-Across. Buck Rogers portrayer __ Gerard : GIL.

16. Stores in rows : MALL. I was thinking of the racks of storage bins in our garage.

19. Formally proper : PRIM.

20. Philippine tongue : TAGALOG. Never trust Google translator. Especially with languages like TAGALOG!

21. Gillette Mach3 predecessor : ATRA.

23. Uintah and Ouray Reservation residents : UTES.

29. Annoyances : PESTS.

31. Spanish demonstrative : ESO.

32. __ Coast : IVORY.

33. Golfer nicknamed "The Big Easy" : ELS. Gimme.

35. Winter coat : HOAR.

43. Lines of praise : ODE.

44. One on a penny : UNUM. "E Pluribus UNUM." Weird: when I type E Pluribus Unum into Google translate, it gives me the English translation: "Grape." Huh?? More reliable sources assure me that it means "Out of many, one."

45. Scarfed down : ATE.

46. Like a new candle : UNLIT.

48. Showed the way : LED.

50. Treats, as an icy road : SALTS.

57. Real card : RIOT.

58. Desert formation : MESA.

59. Like monastic life : AUSTERE.

61. Non-PC purchase : iMAC.

66. Actress Tushingham : RITA. Should I know her?

67. Slimming option, for short : LIPO.suction.

68. __ position : FETAL.

69. Biz bigwig : EXEC.

70. Twirled : SPUN.

71. Easy paces : TROTS.


Down

1. Elate : LIFT UP.

2. Airing in the wee hours : ON LATE.

3. Words of wisdom : ADAGES.

4. Earthquake, perhaps : DISASTER.

5. Satirist Mort : SAHL.

6. Thin, on the Thames : MEAGRE. My least fav entry.

7. Coffee holder : URN.

8. [that's what it said] : SIC.

9. Massage : KNEAD.

10. "Whose Line Is It Anyway" technique : IMPROV. Drew Carey was the original host in the US. Now it's Aisha Tyler. The cast is more or less the same. Very funny!

11. 1777 battle site : SARATOGA. Gimme.  I bet Argyle, Irish Miss and Spitzboov got this one right away.

12. Yalie : ELI.

13. Street of nightmares : ELM.

18. Husky, for one : DOG. Because "size" didn't fit.

22. Yearns : THIRSTS.

25. Embarrassed : ASHAMED.

26. It may follow eleven : NOON. Doesn't it always follow eleven?

27. Actor Estrada : ERIK.

28. Lovett of country : LYLE.

30. Spade and Hammer : SLEUTHS.

34. Subway map dot: Abbr. : STN.

36. Cavity filler's org. : ADA. American Dental Association.

38. Fermented, as milk : SOUR. So, how can you tell when sour cream has gone bad?

39. Novelist Ferber : EDNA.

40. Pen pal? : CELL MATE. Cute clue.

41. Island dance : HULA.

42. More nourishing : HEARTIER. CSO to me?

47. Medicinal syrup : IPECAC.

49. Precise : DEAD ON.

51. Didn't come clean with : LIED TO.

52. Clawed : TORE AT.

53. Advances a base, in a way : STEALS. Rickey Henderson was labeled "The Man of the Steal." (Sure, I knew that...)

55. Gets precisely : NAILS. Did you NAIL this one?

56. Appear in print : RUN.

60. Piano on a piano? : SOFT. My favorite clue.

61. Sore feeling : IRE.

62. Socialize : MIX.

64. With it : HIP.

65. "The Simpsons" shopkeeper : APU. Did everyone memorize my link to the Simpson's characters last week? I told you there would be a quiz!

I'm off to learn a cool SECRET HANDSHAKE. 0:46

Marti

Note from C.C.:

I mentioned yesterday that Bill's wife Barbara is an avid quilter. Bills sent me a few pictures. You can see more here. Love this bag. Very Vera Bradley.

 

Wednesday, January 7th 2015 Gareth Bain

Theme:  Papal Staples – each of the theme answers ends with a name adopted by multiple pontiffs.

18A. Black-eyed peas dish : HOPPIN’ JOHN. Food! A traditional good-luck New Year’s Day dish from the southern states. Any left-overs served the next day are called “Skippin’ Jenny”. How much of this did I know before I looked it up? None of it.

27A. Pretend nothing's going on : LOOK INNOCENT. Usually accompanied by whistling with your hands behind your back and drawing circles in the dirt with your toe.What? Me?

47A. Brunch fare : EGGS BENEDICT. More Food! Allegedly, one hungover New Yorker,  Lemuel Benedict, ordered the first incarnation of this dish at the Waldorf Hotel in 1894.

The bacon on the side is probably a tad unnecessary

 59A. Country star with an un-countrylike name : KEITH URBAN. He’s a real mixture – an Australian, born in New Zealand, who sings country. He’s also married to Nicole Kidman.

... tucked away at the bottom is the reveal:

56D. Religious leader associated with the ends of the four longest puzzle answers : POPE

Wow, Wednesday’s upon us already! Steve here with Gareth’s first LAT of 2015 (that didn’t take long, did it?) He slips in a couple of references to his native continent with RAND and MOGAMBO. I liked the theme and the tucked-away reveal. I did think the KEITH URBAN entry was just a little too close to POPE URBAN, whereas the other three were not people, but it didn’t bother me unduly.

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Neutral hue : ECRU. Seen in two places - the crossword and the hosiery department.

5. Book of legends? : ATLAS

10. Irreverent radio host : IMUS. I've never listened to him. From what I read, I've not missed much.

14. Become painfully dry : CHAP

15. Airboat area : SWAMP

16. Narrow margin : NOSE. How long is a nose in horse-racing parlance? At some point you stop winning by a head and start winning by a nose. I'm not sure where a horse's nose begins.

17. Hardly noticeable amount : HINT

20. Like some Netflix movies : ON DISC. A ever-dwindling proportion of their distribution.

22. Wore a belittling look : SNEERED

23. Notable gap : CHASM

26. More pleasant : NICER

31. Empty the recycle bin, e.g. : ERASE

32. Petri dish gel : AGAR

33. Cast off : SHED

37. Informal pass : NAH. I'd have gotten a clip around the ear from my Mom if she ever heard me say "nah" rather than "no thank you".

38. "Also sprach Zarathustra" composer : STRAUSS. Richard, in this case. Famously the overture music to "2001 A Space Odyssey".

41. Miner issue : ORE

42. Reunion attendee : ALUM

44. Third Pillar of Islam subject : ALMS. Sounds a little more pleasant than "compulsory charity" which is how I've seen it written before.

45. Short stroke : TAP-IN

50. Bygone Detroit brewery : STROH. I just finished reading a fascinating book about the USA's great brewing families, mostly of German origin. Stroh were one of the biggest brewers; eventually they sold out to Pabst and Miller.

52. Gas leak warnings : ODORS

53. Starts a revolution : UPRISES. I don't buy this one. I just can't hear a revolutionary leader saying "I think I'll uprise tomorrow and see who else wants to uprise with me". Nope.

55. Comparable to, with "with" : ON A PAR

62. What "will keep us together," in a 1975 hit : LOVE

63. Hamburg's river : ELBE. The town of Plzen is part of the Elbe watershed, and gives its name to Pilsner beer, which was the style of beer brewed by Bernhard Stroh when he opened his Detroit operation in 1850. I claim the prize for linking two totally unrelated clues.

64. "Transcendental" Liszt piece : ETUDE

65. Blunted blade : EPEE.

66. Downhill coaster : SLED

67. Pitching scout's device : RADAR. Official opinion varies, but the fastest pitches in Major League Baseball have been delivered at around 106 mph. That's some heat!

68. Lowly worker : SERF

Down:

1. Bounce back : ECHO. And how a RADAR gun works.

2. Uppercut target : CHIN

3. It's tender in Johannesburg : RAND

4. Market advances : UPTICKS. Are there downticks? I've only heard "downturns" - hmmm.

5. Picnic area barrel : ASHCAN

6. __-Face: duplicitous Batman foe : TWO. Harvey Dent, as portrayed by Aaron Eckhart in "The Dark Knight Rises"

 

"You really should get that looked at"

7. __ cat : LAP

8. Rock concert gear : AMPS

9. Dreidels and pinwheels : SPINNERS

10. Adds to a conversation, as a remark : INJECTS. I would use "interject" in this context, but probably that's just me.

11. "A Visit From St. Nicholas" poet Clement Clarke __ : MOORE. Also known as, and perhaps better known as, "'Twas the Night before Christmas". I had no idea of the poet's name. Thank you, crosses.

12. Seat finder : USHER

13. Delight : SEND

19. Frau's refusal : NEIN

21. Draws back in fear : SHIES

24. Hairbrush targets : SNARLS

25. Gable/Gardner classic set in Africa : MOGAMBO. More a Gardner/Kelly classic to be honest - Ava and Grace both received Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

27. Actress Olin : LENA. Who? I left her until the end.

28. __ hygiene : ORAL

29. Pearl Harbor locale : OAHU

30. Led to : CAUSED

34. Native Arizonans : HOPI

35. Obama attorney general Holder : ERIC

36. Bit of hail damage : DENT. DING went in, then came out.

39. Swiss luxury watchmaker : TAG HEUER. I thought they were German, but now I know better.

Yours for a mere $14,000, give or take a couple of hundred

40. Strict : STERN. IMUS and STERN in the same puzzle? Don't let them get too close to each other, they're not the best of friends.

43. Deserved : MERITED

46. Source of TV revenue : AD SALES

48. "Crikey!" : GOSH!

49. Midday tryst : NOONER

50. Compete in a bee : SPELL

51. 34-Down, e.g. : TRIBE

53. Luau strings : UKES

54. Arg. miss : SRTA. This abbr. falls into my "that's a bit 'orrible" category, but it's common enough in crosswords. A young woman in Argentina is a senorita, hence a yng. wm. in Arg. is a Srta.

57. State as fact : AVER

58. Great Barrier __ : REEF

60. Future bloom : BUD. BUD and STROH in the same puzzle? Cheers! *clink*

61. Oral health org. : A.D.A.

That's it from me. I'm off to Google "SRTA" and see what comes up first, apparently that's the way to explain crossword clues.

Steve 

Note from C.C.:

Here are two pictures from Bill G, who's been with our blog since 2009. His dog Sammy is no longer with them. Bill's wife Barbara is a retired teacher also, and an avid quilter.

Bill & Sammy

Bill & Barbara

Tuesday, January 6, 2015 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: Beyond Lincoln Logs - Items that can be built from a kit.

20A. Guideline for standard operating procedures : POLICY FRAMEWORK

26A. Weightlifter's practice : BODY BUILDING

50A. Frequent feeling of culpability : GUILT COMPLEX

58A. Box of Lego bricks, e.g., or a hint to the last words of 20-, 26- and 50-Across : CONSTRUCTION SET

Argyle here. No C.C. but still two grid spanners. I hope I can get some help on the theme.

Tinkertoy construction set would build a good for frameworks.

There are lots of building construction sets out there, even a "The Walking Dead" one. LINK

You may be familiar with a "complex construction kit" if engage in X3: Terran Conflict, a computer simulation. The kit is used to link your factories.

Any other ideas?

Across:

1. Six-footer at a Super Bowl party? : HERO. Fun thing to get home in a small car.

5. Leveling wedge : SHIM

9. Trojan War epic : ILIAD

14. Sailed through : ACED

15. Oompah instrument : TUBA

16. For the __: temporarily : NONCE. That's all she wrote. Not used elsewhere.

17. Storage structure : SHED

18. Requiring a two-day trip, say : AFAR. Odd usage.

19. Ultrasound image, perhaps : FETUS

23. Go one better than : TOP

24. Old Mideast org. : U.A.R. (United Arab Republic)

25. "Papa __ a Rollin' Stone" : WAS. A tick faster version.

32. Log-splitting tool : AXE

33. Houston player, informally : STRO. Houston Astros, baseball.

34. Common rental restriction : [NO PETS]

38. Plumbing problem : LEAK

40. Toward the tiller : AFT

42. "College GameDay" number : STAT. College GameDay is an ESPN program that covers college basketball and football, going over the STATistics.

43. Still making payments : IN DEBT

46. __ mater : ALMA

49. "Little Women" woman : AMY. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy

53. Kwik-E-Mart owner on "The Simpsons" : APU

56. Assenting vote : YEA

57. Ratio involving ht. and wt. : BMI. (Body Mass Index)

65. Designer Nina : RICCI. She got her start in the Thirties.

Don't let the cold stop you from being fashionable.

66. Retro phone feature : DIAL

67. "Do __ others ..." : UNTO

68. Sunni's faith : ISLAM

69. Simplify : EASE

70. Falafel holder : PITA

71. Mower handle? : DEERE. (name)

72. Mates for bucks : DOEs

73. Small earring : STUD

Down:

1. Hinged fastener : HASP

2. Sound on the rebound : ECHO

3. Rod attachment : REEL

4. Quirk : ODDITY

5. "Don't budge!" : "STAY PUT!"

6. Peeved mood : HUFF and 62D. Peeved mood : SNIT

7. Letter-shaped support piece : I-BAR

8. Plunder : MARAUD

9. Hot spot for Dante : INFERNO

10. Big name in movie theaters : LOEW

11. On its way to the body shop : [IN TOW]

12. Legend automaker : ACURA, which is a division of Honda.

13. Newsroom furniture : DESKS

21. Corn cores : COBs

22. Most important : MAIN

26. Vacation island south of Borneo : BALI

27. Farm team : OXEN

28. Word before tired or heat : DEAD

29. Fund for the golden yrs. : IRA

30. Lite : LO FAT

31. Navig. aid : GPS

35. Catchall abbr. : ET AL.

36. Domesticate : TAME

37. Mythological underworld boundary river : STYX

39. Tapped vessel : KEG

41. Treatment for a broken heart, briefly : TLC. (Tender Loving Care)

44. Postpone the inevitable : BUY TIME

45. Stadium section : TIER

47. Delicately balanced sculptures : MOBILES. Put away for another year.

48. Gun filler : AMMO

51. Praised : LAUDED

52. Man cave hangings : PIN-UPS

53. Bitterly pungent : ACRID

54. Self-assurance : POISE

55. Cry of concession : "UNCLE!"

59. Surgery reminder : SCAR

60. "So long," on the Lido : "CIAO"

61. Shock, in a way : TASE

63. "__, Brute?" : ET TU

64. Warty hopper : TOAD

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

To blog regulars:

Please send your photo to me (crosswordc@gmail.com) if you want to be included in our Blog Photos archive. We'd love to "see" you.

Monday, January 5, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: No-no's

17. Easy orchard pickings : LOW HANGING FRUIT. Forbidden fruit. It all started with the apple.

27. Bankrupt Best Buy competitor : CIRCUIT CITY. Forbidden City, the Chinese imperial palace.

49. Best-selling 2006 memoir subtitled "One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia" : "EAT PRAY LOVE". Forbidden love which starts a lot of trouble.

65. Groundbreaking 1956 sci-fi film ... or where you might find the ends of 17-, 27- and 49-Across? : FORBIDDEN PLANET. Redux of CED's clip.

Argyle here. And C.C. And two grid spanners.

Across:

1. Jab : POKE

5. Ran, as dye : BLED

9. Cola choice : PEPSI

14. Work with words : EDIT

15. Pervasive glow : AURA

16. Secluded valleys : DELLS

20. Test run : TRIAL

21. Char : SEAR

22. Little tricksters : IMPS

23. "Fat chance!" : "NOT!"

25. "__ the picture" : I GET

33. Approves : OKs

36. Small Chevy model : AVEO

37. Deserve : EARN

38. Copy in fun : MIMIC

40. "__ That Tune": classic game show : NAME

41. Mild oaths : DRATs

43. Full-grown filly : MARE

44. Without a break : ON END

46. Sign that might bode ill : OMEN

47. Heavy amount, as of homework : A TON

48. "Platoon" war zone : NAM

52. Gunshot sound : [BANG!]

54. Toothpaste option : GEL

55. Stand watch for, say : ABET

57. Lira replacement : EURO

61. Is in first place : LEADS

68. Caesar or Brutus : ROMAN

69. Dedicated poems : ODEs

70. Part in a play : ROLE

71. Follows orders : OBEYS

72. Overly inquisitive : NOSY

73. Barbershop sound : SNIP snip snip snip snip snip...

Down:

1. Animal's hide : PELT

2. Scent : ODOR

3. New Zealand bird : KIWI

4. One of two directing brothers : ETHAN COEN. The other is Joel.

5. Prohibit : BAN

6. Hauls with effort : LUGs

7. The "E" in HOMES : ERIE. A mnemonic for remembering Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior Lakes.

8. Comic Carvey : DANA

9. Adobe document suffix : PDF. (Portable Document Format)

10. Bone-chilling : EERIE

11. Spaghetti sauce ingredient : PLUM TOMATO

12. Lose one's footing : SLIP

13. Believers: Suff. : ISTs

18. Felipe of baseball : ALOU. Did you know his name was really Felipe Rojas. The Giants' scout who signed him got it wrong.

19. "True __": Wayne film : GRIT

24. In a dead heat : TIED

26. Athletic center : GYM

27. Popular Pachelbel work : CANON

28. The first Mrs. Trump : IVANA

29. "Isn't my face familiar?" : "REMEMBER ME?"

30. Futurist's deck : TAROT

31. Calf muscle malady : CRAMP

32. Entomb : INTER

34. Big name in Russian ballet : KIROV. The Soviet Ballet in 1934 was named to honor Sergey Kirov, an assassinated revolutionary. Officially, it is now the Mariinsky Ballet.

35. Drama division : SCENE

39. "Please tell me" : "I'M ALL EARS"

42. Stocking tear : SNAG

45. Bear's home : DEN

50. Like much wine and cheese : AGED

51. Holler : YELL

53. Cornered : AT BAY

55. Jackson 5 hair style : AFRO

56. __ tube: TV : BOOB

58. Japanese noodle : UDON. Often in your soup.

59. Make over : REDO

60. Snake eyes pair : ONEs

62. Soon, to a bard : ANON

63. Supermarket section : DELI

64. Dance movement : STEP

66. __ and outs: particulars : INS

67. Aspiring therapist's maj. : PSY. (Psychology)

Argyle

Sunday, January 4, 2015 Marilyn Lieb

Theme: "Single-Minded" - Short vowel in each *ING-ending word is changed into a long vowel, hence one of double consonants is dropped. (Added later: Barry G is correct. The gimmick is simply dropping one of the double letters.  50A has the same vowel before and after).

 

23A. Manicurist's work area? : FILING STATION. Filling station.

 

27A. Jilted "dear" lover who hasn't given up? : HOPING JOHN. Hopping John. The first and last Across theme answers have an impressive 5-letter overlap.

50A. Grand Canal? : POLING PLACE. Polling place.

66A. Providing extra digital support? : TOE TAPING. Toe-tapping.

84A. Finding a home for an Anaheim team? : SITING DUCKS. Sitting duck.

105A. Making hay when the sun doesn't shine? : SNOW BALING. Snowballing.

112A. Furniture-weaving facility? : CANING FACTORY. Canning factory.

31D. Regally dressing aristocrats? : ROBING THE RICH. Robbing the rich.

35D. Making a patio out of a garden? : TILING THE SOIL. Tilling the soil. Both Downs have 3-words. Consistent.

Looks like another debut! We only have a John Lieb in our blog labels.

It's challenging to start with a 13-letter theme entry, as this results in a stacked 7's on the right immediately. The constructor can further break those  7's into two 3's, but then she'd exceed Rich's 144 word limit.

The top 8/3 break can be changed into  6/6 or 5/7 or 7/5, all posing a challenge to fill in cleanly.

Across:

1. Military competition : ARMS RACE. This puzzle has eight 8-letter entries.

9. "Excuse me ..." : AHEM

13. Tab : BAR BILL

20. Visit briefly, as a sick friend : LOOK IN ON

21. In __ land : LA LA. Hello to our sweet LaLaLinda. Hope her health improves in 2015.

22. Frightened : ALARMED

25. Still puzzled : NO WISER

26. Beaut : GEM

29. Like some bird calls : SHRILL

33. Tie securely : LASH

34. Kachina doll maker : HOPI. I see Kachina dolls at flea market from time to time. They kind of look scary.

35. Parlor design, perhaps : TAT. Tattoo parlor.

38. "Cupid" singer Sam : COOKE

39. Belittle : DIS

40. Place to get refreshed : OASIS

43. How deadpan humor is delivered : DRILY

45. Dispute settlers : ARBITERS

47. "Put your money away" : ON ME. Crossing ONSET (47D. First stage). Dupe of ON.

48. Reiki practitioner : HEALER. Have any of you had Reiki treatments?

49. Surprise attack : RAID

54. Board game staples : DICE

55. Smoker's buy: Abbr. : CTN. I was astonished to find out that every casino in Las Vegas allows smoking.

56. Shoe parts : UPPERS

57. Cyberguffaw : LOL

58. Flowers in pens? : INKS. OK, Flow-er. Ink flows.

59. Figures on a rink : EIGHTS

61. Understanding : KEN. Beyond my ken.

63. Purse : HANDBAG. I used to be very good judging fake designer bags. 

65. Platte River tribe : OTOE

69. Tiny colonists : ANTS

71. Conserve : HUSBAND

73. Marine eagle : ERN

74. Book read during the Jewish holiday Purim : ESTHER. Gimme for Hahtoola/Lemonade.

76. Dog follower : SLED. Dog sled. Great clue.

78. Yale alum : ELI

79. Milk sources : UDDERS

82. Lac filler : EAU

83. Dean's "Lois & Clark" co-star : TERI (Hatcher). Dean Cain.

88. Grounded fleet : SSTS

89. Joins the debate : OPINES

91. Bit of sneakiness : RUSE

92. Hole starters : TEE SHOTS

94. Rhodes with a scholarship : CECIL

95. Words to strike up the band : HIT IT

97. French possessive : SES. TES also.

98. Scenically patterned fabric : TOILE

99. Utility co. unit : KWH

100. College town east of Greensboro : ELON. Got via crosses. Anything Musk related will be a gimme.

102. Destruction : RUIN

104. Oval-shaped dose : CAPLET

108. Asian-American actor Philip known for war movie roles : AHN. Of Korean root. I mentioned before that his Ahn is the same as Chinese Ang (Ang Lee).

109. Labor dispute tactic : LOCKOUT

118. London locale : ONTARIO

119. Bilko's mil. rank : MSGT (Master sergeant).

120. Enter carefully : EASE INTO

121. Features of Lincoln and Uncle Sam : GOATEES

122. Online crafts store : ETSY. Lots of neat stuff there.

123. Sin : TRESPASS

Down:

1. '80s sitcom puppet : ALF

2. Palais resident : ROI

3. Gretchen of "Boardwalk Empire" : MOL. Not familiar with this lady. Does MOL pronounce the same as Mole?

4. __ mask : SKI

5. Hairstyle curl : RINGLET

6. 2014 A.L. MVP Mike Trout, for one : ANGEL. Big gimme.

7. Micro- ending : COSM

8. Dr.'s specialty : ENT

9. Choral parts : ALTOS. And BASS (64D. Choral part).

10. Vietnamese port : HAIPHONG. No idea about this port city. Click on this map, can you see Hong Kong? Wiki said "The city's name means "coastal defense" and it is nicknamed the Flamboyant City because of the many Delonix regia planted throughout it." Gosh, I did not know what "Delonix regia" is either. Pretty red.

11. They "had decayed to a mere beautiful futility": Wells : ELOI

12. "Buddenbrooks" author : MANN (Thomas)

13. Duelers in a 1973 hit : BANJOS. This refers to the banjos in "Deliverance", right?

14. Thrown for __ : A LOOP

15. Untanned animal skin : RAWHIDE

16. Google co-founder Sergey : BRIN

17. Web chat exchange : IMs

18. Director Spike : LEE

19. Pres. or gov. : LDR (Leader)

24. Enlightened cries : AHAs

28. Letters seen next to a 4 : GHI. On your phone.

29. Seldom seen : SCARCE

30. "Good night, sweet prince" speaker : HORATIO

32. "Not serious" : I KID

33. Hosiery thread : LISLE

36. Smart __ : ALECK

37. Spares in boots : TYRES. They call trunks "boots".

39. Go down : DROP

41. Band booster : AMP

42. Poivre companion : SEL

44. Glowing : RADIANT

46. Omar of "House" : EPPS

48. Had in one's portfolio : HELD. And 76D. Portfolio component : STOCK

51. Displeased : IRKED

52. Oscar-winning composer Menken : ALAN. What I called Marti's husband the first time. Then I called him Allan. Then Allen. Then Allan again. Hopeless!

53. Capitol Hill gp. : CONG. OK, congress.

56. One of the teams that made the Pac-10 the Pac-12 : UTES. Got via crosses also.

60. Budapest-born magician : HOUDINI

62. "Sorry, laddie" : NAE

63. Vishnu worshiper : HINDU

66. Tibiae supporters : TALI

67. Doing the job : ON IT.  AT IT as well.

68. Very proper sort : PRUDE

70. Mariners' home : SEATTLE

72. First lady after Eleanor : BESS

74. Skye writing : ERSE

75. Potato often used for fries : RUSSET

77. Romantic skunk : LE PEW

80. It made its last commercial flight in February 2014 : DC-TEN.  Gimme for Dudley,  Rainman (Yay! You made it!) and maybe Dave. I was unwary of this trivia. Did you ever fly your own plane, Dave? 

81. Squeezes (out) : EKES

85. NYC subway : IRT

86. Rapa __ : NUI

87. D neighbors on most guitars : G-STRINGS. Got via crosses as well. One of two entries that cross 3 theme answers.

88. Store : SHOP

90. Title girl in a 1968 Turtles hit : ELENORE

93. Batting postures : STANCES

95. Manuals, e.g. : HOW-TOS

96. Liszt's "Piano Sonata __ Minor" : IN B

97. Indication : SIGN. HINT won't work.

101. "Taxi" dispatcher : LOUIE

103. Cohesion : UNITY

104. Dramatic movie scene : CHASE

105. 32-card game : SKAT

106. Pinnacle : ACME

107. Tenth of ten, say : LAST

108. Miles away : AFAR

109. Keep a record of : LOG

110. John Lennon's middle name : ONO

111. Windy City "L" runner : CTA (Chicago Transit Authority)

113. Become ill with : GET. I sure don't want to get flu again. What an ordeal!

114. Advice from a pro : TIP

115. Words with hunch or bet : ON A

116. Some NFL linemen : RTs (Right Tackles)

117. Howdies : YOs

I set up a Blog Recipes post under Olio on the blog front page. Several regulars have shared their cherished family recipes over the years on the blog (Ham & Pea soup, e.g.), but I failed to locate them accurately. Would you mind copying and pasting the recipes on the blog again? Or just send me an email. I will put them in the Blog Recipes folder. Thanks.

C.C.