LA Times Crossword 18 Oct 20, Sunday

Advertisement

Constructed by: Gary Larson
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Driver’s Ed

Themed answers are common phrases with -ED added to the first word, and the second word reinterpreted as a model of car:

  • 23A Wrecked Mitsubishi SUVs? : TOTALED ECLIPSES
  • 36A Followed Chevy SUVs? : TRAILED BLAZERS
  • 66A Found spots for Ford pickups? : PARKED RANGERS
  • 97A Selected classic VWs at an online auction? : CLICKED BEETLES
  • 112A Pointed the way for Subaru SUVs? : DIRECTED ASCENTS
  • 15D Took Honda SUVs for demo drives? : TESTED PILOTS
  • 61D Cleaned the interiors of Geo compacts? : DUSTED STORMS

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

Bill’s time: 14m 52s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Rush job notation : ASAP

As soon as possible (ASAP)

5 Lose one’s way at the podium : RAMBLE

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

15 Eastern “way” : TAO

The name of the Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Taoism signifies the true nature of the world.

18 Valley with vines : NAPA

The first commercial winery in Napa Valley, California was established way back in 1858. However, premium wine production only dates back to the 1960s, with the region really hitting the big time after its success at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. The story of that famous blind wine tasting is told in the entertaining 2008 film “Bottle Shock”.

19 Court : ATRIUM

In modern architecture, an atrium (plural “atria” or “atriums”) is a large open space usually in the center of a building and extending upwards to the roof. The original atrium was an open court in the center of an Ancient Roman house. One could access most of the enclosed rooms of the house from the atrium.

21 “__ Luna”: Allende novel : EVA

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.

22 “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” singer Leo : SAYER

Leo Sayer is a British singer who was big in the seventies with hits such as “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” and “When I Need You”. Sayer now lives in Australia.

23 Wrecked Mitsubishi SUVs? : TOTALED ECLIPSES

The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a sports car that has been in production since 1989. It is a right-hand-drive vehicle built mainly for Japan and the UK (although I think there are left-hand-drive versions available now). The Eclipse was named after an 18th century English racehorse.

26 End-of-page abbr. : PTO

Please turn over (PTO)

27 1998 animated bug film : ANTZ

“Antz” was the first feature movie released by Dreamworks SKG, the studio founded by Steven Spielberg and two partners in 1994. “Antz” came out in 1998, and has a stellar cast that includes Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman and many, many other big names. The cartoon is quite unique in that the facial features of the voice actors are reflected in the animated characters.

30 Eponymous lab dish inventor : PETRI

Julius Richard Petri was a German bacteriologist and was the man after whom the Petri dish is named. The petri dish can have an agar gel on the bottom which acts as a nutrient source for the specimen being grown and studied, in which case the dish plus agar is referred to as an “agar plate”.

31 Iconic ’60s-’70s TV caretaker : AUNT BEE

Aunt Bee is a character in “The Andy Griffith Show”. The character’s full name is Beatrice Taylor but everyone in Mayberry calls her “Aunt Bee”. In the storyline, she is the aunt of protagonist Sheriff Andy Taylor, and great-aunt to Andy’s son Opie. Aunt Bee was played by actress Frances Bavier.

33 Skein formers : GEESE

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

36 Followed Chevy SUVs? : TRAILED BLAZERS

The Chevrolet Blazer SUV was renamed as the Tahoe. And, the GMC Yukon is basically the same car. All very confusing …

45 Indian term of respect : SRI

“Sri” is a title of respect for a male in India.

46 Modern office staples : PCS

The original IBM Personal Computer is model number 5150, which was introduced to the world on August 12, 1981. The term “personal computer” was already in use, but the success of the IBM 5150 led to the term “PC” being used for all computer products compatible with the IBM platform.

49 Foundry waste : SLAG

The better ores are processed in a blast furnace, to extract the metal. The waste from this process is called “slag”. Slag does contain some residual metal and it can be processed further in a slag furnace to extract the balance. Slag furnaces also accept lower-quality ores as a raw material.

50 Kept adding to, as a tab : RAN UP

When we run a “tab” at a bar, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

58 Greenwich who co-wrote songs for the Ronettes and Crystals : ELLIE

Ellie Greenwich was a singer/songwriter whose main songwriting partner was her husband Jeff Barry. The list of songs that Greenwich co-wrote is impressive, including:

  • “Be My Baby”, a 1963 hit for the Ronettes
  • “Da Doo Ron Ron”, a 1963 hit for the Crystals
  • “Leader of the Pack”, a 1964 hit for the Shangri-Las
  • “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, a 1964 hit for Manfred Mann
  • “River Deep – Mountain High”, a 1966 hit for Ike and Tina Turner

59 Tar : OLD SALT

A jack tar, or just “tar”, was a seaman in the days of the British Empire. The term probably arose due to a sailor’s various uses of tar back then, including waterproofing his clothes and using tar in his hair to slick down his ponytail.

62 Head cases? : CRANIA

The human skull is made up of two parts: the cranium (which encloses the brain) and the mandible (or “jawbone”).

65 Fraternity letter : TAU

Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter that gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

66 Found spots for Ford pickups? : PARKED RANGERS

Although the “Ranger” badge has been used on several models of Ford vehicles, the current Ford Ranger is a midsize pickup truck. This latest design is a creation of Ford of Australia, and is sold all around the world.

71 Tiny songbird : TIT

The birds known as chickadees or titmice in North America, are usually called simply “tits” in the rest of the English-speaking world.

74 Simple to manage : WIELDY

Something that is unwieldy is not handled or managed easily, is cumbersome. Something that can be wielded easily is said to be wieldy.

75 Pepper named for a state : TABASCO

The tabasco pepper is a relatively unusual chili pepper in that it is not dry on the inside, and so is a “juicy” pepper. The plant is quite colorful when it bears fruit, as the peppers start out green, turn orange and are then bright red when ripe. The tabasco pepper is named for the Mexican state of Tabasco, and is best known for its use in the Tabasco brand of pepper sauce made by McIlhenny.

77 “What the Butler Saw” playwright : ORTON

Joe Orton was an English playwright who was active in the 1960s and who was noted for penning outrageous black comedies. Orton’s career was cut short as he was bludgeoned to death by his lover, when Orton was only 24 years old.

79 The “E” in Q.E.D. : ERAT

The initialism “QED” is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. QED stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

80 Indian spice mixtures : MASALAS

Masala is the Hindi word for “mixture”, and describes a mixture of spices. A dish named “masala” uses the spices incorporated into a sauce that includes garlic, ginger, onions and chili paste. Who doesn’t love Indian food? Yum …

83 “The Dirty Dozen” star : LEE MARVIN

I’ve always thought that Lee Marvin was a very talented actor. Marvin had an amazing voice, and the appearance of a man who was hard and villainous. Yet he was able to break free from the villain roles in which he was typecast and played some characters with more depth. He won an Academy Award for his dual-role performance in 1965’s “Cat Ballou”. His totally unique rendition of the song “Wand’rin Star” from the 1969 musical film “Paint Your Wagon” made it to number one in the UK charts, keeping the Beatles hit “Let it Be” in the number two spot. I’ll bet that surprised even Marvin himself!

“The Dirty Dozen” is a very entertaining 1967 WWII movie that is based on a 1965 novel of the same name by E. M. Nathanson. In turn, the novel was inspired by a real-life military unit nicknamed “the Filthy Thirteen”. The latter were a demolition unit in the 101st Airborne Division whose mission was to destroy targets behind enemy lines. The movie had quite the cast, led by Lee Marvin and supported by Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas and Donald Sutherland, as well as football player Jim Brown and singer Trini Lopez.

90 Put the kibosh on : END

A kibosh is something that constrains or checks. “Kibosh” looks like a Yiddish word but it isn’t, and is more likely English slang from the early 1800s.

92 Poker Flat creator : HARTE

“The Outcasts of Poker Flat” is a short story by Bret Harte that was first published in 1869. Harte was a storyteller noted for his tales of the American West, even though he himself was from back East, born in Albany, New York.

93 Seals’ singing partner : CROFTS

Seals and Crofts was a soft rock duo made up of Jim Seals and Dash Crofts, two musicians from Texas. Seals and Crofts were most active in the 1970s.

97 Selected classic VWs at an online auction? : CLICKED BEETLES

“VW” stands for “Volkswagen”, which translates from German into “people’s car”. The original Volkswagen design was the Beetle and was built under a directive from Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap car built that ordinary people could afford to purchase. Hitler awarded the contract to engineer Ferdinand Porsche, whose name (paradoxically) would forever be associated with high performance, expensive cars. The Beetle was the official name of the VW model released in North America, but it was usually referred to as a “Bug” here in the US, and a “Beetle” elsewhere in the world.

The click beetle belongs to the family Elateridae, and is also called an elater. The click beetle is so called because it can snap a spine on its back into a notch creating a “click” that launches the beetle into the air. This click serves as a means of escape from predators, and also allows the beetle to right itself should it end up on its back.

100 Partnership for Peace gp. : NATO

The Partnership for Peace (PfP) program is a NATO initiative that dates back to 1994. The intent of the PfP is to foster trust between NATO and the former Soviet Union.

102 Leftovers wrap : SARAN

What’s known as plastic wrap in America, we call cling-film in Ireland. The brand name “Saran” is often used generically in the US, while “Glad” wrap is common down under. Plastic wrap was one of those unintended inventions, a byproduct of a development program to create a hard plastic cover for cars.

104 Crossword solver’s smudge : ERASURE

Arthur Wynne is generally credited with the invention of what we now known as a crossword puzzle. Wynne was born in Liverpool, England and emigrated to the US when he was 19-years-old. He worked as a journalist and was living in Cedar Grove, New Jersey in 1913 when he introduced a “Word-Cross Puzzle” in his page of puzzles written for the “New York World”. The first book of crossword puzzles was published by Shuster & Shuster, in 1924. The collection of puzzles was a huge hit, and crosswords were elevated to the level of “a craze” in 1924 and 1925.

112 Pointed the way for Subaru SUVs? : DIRECTED ASCENTS

Subaru introduced the Ascent crossover SUV in 2018. It is the largest model that Subaru produces.

117 Dr. Seuss’ Sam-__ : I-AM

Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. “Green Eggs and Ham” now ranks twelfth in the list of top selling children’s books. By the way, “Harry Potter” books hold the top four slots in that list. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

118 Former slugger Martinez : TINO

First baseman Tino Martinez has retired from Major League Baseball. Martinez played with a number of teams including the Mariners, Yankees, Cardinals and Devil Rays. Martinez was born and raised in Tampa, Florida and as a boy he worked in his father’s cigar factory.

123 Fannies : TUSHES

“Tush”, a word meaning “backside”, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

“Fanny” is a slang term for the buttocks, rump. You have to be careful using the slang term “fanny” if traveling in Britain and Ireland, because over there it has a much ruder meaning …

Down

2 Parting word : SAYONARA

“Sayonara” means “farewell” in Japanese.

4 Good Samaritan story, say : PARABLE

A parable is a story told to illustrate a lesson or principle. It is similar to a fable, differing in that a fable uses mainly animals as characters, and a parable uses humans.

“The Good Samaritan” is a parable told by Jesus that can be read in the Gospel of Luke. According to the story, a Jewish traveler is robbed and beaten and left for dead at the side of the road. A priest happens by and sees the poor man, but does not stop to help. A fellow Jewish traveler also passes and refuses to help. A third man stops and gives aid. This kind person is a Samaritan, a native of Samaria. Back then, Jewish and Samarian people were said to generally despise each other, and yet here a detested creature gives aid. Jesus told the story to a self-righteous lawyer, the intent being (I assume) to shake up his self-righteousness.

6 Familiar gamut : A TO Z

In medieval times, the musical scale was denoted by the notes “ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la”. The term “gamma ut”, shortened to “gamut”, was used to describe the whole scale. By the 1620s, “gamut” was being used to mean the entire range of anything, the whole gamut.

7 1980s Peppard co-star : MR T

Mr. T’s real name is Laurence Tero Tureaud. Mr. T is famous for many things, including the wearing of excessive amounts of jewelry. He started this habit when he was working as a bouncer, wearing jewelry items that had been left behind by customers at a nightclub so that the items might be recognized and claimed. It was also as a bouncer that he adopted the name Mr. T. His catch phrase comes from the movie “Rocky III”. In the film, before he goes up against Rocky Balboa, Mr. T says, “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool”. He parlayed that line into quite a bit of success. He had a reality TV show called “I Pity the Fool”, and produced a motivational video called “Be Somebody … or Be Somebody’s Fool!”.

“The A-Team” is an action television series that originally ran in the eighties. The A-Team was a group of ex-US special forces personnel who became mercenaries. Star of the show was Hollywood actor George Peppard (as “Hannibal” Smith), ably assisted by Mr. T (as “B.A.” Baracus) and Robert Vaughn (as Hunt Stockwell).

9 Whopper : LULU

We call a remarkable thing or a person a lulu. The term “lulu” was coined in honor of Lulu Hurst, the Georgia Wonder, who was a stage magician active in the 1880s.

11 Borg and Bergman : SWEDES

Björn Borg is a retired tennis player from Sweden, and a former World No. 1. Borg won 41% of the 27 Grand Slam singles tournaments that he entered, which is a record that stands to the day. He was known for reacting very calmly under pressure on the tennis court and hence earned the nicknames “Ice Man” and “Ice Borg”, the latter being my personal favorite.

The wonderful actress Ingrid Bergman was born in Stockholm and named for Princess Ingrid of Sweden. The three Bergman performances that stand out for me are in 1942’s “Casablanca” opposite Humphrey Bogart, in 1944’s “Gaslight” opposite Charles Boyer and in 1946’s “Notorious” opposite Cary Grant. What a stunningly beautiful woman she was …

15 Took Honda SUVs for demo drives? : TESTED PILOTS

The Honda Pilot is a mid-size crossover SUV that was introduced in 2002. The luxury version of the vehicle is sold as the Acura MDX.

17 Spring locale : OASIS

An isolated area of vegetation in a desert is called an oasis (plural “oases”). As water is needed for plant growth, an oasis might also include a spring, pond or small lake. We often use the term “oasis” more generally to describe a haven, a place of rest.

24 Bucks in the woods : DEER

A male deer is usually called a buck, and a female is a doe. However, the male red deer is usually referred to as a stag. The males of even larger species of deer are often called bulls, and females cows. In older English, male deer of over 5 years were called harts, and females of over 3 years were called hinds. The young of small species are known as fawns, and of larger species are called calves. All very confusing …

25 Soccer immortal : PELE

“Pelé” is the nickname of Edson de Nascimento, a soccer player who has used the name “Pelé” for most of his life. Pelé is now retired, and for my money was the world’s greatest ever player of the game. He is the only person to have been a member of three World Cup winning squads (1958, 1962 and 1970), and is a national treasure in his native Brazil. One of Pele’s nicknames is “O Rei do Futebol” (the King of Football).

34 Multinational money : EURO

Euro coins are issued by all the participating European states. The reverse side is a common design used by all countries, whereas the obverse is a design specific to each nation. For example, the one euro coin issued by Malta features the Maltese Cross. That Maltese euro is legal tender right across the eurozone. The Irish euro features a harp.

38 “The Mod Squad” cop with an Afro : LINC

The 1999 movie “The Mod Squad” was an adaptation of the seventies television show of the same name. The part of Lincoln “Linc” Hayes was played by Omar Epps, Claire Danes played Julie Barnes and Giovanni Ribisi played Peter Cochran.

39 Feverish feeling : AGUE

An ague is a fever, one usually associated with malaria.

50 Work with a hunter, perhaps : RETRIEVE

The retriever is one of the three major types of gun dog, along with flushing spaniels and pointers.

51 Spanish dessert : FLAN

Flan (also “crème caramel”) is a delicious dessert comprising a molded custard topped with a clear caramel sauce. The related crème brûlée is a dessert made from molded custard with a hard, burnt caramel layer on top.

53 Coddling for a comrade, briefly : TLC

Tender loving care (TLC)

The verb “to coddle”, meaning “to treat tenderly”, was actually coined in 1815 by Jane Austen in her novel “Emma”. At least, that is the first written record we have of the verb’s usage. John Knightley (younger brother of George Knightley) addresses his wife Isabella (elder sister of Emma Woodhouse) with the following words:

“My dear Isabella,” exclaimed he, hastily, “pray do not concern yourself about my looks. Be satisfied with doctoring and coddling yourself and the children, and let me look as I chuse.”

56 Picnic staple : SLAW

The term “coleslaw” is an Anglicized version of the Dutch name “koolsla”, which in itself is a shortened form of “Koolsalade” meaning “cabbage salad”.

Our term “picnic” comes from the French word that now has the same meaning, namely “pique-nique”. The original “pique-nique” was a fashionable potluck affair, and not necessarily held outdoors.

57 Product of Bali : BRA

The Bali brand of lingerie started out as Fay-Miss in 1927, before becoming the Bali Brassiere Company in 1969.

59 “Lawrence of Arabia” star Peter : O’TOOLE

Irish actor Peter O’Toole got his big break in the movies when he played the title role in the 1962 epic film “Lawrence of Arabia”. My favorite of O’Toole’s movies is much lighter fare, namely “How to Steal a Million” in which he stars opposite Audrey Hepburn. O’Toole never won an Oscar, but holds the record for the greatest number of Best Actor nominations without a win (8).

“Lawrence of Arabia” is a 1962 movie that recounts the real life story of T. E. Lawrence, a British army officer who was famous for his role in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. The title role in the film is played by Irish actor Peter O’Toole. The role of Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish is played by Omar Sharif.

61 Cleaned the interiors of Geo compacts? : DUSTED STORMS

Geos were small vehicles manufactured by General Motors mainly in the nineties. They were designed to compete head-to-head with the small imports that were gaining market share at the time in the US. Some Geo models that you might remember are the Metro, the Prizm and the Storm. The cars were actually built as joint-ventures with Japanese manufacturers. The Prizm was a GM/Toyota project, the Metro was GM/Suzuki, and the Storm was GM/Isuzu.

63 Decimated Asian sea : ARAL

The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

To decimate is to wipe out a large proportion of a population. The term arose from the ancient practice of punishing military units found guilty of mutiny. One in ten soldiers in the rebellious group would be executed, with the choice made in a lottery. The term comes from the Latin “decimare” meaning “to remove one-tenth”.

67 “The Americans” co-star Russell : KERI

Actress Keri Russell’s big break in television came with the title role in the drama show “Felicity” that ran from 1998 from 2002. The lead character in the show is Felicity Porter, a young lady introduced to the audience with a head of long curly blonde hair. Famously, Russell cut her hair extremely short at the start of the second season, an action that was associated with a significant drop in the show’s viewership. Russell had to grow out her hair over the season. I haven’t seen “Felicity”, but I really do enjoy Russell playing one of the leads in the entertaining Cold War drama called “The Americans” that is aired by FX.

“The Americans” is a very engaging drama series set during the Cold War that features two KGB spies living as a married couple just outside Washington, D.C. The show was created by Joe Weisberg, who is a novelist and former CIA officer. The lead roles in “The Americans” are played by real-life couple Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.

68 Pizzazz : ELAN

Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning to ours, i.e “style, flair”.

Pizazz (also “pizzazz”) is energy, vitality. There’s a kind of cool thing about the “pizzazz” spelling, namely that it is the only 7-letter word in English that cannot be played in Scrabble. You can get close by using the Z-tile with the two blank tiles to get to three of the required four Zs, but there’s no way to get to the fourth Z.

69 Banned pesticide : DDT

DDT is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (don’t forget now!). DDT was used with great success to control disease-carrying insects during WWII, and when made available for use after the war it became by far the most popular pesticide. And then Rachel Carson published her famous book “Silent Spring”, suggesting there was a link between DDT and diminishing populations of certain wildlife. It was the public outcry sparked by the book, and reports of links between DDT and cancer, that led to the ban on the use of the chemical in 1972. That ban is touted as the main reason that the bald eagle was rescued from near extinction.

70 Govt. org. that aids entrepreneurs : SBA

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a government agency with the mission of assisting small businesses. The SBA doesn’t give loans itself, but it does act as a guarantor under the right circumstances. The SBA was set up in 1953, and isn’t a favorite with fiscal conservatives.

An entrepreneur is someone who takes on most aspects of a business venture, from the original idea to the execution. The term is imported from French, with “entreprendre” meaning “to undertake”. The original usage in English dates back to the early 1800s, when it applied to a manager and promoter of a theatrical production.

73 Barnyard male : TOM

A male turkey is called a “tom”, taking its name from a “tomcat”. The inference is that like a tomcat, the male turkey is relatively wild and undomesticated, sexually promiscuous and frequently gets into fights. A female turkey is called a “hen”.

76 Fancy ties : ASCOTS

An ascot is a wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings or part of a dress uniform. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

78 Rapper cousin of Snoop : NATE

Nate Dogg was the stage name of rapper Nathaniel Hale from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Nate Dogg is no longer with us, as he died at the age of 41 after suffering multiple strokes.

85 Super __ : PAC

A political action committee (PAC) is a private group that works to influence the outcome of a particular election or group of elections. Any group becomes a PAC by law when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election. In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that PACS that did not make direct contributions to candidates or parties could accept unlimited contributions. These “independent, expenditure-only committees” are commonly referred to as “super PACs”.

88 Focus of a 1990s-2000s baseball “era” : STEROIDS

Steroids are found commonly in nature, with familiar examples being cholesterol and testosterone. The controversial class of drugs called anabolic steroids (known informally as “roids” or simply “steroids”) are artificially produced chemicals designed to mimic the effect of the male sex hormone, testosterone. They are termed “anabolic” as they build up cellular tissue (particularly muscle) in a process called anabolism. Taking anabolic steroids can be termed “juicing”, and the aggressive behavior that can be a side-effect is known as “roid rage”.

93 Michael of “Arrested Development” : CERA

Michael Cera is a Canadian actor who played great characters on the TV show “Arrested Development”, and in the 2007 comedy-drama “Juno”. Cera is also quite the musician. He released an indie folk album titled “True That” in 2014.

“Arrested Development” is a sitcom that originally aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006. Ron Howard was heavily involved in the show behind the camera, serving as executive producer and also as the show’s narrator. Fifteen new episodes of “Arrested Development” were filmed specifically for release on Netflix in 2013, and there may even be a movie on the way.

94 Naturally carbonated brew : REAL ALE

“Real ale” is a relatively contemporary term. It has been used in the UK since 1973 to refer to beer that has been brewed traditionally, and that does not use extraneous carbonation. I am a huge, huge fan of real ale …

97 Doctrines : CREDOS

A creed or credo is a confession of faith, or a system of belief or principles. “Credo” is Latin for “I believe”.

98 Young Clark’s love : LANA

Lana Lang is a character in the DC Comics universe. She grew up in Smallville, and was a friend of the young Clark Kent. As an adult, Lana became a rival to Lois Lane for the adult Kent’s affections. Lang has been portrayed by several actresses on the big and small screens. A unique portrayer of Lang is Annette O’Toole in the 1983 film “Superman III”. O’Toole went on to play Martha Kent, Clark Kent’s adoptive mother on the TV show “Smallville”. Apparently, the producers of “Smallville” cast O’Toole as Clark’s mother without realizing that she had once played Clark’s girlfriend.

99 Ross and DeVos : BETSYS

Legend has it that Betsy Ross made the first American flag for General George Washington. However, this story only surfaced during the centennial celebrations of 1876, and although Betsy Ross was indeed one of several flag makers in Philadelphia in the days of George Washington, sadly there’s no definitive evidence that Ross provided that first Stars and Stripes.

Betsy DeVos was appointed as Secretary of Education in 2017 by President Donald Trump. Devos’ brother is Erik Prince, founder of the private military company Blackwater that had an extensive and somewhat controversial role in the Iraq War.

100 Gymnast Comaneci : NADIA

Nadia Comaneci won three golds in the 1976 Summer Olympics and was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of ten in the gymnastics competition. Comaneci published a book called “Letters to a Young Gymnast” in 2003, and now lives in the United States.

108 Linen hue : ECRU

The color ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.

109 Radiation measures : REMS

The contemporary standard radiation dosage unit is the “roentgen equivalent in man”, abbreviated to “rem”.

110 To be, in Tours : ETRE

Tours is the largest city in the Centre region of France. Sitting on the Loire river, it is said that the people of Tours speak the “purest” form of French in the whole country. The French spoken by a local is also said to be free of any accent.

114 Japanese drama : NOH

Noh is a form of musical drama in Japan that has been around since the 14th century. Many of the Noh performers are masked, allowing all the roles to be played by men, including the female parts.

116 Long of “Empire” : NIA

Nia Long is an American actress who is probably best known for playing Will Smith’s sometime girlfriend and fiancee Lisa Wilkes on the TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.

“Empire” is a musical drama TV series about the hip hop music business. Star of the show is Terrence Howard, who plays drug-dealer turned hip hop mogul Lucious Lyon. Lyon is CEO of Empire Entertainment.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Rush job notation : ASAP
5 Lose one’s way at the podium : RAMBLE
11 Wild guess : STAB
15 Eastern “way” : TAO
18 Valley with vines : NAPA
19 Court : ATRIUM
20 Cry out loud : WAIL
21 “__ Luna”: Allende novel : EVA
22 “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” singer Leo : SAYER
23 Wrecked Mitsubishi SUVs? : TOTALED ECLIPSES
26 End-of-page abbr. : PTO
27 1998 animated bug film : ANTZ
29 “And how!” : SURE DO!
30 Eponymous lab dish inventor : PETRI
31 Iconic ’60s-’70s TV caretaker : AUNT BEE
33 Skein formers : GEESE
35 Response to “Shall we?” : LET’S
36 Followed Chevy SUVs? : TRAILED BLAZERS
41 Worn : USED
43 Made : EARNED
44 Inflexible : RIGID
45 Indian term of respect : SRI
46 Modern office staples : PCS
49 Foundry waste : SLAG
50 Kept adding to, as a tab : RAN UP
51 Choice for the kitchen : FLOOR TILE
54 Thrust : ESSENCE
57 Like-minded group : BLOC
58 Greenwich who co-wrote songs for the Ronettes and Crystals : ELLIE
59 Tar : OLD SALT
62 Head cases? : CRANIA
64 Tricks : CONS
65 Fraternity letter : TAU
66 Found spots for Ford pickups? : PARKED RANGERS
71 Tiny songbird : TIT
72 Eject : OUST
74 Simple to manage : WIELDY
75 Pepper named for a state : TABASCO
77 “What the Butler Saw” playwright : ORTON
79 The “E” in Q.E.D. : ERAT
80 Indian spice mixtures : MASALAS
83 “The Dirty Dozen” star : LEE MARVIN
85 Comic strip frame : PANEL
86 José’s home : CASA
90 Put the kibosh on : END
91 Sock part : TOE
92 Poker Flat creator : HARTE
93 Seals’ singing partner : CROFTS
95 Building for tools : SHED
97 Selected classic VWs at an online auction? : CLICKED BEETLES
100 Partnership for Peace gp. : NATO
102 Leftovers wrap : SARAN
104 Crossword solver’s smudge : ERASURE
105 Something in the air : AROMA
107 Tenant : RENTER
110 Series finale: Abbr. : ET AL
111 Youngster : TOT
112 Pointed the way for Subaru SUVs? : DIRECTED ASCENTS
115 They cast no votes : ANTIS
117 Dr. Seuss’ Sam-__ : I-AM
118 Former slugger Martinez : TINO
119 Weapons cache : ARMORY
120 Wasn’t straight : LIED
121 Pack critter : ASS
122 Getaway spots : SPAS
123 Fannies : TUSHES
124 Listening devices : EARS

Down

1 Note in an E scale : A-NATURAL
2 Parting word : SAYONARA
3 Wild way to go : APE
4 Good Samaritan story, say : PARABLE
5 Betrayed, with “on” : RATTED …
6 Familiar gamut : A TO Z
7 1980s Peppard co-star : MR T
8 Partiality : BIAS
9 Whopper : LULU
10 Broke the surface : EMERGED
11 Borg and Bergman : SWEDES
12 Snacks in shells : TACOS
13 Afflict : AIL
14 Minor disruption : BLIP
15 Took Honda SUVs for demo drives? : TESTED PILOTS
16 Ward off : AVERT
17 Spring locale : OASIS
22 Sudden outbursts : SPATES
24 Bucks in the woods : DEER
25 Soccer immortal : PELE
28 Obligation : NEED
32 Slight touches : TINGES
34 Multinational money : EURO
37 White rice’s lack : BRAN
38 “The Mod Squad” cop with an Afro : LINC
39 Feverish feeling : AGUE
40 Energy : ZIP
42 Bring into being : SIRE
45 Like some norms or ills : SOCIETAL
47 Medical center : CLINIC
48 Takes care of : SEES TO
50 Work with a hunter, perhaps : RETRIEVE
51 Spanish dessert : FLAN
52 Yearn : LONG
53 Coddling for a comrade, briefly : TLC
55 Weaken : SAP
56 Picnic staple : SLAW
57 Product of Bali : BRA
59 “Lawrence of Arabia” star Peter : O’TOOLE
60 MLB Network sportscaster __ Shehadi : LAUREN
61 Cleaned the interiors of Geo compacts? : DUSTED STORMS
62 Weep : CRY
63 Decimated Asian sea : ARAL
67 “The Americans” co-star Russell : KERI
68 Pizzazz : ELAN
69 Banned pesticide : DDT
70 Govt. org. that aids entrepreneurs : SBA
73 Barnyard male : TOM
76 Fancy ties : ASCOTS
78 Rapper cousin of Snoop : NATE
80 Target : MARK
81 Required pot contribution : ANTE
82 Start of an idea : SEED
84 Fishing gear : RODS
85 Super __ : PAC
87 Quivering : AFLUTTER
88 Focus of a 1990s-2000s baseball “era” : STEROIDS
89 Stocks and such : ASSETS
92 Implies : HINTS AT
93 Michael of “Arrested Development” : CERA
94 Naturally carbonated brew : REAL ALE
96 Main Web page : HOME
97 Doctrines : CREDOS
98 Young Clark’s love : LANA
99 Ross and DeVos : BETSYS
100 Gymnast Comaneci : NADIA
101 Opera solos : ARIAS
103 __ football : ARENA
106 Takes steps : ACTS
108 Linen hue : ECRU
109 Radiation measures : REMS
110 To be, in Tours : ETRE
113 “Let me give you a __ … ” : TIP
114 Japanese drama : NOH
116 Long of “Empire” : NIA