0908-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 Sep 13, Sunday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Pete Muller & Sue Keefer
THEME: Bumper Cars … today’s themed answers are car names strung together:

23A. Search for a cradle-robbing woman in New York City? : PARK AVENUE COUGAR QUEST
37A. High-handed ambassador stationed off the Italian coast? : CAVALIER CAPRI DIPLOMAT
55A. Peace treaty between a predator and its prey? : BOBCAT-RABBIT ACCORD
67A. Tom Brady, in the 2002 Super Bowl? : INTREPID RAM CHALLENGER
78A. Musical piece for a “Star Wars” battle scene? : STORMTROOPER SONATA
98A. Advocate for pro-am tournaments? : CELEBRITY GOLF DEFENDER
116A. Diminutive Aborigine? : MIDGET OUTBACK EXPLORER

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 34m 47s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

5. Some powder : TALC
Talc is a mineral, actually hydrated magnesium silicate. Talcum powder is composed of loose talc, although these days “baby powder” can also be cornstarch.

9. Hurdles for future E.N.T.’s and G.P.’s : MCATS
The acronym MCAT stands for the Medical College Admission Test.

14. Antiqued photograph color : SEPIA
Sepia is that lovely rich, brown-grey color so common in old photographs. “Sepia” is the Latinized version of the Greek word for cuttlefish, as sepia pigment is derived from the ink sac of the cuttlefish.The “sepia tone” of old photographs is not the result of deterioration over time. Rather, it is the result of a deliberate preservation process which converts the metallic silver in the photographic image to a more stable silver sulfide. Prints that have been sepia-toned can last in excess of 150 years.

19. “Idomeneo” heroine : ILIA
“Idomeneo” is a Mozart opera first performed in 1781, when Mozart was just 25 years old.

20. River into which the Great Miami flows : OHIO
The Great Miami River is often called simply the Miami River. The Great Miami is a tributary of the Ohio River found in the southwest of Ohio. The river is named for the Miami Native American people who lived in the area. By the way, the Miami River in Florida, which gives its name to the famous city, is named for the Mayaimi Native American people who lived in that region.

21. Japanese copier company : RICOH
Ricoh is a Japanese company that started out in 1936 and by the year 2000 was the biggest manufacturer of copiers in the world. The company is also well known as a supplier of cameras.

23. Search for a cradle-robbing woman in New York City? : PARK AVENUE COUGAR QUEST
The Buick Park Avenue is a luxury car built by General Motors. The car is named for the upmarket New York City thoroughfare.

Ford made the Mercury Cougar from 1967 to 2002. The Cougar was originally based on the Ford Mustang, then the Thunderbird, and finally the Contour/Mondeo.

The Nissan Quest is a minivan.

27. Candy bar featured in a “Seinfeld” episode : TWIX
I remember Twix bars from way back in 1967 when they were introduced in the British Isles. Twix bars made it to the US over a decade later, in 1979.

28. Bittern’s habitat : MARSH
Bitterns are wading birds in the heron family. Unlike most of their heron cousins, bitterns tend to have short necks.

29. Country composed of 200+ islands : PALAU
Palau is a tiny island nation lying 500 miles east of the Philippines, and 2,000 miles south of Japan. Palau was once a Spanish possession and was sold by Spain to Germany in the late 19th century. During WWI, Japan invaded the islands (as Japan had declared war on Germany) and was awarded the islands as a territory by the League of Nations at the end of hostilities. In WWII the US took Palau from the Japanese in a bloody battle in 1944. Palau emerged from American administration in 1994 and is now a sovereign state.

30. Start of many Brazilian place names : SAO
“São” is a word used in Portuguese that translates as “saint”.

35. Sticky handle? : ELMER’S
Elsie the Cow is the mascot of the Borden Company. Elsie first appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, introduced to symbolize the perfect dairy product. Elsie was also given a husband named Elmer the Bull. Elmer eventually moved over to the chemical division of Borden where he gave his name to Elmer’s Glue.

37. High-handed ambassador stationed off the Italian coast? : CAVALIER CAPRI DIPLOMAT
The Chevrolet Cavalier was a compact made by GM from 1982 to 2005. GM’s UK division also made a Vauxhall Cavalier for many years for that market; a car I drove on many, many occasions …

There were three, very different generations of the Capri model made under the Mercury brand name. The Capri name was chosen as a throwback to the Lincoln Capri that was made in the 1950s. The first Mercury Capri was an import, built in Germany and sold through Mercury dealers from 1970 to 1977. The second Mercury Capri was a version of the Ford Mustang, and was sold from 1979 to 1986. The third Mercury Capri was built by Ford Australia as a rival to the successful Mazda Miata, and was imported and sold in the US from 1991 to 1994.

The Dodge Diplomat was a mid-size car made from 1977 to 1989.

44. TV show broadcast from Times Square, for short : GMA
“Good Morning America” (GMA) is ABC’s morning show, and has been since 1975. There was even a spinoff show called “Good Afternoon America”, although it only lasted for a few months in 2012.

45. French/Belgian river : YSER
The Yser originates in northern France and flows through Belgium into the North Sea. The Yser is often associated with WWI as it figured in a major battle early in the conflict. In the first three months of the war, the German Army pushed almost completely through Belgium, inflicting heavy losses on the Belgian Army as the defenders were forced to fight a fast-moving rearguard action. The Germans were intent on pushing right through Belgium and across France in a “race to the sea”. But the Belgians, with the help of their Allies, decided to make a final stand at the Yser Canal in an effort to prevent the Germans reaching the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk. The 22-mile long defensive line was chosen at the Yser because the river and canal system could be flooded to create a barrier that might be defended. The plan was successful and the front was “stabilized”. As we now know, millions of lives were lost over the coming years with very little movement of that battle line.

46. Turbaned type : SWAMI
A swami is a religious teacher in the Hindu tradition.

47. Musician with the gold-selling album “Sugar Lips” : AL HIRT
Al Hirt was a trumpeter and bandleader. Hirt’s most famous recordings were the song “Java” and the album “Honey in the Horn”.

50. Billet-doux recipient : AMOUR
Billet-doux is a French term for a love letter. A “billet” is a short note, and “doux” means sweet.

54. Four-time Best New Age Album Grammy winner : ENYA
Enya’s real name is Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career. She sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!

55. Peace treaty between a predator and its prey? : BOBCAT-RABBIT ACCORD
The Mercury Bobcat is a rebranded Ford Pinto.

The Volkswagen Rabbit is a small, front-wheel drive car that is sold as the Volkswagen Golf outside of North America.

Honda started manufacturing its Accord model in Marysville, Ohio in 1982, making the Accord the first Japanese car to be produced in the US. The Accord was the best-selling Japanese car in America from 1982 to 1997, and 1989 was the first import to become the best-selling car in the US.

61. Frequently faked luxury brand : ROLEX
My most prized possession is a stainless steel Rolex watch that my uncle bought while serving with the RAF in Canada during WWII. Rolex watches were made available to the Canadian servicemen at that time as they were shipping overseas. My uncle brought his Rolex home to Ireland after the war. He needed money for booze one weekend and so sold the watch to my Dad, for five pounds. My Dad gave it to me just before he died, as he knew I loved the watch, and my brothers weren’t interested in it all. Not so long ago I had the watch appraised ($3,000), and my brothers suddenly took a liking to it! Still, it’s not something that will ever be sold, that’s for sure …

62. Palindromic constellation : ARA
The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.

67. Tom Brady, in the 2002 Super Bowl? : INTREPID RAM CHALLENGER
The Dodge Intrepid is a saloon car that was produced by Chrysler from 1993 to 2004.

Chrysler put ram hood ornaments on all of its Dodge branded vehicles starting in 1933. When the first line of Dodge trucks and vans were introduced in 1981, they were named “Ram” in honor of that hood ornament.

The current generation Dodge Challenger is car made by Chrysler to compete with the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro.

74. More, in Madrid : MAS
Madrid is the largest city in Spain and the capital. Madrid is located very close to the geographical center of the country.

75. ___ cube (popular 1960s puzzle) : SOMA
The 3-dimensional puzzle called a Soma cube is comprised of seven pieces that can be assembled into a cube, or other shapes. The Soma cube was invented in 1933 by Piet Hein, apparently while he was attending a lecture on quantum mechanics!

76. ___ Canals : SOO
In the summer of 2010 I spent a very interesting afternoon watching ships make their way through the Soo Locks and Soo Canal between Lake Superior and the lower Great lakes. The name “Soo” comes from the US and Canadian cities on either side of the locks, both called Sault Ste. Marie.

78. Musical piece for a “Star Wars” battle scene? : STORMTROOPER SONATA
Geos were small vehicles manufactured by General Motors mainly in the nineties. Geos were designed to compete head-to-head with the small imports that were gaining market share at the time in the US. Some Geo models that you might remember are the Metro, the Prizm and the Storm. The cars were actually built as joint-ventures with Japanese manufacturers. The Prizm was a GM/Toyota project, the Metro was GM/Suzuki, and the Storm was GM/Isuzu.

Isuzu is a Japanese auto manufacturer, very successful in the medium and heavy truck market in particular. You’ll be seeing fewer and fewer Isuzu passenger cars on American roads though, as the company exited the US passenger car market in 2008. The Isuzu Trooper was one of their most successful SUVs, produced between 1981 and 2005.

The Sonata is made by Hyundai. The Hyundai factory in Ulsan, South Korea is the largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in the world, able to produce 1.6 million vehicles each year.

84. Here, in Honduras : AQUI
Honduras is a Central American country that used to be known as Spanish Honduras, in order to differentiate it from British Honduras now called Belize. “Honduras” is the Spanish word for “depths”.

88. Mistakes made by some bad drivers : SHANKS
A shank is one type of poorly played golf stroke.

89. Writer H. H. ___ : MUNRO
Hector Hugh Munro was a British writer, actually born in Burma. Munro 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 with the great line “Romance at short notice was her specialty”.

91. ___-Honey : BIT-O
Bit-O-Honey is a candy bar consisting of pieces of almond in a honey-flavored taffy. Bit-O-Honey has been around since 1924.

94. Magazine user? : UZI
The first Uzi submachine gun was designed in the late 1940s by Major Uziel Gal of the Israel Defense Forces who gave his name to the gun.

95. Smuggler-chasing org. : ATF
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is today part of the Department of Justice. The ATF has its roots in the Department of Treasury dating back to 1886 when it was known as the Bureau of Prohibition. “Explosives” was added to the ATF’s name when the bureau was moved under the Department of Justice as part of the reorganization called for in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

98. Advocate for pro-am tournaments? : CELEBRITY GOLF DEFENDER
The Chevrolet Celebrity is a mid-size car produced by GM from 1982 to 1990. The Celebrity was very successful in it day and was the biggest-selling car in the country in 1986.

106. Pixar title character : NEMO
“Finding Nemo” is a 2003 animated blockbuster from Pixar. The film was the winner of the Oscar that year for Best Animated Feature. Believe it or not, “Finding Nemo” is the best-selling DVD of all time and, until 2010’s “Toy Story 3”, it was the highest-grossing, G-rated movie at the box office.

108. Pseudonym preceder : AKA
Also known as (aka)

116. Diminutive Aborigine? : MIDGET OUTBACK EXPLORER
My neighbor used to keep his MG Midget roadster in my garage (away from his kids!) back in Ireland many moons ago. The Midget was produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979, with the MG acronym standing for “Morris Garages”.

The Subaru Outback is a station wagon with off-road capability that is made by Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries.

The Explorer is an SUV that was introduced by Ford in 1990 that is still going strong.

122. Marathoner’s woe : CRAMP
The marathon is run over 26 miles and 385 yards, and of course commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens. The actual distance run today was decided in 1921, and matches the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway.

124. Super Soaker brand : NERF
Nerf is the name given to the soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. “NERF” is an acronym, standing for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam.

126. Himalayans of legend : YETIS
A yeti is a beast of legend, also called an abominable snowman. “Yeti” is a Tibetan term, and the beast is fabled to live in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. Our equivalent legend in North America is that of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch. The study of animals whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology.

127. Prefix with god : DEMI-
In Greek mythology, a demigod was a half-god, the offspring of one parent who was a god and one parent who was human. The list of demigods includes the Greek Heracles and the Celtic hero Cú Chulainn.

128. Home of Wind Cave Natl. Park : S DAK
Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota was the first cave to be designated as a national park, anywhere in the world. The cave is one of the longest in the world, with about 120 miles of explored passageway. It’s “getting bigger” all the time, with about four new miles of cave being explored and mapped each year.

Down
4. City near Mount Rainier : YAKIMA
The city and county of Yakima lie southeast of Mount Rainier in the state of Washington. The Yakima Valley is recognized as one of the best apple-producing regions in the world, and it also produces three quarters of all the hops grown in the US.

5. “Mazel ___!” : TOV
Mazel tov is the Yiddish term for “good luck!”. I believe that mazel tov is used in the sense that good fortune has already occurred and is being acknowledged, whereas in English our wish of “good luck” is for the future.

7. Director Wertmüller : LINA
Lina Wertmüller was an Italian movie director of Swiss descent. Wertmüller was the first woman ever to receive an Academy Award nomination for directing, in 1976 for her film “Seven Beauties”.

8. “CBS Evening News” anchor before Pelley : COURIC
Katie Couric left NBC’s “The Today Show” in 2006 and took over as news anchor for “CBS Evening News”. In so doing she became the first solo female anchor of a broadcast network evening news program. Couric also has the honor of being the only person to guest-host on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”. In fact she “swapped jobs” on that particular day, and Leno filled in for Couric on “The Today Show”. Since 2012, Couric has a hosted a daytime talk show called “Katie”.

9. 1969 Peter O’Toole title role : MR CHIPS
The fabulous 1939 movie “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by James Hilton. Heading the cast are British actors Robert Donat and Greer Garson. “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” was remade as musical in 1969 starring Peter O’Toole and Petula Clark. I haven’t seen the remake, and frankly am a little scared to do so …

Irish actor Peter O’Toole got his big break in movies when he played the title role in the 1962 epic film “Lawrence of Arabia”. But my favorite of O’Toole’s movies is much lighter fare: “How to Steal a Million” in which he stars opposite Audrey Hepburn.

10. Union letters : CIO
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was founded in 1886, making it one of the first federations of unions in the country. Over time the AFL became dominated by craft unions, unions representing skilled workers of particular disciplines. In the early thirties, John L. Lewis led a movement within the AFL to organize workers by industry, believing this would be more effective for the members. But the craft unions refused to budge, so Lewis set up a rival federation of unions in 1932 called the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The two federations became bitter rivals for over two decades until finally merging in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO.

12. Ready for a frat party, say : TOGAED
In Ancient Rome the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

14. “The Dark Knight” and “The Bourne Supremacy,” e.g. : SEQUELS
“The Dark Knight” is a 2008 sequel to the movie “Batman Begins”. Both films star Christian Bale in the title role, with Michael Caine in the supporting role of the butler Alfred Pennyworth.

“The Bourne Supremacy” is the 2004 sequel to the excellent 2002 movie “The Bourne Identity”. Both films star Matt Damon, and are based on the Robert Ludlum novels of the same name.

15. Mer contents : EAU
“Eau” is the French word for “water”; “Mer” is the French word for “sea”.

17. “Casablanca” heroine : ILSA
Ilsa Lund was of course played by Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. I love the words of one critic describing the chemistry between Bogart and Bergman in this film: “she paints his face with her eyes”. Wow …

24. Skater’s jump : AXEL
An Axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. It was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

25. Time piece : ESSAY
“Time” magazine has a readership of about 25 million, making it the largest circulation weekly news magazine in the world.

26. X Games fixture : RAMP
The X Games are annual events, with a Summer X Games held every year as well as a Winter X Games. It’s very much a commercial venture, with all aspects controlled by the TV station ESPN. The games focus on extreme action sports, like skateboarding and freestyle motocross in the summer and various extreme snowboarding events in the winter.

34. Milk-Bone, e.g. : TREAT
Milk-Bone is a brand of dog biscuit that was introduced in 1908 as “Maltoid”. The treat was renamed to reflect its high content of cow’s milk.

39. ___ avis : RARA
A “rara avis” is anything that is very rare, and is Latin for “rare bird”.

40. “___ la Douce” : IRMA
“Irma la Douce” is a wonderful Billy Wilder movie, released in 1963. It stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Lemmon plays a maligned Parisian policeman, and MacLaine is the popular prostitute Irma la Douce (literally “Irma the Sweet”). Don’t let the adult themes throw you as it’s a very entertaining movie …

41. Singer Winehouse : AMY
Amy Winehouse was a much-ridiculed singer from the UK whose life was fraught with very public bouts of drug and alcohol abuse. Winehouse’s lifestyle caught up with her in 2011 when she was found dead from alcohol poisoning. The unfortunate singer was only 27 years old when she died, which means she is now viewed as a member of the “27 Club”. This “club” is made up of famous musicians who all died at the age of 27, including Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison of the Doors, and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

42. Actress Carrere : TIA
Tia Carrere is an actress from Honolulu who got her break in the soap opera “General Hospital”. Carrere is perhaps best known for playing Cassandra Wong in the “Wayne’s World” movies.

47. Lenovo competitor : ACER
I owned several Acer laptops, which are for my money the most reliable machine at the best price. Acer is a Taiwanese company that I used to visit a lot when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed with the company’s dedication to quality, and haven’t been let down since.

IBM introduced the ThinkPad in 1992, and the brand is still sold today, although no longer manufactured by IBM. IBM sold off its personal computer division in 2005 to Lenovo. A ThinkPad was used aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1993 on a mission focused on repairing the Hubble Telescope. The ThinkPad was being tested to see how it performed in space, given the high levels of radiation found in that environment. Now, there are about 100 (!) ThinkPads on board the International Space Station.

49. It’ll grab you by the seat of your pants : 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 standing (not sitting!) either side of T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skiers as they remain standing on their skis (hopefully!). There’s also a J-bar, a similar device, but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.

52. Berkeley campus, for short : UCAL
I always think of Berkeley as “CAL” and not “UCal”, but that could just be me …

56. Actress Chaplin of “Game of Thrones” : OONA
Oona Chaplin is an actress from Madrid in Spain. Chaplin is getting a lot of airtime these days as she plays Talisa Maegyr on HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Oona is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and is named for her maternal grandmother Oona O’Neill. the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.

60. Shoe brand named after an animal : REEBOK
The brand name Reebok was adopted as the new company name for Foster Shoes of the UK in 1960. The name Reebok (more commonly “Rhebok”) is an Afrikaans word for an antelope, and comes from the term “roe buck”.

64. Taj Mahal city : AGRA
The most famous mausoleum in the world has to be the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. The Taj Mahal was built after the death of the third wife of Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal (hence the name of the mausoleum). The poor woman died in childbirth delivering the couple’s 14th child.

68. ___ Bear : POOH
Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author, best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

78. Seductive singer : SIREN
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were seductive bird-women who lured men to their deaths with their song. When Odysseus sailed closed to the island home of the Sirens he wanted to hear their voices, but in safety. He had his men plug their ears with beeswax and then ordered them to tie him to the mast and not to free him until they were safe. On hearing their song Odysseus begged to be let loose, but the sailors just tightened his bonds and and the whole crew sailed away unharmed.

79. Frozen dessert brand owned by Mrs. Fields : TCBY
TCBY is a chain of stores selling frozen yogurt, founded in 1981 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The acronym TCBY originally stood for “This Can’t Be Yogurt”, but this had to be changed due to a lawsuit being pressed by a competitor called “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt”. These days TCBY stands for “The Country’s Best Yogurt”.

84. “Mad Men” channel : AMC
AMC, formerly known as American Movie Classics, is one of my favorite television channels. Although the channel’s focus has shifted from airing classic movies to including other programming, there’s still a lot of quality output. AMC’s flagship show is “Mad Men”.

85. Neighbor of Vt. : QUE
The name “Québec” comes from an Algonquin word “kebec” meaning “where the river narrows”. This refers to the area around Quebec City where the St. Lawrence River narrows as it flows through a gap lined by steep cliffs.

The name “Vermont” probably comes from the French “les Verts Monts”, meaning “The Green Mountains”.

92. Accessories for hoofers : TOE TAPS
“Hoofer” is an American slang term for a “dancer”.

93. Ancient Mexican : OLMEC
The Olmec were an ancient civilization that lived in the lowlands of south-central Mexico from about 1500 BC to about 400 BC.

96. Small mosaic tile : TESSERA
A tessera is an individual tile used in making a mosaic.

99. Pussy ___ (Russian girl group) : RIOT
Pussy Riot is a feminist female punk band based in Moscow that has been making the news in recent years. They are a protest group and retain a certain level of anonymity. When performing. the band members wear brightly colored balaclavas, and when interviewed use only nicknames. Pussy Riot’s songs promote the causes of feminism and gay rights, and also express opposition to the policies of President Vladimir Putin. Two members of the band are now serving two-year prison sentences for hooliganism. Their cause has been taken up by celebrities all over the world, including Madonna, Sting and Yoko Ono.

103. Carrier to Ben Gurion : EL AL
El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. The term “el al” translates from Hebrew as “to the skies”.

Ben-Gurion International is Israel’s main airport, and is located in the city of Lod just a few miles southeast of Tel Aviv. The airport is named for David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister.

104. Onetime White House family : NIXONS
President Richard Milhous Nixon used “Milhous” in his name in honor of his mother Hannah Milhous. Richard was born in a house in Yorba Linda, California. You can visit that house today as it is on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. It’s a really interesting way to spend a few hours if you ever get to Yorba Linda …

109. Diva ___ Te Kanawa : KIRI
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is an outstanding soprano from New Zealand who was in great demand for operatic performances in the seventies and eighties.

111. H.R.’s, e.g. : STAT
Home runs (H.R.’s)

118. Ascap rival : BMI
ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) collects licence fees for musicians and distributes royalties to composers whose works have been performed. BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) provides the same service.

119. Inflation indicator: Abbr. : PSI
Pounds Per Square Inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.

120. D.C.’s ___ Stadium : RFK
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium was opened in 1961 as the District of Columbia Stadium, and is actually owned by the District of Columbia. The stadium was renamed in 1969, a few months after Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Kennedy had been instrumental the racial integration of the Washington Redskins who played in the stadium for 36 seasons. As Attorney General, Kennedy threatened to oust the Redskins from the federally-owned stadium unless the team agreed to sign African American players.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Fix : SPAY
5. Some powder : TALC
9. Hurdles for future E.N.T.’s and G.P.’s : MCATS
14. Antiqued photograph color : SEPIA
19. “Idomeneo” heroine : ILIA
20. River into which the Great Miami flows : OHIO
21. Japanese copier company : RICOH
22. Some title holders : EARLS
23. Search for a cradle-robbing woman in New York City? : PARK AVENUE COUGAR QUEST
27. Candy bar featured in a “Seinfeld” episode : TWIX
28. Bittern’s habitat : MARSH
29. Country composed of 200+ islands : PALAU
30. Start of many Brazilian place names : SAO
31. Salts : SEAMEN
33. “___ any wonder?” : IS IT
35. Sticky handle? : ELMER’S
37. High-handed ambassador stationed off the Italian coast? : CAVALIER CAPRI DIPLOMAT
43. Cast : HUE
44. TV show broadcast from Times Square, for short : GMA
45. French/Belgian river : YSER
46. Turbaned type : SWAMI
47. Musician with the gold-selling album “Sugar Lips” : AL HIRT
50. Billet-doux recipient : AMOUR
54. Four-time Best New Age Album Grammy winner : ENYA
55. Peace treaty between a predator and its prey? : BOBCAT-RABBIT ACCORD
61. Frequently faked luxury brand : ROLEX
62. Palindromic constellation : ARA
63. Relation? : TALE
64. Contents of some six-packs : ABS
67. Tom Brady, in the 2002 Super Bowl? : INTREPID RAM CHALLENGER
74. More, in Madrid : MAS
75. ___ cube (popular 1960s puzzle) : SOMA
76. ___ Canals : SOO
77. Charred : BURNT
78. Musical piece for a “Star Wars” battle scene? : STORMTROOPER SONATA
84. Here, in Honduras : AQUI
87. As a result : HENCE
88. Mistakes made by some bad drivers : SHANKS
89. Writer H. H. ___ : MUNRO
91. ___-Honey : BIT-O
94. Magazine user? : UZI
95. Smuggler-chasing org. : ATF
98. Advocate for pro-am tournaments? : CELEBRITY GOLF DEFENDER
105. Kind of kick : ONSIDE
106. Pixar title character : NEMO
107. Like some excuses : FLIMSY
108. Pseudonym preceder : AKA
110. Change : COINS
112. Short-winded : TERSE
115. Turning point : AXIS
116. Diminutive Aborigine? : MIDGET OUTBACK EXPLORER
121. Engage in excessive self-reflection? : PREEN
122. Marathoner’s woe : CRAMP
123. Sections of a natural history museum, maybe : ERAS
124. Super Soaker brand : NERF
125. Not approach directly : SIDLE
126. Himalayans of legend : YETIS
127. Prefix with god : DEMI-
128. Home of Wind Cave Natl. Park : S DAK

Down
1. Nurse : SIP
2. Stop getting better : PLATEAU
3. Broadcast medium : AIRWAVE
4. City near Mount Rainier : YAKIMA
5. “Mazel ___!” : TOV
6. [Pardon] : AHEM!
7. Director Wertmüller : LINA
8. “CBS Evening News” anchor before Pelley : COURIC
9. 1969 Peter O’Toole title role : MR CHIPS
10. Union letters : CIO
11. Small 58-Down size : A-CUP
12. Ready for a frat party, say : TOGAED
13. “Would you like me to?” : SHALL I?
14. “The Dark Knight” and “The Bourne Supremacy,” e.g. : SEQUELS
15. Mer contents : EAU
16. Newspaper worker : PRESSMAN
17. “Casablanca” heroine : ILSA
18. Concerning : AS TO
24. Skater’s jump : AXEL
25. Time piece : ESSAY
26. X Games fixture : RAMP
31. Acad., e.g. : SCH
32. Brief remark upon retiring : ‘NIGHT
34. Milk-Bone, e.g. : TREAT
36. Stroked, in a way : ROWED
38. Arabic for “commander” : EMIR
39. ___ avis : RARA
40. “___ la Douce” : IRMA
41. Singer Winehouse : AMY
42. Actress Carrere : TIA
47. Lenovo competitor : ACER
48. Having the fewest rules : LAXEST
49. It’ll grab you by the seat of your pants : T-BAR
51. Twice tetra- : OCTA-
52. Berkeley campus, for short : UCAL
53. Sushi bar offering : ROLL
55. Lip : BRIM
56. Actress Chaplin of “Game of Thrones” : OONA
57. Nonkosher lunch orders, for short : BLTS
58. See 11-Down : BRA
59. Playground retort : I AM SO!
60. Shoe brand named after an animal : REEBOK
64. Taj Mahal city : AGRA
65. Inclination : BENT
66. Mex. miss : SRTA
68. ___ Bear : POOH
69. Hungarian man’s name that’s an anagram of 38-Down : IMRE
70. “Nuts!” : DAMN!
71. Speak pigeon? : COO
72. Short trips : HOPS
73. Ones with good habits? : NUNS
78. Seductive singer : SIREN
79. Frozen dessert brand owned by Mrs. Fields : TCBY
80. Rule : REIGN
81. Book of Judges judge : EHUD
82. Bring down the house? : RAZE
83. Disdainful response : SNIFF
84. “Mad Men” channel : AMC
85. Neighbor of Vt. : QUE
86. Dumped (on) : UNLOADED
90. Very blue : OBSCENE
92. Accessories for hoofers : TOE TAPS
93. Ancient Mexican : OLMEC
95. Like role models : ADMIRED
96. Small mosaic tile : TESSERA
97. Small ___ : FRY
99. Pussy ___ (Russian girl group) : RIOT
100. Opposite of brilliance : IDIOCY
101. Job security, for some : TENURE
102. Split : FORKED
103. Carrier to Ben Gurion : EL AL
104. Onetime White House family : NIXONS
108. Some concert gear : AMPS
109. Diva ___ Te Kanawa : KIRI
111. H.R.’s, e.g. : STAT
113. Withered : SERE
114. Checkup, e.g. : EXAM
117. Shampoo, maybe : GEL
118. Ascap rival : BMI
119. Inflation indicator: Abbr. : PSI
120. D.C.’s ___ Stadium : RFK

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