LA Times Crossword Answers 25 Mar 2018, Sunday

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Constructed by: C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Theme: Word for Words

Themed answers are common phrases that have been reinterpreted for the purpose of the relevant clue:

  • 23A. Pet Airways security device? : CAT SCANNER
  • 25A. Narrative from novelist Levin? : IRA ACCOUNT
  • 37A. The Yankees during the Babe Ruth era? : SWAT TEAM
  • 45A. Wine glass-making component? : STEM EDUCATION
  • 69A. Alley designation? : PIN NUMBER
  • 90A. Seminar on Hughes’ poetry? : TED CONFERENCE
  • 99A. Hockey contract negotiator? : ICE AGENT
  • 115A. Association of gamblers? : BET NETWORK
  • 117A. Injury treatment for a top pitcher? : ACE BANDAGE

Bill’s time: 23m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Did a triathlon leg : BIKED

An Ironman Triathlon is a race involving a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a marathon run of just over 26 miles. The idea for the race came out of a debate between some runners in the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay. They were questioning whether runners, swimmers or bikers were the most fit athletes. The debaters decided to combine three local events to determine the answer, inviting athletes from all three disciplines. The events that were mimicked to come up with the first triathlon were the Waikiki Roughwater swim (2.4 miles), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 miles) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles). The idea was that whoever finished first would be called “the Iron Man”. The first triathlon was run in 1978, with fifteen starters and only twelve finishers. The race format is used all over the world now, but the Hawaiian Ironman is the event that everyone wants to win.

6. Pepper spray alternative : MACE

“Mace” is actually a brand name, one introduced by Lake Erie Chemical when they started to manufacture “Chemical Mace”, with the name being a play on the club-like weapon from days of old. Mace was originally a form of tear gas, but Mace today uses a formula that is actually a pepper spray, a different formulation.

10. At full speed : AMAIN

“Amain” is an old term meaning “at great speed” or “of great strength”.

19. Taste enhanced by shrimp paste : UMAMI

Umami is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. “Umami” is a Japanese word used to describe “a pleasant savory taste”. Umami was proposed as a basic taste in 1908, but it wasn’t until 1985 that the scientific community finally accepted it as such.

21. Multi-colored spring bloomer : PANSY

The garden flower called a “pansy” takes its name from the French word “pensée” meaning “thought”. This name was chosen as the flower was often used as a symbol of remembrance.

22. Bugs or Porky : TOON

Bugs Buggy debuted in the 1940 animated short “A Wild Hare”. Since then, Bugs has appeared in more films than any other cartoon character.

Porky Pig was the first of the characters created by Warner Bros. to become a hit with audiences. Porky Pig is the guy with the line at the end of each cartoon, “Th-th-th-that’s all folks!” If you don’t mind a little adult language, there’s a very funny 11-second Porky Pig clip that the studio released on a blooper reel in 1938. Porky Pig stutters out “Son of g-g-gun”, only he doesn’t say “gun” …

23. Pet Airways security device? : CAT SCANNER

Pet Airways ws a Florida company operating from 2009 to 2011 that specialized exclusively in the transportation of pets. On Pet Airways, pets traveled in the main cabin, and not in the cargo space.

25. Narrative from novelist Levin? : IRA ACCOUNT

As well as writing novels, Ira Levin was a dramatist and a songwriter. Levin’s first novel was “A Kiss Before Dying”, and his most famous work was “Rosemary’s Baby” which became a Hollywood hit. His best known play is “Deathtrap”, a production that is often seen in local theater (I’ve seen it a couple of times around here). “Deathtrap” was also was a successful movie, starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. My favorite of Levin’s novels though are “The Boys from Brazil” and “The Stepford Wives”.

27. MIT, for one : SCH

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was founded in 1861 and first offered classes in 1865, in the Mercantile building in Boston. Today’s magnificent campus on the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge opened in 1916.

28. Govt. investment : 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 T-bill is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

29. Grand Mosque locale : MECCA

The largest mosque in the world is Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca, sometimes referred to in English as the Sacred Mosque or the Grand Mosque. Al-Masjid Al-Haram is home to the Kaaba, the most sacred location in Islam. Muslims face in the direction of the Kaaba when performing formal worship known as Salat.

30. Luxury hotel chain : OMNI

Omni Hotels & Resorts is headquartered in Irvine, California and has properties in the US, Canada and Mexico.

33. Pyrex sister brand : EKCO

The EKCO name dates back to 1888 when Edward Katzinger founded his company in Chicago, to make baking pans. The acronym EKCO stands for “Edward Katzinger Co”.

35. It precedes Flames’ home games : O CANADA

Canada’s national anthem “O Canada” was commissioned in 1880 by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, so the original words are in French. The first English translation was made in 1906. The current English lyrics have been revised a few times, but the French version remains the same as it did back in 1880.

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land, glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee;
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

The Calgary Flames are a professional hockey team based in the Alberta city. The team has been in Calgary since 1980, but was founded in 1972 in the US as the Atlanta Flames.

37. The Yankees during the Babe Ruth era? : SWAT TEAM

Baseball legend George Herman Ruth, Jr. had several nicknames, the best known being “Babe”. He was also called “the Bambino” and “the Sultan of Swat”.

43. Chicago Blackhawks’ broadcaster : WGN

WGN America is a cable television network based in Chicago. The WGN name has long been associated with Chicago, and is the initialism for the former slogan of the Chicago Tribune: “World’s Greatest Newspaper”.

The Chicago Blackhawks are one of six teams still playing in the NHL who are founding members of the league. The other five teams are the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

45. Wine glass-making component? : STEM EDUCATION

The acronym “STEM” stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

51. Betel nut tree : ARECA

The areca palm is sometimes referred to as the betel palm, although I find this a bit confusing. The fruit of the areca palm is the areca nut. The nut is often chewed along with a “betel”, a leaf from a vine in the pepper family. The combined leaf plus nut is referred to as a “betel nut”, which gives rise to the somewhat misleading “betel palm” name.

53. Church reading : PSALM

The Greek word “psalmoi” originally meant “songs sung to a harp”, and gave us the word “psalms”. In the Jewish and Western Christian traditions, the Book of Psalms contains 150 individual psalms, divided into five sections.

54. Memorable Louis : XVI

Louis XVI was king of France prior to the abolition of the monarchy during the French revolution. Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette were victims of the guillotine in 1792. After the execution, Louis’s son became the nominal king of France in the eyes of the royalists, as Louis XVII. Louis XVII was never made the official ruler, and died at the age of 10 in 1795 from as the result of an illness. The uncle of young Louis was then declared titular king in exile in 1795, taking the name Louis XVIII. Louis XVIII took over the throne of France in 1815, soon after Emperor Napoleon I was defeated. Louis XVIII died in 1824, with the crown passing to Charles X.

55. A/C measures : BTUS

In the world of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the power of a heating or cooling unit can be measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs). This dated unit is the amount of energy required to heat a pound of water so that the water’s temperature increases by one degree Fahrenheit.

57. Agenda : TO-DO LIST

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

59. Dress policy at some fancy restaurants : NO DENIM

Denim fabric originated in Nimes in France. The French phrase “de Nimes” (meaning “from Nimes”) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Genes” (meaning “blue of Genoa”) gives us our word “jeans”.

62. Enzyme ending : -ASE

The names of enzymes usually includes the suffix “-ase”. Enzymes are basically catalysts, chemicals that act to increase the rate of a particular chemical reaction. For example, starches will break down into sugars over time, especially under the right conditions. However, in the presence of the enzyme amylase (found in saliva) this production of sugar happens very, very quickly.

64. Shot at a bar : DRAM

The dram is a confusing unit of measurement, I think. It has one value as an ancient unit of mass, and two different values as a modern unit of mass, another value as a unit of fluid volume, and yet another varying value as a measure of Scotch whisky!

65. Big name in anti-itch cream : LANACANE

Benzocaine is an anesthetic that is an ingredient in topical creams and oral preparations. For example, benzocaine is the active ingredient in Cepacol sore throat lozenges, and in Lanacane anti-itch cream.

72. “The Highwayman” poet : NOYES

Alfred Noyes was an English poet best known for his narrative poem “The Highwayman”, published in 1906. The highwayman in the poem is in love with an innkeeper’s daughter named Bess. Bess dies trying to warn her lover about an ambush, and then the highwayman dies when trying to exact revenge for her death. The highwayman and Bess meet up as ghosts on winter nights.

76. __ Paese cheese : BEL

Bel Paese is a mild Italian cheese that was developed in 1906. The name “bel paese” means beautiful country in Italian, and is taken from the title of a book written by Antonio Stoppani.

81. Dust jacket ID : ISBN

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was invented by one Gordon Foster who was a professor at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. The code was originally developed for booksellers, so that they had a unique number (and now a barcode) for each publication.

89. Green Day drummer __ Cool : TRE

“Tré Cool” is the stage name of Frank Wright, the drummer for the punk rock band Green Day.

Green Day is a punk rock band from just down the road here, from Berkeley, California. The name “Green Day” was chosen by the band to reflect their fondness for marijuana. “Green day” is a slang term used to describe a day spent smoking the drug.

90. Seminar on Hughes’ poetry? : TED CONFERENCE

Ted Hughes was an English poet and children’s writer who served as the UK’s Poet Laureate from 1984 until 1998. Hughes’ first wife was American poet Sylvia Plath. The stormy and perhaps abusive relationship between Hughes and his wife has been cited as a contributing factor to Plath’s suicide in 1963.

The acronym “TED” stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as “TED Talks”.

99. Hockey contract negotiator? : ICE AGENT

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal agency that was founded within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003. ICE was effectively formed from a merger of sections of the US Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

103. Actor Cumming : ALAN

Alan Cumming is a very versatile Scottish actor. Cumming has played some pretty “commercial” roles, like the bad guy Boris Grishenko in “GoldenEye” and Fegan Floop in the “Spy Kids” movies. He also played the unwanted suitor in the fabulous film “Circle of Friends” and won a Tony for playing the emcee in the 1998 Broadway revival of “Cabaret”.

105. Lat. and Ukr., formerly : SSRS

Latvia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs). People from Latvia are called Letts.

Ukraine is a large country in Eastern Europe that was a Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) before the dissolution of the USSR. In English, we often call the country “the Ukraine”, but I am told that we should say just “Ukraine”.

106. SpaceX CEO Musk : ELON

Elon Musk is successful businessman who has founded or led some very high-profile companies, namely PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX. Musk received a lot of publicity in early 2018 during a test launch by SpaceX of the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. A Tesla Roadster belonging to Musk was carried into space as a dummy payload.

112. Part of U.S. : SAM

The Uncle Sam personification of the United States was first used during the War of 1812. The “Uncle Sam” term was so widely accepted that even the Germans used it during WWII, choosing the code word “Samland” for “America” in intelligence communiques.

115. Association of gamblers? : BET NETWORK

Black Entertainment Television (BET) is a TV network with programming primarily aimed at the African-American community. BET was launched in 1980, and is now owned by Viacom.

117. Injury treatment for a top pitcher? : ACE BANDAGE

ACE is a brand name of elastic bandage. The brand was introduced in 1918, with “ACE” standing for “all cotton elastic”.

119. Not worth __ : A SOU

A sou is an old French coin. We use the term “sou” to mean “an almost worthless amount”.

120. Resort rental : CANOE

The boat know as a canoe takes its name from the Carib word “kenu” meaning “dugout”. It was Christopher Columbus who brought “kenu” into Spanish as “canoa”, which evolved into our English “canoe”.

121. Apple Watch assistant : SIRI

Siri is a software application that works with Apple’s iOS operating system. “Siri” is an acronym standing for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. Voice-over artist Susan Bennett revealed herself as the female American voice of Siri a few years ago. The British version of Siri is called Daniel, and the Australian version is called Karen. Also, “Siri” is a Norwegian name meaning “beautiful woman who leads you to victory”, and was the name the developer had chosen for his first child.

The Apple Watch was announced in 2014 and started shipping in 2015. The device works as an extension to a user’s smartphone, although it also has capabilities of its own. I’m not a big fan of smartwatches; I don’t really see the point …

124. Dover souls : BRITS

Dover is a town and port in the county of Kent on the south coast of England. Dover lies just 25 miles from the coast of France, and is a terminus on the much-used Dover-Calais ferry service. The town is also famous its magnificent chalk cliffs that are known as the White Cliffs of Dover.

Down

1. Tampa NFLers : BUCS

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the NFL in 1976 along with the Seattle Seahawks as expansion teams. The Bucs had a tough start in the NFL, losing their first 26 games. Things went better in the early eighties, but then the team went through 14 consecutive losing seasons. Their luck changed again though, and they won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2002 season.

2. Apple since 1998 : IMAC

The iMac is a desktop computer platform from Apple introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated. The iMac also came in a range of colors, that Apple marketed as “flavors”, such strawberry, blueberry and lime.

3. Nepal Airlines headquarters : KATHMANDU

Although Kathmandu is the capital city of the lofty nation of Nepal, it sits in a bowl-shaped valley and so is only at an elevation of 4,600 ft. Air pollution is a huge problem in the city. Industry and residents launch a lot of smog into the air, and given the surrounding geography and climate, any pollution blown away during the day tends to fall back into the valley at night.

Nepal Airlines is the flag carrier of Nepal, and was founded in 1958 as Royal Nepal Airlines.

4. First-responder letters : EMS

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

7. Uncle Henry’s wife : AUNT EM

In the children’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy Gale lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.

10. Cap-__: from head to toe : A-PIE

Our term “cap-a-pie”, meaning “from head to toe”, comes directly from the Middle French “cap-à-pie”. The French term translates literally as “head to foot”.

11. Jacobs of fashion : MARC

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer from New York City with his own line of clothing. He is also the creative director for the French design house, Louis Vuitton.

12. Jungle crusher : ANACONDA

Anacondas are native to the tropical regions of South America. The green anaconda is one of the world’s largest snakes, growing to 17 feet long and weighing up to 550 pounds! Anacondas are not venomous, and prefer to kill their prey by coiling around it and then squeeeeeezing …

13. Genesis father of twins : ISAAC

According to the Bible, Isaac was the only son of Abraham. Isaac was born to Abraham’s wife Sarah when she was beyond her childbearing years and when Abraham was 100 years old. Isaac himself lived until he was 180 years old. When Isaac was just a youth, Abraham was tested by Yahweh (God) and told to build an altar on which he was to sacrifice his only son. At the last minute, an angel appeared and stopped Abraham, telling him to sacrifice a ram instead.

14. 1785-’90 U.S. capital : NYC

New York City served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. The seat of government back then was Federal Hall, located on Wall Street. It was here that George Washington was inaugurated as the country’s first President, in 1789.

15. Ferocious Flea foe : ATOM ANT

Atom Ant is a cartoon character introduced by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. He is a tiny superhero who fights villains such as Ferocious Flea and a mad scientist named Professor Von Gimmick.

17. Ancient neighbor of Lydia : IONIA

Lydia and Ionia were ancient territories in a part of the world now covered by modern-day Turkey. Both territories eventually fell under Greek and then Roman rule.

18. Big bang producer : TNT

“TNT” is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.

26. Dance in a line : CONGA

The conga line is a dance that originated as a Cuban carnival march. It became popular in the US starting in the thirties. The dance is apparently named after the Congo region of Africa, and it was originated by slaves who were brought from there to Cuba.

29. Beauty mark : MOLE

A mole is a dark spot on the skin that is sometimes called a beauty spot, if it is located on the face. The term “mole” comes from the Old English word “mal”, which described a mark or blemish on a piece of cloth.

34. Language of Andorra : CATALAN

Catalonia is an autonomous community in the very northeast of Spain. The capital of Catalonia is the city of Barcelona. Sandwiched between Catalonia and France to the north, is the lovely Principality of Andorra that is nestled in the Pyrenees. Andorra is the country in the world in which Catalan is an official language.

37. Striker’s bane : SCAB

We first started calling strikebreakers “scabs” in the early 1800s, and before that a scab was a person who refused to join a trade union (back as early 1777). The word probably comes from the use of “scab” as a symptom of a skin disease, and so is a term that is meant to insult.

38. Habit : WONT

The adjective “wont” means “accustomed”, as in “I am wont to solving the crossword of an evening”.

42. Daring exploit : GEST

Our word “gest”, meaning a great deed or exploit, has been around since about 1300. The term comes from the Old French word “geste” meaning the same thing. These days “geste” can also mean “gesture”.

46. Forearm-related : ULNAR

The radius and ulna are bones in the forearm. If you hold the palm of your hand up in front of you, the radius is the bone on the “thumb-side” of the arm, and the ulna is the bone on the “pinkie-side”.

47. Slangy rejection : IXNAY

Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant or consonant cluster of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So, the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ixnay” (ix-n-ay), and for “scram” is “amscray” (am-scr-ay).

48. Like critters counted at night : OVINE

The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine” meaning “like a sheep”.

People with insomnia might count sheep as an aid to falling asleep.

49. City in southern France : NIMES

Nîmes is a lovely city in the south of France. One of the claims to fame of the city is the invention of denim fabric. The French phrase “de Nimes” (from Nimes) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Genes” (blue of Genoa) gives us our word “jeans”.

52. One of the Van Halens : EDDIE

Van Halen is a heavy metal band formed in Pasadena, California back in 1972. Brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen originally called the band Mammoth, changing the name to Van Halen in 1974 when they found out there was another Mammoth playing the circuit. Early on, the brothers were renting a sound system from David Lee Roth, and they decided to save some money by bringing him into the band and saving on the rental fee!

56. 2005 horror sequel : SAW II

The “Saw” franchise of movies is gruesome in the extreme. I’ve only seen a few minutes of “Saw” footage (accidentally). The storylines center on imprisoned victims who are faced with having to mutilate themselves in order to escape. Ugh …

60. Hamlet, for one : DANE

The full title of William Shakespeare’s play that we tend to call “Hamlet” is “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”. It is the most performed of all Shakespeare’s plays and it is also his longest, the only one of his works comprising over 4,000 lines. That’s about a 4-hour sitting in a theater …

61. Alfalfa sprouts concern : E COLI

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are usually harmless bacteria found in the human gut, working away quite happily. However, there are some strains that can produce lethal toxins. These strains can make their way into the food chain from animal fecal matter that comes into contact with food designated for human consumption.

63. USMC rank : SSGT

Staff sergeant (SSgt)

65. West Yorkshire’s largest city : LEEDS

I went to school for a while not far from Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Leeds was a major center for the production and trading of wool, and then with the onset of mechanization it became a natural hub for manufacture of textiles. These days Leeds is noted as a shopping destination and so has been dubbed “the Knightsbridge of the North”.

67. Sacher dessert : TORTE

A torte is a type of cake made primarily with eggs, sugar and ground nuts (but no flour).

Sachertorte is a chocolate cake from Austria. It was specifically created in 1832 when Prince Metternich commanded his personal chef to prepare a dessert for some special guests. But his head chef became ill so the task fell to 16-year-old Franz Sacher, an apprentice in the kitchen. That teenager’s dessert is now one of Austria’s most famous dishes.

69. Risotto relative : PILAF

“Pilaf” is a Persian word, one that we use for rice that is browned in oil and then cooked in a seasoned broth.

Risotto is an Italian rice dish that is usually served as a first course in Italy, but as a main course here in North America.

74. January birthstone : GARNET

Garnets are silicate minerals that comes in many colors. However, the color that we call “garnet” is a dark red.

76. Home to the Congressional Country Club : BETHESDA

The community of Bethesda in Maryland lies just northwest of Washington, D.C. The original settlement in the area was called “Darcy’s Store”. a reference to the original store that drew settlers to the location along the toll road between Georgetown and Rockville. The community’s name was changed to Bethesda in 1871 by a local postmaster, after a Presbyterian church called the Bethesda Meeting House. Bethesda is home to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to the National Naval Medical Center. During WWII, Bethesda also hosted the Norwegian Royal Family while their country was occupied by German forces.

The Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland opened in 1924. It was founded as a club that would be used primarily by Members of Congress and local business leaders. The distinguished list of past members includes US Presidents William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower and Gerald Ford. Other famous members were Vince Lombardi, John D. Rockefeller, Charlie Chaplin and William Randolph Hearst.

79. “__ of My Soul”: Isabel Allende novel : INES

Isabel Allende is a Chilean writer, apparently the world’s most widely-read, Spanish-language author. Isabel is related to Salvador Allende, the ex-President of Chile.

“Inés of My Soul” is a 2006 historical novel by Chilean writer Isabel Allende. The novel is structured as a memoir authored by Spanish Conquistador Inés Suárez, who participated in the conquest of Chile with Pedro de Valdivia.

80. Not of the cloth : LAIC

Anything described as laic (or “laical, lay”) is related to the laity, those members of the church who are not clergy. The term “laic” ultimately comes from the Greek “laikos” meaning “of the people”.

83. __ Mawr College : BRYN

I used to live not far from Bryn-mawr (sometimes written as “Brynmwar”) in Wales, the town with the highest elevation in the country. Appropriately enough, “bryn mawr” is Welsh for “big hill”. There is also a Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania (note the different capitalization) that is named after its Welsh counterpart. At the Pennsylvania location there’s a Bryn Mawr college, a private women’s school that was the first American university to offer graduate degrees to women.

87. “Madam Secretary” star : TEA LEONI

Téa Leoni is an American actress. One of Leoni’s early parts was in the great film “A League of Their Own” (a minor role, Racine at first base). She also played the fiancée of Sam Malone from “Cheers” on the spin-off sitcom “Frasier”. A leading role on the big screen was opposite Adam Sandler in “Spanglish”. My favorite of her more prominent movie roles was as Jane in “Fun with Dick and Jane”. Leoni started playing the title role in the drama series “Madam Secretary” in 2014, and that’s a show I quite enjoy …

91. Almond Joy ingredient : COCONUT

I think my favorite candy growing up was an Almond Joy, although in my part of the world it was a little different formulation and was called a Bounty Bar (and was more like a Mounds bar). The Almond Joy bar has been around since 1946. Hershey’s used a famous jingle in a seventies ad campaign for the Mounds and Almond Joy:

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t
Almond Joy’s got nuts
Mounds don’t

92. Cat-__-tails : O’-NINE

The cat-o’-nine-tails was a vicious instrument of punishment, particularly popular in the Royal Navy. The “cat” was made up on nine cord thongs and at the end of each thong was a knot. The specialty knot was aptly called a blood knot, and was designed to bite into the skin and draw blood. It was these “claws” at the end of the thongs, along with the nine “tails” that gave the name to the whip, the “cat-o’-nine-tails”.

96. Cabinet dept. : AGR

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) actually dates back to 1862 when it was established by then-president Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln referred to the USDA as the “people’s department” as our economy had such a vast agrarian base back then.

100. Creator of tasty cups : REESE

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were invented by Harry Burnett “H.B.” Reese. Peanut Butter Cups were originally called penny cups, reflecting the price at which they were sold. Then inflation took over, and maybe that’s why they were broken into smaller “Pieces” …

101. John of rock : ELTON

“Elton John” is the stage name of English singer and pianist Reginald Dwight. John is an avid football (soccer) supporter, and is especially enthusiastic about Watford Football Club, which was his local team growing up. After he achieved financial success, John was able to purchase Watford FC, and owned the club from 1976 to 1987, and again from 1997 until 2002.

104. Computer acronym : ASCII

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) lists codes for 32 “control” characters, as well as the 95 printable characters. These binary codes are the way that our computers can understand what we mean when we type say a letter, or a number. Unicode is a more contemporary standard, and is like “Ascii on steroids”, encompassing more characters.

111. eBay competitor : UBID

uBid.com is an online auction site that was launched in 1997. uBid is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

116. Doing the job, briefly : TCB

Taking care of business (TCB)

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Did a triathlon leg : BIKED
6. Pepper spray alternative : MACE
10. At full speed : AMAIN
15. Slightly : A BIT
19. Taste enhanced by shrimp paste : UMAMI
20. Otherworldly glow : AURA
21. Multi-colored spring bloomer : PANSY
22. Bugs or Porky : TOON
23. Pet Airways security device? : CAT SCANNER
25. Narrative from novelist Levin? : IRA ACCOUNT
27. MIT, for one : SCH
28. Govt. investment : T-NOTE
29. Grand Mosque locale : MECCA
30. Luxury hotel chain : OMNI
31. Essence : MEAT
33. Pyrex sister brand : EKCO
35. It precedes Flames’ home games : O CANADA
37. The Yankees during the Babe Ruth era? : SWAT TEAM
40. True : ALIGN
43. Chicago Blackhawks’ broadcaster : WGN
44. Give : CONCEDE
45. Wine glass-making component? : STEM EDUCATION
50. “Your point being?” : AND?
51. Betel nut tree : ARECA
53. Church reading : PSALM
54. Memorable Louis : XVI
55. A/C measures : BTUS
57. Agenda : TO-DO LIST
59. Dress policy at some fancy restaurants : NO DENIM
62. Enzyme ending : -ASE
64. Shot at a bar : DRAM
65. Big name in anti-itch cream : LANACANE
66. Slow-cooked dishes : STEWS
69. Alley designation? : PIN NUMBER
72. “The Highwayman” poet : NOYES
73. “Don’t sweat it” : NO BIGGIE
75. “Of course!” : SURE!
76. __ Paese cheese : BEL
77. Like some celestial paths : ORBITAL
78. Isn’t being used : SITS IDLE
81. Dust jacket ID : ISBN
85. City bus path: Abbr. : RTE
86. Expose : RAT ON
88. Where __ : IT’S AT
89. Green Day drummer __ Cool : TRE
90. Seminar on Hughes’ poetry? : TED CONFERENCE
94. “Amen to that!” : I HEAR YA!
97. Inseparable : ONE
98. Utterly lost : AT SEA
99. Hockey contract negotiator? : ICE AGENT
100. Solo performance : RECITAL
103. Actor Cumming : ALAN
105. Lat. and Ukr., formerly : SSRS
106. SpaceX CEO Musk : ELON
107. Put a damper on : DETER
110. Memorize things, maybe : STUDY
112. Part of U.S. : SAM
115. Association of gamblers? : BET NETWORK
117. Injury treatment for a top pitcher? : ACE BANDAGE
119. Not worth __ : A SOU
120. Resort rental : CANOE
121. Apple Watch assistant : SIRI
122. Exposed : OUTED
123. Body imperfection : DENT
124. Dover souls : BRITS
125. Warmhearted : KIND
126. Plot spoilers? : WEEDS

Down

1. Tampa NFLers : BUCS
2. Apple since 1998 : IMAC
3. Nepal Airlines headquarters : KATHMANDU
4. First-responder letters : EMS
5. Call the shots : DICTATE
6. Hand, to Jorge : MANO
7. Uncle Henry’s wife : AUNT EM
8. Wading spot : CREEK
9. Corn holder : EAR
10. Cap-__: from head to toe : A-PIE
11. Jacobs of fashion : MARC
12. Jungle crusher : ANACONDA
13. Genesis father of twins : ISAAC
14. 1785-’90 U.S. capital : NYC
15. Ferocious Flea foe : ATOM ANT
16. Like hardcovers : BOUND
17. Ancient neighbor of Lydia : IONIA
18. Big bang producer : TNT
24. Come before : ANTEDATE
26. Dance in a line : CONGA
29. Beauty mark : MOLE
32. And so on: Abbr. : ETC
34. Language of Andorra : CATALAN
36. “It’ll be fun!” : AW C’MON!
37. Striker’s bane : SCAB
38. Habit : WONT
39. Flying start? : AERO-
41. Little devils : IMPS
42. Daring exploit : GEST
45. Reject with contempt : SCORN
46. Forearm-related : ULNAR
47. Slangy rejection : IXNAY
48. Like critters counted at night : OVINE
49. City in southern France : NIMES
52. One of the Van Halens : EDDIE
56. 2005 horror sequel : SAW II
58. “If __”: “So be it” : I MUST
60. Hamlet, for one : DANE
61. Alfalfa sprouts concern : E COLI
63. USMC rank : SSGT
65. West Yorkshire’s largest city : LEEDS
66. Show contempt : SNORT
67. Sacher dessert : TORTE
68. Receded : EBBED
69. Risotto relative : PILAF
70. Show with numbers : MUSICAL
71. Shiny, in adspeak : BRITE
74. January birthstone : GARNET
76. Home to the Congressional Country Club : BETHESDA
78. Variety : SORT
79. “__ of My Soul”: Isabel Allende novel : INES
80. Not of the cloth : LAIC
82. Took a course under duress? : STRESS-ATE
83. __ Mawr College : BRYN
84. In order : NEAT
87. “Madam Secretary” star : TEA LEONI
91. Almond Joy ingredient : COCONUT
92. Cat-__-tails : O’-NINE
93. Close : NEAR
95. “Hold your horses” : EASY NOW
96. Cabinet dept. : AGR
99. Apprentice : INTERN
100. Creator of tasty cups : REESE
101. John of rock : ELTON
102. Ugly marketing battle : AD WAR
104. Computer acronym : ASCII
108. Home run pace : TROT
109. Scrapes (out) : EKES
111. eBay competitor : UBID
113. Like fine cheese : AGED
114. Doc’s orders : MEDS
115. Unenviable : BAD
116. Doing the job, briefly : TCB
117. “Don’t __ me!” : ASK
118. Deserving : DUE

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