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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
CROSSWORD SETTER: David Levinson Wilk
THEME: For Your Edification … all the answers are common expressions, with the last two letters -ED broken out as the name ED:
23A. Be willing to apprehend Mr. Bradley at any cost? : WANT ED DEAD OR ALIVE
31A. Punish Mr. Harris in a medieval way? : BURN ED AT THE STAKE
43A. Get Mr. Koch addicted to a modern reading method? : HOOK ED ON PHONICS
66A. Preside over Mr. O’Neill’s baptism? : BLESS ED EVENT
75A. Do Mr. Sullivan’s stand-up material? : CRACK ED JOKES
93A. Prohibit Mr. McMahon from ever socializing again? : GROUND ED FOR LIFE
103A. Perform brain surgery on Mr. Begley? : TOUCH ED IN THE HEAD
116A. Put Mr. Meese in an Armani suit? : DRESS ED TO THE NINES
COMPLETION TIME: 36m 25s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
10. Pirates’ home : PNC PARK
PNC Park is the home to Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. The park is sponsored by PNC Financial Services, the sixth largest bank in the US, founded and based in Pittsburgh.
Calvin Klein is an American fashion designer, born in The Bronx in New York City. Klein’s biography entitled “Obsession”, takes its name from one the most famous brands in his line of fragrances, Obsession.
21. 1937 Cole Porter tune : ROSALIE
“Rosalie” is a musical written in 1928 by George Gershwin (and others). In 1937, MGM made a film adaptation of the original musical, replacing most of the score though with new songs written by Cole Porter.
Ed Bradley worked for 26 years on the iconic CBS news program “60 Minutes”. Famously stylish, Bradley was the only male correspondent on the show that wore an earring. He had his ear pierced in 1986 after receiving encouragement from Liza Minnelli to do so during an interview.
27. Doo-wop syllable : DUM
Doo-wop developed in the 1940s, and can be described as a vocal-based R&B music. Even though the style has been around since the forties, the name doo-wop wasn’t introduced until the early sixties.
Ed Harris is a very talented actor, noted for two great performances in movies about the Space Program. He played John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” in 1983, his “breakthrough” role. Twelve years later he has a stellar performance as the flight director Gene Kranz in “Apollo 13”.
39. Person with a mortgage, e.g. : LIENEE
Many a homeowner has a mortgage payment, meaning that a consensual lien is in place, an arrangement between creditor and debtor.
41. Menotti’s “Lullaby,” for one : ARIA
“The Consul” is an opera by Gian Carlo Menotti. The “Lullaby” from Act II of “The Consul” is one of the highlights of the work, an emotional and moving interlude. “The Consul” earned Menotti the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1950.
Ed Koch was a Democratic Representative in the US Congress from 1969-73, and then Mayor of New York City from 1978-89. In 2004, he collaborated with his sister, Pat Koch, and wrote a children’s book called “Eddie, Harold’s Little Brother”, a tale about Ed’s own childhood experiences.
48. Fashion’s Gucci : ALDO
Gucci was founded in Rome in 1921, by Guccio Gucci. Guccio’s son, Aldo Gucci, took over the company after his father’s death in 1953. It was Aldo that established the international presence for the brand, opening the company’s first overseas store in New York City.
50. “Pictures ___ Exhibition” : AT AN
“Pictures at an Exhibition” is one of my favorite pieces of music. It is a suite of twelve movements originally created for the piano by Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. Most of the movements represent individual paintings (and vividly so!), works by Mussorgsky’s friend, the architect and artist Viktor Hartmann. Hartmann died unexpectedly at only 39, and soon after there was an exhibition of 400 of his paintings in St. Petersburg. Mussorgsky was inspired to write his “Pictures at an Exhibition” after having viewed the show.
65. Hungarian city known for its thermal baths : EGER
Eger is a city in the northeast of Hungary, noted for its thermal baths and for its wine production. I haven’t tried them I don’t think (although we do drink a fair amount of Hungarian wine in Ireland), but I just read that Eger wines bear a resemblance to wines from Burgundy.
Ed O’Neill made it big on television playing Al Bundy on the sitcom “Married … with Children”, not a show I ever cared for. However, O’Neill is in a great show currently being aired that I do recommend, “Modern Family”.
69. ___ Long, Union general in the Civil War : ELI
Eli Long served in the Union army during the Civil War and was wounded five times, and decorated five times for bravery.
70. “___ Carter III,” best-selling album of 2008 : THA
“Tha Carter III” is an album by rapper Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne’s real name is … Dwayne Carter, Jr.
71. Smallest member of the European Union : MALTA
The island of Malta is relatively small, but with a large population, making it one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. Malta’s strategic location has made it a prized possession for the conquering empires of the world. Most recently it was part of the British Empire, and was an important fleet headquarters for Britain. Malta played a crucial role for the Allies during WWII as it was located very close to the Axis shipping lanes in the Mediterranean. The Siege of Malta lasted from 1940 to 1942, a prolonged attack by the Italians and Germans on the RAF and Royal Navy, and the people of Malta. When the siege was lifted, King George VI awarded the George Cross to the people of Malta collectively in recognition of their heroism and devotion to the Allied cause. The George Cross can still be seen on the Maltese flag, even though Malta has been an independent country since 1964.
74. Letters on Ozzie Smith’s cap : STL
Ozzie Wilson played professional baseball for the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was very talented in defence, and earned the nickname “The Wizard”.
Ed Sullivan’s most famous television role was as host of the “The Ed Sullivan Show”, which ran from 1948 to 1971, a total of 23 years. In that final year, a new set of CBS executives wanted to update the image of the network and announced the cancellation of most of the “old” shows including “The Ed Sullivan Show”. Sullivan was so mad at the decision that he refused to make a “farewell” episode.
79. French weapon : ARME
“Arme” is the French for “weapon”, as in “armes de destruction massive”.
80. Montaigne work : ESSAI
Michel de Montaigne was a prominent writer of the French Renaissance, and is noted for making popular the essay (“essai” in French”) as a legitimate genre of literature.
85. Madre’s hermano : TIO
In Spanish, one’s mother’s brother (madre’s hermano) is an uncle (tio).
87. Fur fighters? : PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a very large animal rights organization, with 300 employees and two million members and supporters worldwide. Although the group campaigns for animal rights across a broad spectrum of issues, it has a stated focus in opposition of four practices:
– factory farming
– fur farming
– animal testing
– use of animals in entertainment
89. Opinion pieces : OP-EDS
Op-ed is an abbreviation of “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent from the editorial board.
Of course Ed McMahon was Johnny Carson’s sidekick on “The Tonight Show”. McMahon was trained as a fighter in WWII, but did not see action. However, he did fly 85 combat missions in Korea.
The performance with which I most associate Ed Begley, Sr. is as the loud-mouthed, bigoted garage-owner in the 1957 film “12 Angry Men”. Begley is of course the father of one of my heroes, Ed Begley, Jr., the actor and environmental advocate.
112. Singer ___ Khan : CHAKA
Chaka Khan was the front woman for the band Rufus before she launched her very successful solo career.
114. Military march : ETAPE
“Étape” is the French word for stage, as in a “stage” in the Tour de France. It is used in English military circles to describe where troops halt overnight, but can also describe the section of the march itself. So, a march can be divided into stages, into etapes.
115. Suffix with Ecuador or Euclid : -EAN
Euclid of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician who lived in the first millennium, often referred to as the “Father of Geometry”. He wrote a famous book called “Elements” on the subject of mathematics, and the title was so enduring that it was used as the main textbook for the subject right up to the late 19th century.
116. Put Mr. Meese in an Armani suit? : DRESS ED TO THE NINES
Ed Meese was born in Oakland, California, just down the road here, and spent 24 years in the office of the Treasurer of Alameda County, where I am sitting right now. After military service, he earned himself a law degree at UC Berkeley. Later, as Chief of Staff for President Reagan, he was instrumental in the decision to crack down on student protesters at Berkeley which resulted in one protester dying and a two-week occupation of the city by the California National Guard.
125. Mauna ___ : LOA
Mauna Loa on the “big island” of Hawaii is the largest volcano on the planet (in terms of volume, not height). The name “Mauna Loa” is Hawaiian for “Long Mountain”.
127. Where the stars might be pointing? : FOOTNOTES
An asterisk in a piece of writing often points one to a particular footnote.
128. Longtime 25-Across president Moonves : LES
Leslie Moonves had many senior positions in the television industry, especially with CBS and Viacom. Early in his career he was an actor and played tough guy roles on “Cannon” and “The Six Million Dollar Man”. Moonves is the great-nephew of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, and he is married to TV news personality Julie Chen.
130. Star Alliance member : AIR CANADA
Air Canada is a founding member of the Star Alliance, the first airline alliance, created in 1997. The American founding representative is United Airlines.
Down
1. Lee of NBC News : COWAN
Lee Cowan currently appears as a correspondent for the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
President Obama’s mother’s full name was Stanley Ann Durham. She worked as an anthropologist, having earned a Ph. D. at the University of Hawaii. Ann met her first husband, Barack Obama, Sr. in a Russian Language class, and the two were married in 1961.
(109. See 3-Down : SANTA)
Ed Asner is most famous for playing the irascible but lovable Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and on the spin-off drama “Lou Grant”. Off-screen Asner is noted for his political activism. He served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and was very involved in the 1980 SAG strike. When “Lou Grant” was cancelled in in 1982, despite decent ratings, there was a lot of talk that the cancellation was a move by the network against Asner personally. In fact, one of Anser’s activist colleagues, Howard Hesseman (who played Johnny Fever) found that his show “WKRP in Cincinnati” was also cancelled … on the very same day.
6. “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out” subject : LSD
“Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out” is a phrase popularized in the sixties by Timothy Leary, the psychologist and writer. Leary was an icon of the sixties counterculture, a promoter of the use of LSD. On his death, some of his ashes were “buried” in space, launched aboard a rocket that contained the ashes of 24 other people including “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry.
8. Part of Italy where Cape Spartivento is : TOE
Cape Spartivento is the most southerly point on the Italian mainland.
9. Disney doe : ENA
Ena was Bambi’s aunt in the 1942 Disney film of the same name. The movie is based on the novel “Bambi, A Life in the Woods” written by Austrian author Felix Salten, published in 1923.
Norma Shearer was a very popular actress, especially in the thirties. She was noted for playing liberated women, so called “free souls”, and won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “The Divorcee”. The more liberal roles disappeared for women after the introduction of the Hollywood Production Code adopted in the mid-thirties, and Shearer found herself taking on more roles in historical dramas.
12. Civil War org. : CSA
The Confederate States of America set up government in 1861 just before Abraham Lincoln took office. Jefferson Davis was selected as President of the CSA at its formation and retained the post for the life of the government.
Howard Cosell was one of the most popular of all sports journalists. With his high profile came a lot of controversy as Cosell wasn’t afraid to express his personal opinions. For example, he came out against professional boxing in 1982 after witnessing a one-sided fight between Larry Holmes and Tex Cobb. Two weeks earlier South Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim had died after a match against Ray Mancini.
Michael Jackson was such a sad figure I always think. His apparently unconstrained lifestyle made him an easy target for the tabloids. The less than charitable representatives of the media gave him the nickname “Wacko Jacko”.
24. R.M.N. served under him : DDE
Richard Nixon served as Vice President under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Nixon and Eisenhower families spent a lot of time together, especially I am sure after Nixon’s daughter, Julie, married Eisenhower’s grandson, David Eisenhower.
29. Some clouds : STRATI
Stratus clouds are very common, and as they are wider than they are tall and flat along the bottom, we might just see them as haze in a featureless sky above us. Stratus clouds are basically the same as fog, but way above the ground. Indeed, many stratus clouds are formed as the ground heats up and morning fog lifts into the air.
32. Grand Forks sch. : UND
Greater Grand Forks is also called the Grand Cities, and is made up of the twin cities of Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The Grand Forks name comes from the French “Les Grand Fourches” (The Big Forks) which was the name given to the area as it is located at the forks of the Red River and Red Lake River.
33. Auto last made in 1936 : REO
The REO Motor Company was founded by Ransom E. Olds (hence the name REO). The company made cars, trucks and buses, and was in business from 1905 to 1975 in Lansing, Michigan.
Nena is a German singer (Nena became the name of her band as well), and she had a big hit with one of my favorite songs of the eighties, “99 Luftballons” (and the version she recorded in English: “99 Red Balloons”). The English translation of the title isn’t literal, with the color “red” added just so that the title had the right number of syllables. A “Luftballon” is the name given to a child’s toy balloon in German.
John Boehner is of course the Speaker of the House. One subject that seems to get talked about more often than he would probably like is his tanned skin. When Boehner is asked about his tanning regime, he points out that he just spends lots of time outdoors, cutting the grass and mountain-biking.
37. Souse’s sound : HIC
The word “souse” dates back to the 14th century, meaning “to pickle, steep in vinegar”. In the early 1600s the usage was applied to someone “pickled” in booze, a drunkard.
Mike and Ike is a brand of fruit-flavored jelly beans, very similar in appearance to its more famous sister-brand called Hot Tamales.
Hot Tamales are a cinnamon candy made by Just Born. They look like red versions of the other Just Born candy, Mike and Ike. That’s no coincidence, as Hot Tamales were developed as a way to make use of rejected Mike and Ike candy. The dark red color and intense cinnamon flavor was added to the Mike and Ike rejects, masking the original flavor and color.
43. Brooklyn ___ : HEIGHTS
The part of the borough of Brooklyn known as Brooklyn Heights was the first commuter town for New York, blossoming when the a steam ferry service started to run between the Heights and Wall Street in the early 19th-century.
49. “Mogambo” threat : TSETSE
Ava Gardner starred with Clark Gable in the African Safari movie “Mogambo”, released in 1953.
Tsetse flies live on the blood of vertebrate mammals. The name “tsetse” comes from Tswana, a language of southern Africa, and translates simply as “fly”. Tsetse flies are famous for being carriers of the disease known as “sleeping sickness”. The disease is caused by a parasite which is passed on to humans when the tsetse fly bites into human skin tissue. If one considers all the diseases transmitted by the tsetse fly, then it is responsible for over a quarter of a million deaths each year.
54. Transport on a slope : T-BAR
A T-bar is a type of ski lift in which the skiers are pulled up the hill in pairs, with each pair sitting either side of T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skier who remains standing on his/her skis (hopefully!). There’s also a J-bar, a similar device, but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.
55. Greece, to Greeks : ELLAS
Ellas is the Greek word for Greece, the name of the country. Greece is also known as the Hellenic Republic.
56. Retailer with a cat and dog in its logo : PETCO
The PETCO logo includes the two company mascots, Red Ruff the dog, and Blue Mews the cat.
58. Numbers game : KENO
The name “Keno” has French or Latin roots, with the French “quine” being a term for five winning numbers, and the Latin “quini” meaning “five each”. The game, however, originated in China. It was introduced to the West by Chinese immigrants who were working on the first Transcontinental Railroad in the 1800s.
63. Dessert menu phrase : A LA MODE
In French, à la mode simply means “fashionable”. In America it has come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.
Hector Hugh Munro was a British writer, actually born in Burma. He was famous for his short stories, which he published using the pen name “Saki”. His most well-known story is “The Open Window”, which ends on the great line, “Romance at short notice was her specialty”.
78. Ballet leap : JETE
A jeté is a leap in ballet, coming from the French word “jeter” meaning “to throw”.
Rolo was a hugely popular chocolate candy in Ireland when I was growing up. It was developed in the thirties in the UK, and is made under license in the US by Hershey. I was a little disappointed when I had my first taste of the American version as the center is very hard and chewy, whereas the formula used on the other side of the Atlantic calls for a soft, gooey center.
86. Figure in Tom Thumb tales : OGRE
“Tom Thumb” was originally published in 1621, making it the first fairy tale ever printed in English.
88. Wife of Esau : ADAH
Esau is a son of Isaac, first appearing in the Book of Genesis. Esau had three wives, Adah and Aholibamah, and then Bashemath.
90. Adipocyte : FAT CELL
The fat storage cells that make up adipose tissue are called adopocytes or lipocytes.
“Aloha ‘Oe” is a song of Hawaii, composed by Liliuokalani, the last monarch of Hawaii, and her only queen. The title translates as “Farewell to Thee”.
“Blue Hawaii” was the first of three films that Elvis Presley made in Hawaii. In the story Elvis’s mother is played by Angela Lansbury. At the time of the film she was 35 years old, and Elvis was 26.
92. Household pets that need ultraviolet light in their cages : IGUANAS
An iguana is a lizard, and is cold-blooded. As such, there are times when pet iguanas needs heat from a UV lamp to maintain its body temperature.
Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt in New York City. When he was sixteen years old he took a job as an entertaining bellhop in The Bronx. The orchestra leader at the tavern in which he performed gave Aaron the nickname Red Buttons because of his red hair, and the shiny buttons on his bellhop uniform.
95. Geisha’s accessory : OBI
An obi is a sash worn in some formal of dress in Japan, both by men and women, although the styles for women tend to be more ornate.
The 1986 Tom Cruise movie “Top Gun” was inspired by an article in “California” magazine called “Top Guns”. The article featured the TOPGUN fighter pilot training school at Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego.
98. Medical suffix : -OMA
In the world of medicine, the suffix -oma is used to denote a swelling or a tumor. For example, a lipoma is a benign, fatty tumor.
99. “Mayberry ___” : RFD
“Mayberry R.F.D” is a spin-off of “The Andy Griffith Show”, and is in effect a continuation of the original story. “RFD” stands for “Rural Free Delivery”, a reference to the postal route around Mayberry.
“Speed” is a 1994 action film, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, as well as the late Dennis Hopper as the bad guy.
111. “The Constant Gardener” heroine : TESSA
“The Constant Gardener” is a 2001 novel by John le Carré (author of “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”). The story is about a British diplomat called Justin Quayle who investigates the murder of his wife, Tessa. Le Carré’s traditional Cold War setting is replaced by the world of corporate cover-ups.
114. Sicilian city : ENNA
Enna sits very high up in the hills of Sicily, overlooking the whole island below. Enna is the capital of the province that bears its name, and is the highest province in the whole country of Italy.
NBC first aired a form of “Saturday Night Live” in 1975, under the title “NBC’s Saturday Night”. The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from “The Tonight Show”. Back then “The Tonight Show” had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to pull together a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he come up with what we now call “Saturday Night Live”.
“30 Rock” is the address of the NBC studios, located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
124. And the rest: Abbr. : ETC
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.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Thicken : COAGULATE
10. Pirates’ home : PNC PARK
17. Venezuelan’s “very” : MUY
20. 1994 biography of Calvin Klein : OBSESSION
21. 1937 Cole Porter tune : ROSALIE
22. Serpent’s tail? : -INE
23. Be willing to apprehend Mr. Bradley at any cost? : WANT ED DEAD OR ALIVE
25. Original “I Love Lucy” airer : CBS
26. “What ___!” : A MESS
27. Doo-wop syllable : DUM
28. “Oh, baloney!” : PSHAW
30. One awaiting a shipment, maybe : NARC
31. Punish Mr. Harris in a medieval way? : BURN ED AT THE STAKE
39. Person with a mortgage, e.g. : LIENEE
41. Menotti’s “Lullaby,” for one : ARIA
42. Epitome of thinness : REED
43. Get Mr. Koch addicted to a modern reading method? : HOOK ED ON PHONICS
48. Fashion’s Gucci : ALDO
49. To the point : TERSE
50. “Pictures ___ Exhibition” : AT AN
51. Down a submarine, say : EAT
53. Evade : SIDESTEP
57. Barrel in a bar : ALE KEG
61. Kind of wave : TIDAL
65. Hungarian city known for its thermal baths : EGER
66. Preside over Mr. O’Neill’s baptism? : BLESS ED EVENT
69. ___ Long, Union general in the Civil War : ELI
70. “___ Carter III,” best-selling album of 2008 : THA
71. Smallest member of the European Union : MALTA
72. Idle : NOT ON
73. Criminalize : BAN
74. Letters on Ozzie Smith’s cap : STL
75. Do Mr. Sullivan’s stand-up material? : CRACK ED JOKES
79. French weapon : ARME
80. Montaigne work : ESSAI
82. “That seems to be the case” : SO I SEE
83. Act of coming out : EMERSION
85. Madre’s hermano : TIO
87. Fur fighters? : PETA
89. Opinion pieces : OP-EDS
90. Made in France? : FAIT
93. Prohibit Mr. McMahon from ever socializing again? : GROUND ED FOR LIFE
100. Pool organism : ALGA
101. 12-Down soldiers, for short : REBS
102. Set as a goal : AIM FOR
103. Perform brain surgery on Mr. Begley? : TOUCH ED IN THE HEAD
108. Mgr.’s aide : ASST
112. Singer ___ Khan : CHAKA
113. Virginia ___ : HAM
114. Military march : ETAPE
115. Suffix with Ecuador or Euclid : -EAN
116. Put Mr. Meese in an Armani suit? : DRESS ED TO THE NINES
125. Mauna ___ : LOA
126. Treater’s phrase : IT’S ON ME
127. Where the stars might be pointing? : FOOTNOTES
128. Longtime 25-Across president Moonves : LES
129. Brand name that used to be spelled out in commercials : NESTLE’S
130. Star Alliance member : AIR CANADA
Down
1. Lee of NBC News : COWAN
2. U.S. president whose mother’s first name was Stanley : OBAMA
3. 109-Down portrayer in 2003’s “Elf” : ASNER
4. Approaches : GETS CLOSER
5. Purposes : USES
6. “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out” subject : LSD
7. Give a leg up : AID
8. Part of Italy where Cape Spartivento is : TOE
9. Disney doe : ENA
10. Haughty : PROUD
11. “The Divorcee” actress Shearer : NORMA
12. Civil War org. : CSA
13. Bud : PAL
14. Noted Cosell interviewee : ALI
15. Colorado, e.g.: Abbr. : RIV
16. Doesn’t give up : KEEPS
17. One of the Jackson 5 : MICHAEL
18. Not yet in the oven : UNBAKED
19. One side’s retort to “No, you don’t!” : YES WE DO
24. R.M.N. served under him : DDE
29. Some clouds : STRATI
31. Apiphobiac’s fear : BEE
32. Grand Forks sch. : UND
33. Auto last made in 1936 : REO
34. “99 Luftballons” singer, 1984 : NENA
35. Noted John Boehner feature : TAN
36. Prefix with Cities : TRI-
37. Souse’s sound : HIC
38. Slip (into) : EASE
40. Mike and ___ (some jellybeans, informally) : IKE’S
43. Brooklyn ___ : HEIGHTS
44. Trying experiences : ORDEALS
45. Mom-and-pop grps. : PTAS
46. Fit : HALE
47. Linear : ONE-D
49. “Mogambo” threat : TSETSE
52. Fax cover sheet abbr. : ATTN
54. Transport on a slope : T-BAR
55. Greece, to Greeks : ELLAS
56. Retailer with a cat and dog in its logo : PETCO
58. Numbers game : KENO
59. Call up : EVOKE
60. “___ while they’re hot!” : GET ‘EM
62. Interrogate, in a way : DEBRIEF
63. Dessert menu phrase : A LA MODE
64. Sheets and such : LINENS
67. “Esmé” writer : SAKI
68. Beak or beat : NOSE
71. Early 12th-century year : MCII
76. Sister company of ABC : ESPN
77. Title : DEED
78. Ballet leap : JETE
79. Hope : ASPIRATION
81. Take the offensive : ATTACK
84. Caramel-filled treat : ROLO
86. Figure in Tom Thumb tales : OGRE
88. Wife of Esau : ADAH
90. Adipocyte : FAT CELL
91. Elvis sings it in “Blue Hawaii” : ALOHA ‘OE
92. Household pets that need ultraviolet light in their cages : IGUANAS
94. Buttons on the big screen : RED
95. Geisha’s accessory : OBI
96. “Top Gun” org. : USN
97. Disgusted cry : FIE
98. Medical suffix : -OMA
99. “Mayberry ___” : RFD
104. Welcomed, as a guest at the door : HAD IN
105. Motif : THEME
106. Epitome of hotness : HADES
107. 911 responder : EMT
109. See 3-Down : SANTA
110. 1994 action flick with the tagline “Get ready for rush hour” : SPEED
111. “The Constant Gardener” heroine : TESSA
114. Sicilian city : ENNA
117. Way to go: Abbr. : RTE
118. Un-P.C. suffix : -ESS
119. Souse : SOT
120. TV show filmed at 30 Rock : SNL
121. ___ sort : OF A
122. You: Fr. : TOI
123. Not vert. : HOR
124. And the rest: Abbr. : ETC