0317-19 NY Times Crossword 17 Mar 19, Sunday

Constructed by: Sophia Maymudes & Jeff Chen
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: That’s Another Story

Happy Saint Paddy’s Day, everyone! Themed answers are the titles of famous novels that have been reinterpreted as fictional titles of celebrity biographies:

  • 23A Biography of Ebenezer Scrooge? : MARLEY AND ME
  • 31A Biography of Amelia Earhart? : GONE GIRL
  • 34A Biography of Archimedes? : LIFE OF PI
  • 92A Biography of the Venus de Milo? : A FAREWELL TO ARMS
  • 110A With 112-Across, biography of Elvis? : THE ONCE AND …

    112A See 110-Across : … FUTURE KING

  • 4D Biography of Thomas Crapper? : A GAME OF THRONES
  • 13D Biography of Willie Mays? : LORD OF THE FLIES
  • 43D With 44-Down, biography of Walt Disney? : OF MICE …
    44D See 43-Down : … AND MEN

Bill’s time: 19m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Most popular baby girl’s name of the 1960s, per the Social Security Administration : LISA

The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of the 1,000 most common baby names for the prior year annually, just before Mother’s Day. The list is compiled using applications for Social Security cards.

5 Squealer : FINK

A fink is an informer, someone who rats out his or her cohorts.

9 Inside info : POOP

“Poop” is a slang term meaning “relevant and up-to-date information”. Back in the 1940s, a “poop sheet” was a bulletin with the latest information.

18 Old-time “The Price Is Right” announcer Johnny : OLSON

Johnny Olson was the announcer on “The Price is Right” from day one in 1972, until he passed away in 1985. Come on down!

22 Ward of cinema : SELA

Actress Sela Ward turns up in crosswords a lot. Ward played Teddy Reed in the TV show “Sisters” in the nineties, and was in “Once and Again” from 1999-2002. I don’t know either show, but I do know Ward from the medical drama “House” in which she played the hospital’s lawyer and Greg House’s ex-partner. That was a fun role, I thought. More recently, Ward played a lead role on “CSI: NY” and was a very welcome and much-needed addition to the cast. And, Ward played Dr. Richard Kimble’s murdered wife in the 1993 film version of “The Fugitive”.

23 Biography of Ebenezer Scrooge? : MARLEY AND ME

“Marley & Me” (subtitled “Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog”) is a 2005 autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan. It’s all about the up-and-down relationship that Grogran had over 13 years with his yellow Labrador retriever named “Marley”. The book spawned a 2008 movie “Marley & Me” starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston, and a lesser-known prequel “Marley & Me: The Puppy Years” that was released in 2011.

Jacob Marley is a character appearing in the wonderful novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Marley is the deceased business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge who appears to him as a ghost.

25 “Castaway” director Nicolas : ROEG

Nicolas Roeg is a film director from England with quite the pedigree when it comes to association with great movies. He contributed to 1962’s “Lawrence of Arabia”, and he himself directed noted films like “Walkabout” (1972), “Don’t Look Now” (1973) and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” (1976).

“Cast Away” is a very entertaining adventure film released in 2000 starring Tom Hanks as a castaway on a South Pacific island. The Hanks character ends up on the island after a FedEx plane crashes, leaving him marooned there for four years before he manages to escape on a raft. The film had to be filmed in two sessions. For the first session, Hanks gained 50 pounds to make himself look pudgy for the early scenes. The crew had to wait a whole year for Hanks to lose the weight so that they could film the “cast away” scenes.

28 Colleague of Gorsuch : ALITO

Associate Justice Samuel Alito was nominated to the US Supreme Court by President George W. Bush. Alito is the second Italian-American to serve on the Supreme Court (Antonin Scalia was the first). Alito studied law at Yale and while in his final year he left the country for the first time in his life, heading to Italy to work on his thesis about the Italian legal system.

Neil Gorsuch was nominated to the Supreme court by the Trump administration, and assumed office in 2017. Gorsuch took the seat on the court that was left vacant with the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. Gorsuch is the first Supreme Court justice to serve alongside another justice for whom he once clerked, doing so for Anthony Kennedy from 1993 to 1994.

31 Biography of Amelia Earhart? : GONE GIRL

“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.

Amelia Earhart is as famous today as she was during her lifetime. When she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic she was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by Congress, and the Cross of Knight of the Legion of Honor by the French government. She made two attempts to circumnavigate the globe by air (not solo). Her first attempt in March 1937 had to be abandoned when her aircraft was damaged during takeoff. The second attempt in June/July of the same year ended when Earhart and her navigator disappeared flying from Lae, New Guinea to Howland Island in the Central Pacific.

33 “Decorates” on Halloween, say : TPS

TP’ing (toilet papering) is a prank involving the covering of some object or location with rolls and rolls of toilet paper. If you live in Texas or Minnesota, that little “prank” is legal, but if you live here in California it is classed as mischief or vandalism.

34 Biography of Archimedes? : LIFE OF PI

The 2012 movie “Life of Pi” is based on a 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel. The “Pi” in the title is an Indian boy named Pi Patel who finds himself adrift for 227 days in small boat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

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).

36 Beep-booping droid, for short : ARTOO

Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2. R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stood just 3 ft 8 ins tall, was the man inside the R2-D2 droid for the first six of the “Star Wars” movies.

42 One-fifth of the Jackson 5 : TITO

The Jackson 5 singing group was originally made up of brothers Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael. The four eldest brothers continued to perform, using the name “The Jacksons”, after Michael went solo.

44 Jesus on the diamond : ALOU

Jesus Alou played Major League Baseball, as did his brothers Matty and Felipe, and as does Felipe’s son Moises.

45 Note taker : STENO

Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).

46 Tip-off for an exam proctor : PSST!

A proctor is a supervisor, and especially a person overseeing a school examination or a dormitory. The word “proctor” originated in the late 1500s, and is a contraction of the word “procurator”, the name given to an official agent of a church.

47 What the “sans” refers to in Comic Sans : SERIF

Comic Sans MS is a font that looks a bit like that used in old comic books. Comic Sans was released by Microsoft in 1994. If you live in the Netherlands, you are lucky enough to enjoy Comic Sans Day on the first Friday of July each year.

48 Diaper : U.S. :: ___ : U.K. : NAPPY

“Diaper” is another word that I had to learn when I moved to America. What are called “diapers” over here, we call “nappies” back in Ireland. The term “diaper” is actually the original term that was used in England for the garment, where “diaper” referred to the cloth that was used. The term “diaper” was brought to the New World where it stuck. Back in Britain, “diaper” was displaced by the word “nappy”, a diminutive of “napkin”.

50 Oil magnate Leon who once owned the New York Jets : HESS

Leon Hess founded the Hess Oil and Chemical Corporation in the 1930s, originally to distribute heating oil. Today’s Hess Corporation still bears Leon’s name. Leon Hess was also co-owner, and eventually sole owner, of the New York Jets football team from the late sixties until his death in 1999.

51 “Girls” home : HBO

“Girls” is an HBO comedy-drama series that was created by and stars Lena Dunham. The show follows a group of female friends living their lives in New York City. Good show …

55 Get a Venmo request, say : OWE

Venmo is a smartphone payment app that is now owned by PayPal. The first version of the product was introduced in 2009 by two entrepreneurs who had met as freshman students at the University of Pennsylvania. They sold the company in 2012 for over $26 million, and then PayPal acquired it the following year for a whopping $800 million. I wonder do PayPal ever buy blogs …

61 Recreational sailboats : SKIFFS

A skiff is small boat. The name can be used generically and applied to several unrelated styles of vessel, as long as they are relatively small. The term “skiff” comes from “scif”, the Old High German word for “boat” and a term that also gave us our word “ship”.

66 British miler Sebastian : COE

Sebastian Coe is a retired middle distance runner from the UK who won four Olympic medals including golds in the 1500m in 1980 and 1984. After retiring from athletics, Coe went into politics and served as a Member of Parliament from 1992 to 1997. In the year 2000, he was made a Life Peer, and so Coe now sits in the House of Lords. Lord Coe headed up London’s successful bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

69 Shrewd : CANNY

The adjective “canny” is of Scottish origin, and was formed from the verb “to can” meaning “to know how to”. The idea is that someone who is “knowing” is careful, canny.

70 Winged Greek goddess : NIKE

Nike was the Greek goddess of victory, and was often referred to as “the Winged Goddess of Victory”. The athletic shoe company Nike uses the “Nike swoosh” as its logo, a logo that is inspired by the goddess’ wing.

72 Highest hand value in baccarat : NINE

Baccarat, in all of its three variants, is a relatively simple casino card game. Baccarat is the favored game of chance for James Bond 007, and it looks so cool when he plays it! Banco!

74 Capital of France’s Côte d’Or : DIJON

Dijon is a city in eastern France in the Burgundy region. Dijon is famous for its mustard, a particularly strong variation of the condiment. The European Union doesn’t protect the name “Dijon” so anyone can use it on a label. That seems fair enough to me, given that 90% of the mustard made in and around Dijon is produced using mustard seed imported from Canada!

Côte-d’Or is a department in the east of France, located in the region known as Bourgogne (anglicized as “Burgundy”). The department takes its name from a limestone cliff called the Côte d’Or (“Golden Slope”, literally “Coast of Gold”) that runs north-south through the area.

76 Credit score, for short? : GPA

Grade point average (GPA)

77 One side of the G.W. Bridge : NYC

New York City’s George Washington Bridge (GWB) spans the Hudson River and links the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan with Fort Lee in New Jersey. When the bridge was opened in 1931 it had one deck, allowing six lanes of traffic to traverse the river. The bridge’s designer allowed for the construction of a second deck under the first, and this was added in 1946. Today, the bridge carries 14 lanes of traffic, which is more than any other suspension bridge anywhere. As a result, the GWB is the world’s busiest vehicular bridge. Some locals refer to that second deck as “Martha”, a reference to the president’s wife.

79 ___ monkey : RHESUS

The Rhesus macaque is also known as the Rhesus monkey. As it is widely available and is close to humans anatomically and physically, the Rhesus macaque has been used in scientific research for decades. The Rhesus monkey was used in the development of rabies, smallpox and polio vaccines, and it also gave its name to the Rhesus factor that is used in blood-typing. It was also Rhesus monkeys that were launched into space by the US and Soviet space programs. Humans and macaques share about 93% of their DNA and had a common ancestor about 25 million years ago.

81 Swimsuit material : SPANDEX

What we call spandex in the US is known as lycra in the British Isles. “Spandex” was chosen as the name for the elastic fiber as it is an anagram of “expands”.

86 Have a ___ for : YEN

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.

89 Xenophobe’s fear, with “the” : OTHER

The Greek combining form “xeno-” means “strange, foreign” as in “xenophobia”, a fear of foreigners.

92 Biography of the Venus de Milo? : A FAREWELL TO ARMS

“A Farewell to Arms” is a somewhat autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway, telling the story of an American ambulance driver serving with the Italian army during WWI. The most famous screen adaptation is probably the 1957 version starring Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones.

The famous “Venus de Milo” is so named as she was discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Milos, on the Aegean island of the same name. I’ve been lucky enough to see the statue, in the Louvre in Paris, and was surprised at how large it is (6 ft 8 in tall).

96 One using a heater, say : GANGSTER

“Packing” and “packing heat” are underworld slang for “carrying a gun”.

99 Sound effects after some one-liners : RIMSHOTS

A rimshot is a sound made when a drummer hits the head of a drum and the rim at the same time. It’s a sound often used by comics to help punctuate a gag.

103 Dramatic award : OBIE

The Obies are the “Off-Broadway Theater Awards”. The Obies have been presented annually since 1956. The recipients used to be chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper, but now are jointly administered with the American Theatre Wing.

104 Pair of hearts? : ATRIA

The heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers (the atria) accept deoxygenated blood from the body and oxygenated blood from the lungs. The atria squeeze those blood supplies into the two lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles), “priming” the pump, as it were. One ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the other pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.

109 Adidas competitor : AVIA

The “Avia” brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

110 With 112-Across, biography of Elvis? : THE ONCE AND …

112 See 110-Across : … FUTURE KING

“The Once and Future King” is a 1958 Arthurian novel by English author T. H. White. White’s work is based on Sir Thomas Mallory’s 1485 work “Le Morte d’Arthur” (The Death of Arthur), which itself is a reworking of existing tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Elvis Presley is often referred to as “the King of Rock and Roll”, or simply “the King”. However, Presley is quoted as saying that Fats Domino was “the real king of rock and roll”.

115 Gate expectations, briefly? : ETDS

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

117 Quad/glute exercise : LUNGE

The quadriceps femoris is the muscle group at the front of the thigh. It is the strongest muscle in the human body, and is also the leanest. The “quads” are actually a group of four muscles in the upper leg, hence the use of the prefix “quad-”.

There are three gluteal muscles in the human body, the largest of which is the gluteus maximus. It’s the gluteus maximus which really dictates the shape and size of the human buttocks. In evolutionary terms, the human “glutes” (also “glutei”) are larger than those in related species because they play a big role maintaining our erect posture.

Down

4 Biography of Thomas Crapper? : A GAME OF THRONES

“A Game of Thrones” is the first novel in the series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin titled “A Song of Ice and Fire”. That first novel’s title gives its name to “Game of Thrones”, the incredibly popular HBO television series that uses the storyline from the whole series of books.

Famously, English plumber Thomas Crapper founded a company that specialized in lavatorial equipment. It’s often claimed that the Crapper name gave rise to a slang term for human bodily waster, but that claim is false. Said slang term was around for centuries before Mister Crapper (1836-1910).

6 Its national anthem is “Hatikvah”: Abbr. : ISR

The title of Israel’s national anthem “Hatikvah” translates from Hebrew into English as “The Hope”. The anthem’s lyrics were adapted from an 1878 poem called “Our Hope” by Jewish poet Naftali Herz Imber. The opening stanza is, in English:

As long as deep within the heart
A Jewish soul stirs,
And forward, to the ends of the East
An eye looks out, towards Zion.

7 Home to Bourbon St. : NOLA

When New Orleans was founded by the French, the House of Bourbon was ruling France. Bourbon Street was named in its honor.

9 Some H.S. exams : PSATS

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT)

11 Airport code for O’Hare : ORD

The IATA airport code for O’Hare International in Chicago is ORD, which comes from Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field (OR-D).

12 Elvis Costello hit that starts “I’ve been on tenterhooks / Ending in dirty looks” : PUMP IT UP

Elvis Costello is an English singer and songwriter whose real name is Declan MacManus. Although Costello is more associated with the punk rock music scene, he is very active with the Jazz Foundation of America. He does a lot of work with the foundation to help jazz and blues musicians in need, especially after Hurricane Katrina.

13 Biography of Willie Mays? : LORD OF THE FLIES

“Lord of the Flies” is such a great story! William Golding wrote the novel as an allegory of society. The most famous screen adaptation was made in 1963, directed by Peter Brook.

Willie Mays’ nickname was “Say Hey Kid”, although his friends and teammates were more likely to refer to him as “Buck”. When Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was asked who was the best player he’d ever seen in the game. He replied, “I don’t mean to be bashful, but I was.”

14 Cajun dish of shellfish over rice : ETOUFFEE

Étouffée is a Cajun and Creole dish made with shellfish, the most famous version being Crawfish Étouffée. Étouffée is like a thick shellfish stew served over rice. The dish uses the cooking technique known as “smothering” in which the shellfish is cooked in a covered pan over a low heat with a small amount of liquid. “Étouffée” is the French word “stifled, smothered”.

16 Dress (up) : TOG

The verb “to tog up”, meaning “to dress up”, comes from the Latin “toga” describing the garment worn in Ancient Rome. “Tog” can be also be used as an informal word for a coat or a cloak. Back in Ireland, togs are what we call swimming shorts.

24 Chihuahua’s sound : YIP

Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico that shares a border with Texas and New Mexico. Chihuahua is the largest state in the country, so has the nickname “El Estado Grande”. The state takes its name from the Chihuahuan Desert which lies largely within its borders. The Chihuahua breed of dog takes its name from the state.

31 John Irving title character : GARP

John Irving’s 1978 novel “The World According to Garp” is somewhat biographical. In fact, Irving’s mother found parts of the novel difficult to read, recognizing elements of herself in Garp’s mother Jenny Fields.

38 Author Larsson : STIEG

Stieg Larsson was a Swedish journalist and writer. Indeed, one of the main characters in his “Millennium” series of novels is a journalist as well. The first two titles in the series are “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Girl Who Played with Fire”. The last of the three titles in the Millennium series is “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”, which was the most-sold book in the US in 2010. All of the books in the series were published after Larsson’s death. He passed away from a heart attack while climbing several flights of stairs, when he was just 50 years old.

43 With 44-Down, biography of Walt Disney? : OF MICE …

44 See 43-Down : … AND MEN

“Of Mice and Men” is a novella written by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1937. The title comes from the famous poem by Robert Burns, “To a Mouse”. The inspirational line from the poem is “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men, gang aft tagley.” Steinbeck actually wrote “Of Mice and Men” as a “novel-play”, intending that the line from the novel used as a script for a play. I actually saw the theatrical version on stage for the first time quite recently, and really enjoyed it.

Walt Disney’s iconic cartoon character Mickey Mouse, was introduced to the public in 1928 in the cartoon “Steamboat Willie”. Mickey was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978, making him the first cartoon character to be so honored. Walt Disney had some nice words to say in Disneyland in 1954:

I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.

49 Hitch together : YOKE

A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of animals so that they are forced to work together.

54 “You may not have asked me, but …” : IMO …

In my opinion (IMO)

58 The title characters of 1988’s “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” e.g. : CON MEN

“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is a comedy film released in 1988 starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine. The film is basically a remake of “Bedtime Story” from 1964, which stars Marlon Brando and David Niven.

62 Tex-Mex offering : FAJITA

“Fajita” is a Tex-Mex term that refers to grilled meat served on a tortilla. The original Mexican-Spanish term “fajita” is used to describe a small strip of chicken or beef. Nowadays, fajitas are often served on a sizzling platter with the tortillas and condiments on the side.

64 Lovecraftian : SCARY

H. P. Lovecraft was an author of horror, fantasy and science fiction. His books aren’t really my cup of tea …

67 Inky stone : ONYX

Onyx is a form of quartz that comes in many different shades, but most often it’s the black version that’s used for jewelry. The name “onyx” comes from the Greek word for “fingernail”, as onyx in the flesh color is said to resemble a fingernail.

80 Alaska Airlines hub : SEA-TAC

Sea-Tac Airport (SEA) is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.

83 Montreal is part of it: Abbr. : NHL

The Montreal Canadiens hockey team is known by the nickname “Habs”, which is short for “Les Habitants”. “Les habitants” were the original French settlers in Quebec.

84 State on the Atl. coast : DEL

The state of Delaware takes its name from Virginia’s first colonial governor, Englishman Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. Delaware is known as “the First State” as it was the first to ratify the US Constitution, in 1787.

93 Corrigenda : ERRATA

“Errata” is the past participle of the Latin word “errare” meaning “to err”. We use “errata” (singular “erratum”) to describe a list of errors that have been noted in some publication.

94 Daniel Webster, notably : ORATOR

Daniel Webster was a US senator for Massachusetts in the runup to the Civil War, as well as US Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Millard Fillmore, William Henry Harrison and John Tyler. Famously, Webster debated Senator Robert Hayne of South Carolina in an unscripted exchange on the Senate floor in 1830. Webster’s “second reply to Hayne” is regarded by many as the most eloquent speech ever delivered in the US Congress. Included in the speech was his assertion that the US government is “made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people”. These words were echoed by President Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address as “government of the people, by the people, for the people”.

95 Artist with seven posthumous platinum albums : SHAKUR

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.

100 Like some flocks : OVINE

The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine” meaning “like a sheep”.

105 Midwest capital, informally : INDY

Indianapolis is the largest city in Indiana, and is the state capital. The state of Indiana was formed in 1816, with the state capitol being named as Corydon. The capital was changed to Indianapolis in 1825. Indianapolis is the closest of all capitals to the center of its state.

107 Bosom buddy : BFF

Best friend forever (BFF)

111 The Science Guy : NYE

That would be “Bill Nye the Science Guy”. Bill’s show ran on PBS for four years, from 1993-97.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Most popular baby girl’s name of the 1960s, per the Social Security Administration : LISA
5 Squealer : FINK
9 Inside info : POOP
13 For fear that : LEST
17 Juul, e.g., for short : E-CIG
18 Old-time “The Price Is Right” announcer Johnny : OLSON
19 Bit of greenery : SHRUB
21 Palindromic boy’s name : OTTO
22 Ward of cinema : SELA
23 Biography of Ebenezer Scrooge? : MARLEY AND ME
25 “Castaway” director Nicolas : ROEG
26 Bond tightly : CEMENT
28 Colleague of Gorsuch : ALITO
29 Big name in chicken : PERDUE
31 Biography of Amelia Earhart? : GONE GIRL
33 “Decorates” on Halloween, say : TPS
34 Biography of Archimedes? : LIFE OF PI
36 Beep-booping droid, for short : ARTOO
37 Two-year degrees, briefly : AAS
39 Tricked : GOT
40 Took out : OFFED
41 Some endangered ecosystems : REEFS
42 One-fifth of the Jackson 5 : TITO
44 Jesus on the diamond : ALOU
45 Note taker : STENO
46 Tip-off for an exam proctor : PSST!
47 What the “sans” refers to in Comic Sans : SERIF
48 Diaper : U.S. :: ___ : U.K. : NAPPY
50 Oil magnate Leon who once owned the New York Jets : HESS
51 “Girls” home : HBO
53 Only mildly sweet : SEMIDRY
55 Get a Venmo request, say : OWE
57 Go through a window? : SCROLL
60 Obvious answer : GIMME
61 Recreational sailboats : SKIFFS
64 Excelled : STOOD OUT
66 British miler Sebastian : COE
67 Diner sign : OPEN LATE
69 Shrewd : CANNY
70 Winged Greek goddess : NIKE
72 Highest hand value in baccarat : NINE
74 Capital of France’s Côte d’Or : DIJON
75 High points : ACMES
76 Credit score, for short? : GPA
77 One side of the G.W. Bridge : NYC
78 Clever move : FEINT
79 ___ monkey : RHESUS
81 Swimsuit material : SPANDEX
85 “Step on it!” : FASTER!
86 Have a ___ for : YEN
87 Good name, informally : REP
89 Xenophobe’s fear, with “the” : OTHER
90 Pro : FOR
91 Verb that’s a homophone for a letter : ARE
92 Biography of the Venus de Milo? : A FAREWELL TO ARMS
96 One using a heater, say : GANGSTER
99 Sound effects after some one-liners : RIMSHOTS
103 Dramatic award : OBIE
104 Pair of hearts? : ATRIA
107 Loudly project : BLARE
109 Adidas competitor : AVIA
110 With 112-Across, biography of Elvis? : THE ONCE AND …
112 See 110-Across : … FUTURE KING
114 With passion : HOTLY
115 Gate expectations, briefly? : ETDS
116 Big dos : ‘FROS
117 Quad/glute exercise : LUNGE
118 Wear away : ERODE
119 Dramatic rebuttal : NAY
120 Poetic conjunction : ERE
121 Lets go of : FREES

Down

1 Picasso’s “___ Demoiselles d’Avignon” : LES
2 Some Antarctic samples : ICE CORES
3 They create soft c’s and g’s : SILENT ES
4 Biography of Thomas Crapper? : A GAME OF THRONES
5 Unvarying charge : FLAT RATE
6 Its national anthem is “Hatikvah”: Abbr. : ISR
7 Home to Bourbon St. : NOLA
8 Showed allegiance, in a way : KNELT
9 Some H.S. exams : PSATS
10 “Yikes!” : OH NO!
11 Airport code for O’Hare : ORD
12 Elvis Costello hit that starts “I’ve been on tenterhooks / Ending in dirty looks” : PUMP IT UP
13 Biography of Willie Mays? : LORD OF THE FLIES
14 Cajun dish of shellfish over rice : ETOUFFEE
15 Increases in price : STEEPENS
16 Dress (up) : TOG
18 Prefix with present : OMNI-
20 Major Argentine export : BEEF
24 Chihuahua’s sound : YIP
27 Big features of reality TV : EGOS
30 Model T competitors : REOS
31 John Irving title character : GARP
32 Retreats : LAIRS
34 Like the signatures of outgoing people, it’s said : LOOPY
35 Altar exchange : I DOS
38 Author Larsson : STIEG
39 Fiery look : GLARE
43 With 44-Down, biography of Walt Disney? : OF MICE …
44 See 43-Down : … AND MEN
47 Star turn : SOLO
49 Hitch together : YOKE
52 Doesn’t go overboard? : BODYSURFS
54 “You may not have asked me, but …” : IMO …
56 Certain green energy producers : WIND FARMS
57 Part of a Vandyke, informally : ‘STACHE
58 The title characters of 1988’s “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” e.g. : CON MEN
59 Iron ___ : LUNG
61 Kind of sheet : SPEC
62 Tex-Mex offering : FAJITA
63 Stereotypical High Times reader : STONER
64 Lovecraftian : SCARY
65 Pointers : TIPS
67 Inky stone : ONYX
68 Between: Fr. : ENTRE
71 Wham! : KAPOW!
73 Nonreactive : INERT
80 Alaska Airlines hub : SEA-TAC
82 Suffix with doctor : -ATE
83 Montreal is part of it: Abbr. : NHL
84 State on the Atl. coast : DEL
85 Onetime : FORMER
88 Like the phase ending after 12 : PRETEEN
90 Why parodies can’t be sued for copyright infringement : FAIR USE
92 Classic : AGE-OLD
93 Corrigenda : ERRATA
94 Daniel Webster, notably : ORATOR
95 Artist with seven posthumous platinum albums : SHAKUR
96 ___ distance : GO THE
97 Detest : ABHOR
98 Grandchild: Sp. : NIETO
100 Like some flocks : OVINE
101 Blush, e.g. : TINGE
102 Seven ___ of Ancient Greece : SAGES
105 Midwest capital, informally : INDY
106 Revenue alternative to subscriptions : ADS
107 Bosom buddy : BFF
108 Anglerfish’s light, e.g. : LURE
111 The Science Guy : NYE
113 Giant’s opposite : ELF