Day: June 28, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. “The Avengers” supervillain : LOKI
“The Avengers” is a 2012 movie that features a whole load of superheroes battling a supervillain called Loki. Loki is the brother of Thor, one of superhero team.

18. Gay rights, e.g. : CAUSE
In 2015, my homeland of Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. We don’t have a mail-in voting in Ireland and so citizens who wanted to support the measure flew into Ireland in droves to cast their votes. Apparently the lines at passport control at Dublin airport were unprecedented. One month later, the US became the most populous country to recognize same-sex marriage, following a landmark Supreme Court decision.

19. Sportscaster Rashad : AHMAD
Ahmad Rashād is a former football player who now works with NBC as a sportscaster. Ahmad proposed marriage to actress Phylicia Ayers-Allen on national television in 1985. Phylicia, who played Bill Cosby’s wife on “The Cosby Show”, accepted the proposal and became Rashād’s third wife.

20. Hello from Hadrian : AVE
“Ave” is a Latin word meaning “hail” as in “Ave Maria”, which translates as “Hail Mary”. “Ave” can also be used to mean “goodbye”.

The Roman Emperor Hadrian is best remembered today for building Hadrian’s Wall, a barrier marking the northern limit of Roman Britain. Construction of the stone wall was started in AD 122, and the end result was the most fortified border in the whole of the Roman Empire. Much of Hadrian’s Wall can still be seen today, and I’ve had the privilege of walking along part of it when visiting Northern England.

26. Tums and others : ANTACIDS
The main ingredient in Tums antacid, made by GlaxoSmithKline, is calcium carbonate. Tums have been on the market since 1930. If you want to save a few pennies, Target brand antacid is identical to Tums, so I hear …

28. Mountain, in Hawaiian : MAUNA
“Mauna” is a Hawaiian word meaning “mountain”, as in Mauna Loa (Long Mountain).

30. With 13-Down, shorthand pact for a wild trip : WHAT HAPPENS (in VEGAS)
“What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” is a marketing campaign slogan created for the city in 2004. The slogan helped bring a record 37.4 million visitors to Las Vegas in the year it was launched.

34. Mumbai misters : SRIS
Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and the second most populous city in the world (after Shanghai). The name of the city was changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995.

35. Green dwarf : BONSAI
The term “bonsai” is used more correctly to describe the Japanese art of growing carefully shaped trees in containers, although it has come to be used as the name for all miniature trees in pots.

39. “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding” philosopher : HUME
David Hume was a philosopher and historian from Scotland.

40. Old J.F.K. fliers : SSTS
The most famous supersonic transport (SST) is the retired Concorde. Famously, the Concorde routinely broke the sound barrier, and cruised at about twice the speed of sound. Above Mach 2, frictional heat would cause the plane’s aluminum airframe to soften, so airspeed was limited.

42. C.D. fig. : INT
A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.

43. Stopping points : DEPOTS
Our term “depot”, meaning a station or warehouse, derives from the word “dépôt”, French for “deposit” or “place of deposit”.

44. Like most Seth Rogen roles : COMEDIC
Seth Rogen is a Canadian comedian who got a lot of credit for his supporting role in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”. That led to him being cast as the lead in the 1970 film “Knocked Up”. More recently, Rogen co-directed and and co-starred in the movie “The Interview”, which created a huge ruckus in North Korea.

48. Ever so slightly : A MITE
A mite is a small amount, as in “the widow’s mite”, a story from the Bible.

49. Red orbiter : MIR
The Russian Mir Space Station was a remarkably successful project, with the station still holding the record for the longest continuous manned presence in space, at just under ten years. Towards the end of the space station’s life however, the years began to take their toll. There was a dangerous fire, multiple system failures, and a collision with a resupply ship. The Russian commitment to the International Space Station drained funds for repairs, so Mir was allowed to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up in 2001.

52. With 49-Down, 1995 Oscar-nominated Pixar theme song : YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND (in ME)
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” is the theme song for the “Toy Story” series of animated films from Pixar. The song was written and first recorded by Randy Newman for the original “Toy Story” movie, with cover versions being used in subsequent releases.

62. Rosie, for one : RIVETER
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon that represented women working in factories across the country during WWII as part of the war effort. The term “Rosie the Riveter” first appeared as the title of a 1942 song that was a national hit.

69. Philosophy book by Spinoza : ETHICS
Baruch Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher whose magnum opus was “Ethics”, a philosophical treatise that was first published just after his death in 1677.

75. “___ Lisa” : MONA
Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece that we know in English as the “Mona Lisa” is called “La Gioconda” in Italian, the language of the artist. It’s also known as “La Joconde” by the Government of France which owns the painting and displays it in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The title comes from the name of the subject, almost certainly Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Giocondo was a wealthy silk merchant in Florence who commissioned the painting for the couple’s new home to celebrate the birth of their second son.

77. Start of many Batman villain names : THE …
The Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin …

85. “___ and wisdom are like the seven stars, seldom seen together”: Thomas Fuller : WIT
Thomas Fuller was man of the church, and a historian, from England.

86. Some crackers : THINS
Wheat Thins, maybe …?

87. The City of a Thousand Minarets : CAIRO
Cairo is the capital city of Egypt. It is the largest city on the continent of Africa and is nicknamed “The City of a Thousand Minarets” because of its impressive skyline replete with Islamic architecture. The name “Cairo” is a European corruption of the city’s original name in Arabic, “Al-Qahira”, which translates as “the Vanquisher” or “the Conqueror”.

89. Guard at a gated community? : ST PETER
In the Christian tradition, Saint Peter is often depicted as the keeper of the gates of heaven. This depiction arises from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew:
I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

94. Bit of roller derby gear : PAD
The sport of roller derby has an international footprint, with almost half the world’s teams being located outside of the US. Most of the teams playing the sport are all-female.

95. Master of fugues : BACH
A fugue is similar to a round in that it is a piece written for two or more voices, with themes that are introduced and taken up by different voices at different pitches. The most famous composer of fugues has to be Johann Sebastian Bach.

97. Latin 101 verb : AMAT
“Amo, amas, amat: … “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”, in Latin.

98. Mr. Jefferson of “The Jeffersons” : GEORGE
George Jefferson was a supporting character in the sitcom “All in the Family”, and a lead character in the spin-off show “The Jeffersons”. The role was played by actor Sherman Hemsley.

99. Admiral Zumwalt : ELMO
When Elmo Zumwalt was made Rear Admiral during the Vietnam War, he was put in command of the famous flotilla of Swift Boats that patrolled coasts, harbors and rivers. In 1970, he was made Chief of Naval Operations, and at 49 years of age, he was the youngest man to hold that post. His tenure at Chief of Naval Operations was noted for the progress he made in easing racial tension in the service, and promoting gender equality.

106. Financial backer for Magellan : SPAIN
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who was hired by King Charles I of Spain to find a westward route to the “Spice Islands”, now known as the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. Magellan headed west through the Atlantic starting out in 1519. He passed south of the Americas through was is now called the Strait of Magellan. The body of water he encountered west of the Americas he named the “peaceful sea”, the Pacific Ocean. He and his expedition reached the Spice Islands in 1521, and returned home via the Indian Ocean. This voyage was the first circumnavigation of the globe in history.

113. Gift in a plate : TITHE
Traditionally, a “tithe” is a payment of one tenth of a person’s annual income and is usually given to a church. Tithing is a practice taught in many traditions, and according to a 2002 survey, about 3% of American adults donate 10% or more of their income to a church.

114. Stock character like Mayberry’s Otis : TOWN DRUNK
Otis Campbell is the town drunk on the sitcom “The Andy Griffith Show”, and was played by actor Hal Smith. The Campbell character was dropped in the late sixties as sponsors became concerned about being associated with heavy drinking.

117. Bush in the Rose Garden, once : LAURA
Laura Bush, wife of President George W. Bush, had her memoir “Spoken from the Heart” published in 2010. Born Laura Lane Welch, the former First Lady has a Master’s degree in Library Science (as does my wife, my own First Lady!). Given that background, it’s not surprising that two causes that Laura Bush focused on while in the White House were education and literacy. She established the annual National Book Festival, first held in Washington, D.C. in 2001, after having co-founded the Texas Book Festival in her home state.

118. Light bulb in the fridge? : ONION
The Rose Garden of the White House was established by the Ellen Axson Wilson in 1913, when she was the first wife of President Woodrow Wilson.

120. Sister of Clio : ERATO
In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

– Calliope (epic poetry)
– Clio (history)
– Erato (lyric poetry)
– Euterpe (music)
– Melpomene (tragedy)
– Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
– Terpsichore (dance)
– Thalia (comedy)
– Urania (astronomy)

121. Age-old bug trap : AMBER
Amber’s technical name is “resinite”, reflecting its composition and formation. Amber starts out life as soft sticky tree resin but then under high temperature and pressure from overlying layers of soil, it fossilizes. The sticky resin can trap organisms or other plant matter, and this material can sometimes remain virtually intact inside the amber fossil giving us a unique gift from the past.

Down
1. Pac-12 team : UCLA
Pac-12 is an abbreviation for the Pacific-12 Conference, a college athletic conference in the western US. The Pac-12 has won more NCAA National Team Championships than any other conference. The Pac-12 was founded in 1915 as the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). Over time as it grew, the conference went by the names Big Five, Big Six, Pacific-8, Pacific-10 and became the Pacific-12 in 2011.

2. Indian flatbread : NAAN
Naan (also “nan”) bread is very popular in Indian restaurants, as well as in other West, Central and South Asian cuisines. Indian Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven known as a tandoor.

5. Former Ford make, informally : MERC
The Mercury brand of car was made by Ford from 1938 until 2011. Mercury was introduced by Henry Ford’s son Edsel Ford. Mercury vehicles were positioned as being more luxurious that the regular Ford models, and more economical than Ford’s high-end Lincoln models.

6. Whom Indians called “Bapu” (“Father”) : GANDHI
Mohandas Gandhi was a political and spiritual leader in India in the first part of the 20th century, as the country sought independence from Britain. He was also referred to as “Mahatma”, meaning “great soul”. His remarkable philosophy of nonviolence and living a modest lifestyle was a great inspiration to the Indian people. India (and Pakistan) was granted independence in 1947. Sadly, Gandhi was assassinated the very next year, by a Hindu nationalist.

7. Home of many monasteries : LHASA
Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and the name “Lhasa” translates as “place of the gods”. However, Lhasa used to be called Rasa, a name that translates into the less auspicious “goat’s place”. Lhasa was also once called the “Forbidden City” due to its inaccessible location high in the Himalayas and a traditional hostility exhibited by residents to outsiders. The “forbidden” nature of the city has been reinforced since the Chinese took over Tibet in the early 1950s as it has been difficult for foreigners to get permission to visit Lhasa.

8. “Wow!,” in I.M.s : OMG!
OMG is text-speak for Oh My Gosh! Oh My Goodness! or any other G words you might think of …

10. Sushi bar appetizer : EDAMAME
Edamame is a simple dish made of immature soybeans still in the pod. The pods are boiled and then salted before serving, usually as a snack or side dish. The name “edamame” translates as “twig bean”.

12. Not here for long : EVANESCENT
Something described as “evanescent” is fleeting, scarcely perceptible. Ultimately the term comes from the Latin “vanescere” meaning “to vanish”.

13. Unlikely butchers : VEGANS
A vegan is someone who stays away from animal products. A dietary vegan eats no animal foods, not even eggs and dairy which are usually eaten by vegetarians. Ethical vegans take things one step further by following a vegan diet and also avoiding animal products in other areas of their lives e.g. items made from leather or silk.

14. Typesetting machines, informally : LINOS
Linotype printing was the main technology used in the publication of newspapers and magazines for most of the 20th century, up until the 1970s when it was gradually replaced by offset printing and computer typesetting. Linotype printing was so called as a complete “line of type” was produced at one time.

15. Locale of the Battle of Stoney Creek in the War of 1812 : ONTARIO
The Battle of Stoney Creek took place during the War of 1812 in June 1813, near the modern-day community of Stoney Creek in Ontario. The action consisted of a surprise attack by the British who overwhelmed the American forces and captured two American generals. Casualties were shared evenly by both sides, but the Americans were badly shaken and never again ventured so far north of the Niagara River.

21. Cold War flier : MIG
The Russian fighter jets that we know as “MiGs” are so called because they were designed by the Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau, and MiG is an acronym for “Mikoyan-and-Gurevich” in Russian.

31. Actress Birch of “American Beauty” : THORA
Thora Birch is an actress from Los Angeles. Birch is probably best known for her breakthrough role in the 1999 movie “American Beauty” in which she was the insecure daughter of a married couple played by Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening.

41. They’re often loaded : SOTS
Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning a fool. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s.

45. Summer coolers : ICEES
Icee and Slurpee are brand names of those slushy drinks. Ugh …

47. Performs, in Proverbs : DOETH
The Book of Proverbs is in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. The original Hebrew title for the book translates as “Proverbs of Solomon”.

49. Good name for a lawn care guy? : MOE
“Moe” sounds like “mow”.

51. W.W. II inits. : DDE
General Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE) was in command of the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during WWII.

53. Potential hurdles for coll. students : GRES
Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

63. Lens care brand : RENU
ReNu is a brand name of contact lens products sold by Bausch & Lomb.

65. Biter in Niger : TSETSE
Tsetse flies live on the blood of vertebrate mammals. The name “tsetse” comes from Tswana, a language of southern Africa, and translates simply as “fly”. Tsetse flies are famous for being carriers of the disease known as “sleeping sickness”. Sleeping sickness is caused by a parasite which is passed onto humans when the tsetse fly bites into human skin tissue. If one considers all the diseases transmitted by the insect, then the tsetse fly is responsible for a staggering quarter of a million deaths each year.

The Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa that gets its name from the Niger River. 80% of the country lies within the bounds of the Sahara Desert.

67. Taste that’s not sweet, sour, bitter or salty : UMAMI
Umami is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. “Umami” is a Japanese word used to describe “a pleasant savory taste”. Umami was proposed as a basic taste in 1908, but it wasn’t until 1985 that the scientific community finally accepted it as such.

70. Something you can’t get off your chest? : TATTOO
The word “tattoo” (often shortened to “tat”) was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”.

74. Chinese dish often wrapped in pancakes : MOO SHU PORK
Moo shu pork is a traditional dish from northern China, with the main ingredients being shredded pork and scrambled egg.

75. Naturalist John : MUIR
John Muir was a famous American naturalist, although he was born in Scotland. He published “My First Summer in the Sierra” in 1911, describing one of his favorite places in the country, the Sierra Nevada range in California. Muir was a co-founder of the Sierra Club.

79. Tennis’s Novak Djokovic, e.g. : SERB
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player, currently the world No. 1. Djokovic is quite the character off the court it seems and he is very popular on the talk-show circuit, all around the world. It also helps that Djokovic is fluent in several languages.

82. Must See TV night: Abbr. : THUR
“Must See TV” is a slogan that has been used by NBC to promote its Thursday night lineup of sitcoms. The slogan was introduced in the 1990s, and was dropped in the 2000s.

88. “Fess up!” : ADMIT IT!
The term “fess” is most often seen as part of the phrasal verb “to fess up” meaning “to admit to something”. “Fess” is simply a shortened form of “confess”.

90. Bristol, for one : PALIN
Bristol Palin is the oldest daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Bristol was thrust in the public arena when her mother was chosen by Senator John McCain as his vice presidential running mate in 2008. The media pounced on the fact that Bristol was pregnant and expecting a child with her then-fiance Levi Johnson. The couple had a son at the end of 2008, and ended their engagement in 2009. Since then, Bristol Palin has become a public speaker and an advocate for the prevention of teenage pregnancy.

92. Tiny piece : TAD
Back in the 1800s “tad” was used to describe a young child, and this morphed into our usage of “small amount” in the early 1900s. The original use of “tad” for a child is very likely a shortened version of “tadpole”.

93. Physics Nobelist Martin, discoverer of the tauon : PERL
Martin Perl was a physicist from New York who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995 for his discovery of the elementary particle known as the “tau” or “tau lepton” in the mid-seventies.

94. Italian sauces : PESTOS
The term “pesto” applies to anything made by pounding. What we tend to know as “pesto” sauce is more properly called “pesto alla genovese”, pesto from Genoa in northern Italy. I love, love pesto sauce …

96. Longtime Olympics TV host : COSTAS
Bob Costas has been a sportscaster for NBC since the early eighties. Costas has a son called Keith. Just before his son was born, Costas made (as a joke) a bet with Minnesota Twins center fielder Kirby Puckett that if he was batting over .350 by the time the child was born, he would name the baby “Kirkby”. Well, Puckett won the bet, but the actual name chosen was Keith Michael Costas. When Puckett reminded Costas of the agreement, the birth certificate was changed to Keith Michael Kirkby Costas. My wife would have made my life not worth living …

98. Wall climbers : GECKOS
The word “gecko” comes from an Indonesian/Javanese word “tokek”, which is imitative of the reptile’s chirping sound. In making such a sound, geckos are unique in the world of lizards. More interesting to me than a gecko’s chirping is its ability to cling to walls and to other vertical surfaces. Their feet are specially adapted with “toes” that make extremely intimate, close contact to a surface. The toes have millions of hairs called setae that enable the clinging. It isn’t suction that supports them, but rather van der Waals forces (weak “gravitational” attractions). Fascinating stuff …

100. Big figures in Spanish ice skating : OCHOS
A figure skater might carve out a figure eight (“ocho” in Spanish) in the ice.

105. Plastic guy : KEN
Barbie’s male counterpart doll is Ken, and Ken’s family name is Carson. Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. When Ken was introduced in 1959, it was as Barbie’s boyfriend. In 2004 it was announced that Ken and Barbie were splitting up, and needed to spend quality time apart. Soon after the split, Barbie “met” Blaine, a boogie boarder from Australia.

108. Airline 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” or “skyward”.

Ben-Gurion International (TLV) 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.

115. Classroom basics, in a manner of speaking : RRR
The “three Rs” are Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic.

116. Fed. rich in oil : UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates (states) in the Middle East. Included in the seven are Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the city of Abu Dhabi being the UAE capital and cultural center.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Free, as copies : UNJAM
6. Small world? : GLOBE
11. Flock leader, for short : REV
14. “The Avengers” supervillain : LOKI
18. Gay rights, e.g. : CAUSE
19. Sportscaster Rashad : AHMAD
20. Hello from Hadrian : AVE
21. Like some enemy waters in wartime : MINED
22. ___ focus : LASER
23. “Geez, get off my back already!” : NAG NAG NAG!
25. Drone’s mission, maybe : INTEL
26. Tums and others : ANTACIDS
28. Mountain, in Hawaiian : MAUNA
29. Flip : GO APE
30. With 13-Down, shorthand pact for a wild trip : WHAT HAPPENS (in VEGAS)
34. Mumbai misters : SRIS
35. Green dwarf : BONSAI
39. “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding” philosopher : HUME
40. Old J.F.K. fliers : SSTS
42. C.D. fig. : INT
43. Stopping points : DEPOTS
44. Like most Seth Rogen roles : COMEDIC
46. “Sup, homie” : YO, DOG!
48. Ever so slightly : A MITE
49. Red orbiter : MIR
50. Give formally : CEDE TO
52. With 49-Down, 1995 Oscar-nominated Pixar theme song : YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND (in ME)
57. Tailor-made : SEWN
60. “Pow!” : BAM!
61. Hunted : PREY
62. Rosie, for one : RIVETER
64. Easy step : TROT
66. Ultimate application : END USE
68. Bomb shelters? : SILOS
69. Philosophy book by Spinoza : ETHICS
71. Judge : DEEM
72. Chocolatier’s offering : SAMPLER
75. “___ Lisa” : MONA
77. Start of many Batman villain names : THE …
78. Forensic IDs : DNAS
80. With 58-Down, request for an official document : COULD YOU PUT THAT (in WRITING)
83. Metaphor for a sudden success : METEOR
85. “___ and wisdom are like the seven stars, seldom seen together”: Thomas Fuller : WIT
86. Some crackers : THINS
87. The City of a Thousand Minarets : CAIRO
89. Guard at a gated community? : ST PETER
93. Not let a big opportunity slip by, say : POUNCE
94. Bit of roller derby gear : PAD
95. Master of fugues : BACH
97. Latin 101 verb : AMAT
98. Mr. Jefferson of “The Jeffersons” : GEORGE
99. Admiral Zumwalt : ELMO
101. With 90-Down, reacting to a gut punch, perhaps : DOUBLED OVER (in PAIN)
104. Cleverly crafted : SLICK
106. Financial backer for Magellan : SPAIN
107. Diverse : ECLECTIC
113. Gift in a plate : TITHE
114. Stock character like Mayberry’s Otis : TOWN DRUNK
117. Bush in the Rose Garden, once : LAURA
118. Light bulb in the fridge? : ONION
119. Dull finish? : -ARD
120. Sister of Clio : ERATO
121. Age-old bug trap : AMBER
122. Barracks barkers: Abbr. : SGTS
123. Drone zone : SKY
124. Prepare, as poultry : DRESS
125. Tiniest thing : LEAST

Down
1. Pac-12 team : UCLA
2. Indian flatbread : NAAN
3. With 18-Across, “To be on the safe side …” : JUST (in CASE)
4. Out fishing, maybe : ASEA
5. Former Ford make, informally : MERC
6. Whom Indians called “Bapu” (“Father”) : GANDHI
7. Home of many monasteries : LHASA
8. “Wow!,” in I.M.s : OMG!
9. Outlaw : BAN
10. Sushi bar appetizer : EDAMAME
11. Accrued : RAN UP
12. Not here for long : EVANESCENT
13. Unlikely butchers : VEGANS
14. Typesetting machines, informally : LINOS
15. Locale of the Battle of Stoney Creek in the War of 1812 : ONTARIO
16. With 21-Across, remembering : KEEPING (in MIND)
17. Most lazy : IDLEST
21. Cold War flier : MIG
24. Looked surprised : GAPED
27. “___ robbed!” : I WAS
31. Actress Birch of “American Beauty” : THORA
32. Be busy : HUM
33. Ocular irritation : STYE
35. Didn’t like, and said so : BEMOANED
36. Smoke-filled establishment : OPIUM DEN
37. Timeout alternative : NO TV
38. Gets into hot water? : STEEPS
41. They’re often loaded : SOTS
43. Versatile couch : DAYBED
44. Dot on a map : CITY
45. Summer coolers : ICEES
47. Performs, in Proverbs : DOETH
49. Good name for a lawn care guy? : MOE
51. W.W. II inits. : DDE
53. Potential hurdles for coll. students : GRES
54. Amenity : FRILL
55. Angry : RILED
56. ___-billed woodpecker : IVORY
58. Twisting : WRITHING
59. “Forget it!” : NO CHANCE!
63. Lens care brand : RENU
65. Biter in Niger : TSETSE
67. Taste that’s not sweet, sour, bitter or salty : UMAMI
68. What might win a race : SPURT
70. Something you can’t get off your chest? : TATTOO
73. Whiz-bang : ACE
74. Chinese dish often wrapped in pancakes : MOO SHU PORK
75. Naturalist John : MUIR
76. ___-in clause : OPT
79. Tennis’s Novak Djokovic, e.g. : SERB
81. Must pay : OWE TO
82. Must See TV night: Abbr. : THUR
84. Repugnant sort : TOAD
87. With 104-Across, talking with a fake rasp, perhaps : CALLING (in SICK)
88. “Fess up!” : ADMIT IT!
90. Bristol, for one : PALIN
91. Wrong no longer : EMENDED
92. Tiny piece : TAD
93. Physics Nobelist Martin, discoverer of the tauon : PERL
94. Italian sauces : PESTOS
96. Longtime Olympics TV host : COSTAS
98. Wall climbers : GECKOS
100. Big figures in Spanish ice skating : OCHOS
102. Off-color : BAWDY
103. Lets it all out : VENTS
105. Plastic guy : KEN
108. Airline to Ben Gurion : EL AL
109. With 125-Across, got the booby prize : CAME (in LAST)
110. March sound : TUBA
111. Angers : IRES
112. Wheel (off) : CART
115. Classroom basics, in a manner of speaking : RRR
116. Fed. rich in oil : UAE

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