0117-21 NY Times Crossword 17 Jan 21, Sunday

Constructed by: Tracy Gray & Tom Pepper
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Double-Crossed

The grid includes six squares with two pairs of repeated letters. The across-answers use those letters as written, whereas the order is reversed for the down-direction:

  • 23A Way into a garage, typically : OVERHEAD DOOR
  • 7D Subject of a Sleeves Up campaign : BLOOD DRIVE
  • 34A Nickelodeon competitor : CARTOON NETWORK
  • 13D Classic dorm room meal : RAMEN NOODLES
  • 61A Prominent women’s rights lawyer : GLORIA ALLRED
  • 45D Beer in a green bottle : STELLA ARTOIS
  • 76A Visual phenomenon created by short flashes of light : STROBE EFFECT
  • 66D Nestlé creamer : COFFEE MATE
  • 104A Some entertainers at children’s birthday parties : BALLOON ARTISTS
  • 85D Sallie Mae products : SCHOOL LOANS
  • 119A Awards show that airs at night, ironically : DAYTIME EMMYS
  • 101D Pool competitions : SWIM MEETS

Bill’s time: 18m 43s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 It was established by a 1926 royal charter : BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is also known as “the Beeb”, a name given to the network by the great Peter Sellers on the classic British radio comedy called “The Goon Show”. The BBC was founded in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, and was the world’s first national broadcasting organization.

9 Ulan ___, Mongolia : BATOR

The name of Mongolia’s capital city Ulaanbaatar (formerly anglicized as “Ulan Bator”) translates as “the Red Hero”. The “Red Hero” name was chosen in honor of the country’s national hero Damdin Sükhbaatar. Sükhbaatar fought alongside the Soviet Red Army in the fight for liberation from Chinese occupation.

The East Asian nation of Mongolia lies between Russian to the north and China to the south. With an area of over 600,000 square miles and a population of about 3 million people, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated sovereign nation on the planet. Almost half of the Mongolian populace lives in the capital city of Ulan Bator.

19 #1 of 50, alphabetically: Abbr. : ALA

The first four US states in an alphabetical list all start with the letter A:

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas

The last four states in an alphabetical list all start with the letter W:

  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

22 Garb in a duck blind, informally : CAMO

Our word “camouflage” (often abbreviated to “camo”) evolved directly from a Parisian slang term “camoufler” meaning “to disguise”. The term was first used in WWI, although the British navy at that time preferred the expression “dazzle-painting” as it applied to the pattern painted on the hulls of ships.

25 California wine region : SONOMA

Did you know that there are far more wine grapes produced in Sonoma than Napa? Within Sonoma County some of the more well-known appellations are Chalk Hill, Anderson Valley and Russian River Valley. Personally, when I want to visit the wine country, I head for the Russian River Valley as it’s far less crowded and much more fun than Napa Valley.

27 Freak (out) : WIG

The idea behind the expression “to wig out”, meaning “to go crazy”, is that there is so much going on in your brain that it might “lift your hair/wig”.

28 Tennis star who won at least one Grand Slam title for a record 13 straight years : EVERT

Chris Evert is a former professional tennis player from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She has the best winning percentage in professional tennis, man or woman worldwide, losing less than 10% of all her matches. Evert was also the first female athlete to host “Saturday Night Live”, doing so in 1994 just after she had retired from professional tennis.

29 Initialism that can include an “h” for “humble” : IMO

In my opinion (IMO) & in my humble opinion (IMHO)

30 Old-timey “OMG!” : EGADS!

“OMG” is text-speak for “Oh My Gosh!” “Oh My Goodness!” or any other G-words you might care to use …

32 GPS guess : ETA

Global positioning system (GPS)

33 Variables in (pi)r^2 and 2(pi)r : RADII

By definition, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is the mathematical constant known as pi. The same constant shows up as the ratio of a circle’s area to its radius squared.

38 Bagless vacuum maker : DYSON

Dyson vacuum cleaners do not use a bag to collect dust. James Dyson invented the first vacuum cleaner to use cyclonic separation in 1979, frustrated at the poor performance of his regular vacuum cleaner. As Dyson cleaners do not use bags, they don’t have to deal with collection bags that are blocked with fine dust particles, even after emptying. Cyclonic separation uses high speed spinning of the dust-containing air so that the dust particles are thrown out of the airflow into a collection bin. We have a Dyson now, and should have bought it years ago …

40 Savvy couple? : VEES

There are a couple of letters V (vees) in the word “savvy”.

42 ___ the Kid, nickname for N.H.L. star Crosby : SID

Sidney Crosby is a professional ice hockey player from Canada, currently captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has the nicknames “The Next One” and “Sid the Kid”.

43 Party game similar to Catch Phrase : TABOO

Taboo is a guessing game that was introduced by Parker Brothers in 1989. Players must encourage their teammates to guess a word on a card, without using that word or related words defined on the card. It’s a fun game that’s played regularly around here …

47 Starbucks sizes smaller than grandes : TALLS

Starbucks introduced us to coffee drinks in a whole range of volumes:

  • Demi … 3 fl oz
  • Short … 8 fl oz
  • Tall … 12 fl oz
  • Grande … 16 fl oz (Italian for “large”)
  • Venti … 20 fl oz (Italian for “twenty”)
  • Trenta … 30 fl oz (Italian for “thirty”)

49 Dove bar, e.g. : SOAP

Dove is a brand of personal care products made by Unilever. The brand originated in the UK, back in 1955.

56 “Je t’___” (words from a beau) : AIME

“I love you” translates into “te amo” in Spanish, “Ich liebe dich” in German, and “je t’aime” in French.

57 Prince Andrew’s younger daughter : EUGENIE

Princess Eugenie of York is the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, and an heir to the British throne. Eugenie’s parents divorced when she was six years old. Princess Eugenie does not herself carry out public duties, and in 2015 started work as a director in a London art gallery.

60 On the main : ASEA

When one thinks of the word “main”, in the context of the sea, the Spanish Main usually comes to mind. Indeed, the use of the more general term “main” to mean “sea”, originates from the more specific “Spanish Main”. “Spanish Main” originally referred to land and not water, as it was the name given to the mainland coast around the Caribbean Sea in the days of Spanish domination of the region.

61 Prominent women’s rights lawyer : GLORIA ALLRED

Gloria Allred is a civil rights lawyer who also has a career as a radio and TV personality. In the courtroom, Allred has represented some high-profile clients, including Tommy Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sasha Baron Cohen and Esai Morales.

63 Member of an Iraqi minority : KURD

Most of the Kurdish people live in a region known as Kurdistan, which stretches into parts of Iran, Syria, Turkey as well as northern Iraq.

65 Obscure knowledge : ARCANA

Arcana are deep secrets or mysteries. “Arcana” is from the Latin adjective “arcanum” meaning “secret, hidden”.

71 Certain laundry detergent capsule : TIDE POD

The dark side of social media struck again in late 2017 when “The Tide Pod Challenge” became an Internet sensation. Participants were eating Tide detergent pods on camera, and getting very sick and dangerously injured.

73 Causing constriction of the pupils : MIOTIC

An unnatural constriction of the pupil of an eye is called miosis. Unnatural dilation is known as mydriasis.

75 007’s alma mater : ETON

The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who was British prime minister from 2010 to 2016. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington and George Orwell. Author Ian Fleming was also an Eton alumnus, as was Fleming’s iconic character James Bond, although 007 was expelled by the school.

The literal translation for the Latin term “alma mater” is “nourishing mother”. The phrase was used in ancient Rome to refer to mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity the term was used to refer to the Virgin Mary. Nowadays, one’s alma mater is the school one attended, either high school or college, usually one’s last place of education.

76 Visual phenomenon created by short flashes of light : STROBE EFFECT

A strobe light is a device that produces regular flashes, like the light on top of a police car. The term derives from the Greek “strobos” meaning “twisting, whirling”.

78 Linguist Chomsky : NOAM

Noam Chomsky is a professor of linguistics at MIT. Chomsky is known as one of the fathers of modern linguistics.

82 When repeated, a Hawaiian fish : MAHI

“Mahi-mahi” (meaning “very strong”) is the Hawaiian name for the dolphinfish, which is also called the dorado. The mahi-mahi is an ugly looking creature if ever I saw one …

90 Part of P.R. : RICO

Puerto Rico (PR) is located in the northeastern Caribbean (in the Atlantic Ocean), east of the Dominican Republic. The name “Puerto Rico” is Spanish for “rich port”. The locals often call their island Borinquen, the Spanish form of “Boriken”, the original name used by the natives.

91 Far from wild : STAID

Something described as “staid” is unwavering, fixed. This usage expanded to mean “sober, sedate”. The term dates back to the 16th century, and comes from the verb “to stay”. “Staid” is a rewriting of the past participle “stayed”.

93 Pesto ingredient : PINE NUT

Pesto sauce is more completely called “pesto alla genovese”, i.e. pesto from Genoa. A traditional recipe calls for crushed garlic, pine nuts, salt, basil leaves, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Yum …

96 For one purpose only : AD HOC

The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”. An ad hoc committee, for example, is formed for a specific purpose and disbanded after making its final report.

98 Org. that takes many forms : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

100 Quark-antiquark combo : MESON

A meson is an unstable subatomic particle, one made up of a quark and an antiquark.

Quarks are elementary atomic particles that combine to make composite particles called “hadrons”. I’m really only familiar with the really stable hadrons i.e. protons and neutrons. There are six types of quarks (referred to as “flavors”). These flavors are up, down, strange, charm, bottom and top. The term “quark” was borrowed from James Joyce’s book “Finnegans Wake”, by physicist Murray Gell-Mann. However, the word coined by Joyce is pronounced “kwark”, and the particle’s name is pronounced “kwork”.

107 Europe’s longest river : VOLGA

The Volga is the longest river in Europe. It is also considered the national river of Russia.

111 O icon : OPRAH

The full name of the publication, usually called “O”, is “O: The Oprah Magazine”. Since the magazine’s founding in 2000, Oprah has appeared alone on the cover of each issue, with two exceptions. On the April 2009 cover Oprah was shown with First Lady Michelle Obama, and on the December 2009 cover Oprah shared the limelight with Ellen DeGeneres.

112 Western Hemisphere grp. : OAS

The Organization of American States (OAS) was founded in 1948, and has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Not all of the independent states in the Americas are members. Cuba was barred from participation in the organization after a vote in 1962. Honduras had her membership suspended after the country’s 2009 coup.

The Western Hemisphere is that half of the Earth’s surface lying to the west of the prime meridian (which runs through Greenwich). The opposing half of the planet is the Eastern Hemisphere.

113 Legendary firefighter Red : ADAIR

Red Adair was a famous fighter of fires in oil fields, and was a native of Houston, Texas. Adair’s exploits were the inspiration for a 1968 movie called “Hellfighters” starring John Wayne.

114 Curler’s surface : ICE

I think curling is such a cool game (pun!). It’s somewhat like bowls, but played on a sheet of ice. The sport was supposedly invented in medieval Scotland, and is called curling because of the action of the granite stone as it moves across the ice. A player can make the stone take a curved path (“curl”) by causing it to slowly rotate as it slides.

115 Kind of palm cultivated for its fruit : ACAI

Açaí (pronounced “ass-aye-ee”) is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.

119 Awards show that airs at night, ironically : DAYTIME EMMYS

The Emmy Awards are the television equivalent of the Oscars from the world of film, the Grammy Awards in music and the Tony Awards for the stage. Emmy Awards are presented throughout the year, depending on the sector of television being honored. The most famous of these ceremonies are the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards. The distinctive name “Emmy” is a softened version of the word “immy”, the nickname given to the video camera tubes found in old television cameras. The Emmy statuette was designed by television engineer Louis McManus in 1948, and depicts a woman holding up an atom. McManus used his wife as a model for the woman.

121 Part of une éclipse : LUNE

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the shadow cast by the Earth from the light of the Sun, in other words when the Earth is positioned directly between the Sun and the Moon. The more spectacular solar eclipse takes place when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, so that the Earth falls into the shadow cast by the Moon.

122 Submits an online return : E-FILES

E-file: that’s certainly what I do with my tax return …

123 Brown. ender : EDU

Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island is one of the eight Ivy League schools. Brown has been around a long time, founded in 1764, years before America declared independence from England. The university took the name of Brown in 1804 after one Nicholas Brown, Jr. gave a substantial gift to the school. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Brown Bears, and their mascot is Bruno.

124 ” : DITTO

The word “ditto” was originally used in Italian (from Tuscan dialect) to avoid repetition of the names of months in a series of dates. So, “ditto” is just another wonderful import from that lovely land …

127 Easy target : SAP

“Sap” is slang for “fool, someone easily scammed”. The term arose in the early 1800s in Britain when it was used in “saphead” and “sapskull”. All these words are derived from “sapwood”, which is the softwood found in tree trunks between the bark and the heartwood at the center.

128 Buddy of “The Beverly Hillbillies” : EBSEN

Actor Buddy Ebsen was best known for playing Jed Clampett in television’s “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Ebsen had been cast in the role of the Tin Man in the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”, but he developed an allergy to the aluminium dust that was used in the makeup. He ended up in hospital and had to walk away from the part. Ebsen blamed “The Wizard of Oz” on persistent problems that he had with his lungs in subsequent years. But Ebsen lived 16 years longers that any of the other major cast members of the film, so maybe he got the last laugh!

“The Beverly Hillbillies” sitcom originally aired from 1962 to 1971. The show had consistently respectable ratings, but was canceled as part of “the Rural Purge” at CBS. Advertisers at the time were applying pressure on the network to move to more urban-themed shows. CBS responded by canceling shows such as “Petticoat Junction”, “Green Acres”, “Lassie” as well as “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

Down

1 Sang one’s own praises : CROWED

The verb “to crow” meaning “to exult in triumph” is imitative of the sound made by a crow, perhaps as it settles over some dead animal that it has found …

3 “w”-like letters : OMEGAS

Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and is the one that looks like a horseshoe when in uppercase. The lowercase omega looks like a Latin W. The word “omega” literally means “great O” (O-mega). Compare this with the Greek letter Omicron, meaning “little O” (O-micron).

4 Anthony Hopkins, for one : SIR

The marvelous actor Anthony Hopkins got his big break in movies playing Richard the Lionheart in the 1968 historical drama “The Lion in Winter”. Hopkins hails from the south coast of Wales, and was encouraged in his early career by fellow Welshman Richard Burton, whom he met when he was a teenager. I’d say that Hopkins’ best-known film role was Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs”.

5 Wi-Fi alternative : ETHERNET

“Ethernet” is the name given to a standardized configuration of local area networks (LANs). An ethernet cable is that one that has a connector on the end that looks like a regular telephone connector, but is about twice as wide. Ethernet dates back to the mid seventies, when it was developed by the Xerox Corporation.

“Wi-Fi” is nothing more than a trademark, a trademark registered by an association of manufacturers of equipment that use wireless LAN (Local Area Network) technology. A device labeled with “Wi-Fi” has to meet certain defined technical standards, basically meaning that the devices can talk to each other. The name “Wi-Fi” suggests “Wireless Fidelity”, although apparently the term was never intended to mean anything at all.

8 French luxury jeweler : CARTIER

Cartier is a manufacturer of jewelry and watches based in Paris that has had a long association with royalty and the very rich. According to King Edward VII, Cartier is “the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers” (note the English spelling of “jeweller”!).

11 Jazz instrument pitched in the key of B flat : TENOR SAX

The saxophone was invented by Belgian musician Adolphe Sax, hence the name. Sax developed lip cancer at one point in his life, and one has to wonder if his affliction was related to his saxophone playing (I am sure not!). I had the privilege of visiting Sax’s grave in the Cemetery of Montmartre in Paris a few years ago.

12 Peace activist Yoko : ONO

Artist Yoko Ono operates the website ImaginePeace.com. I checked it out once and found these two lovely quotes:

  • Imagine all the people living life in peace … John Lennon
  • A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is reality … Yoko Ono

13 Classic dorm room meal : RAMEN NOODLES

Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.

15 Deep-toned cousin of an English horn : BASS OBOE

The English horn is also known by its French name “cor anglais”. It is a double-reed woodwind instrument.

16 One whose calling is making calls? : UMP

Back in the 15th century, “an umpire” was referred to as “a noumpere”, which was misheard and hence causing the dropping of the initial letter N. The term “noumpere” came from Old French “nonper” meaning “not even, odd number”. The idea was that the original umpire was a third person called on to arbitrate between two, providing that “odd number” needed to decide the dispute.

17 American Kennel Club designation : TOY

The American Kennel Club (AKC) is the organization that handles registration of purebred dogs The AKC also promotes dog shows around the country, including the famous Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

21 Stuffing herb : SAGE

In Britain, sage is listed as one of the four essential herbs. And those would be “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”.

24 Green on the screen : EVA

Despite the English-sounding name, Eva Green is a French actress. Green played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the 2006 movie “Casino Royale” opposite Daniel Craig.

31 QB’s passing stat: Abbr. : ATT

In football, one statistic (stat) used to track the performance of a quarterback (QB) is attempts (ATT).

37 Keystone ___ : KOPS

The Keystone Cops (sometimes “Keystone Kops”) were a band of madcap policemen characters who appeared in silent movies. A 1914 short film called “A Thief Catcher” that was believed lost was rediscovered in 2010. “A Thief Catcher” featured the magnificent Charlie Chaplin in an early role as a Keystone Cop.

41 TV channel that owns the website The Undefeated : ESPN

The initialism “ESPN” stands for Entertainment Sports Programming Network. ESPN is a cable network that broadcasts sports programming 24 hours a day, and was launched back in 1979. ESPN has a lot of ardent fans. Several parents have named their children Espn (usually pronounced “Espen”) in honor of the network.

45 Beer in a green bottle : STELLA ARTOIS

The Belgian beer Stella Artois is named for the brewer Sebastianus Artois. Artois was the master brewer at the Den Hoorn Brewery in Leuven, Belgium in the early 1700s. The Den Hoorn Brewery has been around at least since 1366 … yes, 1366!

47 Prepare to swing, say : TEE UP

That would be golf.

50 Floral fragrance note : LILAC

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

55 Lesser Antilles native : CARIB

The Island Caribs are an American Indian people who are native to the Lesser Antilles islands, part of the West Indies. It is thought that the Island Caribs are possibly descended from the Kalina (also “Mainland Carib”) people who are native to the northern coastal areas of South America. The Caribbean Sea takes its name from the Island Carib people.

56 City that’s home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites : AGRA

Agra is a medieval city on the banks of the river Yamuna in India. Agra was also the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658. The city is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

  • The Taj Mahal: the famous mausoleum built in memory of Mumtaz Mahal.
  • Agra Fort: the site where the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond was seized.
  • Fatehpur Sikri: a historic city that’s home to well-preserved Mughal architecture.

62 Tony winner Menzel : IDINA

Actress and singer Idina Menzel came to public attention when she was a member of the original Broadway cast of “Rent”. She is known on the small screen for playing Shelby Corcoran on the musical TV show “Glee”. On the big screen, her most noted performance was as the voice actor behind Queen Elsa in the Disney hit “Frozen”. It is Menzel who sings the Oscar-winning song “Let It Go” in “Frozen”.

64 Antarctica’s ___ Ice Shelf : ROSS

The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest such structure in Antarctica, and is about the size of the country of France. The shelf is named after the person who discovered it in 1841, Captain Sir James Clark Ross.

66 Nestlé creamer : COFFEE-MATE

Coffee-mate is a non-dairy creamer made by Nestlé. I think that the term “non-dairy creamer” is quite misleading. Such products don’t contain any lactose, but they often do contain casein, which is a protein that comes from milk.

69 When the Battle of Yorktown occurs in “Hamilton” : ACT I

“Hamilton” is a 2015 musical based on the life of US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as described in the 2004 biography by Ron Chernow. The show opened off-Broadway in February 2015, and transferred to Broadway in August of the same year. Advance ticket sales for the Broadway production were unprecedented, and reportedly amounted to $30 million. The representations of the main characters are decidedly ground-breaking. The show is rooted in hip-hop and the main roles such as Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are all played by African-American and Hispanic actors.

72 Took steroids, say : DOPED

Steroids are found commonly in nature, with familiar examples being cholesterol and testosterone. The controversial class of drugs called anabolic steroids (known informally as “roids” or simply “steroids”) are artificially produced chemicals designed to mimic the effect of the male sex hormone, testosterone. They are termed “anabolic” as they build up cellular tissue (particularly muscle) in a process called anabolism. Taking anabolic steroids can be termed “juicing”, and the aggressive behavior that can be a side-effect is known as “roid rage”.

81 T-Bonz dog treat brand : ALPO

Alpo is a brand of dog food introduced by Allen Products in 1936, with “Alpo” being an abbreviation for “Allen Products”. Lorne Greene used to push Alpo in television spots, as did Ed McMahon and Garfield the Cat, would you believe?

84 Musical with the opening number “Every Story Is a Love Story” : AIDA

The rock musical “Aida” is based on Giuseppe Verdi’s original opera. It premiered in 1998 and is still performed today. Music is by Elton John and lyrics are by Tim Rice.

85 Sallie Mae products : SCHOOL LOANS

“Sallie Mae” is a nickname for SLM Corporation that was created in 1972 by the US government as the Student Loan Marketing Association. By 2004, the government had severed all its ties with Sallie Mae. Today, SLM is basically a profit-focused lender.

86 Marshmallow-filled snacks : MOON PIES

Marshmallow cream was developed in 1927. Soon after, workers in the coal mines around Chattanooga, Tennessee started dipping graham crackers in marshmallow cream as a snack. Then a local baker jumped on the idea, and came up with a sandwich made with a marshmallow filling between two round graham crackers. His young grandson remarked that the popped bubbles in the marshmallow (from baking) looked like moon craters, and the Moon Pie was born. I used to love them as a kid, although we called them “Wagon Wheels” in our part of the world.

87 University of Montana city : MISSOULA

Missoula, Montana is home to the University of Montana. Missoula was the birthplace of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to hold high government office, when she was elected to the US congress in 1916. Mike Mansfield was another famous Missoula resident, the longest-serving Majority Leader in the history of the US Senate.

92 Shapiro of NPR : ARI

Ari Shapiro served very ably as White House correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) for several years. He then became a co-host of network’s drive-time program “All Things Considered” in 2015. When he’s not working, Shapiro likes to sing. He regularly appears as a guest singer with the group Pink Martini, and has appeared on several of the band’s albums.

94 Emulates the Mongols : INVADES

The Mongols are an ethnic group that is found today in modern Mongolia, in China and in Russia.

95 Old genre for 12-Down : NEO-DADA
(12D Peace activist Yoko : ONO)

The Neo-Dada movement in art and literature was alive and well in the fifties and sixties. The label “Neo-Dada” reflects the similarities with the earlier Dada movement that thrived in the early 1900s. One of the more famous names associated with the Neo-Dada is Yoko Ono.

102 Immature egg cell : OOCYTE

An oocyte is an immature egg cell involved in reproduction.

103 Star of the “Taken” trilogy : NEESON

Irish actor Liam Neeson got his big break when he played Oskar Schindler in the Spielberg epic, “Schindler’s List”. Neeson was in the news some years later when he lost his wife, actress Natasha Richardson, in a tragic skiing accident in 2009. Earlier in his life, in the 1980s, Neeson lived for several years with Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren.

“Taken” is a fabulous thriller movie released in 2008. It stars Liam Neeson as kind of an older James Bond-ish character, and he is great in the role. “Taken 2” followed in 2012 and it wasn’t a bad sequel, I must say. 2014’s “Taken 3” was just “okay” …

106 What tots might go after? : TATER

Ore-Ida’s founders came up with the idea for Tater Tots when they were deciding what to do with residual cuts of potato. They chopped up the leftovers, added flour and seasoning, and extruded the mix through a large hole making a sausage that they cut into small cylinders. We eat 70 million pounds of this extruded potato every year!

108 Easy two points : LAYUP

That would be basketball.

120 Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones film series, for short : MIB

“Men in black” (MIB) are said to have appeared in the past whenever there have been reports of UFO sightings. Supposedly, these men are government agents whose job it is to suppress reports of alien landings. The conspiracy theorists got their day in the movies with the release of a pretty good sci-fi comedy in 1997 called “Men in Black”, starring Will Smith (as Agent J) and Tommy Lee Jones (as Agent K).

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Getting warm, so to speak : CLOSE
6 It was established by a 1926 royal charter : BBC
9 Ulan ___, Mongolia : BATOR
14 Be against : ABUT
18 Send, as payment : REMIT
19 #1 of 50, alphabetically: Abbr. : ALA
20 Former basketball star Gilbert … or the places he played : ARENAS
22 Garb in a duck blind, informally : CAMO
23 Way into a garage, typically : OVERHEAD DOOR
25 California wine region : SONOMA
26 Road trip guessing game : I SPY
27 Freak (out) : WIG
28 Tennis star who won at least one Grand Slam title for a record 13 straight years : EVERT
29 Initialism that can include an “h” for “humble” : IMO
30 Old-timey “OMG!” : EGADS!
32 GPS guess : ETA
33 Variables in (pi)r^2 and 2(pi)r : RADII
34 Nickelodeon competitor : CARTOON NETWORK
38 Bagless vacuum maker : DYSON
40 Savvy couple? : VEES
42 ___ the Kid, nickname for N.H.L. star Crosby : SID
43 Party game similar to Catch Phrase : TABOO
44 Grows increasingly more irksome : FESTERS
47 Starbucks sizes smaller than grandes : TALLS
49 Dove bar, e.g. : SOAP
50 Given as a bequest : LEFT TO
52 Suffix with mega- or multi- : -PLEX
54 Ones making strong impressions? : ETCHERS
56 “Je t’___” (words from a beau) : AIME
57 Prince Andrew’s younger daughter : EUGENIE
60 On the main : ASEA
61 Prominent women’s rights lawyer : GLORIA ALLRED
63 Member of an Iraqi minority : KURD
65 Obscure knowledge : ARCANA
70 Violent, maybe : RATED-R
71 Certain laundry detergent capsule : TIDE POD
73 Causing constriction of the pupils : MIOTIC
74 Nailed the test : ACED IT
75 007’s alma mater : ETON
76 Visual phenomenon created by short flashes of light : STROBE EFFECT
78 Linguist Chomsky : NOAM
80 Dense fog, metaphorically : PEA SOUP
82 When repeated, a Hawaiian fish : MAHI
83 Major utility pipeline : GAS MAIN
87 Whimper : MEWL
88 It has its pros and cons : DEBATE
90 Part of P.R. : RICO
91 Far from wild : STAID
93 Pesto ingredient : PINE NUT
96 For one purpose only : AD HOC
98 Org. that takes many forms : IRS
99 Five-star : A-ONE
100 Quark-antiquark combo : MESON
104 Some entertainers at children’s birthday parties : BALLOON ARTISTS
107 Europe’s longest river : VOLGA
110 Trouble : WOE
111 O icon : OPRAH
112 Western Hemisphere grp. : OAS
113 Legendary firefighter Red : ADAIR
114 Curler’s surface : ICE
115 Kind of palm cultivated for its fruit : ACAI
117 Prove wrong : REFUTE
119 Awards show that airs at night, ironically : DAYTIME EMMYS
121 Part of une éclipse : LUNE
122 Submits an online return : E-FILES
123 Brown. ender : EDU
124 ” : DITTO
125 What’s more, it’s said : LESS
126 Down stream? : TEARS
127 Easy target : SAP
128 Buddy of “The Beverly Hillbillies” : EBSEN

Down

1 Sang one’s own praises : CROWED
2 Humor regarding a serious matter : LEVITY
3 “w”-like letters : OMEGAS
4 Anthony Hopkins, for one : SIR
5 Wi-Fi alternative : ETHERNET
6 Complained about getting fleeced? : BAAED
7 Subject of a Sleeves Up campaign : BLOOD DRIVE
8 French luxury jeweler : CARTIER
9 ABCs : BASICS
10 Lead-in to therapy : AROMA-
11 Jazz instrument pitched in the key of B flat : TENOR SAX
12 Peace activist Yoko : ONO
13 Classic dorm room meal : RAMEN NOODLES
14 Fading process for jeans : ACID WASH
15 Deep-toned cousin of an English horn : BASS OBOE
16 One whose calling is making calls? : UMP
17 American Kennel Club designation : TOY
21 Stuffing herb : SAGE
24 Green on the screen : EVA
31 QB’s passing stat: Abbr. : ATT
35 Up to : ‘TIL
36 Din from a den : ROAR
37 Keystone ___ : KOPS
39 Put forward : OFFERED
41 TV channel that owns the website The Undefeated : ESPN
45 Beer in a green bottle : STELLA ARTOIS
46 Part of a college visit, typically : TOUR
47 Prepare to swing, say : TEE UP
48 Unseal furtively, as an envelope : STEAM OPEN
50 Floral fragrance note : LILAC
51 Behave theatrically : EMOTE
53 Restored to mint condition : LIKE NEW
55 Lesser Antilles native : CARIB
56 City that’s home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites : AGRA
58 “Go ___!” (coach’s encouragement) : GET ‘EM
59 Computer menu with Undo and Redo : EDIT
60 Expand upon : ADD TO
62 Tony winner Menzel : IDINA
64 Antarctica’s ___ Ice Shelf : ROSS
66 Nestlé creamer : COFFEE-MATE
67 Bothered persistently : ATE AT
68 Not for mass audiences : NICHE
69 When the Battle of Yorktown occurs in “Hamilton” : ACT I
72 Took steroids, say : DOPED
77 Like loud phone conversations in public : RUDE
79 Designed to deter stealing : ANTI-THEFT
81 T-Bonz dog treat brand : ALPO
83 Word before bag or bar : GRAB …
84 Musical with the opening number “Every Story Is a Love Story” : AIDA
85 Sallie Mae products : SCHOOL LOANS
86 Marshmallow-filled snacks : MOON PIES
87 University of Montana city : MISSOULA
89 Hitchhike : BUM A RIDE
92 Shapiro of NPR : ARI
94 Emulates the Mongols : INVADES
95 Old genre for 12-Down : NEO-DADA
97 Z4 or Q50 : CAR
99 Judge : ASSESS
101 Pool competitions : SWIM MEETS
102 Immature egg cell : OOCYTE
103 Star of the “Taken” trilogy : NEESON
105 Like snow leopards and Siberian tigers : RARE
106 What tots might go after? : TATER
108 Easy two points : LAYUP
109 “Scram!” : GIT!
115 ___-American : ALL
116 Tool for pool : CUE
118 Old-timey cry of disgust : FIE!
120 Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones film series, for short : MIB