Theme: Say Again - Common phrases are humorously re-interpreted with their heteronym meanings. Heteronyms are words with identical spellings but different meanings and pronunciations.
23A. Understudy's crime? : LEAD POISONING
33A. Short ovation? : MINUTE HAND
49A. Instrument with colored bands? : STRIPED BASS
68A. Compliment on a skillful asphalt job? : GOOD EVENING
84A. Anesthetist's error? : WRONG NUMBER. Numb-er, stuff that numbs you.
101A. Fight among forest females? : DOES' BATTLE
117A. Clean kielbasa? : POLISH SAUSAGE
16D. Telescope? : METEOR SHOWER. Show-er. We've seen C-SPAN clued as "House shower" before.
64D. Jeans feature after a barbed wire encounter? : TRAIL OF TEARS
I bet Clear Ayes had fun with this puzzle. She's talked about & linked heteronym, homophone & homonym a few times on the blog.
This theme has been done before. Still fun to solve. Outstanding grid layout and fill. Lots of sparkly phrases.
Across:
1. Woodcutter who knew the magic words : ALI BABA. "Open sesame!"
8. Wide divide : CHASM
13. Tribal magicians : SHAMANs.
20. European triumvirate : BENELUX. Belgium is so stuffy, including their Etam lingerie shops. Their "words of support" (a la Grumpy & Splynter yesterday) just don't feel sexy.
21. Variety show : REVUE
22. Catches the show : TUNES IN
25. Steamy stuff : EROTICA
26. Israeli weapons : UZIs
27. With 116-Down, "Bed-In for Peace" co-organizer : YOKO. And ONO (116D. See 27-Across).
28. Make amends : ATONE
30. Be a disincentive to : DETER
31. Eager, in dialect : RARIN
36. Sound on Old MacDonald's farm : OINK
37. Responses to the obvious : DUHs. D'ohs too.
39. Office orders : REAMS
40. __ Shore : JERSEY
42. The Joker portrayer : ROMERO (Cesar). I can only remember Heath Ledger.
45. Spot for "Spot" : TAG. Got me.
47. Concordes: Abbr. : SSTs. Crossing SSN (47D. No. under the year on many tax forms). Constructors' crutch fill.
48. Triumphant shout : AHA
55. Seafaring salutations : AHOYs
59. Some tablets : PCs
60. Official declaration : EDICT
61. "The Gates of Hell" sculptor : RODIN. See here.
62. Goes __: deteriorates : TO POT
63. Like some advanced research, briefly : POSTDOC (Postdoctoral)
65. Cues from a stage coach : LINEs. Theater stage. Not the wagon.
66. "Trust me!" : I SWEAR
67. Epps of "House" : OMAR
72. Mother of the Valkyries : ERDA. Drew a blank.
73. Short summaries : RECAPs
75. Garfield's creator : DAVIS (Jim). Gimme for JD/eddyB.
76. Clue room : LIBRARY
78. Shinto temple gateway : TORII. Wouldn't it be nice to clue it as Torii Hunter and cross-reference LAA (86A. A.L. West team, on scoreboards)? Hunter is the right fielder for the Angels.
79. Enter, as data : KEY IN
80. Start a rally : SERVE. Tennis.
82. Ballpoint brand : BIC
83. Fishhook-to-line connection : SNELL. Learned from doing Xword.
87. Vow : OATH
89. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" band : YES
90. Still in the outbox : UNSENT. Mine is in the Draft.
92. Andre's love : STEFFI (Graf)
95. 10% donation : TITHE
99. One might go around on the patio : SPIT. Lovely clue. Skewer.
100. __ Neuf: Paris bridge : PONT
105. Mitigates : EASES
109. Rubber tree yield : LATEX
111. Astound : FLOOR
112. Tug : YANK
114. Kennel sound : YELP
115. Got one's money's worth at the buffet : ATE A LOT. Only if they have pickled herrings. Then I might pig out.
120. Pottery casserole dish : TERRINE
121. "You're __ talk!" : ONE TO
122. Unpredictable : ERRATIC
123. Therapy time : SESSION
124. Exorcist's foe : DEMON
125. Old West gang : DALTONS. The Dalton Gang.
Down:
1. "It was over so fast" words : A BLUR. It's all a blur.
2. TV host Gibbons : LEEZA
3. "... bombs bursting __" : IN AIR
4. Like some comforting manners : BEDSIDE
5. Mont Blanc, e.g. : ALP
6. Lift : BUOY
7. Geometry class list : AXIOMS. All a blur to me, my geometry class years.
8. Serenade, perhaps : CROON
9. Fox's prey : HEN
10. Pilot : AVIATE
11. Naturally brewed beverage : SUN TEA. Lovely.
12. A lot of resistance : MEG OHM. OHM is resistance measure.
13. "The Feast of Saint Nicholas" painter : STEEN (Jan)
14. Judah Ben-__ : HUR
15. Give __ to: okay : A NOD
17. Currently : AS IT IS
18. Like a noted creed : NICENE. Nicene Creed.
19. Crotchety : SNARKY. Like some blog comments.
24. Go downhill fast? : SKI. I'm picturing Marti in action.
29. "If I Ruled the World" rapper : NAS
32. Helped get healthy : NURSED
34. Impulse : URGE
35. Short spinners? : DJs. "Short" implied an abbr. in answer.
38. Ballpark staples : HOT DOGS
41. Virginie-Occidentale et al. : ETATS. Virginie-Occidentale is French for West Virginia.
42. Close connections : RAPPORTs
43. "You can't be serious" : OH COME ON. Good entry.
44. Blowout on the court : MASSACRE. Crushing defeat!
45. First O, say : TIC. Tic-tac-toe.
46. Fitting : APT
50. Diamond wearer in "Copacabana" : RICO. Spanish for "rich".
51. With accuracy or distance, a golf stat : DRIVING. Nice clue.
52. Fox forensic drama : BONES
53. City SSE of Sana'a : ADEN. See this map.
54. Spanish ayes : SI SI
56. In working order : OPERABLE
57. "Rocky" catchphrase : YO ADRIAN. Great one.
58. Future adoptee, perhaps : STRAY CAT. Meow!
65. "Deathtrap" playwright : LEVIN (Ira)
66. "You win" : I GIVE UP
69. Baltic Sea feeder : ODER
70. "The Banana Boat Song" opening : DAY-O
71. Workers' rights agcy. : NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). No idea.
74. Rice preparation : PILAF. Like pilaf, Bill?
77. Longtime collaborator with Elton : BERNIE (Taupin). He wrote most of Elton John's songs.
79. Util. unit : KWH
80. You might do it after hiring a lawyer : SUE. Interesting turn of event in the ex-IMF chief case. Still a bad guy.
81. Marxism extremes? : EMs. The both ends of the word.
85. "Wrong, comrade" : NYET. Russian for "No".
88. Three times daily, on an Rx : TID. Ter in die.
91. Spends the night in : STAYS AT
92. Evidence of egg toss errors : SPLATS
93. Just right : TO A TEE. Always tricky to parse.
94. Goes on stage : ENTERS
95. Business card no. : TEL
96. 14-legged crustacean : ISOPOD
97. "The First Billion is the Hardest" author Pickens : T BOONE.
98. Cotton Club site : HARLEM. Not familiar with the Cotton Club, a nightclub in NY in Prohibition era, a la Wiki.
99. Had a hunch : SENSED
102. Regularly : OFTEN
103. "Sounder" Oscar nominee : TYSON (Cicely). No idea. She was married to Miles Davis.
104. __-di-dah : LAH
106. Defense gp. formed in Manila : SEATO. Gone in 1977.
107. Classic watch : ELGIN
108. See-thru wear? : SPECS. Great clue.
110. Super Bowl at which Tom Petty performed : XLII. 2008 Super Bowl. I was clueless.
113. Two-season "American Idol" judge DioGuardi : KARA
118. 1989 World Champion figure skater : ITO (Midori)
119. Web ID : URL
Answer grid.
C.C.
103. "Sounder" Oscar nominee : TYSON (Cicely). No idea. She was married to Miles Davis.
104. __-di-dah : LAH
106. Defense gp. formed in Manila : SEATO. Gone in 1977.
107. Classic watch : ELGIN
108. See-thru wear? : SPECS. Great clue.
110. Super Bowl at which Tom Petty performed : XLII. 2008 Super Bowl. I was clueless.
113. Two-season "American Idol" judge DioGuardi : KARA
118. 1989 World Champion figure skater : ITO (Midori)
119. Web ID : URL
Answer grid.
C.C.
