1112-17 NY Times Crossword Answers 12 Nov 2017, Sunday

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Constructed by: Ed Sessa
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: S-Q’s Me!

Each of today’s themed answers sounds like a common phrase in which a W/Wh- sound has been swapped with a SQU- sound:

  • 23A. Prodigality? : SQUANDER LUST (from “wanderlust”)
  • 33A. Hog seller? : SQUEALER DEALER (from “wheeler-dealer”)
  • 57A. Mr. Magoo biopic? : SQUINTER’S TALE (from “Winter’s Tale”)
  • 80A. Cuckoo or dodo? : SQUIRRELY BIRD (from “whirlybird”)
  • 102A. Prepares cube steak? : SQUARES THE BEEF (from “Where’s the beef?”)
  • 114A. All-day gripe sessions? : SQUAWKATHONS (from “walkathons”)
  • 32D. Ways out of embarrassing situations? : SQUIRM HOLES (from “wormholes”)
  • 49D. Enumerations of things to be sat on? : SQUISH LISTS (from “wish lists”)

Bill’s time: 20m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Philbin’s onetime morning co-host : GIFFORD

Kathie Lee Gifford is most famous for working alongside Regis Philbin on the talk show “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee”, in a stint that lasted for about 15 years.

8. Equality-promoting org. : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War when it was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

12. Those who believe everything has a spirit : ANIMISTS

“Animism” comes from the Latin word “anima” meaning “soul, life”. The word “animism” has two related but distinct meanings. In one sense, animism is the belief in souls, and in another sense it is the belief that souls exist for other entities that are not human. I think it is a relatively commonly held belief that animals may have souls (and that one can meet up with one’s pet or cat or in heaven!), but it is less commonly believed that plants and even rocks can have souls too.

21. Small songbird : WREN

A wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests.

23. Prodigality? : SQUANDER LUST (from “wanderlust”)

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is related in the Gospel of Luke. Someone who is prodigal is wasteful or extravagant. The parable tells of a man with two sons. The youngest asks for and receives his share of the family estate, and then spends it all unwisely. The “prodigal” son returns, to an unwelcoming older brother. The father, however, declares happily that his son “was lost and now is found”.

25. Emmy-winning actor on “The West Wing” : ALAN ALDA

Alan Alda has had a great television career, especially of course as a lead actor in “M*A*S*H”. Alda won his first Emmy in 1972, for playing Hawkeye Pierce on “M*A*S*H”. He won his most recent Emmy in 2006 for his portrayal of Presidential candidate Arnold Vinick in “The West Wing”. When it comes to the big screen, my favorite of Alda’s movies is the 1978 romantic comedy “Same Time, Next Year” in which he starred opposite Ellen Burstyn.

26. Spinny pool shot : MASSE

In billiards, a massé shot is one in which the cue ball makes an extreme curve due to the player imparting heavy spin on the ball with his or her cue held relatively vertically.

38. Chefs’ hats : TOQUES

A toque was a brimless style of hat that was very fashionable in Europe in the 13th to 16th centuries. Nowadays we associate toques with chefs, as it is the name given to a chef’s hat (called a “toque blanche” in French, a “white hat”). A chef’s toque is quite interesting. Many toques have exactly 100 pleats, often said to signify the number of ways that an egg can be cooked.

40. Corp. budget item : R AND D

Research and development (R&D)

41. 1969 self-titled jazz album : ELLA

That would be an album by Ella Fitzgerald.

43. Trouble maker : HASBRO

The Hasbro toy company was founded in 1923, to sell textile remnants. The founders were Herman, Hillel and Henry Hassenfeld, three brothers and hence the name “Hasbro”. The company diversified into toys in the early forties, with the first real market success being Mr. Potato Head.

The board game called Trouble was introduced in the US in 1965, and is very similar to the competing game called “Sorry!” that was already on the market. Both games are in turn based on the ancient game of Pachisi. The big selling feature of Trouble was the Pop-O-Matic dice container in the center of the board. I remember it well …

48. Letters of warning on internet sites : NSFW

The abbreviation “NSFW” stands for “not safe/suitable for work”. It’s Internet slang used to describe online content that is best not viewed at work.

52. Radiologist’s tool, for short : MRI

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine uses powerful magnetic fields to generate its images so there is no exposure to ionizing radiation (such as X-rays). We used MRI equipment in our chemistry labs at school, way back in the days when the technology was still called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NMRI). Apparently the marketing folks didn’t like the term “nuclear” because of its association with atomic bombs, so now it’s just called MRI.

53. Cigar City, so-called on account of a former major industry : TAMPA

The Florida city of Tampa has been known as “the Big Guava” since the seventies. The term is imitative of New York’s “Big Apple”, and refers to the unsuccessful search for the reported wild guava trees that were once hoped to be the basis of a new industry for the area. Tampa has also been called “Cigar City”, a reference to the cigar industry that fueled the area’s growth starting in the 1880s.

54. A part of Life? : OAT

The breakfast cereal called Life was introduced by Quaker Oats in 1961. Back then, Life contained just whole grain oats. Today’s recipe includes added sugar and flour.

55. Irritate : PIQUE

Our term “pique” meaning a “fit of ill feeling” is a French word meaning a “prick, sting, irritation”.

57. Mr. Magoo biopic? : SQUINTER’S TALE (from “Winter’s Tale”)

Mr. Quincy Magoo is a wonderful cartoon character voiced by Jim Backus. Backus is probably equally well-known for playing Mr. Magoo as well as Thurston Howell, III on “Gilligan’s Island”. Mr. Magoo first appeared on the screen in a short called “The Ragtime Bear” in 1949. His persona was at least in part based on the antics of W. C. Fields. Backus originally used a fake rubber nose that pinched his nostrils in order to create the distinctive voice, although in time he learned to do the voice without the prop. My absolute favorite appearance by Mr. Magoo is in “Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol”, a true classic from the sixties. There was a movie adaptation of “Mr Magoo” released in 1997, with Leslie Nielsen playing the title role.

“The Winter’s Tale” is a 1623 play by William Shakespeare. It is often categorized as one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” in that it does not readily fall into the category of drama or romance. The first three acts are quite dramatic, while the last two acts are very humorous and provide us with a happy ending.

62. Actress Thurman : UMA

Uma Thurman started her working career as a fashion model, at the age of 15. She appeared in her first movies at 17, with her most acclaimed early role being Cécile de Volanges in 1988’s “Dangerous Liaisons”. Thurman’s career really took off when she played the gangster’s “moll” in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in 1994. My favorite of all Thurman’s movies is “The Truth About Cats & Dog’s”, a less acclaimed romcom released in 1996. She took a few years off from 1998 until 2002, doing very little work in favor of motherhood. It was Tarantino who relaunched her career, giving her the lead in the “Kill Bill” films.

63. N.Y.C. subway letters : MTA

The MTA is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has public transportation responsibility in the state of New York (as well as part of Connecticut). “MTA” might also refer to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is known as the Metro and sometimes the MTA.

68. Birthplace of Emily Dickinson : AMHERST

On a roadtrip around the country a few years ago, my wife and I had a very disappointing stop in Amherst, Massachusetts intending to visit the old home of Emily Dickinson. We hadn’t done our homework and failed to note that the home was only open for tours on certain days of the week, and not the day we were there (so be warned!). Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1800 poems in her lifetime, with less than a dozen published before she died in 1886. Emily’s younger sister discovered the enormous collection, and it was published in batches over the coming decades.

72. Roadblock : IMPASSE

“Impasse” is a French word for a blind alley or an impassable road, and we use the term to mean “stalemate”.

73. Canadian coin, informally : LOONIE

The great northern loon is the provincial bird of Ontario, and the state bird of Minnesota. The loon once appeared on Canadian $20 bills and also appears on the Canadian one-dollar coin, giving the coin the nickname “the loonie”.

79. Actor Kilmer : VAL

Val Kilmer’s first big leading role in a movie was playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic “The Doors”. A few years later, Kilmer was chosen for the lead in another big production, “Batman Forever”. Things haven’t really gone as well for Kilmer since then, I’d say. Off the screen, he flirted with the idea of running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010. A Hollywood actor as a governor? Would never happen …

80. Cuckoo or dodo? : SQUIRRELY BIRD (from “whirlybird”)

Something described as squirrely is eccentric, flighty.

“Whirlybird” is an informal name for a helicopter.

88. Abbr. in a military title : RET

Retired (ret.)

91. Mariner’s org. : NASA

NASA’s Mariner program was a series of probes launched into space to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury. There were ten Mariner probes launched in all (three were lost, though), with the planned Mariner 11 and 12 evolving into the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

95. General ___ chicken : TSO’S

General Tso’s chicken is an American creation, and a dish often found on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. The name General Tso may be a reference to General Zuo Zongtang of the Qing Dynasty, but there is no clear link.

96. Buccaneer’s quaff : GROG

Edward Vernon was a naval officer with the nickname “Old Grog”. In 1740, Vernon ordered that the daily ration of rum for his sailors should be watered down, in order to reduce discipline problems caused by drunkenness. The diluted rum was sweetened with sugar, and lemon or lime added to help preserve it on long voyages. This recipe, found to reduce scurvy among sailors (because of the citrus) spread throughout the Royal Navy, and “grog” was born. As an aside, George Washington’s older half-brother named the famous Washington Mount Vernon Plantation in honor of Edward Vernon.

Buccaneers were pirates who worked the Caribbean in the 1800s, mainly attacking Spanish vessels. The original buccaneer was a French hunter living on Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic). These hunters used a local design of frame called a “buccan” as a smokehouse for meat, and so picked up the name “buccaneer”. In the first half of the 17th century, many of the buccaneers were driven off the island of Hispaniola by the Spanish and so they turned to the sea, making their living by pirating Spanish shipping.

100. Soprano Renata : SCOTTO

Renata Scotto is an Italian soprano who retired from the stage and is now working behind the scenes as a successful opera director. Amongst all the accolades for her performances onstage, Scotto did once have to deal with a hostile audience. In 1974 she was singing Eleni in Verdi’s “I Vespri Siciliani” when a clique of Maria Callas fans continuously called out “Maria, Maria” and “Brava, Callas”. Maria Callas was actually in a box watching Scotto perform, and refused to acknowledge the interruption. At the end of the opera, Callas rose graciously and led a standing ovation for Ms. Scotto’s performance.

102. Prepares cube steak? : SQUARES THE BEEF (from “Where’s the beef?”)

“Where’s the Beef” was a slogan used by the Wendy’s fast food chain in 1984. Famously, the phrase was picked up by presidential candidate Walter Mondale and he used it to argue that his rival Gary Hart had policies with no substance.

107. Altar sites : APSES

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.

108. A/C stat : BTU

In the world of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the power of a heating or cooling unit can be measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs). This dated unit is the amount of energy required to heat a pound of water so that the water’s temperature increases by one degree Fahrenheit.

109. Gay who wrote “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” : TALESE

Gay Talese is an American author, famous as a journalist in the sixties at “The New York Times”. His 1981 book “Thy Neighbor’s Wife” is a study of sexuality in America in the early fifties. Apparently, as research for the book, Talese had sexual relations with his own neighbor’s wife for several months at a sexuality resort in Southern California called Sandstone Retreat.

112. The “E” of E.D. : ERECTILE

Erectile dysfunction (ED)

121. Like a rope in tug of war : TAUTENED

Tug-of-war is a strength competition between two teams who pull on opposite ends of a rope, vying to pull the opponents over a marked line. The sport was an event in the Summer Olympic Games from 1900 until 1920. The USA teams won all three medals for the tug-of-war at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis.

122. Northern Iraqi : 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.

125. Hungers : YENS

The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium.

Down

1. Ones in a mess, informally : GIS

“Mess” first came into English about 1300, when it described the list of food needed for a meal. The term comes from the Old French word “mes” meaning a portion of food or a course at a meal. This usage in English evolved into “mess” meaning a jumbled mass of anything, from the concept of “mixed food”. The original usage, in the sense of a food for a meal, surfaced again in the military in the 1500s when a “mess” was a communal eating place.

3. Pot-au-___ (French stew) : FEU

Pot-au-feu is a French stew made with beef and is similar to many stews made around the world, containing cheap cuts of meat with mainly root vegetables and spices. The name “pot-au-feu” means “pot on the fire”, and used to apply to a pot that was kept on the fire during cold weather, with ingredients being added when they became available, and stew doled out when needed.

4. Basis of the plot of “Gone Girl” : FRAME-UP

“Gone Girl” is a thriller novel written by Gillian Flynn that was first published in 2012. The story tells of a man whose wife has disappeared, with the reader not being certain if the husband is involved in the disappearance. The book was adapted into a movie of the same name released in 2014, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

5. Like Corinthian columns : ORNATE

The Corinthian was one of the three classical orders of architecture, the others being the Doric and the Ionic. The Corinthian was the latest of the three orders, and the most ornate.

6. Bacilli shapes : RODS

All bacilli are rod-shaped bacteria, although all rod-shaped bacteria aren’t necessarily bacilli. One of the more famous members of the genus Bacillus is Bacillus anthracis, which causes anthrax.

9. Vineyard designation : CRU

“Cru” is a term used in the French wine industry that means “growth place”. So, “cru” is the name of the location where the grapes are grown, as opposed to the name of a specific vineyard. The terms “premier cru” and “grand cru” are also used, but the usage depends on the specific wine region. Generally it is a classification awarded to specific vineyards denoting their potential for producing great wines. “Grand cru” is reserved for the very best vineyards, with “premier cru” the level just below.

12. Gilbert who wrote “Love and Death on Long Island” : ADAIR

Gilbert Adair is a Scottish author. He wrote a translation of the book “La Disparition” by the French author Georges Perec, an interesting work in that it contains no instances of the letter “e”. Adair’s translation is called “A Void”, and in it the author also managed to avoid using the letter “e”. Remarkable …

13. Rosetta Stone discovery site : NILE DELTA

Rosetta is a coastal city and port on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian artifact of tremendous importance in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. Carvings on the stone are actually three translations of the same passage of prose, one in Egyptian hieroglyphics, one in Egyptian Demotic language, and one in classical Greek. The stone was discovered by the French military during Napoleon’s 1798 campaign in Egypt. Before the French could get it back to France, the stone somehow ended up in enemy hands (the British), so it is now on display in the British Museum. Ownership of the stone is very much in dispute. The French want it and, understandably, the Egyptians would like it back.

18. Henry VII’s house : TUDOR

The Wars of the Roses was a series of civil wars fought for the throne of England between the rival Houses of Lancaster (with a symbol of a red rose) and York (with a symbol of a white rose). Ultimately the Lancastrians emerged victorious after Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry was crowned King Henry VII, and so began the Tudor dynasty. Henry Tudor united the rival houses by marrying his cousin Elizabeth of York. Henry VII had a relatively long reign of 23 years that lasted until his death, after which his son succeeded to the throne as Henry VIII, continuing the relatively short-lived Tudor dynasty. Henry VIII ruled from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry VIII was the last male to lead the the House of Tudor, as his daughter Queen Elizabeth I died without issue. When Elizabeth died, the Scottish King James VI succeeded to the throne as James I of England and Ireland. James I was the first English monarch of the House of Stuart.

19. Lee who co-created the Avengers : STAN

Stan Lee did just about everything at Marvel Comics over the years, from writing to being president and chairman of the board. If you like superhero movies based on the characters from Marvel Comics, then you could spend a few hours trying to spot Stan Lee in those films as he has a penchant for making cameo appearances. Lee can be spotted in “X-Men” (2000), “Spider-Man” (2002), “Hulk” (2003), “Fantastic Four” (2005), “Iron Man” (2008) and many other films.

The Avengers are a team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. The original lineup, which dates back to 1963, consisted of Ant-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and the Wasp. Soon after their formation, the Avengers rescued Captain America trapped in ice, and thereafter he joined the team. There is a 2012 movie called “The Avengers” that features Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor.

31. “A Visit From St. Nicholas” poet : MOORE

The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in 1823, and is better known today by its first line “‘Twas the night before Christmas”. Most scholars believe that the poem was written by Clement Clarke Moore, a theologian from New York City. Others say that it was written by Henry Livingston, Jr. a poet from Upstate New York.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash …

34. Polished : URBANE

We use “urbane” today to mean something courteous or refined. Back in the 1500s the term was used in the same way that we now use “urban”. Those townsfolk thought they were more sophisticated than the countryfolk, and so the usage evolved.

36. Enero a diciembre : ANO

In Spanish, “el año” (the year) starts in “enero” (January) and ends in “diciembre” (December).

37. Civil rights activist Guinier : LANI

Lani Guinier was the first African-American woman to achieve tenure at Harvard Law School.

39. Laker legend with a size 22 sneaker, informally : SHAQ

Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality show: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”

51. Song words before “the World” and “the Champions” : WE ARE …

“We Are the World” is the 1985 charity single recorded by a whole host of celebrity singers who came together as USA for Africa. “We Are the World” was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and sold over 20 million copies. The idea for the USA for Africa recording came out of the great success of the UK project, Band Aid’s “do They Know it’s Christmas?”.

“We Are the Champions” is a wonderful rock anthem written by Freddie Mercury and recorded by Queen in 1977. According to some scientific researchers in 2011, “We Are the Champions” is the catchiest song in the history of pop music.

53. Like pre-1917 Russia : TSARIST

The year 1917 saw two revolutions in Russia, with the pair collectively called “the Russian Revolution”. As a result of the February Revolution that centered on Petrograd, the last Emperor of Russia (Tsar Nicholas II) abdicated and members of the Imperial parliament took control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was itself overthrown in the October Revolution, which was led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik party.

58. Animal with a flexible snout : TAPIR

All four species of tapir are endangered. Even though the tapir looks much like a pig, it is more closely related to the horse and the rhinoceros.

59. Early title for Julius Caesar : EDILE

In the days of the Roman Republic, aediles (also “ediles”) were magistrates who had responsibility for the management and upkeep of public facilities such as public buildings, streets and markets.

60. Brightest star in Orion : RIGEL

Rigel is the sixth brightest star in the night sky, and the brightest star in the constellation of Orion. If you can imagine the stars in Orion laid out, Rigel is at his left foot. The name “Rigel” is an abbreviated version of the Arabic term for “Left Foot of the Central One”.

61. Apollo 11’s Eagle, for short : LEM

In the Apollo program, the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) was the vehicle that actually landed on the moon and returned the astronauts to the command module that was orbiting overhead. The third LEM built was named “Spider”, and it participated in the Apollo 9 mission which tested the functionality of the LEM design in space. The fourth LEM was called “Snoopy” and it flew around the moon in the Apollo 10 mission, the dress rehearsal for the upcoming moon landing. Apollo 11’s LEM was called “Eagle” and it brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to and from the moon’s surface. Another famous LEM was Apollo 13’s Aquarius. Although Aquarius never landed on the moon, it did serve as a “lifeboat” for the three astronauts after the explosive rupture of an oxygen canister in the Service Module.

64. What Lionel Messi wears : TEN

Lionel “Leo” Messi is a soccer player from Argentina. Messi was awarded FIFA’s Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) award from 2009 to 2013. The Ballon d’Or is presented to the player who is considered the best in the world in the prior year.

68. Choreographer Ailey : ALVIN

Alvin Ailey was a dancer who formed his own troupe in New York in 1958, naming it “the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater”. The most famous work that Ailey choreographed was called “Revelations”. President Barack Obama awarded Ailey the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously in 2014.

69. 2016 film set in Polynesia : MOANA

“Moana” is a 2016 animated feature film and the 56th animated Disney movie. The title character is the daughter of a Polynesian chief who heads off in search of the demigod Maui, hoping that he can save her people.

70. Et ___ (footnote abbr.) : SEQ

The Latin phrase “et sequens” or “et sequentia” is used in English to mean “and following”, and is abbreviated to “et seq.”

74. Countenance : MIEN

One’s mien is one’s bearing or manner. “Mien” shares the same etymological root as our word “demeanor”.

77. Cousin of a spoonbill : IBIS

The ibis is a wading bird that was revered in ancient Egypt. “Ibis” is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one “ibis” or two “ibises”, and then again one has a flock of “ibis”. And if you want to go with the classical plural, instead of two “ibises” you would have two “ibides”!

81. Alleged psychic exposed by the Amazing Randi : URI GELLER

Uri Geller’s most famous performance is perhaps his uncomfortable failure on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson in 1973. Carson “hijacked” Geller on live television by providing him with spoons to bend and watches to start, none of which had been available to Geller before the show aired. Clever!

James Randi is a retired Canadian-American magician who had a stage career using the name “The Amazing Randi”. Now he spends his time investigating the paranormal, or in fact mainly challenging claims of paranormal activity. If you’re interested, the James Randi Educational Foundation is offering one million dollars to anyone who can demonstrate paranormal activity under controlled test conditions.

82. Co-authors Margret and H. A. : REYS

Curious George is a character in a series of children’s books written by husband and wife Hans Augusto and Margret Rey. The couple wrote the original stories in Paris, taking the manuscripts with them as they fled from the city ahead of the Nazi invasion in 1940.

85. Lhasa ___ (dogs) : APSOS

The Lhasa apso breed of dog originated in Tibet and is named after “Lhasa” (the capital city) and “apso” (a Tibetan word meaning “bearded”). The Lhasa apso has been around since 800 BC and is one of the oldest breeds in the world, one very closely related to the ancestral wolf.

87. “Old World Style” pasta sauce brand : RAGU

The Ragú brand of pasta sauce is owned by Unilever. The name ” Ragù” is the Italian word for a sauce used to dress pasta, however the spelling is off a little. In Italian the word is “Ragù” with a grave accent over the “u”, but if you look at a jar of the sauce on the supermarket shelf it is spelled “Ragú” on the label, with an acute accent. Sometimes I think we just don’t try …

92. Glacial deposit : MORAINE

Moraines are fields of debris that formed due to the presence or action of glaciers. Long Island in New York State, for example, was formed largely from two glacial moraines during the Ice Age.

99. Lucy’s place, in a Beatles song : THE SKY

Julian Lennon is the oldest child of John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia Powell. Julian was the inspiration of several Beatles songs, including “Hey Jude” and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. “Hey Jude” was originally a song called “Hey Jules”, written by Paul McCartney. He wrote the original song for Julian, as a way of comforting the child during his parents divorce. One day in 1966, Julian came home from nursery school and showed his Dad a drawing he had made of his classmate, a little girl called Lucy O’Donnell. Julian described the artwork as “Lucy … in the sky with diamonds”.

104. Ones on the outsides of 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.

111. Kind of vaccine : SALK

Jonas Salk was an American medical researcher, famous for developing the first safe polio vaccine. In the fifties, especially after the 1952 epidemic, polio was the biggest health fear in the US because it killed thousands, left even more with disabilities and most of the victims were children. The situation was dire and the authorities immediately quarantined the family of any polio victim, and that quarantine was so strict that in many cases the families were not even permitted to attend the funeral of a family member who died from the disease.

113. Cardboard container: Abbr. : CTN

Carton (ctn.)

115. “___ pasa?” : QUE

In Spanish, “que pasa?” translates literally as “what happened?” But, it is used to mean “how have things been going with you?”.

117. Source of much of Google’s income : ADS

Google is a remarkably successful and profitable technology company. Google makes most of its money from it AdWords product. Advertisers pay Google a lot of money to place their ads at the most advantageous spots on the Internet.

118. Fictional creature made from heat and slime : ORC

Orcs are mythical humanoid creatures that appear in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. Since Tolkien’s use of orcs, they have also been featured in other fantasy fiction and in fantasy games.

120. ___ milk : SOY

What are known as soybeans here in the US are called “soya beans” in most other English-speaking countries. So, I drink soy milk here in America, but when I am over in Ireland I drink “soya milk”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Philbin’s onetime morning co-host : GIFFORD
8. Equality-promoting org. : ACLU
12. Those who believe everything has a spirit : ANIMISTS
20. Off base : IN ERROR
21. Small songbird : WREN
22. Patronized a restaurant : DINED OUT
23. Prodigality? : SQUANDER LUST (from “wanderlust”)
25. Emmy-winning actor on “The West Wing” : ALAN ALDA
26. Spinny pool shot : MASSE
27. Direct (toward) : ORIENT
29. Part of many German names : VON
30. “Ready?” response : I’M SET
33. Hog seller? : SQUEALER DEALER (from “wheeler-dealer”)
38. Chefs’ hats : TOQUES
40. Corp. budget item : R AND D
41. 1969 self-titled jazz album : ELLA
42. Salad alternative : SOUP
43. Trouble maker : HASBRO
46. Depend (on) : RELY
48. Letters of warning on internet sites : NSFW
52. Radiologist’s tool, for short : MRI
53. Cigar City, so-called on account of a former major industry : TAMPA
54. A part of Life? : OAT
55. Irritate : PIQUE
56. Suffix with market : -EER
57. Mr. Magoo biopic? : SQUINTER’S TALE (from “Winter’s Tale”)
62. Actress Thurman : UMA
63. N.Y.C. subway letters : MTA
65. High school sweethearts : STEADIES
66. “___ said …” : EASIER
68. Birthplace of Emily Dickinson : AMHERST
71. Sloppy sort : PIG
72. Roadblock : IMPASSE
73. Canadian coin, informally : LOONIE
74. Like rebate coupons, typically : MAILED IN
78. “How cool!” : OOH!
79. Actor Kilmer : VAL
80. Cuckoo or dodo? : SQUIRRELY BIRD (from “whirlybird”)
83. Locale for a flock : LEA
86. Nonreactive : INERT
88. Abbr. in a military title : RET
89. Dark times, informally : NITES
90. Trickster : IMP
91. Mariner’s org. : NASA
92. Small : MINI
93. Resembling down : FLOSSY
95. General ___ chicken : TSO’S
96. Buccaneer’s quaff : GROG
98. Was on a crowded bus, say : STOOD
100. Soprano Renata : SCOTTO
102. Prepares cube steak? : SQUARES THE BEEF (from “Where’s the beef?”)
107. Altar sites : APSES
108. A/C stat : BTU
109. Gay who wrote “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” : TALESE
110. “I ___ talking to you!” : WASN’T
112. The “E” of E.D. : ERECTILE
114. All-day gripe sessions? : SQUAWKATHONS (from “walkathons”)
121. Like a rope in tug of war : TAUTENED
122. Northern Iraqi : KURD
123. Alter ego on “The Simpsons” : EL BARTO
124. Tightwads’ opposites : SPENDERS
125. Hungers : YENS
126. Questionable : SKETCHY

Down

1. Ones in a mess, informally : GIS
2. Question: Abbr. : INQ
3. Pot-au-___ (French stew) : FEU
4. Basis of the plot of “Gone Girl” : FRAME-UP
5. Like Corinthian columns : ORNATE
6. Bacilli shapes : RODS
7. Habiliments : DRESS
8. Cobbler’s tool : AWL
9. Vineyard designation : CRU
10. ___ Cayes (Haitian port) : LES
11. Not related? : UNTOLD
12. Gilbert who wrote “Love and Death on Long Island” : ADAIR
13. Rosetta Stone discovery site : NILE DELTA
14. In a senseless way : INANELY
15. Deranged, in slang : MENTAL
16. Polish movie named Best Foreign Language Film of 2014 : IDA
17. Work out : SOLVE
18. Henry VII’s house : TUDOR
19. Lee who co-created the Avengers : STAN
24. Not an elective: Abbr. : REQ
28. Flower colored by Aphrodite’s blood, in myth : RED ROSE
30. “You know who this is” : IT’S ME
31. “A Visit From St. Nicholas” poet : MOORE
32. Ways out of embarrassing situations? : SQUIRM HOLES (from “wormholes”)
34. Polished : URBANE
35. It may have a ring to it : EAR
36. Enero a diciembre : ANO
37. Civil rights activist Guinier : LANI
39. Laker legend with a size 22 sneaker, informally : SHAQ
44. Something absolutely necessary : A MUST
45. Fast-paced two-player card game : SPIT
47. Munchies, say : EATS
49. Enumerations of things to be sat on? : SQUISH LISTS (from “wish lists”)
50. Is plenty angry : FUMES
51. Song words before “the World” and “the Champions” : WE ARE …
53. Like pre-1917 Russia : TSARIST
55. Green shells : PEA PODS
58. Animal with a flexible snout : TAPIR
59. Early title for Julius Caesar : EDILE
60. Brightest star in Orion : RIGEL
61. Apollo 11’s Eagle, for short : LEM
64. What Lionel Messi wears : TEN
67. Brazil’s ___ Bernardo do Campo : SAO
68. Choreographer Ailey : ALVIN
69. 2016 film set in Polynesia : MOANA
70. Et ___ (footnote abbr.) : SEQ
72. Document certifiers, for short : INITS
74. Countenance : MIEN
75. Sorting category on iTunes : ARTISTS
76. Vacuum tube component : DYNODE
77. Cousin of a spoonbill : IBIS
81. Alleged psychic exposed by the Amazing Randi : URI GELLER
82. Co-authors Margret and H. A. : REYS
84. Theatricalize : EMOTE
85. Lhasa ___ (dogs) : APSOS
87. “Old World Style” pasta sauce brand : RAGU
92. Glacial deposit : MORAINE
93. Opposition : FOE
94. Easy question : LOB
95. “I dare you to do better!” : TOP THAT!
97. Snitched on, with “out” : RATTED
99. Lucy’s place, in a Beatles song : THE SKY
101. “Impossible!” : CAN’T BE!
102. Leash, e.g. : STRAP
103. Line (up) : QUEUE
104. Ones on the outsides of brackets : SEEDS
105. “Yuck!” : EWW!
106. Forgeries : FAKES
108. Pot growers? : BETS
111. Kind of vaccine : SALK
113. Cardboard container: Abbr. : CTN
115. “___ pasa?” : QUE
116. Decorative garden item : URN
117. Source of much of Google’s income : ADS
118. Fictional creature made from heat and slime : ORC
119. Unspecified degree : NTH
120. ___ milk : SOY