NYT Sunday Crossword Hints.

 

Theme:   “Persons of Note”.   Sounds musical, eh?  Nope.  Hint: “If it doesn’t fit, you must…”   As soon as you find a spot where you’re pretty sure you know the answer, but it just doesn’t seem to fit in the space allotted, you’re on the right track.  Hint #2:  Take out your wallet!  Hint #3:  If you’re still stuck, see if you can work out 31 & 33 Down with the emphasis on the last two words of the phrase.

10 specific clue hints:

1.  19-Across & 20-Across are both plurals, but only one ends in S.

2.  115-Across & 111-Across (linked clues):  Think grocery store, not shoe store.

3.  72-Across:  Think Colorado and Washington, not elbows and places to get an inexpensive meal

4.  107-Across It has 135-degree angles: quite a number of them, actually

5.  109-Across Proust title character:  He has a Way with him.

6.  53-Down Polish the old way:  Think door knobs.  2 words

7.  77-Down Recently:  Well, thank god it’s not OF LATE (I hate that phrase!), this one’s 3 words.

8. 73-Down Web site heading:  NNE?  No.   Psst:  It’s an acronym that ends with a letter that rarely ends a word.

9.  6-Down Assesses:  Sounds like a pair of jeans for kiddies?

10.   61-Down Apotheosizes:  Boy, that’s a big word.  What the heck does it mean?  Think religiously about this one.