Day: August 10, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Count back? : -ESS
Add the suffix “-ess” to the back of the word “count” to make “countess”.

4. Not the final version : BETA
In the world of software development, the first tested issue of a new program is usually called the “alpha” version. Expected to have a lot of bugs that need to be fixed, the alpha release is usually distributed to a small number of testers. After reported bugs have been eliminated, the refined version is called a “beta” and is released to a wider audience, but with the program clearly labeled as “beta”. The users generally check functionality and report further bugs that are encountered. The beta version feeds into a release candidate, the version that is tested just prior to the software being sold into the market, bug-free. Yeah, right …

8. Lab report? : ARF!
The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814, and the chocolate Labrador appeared over a century later in the 1930s.

11. “Coffee Cantata” composer : BACH
“Coffee Cantata” is a more familiar name for Johann Sebastian Bach’s secular cantata “Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht” (“Be Still, Stop Chattering”). The Coffee Cantata isn’t really a cantata at all, and is better described as a mini-comic opera, and deals with addiction to coffee.

15. Role on “Frasier” : ROZ
Roz Doyle is a character in the wonderful sitcom “Frasier”. Roz is played, very ably, by the actress Peri Gilpin.

20. Provo sch. : BYU
Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah has about 34.000 students on campus making it the largest religious university in the country. The school was founded in 1875 by Brigham Young, then President of the Mormon Church.

21. Singer with the triple-platinum album “The Memory of Trees” : 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!

24. *What to call a female ambassador [the Johnsons] : HER EXCELLENCY (“Her”)
“Him” and “Her” were two beagles owned by President Johnson and his family while they were living in the White House. Her died after only a year when she swallowed a stone. Him died at three-years-old when he was hit by a car while chasing a squirrel across the White House lawn.

27. Gen ___ : XER
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.

28. Table scraps : ORTS
Orts are small scraps of food left after a meal. “Ort” comes from Middle English, and originally described scraps left by animals.

33. Mexican wrap : SERAPE
“Serape” is the English pronunciation and spelling of the Spanish word “zarape”. A zarape is like a Mexican poncho, a soft woolen blanket with a hole in the middle for the head. Most serapes have colorful designs that use traditional Mayan motifs.

35. It’s all uphill from here : NADIR
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.

43. Baseball’s Alvarez and others : PEDROS
Pedro Álvarez is a professional baseball player who was born in the Dominican Republic, but who grew up in New York City. Nicknamed “El Toro”, Álvarez plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

44. Damon and Dillon : MATTS
Matt Damon is an actor and screenwriter from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Damon’s big break came with the 1997 movie “Good Will Hunting” in which he starred. He co-wrote the screenplay with his childhood friend Ben Affleck.

Matt Dillon is a Hollywood actor who came to prominence as a teen idol in the eighties. Dillon’s most lauded performance might be the supporting role he played in the 2004 film “Crash”, as LAPD officer John Ryan. Matt’s brother is Kevin Dillon, who plays Johnny “Drama” Chase on HBO’s “Entourage”.

46. ___ prosequi (“proceed no further” court entry) : NOLLE
“Nolle prosequi” is a Latin phrase that translates literally as “to be unwilling” (nolle) “to pursue” (prosequi). In the arena of law, a declaration of nolle prosequi (shortened to nol. pros.) by a plaintiff or prosecutor is a declaration that all or part of the case will be dropped.

53. One side of the pH scale : ACIDS
As we all recall from chemistry class, a pH of 7 is considered neutral, and water is the primary example of a substance with a pH equal to seven. Anything less than 7 is an acid, and anything above 7 is a base.

58. French “Inc.” : CIE
“Cie.” is an abbreviation used in French. “Cie.” is short for “compagnie”, the French word for “company”, and is used as we would use “Co.”

A company that has incorporated uses the abbreviation “Inc.” after its name. By incorporating, a company forms a corporation, which is a legal entity that has legal rights similar to those of an individual. For example, a corporation can sue another corporation or individual. However, a corporation does not have all the rights of citizens. A corporation does not have the Fifth Amendment right of protections against self-incrimination, for example. It is perhaps understandable that the concept of “corporations as persons” is a frequent subject for debate.

61. Expensive spoonful, maybe : ROE
“Caviar” is the roe of a large fish that has been salted and seasoned, and especially the roe of a sturgeon. Beluga caviar comes from the beluga sturgeon, found primarily in the Caspian Sea. It is the most expensive type of caviar in the world. 8 ounces of US-farmed beluga caviar can be purchased through Amazon.com for just over $850, in case you’re feeling peckish …

65. Old antipoverty agcy. : OEO
The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was created during the Lyndon Johnson administration. The agency was responsible for administering the War on Poverty programs that were part of the President Johnson’s Great Society agenda. The OEO was shut down by President Nixon, although some of the office’s programs were transferred to other agencies. A few of the OEO’s programs are still around today, like Head Start for example.

66. Purell target : GERM
Purell is a hand sanitizer that uses ethanol as the active ingredient. In fact, Purell contains over 60% ethanol, and there have been stories about the sanitizer being ingested to get at the alcohol, even though the manufacturer deliberately adds a bitter-tasting ingredient to scare off potential drinkers.

68. Max Peel, for example: Abbr. : ANAG
“Max Peel” is an anagram of the word “example”.

71. Days ___ : INN
The Days Inn hotel chain was founded in 1970 by a real estate developer called Cecil B. Day. One of the features of a Days Inn hotels in those early days was an on-site gas pump, which dispensed gasoline at discount prices.

76. Prefix with pressure : ACU-
Acupressure and acupuncture are related alternative medical techniques. Both aim to clear blockages in the flow of life energy through the body’s meridians. The treatment is given by stimulating “acupoints’ in the body, by applying pressure in the case of acupressure, and by applying needles in the case of acupuncture.

78. ___ Cup (candy with a gooey center) : MALLO
Mallo Cups are cup-shaped candy pieces with a whipped marshmallow creme center covered with milk chocolate. Mallo Cups were introduced by Boyer Brothers in the late forties. Apparently, there are over 2 million Mallo Cups made every day.

81. Utah ski resort : ALTA
Alta ski resort actually lies within the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area.

82. Director Nicolas : ROEG
Nicolas Roeg is film director from England with quite the pedigree when it comes to association with great movies. He contributed to 1962’s “Lawrence of Arabia”, and he himself directed noted films like “Walkabout” (1972), “Don’t Look Now” (1973) and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” (1976).

84. On-track Bobby : UNSER
The Unser family seems to have racing cars in its blood. Al Unser, Sr. won the Indy 500 on four occasions. Al’s brother Jerry was the first of the Unsers to compete at Indianapolis. Al’s other brother Bobby, won the Indy three times. Al’s son, Al Junior, won the Indy twice. Al Junior’s son is also a racing driver who competes at the Indy Speedway.

88. Common deli meat order: Abbr. : ONE LB
The unit of mass that we know today as a “pound” is descended from the old Roman unit of weight known as a “libra”. That “libra” connection is why we abbreviate pound to “lb”. The name “pound” though comes from the Latin “pondo” meaning “weight”.

89. Modern know-it-all? : SIRI
Siri is software application that works with Apple’s iOS operating system. “Siri” is an acronym standing for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. You’ve probably seen the ads on television, with folks talking to their iPhones asking for information and responding with a voice. I hear that Google is a little scared by Siri, as Siri is non-visual. There’s no need to touch a screen or a keyboard to work with Siri, no opportunity to click on one of Google’s ads! By the way, voice-over artist Susan Bennett recently revealed herself as the female American voice of Siri. The British version of Siri is called Daniel, and the Australian version is called Karen. By the way, “Siri” is a Norwegian name meaning “beautiful woman who leads you to victory”, and was the name the developer had chosen for his first child.

90. Mayberry kid : OPIE
Opie Taylor is the character played by Ron Howard on “The Andy Griffith Show”. Opie lives with widowed father Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) and his great-aunt Beatrice “Aunt Bee” Taylor (played by Frances Bavier. Ron Howard first played the role in 1960 in the pilot show, when he was just 5 years old. Howard sure has come a long way since playing Opie Taylor. He has directed some fabulous movies including favorites of mine like “Apollo 13”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Da Vinci Code”.

92. Dickinson of TV’s “Police Woman” : ANGIE
The actress Angie Dickinson is perhaps best known for playing the lead in the seventies TV crime show “Police Woman”. Dickinson was married to composer Burt Bacharach for 15 years.

94. Hardy heroine : TESS
The full name of Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel is “Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented”. When it was originally published, “Tess …” received very mixed reviews, largely because it addresses some difficult sexual themes including rape, and sexual double standards (society’s attitude towards men vs women). I suppose the most celebrated screen adaptation is Roman Polanski’s “Tess” released in 1979. Polanski apparently made “Tess” because his wife, Sharon Tate, gave him Hardy’s novel as her last act before she was murdered by the Manson family. There is a dedication at the beginning of the movie that simply reads “To Sharon”.

96. Mike who directed “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” : NEWELL
Mike Newell is a movie director from England. Newell directed one of my favorite romantic comedies: 1994’s “Four Wedding and a Funeral”.

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is the fourth novel in the series of “Harry Potter” books by J, K. Rowling. “The Goblet of Fire” is the only Harry Potter group to have won a Hugo Award. The film based on the book was quite successful, grossing about $900 million!

98. Some computers, familiarly : HPS
The giant multinational called HP (originally Hewlett-Packard) was founded in 1939 with an investment of $538, in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. The company name would have been Packard-Hewlett if Dave Packard had won a coin toss!

99. Hectic hosp. areas : ERS
Emergency room (ER)

103. Part of lye : SODIUM
What we call “lye” is usually sodium hydroxide, although historically the term was used for potassium hydroxide. Lye has many uses, including to cure several foodstuffs. Lye can make olives less bitter, for example. The chemical is also found in canned mandarin oranges, pretzels and Japanese ramen noodles. More concentrated grades of lye are used to clear drains and clean ovens. Scary …

104. It can make waves : PERM
“Perm” is the name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls. I don’t worry about such things, as it’s a number-one all over for me …

105. Lasagna ingredient : TOMATO PASTE
Lasagna was originally the name of a cooking pot, but it came to mean a dish that was cooked in it. Lasagna also became the name of the flat noodle used in the dish. If you order lasagna on the other side of the Atlantic, you’ll notice the “lasagne” spelling, the plural of “lasagna”. The plural is used as there is more than one layer of pasta in the dish.

115. Any of nine kings of Thailand : RAMA
The kings of Thailand (what used to be Siam) are often referred to as “Rama”, so the current king Bhumibol Adulyadej is known as Rama IX. The name “Rama” is used as it’s the name of the Hindu god Rama, a reincarnation of Vishnu.

116. *Pairing up for safety [the Clintons] : BUDDY SYSTEM (“Buddy”)
President Bill Clinton’s family had two pets while in the White House. Socks was an adopted stray cat, and Buddy was a chocolate-colored Labrador retriever. Socks and Buddy didn’t get on too well together, and so Socks moved in with President Clinton’s secretary Betty Currie.

117. Accusatory words : ET TU
It was Shakespeare who popularized the words “Et tu, Brute?” (And you, Brutus?), in his play “Julius Caesar”, although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life just before he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate in Rome.

118. Pitcher Hershiser : OREL
Orel Hershiser is big into poker now that he has retired from Major League Baseball. Hershiser lives in Las Vegas and when he isn’t working for ESPN, apparently he is at the poker tables.

120. Huntsman Center team : UTES
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 controversial “Utes”.

The Jon M. Huntsman Center is an arena at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City that is home to the school’s Runnin’ Utes basketball team.

121. Earthy deposit : MARL
Marl is a mud that is rich in calcium carbonate. Marl, or marlstone, is often used as a fertilizer for lime-deficient soil.

123. Whacks : OFFS
“To whack” is “to off”, to murder.

Down
2. Many a ball : SOIREE
“Soir” is the French word for “evening” and a “soirée” is an “evening party”. The French word “soirée” has an acute accent over the first “e”, but we tend to drop this when using the word in English.

3. *Cleaning supply [the Bushes 43] : SPOT REMOVER (“Spot”)
President George W. Bush had a pet English Springer Spaniel that was born in the White House in 1989. President Bush named the dog “Spot Fetcher” after Texas Ranger baseball player Scott Fletcher. Bush owned the Rangers in the early nineties, before becoming Governor of Texas.

5. City north of Seattle : EVERETT
Everett, Washington is a city located just 25 miles from Seattle. Everett is home to the largest building in the world, Boeing assembly plant where the 747, 767, 777 and 787 passenger jetliners are produced.

9. Alternative to pumpernickel : RYE
The lovely bread known as pumpernickel is made with a recipe that originates in the Westphalia region of Germany. The version of the bread that we eat in North America has been adapted over the years from the original recipe, largely to produce a cheaper product. If you taste the European version beside the American version, it’s hard to believe they have the same origins. The etymology and literal translation of “pumpernickel” seems to be unclear, although there are some interesting suggestions given that I won’t repeat here, especially as they have to do with “the devil’s flatulence!”

12. “The King and I” heroine : ANNA
“The King and I” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on a book by Margaret Landon called “Anna and the King of Siam” first published in 1944. Landon’s book is based on a true story, told in the memoirs of Anna Leonowens. Leonowens was the governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s, and she also taught the king’s wives.

13. One with an eye for a storyteller? : CYCLOPS
Cyclops was a one-eyed giant in Greek and Roman mythology. Cyclops lived in Mount Etna, the Sicilian volcano.

14. Cow chow : HAY
“Chow” is an American slang term for food that originated in California in the mid-1800s. “Chow” comes from the Chinese pidgin English “chow-chow” meaning “food”.

15. *”My Fair Lady” co-star [the Reagans] : REX HARRISON (“Rex”)
Rex Harrison was an English actor who played many memorable roles on stage and screen. On stage, Harrison famously played Henry VIII in “Anne of the Thousand Days” and Professor Higgins in “My Fair Lady”. His best known film appearances were in “Anna and the King of Siam”, “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir”, “My Fair Lady”, “Cleopatra” and “Doctor Dolittle”. Harrison was married six times. He had an affair with actress Carole Landis during his second marriage, and Harrison’s refusal to get a divorce led to Landis’s suicide. His fifth wife was actress Rachel Roberts. Years after the couple divorced, Roberts also committed suicide after repeated attempts to win back Harrison’s affection.

Rex was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel owned by President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan while they lived in the White House. Rex was given by conservative commentator William F. Buckley, Jr. to Nancy Reagan as a Christmas gift. The dog was named for Rex Scouten, who was the White House Chief Usher at the time.

17. Two out of 100? : ZEROES
There are two zeroes in the number “100”.

25. Some gas atoms, informally : XENONS
Metal halide lamps that are called xenons don’t actually rely on the incorporated xenon gas to generate light. The xenon gas is added so that the lamp comes on “instantly”. Without the xenon, the lamp would start up rather like a street lamp, flickering and sputtering for a while before staying alight.

29. Adventure with a guide : SAFARI
“Safari” is a Swahili word, meaning “journey” or “expedition”.

34. Two-person tool : PITSAW
A saw pit is a pit over which large pieces of lumber would be placed to allow two men to saw tree trunks into planks, using a large two-handled saw. The saw was called a whipsaw or pitsaw.

37. Texas border city : DEL RIO
Del Rio is a border city in Texas, sitting opposite the Ciudad Acuña in the Mexican state of Coahuila. Del Rio was chosen as the site for Laughlin Air Force Base back in the forties. It was closed after a few years, but reopened during the Cold War mainly for flight training. Laughlin is now the busiest flight training base in the US Air Force.

45. Pub vessel : STEIN
A stein is a type of beer glass. The term is German in origin, and is short for “Steinkrug” meaning “stone jug”. “Stein” is the German for “stone”.

47. Old food label std. : US RDA
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII and are a set of recommendations for the standard daily allowances of specific nutrients. RDAs were effectively absorbed into a broader set of dietary guidelines in 1997 called Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs). RDIs are used to determine the Daily Values (DV) of foods that are printed on nutrition fact labels on most food that we purchase.

48. “Star Trek” enemy, with “the” : BORG
The cyborgs known as the Borg first showed up in the “Star Trek” universe as the villains in the movie “Star Trek: First Contact”, and then spread to other “Star Trek” productions. “Cyborg” is an abbreviation for “cybernetic organism”, a being that is made up of both organic and synthetic parts.

49. Letter before Peter in a phonetic alphabet : OBOE
Nowadays we tend to use the NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie etc.). Before this was introduced in 1956, the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet was common. This latter series started with Able, Baker, Charlie, with O and P represented by Oboe and Peter. The NATO equivalents for O and P are Oscar and Papa.

52. Last song Rodgers and Hammerstein did together (1959) : EDELWEISS
“Edelweiss” is a famous song from the 1959 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music”. The title is the name of a white flower that grows at high altitude in the Alps. “Edelweiss” was the last song that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together. Hammerstein was suffering from stomach cancer at the time of writing, and succumbed to the illness shortly after “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway.

54. French prayer addressee : DIEU
“Dieu” is French for “god”.

55. One never stooping : SNOB
Back in the 1780s, a “snob” was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

60. Place to caucus : IOWA
The Iowa caucuses have been the first major electoral event in the nominating process for President since 1972.

A “caucus” is a meeting of supporters of a particular political group. It is believed that the term was first used in the original North American colonies.

67. *Singer with the 1964 #2 hit “My Boy Lollipop” [the Bushes 41] : MILLIE SMALL (“Millie”)
The Jamaican singer-songwriter might be described as a one-hit wonder, as she is mainly known for her 1964 recording of “My Boy Lollipop”. “My Boy Lollipop” was a song written in the mid-fifties as “My Girl Lollypop”.

“Millie’s Book” is a 1992 book that is supposedly authored by Millie, the pet springer spaniel belonging to Barbara and George Bush. Barbara Bush actually wrote the book, but she is only credited as the person to whom Millie “dictated” the story. “Millie’s Book” tells about a day in the Bush White House, told from a dog’s perspective.

70. *Egg order [the Obamas] : SUNNYSIDE UP (“Sunny”)
“Sunny” is a female Portuguese water dog owned by the Obama family. The First Family also owns another dog of the same breed, called Bo. The Portuguese water dog was chosen largely because it is a hypoallergenic breed, and Malia Obama suffers from an allergy to most dogs.

72. Some gold medals : NOBELS
The Peace Prize is the most famous of the five prizes bequeathed by Alfred Nobel. The others are for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. There is also a Nobel Prize in Economics that is awarded along with the original five, but it is funded separately and is awarded “in memory of Alfred Nobel”. Four of the prizes are awarded by Swedish organizations (Alfred Nobel was a Swede) and so the award ceremonies take place in Stockholm. The Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and that award is presented in Oslo.

77. Contract bridge tactic : CUE BID
In the card game known as bridge, a “cue bid” usually describes a bid deliberately made in the opponents’ suit. The person who makes the cue bid is instructing his or her partner to describe their hand, and is a sign of strength.

78. Zombie’s sound : MOAN
A zombie is a corpse that has been brought back to life by some mystical means. Our modern use of the term largely stems from the undead creatures featured in the 1968 horror movie called “Night of the Living Dead”. Now that film, I haven’t seen and probably never will …

79. Actress nominated for a Golden Globe for “Rhoda” : ANNE MEARA
Anne Meara has been married to fellow comedic actor Jerry Stiller since 1954. Anne and Jerry are the parents of actors Ben and Amy Stiller. Meara co-starred with Carroll O’Connor and Martin Balsam in the eighties sitcom “Archie Bunker’s Place”, a spinoff from “All in the Family”.

The seventies sitcom “Rhoda” was a spinoff of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that starred Valerie Harper. The eighth episode of the show was an hour-long special in which Rhoda married her fiance Joe (played by David Groh). At the time of airing it was the second-most watched television episode in history, second only to the 1953 birth of Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy”.

81. Pretty picture connector? : AS A
Pretty as a picture

83. Some fridges : GES
The General Electric Company is usually referred to simply as “GE”. One of the precursor companies to GE was Edison General Electric, founded in 1890 by the inventor Thomas Edison. What we know today as GE was formed two years later when Edison merged his company with Charles Coffin’s Thomson-Houston Electric Company. In 1896, GE was selected as one of the 12 companies listed on the newly formed Dow Jones Industrial Average. GE is the only one of the original 12 that is still on that list. I spent over ten years with GE at the beginning of my working career, and in fact it was GE that asked me to transfer to the US back in the 1980s …

85. Oscar, e.g. : STATUETTE
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. The Awards ceremony is a slightly bigger event these days …

86. Rowing machine, for one : ERGOMETER
An “ergometer” is an exercise machine that measures the amount of work performed by the person exercising.

100. Item in Baudelaire’s oeuvre : POEME
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet, noted not only for his own work but also for translating the work of American poet Edgar Allen Poe.

The sum of an artist’s work in his or her lifetime is known as his or her “oeuvre”.

102. March great : SOUSA
John Philip Sousa was a composer and conductor from Washington, D.C. Sousa was well known for his patriotic marches and earned himself the nickname “The American March King”. He served as a member of the US Marine Band from 1868 to 1875, and after leaving the Marines learned to conduct and compose. One of the Sousa compositions that is well-known around the world is called “The Liberty Bell”, a tune used as the musical theme for BBC Television’s “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. Sousa also wrote “Semper Fidelis”, which is the official march of the US Marine Corps.

103. Editorial instructions : STETS
“Stet” is a Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

104. Dance with a king : PROM
A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

106. Year John Dryden died : MDCC
John Dryden was a highly influential poet and playwright in the late 1600s. He came from good literary stock, and was a cousin once-removed of Jonathan Swift.

107. West of the screen : ADAM
Adam West is the actor who played the title role in the sixties TV series “Batman”. These days you might hear West as the voice of a character called “Adam West” on the animated show “Family Guy”. Back in 1970, West was offered the role of James Bond in the movie “Diamonds are Forever”, but he turned it down!

108. Information gleaned from a dating site : TYPE
I assume we are talking about “personality type”.

109. Sugar suffix : -OSE
Sugars are usually named using the “-ose” suffix e.g. glucose, fructose, sucrose.

110. Firebug : PYRO
“Pyro-” is the combining form of the Greek word for “fire”. A pyromaniac (a “pyro”) is someone with an abnormal desire to start fires, or with a general obsession with fire.

112. Double ___ Oreo : STUF
Double Stuf Oreo was introduced in 1975, and it has twice the normal amount of white cream filling as the original cookie.

114. Perfume ingredient : MUSK
Musk has such an elegant connotation these days because of it’s use in the world of perfumery. However, its origin is not quite so glamorous. The original substance called musk, used in perfumes, was extracted from a gland in the rectal area of the male musk deer. The name “musk” is a Sanskrit word for “testicle”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Count back? : -ESS
4. Not the final version : BETA
8. Lab report? : ARF!
11. “Coffee Cantata” composer : BACH
15. Role on “Frasier” : ROZ
18. Clear the deck? : MOP
19. Acknowledge : AVOW
20. Provo sch. : BYU
21. Singer with the triple-platinum album “The Memory of Trees” : ENYA
22. Shepherded she? : EWE
23. Book jacket bit : BIO
24. *What to call a female ambassador [the Johnsons] : HER EXCELLENCY (“Her”)
27. Gen ___ : XER
28. Table scraps : ORTS
30. Hillock : RISE
31. Off-white shade : OPAL
32. Very : OH SO
33. Mexican wrap : SERAPE
35. It’s all uphill from here : NADIR
39. Very busy : ORNATE
41. Consider necessary : SEE FIT
42. Upright : ON END
43. Baseball’s Alvarez and others : PEDROS
44. Damon and Dillon : MATTS
46. ___ prosequi (“proceed no further” court entry) : NOLLE
47. Program carrier : USHER
48. Crude crowd : BOORS
50. Motorcycle demos, e.g. : TEST RIDES
53. One side of the pH scale : ACIDS
56. Makes unnecessary : OBVIATES
58. French “Inc.” : CIE
59. Experiences with great enjoyment : DRINKS IN
61. Expensive spoonful, maybe : ROE
62. What the answer to each of the six starred clues starts with : WHITE HOUSE DOG
65. Old antipoverty agcy. : OEO
66. Purell target : GERM
68. Max Peel, for example: Abbr. : ANAG
69. Partner of scratch : CLAW
70. Slight : SNUB
71. Days ___ : INN
73. With 75-Across, bark : BOW!
75. See 73-Across : WOW!
76. Prefix with pressure : ACU-
78. ___ Cup (candy with a gooey center) : MALLO
81. Utah ski resort : ALTA
82. Director Nicolas : ROEG
84. On-track Bobby : UNSER
88. Common deli meat order: Abbr. : ONE LB
89. Modern know-it-all? : SIRI
90. Mayberry kid : OPIE
91. Between: Fr. : ENTRE
92. Dickinson of TV’s “Police Woman” : ANGIE
93. “Not likely!” : AS IF!
94. Hardy heroine : TESS
95. How school kids are grouped : BY AGE
96. Mike who directed “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” : NEWELL
98. Some computers, familiarly : HPS
99. Hectic hosp. areas : ERS
100. What a packing person may pack : PISTOL
101. General public : MASSES
103. Part of lye : SODIUM
104. It can make waves : PERM
105. Lasagna ingredient : TOMATO PASTE
113. Think : DEEM
115. Any of nine kings of Thailand : RAMA
116. *Pairing up for safety [the Clintons] : BUDDY SYSTEM (“Buddy”)
117. Accusatory words : ET TU
118. Pitcher Hershiser : OREL
119. Freedom trail? : ESCAPE ROUTE
120. Huntsman Center team : UTES
121. Earthy deposit : MARL
122. Climax : ACME
123. Whacks : OFFS
124. Brighten (up) : PERK

Down
1. Give some relief : EMBOSS
2. Many a ball : SOIREE
3. *Cleaning supply [the Bushes 43] : SPOT REMOVER (“Spot”)
4. “Phooey!” : BAH!
5. City north of Seattle : EVERETT
6. Doughnuts : TORI
7. Wows : AWES
8. Epitome of simplicity : ABC
9. Alternative to pumpernickel : RYE
10. Suffix with art : -FUL
11. Smartphone sound : BEEP
12. “The King and I” heroine : ANNA
13. One with an eye for a storyteller? : CYCLOPS
14. Cow chow : HAY
15. *”My Fair Lady” co-star [the Reagans] : REX HARRISON (“Rex”)
16. Must pay, as a debt : OWES TO
17. Two out of 100? : ZEROES
25. Some gas atoms, informally : XENONS
26. Domineered, with “over” : LORDED
29. Adventure with a guide : SAFARI
32. Next : ON DECK
34. Two-person tool : PITSAW
36. Amount to “kick it up” : A NOTCH
37. Texas border city : DEL RIO
38. Taking the place (of) : IN LIEU
40. Move, as a painting : REHANG
45. Pub vessel : STEIN
47. Old food label std. : US RDA
48. “Star Trek” enemy, with “the” : BORG
49. Letter before Peter in a phonetic alphabet : OBOE
51. Found : ESTABLISH
52. Last song Rodgers and Hammerstein did together (1959) : EDELWEISS
54. French prayer addressee : DIEU
55. One never stooping : SNOB
57. Larger ___ life : THAN
60. Place to caucus : IOWA
63. A big head may be on one : EGO-TRIP
64. Pooper ___ : SCOOPER
67. *Singer with the 1964 #2 hit “My Boy Lollipop” [the Bushes 41] : MILLIE SMALL (“Millie”)
70. *Egg order [the Obamas] : SUNNYSIDE UP (“Sunny”)
72. Some gold medals : NOBELS
74. Slight people : WAIFS
75. Composed : WROTE
77. Contract bridge tactic : CUE BID
78. Zombie’s sound : MOAN
79. Actress nominated for a Golden Globe for “Rhoda” : ANNE MEARA
80. Dancer’s wear : LEGWARMER
81. Pretty picture connector? : AS A
83. Some fridges : GES
85. Oscar, e.g. : STATUETTE
86. Rowing machine, for one : ERGOMETER
87. Stagger : REEL
97. Not interfere with : LET BE
100. Item in Baudelaire’s oeuvre : POEME
102. March great : SOUSA
103. Editorial instructions : STETS
104. Dance with a king : PROM
106. Year John Dryden died : MDCC
107. West of the screen : ADAM
108. Information gleaned from a dating site : TYPE
109. Sugar suffix : -OSE
110. Firebug : PYRO
111. Starting : AS OF
112. Double ___ Oreo : STUF
114. Perfume ingredient : MUSK

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