1219-21 NY Times Crossword 19 Dec 21, Sunday

Constructed by: Laura Taylor Kinnel
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Season to Taste

Themed answers in the across-direction are types of cookies, with a COOKIE shape CUTTING the answers in two; Themed answers in the down-direction use those COOKIE CUTTER shapes as rebus squares:

  • 116A This puzzle’s images, in two different ways : COOKIE CUTTERS
  • 23A Little tyke / Flatter, with “up” : PEANUT/BUTTER
  • 33A Relative of a tee-hee / Bit of marginalia : SNICKER/DOODLE
  • 43A Pep / Onesie feature : GINGER/SNAP
  • 52A Ring / Hold, as inhabitants : TOLL/HOUSE
  • 69A Reduce in volume / As new : THIN/MINT
  • 85A Kind of leaf / Scientist born on Christmas Day in 1642 : FIG/NEWTON
  • 93A Possible result of getting one’s wires crossed / Moolah : SHORT/BREAD
  • 102A Breakfast dish / Fruitcake tidbit : OATMEAL/RAISIN
  • 6D It was eliminated from the U.S. in 2004 : RUBELLA
  • 36D Genuine : HEARTFELT
  • 40D Some graffiti : STREET ART
  • 48D Citrus hybrid : TANGELO
  • 56D Personal essence : TRUE SELF
  • 58D Where to go on a trip? : REST AREA
  • 77D Pirate : BUCCANEER
  • 88D More than enough : TOO MANY

Bill’s time: 20m 50s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Singer Grande, informally : ARI

Ariana Grande is a singer and actress from Boca Raton, Florida. Grande plays the role of Cat Valentine on the sitcom “Victorious” that aired for four seasons on Nickelodeon. Grande’s singing career took off with the release of the 2011 album “Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show”.

8 Undercover attire? : PJ’S

Our word “pajamas” (sometimes “PJs” or “jammies”) comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. On the other side of the Atlantic, the spelling is “pyjamas”.

11 ___ Creole (Caribbean language) : HAITIAN

“Creole” is the term used in Haiti to describe all of the native people, as well as the music, food and culture of the country. 80% of the Haitian Creole people are so-called black creoles, descendants of the original Africans brought to the island as slaves during the French colonial days.

19 Certain urban map : BUS ROUTE

We use the term “bus” for a mode of transportation as it is an abbreviated form of the original “omnibus”. We imported “omnibus” via French from Latin, in which language it means “for all”. The idea is that an omnibus is a “carriage for all”.

26 Certain Scandinavian : FINN

This clue is a bit off, in my humble opinion. Strictly speaking, Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe that covers the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The broader region that includes Finland and Iceland is referred to locally as “the Nordic countries”.

The Nordic country of Finland is the most sparsely populated nation in the European Union. The relatively modest population of 5.5 million people lives in the eighth largest country on the continent.

27 “Gimme ___!” (start of a cheer at three Big Ten schools) : AN I

The Big Ten is the nation’s oldest Division I college athletic conference. The conference was founded in 1896 and earned the name “Big Nine” in 1899 when Iowa and Indiana joined to bring the number of teams in the conference to nine. The conference name was changed to the Big Ten after Michigan rejoined in 1917. Right after WWII, the University of Chicago dropped out so the conference became known as the Big Nine again until 1949. The official designation of “Big Ten” was adopted in 1987 when the conference (once again with a complement of ten teams) registered as a not-for-profit corporation. It was decided to keep the official name of Big Ten when Penn State joined in 1990 bringing the number of schools to the level of eleven. The number of schools in the conference continues to evolve, but that “Big Ten” moniker persists.

28 Noted Dadaist : ARP

Jean Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. Arp was sent home …

Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement was launched in Zurich, Switzerland by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire. The same group frequently expressed disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

30 ___ Helmer, Ibsen heroine : NORA

“A Doll’s House” is probably the most famous play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play deals with the feminist awakening of the lead character, Nora Helmer. “A Doll’s House” is sometimes referred to as the “first true feminist play”.

33 Relative of a tee-hee / Bit of marginalia : SNICKER/DOODLE

Snickerdoodles are cookies that are well known in the US, but are relatively unknown in the rest of the world. It’s possible that “snickerdoodle” came from the German “Schneckennudel”, which is a variety of sweet bun.

39 M.L.K. or R.B.G.: Abbr. : INITS

Martin Luther King, Jr’s father was born Michael King. On a trip to Germany in 1934, Michael came to admire Protestant leader Martin Luther and changed his name to Martin Luther King on his return to the United States. Famously, he passed on his new name to his son, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr (MLK).

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) served on the US Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman to join the Court, and was nominated by President Bill Clinton. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During that time she did not miss one day on the bench. In 2009 Justice Ginsburg had surgery for pancreatic cancer, and was back to work 12 days later. She had left-lung lobectomy to remove cancerous nodules in 2018, which forced Justice Ginsburg to miss oral argument in January 2019, for the first time since joining the court 25 years earlier. She finally succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2020. Much of Ginsburg’s life is recounted in the excellent 2018 movie “On the Basis of Sex”.

41 Stage name of rapper Yasiin Bey : MOS DEF

“Mos Def” is the former stage name of actor and rapper Dante Terrell Smith-Bay, now known as Yasiin Bey. Mos Def is one of the few rap stars who is really making a name for himself in the world of movies. He received critical acclaim for roles in 2003’s “The Italian Job” , 2005’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, and for a featured role in an episode of television’s “House”.

42 Forest spirit : DRYAD

In Greek mythology, dryads are tree nymphs. The term comes from the Greek “drys” meaning an oak tree, but “dryad” tends to be used for the nymphs of all trees and not just the oak variety.

43 Pep / Onesie feature : GINGER/SNAP

Ginger snap cookies are known as ginger nut biscuits back in Ireland where I come from …

“To gin up” is slang meaning “to enliven, excite”. The term probably derives from the older “to ginger up”. Gingering up was the rather nasty practice of putting ginger up inside a horse to make it lively and move with a high tail.

49 UNICEF address suffix : ORG

The United Nations Children’s Fund is known by the acronym UNICEF because the organization’s original name when it was founded in 1946 was the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. The original focus of the fund was to provide relief to children in countries that had been devastated by WWII. UNICEF is supported by contributions from governments, but also by individual donors. One of the more successful programs for collecting private donations is the Trick-or-Treat UNICEF box that has been a tradition here in North America since 1950.

52 Ring / Hold, as inhabitants : TOLL/HOUSE

The Toll House Cookie was the first commercially produced chocolate chip cookie, and was the creation of chef Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1938. The name of the cookie comes from where Wakefield and her husband lived, the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.

57 Certain Scandinavian : DANE

The constitutional monarchy of Denmark consists of not only the country of Denmark, but also the autonomous constituent countries of the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

58 “The One I Love” band : REM

“The One I Love” is a song released in 1987 by the rock band R.E.M. The lyrics are somewhat cynical. The song starts out with a promising “This one goes out to the one I love”. The second line is less wholesome, “A simple prop to occupy my time” …

59 ___ Hall (“The Wind in the Willows” residence) : TOAD

“The Wind in the Willows” is a classic children’s novel first published in 1908. Featured in the story are characters such as Mole, Ratty, Mr. Toad and Mr. Badger. The story’s author was Kenneth Grahame, a man who held the exalted position of Secretary of the Bank of England.

62 Adjusts the spacing between, as typed letters : KERNS

Some fonts allow the adjustment of the spacing between individual letters. The process of adjusting that spacing evenly over all letters is called tracking. The process of adjusting the spacing individually between letters is called kerning.

69 Reduce in volume / As new : THIN/MINT

Depending on which bakery makes the particular variety of Girl Scout cookies, the name can vary. For example, Little Brownie Bakers makes Samoa cookies, while ABC Bakers uses the same recipe and calls the cookies Caramel deLites. The assumption is that these cookies have the exotic name “Samoa” because they contain the tropical ingredients of coconut and cocoa. The most popular variety of Girl Scout cookies sold are Thin Mints.

72 It’ll knock you out : ETHER

Ethers are a whole class of organic compounds, but in the vernacular “ether” is specifically diethyl ether. Diethyl ether was once very popular as a general anesthetic.

75 Chiwere speakers : OTOES

Chiwere is a Siouan language spoken by the Otoe people, as well as by the Missouria and Iowa.

76 Christmas ornament, often : ORB

The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

82 Old “Up, up and away” sloganeer : TWA

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a big carrier in the US, but was perhaps even more recognized for its extensive presence in Europe and the Middle East. For many years, especially after the collapse of Pan Am and TWA’s purchase by Howard Hughes, TWA was considered the unofficial flag carrier for the US. The company started in 1930, the product of a forced merger of Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express. The Transcontinental and Western Air that resulted (the original meaning of the initialism “TWA”) was what the Postmaster General wanted, a bigger airline to which the Postal Service could award airmail contracts.

The song “Up, Up and Away”, famously used by TWA in its advertising, was released by the 5th Dimension in 1967.

83 Mannheim madame : FRAU

In German, a “Herr” (Mr.) is married to a “Frau” (Mrs.), and they live together in a “Haus” (house).

Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. The city is a little unusual in that it has streets and avenues laid out in a grid pattern, rather like an American city. For this reason, Mannheim has the nickname “die Quadratestadt” (city of the squares).

84 Fivers : ABES

The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Abraham Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

85 Kind of leaf / Scientist born on Christmas Day in 1642 : FIG/NEWTON

The Fig Newton cookie is based on what is actually a very old recipe that dates back to ancient Egypt. Whereas we grew up with “Fig Rolls” in Ireland, here in America the brand name “Fig Newton” was used, as the cookies were originally produced in Newton, Massachusetts.

Sir Isaac Newton was one of the most influential people in history, and the man who laid the groundwork for all of classical mechanics. The story about an apple falling on his head, inspiring him to formulate his theories about gravity, well that’s not quite true. Newton often told the story about observing an apple falling in his mother’s garden and how this made him acutely aware of the Earth’s gravitational pull. However, he made no mention of the apple hitting him on the head.

Here are some famous people who were born on Christmas Day:

  • Isaac Newton (b.1642)
  • Humphrey Bogart (b.1899)
  • Cab Calloway (b.1907)
  • Anwar el-Sadat (b.1918)
  • Rod Serling (b.1924)
  • Jimmy Buffett (b.1946)
  • Sissy Spacek (b.1949)
  • Karl Rove (b.1950)
  • Annie Lennox (b.1954)
  • Justin Trudeau (b.1971)

89 With 111-Down, cholesterol reducer : OLEIC …
111D See 89-Across : … ACID

Oleic acid is a fatty acid, one found in many animal and plant sources, but most notably in olives. As such, “oleic” means “derived from the olive”. Oleic acid dissolves in basic solutions to create soaps.

90 Musician Brian : ENO

Brian Eno started his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno’s most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft’s “startup jingle”, the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system is booting up. Eno might have annoyed the Microsoft folks when he stated on a BBC radio show:

I wrote it on a Mac. I’ve never used a PC in my life; I don’t like them.

91 Paris’s ___ Saint-Louis : ILE

There are two famous “îles” (islands) in the middle of the River Seine in Paris, one being the Île de la Cité, and the other Île Saint-Louis. Île de la Cité is the most renowned of the two, as it is home to the cathedral of Notre-Dame.

92 ___ Finch, “ER” doctor : CLEO

“ER” is a TV medical drama that was created by successful novelist and screenwriter MIchael Crichton. The show had an original run of 15 seasons and featured quite a cast of actors who came and went over time. The cast included Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Eriq La Salle, Julianna Margulies and Angela Bassett.

93 Possible result of getting one’s wires crossed / Moolah : SHORT/BREAD

Shortening is a fat used in baking. It is the term “shortening” that gives us the words “shortbread” and “shortcake”.

96 Singer/actress Shore : DINAH

Dinah Shore had a lot of success as a singer in the forties and fifties in the Big Band Era, and then in the sixties as a hostess of variety programs on television. Shore was also a big fan of golf, both as a player and a spectator. She founded the Colgate Dinah Shore golf tournament which is now the Kraft Nabisco Championship, one of the four majors on the LPGA Tour.

101 Two-time U.S. Open tennis champion while still a teen : SELES

Monica Seles has a Hungarian name as she was born to Hungarian parents in former Yugoslavia. Seles was the World No. 1 professional tennis player in 1991 and 1992 before being forced from the sport when she was stabbed by a spectator at a match in 1993. She did return to the game two years later, but never achieved the same level of success.

102 Breakfast dish / Fruitcake tidbit : OATMEAL/RAISIN

“Raisin” is the French word for “grape”. The French for “raisin” is “raisin sec”, which translates literally as “dried grape”.

106 Amasses, with “up” : RACKS …

The verb “to rack up”, meaning “to accumulate”, first appeared in print in 1943, in “Billboard”. It’s likely that the term comes from the system of scoring points in pool halls.

108 Nuclear medicine units : RADS

A rad is a unit used to measure radiation levels that is largely obsolete now. The “rad” has been superseded by the “rem”.

110 ___ culpa : MEA

Many Roman Catholics are very familiar with the Latin phrase “mea culpa” meaning “my fault”, as it is used in the Latin Mass. The additional term “mea maxima culpa” translates as “my most grievous fault”.

112 Trig function : SINE

The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent (abbreviated to “sin, cos and tan”). Each of these is a ratio: a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The “reciprocal” of these three functions are cosecant, secant and cotangent. The reciprocal functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent. These inverted ratios should not be confused with the “inverse” trigonometric functions e.g. arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. These inverse functions are the reverse of the sine, cosine and tangent.

113 Some laundromat machines : COIN-OPS

If you go looking for a laundromat in the UK or Ireland, folks will likely know what you’re talking about. However, the local name for such a facility is “launderette” or sometimes “laundrette”.

124 Chandelier part, often : CRYSTAL

A chandelier is a relatively elaborate light fixture that is mounted on a ceiling. The term “chandelier” ultimately comes from “candela”, the Latin for “candle”.

127 Hurdle for a J.D. wannabe : LSAT

The law degree that is abbreviated to J.D. stands for “Juris Doctor” or “Doctor of Jurisprudence”.

Down

1 Court sport grp. : ATP

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is an organization that looks out for the interests of male tennis professionals. The equivalent organization for women is the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

4 Solarium activity : SUNNING

A solarium (plural “solaria”) is a sunroom or sun lounge, a structure usually built onto the side of a house that contains a lot of glass to let in the sun.

5 National dance co. : ABT

The American Ballet Theatre (ABT) was founded in New York City in 1939. ABT was officially recognized by the US Congress as “America’s National Ballet Company” in 2006.

6 It was eliminated from the U.S. in 2004 : RUBELLA

German measles is a disease caused by the rubella virus, with the name “rubella” coming from the Latin for “little red” (a reference to the red rash symptom). The disease is known as “German” measles because it was first described by physicians in Germany in the mid-1900s. Rubella is most serious for pregnant women as it can cause spontaneous abortion or cause the baby to be born with life-threatening organ disorders. When I was growing up in Ireland, I remember catching German measles along with my brother, and then having young girls from the neighborhood paraded through the house. The hope was that they would catch the disease and acquire the resulting immunity before they entered their childbearing years. Most children in North America receive a German measles vaccine as part of the MMR vaccine.

7 Library IDs : ISBNS

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was invented by one Gordon Foster who was a professor at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. The code was originally developed for booksellers, so that they had a unique number (and now a barcode) for each publication. ISBNs are ten digits long if assigned before 2007. Since the start of 2007, ISBNs have been thirteen digits long.

8 Kitty : POT

The pot in a card game has been referred to as “the kitty” since the 1880s. It’s not certain how the name “kitty” evolved but possibly it comes from “kit”, the necessary equipment for the game.

10 Outback orders : STEAKS

Outback Steakhouse is a chain of restaurants that was established in 1987, with the first Outback opening in Tampa, Florida. Outback serves largely American food in an Australian-themed dining locale.

11 Cabinet dept. since 1965 : HUD

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has its roots in the “Great Society” program of President Lyndon Johnson. HUD’s mission is to address the housing needs of the citizenry at the national level. HUD can provide mortgage insurance to help people become homeowners and also provide rental subsidies to lower-income families. HUD also is responsible for enforcement of Federal Fair Housing laws.

16 “___ Maria” : AVE

“Ave Maria” (“Hail Mary” in English) is the prayer at the core of the Roman Catholic Rosary, which itself is a set of prayers asking for the assistance of the Virgin Mary. Much of the text of the “Hail Mary” comes from the Gospel of Luke. The words in Latin are:

AVE MARIA, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

The prayer has been adapted as a hymn. The two most famous musical versions of “Ave Maria” are by Charles Gounod (based on a piece by Bach) and by Franz Schubert.

17 Super Mario Bros. platform : NES

“Super Mario” is a series of video games created by Nintendo that features the character Mario, and his adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom.

29 Green shampoo : PRELL

Prell shampoo was introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1947. Back then it was a clear green concentrate sold in a tube (like toothpaste).

35 Get, slangily : COP

“To cop” was northern-English dialect for “to seize, catch”, and is still a slang term meaning “to get hold of, steal”. This verb evolved in the noun “copper”, describing a policeman, someone who catches criminals. “Copper” is often shortened to “cop”.

37 Filmmaker von Trier : LARS

Lars von Trier is a film director and screenwriter from Denmark. Even though there is a lot of demand for von Trier to work all over the world, the vast majority of his films are shot in Denmark or Sweden, even movies set in the US. That’s because von Trier has an intense fear of flying.

40 Some graffiti : STREET ART

Graffiti is the plural of “graffito”, the Italian for “scribbling”. The word was first used to describe ancient inscriptions on the walls in the ruins of Pompeii.

45 Proverb-spouting Panza : SANCHO

Sancho Panza is Don Quixote’s squire, and a character who spouts out humorous comments called “sanchismos”.

The full name of Cervantes’s novel is “The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha”. In the story, Don Quixote is a retired country gentleman who heads out as a knight-errant and who renames himself Don Quixote of La Mancha. In his mind he designates a neighboring farm girl called Aldonza Lorenzo as his lady love, and renames her Dulcinea del Toboso.

48 Citrus hybrid : TANGELO

The fruit called a tangelo is a hybrid between a tangerine and either a grapefruit or a pomelo (which gives it the name). A pomelo is a very large, pear-shaped citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. The Jamaican form of tangelo is known as the ugli fruit.

54 “Gonna Let It Shine” singer : ODETTA

Odetta Holmes (or just “Odetta”) was a singer and a human rights activist. She has been cited as an influence by such singers as Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and Carly Simon.

65 Something else : THE BEE’S KNEES

There was a whole series of phrases involving animals that developed in the 1920s, with all designed to indicate a superlative. Some are still around today, such as “the cat’s pajamas” and “the bee’s knees”. Others didn’t last too long, e.g. “the eel’s ankle” and “the snake’s hip”.

66 Singer Gomez : SELENA

Selena Gomez is a young actress and singer from Grand Prairie, Texas. Gomez’s first television role was in the children’s show “Barney & Friends”. She then played the lead in the TV series “Wizards of Waverly Place”. Offscreen, Gomez made a splash as the girlfriend of Canadian singer Justin Bieber for a couple of years.

77 Pirate : BUCCANEER

Buccaneers were pirates who worked the Caribbean in the 1800s, mainly attacking Spanish vessels. The original buccaneer was a French hunter living on Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic). These hunters used a local design of frame called a “buccan” as a smokehouse for meat, and so picked up the name “buccaneer”. In the first half of the 17th century, many of the buccaneers were driven off the island of Hispaniola by the Spanish and so they turned to the sea, making their living by pirating Spanish shipping.

83 Woman in Progressive ads : FLO

Progressive is a popular auto insurance company, the one that uses the perky character named “Flo” as a spokesperson. Flo is played by comedian and actress Stephanie Courtney.

85 Classic dog name : FIDO

“Fido”, the name for many a dog, is Latin for “I trust”.

86 Hip bones : ILIA

The ilium (plural “ilia”) is the upper portion of the hipbone.

89 Volts/amp : OHMS

The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.

97 Some ranges : AMANAS

The Amana Corporation takes its name from the location of its original headquarters, in Middle Amana, Iowa. Today, the Amana name is very much associated with household appliances. The company was founded in 1934 to manufacture commercial walk-in coolers.

99 El ___ (“View of Toledo” painter) : GRECO

El Greco (“the Greek”, in Spanish) was the nickname of the artist whose real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos. El Greco was born in Crete in 1541, and moved to Venice to study art when he was in his early twenties. A few years later he moved to the city of Toledo in central Spain, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.

Toledo is a city in central Spain that is located just over 40 miles south of the capital Madrid. Toledo is sometimes called the “City of Three Cultures”, due to the historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions.

103 Popular adoption agcy. : ASPCA

Unlike most developed countries, the US has no umbrella organization with the goal of preventing cruelty to animals. Instead there are independent organizations set up all over the nation using the name SPCA. Having said that, there is an organization called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that was originally intended to operate across the country, but really it now focuses its efforts in New York City.

113 Agcy. fighting epidemics : CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC started out life during WWII as the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities. The CDC worries about much more than malaria these days …

114 Bobby of the N.H.L. : ORR

Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking. While still 31 years old, in 1979, Orr became the youngest person inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Prior to that, in 1967, Orr became the youngest person named the NHL’s Rookie of the Year.

115 Part of R.S.V.P. : S’IL

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

117 Old-fashioned menorah filler : OIL

There is a seven-branched menorah used symbolically in ancient temples. However, the Hanukkah menorah is a nine-branched lampstand that is lit during the eight-day holiday called Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. “Menorah” is the Hebrew word for “lamp”.

118 “Kitchy-kitchy-___!” : KOO

“Kitchy-kitchy-koo” is a taunt uttered while tickling someone.

120 Teetotaler’s opposite : SOT

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”.

Teetotalism is the practice of abstaining from alcohol. The teetotalism movement started in England in the 1800s.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 They might be put on : ACTS
5 Singer Grande, informally : ARI
8 Undercover attire? : PJ’S
11 ___ Creole (Caribbean language) : HAITIAN
18 Drive-___ : THRU
19 Certain urban map : BUS ROUTE
22 Demoralize : UNNERVE
23 Little tyke / Flatter, with “up” : PEANUT/BUTTER
25 Things bachelors might have : DEGREES
26 Certain Scandinavian : FINN
27 “Gimme ___!” (start of a cheer at three Big Ten schools) : AN I
28 Noted Dadaist : ARP
30 ___ Helmer, Ibsen heroine : NORA
31 Scalpel creations : SLITS
33 Relative of a tee-hee / Bit of marginalia : SNICKER/DOODLE
39 M.L.K. or R.B.G.: Abbr. : INITS
41 Stage name of rapper Yasiin Bey : MOS DEF
42 Forest spirit : DRYAD
43 Pep / Onesie feature : GINGER/SNAP
47 “Sure, I’m game” : LET’S
49 UNICEF address suffix : ORG
50 H.S. subj. : ENG
51 Words before point or rate : AT ANY …
52 Ring / Hold, as inhabitants : TOLL/HOUSE
55 Med school subj. : ANAT
57 Certain Scandinavian : DANE
58 “The One I Love” band : REM
59 ___ Hall (“The Wind in the Willows” residence) : TOAD
60 Loud but friendly growl : RAWR
61 Bow : ARC
62 Adjusts the spacing between, as typed letters : KERNS
64 No ___ (apartment policy) : PETS
67 Big name in cast-iron cookware : STAUB
69 Reduce in volume / As new : THIN/MINT
72 It’ll knock you out : ETHER
74 Ogler : EYER
75 Chiwere speakers : OTOES
76 Christmas ornament, often : ORB
78 Modern prefix with medicine : TELE-
79 Becomes less taut : SAGS
82 Old “Up, up and away” sloganeer : TWA
83 Mannheim madame : FRAU
84 Fivers : ABES
85 Kind of leaf / Scientist born on Christmas Day in 1642 : FIG/NEWTON
89 With 111-Down, cholesterol reducer : OLEIC …
90 Musician Brian : ENO
91 Paris’s ___ Saint-Louis : ILE
92 ___ Finch, “ER” doctor : CLEO
93 Possible result of getting one’s wires crossed / Moolah : SHORT/BREAD
96 Singer/actress Shore : DINAH
98 Big block : LOGJAM
101 Two-time U.S. Open tennis champion while still a teen : SELES
102 Breakfast dish / Fruitcake tidbit : OATMEAL/RAISIN
106 Amasses, with “up” : RACKS …
108 Nuclear medicine units : RADS
109 “___, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” : YES
110 ___ culpa : MEA
112 Trig function : SINE
113 Some laundromat machines : COIN-OPS
116 This puzzle’s images, in two different ways : COOKIE CUTTERS
121 Physician awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by G. W. Bush : DR FAUCI
122 Party staple : ONION DIP
123 Prefix with space : AERO-
124 Chandelier part, often : CRYSTAL
125 ___-mo : SLO
126 Football units: Abbr. : YDS
127 Hurdle for a J.D. wannabe : LSAT

Down

1 Court sport grp. : ATP
2 Course preparers : CHEFS
3 Becoming faint : TRAILING AWAY
4 Solarium activity : SUNNING
5 National dance co. : ABT
6 It was eliminated from the U.S. in 2004 : RUBELLA
7 Library IDs : ISBNS
8 Kitty : POT
9 Project : JUT
10 Outback orders : STEAKS
11 Cabinet dept. since 1965 : HUD
12 Come to ___ : AN END
13 Fit : IN GOOD SHAPE
14 Nightmare : TERROR
15 “Got it” : I READ YOU
16 “___ Maria” : AVE
17 Super Mario Bros. platform : NES
20 Downfall : RUIN
21 Dropped the ball : ERRED
24 Remove, as a ribbon : UNTIE
29 Green shampoo : PRELL
32 Italian thoroughfare : STRADA
34 Wishy-washy response : I MAY
35 Get, slangily : COP
36 Genuine : HEARTFELT
37 Filmmaker von Trier : LARS
38 Little lead : EDGE
40 Some graffiti : STREET ART
43 First and reverse : GEARS
44 Not learned : INNATE
45 Proverb-spouting Panza : SANCHO
46 Lancaster-to-Scranton dir. : NNE
48 Citrus hybrid : TANGELO
52 Come to ___ : TERMS
53 Present opening? : OMNI-
54 “Gonna Let It Shine” singer : ODETTA
56 Personal essence : TRUE SELF
58 Where to go on a trip? : REST AREA
62 Not a mystery : KNOWN
63 One keeping others up at night, perhaps : SNORER
65 Something else : THE BEE’S KNEES
66 Singer Gomez : SELENA
68 Went in a different direction : BRANCHED OUT
70 “What’s ___ you?” : IT TO
71 Pride and prejudice, e.g. : TRAITS
73 Fix, as a lawn : RESOD
77 Pirate : BUCCANEER
80 Set : GEL
81 Mushroom : SWELL
83 Woman in Progressive ads : FLO
85 Classic dog name : FIDO
86 Hip bones : ILIA
87 What some neighborhoods do : GENTRIFY
88 More than enough : TOO MANY
89 Volts/amp : OHMS
93 Long-tailed monkey : SAI
94 Blowout party : BLAST
95 Piano performance, possibly : RECITAL
97 Some ranges : AMANAS
99 El ___ (“View of Toledo” painter) : GRECO
100 ___ Cradle (maritime rescue device) : JASON’S
103 Popular adoption agcy. : ASPCA
104 “Sign me up!” : I’M IN!
105 High-maintenance : NEEDY
107 Richard famous for large-scale sculptures : SERRA
111 See 89-Across : … ACID
113 Agcy. fighting epidemics : CDC
114 Bobby of the N.H.L. : ORR
115 Part of R.S.V.P. : S’IL
117 Old-fashioned menorah filler : OIL
118 “Kitchy-kitchy-___!” : KOO
119 Raises : UPS
120 Teetotaler’s opposite : SOT