LA Times Crossword 23 Dec 18, Sunday

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Constructed by: C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Quick Visit

Themed answers include the hidden word STOP:

  • 103D. Visit briefly … and a hint to the answers to starred clues : STOP IN
  • 23A. *Chances that slipped away : LOST OPPORTUNITIES
  • 62A. *True view : HONEST OPINION
  • 70A. *Often the best choice, in retrospect : FIRST OPTION
  • 82A. *Swindlers : FAST OPERATORS
  • 124A. *Ristorante appetizers : ANTIPASTO PLATTERS
  • 16D. *Former Chilean dictator : AUGUSTO PINOCHET
  • 45D. *Bending over backward, say : ANXIOUS TO PLEASE

Bill’s time: 17m 55s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Bowling pin wood : MAPLE

Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

6. Princess Charlotte, to Harry : NIECE

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (b. 2015) is the second child of Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Charlotte has a relatively high ranking in succession to the British throne compared to her female ancestors. Before the rules were changed in 2011, Charlotte would have been bumped down the line of succession when her younger brother Louis was born in 2018, just because he was a male and she was not.

11. Hornets, e.g. : WASPS

A hornet is a large type of wasp, with some species reaching over two inches in length.

16. 2008 TARP beneficiary : AIG

“AIG” is an initialism used by the American International Group, a giant insurance corporation. After repeated bailouts by American taxpayers starting in 2008, the company made some serious PR blunders by spending large amounts of money on executive entertainment and middle management rewards. These included a $444,000 California retreat, an $86,000 hunting trip in England, and a $343,000 getaway to a luxury resort in Phoenix. Poor judgment, I’d say …

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was a step taken by the Bush administration to strengthen financial institutions during the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. The idea was for the US government to “save” the banking sector by buying up all their bad mortgages.

19. Think tank nuggets : IDEAS

A think tank is a research institute. The use of the term “think tank” dates back to 1959, and apparently was first used to describe the Center for Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto, California.

20. “The Thin Blue Line” director Morris : ERROL

Errol Morris is a film director who is best known for his excellent 2003 documentary “The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara”. Morris also directed “The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld” that was released in 2013.

“The Thin Blue Line” is a 1988 documentary about Randall Adams, who was convicted of a murder that he did not commit. There was evidence presented in the film that actually helped obtain Adams’ release in 1989, after twelve years behind bars.

21. Mexican month : ENERO

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

22. Stage coach Hagen : UTA

Uta Hagen was a German-born American actress. Hagen married Jose Ferrer in 1938, but they were divorced ten years later after it was revealed that she was having a long-running affair with Paul Robeson. Her association with Robeson, a prominent civil rights activist, earned her a spot on the Hollywood Blacklist during the McCarthy Era. This forced her away from film, but towards a successful stage career in New York City.

27. Type of well : ARTESIAN

An artesian well is one that is drilled into an artesian aquifer. As the groundwater in the aquifer is under positive pressure, then the water in the well rises without having to be pumped.

28. Fulda tributary : EDER

The Eder is a river in Germany, and a tributary of the Fulda River. The Eder has a dam near the small town of Waldeck which holds water in the large Edersee reservoir. This was one of the dams that was attacked by the RAF during WWII with the famous Barnes Wallis bouncing bombs. It was destroyed in the Dam Busters raid in 1943, but rebuilt the same year.

29. Griller’s flipper : SPATULA

A spatula is a tool or implement used for mixing, lifting or spreading. “Spatula” is the Latin name for the tool, and is a diminutive of the word “spatha” meaning “broad, flat blade”. “Spatha” also gives rise to our related term “spade”.

32. Romance novelist Hilderbrand : ELIN

Elin Hilderbrand is an author of romance novels who was once dubbed “the queen of summer beach read” by the “New York Post”. When growing up, she spent her summers on Cape Cod, and now lives on Nantucket Island. As a result, Hilderbrand sets all of her works on and around Nantucket.

34. Gate datum: Abbr. : ETD

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

35. Windows forerunner : MS-DOS

MS-DOS (short for “Microsoft Disk Operating System”) was the main operating system used by IBM-compatible PCs in the eighties and for much of the nineties.

36. Type of jam in Sacher tortes : APRICOT

Sachertorte is a chocolate cake from Austria. It was specifically created in 1832 when Prince Metternich commanded his personal chef to prepare a dessert for some special guests. But his head chef became ill so the task fell to 16-year-old Franz Sacher, an apprentice in the kitchen. That teenager’s dessert is now one of Austria’s most famous dishes.

39. One of the original Warner Bros. : SAM

The Warner Bros. film studio was founded by four Warner brothers, although their original family name was Wonskolaser. The brothers Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack emigrated from Poland as children with their parents, and changed their name when they landed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1889.

41. Sporty car roof : T-TOP

A T-top is a car roof that has removable panels on either side of a rigid bar that runs down the center of the vehicle above the driver.

46. Way to go: Abbr. : DIR

Direction (dir.)

52. Platform site: Abbr. : STN

A station (“stn.” or “sta.”) is a railroad (RR) or bus stop.

53. Twitter forwards, on Twitter : RTS

Retweet (RT)

56. Kings Peak state : UTAH

The Uinta Mountains are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains located mainly in northeastern Utah, approximately 100 miles east of Salt Lake City. The highest point in the Uintas is Kings Peak, the highest point in Utah.

59. Ramallah-based org. : PLO

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964. The PLO’s early stated goal was the liberation of Palestine, with Palestine defined as the geographic entity that existed under the terms of the British Mandate granted by the League of Nations back in 1923. The PLO was granted observer status (i.e. no voting rights) at the United Nations in 1974.

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the West Bank located just a few miles from Jerusalem. It serves as the administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority. The name “Ramallah” comes from the Arabic “ram” meaning “height” and “Allah” meaning “God”.

68. Flake or Duckworth: Abbr. : SEN

Jeff Flake was a member of the US House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013, before becoming a US Senator for Arizona after an election in 2012. Flake is known for his vocal criticism of President Donald Trump, a fact which probably contributed to his decision not to run for reelection to the Senate in 2018.

Tammy Duckworth has been a US Senator for Illinois since 2017. Duckworth is a veteran of the Iraq War, in which she served as a helicopter pilot and suffered severe combat wounds, including the loss of both her legs. She continued to serve in the Illinois National Guard after her recovery, and retired in 2014 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Duckworth has racked up quite a few firsts while in Congress. For example, she was the first woman with a disability elected to Congress, and the first Senator to give birth while in office. Senate rules were changed following the birth of her daughter, which allowed Duckworth to bring her baby onto the Senate floor and breastfeed her during votes.

69. Gin flavor : SLOE

The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin. A sloe looks like a small plum, but is usually much more tart in taste.

74. Catcher’s place : HOME

That would baseball.

80. One often includes a colon : EMOTICON

An emoticon is a glyph created using text characters to represent facial features, and usually oriented sideways. The emoticon is designed to indicate emotion or attitude. The classic example is the smiley face: 🙂

88. Surreal ending? : -IST

The cultural movement known as Surrealism emerged in the 1920s, and grew out of the Dada activities that were a response to WWI. The first person to coin the word “surrealist” was Guillaume Apollinaire, when he used it in the preface of his play “Les Mamelles de Tirésias”.

89. __ song : FOR A

Something that goes “for a song” is sold very cheaply. The first known use of the phrase in print is in William Shakespeare’s “All’s Well That Ends Well”.

Why, he will look upon his boot and sing; mend the
ruff and sing; ask questions and sing; pick his
teeth and sing. I know a man that had this trick of
melancholy sold a goodly manor for a song.

92. “Mr. Blue Sky” band : ELO

“Mr. Blue Sky” is a 1977 song by the British rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It’s a song that has been described as “Beatlesque”, and I must say that I agree with that statement …

96. Poker great Ungar : STU

Many followers of the game believe that Stu Ungar was the best ever player of Texas hold ’em. Ungar won about $30 million playing cards during his life, yet he died penniless. He was found dead in a Las Vegas motel room in 1998 having passed away at 45 years of age from heart failure brought on by years of drug abuse.

97. PlayStation handheld game : VITA

The PlayStation Vita is a handheld game console that was introduced by Sony in 2011. Apparently, most of the Vita’s fans live in Japan, with the product not being well received in the rest of the world.

99. Baking amts. : TSPS

Teaspoon (tsp.)

100. Autobahn winter hazard : EIS

In German, “Eis” (ice) is frozen “Wasser” (water).

The federal highway system in Germany is known as the Autobahn (plural “Autobahnen” in German). Famously, there are no federally mandated speed limits on the autobahn, although many, many stretches of the highway do indeed have posted and enforced limits. Where there is no speed limit posted, there is an advisory speed limit of 130 km/hr (81 mph). It is not illegal to travel over this speed limit, but legal liability may increase at higher speeds if that speed contributes to an accident.

106. Tibetan monks : LAMAS

“Lama” is a Tibetan word meaning “chief” or “high priest”.

110. Sports radio host Patrick : DAN

Dan Patrick is a sportscaster and radio personality. He is host of “The Dan Patrick Show” on the radio and is co-host of “Football Night in America” on NBC television.

112. Editor’s retraction : STET

“Stet” is a Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

113. Salinger character who says to the story narrator, “I don’t think I shall tell you my full name” : ESME

J. D. Salinger wrote a short story called “For Esmé – with Love and Squalor” that was originally published in “The New Yorker” in 1950. It is a story about a young English girl called Esme and an American soldier, and is set in WWII.

117. First name in exploration : AMERIGO

Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer. Vespucci was the man who established that the landmass discovered by Christopher Columbus was not the eastern coast of Asia, but rather was a “New World”. The newly-discovered supercontinent was named “America”, coming from the Latin version of Vespucci’s first name “Amerigo”.

121. Fruit-flavored frozen treat : OTTER POP

Otter Pops are plastic tubes filled with frozen fruit juice. Well, Otter Pops are usually sold at room temperature and are frozen by the consumer before consumption.

124. *Ristorante appetizers : ANTIPASTO PLATTERS

Antipasto is the first course of a meal in Italy. “Antipasto” translates as “before the meal”.

127. Overhead rumblers : ELS

Elevated railroad (El)

129. Links hero, familiarly : ARNIE

Arnold Palmer was one of the greats of the world of golf. He was very popular with many fans of the game, and his followers were usually referred to as “Arnie’s Army”. Off the course, Palmer was an avid pilot, until his latter years. He resided in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for much of the year and the local airport is named in his honor: Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.

130. __ Blue: old laundry soap : RINSO

Rinso was a laundry detergent that was first manufactured in England in 1908 by a company called Hudson’s Soap. It was introduced into the US in 1918. In America, Rinso took to radio advertising and sponsorship in the days of “soap operas”. Their most famous program association was with “The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show” in the forties. One of the brand’s slogans was “Solium, the sunlight ingredient”. I have no idea what Solium is, but it certainly did sell a lot of soap!

131. Graphic top : TEE

A tee shirt often features a graphic design.

133. Bonkers : LOONY

Something described as loony is insane, crazy. “Loony” is short for “lunatic”, an adjective that is now considered offensive. The term arose in the late 1400s when it meant “affected with periodic insanity”, insanity attacks brought on by the cycles of the moon. “Lunatic” comes from the Latin “luna” meaning “moon”.

Down

1. Lombardy’s capital : MILAN

There are twenty administrative regions of Italy, one of which is Lombardy. Lombardy is in the very north of the country, and its capital is the city of Milan.

The word “bonkers” meaning “crazy” originated in the fifties. The term might come from navy slang meaning “slightly drunk”, behaving as though one received a “bonk” on the head.

3. Raid targets : PESTS

Raid insecticide has been killing bugs since 1956.

4. Reason to challenge an out call : LATE TAG

That would be baseball.

5. Those, in Tabasco : ESOS

Tabasco is one of Mexico’s 31 “estados” (states), and is located in the very southeast of the country.

6. Sherpa, usually : NEPALI

In the Tibetan language, “Sherpa” means “eastern people” (sher = east, pa = people). Sherpas are an ethnic group from Nepal, but the name is also used for the local guides who assist mountaineers in the Himalayas, and particularly on Mount Everest.

7. Like a typical O. Henry story : IRONIC

“O. Henry” was the pen name of writer William Sydney Porter from Greensboro, North Carolina. O. Henry is famous for his witty short stories that have a clever twist in the tail.

8. Boot the ball : ERR

That would be baseball … I think …

9. Dove’s digs : COTE

The Old English word “cote” was used for a small house. Our modern word “cottage” comes from “cote”. We now use “cote” to mean a small shelter on a farm for sheep or birds.

11. “Mandatory Fun” parodist, familiarly : WEIRD AL

“Weird Al” Yankovic is a singer-songwriter who is noted for writing and performing parodies of popular songs. Of the 150 or so such songs, the best known are probably “Eat It” (parodying “Beat It” by Michael Jackson) and “Like a Surgeon” (parodying “Like a Virgin” by Madonna).

“Mandatory Fun” is an album of parody songs by musician “Weird Al” Yankovic that was released in 2014. It was destined to become Yankovic’s first number-one album in the US. Tracks on the album include “Word Crimes” (a parody of “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke) and “Tacky” (a parody of “Happy” by Pharrell Williams).

12. Red or army follower : … ANT

Fire ants are stinging ants, and many species are known as “red ants”. Most stinging ants bite their prey and then spray acid on the wound. The fire ant, however, bites to hold on and then injects an alkaloid venom from its abdomen, creating a burning sensation in humans who have been nipped.

Army ants are a collection of over two hundred different species of ants. Each species is known for aggressively raiding a certain area en masse, foraging for food. Army ants also stay on the move, never building permanent nests.

16. *Former Chilean dictator : AUGUSTO PINOCHET

Augusto Pinochet was dictator of Chile between 1973 and 1990. He came to power in a coup (backed by the US) that overthrew the democratically elected socialist government led by President Salvador Allende. Pinochet’s reign led to the execution of thousands, and the internment and torture of tens of thousands.

17. Leaning type: Abbr. : ITAL

Italic type leans to the right, and is often used to provide emphasis in text. The style is known as “italic” because the stylized calligraphic form of writing originated in Italy, probably in the Vatican.

18. Lady on stage : GAGA

“Lady Gaga” is the stage name of Stefani Germanotta. Germanotta is a big fan of the band Queen, and she took her stage name from the marvelous Queen song titled “Radio Ga Ga”.

30. “… and your little dog, too!” dog : TOTO

Toto is Dorothy’s dog in the film “The Wizard of Oz”, and in the original book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. Toto was played in the movie by a dog called Terry, but Terry’s name was soon changed to Toto in real life due to the success of the film.

37. Medicare prescription drug section : PART D

Medicare is divided into four parts:

  • A: Hospital Insurance
  • B: Medical Insurance
  • C: Medicare Advantage Plans
  • D: Prescription Drug Plans

38. Jackson 5 member : TITO

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

42. Capital on a fjord : OSLO

The Norwegian capital of Oslo is located at the northern end of a fjord known as Oslofjord. The fjord is home to 40 islands that lie within the city’s limits. Oslo also has 343 lakes.

43. Menial laborer : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

49. Masters Tournament weekend groupings : TWOSOMES

Golf’s Masters Tournament is the first of the four major championships in the annual calendar, taking place in the first week of April each year. It is played at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, and has a number of traditions. One is that the winner is awarded the famous “green jacket”, but he only gets to keep it for a year and must return it to the club after twelve months.

50. Qtr.-ending month : SEP

The month of September is the ninth month in our year, although the name “September” comes from the Latin word “septum” meaning “seventh”. September was the seventh month in the Roman calendar until the year 46 BC when Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar. The Julian system moved the start of the year from March 1st to January 1st, and shifted September to the ninth month. The Gregorian calendar that we use today was introduced in 1582.

51. Luau souvenirs : LEIS

The Hawaiian party or feast known as a “luau” really dates back to 1819, when King Kamehameha II removed religious laws that governed the eating of meals. These laws called for women and men to eat separately. At the same time as he changed the laws, the king initiated the luau tradition by symbolically eating with the women who moved in his circle.

52. Much of Eastern Eur., once : SSRS

Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR)

54. Tough’s territory : TURF

A tough, a tough guy, might protect his turf.

64. Classic grape sodas : NEHIS

Nehi Corporation was the nickname for the Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works that introduced the Nehi drink in 1924. Years later the company developed a new brand, Royal Crown Cola (also known as RC Cola). By 1955, RC Cola was the company’s flagship product, so the “Nehi Corporation” became the “Royal Crown Company”. In 1954, RC Cola became the first company to sell soft drinks in cans.

71. Giant among low-cost carriers: Abbr. : SWA

Southwest Airlines (SWA) is the world’s largest low-cost passenger airline. I’ve always admired the Southwest operation and found that the company knows to keep costs under control while maintaining a high level of customer service. One strategy the company used for decades was only to operate Boeing 737 aircraft, which kept maintenance and operating costs to a minimum. Southwest has over 700 Boeing 737s in service, with each plane making about six flights per day.

73. Biblical builder : 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.

75. Dough : MOOLA

Lettuce, cabbage, kale, dough, scratch, cheddar, simoleons, clams and moola(h) are all slang terms for money.

81. “Three Coins …” fountain : TREVI

The Trevi Fountain (“Fontana di Trevi”) is a huge fountain in Rome, one that is the largest constructed in the Baroque style. The tradition is that if one throws a coin in the fountain then one is guaranteed a return visit to the city. Tourists throw in an amazing 3,000 euros (over $4,000) every day. The money is collected and is used to stock a supermarket for the needy of the city.

“Three Coins in the Fountain” is a 1954 film about three young American women in Rome looking for romance. In the story, each of the girls throws a coin into the city’s famous Trevi fountain making a wish. The title song, performed by an uncredited Frank Sinatra, is probably the most famous composition by songwriter Sammy Cahn.

84. “The Black Cat” author : POE

“The Black Cat” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that was first published in 1843. It is a dark tale about a man who murders his wife and is taunted by the couple’s black cat.

85. “On the Bus With Rosa Parks” poet Dove : RITA

Poet Rita Dove received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987, and was the second African American to be so honored (the first being Gwendolyn Brooks).

94. Nicholas, for one : TSAR

There were two tsars of Russia named Nicholas. Nicholas I was Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855. Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia and ruled from 1894 until he abdicated in 1917, and was executed with his family in 1918.

95. Bet money an “all in” player can’t win : SIDE POT

That would be poker.

101. Actress Gilbert : SARA

The actress Sara Gilbert grew up playing Darlene on the sitcom “Roseanne” from 1988 to 1997. Today Gilbert appears fairly often on another hit sitcom, namely “The Big Bang Theory”. You can also see her on the daytime talk show called “The Talk”, a show that she herself created. And, she made a comeback as Darlene in 2018 in the “Roseanne” reboot, and the spin-off show “The Connors”.

104. Bigelow alternative : TETLEY

Tetley was founded by Joseph Tetley in Yorkshire in 1837. Joseph and his brother used to sell salt door-to-door from a pack horse and started to distribute tea the same way. They became so successful selling tea that they relocated to London. Notably, Tetley’s was the first company to introduce tea bags in the UK, back in 1953.

The Bigelow Tea Company is a family-owned business that was founded in 1945 by Ruth C. Bigelow. The company is headquartered in in Fairfield, Connecticut, and owns America’s only tea plantation, which is located in Charleston, South Carolina.

107. “Scarface” setting : MIAMI

“Scarface” is a 1983 gangster movie starring Al Pacino as a Cuban expatriate drug lord in Miami. The film was directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone, and is a remake of a 1932 film of the same name.

108. ’60s-’70s veep : AGNEW

Spiro Agnew served as Vice-President under Richard Nixon, before becoming the only VP in American history to resign because of criminal charges (there was a bribery scandal). Agnew was also the first Greek-American to serve as US Vice President as he was the son of a Greek immigrant who had shortened the family name from Anagnostopoulos.

109. __ voce: softly : SOTTO

“Sotto voce” literally means “under the voice” in Italian, and describes the deliberate lowering of one’s voice for emphasis.

115. Man with a code : MORSE

Samuel Morse came up with the forerunner to modern Morse code for use on the electric telegraph, of which he was the co-inventor. Morse code uses a series of dots and dashes to represent letters and numbers. The most common letters are assigned the simplest code elements e.g. E is represented by one dot, and T is represented by one dash. When words are spelled aloud in Morse code, a dot is pronounced as “dit”, and a dash is pronounced as “dah”.

116. Nagano-based printer giant : EPSON

Seiko Epson is a Japanese company, and one of the largest manufacturers of printers in the world. The company has its roots in the watch business, roots that go back to 1942. Seiko was chosen as the official timekeeper for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and was asked to supply a timer that produced a printed record. This request brought Seiko into the business of printer production. The company developed the world’s first mini-printer for the 1964 Games and called it EP-101 (EP standing for Electronic Printer). In 1975 Seiko introduced the next generation of EP printers which was called EPSON, from “SON of EP”. Cute, huh?

Nagano is a city on Japan’s largest island, Honshu. Nagano hosted the 1998 Winter Olympic Games.

117. Provide fake cover for, e.g. : ABET

The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

120. Texas MLBer : ‘STRO

The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros (sometimes “’Stros”) from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program. The Astros moved from the National League to the American League starting in the 2013 season.

122. To be, to Benoît : ETRE

The verb “to be” translates into German as “sein”, and into French as “être”.

126. “Wish Tree” artist : ONO

“Wish Tree” is a series of living art installations by Yoko Ono. The series consists of native trees planted under her direction, Ono invites viewers to tie written wishes to the trees. Ono has been installing “Wish Tree” exhibits in locations around the world since the 1990s. She does not read the wishes, but collects them for burial under the Imagine Peace Tower, a memorial to John Lennon located on an island near Reykjavik, Iceland. There are over a million such wishes under the memorial today.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Bowling pin wood : MAPLE
6. Princess Charlotte, to Harry : NIECE
11. Hornets, e.g. : WASPS
16. 2008 TARP beneficiary : AIG
19. Think tank nuggets : IDEAS
20. “The Thin Blue Line” director Morris : ERROL
21. Mexican month : ENERO
22. Stage coach Hagen : UTA
23. *Chances that slipped away : LOST OPPORTUNITIES
26. Tricky bit : GAG
27. Type of well : ARTESIAN
28. Fulda tributary : EDER
29. Griller’s flipper : SPATULA
31. Bird hangout : NEST
32. Romance novelist Hilderbrand : ELIN
34. Gate datum: Abbr. : ETD
35. Windows forerunner : MS-DOS
36. Type of jam in Sacher tortes : APRICOT
39. One of the original Warner Bros. : SAM
41. Sporty car roof : T-TOP
44. Long story : SAGA
46. Way to go: Abbr. : DIR
48. Frees : LETS LOOSE
52. Platform site: Abbr. : STN
53. Twitter forwards, on Twitter : RTS
56. Kings Peak state : UTAH
58. Just __ bit : A WEE
59. Ramallah-based org. : PLO
60. Make an ad spicier, say : SEX IT UP
62. *True view : HONEST OPINION
65. Shower unit? : RAINDROP
67. Gives someone a hand : CLAPS
68. Flake or Duckworth: Abbr. : SEN
69. Gin flavor : SLOE
70. *Often the best choice, in retrospect : FIRST OPTION
74. Catcher’s place : HOME
77. Good times : UPS
79. Bring down : LOWER
80. One often includes a colon : EMOTICON
82. *Swindlers : FAST OPERATORS
87. Hearing range : EARSHOT
88. Surreal ending? : -IST
89. __ song : FOR A
90. Trash : RUIN
91. Pronoun for a princess : SHE
92. “Mr. Blue Sky” band : ELO
93. They can yield immediate results : SPOT TESTS
96. Poker great Ungar : STU
97. PlayStation handheld game : VITA
99. Baking amts. : TSPS
100. Autobahn winter hazard : EIS
102. Take no side : ABSTAIN
106. Tibetan monks : LAMAS
110. Sports radio host Patrick : DAN
112. Editor’s retraction : STET
113. Salinger character who says to the story narrator, “I don’t think I shall tell you my full name” : ESME
117. First name in exploration : AMERIGO
119. Noteworthy stretches : ERAS
121. Fruit-flavored frozen treat : OTTER POP
123. Showy wrap : BOA
124. *Ristorante appetizers : ANTIPASTO PLATTERS
127. Overhead rumblers : ELS
128. “I’m with you” : ME TOO
129. Links hero, familiarly : ARNIE
130. __ Blue: old laundry soap : RINSO
131. Graphic top : TEE
132. “Uh-uh!” : I WON’T!
133. Bonkers : LOONY
134. Packed away : EATEN

Down

1. Lombardy’s capital : MILAN
2. Place on a pedestal : ADORE
3. Raid targets : PESTS
4. Reason to challenge an out call : LATE TAG
5. Those, in Tabasco : ESOS
6. Sherpa, usually : NEPALI
7. Like a typical O. Henry story : IRONIC
8. Boot the ball : ERR
9. Dove’s digs : COTE
10. Slip past : ELUDE
11. “Mandatory Fun” parodist, familiarly : WEIRD AL
12. Red or army follower : … ANT
13. Earthshaking event : SEISM
14. Gets ready : PREPS
15. “Such a pity” : SO SAD
16. *Former Chilean dictator : AUGUSTO PINOCHET
17. Leaning type: Abbr. : ITAL
18. Lady on stage : GAGA
24. Place to tie up : PIER
25. Court dividers : NETS
30. “… and your little dog, too!” dog : TOTO
33. “Ya think?” : NO DUH
37. Medicare prescription drug section : PART D
38. Jackson 5 member : TITO
40. Hearty pastry : MEAT PIE
42. Capital on a fjord : OSLO
43. Menial laborer : PEON
44. Big bargain : STEAL
45. *Bending over backward, say : ANXIOUS TO PLEASE
47. Spiteful : RANCOROUS
49. Masters Tournament weekend groupings : TWOSOMES
50. Qtr.-ending month : SEP
51. Luau souvenirs : LEIS
52. Much of Eastern Eur., once : SSRS
54. Tough’s territory : TURF
55. Unwelcome giveaways : SPOILERS
57. Emergency menu : HELP
61. Butterfingered : INEPT
63. Tended tots : SAT
64. Classic grape sodas : NEHIS
66. Divide fairly : PRORATE
71. Giant among low-cost carriers: Abbr. : SWA
72. Four: Prefix : TETR-
73. Biblical builder : NOAH
75. Dough : MOOLA
76. Opposite of exo- : ENTO-
78. Like comfy slippers : SOFT
81. “Three Coins …” fountain : TREVI
82. Punch deliverer : FIST
83. Venomous vipers : ASPS
84. “The Black Cat” author : POE
85. “On the Bus With Rosa Parks” poet Dove : RITA
86. Slights : SNUBS
94. Nicholas, for one : TSAR
95. Bet money an “all in” player can’t win : SIDE POT
98. Loafer’s quality : INERTIA
101. Actress Gilbert : SARA
103. Visit briefly … and a hint to the answers to starred clues : STOP IN
104. Bigelow alternative : TETLEY
105. Lead-in to girl or boy : ATTA …
107. “Scarface” setting : MIAMI
108. ’60s-’70s veep : AGNEW
109. __ voce: softly : SOTTO
111. Twangy-sounding : NASAL
114. Tuckered out : SPENT
115. Man with a code : MORSE
116. Nagano-based printer giant : EPSON
117. Provide fake cover for, e.g. : ABET
118. Sleeper agent : MOLE
120. Texas MLBer : ‘STRO
122. To be, to Benoît : ETRE
125. Non-neutral atom : ION
126. “Wish Tree” artist : ONO

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