LA Times Crossword Answers 3 Jan 16, Sunday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
8. Tournament passes BYES
The word “bye”, as used in sport, originated in cricket. A bye is a run scored due to an error by the wicketkeeper (similar to a catcher in baseball) when he fails to stop a ball bowled by the bowler (like a pitcher in baseball). Later the word “bye” in sport came to mean the position of a player in a tournament who is left without a competitor when the rest have drawn pairs. In these commercial times, those byes tend to be awarded to the best (seeded) players, so that the most popular players always advance past the first round of competition.

12. Dogie collar? LARIAT
Our word “lariat” comes from the Spanish “la reater” meaning “the rope”.

“Dogie” is cowboy slang for a motherless calf in a herd.

18. Anderson of “WKRP in Cincinnati” LONI
Loni Anderson’s best-remembered role was Jennifer Marlowe on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”. Anderson has been married four times, most famously to actor Burt Reynolds from 1988 to 1993.

19. Anise-flavored aperitif OUZO
Ouzo is an aperitif from Greece that is colorless and flavored with anise. Ouzo is similar to pastis from France and also has a flavor like sambuca from Italy.

20. Place to have poi LUAU
Nowadays the word “luau” denotes almost any kind of party on the Hawaiian Islands, but to the purist a luau is a feast that always includes a serving of “poi”, the bulbous underground stems of taro baked with coconut milk.

22. Fictional detective whose first name is Endeavour INSPECTOR MORSE
“Inspector Morse” is a series of detective novels penned by English crime writer Colin Dexter. The novels were adapted into a very successful television show that occasionally appears in the US on PBS. Morse’s given name is Endeavor, which is also the title of a prequel series “Endeavor” about Morse as a rookie detective. Morse is a very colorful character with a penchant for classical music, real ale and crosswords. I can identify with that …

27. Guitarist Paul LES
Les Paul was a guitarist, songwriter and inventor. When he was 33 years old, Paul was involved in a near-fatal car crash that left his right arm and elbow shattered. Surgeons offered him the choice of amputation or a rebuilding of the limb that would leave him unable to bend his elbow. He told them to set his arm at just under 90 degrees so that he could at least hold his guitar and perhaps play it.

28. Namely TO WIT
The verb “to wit” means “to know”. The verb really isn’t used anymore except in the phrase “to wit” meaning “that is to say, namely”.

29. Fannie __ MAE
The Federal National Mortgage Association is commonly called Fannie Mae, a play on the initialism FNMA.

30. Paranormal power ESP
Extrasensory perception (ESP)

31. “Somewhere in Time” band IRON MAIDEN
Iron Maiden is a heavy metal band from London that has been around since 1975.

37. Apple Watch assistant SIRI
The Apple Watch was announced in 2014 and started shipping in 2015. The device works as an extension to a user’s smartphone, although it also has capabilities of its owns.

38. Wichita-to-Duluth dir. NNE
Wichita, Kansas started out as a trading post established by Jesse Chisholm in the 1860s, a stopover on the famous Chisholm Trail. Wichita became one of the railheads on the Chisholm Trail, the end point of many cattle drives from Texas. As such, Wichita earned the nickname “Cowtown”.

Duluth, Minnesota lies at the westernmost end of Lake Superior, and as such is the westernmost port of the Great Lakes. One has to travel 2,300 miles of inland waterway to get to the Atlantic Ocean from Duluth. The city of Duluth takes its name from the first European explorer of the region, the Frenchman Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut.

39. Jobs for grad students TAS
Teaching assistant (TA)

43. Counterfeit watchdog, for short T-MAN
A T-man is a law-enforcement agent of the US Treasury (T is for Treasury).

48. 1994 comedy with an oxymoronic title TRUE LIES
“True Lies” is a really, really entertaining action-comedy film from 1994 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and the wonderful Jamie Lee Curtis. The film is actually a remake of a French film called “La Totale!”. Tom Arnold has a supporting role and does a surprisingly good job, I think.

The word “oxymoron” is in itself an oxymoron, as it is derived from the Greek words “Oxys” and “moros” meaning “sharp” and “stupid”.

60. Record book LEDGER
A “ledger” is an account book. The name comes from the Middle English “leggen” meaning “to lay”. The original ledger was a large book “laid” in one particular place, permanently, an example being a breviary in a church.

62. Cheese in some bagels ASIAGO
Asiago is a crumbly cheese, named after the region in northeastern Italy from where it originates.

63. PC hookup LAN
Local Area Network (LAN)

64. Interstate giant SEMI
A “semi” is a “semi-trailer truck”. The vehicle is so called because it consists of a tractor and a half-trailer. The half-trailer is so called because it only has wheels on the back end, with the front supported by the tractor.

69. Digital readouts, briefly LCDS
Liquid crystal display (LCD)

73. Hotel with a Gold Passport loyalty program HYATT
The Hyatt hotel chain takes its name from the first hotel in the group, that was purchased in 1957 i.e. Hyatt House at Los Angeles International Airport. Among other things, Hyatt is famous for designing the world’s first atrium hotel, the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta.

75. Fruit-eating fictional race ELOI
In the 1895 novel by H. G. Wells called “The Time Machine”, there are two races that the hero encounter in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the “beautiful people” who live on the planet’s surface. The Morlocks are a race of cannibals living underground who use the Eloi as food.

79. Decorative plaster STUCCO
Stucco is a decorative coating that is applied to walls and ceilings. “Stucco” is the Italian name for the material, and a word that we imported into English.

83. Golfer Poulter IAN
Ian Poulter is a golfer from England who for a while was ranked number five in the world.

88. Chocolate-filled cookie MILANO
Before the Milano, Pepperidge Farm produced what they called the Naples cookie, a vanilla wafer with chocolate on top. But, this lovely morsel had problems when stored or transported in a warm environment as the cookies stuck to each other, The solution was to put the filling between two wafers, and the Milano cookie was born.

90. Best Actress Tony winner in “Wicked” IDINA MENZEL
The actress and singer Idina Menzel won the Tony Award for Best Actress in 2004 for her performance in “Wicked” as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. She also played Shelby Corcoran on the musical TV series “Glee”.

94. Like some rats ALBINO
An “albino” is an organism lacking normal pigmentation. The term comes from “albus”, Latin for “white”.

97. Fifth pillar of Islam HAJJ
Followers of the Muslim tradition believe in the Five Pillars of Islam, five obligatory acts that underpin Muslim life. The Five Pillars are:

– The Islamic creed
– Daily prayer
– Almsgiving
– Fasting during the month of Ramadan
– The pilgrimage to Mecca (haj) once during a lifetime

100. Pitcher Sparky LYLE
Sparky Lyle is a retired MLB relief pitcher who played from 1967 to 1982, winning the Cy Young Award in 1977.

101. Throw hard GUN
“To gun” is to throw strongly, a baseball term.

104. Bugs with horns VWS
VW stands for Volkswagen, which translates from German into “people’s car”. The original Volkswagen design was the Beetle and was built under a directive from Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap car built that ordinary people could afford to purchase. He awarded the contract to engineer Ferdinand Porsche, whose name (paradoxically) would forever be associated with high performance, expensive cars. The Beetle was the official name of the VW model released in North America, but it was usually referred to as a “Bug” here in the US, and a “Beetle” elsewhere in the world.

106. Afternoon TV fare SOAP
The original soap operas were radio dramas back in the fifties. Given the structure of society back then, the daytime broadcasts were aimed at housewives working in the home. For some reason the sponsors of those radio shows, and the television shows that followed, were soap manufacturers like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers. And that’s how the “soap” opera got its name …

108. “Fifty Shades of Grey” author EL JAMES
“Fifty Shades of Grey” is an incredibly popular erotic novel by British writer E. L. James. “Fifty Shades of Grey” is the fastest-selling paperback of all time. And there are two other titles to complete the trilogy: “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed”.

114. Casino convenience ATM
ATM (Automatic Teller Machine)

120. Cortez’s gold ORO
Hernando Cortez led the expedition from Spain to Mexico that eventually led to the fall of the Aztec Empire.

121. Dot follower, at times NET
The .net domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

– .com (commercial enterprise)
– .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
– .mil (US military)
– .org (not-for-profit organization)
– .gov (US federal government entity)
– .edu (college-level educational institution)

122. Slightly larger than tall, at Starbucks GRANDE
Starbucks introduced us to coffee drinks in a whole range of volumes:

– Demi … 3 fl oz
– Short … 8 fl oz
– Tall … 12 fl oz
– Grande … 16 fl oz (Italian for “large”)
– Venti … 20 fl oz (Italian for “twenty”)
– Trenta … 30 fl oz (Italian for “thirty”)

128. Molokai neighbor MAUI
Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian islands. Maui is sometimes called the “Valley Isle” as it is composed of two volcanoes to the northwest and southeast of the island, each with numerous beautiful valleys carved into them.

Molokai is the fifth largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Famously, Molokai was home to a leper colony that was managed by Father Damien, a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium. Father Damien cared for the victims of Hansen’s Disease (then known as “leprosy”) for sixteen years before succumbing to the illness himself in 1889. Father Damien was declared a saint in 2009.

129. Nice concept? IDEE
In French, one’s “tête” (head) might produce an “idée” (idea).

The French city of Nice is on the Mediterranean coast in the southeast of the country. Although Nice is only the fifth most populous city in France, it is home to the busiest airport outside of Paris. That’s because of all the tourists flocking to the French Riviera.

130. Skinny 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.

The use of the word “skinny” meaning information, comes from WWII military slang for “the truth”, probably a derivative of the expression “the naked truth” (and skinny-dipping).

132. “American Dad!” dad STAN
“American Dad!” is an adult-oriented animated sitcom. Famously, one of the show’s creators is Seth MacFarlane, who also created “Family Guy”. I cannot stand either show …

Down
1. Courtroom vouchers? ALIBIS
“Alibi” is the Latin word for “elsewhere” as in, “I claim that I was ‘elsewhere’ when the crime was committed … I have an ‘alibi'”.

2. Sister of Cordelia GONERIL
“King Lear” is one of William Shakespeare’s tragedies. Lear’s three daughters figure prominently in the storyline. The three are, in order of age:

– Goneril
– Regan
– Cordelia

6. __ dye: food-coloring compound AZO
Azo compounds have very vivid colors and so are used to make dyes, especially dyes with the colors red, orange and yellow. The term “azo” comes from the French word “azote” meaning “nitrogen”. French chemist Lavoisier coined the term “azote” from the Greek word “azotos” meaning “lifeless”. He used this name as in pure nitrogen/azote animals die and flames are snuffed out (due to a lack of oxygen).

7. Calorie-laden dessert TORTE
A torte is a type of cake made primarily with eggs, sugar and ground nuts (but no flour).

9. Cold War KGB chairman Andropov YURI
Yuri Andropov was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1982 until he passed away just 15 months after taking office. Andropov had also served as head of the KGB from 1967 to 1982, making him the longest-serving KGB chairman in its history.

The Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti (KGB) was the national security agency of the Soviet Union until 1991. The KGB was dissolved after the agency’s chairman led a failed attempt at a coup d’état designed to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

10. Bridge positions EASTS
The four people playing a game of bridge are positioned around a table at seats called north, east, south and west.

12. County bordering Santa Fe County LOS ALAMOS
The town of Los Alamos, New Mexico takes its name from the Spanish for “the poplars” or “the cottonwoods”. Famously, it is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory which was founded during WWII to work on the Manhattan Project, the development of the first atomic bomb. The town of Los Alamos didn’t exist as such, until it was planned and constructed to support the employees working on development of the bomb. More recently, Los Alamos County was listed in 2004 as the best place to live in America in terms of quality of life, the second-highest county in terms of median household income, and the county with the lowest level of child poverty.

13. Disney mermaid ARIEL
“The Little Mermaid” is a 1989 animated feature from Disney that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. It tells the story of a mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the human Prince Eric. Ariel’s father is chief merman King Triton.

15. Xanadu locale, now INNER MONGOLIA
Shangdu (also “Xanadu”) was located in Inner Mongolia in China, just over 200 miles north of China. Shangdu was the capital of the Yuan dynasty that was established in 1271 by Kublai Khan. The Venetian traveller Marco Polo visited Shangdu in about 1272, and the city was destroyed by the Ming army in 1369. Centuries later in 1797, the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge immortalized the city (as “Xanadu”) in the celebrated poem “Kubla Khan”.

17. U. of Maryland player TERP
The sports teams of the University of Maryland are called the Maryland Terrapins, or “the Terps” for short. The name dates back to 1932 when it was coined by the the university’s president at the time, Curley Byrd. He took the name from the diamondback terrapins that are native to the Chesapeake Bay.

23. Spreading tree ELM
The Ulmus laevis deciduous tree that is native to Europe is commonly referred to as the European White Elm, Spreading Elm and Stately Elm.

29. “Whatever” MEH
“Meh!” is one of those terms unfamiliar to me outside of crosswords. It is a modern colloquialism meaning “I’m not great, but not bad”. A friendly reader of this blog tells me that the usage of the term increased dramatically after it started to appear regularly in “The Simpsons” starting in the early nineties.

35. Stun with a gun TASE
Victor Appleton wrote a novel for young adults called “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle”. The company that developed the TASER electroshock weapon named its product as a homage to the novel. The acronym TASER stands for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle”.

45. Some Windows systems NTS
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, 8 and 10; they’re all based on the Windows NT operating system. There is a common perception that Windows NT (WNT) takes its name from VMS, an earlier operating system developed by Digital Equipment Corporation. “WNT” is what’s called a “Caesar cypher” of “VMS”, as you just augment the letters of VMS alphabetically by one to arrive at WNT. Bill Gates disputes this derivation of the name, and in a 1998 interview stated that the NT originally stood for N-Ten and that the marketing folks at Microsoft revised history by changing it to “New Technology”.

47. Popular buying club SAM’S
Sam’s Club is a membership-only retail warehouse clue that is owned and operated by Walmart. It is named after the company’s founder, Sam Walton.

50. The king of Spain? EL REY
“El rey” is Spanish for “the king”.

52. De Beauvoir, to Sartre AMIE
A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

Simone de Beauvoir was a French philosopher and writer. de Beauvoir wrote a treatise in 1949 called “The Second Sex” that discussed the oppression of women, which became an inspiration for the modern feminist movement. She is also known for the long-term relationship she had with fellow philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre.

Jean-Paul Sartre was a leading French philosopher, as well as a writer and political activist. He also served with the French army during WWII and spent nine months as a prisoner of war having been captured by German troops. Sartre was one of the few people to have been awarded a Nobel Prize and to have then refused to accept it. He was named winner of the prize for Literature in 1964, for his first novel “Nausea”. Before his win, Sartre knew that his name was on the list of nominees so he wrote to the Nobel Institute and asked to be withdrawn from consideration. The letter somehow went unread, so he found himself having to refuse the award after he had been selected.

54. Wranglers alternative LEES
The Lee company famous for making jeans was formed in 1889, by one Henry David Lee in Salina, Kansas.

Wrangler is a manufacturer of jeans headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina. Wrangler jeans were first made in the mid-1940s and were designed specifically for use by cowboys in rodeos.

56. Lipstick characteristic MATTE
“Matte”, meaning flat and lusterless, comes from the Old French word “mat” meaning beaten down and withered. In turn, the French “mat” comes from the Latin “maddus”, meaning “maudlin with drink”. Sometimes I wonder about these derivations …

59. Sharpie output INDELIBLE MARK
Sharpie is a brand of pen.

65. __ du Louvre MUSEE
The Musée du Louvre has the distinction of being the most visited art museum in the whole world. The collection is housed in the magnificent Louvre Palace which used to be the seat of power in France, until 1682 when Louis XIV moved to Versailles.

70. Lady in a 1955 film SPANIEL
“Lady and the Tramp” is a classic animated feature from Walt Disney, released in 1955. The title characters are a female American Cocker Spaniel and a male stray mutt. Who can forget the scene where the Tramp and Lady are “on a date” and together eat that one strand of spaghetti? So cute!

The Cocker Spaniel originated in the UK, where the breed was developed for hunting the Eurasian Woodcock. It is the hunting of the woodcock that led to the breed’s name.

72. Intrusive vine KUDZU
Kudzu is a climbing vine that is native to southern Japan and southeast China. “Kudzu” is derived from the Japanese name for the plant, “kuzu”. Kudzu is a vigorously growing weed that chokes other plants by climbing all over them and shielding them from light. Kudzu was brought to the US from Asia for the Japanese pavilion in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It was marketed as an ornamental, especially in the southeast of the country, and now is all over the region. Kudzu earned itself the nickname “the vine that ate the South”.

74. “Dust to Dust” author Hoag TAMI
Tami Hoag is a novelist best known for writing romances and thrillers. She is a prolific writer and once had five consecutive titles on the New York Times bestsellers list, all in a 20-month period.

76. Rescuer of Odysseus INO
Ino was a mortal queen of Orchomenus through her marriage to King Athamas. In Greek mythology, Ino became the goddess Leukothea after her death. As Leukothea she provided divine aid to Odysseus, according to Homer’s “Odyssey”. She provided Odysseus with a magical veil that he used to escape from Poseidon.

80. TD Garden NBA team CELTS
The Boston Celtics NBA basketball team were founded just after WWII in 1946. The Celtics won eight league championships in a row from 1958 to 1966. That’s the longest consecutive championship winning streak of any professional sports team in North America.

TD Garden is a sports arena that was built in the 1990s to replace the aging Boston Garden as home for the Boston Celtics basketball team and the Boston Bruins hockey team.

85. Environmental warning SMOG ALERT
“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s.

87. 2008 honor for Joe Cocker: Abbr. OBE
Joe Cocker is an English rock and blues singer from Sheffield in the North of England (a city in which I attended school many moons ago). Cocker has had many hits, a lot of which are cover versions of songs. Included in the list is “With a Little Help from My Friends”, “Cry Me a River”, “You Are So Beautiful” and of course “Up Where We Belong”.

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry in the UK that was established in 1917 by King George V. There are five classes within the order, which are in descending seniority:

– Knight Grand Cross (GBE)
– Knight Commander (KBE)
– Commander (CBE)
– Officer (OBE)
– Member (MBE)

89. Spot check? LEASH
That would be Spot, the dog.

91. Squat NONE
“Squat” is a slang term for “nothing”, and probably has a distasteful derivation that is related to a bodily function.

96. Creole-speaking island nation HAITI
The Republic of Haiti occupies the smaller, western portion of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. The rest of the island is taken up by the Dominican Republic. Haiti is one of only two nations in the Americas to have French as an official language, the other being Canada.

Creole is the term used in Haiti to describe all of the native people, as well as the music, food and culture of the country. 80% of the Haitian Creole people are so called black creoles, descendants of the original Africans brought to the island as slaves during the French colonial days.

99. Anonymous one JANE DOE
Although the English court system does not use the term today, “John Doe” first appeared as the “name of a person unknown” in England in 1659, along with another unknown, Richard Roe. The female equivalent of John Doe is Jane Doe, with the equivalent to Richard Roe being Jane Roe (as in Roe v. Wade, for example).

102. She played Fantine in “Les Misérables” (1998) UMA
Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction”. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”.

“Les Misérables” is a 1998 film, an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. Liam Neeson plays ex-convict Jean Valjean, Geoffrey Rush plays Inspector Javert, and Uma Thurman plays single mother Fantine.

109. Roman province governed by Pontius Pilate JUDEA
Pontius Pilate was the judge at the trial of Jesus Christ and the man who authorized his crucifixion. Over the years, many scholars have suggested that Pilate was a mythical character. However in 1961 a block of limestone was found in the modern-day city of Caesarea in Israel, and in the block was an inscription that included the name of Pontius Pilate, citing him as Prefect of Judea.

110. 96-Down governing group SENAT
(96D. Creole-speaking island nation HAITI)
The “Parlement Haïtien” (Parliament of Haiti) comprises the “Chambre des Députés” (Chamber of Deputies) and the “Sénat” (Senate).

112. Rock of comedy CHRIS
Chris Rock is a great stand-up comedian. Interestingly, Rock cites his paternal grandfather as an influence on his performing style. Grandfather Allen Rock was a preacher.

115. Rush or Cream TRIO
Rush is a rock band from Toronto that first performed in 1968.

Cream were a “supergroup” from Britain, meaning the band was comprised of musicians from other successful groups. The band’s members were Eric Clapton (from the Yardbirds), and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (both from the Graham Bond Organisation).

123. Never, to Nietzsche NIE
Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher. Not my cup of tea …

124. GroupMe exchanges, briefly, and a hint to this puzzle’s eight longest answers IMS
Even though instant messaging (sending IMs) has been around since the 1960s, it was AOL who popularized the term “instant message” in the eighties and nineties.

GroupMe is a group-messaging service owned by Microsoft as part of its Skype division. Users set up a group to which all members can send messages, messages that can be seen by all members of that group.

125. Where I-86 and I-15 meet IDA
Interstate 86 is a little unusual, in that it is actually and “intrastate” highway. It is located entirely within the state of Idaho. That said, there are also two relatively short sections of road called Interstate 86 back east, running through parts of Pennsylvania and New York.

Interstate 15 runs north-south from the US-Canada border at Sweet Grass, Montana to San Diego, California.

126. 2015 Etsy milestone, initially IPO
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Fightin’ with AGIN
5. Avid bird watcher? CAT
8. Tournament passes BYES
12. Dogie collar? LARIAT
18. Anderson of “WKRP in Cincinnati” LONI
19. Anise-flavored aperitif OUZO
20. Place to have poi LUAU
21. Fall color ORANGE
22. Fictional detective whose first name is Endeavour INSPECTOR MORSE
25. Reprobate SINNER
26. “Wanna __?” BET
27. Guitarist Paul LES
28. Namely TO WIT
29. Fannie __ MAE
30. Paranormal power ESP
31. “Somewhere in Time” band IRON MAIDEN
34. First-rate STELLAR
37. Apple Watch assistant SIRI
38. Wichita-to-Duluth dir. NNE
39. Jobs for grad students TAS
42. “Now I see!” AHA!
43. Counterfeit watchdog, for short T-MAN
46. Staying power LEGS
48. 1994 comedy with an oxymoronic title TRUE LIES
51. Plan in detail MAP OUT
53. Celestial circles HALOES
55. Times for reflection IDLE MOMENTS
57. Self-reflective musing IS IT ME?
60. Record book LEDGER
62. Cheese in some bagels ASIAGO
63. PC hookup LAN
64. Interstate giant SEMI
66. Magazine extra INSERT
68. Sci. concerned with climate change ECOL
69. Digital readouts, briefly LCDS
71. Uses a straw SUCKS
73. Hotel with a Gold Passport loyalty program HYATT
75. Fruit-eating fictional race ELOI
77. Exercise units REPS
79. Decorative plaster STUCCO
81. Fray, say WEAR
83. Golfer Poulter IAN
84. Go by ELAPSE
86. Tapped into DREW ON
88. Chocolate-filled cookie MILANO
90. Best Actress Tony winner in “Wicked” IDINA MENZEL
92. “No bickering!” BE NICE!
94. Like some rats ALBINO
95. Unconventional OUT THERE
97. Fifth pillar of Islam HAJJ
100. Pitcher Sparky LYLE
101. Throw hard GUN
103. That, to Juanita ESA
104. Bugs with horns VWS
106. Afternoon TV fare SOAP
108. “Fifty Shades of Grey” author EL JAMES
111. Motel convenience ICE MACHINE
114. Casino convenience ATM
116. Form attachment? -ULA
117. Mother __ EARTH
120. Cortez’s gold ORO
121. Dot follower, at times NET
122. Slightly larger than tall, at Starbucks GRANDE
124. Knowledge seekers INQUIRING MINDS
127. Less stuffy AIRIER
128. Molokai neighbor MAUI
129. Nice concept? IDEE
130. Skinny POOP
131. Nudge POKE AT
132. “American Dad!” dad STAN
133. Express SAY
134. __ debt of gratitude OWE A

Down
1. Courtroom vouchers? ALIBIS
2. Sister of Cordelia GONERIL
3. Coming up IN STORE
4. Playful bite NIP
5. Affects adversely CUTS INTO
6. __ dye: food-coloring compound AZO
7. Calorie-laden dessert TORTE
8. Botch BLOW
9. Cold War KGB chairman Andropov YURI
10. Bridge positions EASTS
11. Take to court SUE
12. County bordering Santa Fe County LOS ALAMOS
13. Disney mermaid ARIEL
14. Sought a seat RAN
15. Xanadu locale, now INNER MONGOLIA
16. Years and years AGES
17. U. of Maryland player TERP
19. Mermaid’s home OCEAN
23. Spreading tree ELM
24. Spanish peak MONTE
29. “Whatever” MEH
32. Time to see stars NIGHT
33. Remiss DERELICT
35. Stun with a gun TASE
36. Resting easy AT PEACE
40. Make true ALIGN
41. Circus attraction SIDESHOW
44. Car owner’s obligation AUTO LOAN
45. Some Windows systems NTS
47. Popular buying club SAM’S
49. Put to work USE
50. The king of Spain? EL REY
52. De Beauvoir, to Sartre AMIE
54. Wranglers alternative LEES
56. Lipstick characteristic MATTE
57. Not up to par ILL
58. With reverence SACREDLY
59. Sharpie output INDELIBLE MARK
61. Unconnected DISCRETE
65. __ du Louvre MUSEE
67. Sensitive thing to touch RAW NERVE
70. Lady in a 1955 film SPANIEL
72. Intrusive vine KUDZU
74. “Dust to Dust” author Hoag TAMI
76. Rescuer of Odysseus INO
78. Bridge measure SPAN
80. TD Garden NBA team CELTS
82. High in calories RICH
85. Environmental warning SMOG ALERT
87. 2008 honor for Joe Cocker: Abbr. OBE
89. Spot check? LEASH
90. Potent ending? -IAL
91. Squat NONE
93. Uninherited wealth NEW MONEY
96. Creole-speaking island nation HAITI
98. Icon after “Not a member?” JOIN NOW
99. Anonymous one JANE DOE
102. She played Fantine in “Les Misérables” (1998) UMA
105. Boot camp nickname SARGE
107. Upscale boarding facility PET SPA
109. Roman province governed by Pontius Pilate JUDEA
110. 96-Down governing group SENAT
112. Rock of comedy CHRIS
113. Dot follower, at times COM
114. Thing to fill or bridge A GAP
115. Rush or Cream TRIO
118. Water color AQUA
119. Downfall RUIN
123. Never, to Nietzsche NIE
124. GroupMe exchanges, briefly, and a hint to this puzzle’s eight longest answers IMS
125. Where I-86 and I-15 meet IDA
126. 2015 Etsy milestone, initially IPO

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