A strange theme to this Sunday’s puzzle.   The title doesn’t give us much.   The unusual shape tells us something’s up.   Quite different from my usual advice, I’d say forget the theme altogether this time.  I didn’t really see it emerge until after I’d completed the whole puzzle and, when I did, it elicited more of a “oh” than any big “aha!” and I don’t see how getting it earlier would have made a big difference.

So right on to the 10 specific hints I give each Sunday:

24-Across Most common elements:  Think statistical chart, not chemical elements

28-Across Opening words?:  Note the question mark at the end.  Think of a place where even where loud-mouthed kids are encouraged to open up.

86-Across Adventurer of Greek myth:  I tried ODYSSEUS first.  It fits, but it’s not him.   This isn’t an individual mythical guy’s name but one of a group.   They explored the unknown without going out of the atmosphere unlike their similarly named modern counterparts.

95-Across Bridge spot:  Forget teeth and cards, it’s not that kind of bridge

4-Down They may be shot at basketball games:  Or baseball games, or, for all I know, any other kind of sports events.  Of a lot more interest to the fans than the players.

7-Down Frigid:  3, count ’em, words;  Can apply to personalities as well as igloos.

60-Down Stupefying: One of the world’s shortest gerunds

66-Down Sierra ______:  No, not Bogart’s last stand in the movie that the Treasure of Sierra Madre;  This is a real place on the west coast of Africa

82-Down Racing vehicle:  Not a dragster, that’s for sure, this vehicle won’t go very fast without a little help from the terrain.