LA Times Crossword 25 Sep 22, Sunday

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Constructed by: Gary Larson & Amy Ensz
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Plush

Themed answers are common phrases PLUS a letter H at the start of one word:

  • 23A Dormitory where honor roll students sleep? : HALL FOR THE BEST (from “all for the best”)
  • 46A Ingredient for discerning brew masters? : SPECIAL HOPS (from “special ops”)
  • 71A Take care of eggs by sitting on them? : HEAT LIKE A BIRD (from “eat like a bird”)
  • 92A Learns about crops like maize? : HEARS OF CORN (from “ears of corn”)
  • 117A Cheap toupee? : BUDGET HAIRLINE (from “budget airline”)
  • 15D Light-up pumps? : ELECTRIC HEELS (from “electric eels”)
  • 57D Weekly night for leftovers? : HASH WEDNESDAY (from “Ash Wednesday”)

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

Bill’s time: 15m 09s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Crunchy brownie piece : EDGE

Apparently, the first brownies were created for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The recipe was developed by a pastry chef at the city’s Palmer House Hotel. The idea was to produce a cake-like dessert that was small enough and dainty enough to be eaten by ladies as part of a boxed lunch.

14 Storm relief org. : FEMA

Federal emergency management has been structured for over 200 years, but what we know today as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 in an Executive Order issued by President Jimmy Carter.

18 Sierra Nevada lake : TAHOE

Lake Tahoe (often referred to simply as “Tahoe”) is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and is located right on the border between California and Nevada. It is the largest alpine lake in the country, and the largest lake in general behind the five Great Lakes. Tahoe is also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.

The American Sierra Nevada range lies in California and Nevada. The Spanish Sierra Nevada range is in Andalusia, with the name meaning “snowy range” in Spanish.

21 Ruck of “Spin City” : ALAN

Actor Alan Ruck’s big break came when he was cast as the title character’s best friend (Cameron Frye) in the excellent 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. On TV, Ruck’s big role was playing the power-grabbing member of the mayor’s staff in the sitcom “Spin City”. In real life, Ruck married fellow actor Mireille Enos in 2008.

26 Name of Davy Crockett’s rifle : OLD BETSY

Davy Crockett is often referred to as “King of the Wild Frontier”. He was from East Tennessee, and after serving in the local militia he entered politics and represented his state in the US House of Representatives from 1827 to 1831. Crockett disapproved of many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, which led to his defeat in the 1834 election for the House. The defeat prompted Crockett to leave Tennessee for Texas. Famously, he died there in 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo.

29 Cubbies home : CHI

The Chicago Cubs are one of only two charter members of the baseball’s National League who are still playing, the other being the Atlanta Braves. The Cubs won the World Series in 2016 for the first time since 1908, which is a long time ago. In fact, the Cubs had the longest championship drought of any professional sports team in North America.

30 __ carte : A LA

“Carte” is a word sometimes used in French for a menu. Menu items that are “à la carte” are priced and ordered separately, as opposed to “table d’hôte” which is a fixed price menu with limited choice.

31 “Fun Factory” clay : PLAY-DOH

Back in the 1930s, a manufacturer in Cincinnati produced a doughy compound that was used to clean wallpaper. Twenty years later, school-kids started using the cleaning material as a modeling compound, so the manufacturer reworked the formula, and sold it to local schools. It was given the name “Play-Doh”.

A Play-Doh Fun Factory is a toy press that extrudes Play-Doh into various shapes.

37 Name of B.B. King’s guitar : LUCILLE

Blues guitarist B.B. King was doing a show in Twist, Arkansas when a fire broke out after a brawl between two patrons attending the event. After evacuating, King went back into the burning club to retrieve his valued guitar. He later discovered that the fire had started because of the brawl, and that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. As a result, King named his guitar “Lucille”, to remind himself not to fight over women and to refrain from running into burning buildings. Well, that’s how the story goes …

41 Actor Mulroney : DERMOT

Dermot Mulroney became well known for his lead roles in romantic comedies. He starred opposite Debra Messing in 2005’s “The Wedding Date”, and opposite Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz in “My Best Friend’s Wedding” back in 1997. Apparently, Mulroney is an excellent cello player, and is a member of the band Cranky George.

43 Santa-tracking org. : NORAD

The North American Defense Command (NORAD) isn’t just a US operation but is a cooperative arrangement between Canada and the United States. The two countries entered into an agreement to establish NORAD in 1958, mainly due to the concern that there would be little or no warning of a missile attack from the Soviet Union that came over the North Pole. NORAD also tracks Santa Claus coming from the North Pole every Christmas, and these days publishes Santa’s location on Christmas Eve on its website. The tracking of Santa started into 1955 when a local Sears store placed an advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper with a phone number that could be used to call Santa Claus. The newspaper accidentally printed the number for the Continental Air Defense Command (a precursor to NORAD). The officer on duty instructed his staff to give all children who called a “current location” for Santa. Today, NORAD gets about 120,000 phone queries about Santa’s location every year, and the website gets about 20 million visitors.

46 Ingredient for discerning brew masters? : SPECIAL HOPS (from “special ops”)

The foodstuff that we call “hops” are actually the female flowers of the hop plant. The main use of hops is to add flavor to beer. The town in which I used to live here in California was once home to the largest hop farm in the world. Most of the harvested hops were exported all the way to the breweries of London, where they could fetch the best price.

48 Jazz lick : RIFF

A riff is a short rhythmic phrase in music, especially one improvised on a guitar.

51 Sudoku digit : NINE

Number puzzles similar to our modern-day Sudoku first appeared in French newspapers in the late 1800s. The format that we use today was created by Howard Garns, a 74-year-old freelance puzzle constructor from Connersville, Indiana and first published in 1979. The format was introduced in Japan in 1984 and given the title of “Sūji wa dokushin ni kagiru”, which translates to “the digits are limited to one occurrence”. The rather elaborate Japanese title was eventually shortened to Sudoku. No doubt many of you are fans of Sudoku puzzles. I know I am …

52 Birdie topper : EAGLE

The following terms are routinely used in golf for scores relative to par:

  • Bogey: one over par
  • Par
  • Birdie: one under par
  • Eagle: two under par
  • Albatross (also “double eagle”): three under par
  • Condor: four under par

No one has ever recorded a condor during a professional tournament.

53 Historical record : ANNAL

“Annal” is a rarely used word, and is the singular of the more common “annals”. An annal would be the recorded events of one year, with annals being the chronological record of events in successive years. The term “annal” comes from the Latin “annus” meaning “year”.

55 Suzuki with 10 MLB Gold Gloves : ICHIRO

Ichiro Suzuki holds quite a few batting records, including the single-season record for base hits (262) and a record-breaking streak of 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons. Ichiro Suzuki is a huge celebrity in his native-Japan. His agent says that if you address fan mail to “Ichiro Suzuki, Japan”, he’ll get your letter …

The Gold Glove is an annual award given by Major League Baseball to the player judged to be the best in each fielding position in a season. The award was instituted in 1957 by the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings.

58 “Yosemite Valley Winter” photographer : ADAMS

As an avid amateur photographer, I have been a big fan of the work of Ansel Adams for many years and must have read all of his books. Adams was famous for clarity and depth in his black and white images. Central to his technique was the use of the zone system, his own invention. The zone system is a way of controlling exposure in an image, particularly when there is a high contrast in the subject. Although the technique was developed primarily for black & white film, it can even apply to digital color images. In the digital world, the main technique is to expose an image for the highlights, and one or more images for the shadows. These images can then be combined digitally giving a final photograph with a full and satisfying range of exposures.

70 Apple platform : IOS

iOS is what Apple now calls its mobile operating system. Previously, it was known as iPhone OS.

74 New __: cap brand : ERA

The New Era Cap Company is a headwear manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York. It is New Era that supplies all the official baseball caps used by the Major League teams.

75 Cream cheese serving : SCHMEAR

The word “schmear” comes from the Yiddish word “shmir” meaning “spread”. The phrase “the whole schmear” is a relatively recent one, dating back to around 1969 and coming from the world of business.

77 Genre revitalized by Britney Spears : TEEN POP

Britney Spears was the best-selling female artist in the first decade of the 21st century. In recent years, Spears has attracted public attention for more than just her performances as a musician. Against her will, she was placed under the conservatorship of her father and an attorney in 2008, due to concerns about her mental wellbeing. Originally meant to last days, the conservatorship was extended to months, and was then made permanent. A social movement to “free” Britney from the conservatorship took off in 2019, and a court granted a termination of the arrangement in 2021.

84 Stadium level : TIER

The Greek word “stadion” was a measure of length, about 600 feet. The name “stadion” then came to be used for a running track of that length. That “running track” meaning led to our contemporary term “stadium” (plural “stadia”).

86 Rivendell inhabitants : ELVES

Rivendell is a location occupied by Elves in Middle-earth, the fictional realm created by novelist J. R. R. Tolkien.

88 __ Island : ELLIS

Ellis Island is an exclave of New York City that is geographically located within the bounds of Jersey City, New Jersey. The name comes from Samuel Ellis, who owned the island around the time of the American Revolution. Ellis Island was the nation’s main immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954.

92 Learns about crops like maize? : HEARS OF CORN (from “ears of corn”)

“Maize” is another name for “corn”. Even though there is more maize grown in the world than wheat or rice, a relatively small proportion of the total maize crop is consumed directly by humans. That’s because a lot of maize goes to make corn ethanol, animal feed and derivative products like cornstarch and corn syrup. Here in the US, over 40% of the maize produced is used to feed livestock, and about 30% is used to make ethanol.

106 Edible part of a pistachio : NUTMEAT

The pistachio is a small tree that produces some very tasty seeds. We see the seeds in grocery stores labeled as “nuts”, but botanically they are termed “drupes”. Drupe or nut, they’re delicious …

108 Mystery writer Grafton : SUE

Sue Grafton wrote detective novels, and her “alphabet series” feature the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “’A’ Is for Alibi” in 1982 and worked her way up to “‘Y’ is for Yesterday” before she passed away in 2017.

113 Baggage handler? : TSA AGENT

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the agency that employs the good folks who check passengers and baggage at airports.

123 Morales of “Ozark” : ESAI

Actor Esai Morales is best known in the world of film for the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai). On the small screen, Morales plays Lt. Tony Rodriguez on “NYPD Blue” and Joseph Adama on “Caprica”.

“Ozark” is an excellent TV crime show starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as a married couple who relocate from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks. The couple fall foul of a Mexican drug lord after a money laundering scheme goes awry. The show is set at a lake resort in the Ozarks, although filming actually takes place at lakes in the Atlanta area in order to take advantage of tax breaks offered by the State of Georgia.

125 Song that might prompt a “Brava!” : ARIA

To express appreciation for a male performer at an operatic performance, traditionally one calls out “bravo!”. Appreciation for a female performer is shown by using “brava!”, and for more than one performer of either sex by using “bravi!”

127 Texter’s “until next time” : TTYL

Talk to you later (TTYL)

128 Turow book set at Harvard : ONE L

Scott Turow is an author and lawyer from Chicago. Turow has had several bestselling novels including “Presumed Innocent”, “The Burden of Proof” and “Reversible Errors”, all three of which were made into films. He also wrote the autobiographical book “One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School”.

129 Burt’s Bees product : BALM

Burt’s Bees is a line of personal care products that uses natural ingredients with minimal processing. The company started out in 1984 as a partnership between two entrepreneurs making candles out of excess beeswax from hives owned by one of the partners. Today the company has over $250 million in sales and is a division of Clorox.

130 Fragrant compound : ESTER

Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and is a type of plastic. Fats and oils found in nature are fatty acid esters of glycerol known as glycerides.

Down

2 Parker who was the 2020 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year : CANDACE

WNBA player Candace Parker played college basketball for the University of Tennessee, and led the Lady Volunteers to two consecutive national championships. After college, she was chosen by the Los Angeles Sparks as the first overall pick in the 2008 draft.

3 “Pequod” captain : AHAB

The most famous whale-hunting ship in fiction has to be Herman Melville’s Pequod, which is featured in his novel “Moby Dick”. The Pequod is skippered by the maniacal Captain Ahab, and the young chief mate is the thoughtful and intellectual Starbuck. Starbuck’s name was lifted and used by the Seattle-based coffee company.

4 Mexican sauce flavored with chocolate : MOLE

Mole sauce comes in various guises. “Mole negro” includes everyone’s favorite ingredient, namely chocolate.

6 __ alcohol : ETHYL

Ethyl alcohol is more usually known as ethanol. It is the alcohol found in intoxicating beverages, and nowadays is also used as a fuel for cars. Ethanol is also found in medical wipes and hand sanitizer, in which it acts as an antiseptic.

7 Jueves, por ejemplo : DIA

In Spanish (Span.), the days of the week are masculine (masc.) nouns. Unlike in English, the days of the week in Spanish are not capitalized when used in the middle of a sentence:

  • lunes – Monday
  • martes – Tuesday
  • miércoles – Wednesday
  • jueves – Thursday
  • viernes – Friday
  • sábado – Saturday
  • domingo – Sunday

9 Subj. for some citizenship applicants : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

11 “Virgin River” novelist Robyn : CARR

Robyn Carr is a prolific author of historical and contemporary romance novels. Her “Virgin River” novels were adapted into a TV series that started airing on Netflix in 2019.

12 Tenochtitlan native : AZTEC

Tenochtitlán was a city-state that was the capital of the Aztec Empire in the 15th century. It was located on an island in Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. After Tenochtitlán was captured by the Spanish in 1521, they leveled the city and their own settlement, which grew into today’s Mexico City.

13 “Joy Shtick” writer/comedian : BEHAR

Joy Behar is a comedian, and former co-host of the hit talk show “The View”. Behar was one of the original co-hosts of “The View”, and stayed with the show from 1997 until 2013, and then rejoined the show in 2015. She briefly hosted her own talk show called “Late Night Joy” in November 2015.

15 Light-up pumps? : ELECTRIC HEELS (from “electric eels”)

A pump is a woman’s shoe that doesn’t have a strap. Such shoes are probably called “pumps” because of the sound they make while walking in them.

“Electrophorus electricus” is the biological name for the electric eel. Despite its name, the electric “eel” isn’t an eel at all, but rather what is called a knifefish, a fish with an elongated body that is related to the catfish. The electric eel has three pairs of organs along its abdomen, each capable of generating an electric discharge. The shock can go as high as 500 volts with 1 ampere of current (500 watts), and that could perhaps kill a human.

16 Classic TV series set in Korea : MASH

“MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors” is a 1968 novel by Richard Hooker. “Richard Hooker” was the pen name used by Dr. H. Richard Hornberger and writer W. C. Heinz. The novel was the inspiration for the iconic 1970 movie “M*A*S*H” and the great spin-off television series.

22 Farm young : FOALS

There are lots of terms to describe horses of different ages and sexes, it seems:

  • Foal: horse of either sex that is less than one year old
  • Yearling: horse of either sex that is one to two years old
  • Filly: female horse under the age of four
  • Colt: male horse under the age of four
  • Gelding: castrated male horse of any age
  • Stallion: non-castrated male horse four years or older
  • Mare: female horse four years or older

25 Genesis plot : EDEN

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, Moses and Abraham. “Genesis” is a Greek word meaning “origin, creation”.

27 Be in a bee : SPELL

Back in 18th-century America, when neighbors would gather to work for the benefit of one of their group, such a meeting was called a bee. The name “bee” was an allusion to the social nature of the insect. In modern parlance, a further element of entertainment and pleasure has been introduced, for example in a quilting bee, or even a spelling bee.

34 OB-GYNs, e.g. : DRS

Obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN)

36 Former Seattle team, familiarly : SONICS

The Seattle SuperSonics were the professional basketball team based in Seattle from 1967 to 2008, at which time the franchise moved to Oklahoma City (and became the Oklahoma City Thunder).

42 Sardine cans : TINS

Sardines are oily fish related to herrings. Sardines are also known as pilchards, although in the UK “sardine” is a noun reserved for a young pilchard. Very confusing …

49 Fistfight souvenir : FAT LIP

A souvenir is a memento, a token of remembrance. We imported “souvenir” from French, in which language it has the same meaning. The term comes from the Latin “subvenire” meaning “to come to mind”, or literally “to come up”.

50 Circular : FLIER

Fliers are notices that are circulated. The original fliers (also “flyers”) were police bulletins that were “scatter-broadcast”.

55 Sacred Nile bird : IBIS

The ibis is a wading bird that was revered in ancient Egypt. “Ibis” is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one “ibis” or two “ibises”, and then again one has a flock of “ibis”. And if you want to go with the classical plural, instead of two “ibises” you would have two “ibides”!

56 Colorful clog : CROC

Crocs are foam clogs that were originally designed as shoes to be worn at health spas. I recently bought my first pair of crocs, and now my kids won’t talk to me …

57 Weekly night for leftovers? : HASH WEDNESDAY (from “Ash Wednesday”)

Hash, beef and vegetables mashed together, is a very American dish and one that really surprised me when I first came across it. “Hash” just seems like such an unappetizing item, but I soon found out how delicious it was. The name “hash” in this context comes from the French “hacher” meaning “to chop”. Back in the early 1900s the dish called “hashed browned potatoes” was developed, which quickly morphed into “hash browns”. From there the likes of corned beef hash was introduced.

In the Christian tradition, the first day in the season of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, Palm Crosses from the prior year’s Palm Sunday are burned. The resulting ashes are mixed with sacred oil and then used to anoint worshipers on the forehead with the shape of a cross.

59 Shoulder muscle, for short : DELT

The deltoid “muscle” is actually a group of muscles, the ones that cover the shoulder and create the roundness under the skin. The deltoids (delts) are triangular in shape resembling the Greek letter delta, hence the name.

60 Parting words : ADIEUS

“Adieu” is French for “goodbye, farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

63 Bit : TAD

Back in the 1800s, “tad” was used to describe a young child, and this extended into our usage of “small amount” in the early 1900s. The original use of “tad” for a child is very likely a shortened version of “tadpole”.

71 HRH part : HER

His/Her Royal Highness (HRH)

76 Bite : MORSEL

A morsel is a small bite, a mouthful of food. The term “morsel” comes from the Latin “morsus” meaning “bite”.

78 “Julius Caesar” role : CASCA

Julius Caesar was assassinated on the 15th (the ides) of March, 44 BC. He was attacked by a group of sixty people in the Roman Senate, and was stabbed 23 times. The first to strike a blow was Servilius Casca, who attacked Caesar from behind and stabbed him in the neck. In Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, Casca utters the words “Speak, hands, for me!” just before making the fatal blow. The following line, uttered by Caesar, is more famous though: “Et tu, Brute?”

80 Kristoff’s reindeer in “Frozen” : SVEN

In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Kristoff is a 21-year old iceman who is accompanied by Sven, his reindeer. Kristoff is voiced by Jonathan Groff.

84 Graffiti signature : TAG

A tag is a particular type of graffiti. A tag usually isn’t a picture, but rather words that include the author’s name.

Graffiti is the plural of “graffito”, the Italian for “scribbling”. The word was first used to describe ancient inscriptions on the walls in the ruins of Pompeii.

87 Three-time “Modern Family” Emmy nominee : ED O’NEILL

Ed O’Neill made it big on television playing Al Bundy on the sitcom “Married … with Children”, not a show I ever cared for. However, O’Neill is in the cast of a great show, namely “Modern Family”. Off screen, O’Neill is a very proficient practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning his black belt in 2007.

89 Future JDs’ exams : LSATS

The law degree that is abbreviated to “J.D.” stands for “Juris Doctor” or “Doctor of Jurisprudence”.

94 Animal that beats its chest : APE

The tailless primates known as apes (also “hominoids”) are divided into two main branches: gibbons (lesser apes) and hominids (great apes). The hominids are the great apes, and belong to the family of primates called Hominidae. Extant genera that make up the family Hominidae are:

  • chimpanzees
  • gorillas
  • humans
  • orangutans

97 Russian rejections : NYETS

“Nyet” is Russian for “no”, and “da” is Russian for “yes”.

105 One of the filmmaking Coen brothers : ETHAN

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.

109 Turn off the security cameras for, maybe : ABET

The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (literally “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

110 Roomba target : DUST

The Roomba vacuum cleaner is a cool-looking device that navigates its way around a room by itself, picking up dirt as it goes. Like I said, it’s cool-looking but I am not sure how effective it is …

114 Queens, New York, stadium namesake : ASHE

Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York opened in 1997, and is the largest outdoor, tennis-only venue in the world. The stadium was often criticized for not having a retractable dome to protect the playing surface from inclement weather. Well, that changed in 2016 when the stadium debuted its new retractable roof, a $150 million investment in the facility.

116 Capricorn critter : GOAT

Capricorn is the tenth sign of the Zodiac. The astrological sign is associated with the constellation Capricornus. “Capricornus” is Latin for “horned goat”. That said, Capricorn is often represented by a sea-goat symbol, a mythical half-fish, half-goat creature.

118 Hodges who managed the Miracle Mets : GIL

Gil Hodges was a professional baseball player and manager. Perhaps Hodges’ most celebrated achievement was managing the New York Mets team (the “Miracle Mets”) that won the 1969 World Series. Hodges died from a heart attack just a few years later in 1972, when he was only 48 years old.

119 Chemist’s workplace : LAB

Our term “laboratory”, often shortened to “lab”, comes from the Medieval Latin word “laboratorium” meaning “place for labor, work”. This in turn comes from the Latin verb “laborare” meaning “to work”.

120 401(k) kin : IRA

A 401(k) account resembles an IRA in that contributions can be made from a paycheck prior to the deduction of income taxes. A 401(k) differs from an IRA in that it is an employer-sponsored plan, with payments taken by the employer directly from an employee’s paycheck. Additionally, contributions can be fully or partially matched by an employer.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Little rascal : SCAMP
6 Crunchy brownie piece : EDGE
10 Natural bandage : SCAB
14 Storm relief org. : FEMA
18 Sierra Nevada lake : TAHOE
19 Connections : TIES
20 Skyline obscurer : HAZE
21 Ruck of “Spin City” : ALAN
22 Semis followers : FINALS
23 Dormitory where honor roll students sleep? : HALL FOR THE BEST (from “all for the best”)
26 Name of Davy Crockett’s rifle : OLD BETSY
28 Enjoy again, as a favorite book : REREAD
29 Cubbies home : CHI
30 __ carte : A LA
31 “Fun Factory” clay : PLAY-DOH
35 Tuft of feathers : CREST
37 Name of B.B. King’s guitar : LUCILLE
41 Actor Mulroney : DERMOT
43 Santa-tracking org. : NORAD
46 Ingredient for discerning brew masters? : SPECIAL HOPS (from “special ops”)
48 Jazz lick : RIFF
51 Sudoku digit : NINE
52 Birdie topper : EAGLE
53 Historical record : ANNAL
54 App symbol : ICON
55 Suzuki with 10 MLB Gold Gloves : ICHIRO
58 “Yosemite Valley Winter” photographer : ADAMS
62 Do needlework : STITCH
64 Dietary fiber : BRAN
65 Forecast : PREDICT
67 Charge for using, as an apartment : LEASE TO
70 Apple platform : IOS
71 Take care of eggs by sitting on them? : HEAT LIKE A BIRD (from “eat like a bird”)
74 New __: cap brand : ERA
75 Cream cheese serving : SCHMEAR
77 Genre revitalized by Britney Spears : TEEN POP
78 Thicken, as cream : CLOT
79 Some year-end lists : WORSTS
81 Calf’s suckling spot : UDDER
82 Turns way up : BLASTS
84 Stadium level : TIER
86 Rivendell inhabitants : ELVES
88 __ Island : ELLIS
90 Tacks on : ADDS
91 Went platinum? : DYED
92 Learns about crops like maize? : HEARS OF CORN (from “ears of corn”)
98 Lost cause : GONER
100 Words on an orange juice container : NO PULP
102 “Way to go, fella!” : ATTA BOY!
103 Dodge : ELUDE
106 Edible part of a pistachio : NUTMEAT
108 Mystery writer Grafton : SUE
109 Many pop-ups : ADS
111 Refuse : LITTER
113 Baggage handler? : TSA AGENT
117 Cheap toupee? : BUDGET HAIRLINE (from “budget airline”)
122 Duel choices : SWORDS
123 Morales of “Ozark” : ESAI
124 With 112-Down, fish story : TALL …
125 Song that might prompt a “Brava!” : ARIA
126 Cast : HEAVE
127 Texter’s “until next time” : TTYL
128 Turow book set at Harvard : ONE L
129 Burt’s Bees product : BALM
130 Fragrant compound : ESTER

Down

1 Not in bed yet : STILL UP
2 Parker who was the 2020 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year : CANDACE
3 “Pequod” captain : AHAB
4 Mexican sauce flavored with chocolate : MOLE
5 Fly, e.g. : PEST
6 __ alcohol : ETHYL
7 Jueves, por ejemplo : DIA
8 Salon goop : GEL
9 Subj. for some citizenship applicants : ESL
10 Help for a tight fit : SHOEHORN
11 “Virgin River” novelist Robyn : CARR
12 Tenochtitlan native : AZTEC
13 “Joy Shtick” writer/comedian : BEHAR
14 Terrif : FAB
15 Light-up pumps? : ELECTRIC HEELS (from “electric eels”)
16 Classic TV series set in Korea : MASH
17 Averse to : ANTI
22 Farm young : FOALS
24 Gift tag word : FROM
25 Genesis plot : EDEN
27 Be in a bee : SPELL
32 Bustle : ADO
33 “Okey-doke” : YEP
34 OB-GYNs, e.g. : DRS
36 Former Seattle team, familiarly : SONICS
38 Trap during a winter storm, say : ICE IN
39 False witness : LIAR
40 Spanish lake : LAGO
42 Sardine cans : TINS
44 “I’ll take that as __” : A NO
45 Cub’s home : DEN
47 Ticker : HEART
49 Fistfight souvenir : FAT LIP
50 Circular : FLIER
53 Go up : ASCEND
55 Sacred Nile bird : IBIS
56 Colorful clog : CROC
57 Weekly night for leftovers? : HASH WEDNESDAY (from “Ash Wednesday”)
59 Shoulder muscle, for short : DELT
60 Parting words : ADIEUS
61 Ready to be recorded : MIKED
63 Bit : TAD
65 To some degree : PARTLY
66 Sealing stuff : TAPE
68 Home run run : TROT
69 Stallion feed : OATS
71 HRH part : HER
72 Lightened (up) : EASED
73 Drill, e.g. : BORER
76 Bite : MORSEL
78 “Julius Caesar” role : CASCA
80 Kristoff’s reindeer in “Frozen” : SVEN
82 Dab at, as lipstick : BLOT
83 British elevator : LIFT
84 Graffiti signature : TAG
85 Rite answer? : I DO
87 Three-time “Modern Family” Emmy nominee : ED O’NEILL
89 Future JDs’ exams : LSATS
92 Simple shelter : HUT
93 Furniture wood : ELM
94 Animal that beats its chest : APE
95 Witness : OBSERVE
96 Not as flat : ROUNDER
97 Russian rejections : NYETS
99 Govern : RULE
101 Smooth engine sound : PURR
104 “Likewise” : DITTO
105 One of the filmmaking Coen brothers : ETHAN
107 Crack squad : A-TEAM
109 Turn off the security cameras for, maybe : ABET
110 Roomba target : DUST
112 See 124-Across : … TALE
114 Queens, New York, stadium namesake : ASHE
115 Dazzles : AWES
116 Capricorn critter : GOAT
118 Hodges who managed the Miracle Mets : GIL
119 Chemist’s workplace : LAB
120 401(k) kin : IRA
121 Not a thing : NIL