1106-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 6 Nov 16, Sunday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Joe DiPietro
THEME: It’s All an Elision
Today’s themed answers are well-known phrases that have been elided to suit the clue:

23A. “Do your taxidermy on the patio instead!”? : STUFF OUT THERE (from “it’s tough out there”)
40A. A foot on the ground in Phoenix? : SNOW SURPRISE (from “it’s no surprise”)
68A. Comfort food causing oral discomfort? : STEW DAMN HOT (from “it’s too damn hot”)
92A. Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and that’s probably it? : SIOUX YOU KNOW (from “it’s who you know”)
113A. Slogan for wine geeks? : SIP TO BE SQUARE (from “it’s hip to be square”)
17D. Mystery ingredient in SweeTarts? : SOUR LITTLE SECRET (from “it’s our little secret”)
37D. Always putting up my entry fees? : STAKING ME FOREVER (from “it’s taking me forever”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 36m 11s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Point of greatest despair : NADIR
The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.

22. Sure things : ROLL-ONS
Sure is a brandname of deodorant in the British Isles. The same product is marketed in North America as Degree.

23. “Do your taxidermy on the patio instead!”? : STUFF OUT THERE (from “it’s tough out there”)
The word “taxidermy” originates in Greek. “Taxis” means arrangement (the same root as “tactics”) and “derma” meaning “skin”. A gruesome practice, if you ask me, but you didn’t …

27. Republican, on an election map : RED
On political maps, red states are usually Republican and blue states usually Democrat. The designation of red and blue states is a very recent concept, only introduced in the 2000 presidential election by TV journalist, the late Tim Russert. In retrospect, the choice of colors is surprising, as in other democracies around the world red is usually used to describe left-leaning socialist parties (the reds under the bed!), and blue is used for conservative right-wing parties. In election cycles, swing/battleground states are often depicted in purple.

28. “Da Coach” : DITKA
Mike Ditka is a retired NFL player, and retired coach of Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only people to have won Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and as a head coach.

31. “Double” or “triple” feat : AXEL
An Axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. It was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

32. Discipline for paper tigers? : ORIGAMI
Origami is the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. The best-known example of the craft is the paper crane. The word “origami” is derived from “ori“ (folding) and “kami” (paper).

34. Newcastle Brown and others : ALES
Newcastle upon Tyne in the North of England is home to the famous Newcastle Brown Ale.

38. Harley, in slang : HOG
The Harley-Davidson motorcycle company was started up in the very early 1900s by two childhood friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, . Their first design was in effect an engine hooked up to a pedal bicycle, but the 116 cc cylinder capacity simply couldn’t generate enough power to get up the hills of their native city of Milwaukee. The pair came up with a redesigned model that had a cylinder capacity of 405 cc, which the partners built in a shed at the back of Davidson’s house. In 1906, the partners built their first factory, located where the company’s headquarters is to this day, on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

40. A foot on the ground in Phoenix? : SNOW SURPRISE (from “it’s no surprise”)
The city of Phoenix is the capital of the state of Arizona. Home to almost 1.5 million people, Phoenix is the most populous state capital in the country.

44. “Venus in Fur” playwright David : IVES
David Ives is a playwright who specializes in comic one-act plays. Ives’ best-known work is his evening of one-act comedies called “All in the Timing”.

46. “Today” rival, for short : 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.

48. Kind of replication : RNA
The two most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which play crucial roles in genetics. The DNA contains the genetic instructions used to keep living organisms functioning, and RNA is used to transcribe that information from the DNA to protein “generators” called ribosomes.

49. Miasma : STENCH
The word “miasma” was first used for the poisonous atmosphere thought to arise from swamps and rotting matter, and which could cause disease. Nowadays, a miasma is just a thick cloud of gas or smoke.

53. Some Campbell’s offerings : BROTHS
The Campbell’s Soup company is named for one of the enterprise’s two founders, Joseph A. Campbell. He and Abraham Anderson started the business in 1869. The iconic design of the Campbell’s can was introduced in 1989 and has hardly changed since then. The gold seal in the design comes from the 1900 Paris Exhibition.

56. Skinflints : PIKERS
A piker is a cautious gambler, and in more general terms can be a miser, someone very stingy.

64. “Silence is the ___ that nourishes wisdom”: Bacon : SLEEP
The English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon wrote a celebrated and respected collection of essays called “The Essayes”, first published in 1597. My favorite of these essays is “Of Simulation and Dissimulation”, which observes

Dissimulation, in the negative; when a man lets fall signs and arguments, that he is not, that he is… Simulation, in the affirmative; when a man industriously and expressly feigns and pretends to be, that he is not.

65. Classical pianist Levit : IGOR
Igor Levit is a Russian classical pianist who grew up in Germany.

66. Composer Bartók : BELA
Bela Bartók was a composer and a pianist, and perhaps after Liszt is considered by many to be Hungary’s greatest composer.

71. Harpies : NAGS
In Greek mythology, a harpy was a winged spirit noted for stealing food from a king called Phineus. Phineas angered the god Zeus and so was punished by being exiled to an island with a buffet of food that he could never eat. Every time he tried to eat, harpies would arrive and steal the food. We use the term today for a shrewish woman or a predatory person.

74. Surgical tube : STENT
In the world of medicine and surgery, a stent is an artificial tube inserted inside a vessel in the body, say an artery, so that it reduces the effects of a local restriction in the body’s conduit.

75. Common New England street name : ELM
The most common street name in the US is “Second Street”. “First Street” comes in only at number three, and this is because many cities and towns forego the use of “First” and instead go with “Main” or something more historical in nature. “Elm Street” appears on the list at number fifteen.

76. Lyft offering : RIDE
Lyft is a ridesharing service that is based in San Francisco, as is Lyft’s biggest competitor: Uber.

77. Groove-making needles : STYLI
The needle of a record player is referred to as a stylus (plural “styli”).

78. With 96-Across, bit of Chinese cuisine : LITCHI …
(96A. See 78-Across : … NUT)
Litchis are better known in English as lychees. One can’t eat the skin of the lychee fruit, which is why you’ll notice that you are only served the sweet flash. If you’ve never tried them, you should do so as they’re delicious. Even though there is a nut-like seed within the edible flesh of the lychee fruit, I wouldn’t eat it, as it is poisonous …

86. Hall-of-Fame quarterback Dan : FOUTS
Dan Fouts is a former NFL quarterback who played with the San Diego Chargers. Fouts now works as a sportscaster with CBS, a profession that might be in his blood. Dan’s father is the retired broadcaster Bob Fouts, who is best known for called San Francisco 49er games.

90. Extract used in brewing : WORT
In brewing and distilling, the mash is the mixture of grain and water that is heated so that enzymes break down starch into sugars. The sugary liquor extracted from the mash is called the wort. Yeast is added to the wort, resulting in the sugars being converted to alcohol.

91. Foreign: Prefix : XENO-
The Greek combining form “xeno-” means “strange, foreign”, as in xenophobia, a fear of foreigners.

92. Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and that’s probably it? : SIOUX YOU KNOW (from “it’s who you know”)
Crazy Horse’s Lakota name translates literally into English as “His Horse is Crazy or Spirited”. Crazy Horse was one of the tribal war party leaders at the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand. Crazy Horse surrendered to the US Army in 1877. He was fatally stabbed while in custody, apparently trying to escape after having surrendered. The circumstances surrounding his death are still shrouded in controversy.

Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota Native American who led his people in resisting settlement of tribal lands. Sitting Bull is most notably associated with the victory over the US Cavalry, led by Lt. Col. Custer, at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. US forces pursued Sitting Bull for five years after Little Bighorn until he surrendered in 1881. He was held as a prisoner of war for almost two years before being released onto a reservation. In 1884, he was allowed to leave the reservation and joined Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, where he earned a tidy sum for a few months. Several years later an order was issued for his arrest due to concern that he was about to flee his reservation. Sitting Bull was shot during an altercation as he was being taken into custody.

98. Cab stopper? : CORK
The Cabernet Sauvignon grape has been around since the 17th century, and is the result of a chance crossing in southwestern France of the Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc grapes.

104. Deadly nerve gas : SARIN
Sarin is used as a chemical weapon. It was first discovered in Germany by scientists looking for stronger pesticides. The name Sarin was derived from the names of the discovering scientists: Schrader, Ambros, Rudiger and von der Linde.

106. Artist who awards a biennial Grant for Peace : ONO
The LennonOno Grant for Peace is a sum of $50,000 that is awarded biannually by Yoko Ono in honor of her late husband John Lennon. The award was inaugurated in 2002 and is given to persons or organizations chosen by Ono herself. The list of recipients includes Médecins Sans Frontières (2006), Iceland (2008), Lady Gaga (2012) and Pussy Riot (2012).

107. Real sport : TROOPER
Apparently the phrase “like a real trooper” has diverged in usage over time. Someone who is brave and stalwart might be described as a real “trooper”, like a soldier in a troop. Someone who is reliable and a supportive colleague might be described as a real “trouper”, like a an actor in a troupe.

117. Nipple rings : AREOLAS
An areola (sometimes “areole”) in anatomy is a small ring of color, as in the areola surrounding the nipple, and the areola surrounding the pupil of the eye. “Areola” comes from Latin, meaning “small open space”, and is a diminutive of the Latin word “area”, meaning “open space”.

119. “Noble” thing : RARE GAS
The rare gases are better known as the noble gases, but neither term is really very accurate. Noble gas might be a better choice though, as they are all relatively nonreactive. But rare they are not. Argon, for example, is a major constituent (1%) of the air that we breathe.

120. Mack of early slapstick : SENNETT
Mack Sennett was a director and actor noted for innovating slapstick comedies. Sennett used many wild car chases in his movies and went through a lot of custard pies.

121. ___ Muggs, girl in “Archie” : ETHEL
Archie Andrews was the main character in a comic book series introduced in 1941 by Archie Comics. Archie was such a successful character that he went on to appear in a radio series, a syndicated comic strip and two television cartoon shows. Famously, Archie got himself in a love triangle with Betty Cooper, the girl next door, and Veronica Lodge, the only child of the richest man in town.

Down
1. Harper’s Weekly cartoonist Thomas : NAST
Thomas Nast was an American caricaturist and cartoonist. He was the creator of the Republican Party elephant, the Democratic Party donkey, Uncle Sam and the image of the plump and jocular Santa Claus that we use today.

2. Kind of clef : ALTO
Clef is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on the stave. The bass clef is also known as the F-clef, the alto clef is the C-clef, and the treble clef is the G-clef.

6. “The Princess Bride” theme : TRUE LOVE
“The Princess Bride” is a novel by William Goldman written in 1973. Famously, the book was adapted into a 1987 film of the same name directed by Rob Reiner that has become a cult classic.

8. It blows things up, in brief : NITRO
The explosive called dynamite contains nitroglycerin as its active component. Dynamite also contains diatomaceous earth and sodium carbonate that absorb the nitroglycerin. The absorbed nitroglycerin is far less sensitive to mechanical shock, making it easier to transport and to handle. Famously, dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel, the man who used his fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes.

11. Port. is part of it : EUR
Portugal is the most westerly country in Europe, located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula alongside Spain. The name “Portugal” comes from the Latin name for Porto, the country’s second largest city: “Portus Cale”. Portugal was a far-reaching power in the 15th and 16th centuries, at the center of the world’s first truly global empire. A legacy of the Portuguese Empire is that today there are more than 240 million Portuguese speakers across the world.

13. Radioactive form of hydrogen : TRITIUM
There are three naturally occurring isotopes of hydrogen. The most common isotope is what we ordinarily refer to as hydrogen, and it has no neutrons. This particular isotope is sometimes called “protium”. The isotope with one neutron is called “deuterium”. When paired with two atoms of oxygen, deuterium forms “heavy water”. The hydrogen isotope with two neutrons is called “tritium”. Tritium is radioactive, with a half-life of 12.3 years.

14. Pennsylvania city : YORK
York, Pennsylvania was named for the historic city of York in the North of England. York was one of the cities that served as a capital of the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War. It was in York that the Articles of Confederation were drafted and adopted.

15. “S O S,” e.g. : PLEA
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.

16. Middle-earth inhabitant : ELF
Middle-earth is the setting for J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” series.

17. Mystery ingredient in SweeTarts? : SOUR LITTLE SECRET (from “it’s our little secret”)
SweeTarts are sweet and sour candies that were introduced in 1962. SweeTarts have the same basic recipe as Pixy Stix and Fun Dip, and are just a little messy to eat.

19. Insect that folds its wings : 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.

24. Nearly throws a perfect game against, maybe : ONE-HITS
That would be baseball.

29. Uses WhatsApp, say : IMS
Instant messaging (sending IMs)

WhatsApp is a popular messaging service used on smartphones that sends messages and other files from one mobile phone number to another. Launched in 2011, WhatsApp is incredibly popular, and is the second-most popular messaging service after Facebook.

34. River to the Ligurian Sea : ARNO
The Arno is the principal river in the Tuscany region of Italy, passing through the cities of Florence and Pisa. Famously the Arno flooded in 1966, the worst flood in the region for centuries. There were numerous deaths and extensive destruction of priceless art treasures, particularly in Florence.

The Ligurian Sea is part of the Mediterranean, located off the Italian coast and north of the French island of Corsica.

36. Best Picture between “Rocky” and “The Deer Hunter” : ANNIE HALL
I suppose if there is any Woody Allen movie that I enjoy watching, it’s “Annie Hall” from 1977. I think Diane Keaton is a great actress and she is wonderful in this film. You’ll see Paul Simon as well, making a rare movie appearance, and even Truman Capote playing himself. The film is also famous for sparking a movement in the fashion world to adopt the “Annie Hall” look, that very distinctive appearance championed by Diane Keaton as the Annie Hall character.

39. 1960s TV show whose star weighed 650 pounds : GENTLE BEN
The sixties television show “Gentle Ben” tells the story of the friendship between an Alaska brown bear named Ben, and a young boy called Mark. Mark was played by child actor Clint Howard, who is the younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard.


41. With 60-Across, player of Tony Soprano’s son : ROBERT …
(60A. See 41-Down : … ILER)
The actor Robert Iler’s most famous role was A.J., son of mob leader Tony Soprano in HBO’s “The Sopranos”. Apparently Iler’s screen persona has spilled over into his personal life, as he was arrested for armed robbery of two tourists in 2001 (and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge).

45. Pressure, so to speak : SCREWS
To put the screws on, is to apply pressure.

52. Rough choice? : EIGHT IRON
That would be in golf.

54. “Mad About You” co-star : HELEN HUNT
Helen Hunt is a very talented actress who first came to national attention playing opposite Paul Reiser in TV’s hit sitcom “Mad About You”. Hunt then starred in some major films including “As Good as It Gets” (for which she won the Best Actress Oscar), “Twister, “Cast Away”, What Women Want” and more recently “The Sessions”. Offscreen, Hunt was married for a while to Hank Azaria, a favorite actor of mine.

57. February 14th figure : EROS
Saint Valentine’s Day was introduced by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saint’s’ day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

69. Giant among Giants : MAYS
Willie Mays’ nickname was the “Say Hey Kid”, although his friends and teammates were more likely to refer to him as “Buck”. When Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was asked who was the best player he’d ever seen in the game. He replied, “I don’t mean to be bashful, but I was.”

74. Punk rocker Vicious : SID
Sid Vicious was a famous English musician, the best-known member of the seventies punk rock group called the Sex Pistols. In 1978, Vicious woke up out of a drugged stupor in his hotel room in New York, to find his girlfriend stabbed to death in the bathroom. Vicious was charged with the murder, and ten days later sliced his wrist in a suicide attempt. Vicious made bail a few months later and at a celebratory party his own mother supplied him with heroin on which Vicious overdosed and died, at the age of 21.

76. Gravy thickener : ROUX
A roux is a mixture of wheat flour and clarified butter (or other fat) cooked together until it can be used as a thickening agent.

80. Herman who wrote “This Is My God” : WOUK
Herman Wouk won a Pulitzer in 1951 for his novel “The Caine Mutiny”. The story involves mutiny and court-martial aboard a US Navy vessel and reflected, at least partly, the personal experiences of Wouk as he served in the Pacific in WWII aboard a destroyer-minesweeper. The novel was adapted into a marvelous film released in 1954 starring Humphrey Bogart as Philip Queeg, the harsh captain of the USS Caine.

82. Home of Walmart : ARKANSAS
Walmart (previously “Wal-Mart”) takes in more revenue than any other publicly traded company in the world. Over in my homeland, Walmart operates under the name Asda. Walmart’s worldwide headquarters are in Bentonville, Arkansas, the home of Sam Walton’s original Five and Dime. You can actually go into the original store, as it is now the Walmart Visitor Center.

87. Formal wingdings : SOIREES
“Soir” is the French word for “evening” and a “soirée” is an “evening party”. The French word “soirée” has an acute accent over the first “e”, but we tend to drop this when using the word in English.

A wingding is a wild and enthusiastic celebration. This meaning of the term started to be used in the late 1940s. Back in the twenties, “wingding” was hobo slang, a word describing a fake seizure designed to attract attention and sympathy.

92. Bogeyman : SCARER
The term “bogeyman” seems to be derived from the Scottish word “bogle” meaning “ghost”.

94. Athlete’s wear, informally : UNI
A unitard is like a leotard, except that it has long legs and sometime long sleeves. It wouldn’t be a good look for me …

95. Soup dumpling : WONTON
A wonton is a dumpling used in Chinese cooking. Wontons are often boiled and served in a wonton soup.

100. John Kennedy ___, author of “A Confederacy of Dunces” : TOOLE
John Kennedy Toole was an author whose most famous work is his 1980 novel “A Confederacy of Dunces”. Toole had committed suicide eleven years before publication, when he was just 31 years old. The author’s mother found a smudged carbon copy of the book’s manuscript after her son had passed, and she persisted in her efforts to get the novel published. She was finally successful in 1980, and the following year “A Confederacy of Dunces” won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Well done, Mom …

102. Game with mallets played on a hard-surfaced court : ROQUE
Roque is a variant of croquet that developed in the US in the 19th century. The main difference between the two games is that the former is played on a hard, smooth surface, and the latter on grass. The name “roque” was arrived at simply by removing the first and last letters from “croquet”. Roque actually replaced croquet in the 1904 Summer Olympic Games.

104. Criticize, in British slang : SLAG
To “slag off” is a pretty rude slang term meaning to verbally attack someone. In Ireland we use the term “slagging” in a much more friendly and jocular way, where it’s more like teasing. The kind of things that brothers do to each other when they get together, and don’t I know it …

109. Pennsylvania city : ERIE
Erie is a city in the very north of Pennsylvania, right on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The city takes its name from the Erie Native American tribe that resided in the area. Erie is nicknamed the Gem City, a reference to the “sparkling” Lake Erie.

114. High dudgeon : IRE
“Dudgeon” is a noun describing a state of sullen, ill humor.

115. Giant image over Gotham : BAT
Batman is an ally of Police Commissioner Gordon of Gotham City. Gordon orders the shining of a searchlight into the sky, known as the Bat-Signal, to summon Batman when he is needed.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Point of greatest despair : NADIR
6. Terms of service : TENURES
13. Laid out for printing : TYPESET
20. Unchallenged : ALONE
21. Lift : RAISE UP
22. Sure things : ROLL-ONS
23. “Do your taxidermy on the patio instead!”? : STUFF OUT THERE (from “it’s tough out there”)
25. “You can’t make me” : I REFUSE
26. Of the highest quality : TOP-LINE
27. Republican, on an election map : RED
28. “Da Coach” : DITKA
30. Place to get stuck : RUT
31. “Double” or “triple” feat : AXEL
32. Discipline for paper tigers? : ORIGAMI
34. Newcastle Brown and others : ALES
35. Thrown : CAST
38. Harley, in slang : HOG
40. A foot on the ground in Phoenix? : SNOW SURPRISE (from “it’s no surprise”)
43. It’s just for openers : ANTE
44. “Venus in Fur” playwright David : IVES
46. “Today” rival, for short : GMA
47. Get on one’s high horse? : MOUNT
48. Kind of replication : RNA
49. Miasma : STENCH
51. “___, captain!” : AYE
53. Some Campbell’s offerings : BROTHS
56. Skinflints : PIKERS
58. It makes tracks : TREAD
60. See 41-Down : … ILER
62. “___ it go” : LET
63. Ones who have it coming to them? : HEIRS
64. “Silence is the ___ that nourishes wisdom”: Bacon : SLEEP
65. Classical pianist Levit : IGOR
66. Composer Bartók : BELA
67. Reaction of dismay : OH NO!
68. Comfort food causing oral discomfort? : STEW DAMN HOT (from “it’s too damn hot”)
70. Selfish sort : USER
71. Harpies : NAGS
72. Where many connections are made : HUBS
73. Huge quantities : RAFTS
74. Surgical tube : STENT
75. Common New England street name : ELM
76. Lyft offering : RIDE
77. Groove-making needles : STYLI
78. With 96-Across, bit of Chinese cuisine : LITCHI …
79. Many, after “a” : SLEW OF
81. “Not interested” : NAH
83. Like some tales or details : SORDID
85. Broadcast : RUN
86. Hall-of-Fame quarterback Dan : FOUTS
88. Trendy jeans feature : RIP
90. Extract used in brewing : WORT
91. Foreign: Prefix : XENO-
92. Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and that’s probably it? : SIOUX YOU KNOW (from “it’s who you know”)
96. See 78-Across : … NUT
97. Memo abbr. : ATTN
98. Cab stopper? : CORK
99. Up against it : IN A SPOT
101. Genesis of an idea : GERM
103. Amaze : AWE
104. Deadly nerve gas : SARIN
106. Artist who awards a biennial Grant for Peace : ONO
107. Real sport : TROOPER
111. Adjust, as a currency : REVALUE
113. Slogan for wine geeks? : SIP TO BE SQUARE (from “it’s hip to be square”)
116. Field of vision : EYE CARE
117. Nipple rings : AREOLAS
118. Set free : UNTIE
119. “Noble” thing : RARE GAS
120. Mack of early slapstick : SENNETT
121. ___ Muggs, girl in “Archie” : ETHEL

Down
1. Harper’s Weekly cartoonist Thomas : NAST
2. Kind of clef : ALTO
3. Prettify : DO UP
4. Blow up : INFLATE
5. Do more repairs on : REFIX
6. “The Princess Bride” theme : TRUE LOVE
7. Put groceries away : EAT
8. It blows things up, in brief : NITRO
9. Some wedding figures : USHERS
10. Small semicircular grooves on a column : REEDING
11. Port. is part of it : EUR
12. Left in a hurry : SPED AWAY
13. Radioactive form of hydrogen : TRITIUM
14. Pennsylvania city : YORK
15. “S O S,” e.g. : PLEA
16. Middle-earth inhabitant : ELF
17. Mystery ingredient in SweeTarts? : SOUR LITTLE SECRET (from “it’s our little secret”)
18. Comes later : ENSUES
19. Insect that folds its wings : TSETSE
24. Nearly throws a perfect game against, maybe : ONE-HITS
29. Uses WhatsApp, say : IMS
33. Snap : GO MAD
34. River to the Ligurian Sea : ARNO
35. Communication devices for commuters, once : CAR PHONES
36. Best Picture between “Rocky” and “The Deer Hunter” : ANNIE HALL
37. Always putting up my entry fees? : STAKING ME FOREVER (from “it’s taking me forever”)
39. 1960s TV show whose star weighed 650 pounds : GENTLE BEN
41. With 60-Across, player of Tony Soprano’s son : ROBERT …
42. Engine sound : PURR
45. Pressure, so to speak : SCREWS
49. Fraternity and sorority leaders, usually: Abbr. : SRS
50. Follow closely : HEED
52. Rough choice? : EIGHT IRON
54. “Mad About You” co-star : HELEN HUNT
55. Begin to tongue-lash : START IN ON
57. February 14th figure : EROS
59. Divorced : APART
61. London lavs : LOOS
64. Bit of jewelry : STUD
65. Opposite of outflux : INFLOW
66. Ram : BUTT
68. Hard to pin down : SHIFTY
69. Giant among Giants : MAYS
74. Punk rocker Vicious : SID
76. Gravy thickener : ROUX
77. They might need guards : SHINS
78. Drops to the ground? : LITTERS
80. Herman who wrote “This Is My God” : WOUK
82. Home of Walmart : ARKANSAS
84. New employee requirement, maybe : DRUG TEST
87. Formal wingdings : SOIREES
89. What an overstuffed suitcase might do : POP OPEN
91. Unknown quantity : X AMOUNT
92. Bogeyman : SCARER
93. Informal words of thanks : I OWE YA
94. Athlete’s wear, informally : UNI
95. Soup dumpling : WONTON
100. John Kennedy ___, author of “A Confederacy of Dunces” : TOOLE
102. Game with mallets played on a hard-surfaced court : ROQUE
104. Criticize, in British slang : SLAG
105. Vibe : AURA
108. Maze solution : PATH
109. Pennsylvania city : ERIE
110. Walk while dizzy : REEL
112. War hero : ACE
114. High dudgeon : IRE
115. Giant image over Gotham : BAT

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4 thoughts on “1106-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 6 Nov 16, Sunday”

  1. 1:19, no errors (that's one hour, 19 minutes). Seems like I took the bait on every misdirect. Even when I guessed correctly, at first, I erased the answer, unsure of my entry. Fortunately, I enjoy spending over an hour sussing these things out.

  2. A bit tougher than usual — I agree. I worked it all through, except for a couple I couldn't get but probably should have (CORD/WOUD instead of CORK/WOUF; ELC/IRECUSE instead of ELF/IREFUSE, duh). My adult kids helped me with SARIN and clued me in on what Lyft is. A good time all the way.

    1. They don’t sell Sure deodorant in the U.S. anymore? I remember the old commercials and the tagline “Raise your hand if you’re Sure!”

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