1106-22 NY Times Crossword 6 Nov 22, Sunday

Constructed by: Michael Lieberman
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Length-ening

Themed answers all sound like common phrases, but LENGTHENED with an “EN” inserted:

  • 24A Why the party’s about to get less hip? : SQUARE EN ROUTE (from “square root”)
  • 35A Realtor’s exclamation about a primary bathroom? : HOW EN SUITE IT IS! (from “How sweet it is!”)
  • 49A How Shamu acknowledged the crowd’s appreciation? : MARINE ENCORE (from “Marine Corps”)
  • 70A “Prepare for a sword fight, McKellen, Fleming and all other namesakes out there!”? : EN GARDE, IANS OF THE GALAXY! (from “Guardians of the Galaxy”)
  • 90A Dish cooked to smooth things over after a fight? : MAKEUP ENTREE (from “makeup tray”)
  • 106A What students in a karate class are often doing? : CHOPPING EN BLOC (from “chopping block”)
  • 118A Challenge for a court jester? : THE ROYAL ENNUI (from “the royal ‘we’”)

Bill’s time: 21m 19s

Bill’s errors: 2

E-WASTE (a waste!)
BEIGNETS (baignets)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

7 Marbled savory snack from China : TEA EGG

The tea egg is a dish from Chinese cuisine made by boiling an egg in water, cracking the shell, and then reboiling the egg in tea or a spiced sauce. Often sold as a snack food, the tea egg is also called a marble egg, referring to the marbled appearance of the cracked shell after boiling in a colored liquid.

17 “Keep Ya Head Up” rapper, informally : PAC

Rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur adopted the inventive stage name “2Pac”. He was a hard man, spending eleven months in prison for sexual assault. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at only 25 years of age.

20 Home of the W.N.B.A.’s Wings : DALLAS

The Shock were the professional WNBA team based in Tulsa from 2010 to 2015. The team was founded as the Detroit Shock in 1998, and became the Dallas Wings after leaving Tulsa in 2016.

24 Why the party’s about to get less hip? : SQUARE EN ROUTE (from “square root”)

“En route” is a French term that means “on the way”.

26 Maker of the Switch console : NINTENDO

The Nintendo Switch is a gaming console released in 2017. I guess the name “Switch” is used because users can “switch” between portable and home console modes. The device is a table that can be used as a personal gaming unit, or can be docked for use as a home console.

29 Service that’s not good? : LET

That might be tennis.

30 “The ___ Company” (Frans Hals portrait) : MEAGRE

Frans Hals was a painter in the Dutch Golden Age who was born in Antwerp but who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals is best known for his portraits, the most famous of which is probably “The Laughing Cavalier”.

32 Pie crust ingredient : LARD

Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called suet. Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily so it has to be rendered, purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call lard. Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as tallow.

35 Realtor’s exclamation about a primary bathroom? : HOW EN SUITE IT IS! (from “How sweet it is!”)

The expression “en suite” is an example of the French language being used in English, but with a new meaning. Firstly, the word “ensuite” translates from French as “then” or “later”. The phrase “en suite” translates as “as a set, series”. The French also use the term “suite” as we do sometimes, as in a suite of connecting rooms. Over in Britain and Ireland, “en suite” is a phrase used in the hotel industry for a bedroom that has a private bathroom or shower room attached. Some smaller establishments in that part of the world might rent out bedrooms with the occupants having to share bathing facilities.

“How sweet it is!” was perhaps Jackie Gleason’s most famous catchphrase. Gleason grew up in Brooklyn, and drivers entering the borough today via the Brooklyn Bridge are greeted by a road sign announcing “How Sweet It Is!”

42 Landing info, in brief : ETAS

Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

44 “Not gonna ___ …” : LIE

Me neither …

46 Structure on the continental shelf : OIL RIG

The shallow waters surrounding most of a continent lie above a continental shelf. The similar underwater landmass surrounding an island is an insular shelf.

49 How Shamu acknowledged the crowd’s appreciation? : MARINE ENCORE (from “Marine Corps”)

“Encore” is French for “again, one more time”, and is a shout that an audience member will make here in North America to request perhaps another song. But, the term is not used this way in France. Rather, the audience will shout “Bis!”, which is the Italian for “twice!”

“Shamu” was the name of the third orca (aka “killer whale”) ever to be featured in a public exhibition. Shamu starred in a popular SeaWorld show in San Diego in the sixties. After she died in 1971, her name lived on as the “stage name” of orca shows in different SeaWorld parks. That original Shamu was retired after she grabbed and refused to let go of the leg of one of her trainers.

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is the smallest of the four branches in the US Department of Defense (DOD).

54 Grp. regulating global commerce : WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The stated aim of the WTO is to liberalize international trade. The organization was founded in 1995 when an international agreement on trade was reached that effectively replaced the existing General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that was laid down in 1949.

58 Some N.F.L. linemen, in brief : DTS

In football, a running back (RB) might be stopped by a defensive tackle (DT).

62 Flat-topped military hat : KEPI

A kepi is a circular cap with a visor, one that’s particularly associated with the French military.

64 Ocean State sch. : URI

The University of Rhode Island (URI) was chartered as an agricultural school back in 1888. Rhody the Ram was chosen as the school’s mascot in 1923, a nod to URI’s agricultural past. As a result, the school’s sports teams are known as the Rams. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston, with smaller campuses in Providence, Narragansett and West Greenwich.

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union, and is the second-most densely populated. (after New Jersey). Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State (and more informally “Little Rhody”), largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made up of ocean bays and inlets. Exactly how Rhode Island got its name is a little unclear. What is known is that way back in 1524, long before the Pilgrims came to New England, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano likened an island in the area to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. There were subsequent references to “Rhode Island” in English publications, before the colonists arrived.

70 “Prepare for a sword fight, McKellen, Fleming and all other namesakes out there!”? : EN GARDE, IANS OF THE GALAXY! (from “Guardians of the Galaxy”)

“En garde” is a French term that has been absorbed into the sport of fencing. Originally a warning (“on guard!”), the phrase is used at the start of an encounter to warn the fencers to take a defensive position.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” is a 2014 film based on a team of superheroes from the Marvel Comics universe. The movie’s cast is very impressive, including Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close and Benicio del Toro. I don’t normally “do” superhero films, but I hear that this one is very entertaining.

77 Byproduct of burning tobacco : TAR

The partially-combusted particulate matter that is produced as a cigarette burns forms a resinous material called “tar”. Cigarette tar is different from the tar used on roads, but it is still very toxic. Marijuana smoke produces a very similar tar to cigarette smoke, and is just as dangerous.

78 Bread maker? : MINT

The use of the word “bread” as a slang term meaning “money” dates back to the 1940s. The term comes from the term “breadwinner” meaning the person in the house who puts bread on the table, who brings in the money.

83 Crews : POSSES

Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”

86 Neurodegenerative disease, for short : ALS

Baseball legend Lou Gehrig was known as a powerhouse. He was a big hitter and just kept on playing. Gehrig broke the record for the most consecutive number of games played, and he still holds the record for the most career grand slams. His durability earned him the nickname “The Iron Horse”. Sadly, he died in 1941 at 37-years-old suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an illness we now call “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. The New York Yankees retired the number four on 4th of July 1939 in his honor, making Lou Gehrig the first baseball player to have his number retired.

87 1990s fitness fad : TAE BO

Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, even though it perhaps sounds like one. The discipline was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.

90 Dish cooked to smooth things over after a fight? : MAKEUP ENTREE (from “makeup tray”)

“Entrée” means “entry” in French. An entrée can be something that helps one get “a way in”, an interview for example perhaps helped along by a recommendation letter. In Europe, even in English-speaking countries, the entrée is the name for the “entry” to the meal, the first course. I found the ordering of meals to be very confusing when I first came to America!

95 Cable channel with the comedy/drama “Sistas” : BET

Black Entertainment Television (BET) is a TV network with programming primarily aimed at the African-American community. BET was launched in 1980, and is now owned by Viacom.

“Sistas” is a comedy-drama series created and written by Tyler Perry. It’s about a group of young, single women who are questioning themselves about being single, despite a wish to develop long-term relationships.

99 High point of a trip to Europe? : ALP

There are eight Alpine countries:

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

105 Word with bus or whistle : -STOP

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

Originally, a whistlestop was a station at which a train would only stop if signaled to do so by a passenger. The passenger would notify the conductor of the need for the stop, then the conductor notified the engineer by pulling a signal cord. The engineer acknowledged the conductor’s signal by sounding the train’s whistle twice. The term was applied to a fast-moving political campaign soon after WWII. President Truman’s extensive railway trip during the 1948 campaign was labeled a “whistle-stop tour”.

106 What students in a karate class are often doing? : CHOPPING EN BLOC (from “chopping block”)

Karate is a martial art that originated in the Ryukyu Kingdom, which is now part of Japan. A practitioner of karate is known as a karateka. The sport of karate was included as an Olympic sport starting with the 2020 Games.

To do something “en bloc” is to do it all together. “En bloc” is French for “in a block, lump”.

109 Spiny sea creatures : URCHINS

Sea urchins are globular, spiny creatures found just about everywhere in the ocean. The “roe” of a sea urchin is eaten as a delicacy in several cuisines around the world. In a sushi restaurant, the sea urchin roe is called “uni”. The term “roe” normally means “fish eggs”, but in the case of the sea urchin it refers to the gonads of both the male and female.

111 Flatbread made with atta : ROTI

Atta is a whole-wheat flour used to make flatbreads in South Asian cuisine, such as chapati and naan. “Atta” is the Hindi or Urdu word for “dough”.

112 Charge for a tutor : MENTEE

A mentor is a trusted teacher or counselor. The term “mentor” comes from Homer’s “Odyssey” in which there is a character named Mentor. He is a friend of Odysseus, although he is a relatively ineffective old man. The goddess Athena takes on Mentor’s appearance in order to guide Odysseus’s young son Telemachus through difficult times.

118 Challenge for a court jester? : THE ROYAL ENNUI (from “the royal ‘we’”)

“Ennui” is the French word for “boredom”, and is a term that we now use in English. It’s one of the few French words we’ve imported and haven’t anglicized, and actually pronounce “correctly”.

The “royal we” is more correctly called the “majestic plural”, and is the use of a plural pronoun to describe a single person in a high office. I suppose the most often quoted phrase that uses the majestic plural is “We are not amused”, which is often attributed to Queen Victoria. The “editorial we” is a similar concept, in which a newspaper editor or columnist refers to himself or herself as “we” when giving an opinion.

127 Flavor enhancer, for short : MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring,non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines. Whether or not it is harmful seems to be still under debate. I say that something produced in a test tube shouldn’t be in our food …

Down

4 Support group with a hyphen in its name : AL-ANON

Al-Anon and Alateen are fellowships for relatives and friends of alcoholics. Alateen specifically supports teens who are affected by another’s drinking, whereas Al-Anon focuses on people of all ages.

5 Ankle bones : TARSI

The tarsals (also “tarsi”) are the ankle bones, and are equivalent to the carpals in the wrist.

7 Daly of “Cagney & Lacey” : TYNE

Actress Tyne Daly really came into the public eye playing Detective Lacey in “Cagney and Lacey”. From 1999 to 2005, Daly played the mother of the title character in the TV show “Judging Amy”.

“Cagney & Lacey” is a police drama that originally aired in the 1980s. The title characters are two NYPD detectives with very different lives off the force. Christine Cagney, portrayed for six seasons by Sharon Gless, is a career-focused single woman. Mary Beth Lacy, portrayed by Tyne Daly, is a working mother. As an aside, Sharon Gless ended up marrying one of the show’s producers in 1991.

8 Singer/actress Kitt : EARTHA

Eartha Kitt really did have a unique voice and singing style. Her rendition of “Santa Baby” has to be one of the most distinctive and memorable recordings in the popular repertoire. Some of you will no doubt remember Eartha playing Catwoman on the final series of the 1960s TV show “Batman”.

9 “Yo te ___” : AMO

In Spanish, one might say “yo te amo” (I love you) “con flores” (with flowers).

11 “Capisce?” : GET ME?

“Capeesh?” is a slang term meaning “do you understand?” It comes from the Italian “capisce” meaning “understand”.

14 God who was said to be in love with his sister while still in the womb(!) : OSIRIS

Osiris was the Egyptian god of the underworld. Osiris was the son of Geb the Earth god, and Nut the sky goddess. His wife Isis was also his sister. Osiris was killed and mutilated by Set, his own brother. Isis reassembled Osiris and revived him, just long enough that they could conceive their son Horus.

15 Core position : TENET

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “holds”.

17 Thing to bash at a bash : PINATA

Piñatas originated in Mexico, probably among the Aztecs or Mayans. Today’s piñatas are usually made from cardboard that is brightly decorated with papier-mâché. Traditionally a piñata was made out of a clay pot, adorned with feathers and ribbons and filled with small treasures. During religious ceremonies the clay pots would be suspended and broken open so that the contents would spill out onto the ground at the feet of a god as an offering.

18 Buzz about space? : ALDRIN

Buzz Aldrin was a true American hero, I’d say. He flew 66 combat missions in Korea, shot down two MiGs, earned his Sc. D. degree from MIT, and was one of the two men who landed on the moon for the first time. Now that man, he lived a life worth living.

25 State symbol of Massachusetts : ELM TREE

The official state tree of Massachusetts is the American elm. The elm was chosen in 1941, in a gesture commemorating George Washington taking command of the Continental Army in 1775. He did so beneath an American elm on Cambridge Common.

27 “Middlemarch” novelist, 1871 : ELIOT

“George Eliot” was the pen name of English novelist Mary Anne Evans. As one might think, Evans chose a male pen name in order that her work might be best appreciated in the Victorian era. Eliot wrote seven novels including “Adam Bede” (1859), “The Mill on the Floss” (1860), “Silas Marner” (1861) and “Middlemarch” (1871-72).

George Eliot’s novel “Middlemarch” was first published in installments in 1871-72. The storyline is set some fifty years earlier, in the fictional English Midlands town of Middlemarch.

33 Commanding position : HELM

In its broadest sense, the term “helm” describes the whole of a ship’s steering mechanism, including the rudder and tiller. In a more specific sense, the helm is the handle, tiller or wheel that is used to control the steering gear.

36 Herman Melville’s second novel : OMOO

Herman Melville mined his own experiences when writing his novels. Melville sailed from New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1841 on a whaler heading into the Pacific Ocean (a source for “Moby-Dick”). Melville ended up deserting his ship 18 months later and lived with natives on a South Pacific Island for three weeks (a source for “Typee”). He picked up another whaler and headed for Hawaii, where he joined the crew of a US navy frigate that was bound for Boston (a source for “Omoo”).

48 Comedian/actor Ken of “The Hangover” films : JEONG

Ken Jeong is an actor from Detroit who is perhaps best known for playing the gangster Leslie Chow in the “The Hangover” series of films. Jeong isn’t only an actor; he has an M.D. degree and is a licensed physician in California.

“The Hangover” is a comedy film released in 2009. The action revolves around a bachelor party in Las Vegas. The critics liked this one, although I didn’t really enjoy it too much.

54 “Ain’t I a ___?” (Sojourner Truth speech) : WOMAN

Sojourner Truth (real name “Isabella Baumfree”) was an African-American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Truth was born a slave in New York State, and freed in 1827. She became famous for her speeches against slavery, including her most famous address “Ain’t I a Woman?” that was delivered at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851.

55 Between, poetically : TWIXT

“‘Twixt” is a shortened form of “betwixt”, meaning “between, among”.

67 Tour de France stage : ETAPE

“Étape” is the French word for stage, as in a “stage” in the Tour de France. The term is used in English military circles to describe where troops halt overnight, but can also describe the section of the march itself. So, a march can be divided into stages, into étapes.

Back in the late 1800s, long-distance cycle races were used as promotional events, traditionally to help boost sales of newspapers. These races usually took place around tracks, but in 1902 the backers of the struggling sports publication “L’Auto” decided to stage a race that would take the competitors all around France. That first Tour de France took place in 1903, starting in Paris and passing through Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Nantes and then back to Paris.

70 Pound who wrote “In a Station of the Metro” : EZRA

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

73 Sends unwanted texts to, maybe : SPAMS

The term “spam”, used for unwanted email, is taken from a “Monty Python” sketch. In the sketch (which I’ve seen) the dialog is taken over by the word Spam, a play on the glut of canned meat in the markets of Britain after WWII. So “spam” is used for the glut of emails that takes over online communication. I can just imagine nerdy Internet types (like me) adopting something from a “Monty Python” sketch to describe an online phenomenon …

84 What’s so flippin’ easy to cook with? : SPATULA

A spatula is a tool or implement used for mixing, lifting or spreading. “Spatula” is the Latin name for the tool, and is a diminutive of the word “spatha” meaning “broad, flat blade”. “Spatha” also gives rise to our related term “spade”.

85 Dinner at which “Dayenu” is sung : SEDER

The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

88 Fried pastries popular in New Orleans : BEIGNETS

A beignet is a pastry made from choux dough that is deep fried, and usually served with powdered sugar on top. “Beignet” is a French word that translates as “bump”.

89 Baby that rarely sleeps at night : OWLET

A baby owl is an owlet. The term “owlet” can also be used for the adults of the smaller species of owls.

91 Kind of high-fat, low-carb diet : KETO

A ketogenic (also “keto”) diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. When a body consumes insufficient carbohydrates to meet the need for energy, then the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies in order to make up the energy deficit. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the bloodstream is known as “ketosis”, a term that gives rise to the name “ketogenic diet”. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe a ketogenic diet in order to control epilepsy in children. A condition of ketosis can reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

92 Unlike π : RATIONAL

A rational number is a number that can be written as a simple fraction, i.e. a ratio of two integers. For example 1.5 is rational, as it can be written as 3/2. An irrational number is the opposite, a number that cannot be written as a simple fraction. The classic example of an irrational number is “pi”, which is 3.14159… and cannot be written as a ratio of two integers. All rational and irrational numbers are real numbers, numbers that can be written on a number line. Almost all numbers that we can think of are real numbers. Infinity is not a real number, and nor are imaginary numbers, e.g. the square root of minus 1.

The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is often referred to as Archimedes’ constant, which we denote with the Greek letter pi (π). The ratio pi can be used to calculate the area of a disk, by multiplying the constant by the square of the radius (πr²).

93 Business magnate who is a Stanford University dropout : ELON MUSK

Elon Musk is a successful businessman who has founded or led some very high-profile companies, namely PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX. Musk received a lot of publicity in early 2018 during a test launch by SpaceX of the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. A Tesla Roadster belonging to Musk was carried into space as a dummy payload.

Leland Stanford became a very successful businessman in California after moving there from New York during the Gold Rush. Stanford then served as governor of the state for two years, and later US Senator for California. He founded the Leland Stanford Junior University in memory of his teenage son who died of typhoid fever while the family was traveling in Italy in 1884. The university opened its doors for business in 1891, and the first student admitted was none other than Herbert Hoover, the man destined to become the 31st President of the US.

94 Actor Omar : EPPS

Omar Epps is the actor who played Eric Foreman on the excellent television series “House”. Prior to playing Dr. Foreman, Epps had a recurring role playing Dr. Dennis Gant on “ER”. He is good friends with actor and comedian Marlon Wayans. Epps and Wayns were classmates at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

95 Electronic toy with a blue “pull” handle : BOP IT

Bop It is a line of toys with a speaker that issues commands to activate input devices on the toy, devices such as handles, cranks, wheels and switches. The commands come in a series of increasing length, and at increasing speed. So, I guess Bop It is a test of memory and dexterity.

97 “On Juneteenth” author ___ Gordon-Reed : ANNETTE

“Juneteenth” is a holiday celebrated on June 19th every year, a commemoration of the emancipation of slaves throughout the Confederate South. President Abraham Lincoln’s executive order known as the Emancipation Proclamation came into effect on January 1st, 1863 but it only applied to Confederate states that were not in Union hands. The order freeing the last slaves in the US was issued at the end of the Civil War, on June 19th 1865. That order applied specifically to the State of Texas. Over a decade later, in 1980, Texas became the first state to declare June 19th (“Juneteenth”) a state holiday.

101 Show-off : HOTDOG

Although “hotdogging” is a term now used across all sports, it was primarily associated with skiing and described the performance of showy and risky stunts on the slopes.

102 Mournful peals : KNELLS

The word “knell” is used for a solemn ring from a bell, often associated with death or a funeral. “Knell” comes from the Old English “cnell” and is probably imitative in origin, sounding like a peal from a large bell.

105 Rhimes with an eponymous production company : SHONDA

Shonda Rhimes is the creator and head writer of the TV shows “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal”. She also serves as executive producer for the crime shows “How to Get Away with Murder” and “The Catch”. Rhimes also runs her own production company called Shondaland.

107 Infuse (with) : IMBUE

To imbue is to pervade, to soak in. “Imbue” has the same etymological roots as our word “imbibe”.

108 Joy of TV : BEHAR

Joy Behar is a comedian, and former co-host of the hit talk show “The View”. Behar was one of the original co-hosts of “The View”, and stayed with the show from 1997 until 2013, and then rejoined the show in 2015. She briefly hosted her own talk show called “Late Night Joy” in November 2015.

117 Patella neighbor, in brief : ACL

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

The patella is the kneecap. The bone’s Latin name “patella” is a diminutive form of “patina”, the word for “pan”. The idea is that the kneecap is pan-shaped.

121 Abbr. in a birth announcement : LBS

The unit of mass that we know today as a pound is descended from the old Roman unit of weight known as a “libra”. That “libra” connection is why we abbreviate “pound” to “lb”. The name “pound” comes from the Latin “pondo” meaning “weight”. Our term “ounce” (abbreviated to “oz.”) comes from the Latin “uncia”, which was 1/12 of a Roman “libra”.

122 Site used by NASA, in brief : ISS

The International Space Station (ISS) is a modular facility that comprises components launched into space by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and by American Space Shuttles. The station has been occupied by astronauts and scientists continually since November, 2000.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Opportunities for singles : AT BATS
7 Marbled savory snack from China : TEA EGG
13 A boatload : LOTS
17 “Keep Ya Head Up” rapper, informally : PAC
20 Home of the W.N.B.A.’s Wings : DALLAS
21 Talk and talk and talk and talk : YAMMER
22 On the deep : ASEA
23 Poorly : ILL
24 Why the party’s about to get less hip? : SQUARE EN ROUTE (from “square root”)
26 Maker of the Switch console : NINTENDO
28 Cremation receptacles : URNS
29 Service that’s not good? : LET
30 “The ___ Company” (Frans Hals portrait) : MEAGRE
32 Pie crust ingredient : LARD
33 Army award attribute : HEROISM
35 Realtor’s exclamation about a primary bathroom? : HOW EN SUITE IT IS! (from “How sweet it is!”)
39 Actress Moriarty of “The Boys” : ERIN
40 “My package arrived!” : IT CAME!
42 Landing info, in brief : ETAS
43 Sorrowful sound : MOAN
44 “Not gonna ___ …” : LIE
45 Other: Sp. : OTRO
46 Structure on the continental shelf : OIL RIG
48 Take (down) : JOT
49 How Shamu acknowledged the crowd’s appreciation? : MARINE ENCORE (from “Marine Corps”)
52 Go from 60 to 0, say : RESET
54 Grp. regulating global commerce : WTO
57 Got by just fine : MADE DO
58 Some N.F.L. linemen, in brief : DTS
60 Where someone might fiddle with your dance moves? : HOEDOWN
62 Flat-topped military hat : KEPI
64 Ocean State sch. : URI
66 Takes the stage : GOES ON
69 Man’s name that spells a fruit backward : EMIL
70 “Prepare for a sword fight, McKellen, Fleming and all other namesakes out there!”? : EN GARDE, IANS OF THE GALAXY! (from “Guardians of the Galaxy”)
75 Uncurbed enthusiasm : ZEAL
76 Injury from a fistfight : FAT LIP
77 Byproduct of burning tobacco : TAR
78 Bread maker? : MINT
79 Casino do-overs : REDEALS
81 Like many lifeguards : TAN
83 Crews : POSSES
86 Neurodegenerative disease, for short : ALS
87 1990s fitness fad : TAE BO
90 Dish cooked to smooth things over after a fight? : MAKEUP ENTREE (from “makeup tray”)
95 Cable channel with the comedy/drama “Sistas” : BET
96 TV that’s trash, e.g. : E-WASTE
98 Pops : DADS
99 High point of a trip to Europe? : ALP
100 The old you? : THOU
102 It’s full of hot air : KILN
103 One small bite : A TASTE
105 Word with bus or whistle : -STOP
106 What students in a karate class are often doing? : CHOPPING EN BLOC (from “chopping block”)
109 Spiny sea creatures : URCHINS
111 Flatbread made with atta : ROTI
112 Charge for a tutor : MENTEE
113 Business card abbr. : TEL
115 Hang ominously : LOOM
116 Place for a lamp : END TABLE
118 Challenge for a court jester? : THE ROYAL ENNUI (from “the royal ‘we’”)
123 “That’s ___” (“You may proceed”) : A GO
124 ___ film : CULT
125 North African stew, or the dish it’s cooked in : TAGINE
126 Intimidating in a cool way : BADASS
127 Flavor enhancer, for short : MSG
128 Counterpart of -ful : -LESS
129 Wears down : ERODES
130 Contents of a corn maze : STALKS

Down

1 Freeware annoyances : ADS
2 Where you might order nopales or esquites : TAQUERIA
3 Less clear, as a memory : BLURRIER
4 Support group with a hyphen in its name : AL-ANON
5 Ankle bones : TARSI
6 About five o’clock, compass-wise : SSE
7 Daly of “Cagney & Lacey” : TYNE
8 Singer/actress Kitt : EARTHA
9 “Yo te ___” : AMO
10 The Tasmanian one has been extinct since the 19th century : EMU
11 “Capisce?” : GET ME?
12 Like wind power vis-à-vis natural gas : GREENER
13 Something a parent might tell you to watch : LANGUAGE
14 God who was said to be in love with his sister while still in the womb(!) : OSIRIS
15 Core position : TENET
16 Took a load off : SAT
17 Thing to bash at a bash : PINATA
18 Buzz about space? : ALDRIN
19 Thickheads : CLODS
25 State symbol of Massachusetts : ELM TREE
27 “Middlemarch” novelist, 1871 : ELIOT
31 Showing signs of life : ASTIR
33 Commanding position : HELM
34 Located, to a builder : SITED
36 Herman Melville’s second novel : OMOO
37 “That’s odd” : WEIRD
38 Act unprofessionally? : EMOTE
41 Channel : CONDUIT
45 How you might walk after getting great news : ON AIR
47 “Hey, I had it first!” : LET GO!
48 Comedian/actor Ken of “The Hangover” films : JEONG
50 Skewer : IMPALE
51 Pinkish-red shade : CORAL
53 It moves one step at a time : SHOE
54 “Ain’t I a ___?” (Sojourner Truth speech) : WOMAN
55 Between, poetically : TWIXT
56 Lead-in to a sale price : ONLY …
59 Lacking emotional toughness : SOFT
61 Remove from Zillow, say : DELIST
62 Show submission, in a way : KNEEL
63 “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!” : EGADS!
65 Still competing : IN IT
67 Tour de France stage : ETAPE
68 Envelops : SHROUDS
70 Pound who wrote “In a Station of the Metro” : EZRA
71 C sharp equivalent : D-FLAT
72 Slowly move (in) : EASE
73 Sends unwanted texts to, maybe : SPAMS
74 Utterances of agreement : AMENS
80 Totally loved : ATE UP
82 Present at birth : NATAL
84 What’s so flippin’ easy to cook with? : SPATULA
85 Dinner at which “Dayenu” is sung : SEDER
88 Fried pastries popular in New Orleans : BEIGNETS
89 Baby that rarely sleeps at night : OWLET
91 Kind of high-fat, low-carb diet : KETO
92 Unlike π : RATIONAL
93 Business magnate who is a Stanford University dropout : ELON MUSK
94 Actor Omar : EPPS
95 Electronic toy with a blue “pull” handle : BOP IT
97 “On Juneteenth” author ___ Gordon-Reed : ANNETTE
100 Some beachwear : THONGS
101 Show-off : HOTDOG
102 Mournful peals : KNELLS
104 Play opener : ACT ONE
105 Rhimes with an eponymous production company : SHONDA
106 Pummel : CREAM
107 Infuse (with) : IMBUE
108 Joy of TV : BEHAR
110 Sole connector? : CLEAT
114 Potato peeler targets : EYES
117 Patella neighbor, in brief : ACL
119 One may get in the way of a collaboration : EGO
120 Purge (of) : RID
121 Abbr. in a birth announcement : LBS
122 Site used by NASA, in brief : ISS