LA Times Crossword 3 Mar 24, Sunday

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Constructed by: Amy Johnson & Katie Hale
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Academic Clubs

Themed answers are common terms reinterpreted as ACADEMIC CLUBS:

  • 23A Club for music majors? : INSTRUMENT PANEL
  • 36A Club for geology majors? : HEAVY METAL BAND
  • 56A Club for astronomy majors? : HEAVENLY BODY
  • 80A Club for paleontology majors? : SKELETON CREW
  • 99A Club for philosophy majors? : REFLECTING POOL
  • 116A Club for botany majors? : FLOWER GATHERING
  • 15D Club for genealogy majors? : BIRTHDAY PARTY
  • 55D Club for urban planning majors? : TRAFFIC CIRCLE

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

Bill’s time: 16m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Crude cartel since 1960 : OPEC

Crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is found in geological formations. Also known as “petroleum”, crude is usually accessed by drilling. Once collected, it is refined and separated into many, many chemicals, e.g. gasoline and asphalt as well chemicals used to make plastics, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals.

A cartel is a group of independent businesses who cooperate to regulate production, pricing and marketing of their common product(s).

9 Blue, in Barcelona : AZUL

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, after the capital Madrid. It is also the largest European city that sits on the Mediterranean coast, and the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia.

18 Actress Sorvino : MIRA

Mira Sorvino is an American actress, and a winner of an Oscar for her supporting role in the 1995 Woody Allen movie “Mighty Aphrodite”. Sorvino also played a title role opposite Lisa Kudrow in the very forgettable “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion”.

19 City in Victor Hugo novels : PARIS

Victor Hugo was a French writer who is known in his native country mainly for his poetry. Outside of France, Hugo is perhaps more closely associated with his novels such as “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”.

22 Jazz singer Cleo : LAINE

Cleo Laine is a jazz singer from England who is noted for her remarkable range of nearly four octaves. Laine is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in each of the classical, jazz and popular music categories. My favorite of her recordings is “He Was Beautiful”, which is also known as “Cavatina” and is a version of the theme from the film “The Deer Hunter”.

27 Heredity units : GENES

A gene is a section of a chromosome that is responsible for a particular characteristic in an organism. For example, one gene may determine eye color and another balding pattern. We have two copies of each gene, one from each of our parents, with each copy known as an allele.

29 Key holder, often : JANITOR

A janitor is someone who takes care of the maintenance or cleaning of a building. An older definition of the term “janitor” is “doorman”. Our word comes from the Latin “ianitor” meaning “doorkeeper”.

32 YouTube alternative : VIMEO

Vimeo is a competing video-sharing platform to YouTube. The name “Vimeo” comes from “video” and “me”, and it also happens to be an anagram of “movie”.

42 Monogram on some high-end handbags : YSL

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

46 Biblical name of ancient Syria : ARAM

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

48 “__ Christ Superstar” : JESUS

“Jesus Christ Superstar” is a rock opera that was first released in album form in 1970, before being adapted for the stage in 1971. The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the lyrics by Tim Rice.

53 Wasatch Mountains ski town : ALTA

The Wasatch Range is at the western edge of the Rocky Mountains and runs through Utah. “Wasatch” is a Ute word meaning “mountain pass”.

68 Reebok rival : ASICS

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

71 New citizen, perhaps : EMIGREE

An émigré (fem. “émigrée”) is an emigrant. The term is French in origin, and particularly applies to someone who is a political refugee from his or her native land.

80 Club for paleontology majors? : SKELETON CREW

Paleontology is the study of prehistoric life. My favorite “paleontologist” is Dr. David Huxley played by Cary Grant opposite Katharine Hepburn in the wonderful 1938 comedy “Bringing Up Baby”.

88 Music industry drama series starring Taraji P. Henson : EMPIRE

Taraji P. Henson is an actress whose breakthrough role was Queenie in 2008’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, a role for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. I best know her as one of the leads in the excellent 2016 biographical drama “Hidden Figures”. TV viewers might know Henson for playing Cookie Lyon in the musical drama series “Empire”.

89 NAACP __ Awards : IMAGE

The NAACP Image Awards are presented annually to recognise people of color in the worlds of film, television, music and literature. The first awards were presented in 1967, and the ceremony usually takes place in Los Angeles.

92 Nemo’s home : REEF

“Finding Nemo” is a 2003 animated blockbuster from Pixar. The film was the winner of the Oscar that year for Best Animated Feature. Believe it or not, “Finding Nemo” is the best-selling DVD of all time and, until 2010’s “Toy Story 3”, it was the highest-grossing, G-rated movie at the box office.

93 Mystery writer Paretsky : SARA

Sara Paretsky is an American author of detective fiction. Paretsky’s most famous character is a female private investigator called V.I. Warshawski. Warshawski was played by Kathleen Turner in a big screen adaptation of one of her stories in 1991.

94 Victoria’s Secret purchase : BRA

Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 in San Francisco, California. The founder wanted to create an environment where men were comfortable buying lingerie for their wives or girlfriends, an alternative to a department store.

97 Haggler’s concern : COST

Our verb “to haggle”, meaning “to argue about the price”, originally meant “to cut unevenly”. The suggestion is that haggling is chopping away at the price.

108 How tempura is fried : IN OIL

Tempura is a style of Japanese cuisine that features seafood, meat and vegetables that have been deep-fried in batter. The use of batter in fried foods was introduced into Japan by the Portuguese in the late 1500s.

109 Scrooge visitor : GHOST

Ebenezer Scrooge is the main character in the novella “A Christmas Carol” By Charles Dickens. Through the course of the story, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, who show him the consequences of his miserly behavior. His name “Scrooge” has become a part of the English language as a term to describe someone who is stingy and mean with money.

112 African language family : BANTU

There are hundreds of Bantu languages, which are mainly spoken in central, east and southern Africa. The most commonly spoken Bantu language is Swahili, with Zulu coming in second.

115 Spanish folk hero : EL CID

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar was known as El Cid Campeador, which translates as “The Champion” or perhaps “The Lord, Master of Military Arts”. El Cid was a soldier who fought under the rule of King Alfonso VI of Spain (among others). However, he was sent into exile by the King in 1080, after acting beyond his authorization in battle. El Cid then offered his services to his former foes, the Moorish kings, After a number of years building a reputation with the Moors, he was recalled from exile by Alfonso. By this time El Cid was very much his own man. Nominally under the orders of Alfonso, he led a combined army of Spanish and Moorish troops and took the city of Valencia on the Mediterranean coast in 1094, making it his headquarters and home. He died in Valencia, quite peacefully, in 1099.

122 British aristocrat : EARL

An aristocracy is a state in which the power of government is placed in the hands of a privileged few. The term “aristocracy” ultimately comes from the Greek “aristos” meaning “excellent” and “kratos” meaning “rule”. In ancient Greece, aristocracy was compared favorably with a monarchy, the idea being that the best-qualified few would serve better than an individual who inherited power. More recently, particularly during the French Revolution, aristocracy has been compared unfavorably with democracy.

123 Changed direction, nautically : YAWED

The word “yaw” means to deviate from the line of a course and is used mainly at sea and in the air. “Yaw” is derived from the Old Norse word “jaege” which means “to drive, chase”. As such, “yaw” is etymologically related to our word “yacht”.

124 Uber Eats display : MENU

Uber Eats is a food-delivery platform offered by ride-sharing service Uber. For a delivery fee of a few bucks, users can order food from local restaurants using an app. That food might be delivered by car, bike or foot depending on the city and courier.

126 Some bourbons : RYES

Bourbon is a whiskey made here in North America, with the primary ingredient being corn. Production of the whiskey has for centuries been associated with Bourbon County in Kentucky, which gave its name to the drink.

127 Cincinnati ballclub : REDS

The Red Scare (i.e. anti-communist sentiment) following WWII had such an effect on the populace that it even caused the Cincinnati baseball team to change its name from the Reds. The team was called the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1953-1958, as the management was fearful of losing money due to public distrust of any association with “Reds”.

Down

2 Legalese and computerese : LINGOES

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

3 Longtime Tottenham football rival : ARSENAL

Arsenal Football Club (nicknamed “the Gunners”) is an English soccer team based in the Holloway district of London. The club was founded in 1886 as Dial Square by workers at the Royal Arsenal munitions factory. Dial Square was the name given to the workshops at the center of the Royal Arsenal complex. After just a few weeks in existence, the club changed its name to Royal Arsenal, which was eventually shortened to just Arsenal.

Tottenham is an area in north London in England. It is home to a famous football (soccer) club called Tottenham Hotspur, the team that I used to follow as a kid many moons ago …

4 GPS tech : SAT NAV

A global positioning system (GPS) is known as a satellite navigation system (Sat Nav) in Britain and Ireland.

5 Bloom County penguin : OPUS

“Opus” is a comic strip that originally ran from 2003 to 2008. It was drawn by Berkeley Breathed, the cartoonist who is best known for “Bloom County”. “Opus” is set in Bloom County, and centers on the adventures of Opus the Penguin. When Breathed ended the strip, he went so far as killing off the main character. That said, it was revealed in a “Bloom County” episode that Opus is still alive, and has just been unconscious.

6 “I Said a Prayer” singer Tillis : PAM

Pam Tillis is a country music singer with a pedigree: she is the oldest daughter of country singer Mel Tillis.

7 Browning’s before : ERE

Robert Browning met fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett in 1845. Elizabeth was a sickly woman, confined to her parents’ house in Wimpole Street in London, largely due to the conservative and protective nature of her father. Robert and Elizabeth eventually eloped in 1846, and lived in self-inflicted exile in Italy. Away from the country of his birth, Browning was moved to write his now famous “Home Thoughts, From Abroad”, the first line of which is “Oh, to be in England …”

8 Show place : CINEMA

We usually use the term “movie theater” in the US to describe a location that shows films. In many English-speaking countries outside of the US, the term “cinema” is used instead, with the word “theater” (usually spelled “theatre”) reserved for venues that show live performances.

10 Online pub : ZINE

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

11 Abu Dhabi’s fed. : UAE

Abu Dhabi is one of the seven Emirates that make up the federation known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two largest members of the UAE (geographically) are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the only two of the seven members that have veto power over UAE policy. Before 1971, the UAE was a British Protectorate, a collection of sheikdoms. The sheikdoms entered into a maritime truce with Britain in 1835, after which they became known as the Trucial States, derived from the word “truce”.

12 Texter’s “I didn’t mean that :)” : LOL, JK

Laugh out loud, just kidding (LOL, JK)

13 Rickman of “Die Hard” : ALAN

Alan Rickman was a marvelous English actor, one famous for playing bad guy Hans Gruber in the original “Die Hard” film, Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” series and (my personal favorite) Eamon de Valera in “Michael Collins”. Sadly, Rickman passed away in January 2016, after which fans created a memorial under the “Platform 9¾” sign in London’s Kings Cross Railway Station, from where the Hogwarts Express is said to depart in the “Harry Potter” universe.

The 1988 action movie “Die Hard” is such a fun film. We always pull it out at Christmas when we want something “Christmassy”, but different from “The Bishop’s Wife” or “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The “Nakatomi Plaza” building that features so prominently in the film is actually “Fox Plaza” (headquarters for 20th Century Fox) in Los Angeles, which was built not long before filming started.

14 Time of Roosevelt’s fireside chats : RADIO ERA

President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) gave a total of thirty evening radio addresses that were termed “fireside chats”. President Roosevelt had used similar addresses to further his political agenda while he was Governor of New York. In New York, he faced opposition from a Republican legislature and so Roosevelt appealed directly to voters to apply pressure for him.

16 Walk result, maybe : ONE ON

That might be baseball.

30 Moody’s top bond rating : AAA

Moody’s Investors Service (usually just “Moody’s”) is one of the Big Three credit rating agencies, along with S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. The agency takes its name from founder John Moody, who was the inventor of modern bond credit ratings.

32 Wedding planner’s concern : VENUE

A venue is a specified locale used for an event. The term “venue” came into English via French from the Latin “venire” meaning “to come”. So, a “venue” is a place to which people “come” for an event.

37 “Go faster, huskies!” : MUSH!

Mushing is the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled. “Mush” is thought to come from the French “marche” meaning “go, run”.

38 Genesis figure : ABEL

The Book of Genesis is the first book in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. Some of the main figures in the book are Adam and Eve, Noah and Abraham. “Genesis” is a Greek word meaning “origin, creation”.

41 Highchair wear : BABY BIB

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

45 Safe IRA option : T-NOTE

A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

48 Some spreads : JAMS

Jelly is made using strained juice from crushed fruit. Jam is similar, but the whole crushed fruit is used, and often includes seeds.

49 Hardy title character : TESS

The full name of Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel is “Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented”. When it was originally published, “Tess …” received very mixed reviews, largely because it addressed some difficult sexual themes including rape, and sexual double standards (attitudes towards men vs women). I suppose the most celebrated screen adaptation is Roman Polanski’s “Tess” released in 1979. Polanski apparently made “Tess” because his wife, Sharon Tate, gave him Hardy’s novel as her last act before she was murdered by the Manson family. There is a dedication at the beginning of the movie that just says “To Sharon”.

50 Sharp front tooth : INCISOR

The incisors are the front teeth, of which humans have eight. The term “incisor” comes from the Latin “incidere” meaning “to cut”.

52 Systane target : DRY EYE

Dry eye syndrome is a condition that is also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca. It is caused by insufficient production of tears, or accelerated evaporation of tears. It is a very prevalent disease, and one that becomes more likely with age. A common symptom is blurred division, and a common treatment is the use of artificial tears.

53 “Bizarre Foods” host Zimmern : ANDREW

Andrew Zimmern is a TV chef who is perhaps best known as host of “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern”, which first aired in 2007. In each episode, Zimmern introduces food from around the world that American audiences might consider exotic, or even “disgusting”.

54 Singing nymph of the Rhine : LORELEI

Lorelei is the name of a legendary mermaid or nymph who lured fishermen by singing a beautiful song. Lorelei’s aim was to have the fishermen steer their boats onto rocks lurking beneath the water’s surface.

55 Club for urban planning majors? : TRAFFIC CIRCLE

There are more traffic circles in France than in any other country in the world. However, the UK has more traffic circles per mile of road than any other nation. The term “traffic circle” is generally used in the US, while “roundabout” is commonly used in Britain and Ireland.

58 Three Gorges structure : DAM

The Three Gorges region along the Yangtze River in China is known for its spectacular scenery. The area is attracting a lot of attention in recent years because of a recently completed hydroelectric dam that is changing the ecology and appearance of the land both upriver and downriver. The dam itself is the biggest electricity-generating plant in the world, with a total capacity of 22.5 GW.

69 Baskin-Robbins treat : CONE

The Baskin-Robbins chain of ice cream parlors is the largest in the world. The chain was founded by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California in 1945. The company started using the slogan “31 flavors” in 1953, suggesting that a customer could order a different flavor of ice cream on every day of every month.

75 Sticky brand : ELMER’S

Elsie the Cow is the mascot of the Borden Company. Elsie first appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, introduced to symbolize the perfect dairy product. She is so famous and respected that she has been awarded the degrees of Doctor of Bovinity, Doctor of Human Kindness and Doctor of Ecownomics. Elsie was also given a husband named Elmer the Bull. Elmer eventually moved over to the chemical division of Borden where he gave his name to Elmer’s Glue.

77 Governor Noem of South Dakota : KRISTI

Kristi Noem took over as Governor of South Dakota in 2019, after having served in the US House of Representatives for eight years. Noem made a lot of headlines during the COVID pandemic as she was very vocal in opposing the mandatory use of facemasks.

87 Architectural style between 1714 and 1830 : GEORGIAN

Immediately following the Stuart period, the Georgian era of British history is named for the sequential kings George I through George IV. The era started in 1714, when George I ascended to the throne upon the death of Queen Anne. The end of the era is defined sometimes with the death of George IV in 1830, and sometimes with the death of his successor William IV in 1837. William IV was George IV’s brother and ruled for only seven years. William IV was succeeded by his niece Victoria, resulting in the start of the Victorian era.

90 Bunch of honkers : GAGGLE

A collection of geese is referred to as a “gaggle” when on the ground. When geese are in V-formation in flight, they are referred to collectively as a “skein”.

95 Cash of country : ROSANNE

Rosanne Cash is the eldest daughter of Johnny Cash, and is a successful singer in her own right.

96 Ctrl-__-Del : ALT

Ctrl-Alt-Delete is a keyboard command on IBM PC compatible systems used for a soft reboot, or more recently to bring up the task manager in the Windows operating system. Bill Gates tells us that the command was originally just a device to be used during development and was never meant to “go live”. He once said that “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” was a mistake, and that he would have preferred a dedicated key on the keyboard that carried out the same function.

98 Albeit, briefly : THO’

“Albeit” is a conjunction meaning “although, even if”. The term dates back to the 1300s, when it was a contraction of the phrase “al be it” meaning “although it be that”.

102 Mountain lion : COUGAR

The mountain lion is found in much of the Americas from the Yukon in Canada right down to the southern Andes in South America. Because the mountain lion is found over such a vast area, it has many different names applied by local peoples, such as “cougar” and “puma”. In fact, the mountain lion holds the Guinness record for the animal with the most number of different names, with over 40 in English alone.

103 Big __: drug industry, colloquially : PHARMA

“Big Pharma” is a nickname for the pharmaceutical industry. The moniker comes from the acronym for the lobbying group for the industry, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

104 Tennis great Chris : EVERT

Chris Evert is a former professional tennis player from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She has the best winning percentage in professional tennis, man or woman worldwide, losing fewer than 10% of all her matches. Evert was also the first female athlete to host “Saturday Night Live”, doing so in 1994 just after she had retired from professional tennis.

105 Fracas : MELEE

“Fracas”, meaning “noisy quarrel”, is a French word that we absorbed into English. In turn, the French usage evolved from the Italian “fracasso” meaning “uproar, crash”.

119 Sam player on “Cheers” : TED

Actor Ted Danson is noted in particular for three successful roles that he has played on television. He played Sam Malone on the sitcom “Cheers”, the title role on the sitcom “Becker”, and eventually led the cast on the drama series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. Danson has been married to actress Mary Steenburgen since 1995.

120 “Breaking Bad” villain Fring : GUS

Gus Fring is a character on the hit AMC television show “Breaking Bad” and the prequel “Better Call Saul”. Fring is a Machiavellian drug lord who fronts his illegal activities with a successful chain of fast food restaurants called Los Pollos Hermanos. He is played by actor Giancarlo Esposito.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Sorrowful sigh : ALAS
5 Crude cartel since 1960 : OPEC
9 Blue, in Barcelona : AZUL
13 Shady plot : ARBOR
18 Actress Sorvino : MIRA
19 City in Victor Hugo novels : PARIS
21 “Catch ya later!” : CIAO!
22 Jazz singer Cleo : LAINE
23 Club for music majors? : INSTRUMENT PANEL
26 Agent concerned with spots : AD REP
27 Heredity units : GENES
28 Causing shudders, maybe : EERIE
29 Key holder, often : JANITOR
31 Was successful in : WON AT
32 YouTube alternative : VIMEO
34 Stage name intro : AKA
35 “How tragic” : OH NO
36 Club for geology majors? : HEAVY METAL BAND
40 Still in the sack : ABED
42 Monogram on some high-end handbags : YSL
43 Many corny jokes : PUNS
44 Go on the lam : BOLT
46 Biblical name of ancient Syria : ARAM
48 “__ Christ Superstar” : JESUS
49 Makes a connection : TIES IN
51 Howled loudly : BAYED
53 Wasatch Mountains ski town : ALTA
56 Club for astronomy majors? : HEAVENLY BODY
59 Standard : PAR
60 Standards : NORMS
62 __ jockey : DISC
63 Rough guess : STAB
64 Vague quantity : ANY
65 Like extreme measures : DRASTIC
68 Reebok rival : ASICS
71 New citizen, perhaps : EMIGREE
73 NFL flag thrower : REF
74 Dull pain : ACHE
76 Treat 74-Acrosses, maybe : SOAK
78 Wee : BITSY
79 Christmas helper : ELF
80 Club for paleontology majors? : SKELETON CREW
85 Storage unit : BYTE
86 __ station : WEIGH
88 Music industry drama series starring Taraji P. Henson : EMPIRE
89 NAACP __ Awards : IMAGE
91 Cold, slushy treat : ICEE
92 Nemo’s home : REEF
93 Mystery writer Paretsky : SARA
94 Victoria’s Secret purchase : BRA
97 Haggler’s concern : COST
99 Club for philosophy majors? : REFLECTING POOL
104 Middle Eastern title : EMIR
106 Short greetings : HIS
108 How tempura is fried : IN OIL
109 Scrooge visitor : GHOST
110 Come really close to : VERGE ON
112 African language family : BANTU
114 Square : PLAZA
115 Spanish folk hero : EL CID
116 Club for botany majors? : FLOWER GATHERING
121 Pass along : RELAY
122 British aristocrat : EARL
123 Changed direction, nautically : YAWED
124 Uber Eats display : MENU
125 Many first-time voters : TEENS
126 Some bourbons : RYES
127 Cincinnati ballclub : REDS
128 Chariot-riding god : ARES

Down

1 “Who __ to judge?” : AM I
2 Legalese and computerese : LINGOES
3 Longtime Tottenham football rival : ARSENAL
4 GPS tech : SAT NAV
5 Bloom County penguin : OPUS
6 “I Said a Prayer” singer Tillis : PAM
7 Browning’s before : ERE
8 Show place : CINEMA
9 Smoothie berry : ACAI
10 Online pub : ZINE
11 Abu Dhabi’s fed. : UAE
12 Texter’s “I didn’t mean that :)” : LOL, JK
13 Rickman of “Die Hard” : ALAN
14 Time of Roosevelt’s fireside chats : RADIO ERA
15 Club for genealogy majors? : BIRTHDAY PARTY
16 Walk result, maybe : ONE ON
17 Brief copy : REPRO
20 Kind of drum or guitar : STEEL
24 Enter again : RETYPE
25 “Not my __” : PROB
30 Moody’s top bond rating : AAA
31 Question of motive : WHY?
32 Wedding planner’s concern : VENUE
33 “How tragic” : IT’S SAD
34 Freestyle raps : AD-LIBS
37 “Go faster, huskies!” : MUSH!
38 Genesis figure : ABEL
39 Like some neighbors : NOSY
41 Highchair wear : BABY BIB
45 Safe IRA option : T-NOTE
47 Most lowdown : MEANEST
48 Some spreads : JAMS
49 Hardy title character : TESS
50 Sharp front tooth : INCISOR
52 Systane target : DRY EYE
53 “Bizarre Foods” host Zimmern : ANDREW
54 Singing nymph of the Rhine : LORELEI
55 Club for urban planning majors? : TRAFFIC CIRCLE
57 Passing through : VIA
58 Three Gorges structure : DAM
61 Stockpiles : STASHES
66 “I’m not eating that!” : ICK!
67 Merriment : CHEER
69 Baskin-Robbins treat : CONE
70 Word with ink or egg : … SAC
72 Barb : GIBE
75 Sticky brand : ELMER’S
77 Governor Noem of South Dakota : KRISTI
81 Olympic sword : EPEE
82 Petty squabble : TIFF
83 Inbox buildup : EMAIL
84 Alert : WARN
87 Architectural style between 1714 and 1830 : GEORGIAN
90 Bunch of honkers : GAGGLE
94 Stronger, as mixed drinks : BOOZIER
95 Cash of country : ROSANNE
96 Ctrl-__-Del : ALT
98 Albeit, briefly : THO’
100 Dash or slash : LINE
101 Diary passage : ENTRY
102 Mountain lion : COUGAR
103 Big __: drug industry, colloquially : PHARMA
104 Tennis great Chris : EVERT
105 Fracas : MELEE
107 Conclude : INFER
111 “Grand” ice cream : EDY’S
112 Cause of some nodding : BORE
113 Shoemaker’s tools : AWLS
114 Many profs : PHDS
117 Install, as brick : LAY
118 Bedazzle : AWE
119 Sam player on “Cheers” : TED
120 “Breaking Bad” villain Fring : GUS