As all in Christendom know, Palm Sunday marks the day of a famous ride through town on an ass -- not to distract from this Holy Day, I worked this puzzle (titled “Fools Rush In”) the day before -- one up on the jester! Paula Gamache’s construction is clever for the seven “theme” entries ALLBASSETSAREOFF, SHUTTLECASSOCKS, SASSINGTHEBLUES, BAREFACEDLASSIE, CULTURALMORASSES, SOCIETYPASSAGE, and WASSAILINGWALL -- thereafter it’s business as usual sans all humor or ingenuity, which is fine -- it’s like a Sunday sermon held up by a repeated joke! I did like seeing OOOLA and OBAMA, LINOS and LENO, LIMOS and LIMA, UKASE and KASHA, ADASTRA and LASTRADA in the same grid. Also ANGST instead of the revolting “acne” for “teen problem”. Don’t understand CHICK “lit”. CANTAB is an iffy answer to “Harvard student”. Answers SPOTTY and MESS stick in my mind -- a lot of fill! I was expecting more, I guess the joke’s on me!
Images: Above - Wailing Wall (51D) and Tarot card. Below - Ass; Oop, Ooola, etc.; Shuttlecock; Policeman (66A); and Sydney Opera House (112A). Left click to enlarge any image or the puzzle. 
Chicklit is literature marketed to women: romances,Bridgette Jones' Diary-esque books, etc. Its movie analogue is chick-fliks.
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