LA Times Crossword 28 Mar 21, Sunday

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Constructed by: Morton J. Mendelson
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Body Language

There’s a quip in today’s puzzle that really rips a body apart:

  • 22A Start of a quip : WHEN SHE LISTENED TO …
  • 30A Quip, part 2 : … MY RIB-TICKLING …
  • 37A Quip, part 3 : … SIDE-SPLITTERS …
  • 59A Quip, part 4 : … AND MY GUT-BUSTING …
  • 68A Quip, part 5 : … KNEE-SLAPPERS, SHE …
  • 91A Quip, part 6 : … STOPPED CRYING …
  • 97A Quip, part 7 : … HER EYES OUT AND …
  • 113A End of the quip : … LAUGHED HER HEAD OFF

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 18m 28s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 South American capital : LIMA

Lima is the capital city of Peru. Lima was founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who named it “la Ciudad de los Reyes” (the City of Kings). He chose this name because the decision to found the city was made on January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany that commemorates the visit of the three kings to Jesus in Bethlehem. Lima is home to the oldest university in all of the Americas, as San Marco University was founded in 1551 during the days of Spanish colonial rule.

18 Coolers that sound really cool : YETIS

YETI is a manufacturer of coolers and related products that is based in Austin, Texas. There was a kerfuffle between YETI and the National Rifle Association in 2018, when YETI removed the NRA from its membership discount program. That kerfuffle got quite public when some NRA members published videos of themselves destroying their own YETI products in protest.

20 Trump who had a cameo in “The First Wives Club” : IVANA

Ivana Zelníčková was born in Czechoslovakia. She married an Austrian named Alfred Winklmayr, in an arrangement that allowed her to leave Communist Czechoslovakia. The marriage was dissolved within two years, and Zelníčková settled in Canada. She was an excellent skier, and was named as an alternate for the 1982 Czech Olympic Team. She was promoting the Montreal Olympics in New York in 1976 when she met Donald Trump. Ivana and Donald’s marriage was very public and well-covered by the media, but not nearly as well-covered as their very litigious divorce in the early nineties.

“The First Wives Club” is a fun movie starring three great actresses: Diane Keaton, Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn. Filming took place from December 1995 to March 1996, during which period each of the lead actors celebrated their 50th birthdays.

25 Obamacare, briefly : ACA

The correct name for what has been dubbed “Obamacare” is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (ACA).

27 Like brackish water : SALINE

Brackish water is less saline than seawater, but more saline than freshwater.

28 George Orwell’s alma mater : ETON

The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who was British prime minister from 2010 to 2016. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington and George Orwell. Author Ian Fleming was also an Eton alumnus, as was Fleming’s iconic character James Bond, although 007 was expelled by the school.

The literal translation for the Latin term “alma mater” is “nourishing mother”. The phrase was used in ancient Rome to refer to mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity the term was used to refer to the Virgin Mary. Nowadays, one’s alma mater is the school one attended, either high school or college, usually one’s last place of education.

33 Approximately 2,200 pounds : TONNE

The tonne, also known as a metric ton, is equivalent to 1,000 kg (or 2,205 lb). The tonne isn’t an official unit of mass in the metric system, but it is used a lot.

44 Remuneration reported in SEC Form 10-K, part 3 : CEO PAY

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and has primary responsibility for enforcing federal securities law. The first chairman of the SEC was Joe Kennedy, father of future president John F. Kennedy.

49 MLB statistic : RBI

Run batted in (RBI)

54 Author Fleming : IAN

Ian Fleming is most famous for writing the “James Bond” series of spy novels. You might also know that he wrote the children’s story “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, which was made into a cute movie released in 1968 and even a stage musical that opened in 2002.

55 May, to Peter Parker : AUNT

Aunt May and Uncle Ben Parker are characters in the spider-Man universe created by Marvel Comics. The couple’s nephew is Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.

58 __ noire : BETE

“Bête noire” translates from French as “black beast”, and is used in English to describe something or someone that is disliked.

64 Cell centers : NUCLEI

Our word “nucleus” is a Latin term meaning “kernel of a nut”. “Nucleus” is the diminutive form of “nux” meaning “nut”.

67 Trivial : PALTRY

The adjective “paltry” comes from an older use of “paltry” as a noun meaning a “worthless thing”.

Trivia are things of little consequence. “Trivia” is the plural of the Latin word “trivium” which means “a place where three roads meet”. Now that’s what I call a trivial fact …

74 Type type : PICA

A pica is a unit of measure used in typography. One pica is equivalent to 1/6 of an inch. Also, each pica unit contains 12 points.

79 Afghanistan’s Tora __ region : BORA

The famous cave that almost certainly housed Osama Bin Laden for a while was in Tora Bora in eastern Pakistan. Tora Bora is not far (~ 30 mi) from what used to be an even more famous spot, the Khyber Pass. “Tora Bora” is a Pashto name which translates to “black dust”.

85 Tee options, initially : S-M-L

Small, medium and large (S, M & L)

89 Site of Kubla Khan’s palace : XANADU

“Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is my wife’s favorite poem. Coleridge wrote his masterpiece one night in 1797 after a vivid dream heavily influenced by opium.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree :
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

108 D.C.’s Pennsylvania and Wisconsin : AVES

Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. is sometimes called “America’s Main Street”, as it runs between the White House and the US Capitol. The exact reason why this important thoroughfare was given the name “Pennsylvania” seems to be unclear. One favored theory is that it was a gesture to the state of Pennsylvania after moving the country’s capital from Philadelphia.

In a sense, Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, D.C. predates the city itself. The section of the road in Georgetown, originally called High Street, was around for fifty years before being extended into the new city. As required by the plan drawn up by architect Pierre L’Enfant, Georgetown’s High Street was renamed to Wisconsin Avenue in 1895.

109 Rose hip infusion, e.g. : TISANE

“Tisane” is another word for herbal tea. “Tisane” comes into English via French from the Greek “ptisane”, the word for crushed barley.

The fruit of the rose plant is known as the rose hip or rose haw. I remember drinking rose hip syrup when I was a kid …

110 Landlocked Asian country : MONGOLIA

The East Asian nation of Mongolia lies between Russian to the north and China to the south. With an area of over 600,000 square miles and a population of about 3 million people, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated sovereign nation on the planet. Almost half of the Mongolian populace lives in the capital city of Ulan Bator.

112 FB upload : PIC

Facebook (FB)

116 Class-conscious gp.? : PTA

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

117 Jeff of ELO : LYNNE

Jeff Lynne is a singer-songwriter who is best known as the leader of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Lynne went on to form the Traveling Wilburys supergroup, along with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.

118 Longtime senator Hatch : ORRIN

Orrin Hatch is a former Republican Senator from Utah. Hatch is also quite the musician, and plays the piano, violin and organ. He has composed various compositions, including a song called “Heal Our Land” that was played at the 2005 inauguration of President George W. Bush.

119 What’s left, in Lyon : RESTE

The city of Lyon in France is sometimes known as “Lyons” in English. Lyon is the second-largest metropolitan area in the country, after Paris. It is located just to the north of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers.

121 Feinted on ice : DEKED

A deke, also known as a dangle, is a technique used to get past an opponent in ice hockey. “Deke” is a colloquial shortening of the word “decoy”.

122 Eastwood co-star in “In the Line of Fire” : RUSSO

The talented actress Rene Russo is a native of Burbank, California. Russo went to high school (with actor/director Ron Howard), but dropped out in tenth grade. At seventeen, she was given the opportunity to train as a model and within a very short time appeared on the cover of “Vogue”. As her modelling jobs slowed down in her early thirties, Russo made a career change and studied theater and acting.

“In the Line of Fire” is an action movie from 1993 starring Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent protecting the US president. John Malkovich plays a disgruntled former CIA agent out to assassinate the president, and Rene Russo plays a fellow agent with whom Eastwood’s character starts a relationship. I really enjoyed this one …

123 Forest floor growth : MOSS

There is a traditionally-held belief that in the northern hemisphere there is a heavier growth of moss on the north-facing side of trees. The assumption is that the sun creates a drier environment on the south side of the tree, an environment that is less conducive to the growth of moss.

Down

1 “The Merry Widow” composer : LEHAR

Franz Lehar was a Hungarian composer who had a difficult relationship with the Nazi regime after it took control of his country. His wife was born Jewish, but converted to Catholicism. Fortunately for the Lehars, Hitler enjoyed the composer’s music and as a result Goebbels intervened and made Sophie Lehar “an honorary Aryan by marriage”.

“The Merry Widow” is an operetta composed by Franz Lehar. It is a comic piece about a rich widow and the attempts by her countrymen to marry her off in order to keep her fortune in the poverty-stricken Grand Duchy of Pontevedro. “The Merry Widow” was first performed in 1905 and has been popular ever since.

2 Tabloid couples : ITEMS

An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as “an item” in the papers, led to the use of “item” to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

“Tabloid” is the trademarked name (owned by Burroughs Wellcome) for a “small tablet of medicine”, a name that goes back to 1884. The word “tabloid” had entered into general use to mean a compressed form of anything, and by the early 1900s was used in “tabloid journalism”, which described newspapers that had short, condensed articles and stories printed on smaller sheets of paper.

3 Sal of “Rebel Without a Cause” : MINEO

Actor Sal Mineo’s most famous role was John “Plato” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Mineo was murdered in 1976 when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. When an arrest was made it was discovered that the murderer had no idea that his victim was a celebrity, and that his plan was just to rob anyone who came along.

“Rebel Without a Cause” is a 1955 drama movie starring actor James Dean, who died just before the film’s release. The title comes from a 1944 book by psychiatrist Robert M. Lindner “Rebel Without a Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath”, although the content of the book has no bearing on the movie’s storyline. The three lead actors in the movie all died tragically, and while relatively young:

  • James Dean (24), in a car crash in 1955
  • Sal Mineo (37), in a stabbing in 1976
  • Natalie Wood (43), in a drowning in 1981

5 Greek counterpart of Mars : ARES

The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

7 Cosmetics company that began as Odontorium Products Inc. : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film.

11 Shot put and javelin : EVENTS

Shot put, or events like shot put, have been around for millennia, but the first events that truly resemble today’s track and field event had to come with the invention of the cannonball. Soldiers would “putt” (throw) cannonballs as far as possible in attempts to outperform each other. Shot put has been in the modern Olympic Games since day-one, with American Robert Garrett winning the gold in the first games in 1896.

A javelin is a light spear used as a long-range throwing weapon. That said, most of today’s javelins are designed for sporting use, in a competition to see who can throw the farthest.

13 Can.’s southernmost point is in it : ONT

Point Pelee is a peninsula that juts out in Lake Erie, and is located in Point Pelee National Park in Ontario. Point Pelee is the southernmost point of mainland Canada. Middle Island, located just southwest of the point, is the southernmost point of land in Canada.

14 With 96-Across, Brazilian city : SAO …
(96A See 14-Down : … PAULO)

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

15 First-class strings : AMATI

The first of the Amati family to make violins was Andrea Amati, who lived in the 14th century. He was succeeded by his sons Antonio and Girolamo. In turn, the two brothers were succeeded by Girolamo’s son Nicolo. Nicolo had a few students who achieved fame making musical instruments as well. One was his own son, Girolamo, and another was the famed Antonio Stradivari.

16 Symbolic food to bring home : BACON

Back in the day, a wealthy person would “bring home the bacon”, and sit around with guests “chewing the fat”.

18 Fem. advocacy group : YWCA

The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) was founded in the mid-1800s about 50 years after the YMCA, although the two organizations have always been independent of each other. Having said that, some YWCA and YMCA organizations have amalgamated at the local level and often share facilities. The YWCA is quite the organization, and is the largest women’s group in the whole world.

23 Doesn’t fill, as calendar slots : HAS OPEN

Our word “calendar” ultimately derives from the Latin “calendae”. “Calends” were the first days of each Roman month. The Latin “calendarium” was an account book, as the debts fell due and accounts were reckoned on the first day of each month.

24 New Haven alum : ELI

The city of New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1638 by Puritan immigrants from England. New Haven is home to Yale University. The city also initiated the first public tree planting program in the country. The large elms included in the program led to New Haven being called “the Elm City”.

28 Jetson at the Little Dipper School : ELROY

“The Jetsons” is an animated show from Hanna-Barbera that had its first run in 1962-1963, and then was recreated in 1985-1987. When it debuted in 1963 on ABC, “The Jetsons” was the network’s first ever color broadcast. “The Jetsons” is like a space-age version of “The Flintstones”. The four Jetson family members are George and Jane, the parents, and children Judy and Elroy. Residing with the family in Orbit City are their household robot Rosie and pet dog Astro.

30 Citi Field player : MET

Citi Field is the relatively new baseball stadium used by the New York Mets that sits right next door to the site of Shea stadium, where the Mets had played for decades. And the new facility’s name comes from corporate sponsor Citigroup.

31 Milk source : COCONUT

The coconut is the fruit of the coconut palm. The term “coconut” comes from “coco” and “nut”, with “coco” being 16th-century Spanish and Portuguese for “head”, and more specifically “grinning face”. The three holes found in the base of a coconut shell might be said to resemble a human face.

32 Letter before ar : KUE

In the alphabet, the letter Q (kue) comes before the letter R (ar).

34 30-Down’s div. : NLE
(30D Citi Field player : MET )

National League East (NLE)

38 Actress Skye : IONE

Ione Skye is an American actress born in London, England. She is best known for portraying the character Diane Court in the 1989 high school romance movie “Say Anything…”, starring opposite John Cusack. Skye is the daughter of the Scottish folk singer Donovan.

40 Ancient Qumran denizen : ESSENE

The Essenes were a Jewish religious group who are most noted these days perhaps as the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Essenes led simple lives devoted to poverty.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered over a period of years, between 1947 and 1956, in eleven caves (the Qumran Caves) on the shores of the Dead Sea. The scrolls are believed to have been written by an ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, although this has been called into question recently. Many of the texts are copies of writings from the Hebrew Bible.

42 Company with a four-color lowercase logo : EBAY

eBay was founded in 1995 as AuctionWeb. One of the first items purchased was a broken laser pointer, for $14.83. The buyer was a collector of broken laser pointers …

43 Match site : RING

That might be a boxing match.

45 Big __: baseball’s David Ortiz : PAPI

The Dominican-American baseball player David Ortiz has the nickname “Big Papi”. After each home run that Ortiz scores, he looks upwards and points to the sky in a tribute to his mother who died in a car crash in 2002 when she was only 46 years old.

46 Mideast gulf port : ADEN

Aden is a seaport in Yemen that is located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.

47 Yin and __ : YANG

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

50 Party chaired by Mahmoud Abbas : FATAH

“Fatah” is actually an acronym, formed from the initials (in reverse) of “Palestinian National Liberation Movement”. Al Fatah is the largest political party in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Mahmoud Abbas took over as Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2004 after the death of Yasser Arafat. Abbas is also the President of the Palestinian National Authority, a position equivalent to “head of state”.

51 Russian capital : RUBLE

The ruble (also “rouble”) is the unit of currency in Russia, as well as in several other countries in the former Soviet Union. One ruble is divided into one hundred kopecks (also “kopeks”).

56 Original D&D co. : TSR

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a complex role-playing game (RPG) introduced in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules Incorporated (TSR). Dungeons & Dragons was probably the first of the modern role-playing games to be developed, and the most successful. It is still played by lots of people today, including my youngest son …

60 The Himalayan monal is its national bird : NEPAL

The Himalayan monal is a large pheasant that is native to parts of the Himalayas, living in alpine meadows and forests at elevation. It is the state bird of Uttarakhand in India, and the national bird of Nepal.

62 P.O. alternative : UPS

United Parcel Service (UPS) is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and has its own airline that operates out of Louisville, Kentucky. UPS often goes by the nickname “Brown”, because of its brown delivery trucks and brown uniforms.

63 Epitomize : TYPIFY

The more common meaning of “epitome” is “perfect example of a group, quality, type”. An epitome is also an abstract or summary of a book or article.

65 Port letters : USB

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and deal with electrical power through those connections.

68 Fortune-filled fort : KNOX

Fort Knox is actually a US Army base that lends its name to the adjacent facility that is more correctly called the United States Bullion Depository. Most of the US gold reserves are in “Fort Knox”, although it isn’t the biggest gold repository in the US. That honor goes to the vault under the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Manhattan. Most of the gold stored in the New York vault belongs to foreign nations and banks.

69 “A Streetcar Named Desire” setting, informally : NOLA

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana has the nickname “The Big Easy”. This name might come from the early 1900s when musicians found it relatively “easy” to find work there. The city is also known by the acronym NOLA, standing for New Orleans (NO), Louisiana (LA).

Desire is the name of a neighborhood in New Orleans, a destination for a streetcar line. The name “Desire” appears on the front of streetcars bound for that neighborhood, hence the title of the 1947 Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire”.

72 Apt “casino” rhyme : RENO

The city of Reno’s economy took off when open gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931. Within a short time, a syndicate had built the Bank Club in Reno, which was the largest casino in the world at the time.

75 Crucifix letters : INRI

The letters written on the cross on which Jesus died were INRI. “INRI” is an initialism standing for the Latin “Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum”, which translates into English as “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews”.

76 Either of two filmmaking brothers : 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.’

77 Uncommon blood type: Abbr. : A-NEG

Here is an approximate distribution of blood types across the US population:

  • O-positive: 38 percent
  • O-negative: 7 percent
  • A-positive: 34 percent
  • A-negative: 6 percent
  • B-positive: 9 percent
  • B-negative: 2 percent
  • AB-positive: 3 percent
  • AB-negative: 1 percent

87 Blues-rocker Chris : REA

Chris Rea is a singer-songwriter and respected blues guitar player from England. Rea’s biggest hit is a song that he wrote himself called “Fool (If You Think It’s Over”), released in 1978.

88 End of a Brigham Young address? : EDU

The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

  • .com (commercial enterprise)
  • .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
  • .mil (US military)
  • .org (not-for-profit organization)
  • .gov (US federal government entity)
  • .edu (college-level educational institution)

Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah has about 34.000 students on campus making it the largest religious university in the country. The school was founded in 1875 by Brigham Young, then President of the Mormon Church.

92 Opposite of COD : PPD

Prepaid (PPD)

Cash on delivery (COD)

95 Elegantly groomed : SOIGNE

“Soigné” is a French word meaning “taken care of” that we use to mean “elegantly groomed”.

98 Text with an RSVP : E-VITE

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

100 __ Bo : TAE

Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, even though it perhaps sounds like one. The discipline was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.

102 ’60s jacket style : NEHRU

A Nehru jacket is very like a regular suit jacket, except that the collar buttons at the neck. It was originally created in the 1940s in India, and then marketed as the Nehru jacket in the west in the sixties. The name Nehru was lifted from Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of India from 1947 to 1964.

104 Copland ballet with a hoedown : RODEO

“Rodeo” is a ballet with a score by Aaron Copland that was originally choreographed by Agnes de Mille. First performed in 1942, “Rodeo” is one of the earliest examples of a truly American classical ballet.

110 3-D med. tools : MRIS

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine uses powerful magnetic fields to generate images that can be used by medical professionals to diagnose injury and disease.

113 Honorary legal deg. : LLD

The honorary degree of Legum Doctor (LL.D.) translates from the Latin as Doctor of Laws, a plural. This practice of using the plural originated in Cambridge University in England, as one was awarded an LL.D. after having been taught both Canon Law and Civil Law.

114 Bit of bridge obedience : AYE

Aye, captain!

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 South American capital : LIMA
5 Cinnamon roll appeal : AROMA
10 Staff lines? : MEMOS
15 Sit-up targets : ABS
18 Coolers that sound really cool : YETIS
19 Disgust : REPEL
20 Trump who had a cameo in “The First Wives Club” : IVANA
21 Lousy start? : MAL-
22 Start of a quip : WHEN SHE LISTENED TO …
25 Obamacare, briefly : ACA
26 Was a piece of cake : CAME EASY
27 Like brackish water : SALINE
28 George Orwell’s alma mater : ETON
29 Fiery felonies : ARSONS
30 Quip, part 2 : … MY RIB-TICKLING …
33 Approximately 2,200 pounds : TONNE
36 Series of natl. concerts : US TOUR
37 Quip, part 3 : … SIDE-SPLITTERS …
44 Remuneration reported in SEC Form 10-K, part 3 : CEO PAY
48 Excessively expensive : TOO STEEP
49 MLB statistic : RBI
50 To’s partner : FRO
52 “And so on” word : YADA
53 Perfect agreement : UNISON
54 Author Fleming : IAN
55 May, to Peter Parker : AUNT
57 Write : PEN
58 __ noire : BETE
59 Quip, part 4 : … AND MY GUT-BUSTING …
64 Cell centers : NUCLEI
67 Trivial : PALTRY
68 Quip, part 5 : … KNEE-SLAPPERS, SHE …
74 Type type : PICA
78 Drift (off) : NOD
79 Afghanistan’s Tora __ region : BORA
80 Thieves’ hideout : DEN
81 Knows about : IS IN ON
83 Cries of approval : OLES
85 Tee options, initially : S-M-L
86 Pasta suffix : -INI
87 How a college resident advisor lives : RENT FREE
89 Site of Kubla Khan’s palace : XANADU
91 Quip, part 6 : … STOPPED CRYING …
93 Overly vivid : GARISH
96 See 14-Down : … PAULO
97 Quip, part 7 : … HER EYES OUT AND …
103 Shabbily dressed : IN RAGS
108 D.C.’s Pennsylvania and Wisconsin : AVES
109 Rose hip infusion, e.g. : TISANE
110 Landlocked Asian country : MONGOLIA
112 FB upload : PIC
113 End of the quip : … LAUGHED HER HEAD OFF
116 Class-conscious gp.? : PTA
117 Jeff of ELO : LYNNE
118 Longtime senator Hatch : ORRIN
119 What’s left, in Lyon : RESTE
120 “You betcha!” : YEP!
121 Feinted on ice : DEKED
122 Eastwood co-star in “In the Line of Fire” : RUSSO
123 Forest floor growth : MOSS

Down

1 “The Merry Widow” composer : LEHAR
2 Tabloid couples : ITEMS
3 Sal of “Rebel Without a Cause” : MINEO
4 Okays : ASSENTS TO
5 Greek counterpart of Mars : ARES
6 Fall back (on) : RELY
7 Cosmetics company that began as Odontorium Products Inc. : OPI
8 Like some breakups : MESSY
9 Promising spot? : ALTAR
10 Shuttle, perhaps : MINIBUS
11 Shot put and javelin : EVENTS
12 Got to the top : MADE IT
13 Can.’s southernmost point is in it : ONT
14 With 96-Across, Brazilian city : SAO …
15 First-class strings : AMATI
16 Symbolic food to bring home : BACON
17 Challenge for a language learner : SLANG
18 Fem. advocacy group : YWCA
23 Doesn’t fill, as calendar slots : HAS OPEN
24 New Haven alum : ELI
28 Jetson at the Little Dipper School : ELROY
30 Citi Field player : MET
31 Milk source : COCONUT
32 Letter before ar : KUE
34 30-Down’s div. : NLE
35 Chill in the air : NIP
37 Theater memento : STUB
38 Actress Skye : IONE
39 “No more procrastinating!” : DO IT!
40 Ancient Qumran denizen : ESSENE
41 Piping, perhaps : TRIM
42 Company with a four-color lowercase logo : EBAY
43 Match site : RING
45 Big __: baseball’s David Ortiz : PAPI
46 Mideast gulf port : ADEN
47 Yin and __ : YANG
50 Party chaired by Mahmoud Abbas : FATAH
51 Russian capital : RUBLE
56 Original D&D co. : TSR
59 Warning sound : ALARM
60 The Himalayan monal is its national bird : NEPAL
61 Onion __ : DIP
62 P.O. alternative : UPS
63 Epitomize : TYPIFY
65 Port letters : USB
66 Feeling of finality : CLOSURE
68 Fortune-filled fort : KNOX
69 “A Streetcar Named Desire” setting, informally : NOLA
70 Prime real estate? : EDEN
71 Dele and stet, say : EDIT
72 Apt “casino” rhyme : RENO
73 Sassy sort : SNIP
75 Crucifix letters : INRI
76 Either of two filmmaking brothers : COEN
77 Uncommon blood type: Abbr. : A-NEG
81 Slope : INCLINE
82 Coerce : STRONG-ARM
84 Wise ones : SAGES
87 Blues-rocker Chris : REA
88 End of a Brigham Young address? : EDU
90 Wedding __ : DAY
91 Quieted, but often not quietly : SHUSHED
92 Opposite of COD : PPD
94 “My performance was awful!” : I STUNK!
95 Elegantly groomed : SOIGNE
97 Smiling, probably : HAPPY
98 Text with an RSVP : E-VITE
99 Sportscast staple : RECAP
100 __ Bo : TAE
101 Dual conjunction : AND/OR
102 ’60s jacket style : NEHRU
104 Copland ballet with a hoedown : RODEO
105 At __: clueless : A LOSS
106 Natural talents : GIFTS
107 One way to play it : SAFE
110 3-D med. tools : MRIS
111 “Oops!” : OH NO!
113 Honorary legal deg. : LLD
114 Bit of bridge obedience : AYE
115 Um cousins : ERS