LA Times Crossword 9 Feb 20, Sunday

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Constructed by: Yaakov Bendavid
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: No More Tears

Themed answers are common phrases including that word “CRY”, which has been replaced with a similar-sounding alternative:

  • 23A Chicken lover’s comment? : NOTHING LIKE A GOOD THIGH (from “nothing like a good cry”)
  • 43A Denial from one with a very recent white mustache? : LIE OVER SPILT MILK (from “cry over spilt milk”)
  • 62A Local monastery VIP? : THE TOWN PRIOR (from “the town crier”)
  • 67A Bad do result? : A DYEING SHAME (from “a crying shame”)
  • 85A Young shepherd resigned to losing his flock? : BOY WHO SIGHED WOLF (from “Boy Who Cried Wolf”)
  • 108A Evita’s exhortation to use sunscreen? : DON’T FRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA (from “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”)

Bill’s time: 14m 30s

Bill’s errors: 2

  • GUN (run)
  • STENGEL (Stenrel!!!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Stand array : ZINES

A zine is a magazine. The term “zine” is often reserved for noncommercial publications, including those issued online.

6 Exams for aspiring MBAs : GMATS

If you want to get into a business school’s graduate program then you might have to take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), which will cost you about $250, I believe …

20 Draw a bead on : AIM AT

To draw a bead on something is to take aim at it. The “bead” in question is the front sight of a gun.

21 Old alphabet character : RUNE

A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

22 Inter __: among others : ALIA

“Inter alia” is Latin for “among other things”.

27 Most exceptional, in recent lingo : INSANEST

Lingo is specialized vocabulary. “Journalese” and “legalese” would be good examples.

32 Tannery tub : VAT

Leather is made from animal skins. When the flesh, fat and hair is removed from the skin and it is dried, the resulting product is rawhide. Further treatment of the skin with chemicals that permanently alter the protein structure of the skin is known as tanning, and the resulting product is leather.

34 What many writers work on : SPEC

Something that is created on spec is done so without having a specific buyer or consumer in mind. Many crosswords are constructed on spec, and then submitted to the likes of the “New York Times” or “Los Angeles Times” in the hope of publication.

46 Ant or Arkin : ADAM

Adam Ant is an English musician who had a few number-one hits on both sides of the Atlantic in the eighties. His most famous recordings were probably “Stand and Deliver” and “Prince Charming” from 1981, and “Goody Two-Shoes” from 1982. Englishman Ant even managed to get himself voted as sexiest man in America by viewers of MTV.

Actor Adam Arkin’s breakthrough role was probably playing Aaron Shutt in the TV drama “Chicago Hope”. Born in 1956, Adam is the son of fellow-actor Alan Arkin.

51 Title words before Legend or Woman : I AM …

“I Am Legend” is a 1955 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson that tells of an apparent sole survivor of a pandemic. The survivor has to fight off zombie-like vampires who come out at night. “I Am Legend” was famously adapted into a 1971 movie called “The Omega Man” starring Charlton Heston, and then into a 2007 film using the same title as the novel that stars Will Smith.

The successful singer Helen Reddy was born in Melbourne, Australia. In 1966, Reddy won a talent contest and earned herself a trip to New York City for an audition. The 25-year-old single mother decided to stay in the US, and a few years later was able to launch a successful singing career. Her hit song “I Am Woman”, released in 1972, was the first recording by an Australian artist to reach #1 in the US charts.

53 “You __ Beautiful”: Joe Cocker hit : ARE SO

“You Are So Beautiful” is a song written by Dennis Wilson and Billy Preston, first recorded by Preston in 1974. Later the same year, Joe Cocker recorded a slower version of the song that was to become more successful than the original.

54 Roast job : MC’ING

The term “emcee” comes from “MC”, an initialism used for a Master or Mistress of Ceremonies.

56 Reporter’s query : WHEN?

The Five Ws (or “Five Ws and one H”) is a journalistic concept used for gathering information. For a story to be complete, six questions need to be answered:

  1. Who is it about?
  2. What happened?
  3. Where did it take place?
  4. When did it take place?
  5. Why did it happen?
  6. How did it happen?

60 Biblical prophet : AMOS

Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The Old Testament’s Book of Amos is attributed to him.

62 Local monastery VIP? : THE TOWN PRIOR (from “the town crier”)

Town criers make public announcements on the streets, usually shouting “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” to attract attention. The term “oyez” derives from the Anglo-Norman word for “listen” and is used in this instance to me “Hear ye!”

64 Air__, 2011 Southwest acquisition : TRAN

AirTran Airways was a budget airline that has its principal hub in Atlanta. The company was founded in 1993 as ValuJet Airlines. AirTran had been owned by Southwest Airlines since 2011 and was fully integrated into the parent company in 2014, when the AirTran brand was shelved.

65 Chicago’s __ Tower : SEARS

Sears made a big splash in the world’s newspapers in 1974 when it completed its new headquarters in Chicago, the Sears Tower. At 110 stories, it was the tallest building in the world, and remained so until the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur were completed in 1996. Sears moved out of the building in 1993, but had the rights to the name on the building until early 2009. Since that time, the building has been called the Willis Tower, after the new owners.

71 Italian actress Virna : LISI

Virna Lisi is an Italian film actress who made a few movies in Hollywood in the sixties. Lisi appeared opposite Jack Lemmon in the fun movie “How to Murder Your Wife” in 1965, and with Frank Sinatra in “Assault on a Queen” in 1966.

72 Submissions to an ed. : MSS

An editor (ed.) might read or edit a manuscript (MS)

75 Big name in plastic explosives : SEMTEX

The plastic explosive known as Semtex was developed in former Czechoslovakia in the late fifties. The material is named for Semtin, a suburb of the city of Pardubice located just under 100 km east of Prague. Semtex was developed in Semtin.

76 First name in folk : ARLO

Singer Arlo Guthrie is known for his protest songs, just like his father Woody Guthrie. The younger Guthrie only ever had one song in the top 40: a cover version of “City of New Orleans”. He has lived for years in the town of Washington, just outside Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His 1976 song “Massachusetts” has been the official folk song of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 1981.

77 Hwy. crime : DUI

In some states, there is no longer a legal difference between a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Other states retain that difference, so that by definition a DUI is a lesser offence than a DWI.

78 Hogwarts potions master : SNAPE

Severus Snape is a character in the “Harry Potter” novels by J. K. Rowling. He was played by the wonderful Alan Rickman on the big screen.

80 Word before county, river or Bill : PECOS …

Pecos County in western Texas is named for the Pecos River.

The Pecos River rises north of the village of Pecos in New Mexico, and flows almost a thousand miles before entering the Rio Grande near Del Rio, Texas. Arguably, the Pecos is the only river in the world that crosses itself. In the late 1800s, settlers near Carlsbad, New Mexico built a series of dams and canals to irrigate the semi-arid Pecos Valley. The irrigation project included a large wooden flume that in its heyday carried 9,000 gallons of water per second, 145 feet above the river. Apparently, that water originated in the Pecos, hence the claim that the Pecos “crossed itself”. I’m a bit sceptical of the physics behind that claim though …

Pecos Bill has become a character in tall tales of the Old West after having been introduced in 1917 by author Edward O’Reilly. Legend has it that Bill was travelling in a covered wagon from Texas with his family when he fell out unnoticed by the party. He was lost near the Pecos River, hence his name. He was found and raised by a pack of coyotes, but years later was recovered by his real brother. Pecos Bill grew up to be a cowboy and married a woman called Slue-Foot Sue who he met riding a giant catfish down the Rio Grande.

82 Japanese assent : HAI

The word “yes” translates into “oui” in French, “ja” in German, and “hai” in Japanese.

83 “Turn! Turn! Turn!” songwriter : SEEGER

There aren’t many pop hits that have lyrics taking almost entirely from the Bible. Pete Seeger took some words from the Book of Ecclesiastes, and set them to music in 1959, using the title “To Everything There Is a Season”. He recorded the song in 1962 for one of his albums. It wasn’t until it was recorded by the Byrds as “Turn! Turn! Turn!” that the song climbed the charts. It’s a nice contemplative song, I always think …

84 Hand measure : SPAN

A span is a measurement equal to the width of a hand. The span is measured from the tip of the thumb to the top of the little finger when the fingers and thumb are splayed.

85 Young shepherd resigned to losing his flock? : BOY WHO SIGHED WOLF (from “Boy Who Cried Wolf”)

“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is one of Aesop’s fables, and the tale that gives rise to our phrase “to cry wolf” meaning “to give a false alarm”. In the fable, a shepherd boy is in the habit of tricking nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock by crying “Wolf!”. When an actual attack is made, the villages assume it’s another false alarm and the sheep are are eaten by the wolf.

89 Resignee before Richard : SPIRO

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.

93 Soccer star Hamm : MIA

Mia Hamm is a retired American soccer player. She played as a forward on the US national team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. Hamm scored 158 international goals, more than any other player in the world, male or female. Amazingly, Hamm was born with a clubfoot, and so had to wear corrective shoes when she was growing up.

97 82-Down’s predecessor : FDR
(82 DDE’s predecessor : HST)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was the only child of Sara Delano and James Roosevelt Sr. The Delano family history in America goes back to the pilgrim Philippe de Lannoy, an immigrant of Flemish descent who arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. The family name “de Lannoy” was anglicized here in the US, to “Delano”. Franklin was to marry Eleanor Roosevelt, and apparently the relationship between Sara and her daughter-in-law was very “strained”.

98 Lawless role : XENA

The Xena character, played by New Zealander Lucy Lawless, was introduced in a made-for-TV movie called “Hercules and the Amazon Women”. Lawless reprised the role in a series called “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”. Xena became so popular that a series was built around her character, with Lawless retained for the title role. The fictional Xena supposedly came from the “non-fictional” Greek city of Amphipolis.

100 Short __: little or no consideration : SHRIFT

The Old English term “scrift” was used to describe confession to a priest followed by penance and absolution. The term “short shrift” developed from “scrift”, and was a brief period given to a condemned criminal to confess his sins before execution. We now use “short shrift” to mean “little or no consideration”.

102 Environs : AREAS

“Environ” is the French word for “round” or “round about”. We use “environ” as a verb in English, meaning to surround, form a circle around. The related plural noun “environs” is used to mean “surroundings, environment”.

108 Evita’s exhortation to use sunscreen? : DON’T FRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA (from “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”)

“Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” is a hit song that came out of the 1976 concept album “Evita” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Recorded by English singer Julie Covington, it is sung by the character Eva Perón on the album and in the subsequent stage musical. Covington opted out from appearing in the musical, and so the role of Eva went to Elaine Paige.

111 Aunt Bee’s charge : OPIE

Aunt Bee is a character in “The Andy Griffith Show”. The character’s full name is Beatrice Taylor but everyone in Mayberry calls her “Aunt Bee”. In the storyline, she is the aunt of protagonist Sheriff Andy Taylor, and great-aunt to Andy’s son Opie. Aunt Bee was played by actress Frances Bavier.

113 Ancient: Pref. : PALEO-

The prefix “paleo-” means “prehistoric, primitive”. It comes from the Greek word “palaios” which means “old, ancient”. The prefix “neo-” would be the opposite, meaning “new, recent”.

114 Rock-‘n’-roller whom Forrest Gump supposedly met : ELVIS

The epic 1994 movie “Forrest Gump” is based on a 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. Groom said that he had envisioned John Goodman playing the title role, and not Tom Hanks.

118 Saxes, e.g. : REEDS

The saxophone was invented by Belgian musician Adolphe Sax. Sax developed lip cancer at one point in his life, and one has to wonder if his affliction was related to his saxophone playing (I am sure not!). I had the privilege of visiting Sax’s grave in the Cemetery of Montmartre in Paris a few years ago.

Down

1 New Mexico native : ZUNI

The Zuni are a Pueblo people. They live on the Zuni River in western New Mexico, a tributary of the Little Colorado River.

4 “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” co-director : ETHAN COEN

I think it’s great to see two brothers working together and being so successful. Joel and Ethan Coen are two movie producers and directors who both live in New York City. The Coen brothers do love the movie-making business and they even married industry “insiders”. Ethan’s wife is film editor Tricia Cooke, and Joel is married to one of my favorite actresses, the talented Frances McDormand.’

5 Paris divider : SEINE

The Seine is the river that flows through Paris. The Seine empties into the English Channel to the north, at the port city of Le Havre.

7 Jazz legend Jackson : MILT

Milt Jackson was a jazz vibraphonist. A vibraphone is similar to a xylophone, but it has aluminum instead of wooden bars. Vibraphones are most commonly seen as part of jazz ensembles. Milt Jackson started his career as part of the band playing with Dizzy Gillespie.

10 “Casey at the Bat” autobiographer : STENGEL

Casey Stengel was a professional baseball player, playing from 1912-1925 and managing from 1934-1965. Stengel was born in Kansas City. He had German heritage, and so was called “Dutch” for much of his early life. As he acquired fame on the baseball field, Stengel was given the nickname “Casey”, largely because he came from Kansas City (“KC”) and also because of the popularity of the poem “Casey at the Bat”. He was a smart and erudite guy when it came to baseball, so sportswriters tended to call him “The Old Professor”.

13 108-card game : UNO

In my youth I remember being taught a great card game by a German acquaintance of mine, a game called Mau Mau. Years later I discovered that UNO is basically the same game, but played with a purpose-printed deck instead of the regular deck of playing cards that’s used for Mau Mau. I hear that Mau Mau is derived from the game called Crazy Eights.

14 Roger Ebert gave one entitled “Remaking My Voice” in 2011 : TED TALK

The acronym “TED” stands for “Technology, Entertainment and Design”. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as “TED Talks”.

Roger Ebert was a film critic for “The Chicago Sun-Times” for 50 years. He also co-hosted a succession of film review television programs for over 23 years, most famously with Gene Siskel until Siskel passed away in 1999. Siskel and Ebert famously gave their thumbs up or thumbs down to the movies they reviewed. Ebert was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, which he did in 1975. He was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer in 2002, and finally succumbed to a recurrence of the disease in April 2013.

17 Hybrid big cat : LIGER

The tiger is the largest species in the cat family. Tigers have been known to breed with lions. A liger is a cross between a male lion and female tiger. A tigon is a cross between a female lion and a male tiger.

18 “Swing Shift” actress Christine : LAHTI

Christine Lahti is an actress probably best known for playing Dr. Kate Austen on the TV medical drama “Chicago Hope”. If you read “The Huffington Post” you might run across her as well, as Lahti is a contributing blogger.

“Swing Shift” is a 1984 movie starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. It was while filming “Swing Shift” that Hawn and Russell met for the first time, and have been in a relationship ever since.

26 Head of Québec : TETE

The name of the province Québec comes from an Algonquin word “kebec” meaning “where the river narrows”. This refers to the area around Quebec City where the St. Lawrence River narrows as it flows through a gap lined by steep cliffs.

32 Electrical unit : VOLT

Alessandro Volta was the physicist who invented the first battery, way back in 1800. One of Volta’s first applications of his new invention was to use a battery (and a very long run of wire between the Italian cities of Como and Milan) to shoot off a pistol from 30 miles away! The electric potential unit “volt” is named for Volta.

34 Jacob Riis concerns : SLUMS

Journalist Jacob Riis is famous for his photographs and newspaper articles that highlighted the plight of the impoverished in New York City. He wrote “How the Other Half Lives”, originally an extensive article that appeared in “Scribner’s Magazine” at Christmas 1889. The article had such an impact that Riis was commissioned to expand it into a book, which was published the following year.

35 Skosh : PINCH

“Skosh” is a slang term meaning “a little bit”, and was originally military slang that came out of the Korean War. “Skosh” derives from the Japanese word “sukoshi” which translates as “few, little, some”.

36 Like typical King novels : EERIE

Author Stephen King started to use the pen name “Richard Bachman” in the late 1970s, after he had already achieved success. There’s still some speculation about the reasoning behind King’s use of a pseudonym. Some suggest that he did so to prove to himself that he could replicate his success. Others suggest that the use of the pen name allowed him to publish more than one book a year, which was a publishing guideline at that time. King’s choice of pseudonym was inspired by the rock group Bachman-Turner Overdrive, as he is a fan.

38 Reebok rival : ASICS

ASICS is a Japanese company that produces athletic gear, including running shoes. The name comes from the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano” which translates to “a healthy soul in a healthy body”.

The brand name Reebok was adopted as the new company name for Foster Shoes of the UK in 1960. The name Reebok (more commonly “Rhebok”) is an Afrikaans word for an antelope, and comes from the term “roe buck”.

39 Pros with schedules : CPAS

Certified public accountant (CPA)

41 Liszt’s instrument : PIANO

Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer and a fabulous pianist. Particularly towards the end of his life, Liszt gained a tremendous reputation as a teacher. While he was in his sixties, his teaching profession demanded that he commute regularly between the cities of Rome, Weimar and Budapest. It is quite remarkable that a man of such an advanced age, and in the 1870s, could do so much annual travel. It is estimated that Liszt journeyed at least 4,000 miles every year!

42 “Being and Nothingness” philosopher : SARTRE

Jean-Paul Sartre wrote the philosophical treatise “L’Etre et le neant” in 1943. The title translates as “Being and Nothingness”.

47 Bandleader Arnaz : DESI

Desi Arnaz was famous for his turbulent marriage to Lucille Ball. Arnaz was a native of Cuba, and was from a privileged family. His father was Mayor of Santiago and served in the Cuban House of Representatives. However, the family had to flee to Miami after the 1933 revolt led by Batista.

55 Pioneering video game : PONG

Do you remember the arcade video game that is like a game of tennis, with paddles moving up and down to hit what looks like a ball, over what looks like a net? Well, that is Pong. The arcade version of Pong was introduced in 1972, with Atari selling a home version through Sears for the Christmas market in 1975.

56 Hacky Sack maker : WHAM-O

Wham-O was founded in 1948, with the company’s first product being the Wham-O slingshot. Since then, Wham-O has market a string of hit toys including the Hula Hoop, Frisbee, Slip ‘N Slide, Silly String, Hacky Sack and Boogie Board.

61 Tailless feline : MANX

I’ve seen Manx cats by the dozen on their native island. They’re found all over the Isle of Man (hence the name “Manx”) that is located in the middle of the Irish Sea. Manx cats have just a stub of a tail, and hence are called “stubbins” by the locals.

62 Color named for a duck : TEAL

The beautiful color teal takes it name from the duck called a teal, which has dark greenish-blue (teal) markings on its head and wings.

63 D-Day conflict : WWII

The Normandy landings on D-Day in 1944 took place along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The worst fighting by far took place on Omaha Beach, a sector assigned to the US Army that was transported by elements of the US Navy and the Royal Navy.

64 Jackson Hole backdrop : TETONS

Grand Teton National Park (NP) is located just south of Yellowstone NP, and a must-see if you are visiting the latter. The park is named after the tallest peak in the magnificent Teton Range known as Grand Teton. The origins of the name “Teton” is not very clear, although my one story is that it was named by French trappers, as the word “tetons” in French is a slang term meaning “breasts”.

Jackson Hole is the name of a beautiful valley in Wyoming formed between the Teton and Gros Ventre Ranges. The name “Jackson Hole” is also used locally for the town of Jackson that is located in the valley.

65 Kate, pre-taming : SHREW

William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” is about a courting couple. The male in the couple is Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, and the female is Katharina/Kate, the so-called “shrew”. As the play progresses, the “shrew” is “tamed” and becomes an “obedient” bride … a controversial storyline in the contemporary world, to say the least. Regardless, modern adaptations have been made, including 1948’s Broadway musical “Kiss Me Kate” and the 1999 romantic comedy “10 Things I Hate About You”.

67 Dangerous biters : ASPS

The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.

69 Community pool site : YMCA

The YMCA (the Y) is a worldwide movement that has its roots in London, England. There, in 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded with the intent of promoting Christian principles through the development of “a healthy spirit, mind and body”. The founder, George Williams, saw the need to create YMCA facilities for young men who were flocking to the cities as the Industrial Revolution flourished. He saw that these men were frequenting taverns and brothels, and wanted to offer a more wholesome alternative.

70 2009 Panasonic purchase : SANYO

Sanyo is a Japanese electronics manufacturer based near Osaka and founded in 1947. The company name means “three oceans” reflecting the company’s original aim to sell its products all around the world (across three oceans: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian).

71 Mario’s brother : LUIGI

Mario Bros. started out as an arcade game back in 1983, developed by Nintendo. The more famous of the two brothers, Mario, had already appeared in an earlier arcade game “Donkey Kong”. Mario was given a brother called Luigi, and the pair have been around ever since. In the game, Mario and Luigi are Italian American plumbers from New York City.

72 Myopic Mr. : MAGOO

Mr. Quincy Magoo is a wonderful cartoon character voiced by Jim Backus. Backus is probably equally well-known for playing Mr. Magoo as well as Thurston Howell, III on “Gilligan’s Island”. Mr. Magoo first appeared on the screen in a short called “The Ragtime Bear” in 1949. His persona was at least in part based on the antics of W. C. Fields. Backus originally used a fake rubber nose that pinched his nostrils in order to create the distinctive voice, although in time he learned to do the voice without the prop. My absolute favorite appearance by Mr. Magoo is in “Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol”, a true classic from the sixties. There was a movie adaptation of “Mr Magoo” released in 1997, with Leslie Nielsen playing the title role.

A myope is someone suffering from myopia, short-sightedness. Far-sightedness or long-sightedness is known as hypermetropia or hyperopia .

73 Competed in a British bee : SPELT

Both “spelled” and “spelt” are valid past tenses for the verb “to spell”, although the former is way more common on this side of the Atlantic. I grew up with “spelt” on the other side of the pond, but its usage is rapidly being replaced by “spelled” in the UK and Ireland.

74 Feudal workers : SERFS

A serf was a member of the lowest feudal class, someone attached to land owned by a lord. “Serf” comes from the Latin “servus”, meaning “slave”.

Feudalism was a legal and military system that flourished in medieval Europe. Central to the system were the concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs. Lords would grant fiefs (land or rights) to vassals in exchange for allegiance and service.

77 Roast site : DAIS

A dais is a raised platform for a speaker. The term “dais” comes from the Latin “discus” meaning a “disk-shaped object”. I guess that the original daises had such a shape.

79 English coal mining city : NEWCASTLE

Newcastle upon Tyne in the North of England used to be home to a lot of coal, and now is home to the famous Newcastle Brown Ale.

81 Filmmaker Ephron : NORA

Nora Ephron had many talents, including writing film scripts and novels. Many of the movies that she wrote, she also directed. These would include some of my favorite movies of all time like “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail” and most recently, the wonderful “Julie & Julia”. And, did you know that Nora Ephron’s second marriage was to journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame? She wrote an autobiographical novel based on her life with Bernstein, which deals in particular with Bernstein’s affair with the daughter of British Prime Minister James Callaghan.

82 DDE’s predecessor : HST

The letter “S” in the middle of the name Harry S. Truman (HST) doesn’t stand for anything. The future-president was named “Harry” in honor of his mother’s brother Harrison “Harry” Young. The initial “S” was chosen in honor of young Harry’s two grandfathers: Anderson S-hipp Truman and S-olomon Young.

Future US president Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas in 1890 and given the name David Dwight, but by the time he made it to the White House he was going by the name Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE). Growing up, his family called him Dwight, and when “Ike” enrolled in West Point he himself reversed the order of his given names.

85 Small bars : BISTROS

“Bistro” was originally a Parisian slang term for a “little wine shop or restaurant”.

86 “Barry” star Bill : HADER

Bill Hader is an actor and comedian best known as a member of the cast of “Saturday Night Live”. Hader was introduced to Lorne Michaels (producer of “Saturday Night Live”) by Megan Mullally, co-star of the sitcom “Will & Grace”.

88 Common nut shape : HEXAGON

That would be a nut as in “nut and bolt”.

90 Musical dragon loved by Little Jackie Paper : PUFF

“Puff the Magic Dragon” is a song released in 1963 by Peter, Paul and Mary. It was written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow (the “Peter” of the singing trio). The lyrics tell the story of a dragon named Puff, and a little boy named Jackie Paper. There is an urban myth that the lyrics refer to the use of drugs. In fact, the words are based on a poem that Lipton wrote when he was 19-years-old in 1959, and which was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem called “Custard the Dragon”.

93 Windows precursor : 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.

95 Memorable links nickname : 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.

99 Bay Area NFLer : NINER

The 49ers football team in San Francisco takes its name from the gold prospectors who flooded into Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush. These “1849 prospectors” became known as the “49ers”.

103 Dodge City, to Ford County : SEAT

Fort Dodge was in Kansas, on the Santa Fe Trail (connecting Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico). The fort was named after Major General Grenville M. Dodge, who was in charge of the army presence in the area. Fort Dodge gave its name to Dodge City, which grew up near the fort.

104 Storied fox title : BR’ER

Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox are characters in the Uncle Remus stories, written by Joel Chandler Harris. The “Uncle Remus” stories are adaptations of African American folktales that Harris collected across the Southern States. “Br’er” is an abbreviated form of “brother”.

106 Writer Bagnold : ENID

Enid Bagnold was a British author and is best known for her 1935 novel “National Velvet”, which famously was adapted into a very successful film starring Elizabeth Taylor.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Stand array : ZINES
6 Exams for aspiring MBAs : GMATS
11 Border : ABUT
15 Word with dance or union : … HALL
19 Work as a team : UNITE
20 Draw a bead on : AIM AT
21 Old alphabet character : RUNE
22 Inter __: among others : ALIA
23 Chicken lover’s comment? : NOTHING LIKE A GOOD THIGH (from “nothing like a good cry”)
27 Most exceptional, in recent lingo : INSANEST
28 Relish : ENJOY
29 Afternoon service : TEA SET
30 Not cluttered : NEAT
31 Race : GUN
32 Tannery tub : VAT
33 Cycle starter : TRI-
34 What many writers work on : SPEC
37 Attains : REACHES
41 Gondoliers’ tools : POLES
43 Denial from one with a very recent white mustache? : LIE OVER SPILT MILK (from “cry over spilt milk”)
46 Ant or Arkin : ADAM
50 Like much junk mail : UNREAD
51 Title words before Legend or Woman : I AM …
52 Consume : EAT
53 “You __ Beautiful”: Joe Cocker hit : ARE SO
54 Roast job : MC’ING
55 Some notebooks : PCS
56 Reporter’s query : WHEN?
58 Decides one will : OPTS TO
59 Ewe, for one : SHE
60 Biblical prophet : AMOS
62 Local monastery VIP? : THE TOWN PRIOR (from “the town crier”)
64 Air__, 2011 Southwest acquisition : TRAN
65 Chicago’s __ Tower : SEARS
66 “Now, where __ we?” : WERE
67 Bad do result? : A DYEING SHAME (from “a crying shame”)
71 Italian actress Virna : LISI
72 Submissions to an ed. : MSS
75 Big name in plastic explosives : SEMTEX
76 First name in folk : ARLO
77 Hwy. crime : DUI
78 Hogwarts potions master : SNAPE
80 Word before county, river or Bill : PECOS …
81 Cincinnati-to-Detroit dir. : NNE
82 Japanese assent : HAI
83 “Turn! Turn! Turn!” songwriter : SEEGER
84 Hand measure : SPAN
85 Young shepherd resigned to losing his flock? : BOY WHO SIGHED WOLF (from “Boy Who Cried Wolf”)
89 Resignee before Richard : SPIRO
91 More jumpy : ANTSIER
92 Camp equipment : COTS
93 Soccer star Hamm : MIA
96 N. American land : USA
97 82-Down’s predecessor : FDR
98 Lawless role : XENA
100 Short __: little or no consideration : SHRIFT
102 Environs : AREAS
104 Drives out : BANISHES
108 Evita’s exhortation to use sunscreen? : DON’T FRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA (from “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”)
111 Aunt Bee’s charge : OPIE
112 Boathouse items : OARS
113 Ancient: Pref. : PALEO-
114 Rock-‘n’-roller whom Forrest Gump supposedly met : ELVIS
115 Look as though : SEEM
116 Small amount : SPOT
117 Strict : STERN
118 Saxes, e.g. : REEDS

Down

1 New Mexico native : ZUNI
2 Aware of : IN ON
3 Petty peeves : NITS
4 “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” co-director : ETHAN COEN
5 Paris divider : SEINE
6 Comic : GAGSTER
7 Jazz legend Jackson : MILT
8 Friend of Paris : AMI
9 Personal point of view : TAKE
10 “Casey at the Bat” autobiographer : STENGEL
11 Gas in some lasers : ARGON
12 Cheer (up) : BUOY
13 108-card game : UNO
14 Roger Ebert gave one entitled “Remaking My Voice” in 2011 : TED TALK
15 “Funny not funny” : HA HA
16 Sought-after guests : A-LIST
17 Hybrid big cat : LIGER
18 “Swing Shift” actress Christine : LAHTI
24 Got warmer while searching for : NEARED
25 “… __, and a lasting peace”: Lincoln : A JUST
26 Head of Québec : TETE
32 Electrical unit : VOLT
34 Jacob Riis concerns : SLUMS
35 Skosh : PINCH
36 Like typical King novels : EERIE
38 Reebok rival : ASICS
39 Pros with schedules : CPAS
40 That guy : HIM
41 Liszt’s instrument : PIANO
42 “Being and Nothingness” philosopher : SARTRE
44 Unpredictable events : VAGARIES
45 Tournaments : MEETS
47 Bandleader Arnaz : DESI
48 Regarding : AS TO
49 Peaty land : MOOR
53 Kept in the know : APPRISED
55 Pioneering video game : PONG
56 Hacky Sack maker : WHAM-O
57 Present : HERE
58 Change for a five : ONES
61 Tailless feline : MANX
62 Color named for a duck : TEAL
63 D-Day conflict : WWII
64 Jackson Hole backdrop : TETONS
65 Kate, pre-taming : SHREW
67 Dangerous biters : ASPS
68 Insightful : DEEP
69 Community pool site : YMCA
70 2009 Panasonic purchase : SANYO
71 Mario’s brother : LUIGI
72 Myopic Mr. : MAGOO
73 Competed in a British bee : SPELT
74 Feudal workers : SERFS
77 Roast site : DAIS
79 English coal mining city : NEWCASTLE
81 Filmmaker Ephron : NORA
82 DDE’s predecessor : HST
83 Unruffled : SERENE
85 Small bars : BISTROS
86 “Barry” star Bill : HADER
87 Merging places : ONRAMPS
88 Common nut shape : HEXAGON
90 Musical dragon loved by Little Jackie Paper : PUFF
93 Windows precursor : MS-DOS
94 “That’s my dream” : I HOPE
95 Memorable links nickname : ARNIE
97 Put icing on : FROST
99 Bay Area NFLer : NINER
101 Bullet point, e.g. : ITEM
102 Curly do : AFRO
103 Dodge City, to Ford County : SEAT
104 Storied fox title : BR’ER
105 Honey site : HIVE
106 Writer Bagnold : ENID
107 Cause for a kid’s grounding : SASS
109 Babble : YAP
110 Belgian or brown : ALE