Constructed by: Kevin Donovan
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
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Theme: Following Up
Today’s themed answers are familiar phrases that FOLLOW the word UP:
- 23A. Profession for the principled? : UPRIGHT FIELD (from “right field”)
- 29A. Dr. Seuss, e.g.? : UPBEAT POET (from “Beat poet”)
- 40A. Promising market indicators? : UPTURN SIGNALS (from “turn signals”)
- 65A. Toy trains for tycoons? : UPSCALE MODEL RAILROADS (from “scale model railroads”)
- 91A. What pillows may do, in a kids’ room? : UPHOLD THE FORT (from “hold the fort”)
- 107D. Periods of distress? : UPSET TIMES (from “set times”)
- 113D. Outperform crew members in the ship play? : UPSTAGE HANDS (from “stagehands”)
Bill’s time: 20m 12s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Manchester United rival : ARSENAL
Arsenal Football Club is an English soccer team based in the Holloway district of London. The club was founded in 1886 as Dial Square by workers at the Royal Arsenal munitions factory. Dial Square was the name given to the workshops at the center of the Royal Arsenal complex. After just a few weeks in existence, the club changed its name to Royal Arsenal, which was eventually shortened to just Arsenal.
8. __ En-lai : CHOU
Zhou Enlai (also Chou En-Lai) was the first government leader of the People’s Republic of China and held the office of Premier from 1949 until he died in 1976. Zhou Enlai ran the government for Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong, often striking a more conciliatory tone with the West than that of his boss. He was instrumental, for example, in setting up President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Zhou Enlai died just a few months before Mao Zedong, with both deaths leading to unrest and a dramatic change in political direction for the country.
21. U.N. workers’ agcy. : ILO
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is an agency now administered by the UN which was established by the League of Nations after WWI. The ILO deals with important issues such as health and safety, discrimination, child labor and forced labor. The organization was recognized for its work in 1969 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
22. The snakes in Indiana Jones’ “Why do they have to be snakes?” : ASPS
According to the “Indiana Jones” series of films, Indy’s fear of snakes goes back when he was a young man. In “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, we see actor River Phoenix playing young Indie as a boy scout and falling into a huge pit of snakes during a chase scene.
25. Exit quietly, in a Dylan Thomas poem : GO GENTLE
Dylan Thomas is perhaps the most famous Welsh poet and writer. His most famous poems are “Do not go gentle in that good night” and “And death shall have no dominion”. He also wrote a famous radio drama called “Under Milk Wood” that was first broadcast in in 1954, and that was eventually adapted for the stage and the big screen. My favorite Dylan Thomas work is “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” that was also written originally for the radio, before being published as a work of prose.
28. Bill collector : TILL
The till or cash register is where to put the ones, fives, tens and twenties.
29. Dr. Seuss, e.g.? : UPBEAT POET (from “Beat poet”)
The group of American writers known as the Beat Generation first came to prominence at a poetry reading at the Six Gallery in San Francisco in October of 1955. Five young poets presented their work that day:
- Allen Ginsberg
- Philip Lamantia
- Michael McClure
- Gary Snider
- Philip Whalen
Dr. Seuss was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Geisel first used the pen name while studying at Dartmouth College and at the University of Oxford. Back then, he pronounced “Seuss” as it would be in German, i.e. rhyming with “voice”. After his books found success in the US, he went with the pronunciation being used widely by the public, quite happy to have a name that rhymed with “Mother Goose”.
31. Sask. neighbor : ALTA
Alberta (Alta.) is a big province, about the size of Texas. Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Princess Louise also donated her name to Lake Louise, the large glacial lake in the province, now within the bounds of Banff National Park.
The Canadian province of Saskatchewan (Sask.) takes its name from the Saskatchewan River. The river in turn takes its name from the Cree name, which translates as “swift flowing river”. The capital of Saskatchewan is Regina, although the biggest city in the province is Saskatoon.
35. Jockey competitor : HANES
The Hanes brand of apparel was founded in 1901. A related brand was introduced in 1986 called Hanes Her Way.
Jockey was the company that invented the Y-front brief, in 1934.
40. Promising market indicators? : UPTURN SIGNALS (from “turn signals”)
I wish all drivers would use their turn signals. Back in Ireland we don’t call them “turn signals”, but rather “indicators”.
53. “The Librarians” channel : TNT
“The Librarians” TV show first aired in 2014. The TV show is a spinoff of “The Librarian” series of films.
“The Librarian” is a series of fantasy TV movies starring Noah Wyle as “the Librarian”, an employee at the Metropolitan Public Library who is charged with the protection of a collection of exotic and magical objects, including the Ark of the Covenant, Pandora’s Box and Excalibur.
56. Challenge for Homer : BART
Bart Simpson is the main character in television’s “The Simpsons”. Bart’s name was chosen by the writers as it is an anagram of “brat”. Bart is voiced by actress and comedian Nancy Cartwright.
The Simpsons is one of the most successful programs produced by the Fox Broadcasting Company. Homer Simpson’s catchphrase is “D’oh!”, which became such a famous exclamation that it has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) since 2001. “D’oh!” can be translated as “I should have thought of that!”
60. Put down : DERIDED
“To deride” is to treat with contemptuous mirth. The term comes into English via Old French from the Latin “deridere” meaning “to ridicule”. In turn, “deridere” comes from the prefix “de-” (down) and “”ridere” (to laugh). So, to ridicule or deride is “to laugh down at”.
63. ORD posting : ETA
Expected time of arrival (ETA)
O’Hare International is the fourth busiest airport in the world. The original airport was constructed on the site between 1942 and 1943, and was used by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the manufacture of planes during WWII. Before the factory and airport were built, there was a community in the area called Orchard Place, so the airport was called Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field. This name is the derivation of the airport’s current location identifier: ORD (OR-chard D-ouglas). Orchard Place Airport was renamed to O’Hare International in 1949 in honor of Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare who grew up in Chicago. O’Hare was the US Navy’s first flying ace and a Medal of Honor recipient in WWII.
72. __ de mer : MAL
Here are some French terms for some unpleasant conditions:
- Mal de tête (headache)
- Mal de mer (seasickness)
- Mal de pays (homesickness)
73. Resonator for a jug band bass : WASHTUB
A jug band features a jug player, as well as others playing ordinary objects perhaps modified to make sound. One such instrument was the washtub bass. The “tub” is a stringed instrument that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. A washboard might also be used in a jug band, as a percussion instrument. The ribbed surface of the washboard is usually scraped using thimbles on the ends of the fingers.
75. Nissan Stadium player : TITAN
The Houston Oilers were an AFL charter team, founded in 1960. The team moved to Tennessee in 1997, and became the Tennessee Titans in 1999.
Nashville’s Nissan Stadium is mainly used for football. It is the home field for the Tennessee Titans of the NFL and the Tennessee State Tigers.
77. “… ’tis not to me __ speaks”: Romeo : SHE
William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” doesn’t end well for the title characters. Juliet takes a potion as a ruse to fool her parents, to trick them into thinking she is dead. The potion puts her in a death-like coma for 24 hours, after which Juliet plans to awaken and run off with Romeo. Juliet’s sends a message to Romeo apprising him of the plan, but the message fails to arrive. Romeo hears of Juliet’s “death”, and grief-stricken he takes his own life by drinking poison. Juliet awakens from the coma, only to find her lover dead beside her. She picks up a dagger and commits suicide. And nobody lives happily ever after …
78. Big name in Bible distribution : GIDEON
Gideons International is an evangelical Christian group that focuses on distributing free copies of the Bible across the world, most visibly in bedside lockers in hotel rooms. Apparently, the Gideons are handing out free Bibles today as the rate of two per second.
86. Aquarium fish : TETRA
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish, native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.
87. Only NATO member with no standing army : ICELAND
Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in the whole of Europe, with two-thirds of the nation’s population residing in and around the capital city of Reykjavik. Iceland was settled by the Norse people in AD 874, and was ruled for centuries by Norway and then Denmark. Iceland became independent in 1918, and has been a republic since 1944. Iceland is not a member of the EU but is a member of NATO, having joined in 1949 despite having no standing army.
96. Sun Tzu subject : WAR
The Art of War(fare) is an ancient military text that is attributed to a high-ranking Chinese general called Sun Tzu. I’ve even seen the principles in Sun Tzu’s book applied to modern business.
99. “The Piano” extras : MAORIS
The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing the mortal human being from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.
“The Piano” is a 1993 film set and filmed in New Zealand starring Harvey Keitel, Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin. The movie tells the story of a mute piano player and her daughter, and her efforts to regain her piano after it is sold. Holly Hunter managed to get three screen credits in “The Piano”. She was credited for her acting role, for playing her own piano pieces in the film, and for being the sign-language coach for young Anna Paquin.
103. Buck : CLAM
“Buck” and “clam” are both slang terms for “a dollar”. The term “buck” has been around at least since 1856, and is thought to derive from the tradition of using buckskin as a unit of trade with Native Americans during the frontier days. It has been suggested that “clam” has a similar derivation, a throwback to the supposed use of clams as units of currency in ancient cultures.
116. Love god : EROS
Eros, the Greek god of love, was also known as Amor. The Roman counterpart to Eros was Cupid.
118. Biblical captain : NOAH
According to the Book of Genesis, Noah lived to a ripe old age. Noah fathered his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth when he was 500 years old, and the Great Flood took place when he was 600.
119. Crown coatings : ENAMELS
Tooth enamel covers the crowns of our teeth. Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body. It is composed of 96% crystalline calcium phosphate.
120. Holiday song closer : SYNE
The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve (well, actually in the opening minutes of New Year’s Day). The words were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.
121. “Man on the Moon” group : REM
“Man on the Moon” is a song released by the American rock band R.E.M. in 1992. The song is a tribute to comedian and comic actor Andy Kaufman (Latka on “Taxi”) who died in 1984. The title is an oblique reference to rumors that Kaufman had faked his own death, as there are also persisting conspiracy theories that the moon landings were also faked. The subsequent 1999 film about Kaufman’s life was titled “Man on the Moon”, after the song.
123. Boxing’s “Manassa Mauler” : DEMPSEY
Professional boxer Jack Dempsey was World Heavyweight Champion from 1919 to 1926. Born in the Colorado town of Manassa, one of Dempsey’s nicknames was the Manassa Mauler. Dempsey lost his title in a memorable fight against Gene Tunney, after which Jack reportedly said to his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck”. President Ronald Reagan cited these same words to Nancy Reagan when she visited her husband in the Emergency Room after the 1981 attempt on his life.
Down
1. First word in the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” : ARUBA
“Kokomo” is song released by the Beach Boys in 1988. It describes a trip taken by a couple to a fictional island off the Florida Keys called Kokomo. The success of the song led to at least one Florida resort adopting the name.
Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego,
baby why don’t we go,
Jamaica
3. Lean-eater Jack : SPRAT
Jack Sprat was a nickname given in the 16th century to people of small stature. Jack featured in a proverb of the day:
Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane. Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.
Over time, this mutated into a nursery rhyme that is still recited in England:
Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, they licked the platter clean.
4. “Fear of Flying” author Jong : ERICA
The author Erica Jong’s most famous work is her first: “Fear of Flying”, a novel published in 1973. Over twenty years later, Jong wrote “Fear of Fifty: a midlife memoir”, published in 1994.
8. Easter Island’s country : CHILE
Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name for what we are more likely to call the Chilean-owned Easter Island. The European name was coined by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who came across the island on Easter Sunday in the year 1722. Easter Island is inhabited, and is a location that is remarkably distant from neighboring civilization. The nearest inhabited island is Pitcairn Island, almost 1300 miles away.
11. Pakistani language : URDU
Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.
12. Like a storied wolf : BIG BAD
The Big Bad Wolf is a character in many folklore stories, including “Little Red Riding” and “Three Little Pigs”. Walt Disney’s version of Big Bad Wolf is called Zeke Wolf, and has a son called Li’l Bad Wolf, or just “Li’l Wolf” to his friends.
14. Senate garment : TOGA
In Ancient Rome the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.
16. Baltic republic : ESTONIA
Estonia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) and is located in Northern Europe on the Baltic Sea, due south of Finland. Estonia has been overrun and ruled by various empires over the centuries. The country did enjoy a few years of freedom at the beginning of the 20th century after a war of independence against the Russian Empire. However, Estonia was occupied again during WWII, first by the Russians and then by the Germans, and then reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944. Estonia has flourished as an independent country again since the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
17. Organs sometimes vented? : SPLEENS
“To vent one’s spleen” means to vent one’s anger, perhaps by shouting and screaming. This expression is rooted in the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that a person’s temperament was dictated by the balance of the body’s four “humors”. The spleen produced the humor known as yellow bile, which was associated with an aggressive and energetic personality.
18. African menaces : TSETSES
Tsetse flies live on the blood of vertebrate mammals. The name “tsetse” comes from Tswana, a language of southern Africa, and translates simply as “fly”. Tsetse flies are famous for being carriers of the disease known as “sleeping sickness”. Sleeping sickness is caused by a parasite which is passed onto humans when the tsetse fly bites into human skin tissue. If one considers all the diseases transmitted by the insect, then the tsetse fly is responsible for a staggering quarter of a million deaths each year.
26. Old anesthetics : ETHERS
Ethers are a whole class of organic compounds, but in the vernacular “ether” is specifically diethyl ether. Diethyl ether was once very popular as a general anesthetic.
32. “Forrest Gump” lieutenant : DAN
Actor Gary Sinise was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Lieutenant Dan Taylor in the 1994 film “Forrest Gump”. Senise then played the lead in television’s “CSI: NY” starting in 2004. Senise was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bush for his work helping Iraqi school children as well as his work with the USO.
36. Pop/country singer Lee and others : BRENDAS
Brenda Lee is a country and rockabilly singer who had 37 songs that made the charts in the sixties. Lee’s biggest hits are probably “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” from 1958, and “I’m Sorry” from 1960. Lee was only 13 years old when she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”.
38. Juice for PCs : ELEC
The original IBM Personal Computer is model number 5150, which was introduced to the world on August 12, 1981. The term “personal computer” was already in use, but the success of the IBM 5150 led to the term “PC” being used for all computer products compatible with the IBM platform.
40. Ryder Cup team : USA
The Ryder Cup trophy was donated to the game of golf by Samuel Ryder, an English entrepreneur. Ryder made his money selling garden seeds in small packets. He only took up golf when he was in his fifties but became quite the enthusiast and eventually donated the trophy in 1927, when it was valued at 100 guineas. The Ryder Cup is a biennial tournament played between teams from the US and Europe.
41. Advanced deg. : PHD
PhD is an abbreviation for “philosophiae doctor”, Latin for “teacher of philosophy”. Often, candidates for an earned PhD already hold a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, so a PhD might be considered a “third degree”.
43. Reuters competitor : UPI
Founded in 1958, United Press International (UPI) used to be one of the biggest news agencies in the world, sending out news by wire to the major newspapers. UPI ran into trouble with the change in media formats at the end of the twentieth century and lost many of its clients as the afternoon newspapers shut down due to the advent of television news. UPI, which once employed thousands, still exists today but with just a handful of employees.
The Reuters news agency was formed way back in 1851 by German-born, British entrepreneur Paul Julius Reuter. Reuter had checked the feasibility of a news service for a couple of years prior to launching the agency, and the technologies he used for his study were the telegraph and carrier pigeons!
45. Grand Canal traveler : GONDOLA
The Reuters news agency was formed way back in 1851 by German-born, British entrepreneur Paul Julius Reuter. Reuter had checked the feasibility of a news service for a couple of years prior to launching the agency, and the technologies he used for his study were the telegraph and carrier pigeons!
The Grand Canal is a large, S-shaped canal that traverses the city of Venice in Italy. For centuries there was only one bridge across the canal, the famed Rialto Bridge. Now there are four bridges in all, including a controversial structure that was opened to the public in 2008 called the Ponte della Costituzione.
47. Knowledgeable, in Nantes : AU FAIT
The French term “au fait”, also used in English, means “acquainted with the facts”. A literal translation is “to the fact”.
Nantes is a beautiful city located on the delta of the Loire, Erdre and Sèvre rivers. It has the well deserved nickname of “The Venice of the West”. I had the privilege of visiting Nantes a couple of times on business, and I can attest that it really is a charming city …
55. “The Walking Dead” veterinarian : HERSHEL
“The Walking Dead” is a horror television show that made by AMC that is based on a comic book series of the same name. There are lots of flesh-eating zombies featured, so I won’t be seen “dead” watching it …
57. Org. for physicians : AMA
American Medical Association (AMA)
59. QB stats : TDS
In American football, one “goal” of a quarterback (QB) is to score touchdowns (TDs).
65. Project Blue Book subj. : UFO
In 1952, the USAF revived its studies of reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in a program called Project Blue Book. Project Blue Book ran from 1952 until it was shut down in 1969 with the conclusion that there was no threat to national security and that there were no sightings that could not be explained within the bounds of modern scientific knowledge.
66. Presidential souvenir : PEN
It is common practice for a US president to use more than one pen to sign a bill into law. The pens are then distributed to key figures involved in bringing the law into effect. The first president to use multiple pens to sign a bill was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The most pens used in one signing was by President Lyndon Johnson, who used 72 pens to sign the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Not everyone sticks to the multiple-pen tradition though. President George W. Bush never used more than one pen at a time to sign a bill into law.
67. Mineo of “Exodus” : SAL
The actor Sal Mineo’s most famous role was John “Plato” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Mineo was murdered in 1976 when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. When an arrest was made it was discovered that the murderer had no idea that his victim was a celebrity, and that his plan was just to rob anyone who came along.
“Exodus” is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris, first published in 1947. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, played by Paul Newman in the 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.
69. It may be coiled on a saddle horn : LASSO
Our English word “lasso” comes from the Spanish “lazo”, and ultimately from the Latin “laqueum” meaning “noose, snare”.
70. Car nut : LUG
A lug nut is a nut on which one side is tapered. Lug nuts are used to secure wheels to a vehicle.
79. OED info : DEF
The “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) contains over 300,000 “main” entries and 59 million words in total. The longest entry for one word in the second edition of the OED is the verb “set”. When the third edition was published in 2007, the longest entry for a single word became the verb “put”. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most-quoted author in the OED is William Shakespeare, with his most quoted work being “Hamlet”. The most-quoted female author is George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Evans).
80. Ike’s WWII command : ETO
General Dwight D. Eisenhower (“Ike”) was in command of the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during WWII. If you’re a WWII buff like me, then I recommend you take a look at a great, made-for-TV movie starring Tom Selleck as Eisenhower called “Ike: Countdown to D-Day” that came out in 2004.
81. Friend of Yossarian in “Catch-22” : ORR
Orr has no other name, just “Orr”, in Joseph Heller’s novel “Catch 22”.
Captain John Yossarian is the protagonist in Joseph Heller’s novel “Catch 22”. Yossarian’s story is based on the author’s own experiences when stationed in Italy during World War II.
“Catch-22” is a novel by Joseph Heller set during WWII. The title refers to absurd bureaucratic constraints that soldiers had to suffer. Heller’s “Catch 22” was invoked by an army psychiatrist to explain that any pilot requesting to be evaluated for insanity, to avoid flying dangerous missions, had to be sane as only a sane man would try to get out of such missions. The term “catch-22 has entered the language and describes a paradoxical situation from which one can’t escape due to contradictory rules; one loses, no matter what choice one makes.
82. __ Geo: nature channel : NAT
The National Geographic Channel (Nat Geo) is jointly owned by Fox and the National Geographic Society, and was launched in 2001.
88. Penny-colored : COPPERY
The official name of our smallest denomination coin is a “cent”, and our use of the word “penny” is just a colloquialism derived from the British coin of the same name. However, in the UK the plural of penny is “pence”, whereas we have “pennies” in our pockets.
92. Suddenly caught on : TWIGGED
Someone who has “twigged” something has comprehended, understood. The verb might come from the Scottish Gaelic “tuig” meaning “I understand”.
95. Hand-played drum : TOM-TOM
A tom-tom is a drum without snares. The name “tom-tom” came from the Hindi name “tam-tam”, which in turn was likely imitative of the sound made by the instrument.
98. Sorrowful song : DIRGE
A “dirge” is a slow and mournful musical piece, like a funeral hymn.
102. Cellular messenger : RNA
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.
114. “The Tell-Tale Heart” author : POE
Edgar Allan Poe’s story “The Tell-Tale Heart”, is arguably one of his most disturbing works. It is a story of cold-blooded and premeditated murder, with some dismemberment thrown in for good measure.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1. Manchester United rival : ARSENAL
8. __ En-lai : CHOU
12. Tool used in a box : BAT
15. Film add-on : FEST
19. Perform again : REPRISE
20. Next in line : HEIR
21. U.N. workers’ agcy. : ILO
22. The snakes in Indiana Jones’ “Why do they have to be snakes?” : ASPS
23. Profession for the principled? : UPRIGHT FIELD (from “right field”)
25. Exit quietly, in a Dylan Thomas poem : GO GENTLE
27. Run ashore : BEACH
28. Bill collector : TILL
29. Dr. Seuss, e.g.? : UPBEAT POET (from “Beat poet”)
31. Sask. neighbor : ALTA
32. Can’t abide : DETEST
34. Small cells : AAS
35. Jockey competitor : HANES
36. __ code : BAR
37. Get together on a ranch : HERD
39. Catlike : FELINE
40. Promising market indicators? : UPTURN SIGNALS (from “turn signals”)
47. Weather map depiction : AIR MASS
48. It’s not always easy to get into : SHAPE
49. Not a soul : NO ONE
50. Tries earnestly (for) : GUNS
51. Piling on, say : ADDING
53. “The Librarians” channel : TNT
54. More than just cooks : CHEFS
56. Challenge for Homer : BART
60. Put down : DERIDED
63. ORD posting : ETA
64. Equipped : ARMED
65. Toy trains for tycoons? : UPSCALE MODEL RAILROADS (from “scale model railroads”)
71. Phobias : FEARS
72. __ de mer : MAL
73. Resonator for a jug band bass : WASHTUB
74. No more than : ONLY
75. Nissan Stadium player : TITAN
77. “… ’tis not to me __ speaks”: Romeo : SHE
78. Big name in Bible distribution : GIDEON
83. Delicate : FINE
84. Totally lost : AT SEA
86. Aquarium fish : TETRA
87. Only NATO member with no standing army : ICELAND
91. What pillows may do, in a kids’ room? : UPHOLD THE FORT (from “hold the fort”)
94. Newcomer : NOVICE
95. Nursery resident : TREE
96. Sun Tzu subject : WAR
97. Where to see stars : SPACE
98. Pursue relentlessly : DOG
99. “The Piano” extras : MAORIS
103. Buck : CLAM
107. Periods of distress? : UPSET TIMES (from “set times”)
110. Blew the whistle : SANG
111. What oaks may provide : SHADE
112. Put back in : REINSERT
113. Outperform crew members in the ship play? : UPSTAGE HANDS (from “stagehands”)
116. Love god : EROS
117. In the past : AGO
118. Biblical captain : NOAH
119. Crown coatings : ENAMELS
120. Holiday song closer : SYNE
121. “Man on the Moon” group : REM
122. Ring jinglers : KEYS
123. Boxing’s “Manassa Mauler” : DEMPSEY
Down
1. First word in the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” : ARUBA
2. Drive off : REPEL
3. Lean-eater Jack : SPRAT
4. “Fear of Flying” author Jong : ERICA
5. Close at hand : NIGH
6. Smoke remains : ASH
7. Mail : LETTERS
8. Easter Island’s country : CHILE
9. Pair for date night : HEELS
10. It may be checked at the station : OIL
11. Pakistani language : URDU
12. Like a storied wolf : BIG BAD
13. Medicinal plants : ALOES
14. Senate garment : TOGA
15. Tree that typically has paddle-shaped leaves : FAN PALM
16. Baltic republic : ESTONIA
17. Organs sometimes vented? : SPLEENS
18. African menaces : TSETSES
24. Tailor’s concern : FIT
26. Old anesthetics : ETHERS
30. Numbers to shoot for : PARS
32. “Forrest Gump” lieutenant : DAN
33. Compared to : THAN
36. Pop/country singer Lee and others : BRENDAS
38. Juice for PCs : ELEC
39. Features of many ’50s-’60s cars : FINS
40. Ryder Cup team : USA
41. Advanced deg. : PHD
42. Bit : TAD
43. Reuters competitor : UPI
44. Personal : INTIMATE
45. Grand Canal traveler : GONDOLA
46. Celebrated : NOTED
47. Knowledgeable, in Nantes : AU FAIT
50. Move up the corporate ladder : GET AHEAD
52. Come together : GEL
55. “The Walking Dead” veterinarian : HERSHEL
56. Dude : BRO
57. Org. for physicians : AMA
58. Wine choice : RED
59. QB stats : TDS
61. Leave a note for, maybe : REMIND
62. Morning phenomenon : DEW
64. Settler? : ARBITER
65. Project Blue Book subj. : UFO
66. Presidential souvenir : PEN
67. Mineo of “Exodus” : SAL
68. Shout : CRY
69. It may be coiled on a saddle horn : LASSO
70. Car nut : LUG
75. Pitchfork part : TINE
76. What a ponytail partly covers : NAPE
79. OED info : DEF
80. Ike’s WWII command : ETO
81. Friend of Yossarian in “Catch-22” : ORR
82. __ Geo: nature channel : NAT
83. Diamond surfaces : FACETS
85. The bad guys : THEM
87. Gets coverage for : INSURES
88. Penny-colored : COPPERY
89. Vague answer, say : EVASION
90. Driving need : LICENSE
91. Drive : URGE
92. Suddenly caught on : TWIGGED
93. Possesses : HAS
95. Hand-played drum : TOM-TOM
98. Sorrowful song : DIRGE
100. Test for purity, as gold : ASSAY
101. They’re often taken orally : OATHS
102. Cellular messenger : RNA
103. Titleholder : CHAMP
104. Guides for drivers : LANES
105. Confuse : ADDLE
106. Not at all in order : MESSY
108. Fabric flaw : TEAR
109. Finished : SUNK
111. Piece of fiction : SHAM
114. “The Tell-Tale Heart” author : POE
115. Peoria-to-Gary dir. : ENE
21:59, no errors, iPad. When I saw that the clue for 1A called for the name of a soccer team, my heart sank a little, but crossing entries came to the rescue and the rest of the puzzle was pleasantly straightforward (though I did have GO GENTLY before GO GENTLE and HERSHEY before HERSHEL).
I would also observe that 54A made me think of @Joel … 🙂
How kind of you @David! And you’ve never even tasted my food!
My fastest Sunday ever. By far.
I didn’t find this all that easy, but I did finish. TWIGGED was new to me. I also remembered Zhou, but I couldn’t think of a country that started with”Z”. Zimbabwe didn’t fit nor does it have any islands. I eventually went with CHOU. The theme let you get “U-P” for every answer which helped all over the place.
The GIDEONs distribute 2 bibles per second? That’s about 63 million/year. Hard to believe.
Back to NORMAL time today. Whew. Then in March I’ll be giving my annual rant about DST and how much I hate it….
Best –
@Jeff – I never heard of twigged either.
I thought this puzzle was easier than some of the previous Sunday puzzles.
Of course, still nothing compares to Merle’s puzzles in terms of cleverness and wit.
Couldn’t think of any other 3-letter code than ZIP.
BAR could have gotten me BRENDAS.
Ditto on TWIGGED I gave up today
Arsenal as ManU rival, huh? I guess so, but so could, for me, Man City. As an EPL fan, the Manchester Derby seems to be a big deal.
Wassup y’all??!
Finished with just one wrong letter: had TRIGGED instead of TWIGGED. Never heard of the latter; forgot the little I knew about Sun Tzu and thought RAR was just something I didn’t know. Lame!! Soon as I saw the answer I realized I shoulda known– isn’t that always the way. But TRIGGED kinda made sense (altho, granted, it’s not a word) like something “triggered” comprehension.
Hey Jeff! I believe we discussed this here a year ago! I also consider Standard Time to be NORMAL. Aside from YOU, I know no one else who dislikes daylight savings time as I do.
Busy day Monday, then voting on Tuesday. My polling place is about a 30 second walk — the middle school across the street!
Sweet dreams~~™?