LA Times Crossword 2 Dec 18, Sunday

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Constructed by: Mark McClain & George Telfer
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Hangers-On

Themed answers are common phrases with -ERS hanging on the end:
23A. What the acrobatic landlady liked to do? : JUMP OVER BOARDERS (from “jump overboard”)
32A. TruTV show for board game enthusiasts? : REALITY CHECKERS (from “reality check”)
52A. When a pro might practice at Augusta National? : BEFORE THE MASTERS (from “before the mast”)
69A. Gym employees for those getting in shape fast? : EXPRESS TRAINERS (from “express train”)
90A. Gold medal winners at the Renaissance fair? : TRIUMPHAL ARCHERS (from “triumphal arch”)
104A. Wedding chapel’s main form of advertising? : HITCHING POSTERS (from “hitching post”)
120A. Where bills should be put after an audit? : BACK IN THE FOLDERS (from “back in the fold”)

Bill’s time: 14m 59s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Avian mimic : MYNA

Some species of myna (also “mynah”) bird are known for their ability to imitate sounds.

10. Weasel cousin : STOAT

The stoat has dark brown fur in the summer, and white fur in the winter. Sometimes the term “ermine” is used for the animal during the winter when the fur is white. Ermine skins have long been prized by royalty and are often used for white trim on ceremonial robes.

19. Pigeon calls : COOS

Taxonomically, doves and pigeons are the only members of the order Columbidae. The terms “dove” and “pigeon” are often used interchangeably. Scientifically speaking, dove species tend to be smaller that pigeon species. Colloquially though, many refer to doves as the white or nearly white species in the family.

20. Kind of column : IONIC

The Ionic was one of the three classical orders of architecture, the others being the Doric and the Corinthian. An Ionic column is relatively ornate. It usually has grooves running up and down its length and at the top there is a “scroll” design called a “volute”. The scroll motif makes Ionic columns popular for the design of academic buildings. The term “Ionic” means “pertaining to Ionia”, with Ionia being an ancient territory that is located in modern-day Turkey.

21. Stands at lectures : PODIA

“Podium” (plural “podia”) is the Latin word for “raised platform”.

26. Wile E. Coyote supplier : ACME

The Acme Corporation is a fictional company used mainly by Looney Tunes, and within the Looney Tunes empire it is appears mostly in “Road Runner” cartoons. Wile E. Coyote is always receiving a new piece of gear from Acme designed to finally capture the Road Runner, but the equipment always leads to his downfall.

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote was created first, and Road Runner was invented as someone for Wile E. to play off. I love this cartoon; definitely one of the best …

27. Run-of-the-mill : ORDINARY

Something described as run-of-the-mill is unspectacular, quite normal. The idea is that the regular production from say a sawmill isn’t perfect, but does the job. Imperfections in the wood can be expected, but the milled wood should get the job done. Going back a few years, similar expressions were quite common, such as “run-of-the-kiln” and “run-of-the-mine”.

28. Former LeBron team, on sports tickers : MIA

The Miami Heat basketball team debuted in the NBA in the 1988-89 season. The franchise name was chosen in a competitive survey, with “Miami Heat” beating out “Miami Vice”.

Basketball player LeBron James (nicknamed “King James”) seems to be in demand for the covers of magazines. James became the first African American man to adorn the front cover of “Vogue” in March 2008. That made him only the third male to make the “Vogue” cover, following Richard Gere and George Clooney.

29. Lost on purpose : TANKED

Apparently, the first use of the verb “to tank” to mean “to lose or fail” can be pinpointed quite precisely. Tennis great Billie Jean King used the verb in that sense in an interview with “Life” magazine in 1967, with reference to male players. A more specific use of “tanking” in recent years is “deliberately losing” a contest.

31. Buds, possibly : BEERS

The American beer called Budweiser (often shortened to “Bud”) is named for the Czech town of Budweis (“České Budějovice” in Czech). The name is the subject of a dispute as here is an original Czech beer with a similar name, Budweiser Budvar. American Budweiser is sold in most European countries as “Bud”.

32. TruTV show for board game enthusiasts? : REALITY CHECKERS (from “reality check”)

“Checkers” is yet another word that I had to learn moving across the Atlantic. In Ireland the game is called “draughts”.

truTV is a Turner Broadcasting cable network that launched in 1991 as Court TV. The name, and programming, was changed to truTV in 2008.

37. Sorority letter : ETA

Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.

39. Former LeBron team, on sport tickers : CLE

The Cavaliers are the professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970.

41. “The Simpsons” retailer : APU

The fictional Kwik-E-Mart store is operated by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on “The Simpsons” TV show. Apu is married to Manjula, and the couple have eight children. The convenience store owner doesn’t seem to be making much use of his Ph.D in computer science that he earned in the US. Apu’s undergraduate degree is from Caltech (the Calcutta Technical Institute), where he graduated top of his class of seven million students …

44. “Chain of Fools” name : ARETHA

“Chain of Fools” is a song written by Don Covay, and is most associated with Aretha Franklin after she released a version in 1967. “Chain of Fools” is actually a rewriting of a gospel song called “Pains of Life”, which has the exactly same melody.

52. When a pro might practice at Augusta National? : BEFORE THE MASTERS (from “before the mast”)

The Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia was founded in 1933 by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts. Famously, Augusta hosts the Masters Tournament each year. Augusta is very much a private club, and some of its policies have drawn criticism over the years. Prior to 1959, the club had a bylaw requiring that all caddies be African American. There were no African-American club members admitted until 1990, and no women until 2012.

The forecastle (usually abbreviated to “fo’c’sle”) is the forward part of a ship where the sailors’ sleeping quarters are located. The term is also used to describe the upper deck, forward of the foremost mast. The related phrase “before the mast” is used to describe anything related to a ship’s enlisted men, those sailors who are not officers.

57. “Once __ a time … ” : UPON

The stock phrase “Once upon a time” has been used in various forms as the start of a narrative at least since 1380. The stock phrase at the end of stories such as folktales is often “and they all lived happily ever after”. The earlier version of this ending was “happily until their deaths”.

59. Name in a Tolstoy title : ANNA

I have to admit to not having read Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”, but I did see the excellent 1977 British television adaptation starring Nicola Pagett. I also saw the 2012 film adaptation with a screenplay by Tom Stoppard, and found that to be far from excellent, awful in fact. I am no Stoppard fan …

62. Electric wheels : TESLA

Tesla Motors is a manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Palo Alto, California. Tesla is noted for producing the first electric sports car, called the Tesla Roadster. The company followed the sports car with a luxury sedan, the Model S. The Model S was the world’s best selling plug-in electric vehicle of 2015.

64. Second-tallest living bird : EMU

The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …

77. Musical muscle car : GTO

The 1964 song “G.T.O” was the debut recording for the surf rock group from the sixties known as Ronny & the Daytonas.

78. Agave plant : YUCCA

Yuccas are a genus of shrubs and trees that live in hot and dry areas of North and South America. One of the more famous species of Yucca is the Joshua tree. Yuccas has a very unique pollination system, with moths transferring pollen from plant to plant.

82. “The wisdom of many and the wit of one”: Russell : PROVERB

Lord John Russell twice served as Prime Minister of UK, from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 1866. Russell led the British government at the height of the Great Famine in Ireland. that led to the country’s population dropping by over a quarter in just a few years. Russell’s policies, or lack of policies, are usually cited as the cause of the death of one million people, and the forced emigration of a further million.

86. Bigelow product : TEA

The Bigelow Tea Company is a family-owned business that was founded in 1945 by Ruth C. Bigelow. The company is headquartered in in Fairfield, Connecticut, and owns America’s only tea plantation, which is located in Charleston, South Carolina.

88. Often painful crack : CHAP

A person with chapped lips might apply lip balm, say.

94. Thesaurus wd. : SYN

Synonym (syn.)

The first person to use the term “thesaurus” to mean a “collection of words arranged according to sense” was Roget in 1852, when he used it for the title of his most famous work. Up to that point in time, a thesaurus was basically an encyclopedia. Before being used with reference to books, a thesaurus was a storehouse or treasury, coming from the Latin “thesaurus” meaning “treasury, treasure”.

96. Cabinet department : ENERGY

The US Department of Energy (DOE) came into being largely as a result of the 1973 oil crisis. The DOE was founded in 1977 by the Carter administration. The DOE is responsible for regulating the production of nuclear power, and it is also responsible for the nation’s nuclear weapons. The official DOE seal features a lightning bolt and symbols denoting five sources of energy: the sun, an atom, an oil derrick, a windmill and a dynamo.

98. China’s Zhou __ : ENLAI

Zhou Enlai (also “Chou En-Lai”) was the first government leader of the People’s Republic of China and held the office of Premier from 1949 until he died in 1976. Zhou Enlai ran the government for Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong, often striking a more conciliatory tone with the West than that of his boss. He was instrumental, for example, in setting up President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Zhou Enlai died just a few months before Mao Zedong, with both deaths leading to unrest and a dramatic change in political direction for the country.

101. QB’s stat : ATT

In football, one statistic (stat) used to track the performance of a quarterback (QB) is attempts (ATT).

102. Shocked text letters : OMG

“OMG” is text-speak for “Oh My Gosh!” “Oh My Goodness!” or any other G-words you might want to use …

115. Caroline Islands components : ATOLLS

The Caroline Islands are an archipelago of about 500 small islands located in the western Pacific to the north of New Guinea. The island group was named by the Spanish in the 17th century in honor of King Carlos II of Spain.

116. Rescue squad initials : EMS

Emergency medical services (EMS)

119. Fictional plantation : TARA

In Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind”, Scarlett O’Hara’s home is the Tara plantation. Tara was founded not far from the Georgia city of Jonesboro by Scarlett’s father, Irish immigrant Gerald O’Hara. Gerald won the square mile of land on which Tara was built in an all-night poker game. He named his new abode after the Hill of Tara back in his home country, the ancient seat of the High King of Ireland. Rhett’s rival for the affections of Scarlet is Ashley Wilkes who lives at the nearby Twelve Oaks plantation.

120. Where bills should be put after an audit? : BACK IN THE FOLDERS (from “back in the fold”)

The term “fold” describes an enclosure for sheep, and is also an alternative name for a flock, a group of sheep.

125. “Slippery” trees : ELMS

The slippery elm is a species of elm native to North America that is also known as the Red Elm. The inner bark of the slippery elm can used in a medicinal tea. Elm bark tea is said to ease a sore throat or irritated stomach.

127. Celestial ovine : ARIES

Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.

132. Obliterate, in Oxford : RASE

To “raze” (“rase”, in UK English) is to level to the ground. I’ve always thought it a little quirky that “raise”, a homophone of “raze”, means to build up.

Down

1. Menial work : MCJOB

“McJob” is a slang term for a low-paying position that offers little chance for advancement. The term of course comes from front-line jobs at a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant.

3. __ plume : NOM DE

“Nom de plume” translates from French simply as “pen name”.

5. Hindu “Destroyer” : SIVA

Shiva (also “Siva”) is one of the major deities of the Hindu tradition, and is known as the destroyer of evil and the transformer. Shiva is also part of the Hindu trinity known as the Trimurti, along with Brahma and Vishnu.

6. Start of an adage about humanity : TO ERR …

Alexander Pope’s 1709 poem “An Essay on Criticism” is the source of at least three well-known quotations:

  • A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
  • To err is human, to forgive divine.
  • For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

9. “Foucault’s Pendulum” author : ECO

“Foucault’s Pendulum” is a 1988 Italian novel by Umberto Eco that was translated into English by William Weaver the following year. The title of the book refers to a large pendulum that was constructed by French physicist Léon Foucault to demonstrate the effect of the Earth’s rotation.

10. Diagonal sail extender : SPRIT

A sprit is a pole that extends out from a mast, one often supporting a special sail called a spritsail.

12. Pindar piece : ODE

Pindar was an ancient Greek poet who is best known perhaps for composing a series of “Victory Odes” that celebrated triumph in competition, most notably the Olympian Games of the day.

15. Stadium staples : FRANKS

The frankfurter sausage that is typically used in a North American hot dog get its name from Frankfurter Würstchen. The latter is a German sausage that is prepared by boiling in water, just like a hot dog frank.

16. Eastwood’s “Bronco Billy” co-star Sondra : LOCKE

Sondra Locke is an actress and director who is perhaps best known for her Oscar-nominated supporting role in the 1968 movie “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”. She also had a supporting role in the 1975 movie “The Outlaw Josey Wales” after which she started a long-term relationship with fellow cast member Clint Eastwood. There followed a string of films in which Locke and Eastwood appeared together. After the couple split up in 1989, Locke turned away from acting and undertook several projects behind the camera as director.

“Bronco Billy” is a 1980 film about a Wild West show, starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke. For her performance, Locke was nominated for the first ever Golden Raspberry Worst Actress Award.

17. Fictional hunter in a floppy hat : ELMER

Elmer Fudd is one of the most famous Looney Tunes cartoon characters, and is the hapless nemesis of Bugs Bunny. If you have never seen it, check out Elmer and Bugs in the marvelous “Rabbit of Seville”, a short cartoon that parodies Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”. Wonderful stuff …

24. GM subsidiary : ONSTAR

The OnStar system was developed as a joint venture between GM, EDS and Hughes. The product itself was launched in 1996. Today, OnStar is only available on GM cars, although it used to be offered on other makes of car through a licensing agreement. OnStar is a subscription service that packages vehicle security, telephone, satellite navigation and remote diagnostics.

25. Guy’s girlfriend : AMIE

A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

34. Trek pack animal : LLAMA

Many female mammals lick off their newborn. That’s not an option for llamas as their tongues only reach out of their mouths about half an inch. Instead, llama dams nuzzle their young and hum to them.

A trek is an arduous journey. The term “trek” comes into English via Afrikaans from the Dutch “trekken” meaning “to march, journey”.

35. Algonquian language : CREE

The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US, most of the Cree nation live in Montana on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada, most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

38. Trojan War god : 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.

The ancient city of Troy was located on the west coast of modern-day Turkey. The Trojan War of Greek mythology was precipitated by the elopement of Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta, with Paris of Troy. The war itself largely consisted of a nine-year siege of Troy by the Greeks. We know most about the final year of that siege, as it is described extensively in Homer’s “Iliad”. The city eventually fell when the Greeks hid soldiers inside the Trojan Horse, which the Trojans brought inside the city’s walls. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts …

43. Eerie fliers : UFOS

Unidentified flying object (UFO)

45. Old anesthetic : ETHER

Ethers are a whole class of organic compounds, but in the vernacular “ether” is specifically diethyl ether. Diethyl ether was once very popular as a general anesthetic.

47. “Up” star : ASNER

“Up” is the tenth movie released by Pixar studios, featuring wonderful animation as we have come to expect from Pixar. The film earned itself two Academy Awards. The main voice actor is Ed Asner, whose animated persona as Carl Fredricksen was created to resemble Spencer Tracy, as Tracy appeared in his last film, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.

48. WWII prison camp : STALAG

“Stalag” was the term used for a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. “Stalag” is an abbreviation for “Stammlager”, which in turn is the short form of” Mannschaft Stamm und Straflager”, literally “crew master and prison camp”.

50. Subject of Huáscar : INCA

Huáscar Inca was head of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. Huáscar ended up in a civil war with his half-brother Atahualpa who also laid claim to the title of emperor. Atahualpa emerged victorious, but he was left with an army that had been decimated by the bloody war. Historians cite this weakened military strength as a major factor leading to the subsequent downfall of the Inca Empire, and the capture and execution of Atahualpa by Francisco Pizarro.

56. Scalia’s successor : GORSUCH

Neil Gorsuch was nominated to the Supreme court by the Trump administration, and assumed office in 2017. Gorsuch took the seat on the court that was left vacant with the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. Gorsuch is the first Supreme Court justice to serve alongside another justice for whom he once clerked, doing so for Anthony Kennedy from 1993 to 1994.

Antonin Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Reagan in 1986, and was the longest-serving member of the court on the occasion of his passing in 2016. Justice Scalia’s minority opinions were known for the scathing language that he used to criticize the Court’s majority.

67. Trivial : LITTLE

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 …

73. Omar of “In Too Deep” : EPPS

“In Too Deep” is a crime thriller movie released in 1999 starring Omar Epps and LL Cool J. I haven’t seen this one …

74. Doctor’s order : X-RAY

X-rays were first studied comprehensively by the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (also “Roentgen”), and it was he who gave the name “X-rays” to this particular type of radiation. Paradoxically, in Röntgen’s native language of German, X-rays are routinely referred to as “Röntgen rays”. In 1901, Röntgen’s work on X-rays won him the first Nobel Prize in Physics that was ever awarded.

75. French __ : HORN

The brass instrument known as a “horn” is sometimes informally called a “French horn”. But, the French horn isn’t French at all, and instead originated in Germany. Very confusing …

81. Basilica recess : APSE

The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

In its modern usage, the term “basilica” applies to a Roman Catholic church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope.

83. Astros catcher McCann : BRIAN

Brian McCann was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 2002 Major League Baseball draft after McCann had an outstanding high-school baseball career in Duluth, Georgia. He played for the Braves for eight years before moving on to the Yankees, and then the Astros.

85. Bonnie Blue’s dad : RHETT

In the original story of “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell, Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler have just one child together. The child is nicknamed “Bonnie Blue” after the Bonnie Blue Flag of the Confederacy. In the novel, the baby is given the name by Scarlett’s sister-in-law and eventual best friend Melanie Hamilton Wilkes. In the 1939 movie, the baby is given the nickname by her father Rhett.

87. 2012 Ben Affleck film : ARGO

“Argo” is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent “Good Night, and Good Luck”. I highly recommend “Argo”, although I found the scenes of religious fervor to be very frightening …

93. Symphonic disc : CYMBAL

Cymbals are concave metal plates that are played as a percussion instrument by striking them with a drumstick or by clashing them together as pairs. The term “cymbal” ultimately comes from the Greek “kymbe” meaning “bowl, drinking cup”, which is a reference to the shape of the instrument.

98. Mercedes line : E-CLASS

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive-size cars. Originally, the “E” stood for “Einspritzmotor”, the German for “fuel injection engine”.

99. Kings’ org. : NHL

The Los Angeles Kings hockey team was founded in 1967 and joined the NHL as an expansion team. The Kings played their home games at the start first season not in Los Angeles, but rather in neighboring Long Beach, at the Long Beach Arena. Team owner Jack Kent Cooke built his own arena for the Kings called the Forum, which opened for business later in the season. The Kings called the Forum home for thirty-two years, until they moved to the Staples Center at the start of the 1999-2000 season.

100. City from which Vasco da Gama sailed : LISBON

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. Lisbon is the westernmost capital city in Europe, and indeed is the westernmost large city on the continent. It is also the oldest city in Western Europe and was founded hundreds of years before London, Paris and Rome.

Vasco da Gama left on his first voyage of discovery in 1497. da Gama journeyed around the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of Africa, and across the Indian Ocean making landfall in India. Landing in India, his fleet became the first expedition to sail directly from Europe to the sub-continent. Vasco da Gama was well known for acts of cruelty, especially on local inhabitants. One of his milder atrocities was inflicted on a priest whom he labelled as a spy. He had the priest’s lips and ears cut off, and sent him on his way after having a pair of dog’s ears sewn onto his head.

101. NBA part : ASSN

National Basketball Association (NBA)

105. Volta’s birthplace : ITALY

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!

106. Musical Mel : TORME

Mel Tormé was a jazz singer, with a quality of voice that earned him the nickname “The Velvet Fog”. Tormé also wrote a few books, and did a lot of acting. He was the co-author of the Christmas classic known as “The Christmas Song”, which starts out with the line “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire …”

107. 86-Across variety : PEKOE
(86A. Bigelow product : TEA)

A pekoe (or more commonly “orange pekoe”) is a medium-grade black tea. There is no orange flavor in an orange pekoe tea. The “orange” name most likely derived from the name of the trading company that brought the tea to Europe from Asia.

109. German river, to locals : RHEIN

The river running through Europe that we know in English as the Rhine, is called “Rhein” in German, “Rhin” in French and “Rijn” in Dutch.

112. Gemini docking target : AGENA

The Agena Target Vehicle (ATV) was used in NASA’s Gemini program to practice rendezvous and docking maneuvers in preparation for the Apollo missions that would take man to the moon.

113. Lumps for Miss Muffet : CURDS

“Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey”, in the popular nursery rhyme. A tuffet is a low seat or a footstool, another word for a pouffe or a hassock. When milk curdles it separates into two parts, the solid curds and the liquid whey. Then “along came a spider and sat down beside her”.

114. German state : HESSE

Hesse is a German state. The capital of Hesse is Wiesbaden, although the largest city in the state is Frankfurt.

121. “Exodus” protagonist : ARI

“Exodus” is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris that was first published in 1947. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, a character played by Paul Newman in the 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.

122. “The Situation Room” airer : CNN

“The Situation Room” is a CNN news show that airs in the afternoons and is hosted by Wolf Blitzer.

124. Longtime Eur. realm : HRE

The Holy Roman Empire (HRE) existed from 962 to 1806 AD and was a territory of varying size over the centuries that centered on the Kingdom of Germany. The HRE was a successor to the western half of the Ancient Roman Empire. The empire dissolved in 1806 when Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated after a military defeat by the French under Napoleon at Austerlitz.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Avian mimic : MYNA
5. Selling point? : STORE
10. Weasel cousin : STOAT
15. Passed quickly, as time : FLEW
19. Pigeon calls : COOS
20. Kind of column : IONIC
21. Stands at lectures : PODIA
22. Lead in a movie, say : ROLE
23. What the acrobatic landlady liked to do? : JUMP OVER BOARDERS (from “jump overboard”)
26. Wile E. Coyote supplier : ACME
27. Run-of-the-mill : ORDINARY
28. Former LeBron team, on sports tickers : MIA
29. Lost on purpose : TANKED
31. Buds, possibly : BEERS
32. TruTV show for board game enthusiasts? : REALITY CHECKERS (from “reality check”)
37. Sorority letter : ETA
39. Former LeBron team, on sport tickers : CLE
40. Takes a breather : RESTS
41. “The Simpsons” retailer : APU
44. “Chain of Fools” name : ARETHA
47. Out in the yacht : ASEA
49. Bite playfully : NIP
52. When a pro might practice at Augusta National? : BEFORE THE MASTERS (from “before the mast”)
56. Departed : GONE
57. “Once __ a time … ” : UPON
58. Yon yacht : SHE
59. Name in a Tolstoy title : ANNA
60. Formal split : DIVORCE
62. Electric wheels : TESLA
64. Second-tallest living bird : EMU
66. Inform : TELL
68. Skin-related : DERMAL
69. Gym employees for those getting in shape fast? : EXPRESS TRAINERS (from “express train”)
73. Don’t hold your breath : EXHALE
76. Antelope playmates : DEER
77. Musical muscle car : GTO
78. Agave plant : YUCCA
82. “The wisdom of many and the wit of one”: Russell : PROVERB
84. Dread : FEAR
86. Bigelow product : TEA
88. Often painful crack : CHAP
89. Cut with a small knife : PARE
90. Gold medal winners at the Renaissance fair? : TRIUMPHAL ARCHERS (from “triumphal arch”)
94. Thesaurus wd. : SYN
95. Doing nothing : IDLE
96. Cabinet department : ENERGY
97. Minute : WEE
98. China’s Zhou __ : ENLAI
101. QB’s stat : ATT
102. Shocked text letters : OMG
104. Wedding chapel’s main form of advertising? : HITCHING POSTERS (from “hitching post”)
111. Vacation destination : BEACH
115. Caroline Islands components : ATOLLS
116. Rescue squad initials : EMS
117. Rant : HARANGUE
119. Fictional plantation : TARA
120. Where bills should be put after an audit? : BACK IN THE FOLDERS (from “back in the fold”)
125. “Slippery” trees : ELMS
126. “… but I could be wrong” : … OR NOT
127. Celestial ovine : ARIES
128. Shuts down : ENDS
129. Colorist’s supply : DYES
130. Price enders, often : NINES
131. Category : GENRE
132. Obliterate, in Oxford : RASE

Down

1. Menial work : MCJOB
2. “__ it!” : YOU’RE
3. __ plume : NOM DE
4. Have high hopes : ASPIRE
5. Hindu “Destroyer” : SIVA
6. Start of an adage about humanity : TO ERR …
7. Sandwich shop order : ON RYE
8. Often tickled bone? : RIB
9. “Foucault’s Pendulum” author : ECO
10. Diagonal sail extender : SPRIT
11. Now : TODAY
12. Pindar piece : ODE
13. Make widely known : AIR
14. Samples : TASTES
15. Stadium staples : FRANKS
16. Eastwood’s “Bronco Billy” co-star Sondra : LOCKE
17. Fictional hunter in a floppy hat : ELMER
18. Signs of garden neglect : WEEDS
24. GM subsidiary : ONSTAR
25. Guy’s girlfriend : AMIE
30. Comedy __ : ACT
33. One may be dull : ACHE
34. Trek pack animal : LLAMA
35. Algonquian language : CREE
36. Picked up : HEARD
38. Trojan War god : ARES
41. Touch : ABUT
42. Nickname for José : PEPE
43. Eerie fliers : UFOS
45. Old anesthetic : ETHER
46. Like many crosswords : THEMED
47. “Up” star : ASNER
48. WWII prison camp : STALAG
49. Standard : NORM
50. Subject of Huáscar : INCA
51. Orange discard : PEEL
53. Legally off base : ON LEAVE
54. Baited insect collector : ANT TRAP
55. Beans or greens : SIDE
56. Scalia’s successor : GORSUCH
61. Enhancing word : VERY
63. Shaft between wheels : AXLE
65. Handy : USEFUL
67. Trivial : LITTLE
70. Vivacious : PERT
71. Words near an “F,” maybe : SEE ME
72. Musical handicap : NO EAR
73. Omar of “In Too Deep” : EPPS
74. Doctor’s order : X-RAY
75. French __ : HORN
79. Consider carefully, with “over” : CHEW
80. Attention : CARE
81. Basilica recess : APSE
83. Astros catcher McCann : BRIAN
85. Bonnie Blue’s dad : RHETT
87. 2012 Ben Affleck film : ARGO
91. “Gotcha!” : I DIG!
92. Casino game requirement, often : ANTE
93. Symphonic disc : CYMBAL
98. Mercedes line : E-CLASS
99. Kings’ org. : NHL
100. City from which Vasco da Gama sailed : LISBON
101. NBA part : ASSN
103. Driver’s license info : GENDER
104. Hardly favored : HATED
105. Volta’s birthplace : ITALY
106. Musical Mel : TORME
107. 86-Across variety : PEKOE
108. Drops : OMITS
109. German river, to locals : RHEIN
110. Less risky : SAFER
112. Gemini docking target : AGENA
113. Lumps for Miss Muffet : CURDS
114. German state : HESSE
118. Climbed : ROSE
121. “Exodus” protagonist : ARI
122. “The Situation Room” airer : CNN
123. It’s game : TAG
124. Longtime Eur. realm : HRE

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