0403-22 NY Times Crossword 3 Apr 22, Sunday

Constructed by: Byron Walden
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Soft Options

Themed answers each comprise three words in the format S___ OF T___:

  • 23A Apollo 11 landing spot : SEA OF TRANQUILITY
  • 32A Items used by barkeepers, barbecuers and blacksmiths : SETS OF TONGS
  • 61A Metaphor from an hourglass : SANDS OF TIME
  • 89A Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, with “The” : SON OF TARZAN
  • 101A Its motto is “Agriculture and Commerce” : STATE OF TENNESSEE
  • 15D Intellectual movement : SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
  • 32D Pope Pius XII called it “a holy thing perhaps like nothing else” : SHROUD OF TURIN
  • 39D Entertainers with bright futures : STARS OF TOMORROW

Bill’s time: 25m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Graceful bird : SWAN
An adult male swan is a cob, and an adult female is a pen. Young swans are swanlings or cygnets.

19 Crossword header : ACROSS
Arthur Wynne is generally credited with the invention of what we now know as a crossword puzzle. Wynne was born in Liverpool, England and emigrated to the US when he was 19-years-old. He worked as a journalist and was living in Cedar Grove, New Jersey in 1913 when he introduced a “Word-Cross Puzzle” in his page of puzzles written for the “New York World”. The first book of crossword puzzles was published by Shuster & Shuster, in 1924. The collection of puzzles was a huge hit, and crosswords were elevated to the level of “a craze” in 1924 and 1925.

20 Clearer in hindsight? : REAR WIPER
You may have seen the 2008 movie “Flash of Genius”, which outlined the troubles Robert Kearns (played by Greg Kinnear) had in making money from his invention of the intermittent windshield wiper. Well, Mary Anderson developed the original wiper and received a patent in 1903. She didn’t make any money either …

22 ___ Winans, 12-time Grammy-winning gospel singer : CECE
CeCe Winans (real given name “Priscilla”) is a Gospel music singer. She is part of a duo with her brother, BeBe Winans (real name Benjamin).

23 Apollo 11 landing spot : SEA OF TRANQUILITY
The Moon’s Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin for “Sea of Tranquility”) was named in 1651 by astronomers Francesco Grimaldi and Giovanni Battista Riccioli. Famously, the first manned landing on the Moon was in the Sea of Tranquility, when the Apollo 11 Lunar Module named Eagle touched down there in 1969. However, the first man-made vehicle to reach the Sea of Tranquility arrived four years earlier. The Ranger 8 spacecraft was deliberately crashed there in 1965, sending thousands of photographs back to Earth in the last 23 minutes of its mission.

26 Quickly maturing security, for short : T-BILL
A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

28 Flying terrors of myth : ROCS
The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, one reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants. The roc was said to come from the Indian subcontinent. The supposed existence of the roc was promulgated by Marco Polo in the accounts that he published about his travels through Asia.

31 Semicircular recess : APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

32 Items used by barkeepers, barbecuers and blacksmiths : SETS OF TONGS
A pair of tongs is a tool with a scissor-like hinge used to pick up things, like meat cooking on a barbecue grill or ice from an ice bucket. The verb “to tong” means “to handle with tongs”.

35 Enhanced tape format released in 1987 : SUPER VHS
The VHS video standard is more fully referred to as the Video Home System. VHS was one of many standards touted by various manufacturers in the seventies. The biggest rival to VHS was Betamax, but we all knew which of the two standards won the final round in that fight.

37 Beat poet Cassady : NEAL
Neal Cassady was a member of the Beat Generation, the group of post-WWII writers who became prominent in the 1950s. Cassady was the inspiration for the character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac’s novel “On the Road”.

38 Spewed forcefully : GEYSERED
The Great Geysir in Iceland is the first known geyser to have been discovered and documented. The name “Geysir” comes from the Icelandic and Old Norse word “geysa” meaning “to gush”. It is the Great Geysir that gives us our English word “geyser”.

43 À la ___ (spit-roasted) : BROCHE
The French for “spit-roasted, on a skewer” is “à la broche”.

50 Remove cargo from : UNLADE
The verb “to lade” meaning “to load” comes from an Old English word “hladan”. “Lade” also used to mean “draw water” and indeed gave us our word “ladle”. So “lade” and “ladle” are close cousins.

Cargo is freight carried by some vehicle. The term “cargo” comes into English via Spanish, ultimately deriving from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load on a cart”.

57 Inscribed with some ancient characters : RUNED
A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

58 Whirling toon, familiarly : TAZ
The “Looney Tunes” character known as the Tasmanian Devil, or “Taz”, first appeared in a cartoon short with Bugs Bunny called “Devil May Care” in 1954.

66 Sitcom planet of the ’70s and ’80s : ORK
“Mork & Mindy” is a sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982. The title characters were played by Robin Williams and Pam Dawber. Mork is an alien from the planet Ork who reports back to his superior called Orson. Orson is played by voice actor Ralph James. Ralph James was also known for providing the voice of Mr. Turtle in famous Tootsie Pop commercials in the seventies. Nanu nanu!

67 Animal life : FAUNA
The fauna is the animal life of a particular region, and the flora is that region’s plant life. The term “fauna” comes from the Roman goddess of earth and fertility who was called Fauna. Flora was the Roman goddess of plants, flowers and fertility.

74 Carl XVI ___ (king of Sweden beginning in 1973) : GUSTAF
King Carl XVI Gustaf is the reigning King of Sweden, having ascended to the throne in 1973. In 1980, Sweden became the first European country to adopt a law transmitting title and property to the firstborn, regardless of gender. As a result, the King’s eldest daughter, Crown Prince Victoria, is now the heir apparent to the Swedish throne.

77 Eve’s third son : SETH
According to the Bible, Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve, coming after Cain and Abel. Adam and Eve had several children, but Cain, Abel and Seth are the ones mentioned by name. According to the Book of Genesis, Seth was born after Cain had slain his brother Abel.

78 Soccer chant : OLE OLE!
Soccer (also known as “association football”) is the most popular sport in the world. The term “association football” was introduced in 1863 in England, with the name chosen to distinguish the sport from rugby football. The term “soccer” started to appear about 20 years later in Oxford, as an abbreviation for “association”.

79 ___ 3000, half of the hip-hop duo Outkast : ANDRE
André 3000 is the stage name of rap star André Lauren Benjamin from Atlanta, Georgia. André 3000 used to use the name Dré, and was part of the hip-hop duo called OutKast with fellow rapper Big Boi. In 2004 PETA named André 3000 the “World’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity”.

86 Offensive football positions : WIDEOUTS
In American football, a wide receiver is sometimes referred to as a wideout, a split end, or simply a receiver.

88 Ruby of “The Jackie Robinson Story” : DEE
Ruby Dee was an actress and civil rights activist. Her big break early in her career was a role in “The Jackie Robinson Story” from 1950, playing Robinson’s sweetheart and wife. She is perhaps best remembered for co-starring in “A Raisin in the Sun” alongside Sidney Poitier, in “Do the Right Thing” alongside her husband Ossie Davis, and in “American Gangster” in which she played Denzel Washington’s mother.

89 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, with “The” : … SON OF TARZAN
Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) was an author from Chicago who is best known as the creator of the “Tarzan” series of novels. Burroughs’ daughter Joan ended up marrying James Pierce, the actor who was the fourth to portray Tarzan on film. James and Joan Pierce also worked together, playing Tarzan and Jane on the radio show “Tarzan” from 1932 to 1934.

94 Talk Like a Pirate Day outbursts : ARRS
International Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19th every year, a “holiday” that was created in 1995. The event started out as an inside joke between John Baur and Mark Summers of Albany, Oregon, but when they shared the notion with columnist Dave Barry, he promoted the idea and it took off.

95 Dormer section : PANE
A dormer window is a window in a dormer! A dormer is a roofed structure that protrudes from the slope of the main roof.

97 Actress Amanda : PEET
Actress Amanda Peet studied acting with the celebrated Uta Hagen at Columbia University. Peet has appeared in a number of successful films including “The Whole Nine Yards” and “Syriana”. I remember her best from what I thought was a great TV show (but no one seemed to agree!) called “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”.

98 Taking a bow at the symphony? : ARCO
“Arco” is a musical direction instructing a string player to return to normal bowing technique after a passage played using some other technique (perhaps pizzicato).

99 Waif : GAMIN
“Gamin” is a French word that we’ve imported into English. In both languages it means “street urchin”.

A “waif” is a street urchin, or perhaps a stray animal.

100 “A warehouse of facts, with poet and ___ in joint ownership” (“The Devil’s Dictionary” definition for “imagination”) : LIAR
“The Devil’s Dictionary” is a satirical work by Ambrose Bierce, consisting of a list of common words with some very amusing definitions. First published in 1911, “The Devil’s Dictionary” is a more complete version of Bierce’s 1906 publication “The Cynic’s Word Book”. Here are some of my favorite definitions found therein:

  • Cabbage, n. A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head.
  • Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.
  • Dentist, n. A prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coins out of your pocket.
  • Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage.
  • Hers, pron. His.
  • Money, n. A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it.
  • Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.
  • Selfish, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.
  • Sweater, n. Garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.
  • Year, n. A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments.

105 Woe for a speeder : RADAR TRAP
Radar speed guns were first used to monitor traffic by Connecticut State Police in the town of Glastonbury, way back in 1947!

108 1974 spoof with the tagline “Would you buy a used secret from these men?” : S*P*Y*S
“S*P*Y*S” is a 1974 comedy starring Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland as two men mistaken as spies and targeted by the KGB. With all those asterisks in the film’s title, one has to assume the movie was intended to capitalize on the success of the 1970 Gould/Sutherland vehicle called “M*A*S*H”.

Down

4 Sledge, wedge, etc. : TOOLS
A sledgehammer is a big hammer, one used to apply a lot of force. The word “sledgehammer” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “Slaegan” meaning “to strike violently”. “Slaegan” is also the root of the words “slag”, “slay” and “slog”.

5 Sports org. with the Pittsburgh Maulers and Philadelphia Stars : USFL
The United States Football League (USFL) was started in 1983 as a league playing during the spring and summer. The league’s backer’s thought there would be a lot of interest in watching and attending games during the NFL’s offseason. The USFL folded after three years, so apparently the backers were wrong …

6 SFO setting: Abbr. : PST
Pacific Standard Time (PST)

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) served as the main base of operations for Virgin America (sold to Alaska Airlines), and is also the maintenance hub for United Airlines. Even though SFO is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco, the airport is located to the south in San Mateo County.

7 Sang hosannas to : PRAISED
“Hosanna” is derived from Hebrew, probably from the term “hoshi’ah-nna” meaning “save, we pray”.

9 Heading for commonly sought info : FAQS
Most websites have a page listing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Even this blog has one!

10 Capote nickname : TRU
The larger-than-life Truman “Tru” Capote was an author and comedian. Capote is perhaps most associated with his novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and his true crime novel “In Cold Blood”. Truman Capote grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. There he met, and became lifelong friends with, fellow novelist Harper Lee. Capote was the inspiration for the character “Dill” in Lee’s celebrated work “To Kill a Mockingbird”. In turn, Harper Lee was the inspiration for the character “Idabel” in Capote’s “Other Voices, Other Rooms”.

11 ___ light : PILOT
A pilot light is a small gas flame, one using a relatively small amount of fuel that remains lit as an ignition source for larger gas burners.

16 Tyke : WEE ‘UN
“Tyke” has been used playfully to describe a young child since at least 1902 For centuries before that, a tyke was a cur or mongrel, or perhaps a lazy or lower-class man.

18 Candy with two flavors in one box : NERDS
The Willy Wonka Candy Company brand is owned by Nestle, and operates using licensed materials from the Roald Dahl book “Charlie & the Chocolate Factory”. “Nerds” is a name on a whole line of candy produced within the brand’s portfolio.

31 Enveloping atmospheres : AURAE
An aura (plural “aurae”) is an intangible quality that surrounds a person or thing, a “je ne sais quoi”. “Je ne sais quoi” is French for “I don’t know what”.

32 Pope Pius XII called it “a holy thing perhaps like nothing else” : SHROUD OF TURIN
The Shroud of Turin has to be one of the most controversial, and most studied, human artifacts ever unearthed. The Shroud is a linen cloth on which there is the image of a man who appears to have wounds inflicted by crucifixion. Many believe that the Shroud is the burial cloth in which Jesus Christ was placed after he died on the cross. The Shroud was kept in various locations in France for centuries before being moved to Turin Cathedral in 1578, from which it gets its name, and where it has been located ever since.

There have been twelve popes named Pius, the latest being Pope Pius XII. He led the Roman Catholic Church until his death in 1958.

33 Odor-fighting spray brand : FEBREZE
The odor-eliminating product we know today as Febreze was developed in England in the early nineties. It is now produced by Procter & Gamble.

35 Parts of some brackets : SEEDS
“Bracketology” is a term used to describe the process of predicting which college basketball teams will advance in a bracket in the annual NCAA Basketball Tournament. President Barack Obama famously participates in an ESPN segment called “Baracketology” in which he predicts the outcome of the tournament, game by game.

36 “Yankee Doodle” has 16 of them : VERSES
“The Yankee Doodle Boy” is a song from the musical “Little Johnny Jones” by George M. Cohan. It is a patriotic number, well known for its opening line “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy”. The musical tells the story of American jockey Johnny Jones who rides a horse called Yankee Doodle in the English Derby. Jimmy Cagney played Cohan in the 1942 biopic called “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, and gave a famous rendition of the song.

41 Partner of poivre : SEL
In French, one might season one’s food with “sel” (salt) and “poivre” (pepper).

45 Like épées vis-à-vis foils : HEAVIER
There are three fencing events in the modern Olympics, with each distinguished by the weapon used:

  • Foil
  • Épée
  • Sabre

51 Music genre for Erykah Badu and D’Angelo : NEO SOUL
“Erykah Badu” is the stage name of Erica Wright, an American “neo-soul” singer. Badu gained some notoriety in March of 2010 when she shot a scene for a music video in Dallas. In the scene, she walks to the spot where President Kennedy was assassinated, removing her clothes until she is nude, and then falls to the ground as if she has been shot in the head. For that stunt she was charged with disorderly conduct.

D’Angelo is the stage name of R&B singer Michael Archer. His biggest success came in 2000 with the release of the album “Voodoo”. D’Angelo’s career went into decline for over a decade as he struggled with alcoholism, but he pulled things together and won a Grammy for his 2014 album “Black Messiah”.

52 Many people find it intolerable : LACTOSE
The sugar known as lactose is a disaccharide, comprising a molecule of galactose combined with a molecule of glucose. Lactose is a major component in milk, and it is broken down in the body by an enzyme called lactase. The production of lactase used to diminish over time in humans, as babies stopped nursing and transitioned to solid food. Many human populations have evolved to maintain lactose production throughout life, in response to the inclusion of animal milk in the diet. Individuals and populations that do not have the genes enabling lifelong production of lactase are said to be lactose intolerant.

53 About 98% of the human genome : JUNK DNA
DNA provides the code necessary for sequencing amino acids into protein molecules. There is some DNA however that isn’t used in sequencing amino acids, and this is known as noncoding DNA. This noncoding DNA picked up the moniker “junk DNA” as the initial perception was that it had no purpose at all. It turns out that at least some noncoding DNA does indeed have biological function, so the “junk DNA” name is probably undeserved.

54 Word meaning “desire” in a classic Sanskrit text : KAMA
The “Kama Sutra” is renowned for its descriptions of positions that can be used for sexual intercourse, but the sutra includes many other texts that deal with various matters of a sexual nature, including how to woo a woman, the conduct of a “chief wife”, the conduct of “other wives”, how to make money as a courtesan, and much more.

57 ___ avis : RARA
A “rara avis” is anything that is very rare. The Latin term translates as “rare bird”.

71 1980s White House nickname : RON
Ron Reagan’s views couldn’t be any further from those of his father President Ronald Reagan, I’d say. Before the radio network Air America went bust, Ron had a daily 3-hour spot, and these days he makes frequent appearances on MSNBC. Young Reagan is quite the dancer, and for a while was a member of the Joffrey Ballet.

77 Maker of the Ring in “The Lord of the Rings” : SAURON
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”, Sauron is the actual “Lord of the Rings”. Sauron was the Dark Lord Morgoth’s trusted lieutenant.

80 Surgical instrument with thumbholes : FORCEPS
Forceps are a handheld instrument used to grasp objects, often objects too small to held securely by fingers. Nowadays, the use of the term “forceps” is almost exclusively limited to the medical profession. The various types of medical forceps resemble tweezers, tongs, pliers and clamps. “Forceps” is a Latin term originally describing a blacksmith’s tool used to grasp hot items.

81 Joy who wrote “Born Free” : ADAMSON
The life story of Elsa the lion was told by game warden Joy Adamson, who had a very close relationship with the lioness from when Elsa was orphaned as a young cub. Adamson wrote the book “Born Free” about Elsa, and then “Living Free” which tells the story of Elsa and her three lion cubs. In the 1966 film based on “Born Free”, Adamson is played by the talented actress Virginia McKenna.

89 “The Crucible” setting : SALEM
“The Crucible” is a 1952 play by Arthur Miller that tells the story of the Salem witch trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory for the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings that were being chaired by Senator Joe McCarthy around that time. Miller was called before the Committee himself, and was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to “name names”.

90 Sheepish? : OVINE
The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine” meaning “like a sheep”.

93 Some 10-pointers in Greek Scrabble : ZETAS
Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a precursor of our Roman letter Z. The word “zeta” is also the ancestor of the letter name “zed”, which became “zee”, the term that we use here in the US.

95 Dish made from durum, say : PASTA
Durum wheat, also called “macaroni wheat”, is a species with a high protein content that is commonly used as an ingredient in bread and pasta.

99 Kids of boomers : GEN-X
The term “Generation X” originated in the UK where it was the name of a book by Jane Deverson. Her book detailed the results of a study of British youths in 1964, contrasting their lifestyle to those of previous generations. It was Canadian author Douglas Coupland who was responsible for popularizing the term, with his more successful publication “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture”. By one definition, Gen-Xers were born between 1961 and 1981.

A baby boomer is someone who was born in the post-WWII baby boom. The rate of births had been falling fairly steadily in the US at least since 1900, but this trend was sharply reversed in 1946 after WWII. The higher birth rate continued until 1964, when it returned to pre-war levels. Since then the birth rate has continued to decline, although at a slower pace. The period between 1946 and 1964 is often defined as the “baby boom”.

102 Not prescription, in brief : OTC
Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs don’t need a prescription (Rx).

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Hearten : LIFT UP
7 “… and it flopped” : … PFFT
11 Attack with snowballs, say : PELT
15 Graceful bird : SWAN
19 Crossword header : ACROSS
20 Clearer in hindsight? : REAR WIPER
22 ___ Winans, 12-time Grammy-winning gospel singer : CECE
23 Apollo 11 landing spot : SEA OF TRANQUILITY
25 Eligible receiver? : HEIR
26 Quickly maturing security, for short : T-BILL
27 Helps : AIDS
28 Flying terrors of myth : ROCS
29 With 42-Down, Oscars category from 1963 to 2019 : SOUND …
30 Misfortunes : ILLS
31 Semicircular recess : APSE
32 Items used by barkeepers, barbecuers and blacksmiths : SETS OF TONGS
34 Wackadoodle : NUT
35 Enhanced tape format released in 1987 : SUPER VHS
37 Beat poet Cassady : NEAL
38 Spewed forcefully : GEYSERED
40 Take off the board : ERASE
43 À la ___ (spit-roasted) : BROCHE
47 Spree : TEAR
48 Black-___ albatross : BROWED
49 Knee-jerk response : REFLEX
50 Remove cargo from : UNLADE
53 Describing the 32-Down’s image : JESUS-LIKE
55 Milk source : TEAT
56 Impends : NEARS
57 Inscribed with some ancient characters : RUNED
58 Whirling toon, familiarly : TAZ
59 Order, in a way : HAVE
60 Nonfiction films, informally : DOCS
61 Metaphor from an hourglass : SANDS OF TIME
64 “Come ___!” : ON IN
65 This: Sp. : ESTO
66 Sitcom planet of the ’70s and ’80s : ORK
67 Animal life : FAUNA
68 Pondered : MUSED
69 It’s probably over your head : ROOF
70 One star, typically : BAD RATING
73 Relentless go-getters : TIGERS
74 Carl XVI ___ (king of Sweden beginning in 1973) : GUSTAF
76 Little bump : NODULE
77 Eve’s third son : SETH
78 Soccer chant : OLE OLE!
79 ___ 3000, half of the hip-hop duo Outkast : ANDRE
80 Persuade with patter : FAST-TALK
84 A majority : MOST
86 Offensive football positions : WIDEOUTS
88 Ruby of “The Jackie Robinson Story” : DEE
89 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, with “The” : … SON OF TARZAN
94 Talk Like a Pirate Day outbursts : ARRS
95 Dormer section : PANE
96 Turn aside : AVERT
97 Actress Amanda : PEET
98 Taking a bow at the symphony? : ARCO
99 Waif : GAMIN
100 “A warehouse of facts, with poet and ___ in joint ownership” (“The Devil’s Dictionary” definition for “imagination”) : LIAR
101 Its motto is “Agriculture and Commerce” : STATE OF TENNESSEE
104 Opposite of exo- : ENTO-
105 Woe for a speeder : RADAR TRAP
106 ___ Blinken, Biden’s secretary of state : ANTONY
107 Bit of “kit chat” : MEOW
108 1974 spoof with the tagline “Would you buy a used secret from these men?” : S*P*Y*S
109 Bits of machinery : COGS
110 Latin phrase meaning “based on forecasts” : EX ANTE

Down

1 Having legs : LASTING
2 Cool shade : ICE BLUE
3 Weakness : FRAILTY
4 Sledge, wedge, etc. : TOOLS
5 Sports org. with the Pittsburgh Maulers and Philadelphia Stars : USFL
6 SFO setting: Abbr. : PST
7 Sang hosannas to : PRAISED
8 Car part the Brits call a “wing” : FENDER
9 Heading for commonly sought info : FAQS
10 Capote nickname : TRU
11 ___ light : PILOT
12 Sweeping works : EPICS
13 Reveals : LETS ON
14 Don’t give up : TRY
15 Intellectual movement : SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
16 Tyke : WEE ‘UN
17 Performing well on : ACING
18 Candy with two flavors in one box : NERDS
21 Flexible cutters : WIRE SAWS
24 Kid Cudi or Lil Baby, e.g. : RAPPER
29 Fixed look : STARE
31 Enveloping atmospheres : AURAE
32 Pope Pius XII called it “a holy thing perhaps like nothing else” : SHROUD OF TURIN
33 Odor-fighting spray brand : FEBREZE
35 Parts of some brackets : SEEDS
36 “Yankee Doodle” has 16 of them : VERSES
39 Entertainers with bright futures : STARS OF TOMORROW
41 Partner of poivre : SEL
42 See 29-Across : … EDITING
44 Juice regimen : CLEANSE
45 Like épées vis-à-vis foils : HEAVIER
46 Stretches out : EXTENDS
48 Curve : BEND
50 Experience : UNDERGO
51 Music genre for Erykah Badu and D’Angelo : NEO SOUL
52 Many people find it intolerable : LACTOSE
53 About 98% of the human genome : JUNK DNA
54 Word meaning “desire” in a classic Sanskrit text : KAMA
57 ___ avis : RARA
61 Big tear-jerker : SOBFEST
62 Went under : FAILED
63 Word with fine or signature : … TUNE
68 Hands, in slang : MITTS
71 1980s White House nickname : RON
72 Dilute something, in a way : ADD WATER
73 Battery parts? : TESTS
75 Up in the air : ALOFT
77 Maker of the Ring in “The Lord of the Rings” : SAURON
80 Surgical instrument with thumbholes : FORCEPS
81 Joy who wrote “Born Free” : ADAMSON
82 Forgiving : LENIENT
83 Talent for discernment : KEEN EYE
85 Mic check noise : TAP TAP
87 Cattle ranch identifier : EAR TAG
89 “The Crucible” setting : SALEM
90 Sheepish? : OVINE
91 “Swell!” : NEATO!
92 “I can do this. Hit me” : READY
93 Some 10-pointers in Greek Scrabble : ZETAS
95 Dish made from durum, say : PASTA
98 Prefix with futurism : AFRO-
99 Kids of boomers : GEN-X
101 Grads-to-be: Abbr. : SRS
102 Not prescription, in brief : OTC
103 Scottish negative : NAE