1030-22 NY Times Crossword 30 Oct 22, Sunday

Constructed by: Addison Snell
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Sending a Message

There is a note with today’s puzzle:

This completed puzzle contains a 114-Across, comprising the eight shaded answers. Put these in order, one after the other. Then use this key to get a line spoken by 25-Across in “The 40-Across”: A = R, B = I, C = J, D = P, E = A, G = H, I = O, J = C, K = L, L = U, N = T, O = Z, P = Y, R = M, S = E, T = D, U = S, V = G, X = N, Y = K.

Using the key, the CRYPTOGRAM decodes to the following quote from ALAN TURING

CODES ARE A PUZZLE. A GAME, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER GAME.

  • 25A English computer scientist who pioneered the breaking of ciphers generated by the 98-Across : ALAN TURING
  • 40A 2014 movie portraying the work of 25-Across, with “The” : … IMITATION GAME
  • 98A W.W. II-era encoding device : ENIGMA MACHINE
  • 114A Sort of encoded message found in this puzzle’s grid [SEE NOTE] : CRYPTOGRAM

Bill’s time: 20m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Flight path? : STAIRS

A landing is the area at the top and bottom of a staircase. Apparently, we called the steps between the landings a “flight” of stairs, because one “flies” between landings! Can that be true?

7 Pain in the neck? : GOITER

Back in 1924, a professor of pediatrics in Michigan led a campaign in the US to have producers of salt add a small amount of sodium iodide to table salt so that the population would have a readily available source of the iodine micronutrient. His goal was to reduce the incidence of goiter in the population.

21 Early online forum : USENET

Remember the good old days, when you read messages online in “newsgroups”? Well, that system of aggregating public messages is known as Usenet, and it’s still around today. Usenet started operating in 1980, some ten years before the World Wide Web was introduced (which system has displaced Usenet in terms of popularity). Usenet definitely played a significant part in the history of the Internet. For instance, the terms “FAQ” and “spam” were both born on Usenet.

22 Pacific harbinger of wet West Coast weather : EL NINO

When the surface temperature of much of the Pacific Ocean rises more than half a degree celsius, then there is said to be an El Niño episode. That small temperature change in the Pacific has been associated with climatic changes that can stretch right across the globe. El Niño is Spanish for “the boy” and is a reference to the Christ child. The phenomenon was given this particular Spanish name because the warming is usually noticed near South America and around Christmas-time.

A harbinger is a person or a thing that indicates what is to come. The word comes from the Middle English “herbenger” describing a person sent ahead to arrange lodgings.

23 Some tiki bar orders : MAI TAIS

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

The world’s first tiki bar was called “Don the Beachcomber”, and was opened in L.A. in 1933 by Ernest Gantt (also known as “Donn Beach”). The bar became famous for its exotic rum cocktails. Gantt was called to serve in WWII, and the business expanded dramatically under his ex-wife’s management so that there was a 160-restaurant chain waiting for Gantt when he returned stateside.

25 English computer scientist who pioneered the breaking of ciphers generated by the 98-Across : ALAN TURING
[98A W.W. II-era encoding device : ENIGMA MACHINE]

Alan Turing was an English mathematician. He was well-respected for his code-breaking work during WWII at Bletchley Park in England. However, despite his contributions to cracking the German Enigma code and other crucial work, Turing was prosecuted for homosexuality in 1952. He agreed to chemical castration, treatment with female hormones, and then two years later he committed suicide by taking cyanide. Turing’s life story is told in the 2014 film “The Imitation Game” with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the lead. I thoroughly enjoyed that film …

33 ___-Seltzer : ALKA

Alka-Seltzer is a brand of fizzy antacid that has been marketed since 1931. In terms of ingredients, it is a mix of sodium bicarbonate, aspirin and anhydrous citric acid.

37 Leaf producer : NISSAN

The Leaf is an electric car made by Nissan that was introduced in 2010. The model name is an acronym standing for “leading environmentally-friendly affordable car”.

40 2014 movie portraying the work of 25-Across, with “The” : … IMITATION GAME
[25A English computer scientist who pioneered the breaking of ciphers generated by the 98-Across : ALAN TURING]

“The Imitation Game” is a superb 2014 film that tells the story of Alan Turing and the decrypting operations undertaken by the British government during WWII. Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Turing, and Keira Knightley portrays Joan Clarke, a cryptanalyst who played a crucial and underappreciated role in the code-breaking program. Clarke was briefly engaged to be married to Turing, despite Turing’s closeted life as a gay man. Famously, Turing was prosecuted for homesexual acts in 1952, agreed to chemical castration treatment, and committed suicide in 1954.

44 Fission locales : NUCLEI

By some definitions, New Zealand-born physicist and chemist Ernest Rutherford was the first person to “split the atom”. Rutherford bombarded nitrogen with alpha particles and thereby forced neutrons out of the nucleus of the nitrogen atom. The first intentional nuclear “fission” came decades later in the 1930s, with experiments in which larger nuclei were split into smaller nuclei.

47 “The Merchant of Venice” character who favors wordplay : PORTIA

William Shakespeare features a character named “Portia” in two of his plays. The most famous is Portia, the heroine of “The Merchant of Venice”. The lesser known is Portia, the wife of Brutus in “Julius Caesar”.

50 Prey for a lion : GNU

The gnu is also known as the wildebeest, and is an antelope native to Africa. “Wildebeest” is a Dutch meaning “wild beast”.

57 Lead-in to dermis : EPI-

The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin. The thickest piece of epidermal tissue in humans is on the soles of the feet and the palms, and measures about 1.5 mm. The thinnest measures 0.1 mm, and that would be the human eyelid.

60 Location of the Chair of St. Peter within St. Peter’s Basilica : APSE

Simon Peter (often “Peter” or “Saint Peter”) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The Christian tradition holds that Peter founded the Roman Church, and the Roman Catholic tradition holds that Peter was the first pope.

67 Civil rights leader Medgar : EVERS

Medgar Evers was an African-American civil rights activist from Mississippi who was assassinated by the Klu Klux Klan in 1963. A year after the murder, one Byron De La Beckwith was arrested and charged with the crime. Two trials failed to return a decision on Beckwith’s guilt as the juries, composed completely of white males, deadlocked both times. New evidence was unearthed some thirty years later so Beckwith could be retried and he was finally convicted of the murder in 1994. Back in 1963, Evers was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Evers had served in the US Army in France during WWII and left the military with the rank of sergeant.

71 Hoover, for one : DAM

When the magnificent Hoover Dam was completed in 1936 it was the largest hydroelectric plant in the world, as well as being the world’s largest concrete structure. The edifice was originally known as Boulder Dam, due to its location near Boulder City, Nevada. The dam was eventually named after Herbert Hoover for his role in having the dam built when he was Secretary of Commerce, and his later support as US President. There was a formal dedication ceremony held in September 1935 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the area, when only work on the powerhouse was incomplete. President Roosevelt managed to make his dedication speech without once referring to the name of his former opponent President Hoover. When the dam was finally put into service in 1936, the project was two years ahead of schedule. Those were the days …

76 Tibia’s place : SHIN

The tibia is the shinbone, and is the larger of the two bones right below the knee. It is the strongest weight-bearing bone in the human body. “Tibia” is the Roman name for a Greek flute and it is thought that the shinbone was given the same name because flutes were often fashioned out of the shinbones of animals.

84 Troublesome engine sounds : PINGS

Pinging is also known as “engine knocking”. It is a metallic sound, created when not all of the fuel-air mixture is detonated by the spark plug, with some of it detonated late in the cycle. The late detonation causes the knocking/pinging sound. Additives (anti-knock agents) in gasoline can help reduce the chances of pinging.

89 What a “Wheel of Fortune” contestant might buy when looking for _NSP_RAT_ON : AN I

Contestants have been spinning the “Wheel of Fortune” since the game show first aired in 1975.

93 Genghis Khan, notably : MONGOL

At its height, the Mongol Empire extended from the Sea of Japan in the east to parts of modern-day Europe in the east, and from the Indian subcontinent in the south to parts of the Arctic in the north. Holding sway in the 13th and 14th centuries, it was the largest contiguous land empire in the history of the world.

Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire that was destined to be the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world. He first built his empire by uniting nomadic tribes of northeast Asia, but once Genghis Khan had consolidated his position, he initiated Mongol invasions throughout Eurasia. At its height, the Mongol Empire stretched from the River Danube to the Sea of Japan.

94 Herbert Hoover’s middle name : CLARK

President Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa, and is the only president to have been born in that state. His birthplace is now a National Landmark, and he and his wife were buried in the grounds of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch. President Hoover died at the age of 90 years old in 1964, outliving his nemesis Franklin Delano Roosevelt by almost 20 years.

98 W.W. II-era encoding device : ENIGMA MACHINE

An Enigma machine is a cipher device developed at the end of WWI by German engineer Arthur Scherbius. The machine was used by Nazi Germany in the run-up to and during WWII. The Enigma codes used by the Germans were first broken by three Polish mathematicians who subsequently designed mechanical devices for automated deciphering of Enigma-coded messages. Polish Military Intelligence handed over the decryption technology to the French and British just before the outbreak of war.

101 Currant-flavored liqueur : CASSIS

A “cream liqueur” is one that includes dairy cream. The most famous example is probably Baileys Irish Cream, which is made from cream and Irish whiskey. A “crème liqueur”, on the other hand, is one that includes a lot of added sugar, but no dairy cream. Examples are crème de cacao (chocolate-flavored), crème de menthe (mint-flavored) and crème de cassis (blackcurrant-flavored).

104 Santa ___ (desert winds) : ANAS

The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.

105 Wear for a Sufi scholar : TURBAN

A sufi is a Muslim mystic, an ascetic. Apparently, the term “sufi” can be translated as “man of wool”. This might be a reference to the practice of donning holy garments made from wool, as opposed to silk.

107 Hello in São Paulo : OLA

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

114 Sort of encoded message found in this puzzle’s grid [SEE NOTE] : CRYPTOGRAM

In the world of word puzzles, a cryptogram is a short piece of encrypted text that is solved by working out which letters have been substituted for which letters. I think cryptograms are my favorite type of word puzzle, after the crossword of course …

117 From long, long ago : OF YORE

We use the word “yore” to mean “time long past” as in “the days of yore”. “Yore” comes from the Old English words for “of years”.

123 Eeyore’s creator : AA MILNE

Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author who is best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

125 Radial patterns : TREADS

Radial (actually “radial-ply”) tires are so called because the cord plies embedded in the rubber are arranged radially from the center of the tire. This means that the plies are at right angles to the direction of travel. In older tires the plies were criss-crossed over each other, at angles of 60 and -60 degrees from the direction of travel. Such tires are cross-ply or bias tires.

Down

3 Longtime media figure suspected of being the inspiration for “The Devil Wears Prada” : ANNA WINTOUR

Anna Wintour is fashion editor in Britain, and is also the editor-in-chief of American “Vogue”. Lauren Weisberger wrote the book “The Devil Wears Prada” with the tyrannical main character apparently based on Wintour.

“The Devil Wears Prada” is a 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger that is set in the fashion industry. One of the main characters in the story is Miranda Priestly, the tyrannical editor-in-chief of the fictional fashion magazine “Runway”. It has been suggested that the Priestly character was inspired by Anna Wintour, the real life editor-in-chief of “Vogue”. Weisberger’s book was adapted into a very successful film with the same title that was released in 2006, with Meryl Streep playing Priestly.

5 Wilbur is one, in “Charlotte’s Web” : RUNT

“Charlotte’s Web” is a children’s novel by author E. B. White. Charlotte is a barn spider, who manages to save the life of a pig named Wilbur. Wilbur is a pet pig, owned by the farmer’s daughter, Fern Arable. The story also includes a gluttonous rat named Templeton who provides some light and comical moments.

7 Designer Versace : GIANNI

Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer. Versace’s death was perhaps as famous as his life. He was murdered in 1997 outside his mansion in Miami Beach by one Andrew Cunanan. It is not certain that Cunanan knew who his victim was, as this was the last in a spree of five murders committed by him over a four month period. A few days after killing Versace, Cunanan used the same gun to commit suicide.

8 It’s for paper shapers : ORIGAMI

Origami is the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. The best-known example of the craft is the paper crane (“orizuru“). The word “origami” is derived from “ori“ (folding) and “kami” (paper).

9 Cousin of Gomez Addams : ITT

In the television sitcom “The Addams Family”, the family had a frequent visitor named Cousin Itt. Itt is a short man with long hair that runs from his head to the floor. He was played by Italian actor Felix Silla.

They’re creepy and they’re kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They’re altogether ooky,
The Addams Family.

10 Some quinceañera gift-givers : TIAS

In Spanish, a “tia” (aunt) is a member of “la familia” (the family).

“Quinceañera” is a celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday, and is an event common in many parts of Latin America.

13 Dunderhead : DUMMKOPF

“Dummkopf” is a German word that translates literally as “dumb head”.

14 Ending with legal or Senegal : -ESE

The Republic of Senegal is a country on the far western coast of Africa. For many years Senegal was a French colony, gaining independence in 1960. The capital of Senegal is Dakar. Dakar is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean, thus making it the westernmost capital on the African mainland.

18 When you should be off, in brief : ETD

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

20 Cosette, to Marius, in “Les Misérables” : AMIE

A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

Victor Hugo’s famous 1862 novel “Les Misérables” has been translated into English several times. However, the title is usually left in the original French as a successful translation of “les misérables” seems to be elusive. Some suggestions for an English title are “The Wretched”, “The Victims” and “The Dispossessed”. The novel follows the lives of several characters including an ex-convict Jean Valjean, a fanatic police inspector Javert, a beautiful prostitute Fantine, and Fantine’s illegitimate daughter Cosette.

26 Pull out : RENEGE

To renege on something is to back out of it. It’s a verb commonly used in card games like bridge and whist. A renege is when a player doesn’t follow suit, even though there may be a card of the suit led in his/her hand.

28 Comedian Wong : ALI

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who is a protégé of Chris Rock. She made two very successful Netflix stand-up specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”. She also worked as a writer for the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat”.

32 Soapbox rant : TIRADE

The term “tirade” describes a long and vehement speech, and is a word that came into English from French. “Tirade” can have the same meaning in French, but is also the word for “volley”. So, a tirade is a “volley” of words.

Back in the 1650s, a soapbox was just that, a wooden box for holding or transporting soap. Empty soapboxes were easily carried by a potential orator and used as a stand from which to deliver an address.

34 Polar expedition attire : ANORAK

Anoraks really aren’t very popular over here in America. Everyone has one in Ireland! An anorak is a heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur (or fake fur), and is an invention of the Inuit people.

38 Frequent victim of Calvin’s pranks in “Calvin and Hobbes” : SUSIE

In the “Calvin and Hobbes” cartoon strip, Calvin has a love/hate relationship with his classmate Susie Derkins. Susie is a strong female character. She often plays imaginary games in which she is a lawyer or politician, and Calvin is her househusband. The strip’s creator Bill Watterson has confessed that Susie’s character represents the type of woman that he himself found attractive, and indeed married.

39 Crew vessel : SCULL

A scull is a boat used for competitive rowing. The main hull of the boat is often referred to as a shell. Crew members who row the boat can be referred to as “oars”. And, a scull is also an oar mounted on the stern of a small boat. It’s all very confusing …

48 Celebratory dances : JIGS

The jig is a dance most associated with Ireland and Scotland. In traditional Irish dancing, the jig is second in popularity only to the reel. The most famous Irish jig is probably “The Irish Washerwoman”. I may not dance a jig, but I sure do know the tune of “The Irish Washerwoman” …

49 Letters on a crucifix : INRI

The letters written on the cross on which Jesus died were INRI. “INRI” is an initialism standing for the Latin “Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum”, which translates into English as “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews”.

56 Transports from Midway Airport to the Loop : ELS

The historic commercial center of Chicago is known as the Loop. One theory is that the “loop” got its name from the cable loops in the city’s old cable car system. An alternative theory is that the term only arose with the construction of the elevated railway “loop” that forms the hub of the city’s “L” system.

Midway Airport (MDW) started off with just one cinder runway in 1923, and was called Chicago Air Park. By 1927 the airport had expanded and earned the name Chicago Municipal Airport. In 1932 Midway was the world’s busiest airport, a title it held for thirty years. In 1949, in honor of the WWII Battle of Midway, the airport was renamed again to Chicago Midway Airport. Then in 1955, along came Chicago International Airport and all the major airlines started moving their operations over to the newer facility. Today, Midway is a major hub for Southwest.

59 Na+, for one : ION

Sodium (Na) is a mineral that plays an essential role in the body, and has a major impact on blood volume and blood pressure. There seems to be a lot of evidence that the typical American diet includes levels of sodium that are above the maximum considered healthy by the medical community. Apparently, most of the sodium in the typical diet comes from processed food.

68 Migration formation : VEE

Apparently, birds that fly in a V-formation do so for a couple of reasons. One is that it makes for efficient flight and conserves energy. The leading bird gets no advantage, but every following bird gets to “slipstream” a little. It has been noted that the lead bird drops to the back of the formation when he/she gets fatigued. It’s also thought that the flock can stick together more easily when in formation, so it is more difficult to lose someone along the way.

69 Ho ___ Minh : CHI

Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese Communist leader who was president of North Vietnam from 1945 to 1969. Ho Chi Minh traveled widely in his earlier years. From 1912 to 1918 he actually lived in the US, in New York and Boston. While in America, he held down several jobs including working as a baker in the Parker House Hotel in Boston, and as a line manager for General Motors.

73 ___ Wearhouse (retail chain) : MEN’S

Men’s Wearhouse is a retailer of men’s dress clothes that was founded in 1973 by George Zimmer. Zimmer is known for the slogan “You’re gonna like the way you look. I guarantee it.”

75 Cellist who performed at the Biden/Harris inauguration : YO-YO MA

Yo-Yo Ma is a “ma-velous” American cellist who was born in Paris to Chinese parents. Ma started studying the violin when he was very young, working his way up (in size) to the viola and finally to the cello. He has said that he wanted to play the double bass, but it was just too big for his relatively small frame.

81 Pulitzer Prize-winning W.W. II correspondent : ERNIE PYLE

Ernie Pyle was a journalist, truly a roving reporter, never happy unless he was filing stories from some remote part of the country or some far-flung corner of the globe. Pyle was noted for his intimate style of reporting, emphasizing the human element of the story. His reports written during WWII in Europe, stressing the experiences of soldiers in the front lines, won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1944. After Germany surrendered he decided to follow the war in the Pacific. One day towards the end of the war, Pyle was traveling in a jeep on the island of le Shima in the Okinawa Islands when he was hit by enemy machine gun fire and was killed. Pyle was one of very few civilians killed during WWII who was awarded the Purple Heart.

83 Class for which trig is a prereq : CALC

The Latin word “calculus” was originally used for a reckoning or an account, and originally applied to a pebble that was used to maintain a count. The Latin word came from the Greek for a pebble, “khalix”.

87 Bird of the Baltic : SMEW

The smew is a beautiful-looking species of duck found right across northern Europe and Asia. The smew requires trees to complete its breeding cycle as it nests in tree holes, such as old woodpecker nests.

88 Runs down, in a way : SLANDERS

The word “libel” describes a published or written statement likely to harm a person’s reputation. It comes into English from the Latin “libellus”, the word for a small book. Back in the 1500s, libel was just a formal written statement, with the more damaging association arising in the 1600s. The related concept of slander is defamation in a transient form, such as speech, sign language or gestures.

94 Honeydew relatives : CASABAS

A casaba is a type of honeydew melon that ripens relatively late in the season, and so is classed as a winter melon. The casaba takes its name from the Turkish city of Kasaba, from where the fruit was imported into America in the late 1800s.

What we call honeydew melons are also known as white antibes, especially in France and Algeria where the cultivar has been grown for many years. Antibes is a commune in southeastern France, located between Nice and Cannes.

97 Carlos in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame : SANTANA

Carlos Santana is a Mexican-American rock guitar player, famous for heading the band called Santana who melded rock music with Latin and African themes.

106 Memory part : BYTE

In the world of computing, a bit is the basic unit of information. It has a value of 0 or 1. A “byte” is a small collection of “bits” (usually 8), the number of bits needed to uniquely identify a character of text. The prefix mega- stands for 10 to the power of 6, so a megabyte (meg) is 1,000,000 bytes. The prefix giga- means 10 to the power of 9, and so a gigabyte (gig) is 1,000,000,000 bytes. Well, those are the SI definitions of megabyte and gigabyte. The purists still use 2 to the power of 20 for a megabyte (i.e. 1,048,576), and 2 to the power of 30 for a gigabyte.

110 Sci-fi character who was originally a puppet before C.G.I. : YODA

Yoda is one of the most beloved characters of the “Star Wars” series of films. Yoda’s voice is provided by the great modern-day puppeteer Frank Oz of “Muppets” fame.

112 Rock subgenre associated with David Bowie and Elton John : GLAM

I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in Britain and Ireland during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and the infamous Gary Glitter.

113 ___ Valley, Calif. : SIMI

Simi Valley, California is perhaps best known as home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The library is a great place to visit, and there you can tour one of the retired Air Force One planes.

118 Side in checkers : RED

“Checkers” is yet another word that I had to learn moving across the Atlantic. In Ireland, the game is called “draughts”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Flight path? : STAIRS
7 Pain in the neck? : GOITER
13 Wish : DESIRE
19 Climbed, as 1-Across : WENT UP
20 TV schedule info : AIRTIME
21 Early online forum : USENET
22 Pacific harbinger of wet West Coast weather : EL NINO
23 Some tiki bar orders : MAI TAIS
24 Out in the sun too long, maybe : MELTED
25 English computer scientist who pioneered the breaking of ciphers generated by the 98-Across : ALAN TURING
27 Driver of some engines : STEAM
29 Bind : FIX
30 Part of a seat assignment : ROW
31 Observed during : SEEN AT
33 ___-Seltzer : ALKA
35 Ready to blow : MAD
37 Leaf producer : NISSAN
40 2014 movie portraying the work of 25-Across, with “The” : … IMITATION GAME
44 Fission locales : NUCLEI
46 Set of clubs : IRONS
47 “The Merchant of Venice” character who favors wordplay : PORTIA
48 Brazilian jiu-___ : JITSU
50 Prey for a lion : GNU
52 Fitting : APT
53 Connect with on social media, maybe : FRIEND
54 How some popcorn is popped : IN OIL
55 Gradually slid (into) : EASED
57 Lead-in to dermis : EPI-
60 Location of the Chair of St. Peter within St. Peter’s Basilica : APSE
61 Thin porridges : GRUELS
63 Modern prefix with health : TELE-
64 Appearance : LOOKS
66 “My dear man …” : SIR …
67 Civil rights leader Medgar : EVERS
69 Troublesome engine sound : CLUNK
71 Hoover, for one : DAM
74 One way to segment demographic data : BY SEX
76 Tibia’s place : SHIN
77 Sly plan : SCHEME
80 Space-oriented engineering discipline, informally : AERO
82 What “…” sometimes means : ETC
84 Troublesome engine sounds : PINGS
86 Arrive at, as an idea : HIT ON
87 Ones without owners : STRAYS
89 What a “Wheel of Fortune” contestant might buy when looking for _NSP_RAT_ON : AN I
91 Startled squeal : EEK!
92 Forthrightly asserts : AVERS
93 Genghis Khan, notably : MONGOL
94 Herbert Hoover’s middle name : CLARK
96 Many a maid of honor : SISTER
98 W.W. II-era encoding device : ENIGMA MACHINE
101 Currant-flavored liqueur : CASSIS
103 Itsy-bitsy : WEE
104 Santa ___ (desert winds) : ANAS
105 Wear for a Sufi scholar : TURBAN
107 Hello in São Paulo : OLA
109 One with an inside job : SPY
111 Takes seemingly forever : DRAGS
114 Sort of encoded message found in this puzzle’s grid [SEE NOTE] : CRYPTOGRAM
117 From long, long ago : OF YORE
119 Express momentary uncertainty over : BLINK AT
121 Classified cost? : AD RATE
122 Icon to click for more icons : FOLDER
123 Eeyore’s creator : AA MILNE
124 Tidy : NEATEN
125 Radial patterns : TREADS
126 Failed to maintain a poker face, perhaps : SMILED
127 Figure the worth of : ASSESS

Down

1 Curse : SWEAR
2 Rat out : TELL ON
3 Longtime media figure suspected of being the inspiration for “The Devil Wears Prada” : ANNA WINTOUR
4 Have ___ for : IT IN
5 Wilbur is one, in “Charlotte’s Web” : RUNT
6 Like some insurance benefits : SPOUSAL
7 Designer Versace : GIANNI
8 It’s for paper shapers : ORIGAMI
9 Cousin of Gomez Addams : ITT
10 Some quinceañera gift-givers : TIAS
11 Send off : EMIT
12 Moves from a table to a booth, say : RESEATS
13 Dunderhead : DUMMKOPF
14 Ending with legal or Senegal : -ESE
15 ___-service : SELF
16 Implies : INTIMATES
17 Go over, as a cold case : RE-EXAMINE
18 When you should be off, in brief : ETD
20 Cosette, to Marius, in “Les Misérables” : AMIE
26 Pull out : RENEGE
28 Comedian Wong : ALI
32 Soapbox rant : TIRADE
34 Polar expedition attire : ANORAK
36 Out of juice : DEAD
38 Frequent victim of Calvin’s pranks in “Calvin and Hobbes” : SUSIE
39 Crew vessel : SCULL
41 Add chocolate sauce and a cherry to, say : TOP
42 Pre-deal payment : ANTE
43 Come to ___ : GRIPS
45 Rude way to break up with someone : IN A TEXT
48 Celebratory dances : JIGS
49 Letters on a crucifix : INRI
51 One accepting the terms and conditions : USER
56 Transports from Midway Airport to the Loop : ELS
58 Nose-dives : PLUNGES
59 Na+, for one : ION
62 Its in French : SES
65 Rubber-stamps : OKS
68 Migration formation : VEE
69 Ho ___ Minh : CHI
70 Word after party or date : … LINE
71 Worsen significantly : DETERIORATE
72 Emotion felt con el corazón : AMOR
73 ___ Wearhouse (retail chain) : MEN’S
74 Alvin ___, first African American to be elected Manhattan’s district attorney : BRAGG
75 Cellist who performed at the Biden/Harris inauguration : YO-YO MA
76 Attitude : SPIRIT
78 Some back-and-forths : CHATS
79 They generate a lot of buzz : HIVES
80 Makes right : ATONES FOR
81 Pulitzer Prize-winning W.W. II correspondent : ERNIE PYLE
83 Class for which trig is a prereq : CALC
85 Mountain cover : SKI CAP
87 Bird of the Baltic : SMEW
88 Runs down, in a way : SLANDERS
90 “I’m good, thanks” : NAH
94 Honeydew relatives : CASABAS
95 One of 14 in a fist : KNUCKLE
97 Carlos in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame : SANTANA
99 End of Q1, on co. reports : MAR
100 Bank run, perhaps : ERRAND
102 Some writing surfaces : SLATES
106 Memory part : BYTE
108 Affirmations from the congregation : AMENS
110 Sci-fi character who was originally a puppet before C.G.I. : YODA
112 Rock subgenre associated with David Bowie and Elton John : GLAM
113 ___ Valley, Calif. : SIMI
115 Laudatory works : ODES
116 French for “fat” : GRAS
117 O’er and o’er : OFT
118 Side in checkers : RED
120 Love of soccer? : NIL