Quicklinks:
The full solution to today’s crossword that appears in the New York Times
The full solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword that appears in all other publications
THEME: THE WISH: All the theme answers are well-known expressions in which a W is changed to H (W-IS-H) e.g. HARP SPEED (warp speed), THIN SISTERS (twin sisters), GLOBAL HARMING (global warming)
COMPLETION TIME: 27m 17s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Across
Claudia Alta Taylor was named after her mother’s brother Claud, but her more familiar name came from her childhood nurse, Alice Tittle, who remarked that as a little baby Claudia was “purty as a ladybird”. A ladybird is what we call a ladybug on the other side of the Atlantic. So, the moniker Lady Bird stuck with the future First Lady, from when she was just a little one.
9. Wolf : MASHER
“Masher” is a slang term for a man who attempts to press his attentions uninvited on a woman, a wolf.
15. Year the emperor Frederick II died : MCCL
The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II was known as Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings). He was a remarkable man by all accounts, more learned than others of his standing, with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He is believed to have spoken six languages, namely Latin, Sicilian, German, French, Greek and Arabic. He was fascinated by science and was very much a skeptic. However, he is known to have carried out some brutal experiments on humans. He once sealed a prisoner into a cask with a small hole, to see if the soul could be observed leaving through the hole when the poor man died. In another experiment he fed two prisoners and then sent one off to hunt, and one off to bed. He then had both prisoners disemboweled to learn which had digested his meal better.
The word “tutu”, a ballet dancer’s skirt, is actually a somewhat “naughty” term. It came into English from French in the early 20th century. The French “tutu” is an alteration of the word “cucu”, a childish word for “cul” meaning the “bottom, backside”.
The motto of the State of Kansas is “ad astra per aspera”, a Latin expression meaning “to the stars through difficulties”. Kansas shares the same motto with quite a few other institutions, including an English grammar school, an Australian high school, and even Starfleet, the service to which the USS Enterprise belongs in the “Star Trek” series.
22. Wings on an avis : ALAE
A bird (avis) has wings (alae, plural of ala), in Latin.
From “warp speed”.
In the “Star Trek” universe, warp speed is very much like our real-world Mach number. Just as a plane traveling at Mach 1 is moving at the speed of sound, a starship traveling at warp factor 1 is moving at the speed of light. Mach 2 is twice the speed of sound, and warp factor 2 is twice the speed of light. Cool, huh?
25. Nine Muses after dieting? : THIN SISTERS
From “twin sisters”. I wasn’t aware that the Muses of Greek mythology were twin sisters, especially as there are nine of them, but one lives and learns I guess …
In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:
– Calliope (epic poetry)
– Clio (history)
– Erato (lyric poetry)
– Euterpe (music)
– Melpomene (tragedy)
– Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
– Terpsichore (dance)
– Thalia (comedy)
– Urania (astronomy)
27. Madrileño’s home : ESPANA
A Madrileño (female form: Madrileña) is someone from the city of Madrid, the capital of Spain (España).
“Dozen” was imported from French. The French word for “twelve” is “douze”, and for a collection of twelve is “douzaine”.
The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. It is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the sitar largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison, a one-time student of Shankar.
31. Stop on many a Caribbean cruise : NASSAU
Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, used to be called Charles Town. After having been burnt to the ground by the Spanish in 1684, it was rebuilt and named Nassau in honor of King William III of England, a Dutchman from the House of Orange-Nassau (aka William of Orange). Nassau is a favored location for the James Bond series of movies. The city and surroundings feature in “Thunderball”, “Never Say Never Again”, “Casino Royale” and “For Your Eyes Only”.
32. River forming the borders of parts of five states : OHIO
Ohio marks the boundaries of five states:
– Ohio and West Virginia
– Ohio and Kentucky
– Indiana and Kentucky
– Illinois and Kentucky
34. Alien attackers’ goal? : GLOBAL HARMING
From “global warming”.
The street layout in Washington, D.C. really is remarkable, a basic north-south, east-west grid design, inter-cut with magnificent diagonal avenues. The streets oriented in the north-south direction are numbered, and the east-west streets are named with letters (from A-W, with J and XYZ skipped). After W Street, the alphabetical names continue with what’s known as the “second alphabet”, a series of street names in alphabetical order that have two syllables e.g. C for Calvert Street. After the “second alphabet” is exhausted there is even a “third alphabet”, a series of street names with three syllables e.g. B for Brandywine Street.
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It was so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.
The Hindu Trinity is composed of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva (also Siva) the destroyer or transformer. Shiva is a Sanskrit word meaning “auspicious, kind, gracious”.
47. Kind of committee : AD HOC
The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”.
I think that the oft-quoted story may be true, that the term SPAM for unwanted email is taken from a “Monty Python” sketch. In the sketch (which I’ve seen) the dialog is taken over by the word SPAM, a play on the glut of canned meat in the markets in Britain after WWII. So SPAM is used for the glut emails that take over online communication. I can just imagine nerdy Internet types adopting something from a “Monty Python” sketch to describe an online phenomenon.
51. Birthplace of cuneiform writing : SUMER
Cuneiform writing is a very early form of written expression that uses characters that are variants of a wedge shape. The first form of cuneiform writing was developed in Sumer (in modern-day Iraq), and was largely a system of pictographs. Over time, the number of characters decreased and became smaller and simpler, until they eventually evolved into the characters that we use in alphabetic writing today.
55. Architect Saarinen : EERO
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect, renowned in America for his unique designs for public buildings such as Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Dulles International Airport Terminal, and the TWA building at JFK.
A sari (also saree) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that is unstitched along the whole of its length. It can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.
57. Poor, as security : LAX
I think the reference is to “lax” security, as opposed to the level of security at LAX, Los Angeles International Airport!
58. Decisive time : D-DAY
The most famous D-Day in history was June 6, 1944, the date of the Normandy landings in WWII. The term “D-Day” is used in the military to designate the day on which a combat operation is to be launched, especially when the actual date has yet to be determined. What D stands for seems to have been lost in the mists of time although the tradition is that it just stands for “Day”. In fact, the French have a similar term, “Jour J” (Day J), with a similar meaning. We also use H-Hour to denote the hour the attack is to commence.
61. Windpipe : TRACHEA
The windpipe, or trachea, connects the lungs to the pharynx, the cavity of the mouth. The trachea is lined with special cells that secrete mucus which is then moved upwards by tiny hairs (cilia). The mucus traps dirt and dust particles inhaled with the air and cilia move the mucus contaminant away from the lungs’ delicate air sacs, into the mouth. Cigarette smoke overwhelms the mucus and cilia, so that smoke particles make it all the way into the lungs. Not a good thing …
64. Étienne’s mine : A MOI
The French for “mine” is “à moi”.
Étienne is a French boy’s name, a variant of Stephen.
68. Rush hour control? : HASTE MANAGEMENT
From “waste management”.
71. Forlorn, say : DESERTED
Someone described as “forlorn” appears sad and lonely because he or she has been deserted or abandoned.
Lana Turner started work as a Hollywood actress at a very young age, signing up with MGM at only sixteen. Early in her career she earned the nickname “The Sweater Girl” after wearing a pretty tight sweater in the film “They Won’t Forget”, her film debut. She married eight times, to seven different husbands, the first of which was bandleader Artie Shaw. Shaw and Turner eloped and married on their very first date, when the young actress was just nineteen years old. After divorcing Shaw she married restaurateur Joseph Crane, but had the marriage annulled when she found out that Crane was still married to his first wife. The two had a daughter together, and so remarried when Crane’s divorce was finalized. Cheryl Crane was the daughter from the marriage to Joseph, and she lived with Turner after her parents split up. When Cheryl was 14-years-old, her mother was romantically involved with a shady character named Johnny Stompanato. One evening Cheryl found her mother engaged in a violent argument with Stompanato, and Cheryl became so scared that she pulled out a gun and killed him in what was deemed to be justifiable homicide. Turner’s last marriage was to a nightclub hypnotist, Ronald Pellar, and that union lasted just six months as Pellar disappeared one day with a lot of Turner’s money and jewelry. Years later Turner said, “My goal was to have one husband and seven children, but it turned out to be the other way around.”
Emilie de Ravin is an Australian actress best known for her television roles playing Tess Harding on “Roswell” and “Claire Littleton” on “Lost”.
82. ___ Red Seal (classical music label) : RCA
RCA Red Seal Records is a classical musical label, founded in 1902 in the UK. Famously, Enrico Caruso recorded with Red Label raising its profile, and greatly contributing to its success.
86. Royal of 27-Across : REINA
27. Madrileño’s home : ESPANA
“Reina” is the Spanish for “queen”.
88. Mushroom-to-be : SPORE
Spores are produced by many bacteria, fungi and non-flowering plants. A spore is a reproductive body encased in protective shell that is highly resistant to damage, resistant to heat in particular.
James Ingram is a soul vocalist, and an accomplished, self-taught musician known for playing piano, guitar drums and keyboards.
95. “I got ___ …” : A GAL
“I got a gal” are the opening words to the wonderful song “(I’ve Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo”, made famous by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra. Okay, before anyone points it out, I know, the actual opening is:
“A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H
I got a gal in Kalamazoo
Don’t want to boast but I know she’s the toast of Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)”
From “Winged Victory”.
“Winged Victory of Samothrace” is one of the most famous sculptures in the world, a work in marble that dates back to the 2nd century BC that today stands in the Louvre in Paris. The statue, of the goddess Nike, is badly damaged, missing it’s head and arms, but even in its current condition it is a magnificent sight to behold.
102. Lorelei’s locale : RHINE
The Lorelie is a 300-foot tall rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine in Germany. The Lorelie juts out into the river creating a strong current as the water is forced through the narrows. The current combined with numerous rocks under the waterline have led to numerous boating accidents. Appropriately enough, Lorelei is the name of a legendary mermaid who lured fishermen to their death on the rocks by singing a beautiful song.
104. “The Time Machine” people : ELOI
In the 1895 novel by H. G. Wells “The Time Machine”, there were two races that he encountered in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the beautiful people, that live on the planet’s surface, while the Morlocks are basically a slave race living underground.
105. Battlefield activity : TRIAGE
“Triage” is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on a battlefield. The term “triage” is French, and means “a sorting”.
Ethan Hawke is a Hollywood actor who made his breakthrough in a supporting role in “Dead Poet’s Society”, playing opposite Robin Williams. Hawke was married to Uma Thurman, with whom he has two children.
“The Sopranos” is an outstanding television drama that was made by HBO, a story of New Jersey, Italian-American mobsters. “The Sopranos” has made more money than any other television series in the history of cable television. It’s “must see TV” …
116. Like tuned-in listeners? : READY TO HEAR
From “ready-to-wear”.
118. Orlando team water boy, e.g.? : MAGIC HAND
From “magic wand”.
The Orlando Magic were formed in 1989 as an NBA expansion team. A local paper was asked to run a competition to suggest names for the new team and the community came up with its four top picks of “Heat”, “Tropics”, “Juice” and “Magic”. A committee then opted for the “Orlando Magic”. A good choice I think …
“Pretty Woman” is a great movie, a 1990 romantic comedy starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. The film was originally written as a very dark story, with the female lead not only a prostitute, but also a drug addict, The Disney studio who took up the project demanded that it be rewritten as a modern-day fairy tale, and what a good decision that was.
Kay Thompson wrote the “Eloise” series of children’s books. Kay Thompson herself actually lived at the Plaza Hotel in New York, the setting she would choose for her “Eloise” stories. Eloise started out as a hit song for Thompson, a success that she parlayed into the book franchise.
123. A reed : OBOE
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance, you’ll note (pun intended!) the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”. Oh, and if you want to read a fun book (almost an “exposé”) about life playing the oboe, you might try “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall
126. Just missed a birdie : PARRED
Apparently the term “birdie” originated in 1899 at the Atlantic City Country Club in Northfield, New Jersey. One day a golfer hit his second shot on a par four, a shot that stopped just inches from the cup after hitting a bird in flight. The golfer tapped the ball in for one under par, and his golfing buddies labeled the second shot a “bird”. The golfers started to call one-under-par a birdie, and the term spread through the club, and around the world …
Down
2. Capital city whose name means “place of the gods” : LHASA
Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and the name “Lhasa” translates as “place of the gods”. However, Lhasa used to be called Rasa, a name which translates into “goat’s place”.
3. Rain checks? : TARPS
Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The name tarpaulin comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.
4. Oscars org. : AMPAS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is the organization that gives the annual Academy Awards, also known as the “Oscars”. The root of the name “Oscar” is hotly debated, but what is agreed is that the award was officially named “Oscar” in 1939.
The first Academy Awards were presented at a brunch in 1929 with an audience of just 29 people. It’s a slightly bigger event these days …
5. Popular German beer, informally : ST PAULI’S
St. Pauli Girl beer is brewed in Bremen in Germany. The beer gets its name from the former St. Paul’s Monastery in Bremen, next door to which was located the original brewery.
6. Voting day: Abbr. : TUE
Election Day was chosen by congress back in 1845. The month of November was selected as it suited an agricultural society, following the fall harvest and yet not too far into winter which could make travel difficult. Tuesday was chosen so that people had time to travel to polling stations. Monday elections might have meant that some would have to start out on Sunday, and that might interfere with Christian services.
The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach, from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin'” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less offensive “Utes”.
I have a lot of respect for the Buddhist religion, although may would argue it isn’t a religion at all. The Buddhist movement was founded by the Buddha “the enlightened one” about 2500 years ago. The Buddha was a man who discovered for himself that it is possible to achieve complete happiness, freedom from suffering, here on Earth. He decided to propagate that knowledge using a cadre of monks whose job it was to pass on his teachings.
9. Manischewitz products : MATZOHS
Matzo is a unleavened bread, that is very brittle. The bread is crushed, creating Matzo meal, which is then formed into balls using eggs and oil as a binder. The balls are usually served in a chicken stock. The world’s largest producer of matzo is the Manischewitz Company.
Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth he found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in Richmond. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first black player to be so honored. He still ran into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery. He had to have corrective heart surgery in 1983, and contracted HIV from blood transfusions during the procedure. Ashe passed away in 1993, due to complications from AIDS.
![Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World [VHS]](https://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=630334772X&tag=wesneyoticrso-20)
13. R.N.’s work in them : ERS
Registered nurses work in emergency rooms.
15. Photo finish : MATTE
I bet you don’t know the relationship between “matte” and alcohol! Well “matte”, meaning flat and lusterless, comes from the Old French word “mat” meaning beaten down and withered, which in turn comes from the Latin “maddus”, the word for being “maudlin with drink”. Sometimes I wonder about these derivations …
16. Flock after a rainstorm? : CLEAN SHEEP
From “clean sweep”.
17. Caleb who wrote “The Alienist” : CARR
One of Caleb Carr’s novels is a latter day Sherlock Holmes mystery, called “The Italian Secretary”. It was written as a homage to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (using the Holmes character with the permission of the Doyle estate). I am a big fan of Sherlock Holmes stories so I must put this one on my reading list.
The National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers are so called because they are located in Alberta, Canada, oil country …
32. See 50-Down : OBAMA
“Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie” is an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in 1847. Nowadays we tend to think first of “Hiawatha” when we see the name Longfellow, but within his own lifetime “Evangeline” was Longfellow’s most famous work. The poem tells the tale of Evangeline Bellefontaine who is separated from her beloved when the Acadians were forcibly removed from their land by the British.
The great explorer Verrazzano gave the name “Arcadia” to the coastal land that stretched from north of present day Virginia right up the North American continent to Nova Scotia. The name Arcadia was chosen as it was also the name for a part of Greece that had been viewed as “idyllic” from the days of classical antiquity. The “Arcadia” name quickly evolved into the word “Acadia” that was used locally here in North America. Much of Acadia was settled by the French in the 1600s, and then in 1710 Acadia was conquered by the British. There followed the French and Indian War after which there was a mass migration of French Acadians, often via the French colony of Saint-Dominique (present-day Haiti) to the French colony of Louisiana. The local dialectic pronunciation of the word “Acadian” was “Cajun”, giving the name to the ethnic group for which Louisiana has been home for about 300 years.
37. Cabo da ___, westernmost spot in continental Europe : ROCA
Cabo da Roca (also “Cape Roca”) is the westernmost point of mainland Portugal, and indeed mainland Europe. It lies about 35 miles from Lisbon, to the west. Cabo da Roca was described by the poet Luís de Camões as the place “where the land ends and the sea begins”.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story which can’t be proved. Stevenson apparently wrote the basic story in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, the use of cocaine got the creative juices moving.
40. Trunks : TORSI
“Torso” is an Italian word meaning the “trunk of a statue”, that we imported into English.
41. Ivanhoe’s creator : SCOTT
“Ivanhoe” is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, set in 12th-century England.
32. See 50-Down : OBAMA
Michelle Obama grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and is sister to Craig Robinson, the coach of men’s basketball at Oregon State University. After graduating from Harvard Law School, she worked as an associate at the Chicago office of the Sidley Austin law firm. Barack Obama joined the firm as a summer associate and Michelle Robinson was assigned to mentor him, and as they say, one thing led to another …
54. Holy, to Horace : SACER
“Sacer” is the Latin word for “holy”.
The 1939 film “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” is such a beautiful movie, one that I highly recommend
60. Czech city : BRNO
Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic (after Prague).
Mata Hari was a stage name used by Margaretha Geertuida Zella, born in the Netherlands in 1876. After an unsuccessful and somewhat tragic marriage, Zella moved to Paris in 1903 where she struggled to make a living. By 1905 she was working as an exotic dancer, and using the name Mata Hari. She was a successful courtesan, notably moving in the various circles of high-ranking military officers. She apparently worked as a double agent, both for the French and the Germans. When she was found guilty by the French of passing information to the Germans, she was tried, found guilty and executed by firing squad in 1917 at the height of WW1.
63. Poly- follower : ESTER
Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are often pleasant smelling and are found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyesters are huge molecules and a type of plastic.
65. Pond denizen : MALLARD
The mallard is the most recognizable of all ducks and is also known as the Wild Duck. The name “mallard” has the same Latin root as our word “male”, probably reflecting the colorful appearance of the male of the species relative to the female.
67. Blockade : EMBARGO
An embargo differs from a blockade. An embargo is a legal prohibition of trade with a particular country, whilst a blockade is an act of war, a militarily enforced prevention of the movement of goods and services. The term “embargo” came into English from Spanish, in the late 16th century.
John Irvine’s 1978 novel “The World According to Garp” is somewhat biographical. In fact, Irvine’s mother found parts of the novel difficult to read, recognizing elements of herself in Garp’s mother, Jenny Fields.
When Debra Winger was a young woman she was involved in a terrible car accident that resulted in a cerebral hemorrhage. She was left partially paralyzed and blind, and was told that she would never see again. Given so much time to think after the accident, she decided that if she did indeed recover she would leave her home in Ohio and move to California to take up acting. After ten months of blindness Winger recovered, and off she headed.
73. Tortoise’s opponent after finishing second? : SILVER HARE
From “silverware”.
77. List-ending abbr. : ET AL
Et alii is the equivalent of et cetera, with et cetera being used in place of a list of objects, and et alii used for a list of names.
“Bus Stop” is a marvelous play written by William Inge in 1955. The famous 1956 movie of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe is only very loosely based on the play.
83. Ring-tailed animal : COATI
A coati is a member of the raccoon family and is also known as the Brazilian aardvark, or the snookum bear. The coati is native to Central and South America, but can be found in the southwest of the Untied States.
87. German article : EINE
“Eine” is the German indefinite article, used with feminine nouns.
103. Persephone’s abductor : HADES
In Greek mythology, Persephone was made queen of the underworld after having been abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld.
106. “___ to Be You” : IT HAD
“It Had to Be You” was published in 1924, written by Isham Jones with lyrics written by Gus Kahn. The song has been performed on screen a number of times, including a lovely version by Dooley Wilson (“Sam”) in “Casablanca”.
“I Was a Male War Bride” is a delightful, screwball comedy made in 1949 starring Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan. The story is set in post-war Germany, with Grant playing a French Army officer and Sheridan an officer with the US Women’s Army Corps. In order for Grant to travel back to the US with Sheridan, he has to pretend to be a war bride. Hilarious stuff …
108. Columbus called it home : GENOA
Genoa is a seaport in the very north of Italy, in the region known as Liguria. One of Genoa’s most famous sons was Christopher Columbus.
110. Logician’s word : ERGO
“Ergo” is the Latin word for “hence, therefore”.
112. God with a day of the week named after him : THOR
Thor is the Norse god of thunder, wielding his mighty hammer. One day of the week recognized by pagans during the time of the Roman Empire was Thor’s Day, named for the Norse god. We now know it as Thursday. Thor’s mother was Frigg, and she was honored on Frigg’s Day, which we now call Friday.
Payola is the illegal practice of paying radio stations or disk jockeys to repeatedly play a particular piece of music. The impetus behind the crime is that the more often a song is played, the more likely it is to sell. The term “Payola” comes from the words “pay” and “Victrola”, an RCA brand name for an early phonograph.
“Plugola” is similar to “payola” in that it is a form of promotion, but unlike payola, it’s perfectly legal. Plugola is the public promotion of something in which the promoter has a financial interest, without disclosing that interest.
120. Indian state once owned by Portugal : GOA
Goa is the smallest state in India, and is located in the southwest of the country. The Portuguese landed in Goa in the early 1500s, at first peacefully carrying out trade, but then took the area by force creating Portuguese India. Portugal held onto Portuguese India even after the British pulled out of India in 1947, until the Indian Army marched into the area in 1961.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Lady Bird Johnson’s middle name : ALTA
5. Butt : STUB
9. Wolf : MASHER
15. Year the emperor Frederick II died : MCCL
19. Phony : SHAM
20. Dancer’s duds : TUTU
21. Last word of Kansas’ motto : ASPERA
22. Wings on an avis : ALAE
23. Tempo for a stringed instrument? : HARP SPEED
25. Nine Muses after dieting? : THIN SISTERS
27. Madrileño’s home : ESPANA
28. Cartonfuls of eggs : DOZENS
30. Indian musician’s collection : SITARS
31. Stop on many a Caribbean cruise : NASSAU
32. River forming the borders of parts of five states : OHIO
33. Maid’s supply : LINEN
34. Alien attackers’ goal? : GLOBAL HARMING
39. 22 of the 26 letters of the alphabet, in D.C. : STS
42. Part of an Egyptian headpiece : ASP
45. The Destroyer, in Hinduism : SIVA
46. Part of a presidential motorcade : ESCORT
47. Kind of committee : AD HOC
49. Many unopened letters : SPAM
51. Birthplace of cuneiform writing : SUMER
53. Is heartbroken : ACHES
55. Architect Saarinen : EERO
56. Draped item : SARI
57. Poor, as security : LAX
58. Decisive time : D-DAY
59. Most likely to succeed : ABLEST
61. Windpipe : TRACHEA
64. Étienne’s mine : A MOI
66. Falling apart : DECREPIT
68. Rush hour control? : HASTE MANAGEMENT
71. Forlorn, say : DESERTED
74. Turner of Hollywood : LANA
75. Chicken for dinner : BROILER
79. Actress de Ravin of “Roswell” and “Lost” : EMILIE
80. Showy coat? : GILT
82. ___ Red Seal (classical music label) : RCA
84. Score component : NOTE
85. Blast : BALL
86. Royal of 27-Across : REINA
88. Mushroom-to-be : SPORE
90. Ambition : GOAL
91. Forcibly divides : RIVES
93. Soul singer James with the 1990 #1 hit “I Don’t Have the Heart” : INGRAM
95. “I got ___ …” : A GAL
97. Work at : PLY
98. Stout, for one : ALE
99. Choice of the right door on “Let’s Make a Deal”? : HINGED VICTORY
102. Lorelei’s locale : RHINE
104. “The Time Machine” people : ELOI
105. Battlefield activity : TRIAGE
110. Hawke and Allen : ETHANS
112. Word before “a will” and “a way” : THERE’S
115. “The Sopranos” roles : HIT MEN
116. Like tuned-in listeners? : READY TO HEAR
118. Orlando team water boy, e.g.? : MAGIC HAND
121. Roberts’s “Pretty Woman” co-star : GERE
122. Fictitious Plaza resident : ELOISE
123. A reed : OBOE
124. Medicinal plant : ALOE
125. Billfold fillers : ONES
126. Just missed a birdie : PARRED
127. Accident reminder : SCAR
128. No longer carrying current : DEAD
Down
1. Extremely pale : ASHEN
2. Capital city whose name means “place of the gods” : LHASA
3. Rain checks? : TARPS
4. Oscars org. : AMPAS
5. Popular German beer, informally : ST PAULI’S
6. Voting day: Abbr. : TUE
7. Salt Lake City player : UTE
8. The Enlightened One : BUDDHA
9. Manischewitz products : MATZOHS
10. 1975 Wimbledon winner : ASHE
11. Turn in many a kids’ game : SPIN
12. Layers : HENS
13. R.N.’s work in them : ERS
14. Gingerbread man’s eye, maybe : RAISIN
15. Photo finish : MATTE
16. Flock after a rainstorm? : CLEAN SHEEP
17. Caleb who wrote “The Alienist” : CARR
18. Subtracting : LESS
24. Hiccups, so to speak : SNAGS
26. ___ different tune : SING A
29. Edmonton N.H.L.’er : OILER
32. See 50-Down : OBAMA
33. Lo-cal : LITE
35. Produce an egg : OVULATE
36. Evangeline, for one : ACADIAN
37. Cabo da ___, westernmost spot in continental Europe : ROCA
38. Robert Louis Stevenson title character : MR HYDE
40. Trunks : TORSI
41. Ivanhoe’s creator : SCOTT
42. ___ prof. : ASST
43. Nautical pole : SPAR
44. Law office worker, informally : PARA
48. Taking out : DELETING
50. With 32-Down, first lady who graduated from Harvard Law : MICHELLE
52. End-of-semester event : EXAM
54. Holy, to Horace : SACER
58. Robert who played Mr. Chips : DONAT
60. Czech city : BRNO
62. Mata ___ : HARI
63. Poly- follower : ESTER
65. Pond denizen : MALLARD
67. Blockade : EMBARGO
69. Trim : EDGING
70. John Irving title character : GARP
71. Winger of “Urban Cowboy” : DEBRA
72. Texting alternative : EMAIL
73. Tortoise’s opponent after finishing second? : SILVER HARE
76. Coil : LOOP
77. List-ending abbr. : ET AL
78. Depend : RELY
81. “Bus Stop” playwright : INGE
83. Ring-tailed animal : COATI
87. German article : EINE
88. Say “cheese,” say : SMILE
89. Not so genteel : EARTHIER
92. Polished : SHINY
94. Stated : AVERRED
96. Part of songwriting : LYRIC
100. Synchronized (with) : IN STEP
101. Earth and beyond : COSMOS
103. Persephone’s abductor : HADES
106. “___ to Be You” : IT HAD
107. “I Was ___ War Bride” : A MALE
108. Columbus called it home : GENOA
109. Was over : ENDED
110. Logician’s word : ERGO
111. High schooler : TEEN
112. God with a day of the week named after him : THOR
113. Son or daughter, typically : HEIR
114. Luxury : EASE
117. Suffix with pay : OLA
119. Symbol of simplicity : ABC
120. Indian state once owned by Portugal : GOA