1125-12 New York Times Crossword Answers 25 Nov 12, Sunday

QuickLinks:
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: Jeff Chen
THEME: A Little Extra … there is a big “X’ in the middle of today’s grid, and 14 symmetrically placed answers are missing the letter X:

46A. Je ne sais quoi : (X)-FACTOR
58A. Four-time role for Patrick Stewart : PROFESSOR (X)
60A. Almost every man in the world has one : (X) CHROMOSOME
65A. Followers of a boom? : GENERATION (X)
72A. More precise alternative to scissors : (X)-ACTO KNIFE
88A. Lunar mission commanded by Thomas P. Stafford : APOLLO (X)
4D. Excommunicator of Martin Luther : LEO (X)
7D. 1992 Denzel Washington title role : MALCOLM (X)
13D. Quest of the astronomer Percival Lowell : PLANET (X)
15D. Beano competitor : GAS-(X)
91D. Novelty glasses : (X)-RAY SPEX
94D. G’s opposite : (X) RATING
112D. Comic book mutants : (X)-MEN
114D. Wii alternative : (X)-BOX

COMPLETION TIME: 47m 47s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … FAY (Foy), NYALAS (nyalos)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

10. The “C” of FDIC: Abbr. : CORP
During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Banking Act of 1933. The legislation established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), intended to be a temporary government corporation that provided insurance on deposits made by customers of qualified financial institutions. The first accounts to be covered, in 1934, had an insurance limit of $2,500. Since the financial crisis of 2008, that limit is $250,000.

19. “The Wrestler” actress : TOMEI
Marisa Tomei’s first screen role was in “As the World Turns”, but her break came with a recurring role in “The Cosby Show” spinoff, “A Different World”. Tomei won an Oscar for her delightful performance in “My Cousin Vinny” in 1992.

“The Wrestler” is a really hard and gritty movie from 2008, a comeback film for actor Mickey Rourke. Rourke stars as an over-the-hill professional wrestler, with Marisa Tomei playing a faded stripper, the love interest. The film received really strong reviews, but I found it to be a tough movie to sit through.

20. Trio on camels : MAGI
“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, magi is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born.

21. The brother in “Am I my brother’s keeper?” : ABEL
The story of Cain and Abel not only appears in the Christian and Hebrew Bibles, it also features in the Qur’an. In the Muslim account the brothers are named Qabil and Habil.

23. Bialys : ONION ROLLS
“Bialy” is a Yiddish name for a small onion roll, which takes its name from Bialystok, a city in Poland.

29. Rain forest flora : LIANAS
Liana is the name give to vines that generally grow in moist areas such as rain forests. They grow using the trees in the forest as structural support. My bet is that Tarzan swung from tree to tree on liana vines …

30. Contrail source, once: Abbr. : SST
The most famous Supersonic Transport (SST) was the Concorde, a plane that’s no longer flying. Concorde had that famous “droop nose”. The nose was moved to the horizontal position during flight to create the optimum aerodynamic shape thereby reducing drag. It was lowered during taxi, takeoff and landing, so that the pilot had better visibility. The need for the droop nose was driven largely by the delta-shaped wings. The delta wing necessitates a higher angle of attack at takeoff and landing than conventional wing designs, so the pilot needed the nose lowered so that he or she could see the ground.

We talk so often about global warming these days but there is another fascinating phenomenon that is related, known as “global dimming”. Global dimming is the reduction in the amount of heat that irradiates daily from the planet due to the insulating effect of pollution and vapor trails (contrails) from aircraft, that are present in the atmosphere. The effect has been touted as a theory for decades but dramatic empirical data became available in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Planes were grounded and the skies over America were clear for three days. There was a stark change in the temperature range measured across the US for these three days, demonstrating the impact that air travel has on our climate.

34. Key in a chain, maybe : ISLET
A “key” (also “cay”) is a low island offshore, as in the Florida Keys. Our term in English comes from the Spanish “cayo” meaning “shoal, reef”.

35. Two of them make a sawbuck : ABES
“Sawbuck” is slang for a ten dollar bill. The term was applied to the bill as the Roman numeral X (ten) resembles the end of sawhorse.

45. Carrier letters? : RNA
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. Amino acids are delivered in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA and then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.

46. Je ne sais quoi : (X)-FACTOR
“Je ne sais quoi” is French for “I don’t know”.

49. His tomb is a pilgrimage site for both Muslims and Jews : EZEKIEL
Ezekiel is recognized as a Hebrew prophet in the three main Abrahamic religions. Ezekiel’s story is told in the Jewish and Christian traditions in the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s final resting place is said to be a tomb in southern Iraq near the town of Al Kifl.

53. To whom it is said “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” : HORATIO
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” is a famous line from William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”. The line is spoken by Marcellus to Horatio, who are both standing guard outside the castle at Elsinore.

57. Big Red Machine hustler : PETE ROSE
Pete Rose was a talented baseball player who holds the record for all-time Major League hits. In recent years of course his reputation has been tarnished by admissions that he bet on games in which he played and managed.

When the Cincinnati Reds were a dominating force in the National League in the seventies, the team was given the nickname “the Big Red Machine”.

58. Four-time role for Patrick Stewart : PROFESSOR (X)
X-Men is a team of superheroes created by Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. Nowadays the X-Men are perhaps best known as the subject of a series of movies, with Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine, and Patrick Stewart playing Professor Xavier (or simply “Professor X”).

60. Almost every man in the world has one : (X) CHROMOSOME
In most mammalian species, including man, females have two identical sex chromosomes (XX), and males two distinct sex chromosomes (XY). As a result it is the males who determine the sex of the offspring. However, in birds it’s the opposite, so females determine the sex of the chicks.

62. Myrna of “Cheaper by the Dozen” : LOY
The beautiful Myrna Loy was one of my favorite actresses. Her career took off when she was paired up with William Powell in the fabulous “The Thin Man” series of films. Loy also appeared opposite Cary Grant in a couple of films that I like to watch every so often, namely “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer” (1947) and “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” (1948).

“Cheaper by the Dozen” is a biographical book written by two of the children of time and motion study experts Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth. The two Gilbreths were a married couple with twelve children. The book was adapted for the big screen in 1950 and starred Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy. The “Cheaper by the Dozen” films made more recently starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt really don’t bear any resemblance to the 1950 film or the Gilbreth book.

65. Followers of a boom? : GENERATION (X)
The term Generation X originated in the UK where it was the name of a book by Jane Deverson. Her book detailed the results of a study of British youths in 1964, contrasting their lifestyle to those of previous generations. It was Canadian author Douglas Coupland who was responsible for popularizing the term, with his more successful publication “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture”. By the latest accepted definition, Gen-Xers were born between 1961 and 1981.

A baby boomer is someone who was born in the post-WWII baby boom. The rate of births had been falling fairly steadily in the US at least since 1900, but this trend was sharply reversed in 1946 after WWII. The higher birth rate continued until 1964, when it returned to pre-war levels. Since then the birth rate has continued to decline, although at a slower pace. The period between 1946 and 1964 is defined as the “baby boom”.

72. More precise alternative to scissors : (X)-ACTO KNIFE
The X-Acto knife was invented in the thirties by a Polish immigrant, although his intention was to come up with a scalpel for surgeons. The knife couldn’t cut it as a scalpel though (pun intended!), because it was difficult to clean. The inventor’s brother-in law suggested it be used as a craft knife, and it is still around today.

80. Largest moon in the solar system : GANYMEDE
Ganymede is the largest of Jupiter’s 67 moons, and is the largest moon in our Solar System. Ganymede was discovered in 1610 by Galileo, and was named soon after by astronomer Simon Marius for Zeus’s lover, Ganymede of Greek mythology.

85. Neighbor of Niger : BENIN
The Republic of Benin is a country in West Africa. Benin used to be a French colony, and was known as Dahomey. It gained independence in 1975, and took the name Benin after the Bight of Benin, the body of water on which the country lies.

87. One of a pair of drums : TIMBALE
Timbales are a type of drum from Cuba. Timbales usually come in pairs.

88. Lunar mission commanded by Thomas P. Stafford : APOLLO (X)
The Apollo 10 mission was a rehearsal for the Moon landing of Apollo 11. The crew of Apollo 10 did just about everything that the Apollo 11 astronauts did, other than actually landing on the Moon’s surface. As part of the mission, the crew deployed the lunar module (called “Snoopy”, as opposed to Apollo 11’s “Eagle”) and brought it with 9 miles of the Moon’s surface.

89. Ad ___ : REM
The Latin term “ad rem” translates literally as “to the matter”.

92. Cousins of honey badgers : SABLES
Sables are small mammals about two feet long, found right across northern Europe and northern Asia. The sable’s pelt is highly prized in the fur trade. It is unique among furs in that it feels smooth no matter which direction it is stroked.

93. Morgan le ___ (Arthurian sorceress) : FAY
Morgan le Fay is a character in Arthurian legend. She is a powerful sorceress, and indeed the term “fay” means “magician, sorceress”. In one of the legends, Morgan is said to be the half-sister of King Arthur on his mother’s side.

94. “The Labors of Hercules” painter Guido : RENI
Guido Reni was an Italian painter, from Bologna. His famous “Crucifixion of St. Peter” is an altarpiece commissioned in the early 1600s, now on display in the Vatican.

97. Kauaian ring : LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

Because the island of Kauai is one of the wettest places on earth, all the rainfall has helped to carve out magnificent canyons and left superb waterfalls. It’s a common backdrop for movies.

103. Thwarter of HAL : DAVE
In the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”, Dr. David Bowman (“Dave”) goes up against the spacecraft computer known as “HAL”.

In Arthur C. Clarke’s “Space Odyssey” (famously adapted for the big screen as “2001: A Space Odyssey”) the computer system that went rogue was called HAL 9000, or simply “HAL”. HAL stands for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer. In the French version of the film, HAL’s name was changed to CARL.

108. 1970s-’80s F.B.I. sting : ABSCAM
The FBI set up a sting operation in 1978, eventually targeting corruption within Congress. Central to the “scam” was a front company called “Abdul Enterprises, Ltd”, giving the whole operation the nickname “Abscam”. At the end of the say, one senator and five House members were convicted of bribery and conspiracy. Kraim Abdul Rahman was the fictional sheik that gave “his” name to the front company.

110. Xanthippe, e.g. : NAG
Xanthippe was the wife of Socrates in Ancient Athens. Stories written about Xanthippe sometimes portray as a bit of a nag or a shrew. In fact, William Shakespeare describes his title character Katherina “as Socrates’ Xanthippe or a worse” in “Taming of the Shrew”.

113. Widely used term declared “undignified” by John Paul II : POPEMOBILE
The “Popemobile” is actually a whole fleet of vehicles used since the days of Pope John Paul II. The popemobiles used on foreign visits are often manufactured locally and then stay in the country after the visit has been concluded. The British-built popemobile used for a 2006 visit to the UK was ultimately sold for over $70,000 at auction.

116. Part of N.B. : NOTA
“Nota bene” is the Latin for “note well”

120. Grab, with “onto” : GLOM
“Glom” is a slang term meaning “steal”, although it can also be used to mean “latch onto” when used as “glom onto”. The term probably comes from the Scots word “glam” meaning “to snatch at”.

Down
1. Features of some sports cars : T-TOPS
A T-top is a car roof that has removable panels on either side of a rigid bar that runs down the center of the vehicle, above the driver.

2. Area conquered by Alexander the Great : IONIA
Lydia and Ionia were ancient territories in land now covered by modern-day Turkey. Both territories eventually fell under Greek and then Roman rule.

3. Liftoff point : T-MINUS ZERO
We’re all familiar with the expression “T-minus …” in the countdown to the takeoff of a rocket, but do we know that the “T” stands for? The common answers given are “time” and “take off”, but it turns out that neither is correct. The expression originated in the early days of the space program and was used then not for launches but as a countdown to various “tests”. So the “T” stands for “test”, but it’s usage carried over into the actual launches themselves.

4. Excommunicator of Martin Luther : LEO (X)
Pope Leo X is remembered as the last pope who was not a priest before taking office. Leo X was also known for granting indulgences to those willing to donate funds for the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica, a practice that contributed to the revolt against the church by Martin Luther. As a result of the revolt, Leo X excommunicated Luther.

7. 1992 Denzel Washington title role : MALCOLM (X)
“Malcolm X” is a 1992 biographical film about the African American activist Malcolm X. The movie starred Denzel Washington in the title role and was co-written and directed by Spike Lee.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little, in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925. He told his own life story in the incredibly successful book “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, on which he collaborated with author Alex Haley. Malcolm Little changed his name when he joined the Nation of Islam, choosing “X” to represent the African family name that he could never know.

11. Like a good butler : OBEISANT
“Obeisance” is an attitude of deference usually marked by gestures of respect such as a bow or a curtsey.

13. Quest of the astronomer Percival Lowell : PLANET (X)
The astronomer Percival Lowell spent decades searching for what was known as Planet X. Planet X was a hypothetical body in solar system that would explain deviations in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune (a hypothesis later shown to be false). His work is known to have led to the discovery of Pluto in 1930, 14 years after Lowell died.

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and was welcomed as the ninth planet in our solar system. Pluto is relatively small in size, just one fifth of the mass of our own moon. In the seventies, astronomers began to discover more large objects in the solar system, including Eris, a “scattered disc object” at the outer reaches. Given that Eris is actually bigger than Pluto, and other objects really aren’t that much smaller, Pluto’s status as a planet was drawn into question. In 2006 there was a scientific definition for a “planet” agreed for the first time, resulting in Pluto being relegated to the status of dwarf planet, along with Eris.

14. Athos, Porthos and Aramis, e.g. : AMIS
In French, “amis” are “friends”.

The “Three Musketeers” were Athos, Porthos and Aramis, and their young protégé was D’Artagnan. A musketeer was an infantry soldier who was equipped with a musket. Funnily enough, Alexandre Dumas’ “Three Musketeers” really didn’t use their muskets, and were better known for their prowess with their swords.

15. Beano competitor : GAS-(X)
Gas-X is a trade name for the anti-foaming agent called simethicone. Simethicone causes small gas bubbles in the stomach to combine into larger bubbles that can then be “burped” more easily.

Beano is a dietary supplement that is used to reduce gas in the digestive tract. Beano contains an enzyme which breaks down complex sugars found in many vegetables. This makes the food more digestible and apparently cuts down on gas.

16. Reaches a nadir : HITS BOTTOM
The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith.

17. Ouzo herb : ANISE
Ouzo is an aperitif from Greece that is colorless and flavored with anise. Ouzo is similar to pastis from France and also has a flavor like sambuca from Italy.

18. Quakers and Shakers : SECTS
The Religious Society of Friends is a name used by a number of different organizations that have roots in the Christian church in 17th-century England and Wales. A common name for one of these organizations is of course the Quakers.

“Shakers” is a the more common name for the religious sect more properly called the United Society of Believer in Christ’s Second Appearing. The sect’s doctrine was based on the teachings of Ann Lee.

Mother Ann Lee was the leader of the Shakers, the familiar name for the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing. Lee was born and raised in Manchester, England. It was there that she became prominent as a speaker declaring faith in the second coming of Christ. She took a band of her followers to America in 1774 and eventually settled just outside Albany, New York.

24. Snoop Lion’s genre : RAP
Snoop Lion is an alter-ego of rapper Snoop Dogg.

The rap star Snoop Dogg’s real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus. He is the most famous protege of the notorious rapper Dr. Dre. Sadly, Snoop Dogg has had numerous run-ins with police all round the world, even after he started to live the good life that came with his fame.

26. Muscle below a delt : LAT
The muscles known as the “lats” are the latissimi dorsi, the broadest muscles in the back. “Latissimus” is the Latin for “broadest” and “dorsum” is Latin for “back”.

35. Triple Crown jockey Eddie : ARCARO
Eddie Arcaro was a very successful jockey, the only rider to win the US Triple Crown twice. He also won more American classic races than any other jockey.

41. Dickens schemer : HEEP
Uriah Heep is a sniveling insincere character in the novel “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. The character is such a “yes man” that today, if we know someone who behaves the same way, then we might call that person a “Uriah Heep”.

42. Shade of bleu : AZUR
In French, “azur” is a vivid shade of blue (“bleu”), as in “Côte d’Azur”.

The Côte d’Azur is on the Mediterranean coast of France and stretches from Saint Tropez in the west and to the Italian border in the east. In English we often refer to the area as the French Riviera. It’s a little crowded for me (okay, expensive), especially in the summer.

47. Seine tributary : OISE
The River Oise rises in Belgium and joins up with the River Seine just outside Paris.

52. One of the X’s in X-X-X : TIC
When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for tic-tac-toe.

55. Nick of “Cape Fear” : NOLTE
The actor Nick Nolte got his first big break playing opposite Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw in “The Deep”, released in 1976. Prior to that he had worked as a model, and in fact appeared in a magazine advertisement for Clairol in 1972 alongside fellow model, Sigourney Weaver.

The 1991 film called “Cape Fear” is a Martin Scorsese remake of a 1962 film of the same name. The 1991 version stars Robert De Niro and Nick Nolte, and there are also cameo appearances by Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck who starred in the 1962 original.

61. Actor Stephen : REA
Stephen Rea is an Irish actor, whose most famous role was that of the “retired” IRA man in the brilliant 1992 film “The Crying Game”. He also starred in the chilling movie “Stuck”, a 2007 film that is based on a true story about a woman who commits a hit and run on a homeless man. The woman leaves the scene of the crime with the victim still “stuck” in her windshield. The woman leaves the man to die in her garage. Chilling, eh? But as I said, a true story …

63. Mustachioed cartoon character : YOSEMITE SAM
Yosemite Sam is a cartoon character who frequently goes up against Bugs Bunny.

65. Fictional writer in a John Irving best seller : GARP
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.

67. South African antelopes : NYALAS
A nyala is an antelope from South Africa with spiral horns. “Nyala” is the Swahili name for the beast.

68. Simon & Garfunkel’s “For ___, Whenever I May Find Her” : EMILY
“For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her” is a track on the famous 1966 Simon & Garfunkel album “Parsley, Sage Rosemary and Thyme”. Paul Simon wrote the song and tells us that “Emily” isn’t really a girl, but is a “belief”.

69. City near Virginia City : RENO
Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

73. Bit of ink, slangily : TAT
The word “tattoo” was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”.

74. Sheep’s genus : OVIS
The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine”, meaning “like a sheep”.

75. Turkey’s Atatürk : KEMAL
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was the founder of the Republic of Turkey and the country’s first president. As such, he was awarded the name “Atatürk” meaning “Father of the Turks” by the Turkish parliament in 1934. The parliament also decreed that no other person is allowed to use the name.

77. Summer cooler : ITALIAN ICE
A sno-cone (also “snow cone”) is just a paper cone filled with crushed ice and topped with flavored water. Italian ice is similar, but different. Whereas the flavoring is added on top of the ice to make a sno-cone, Italian ice is made with water that is flavored before it is frozen.

80. Indian tourist haven : 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.

89. Vitamin A : RETINOL
Retinol is a form of vitamin A. Retinol helps keep skin healthy.

112. Comic book mutants : (X)-MEN
X-Men are a team of superheroes created by Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. Nowadays the X-Men are perhaps best known as the subject of a series of movies, with Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine, and Patrick Stewart playing Professor Xavier.

114. Wii alternative : (X)BOX
Xbox is made by Microsoft (I’m sure the kids have one around here somewhere!) and introduced in 2001. The current version is known as Xbox 360.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. It might appear on a spine : TITLE
6. In the thick of : AMID
10. The “C” of FDIC: Abbr. : CORP
14. Muslim moguls : AGHAS
19. “The Wrestler” actress : TOMEI
20. Trio on camels : MAGI
21. The brother in “Am I my brother’s keeper?” : ABEL
22. Monosyllabic state : MAINE
23. Bialys : ONION ROLLS
25. Fussy about rules : LEGALISTIC
27. Wrestling achievement : PIN
28. Cup holder : SAUCER
29. Rain forest flora : LIANAS
30. Contrail source, once: Abbr. : SST
31. Jurassic suffix : -SAUR
33. Novel writing, e.g. : PROSE
34. Key in a chain, maybe : ISLET
35. Two of them make a sawbuck : ABES
36. Having everything one needs : SET
38. Victoria’s Secret purchase : SLIP
39. Walk, e.g. : GAIT
40. Whiz : PRO
41. Tormentors of a sort : HAZERS
44. Goat’s cry : MAA
45. Carrier letters? : RNA
46. Je ne sais quoi : (X)-FACTOR
49. His tomb is a pilgrimage site for both Muslims and Jews : EZEKIEL
51. Occupy, as a booth : SIT AT
53. To whom it is said “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” : HORATIO
54. Danish, e.g. : EUROPEAN
56. Grave letters : RIP
57. Big Red Machine hustler : PETE ROSE
58. Four-time role for Patrick Stewart : PROFESSOR (X)
60. Almost every man in the world has one : (X) CHROMOSOME
62. Myrna of “Cheaper by the Dozen” : LOY
64. Indeed : YEA
65. Followers of a boom? : GENERATION (X)
72. More precise alternative to scissors : (X)-ACTO KNIFE
80. Largest moon in the solar system : GANYMEDE
81. Bottom line, maybe : SUM
83. “You try!” : HAVE AT IT!
84. Decrees : ORDAINS
85. Neighbor of Niger : BENIN
87. One of a pair of drums : TIMBALE
88. Lunar mission commanded by Thomas P. Stafford : APOLLO (X)
89. Ad ___ : REM
90. Frat.’s counterpart : SOR
92. Cousins of honey badgers : SABLES
93. Morgan le ___ (Arthurian sorceress) : FAY
94. “The Labors of Hercules” painter Guido : RENI
95. Marquee name : STAR
97. Kauaian ring : LEI
98. Mmes. of España : SRAS
100. Wipe out, in surfing lingo : EAT IT
101. Converted into bundles for a loft : HAYED
103. Thwarter of HAL : DAVE
106. Spank but good : TAN
107. Allure : ENTICE
108. 1970s-’80s F.B.I. sting : ABSCAM
110. Xanthippe, e.g. : NAG
111. A spy will often cross them : ENEMY LINES
113. Widely used term declared “undignified” by John Paul II : POPEMOBILE
115. Liquefy : PUREE
116. Part of N.B. : NOTA
117. Squared up : EVEN
118. Nutcases : LOCOS
119. Centuries, e.g. : SPANS
120. Grab, with “onto” : GLOM
121. “What ___?” : NEXT
122. Wield, as influence : EXERT

Down
1. Features of some sports cars : T-TOPS
2. Area conquered by Alexander the Great : IONIA
3. Liftoff point : T-MINUS ZERO
4. Excommunicator of Martin Luther : LEO (X)
5. German one : EINS
6. Dangerous liaisons, often : AMOURS
7. 1992 Denzel Washington title role : MALCOLM (X)
8. Spanish churches : IGLESIAS
9. Sorry state : DISREPAIR
10. Script writer’s study? : CALLIGRAPHY
11. Like a good butler : OBEISANT
12. King’s things : REGALIA
13. Quest of the astronomer Percival Lowell : PLANET (X)
14. Athos, Porthos and Aramis, e.g. : AMIS
15. Beano competitor : GAS-(X)
16. Reaches a nadir : HITS BOTTOM
17. Ouzo herb : ANISE
18. Quakers and Shakers : SECTS
24. Snoop Lion’s genre : RAP
26. Muscle below a delt : LAT
32. Smell like : REEK OF
35. Triple Crown jockey Eddie : ARCARO
37. Rubbish : TRIPE
40. Cuts back on : PARES
41. Dickens schemer : HEEP
42. Shade of bleu : AZUR
43. Dates : SEES
46. Pic : FOTO
47. Seine tributary : OISE
48. Sushi bar topping : ROE
50. Part of U.N.L.V. : LAS
52. One of the X’s in X-X-X : TIC
53. Hesitate in speech : HEM
55. Nick of “Cape Fear” : NOLTE
57. Hunt in the wrong place? : POACH
59. Révolution target : ROI
61. Actor Stephen : REA
63. Mustachioed cartoon character : YOSEMITE SAM
65. Fictional writer in a John Irving best seller : GARP
66. Historical transition point : END OF AN ERA
67. South African antelopes : NYALAS
68. Simon & Garfunkel’s “For ___, Whenever I May Find Her” : EMILY
69. City near Virginia City : RENO
70. YouTube video lead-ins : ADS
71. Hebrew N : NUN
73. Bit of ink, slangily : TAT
74. Sheep’s genus : OVIS
75. Turkey’s Atatürk : KEMAL
76. Caught : NABBED
77. Summer cooler : ITALIAN ICE
78. Clichéd prison contraband item : FILE
79. Verb with “vous” : ETES
80. Indian tourist haven : GOA
82. Malformed : MISSHAPEN
85. Pamper, say : BE NICE TO
86. Willing to consider : NOT ABOVE
89. Vitamin A : RETINOL
91. Novelty glasses : (X)-RAY SPEX
94. G’s opposite : (X) RATING
96. Fresh : RECENT
98. Measures : STEPS
99. Accumulated : RAN UP
100. Print option: Abbr. : ENL
102. Part of a horse’s pedigree : DAM
104. Knight’s attribute : VALOR
105. Discharge : EGEST
107. Observes : EYES
109. Plant, maybe : MOLE
112. Comic book mutants : (X)-MEN
114. Wii alternative : (X)BOX

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