Thursday, July 14th 2016 Matt Skoczen

Theme: A lot of Toro! Circles reveal the word BULL four times in the grid.

17A. Music in 62-Across : PASODOBLE. Here's one for blog-background music.

39A. Performer in 62-Across : MATADOR

62A. Fighting venues suggested by this puzzle's circles : BULLRINGS

Ernest Hemingway would approve of this puzzle's theme. Bullfighting and bull-running have been much in the news in recent days.

Neat theme from Matt; once I realized what was going on with the circles they helped me fill in a couple of blanks. Nice that three of the entries cross-referenced the theme. If you don't get circles in your puzzle and you don't like cross-referential clues, then this one probably wasn't entirely up your street.

Let's see what else we've got today:

Across:

1. UV filter once widely used in sunscreens : PABA. New to me. Para-amino Benzoic Acid. Apparently caused allergic reactions in a number of people, so no longer used.

5. Word in Italian dishes : ALLA. Food! Here's spaghetti alla vongole.

9. Italian for "wasp" : VESPA. New to me, but as soon as I had the "V" I knew what it was. Those scooters do buzz around like wasps.

14. Lifetimes : AGES

15. Sign on for more service : RE-UP

16. One-__ chance : IN-TEN

19. Swedish-born Chan actor : OLAND. Thank you, crosses. I've never seen any of the Charlie Chan movies.

20. Cunning : ARTFUL

21. River through Kazakhstan : URAL

23. Dating letters : BCE. Before the Common Era.

24. Fisherman's knot : SNELL. Another new one to me. I don't fish, so ..

26. They may be independent : CLAUSES

28. Race town near Windsor Castle : ASCOT. I'm going to be staying in Windsor next Thursday night. I'll say hello to the Queen and her peeps.

30. People never seen in "Peanuts" : ADULTS

32. Word with smoke or kisses : BLOW

33. Arthurian address : SIR. The Arthurian knights. Here's "the" Round Table hanging in Winchester's Great Hall. I'll be there again on Saturday. My friend is 5' tall to give you some idea of the scale.

34. Very old thing : FOSSIL

38. Sylvan sticker : BUR

41. Thurman of "Henry & June" : UMA

42. More than just suggest : REEK OF

44. Salyut successor : MIR. The Soviet/Russian space station programs. There were six Salyut stations; the last one came out of orbit in 1991.

45. Snead has won three of them, briefly : PGA'S. US Men's golf's PGA Championship. Jason Duffner's wife famously took this picture of him the morning after he won the trophy in 2013.

46. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE. Never heard of this one, but then again I'm not a lawyer.

48. Work with a team : COACH

49. Misconception : FALLACY

52. Brown shade : UMBER

54. Brown address ending : EDU. Brown University can be found on the interwebs at www.brown.edu.

55. Bausch's partner : LOMB. Ray-Ban Aviators, anyone?

57. Opens up : LETS ON

60. Cover story : ALIBI

64. Levels, in Leeds : RASES. I used to live in Leeds as a kid. One of my earliest memories is being taken by my teenage sister to see "A Hard Day's Night" at the local cinema. I couldn't figure out why everyone in the place spent the entire movie screaming. The cinema was RASED in 1966 to make way for a shopping mall.

65. Comic strip canine : ODIE

66. Mind, with "for" : CARE

67. College near Albany : SIENA. Nailed it!

68. D-Day craft : LST'S. Landing Ship, Tank.

69. What it's risky to build on? : SPEC

Down:

1. Haydn sobriquet : PAPA

"Papa Haydn's dead and gone

but his memory lingers on.

When his mood was one of bliss

he wrote jolly tunes like this."

2. Food thickener : AGAR

3. Visual media soundtrack Grammy Award : BEST SCORE

4. Presently : AS OF NOW

5. Winning, with "on" : A ROLL

6. Med. nation : LEB. Lebanon; the only country with a tree on the flag.

7. Doozie : LULU

8. Brief summary : APERÇU. I try to keep these summaries brief, but usually I fail miserably.

9. Crook, e.g. : VIOLATOR

10. Phot. lab request : ENL. Least favorite clue/entry of the day.

11. They may be taken on "Jeopardy!" : STABS

12. British coin additive? : PENCE. Here's an old sixpence from the Queen's coronation year:

13. Chilean range : ANDES

18. Number for two : DUET

22. Highly in favor of : ALL FOR

25. Metz milk : LAIT. Metz sounds more German than French; as it happens it's only a few miles from the German border.

27. Letters with Arizona or Missouri : U.S.S.

28. Short for short? : ABBR.

29. Swing around : SLUE

31. "Wee" pours of Scotch : DRAMS. Cheers, Tin-man!

33. Mariners' home, familiarly : SAFECO. Seattle's Major League ballpark.

35. Pea variety : SUGAR SNAP

36. Apple variety : iMAC

37. Hit violently, as waves against the shore : LASH

39. Oscar-winning song immortalized by Nat King Cole : MONA LISA

40. "Mon __!" : DIEU

43. About .62 mi. : KILometer.

45. Discourse on verses : POETICS. Aristotle wrote this c. 335 BCE

47. $, for one : SYMBOL

48. Many a trucker : CB-ER

49. Causes of trembles : FEARS

50. Dwight's two-time opponent : ADLAI

51. First two-time Best Actress Oscar winner Rainer : LUISE. Crosses all the way for me.

53. Lille lasses: Abbr. : MLLES. Mademoiselles, milk and OMG today for our French lesson.

56. Pals : BUDS

58. Folklore fiend : OGRE

59. Wee part of a min. : NSEC. Nanosecond.

61. Big __ : BEN. Another excuse to post a photo from my last UK trip. Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge.

63. Brightened, with "up" : LIT.

That's it from me for today. I'm heading back to the UK tomorrow for a quick visit; to see family and eat as much curry as is humanly possible for one person without exploding. Here's a final sample from my last visit. Yum!

Steve

Annnnd ... here's the grid, circles 'n all.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016, Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Title: As Gouda As It Gets!

Gail and Bruce produced a far from cheesy puzzle. Not only does a type of cheese start each theme answer, but the cheese variety is only the first four letters of a word or phrase but is completely separate from the fill in any other way! Now that is clever and once again I chose to show the grid first to exhibit this clever device! Obtuse old me didn't see this sparkling gimmick until I saw the reveal of:

62. Photographer's request, and a hint to what's hidden at the starts of 17-, 26- and 47-Across : SAY CHEESE

Theme Answers:

17. Paperwork carrier : BRIEFCASE  - Also a stand-in for another French word

26, Detector a tiny heartbeat: FETAL MONITOR - FETA is not my first choice either

47. Asian bean dish : EDAMAME SALAD - High tech beavers?

Across

1. Targets of some bark beetles : ELMS - Wiped out many trees of my yute

5. Spreadsheet info : DATA

9. "The Blacklist" network : NBC-TV - Must every show about law enforcement include a beautiful, 20-something woman aiming a gun with both hands?

14. Sunbeam floater : MOTE

15. High-tech read : E-MAG - Some content is not so High-tech

16. Cliff dwelling : AERIE

19. Razz : TAUNT - "The Greatest" was great at this too

20. "Bewitched" witch : ENDORA - She called all these sitcom scripts "hack" but cashed the checks

21. Offers unsolicited advice : KIBITZES - Does anyone else drive with a "Parking Spot Assistant"? 

23. Overwhelms with sound : DEAFENS

25. "I'm getting to it" : SOON

31. Batting no. : AVG - Failing two out of three times at bat still gives you a fantastic AVG of .333!

34. Move among moguls : SKI  - My back hurts just watching

35. Develop a liking for : TAKE TO - I did TAKE TO this site years ago!

36. Ascend : CLIMB

39. Conniving : SLY

41. Exams for future D.A.'s : L-SATS

42. Obstacle on the links : HAZARD

44. Crumpet accompaniment : TEA

46. Levels, briefly : KO'S - Ali KO'ed many of those he taunted

51. Rent-__ : A CAR - You do have options

52. Starts to grow : SPROUTS

56. Facial indication of amazement : SLACK-JAW - Nobody did it better

60. Takes, as advice : ACTS ON

61. Heavenly explosions : NOVAE - One of those pesky plurals

64. Most desirable invitees : A-LIST - It ain't me babe! I don't move with the Big Cheeses

65. Lamb pen name : ELIA

66. Risotto base : RICE

67. Stained __ : GLASS

68. Workout count : REPS

69. Symbol on Texas' flag : STAR


Down

1. Journalist in a battle zone : EMBED - Can you spot the EMBEDDED journalist Sally Sara in this picture?

2. "Bonanza" co-star of Michael, Dan and Pernell : LORNE - A cowboy from Ottawa, eh?

3. Crete's highest elev. : MT. IDA - 8,058' high

4. Accompany to the depot, say : SEE OFF

5. Pours into a carafe : DECANTS - Seems like a hoity-toity word to me

6. Gp. with many specialists : AMA - I saw five different ones last year

7. Chore : TASK

8. AARP concern : AGEISM

9. Washington ballplayer : NATIONAL - The best player in baseball?

10. Unconventional '50s-'60s types : BEATNIKS

11. Cross, in Costa Rica : CRUZ

12. Point on a rake : TINE

13. Cat scanners? : VETS - Here's two inserting a scannable chip

18. Gratis : FREE - "At no extra cost" ain't FREE 

22. Heave-ho : BOOT

24. __ OFF 5TH: discount store : SAKS

27. Jaunty tunes : LILTS

28. Tropical hardwood : TEAK - A TEAK plantation in India

29. "Beetle Bailey" dog : OTTO

30. Diana of "The Wiz" : ROSS

31. Long (for) : ACHE

32. "The Impaler" of Romanian history : VLAD 

33. Sphinx city : GIZA

37. Voice heard in "California Dreamin'" : MAMA CASS  -  Her first group

38. March Madness concerns : BRACKETS

40. Supporters' votes : YEAS

43. Key with two sharps: Abbr. : D MAJ - What Don, Don and Glenn used for  this song

45. Sources of fine wool : ALPACAS

48. Traditional golf pencil's lack : ERASER

49. Footwear insert : ARCH - Lift didn't make it

50. Nanas, often : DOTERS

53. Start of a fitness motto : USE IT

54. Puccini opera : TOSCA - Premiered in Rome 116 years ago

55. "And wrinkled lip, and __ of cold command": "Ozymandias" : SNEER - Shelly's work of  hubris and mortality is one of the few poems that made an impression on me as a student

56. Unforeseen obstacle : SNAG

57. Lounge around : LOLL

58. Saucony competitor : AVIA

59. Corduroy feature : WALE

63. Peke's squeak : YIP

Tuesday, July 12 2016, C.C. Burnikel

 Theme: E-Phrases.

17A. *On the same page : IN HARMONY. eHarmony.

40A. *Auto buyer's consideration : CAR LOAN. E-Loan.

11D. *Illegal activity that threatens elephants : IVORY TRADE. E-Trade

30D. *Jamaican resort : MONTEGO BAY. eBay.

64A. Online business, and a hint to the ends of the answers to starred clues : E-COMMERCE 

Melissa here. Another clever theme by C.C. I didn't realize how many E-Phrases were specific to commerce. Fun puzzle, nice to see theme answers both across AND down.

Across 

1. Piece of cake : SNAP

5. Forever and a day : AGES

9. Tony who was a teammate of Carew and Killebrew : OLIVA. This has C.C.'s fingerprints all over it.

14. Some bra fabric : LACE

15. Little bit : IOTA

16. Put a lid on : COVER

19. Steakhouse order : T-BONE

20. "You never know" : MAYBE

21. Where honorees may sit : DAIS

23. Miss Chile's title: Abbr. : SRTA. Señorita. 

24. Rowing pair : OARS

26. Ragged : TATTY

28. Gingerbread house roof toppers : GUMDROPS

32. Get really mad : SEETHE

35. "Hey, sailor!" : AHOY

36. Glide above the clouds : SOAR

38. False step : ERROR

39. Actor McKellen : IAN

42. Andy's doll pal : ANN

43. Eccentric : NUTSO. Tried NUTTY first.

45. Base lullaby : TAPS. One of the last to fall for me - great clue.

46. Likelihood : ODDS

47. Nods off : SLEEPS

49. Multiwinner race outcome : DEAD HEAT

51. Say hello to : GREET

53. Take down __: humble : A PEG

54. Silo filler : CROP. Tried CORN first.

56. Landlocked African nation : CHAD. Unknown.

58. Like a soldier at attention : ERECT

62. Pigeonhole : LABEL

66. Muscat native : OMANI

67. Ready for picking : RIPE

68. "Very true!" : AMEN

69. Fee-based entertainment service : PAY TV

70. Biblical garden : EDEN

71. Little shavers : TADS

Down:

1. Like the chance of winning a lottery : SLIM

2. Grandpa's love : NANA. This one hung me up - wasn't thinking of a person.

3. In need of a massage : ACHY

4. Journalism award : PEABODY. The Peabody story.

5. Prepare to fire : AIM

6. Sore loser's opposite : GOOD SPORT

7. Volcano in Italy : ETNA

8. "__ with flowers" : SAY IT

9. Mo. for scary costumes : OCT

10. Bib-wearer's entrée : LOBSTER. Was thinking some kind of baby food at first.

12. Blow off some steam : VENT

13. General vicinity : AREA

18. Tail end : REAR

22. Texas NBA team, on scoreboards : SAS. San Antonio Spurs.

25. Civil rights icon Parks : ROSA

27. Prom attendee : TEEN

28. Profits : GAINS

29. Company with orange-and-white trucks : U-HAUL

31. Soup go-with, at lunch : SALAD

33. Fit automaker : HONDA

34. Auditing giant __ & Young : ERNST

37. Ali boxing technique : ROPE-A-DOPE. Interesting.

 

40. Deal with things : COPE

41. "Right this minute!" : ASAP

44. 70-Across tempter : SERPENT

46. "Just my luck!" : OH GREAT

48. "Just a __!" : SEC

50. Regard : DEEM

52. At that place : THERE

54. Hoofbeat sound : CLOP

55. "__ Lama Ding Dong": doo-wop hit : RAMA

57. Battery fluid : ACID

59. Humorist Bombeck : ERMA

60. Kept in the loop, briefly : CC'ED

61. Bills with Hamilton on them : TENS

63. Tyler of "The Leftovers" : LIV

65. Fellows : MEN

Monday, July 11, 2016 Timothy L. Meaker

Theme: No Reveal Monday - Not to worry ~ it's all here.

20. Theoretical temperature at which molecular activity ceases : ABSOLUTE ZERO

31. Astronomical phenomenon : TOTAL ECLIPSE

40. 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. : WHOLE NUMBERS

52. Rarity for a pitcher, nowadays : COMPLETE GAME

Argyle here. A bit of a reversal today; I used the theme entries to help get the fill.

Across:

1. Trek to Mecca : HAJJ. Had to wait on the last letter.

5. Astringent in taste : ACERB

10. Something made on a shooting star : WISH

14. Brainstorm : IDEA

15. Circus animal handler : TAMER

16. Pot starter : ANTE

17. 1999 satire about a reality show : EDtv. A film directed by Ron Howard.

18. Erie or Cree : TRIBE. Another reversal; Erie as a clue.

19. KOA visitor : RVer. Kampgrounds of America, where the recreational vehicle owners stay.

23. __-and-effect : CAUSE

26. Wimbledon do-over : LET

27. Quieted, with "down" : TONED

28. Wes in the Basketball Hall of Fame : UNSELD. Bio.

30. __ Domingo : SANTO

 

35. Bambi's aunt : ENA

36. "Mr." with Jim Backus' voice : MAGOO. "Oh Magoo, you've done it again!"

37. In line for : DUE

44. Pasty-faced : ASHEN

46. Ability spotted by a scout : TALENT

47. Slow-moving mollusk : SNAIL

48. "__ was saying ... " : AS I

51. Actress Rene : RUSSO

55. Some dadaist pieces : ARPS. The World According to Arps. Oops, wrong Arps. It should be Jean Arp or Hans Arp but Ron Arps is something different so I think I'll leave him.

56. Go to pieces : PANIC

57. Rocker Hendrix : JIMI

61. "The Lion King" lion : NALA. Wiki.

62. Show beyond doubt : PROVE

63. Eve's partner : ADAM

64. Represent unfairly : SKEW

65. Fathered : SIRED

66. Toy on a string : YOYO

Down:

1. Shake a leg, quaintly : HIE

2. Put two and two together : ADD

3. Air Force One, for one : JET

4. Indonesian site of a WWII naval battle : JAVA SEA

 

5. Some "Night Court" characters: Abbr. : ATTs. (attorneys)

6. "Silent Night," e.g. : CAROL

7. Novelist Zola : ÉMILE. If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.

8. Counter, as an argument : REBUT

9. Author Harte : BRET. Born: August 25, 1836, Albany, NY, but wrote about the Gold Rush.

10. Dangerous place for an embedded journalist : WAR ZONE. (and everyone else)

11. Dream up : INVENT

12. Man cave system : STEREO

13. "The Great" Judean king : HEROD

21. Ding-dong maker : BELL. Hah! It's really Hostess.

 

22. Sched. postings : ETAs

23. Like kitten videos : CUTE

24. Any minute, to Shakespeare : ANON

25. Court sports org. : USTA. (United States Tennis Association)

29. Sinister spirit : DEMON and 41D. 29-Down's milieu : HELL

30. Teapot feature : SPOUT

32. Western neighbor of Nev. : CAL.. (Nevada/California)

33. Size up from med. : LGE.

34. Charged particle : ION

37. Dead ends? : DEEs. First and last letters.

38. Coffee servers : URNS

39. __ perpetua: Idaho's motto : ESTO. "Let it be perpetual". Idaho forever!

40. Two-person log-cutting tool : WHIP SAW. Crosscut top and ripsaw bottom (used for making planks)

 

42. Schoolteacher of old : MARM

43. Toronto baseballer : BLUE JAY. shout out

44. Hooded ski jacket : ANORAK. 1920-25; & Inuit (Greenlandic) annoraaq (I doubt they did much skiing.)

45. Supermarket freebie : SAMPLE

47. Speed-reads : SCANS

48. Big name in arcades : ATARI

49. Madrid mister : SEÑOR

50. "Uncle!" : "I GIVE!"

53. Actor Omar : EPPS. Now starring on the ABC drama Resurrection.

54. Got a hole-in-one on : ACED

58. Wedding vow : "I DO"

59. Memorial Day month : MAY

60. "I think," in texts : IMO. (in my opinion)

 

Argyle

Sunday July 10, 2016 Alex Bajcz

Theme: "Volumizing" - BODY is added to each theme entry.

23. Obstruct one's buddies during a hockey game? : BODY CHECK MATES. Checkmates.

32. Crimson Tide wrestler? : ALABAMA BODY SLAMMER. Boomer never heard of Alabama Slammer. I read the Wiki ingredients. He said "Oh, it sounds girly." His likes Manhattan on the rocks.

52. Snoop's job? : BUSYBODY WORK. Busy work.

69. Royal with a broadcasting award? : PRINCESS AND THE PEABODY. Princess and the Pea. PEABODY is not rooted in BODY, hence an ideal choice in letter addition/deletion/replacement gimmick.

88. Central garage item? : BODY SHOP LIFT. Shoplift.

104. Benchmark for a movie daredevil? : BODY DOUBLE STANDARD. Double standard.

119. Immunology-themed gala? : ANTIBODY SOCIAL. Anti-social.

When I read the title, I figured something would be added. BODY appeared rather earlier, so I had plenty of free letters.

 

March 21, 2013 is the last time we saw Alex Bajcz's byline. Since then he has had two puzzles published by the New York Times. But today is his very first Sunday grid. Congrats, Alex!  Bajcz is pronounced like "Badges", by the way.

Alex is bold with his grid design. Those paralleled 11's in the upper right and lower left are hard to pull off cleanly, esp since they're intersecting two long Across themers. I can probably do a paralleled 9's or 10's with one themer Across.  You rock, Alex!

Across:

1. Eliminate, as a vacancy : FILL

5. Chin-up muscle, briefly : LAT

8. Car window options : TINTS

13. Capital of Eritrea : ASMARA. Vowel aplenty.

19. "I've got it!" elicitor : IDEA

20. Peyton's brother : ELI

21. NSX automaker : ACURA

22. Cavatappi and such : PASTAS. Never heard of Cavatappi. Wiki says it's "an Italian word created by compounding "cava tappi", which literally means "tap extractor" (a corkscrew)".

26. Strapless accessory : CLUTCH. Consonant-rich. Was thinking of the strapless bras.

27. Norwegian for "sloping track" : SLALOM

28. Baking site : KILN. Not OVEN.

29. "Heat of the Moment" band : ASIA. Not AC/DC.

31. Scrape (by) : EKE

37. Movement suffix : ISM

40. One more time : ANEW

41. Brooding rock genre : EMO

42. Agree to a friending request : ACCEPT. Husker Gary is the first person who accepted my Friend Request. 

43. Talk : CHAT

45. Paneer cheese go-with : NAAN. Never had Paneer. You?

48. Los Angeles rarity : SNOW. Lucky!

50. "__ where it hurts!" : HIT 'EM

56. Nick time? : NITE

58. Payless box letters : EEE

59. Bio lab organism : MICROBE

60. Dublin-to-Blackpool dir. : ENE.  Already the E in place. Hence ENE. No NNE or  SSE dilemma.

61. Home of The Hague: Abbr. : NETH

62. Pres. and veep : LDRS (Leaders).

63. Elroy Jetson's best friend : ASTRO

65. It might be a mirage : OASIS. Have you had fresh dates before?

67. Pumps up : ELATES

74. Right-hand pages : RECTOS. Vs. VERSOS.

75. Tapped : CHOSE

76. Car buyer's choice : COUPE

77. Pocket rockets, in poker : ACES. Learned from doing crosswords.

78. Quaint contraction : 'TWAS

80. JFK speechwriter Sorensen : TED

82. Churro relative : CRULLER. I believe Churro came from China. We call it Youtiao. Youtiao & soy milk is the standard breakfast in Shanghai/Taiwan. Jayce love it.

86. Often laceless shoe : MOC. Drew a blank.

87. Bygone autocrat : TSAR

90. [What a snoozefest!] : SNORE

92. Watson outburst : I SAY

94. "Go __ Watchman": Harper Lee novel : SET A

95. 90 degrees from norte : ESTE. East. Then we also have NL WEST (96. Gp. including the Rockies).

98. Bk. fair organizer : PTA

100. Try to convince : URGE. Boomer just would not put an ad on our local Star Tribune for our one-day garage sale yesterday. Alas, it's a bust. Street signs were not enough. Craigslist did bring us a few visitors, including one persistent "Have you heard the good news.... " lady. Boomer said she's a Jehovah's Witness.

103. Beast of burden : ASS

109. One in a rack : RIB

 

110. Org. led by a Grand Exalted Ruler : BPOE

111. Three-and-out follower, in football : PUNT

112. Muss : TOUSLE

116. Relaxed : AT EASE

122. Eccentric sort : GEEZER. Always old. 

123. Compete in an impromptu "contest" : STARE. Got via crossed.

124. White House accounting gp. : OMB. OK, Office of Management and Budget.

125. Sleek : TRIM

126. Pointers : ARROWS

127. Varieties : TYPES

128. The G in LGBT : GAY

129. Round Table honorifics : SIRS

Down:

1. Tells tales : FIBS

2. Carrie Underwood, for one : IDOL. Fourth season winner.

3. Helen of Troy's mother : LEDA

4. 1992 Best Rock Song Grammy winner : LAYLA. Easy crossing.

5. Big name in 2008 financial news : LEHMAN

6. Lagunitas product : ALE

7. Pass by, as time : TICK AWAY

8. The Miracles' label : TAMLA. Never heard of it.

9. Promising "Are you available?" response : I CAN BE. Not YES I AM.

10. Baklava morsel : NUT

11. Walk all over : TREAD ON

12. Impertinent : SASSY

13. Math course for coll. credit : AP CALC. Very helpful clue.

14. __ Khan, online academy founder : SAL. I wanted ALY.

15. The NCAA's Spartans : MSU

16. Tried proving that one could : ATTEMPTED TO

17. Engaged in organized crime : RACKETEERED

18. One of Israel's 12 tribes : ASHER.  This stumped me last time.

24. Vending machine choice : COLA

25. Sister of Khloé : KIM

30. Witness' statement : I SAW IT

33. Sprees : BENDERS

34. Trans-Siberian Railway city : OMSK. Easy crossings.

35. Need ice, maybe : ACHE

36. Soong __-ling: Madame Chiang : MEI. She's the youngest of the Soong Sisters. The middle sister Ching-Ling married Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The oldest sister married the then richest man in China. They were all educated here in the US.

Left to right:  Ai-ling, Ching-ling and Mei-ling.

37. Disarmament subj. : ICBM

38. Feng __ : SHUI

39. Gram. gender : MASC

44. Absolute rulers : TYRANTS

46. Leave speechless : AWE

47. "Stop! You're ruining everything!" : NO NO NO. Also 107. "So that's __?" : A NO. Probably should have gone with the Spanish year clue direction.

49. "Hold that thought" : ONE SEC

51. Like some breakups : MESSY

53. "Psycho" shower scene blood, actually : BOSCO. Good to know.

54. Beseeches : OBTESTS. Do you use this word in your daily life? I never heard of it.

55. Entertains with a bedtime story : READS TO

57. Capital since 2002 : THE EURO.  Does "The" feels unnecessary to you?

61. Bethesda medical agcy. : NIH

62. "Lady Marmalade" singer : LABELLE. I'm more familiar with this version.

64. Coveted statuettes : OSCARS

66. Fury and Silver of classic TV : STEEDS. Not HORSES.

68. Eagerly consume : LAP UP.  We also have 79. Watch (for) : WAIT UP. Tiny dupes like UP, AT, THE are OK.

69. London strollers : PRAMS

70. Keep tabs on the enemy : RECONNOITER. I always use RECON.

71. Ballpark vendor's cry : ICE-COLD BEER.  Sparkling 11.

72. Contented sounds : AHs

73. Diving duck : POCHARD. New word to me. We always get SMEW for this clue. Her eyes are red.

81. Vat filler : DYE. And 117. Nitrogenous 81-Down : AZO

83. Former L.A. Sparks All-Star __ Leslie : LISA. Amazing career.

84. Young newts : EFTs

85. Numbered rds. : RTEs

87. Drove, with "off" : TEED

88. Modern storage unit : BYTE

89. Nonhuman film substitute : STUNT DOG. Wow. I only know stuntman.

91. Letters after either Cowboy St. senator's name : R-WY. Goofy answer.

93. In spades : APLENTY

97. Gets serious : SOBERS

99. Have grand plans : ASPIRE

101. "Great" literary hero : GATSBY

102. Switch end : EROO. Switcheroo.

104. NW Portuguese city : BRAGA. Unfamiliar to me.

105. Talk oneself up : BOAST

106. Straws, e.g. : TUBES. Simple in retrospect.

108. Sources of tears : DUCTS. Simple in retrospect.

113. Popular assistant : SIRI. This lady gives me pause all the time, unless she's clued explicitly.

114. Private retreat : LAIR

115. Shade trees : ELMS

118. Be in a bee : SEW. Sewing bee.

120. Gentle attention-getter : TAP

121. "The Peruvian Songbird" Sumac : YMA

Happy Birthday to dear Don G, my talented mentor and close friend. Don has been quite busy with his piano projects, but continues to work with me and help me when he's free.

C.C.