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Solution to today’s New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
CROSSWORD SETTER: David Phillips
THEME: Why Not? … each of today’s themed answers sounds like a common phrase, but the spelling of the “Y” part of a word has been changed to suit the clue:
24A. Elvis’s heroes? IDOLS OF THE KING (from “Idylls of the King”)
37A. Embarrassed person’s comment after getting off an electronic scale? CLEAR THE WEIGH (from “clear the way”)
49A. #1 item at Dairy Queen? SUNDAE BEST (from “Sunday best”)
68A. Gujarat or Punjab, dresswise? SARI STATE (from “sorry state”)
85A. Wicked poker bet? DEVIL RAISE (from “Devil Rays”)
94A. Two concerns of a secretive voodoo practicer? GUISE AND DOLLS (from “Guys and Dolls”)
112A. Lack of logic and a frosty coating? NO RIME OR REASON (from “no rhyme or reason”)
3D. Subordinate of a board chair? TRUSTEE SIDEKICK (from “trusty sidekick”)
46D. “I’ve had enough of this patio furniture!,” e.g.? CHAISE REBELLION (from “Shays’ Rebellion”)
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 31m 31s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 3 … SHE-CRAB (shesral!!), TCU (TSU), ALBANESE (Allanese)
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
7. Gives the third degree GRILLS
“Third degree” is used to describe a particularly rough interrogation. We seem to be unsure where the expression originates, but there are theories. One is that it refers the third degree level of Freemasonry, which requires rigor and dedication to attain. Another theory is that it comes from Richard Sylvester who was Chief of Police for Washington, D.C. in the early 1900s. Sylvester saw the first degree of police procedure as arrest, the second degree as transportation to jail, and the third degree as interrogation.
21. Site claiming to be “the front page of the Internet” REDDIT
Reddit.com is a networking and news website that started up in 2005. It is essentially a bulletin board system with posts that are voted up and down by users, which determines the ranking of posts. The name “Reddit” is a play on “read it”, as in “I read it on Reddit”.
22. Pygmalion’s beloved GALATEA
Pygmalion is a figure from Greek legend who figures prominently in Ovid’s poem “Metamorphoses”. According to Ovid, Pygmalion was a goldsmith from Cyprus who became uninterested in women. However, he carved a beautiful sculpture of a woman (later identified as the sea-nymph Galatea), a statue that was so beautiful he fell in love with it.
23. Body of art OEUVRE
The sum of an artist’s work in his or her lifetime is known as his or her “oeuvre”.
24. Elvis’s heroes? IDOLS OF THE KING (from “Idylls of the King”)
Elvis Aron Presley (aka “the King”) was the younger of two identical twins. His brother was stillborn, delivered 35 minutes before Elvis. The brother was named Jesse Garon Presley. So, though born a twin, Elvis was raised as an only child.
“Idylls of the King” is a cycle of twelve poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that retells the tale of King Arthur. One of the “idylls” is the story of Geraint and Enid. Tennyson’s Enid gave her name to the city of Enid, Oklahoma.
27. Sigmoid curve ESS
In mathematics, a sigmoid function is one having an S-shape, and that S-shape is also known as a sigmoid curve.
28. 2011 purchaser of the Huffington Post AOL
“The Huffington Post” is a news website founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington. It is a very active site, with 3,000 people contributing blog posts (including many celebrities and politicians), and readers leaving over one million comments every month. “The Huffington Post” was sold to AOL in 2011 for $315 million, with Arianna Huffington staying on as editor-in-chief.
30. N.Y.C.’s first subway co. IRT
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the original private operator of the New York Subway when it opened in 1904. The city took over ownership of the system in 1940, but the lines originally operated by the IRT are still known by the IRT moniker.
31. Park in N.Y.C., e.g. AVE
Park Avenue in New York City used to be known as Fourth Avenue, and for much of its length carried the tracks of the New York and Harlem Railroad. When the line was built, some of it was constructed by cutting through the length of the street and then forming underground tunnels by covering over the line with grates and greenery. This greenery formed a parkland between 34th and 40th Streets, and in 1860 the grassy section of Fourth Avenue was renamed Park Avenue, a name that was eventually used for the whole thoroughfare.
34. Morales of “La Bamba” ESAI
Esai Morales is best known for his role in the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai).
35. Editor’s “undo” STET
“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.
42. Kind of soup in Southern cuisine SHE-CRAB
She-crab soup is a specialty in coastal Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia. The soup is very rich as it is made with cream and so is similar to a bisque. The list of ingredients includes Atlantic blue crab, and crab roe. It is the use of the roe that gives the name “She-crab”, as that’s where the roe comes from!
44. Genre of My Chemical Romance EMO
The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. “Emo” is also the name given to the associated subculture. Not my cup of tea …
My Chemical Romance was an alternative rock band from Jersey City that was active from 2001 to 2013.
46. ___-Magnon CRO
Remains of early man, dating back to 35,000 years ago, were found in Abri de Cro-Magnon in southwest France, giving the name to those early humans. Cro-Magnon remains are the oldest human relics that have been discovered in Europe.
49. #1 item at Dairy Queen? SUNDAE BEST (from “Sunday best”)
Soft serve ice cream was developed by John McCullough in 1938. McCullough was able to get his new dessert carried by a local ice cream store in Illinois. He and the store owner became so swamped with sales that they opened a store specifically built around the product in Joliet, Illinois, hence creating the first Dairy Queen outlet. There are now over 5,700 Dairy Queen franchises in 19 countries. We’ve even got one in Ireland …
57. “Where the Wild Things Are” author SENDAK
Maurice Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children’s books. His best known work is “Where the Wild Things Are”, published in 1963. The “Wild Things” of the tale are beasts conjured up in the imagination of a young boy named Max, after he is sent to bed with no supper.
65. Author who wrote “Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards” TOLKIEN
J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien was an English author, best known by far for his fantasy novels “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”. Although Tolkien lived in England and was a professor at Oxford, he served for many years as an external examiner at my old school, University College Dublin in Ireland.
“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger” is a quotation from “The Fellowship of the Ring” by J.R.R. Tolkien.
68. Gujarat or Punjab, dresswise? SARI STATE (from “sorry state”)
The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.
Gujarat is the Western-most state of India, and the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi.
Punjab is the most populous province in Pakistan and is home to over half of the country’s citizens. “Punjab” (also “Panjab”) translates as “Five Waters”, a reference to five rivers that form tributaries to the Indus River: Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.
71. Dirección sailed by Columbus OESTE
“Oeste” (west) is a “dirección” (direction), in Spanish.
Christopher Columbus set off on four voyages of exploration from Spain. The initial intent of the expeditions was to establish an ocean link with the Indian subcontinent, by sailing westward. Columbus reached the Americas instead of India, yet insisted on calling the natives “Indios”, the Spanish word for “Indians”.
78. Keys with the #1 hits “My Boo” and “Fallin'” ALICIA
Alicia Keys is the stage name of Alicia Cook, an R&B and soul singer from Hell’s Kitchen in New York City.
80. Marks gotten in Spanish class? TILDES
A diacritic mark is added to a letter to indicate that it has a special phonetic sound. Examples of diacritic marks are the tilde above the n in Spanish words like “piñata”, and the cedilla under the c in French words like “façade”.
82. Dietitian’s stat 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.
83. Pull a classic Internet prank on RICKROLL
Rick Astley is an English singer, best known for his 1987 worldwide hit “Never Gonna Give You Up”. He retired in 1993 but became a huge hit on the Internet in 2007 when a YouTube video of “Never Gonna Give You Up” was chosen by tricksters as a link (labeled as something else) that was sent around the world so that the clip was seen by millions online. The phenomenon was given the name “Rickrolling”. With all the new exposure that the song received Astley made a whopping $12 in royalties from YouTube. Yep, 12 whole dollars.
85. Wicked poker bet? DEVIL RAISE (from “Devil Rays”)
The Tampa Bay Rays is a relatively “young” franchise, being formed in 1998. The initial name of the franchise was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. and while known as the Devil Rays the team finished last in the league in almost every year. The name was changed to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008, and I am told the Rays started into a streak of winning seasons soon after.
88. Sci-fi drug TEK
The “Tekwar” series of science-fiction novels was co-authored by Ron Goulart and the actor William Shatner, although it’s only Shatner’s name that appears on the book covers. The stories center around the microchip “drug” called “tek” which dominates the Tekwar universe.
89. Group of atoms: Abbr. MOL
Molecule (mol.)
90. With 58-Across, miffed IN A
(58A. See 90-Across PET)
A “pet” is a fit of sulking or bad mood.
91. Certain demon INCUBUS
In folklore, a succubus is a female demon that takes on the form of an attractive female in order to seduce unwitting men. The succubus draws energy from the seduced men in order to survive, using sexual intercourse in the same way that a vampire might suck blood for the same purpose. The word succubus derives from the Latin “succubare”, itself from “sub” “cubare” meaning “to lie under”. There was a male equivalent to a succubus, namely an incubus.
94. Two concerns of a secretive voodoo practicer? GUISE AND DOLLS (from “Guys and Dolls”)
Voodoo is a religion that originated the French slave colony of Saint-Domingue on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
“Guys and Dolls” is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. It was first produced on Broadway, in 1950, and ran for 1200 performances. The show was based on a book written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. “Guys and Dolls” was chosen as winner of a Pulitzer in 1951, but the award was cancelled as Abe Burrows was having problems with the House Un-American Activities Committee at the time.
99. First of a Latin trio VENI
The oft-quoted statement “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) is believed by many to have been written by Julius Caesar. The words date back to 47 BC and refer to the short war between Rome and Pharnaces II of Pontus.
103. Rescue party prompter SOS
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.
104. ___ Lemon of “30 Rock” LIZ
“30 Rock” is a sitcom on NBC that was created by the show’s star Tina Fey. Fey is an ex-performer and writer from “Saturday Night Live” and uses her experiences on that show as a basis for the “30 Rock” storyline. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer for the fictional sketch comedy series “TGS with Tracy Jordan”.
105. Lefty of the old Dodgers O’DOUL
Lefty O’Doul was a baseball player and manager from San Francisco. O’Doul was instrumental in spreading the popularity of the sport in Japan both before and after WWII. In fact, the Tokyo Giants were named by O’Doul, a reference to the New York Giants franchise with whom he spent much of his playing career. O’Doul also owned a restaurant in San Francisco that bears his name and which still operates today (near Union Square). There’s a bridge near AT&T Park, the Giant’s relatively new ballpark, that’s called Lefty O’Doul Bridge.
108. Court inits. ABA
American Bar Association (ABA)
109. George P. ___, 1980s secretary of state SHULTZ
George P. Shultz served as US Secretary of State in the Reagan administration, from 1982 to 1989. Shultz is one of only two individuals to have held four US Cabinet posts (the other being Elliot Richardson”. As well as being Secretary of State under President Reagan, Shultz was Secretary of the Treasury, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Secretary of Labor in the Nixon administration.
112. Lack of logic and a frosty coating? NO RIME OR REASON (from “no rhyme or reason”)
Rime is that beautiful coating of ice that forms on surfaces like roofs, trees and grass, when cold water freezes instantly under the right conditions.
119. Big name in environmental advocacy AL GORE
Former Vice President Al Gore was a joint recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 in recognition for his work in climate change activism. He also won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for his book on climate change called “An Inconvenient Truth”. The documentary of the same name that was spawned by the book won an Academy Award. In addition, Gore won an Emmy as co-owner of Current TV, an independent news network.
Down
4. Not watch live, say TIVO
TiVo was introduced in 1999 and was the world’s first commercially successful DVR (Digital Video Recorder).
5. Beige relative ECRU
The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.
6. Active ingredient in Off! DEET
DEET is short for N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, an active ingredient in insect repellents. DEET is most often used to repel mosquitoes by applying it to the skin and/or clothing. It is also used to protect against tick bites.
OFF! is an S. C. Johnson brand of insect repellent that uses DEET as the active ingredient.
7. Sit shiva, say GRIEVE
Shiva is a period of mourning in the Jewish tradition that lasts for one week. “Shiva” is a Hebrew for “seven”. The immediate family members of the deceased usually “sit shiva” in the home of the deceased, and there receive visitors. The ritual of sitting shiva is based on the story in Genesis in which Joseph mourns the death of his father Jacob for seven days.
8. View from Aqaba RED SEA
The coastal city of Aqaba is the only seaport in the country of Jordan. The city lies at the very northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, which is off the Red Sea.
10. Bad cholesterol, in brief LDL
LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is one of the compounds responsible for transporting fats around the body. When LDL is combined with cholesterol it can be referred to as “bad cholesterol”. This is because LDL actually transports cholesterol into the inner walls of blood vessels leading to atherosclerosis.
HDL (high-density lipoprotein) is a compound that is used to transport fats around the body. When HDL is combined with (i.e. is transporting) cholesterol, it is often called “good cholesterol”. This is because HDL seems to remove cholesterol from where it should not be, say on the walls of arteries, and transports it to the liver for reuse or disposal. Important stuff …
11. “The Simpsons” second grader LISA
Lisa Simpson is Bart’s brainy younger sister on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Lisa is voiced by actress Yeardley Smith.
12. Moe, for one STOOGE
If you’ve seen a few of the films starring “The Three Stooges” you’ll have noticed that the line up changed over the years. The original trio was made up of Moe and Shemp Howard (two brothers) and Larry Fine (a good friend of the Howards). This line up was usually known as “Moe, Larry and Shemp”. Then Curly Howard replaced his brother when Shemp quit the act, creating the most famous trio, “Moe, Larry And Curly”. Shemp returned when Curly had a debilitating stroke in 1946, and Shemp stayed with the troupe until he died in 1955. Shemp was replaced by Joe Besser, and then “Curly-Joe” DeRita. When Larry Fine had a stroke in 1970, it effectively marked the end of the act.
13. ___ Pepper SGT
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band was the alter-ego of the Beatles and was the title of a famous studio album released in 1967.
15. Bass drum? ALE KEG
The red triangle on the label of a bottle of Bass Ale was registered in 1875 and is UK Registered Trade Mark (TM) No: 00001, the first trade mark issued in the world.
16. Debonair RAKISH
Something described as “rakish” is styled in a sporting manner. The term probably derives from the “raking” of the mast of a sailing ship, slanting it away from the perpendicular. Raking a mast can favorably impact the vessel’s performance, and can also make it look more “sporty”.
Someone described as “debonair” is very courteous and gracious. The term comes into English via the French “debonaire”, which itself is derived from “de bon’ aire” meaning “of good race”, a phrase that applied to the breeding of hawks.
17. Turner memoir I, TINA
“I, Tina” is the 1986 autobiography of Tina Turner. The book was so successful it was adapted into a movie called “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” The film version was released in 1993 and starring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner.
18. Gucci competitor FENDI
Fendi is an Italian fashion house, founded in 1925 by Adele Casagrande. Fendi started out as a fur and leather shop in Rome, and these days is famous for its line of handbags.
19. “Game of Thrones,” e.g. SAGA
HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is a fantasy television drama that was adapted from a series of novels by George R. R. Martin called “A Song of Ice and Fire”. “Game of Thrones” is actually made in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I am planning to visit the TV show’s set in Belfast in a few month’s time …
31. Soprano Licia, singer at the Met for 26 years ALBANESE
Licia Albanese was an Italian-American operatic soprano who performed with Metropolitan Opera from 1940 to 1966. Albanese is very much associated with the title role in “Madama Butterfly”, which she played 72 times at the Met alone. She passed away at home in Manhattan in 2014, at the age of 105 years.
36. Big 12 sch. TCU
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private school in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU used to be called AddRan Male & Female, named after an AddRan Clark, the son of Addison Clark who died at the age of 3-years-old from diphtheria. Poor young AddRan was named after his father and his brother, Addison and Randolph.
39. Pat. off. concerns TMS
A patent office (pat. off.) deals with trademarks (TMs).
40. Stew dish known in Thailand as “suki” HOTPOT
“Suki” is a Thai dish that is like a European “hotpot”. Diners take turns dipping meat, seafood, noodles and vegetables into a communal pot of broth for cooking at the table. Thai suki resembles Japanese “shabu shabu”, even though it is named for the Japanese dish called “sukiyaki”.
43. Some temp takers RNS
A registered nurse (RN) might take the temperature of a patient.
46. “I’ve had enough of this patio furniture!,” e.g.? CHAISE REBELLION (from “Shays’ Rebellion”)
Shays’ Rebellion was an uprising around Springfield Massachusetts in 1786-7, led by Daniel Shays. The rebels were mainly farmers who were struggling to survive under the burden of debt and taxes.
48. Post-1968 tennis period OPEN ERA
In the sport of tennis, the Grand Slam tournaments were opened up to professional players, and not just amateurs, in 1968. So, the period since 1968 has been called “The Open Era”.
50. Irish novelist O’Brien EDNA
Edna O’Brien is an Irish novelist and playwright who is known for her works that shine a light on the problems of women relating to men and society in general. O’Brien’s first novel, “The Country Girls”, was banned, burned and denounced by the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. As a result, O’Brien left the country and now lives in London.
55. Arriviste UPSTART
An arriviste is a pushy, ambitious person. The word “arriviste” is French, from the verb “arriver” meaning “to arrive”. The idea is that an arriviste is an upstart, someone intent on “arriving” in society.
56. Wood in Hollywood NATALIE
The actress Natalie Wood was born in San Francisco to Russian immigrant parents, her real name being Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko. Wood performed in many great films over her relatively short career. She played a leading role in “Miracle on 34th Street” when she was just 8-years-old, and in “Rebel Without a Cause” when she was a teenage. There followed hits like “West Side Story”, “Gypsy” and “Splendor in the Grass”. Famously, Wood was married to Robert Wagner, twice. Wagner and Wood were on a weekend boat trip to Santa Clara Island when she drowned in 1981. The death was deemed to be an accident after an investigation. However, in 2011 the boat’s captain revealed that he had lied during that investigation and claimed that Wood died as the result of a fight with Wagner. Wood’s death certificate was amended as a result, with a statement that how Wood entered the water was not clearly established.
59. Latin phrase of inclusion ET ALII
Et alii (et al.) is the equivalent of et cetera (etc.), with et cetera being used in place of a list of objects, and et alii used for a list of names. In fact “et al.” can stand for et alii (for a group of males, or males and females), aliae (for a group of women) and et alia (for a group of neuter nouns, or for a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).
64. J. Alfred Prufrock creator’s inits. TSE
“The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a very famous poem by T. S. Eliot (TSE), first published in 1915. The rather odd name of “Prufrock” seems to have just come to Eliot, although there was a Prufrock-Littau Company in St. Louis when he lived there.
65. Climbing things? TENDRILS
A tendril is a specialized leaf or stem that is shaped like a spiral thread. Tendrils are used for support by climbing plants.
67. Nuit lead-in SOIR
In French, the evening (soir) leads into the night (nuit).
73. Actress Watts NAOMI
The actress Naomi Watts was born in the UK and moved to Australia when she was 14 years of age. It was in Australia that Watts got her break in television and movies. Probably her most acclaimed role was in the 2003 film “21 Grams” with Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro. Watts is best friends with fellow Australian actress Nicole Kidman.
81. Set (on) SIC
“Sic ’em” is an attack order given to a dog, instructing the animal to growl, bark or even bite. The term dates back to the 1830s, with “sic” being a variation of “seek”.
87. Roomy ride SUV
The term SUV, an acronym for Sports Utility Vehicle, was introduced by our marketing friends. Using the term Sports Utility Vehicle was a very clever way to get us to pay a lot of money for what was essentially a station wagon on a truck chassis, or at least it was back then.
92. Exercise piece UNITARD
A unitard is like a leotard, except that it has long legs and sometime long sleeves. It wouldn’t be a good look for me …
The garment known as a leotard was named for French trapeze artist Jules Léotard. Léotard wore such a garment when he was performing.
95. Funnywoman Tracey ULLMAN
Tracey Ullman is an outrageous comic actress from the UK. She moved to the US and brought out her own series in the late eighties called “The Tracey Ullman Show”. Famously, it was from “The Tracey Ullman Show” that “The Simpsons” was spun off in 1989.
96. Bazaars of yore AGORAS
In early Greece the “agora” was a place of assembly. Often the assemblies held there were quite formal, perhaps for the reading of a proclamation. Later in Greek history, things became less formal as the agora evolved into a market place. Our contemporary word “agoraphobia” comes from these agorae, in the sense that an agoraphobe has a fear of open spaces, a fear of “public meeting places”.
Our word “bazaar” meaning “market” comes from the Persian “bazar”, meaning the same thing.
97. Harry ___ (Peter Parker’s college friend) OSBORN
Harry Osborn is the best friend of Peter Parker, who is also Spider Man in Marvel Comics. Osborn is the son of Norman Osborn, the alter ego of the villain known as the Green Goblin. Young Harry himself follows his father’s footsteps and becomes the second Green Goblin.
101. Bodies of art? TORSI
“Torso” (plural “torsi”) is an Italian word meaning the “trunk of a statue”, a word that we imported into English.
105. Like the x-, y- or z-axis ONE-D
The dimension of an object is defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify each point in the object. Therefore a line is one-dimensional, as you only need an x-coordinate to specify a particular point on the line. A plane is two-dimensional, as you need both an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate to locate a point on the plane. The inside of a solid object is then three-dimensional, needing an x-, y- and z-coordinate to specify a point, say within a cube.
108. Where the World Cup has been held only once ASIA
There are six geographic qualifying zones for the FIFA World Cup tournament (that’s soccer!):
– Asia
– Africa
– North, Central America and the Caribbean
– South America
– Oceania
– Europe
To date, all of the teams making it to the World Cup final have been from either Europe or South America.
109. 9-5 maker SAAB
A SAAB 9-5 is high-end car that you can buy over here in the US. Back in Sweden the 9-5 is used as a cop car, I believe.
113. Before, to Byron ERE
George Gordon Byron, known simply as “Lord Byron”, was an English poet active in the early 1800s. Byron was equally as famous for his poetry as he was for the wild excesses in his personal life. Byron lived much of that life outside of England, and fought for revolutionaries in both Italy and Greece. He died from a fever contracted while fighting for the Greeks against the Ottomans.
115. Credit card no. APR
Annual percentage rate (APR)
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Headed for some serious pain? BUTTED
7. Gives the third degree GRILLS
13. Arab nobles SHARIFS
20. How some stir-fry dishes are served ON RICE
21. Site claiming to be “the front page of the Internet” REDDIT
22. Pygmalion’s beloved GALATEA
23. Body of art OEUVRE
24. Elvis’s heroes? IDOLS OF THE KING (from “Idylls of the King”)
26. Settles through an angry confrontation HAS OUT
27. Sigmoid curve ESS
28. 2011 purchaser of the Huffington Post AOL
29. Somewhat, informally KINDA
30. N.Y.C.’s first subway co. IRT
31. Park in N.Y.C., e.g. AVE
32. Beauty GEM
34. Morales of “La Bamba” ESAI
35. Editor’s “undo” STET
37. Embarrassed person’s comment after getting off an electronic scale? CLEAR THE WEIGH (from “clear the way”)
42. Kind of soup in Southern cuisine SHE-CRAB
44. Genre of My Chemical Romance EMO
45. Real estate option OWN
46. ___-Magnon CRO
49. #1 item at Dairy Queen? SUNDAE BEST (from “Sunday best”)
52. Cool and then some ULTRAHIP
55. Single starter? UNI-
57. “Where the Wild Things Are” author SENDAK
58. See 90-Across PET
60. Back up, as a backup RESAVE
61. Some football gear PADS
63. Shepherd TEND
64. Pre-K enrollee TOT
65. Author who wrote “Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards” TOLKIEN
66. Dance routine STEPS
68. Gujarat or Punjab, dresswise? SARI STATE (from “sorry state”)
71. Dirección sailed by Columbus OESTE
72. Sample text? TAKE ONE
74. Whiz ACE
75. Deliver, as a punch LAND
77. They’re game DEER
78. Keys with the #1 hits “My Boo” and “Fallin'” ALICIA
79. Impersonate APE
80. Marks gotten in Spanish class? TILDES
82. Dietitian’s stat RDA
83. Pull a classic Internet prank on RICKROLL
85. Wicked poker bet? DEVIL RAISE (from “Devil Rays”)
88. Sci-fi drug TEK
89. Group of atoms: Abbr. MOL
90. With 58-Across, miffed IN A
91. Certain demon INCUBUS
94. Two concerns of a secretive voodoo practicer? GUISE AND DOLLS (from “Guys and Dolls”)
99. First of a Latin trio VENI
100. “___ never work!” IT’LL
102. See 107-Down EGG
103. Rescue party prompter SOS
104. ___ Lemon of “30 Rock” LIZ
105. Lefty of the old Dodgers O’DOUL
106. Many years EON
108. Court inits. ABA
109. George P. ___, 1980s secretary of state SHULTZ
112. Lack of logic and a frosty coating? NO RIME OR REASON (from “no rhyme or reason”)
116. Shot from above AERIAL
117. Tangle ENSNARL
118. Reach for the sky ASPIRE
119. Big name in environmental advocacy AL GORE
120. Condescended DEIGNED
121. Hair piece STRAND
122. Amalgamates BLENDS
Down
1. Expression of disapproval BOO HISS!
2. Dig up UNEARTH
3. Subordinate of a board chair? TRUSTEE SIDEKICK (from “trusty sidekick”)
4. Not watch live, say TIVO
5. Beige relative ECRU
6. Active ingredient in Off! DEET
7. Sit shiva, say GRIEVE
8. View from Aqaba RED SEA
9. Important vows I DOS
10. Bad cholesterol, in brief LDL
11. “The Simpsons” second grader LISA
12. Moe, for one STOOGE
13. ___ Pepper SGT
14. Cry of triumph HAH!
15. Bass drum? ALE KEG
16. Debonair RAKISH
17. Turner memoir I, TINA
18. Gucci competitor FENDI
19. “Game of Thrones,” e.g. SAGA
25. Left by plane FLEW OUT
31. Soprano Licia, singer at the Met for 26 years ALBANESE
33. Cry like a baby MEWL
36. Big 12 sch. TCU
37. Student in a uniform CADET
38. Be offensive, in a way REEK
39. Pat. off. concerns TMS
40. Stew dish known in Thailand as “suki” HOTPOT
41. First class INTRO
43. Some temp takers RNS
46. “I’ve had enough of this patio furniture!,” e.g.? CHAISE REBELLION (from “Shays’ Rebellion”)
47. Engrossed RIVETED
48. Post-1968 tennis period OPEN ERA
50. Irish novelist O’Brien EDNA
51. Unfair condemnation BAD RAP
53. Move, in agent lingo RELO
54. Set, as a price ASKED
55. Arriviste UPSTART
56. Wood in Hollywood NATALIE
59. Latin phrase of inclusion ET ALII
62. Dot SPECK
64. J. Alfred Prufrock creator’s inits. TSE
65. Climbing things? TENDRILS
67. Nuit lead-in SOIR
69. Like some trapped airport passengers ICED IN
70. Kind of order TALL
73. Actress Watts NAOMI
76. ___ list DEAN’S
79. Plaintiff, e.g. ALLEGER
80. Spot to watch TV AD
81. Set (on) SIC
84. Shake LOSE
86. Not go on END
87. Roomy ride SUV
92. Exercise piece UNITARD
93. Is hot, hot, hot SIZZLES
94. Model builder’s activity GLUING
95. Funnywoman Tracey ULLMAN
96. Bazaars of yore AGORAS
97. Harry ___ (Peter Parker’s college friend) OSBORN
98. Advanced LOANED
100. “What have ___ to deserve this?!” I DONE
101. Bodies of art? TORSI
105. Like the x-, y- or z-axis ONE-D
107. With 102-Across, future funds NEST
108. Where the World Cup has been held only once ASIA
109. 9-5 maker SAAB
110. Epitome of hotness HELL
111. Compel URGE
113. Before, to Byron ERE
114. Discontinued OLD
115. Credit card no. APR
The Best of the New York Times Crossword Collections
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Bill, the concept of "rickrolling" has now evolved into a surreptitious web link you provide some someone, which actually redirects to Astley's video. It makes use of the ability to title the href in your own words.
For example, I send you a message saying, "Hey Bill, Here's a video of Will Shortz peeing on a NYC street corner..
Hi there, Willie D.
I have now been officially rick-rolled 🙂
A poor puzzle, with horrid puns, some really disingenuously edited clues, and the name of an opera singer nobody knows, let alone whose name they can spell. The Times puzzle's decline continues…
I thought it was pretty clever 🙂 Nice to see you still at it, Bill . . .