1003-21 NY Times Crossword 3 Oct 21, Sunday

Constructed by: Trenton Charlson
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme Snoozefest

Today’s grid includes a plethora of letters Z, indicating a SNOOZEFEST. In fact, there are FORTY letters Z in all, that makes FORTY WINKS:

  • 111A Quick nap … or a playful description of the 64-Down here : FORTY WINKS
  • 64D Sleep indicators : ZEES

Bill’s time: 21m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Person who likes all your FB posts, perhaps : BFF

Best friend forever (BFF)

Facebook (FB)

13 Western film, in old slang : OATER

The term “oater” that is used for a Western movie comes from the number of horses seen, as horses love oats!

18 Harriet’s partner on 1950s-’60s TV : OZZIE

“The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” originally ran from 1952 to 1966, and has been running continuously in syndication ever since. It still holds the record for the longest-running, non-animated sitcom ever seen on US television.

19 China’s Chou En-___ : LAI

Zhou Enlai (also “Chou En-lai”) was the first government leader of the People’s Republic of China and held the office of Premier from 1949 until he died in 1976. Zhou Enlai ran the government for Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong, often striking a more conciliatory tone with the West than that of his boss. He was instrumental, for example, in setting up President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Zhou Enlai died just a few months before Mao Zedong, with both deaths leading to unrest and a dramatic change in political direction for the country.

20 Paul Simon’s “___ Rock” : I AM A

“I Am a Rock” is a lovely song written by Paul Simon that was recorded most famously by Simon & Garfunkel on their 1965 album “Sounds of Silence”. The song made its first appearance as the opening track on Simon’s solo album “The Paul Simon Songbook” that he released earlier the same year.

21 Tree that Athena gifted to Athens : OLIVE

The olive tree developed in and around the Mediterranean Basin, but has been cultivated in many locations around the world for thousands of years. The fruit of the olive tree is prized as a foodstuff, as well as a source of olive oil. Our word “oil” ultimately derives from the Greek “elaia” meaning “olive”.

According to myth, the goddess Athena competed with Poseidon for the privilege of being the patron of the city we now call Athens. Poseidon gave the city a salt water spring, and Athena offered an olive tree. As the olive tree was a source of wood, oil and food, Athena won the competition, and the city was named “Athens” in her honor.

22 Inaptly named bear of a tongue twister : FUZZY WUZZY

“Fuzzy Wuzzy” is a novelty song for children that dates back to 1944.

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?

25 Spanish rice : ARROZ

In Spanish, a dish might be served with “con arroz” (with rice).

32 Art of verse : POESY

“Poesy” is an alternative name for poetry, and is often used to mean the “art of poetry”.

41 Literary traveler to Lilliput and Brobdingnag : GULLIVER

The word “lilliputian” meaning “wee” or “very small”, comes from Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”. In Swift’s tale, Lilliput and Blefuscu are two island nations that are inhabited by tiny people who are under six inches tall.

Brobdingnag is one of the lands visited by the hero in Jonathan Swift’s novel “Gulliver’s Travels”. Brobdingnag is inhabited by giants, so we use the term “brobdingnagian” to mean “huge, enormous”.

43 Former telecom giant that merged into Verizon : GTE

GTE was a rival to AT&T, the largest of the independent competitors to the Bell System. GTE merged with Bell Atlantic in 2000 to form the company that we know today as Verizon. Verizon made some high-profile acquisitions over the years, including MCI in 2005 and AOL in 2015.

49 Singer Lisa : LOEB

Singer Lisa Loeb was discovered by actor Ethan Hawke, who lived just across the street from her in New York City. Hawke took a demo of her song “Stay (I Missed You)” and gave it to director Ben Stiller, who in turn used it over the ending credits of his 1994 movie “Reality Bites”. The movie was a hit, the song went to number one, and Loeb became the first artist ever to hit that number one spot without having signed up with a record label. Good for her!

51 Pre-euro currency : PESETA

The peseta is a former currency of Spain and was also the de facto currency of Spain’s neighbor, the Principality of Andorra. The peseta was replaced by the euro in 2002.

52 National tree of the U.S. : OAK

The oak is the state tree of several US states:

  • Oak tree: Iowa
  • Northern red oak: New Jersey
  • White oak: Connecticut, Illinois and Maryland
  • Live oak: Georgia

53 Paradise lost : EDEN

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them from becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

59 Rattlesnake’s warning : SSS!

The scales covering the tip of a rattlesnake’s tail are made of keratin, the same structural protein that makes up the outer layer of human skin, as well as our hair and nails. The rattlesnake shakes its tail vigorously to warn off potential predators, causing the hollow scales to vibrate against one another and resulting in that scary “rattle” sound. The rattler’s tail muscles “fire” an incredible fifty times a second to achieve that effect, demonstrating one of the fastest muscular movements in the whole animal kingdom.

60 Ambrose Bierce defined it as “A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue” : PATIENCE

Ambrose Bierce was, among other things, an American satirist. He wrote a satirical lexicon called “The Devil’s Dictionary” published in 1911. The book is still popular today, with an updated version released in 2009. It includes “new” definitions from Bierce that were not included in his original work. Roy Morris, Jr. wrote a biography about Bierce called “Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company”.

62 Totally over it all : JADED

Our term “jaded”, meaning tired and feeling a little “ho-hum”, comes from the noun “jade” which in the 14th century was an old, worn-out horse.

68 Far-right state : MAINE

There seems to be some uncertainty how the US state of Maine got its name. However, the state legislature has adopted the theory that it comes from the former French province of Maine. The legislature included language to that effect when adopting a resolution in 2001 to establish Franco-American Day.

80 Sci-fi travelers : ETS

One might speculate that an unidentified flying object (UFO) is flown by an extraterrestrial (ET).

81 Pan-fries : SAUTES

“Sauté” is a French word. The literal translation from the French is “jumped” or “bounced”, a reference to the tossing of food while cooking it in a frying pan.

85 Sportscaster Jim with the classic opening “Hello, friends” : NANTZ

Jim Nantz is a sportscaster who started working for CBS Sports in the 1990s.

86 Opportunities to win a vacation on “Wheel of Fortune” : PRIZE PUZZLES

Contestants have been spinning the “Wheel of Fortune” since the game show first aired in 1975.

91 Actress Ana of “Love, Victor” : ORTIZ

Ana Ortiz played the title character’s older sister in the TV series “Ugly Betty”.

93 Bistro sign word : CHEZ

“Chez” is a French term meaning “at the house of”, which comes from the Latin word “casa” meaning “cottage” or “hut”.

“Bistro” was originally a Parisian slang term describing a little wine shop or restaurant.

95 Francis’ tenure, e.g. : PAPACY

Pope Francis was elected on 13 March 2013 as the 266th Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic church. The new pope is famously taking a much simpler and more modest approach to the office, as he did with his life back in Argentina. Francis is the first pope since 1903 not to reside in the papal residence, choosing to live instead in the less lavish Vatican guesthouse.

101 “Which Disney Princess Are You?” and the like : BUZZFEED QUIZZES

BuzzFeed is an Internet media company that was founded in 2006 in New York City. Buzzfeed’s original focus was the publication of online quizzes and pop culture articles. The company branched into serious journalism in 2011 with the launch of the “Buzzfeed News” website.

104 Big Ten powerhouse, for short : OSU

Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus was founded back in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The athletic teams of OSU are called the Buckeyes, named after the state tree of Ohio. In turn the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”.

110 Basic skateboard trick : OLLIE

An ollie is a skateboarding trick invented in 1976 by Alan “Ollie” Gelfand. Apparently it’s a way of lifting the board off the ground, while standing on it, without touching the board with one’s hands. Yeah, I could do that …

111 Quick nap … or a playful description of the 64-Down here : FORTY WINKS
(64D Sleep indicators : ZEES)

Back in the early 1800s, folks took “nine winks” when getting a few minutes of sleep during the day. Dr. William Kitchiner extended this concept in his 1821 self-help book “The Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life”. He suggested “A Forty Winks Nap”, which we seem to have been taking ever since. Mind you, I’m up to about eighty winks most days …

114 Diamond who went platinum : NEIL

I saw Neil Diamond in concert back in the mid-nineties, and I must say he put on a great show. His voice is cracking a bit, but that didn’t seem to spoil anyone’s enjoyment. I’ve also seen Diamond interviewed a few times on television, and I wouldn’t say he has the most scintillating of personalities.

116 Popeye creator Segar : ELZIE

Elzie Segar was a cartoonist who went by the name E. C. Segar. Segar was the man who created the strip “Thimble Theater”, home of the character Popeye.

117 Footnote abbr. : OP CIT

“Op. cit.” is short for “opus citatum”, Latin for “the work cited”. Op. cit. is used in footnotes to refer the reader to an earlier citation. It is similar to ibid, except that ibid refers the reader to the last citation, the one immediately above.

118 Icelandic work that influenced Tolkien : EDDA

“Poetic Edda” and “Prose Edda” are two ancient works that are the source for much of Norse mythology. Both Eddas were written in 13th-century Iceland.

119 Key for getting out, not in : ESC

The escape key (Esc) was originally used just to control computer peripherals. It was a key that allowed the computer operator to stop what the peripheral was doing (cancel a print job, for example). Nowadays the escape key is used for all sorts of things, especially in gaming programs.

Down

1 What “piano” can mean : SOFT

In musical notation, the Italian word “piano” (p) instructs musicians to play softly, and “forte” (f) to play loudly. The additional notation “pianissimo” (pp) means “very soft”, and fortissimo (ff) means “very loud”.

2 Côte d’___ : AZUR

The Côte d’Azur is on the Mediterranean coast of France and stretches from Saint-Tropez in the west and to the Italian border in the east. In English, we often refer to the area as “the French Riviera”. It’s a little crowded for me (okay, “expensive”), especially in the summer.

5 Actress Amanda of 2012’s “Les Misérables” : SEYFRIED

Actress Amanda Seyfried’s first film role was in the 2004 teen comedy “Mean Girls”, supporting Lindsay Lohan. Seyfried has quite the voice too, using it to good effect in her leading roles in 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” and 2012’s “Les Misérables”. Seyfried married fellow actor Thomas Sadoski (from “Life in Pieces”) in 2017.

6 What B. B. King was king of : BLUES

“B.B. King” was the stage name of Riley B. King, the celebrated blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. Referred to as the King of the Blues, King truly was a dedicated performer. He was doing gigs for over 50 years, and made over 15,000 appearances on stage. King’s first hit was “3 O’Clock Blues”, recorded in 1952. He passed away in May of 2015.

11 Mine: Fr. : A MOI

“À moi” (literally “to me”) is French for “mine”.

12 Many a collaboration between Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald : JAZZ DUET

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1900. Armstrong had a poor upbringing, and only stayed in school until he was 11 years old. The exact origin of Louis’s nickname “Satchmo” seems to be a little unclear. One story is that he used to dance for pennies in New Orleans as a youngster and would hide those pennies in his mouth away from the other kids. For this he earned the nickname “satchel mouth”, which was shortened to “Satchmo”.

Ella Fitzgerald, the “First Lady of Song”, had a hard and tough upbringing. She was raised by her mother alone in Yonkers, New York. Her mother died while Ella was still a schoolgirl, and around that time the young girl became less interested in her education. She fell in with a bad crowd, even working as a lookout for a bordello and as a Mafia numbers runner. She ended up in reform school, from which she escaped, and found herself homeless and living on the streets for a while. Somehow Fitzgerald managed to get herself a spot singing in the Apollo Theater in Harlem. From there her career took off and as they say, the rest is history.

14 Spanish composer Isaac : ALBENIZ

Isaac Albéniz was a Spanish Catalan pianist and composer. Albéniz is best remembered for creating works built around motifs from Spanish folk music. Although he wrote these works for piano, many have been transcribed for the guitar and are frequently heard today.

16 One of the Gabor sisters : EVA

Eva Gabor was the youngest of the Gabor sisters, all three of whom were celebrated Hollywood actresses and socialites (her siblings were Zsa-Zsa and Magda). One of Eva’s claims to fame is the unwitting promotion of the game called “Twister”, the sales of which were languishing in 1966. In an appearance on “The Tonight Show” she got on all fours and played the game with Johnny Carson. Sales took off immediately, and Twister became a huge hit.

17 Radiation unit : REM

The contemporary standard radiation dosage unit is the “roentgen equivalent in man”, abbreviated to “rem”.

23 Member in the genus Troglodytes, so named for its tendency to enter dark crevices : WREN

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests.

“Troglodyte” is a Greek word that translates literally as “one who creeps into holes”. We use it to mean “caveman”.

29 Former queen of Jordan : NOOR

Queen Noor is the widow of King Hussein of Jordan. She was born Lisa Halaby in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Najeeb Halaby. Her father was appointed by President Kennedy as the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, and later became the CEO of Pan Am. Lisa Halaby met King Hussein in 1977, while working on the design of Jordan’s Queen Alia Airport. The airport was named after King Hussein’s third wife who had been killed that year in a helicopter crash. Halaby and the King were married the next year, in 1978.

30 Nintendo princess : ZELDA

“The Legend of Zelda” is a video game. Apparently, it’s very successful …

31 Order of roses : DOZEN

Our word “dozen” is used for a group of twelve. We imported it into English from Old French. The modern French word for “twelve” is “douze”, and for “dozen” is “douzaine”.

36 Northern California town once home to the palindromic ___ Bakery : YREKA

The California city of Yreka developed from a miners’ camp called Thompson’s Dry Diggings. “Yreka” derives from the name for Mount Shasta (wáik’a) in the Shasta language, which translates as “North Mountain” or “White Mountain”. There is, however, a story related by Mark Twain that the name “Yreka” comes from the word “bakery”. Back when the area was a mining boomtown, a baker was preparing a canvas sign with the word “BAKERY”. Leaving it out to dry, all but the B could be seen through the canvas. This reversed “-AKERY” was read by a stranger, and he presumed that the sign gave the name of the camp, and read it as “YREKA”. The name stuck. Well, that’s Mark Twain’s story …

37 Chain that sells chains : ZALES

The first Zales jewelry store was opened by Morris and William Zale and Ben Lipshy in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1924. Zales became successful largely by offering credit to their customers, a revolutionary concept at the time.

39 Levels : RAZES

To raze (“rase”, in UK English) is to level to the ground. I’ve always thought it a little quirky that “raise”, a homophone of “raze”, means “build up”.

40 Old fogy : GEEZER

“Geezer”, “codger” and “coot” are all not-so-nice terms meaning “old man”.

An old fogey is someone with old-fashioned ideas, and is usually more advanced in years. The term “fogey”(sometimes “fogy”) comes to us from the Scottish “foggie”, which back in the late 1700s described an army pensioner or veteran.

44 Comedian Fields : TOTIE

“Totie Fields” was the stage name of comedian Sophie Feldman. “Totie” is a corruption of “Sophie”, and was the nickname she was given as a child.

46 ___ garden : ZEN

Japanese Zen gardens are inspired by the meditation gardens of Zen Buddhist temples. Zen gardens have no water in them, but often there is gravel and sand that is raked in patterns designed to create the impression of water in waves and ripples.

47 When repeated, one of the Gabor sisters : ZSA

Zsa Zsa Gabor was a Hungarian-American actress, born in Budapest as Sári Gábor (the older sister of the actress Eva). Zsa Zsa Gabor was married a whopping nine times, including a 5-year stint with Conrad Hilton and another 5 years with the actor George Sanders. One of Gabor’s famous quips was that she was always a good housekeeper, as after every divorce she kept the house!

50 Mercedes-___ : BENZ

In the US, the Big Three automotive manufacturers are General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The equivalent Big Three in Germany are Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and in Japan are Toyota, Nissan and Honda.

55 Multitude : SCAD

The origin of the word “scads”, meaning “lots and lots”, is unclear. That said, “scads” was used to mean “dollars” back in the mid-1800s.

57 Pac-Man navigates through one : MAZE

The Pac-Man arcade game was first released in Japan in 1980, and is as popular today as it ever was. The game features characters that are maneuvered around the screen to eat up dots and earn points, while being pursued by ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. The name of the game comes from the Japanese folk hero “Paku”, who is known for his voracious appetite. The spin-off game called Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1981.

58 Wood-shaping tool : ADZ

An adze (also “adz”) is similar to an axe, but is different in that the blade of an adze is set at right angles to the tool’s shaft. An axe blade is set in line with the shaft.

60 They’re taken out in alleys : PINS

A pinsetter is a mechanical device that puts bowling pins into position, returns balls, and clears fallen pins. Prior to the invention of the pinsetting machine, young men known as “pinboys” used to reset the pins by hand.

61 Six-Day War leader Weizman : EZER

Ezer Weizman was the seventh President of Israel. Earlier in his career, Weizman was a combat pilot in the UK’s Royal Air Force and later rose to Commander of the Israeli Air Force. He also served as Israel’s Minister of Defense before becoming President.

The Six-Day War took place from June 5th to June 10th, 1967, and was fought between Israel and its neighbors Egypt, Jordan and Syria. By the time the ceasefire was signed, Israel had seized huge swaths of land formerly controlled by Arab states, namely the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Golan Heights. The overall territory under the control of Israel grew by a factor of three in just six days.

62 No-nonsense TV judge : JUDY

Judge Judy of television fame is Judith Sheindlin, a retired family court judge from New York. Sheindlin reportedly earns $47 million per year for “Judge Judy”. That’s a tad more than she was earning on the “real” bench, I think, and it makes her the highest-earning personality on television by a long shot.

63 Unsightly spot : ZIT

The slang term “zit”, meaning “pimple”, came into the language in 1966, but no one seems to know its exact derivation.

65 Counterfeit : ERSATZ

Something described as ersatz is a copy, and usually not a good one. “Ersatz” comes from the German verb “ersetzen” meaning “to replace”.

66 Spike the Beanie Baby, e.g. : RHINO

There were originally just nine Beanie Babies when Ty Warner introduced the stuffed animal in 1993. In the late nineties the toy became a real fad, largely due to innovative marketing techniques. For example, there was no mass marketing with constant TV ads, and the production volume was limited pushing the line into the realm of collectibles. Beanie Baby models were also “retired” on a regular basis, fueling a “must have” behavior in the market.

68 Alternative to Advil or Aleve : MOTRIN

The anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen is sold under the brand names Advil and Motrin.

69 Birthplace of the Franciscan order : ASSISI

St. Francis founded the Franciscan religious order in Assisi in 1208. He died in 1226, and was declared a saint just two years later in 1228. Construction of the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi started immediately after the canonization, and finished 25 years later. The Basilica is now a United Nations World Heritage Site.

71 Kind of ray : MANTA

The manta ray is the largest species of ray, with the largest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds. It is sometimes referred to as the sea devil.

72 Bit of tomfoolery : ANTIC

In Middle English, in the middle of the 14th century, a mentally deficient man might be called a Thom Foole, sort of a nickname. We retain the name today in our word “tomfoolery” meaning “clowning around”.

74 Seven: Prefix : HEPTA-

A “heptad” is a group of seven. The prefix “hept-”, that is used for “seven”, comes from Greek. The “sept-” prefix, which means the same thing, comes from Latin.

76 Brand of pretzels and chips : UTZ

Utz is the largest privately-held producer of snack foods in the US. The company was founded in 1921 and is based in Hanover, Pennsylvania.

77 Electric ___ : EEL

“Electrophorus electricus” is the biological name for the electric eel. Despite its name, the electric “eel” isn’t an eel at all, but rather what is called a knifefish, a fish with an elongated body that is related to the catfish. The electric eel has three pairs of organs along its abdomen, each capable of generating an electric discharge. The shock can go as high as 500 volts with 1 ampere of current (500 watts), and that could perhaps kill a human.

79 Kvetches : CARPS

The word “carp” used to mean simply “talk” back in the 13th century, with its roots in the Old Norwegian “karpa” meaning “to brag”. A century later, the Latin word “carpere” meaning “to slander” influenced the use of “to carp” so that it came to mean “to find fault with”.

The word “kvetch” comes to us from Yiddish, with “kvetshn” meaning “to complain” or “squeeze”.

81 Pointy-eared dog : SPITZ

Spitz-type dogs are those with long thick fur that is usually white. Most spitz-type dogs seem to have originated in the Arctic and/or East Asia. Examples of breeds described as spitz-type are the Alaskan Malamute and the Canadian Eskimo Dog.

82 Big name in car parts : AUTOZONE

AutoZone is the second-largest retailer of aftermarket automotive parts in the US (after Advance Auto Parts).

87 Victoria Falls river : ZAMBEZI

The Zambezi is the largest African river flowing into the Indian Ocean, and the fourth-longest river on the continent. The most famous spot along the Zambezi is Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls is located on the Zambezi River, right on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls were named by Scottish explorer David Livingstone in honor of Queen Victoria of Britain. Victoria Falls isn’t the highest waterfall in the world, nor is it the widest. However, the total “area” of the sheet of falling water is the largest in the world, so it is usually recognized as the largest waterfall on the planet.

88 Uniform adornment : EPAULET

An epaulet (also “epaulette”) is an ornamental shoulder pad, particularly one worn with a military uniform. The term “epaulet”comes from French, and translates literally as “little shoulder”.

89 Center of L.A., once : SHAQ

Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality shows: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”

95 Aphids, to ladybugs : PREY

Aphids are called “greenfly” back in Britain and Ireland where I come from. The most effective way to control aphids, in my experience, is to make sure there are plenty of ladybugs in the garden (called “ladybirds” in Ireland!).

97 Beyond cold : GELID

“Gelid” is such a lovely word, with the meaning “icy cold”. “Gelid” derives from the Latin “gelum” meaning “frost, intense cold”.

99 Pound and others : EZRAS

Ezra Pound was an American poet who spent much of his life wandering the world, and spending years in London, Paris, and Italy. In Italy, Pound’s work and sympathies for Mussolini’s regime led to his arrest at the end of the war. His major work was the epic, albeit incomplete, “The Cantos”. This epic poem is divided into 120 sections, each known as a canto.

103 One of the Nereids of Greek myth : IONE

In Greek mythology, Nereus and Doris had fifty daughters, and these were called the sea nymphs or nereids. The nereids often hung around with Poseidon and were generally very helpful creatures to sailors in distress. Mainly they were to be found in the Aegean, where they lived with their father in a cave in the deep. Some of the more notable names of the nereids were: Agave, Asia, Calypso, Doris, Erato, Eunice and Ione.

108 View from Lake Como : ALP

There are eight Alpine countries:

  • Austria
  • Slovenia
  • France
  • Switzerland
  • Liechtenstein
  • Germany
  • Monaco
  • Italy

Lake Como is a glacial lake in Lombardy in Italy. Lake Como has long been a retreat for the rich and famous. Lakeside homes there are owned by the likes of Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Sylvester Stallone and Richard Branson.

109 Country music’s ___ Brown Band : ZAC

The Zac Brown Band is a country music group from Atlanta, Georgia.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Goes wherever the wind blows? : SAILS
6 Person who likes all your FB posts, perhaps : BFF
9 Key with five sharps: Abbr. : B MAJ
13 Western film, in old slang : OATER
18 Harriet’s partner on 1950s-’60s TV : OZZIE
19 China’s Chou En-___ : LAI
20 Paul Simon’s “___ Rock” : I AM A
21 Tree that Athena gifted to Athens : OLIVE
22 Inaptly named bear of a tongue twister : FUZZY WUZZY
25 Spanish rice : ARROZ
26 Letter-shaped construction piece : H-BEAM
27 Endeavor : TRY
28 Winter weather hazard : FREEZING DRIZZLE
31 Little black ___ : DRESS
32 Art of verse : POESY
33 Jurisdiction of a Catholic church official : DEANERY
37 Get closer and closer : ZERO IN
40 Mapmaker’s subj. : GEOG
41 Literary traveler to Lilliput and Brobdingnag : GULLIVER
42 Transfixed : AGAZE
43 Former telecom giant that merged into Verizon : GTE
45 Ostentatious display : RAZZLE-DAZZLE
48 Kicked back : LAZED
49 Singer Lisa : LOEB
51 Pre-euro currency : PESETA
52 National tree of the U.S. : OAK
53 Paradise lost : EDEN
54 Scatterbrains : DITZES
56 Grandma, to Brits : NAN
57 Frenzy : MANIA
59 Rattlesnake’s warning : SSS!
60 Ambrose Bierce defined it as “A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue” : PATIENCE
62 Totally over it all : JADED
63 Final creature encountered in “Dr. Seuss’s ABC” : ZIZZER-ZAZZER-ZUZZ
68 Far-right state : MAINE
70 Buckskin, e.g. : DEER HIDE
71 Something stretched out in a yoga class : MAT
74 Has over : HOSTS
75 Go after : SUE
78 Like varnished wood : RESINY
79 “Pretty please?” : CAN I?
80 Sci-fi travelers : ETS
81 Pan-fries : SAUTES
84 Violated a code of silence : SANG
85 Sportscaster Jim with the classic opening “Hello, friends” : NANTZ
86 Opportunities to win a vacation on “Wheel of Fortune” : PRIZE PUZZLES
90 Stocking stuffer : TOY
91 Actress Ana of “Love, Victor” : ORTIZ
92 “Alas …” : ‘TIS A PITY …
93 Bistro sign word : CHEZ
95 Francis’ tenure, e.g. : PAPACY
96 Lively, on a score : ANIMATO
97 Collect little by little : GLEAN
99 Makes : EARNS
101 “Which Disney Princess Are You?” and the like : BUZZFEED QUIZZES
104 Big Ten powerhouse, for short : OSU
107 Eye shade : HAZEL
110 Basic skateboard trick : OLLIE
111 Quick nap … or a playful description of the 64-Down here : FORTY WINKS
113 Conflagration : BLAZE
114 Diamond who went platinum : NEIL
115 Scottish denial : NAE
116 Popeye creator Segar : ELZIE
117 Footnote abbr. : OP CIT
118 Icelandic work that influenced Tolkien : EDDA
119 Key for getting out, not in : ESC
120 Like May through August, unlike the other months of the year : R-LESS

Down

1 What “piano” can mean : SOFT
2 Côte d’___ : AZUR
3 Nickname for Isabelle or Isidore : IZZY
4 Fashion designer Lange : LIZ
5 Actress Amanda of 2012’s “Les Misérables” : SEYFRIED
6 What B. B. King was king of : BLUES
7 Rattles : FAZES
8 Opposite of flatness : FIZZ
9 Members of bevies and broods : BIRDS
10 Tie the knot : MARRY
11 Mine: Fr. : A MOI
12 Many a collaboration between Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald : JAZZ DUET
13 “C’est magnifique!” : OOH LA LA!
14 Spanish composer Isaac : ALBENIZ
15 “How to ___ a ___” (popular Google search) : TIE
16 One of the Gabor sisters : EVA
17 Radiation unit : REM
23 Member in the genus Troglodytes, so named for its tendency to enter dark crevices : WREN
24 “Jeepers!” : YIPE!
25 Generational divide : AGE GAP
29 Former queen of Jordan : NOOR
30 Nintendo princess : ZELDA
31 Order of roses : DOZEN
34 Kilt-wearing Greek infantryman : EVZONE
35 Fixed, as tiling : RELAID
36 Northern California town once home to the palindromic ___ Bakery : YREKA
37 Chain that sells chains : ZALES
38 “Jeepers!” : EGADS!
39 Levels : RAZES
40 Old fogy : GEEZER
41 Quiet valley : GLEN
43 Partner of glamour : GLITZ
44 Comedian Fields : TOTIE
46 ___ garden : ZEN
47 When repeated, one of the Gabor sisters : ZSA
50 Mercedes-___ : BENZ
54 Stupor : DAZE
55 Multitude : SCAD
57 Pac-Man navigates through one : MAZE
58 Wood-shaping tool : ADZ
60 They’re taken out in alleys : PINS
61 Six-Day War leader Weizman : EZER
62 No-nonsense TV judge : JUDY
63 Unsightly spot : ZIT
64 Sleep indicators : ZEES
65 Counterfeit : ERSATZ
66 Spike the Beanie Baby, e.g. : RHINO
67 Having some pep : ZINGY
68 Alternative to Advil or Aleve : MOTRIN
69 Birthplace of the Franciscan order : ASSISI
71 Kind of ray : MANTA
72 Bit of tomfoolery : ANTIC
73 Nervous state : TIZZY
74 Seven: Prefix : HEPTA-
75 Football sideline reporter Kolber : SUZY
76 Brand of pretzels and chips : UTZ
77 Electric ___ : EEL
79 Kvetches : CARPS
81 Pointy-eared dog : SPITZ
82 Big name in car parts : AUTOZONE
83 Break away : SECEDE
85 Reason to hang up : NO ANSWER
87 Victoria Falls river : ZAMBEZI
88 Uniform adornment : EPAULET
89 Center of L.A., once : SHAQ
94 Sufficient, informally : ENUF
95 Aphids, to ladybugs : PREY
97 Beyond cold : GELID
98 Woman’s name meaning “night” in Hebrew and Arabic : LEILA
99 Pound and others : EZRAS
100 Worshiper of the rain god Tlaloc : AZTEC
102 Took off : FLED
103 One of the Nereids of Greek myth : IONE
104 Eleven, en français : ONZE
105 Parts of snowmobiles : SKIS
106 Exploits : USES
107 “The White Lotus” airer : HBO
108 View from Lake Como : ALP
109 Country music’s ___ Brown Band : ZAC
112 In a bad way : ILL