0523-21 NY Times Crossword 23 May 21, Sunday

Constructed by: Jennifer Nebergall
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme You Do the Math

Themed clues use mathematical operations that are reflected in the corresponding answer:

  • 27A “That was great!” – “No, it stunk!” : DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONS
  • 42A Route 70 in {Route 10, Route 95, Route 101, Route 70, Route 25} : HIGHWAY MEDIAN
  • 66A Cattle in [cattle / pigs] : STOCK DIVIDEND
  • 95A Bear x tiger : ANIMAL PRODUCT
  • 106A Car in {plane, car, train, horse, car, car, train} : MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

Bill’s time: 18m 52s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Supply for an ultimate Frisbee team : DISCS

Ultimate is a team sport that is similar to football or rugby in that the goal is to get a flying disc into an endzone or goal area. The sport used to be called “Ultimate Frisbee”, but the “Frisbee” was dropped as it is a registered trademark.

6 2019 box-office flop described by one critic as “Les Meowsérables” : CATS

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s source material for his hit musical “Cats” was T. S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats”. Eliot’s collection of whimsical poems was published in 1939, and was a personal favorite of Webber as he was growing up. “Cats” is the second longest-running show in Broadway history (“Phantom of the Opera” is the longest and is still running; deservedly so in my humble opinion). My wife and I have seen “Cats” a couple of times and really enjoyed it …

14 Extemporizes : VAMPS

To vamp is to improvise musically, usually on a piano. A vamp is often an accompaniment to a solo.

22 How spring rolls are cooked : IN OIL

Spring rolls are so called as they were historically a seasonal food consumed in the spring. Those early pancakes were filled with freshly harvested spring vegetables.

23 Oscar-winning actress born Mary Louise : MERYL

Meryl Streep has had more nominations for an Academy Award than any other actor, which is both a tribute to her talent and the respect she has earned in the industry. I am not a huge fan of her earlier works but some of her recent movies are now on my list of all-time favorites. I recommend “Mamma Mia!” (you’ll either love it or hate it!), “Julie & Julia”, “It’s Complicated” and ”Hope Springs”.

26 University of Florida athlete : GATOR

The Florida Gators are the sports teams of the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. Sometimes the female teams are called the “Lady Gators”, and all of the fans make up the “Gator Nation”.

32 They have stems and white heads : HALF NOTES

Where I grew up, a whole note is called a semibreve, and a half note is a minim.

33 Mild, light-colored cigars : CLAROS

A claro is a mild cigar made with light-colored tobacco. The name “claro” comes from the Spanish for “clear”.

42 Route 70 in {Route 10, Route 95, Route 101, Route 70, Route 25} : HIGHWAY MEDIAN
106A Car in {plane, car, train, horse, car, car, train} : MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

In a set of numbers, the mean is the average value of those numbers. The median is the numeric value at which half the numbers have a lower value, and half the numbers a higher value. The mode is the value that appears most often in the whole set of numbers.

45 Snitch : TATTLER

Something described as tattletale is revealing, it gives away a secret. The term is a combination of “tattle” and “tale”, and is probably patterned on the similar word “telltale”. “To tattle” means “to tell secrets”, and the noun “tattletale” applies to someone who tells secrets and informs.

47 Hit film set aboard the spaceship Nostromo : ALIEN

The 1979 sci-fi horror movie “Alien” was the big break for Sigourney Weaver as it was her first lead role, and her character ended up as central to a whole set of sequels. The movie’s producers made a very conscious decision to cast a female in the lead role so as to have the film stand out in the male-dominated genre of science fiction. Famously, the film was publicized with the tagline “In space no one can hear you scream”.

58 What two Vikings have explored : MARS

There have been several rovers sent to Mars from Earth. The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 landed in 1971, and failed. Mars 3 landed the same year, and ceased operation just 20 seconds after landing. NASA’s Sojourner landed in 1997 (what a great day that was!) and operated from July through September. The British rover Beagle 2 was lost six days before its scheduled entry into the Martian atmosphere. NASA’s Spirit landed in 2004, and operated successfully for over six years before getting trapped in sand and eventually ceasing to communicate. NASA’s Opportunity also landed in 2004, and operated for over fourteen years. And then NASA’s Curiosity made a spectacular, hi-tech landing in 2012 and is continuing to explore the planet today. Based on the Curiosity design, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in 2021, along with the Mars helicopter named Ingenuity. The China National Space Administration landed it’s first rover, named Zhurong (“Rover” in English), five months after Perseverance started its mission on the planet.

59 Royal staff : SCEPTER

A scepter (“sceptre” in Britain and Ireland) is a ceremonial staff, one often held by a monarch.

64 Fruits often used in sushi : AVOCADOS

The wonderful avocado comes from a tree that is native to Mexico and Central America. The avocado fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear, because of its shape, even though it is not related to the pear at all. The fruit might also be referred to as an alligator pear, due to the roughness of the green skin of some avocado cultivars.

66 Cattle in [cattle / pigs] : STOCK DIVIDEND

In a fraction, the dividend is divided by the divisor.

69 Burrito condiment : HOT SAUCE

A burrito is a common dish served in Mexican cuisine. It is a flour tortilla filled with all sorts of good stuff. The term “burrito” is Spanish for “little donkey”, the diminutive of “burro” meaning “donkey”. It’s thought that the name was applied as a burrito looks like a bedroll or pack that might be carried by a donkey.

73 Vodka mixer : SODA

The distilled beverage vodka takes its name from the Slavic word “voda” meaning “water”, with “vodka” translating as “little water”.

79 Birthstone for Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez : OPAL

Here is the “official” list of birthstones, by month, that we tend to use today:

  • January: Garnet
  • February: Amethyst
  • March: Bloodstone or Aquamarine
  • April: Diamond
  • May: Emerald
  • June: Pearl or Moonstone
  • July: Ruby
  • August: Sardonyx or Peridot
  • September: Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli
  • October: Opal or Pink Tourmaline
  • November: Topaz or Citrine
  • December: Turquoise or Zircon (also now, Tanzanite)

80 Toffee bar brand : SKOR

The candy bar named Skor is produced by Hershey’s. “Skor” is Swedish for “shoes”, and the candy bar’s wrapping features a crown that is identical to that found in the Swedish national emblem. What shoes have to do with candy, I don’t know …

84 Major move, for short : RELO

Relocate (relo)

92 Comics character with the dog Daisy : DAGWOOD

“Blondie” was created as a comic strip by Chic Young. It was first published in 1930, and is still being created today (although the strip is now controlled by Chic’s son, Dean). The strip spawned a series of radio programs (1939-1950) and a series of “Blondie” films (1938-1950). Blondie Boopadoop married her boyfriend Dagwood Bumstead in 1933. Dagwood slaves away at a construction company run by Julius Dithers, whose wife is named Cora. Another famous character in the strip is Elmo Tuttle, a pesky kid who is always bugging Dagwood.

98 “Billions” airer, for short : SHO

“Billions” is a Showtime drama series starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. It’s about a federal prosecutor going after a hedge fund manager in New York. I haven’t seen this one, but I hear good things. It must be good, with Giamatti and Lewis starring …

99 Et ___ : ALIA

“Et alii” (et al.) is the equivalent of “et cetera” (etc.), with “et cetera” being used in place of a list of objects, and “et alii” used for a list of names. In fact, “et al.” can stand for “et alii” (a group of males, or males and females), “et aliae” (a group of women) and “et alia” (a group of neuter nouns, or a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

101 Hamilton, to Burr : ENEMY

Alexander Hamilton was one of America’s Founding Fathers, chief of staff to General George Washington and the first Secretary of the Treasury. It was Hamilton who established the nation’s first political party, the Federalist Party. He is also famous for fighting a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, which resulted in Hamilton’s death a few days later.

Aaron Burr was the third vice-president of the US, and served under Thomas Jefferson from 1801 to 1805. In the final year of his term in office, Burr fought an illegal duel and killed his political rival Alexander Hamilton. Burr was charged with several crimes as a result, but those charges were eventually dropped. The Democratic-Republican Party had already decided not to nominate Burr as candidate for vice president to run alongside Jefferson in the 1804 election, largely because the relationship between Vice President Burr and President Jefferson was so poor. The subsequent fallout resulting from the killing of Alexander Hamilton effectively ended Burr’s political career.

102 Green cards, informally : AMEXES

“Amex” is short for “American Express”, the name of the financial services company that is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler’s check businesses. The company name is indicative of its original business. American Express was founded in 1850 in Buffalo, New York as an express mail service.

113 Pong company : ATARI

Do you remember the arcade video game that is like a game of tennis, with paddles moving up and down to hit what looks like a ball, over what looks like a net? Well, that is Pong. The arcade version of Pong was introduced in 1972, with Atari selling a home version through Sears for the Christmas market in 1975.

114 Shakespeare character who inquires “Are your doors lock’d?” : IAGO

Iago is the schemer in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. He is a soldier who fought alongside Othello and feels hard done by, missing out on promotion. Iago hatches a plot designed to discredit his rival Cassio by insinuating that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, Othello’s wife.

120 Its merchandise often comes with pictorial instructions : IKEA

The IKEA furniture chain was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17-years-old. IKEA is an acronym standing for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.

121 “Set Fire to the Rain” singer : ADELE

“Adele” is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older. Her third studio album “25”, released in 2015, broke the first-week sales records in both the UK and the US.

123 Mathematician Descartes : RENE

The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”. Anything pertaining to the philosophy of Descartes can be described by the adjective “Cartesian”.

124 Credit application figs. : SSNS

Social Security number (SSN)

125 PC platform popular in the ’80s : MS-DOS

MS-DOS (short for “Microsoft Disk Operating System”) was the main operating system used by IBM-compatible PCs in the eighties and for much of the nineties. Microsoft introduced the Windows operating environment in 1985 to sit above MS-DOS as a graphical user interface (GUI). That move was made in response to the success of Apple’s GUI released with the Lisa and Macintosh platforms. A court case ensued, one that was eventually settled in court in favor of Microsoft.

Down

3 Garment whose name sounds like an apology : SARI

The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that it is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

6 Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s home city : CAIRO

Cairo is the capital city of Egypt. It is nicknamed “The City of a Thousand Minarets” because of its impressive skyline replete with Islamic architecture. The name “Cairo” is a European corruption of the city’s original name in Arabic, “Al-Qahira”.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali is an Egyptian diplomat, and the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Boutros-Ghali was nominated for a second term as Secretary-General in 1996, but the US used its right of veto to block the appointment. According to senior delegates, the US wasn’t too happy with his handling of the international crisis in Bosnia.

12 Long, loose robe : KIMONO

The lovely Japanese kimono is a garment worn by men, women and children. The word “kimono” translates simply as “thing to wear”, with “ki” meaning “wear” and “mono” meaning “thing”.

15 Diarist Nin : ANAIS

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

17 Subatomic particle : PION

“Pion” is short for “pi meson”, and “kaon” is short for “K meson”.

18 Some nice cameras, for short : SLRS

Single-lens reflex camera (SLR)

28 Wife of Albert Einstein : ELSA

Elsa Einstein was Albert Einstein’s second wife. “Einstein” was Elsa’s family name after she married Einstein, and also beforehand. Elsa and Albert were first cousins.

33 Has a tête-à-tête : CHATS

A “tête-à-tête” is a one-on-one meeting, and a term that translates from French as “head-to-head”.

34 Pale pinkish purple : LILAC

The ornamental flowering plant known as lilac is native to the Balkans, and is a member of the olive family.

39 First work read in Columbia’s Literature Humanities course : ILIAD

“Iliad” is an epic poem by the Greek poet Homer that tells the story of the ten-year siege of “Ilium” (i.e. “Troy”) during the Trojan war. “The Odyssey”, also attributed to Homer, is sometimes described as a sequel to “Iliad”.

46 Rating for risqué shows : TV-MA

“Risqué” is a French word, the past participle of the verb meaning “to risk”. So in English we use “risqué” to mean “racy”, but in French it means “risky”.

53 Whale constellation : CETUS

Cetus is a constellation named after a sea monster from Greek mythology. Today, Cetus is often referred to as the Whale.

54 Massive ref. books : OEDS

Work started on what was to become the first “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) in 1857. Several interim versions of the dictionary were published in the coming years with the first full version appearing, in ten bound volumes, in 1928. The second edition of the OED appeared in 1989 and is made up of twenty volumes. The OED was first published in electronic form in 1988 and went online in 2000. Given the modern use of computers, the publishing house responsible feels that there will never be a third print version of the famous dictionary.

60 Org. whose website has a “What Can I Bring?” section : TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) loosened the ban on liquids, aerosols and gels in carry-on baggage in 2006, From that date onwards, passengers had to abide by the 3-1-1 rule, i.e. 3.4-ounce or less containers (3), in a one-quart ziploc bag (1), one bag per person (1) .

62 Summer Olympics host before Tokyo : RIO

Even though the 2016 Olympic Games was a summer competition, it was held in Rio de Janeiro in winter. As Rio is in the southern hemisphere, the opening ceremony on 5th August 2016 fell in the local winter season. The 2016 games was also the first to be held in South America, and the first to be hosted by a Portuguese-speaking country.

65 Summer hrs. in Iowa : CDT

Central Daylight Time (CDT)

68 First line of a Seuss classic : I AM SAM

Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. “Green Eggs and Ham” now ranks twelfth in the list of top selling children’s books. By the way, “Harry Potter” books hold the top four slots in that list. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

69 Parts of cars and stoves : HOODS

The hinged cover over the engine of a car is referred to in the US as a “hood”, and in Britain and Ireland as a “bonnet”. On the other side of the Atlantic, a hood is a fabric cover that goes over a car’s passenger compartment. That same cover is called a “top” here in the US.

71 Style of “Roxanne” in “Moulin Rouge!” : TANGO

The dramatic dance called the tango originated in the late 1800s in the area along the border between Argentina and Uruguay. Dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires in particular traveled to Europe and beyond in the early twentieth century and brought the tango with them. The tango craze first struck Europe in Paris in the 1910s, and from there spread to London and Berlin, crossing the Atlantic to New York in 1913.

“Moulin Rouge!” is a musical film that was released in 2001, starring Nicole Kidman as the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, and Ewan McGregor as the young man who falls in love with her. Although set in the early 1900s, the film uses many, many contemporary songs. There were so many that it took the producers almost two years to secure the rights to use the music.

75 Easterlies : TRADE WINDS

The trade winds are the winds found in the tropics that blow predominantly from the east (from the northeast above the equator, and from the southeast below). Although the trade winds were crucial during the age of sail, allowing the European empires to grow and prosper, the use of the term “trade” had nothing to do with commerce. Rather, the name “trade” was a Middle English word that meant “path, track”, a reference to the predictable courses used by the sailing vessels. It was from these favorable “trade” winds that we began to associate commerce with the term “trade”.

76 Done again : REDUX

The adjective “redux” means “returned, brought back”, and is derived from the Latin “reducere” meaning “to lead back, to bring back”.

78 Mrs. ___, “Beauty and the Beast” character : POTTS

Mrs. Potts is a character introduced into the “Beauty and the Beast” tale by Disney in the 1991 film adaptation. Mrs. Potts is a teapot, and her son Chip is a teacup.

89 Certain sots : WINOS

Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning “fool”. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s. The derivative term “besotted” means “muddled with drunkenness”, or more figuratively “infatuated”.

91 Words often replaced when singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” : HOME TEAM

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is a 1908 song that is traditionally sung during the seventh inning stretch of a baseball game. Even though the song is now inextricably linked to baseball, neither of the two composers had ever been to a game before they wrote it.

93 Disney character who says “Some people are worth melting for” : OLAF

In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Olaf is a happy-go-lucky snowman who provides a lot of comic relief in the movie. Olaf is voiced by actor and comedian Josh Gad.

96 Where the King lived : MEMPHIS

Memphis is the largest city on the Mississippi River, and the largest city in the state of Tennessee. Memphis is also relatively young, having been founded in 1819 as a planned city. The founders were John Overton, James Winchester and future US president Andrew Jackson. The American Memphis is named for the Egyptian Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt located on the River Nile.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and moved to Memphis, Tennessee with his family when he was 13-years-old. Once he had achieved fame, Elvis purchased Graceland, the famous Memphis home that he used for himself and his family. I visited Graceland some years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

97 Tennis’s Nadal, familiarly : RAFA

Rafael “Rafa” Nadal is a Spanish tennis player. He is noted for his expertise on clay courts, which earned him the nickname “The King of Clay”.

103 Font flourish : SERIF

Serifs are details on the ends of characters in some typefaces. Typefaces without serifs are known as sans-serif, using the French word “sans” meaning “without” and “serif” from the Dutch “schreef” meaning “line”. Some people say that serif fonts are easier to read on paper, whereas sans-serif fonts work better on a computer screen. I’m not so sure though …

105 Cartographic collection : ATLAS

The famous Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator published his first collection of maps in 1578. Mercator’s collection contained a frontispiece with an image of Atlas the Titan from Greek mythology holding up the world on his shoulders. That image gave us our term “atlas” that is used for a book of maps.

Cartography is the art of producing maps.

107 Texter’s “Then again …” : OTOH …

On the other hand (OTOH)

108 Cloud contents : DATA

In the world of computing, when one operates “in the cloud”, one’s files and key applications are not stored on one’s own computer, but rather are residing “in the cloud”, on a computer somewhere out on the Internet. I do 90% of my computing in the cloud. That way I don’t have to worry about backing up files, and I can operate from any computer if I have to …

109 Trees under which truffles might grow : OAKS

Truffles are rooted out by pigs, or specially trained dogs. The reason why pigs, especially sows, are so attracted to truffles is that there is a chemical compound found within the truffle that is very similar to androstenol, a sex pheromone found in the saliva of boars.

110 “De ___” (response to “Merci”) : RIEN

“Rien” is the French word for “nothing”. “De rien” translates literally from the French as “of nothing”, and is used to mean “you’re welcome” or “don’t mention it”. The Spanish have the same expression “de nada”, also translating to “of nothing” and used the same way.

111 Took too much, for short : ODED

Overdose (OD)

112 ___ contendere : NOLO

“Nolo contendere” (sometimes shortened to “nolo”) is a legal term that translates from Latin as “I do not wish to contend”. It’s the plea of no contest, and is an alternative to guilty and not guilty, meaning that one doesn’t admit guilt but nor does one dispute the charge.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Supply for an ultimate Frisbee team : DISCS
6 2019 box-office flop described by one critic as “Les Meowsérables” : CATS
10 Picks the brain of : ASKS
14 Extemporizes : VAMPS
19 “Why should ___?” : I CARE
20 Feeling tender : ACHY
21 Apartment, in real estate lingo : UNIT
22 How spring rolls are cooked : IN OIL
23 Oscar-winning actress born Mary Louise : MERYL
24 One side of a 2015 nuclear agreement : IRAN
25 It’s irreversible : TIME
26 University of Florida athlete : GATOR
27 “That was great!” – “No, it stunk!” : DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONS
31 Setting for Jo Nesbo’s best-selling crime novels : OSLO
32 They have stems and white heads : HALF NOTES
33 Mild, light-colored cigars : CLAROS
36 Have because of : OWE TO
38 Drive (from) : OUST
39 Recurring pain? : IMP
42 Route 70 in {Route 10, Route 95, Route 101, Route 70, Route 25} : HIGHWAY MEDIAN
45 Snitch : TATTLER
47 Hit film set aboard the spaceship Nostromo : ALIEN
48 Cereal grain : OAT
49 Fastener that leaves a flush surface : T-NUT
51 Modern party planning tool : E-VITE
52 Lofty : TALL
53 Collector’s item : CURIO
55 Word after combat or cowboy : … BOOT
58 What two Vikings have explored : MARS
59 Royal staff : SCEPTER
61 Sort represented by the 🤓 emoji : NERD
64 Fruits often used in sushi : AVOCADOS
66 Cattle in [cattle / pigs] : STOCK DIVIDEND
69 Burrito condiment : HOT SAUCE
73 Vodka mixer : SODA
74 Hopeless predicament : RATTRAP
79 Birthstone for Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez : OPAL
80 Toffee bar brand : SKOR
82 What the nose knows : SMELL
84 Major move, for short : RELO
85 “… unless you disagree” : … OR NOT
87 Naturally occurring hexagonal crystals : SNOW
90 “Dames at ___” (Broadway musical) : SEA
91 Was fed up : HAD IT
92 Comics character with the dog Daisy : DAGWOOD
95 Bear x tiger : ANIMAL PRODUCT
98 “Billions” airer, for short : SHO
99 Et ___ : ALIA
101 Hamilton, to Burr : ENEMY
102 Green cards, informally : AMEXES
103 Offering to a houseguest : SPARE ROOM
105 Hardly any : A FEW
106 Car in {plane, car, train, horse, car, car, train} : MODE OF TRANSPORTATION
113 Pong company : ATARI
114 Shakespeare character who inquires “Are your doors lock’d?” : IAGO
115 Greet grandly : HAIL
116 Provide funding for : ENDOW
118 Was accepted : GOT IN
119 ___ mess, English dessert of berries, meringue and whipped cream : ETON
120 Its merchandise often comes with pictorial instructions : IKEA
121 “Set Fire to the Rain” singer : ADELE
122 Part of a golf club : SHAFT
123 Mathematician Descartes : RENE
124 Credit application figs. : SSNS
125 PC platform popular in the ’80s : MS-DOS

Down

1 Grow faint : DIM
2 Coffee order specification : ICED
3 Garment whose name sounds like an apology : SARI
4 Sign of distress : CRY FOR HELP
5 Like many wildflower seeds : SELF-SOWN
6 Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s home city : CAIRO
7 Nearly 5,000 square yards : ACRE
8 Comparative word : THAN
9 Matched up : SYNCHED
10 What has interest in a car? : AUTO LOAN
11 Sound of disdain : SNIFF
12 Long, loose robe : KIMONO
13 Leave momentarily : STEP OUT
14 Brief evocative account : VIGNETTE
15 Diarist Nin : ANAIS
16 “Hello ___” (old cellphone ad line) : MOTO
17 Subatomic particle : PION
18 Some nice cameras, for short : SLRS
28 Wife of Albert Einstein : ELSA
29 Wipe out, slangily : EAT IT
30 “___ deal” : IT’S A
33 Has a tête-à-tête : CHATS
34 Pale pinkish purple : LILAC
35 Light-footed : AGILE
36 Muhammad’s father-in-law : OMAR
37 Cause of a smudge : WET INK
39 First work read in Columbia’s Literature Humanities course : ILIAD
40 Like some news coverage : METRO
41 Squeeze : PRESS
43 “Nice going!” : YOU ROCK!
44 Crux of the matter : NUB
46 Rating for risqué shows : TV-MA
50 ___-in-the-hole (British dish) : TOAD
53 Whale constellation : CETUS
54 Massive ref. books : OEDS
56 Have things in common : OVERLAP
57 Like music that uses conventional keys and harmony : TONAL
60 Org. whose website has a “What Can I Bring?” section : TSA
62 Summer Olympics host before Tokyo : RIO
63 They may come in a boxed set : DVDS
65 Summer hrs. in Iowa : CDT
67 Co. captains? : CEOS
68 First line of a Seuss classic : I AM SAM
69 Parts of cars and stoves : HOODS
70 High-profile interviewer of Harry and Meghan : OPRAH
71 Style of “Roxanne” in “Moulin Rouge!” : TANGO
72 Drawn-out : SLOW
75 Easterlies : TRADE WINDS
76 Done again : REDUX
77 Chef Waters who pioneered the organic food movement : ALICE
78 Mrs. ___, “Beauty and the Beast” character : POTTS
81 Kind of vaccine used against Covid : RNA
83 Slippery : EELY
86 Partially : TO A POINT
88 Two-person meeting : ONE-ON-ONE
89 Certain sots : WINOS
91 Words often replaced when singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” : HOME TEAM
93 Disney character who says “Some people are worth melting for” : OLAF
94 Less sportsmanlike : DIRTIER
96 Where the King lived : MEMPHIS
97 Tennis’s Nadal, familiarly : RAFA
100 Make sparkling : AERATE
103 Font flourish : SERIF
104 Tease : RAG ON
105 Cartographic collection : ATLAS
106 In Touch and Out, for two : MAGS
107 Texter’s “Then again …” : OTOH …
108 Cloud contents : DATA
109 Trees under which truffles might grow : OAKS
110 “De ___” (response to “Merci”) : RIEN
111 Took too much, for short : ODED
112 ___ contendere : NOLO
117 ___ Moore, antipoverty entrepreneur of the Robin Hood Foundation : WES