0529-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 29 May 16, Sunday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. 2013 Best Picture nominee in which a main character isn’t human : HER
2003’s “Her” is a rather unusual film. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as a man who develops a relationship with a computer operating system called “Samantha”, which is voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

9. “Hairspray” mom usually played by a man : EDNA
In the musical “Hairspray”, Edna Turnblad is one of the main characters, a female usually played by a male. “Hairspray” was originally a John Waters movie, from 1988. In that film Edna was played by Divine, a famous drag queen who featured in many Waters films. In the stage musical that opened in 2002, the original Broadway cast featured Harvey Fierstein as Edna. The 2007 movie adaptation of the musical had John Travolta in the role.

13. Leg presses work them : QUADS
The quadriceps femoris is the muscle group at the front of the thigh. It is the strongest muscle in the human body, and is also the leanest. The “quads” are actually a group of four muscles in the upper leg, hence the use of the prefix “quad-”.

18. 60 minuti : ORA
In Italian, there are “sessanta minuti” (sixty minutes) in an “”ora” (hour).

19. Successors to Cutlasses : ALEROS
The Oldsmobile Alero was the last car made under the Oldsmobile brand. The Alero was produced from 1999 to 2004.

Oldsmobile made the Cutlass Ciera from 1982 to 1996. The Ciera was the brand name’s most successful model.

21. Best Picture adaptation about … a search for the perfect brew, with “The”? : BEER HUNTER (from “The Deer Hunter”)
“The Deer Hunter” is a disturbing 1978 movie about three Russian Americans from Pennsylvania, and their time in the military during the Vietnam War. The “game” of Russian Roulette features prominently in the film’s storyline. According to director Michael Cimino, Robert de Niro requested that a live cartridge be loaded in the gun during the main Russian Roulette scene, to heighten the intensity of the atmosphere. Cimino agreed, although he was quite obsessive about ensuring that the bullet wasn’t next in the chamber for each take.

23. Disney Channel’s “___ and Maddie” : LIV
“Liv and Maddie” is a Disney Channel sitcom starring Dove Cameron as a pair of identical twins with very different personalities.

24. … inaudible metrical poetry, with “The”? : SILENCE OF THE IAMBS (from “The Silence of the Lambs”)
An iamb is a metrical foot containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Robert Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” consists of lines made up of four sequential iambs e.g. “Whose woods / these are / I think / I know”. With a sequence of four iambs, the poem’s structure is described as iambic tetrameter.

“The Silence of the Lambs” is a 1991 psychological drama based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. Jodie Foster plays FBI trainee Clarice Starling, and Anthony Hopkins plays the creepy cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter. “The Silence of the Lambs” swept the Big Five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay) for that year, being only the third movie ever to do so. The other two so honored were “It Happened One Night” (1934) and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975).

26. Northeast Corridor train : ACELA
The Acela Express is the fastest train routinely running in the US, getting up to 150 mph at times. The service runs between Boston and Washington D.C. via Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. The brand name “Acela” was created to evoke “acceleration” and “excellence”.

29. River islet : AIT
Aits are little islands found in a river. Aits aren’t formed by erosion, but by the deposition of silt over time. As a result, aits often have a long and narrow shape running parallel to the banks as the sediment builds up with the flow of the water. Many of the islands in the River Thames in England have been given the name “Ait”, like Raven’s Ait in Kingston-upon-Thames, and Lot’s Ait in Brentford.

30. 1988 chart-topping country album : REBA
Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007.

32. Game for bankers? : POOL
In games like pool and billiards, a “bank shot” is one in which the object ball is bounced off one or more cushions prior to being pocketed.

37. … a fat Eastern monarch? : THE VAST EMPEROR (from “The Last Emperor”)
“The Last Emperor” is a 1987 biographical film about Puyi, the last Emperor of China. “The Last Emperor” was unique in that it was the first time the Chinese government allowed filming in the Forbidden City in Beijing. In fact, Queen Elizabeth II was on a state visit to China the same time that filming was taking place, and the Chinese government gave priority to filming, so the British royal party could not visit the Forbidden City.

49. Sea urchin, at a sushi bar : UNI
Sea urchins are globular, spiny creatures found just about everywhere in the ocean. The “roe” of a sea urchin is eaten as a delicacy in several cuisines around the world. In a sushi restaurant, the sea urchin roe is called “uni”. The term “roe” normally means “fish eggs”, but in the case of the sea urchin it refers to the gonads of both the male and female.

50. … fools accompanying a pack of wild animals? : DUNCES WITH WOLVES (from “Dances with Wolves”)
“Dances with Wolves” is a Western movie released in 1999 that was produced by, directed by and starred Kevin Costner. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Michael Blake. Costner had been involved in the “Dances with Wolves” project when Blake only had the bare bones of a script, and it was Costner who suggested the script be turned into a novel. Costner then bought the rights to the book, and ended up investing three million dollars of his own money to finish shooting the film.

59. Chance occurrence, old-style : HAP
“Hap” means “fortune, chance”.

67. … a reed and percussion duet? : GONG WITH THE WIND (from “Gone with the Wind”)
As casting proceeded for the movie version of “Gone With the Wind”, Clark Gable was a shoo-in from day one. The role of Scarlett was considered very desirable in the acting community, with Bette Davis on the short list, and Katherine Hepburn demanding an appointment with producer David O. Selznick to discuss the role. Vivien Leigh was an unlikely contender, an English actress for the definitive Southern belle role. Selznick was adamant though, and stuck by his choice despite a lot of protests.

75. They rank below marquises : EARLS
In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquess. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquess and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known as a countess.

80. O.T. book before Jeremiah : ISA
The Book of Isaiah is part of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Isaiah is not mentioned in the Qur’an, but many Muslim scholars consider Isaiah a prophet.

84. … an éclair or crème brûlée, with “The”? : FRENCH CONFECTION (from “The French Connection”)
New York cop Eddie Egan was responsible for breaking up an organized crime ring in the city in 1961, and the seizing of a record amount of heroin (112 pounds). His exploits were chronicled in a book by Robin Moore, which in turn was the basis of the movie “The French Connection” released in 1971. Gene Hackman played Popeye Doyle in the movie, the character based on Egan. Paradoxically, when Egan retired from the police force he started acting and played small roles in 22 movies and television shows.

The name for the pastry known as an “éclair” is clearly French in origin. The French word for lightning is “éclair”, but no one seems to be too sure how it came to be used for the rather delicious bakery item.

Crème brûlée is a classic French dessert consisting of a rich custard topped with a crusty layer of caramelized sugar. The name “crème brûlée” translates from French as “burnt cream”.

90. Previously : NEE
“Née” is the French word for “born” when referring to a female. The male equivalent is “né”.

91. Spork part : TINE
“Spork” is the more common name for the utensil that is a hybrid between a spoon and a fork. It is less commonly referred to as a “foon”.

92. Daughter in E. M. Forster’s “Howards End” : EVIE
“Howards End” is a novel by E. M. Forster. Emma Thompson won an Oscar for playing Margaret Schlegel in the excellent 1992 film adaptation.

93. Neighbor of Irkutsk on a Risk board : MONGOLIA
Risk is a fabulous board game, first sold in France in 1957. Risk was invented by a very successful French director of short films called Albert Lamorisse. Lamorisse called his new game “La Conquête du Monde”, which translates into English as “The Conquest of the World”. A game of Risk is a must during the holidays in our house …

96. Badger : HARASS
“To badger” is to harass. The term comes from the cruel practice of “badger-baiting”, which dates back to medieval times. Badger-baiting is a blood sport in which a dog is used as “bait” for a badger in its den, to draw him out into the open. The den is an artificial structure built to resemble a natural badgers’ den, complete with a tunnel entrance. The dog is sent down the tunnel causing the badger and dog to lock their jaws on each other. The badger and dog are then removed from the den by pulling on the dog’s tale. I am ashamed to say that badger-baiting is still practiced (illegally) in Ireland, with ten convictions in the courts over the past 20 years.

99. … gorgeous fur? : A BEAUTIFUL MINK (from “A Beautiful Mind”)
There are two species of mink extant, the European Mink and the American Mink. There used to be a Sea Mink which was much larger than its two cousins, but it was hunted to extinction (for its fur) in the late 1800s. American Minks are farmed over in Europe for fur, and animal rights activists have released many of these animals into the wild when raiding mink farms. As a result the European Mink population has declined due to the presence of its larger and more adaptable American cousin.

The wonderful 2001 movie “A Beautiful Mind” is based on a true story, but it is also a screenplay adapted from a very successful book of the same name written by Sylvia Nasar. Both book and film tell the life story of John Nash (played by Russell Crowe on the big screen). Nash is a mathematician and Nobel Laureate who struggles with paranoid schizophrenia.

105. Lit ___ : CRIT
Literary studies, also called literary criticism (lit. crit.), is the evaluation and interpretation of literature.

106. Safari sight? : LINK
Safari is Apple’s flagship Internet browser, mainly used on its Mac line of computers. Personally, I use Google Chrome …

107. Singer DiFranco : ANI
Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a “feminist icon”, and in 2006 won the “Woman of Courage Award” from National Organization of Women.

110. Winnower : SIEVE
We use the verb “to winnow” in a figurative sense to describe the separation of something good from a collection of worthless things. The more literal meaning is the freeing of grain from the lighter chaff by blowing on the mixture, or by throwing it in the air.

113. … cooties from hugs and kisses? : GERMS OF ENDEARMENT (from “Terms of Endearment”)
“Terms of Endearment” is a 1983 big-screen adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s novel of the same name. There are a lot of laughs in this film, and a lot of tears. Heading the cast are Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson. There was a sequel called “The Evening Star” released in 1996. Despite MacLaine and Nicholson reprising their roles, “The Evening Star” was a big flop.

Cooties is WWI British slang for body lice. Ugh …

122. … a salon woman I go to? : MY HAIR LADY (from “My Fair Lady”)
The George Bernard Shaw play “Pygmalion” was adapted by Lerner and Loewe to become the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady”. The musical spun off the wonderful 1964 film of the same name starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. To cockney Eliza Doolittle, Professor Henry Higgins was “‘Enry ‘Iggins”.

123. Tush : HEINIE
The slang term “heinie”, meaning “rear end”, is probably a contraction of “hind end”.

“Tush” is a slang term for the backside, an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

124. Set of anecdotes : ANA
An ana (plural “anas”) is a collection, perhaps of literature, that represents the character of a particular place or a person. Ana can be used as a noun or as a suffix (e.g. Americana).

126. Olympian with a bow : EROS
Eros, the Greek god of love, was also known as Amor.

127. Jet similar to a 747 : DC-TEN
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a very recognizable passenger aircraft, with one engine under either wing and a third incorporated into the base of the vertical stabilizer at the rear of the plane. The DC-10 made its last commercial passenger flight in 2014, but it remains in service as a cargo plane, particularly with FedEx Express.

128. Benedictine title : DOM
The word “Dom” is used in the Roman Catholic Church as a title for some monks, including those in the Benedictine order.

Down
1. Chihuahua greeting : HOLA
Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico that shares a border with Texas and New Mexico. Chihuahua is the largest state in the country, so has the nickname “El Estado Grande”. The state takes its name from the Chihuahuan Desert which lies largely within its borders. And of course the Chihuahua breed of dog takes its name from the state.

2. Country singer Church : ERIC
Eric Church is a country singer/songwriter from Granite Falls, North Carolina. In fact, Church’s second album is called “Carolina”.

4. Honeydew cousins : CASABAS
A casaba is type of honeydew melon. The casaba takes its name from the Turkish city of Kasaba, from where the fruit was imported into America in the late 1800s.

5. U.S. women’s soccer star Krieger : ALI
Ali Krieger was a member of the 2015 Women’s World Cup-winning US soccer team. Krieger lived for five years in Germany, playing for FFC Frankfurt.

6. Volume measure : BEL
In the world of acoustics, one bel is equal to ten decibels. The bel is named in honor of the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell.

9. Jet : EBON
Ebony is another word for the color black (often shortened to “ebon” in poetry). Ebony is a dark black wood that is very dense, one of the few types of wood that sinks in water. Ebony has been in high demand so the species of trees yielding the wood are now considered threatened. It is in such short supply that unscrupulous vendors have been known to darken lighter woods with shoe polish to look like ebony, so be warned …

The color “jet black” takes its name from the minor gemstone known as jet. The gemstone and the material it is made of takes its English name from the French name: “jaiet”.

12. Enlightened Buddhist : ARHAT
“Arhat” is a Sanskrit word, the exact translation of which is somewhat disputed, with the various Buddhist traditions assuming different meanings. Translations vary from “worthy one” to “vanquisher of enemies”.

14. “___ voce poco fa” (Rossini aria) : UNA
“Una voce poco fa” (A voice a little while ago) is an aria from Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville”.

Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” was first performed in 1816 in Rome. It was one of the first Italian operas to be performed in the US, premiering at the Park Theater in New York City in 1825.

17. G.R.E. takers: Abbr. : SRS
Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

25. Writer ___ Stanley Gardner : ERLE
I must have read all of the Perry Mason books when I was in college. I think they kept me sane when I was facing the pressure of exams. Author Erle Stanley Gardner was himself a lawyer, although he didn’t get into the profession the easy way. Gardner went to law school, but got himself suspended after a month. So, he became a self-taught attorney and opened his own law office in Merced, California. Understandably, he gave up the law once his novels became successful.

27. 1880s-’90s veep ___ P. Morton : LEVI
Levi P. Morton served as US Vice President under President Benjamin Harrison, from 1889 to 1893. Morton lived to the ripe old age of 96 years, making him the second longest-lived of all US Vice Presidents. Only John Nance Garner lived longer, passing away just a few days shy of his 99th birthday.

32. Half of a Vegas show duo : PENN
Penn Jillette is one half of the duo of magicians known as Penn & Teller (Penn is the one who talks). Penn teamed up with Teller on stage in 1981, having met him through a friend back in 1974. As well as being talkative onstage, Penn is very vocal offstage when it comes his causes and beliefs. He is a devout atheist, a libertarian and a supporter of free-market capitalism.

35. ___ Drive (street where Harry Potter grew up) : PRIVET
J. K. Rowling’s character “Harry Potter” grew up in the fictitious town of Little Whinging in the county of Surrey. Harry lived with his aunt and uncle at No. 4, Privet Drive.

36. Dweller along the Mandeb Strait : YEMENI
The Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait lying between Yemen in the Middle East and Eritrea and and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. Also known as Mandeb Strait, “Bab-el-Mandeb” translates as “Gate of Tears”. The somewhat terrifying name is a reference to the dangers of navigating the narrow strait.

40. Like carpaccio or crudités : RAW
Carpaccio can be meat or fish. It is sliced very thinly, or may be pounded until it is thin, and then served raw. Carpaccio is a relatively contemporary dish, first served in 1950 to a countess in Venice, Italy. The lady informed the restaurant owner that her doctor had advised her to eat only raw meat, so she was served thin slices of uncooked beef in a mustard sauce. The owner of the restaurant thought that the colors of the dish reminded him of paintings by Vittore Carpaccio, so he gave it the name “Carpaccio”. So the story goes anyway …

Crudités are a French appetizer made up of sliced and whole raw vegetables that are dipped into a sauce. The French word “crudité” simply means a raw vegetable, and derives from the Latin word “crudus” meaning “raw”.

41. Geisha’s accessory : OBI
The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.

44. Physicist Nathan who postulated wormholes : ROSEN
A wormhole is a theoretical shortcut that connecting two points in the space-time continuum. Got that …?

47. Attempt at a dunk tank : THROW
A “dunk tank” is a funfair attraction consisting of a large tank filled with water, over which a volunteer sits on a collapsing seat. Balls that are successfully thrown at a target cause the seat to collapse, and the poor volunteer gets dunked.

51. Spiced teas : CHAIS
Chai is a drink made from spiced black tea, honey and milk, with “chai” being the Hindi word for “tea”. We often called tea “a cup of char” growing up in Ireland, with “char” being our slang word for tea, derived from “chai”.

52. The White House’s ___ Room : EAST
The magnificent East Room is the largest room in the White House. It was also one of the last rooms to be finished, so Abigail Adams hung laundry there when it was in its unfinished state. Nowadays of course the East Room is used for entertaining and formal ceremonies. I’ve never had the privilege of touring the White House, but I have been in a replica of the East Room that can be visited at the Nixon Presidential Library in Southern California.

53. Peeping Tom’s spot : SPYHOLE
In the legend of Lady Godiva, a noblewoman rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England, basically as a dare from her husband in return for relieving the taxes of his tenants. Lady Godiva issued instructions that all the town’s inhabitants should stay indoors while she made her journey. However, a tailor in the town named Tom disobeyed the instructions by boring holes in the shutters on his windows, and “peeped”. As a result, Peeping Tom was struck blind, and the term “peeping Tom” has been in our language ever since.

54. Modern encyclopedia platform : WIKI
A wiki is a website in which users are allowed to create and edit content themselves. The term “wiki” comes from the name of the first such site, introduced in 1994 and called WikiWikiWeb. “Wiki” is a Hawaiian word for “quick”, and is used because comprehensive content is created very quickly a there are so many collaborators contributing to the site.

An encyclopedia is a compendium reference work containing summary information about a branch of knowledge, or about all knowledge. The word “encyclopedia” comes from the Greek “enkyklios paideia” meaning “general education”, or literally “general rearing of a child”.

57. Simon of the “Mission: Impossible” films : PEGG
Simon Pegg is an English actor and comedian who has hit the big time in Hollywood in the past few years. He played “Scotty” in a couple of “Star Trek” movies and tech wizard Benji Dunn in some of the “Mission: Impossible” films.

58. It circles the globe : TROPIC
Lines of latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines surrounding the planet. The most “important” lines of latitude are, from north to south:

– Arctic Circle
– Tropic of Cancer
– Equator
– Tropic of Capricorn
– Antarctic Circle

63. Merino mother : EWE
The Merino breed of sheep is prized for the soft quality of its wool.

64. Stethoscope’s place : CHEST
The word “stethoscope” comes from the Greek word for “chest examination”. The stethoscope was invented back in 1816 in France by René Laennec, although back then it looked just like an ear trumpet, a wooden tube with flared ends.

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

66. Main ingredient in queso relleno : EDAM
The Mexican dish called “queso relleno” comes from the state of Yucatan. The name of the dish translates simply as “stuffed cheese” and it consists of a ball of Edam cheese that is hollowed out and stuffed with ground meat, raisins, capers and olives. The “queso relleno” is braised in chicken stock and served in slices in a sauce made from the stock.

70. Gillette razor name : TRAC
Gillette introduced the Trac II in 1971. The Trac II was the world’s first twin-blade razor.

71. Liquor purchase : FIFTH
A “fifth” is an American unit of volume used for liquor. It used to be equal to one fifth of a US gallon. Since the seventies we’ve been using a “metric fifth” which is equal to 750 mL, the standard size for wine bottles around the world.

72. Ring around the collar? : LARIAT
Our word “lariat” comes from the Spanish “la reater” meaning “the rope”.

73. Chief Theban god : AMEN-RA
Amun (also Amon, Amen and “Amun-Ra”) was a god in Egyptian mythology. Amun lends his name to our word “ammonia”. This is because the Romans called the ammonium chloride that they collected near the Temple of Jupiter Amun, “sal ammoniacus” (salt of Amun).

86. Things zygotes come from : OVA
“Zygote” is the name given to the cell formed when (in the case of humans) a sperm fertilizes an egg. It is the earliest stage in the development of an embryo. The term “zygote” comes from the Greek for “joined, yoked”.

87. Penpoint : NIB
“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning the beak of a bird. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” meaning the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

95. Hilton alternative : OMNI
Conrad Hilton was a native of New Mexico, but he bought his first hotel in Cisco, Texas, in 1919. He did well on the deal and opened up hotels all over Texas in the following years, and built the first high-rise Hilton Hotel in Dallas. Hilton went on to build the world’s first international hotel chain. Hilton was married three times, most famously to actress Zsa Zsa Gabor from 1942 to 1946.

98. Sancho Panza, e.g. : SENOR
Sancho Panza is Don Quixote’s squire, a character who spouts out humorous comments called “sanchismos”.

101. ___ Heep (Dickens villain) : URIAH
Uriah Heep is a sniveling insincere character in the novel “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. The character is such a “yes man” that today, if we know someone who behaves the same way, then we might call that person a “Uriah Heep”.

111. Antipasto pairing : VINO
Antipasto is the first course of a meal in Italy. “Antipasto” translates as “before the meal”.

113. TV inits. since 1975 : GMA
“Good Morning America” (GMA) is ABC’s morning show, and has been since 1975. There was even a spinoff show called “Good Afternoon America”, although that only lasted for a few months in 2012.

120. Never, in Nikolaus : NIE
It looks this is a reference to a place called “Nikolaus” in Germany. I can’t seem to find it though. I wonder if the clue is meant to read “Never, to Nikolaus”…?

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. 2013 Best Picture nominee in which a main character isn’t human : HER
4. Airplane part : CABIN
9. “Hairspray” mom usually played by a man : EDNA
13. Leg presses work them : QUADS
18. 60 minuti : ORA
19. Successors to Cutlasses : ALEROS
21. Best Picture adaptation about … a search for the perfect brew, with “The”? : BEER HUNTER (from “The Deer Hunter”)
23. Disney Channel’s “___ and Maddie” : LIV
24. … inaudible metrical poetry, with “The”? : SILENCE OF THE IAMBS (from “The Silence of the Lambs”)
26. Northeast Corridor train : ACELA
28. Like groaners : CORNY
29. River islet : AIT
30. 1988 chart-topping country album : REBA
32. Game for bankers? : POOL
33. Psychedelic : TRIPPY
37. … a fat Eastern monarch? : THE VAST EMPEROR (from “The Last Emperor”)
43. One in a no-blinking contest : STARER
45. Second draft : REVISION
46. Neighbor : ABUT
48. Extended rental? : LIMO
49. Sea urchin, at a sushi bar : UNI
50. … fools accompanying a pack of wild animals? : DUNCES WITH WOLVES (from “Dances with Wolves”)
56. King’s handful : SCEPTER
59. Chance occurrence, old-style : HAP
60. Bad sound in a changing room : RIP
61. Vegas-to-Denver dir. : ENE
62. Part of a city network : SEWER
63. “Relax” : EASY
64. Reusable part of a common thank-you gift : COOKIE TIN
67. … a reed and percussion duet? : GONG WITH THE WIND (from “Gone with the Wind”)
71. Group standing at the U.N. : FLAGPOLES
74. Treat with a “Golden” variety : OREO
75. They rank below marquises : EARLS
79. Words before and after “what” : I AM
80. O.T. book before Jeremiah : ISA
81. Chorus line? : LAS
82. Obstacle in road repairs, maybe : GAS MAIN
84. … an éclair or crème brûlée, with “The”? : FRENCH CONFECTION (from “The French Connection”)
90. Previously : NEE
91. Spork part : TINE
92. Daughter in E. M. Forster’s “Howards End” : EVIE
93. Neighbor of Irkutsk on a Risk board : MONGOLIA
96. Badger : HARASS
99. … gorgeous fur? : A BEAUTIFUL MINK (from “A Beautiful Mind”)
103. Shred : TATTER
105. Lit ___ : CRIT
106. Safari sight? : LINK
107. Singer DiFranco : ANI
108. Like a portrait that seems to be watching you : EERIE
110. Winnower : SIEVE
113. … cooties from hugs and kisses? : GERMS OF ENDEARMENT (from “Terms of Endearment”)
121. Blender setting : MIX
122. … a salon woman I go to? : MY HAIR LADY (from “My Fair Lady”)
123. Tush : HEINIE
124. Set of anecdotes : ANA
125. A while, in hyperbole : AEONS
126. Olympian with a bow : EROS
127. Jet similar to a 747 : DC-TEN
128. Benedictine title : DOM

Down
1. Chihuahua greeting : HOLA
2. Country singer Church : ERIC
3. * * * * : RAVE REVIEW
4. Honeydew cousins : CASABAS
5. U.S. women’s soccer star Krieger : ALI
6. Volume measure : BEL
7. Cause of boiling over : IRE
8. Sarge, e.g. : NONCOM
9. Jet : EBON
10. Stand up to : DEFY
11. Bit of safari equipment : NET
12. Enlightened Buddhist : ARHAT
13. “Enough is enough!” : QUIT IT!
14. “___ voce poco fa” (Rossini aria) : UNA
15. PIN point : ATM
16. One having a ball? : DEB
17. G.R.E. takers: Abbr. : SRS
20. Ice cream order : SCOOP
22. Juniors, maybe : HEIRS
25. Writer ___ Stanley Gardner : ERLE
27. 1880s-’90s veep ___ P. Morton : LEVI
31. Step ___ : ASIDE
32. Half of a Vegas show duo : PENN
34. Shroud : PALL
35. ___ Drive (street where Harry Potter grew up) : PRIVET
36. Dweller along the Mandeb Strait : YEMENI
37. Bridge support : TRUSS
38. “As such …” : HENCE …
39. College campus offering : TOUR
40. Like carpaccio or crudités : RAW
41. Geisha’s accessory : OBI
42. Metaphorical low point : RUT
44. Physicist Nathan who postulated wormholes : ROSEN
47. Attempt at a dunk tank : THROW
51. Spiced teas : CHAIS
52. The White House’s ___ Room : EAST
53. Peeping Tom’s spot : SPYHOLE
54. Modern encyclopedia platform : WIKI
55. Muses : OPINES
57. Simon of the “Mission: Impossible” films : PEGG
58. It circles the globe : TROPIC
63. Merino mother : EWE
64. Stethoscope’s place : CHEST
65. War on Poverty agcy. : OEO
66. Main ingredient in queso relleno : EDAM
68. Bite : NOSH
69. Like candied apples : GLACE
70. Gillette razor name : TRAC
71. Liquor purchase : FIFTH
72. Ring around the collar? : LARIAT
73. Chief Theban god : AMEN-RA
76. Hightailed it : RAN LIKE MAD
77. Peaceful protest : LIE-IN
78. Apt anagram of SNAKE : SNEAK
82. Slip : GOOF
83. Quash : ANNUL
85. Peachy : NEAT
86. Things zygotes come from : OVA
87. Penpoint : NIB
88. Commission, e.g. : FEE
89. “You’re stuck with me” : I’M IT
94. What stars do : GLISTEN
95. Hilton alternative : OMNI
97. Equilibrium : STASIS
98. Sancho Panza, e.g. : SENOR
100. About 3/4 of a football field : ACRE
101. ___ Heep (Dickens villain) : URIAH
102. Like some sponsorship packages : TIERED
104. One taking a long shot? : RIFLE
108. Prefix with spore : ENDO-
109. “Slow Churned” brand : EDY’S
111. Antipasto pairing : VINO
112. Reason for a class struggle? : EXAM
113. TV inits. since 1975 : GMA
114. Photographer’s asset : EYE
115. Certain fraternity chapter : RHO
116. “Wowie!” : MAN!
117. Musician’s asset : EAR
118. Lapel attachment : MIC
119. Suffix with subsist : -ENT
120. Never, in Nikolaus : NIE

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