My wife and I are in Ireland right now, starting off the New Year with family. I just managed to slip away to solve the puzzle, and write up this abbreviated post. I will get to the full post just as soon as I can.
1 Warming periods : THAWS
6 Activates, as yeast : PROOFS
12 Chatter : GAB
15 Great Britain, geographically : ISLE
19 “My ___ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” 1992 hit by En Vogue : LOVIN’
20 Not a big Mac? : LAPTOP
21 Nail, as a test : ACE
22 “I am not a glutton — I am an explorer of ___”: Erma Bombeck : FOOD
23 Kitchen at a barbecue restaurant? : CHILI FACTORY (from “chill factor”)
25 Potentially adoptable pup : STRAY DOG
27 Misfit : ODD DUCK
28 Result of a 1960s Haight-Ashbury shopping spree? : HIPPIE BOOTY (from “hip boot”)
30 It’s in your blood : GENE
31 Play parts : SCENES
33 Ones coming “home” at homecoming : ALUMS
34 Quick-moving : BRISK
36 Corp. shake-ups : REORGS
37 Host : SLEW
38 Highly visible belly button? : POINTY OUTIE (from “point out”)
40 Up to, informally : ‘TIL
42 Actress Fisher of “Now You See Me” : ISLA
46 Curious in the extreme : AGOG
47 Streamlet : RILL
48 Good friend who won’t stop snooping? : NOSY BESTIE (from “knows best”)
51 The first one was built in 1925 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. : MOTEL
53 What to add to “Iraq” to make it adjectival : AN I
54 Subwoofer sound : BASS
55 Jhumpa ___, author of the Pulitzer-winning “Interpreter of Maladies” : LAHIRI
56 Take a load off : REST
58 Some cameras, in brief : SLRS
60 SETI subjects : UFOS
62 Language in which “puzzle” is “pid sa” : LAO
63 Burnable media : CDS
66 Prenuptial agreement? : SWEETIE TREATY (from “sweet treat”)
69 “Geaux Tigers!” sch. : LSU
70 Be an agent for : REP
71 Feature of Sylvester’s speech : LISP
72 Comedian Rudolph : MAYA
73 Taiwanese president ___ Ing-wen : TSAI
75 Skateboard tricks : OLLIES
77 Went 90, say : SPED
79 ___ Tac (mint) : TIC
81 Throat bug : STREP
85 Long anecdote from a complainer? : WHINY STORY (from “wine store”)
87 Italian mount : ETNA
88 Astronomer Sagan : CARL
89 Takes a load off : SITS
90 One with an underground colony : ANT
91 Tinker Bell or Puck? : CRAFTY FAIRY (from “craft fair”)
94 Fruit-based dessert … or a possible description of its flavor : TART
97 “Sorry to say, you guessed wrong” : ALAS, NO
99 What many clocks and card games have : HANDS
100 Whence feng shui : CHINA
102 Skiing areas : SLOPES
103 Didn’t give forever : LENT
104 Bad person for a gambler to make bets with? : PHONY BOOKIE (from “phone book”)
106 Plant with purple-pink flowers : HEATHER
109 Rustic abode : LOG CABIN
110 Acolyte with a bad temper? : TESTY GROUPIE (from “test group”)
114 Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT
115 Cozy stopover : INN
116 Nueva York, por ejemplo : ESTADO
117 Word with code or rehearsal : DRESS
118 Cozy spots : DENS
119 It appears blue as a result of Rayleigh scattering : SKY
120 Chimes and dimes vis-à-vis this clue’s answer : RHYMES
121 Difficult to climb, in a way : STEEP
Down
1 Trio with the 1995 #1 hit “Waterfalls” : TLC
2 Jolly laugh : HO! HO!
3 Passionate : AVID
4 Fragrant medicinal plant also called colic-root : WILD GINGER
5 Most snarky : SNIDEST
6 Finish second : PLACE
7 Something to hang your hat on : RACK
8 Elect : OPT
9 Plains tribe : OTO
10 Not to go : FOR HERE
11 Bugging people, perhaps : SPYING
12 Displays of shock : GASPS
13 Start to play? : ACT I
14 Put on no pretensions : BE REAL
15 “Fine by me” : IF YOU WISH
16 Sin city : SODOM
17 Commits piracy : LOOTS
18 Avant-garde : EDGY
24 “My name is Prince, and I am ___” (Prince lyric) : FUNKY
26 Proficient : ABLE
29 Sauces made with basil and pine nuts : PESTOS
31 Songs to be played at a concert : SET LIST
32 Slinky, e.g. : COIL
34 Sales promotion acronym : BOGO
35 Hoot : RIOT
36 Downfall : RUIN
37 Shifty : SLY
38 “The Office” role : PAM
39 Gives a grand speech : ORATES
41 It’s up for debate : ISSUE
43 Alternative to sparkling : STILL
44 Turkish money : LIRAS
45 Letters found in a so-called “supervocalic” word : A-E-I-O-U
48 “Yuck!” : NASTY!
49 Spots on a Rorschach card : BLOTS
50 They don’t require much study : EASY AS
52 Stahl of “60 Minutes” : LESLEY
54 I’m toast! : BREAD
57 Like chicken cordon bleu, originally : SWISS
59 British sailor, in slang : LIMEY
61 One who’s rolling in money : FAT CAT
63 Is exultant : CROWS
64 City of 16+ million straddling the Yamuna River : DELHI
65 7-10, e.g., in bowling : SPLIT
67 Big name in printing : EPSON
68 Plants used in wickerwork furniture : RATTANS
74 “Worth a try” : IT CAN’T HURT
76 Gut feelings : INSTINCTS
78 Bit of hype, informally : PR TALK
80 Scoop : INFO
82 Worry for a speakeasy : RAID
83 Slips up : ERRS
84 Layer : PLY
86 Parlor offering, for short : TAT
87 Language in which “puzzle” is “puzal” : ERSE
91 “Is that understood?” : CAPEESH?
92 “Is that understood?” : Y’HEAR?
93 State of uneasiness, informally : FANTODS
95 Seton who wrote “Dragonwyck” : ANYA
96 Prayer leaders : RABBIS
98 Hang around : LOITER
100 Taking out the trash, for one : CHORE
101 Navajo dwelling : HOGAN
102 One of the Corleones : SONNY
103 Interlocking bricks : LEGOS
104 Made a case : PLED
105 Word that may come from a pen : OINK
106 ___ Park, home to the University of Chicago : HYDE
107 One-on-one Olympics event : EPEE
108 “All ___!” : RISE
111 Farm structure : STY
112 Top part of Scotland? : TAM
113 “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” feeling : ESP
