0807-22 NY Times Crossword 7 Aug 22, Sunday

Constructed by: Tina Labadie
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Letterplay

Themed answer each contain repeated letters, the count of which is specified in another clue:

  • 68A Top credit rating … or a hint to 25-Across : TRIPLE-A
  • 25A Not true? : AT AN ANGLE
  • 71A 23rd in a series … or a hint to 27-Across : DOUBLE-U
  • 27A Visitor to a website, in analytics lingo : UNIQUE USER
  • 52A D.S.T. starting time … or a hint to 42-Across : TWO AM
  • 42A Beer named for a founding father : SAM ADAMS
  • 90A Club for farm kids … or a hint to 97-Across : FOUR-H
  • 97A Secretive : HUSH HUSH
  • 89A Cops … or a hint to 115-Across : FIVE-O
  • 115A Spelling aid? : VOODOO DOLL
  • 54A Weightlessness … or a hint to 118-Across : ZERO-G
  • 118A Baseball announcer’s call on a home run : OIN’ OIN’ ONE (“goin’, goin’, gone” with “zero-g”)

Bill’s time: 18m 13s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Homes that may have butlers : MANORS

A butler is the head servant in a household. The butler is often in charge of the wine stores in the house. The term “butler” comes from the Old French “boteillier” meaning “officer in charge of wine”, which in terms comes from the Old French “boteille”, the word for a “bottle”.

12 Supporting beams : JOISTS

In a building, a joist is a supporting member running horizontally to support a ceiling or floor.

19 Bees, e.g. : SOCIALS

Back in 18th-century America, when neighbors would gather to work for the benefit of one of their group, such a meeting was called a bee. The name “bee” was an allusion to the social nature of the insect. In modern parlance, a further element of entertainment and pleasure has been introduced, for example in a quilting bee, or even a spelling bee.

22 The “C” of AMC Theatres : CINEMA

The AMC theater chain used to go by the name American Multi-Cinema Inc., hence the initialism “AMC”.

24 Sevastopol is its largest city : CRIMEA

Crimea is a peninsula jutting out into the Black Sea that is almost completely surrounded by water. It is connected to the Ukrainian mainland to the north by the Isthmus of Perekop, and is separated from the nearby Russian region of Kuban by the narrow (less than 10 miles) Kerch Strait. Crimea has been occupied by foreign powers many times over the centuries, and now control of the region is disputed by Ukraine and Russia.

33 Santa ___, Calif. : CRUZ

Santa Cruz is a city on Monterey Bay in Northern California. The city is home to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk which is the state’s oldest amusement park. The Boardwalk is designated as a State Historic Landmark.

34 m, to Einstein : MASS

In Albert Einstein’s famous equation E=mc², “E” stands for energy, “m” stands for mass, and “c” stands for the speed of light.

35 B.C. neighbor: Abbr. : IDA

Idaho borders six states, and one Canadian province:

  • Montana
  • Wyoming
  • Nevada
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Oregon
  • British Columbia

The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is in the Pacific Northwest. The British referred to the territory drained by the Columbia River as the “Columbia District”. Queen Victoria chose the name “British Columbia” for that section of the Columbia District that fell under British control. The remainder of the Columbia District was referred to as “American Columbia” or “Southern Columbia”, which became the Oregon Territory in 1848.

42 Beer named for a founding father : SAM ADAMS

Samuel Adams beers (sometimes ordered as “Sam Adams”) are named in honor of the American patriot who played a role in the American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party. Samuel Adams came from a family associated with the brewing industry, mainly involved in the production of malt.

45 W-2, for one : FORM

Form W-2 is provided by US employers to their employees by January 31 each year. The form reports wages paid to the employees, as well as taxes withheld.

47 W.W. I helmet, informally : TIN HAT

The helmet worn by British and American soldiers for much of WWI was known colloquially as a “tin hat”, and more formally as a “Brodie helmet”. Inventor John Leopold Brodie patented the design in 1915 in London. The helmet was pressed from a single sheet of steel, lined with leather and included a leather chin strap.

51 2004 Will Smith sci-fi film : I, ROBOT

“I, Robot” is an interesting 2004 science fiction film starring Will Smith that is loosely based on the excellent collection of short stories of the same name by Isaac Asimov.

52 D.S.T. starting time … or a hint to 42-Across : TWO AM

Daylight saving time (DST)

54 Weightlessness … or a hint to 118-Across : ZERO G

The force of gravity (g-force) that we all feel is referred to as “one G”. As gravity is an accelerating force, acceleration is measured relative to that force of gravity. So, if we are sitting in a vehicle that accelerates at 3G, then we are experiencing a force that is three times that which we feel from the gravitational pull of the earth. Zero G is weightlessness that is experienced when in space, and outside the influence of the earth’s gravity.

60 Libya’s Gulf of ___ : SIDRA

Sidra is a port on the Libyan coast. It is the country’s largest oil depot. The Gulf of Sirte, on which the port sits, is sometimes referred to as the Gulf of Sidra.

62 TV tavern : MOE’S

The regulars on “The Simpsons” hang out at Moe’s Tavern, which is named for and run by Moe Szyslak. The most popular beer at Moe’s is Duff Beer. The name “Duff” is a reference to the real-life Duffy’s Tavern that used to be East 13th Street in Eugene, Oregon. “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening used to frequent Duffy’s regularly, and Moe’s looks very much like Duffy’s in terms of decor and floor plan.

66 “Royal” bird : TERN

There are two subspecies of tern known as the royal tern, one native to the coasts of North And South America, and the other native to the West African coast. I suspect that the adjective “royal” is used because they sport a black cap during the breeding season.

78 Keen : WAIL

To keen is to wail in lamentation. The word “keening” has its roots in Ireland, coming from the Irish word “caoinim” meaning “I weep, wail, lament”.

79 Google ___ : MAPS

Google Maps was developed as a web mapping service for desktops. The (wonderful!) Google Maps mobile app was released in 2008, and is now the most popular smartphone app in the world.

84 Old lab burners : ETNAS

The Bunsen burner is a common piece of lab equipment that is used for heating and combustion. The device was invented in 1854 by Robert Bunsen at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. It is sometimes referred to as an “etna”, a nickname coming from the Sicilian volcano.

86 Water bird with a haunting call : LOON

The bird known as a loon here in North America is called a diver in Britain and Ireland. The name “diver” comes from the bird’s habit of swimming calmly and then suddenly diving below the surface to catch a fish. The name “loon” comes from an Old English word meaning “clumsy” and reflects the awkward gait of the bird when walking on land.

88 Bit of HI gear? : LEI

“Lei” is a Hawaiian word meaning “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a lei is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

Hawaii (HI)

89 Cops … or a hint to 115-Across : FIVE-O

“Five-O” has become urban slang for a police officer, or the police force in general. The term is rooted in the 1970s TV Show “Hawaii Five-O”. Hawaii Five-O was a totally fictional police force created for the television show. The name recognizes that Hawaii was the 50th state to join the union. Steve McGarrett in the original show was played by Jack Lord, and “Danno” Williams was played by James MacArthur.

90 Club for farm kids … or a hint to 97-Across : FOUR-H

4-H is a youth organization in the US. The first 4-H clubs were set up at the start of the 20th century and were focused on agricultural communities. Although 4-H no longer has the rural focus, because of the organization’s history it is administered with the Department of Agriculture. The four Hs are Head, Heart, Hands and Health.

93 Game with L- and T-shaped pieces : TETRIS

Tetris is a very addictive video game that was developed in the Soviet Union in 1984. The name Tetris comes from a melding of the prefix “tetra-” (as all the game pieces have four segments) and “tennis” (a favorite sport played by the developer). Since 2005 there have been more than 100 million copies of the game installed on cell phones alone.

96 Locale for a West Coast wine tour : NAPA

The first commercial winery in Napa Valley, California was established way back in 1858. However, premium wine production only dates back to the 1960s, with the region really hitting the big time after its success at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. The story of that famous blind wine tasting is told in the entertaining 2008 film “Bottle Shock”.

99 R&R settings : SPAS

Rest and relaxation/recuperation/recreation (R&R, R‘n’R)

101 Crystal-clear : LIMPID

A liquid (or eyes, for that matter) described as “limpid” is said to be “clear”. It derives from the Latin “limpa” meaning “water goddess” or “water”, which is the same root as our word “lymph”.

103 “O, ___ fortune’s fool!”: Romeo : I AM

“O, I am Fortune’s fool” is a line from William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”. The words are uttered by Romeo after he kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, in a duel. Romeo knows that he has made a bad mistake, and tells everyone so. Sure enough, things go downhill for him and Juliet for the remainder of the play.

104 Singer King with the 2014 hit “Ex’s & Oh’s” : ELLE

“Elle King” is the stage name of singer Tanner Elle Schneider. She has a showbiz father, the former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Rob Schneider.

108 Body feature of a mammoth : HUMP

A relatively well-preserved set of wooly mammoth remains were discovered in Siberia in 2012. The remains included some intact cells, and there is talk about the possibility of cloning the animal who died between 4,000 and 10,000 years ago. Scary stuff …

115 Spelling aid? : VOODOO DOLL

Voodoo is a religion that originated in the French slave colony of Saint-Domingue on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

125 “Jeopardy!” fodder : TRIVIA

Trivia are things of little consequence. “Trivia” is the plural of the Latin word “trivium” which means “a place where three roads meet”. Now that’s what I call a trivial fact …

127 Video call glitch : TIME LAG

In Internet terms, lag is a delay in response caused by network latency. We might notice lag when streaming a video, for example.

Down

1 Colorful parrot : MACAW

Macaws are beautifully colored birds native to Central and South America that are actually a type of parrot. Most species of macaws are now endangered, with several having become extinct in recent decades. The main threats are deforestation and illegal trapping and trafficking of exotic birds.

2 Santa ___ : ANITA

Santa Anita Park is a racetrack for horses located in Arcadia, California. The most famous races on the track’s calendar are the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap.

3 Jazz singer born Eunice Kathleen Waymon : NINA SIMONE

“Nina Simone” was the stage name of Eunice Waymon. Simone was very much associated with jazz music, although she really wanted to be a classical musician early in her career. She was inspired by a love for the music of Bach.

5 Commercial follower of “-o-” : -RAMA

The “-orama” is used in advertising and journalism to create words meaning a space or spectacle related to the root word. Examples are “Scoutorama” and “smellorama”. The suffix is derived from words like “panorama” and “diorama”.

7 The “you” of the song lyric “I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man” : JOLENE

I must admit that I am not a big fan of country music, but I do like the 1974 hit “Jolene” written and performed by Dolly Parton. Dolly Parton tells the story that the song was inspired by a red-headed bank teller who was frequently flirting with her husband.

8 Part of the knee, for short : ACL

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee.

9 D.I.Y. buy : KIT

Back in Ireland, we don’t have “hardware stores” as such, but rather “DIY centres” (and that’s the spelling of “centres”). “DIY” is an initialism standing for “do-it-yourself”.

10 “Magnum, P.I.” setting : OAHU

“Magnum, P.I.” is a TV series that aired in the eighties starring Tom Selleck in the title role. The show was incredibly successful, especially during its first five years. Many big names made guest appearances including Vic Morrow, Orson Welles and Frank Sinatra. The series was rebooted in 2018 as “Magnum P.I.” (no comma!) with Jay Hernandez playing the title character.

12 Where one might turn on the jets : JACUZZI

“Jacuzzi” is one of those brand names that has become so much associated with the product that it is often assumed to be a generic term. The Jacuzzi company was founded in 1915 by the seven(!) Jacuzzi brothers in Berkeley California. The brothers, who were Italian immigrants, pronounced their name “ja-coot-si”, as one might suspect when one realizes the name is of Italian origin. The company started off by making aircraft propellers and then small aircraft, but suspended aircraft production in 1925, when one of the brothers was killed in one of their planes. The family then started making hydraulic pumps, and in 1948 developed a submersible bathtub pump so that a son of one of the brothers could enjoy hydrotherapy for his rheumatoid arthritis. The “hydrotherapy product” took off in the fifties with some astute marketing towards “worn-out housewives” and the use of celebrity spokesman Jack Benny.

13 D&D monster : OGRE

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a complex role-playing game (RPG) introduced in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules Incorporated (TSR). Dungeons & Dragons was probably the first of the modern role-playing games to be developed, and the most successful. It is still played by lots of people today, including my youngest son …

14 Pelvis bone : ILIUM

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

15 Gregor ___, Kafka protagonist : SAMSA

“The Metamorphosis” is a famous novella by Franz Kafka that is regarded by many as one of the greatest pieces of short fiction written in the 20th century. The story tells of the metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa into a gigantic insect. His sister Grete Samsa becomes his caregiver.

17 Pioneering mail-order company : SEARS

Richard Sears was a station agent on the railroad. In the late 1800s, he bought up a shipment of unwanted watches that was left at his depot and sold the watches to other agents up and down the line. He was so successful that he ordered more watches and then came up with the idea of using a catalog to promote more sales. The catalog idea caught on, and his success allowed Sears to open retail locations in 1925. By the mid 1900s, Sears was the biggest retailer in the whole country.

19 Introductory courses : SALADS

Our word “salad” comes from the Latin “salare” meaning “to salt”. The Latin “herba salata” translates as “salted vegetables”, which I guess could be a salad …

31 First couple of the early 1910s : TAFTS

William Howard Taft may have been the 27th President of the United States, but his lifelong ambition was to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The future president had served as dean and professor at the Cincinnati Law School. President Taft was able to realize that dream in 1921, eight years after losing his bid for re-election as president. As Chief Justice, this former US President swore in two new presidents: Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929). William Howard Taft is also remembered as the most obese president. In the last year of his presidency, he weighed about 340 pounds (he was 5 feet 11 inches tall). Twelve months after leaving the White House, President Taft had dropped 80 pounds and substantially lowered his blood pressure.

36 Apply with a Q-tip, say : DAB

Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”. This was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

37 Kerfuffles : ADOS

“Kerfuffle” comes from the Scottish “curfuffle”, with both words meaning “disruption”.

41 RNA polymerase, e.g. : ENZYME

The names of enzymes usually include the suffix “-ase”. Enzymes are basically catalysts, chemicals that act to increase the rate of a particular chemical reaction. For example, starches will break down into sugars over time, especially under the right conditions. However, in the presence of the enzyme amylase (found in saliva) this production of sugar happens very, very quickly.

Polymerase is an enzyme found in the body, It is tasked with making new RNA and DNA.

42 Thailand, once : SIAM

Siam was the official name of Thailand up to 1939 (and again from 1945 to 1949).

43 River through Tuscany : ARNO

The Arno is the principal river in the Tuscany region of Italy, and passes through the cities of Florence and Pisa. Famously the Arno flooded in 1966, the worst flood in the region for centuries. There were numerous deaths and extensive destruction of priceless art treasures, particularly in Florence.

Tuscany is a beautiful region in central Italy, the capital of which is the city of Florence. Tuscany is considered to be the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, which was centered around Florence. It was home to great artistic icons such as Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Galileo and Puccini.

46 Bone filler : MARROW

One of the main roles of bone marrow is the production of red blood cells, although this process is limited to the heads of the long bones in the body. Marrow also produces the lymphocytes that support the body’s immune system.

48 #2 on a table : HELIUM

Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and the element symbol “He”. Helium is a gas, and lighter than air. It is the second-most abundant element in the universe (after hydrogen). Helium was first detected in 1868 as an unknown yellow spectral line during a solar eclipse. As such, the gas was named for “Helios”, the Greek god of the Sun.

58 YouTube or Gmail : APP

YouTube is a video-sharing website that was launched in 2005 by three ex-PayPal employees. Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Yep, $1.65 billion, less than two years after it was founded …

Gmail is a free webmail service provided by Google, and my favorite of the free email services. Gmail made a big splash when it was introduced because it offered a whopping 1GB of storage whereas other services offered a measly 2-4MB on average.

61 They’re filled with X’s : BALLOTS

Today, a ballot is a piece of paper or equivalent used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.

63 Engraving instrument : STYLET

A stylet is a thin, surgical probe. The term is also used for a thin, pointed weapon like a stiletto.

69 Whirlybird whirlers : ROTORS

“Whirlybird” is an informal word meaning “helicopter”.

Our term “helicopter” was absorbed from the French word “hélicoptère” that was coined by Gustave Ponton d’Amécourt in 1861. d’Amécourt envisioned aircraft that could fly vertically using rotating wings that “screwed” into the air. He combined the Greek terms “helix” meaning “spiral, whirl” and “pteron” meaning “wing” to give us “helicopter”.

73 One calling a “T” : REF

Back in the early 17th century, a referee was someone who examined patent applications. We started using the same term for a person presiding over a sporting event in the 1820s. “Referee” is a derivative of the verb “to refer”, and literally describes someone who has the authority to make a decision by “referring” to a book, archive etc.

77 Certain fossil preserve : TAR PIT

A tar pit is an unusual geological feature created by leakage of bitumen from below ground to the earth’s surface creating a pool of natural asphalt. One of the most famous of these occurrences is the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.

80 The art of music? : ALBUM COVER

The Latin word “album” translates as “white”. Back in the 17th century, public notices and lists of names were written on a board painted white, or in a souvenir book with white pages known as an “albo” (from “album”). Over time, the term “album” came to be used in English for a blank book created to collect signatures or other mementos. By the end of the 19th century, albums were used to collect photographs. The term “album” was applied to long-playing gramophone records in the early 1950s, because the record sleeves resembled large photographic albums.

81 Vegetables that make a fitting addition to alphabet soup? : PEAS

Believe it or not, alphabet pasta (pasta shaped like letters of the alphabet) has been around since the 1870s. Campbell’s introduced its Alphabet Soup brand in the 1950s.

87 Classic soda brand : NEHI

The Nehi cola brand has a name that sounds like “knee-high”, a measure of a small stature. Back in the mid-1900’s the Chero-Cola company, which owned the brand, went for a slightly different twist on “knee-high” in advertising. The logo for Nehi was an image of a seated woman’s stockinged legs, with her skirt pulled up to her knees to hint at “knee-high”.

95 Ibn ___ (former Mideast king) : SAUD

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country in the Middle East and is the world’s largest oil producer, home to the world’s largest oil reserves. The Saudi dynasty started in central Arabia in 1744 when the secular leader Muhammad ibn Saud joined forces with the Islamic scholar and Imam, Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. At the time, Saud was a ruler of a town near Riyadh and he was determined to bring “true” Islam to the Arabian peninsula. Since 1744 the fortunes of the Saudi family have risen and fallen, but it is that same family who rules what we know today as Saudi Arabia.

98 Japanese noodle : UDON

Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisines such as tempura.

100 Young salmon : SMOLT

When young salmon (born in freshwater) are at the smolt stage, they become adapted to saltwater and head for the sea. They return to freshwater to reproduce, often traveling long distances upstream.

102 Like hawks : PRO-WAR

The dove is a symbol of peace, and the hawk is a symbol of war.

104 Hit 1979 musical in which a character’s mistress is one of the main roles : EVITA

“Evita” was the follow-up musical to “Jesus Christ Superstar” for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Both of these works were originally released as album musicals, and very successful ones at that (I remember buying them when they first came out). “Evita” was made into a film in 1996, with Madonna playing the title role and Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce playing her husband Juan Perón.

105 University of New Mexico team : LOBOS

The University of New Mexico (UNM) is a school in Albuquerque that was founded in 1889. The UNM sports teams are called the Lobos, and there are two mascots who work the crowds named Lobo Louie and Lobo Lucy.

107 ___ Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam : EDDIE

Eddie Vedder is the lead singer of the alternative rock band named Pearl Jam. As a songwriter, Vedder released a solo album in 2007, which is also used as the soundtrack of the interesting film “Into the Wild”.

111 Some I.R.A.s : ROTHS

Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (Roth IRAs) were introduced in 1997 under a bill sponsored by Senator William Roth of Delaware, hence the name.

113 Licoricelike flavor : ANISE

The essential oil in the anise plant is anethole. Anethole has a licorice-like flavor, and is used extensively in cooking and to flavor several distilled alcoholic drinks.

116 The “O’s” of Cheerios : OATS

Cheerios breakfast cereal has the distinction of being the first oat-based cereal introduced into the market, hitting the grocery store shelves in 1941. Back then, Cheerios were known as CheeriOats.

117 Old ___, Conn. : LYME

Lyme disease is an infectious disease that is becoming more and more common. The condition takes its name from the town of Lyme, Connecticut where several cases were diagnosed in 1975. Humans catch the disease when bitten by infected ticks. If caught early enough, the disease is usually treated successfully with antibiotics.

120 El ___ : NINO

When the surface temperature of much of the Pacific Ocean rises more than half a degree celsius, then there is said to be an El Niño episode. That small temperature change in the Pacific has been associated with climatic changes that can stretch right across the globe. El Niño is Spanish for “the boy” and is a reference to the Christ child. The phenomenon was given this particular Spanish name because the warming is usually noticed near South America and around Christmas-time.

124 Cheer to a matador : OLE!

The term “torero” is used to describe all bullfighters. The term “matador” is reserved for the bullfighter whose job is to make the final kill. Aptly enough, “matador” is Spanish for “killer”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Homes that may have butlers : MANORS
7 Singer Dylan of the Wallflowers : JAKOB
12 Supporting beams : JOISTS
18 Bear or boar : ANIMAL
19 Bees, e.g. : SOCIALS
21 Gleaming : AGLARE
22 The “C” of AMC Theatres : CINEMA
23 The whole package, colloquially : ALL THAT
24 Sevastopol is its largest city : CRIMEA
25 Not true? : AT AN ANGLE
27 Visitor to a website, in analytics lingo : UNIQUE USER
29 “Time ___ …” : WAS
30 Concedes : GRANTS
33 Santa ___, Calif. : CRUZ
34 m, to Einstein : MASS
35 B.C. neighbor: Abbr. : IDA
38 Think creatively : IDEATE
40 XL or 11C : SIZE
42 Beer named for a founding father : SAM ADAMS
45 W-2, for one : FORM
47 W.W. I helmet, informally : TIN HAT
51 2004 Will Smith sci-fi film : I, ROBOT
52 D.S.T. starting time … or a hint to 42-Across : TWO AM
54 Weightlessness … or a hint to 118-Across : ZERO G
56 ___ Compton, first woman to cover the White House for a TV network : ANN
57 Rating unit : STAR
60 Libya’s Gulf of ___ : SIDRA
61 Reporter’s credit : BYLINE
62 TV tavern : MOE’S
64 Mimic : APER
66 “Royal” bird : TERN
67 In : AMIDST
68 Top credit rating … or a hint to 25-Across : TRIPLE-A
71 23rd in a series … or a hint to 27-Across : DOUBLE-U
73 Trust in : RELY ON
76 Fails to be : ISN’T
78 Keen : WAIL
79 Google ___ : MAPS
83 Holds in high regard : EXALTS
84 Old lab burners : ETNAS
86 Water bird with a haunting call : LOON
88 Bit of HI gear? : LEI
89 Cops … or a hint to 115-Across : FIVE-O
90 Club for farm kids … or a hint to 97-Across : FOUR-H
91 Pouch on a string : TEA BAG
93 Game with L- and T-shaped pieces : TETRIS
96 Locale for a West Coast wine tour : NAPA
97 Secretive : HUSH HUSH
99 R&R settings : SPAS
101 Crystal-clear : LIMPID
103 “O, ___ fortune’s fool!”: Romeo : I AM
104 Singer King with the 2014 hit “Ex’s & Oh’s” : ELLE
108 Body feature of a mammoth : HUMP
110 Holy ___ : TERROR
112 It might be taken to the airport : CAB
115 Spelling aid? : VOODOO DOLL
118 Baseball announcer’s call on a home run : OIN’ OIN’ ONE (“going, going, gone” with “zero-g”)
121 Nigerian city of 3.5+ million : IBADAN
122 Set on the ground : LAY DOWN
125 “Jeopardy!” fodder : TRIVIA
126 This evenin’ : TONITE
127 Video call glitch : TIME LAG
128 “I kid you not!” : HONEST
129 Rate : ASSESS
130 Like the Xbox One X vis-à-vis the Xbox One : NEWER
131 Makes some Z’s : SNORES

Down

1 Colorful parrot : MACAW
2 Santa ___ : ANITA
3 Jazz singer born Eunice Kathleen Waymon : NINA SIMONE
4 Warning sign : OMEN
5 Commercial follower of “-o-” : -RAMA
6 A-game or b-ball, e.g. : SLANG
7 The “you” of the song lyric “I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man” : JOLENE
8 Part of the knee, for short : ACL
9 D.I.Y. buy : KIT
10 “Magnum, P.I.” setting : OAHU
11 Sauvignon ___ : BLANC
12 Where one might turn on the jets : JACUZZI
13 D&D monster : OGRE
14 Pelvis bone : ILIUM
15 Gregor ___, Kafka protagonist : SAMSA
16 Some genealogical work : TREES
17 Pioneering mail-order company : SEARS
19 Introductory courses : SALADS
20 Mixes together : STIRS
26 Not looking good : GRIM
28 Ctrl+Q : QUIT
31 First couple of the early 1910s : TAFTS
32 “Shut your trap!” : STOW IT!
36 Apply with a Q-tip, say : DAB
37 Kerfuffles : ADOS
39 Wore down : ERODED
41 RNA polymerase, e.g. : ENZYME
42 Thailand, once : SIAM
43 River through Tuscany : ARNO
44 Reaches : ATTAINS
46 Bone filler : MARROW
48 #2 on a table : HELIUM
49 Bone-dry : ARID
50 A great deal : TONS
53 How-to go-to : MANUAL
55 Obtain : GET
58 YouTube or Gmail : APP
59 “Phew!” feeling : RELIEF
61 They’re filled with X’s : BALLOTS
63 Engraving instrument : STYLET
65 Lean against : REST ON
69 Whirlybird whirlers : ROTORS
70 Like some plants and physicals : ANNUAL
72 Personal story, informally : BIO
73 One calling a “T” : REF
74 Turnoff : EXIT
75 Wash up : LAVE
77 Certain fossil preserve : TAR PIT
80 The art of music? : ALBUM COVER
81 Vegetables that make a fitting addition to alphabet soup? : PEAS
82 [Oh, well] : [SIGH]
85 “Tsk, tsk!” : SHAME!
87 Classic soda brand : NEHI
92 “Oh, I see!” : AHA!
94 Small-screen entertainers? : IPHONES
95 Ibn ___ (former Mideast king) : SAUD
97 Responsibility of a personnel director : HIRING
98 Japanese noodle : UDON
100 Young salmon : SMOLT
102 Like hawks : PRO-WAR
104 Hit 1979 musical in which a character’s mistress is one of the main roles : EVITA
105 University of New Mexico team : LOBOS
106 Bank deals : LOANS
107 ___ Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam : EDDIE
109 Garden-variety : PLAIN
111 Some I.R.A.s : ROTHS
113 Licoricelike flavor : ANISE
114 Rap producers make them : BEATS
116 The “O’s” of Cheerios : OATS
117 Old ___, Conn. : LYME
119 Spinach is rich in it : IRON
120 El ___ : NINO
123 Drop o’ the mornin’ : DEW
124 Cheer to a matador : OLE!