Constructed by: Matthew Stock & Chandi Deitmer
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: Two-by-Two
Themed answers each comprise a repeated word:
- 129A Basketball feat suggested by this puzzle’s pairs of theme answers, informally : DOUBLE-DOUBLE
- 19A 1990s sitcom starring Tia and Tamera Mowry : SISTER, SISTER
- 24A Grand Prix city : MONACO, MONACO
- 41A 1963 hit for the Kingsmen : LOUIE LOUIE
- 49A Call from an old-time paperboy : EXTRA! EXTRA!
- 70A “… you get the point” : … ET CETERA, ET CETERA
- 74A “Well, lookie here!” : SURPRISE SURPRISE!
- 97A Sings, in a way : NAMES NAMES
- 104A Classic joke start : KNOCK KNOCK …
- 121A Extroverts : PEOPLE PEOPLE
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 16m 35s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Some old PCs : IBMS
Tech giant IBM was founded as the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. The company changed its name to the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR) in 1911 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1916. The name “International Business Machines” (IBM) was given first to the company’s Canadian subsidiary, and then to its South American subsidiary. In 1924, it was decided to adopt the International Business Machines name for the whole company. Good choice …
11 Many files in a Downloads folder : PDFS
Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications and platforms, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.
19 1990s sitcom starring Tia and Tamera Mowry : SISTER, SISTER
“Sister, Sister” is a sitcom that originally aired from 1994 to 1999 starring identical twin sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry. Tia and Tamera play two sisters who were separated at birth, one being adopted by a single mother, and the other by a single father. The sisters happen upon each other 14 years later, and hilarity ensues …
22 Beethoven’s “Ah! perfido,” for one : ARIA
“Ah! perfido” (“Ah! Deceiver” translated into English from Italian) is a Beethoven aria. One notable performance of “Ah! perfido” was at the premieres of the composer’s fifth and sixth symphonies in 1808 in Vienna.
23 Southwest people known for their dry farming : HOPI
Many members of the Hopi nation live on a reservation that is actually located within the much larger Navajo reservation in Arizona.
24 Grand Prix city : MONACO, MONACO
The Principality of Monaco is on the Mediterranean coast, and is otherwise surrounded by France, even though it is just under 10 miles from the Italian border. Monaco is the world’s most densely populated country, and the world’s second smallest country (the smallest being Vatican City). The principality has been very prosperous since the late 1800s, with the economy given a tremendous boost with the opening of several gambling casinos.
Even though the term is used in many competitions, I think that we most associate “Grand Prix” with the series of Formula One motor races. These Formula One Grand Prix races trace their roots back to organized automobile road races from one French town to the next that date back to 1894. “Grand Prix” translates from French as “grand, big prize.”
25 Fulminate : RANT
To fulminate is to explode or detonate, perhaps in rage. It’s a lovely word derived from the Latin “fulminare” meaning “to hurl lightning”.
30 Many zoomers : TEENS
Zoom is a videoconferencing app that became remarkably popular in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The market deemed Zoom to be the easiest to use of the free videoconferencing apps. I’ve been using it, but really prefer Google’s Meet offering …
31 Gush (over) : FAWN
The verb “to fawn” has a different etymology to that of the noun “fawn”. The Old English “faegnian” meant “to rejoice, be glad”. In particular, the Old English verb applied to a dog wagging its tail. From there, “to fawn” came to mean “to court favor, to grovel”.
33 Red lightsaber wielder : SITH
The Sith are characters in the “Star Wars” universe who use the “dark side” of “the Force”, and as such are the antithesis of the Jedi Knights. Members of the Sith use the title “Darth” before their name, as in Darth Vader. The last made of the six “Star Wars” movies is called “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.
36 Singular praise : KUDO
Our word “kudos” means “acclaim given for an exceptional achievement”. “Kudos” is both a singular and plural noun, and comes from the Greek “kyddos” meaning “glory, fame”.
37 ___ Xtra (soft drink) : PIBB
The soft drink on the market today called Pibb Xtra used to be known as Mr Pibb, and before that was called Peppo. Peppo was introduced in 1972 as a direct competitor to Dr Pepper.
41 1963 hit for the Kingsmen : LOUIE LOUIE
“Louie Louie” is an R&B song that was most famously a hit for the Kingsmen in 1963. The Kingsmen were accused of deliberately slurring words in the song that were describing the sexual act. There was even a 31-month investigation by the FBI, after which it was concluded that the accusation was unfounded.
49 Call from an old-time paperboy : EXTRA! EXTRA!
A newspaper extra is a special issue with content that arrived too late for the regular edition. Sale of a newspaper extra by street vendors, starting in the mid-1800s, was usually accompanied by the cry “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”
50 Essayist Susan : SONTAG
Susan Sontag was a writer and political activist from New York City. Sontag wrote extensively on a number of subjects, including photography. She spent the last decade of her life in a relationship with renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.
53 Org. often impersonated by phone scammers : IRS
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
54 Time for a visit from Ong Tao, the “Kitchen God” : TET
The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.
56 Yellowstone sight : ELK
The elk (also “wapiti”) is one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct name for the beast is “wapiti”, which means “white rump” in Shawnee. It’s all very confusing …
Yellowstone was the first National Park to be established in the world when it was designated as such by President Grant in 1872. What a great tradition it started! The American National Parks are truly a treasure …
59 House of Commons reps : MPS
Member of Parliament (MP)
The UK Parliament is divided into two houses, with the upper house known as the House of Lords and the lower house as the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons (MPs) are elected, but most new members of the House of Lords are appointed. Historically, a large proportion of the membership of the upper house were hereditary peers, but recent legislative changes are reducing the numbers who can sit in the House of Lords by virtue of birthright.
66 Romanov V.I.P., once : TSAR
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, after the Rurik dynasty. The reign of the Romanovs ended when Emperor Nicholas II abdicated following the February Revolution of 1917. Famously, Nicholas II and his immediate family were murdered soon after he stepped down, and other members of the Romanov Dynasty were sent into exile by the Bolsheviks.
68 Charlotte N.B.A. player : HORNET
The New Orleans Hornets joined the NBA in 1988 as an expansion team, originally based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team was going to be called the Charlotte Spirit, but the name was changed following a “name the team” contest run in the local area. During the Revolutionary War, Lord General Cornwallis had referred to Charlotte as a “veritable nest of hornets” due the city’s resistance to British occupation, which explains the local fans’ fondness for the name “Hornets”. The franchise was moved to New Orleans for the 2002 season, as attendance wasn’t big enough to sustain the team in Charlotte. The NBA returned to North Carolina in 2004 with the establishment of the Charlotte Bobcats. The New Orleans franchise rebranded itself in 2013, becoming the Pelicans. As a result, the Charlotte Bobcats were able to change their name to the Hornets in 2014.
75 Quaint exclamation of dismay : CRIKEY!
“Crikey!” is an exclamation, and is probably a euphemism for “Christ”.
80 Laborer of old : SERF
A serf was a member of the lowest feudal class, someone attached to land owned by a lord. “Serf” comes from the Latin “servus”, meaning “slave”.
84 Dan of “Schitt’s Creek” : LEVY
Eugene Levy is a Canadian actor. He is the only actor to have appeared in all of the “American Pie” movies. Levy plays the clueless, but loving, Dad.
86 Time for March madness? : IDES
In Act I of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, a soothsayer warns the doomed leader to “beware the ides of March”. Caesar ignores the prophecy and is subsequently killed on the steps of the Capitol by a group of conspirators on that fateful day.
88 Ultimate fighting inits. : MMA
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.
90 Certain summer baby : LEO
Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 23 to August 22 are Leos.
92 Big tower, for short? : AAA
The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.
94 Years and years : AEON
Geological time is divided into a number of units of varying lengths. These are, starting from the largest:
- supereon
- eon (also “aeon”)
- era
- period
- epoch
- age
101 When you should leave, for short : ETD
Estimated time of departure (ETD)
103 Piece of roller derby equipment : KNEE PAD
The sport of roller derby has an international footprint, with almost half the world’s teams being located outside of the US. Most of the teams playing the sport are all-female.
104 Classic joke start : KNOCK KNOCK …
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?
105 High five at the Olympics? : RINGS
The symbol of the Olympic Games consists of five interlocking rings, with each ring representing one of the five continents involved in the Olympics. The five continents are Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and America (North and South combined). The symbol was designed in 1912, adopted in 1914, and introduced at the 1920 Games.
111 Barfly’s flier : DART
Darts is a game that’s often played in English and Irish pubs, even over here in America. The scoring in a traditional game of darts is difficult to describe in a sentence or two, but the game of darts called “Round the Clock” is simply hitting the numbers 1 through 20 on the dartboard in sequence.
112 Added to a thread, say : CC’ED
I wonder if the kids of today know that “cc” stands for carbon copy, and do they have any idea what a carbon copy was? Do you remember how messy carbon paper was to handle? A kind blog reader pointed out to me a while back that the abbreviation has evolved and taken on the meaning “courtesy copy” in our modern world.
113 El ___ of the Spanish Renaissance : 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.
115 “Amscray!” : GO AWAY!
Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant or consonant cluster of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So, the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ixnay” (ix-n-ay), and for “scram” is “amscray” (am-scr-ay).
119 Noted character with object-subject-verb syntax : YODA
In the “Star Wars” series of films, the character named Yoda has a unique speech pattern. He often uses the word order object-subject-verb. For example:
- Patience you must have …
- Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.
- To answer power with power, the Jedi way this is not.
121 Extroverts : PEOPLE PEOPLE
The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung popularized the terms “Introvert” and “extrovert”, although he believed that we all have introverted and extroverted sides to us. Nowadays we tend to think of extroversion and introversion as extremes on a continuum. We bloggers, sitting at home glued to our laptops, tend to the introverted end of the scale …
128 Best Picture winner of 2012 : ARGO
“Argo” is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent “Good Night, and Good Luck”. I highly recommend “Argo”, although I found the scenes of religious fervor to be very frightening …
129 Basketball feat suggested by this puzzle’s pairs of theme answers, informally : DOUBLE-DOUBLE
In the world of basketball, a “double” is the accumulation of double digits in either points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocked shots. A “double-double” is getting double digits in two of these five categories. A player can also earn a triple-double, quadruple-double or quintuple-double.
130 1040 figs. : SSNS
Form 1040, issued by the IRS, is the “US Individual Income Tax Return”. It was originally created just for tax returns from 1913, 1914 and 1915, but it’s a form that just keeps on giving, or should I say “taking” …?
131 Love of languages? : AMOR
“Amor” is the Latin word for “love”.
Down
3 Yahoo alternative : MSN
The Microsoft Network (MSN) used to be an Internet service provider (ISP). These days, MSN is mainly a Web portal.
Jerry Yang and David Filo called their company “Yahoo!” for two reasons. Firstly, a Yahoo is a rude unsophisticated brute from Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”. Secondly, Yahoo stands for “Yet another Hierarchical Officious Oracle”.
5 Pirate’s booze : GROG
Edward Vernon was a naval officer with the nickname “Old Grog”. In 1740, Vernon ordered that the daily ration of rum for his sailors should be watered down, in order to reduce discipline problems caused by drunkenness. The diluted rum was sweetened with sugar, and lemon or lime added to help preserve it on long voyages. This recipe, found to reduce scurvy among sailors (because of the citrus) spread throughout the Royal Navy, and “grog” was born. As an aside, George Washington’s older half-brother named the famous Washington Mount Vernon Plantation in honor of Edward Vernon. We use the derivative term “groggy” to mean “unsteady on the feet”, as if under the influence of “grog”.
6 One way to learn : OSMOSIS
Osmosis is the movement of a solvent (often water) across a semipermeable membrane. In the process of osmosis, the solvent tends to flow from an area of less concentration to an area of higher concentration. This sense of absorbing water effortlessly gives rise to the expression “learning by osmosis”.
7 Like the Six Million Dollar Man : BIONIC
“The Six Million Dollar Man” is a 1970s sci-fi show that starred Lee Majors as the title character Steve Austin. The series is based on a 1972 novel called “Cyborg”.
8 “Anchors Aweigh” grp. : USN
The song “Anchors Aweigh” is strongly associated with the US Navy, largely because it is the fight song of the US Naval Academy. “Anchors Aweigh” was composed in 1906 by Lieutenant Charles Zimmerman who was bandmaster of the US Naval Academy Band at the time.
9 Amtrak stop: Abbr. : STA
“Amtrak” is the name used commercially by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. It comes from a melding of the words “America” and “track”.
11 Logical conundrum : PARADOX
“Conundrum” is a relatively new word, even though it sounds like Latin. It was coined in the late 16th century in Oxford University, England as a slang, pseudo-Latin word meaning “pedant”. Somehow, this meaning evolved into “riddle, puzzle” in the late 18th century.
13 Numismatic grade : FINE
A numismatist is a coin collector. The term “numismatics” comes into English via French from the Latin word “nomisma” meaning ”coin”.
15 Setting for many a diorama : SHOE BOX
A diorama is a full-scale or small-scale replica of a scene. We mostly see full-size dioramas in museums, whereas our kids might create small-scale dioramas as homework projects. The original diorama was a picture-viewing device that was invented in 1822 by Louis Daguerre and Charles Marie Bouton. These historic dioramas were quite large, and featured scenes that appeared to change as the lighting was manipulated.
21 Chess piece whose name is derived from the Persian for “chariot” : ROOK
The corner piece in the game of chess is called a “rook”, a word coming from the Persian “rokh” meaning a “chariot”. The rook has also been called, perhaps incorrectly, the castle, tower, marquess and rector.
29 Cocktails made with ginger beer, informally : MULES
A Moscow mule is a cocktail made from vodka, ginger beer and lime. I like the occasional Moscow mule, mainly because the ginger beer was my soda of choice as a kid. Vodka … not so much …
30 Pieces in the game Bananagrams : TILES
Bananagrams is a fun game that was introduced in 2006. Bananagrams is a little like Scrabble in that letter tiles are used to make interlocking words.
31 Flights connect them : FLOORS
A landing is the area at the top and bottom of a staircase. Apparently, we called the steps between the landings a “flight” of stairs, because one “flies” between landings! Can that be true?
32 All-encompassing Egyptian deity : AMUN-RA
Amun-Ra (also “Amon, Amen”) was a god in Egyptian mythology. Amun lends his name to our word “ammonia”. This is because the Romans called the ammonium chloride that they collected near the Temple of Jupiter Amun, “sal ammoniacus” (salt of Amun).
35 Perch for the self-important : HIGH HORSE
The expression “on one’s high horse” stems from the fact that someone of rank tended to ride a “high horse” i.e. a war horse or a charger.
37 Gemstone cut named for a fruit : PEAR
A diamond might be cut into a pear-shape, also known as a teardrop shape, for use in an item of jewelry.
42 Eye piece : IRIS
The iris is the colored part of the eye. It has an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.
43 Nobelist Joliot-Curie : IRENE
Along with her husband Frederick, Irene Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. Irene was the daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, who also won Nobel Prizes. Irene died when she was 58 years old, suffering from leukemia brought on by her exposure to high doses of radiation. Her mother, Marie, died from aplastic anemia, also caused by high exposure to radiation. To this day, Marie’s personal papers are kept preserved in lead-lined boxes as they are highly radioactive, even her personal cookbook.
59 Computer shortcuts : MACROS
A macroinstruction (usually shortened to “macro”) is a set of instructions in a computer program that are abbreviated to one simple command.
61 Scottish hillsides : BRAES
“Brae” is a lowland Scots word for the slope or brow of a hill.
68 Football trophy name : HEISMAN
The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the most outstanding college football player each season. The trophy was first awarded in 1935, and the following year was given the name Heisman after the death of John Heisman, a noted college football player and football director.
69 Where some replacements take place, in brief : ORS
An operating room (OR) is used for performing surgery (surg.).
71 Third column on a calendar: Abbr. : TUE
The name “Tuesday” comes from an Old English word that translates as “Tiw’s Day”. In turn, “Tiw” was the Old English name for the Norse god “Týr”. Týr was the Norse god of single combat, victory and heroic glory.
72 Eaglet’s hatching spot : AERIE
An aerie (sometimes “eyrie”) is an eagle’s nest. The term “aerie” can also more generally describe any bird’s nest that is located on a cliff or a mountaintop.
73 Certain public transport : TRAM
Trams were a common form of transport in London starting with horse-drawn versions in 1860. Trams were gradually replaced by diesel buses after WWII, with the last tram running in 1952. Even though the trams disappeared in the early fifties, many of the rails that carried the trams remained in some streets for many years afterwards (I remember them well as a child). A new generation of tram, a so-called light-rail system, was introduced in London in 2000.
75 Sound from a jalopy : CLANK!
The origins of our word “jalopy”, meaning “dilapidated, old motor car”, seem to have been lost in time, but the word has been around since the 1920s. One credible suggestion is that it comes from Xalapa, Mexico as the Xalapa scrap yards were the destination for many discarded American automobiles.
83 Origami steps : FOLDS
Origami is the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. The best-known example of the craft is the paper crane (“orizuru“). The word “origami” is derived from “ori“ (folding) and “kami” (paper).
85 Bread in Indian cuisine : NAAN
In an Indian restaurant, naan bread is very popular. Roti is an unleavened cousin of naan.
89 Certain close relative : APE
The tailless primates known as apes (also “hominoids”) are divided into two main branches: gibbons (lesser apes) and hominids (great apes). The hominids are the great apes, and belong to the family of primates called Hominidae. Extant genera that make up the family Hominidae are:
- chimpanzees
- gorillas
- humans
- orangutans
93 1990s tennis star Huber : ANKE
Anke Huber is a retired professional tennis player from Germany. Huber stepped out of the shadow of fellow German star Steffi Graf when Graf retired in 1999, and for the last two years of her playing career Huber enjoyed recognition as Germany’s top player.
94 Off-kilter : ASKEW
To be “off-kilter” is to be off-balance, not aligned. To be “out of kilter” is to be out of order, not in good condition.
99 Fried plantain dish of Puerto Rico : MOFONGO
There is no botanical distinction between bananas and plantains. The terms simply describe fruit intended for eating raw (bananas) and fruit intended for cooking (plantains).
100 Country named for its geographic location : ECUADOR
“Ecuador” is the Spanish word for “equator”, which gives the country its name.
102 It makes you you : DNA
I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine whether or not individuals are close family relatives.
106 Radiator cover : GRILLE
A radiator in a car is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from the engine block to the atmosphere. Such a radiator is poorly named, as the bulk of the heat is transferred by convection, and not radiation.
110 “Die Hard” squad, in brief : LAPD
The 1988 action movie “Die Hard” is such a fun film. We always pull it out at Christmas when we want something “Christmassy”, but different from “The Bishop’s Wife” or “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The “Nakatomi Plaza” building that features so prominently in the film is actually “Fox Plaza” (headquarters for 20th Century Fox) in Los Angeles, which was built not long before filming started.
112 Miss ___, famed dial-a-psychic : CLEO
“Miss Cleo” was the stage name of psychic Youree Dell Harris. She was a spokesperson for the Psychic Readers Network, a pay-per-call service, for many years.
113 Businesses that see an uptick after New Year’s : GYMS
Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed in ancient Greece.
114 Aussie hoppers : ROOS
The word “kangaroo” comes from the Australian Aborigine term for the animal. There’s an oft-quoted story that the explorer James Cook (later Captain Cook) asked a local native what was the name of this remarkable-looking animal, and the native responded with “Kangaroo”. The story is that the native was actually saying “I don’t understand you”, but as cute as that tale is, it’s just an urban myth.
122 “Mais ___!” (“But of course!”) : OUI
In French, “oui” translates as “yes”, and “mais oui!” as “but yes!”
123 “Cyberchase” channel : PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was founded in 1970, and is my favorite of the broadcast networks. I love PBS’s drama and science shows in particular, and always watch election results coming in with the NewsHour team.
124 Org. whose members stay in their lanes : PBA
Professional Bowlers Association (PBA)
125 Business name ender : LLC
A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.
Read on, or …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Some old PCs : IBMS
5 Experience financial ruin : GO BUST
11 Many files in a Downloads folder : PDFS
15 Talk ___ : SHOP
19 1990s sitcom starring Tia and Tamera Mowry : SISTER, SISTER
22 Beethoven’s “Ah! perfido,” for one : ARIA
23 Southwest people known for their dry farming : HOPI
24 Grand Prix city : MONACO, MONACO
25 Fulminate : RANT
26 Portent : OMEN
27 Start a web session : LOG ON
28 Tribute : HOMAGE
30 Many zoomers : TEENS
31 Gush (over) : FAWN
33 Red lightsaber wielder : SITH
36 Singular praise : KUDO
37 ___ Xtra (soft drink) : PIBB
38 Soul: Sp. : ALMA
39 Make it so there’s snow way out? : ICE IN
41 1963 hit for the Kingsmen : LOUIE LOUIE
45 It gets the show on the road : TOUR BUS
48 Nothing but a number, it’s said : AGE
49 Call from an old-time paperboy : EXTRA! EXTRA!
50 Essayist Susan : SONTAG
51 Attraction, so to speak, with “the” : … HOTS
53 Org. often impersonated by phone scammers : IRS
54 Time for a visit from Ong Tao, the “Kitchen God” : TET
55 Slip up : ERR
56 Yellowstone sight : ELK
58 [Gulp!] : [OH NO!}
59 House of Commons reps : MPS
61 ___ gratia (in all kindness: Lat.) : BONA
62 Rush order : ASAP
64 Like some questions : YES/NO
66 Romanov V.I.P., once : TSAR
68 Charlotte N.B.A. player : HORNET
70 “… you get the point” : … ET CETERA, ET CETERA
74 “Well, lookie here!” : SURPRISE SURPRISE!
75 Quaint exclamation of dismay : CRIKEY!
78 Fee payer, often : USER
79 Thin pancakes in Indian cuisine : DOSAS
80 Laborer of old : SERF
84 Dan of “Schitt’s Creek” : LEVY
85 To the ___ power : NTH
86 Time for March madness? : IDES
88 Ultimate fighting inits. : MMA
90 Certain summer baby : LEO
91 “There you ___!” : ARE
92 Big tower, for short? : AAA
94 Years and years : AEON
95 Shock : APPALL
97 Sings, in a way : NAMES NAMES
101 When you should leave, for short : ETD
103 Piece of roller derby equipment : KNEE PAD
104 Classic joke start : KNOCK KNOCK …
105 High five at the Olympics? : RINGS
107 Unchanged : AS IS
108 Yea or nay : VOTE
109 Power source : FUEL
111 Barfly’s flier : DART
112 Added to a thread, say : CC’ED
113 El ___ of the Spanish Renaissance : GRECO
115 “Amscray!” : GO AWAY!
117 Egomaniac’s thought : I RULE
119 Noted character with object-subject-verb syntax : YODA
120 Dangerous part of a road on which to pass : BEND
121 Extroverts : PEOPLE PEOPLE
127 Tie down : MOOR
128 Best Picture winner of 2012 : ARGO
129 Basketball feat suggested by this puzzle’s pairs of theme answers, informally : DOUBLE-DOUBLE
130 1040 figs. : SSNS
131 Love of languages? : AMOR
132 In on : WISE TO
133 Add (on) : TACK
Down
1 Philosophy : ISM
2 H.S. class in the same department as chem : BIO
3 Yahoo alternative : MSN
4 Trusty to the end : STALWART
5 Pirate’s booze : GROG
6 One way to learn : OSMOSIS
7 Like the Six Million Dollar Man : BIONIC
8 “Anchors Aweigh” grp. : USN
9 Amtrak stop: Abbr. : STA
10 Lab worker : TECH
11 Logical conundrum : PARADOX
12 Prolong : DRAG OUT
13 Numismatic grade : FINE
14 Plopped (down) : SAT
15 Setting for many a diorama : SHOE BOX
16 Shortcut missing from newer smartphones : HOME BUTTON
17 Lead : OPEN
18 Affixes : PINS
20 Subject of interest, in brief : ECON
21 Chess piece whose name is derived from the Persian for “chariot” : ROOK
29 Cocktails made with ginger beer, informally : MULES
30 Pieces in the game Bananagrams : TILES
31 Flights connect them : FLOORS
32 All-encompassing Egyptian deity : AMUN-RA
34 Aromatic beverage : TEA
35 Perch for the self-important : HIGH HORSE
37 Gemstone cut named for a fruit : PEAR
38 Baffled : AT SEA
40 Very bright : NEON
42 Eye piece : IRIS
43 Nobelist Joliot-Curie : IRENE
44 Really get to : EAT AT
46 Sweetie : BAE
47 Weep in an unflattering way, in modern lingo : UGLY-CRY
52 Lugs : TOTES
57 Hold on to : KEEP
58 Lunchtime estimate : ONEISH
59 Computer shortcuts : MACROS
60 Slices and dices, say : PREPS
61 Scottish hillsides : BRAES
63 Annoying : PESKY
65 Walk with swagger : STRUT
67 It might get swiped in a college dining hall : STUDENT ID
68 Football trophy name : HEISMAN
69 Where some replacements take place, in brief : ORS
71 Third column on a calendar: Abbr. : TUE
72 Eaglet’s hatching spot : AERIE
73 Certain public transport : TRAM
75 Sound from a jalopy : CLANK!
76 Played again : RERAN
77 Words from an ex-lover : I’VE MOVED ON
81 Go by : ELAPSE
82 Put down again : RELAID
83 Origami steps : FOLDS
85 Bread in Indian cuisine : NAAN
87 One taking action : DOER
89 Certain close relative : APE
92 Invite out for : ASK TO
93 1990s tennis star Huber : ANKE
94 Off-kilter : ASKEW
96 “Later!” : PEACE OUT!
98 Green vehicles : ECOCARS
99 Fried plantain dish of Puerto Rico : MOFONGO
100 Country named for its geographic location : ECUADOR
102 It makes you you : DNA
103 Lobbyists’ area in D.C. : K STREET
106 Radiator cover : GRILLE
110 “Die Hard” squad, in brief : LAPD
112 Miss ___, famed dial-a-psychic : CLEO
113 Businesses that see an uptick after New Year’s : GYMS
114 Aussie hoppers : ROOS
115 Kernel of an idea : GERM
116 “Ouch, ouch, ouch!” : YEOW!
118 High style : UPDO
120 Barnyard bleat : BAA!
122 “Mais ___!” (“But of course!”) : OUI
123 “Cyberchase” channel : PBS
124 Org. whose members stay in their lanes : PBA
125 Business name ender : LLC
126 “Yipe!” : EEK!
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