LA Times Crossword 19 Jul 20, Sunday

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Constructed by: Yaakov Bendavid & Yoni Glatt
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Fast x Furious IV

Themed answers come in four (IV) pairs of phrases that cross (x) each other. One element of each pair means FAST, and the other FURIOUS:

  • 23A Fast : IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
  • 3D Furious : ON THE WARPATH
  • 53A Furious : BLOWING A FUSE
  • 35D Fast : AT A GOOD CLIP
  • 87A Fast : LICKETY-SPLIT
  • 47D Furious : FIT TO BE TIED
  • 120A Furious : FOAMING AT THE MOUTH
  • 67D Fast : A MILE A MINUTE

Bill’s time: 14m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

7 Longtime Syrian ruling family name : ASSAD

Dr. Bashar al-Assad is the current President of the Syrian Arab Republic and the son of the former President Hafez al-Assad, whom he replaced in 2001. President Assad is a medical doctor, speaks fluent English and conversational French. Assad was studying ophthalmology in London when he met his wife, who is an Englishwoman by birth.

16 Passover mo., usually : APR

The Jewish holiday of Passover begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan and lasts for seven or eight days, depending on the Jewish denomination. Nisan usually falls in March-April on the Gregorian calendar.

19 Vaquero’s home : RANCHO

The Spanish suffix “-ero” can be added to a noun to describe someone who works with that “noun”. Examples would be a “vaquero” (a cowboy working with a “vaca”, a cow) and a “torero” (a bullfighter fighting a “toro”, a bull).

20 Ethiopia’s Selassie : HAILE

Emperor Haile Selassie I ruled Ethiopia until he was removed from power in a revolution in 1974. Selassie died in 1975 under suspicious circumstances and it is widely believed that he was assassinated.

21 Puritan’s conclusion? : -ICAL

“Puritan” was a pejorative term used in the 1560s to describe a Protestant extremist who was not satisfied with the extent of the reformation of the Church of England. The Puritans advocated further reforms, believing that the Church of England still harbored a lot of corruption. Facing staunch resistance to their ideals in Britain, many of the Puritans emigrated, the first wave to the Netherlands, with later emigrants moving to New England.

22 Sulu portrayer John : CHO

John Cho is an actor and musician who was born in Seoul, South Korea but has lived in the US since he was a young boy. Cho’s break in movies came in playing Harold Lee in the ”Harold & Kumar” films. He is now making a name for himself playing Mr. Sulu in the latest “Star Trek” movies.

26 Vehicle in a queue : CAB

A hansom cab is a very specific design of horse and buggy that was patented by Joseph Hansom in 1834 in England. The “cab” in the name is short for “cabriolet”, an earlier design of carriage on which the hansom was based. It’s from “hansom cab” that we get our modern term “cab”.

27 Computer connection method : ETHERNET

“Ethernet” is the name given to a standardized configuration of local area networks (LANs). An ethernet cable is that one that has a connector on the end that looks like a regular telephone connector, but is about twice as wide. Ethernet dates back to the mid seventies, when it was developed by the Xerox Corporation.

28 “Die Lorelei” poet : HEINE

Heinrich Heine was a German romantic poet whose work often became noted through the derivative lieder composed by Robert Schumann in particular. Heine died in 1856, after spending the last eight years of his life bedridden. I like his last words … “God will forgive me. It’s his job.”

The Lorelei is a 300-foot tall rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine in Germany. The Lorelei juts out into the river creating a strong current as the water is forced through the narrows. The current combined with numerous rocks under the waterline have led to numerous boating accidents. Appropriately enough, Lorelei is the name of a legendary mermaid who lured fishermen to their death on the rocks by singing a beautiful song.

31 Doctor Octopus, to Spidey : FOE

Otto Octavius is a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. Also known as Doctor Octopus or Doc Ock, Octavius is primarily a foe of Spider-Man.

34 “The Flying Dutchman” soprano : SENTA

In Richard Wagner’s opera “The Flying Dutchman”, the main tenor role is a hunter named Erik. Erik chases after his ex-love Senta, the soprano in the piece.

36 Norse pantheon : AESIR

The gods and goddesses of Norse mythology generally belong to either the Aesir tribe or the Vanir tribe. Most of the Norse gods with which we are familiar belong to Aesir, including Odin, Thor, Frigg and Tyr. Examples of the Vanir gods are Freya and Njord. The Aesir live in Asgard, and the Vanir in Vanaheim. The Aesir and Vanir eventually united into one pantheon after the Aesir-Vanir War.

40 “Groundhog Day” insurance salesman : NED

American actor Stephen Tobolowsky is perhaps best known to movie theater audiences for playing insurance agent Ned Ryerson in the 1993 film “Groundhog Day”. He is a prolific actor, and has appeared in over 200 films.

“Groundhog Day” is a 1993 comedy film that has already become a classic. The star of the movie is Bill Murray, with the lovely Andie MacDowell putting in a great supporting performance. “Groundhog Day” is set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania although it was actually filmed in the town of Woodstock, Illinois.

42 Specifics, informally : DEETS

“Deets” is slang for “details”.

44 Rope fiber : BAST

Bast fiber is collected from many different plants, most commonly flax, hemp and ramie. The bast fibers run the length of the stem, supporting the conducting cells of the plant’s phloem. It’s the phloem that moves water and nutrients through the plant’s stem.

45 Carne __: steak dish : ASADA

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

51 Based on deduction as opposed to experience : A PRIORI

In the world of philosophy, one can have “a priori” knowledge or “a posteriori” knowledge. A priori (“from the earlier”) knowledge is independent of experience, it is just known or assumed. For example, one might say that “all boys are males” is a priori knowledge. A posteriori knowledge relies on experience or some empirical evidence. For example, one might say that “boys are more likely to be diagnosed with ADD” is a posteriori knowledge.

57 Series-ending abbr. : ETC

The Latin phrase “et cetera” translates as “and other things”. The term is usually abbreviated to “etc.”

60 “Nor to their idle __ doth sight appear”: Milton : ORBS

English poet John Milton wrote two sonnets to his pupil and friend Cyriac Skinner. “Sonnet XXII” opens with the lines:

Cyriac, this three years’ day these eyes, though clear
To outward view of blemish or of spot,
Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot;
Nor to their idle orbs doth sight appear
Of sun or moon or star throughout the year,
Or man or woman …

Milton talks here about his own blindness, an affliction that he endured for at least the last twenty years of his life.

61 Part of Q.E.D. : 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”.

62 Groups that get busy in Sept. : PTAS

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

70 T, on the NYSE : ATT

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) can give some quite descriptive ticker symbols to companies, for example:

  • Anheuser-Busch (BUD, for “Budweiser”)
  • Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP, as in “beer tap”)
  • Steinway Musical Instruments (LVB, for “Ludwig van Beethoven”)
  • Sotheby’s (BID, for the auction house)

73 Hit the dirt on a diamond : SLIDE

That would be baseball.

75 Half of an alternative to 7-Down : MAHI
(7D Sashimi staple : AHI TUNA)

“Mahi-mahi” is the Hawaiian name for the dolphinfish, which is also called the dorado. The mahi-mahi is an ugly looking creature if ever I saw one …

77 Former White House family : OBAMAS

By tradition, the Secret Service code names used for the US President and family all start with the same letter. For the Obama First Family, that letter is R:

  • Barack Obama: Renegade
  • Michelle Obama: Renaissance
  • Malia Obama: Radiance
  • Sasha Obama: Rosebud

81 Cathedral part : NAVE

In large Christian churches, the nave is the main approach to the altar, and is where most of the congregation are seated.

85 Actor Wallach : ELI

Eli Wallach appeared consistently and made great performances on the big and small screens since the 1950s. Wallach’s most famous role was probably as “the Ugly” in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. More recently he gave a very strong performance in 2006’s “The Holiday”. Sadly, Wallach passed away in June 2014, at the age of 98.

86 Palindromic magazine : ELLE

“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. “Elle” is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.

87 Fast : LICKETY-SPLIT

“Lickety-split” is the latest in a line of terms that come from the word “lick”, which was used in the sense of a “fast sprint in a race” back in the early 1800s. From “lick” there evolved “licketie”, “lickety-click”, “lickety-cut” and finally “lickety-split”, all just colorful ways to say “fast”.

93 Philanderer first seen in Cervantes : LOTHARIO

There is a character named Lothario in “Don Quixote”, and in the “Fair Penitent”, a 1703 play by Nicholas Rowe. In both cases the Lothario in question exhibits less than wholesome behavior towards a woman, giving rise to the term “lothario” meaning “roue”.

94 Banjoist’s aid : STRAP

The instrument that we know today as the banjo is a derivative of instruments that were used in Africa.

97 Peak in Thessaly : OSSA

Mount Ossa is the highest mountain in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The peak was named for Mount Ossa in Greece.

The region of Greece known as Thessaly used to be called Aeolia, and appears in Homer’s “Odyssey” under the latter name.

98 Creator of Horton the Elephant : SEUSS

Horton the Elephant turns up in two books by Dr. Seuss, “Horton Hatches the Egg” and “Horton Hears a Who!”

103 Columbus’ birthplace : GENOA

Genoa is a seaport in the very north of Italy, in the region known as Liguria. One of Genoa’s most famous sons was Christopher Columbus. Another was the violinist Niccolò Paganini.

105 Critical times, military-style : D-DAYS

The most famous D-Day in history was June 6, 1944, the date of the Normandy landings in WWII. The term “D-Day” is used by the military to designate the day on which a combat operation is to be launched, especially when the actual date has yet to be determined. What D stands for seems to have been lost in the mists of time although the tradition is that D just stands for “Day”. In fact, the French have a similar term, “Jour J” (Day J), with a similar meaning. We also use H-Hour to denote the hour the attack is to commence.

107 Author Morrison : TONI

Writer Toni Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Amongst other things, Morrison is noted for coining the phrase “our first black President”, a reference to President Bill Clinton.

114 Region bordering the River Avon : ARDEN

The Forest of Arden is the setting for Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”. Even though there is a Forest of Arden surrounding Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford-on-Avon, as the play is set in France one has to assume that the “As You Like It” Arden is an anglicization of the forested “Ardennes” region that stretches from Belgium into France.

116 Showman named Phineas : PT BARNUM

Phineas Taylor “PT” Barnum was one of the great American showmen, and was famous for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. By some measures, Barnum was the first ever “show business” millionaire. Beyond the world of entertainment, Barnum was also a politician for a while and served two terms in the Connecticut legislature, and was mayor of the city of Bridgeport. Barnum was a very successful author as well. One of his most famous books was “The Humbugs of the World”, an exposé of deceptions in the world of entertainment. He was a believer in illusions, providing they gave value for money in terms of entertainment. However, Barnum had an intense dislike of fraudulent deception and came down hard on spiritualist mediums in particular.

119 Letters on a note : IOU

I owe you (IOU)

123 Balaam’s mount : ASS

The ass or donkey is mentioned several times in the Bible. One of the most-quoted biblical stories involving an ass is the story of Balaam. Balaam was a diviner who appears in the Book of Numbers in. In one account, Balaam is held to task by an angel for particularly cruel treatment of an ass.

124 Cajun mainstay : OKRA

Cajun cuisine is named for the French-speaking Acadian people who were deported from Acadia in Canada to Louisiana in the 18th century.

125 Blake of ragtime : EUBIE

James Hubert “Eubie” Blake was a composer and pianist from Baltimore, Maryland. Blake was a noted composer and performer of ragtime music. The 1978 musical revue “Eubie!” features his music. Apparently Blake claimed to have started smoking cigarettes at the age of 10 years, and died 85 years later in 1983. Blake’s celebrity status and long life as a smoker was often cited by politicians who opposed anti-tobacco legislation.

126 Herbal brew : RED TEA

Red tea is made from the leaves of the South African rooibos plant. The name “rooibos” translates as “red bush”.

Down

5 “The Witches of Eastwick” co-star : CHER

“Cher” is the stage name used by singer and actress Cherilyn Sarkisian. Formerly one half of husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher, she is often referred to as the Goddess of Pop. In her acting career, Cher was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar of 1984 for her performance in “Silkwood”. She went further in 1988 and won the season’s Best Actress Oscar for playing Loretta Castorini in “Moonstruck”.

“The Witches of Eastwick” is a 1987 film adaptation of a 1984 John Updike novel of the same name. The movie stars Jack Nicholson opposite the trio of title characters, played by Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon.

6 Schmooze (with) : HOBNOB

“To hobnob with” means “to rub elbows with, associate with”. The phrase dates back to the mid 1700s and is derived from “hob and nob”, an expression meaning to toast each other in turn, or to buy alternate rounds of drinks.

7 Sashimi staple : AHI TUNA

Yellowfin and bigeye tuna are usually marketed as “ahi”, the Hawaiian name. They are both big fish, with yellowfish tuna often weighing over 300 pounds, and bigeye tuna getting up to 400 pounds.

Sashimi is thinly sliced raw fish, although it can also be raw meat. The word “sashimi” translates literally as “pierced body”, which may be a reference to the practice of sticking the tail and fin to sliced fish to identify it.

9 Many a Punjabi : SIKH

Sikhism is a religion that was founded in the Punjab region, which straddles the India-Pakistan border. Even though Sikhism was established relatively recently, it is now the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak.

Punjab is the most populous province in Pakistan and is home to over half of the country’s citizens. “Punjab” (also “Panjab”) translates as “Five Waters”, a reference to five rivers that form tributaries to the Indus River: Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

12 Tony Gwynn’s uniform number : NINETEEN

Tony Gwynn was a Major League Baseball player who played the whole of his professional career with the San Diego Padres, and in fact earned the nickname “Mr. Padre”.

15 Kagan on the bench : ELENA

Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States from 2009 until 2010, when she replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the first female US Solicitor General and the fourth female US Supreme Court justice. Kagan also served as the first female dean of Harvard Law School from 2003 to 2009.

18 Rehnquist’s successor : ROBERTS

John Roberts is the 17th Chief Justice of the United States. Roberts was a nominee of President George W. Bush and assumed office in 2005. President Bush first proposed Roberts as an Associate Justice to replace the retiring Sandra Day O’Connor. However, Chief Justice Rehnquist died before Roberts could be confirmed, so President Bush instead nominated Roberts for the vacant Chief Justice seat.

William Rehnquist served as an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1972 when he was appointed by President Nixon. When Chief Justice Warren Burger retired in 1986, President Reagan nominated Rehnquist to fill the vacant position. Rehnquist died in office in 2005 and was replaced as Chief Justice by John Roberts, who was in the process of being confirmed as an Associate Justice at the time.

24 “Total Recall” director Wiseman : LEN

Len Wiseman is a movie director best known for the films “Live Free or Die Hard” (2007) and “Total Recall” (2012). Wiseman is married to English actress Kate Beckinsale.

“Total Recall” is a very entertaining 1990 sci-fi action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film is loosely based on a short story by Philip K. Dick called “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”. The 1990 film was remade in 2012. The 2012 version stars Colin Farrell, and is very forgettable …

25 Klein of fashion : ANNE

Anne Klein was a fashion designer from Brooklyn, New York. Anna was born Hannah Golofski, and founded her first clothing company in the 1940s along with her first husband Ben Klein.

30 Son and brother of George : JEB BUSH

Jeb Bush is the son of President George H. W. Bush, and the brother of President George W. Bush. I always thought that Jeb was an American nickname for James or Joseph but I must be wrong, because George and Barbara’s son John Ellis Bush is called “Jeb”. A kind blog reader has suggested the name “Jeb” may have been chosen as JEB are the initials of John Ellis Bush.

33 Tennis’ Novak Djokovic, for one : SERB

Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player and former world No. 1 ranked player. Djokovic is quite the character on and off the court, earning him the nickname “Djoker”. He is also very popular on the talk-show circuit, all around the world. It helps that Djokovic is fluent in several languages.

39 Red Guard leader : MAO

Red Guards were young paramilitaries who were mobilized by Chairman Mao during the Cultural Revolution in China in the mid-sixties.

41 Editor’s “Lose it” : DELE

“Dele” is the editorial instruction to delete something from a document, and is often written in red.

45 The Binghamton Rumble Ponies, e.g. : AA TEAM

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies baseball team is an AA-affiliate of the New YorkMets. The Binghamton franchise started out life in 1976 as the Williamsport Bills in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and eventually ended up in Binghamton in 1992 as the Binghamton Mets. The team name was changed to the Rumble Ponies after a name-the-team contest in 2016. “Rumble Ponies” is a reference to ponies on a carousel. Binghamton is nicknamed “The Carousel Capital of the World”.

46 Ancient Greek military power : SPARTA

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece that was famous for her military might. Spartan children had a tough upbringing, and newborn babies were bathed in wine to see if the child was strong enough to survive. Every child was presented to a council of elders that decided if the baby was suitable for rearing. Those children deemed too puny were executed by tossing them into a chasm. We’ve been using the term “spartan” to describe something self-disciplined or austere since the 1600s.

50 Andrews or Vandenberg: Abbr. : AFB

Joint Base Andrews is located just outside Washington, D.C. It is noted as the home base for the two Boeing VC-25A (Air Force One) aircraft that serve the US President. Joint Base Andrews is so called as it resulted from the merger of Andrews Air Force Base and the US Navy Naval Air Facility Washington.

Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California started out its military life in 1941 as a US Army facility named Camp Cooke. The camp was transferred to the Air Force in 1957, taking on the name Cooke AFB. It was renamed in 1958 in honor of General Hoyt Vandenburg, the second Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

55 “Cosmicomics” author Calvino : ITALO

As well as being an author, Italo Calvino was a famous Italian journalist. He was a supporter of communism and so wasn’t very popular in the US nor in Britain.

58 Vena __ : CAVA

The superior vena cava is a large vein carrying deoxygenated blood from the upper part of the body to the right atrium of the heart. The inferior vena cava does the same thing for the lower part of the body.

63 Big rollers : SEMIS

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

68 Buffy player Sarah Michelle __ : GELLAR

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is perhaps best known for playing the title role on the TV show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Gellar married fellow actor Freddie Prinze Jr. in 2002.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is a TV series that originally aired from 1997 to 2003. “Buffy …” was incredibly successful, especially given that it wasn’t aired on one of the big four networks. The show was created by Joss Whedon and stars Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role.

69 Ally of “The Breakfast Club” : SHEEDY

Ally Sheedy is best known as a member of the “Brat Pack”, so she appeared in “The Breakfast Club” and “St. Elmo’s Fire”. She was in another of my favorite films, “WarGames”. To be honest, I haven’t enjoyed the movies in which Sheedy has appeared since those early days.

“The Breakfast Club” is a fabulous teen drama film (a genre which I usually avoid like the plague) released in 1985. It is directed by John Hughes, and stars Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy as the students at a Saturday school detention class.

78 Musical fifths : SOLS

The sol-fa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

80 Saint at a gate : PETER

In the Christian tradition, Saint Peter is often depicted as the keeper of the gates of heaven. This depiction arises from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew:

I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

82 Name-linking trio : AKA

Also known as (aka)

84 LEGO buys : KITS

Lego produces some wonderful specialized sets with which you can build models of celebrated structures, including:

  • The Statue of Liberty (2,882 pieces)
  • The Sydney Opera House (2,989 pieces)
  • The Eiffel Tower (3,428 pieces)
  • Tower Bridge (4,295 pieces)
  • The Taj Mahal (5,922 pieces)

92 __-puf: old laundry product : STA

Sta-Puf was a laundry rinse and fabric softener that was popular some decades ago. I don’t think that it’s around anymore …

93 Open galleries : LOGGIAS

In the world of architecture, a loggia is a covered gallery or corridor found on the exterior of a building. It is similar in structure to a portico. However, a portico acts as a covered entrance to a building, whereas a loggia can only be accessed from the inside of the building. As such, a loggia is used as a place of leisure, and so might be described as a very ornate veranda.

99 Draped dress : SARI

The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that it is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

100 Bondi Beach city : SYDNEY

Bondi Beach is a popular beach and a suburb of Sydney, Australia. On a day in 1939, now known as Black Sunday, a series of large waves overwhelmed visitors to the beach. Five people drowned and over 250 people had to be resuscitated or rescued.

102 Forensic evidence bits : FIBERS

Something described as forensic is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The term comes from the Latin “forensis” meaning “of a forum, of a place of assembly”. We mainly use the word today to mean “pertaining to legal trials” as in “forensic medicine” and “forensic science”.

106 Seamless flow : SEGUE

A segue is a transition from one topic to the next. “Segue” is an Italian word that literally means “now follows”. It was first used in musical scores directing the performer to play into the next movement without a break. The oft-used term “segway” is given the same meaning, although the word “segway” doesn’t really exist. It is a misspelling of “segue” that has been popularized by its use as the name of the personal transporter known as a Segway.

111 Jewish community orgs. : YMHAS

The Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) and Young Women’s Hebrew Association (YWHA) provide assistance for Jewish immigrants.

113 It helps a team pull together : YOKE

A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of animals so that they are forced to work together.

117 Blessing follower : AMEN

The word “amen” translates as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is also likely to be influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

121 Actress Graynor : ARI

Ari Graynor is an American actress who first came to national attention playing the character of Caitlin Rucker (Meadow Soprano’s college roommate) in a few episodes of the HBO series “The Sopranos”.

122 Muchacho’s uncle : TIO

In Spanish, a “tio” (uncle) is the “hermano del padre o de la madre” (brother of the father or the mother).

In Spanish a boy is a “niño” or a “muchacho”. One can also call an adult male a “muchacho”, as in “one of the boys”. Calling an adult male a “niño” would be an insult.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Bring up, as a subject : BROACH
7 Longtime Syrian ruling family name : ASSAD
12 Rat on : NAME
16 Passover mo., usually : APR
19 Vaquero’s home : RANCHO
20 Ethiopia’s Selassie : HAILE
21 Puritan’s conclusion? : -ICAL
22 Sulu portrayer John : CHO
23 Fast : IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
26 Vehicle in a queue : CAB
27 Computer connection method : ETHERNET
28 “Die Lorelei” poet : HEINE
29 Wound : INJURE
31 Doctor Octopus, to Spidey : FOE
32 Load : ONUS
34 “The Flying Dutchman” soprano : SENTA
36 Norse pantheon : AESIR
37 Development site : WOMB
40 “Groundhog Day” insurance salesman : NED
42 Specifics, informally : DEETS
44 Rope fiber : BAST
45 Carne __: steak dish : ASADA
47 Paying passengers : FARES
49 Food : EATABLES
51 Based on deduction as opposed to experience : A PRIORI
53 Furious : BLOWING A FUSE
56 Gentle attention-getters : TAPS
57 Series-ending abbr. : ETC
59 Radiate : EMIT
60 “Nor to their idle __ doth sight appear”: Milton : ORBS
61 Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT
62 Groups that get busy in Sept. : PTAS
64 Charm : ENAMOR
66 Fairy tale figures : HAGS
70 T, on the NYSE : ATT
71 Rootless sort : ROVER
73 Hit the dirt on a diamond : SLIDE
74 “So exciting–not” : MEH
75 Half of an alternative to 7-Down : MAHI
77 Former White House family : OBAMAS
79 Digitally stored : ON CD
80 Stack : PILE
81 Cathedral part : NAVE
83 “No damage” : I’M OK
85 Actor Wallach : ELI
86 Palindromic magazine : ELLE
87 Fast : LICKETY-SPLIT
91 As an alternative : INSTEAD
93 Philanderer first seen in Cervantes : LOTHARIO
94 Banjoist’s aid : STRAP
96 Choking up : TEARY
97 Peak in Thessaly : OSSA
98 Creator of Horton the Elephant : SEUSS
101 Gardener’s buy : SOD
102 Rural spread : FARM
103 Columbus’ birthplace : GENOA
105 Critical times, military-style : D-DAYS
107 Author Morrison : TONI
109 Dispassionate : ICY
112 Vibrant photo : GLOSSY
114 Region bordering the River Avon : ARDEN
116 Showman named Phineas : PT BARNUM
119 Letters on a note : IOU
120 Furious : FOAMING AT THE MOUTH
123 Balaam’s mount : ASS
124 Cajun mainstay : OKRA
125 Blake of ragtime : EUBIE
126 Herbal brew : RED TEA
127 Understand : SEE
128 Hold back : REIN
129 __-no question : YES-OR
130 Nasty looks : SNEERS

Down

1 Bring up to speed : BRIEF
2 Totaled, as a bill : RAN TO
3 Furious : ON THE WARPATH
4 Have a hankering (for) : ACHE
5 “The Witches of Eastwick” co-star : CHER
6 Schmooze (with) : HOBNOB
7 Sashimi staple : AHI TUNA
8 Word in many California city names : SAN
9 Many a Punjabi : SIKH
10 Skin cream ingredients : ALOES
11 Treated like it didn’t exist, as gravity : DEFIED
12 Tony Gwynn’s uniform number : NINETEEN
13 Frequent winner : ACE
14 Polite question opener : MAY I …
15 Kagan on the bench : ELENA
16 Some finger-pointing : ACCUSALS
17 One in an ancient Jewish sect : PHARISEE
18 Rehnquist’s successor : ROBERTS
24 “Total Recall” director Wiseman : LEN
25 Klein of fashion : ANNE
30 Son and brother of George : JEB BUSH
33 Tennis’ Novak Djokovic, for one : SERB
35 Fast : AT A GOOD CLIP
38 Source of praise in verse : ODIST
39 Red Guard leader : MAO
41 Editor’s “Lose it” : DELE
43 Headed the cast of : STARRED IN
45 The Binghamton Rumble Ponies, e.g. : AA TEAM
46 Ancient Greek military power : SPARTA
47 Furious : FIT TO BE TIED
48 A little : SOME
50 Andrews or Vandenberg: Abbr. : AFB
52 “Tsk tsk” sayers : REPROVERS
54 Pitching stat : WINS
55 “Cosmicomics” author Calvino : ITALO
58 Vena __ : CAVA
63 Big rollers : SEMIS
65 __ shaft : MINE
67 Fast : A MILE A MINUTE
68 Buffy player Sarah Michelle __ : GELLAR
69 Ally of “The Breakfast Club” : SHEEDY
72 Stadium access : RAMP
76 Like a supermarket before a major storm, perhaps : IN CHAOS
78 Musical fifths : SOLS
80 Saint at a gate : PETER
82 Name-linking trio : AKA
84 LEGO buys : KITS
87 Kind of situation to avoid : LOSE-LOSE
88 “What’s the point?!” : IT’S NO USE
89 “Way to go, bro!” : YOU DA MAN!
90 Gentle gait : TROT
92 __-puf: old laundry product : STA
93 Open galleries : LOGGIAS
95 Pet shelter visitor, maybe : ADOPTER
99 Draped dress : SARI
100 Bondi Beach city : SYDNEY
102 Forensic evidence bits : FIBERS
104 “Now, about … ” : AS FOR …
106 Seamless flow : SEGUE
108 Large power : NTH
110 More cuddly : CUTER
111 Jewish community orgs. : YMHAS
113 It helps a team pull together : YOKE
115 Snatches : NABS
117 Blessing follower : AMEN
118 Went by car : RODE
121 Actress Graynor : ARI
122 Muchacho’s uncle : TIO