Day: October 18, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Supreme Court justice who once compared the majority’s reasoning to “the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie” : SCALIA
Antonin Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Reagan in 1986, and is now the longest serving member of the court. Justice Scalia’s minority opinions are known for the scathing language that he uses to criticize the Court’s majority.

7. Low part : BASSO
The bass is the lowest male singing voice. A man with such a voice might be called a “basso” (plural “bassi”).

18. A dozen for Hercules : LABORS
“The Twelve Labors of Hercules” is actually a Greek myth, although Hercules is the Roman name for the hero that the Greeks called Heracles. The full list of all twelve labours is:

1. Slay the Nemean Lion.
2. Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.
3. Capture the Ceryneian Hind.
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
5. Clean the Augean stables in a single day.
6. Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
7. Capture the Cretan Bull.
8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
9. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.
10. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.
11. Steal the apples of the Hesperides.
12. Capture and bring back Cerberus.

22. Admission of a lack of familiarity with Mr. Hockey? : I DON’T KNOW HOWE (I don’t know how + e)
Gordie Howe is a retired Canadian hockey player. Regarded as one of the games greatest players, Howe is sometimes referred to as “Mr Hockey”. He is the only hockey player to have competed in the NHL for five decades (from the forties through the eighties).

24. Business feature? : SILENT I
The letter I in the word “business” is silent.

25. Ancient Persian : MEDE
The Medes were an ancient people that lived in what is now northwestern Iran. The Medes held sway in the region only for about 60 years, until Cyrus the Great came along and defeated Astyages, the king of Media (not to be confused with Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed “king of all media”!).

27. Celebrity cook Paula : DEEN
Paula Deen is a celebrity chef from Savannah, Georgia who is noted for her Southern cooking. Deen has been criticized for the amount of salt, fat and sugar in her recipes. The criticism became even more intense when Deen disclosed that she herself has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

29. Curse (out) : REAM
I must admit that I find the slang term “to ream out”, with its meaning “to scold harshly”, to be quite distasteful. The usage of the word as a reprimand dates back to about 1950.

32. Kyoto concurrence : HAI
“Hai” is the Japanese word for “yes”.

The city of Kyoto was once the capital of Japan, and in fact the name “Kyoto” means “capital city” in Japanese.

33. Less serious works by the author of “Brighton Rock”? : LIGHT GREENE (light green + e)
Graham Greene was a writer and playwright from England. Greene wrote some of my favorite novels, including “Brighton Rock”, “The End of the Affair”, “The Confidential Agent”, “The Third Man”, “The Quiet American” and “Our Man in Havana”. Greene’s books often feature espionage in exotic locales. Greene himself worked for MI6, the UK’s foreign intelligence agency. In fact, Greene’s MI6 supervisor was Kim Philby, the famed Soviet spy who penetrated high into British intelligence.

40. Roman law : LEX
“Lex” is Latin for “law”.

41. One making a roaring start? : MGM LION
There has been a lion in the logo of the MGM studio since 1924. The original was an Irishman (!), a lion named Slats who was born in Dublin Zoo in 1919. However, it wasn’t until Jackie took over from Slats in 1928 that the roar was heard, as the era of silent movies was coming to an end. The current lion is called Leo, and he has been around since 1957.

50. Toque : CHEF’S HAT
A toque was a brimless style of hat that was very fashionable in Europe in the 13th to 16th centuries. Nowadays we associate toques with chefs, as it is the name given to a chef’s hat (called a “toque blanche” in French, a “white hat”). A chef’s toque is quite interesting. Many toques have exactly 100 pleats, often said to signify the number of ways that an egg can be cooked.

52. Reason for Brosnan fans to watch 1980s TV? : BUNS OF STEELE (“Buns of Steel” + e)
The eighties detective show “Remington Steele” stars Stephanie Zimbalist as a private detective, and Pierce Brosnan as the handsome bad boy, who’s really a good boy. The show is definitely melds the detective genre with elements of romantic comedy.

“Buns of Steel” is a workout program that was created in the eighties by fitness instructor Greg Smithey. The regime was designed to tone the buttocks, thighs and upper legs.

55. “Home, ___” : JAMES
The expression “Home, James!” is often used satirically by a passenger to a driver, creating the impression that the driver is the passenger’s personal chauffeur. The words have reportedly been used in movies, in the forms “Home, James, and don’t spare the horses!” and “Once around the park and home, James”.

58. A title might be presented in it: Abbr. : ITAL
Italic type leans to the right. The style is known as “italic” because the stylized calligraphic form of writing originated in Italy, probably in the Vatican.

60. John Lennon’s middle name : ONO
After John Lennon married Yoko Ono in 1969, he changed his name by deed poll, adding “Ono” as a middle name. His official name became John Winston Ono Lennon, as he wasn’t allowed to drop the name “Winston” that was given to him at birth.

61. Brand name whose middle two letters are linked in its logo : KOOL
KOOL is a brand of menthol cigarette that was introduced in 1933. It was the first menthol cigarette to become popular, and was the leading seller until the eighties, when other menthol brands took over the leading position in the market. Famously, Nat King Cole was an avid smoker of KOOL cigarettes. He said that the brand helped to maintain his rich baritone voice. However, Cole did die from lung cancer.

62. Cameo stone : ONYX
Onyx is a form of banded quartz that comes in many different shades, but most often it’s the black version that’s used for jewelry. The name “onyx” comes from the Greek word for “fingernail”, as onyx in the flesh color is said to resemble a fingernail.

Cameo is a method of carving, often the carving of a gemstone or a piece of jewelry. The resulting image is in relief (sits proud of the background), whereas an engraved image would be produced by the similar carving method known as intaglio. Nowadays, the term cameo is used for any piece of oval-shaped jewelry that contains the image of a head, usually in profile (maybe even a photograph).

63. Some briefs : BVDS
The men’s underwear known as BVDs are made by the Bradley, Voorhees & Day. The company was started in 1876 to make bustles for women, and is named for its founders.

64. Round house? : BAR
A bar is a “house” where one might buy a “round”.

65. Trying to sell one’s “Au Revoir les Enfants” video? : SHOPPING MALLE (shopping mall + e)
“Au revoir, les enfants” (“Goodbye, Children”) is a French film released in 1987. The film is based on real events from the childhood of director Louis Malle who witnessed a Gestapo raid on his school. During the raid, three Jewish students and a Jewish teacher were taken and transported to Auschwitz, where they were gassed upon arrival.

71. Don Juan’s mother : INEZ
Lord Byron wrote the poem “Don Juan” based on the legend of Don Juan the libertine. In the poem, he created the character Donna Inez, Don Juan’s mother. Supposedly Inez was based on Byron’s own wife, Annabella Milbanke.

73. Plowmen’s cries : HAWS
“Haw!” is a command given to a trained animal that is hauling something (like a horse or an ox). “Haw!” is used to instruct the animal to turn to the left. The equivalent command for a right turn is “Gee!” Just to confuse things, the same commands are used in the British Isles but with the opposite meanings. That must be pretty unsettling for jet-setting plow horses …

74. “Rhyme Pays” rapper : ICE-T
Rapper Ice-T must be sick of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles. Maybe he should have stuck to his real name, Tracy Marrow? Then again, maybe not … Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about break-dancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since the year 2000.

75. “Catch-22” pilot : ORR
The bomber pilot in Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” is called Orr, and he has no other name, just “Orr”.

“Catch-22” is a novel by Joseph Heller set during WWII. The title refers to absurd bureaucratic constraints that soldiers had to suffer. Heller’s “Catch-22” was invoked by an army psychiatrist to explain that any pilot requesting to be evaluated for insanity, to avoid flying dangerous missions, had to be sane as only a sane man would try to get out of such missions. The term “catch-22 has entered the language and describes a paradoxical situation from which one can’t escape due to contradictory rules; one loses, no matter what choice one makes.

78. Flaky stuff : MICA
Mica is a mineral, a sheet silicate. Thin sheets of mica are transparent and are used in place of glass in certain applications. This form of mica is called isinglass, and as it has a better thermal performance than glass it is a great choice for “peepholes’ in boilers and lanterns. Mica is also used in the electronics industry, making use of its unique electrical and thermal insulating properties.

80. Challenge for a virologist : EBOLA
The Ebola virus causes a very nasty form of hemorrhagic fever. The name of the virus comes from the site of the first known outbreak, in a mission hospital in the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The disease is transmitted from human to human by exposure to bodily fluids. In nature, the main carrier of Ebola is the fruit bat.

82. Explosive side of a former tennis great? : VOLCANIC ASHE (volcanic ash + e)
Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth, Ashe found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African American player to be so honored. Ashe continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery, with follow-up surgery four years later during which he contracted HIV from blood transfusions. Ashe passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. Shortly afterwards, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

88. Noted second-place finisher : HARE
“The Tortoise and the Hare” is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The cocky hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.

95. Rockies game : ELK
The elk (also known as the wapiti) is the one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct name for the beast is “wapiti”, which means “white rump” in Shawnee. It’s all very confusing …

96. Comic’s copy of “The Importance of Being Earnest”? : JOKER’S WILDE (jokers wild + e)
“The Importance of Being Earnest” is a marvelous farce from the pen of Irish dramatist Oscar Wilde. The play’s title is a pun on the name “Ernest”, as the main protagonist in the play leads a double life, and in one uses the name “Ernest”.

102. Home of Future World : EPCOT
EPCOT Center (now just called Epcot) is the theme park beside Walt Disney World in Florida. EPCOT is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and is a representation of the future as envisioned by Walt Disney. Walt Disney actually wanted to build a living community for 20,000 residents at EPCOT, but he passed away before that vision could be realized.

106. Soil: Prefix : AGRO-
The prefix agro- (and agri-) come from the Greek word “agros” meaning “field”. We use the prefix to mean “field”, “soil” or “crop production”.

108. Rocky debris : SCREE
When a rockface erodes, lumps of rock and dust fall to the ground. The pile of rocks gathered around the rockface is called scree, a word derived from the old Norwegian term for a landslide.

110. Brazilian berry : ACAI
Açaí is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.

113. Assign blame to the singer of “Blurred Lines”? : LAY IT ON THICKE (lay it on thick + e)
Robin Thicke is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles who has a pair of showbiz parents. Robin’s Dad is actor Alan Thicke who made his name on the TV show “Growing Pains”. Robin’s mother is singer and actress Gloria Loring. Loring and her husband composed the theme songs for the TV shows “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life”.

117. “Lake Wobegon Days” writer : KEILLOR
The amazing humorist Garrison Keillor is one of Minnesota’s most famous sons. Keillor’s wonderful radio show called “A Prairie Home Companion” made its debut in 1974 and is named after the Prairie Home Cemetery in Moorhead, Minnesota. I actually saw a live taping of “A Prairie Home Companion” not so long ago in San Francisco and thoroughly enjoyed the experience …

118. Writing award won multiple times by Alice Munro : O HENRY
The O. Henry Award has been given annually since 1919 and honors exceptional short stories.

O. Henry was the pen name of writer William Sydney Porter from Greensboro, North Carolina. O. Henry is famous for his witty short stories that have a clever twist in the tail.

Alice Munro is a writer from southwestern Ontario in Canada. Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature.

119. Where Quiznos and Mapquest are headquartered : DENVER
Denver, Colorado is nicknamed the “Mile-High City” because its official elevation is listed as exactly one mile. Denver City was founded in 1858 as a mining town. The name was chosen in honor of the Kansas Territorial Governor at the time, James W. Denver.

Quiznos is one the finer fast food joints in my humble opinion. The main meal served is a toasted submarine sandwich.

MapQuest is a very popular Internet site, one that provides driving directions and maps. MapQuest has been owned by AOL since 2000. One nice feature of MapQuest is a page where gas prices are recorded by users, allowing others to find the lowest price in their area.

121. “All I ___ Do” (Sheryl Crow hit) : WANNA
“All I Wanna Do” is Sheryl Crow’s biggest hit, released in 1994.

Sheryl Crow famously dated cyclist Lance Armstrong from 2003-2006. Armstrong has stated publicly more than once that Crow’s music cured his cancer.

122. Tavern vessels : STEINS
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”.

Down
4. Single copy of “The Bonfire of the Vanities”? : LONE WOLFE (lone wolf + e)
The American author Tom Wolfe started out his career as a journalist, and was very much at the center of the New Journalism literary movement of the sixties and seventies. His first book of note was “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” that tells the story of Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. Wolfe also wrote “The Right Stuff” about the post-war test pilots and the Project Mercury astronauts.

5. N.Y.C. line : 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.

7. Farfalle shapes : BOW TIES
“Farfalle” is commonly referred to as “bow-tie pasta” because of its shape. The name comes from the Italian “farfalla” meaning “butterfly”.

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

14. Spain’s Costa del ___ : SOL
Spain’s Costa del Sol (“Coast of the Sun”) is in Andalusia in the South of Spain. It lies sandwiched between two other “costas”, the Costa de la Luz and the Costa Tropical. The city of Malaga is on the Costa del Sol, as well as the famous European tourist destinations of Torremolinos and Marbella. The Costa del Sol was made up of sleepy little fishing villages until the 1980s when the European sunseekers descended on the region. I wouldn’t recommend it for a holiday …

16. Actress O’Connor of “Xena: Warrior Princess” : RENEE
Renee O’Connor is an actress from Katy, Texas best known for playing the role of Gabrielle on the television show “Xena: Warrior Princess”.

17. Saturn’s largest moon : TITAN
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn. Titan is unusual in many ways, including the fact that it is the only known satellite in the solar system that is has its own atmosphere (our own moon does not, for example). Titan is the second largest moon in the solar system, after Ganymede that orbits Jupiter. Titan is so large that it has a greater volume than Mercury, the solar system’s smallest planet.

19. Rum mixers : COLAS
The cocktail known as a Cuba Libre is basically a rum and Coke although the traditional recipe calls for some lime juice as well.

21. “What we want most, but what, alas! we use worst,” per William Penn : TIME
William Penn was given a huge land grant in America by King Charles II, because the king owed Penn’s father a lot of money. Penn took up residence on this side of the Atlantic and called his new holding “New Wales”. He later changed this name to “Sylvania” (the Latin for “forest”) and finally to “Pennsylvania”.

31. Like Vatican guards : SWISS
The Pontifical Swiss Guard is a small force of about 110 men responsible for the safety of the Pope. To join the Swiss Guard, a recruit must be a single male citizen of Switzerland who has completed basic training with the Swiss military. The commandant of the Guard suggested in 2009 that the force might be open for admission to female recruits one day, but that would be well in the future.

33. Ripsnorter : LULU
We call a remarkable thing or a person a “lulu”. The term is used in honor of Lulu Hurst, a stage magician active in the 1880s who was also known as the Georgia Wonder.

“Ripsnorter” is a slang term for a person or thing noted for strength or excellence, a “lulu”.

37. Japanese drama : NOH
Noh is a form of musical drama in Japan that has been around since the 14th century. Many of the Noh performers are masked, allowing all the roles to be played by men, both male and female parts.

39. Some Thanksgiving decorations : COBS
Thanksgiving Day was observed on different dates in different states for many years, until Abraham Lincoln fixed the date for the whole country in 1863. Lincoln’s presidential proclamation set that date as the last Thursday in November. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the fourth Thursday in November, arguing that the earlier date would give the economy a much-needed boost.

41. Dead-end position : MCJOB
“McJob” is a slang term for a low-paying position that offers little chance for advancement. The term of course comes from front-line jobs at a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant.

42. Modern-day home of the ancient Ashanti empire : GHANA
The Ashanti region of south Ghana is the most populous of the ten administrative regions of the country, as it is home to the nation’s capital of Kumasi. Ashanti’s economy is driven by the production of gold bars and cocoa.

43. Some sites on the National Mall : MEMORIALS
The National Mall is a park in downtown Washington, D.C. The National Mall is home to several museums that are part of the Smithsonian, as well as the National Gallery of Art.

44. Home of Jar Jar Binks in “Star Wars” films : NABOO
Jar Jar Binks is a comedic character who appears in Episodes I-III of the “Star Wars” movies. Binks hails from the planet Naboo, which is eventually ruled by Queen Padmé Amidala (played by Natalie Portman).

46. TV’s ___ Network (sports presenter) : NFL
The cable channel NFL Network is owned by the National Football League.

48. Chess’s ___ ratings : ELO
The Elo rating system is used to compare the skill levels of competing chess players. The system is named for a Hungarian-born professor of physics called Arpad Elo, who was also a master-level chess player active in the US Chess Federation.

49. Singers do this : SEW
Isaac Singer was not only an inventor, but also an actor. For much of his life, profits made from his inventions supported him while he pursued his acting career. Singer didn’t actually invent the sewing machine, and never claimed to have done so. What he did do though, was invent a version of the machine that was practical and easily used in the home.

51. Nutrition-related : TROPHIC
Something “trophic” is related to food, nourishment. The term dates back to the mid-19th century and comes from the Greek “trophikos”, which has the same meaning.

53. Confound : STYMIE
The word “stymie” comes from golf, and is a situation in which one’s approach to the hole is blocked by an opponent’s ball.

54. Resident of southern Mexico : OAXACAN
Oaxaca is a state in the southern part of Mexico on the Pacific coast. The state takes the name of Oaxaca, its largest city.

57. Llama’s kin : ALPACA
Alpacas are like small llamas, but unlike llamas were never beasts of burden. Alpacas were bred specifically for the fleece. As such, there are no known wild alpacas these days, even in their native Peru.

61. Radio freq. : KHZ
The unit of frequency measure is the hertz (Hz) and is the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon.

63. Nonkosher lunch order : BLT
The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

According to Jewish dietary law, “kosher” food is “fit” to eat, and food that is not kosher is called “treif” (or tref).

65. Onetime title for Obama and Clinton : SENATOR
President Obama served three terms in the Illinois State Senate, from 1997 to 2004. The future President ran unsuccessfully for the US House of Representatives in 2000, and then successfully for the US Senate in 2004. Famously, State Senator Obama delivered the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2004, just a few months before winning that US Senate seat.

Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was urged to run for the US Senate when Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his plans to retire in 1998 from the office of Senator for the state of New York. When she decided to run, Clinton became the First Lady of the US to contest an elected office. She defeated Republican Rick Lazio and was sworn in as US Senator in 2001.

69. Former kingdom of Provence : ARLES
Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and where he painted his famous “Cafe Terrace at Night”, as well as “Bedroom in Arles”.

Provence is a geographical region in France, in the south of the country. The region was once a Roman province called Provincia Romana, and was the first Roman province beyond the Alps. It is this Roman name “Provincia Romana” that gives Provence its name.

76. Modern TV feature : DVR
DVR (Digital Video Recorder)

77. Hundred Acre Wood resident : ROO
Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, the kangaroo named Roo was inspired by on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.

Hundred Acre Wood is where Winnie the Pooh lives with his friends. According to a map illustrating the books by A. A. Milne, Hundred Acre Wood is part of a larger forest, with Owl’s house sitting right at the center.

78. Farrow or Hamm : MIA
Mia Farrow is an energetic, award-winning actress who really hasn’t looked back in her career since her first leading role, in “Rosemary’s Baby” back in 1968. Her on-screen celebrity is matched by the interest created by her personal life. Her first husband was Frank Sinatra, a wedding in 1966 that received a lot of attention partly due to the couple’s age difference (she was 21, he was 50). Her second husband was almost as famous, the magnificent musician André Previn. Farrow then moved in with Woody Allen, a relationship that famously fell apart when Farrow discovered that Allen was having a sexual relationship with Soon-Yi, one of her adopted daughters from the marriage with André Previn.

Mia Hamm is a retired American soccer player, a forward who played on the US national team that won the FIFA women’s World Cup in 1991. Hamm has scored 158 international goals, more than other player in the world, male or female. Amazingly, Hamm was born with a clubfoot, and so had to wear corrective shoes when she was growing up.

79. Mother of Ares : HERA
The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars. Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera.

80. France’s ___ Polytechnique : ECOLE
École polytechnique, located just outside Paris, is a university that was established during the French Revolution, in 1794. The school is run by the French Ministry of Defense, as it was made a military academy in 1804. The military influence has been waning for decades, though.

81. Buy into “Common Sense”? : BACK PAINE (back pain + e)
Thomas Paine was an English author who achieved incredible success with his pamphlet “Common Sense” published in 1776 which advocated independence of colonial America from Britain. Paine had immigrated to the American colonies just two years before his pamphlet was published, and so was just in time to make a major contribution to the American Revolution.

86. “L’Amore dei ___ Re” (Montemezzi opera) : TRE
Italo Montemezzi was an Italian composer who wrote his most famous work in 1913, the opera “L’amore dei tre re” (The Love of Three Kings). The opera was an early success for Montemezzi, enabling him to give up teaching and devote most of his life to composition.

89. Sophocles tragedy : ELECTRA
“Electra” is a tragedy penned by Greek playwright Sophocles. The title character is the daughter of King Agamemnon, commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. In the play, Electra takes revenge on her mother Clytemnestra, who killed Agamemnon.

92. Sue Grafton’s “___ for Innocent” : I IS
Sue Grafton writes detective novels, and her “alphabet series” features the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “A Is for Alibi” in 1982 and is working her way through the alphabet, most recently publishing “’W’ is for Wasted” in 2009. Apparently Ms. Grafton is working on her “X is for …” novel, and has already decided that “Z is for Zero” will be the final title in the series. What a clever naming system!

93. Come in under the radar, say : FLY LOW
Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called Radio Detection And Ranging, which was shortened to the acronym RADAR.

94. Artist Neiman : LEROY
LeRoy Neiman is an artist from Braham, Minnesota who is known for his vibrant paintings of athletes and sporting events. Niemen lives in a home in New York City overlooking Central Park that has a great pedigree in terms of residents. Former occupants include artist Norman Rockwell as well as entertainers Rudolph Valentino and Noël Coward.

98. Poisonous snake : KRAIT
Kraits are venomous, nocturnal snakes that are native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

101. Comprehension : KEN
“Ken” is a noun meaning “understanding, perception”. One might say, for example, “half the clues in Saturday’s crossword are beyond my ken, beyond my understanding”.

103. First year in Constantine’s reign : CCCVI
Constantine the Great (aka Constantine I and St. Constantine) was Emperor of Rome from 306 to 337. Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, and along with co-Emperor Licinius he proclaimed religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire. It was Constantine who gave his name to the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul). Also, the famous Arch of Constantine in Rome was built to commemorate one of Constantine’s military victories. This arch that was the model for many famous arches around the world including the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Marble Arch in London, and the arch in the main facade of Union Station in Washington, DC.

108. ___ Fein : SINN
Sinn Féin is a political party in Ireland, largely representing the Catholic community in Northern Ireland, although representation in the Republic of Ireland has increased in recent years. It is led by Gerry Adams, and has the stated aim of uniting Ireland north and south. Sinn Féin is Irish for “we ourselves”. It is currently the second largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

109. LAX figs. : ETDS
Estimated time of departure (ETD)

Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently the “X” has no significant meaning.

112. Jupiter’s locale: Abbr. : FLA
The town of Jupiter is a northern suburb of Miami, located on the coast.

115. Hankering : YEN
The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium!

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Supreme Court justice who once compared the majority’s reasoning to “the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie” : SCALIA
7. Low part : BASSO
12. Classify : ASSORT
18. A dozen for Hercules : LABORS
19. Silk case : COCOON
20. Words of defiance : SHOVE IT!
22. Admission of a lack of familiarity with Mr. Hockey? : I DON’T KNOW HOWE (I don’t know how + e)
24. Business feature? : SILENT I
25. Ancient Persian : MEDE
26. Like sailors’ talk : SALTY
27. Celebrity cook Paula : DEEN
29. Curse (out) : REAM
30. Fusses : STEWS
32. Kyoto concurrence : HAI
33. Less serious works by the author of “Brighton Rock”? : LIGHT GREENE (light green + e)
36. Take responsibility for : OWN
38. Makes fast : SECURES
40. Roman law : LEX
41. One making a roaring start? : MGM LION
45. Only one person can do it : SOLO
46. Fits comfortably : NESTLES
50. Toque : CHEF’S HAT
52. Reason for Brosnan fans to watch 1980s TV? : BUNS OF STEELE (“Buns of Steel” + e)
55. “Home, ___” : JAMES
56. Beach fronts? : BRAS
58. A title might be presented in it: Abbr. : ITAL
59. Being dragged along : IN TOW
60. John Lennon’s middle name : ONO
61. Brand name whose middle two letters are linked in its logo : KOOL
62. Cameo stone : ONYX
63. Some briefs : BVDS
64. Round house? : BAR
65. Trying to sell one’s “Au Revoir les Enfants” video? : SHOPPING MALLE (shopping mall + e)
68. Where safety goggles may be worn : LAB
71. Don Juan’s mother : INEZ
73. Plowmen’s cries : HAWS
74. “Rhyme Pays” rapper : ICE-T
75. “Catch-22” pilot : ORR
76. Deplete : DRAIN
78. Flaky stuff : MICA
79. Foam : HEAD
80. Challenge for a virologist : EBOLA
82. Explosive side of a former tennis great? : VOLCANIC ASHE (volcanic ash + e)
85. Fruitcakes : NUTCASES
87. Libation with a floral bouquet : ROSE TEA
88. Noted second-place finisher : HARE
90. Make sense of : PROCESS
91. “Smack!” : POW!
92. Maybe not even that : IF AT ALL
95. Rockies game : ELK
96. Comic’s copy of “The Importance of Being Earnest”? : JOKER’S WILDE (jokers wild + e)
100. “Oh no!” : EEK!
102. Home of Future World : EPCOT
106. Soil: Prefix : AGRO-
107. Upbeat : ROSY
108. Rocky debris : SCREE
110. Brazilian berry : ACAI
111. Applaud : CLAP FOR
113. Assign blame to the singer of “Blurred Lines”? : LAY IT ON THICKE (lay it on thick + e)
117. “Lake Wobegon Days” writer : KEILLOR
118. Writing award won multiple times by Alice Munro : O HENRY
119. Where Quiznos and Mapquest are headquartered : DENVER
120. Erotic : STEAMY
121. “All I ___ Do” (Sheryl Crow hit) : WANNA
122. Tavern vessels : STEINS

Down
1. Slenderizes : SLIMS
2. Midshipman’s counterpart : CADET
3. Residence : ABODE
4. Single copy of “The Bonfire of the Vanities”? : LONE WOLFE (lone wolf + e)
5. N.Y.C. line : IRT
6. Questions : ASKS
7. Farfalle shapes : BOW TIES
8. Sore : ACHY
9. Great Lakes’ ___ Canals : SOO
10. Disperse : SOW
11. Fidgety : ON EDGE
12. Net worth component : ASSET
13. Topsiders? : SHINGLES
14. Spain’s Costa del ___ : SOL
15. Go too far : OVEREXTEND
16. Actress O’Connor of “Xena: Warrior Princess” : RENEE
17. Saturn’s largest moon : TITAN
19. Rum mixers : COLAS
21. “What we want most, but what, alas! we use worst,” per William Penn : TIME
23. “Uh-uh” : NAH
28. Questioning interjections : EHS
31. Like Vatican guards : SWISS
33. Ripsnorter : LULU
34. Pressing work : IRONING
35. Fidgety : RESTIVE
37. Japanese drama : NOH
39. Some Thanksgiving decorations : COBS
41. Dead-end position : MCJOB
42. Modern-day home of the ancient Ashanti empire : GHANA
43. Some sites on the National Mall : MEMORIALS
44. Home of Jar Jar Binks in “Star Wars” films : NABOO
46. TV’s ___ Network (sports presenter) : NFL
47. Relaxes and has some fun : LETS LOOSE
48. Chess’s ___ ratings : ELO
49. Singers do this : SEW
51. Nutrition-related : TROPHIC
53. Confound : STYMIE
54. Resident of southern Mexico : OAXACAN
57. Llama’s kin : ALPACA
61. Radio freq. : KHZ
62. Come-___ : ONS
63. Nonkosher lunch order : BLT
65. Onetime title for Obama and Clinton : SENATOR
66. “They got me!” : I WAS HAD!
67. Preceded, with “to” : LED UP
69. Former kingdom of Provence : ARLES
70. Military muckety-mucks : BRASS
72. Midwesterners, stereotypically : NICE PEOPLE
76. Modern TV feature : DVR
77. Hundred Acre Wood resident : ROO
78. Farrow or Hamm : MIA
79. Mother of Ares : HERA
80. France’s ___ Polytechnique : ECOLE
81. Buy into “Common Sense”? : BACK PAINE (back pain + e)
83. Post office? : NEWSROOM
84. Hardly fancy : HATE
86. “L’Amore dei ___ Re” (Montemezzi opera) : TRE
89. Sophocles tragedy : ELECTRA
92. Sue Grafton’s “___ for Innocent” : I IS
93. Come in under the radar, say : FLY LOW
94. Artist Neiman : LEROY
96. Raise, with “up” : JACK
97. Eyes : OGLES
98. Poisonous snake : KRAIT
99. Producer of wrinkles, it’s said : WORRY
101. Comprehension : KEN
103. First year in Constantine’s reign : CCCVI
104. Like some port vessels : OAKEN
105. Levels : TIERS
108. ___ Fein : SINN
109. LAX figs. : ETDS
112. Jupiter’s locale: Abbr. : FLA
114. “Got it!” : AHA!
115. Hankering : YEN
116. Riled (up) : HET

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