LA Times Crossword 7 Apr 19, Sunday

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Constructed by: Paul Coulter
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Just Desserts

Themed answers each include a kind of DESSERT, and each answer sounds like a common phrase:

  • 22A Sure sign that Spot got into today’s dessert? : PUDDING ON THE DOG (from “putting on the dog”)
  • 35A Krispy Kreme rep’s agenda? : DOUGHNUT CALL LIST (from “Do Not Call List”)
  • 52A Ice cream order toppings? : SUNDAE SUPPLEMENTS (from “Sunday supplements”)
  • 77A Final roadside stop for an eggy treat? : CUSTARD’S LAST STAND (from “Custer’s Last Stand”)
  • 92A “You’ve made the Heath bar perfectly!”? : THAT’S A REAL TOFFEE (from “that’s a real toughie”)
  • 113A “Nice apple tart, Christopher”? : GOOD PIE, COLUMBUS (from “Goodbye, Columbus”)

Bill’s time: 16m 44s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “Beat it!” : SCAT!

Our word “scat!” means “get lost!” It comes from a 19th-century expression “quicker than s’cat”, which meant “in a great hurry”. The original phrase probably came from the words “hiss” and “cat”.

5 Rubberneck : GAWK

We have been rubbernecking since the late 1800s, although the word ”rubberneck” originally applied to someone with a tendency to listen in other people’s conversations”. The term really became popular when people started rubbernecking in automobiles.

9 Preserve, in a way : SALT

Salt is used to “cure” meats. Curing is a preservation process. The salt kills and inhibits the growth of microorganisms by sucking the water out of the microbe’s cells in the process of osmosis. Smoking is also cited as curing process, although smoking alone is insufficient for preserving food as the antimicrobial smoke compounds only adhere to the outside of the meat or fish. Smoking is usually combined with salt-curing or drying.

18 “East of Eden” director Kazan : ELIA

Elia Kazan won Oscars for best director in 1948 for “Gentleman’s Agreement” and in 1955 for “On The Waterfront”. In 1999 Kazan was given an Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also directed “East of Eden”, which introduced James Dean to movie audiences, and “Splendor in the Grass” that included Warren Beatty in his debut role.

19 Only part of Egypt in Asia : SINAI

The Sinai Peninsula is in the eastern part of Egypt, and is a triangular peninsula bounded by the Mediterranean to the north and the Red Sea to the south. It is the only part of Egypt that lies in Asia as opposed to Africa. The eastern land border of the peninsula is shared with Israel, and Israel occupied the Sinai during the 1956 Suez Crisis and the Six Day War of 1967.

20 Brio : ELAN

“Brio” is borrowed from Italian, in which language the term means “vigor and vivacity”. “Con brio” is a musical direction often found on a score, instructing the musicians to play “with energy, vigor”.

21 Bedouin, e.g. : NOMAD

Bedouin tribes are Arab ethnic groups that predominantly live in the Middle East, in desert areas. Bedouin tribes tend to be nomadic, not settling permanently in one location.

22 Sure sign that Spot got into today’s dessert? : PUDDING ON THE DOG (from “putting on the dog”)

The phrase “putting on the dog” describes the act of dressing flashingly or stylishly in order to show off one’s wealth or status. The expression is American in origin and arose as college slang in the 1860s. Around that time, the adjective “doggy” was slang for “costly, fancy”.

27 Nutritious beans : SOYAS

What are known as soybeans here in the US are called “soya beans” in most other English-speaking countries. So, I drink soy milk here in America, but when I am over in Ireland I drink “soya milk”.

28 Metaphorical fate of a hatchet? : BURIAL

The phrase “to bury the hatchet” means “to settle a disagreement”. The expression has its roots in a Native American peacekeeping custom involving the literal burial of two hatchets to signify a peace agreement.

29 HuffPost owner : AOL

“The Huffington Post” (now “HuffPost”) is a news website founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington. It is a very active site, with 3,000 people contributing blog posts (including many celebrities and politicians), and readers leaving over one million comments every month. “The Huffington Post” was sold to AOL in 2011 for $315 million, with Arianna Huffington staying on as editor-in-chief.

30 Prefix with phobia : ACRO-

Our prefix “acro-” comes from the Greek “akros” meaning “at the top”. Examples are “acrophobia” (fear of heights) and “Acropolis” (“city at the top”).

32 APO mail recipients : GIS

The initials “GI” stand for “Government Issue”, and not “General Infantry” as is widely believed. “GI” was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

Army post office (APO)

35 Krispy Kreme rep’s agenda? : DOUGHNUT CALL LIST (from “Do Not Call List”)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established in 1914 with the mission of protecting consumers. The FTC runs the National Do Not Call Registry which can limit the amount of telemarketing calls that consumers receive. To register your number, simply go to the website www.donotcall.gov.

The Krispy Kreme chain of doughnut stores was founded in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The company introduced the Whole Wheat Glazed doughnut in 2007, which is great news for folks looking to eat a healthy diet, I am sure …

43 Medicinal plants : SENNAS

Sennas are plants in the legume family. Historically, the pods and leaves of the senna plant have been used as a laxative.

47 Boris Godunov, for one : TSAR

Boris Godunov was Tsar of Russia from 1598 to 1605. He is perhaps better known these days because of the artistic works that are based on his life. Alexander Pushkin wrote the play “Boris Godunov”, partially using Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” to structure the storyline of Godunov’s life. Modest Mussorgsky then wrote a famous opera, also titled “Boris Godunov”, that is based on the Pushkin play.

49 NFL six-pointers : TDS

Touchdown (TD)

50 Kopf, across the border : TETE

The English word “head” translates into French as “tête”, and into German as “Kopf”.

52 Ice cream order toppings? : SUNDAE SUPPLEMENTS (from “Sunday supplements”)

There’s a lot of speculation about how the dessert called a sundae got its name, but there seems to be agreement that it is an alteration of the word “Sunday”.

58 Prof’s aides : TAS

Teaching assistant (TA)

61 Rose garden pests : APHIDS

Aphids are called “greenfly” back in the British Isles where I come from. The most effective way to control aphids, in my experience, is to make sure there are plenty of ladybugs in the garden (called “ladybirds” in Ireland!).

65 NYSE debut : 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).

66 Request before a shot : SMILE

Photographers often instruct us to say “cheese” to elicit a smile-like expression. Even Japanese photographers use the word “cheese” to achieve the same effect. Bulgarians use the word “zele” meaning “cabbage”. The Chinese say “eggplant”, the Danish “orange”, the Iranians “apple” and the most Latin Americans say “whiskey”.

76 Campaign trail pro : POL

Politician (pol)

77 Final roadside stop for an eggy treat? : CUSTARD’S LAST STAND (from “Custer’s Last Stand”)

The Battle of Little Bighorn was a famous engagement between the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho Native American peoples against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army led by General George Custer. Custer was soundly defeated and he and all of his men were killed in the engagement. As a result, the battle is often referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand”. I had the privilege of visiting the battle site a few years ago, and it was a very memorable experience.

82 Ness, for example : LOCH

The Loch Ness monster has been talked about for centuries, but modern interest started in 1933 when a spate of sightings was reported. Those sightings don’t seem to have stopped, with photographs really sparking the imagination.

84 Soviet news acronym : TASS

“TASS” is the abbreviation used for the former news agency that had the full name Telegraph Association of the Soviet Union (Telegrafnoe Agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza). When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, the Moscow-based agency’s scope changed along with its name. It is now known as the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR-TASS).

87 Langston Hughes poem : I, TOO

Langston Hughes was a poet active in the Harlem Renaissance, and someone who helped develop the literary form known as “jazz poetry”. His poem “I, Too, Sing America” was published in 1925.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed–

I, too, am America.

88 Light-seeking flier : MOTH

It isn’t really understood why moths are attracted to artificial lights. There is one theory that sounds plausible to me though. It is suggested that moths navigate at night by maintaining the moon (the brightest celestial object) at a fixed angle. When a moth finds a brighter light source, like an artificial light, it gets confused.

89 Slew : SCAD

The origin of the word “scads”, meaning “lots and lots”, is unclear. That said, “scads” was used to mean “dollars” back in the mid-1800s.

91 __ Beach: South Carolina resort : MYRTLE

Myrtle Beach is a coastal city in South Carolina. With a population of only 27,000 people, Myrtle Beach copes with about 14 million tourists annually.

92 “You’ve made the Heath bar perfectly!”? : THAT’S A REAL TOFFEE (from “that’s a real toughie”)

The Heath candy bar was created by brothers Bayard and Everett Heath in the 1920s.

96 One of two in seven: Abbr. : SYL

Syllable (syl.)

99 Bygone Ford : LTD

There has been a lot of speculation about what the abbreviation “LTD” stands for in the car model known as “Ford LTD”. Many say it is an initialism standing for “Luxury Trim Decor”, and others say that it is short for “limited”. Although the car was produced in Australia with the initialism meaning “Lincoln Type Design”, it seems that “LTD” was originally chosen as just three meaningless letters that sound well together.

101 Tropical lizard : IGUANA

Iguanas have what is known as a “third eye” on their heads. Known as the parietal eye, it can sense levels of light, although it cannot make out details.

105 “The __ Witch Project” : BLAIR

“The Blair Witch Project” is a 1999 horror film with an unusual twist in terms of structure. It’s about three young filmmakers who hike into the Black Hills in Maryland looking for the legendary Blair Witch. The three disappear, with only the disturbing footage they recorded being left behind. It is this “real footage” that is used to make the film.

112 Boy with a bow : CUPID

Cupid was the god of love in Roman mythology. Cupid’s name comes from the Latin verb “cupere” meaning “to desire”. Cupid’s Latin name was Amor, and his Greek counterpart was Eros.

113 “Nice apple tart, Christopher”? : GOOD PIE, COLUMBUS (from “Goodbye, Columbus”)

“Goodbye, Columbus” is a 1959 collection of stories by Philip Roth. The book comprises a novella (titled “Goodbye, Columbus”) and five short stories. The collection won the 1960 National Book Award for Fiction. The novella was adapted into a 1969 movie starring Ali MacGraw and Richard Benjamin.

118 “Buddenbrooks” author : MANN

“Buddenbrooks” was Thomas Mann’s first novel, published in 1901. When Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929, it was given on the basis of his whole body of work, although “Buddenbrooks” was specifically mentioned as the main reason for the award.

121 “As I Lay Dying” father : ANSE

“As I Lay Dying” is a novel by William Faulkner first published in 1930. The book has an unusual structure, with stream of consciousness writing throughout. There is one whole chapter that I’d like to quote here:

My mother is a fish.

That’s a five-word chapter …

122 Q.E.D. part : ERAT

The initialism “QED” is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. QED stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

Down

1 Half of quatorze : SEPT

In French, “deux” (two) goes into “quatorze” (fourteen) “sept” (seven) times.

2 Whodunit game : CLUE

Clue is board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

3 “O patria mia” singer : AIDA

“O patria mia” is an aria from Verdi’s “Aida”. The aria is sung by the title character, with “O patria mia” translating as “O, my homeland”.

4 Young boys : TADS

Back in the 1800s, “tad” was used to describe a young child, and this extended into our usage of “small amount” in the early 1900s. The original use of “tad” for a child is very likely a shortened version of “tadpole”.

5 Paid male escort : GIGOLO

In French, a “gigole” is a “dancing girl, prostitute”. The male form of the word, “gigolo”, came into use in English in the 1920s.

8 Like plastic pink flamingos : KITSCHY

“Kitsch” is a German word, and is an adjective that means “gaudy, trash”.

10 “The West Wing” actor : ALDA

Alan Alda has had a great television career, especially of course as a lead actor in “M*A*S*H”. Alda won his first Emmy in 1972, for playing surgeon Hawkeye Pierce on “M*A*S*H”. He also won an Emmy in 2006 for his portrayal of Presidential candidate Senator Arnold Vinick in “The West Wing”. When it comes to the big screen, my favorite of Alda’s movies is the 1978 romantic comedy “Same Time, Next Year” in which he starred opposite Ellen Burstyn.

“The West Wing”, when it was being written by Aaron Sorkin, was such a fabulous television event. It is remarkable how quickly it went downhill after Sorkin moved on. Sorkin is also famous for having written the play “A Few Good Men”, and the screenplay for one of my favorite movies, namely “Charlie Wilson’s War”.

11 Golden Triangle country : LAOS

The “Golden Triangle” is the name given to one of the main opium-producing areas in Asia. The triangular area includes part of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.

12 Sci-fi spin-off before “DS9” : TNG

When Gene Roddenberry first proposed the science fiction series that became “Star Trek”, he marketed it as “Wagon Train to the Stars”, a pioneer-style Western in outer space. In fact his idea was to produce something more like “Gulliver’s Travels”, as he intended to write episodes that were adventure stories on one level, but morality tales on another. Personally I think that he best achieved this model with the spin-off series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (TNG). If you watch individual episodes you will see thinly disguised treatments of moral issues such as racism, homosexuality, genocide etc. For my money, “The Next Generation” is the best of the whole franchise …

“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (DS9) is TV series belonging to the “Star Trek” franchise that originally ran from 1993 to 1999. This show was set on a space station, so there wasn’t much trekking going on. The stations name is “Deep Space Nine”. I never cared for this one …

15 Both: Pref. : AMBI-

The prefix “ambi-” that we use to mean “both” is a Latin word that actually means “around” or “round about”.

17 Henry James biographer Leon : EDEL

Leon Edel wrote a highly respected biography of author Henry James, for which Edel won a Pulitzer Prize. Leon’s younger brother Abraham was a noted philosopher and ethicist.

Author Henry James was born in New York City, but left the US while a young man and eventually settled in England. The list of his novels includes several that have been adapted for film and television, including “The Turn of the Screw”, “Washington Square”, “The Wings of the Dove” and “The Bostonian”. James died in Chelsea, London but his ashes were buried in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at his request.

19 Hair holders : SNOODS

A snood is a net or a bag worn over the hair. “Snood” comes from the Old English word “snod” meaning “ribbon for the hair”.

23 Draft pick : IPA

India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

31 Expert : MAVEN

I’ve always loved the term “maven”, which is another word for “expert”. Maven comes into English from the Yiddish “meyvn” describing someone who appreciates and is a connoisseur.

32 Classification between family and species : GENUS

Taxonomy is the classification of organisms or maybe even just items into groups or categories. We are most familiar with the classification of organisms in the major taxonomic ranks of:

  • Life
  • Domain
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
  • Order
  • Family
  • Genus (plural “genera”)
  • Species

34 Dudley’s toon foe : SNIDELY

Dudley Do-Right appeared on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, a cartoon that appeared on television in a couple of different versions from 1959-1964. Dudley was a bungling Mountie who struggled with his nemesis, the evil Snidely Whiplash, while pursuing the romantic intentions of Nell Fenwick (who always seemed to prefer Dudley’s horse!).

36 Hindustani 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.

“Hindustan” is a historical name for the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.

39 Env. enclosure : LTR

An envelope (env.) might hold a letter (ltr.).

40 Query in Matthew : IS IT I?

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles that one of them would betray him that day. According to the Gospel of Matthew:

And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

43 “Help!” : SOS!

The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots). That said, in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so “SOS” is really only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics that were introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.

44 Biblical language : ARAMAIC

The ancient Biblical land of Aram was named after Aram, a grandson of Noah. Aram was located in the center of modern-day Syria. Aramaic became the everyday language of Syria, Mesopotamia and Palestine.

49 Chinese menu possessive : TSO’S

General Tso’s chicken is an American creation, and a dish often found on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. The name General Tso may be a reference to General Zuo Zongtang of the Qing Dynasty, but there is no clear link.

50 Mortise inserts : TENONS

One simple type of joint used in carpentry is a mortise and tenon. It is basically a projection carved at the end of one piece of wood that fits into a hole cut into the end of another. In the related dovetail joint, the projecting tenon is not rectangular but is cut at a bias, so that when the dovetails are joined they resist being pulled apart. You’ll see dovetail joints in drawers around the house.

53 “College Football Live” channel : ESPNU

ESPNU (short for “ESPN Universities”) is a sports channel focused on college athletics.

55 Fat, e.g. : LIPID

Lipids are a groups of naturally occurring molecules including fats, waxes and fat-soluble vitamins (like A, D and E). Sometimes we use the words “fat” and “lipid” interchangeably but fats are a subgroup of lipids, specifically a group best called triglycerides.

62 Bullies : HECTORS

The verb “to hector” means “to bully, to dominate in a blustering way”. The term comes from the Trojan hero Hector, who encouraged his fellow Trojans to keep up the fight against the Greeks. I guess he must have bullied them …

68 Small Champagne bottle : SPLIT

The list of standard sizes for wine bottles is quite long. The main ones encountered would be:

  • 187.5 ml: a “split”, often used for a single serving of champagne
  • 375 ml: a “half”
  • 750 ml: the standard size
  • 1.5 L: a “magnum”, double the standard size
  • 3.0 L: a “double magnum”, and also a “standard size” for boxes of wine

70 Big name in kitchen foil : ALCOA

The Aluminum Corporation of America (ALCOA) is the largest producer of aluminum in the United States. The company was founded in 1888 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where its headquarters are to this day.

72 Buckwheat porridge : KASHA

Kasha is a type of porridge made from roasted whole-grain buckwheat. The dish is most popular in the Russian and Jewish cultures.

75 Fishhook fastener : SNELL

A snell is a length of thin line that connects a fishhook to heavier line. The knot that is typically used to fasten a hook to the snell is known as a snell knot.

80 Typist’s left hand home keys : A-S-D-F

When touch typing, the typist allows the four fingers of each hand to return to eight keys at the center of the keyboard. These “home keys” for the left hand are A-S-D-F, and for the right hand are J-K-L-; (semicolon).

81 “__ Day”: 1993 rap hit : DRE

“Dre Day” is the cleaned-up name for a 1993 single released by rap artist Dr. Dre, with a guest appearance by Snoop Doggy Dogg.

88 Kate of “The Martian” : MARA

Kate Mara is the actress who plays a female lead in the US TV series “House of Cards”. Kate is the sister of fellow actress Rooney Mara who played the lead in the American version of the film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.

“The Martian” is an intriguing 2015 science fiction film starring Matt Damon as an astronaut who is accidentally stranded on Mars. The movie is based on a 2011 novel of the same name by Andrew Weir. One thing that I liked about the film is that the science cited is fairly realistic. In fact, NASA collaborated with the filmmakers extensively from script development to principal casting.

89 Bacon portion : STRIP

“Bacon” is an Old French word that we imported into English. The term ultimately comes from the Proto-Germanic “bakkon” meaning “back meat”.

90 Contest with picadors : CORRIDA

Spanish bullfighting is known locally as “corrida de toros”, literally “race of bulls”.

In Spanish bullfighting, picadors are horsemen that take on a bull in pairs, using lances to jab the poor creature. The picadors have a specific job, to lacerate the muscle on the back of the bull’s neck and to fatigue him before the toreros (bullfighters) are let loose.

91 Iron and zinc : METALS

The Latin word for “iron” is “ferrum”, which gives us “Fe” as the metal’s chemical symbol.

The metal zinc is an essential trace element in the human diet. There are 2-4 grams of zinc in the body typically, with the highest concentrations in the eyes and the male prostate gland.

95 “Get Shorty” novelist __ Leonard : ELMORE

Elmore Leonard used to write a lot of westerns in the fifties and moved onto crime and suspense novels later in his career. A lot of his books have made it to the big screen, including “Get Shorty” and “Mr Majestyk”.

“Get Shorty” is a 1995 crime-comedy with a great cast that includes John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo and Danny DeVito. That said, the storyline is a little too zany for me so I didn’t really enjoy it …

100 R&B group __ Hill : DRU

Dru Hill is an R&B singing group from Baltimore, Maryland. Dru Hill was formed in 1992, and is still going strong today. The name “Dru Hill” comes from Druid Hill Park which is found on the west side of Baltimore.

101 “Rhyme Pays” rapper : ICE-T

“Rhyme Pays” is a 1987 album released by musician Ice-T. It was the rapper’s first studio album, and is considered in retrospect to be perhaps the album that defined the genre now known as “gangsta rap”.

102 Expert : GURU

“Guru” is a Hindi word meaning “teacher” or “priest”.

105 Cram, with “up” : BONE

The phrasal verb “to bone up” means “to study”, and is student slang that dates back to the 1880s. The term probably comes a series of books used by students back then called “Bohn’s Classical Library”.

106 Centers of activity : LOCI

“Locus” (plural “loci”) is Latin for “place”, and is used in English with the same meaning. The term can also be used to describe a center of power or activity.

108 Plus-size supermodel : EMME

Emme is the highest-paid plus-size model in the world. Emme was born Melissa Miller in New York City, and was raised in Saudi Arabia.

109 Alpine transport : T-BAR

A T-bar is a ski lift on which the skiers are pulled up the hill in pairs, with each pair standing (not sitting!) either side of a T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skiers as they remain standing on their skis (hopefully!). There’s also a J-bar, which is a similar device but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.

110 Toon Charlie, memorably : TUNA

StarKist is a brand of tuna that uses Charlie the Tuna as its cartoon mascot.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 “Beat it!” : SCAT!
5 Rubberneck : GAWK
9 Preserve, in a way : SALT
13 Grammar topic : USAGE
18 “East of Eden” director Kazan : ELIA
19 Only part of Egypt in Asia : SINAI
20 Brio : ELAN
21 Bedouin, e.g. : NOMAD
22 Sure sign that Spot got into today’s dessert? : PUDDING ON THE DOG (from “putting on the dog”)
25 Doubtful story : FABLE
26 Cause of a stir? : TEASPOON
27 Nutritious beans : SOYAS
28 Metaphorical fate of a hatchet? : BURIAL
29 HuffPost owner : AOL
30 Prefix with phobia : ACRO-
31 Damage : MAR
32 APO mail recipients : GIS
35 Krispy Kreme rep’s agenda? : DOUGHNUT CALL LIST (from “Do Not Call List”)
43 Medicinal plants : SENNAS
45 Beams : RAYS
46 Give birth to : HAVE
47 Boris Godunov, for one : TSAR
48 Broadcast sign : ON AIR
49 NFL six-pointers : TDS
50 Kopf, across the border : TETE
51 Agitate : RILE
52 Ice cream order toppings? : SUNDAE SUPPLEMENTS (from “Sunday supplements”)
58 Prof’s aides : TAS
59 Appear that way : SEEM SO
60 Record holder : LINER
61 Rose garden pests : APHIDS
63 Run out, as a subscription : LAPSE
65 NYSE debut : IPO
66 Request before a shot : SMILE
68 Remain at home : STAY IN
71 Coil of yarn : SKEIN
73 Passes : ENACTS
76 Campaign trail pro : POL
77 Final roadside stop for an eggy treat? : CUSTARD’S LAST STAND (from “Custer’s Last Stand”)
82 Ness, for example : LOCH
84 Soviet news acronym : TASS
85 Double curve : ESS
86 One washing off the driveway : HOSER
87 Langston Hughes poem : I, TOO
88 Light-seeking flier : MOTH
89 Slew : SCAD
91 __ Beach: South Carolina resort : MYRTLE
92 “You’ve made the Heath bar perfectly!”? : THAT’S A REAL TOFFEE (from “that’s a real toughie”)
96 One of two in seven: Abbr. : SYL
97 Exist : ARE
98 Blows it : ERRS
99 Bygone Ford : LTD
101 Tropical lizard : IGUANA
105 “The __ Witch Project” : BLAIR
107 Italian almond biscuits : AMARETTI
112 Boy with a bow : CUPID
113 “Nice apple tart, Christopher”? : GOOD PIE, COLUMBUS (from “Goodbye, Columbus”)
115 Chip away at : ERODE
116 It’s sometimes enough : ONCE
117 They’re not idlers : DOERS
118 “Buddenbrooks” author : MANN
119 One tweaking pitches : TUNER
120 Style : VEIN
121 “As I Lay Dying” father : ANSE
122 Q.E.D. part : ERAT

Down

1 Half of quatorze : SEPT
2 Whodunit game : CLUE
3 “O patria mia” singer : AIDA
4 Young boys : TADS
5 Paid male escort : GIGOLO
6 Like some quotes: Abbr. : ANON
7 Pale : WAN
8 Like plastic pink flamingos : KITSCHY
9 “Later” : SEE YOU
10 “The West Wing” actor : ALDA
11 Golden Triangle country : LAOS
12 Sci-fi spin-off before “DS9” : TNG
13 Roll out : UNFURL
14 Enjoy a view from on high : SOAR
15 Both: Pref. : AMBI-
16 Big party : GALA
17 Henry James biographer Leon : EDEL
19 Hair holders : SNOODS
23 Draft pick : IPA
24 They’re heard in jams : HORNS
28 Barn bundle : BALE
30 Dumbfounded : AGASP
31 Expert : MAVEN
32 Classification between family and species : GENUS
33 Absurd : INANE
34 Dudley’s toon foe : SNIDELY
36 Hindustani language : URDU
37 English assignment : THEME
38 Does a reception job : CATERS
39 Env. enclosure : LTR
40 Query in Matthew : IS IT I?
41 Food at a bar : SALAD
42 Head lock : TRESS
43 “Help!” : SOS!
44 Biblical language : ARAMAIC
49 Chinese menu possessive : TSO’S
50 Mortise inserts : TENONS
53 “College Football Live” channel : ESPNU
54 Grasping tool : PLIERS
55 Fat, e.g. : LIPID
56 Corrupt : TAINT
57 Ostentatious : SPLASHY
62 Bullies : HECTORS
64 Focus of an heir war? : ESTATE
67 Clutter : MESS
68 Small Champagne bottle : SPLIT
69 Zipper part : TOOTH
70 Big name in kitchen foil : ALCOA
72 Buckwheat porridge : KASHA
74 “Yum!” : TASTY!
75 Fishhook fastener : SNELL
78 Supply : STORE
79 Flips (through) : LEAFS
80 Typist’s left hand home keys : A-S-D-F
81 “__ Day”: 1993 rap hit : DRE
83 All the rage : HOT
88 Kate of “The Martian” : MARA
89 Bacon portion : STRIP
90 Contest with picadors : CORRIDA
91 Iron and zinc : METALS
93 Carpenter’s need : SANDER
94 Dull gray, as winter skies : LEADEN
95 “Get Shorty” novelist __ Leonard : ELMORE
100 R&B group __ Hill : DRU
101 “Rhyme Pays” rapper : ICE-T
102 Expert : GURU
103 Informed about : UP ON
104 Right hand : AIDE
105 Cram, with “up” : BONE
106 Centers of activity : LOCI
107 First-rate : ACES
108 Plus-size supermodel : EMME
109 Alpine transport : T-BAR
110 Toon Charlie, memorably : TUNA
111 “This __ working” : ISN’T
113 Statehouse VIP : GOV
114 Long, long time : EON