LA Times Crossword 7 Nov 21, Sunday

Advertisement

Constructed by: John-Clark Levin
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Shh!

Themed clues point to one part of the themed answer. The other is a CAR, a QUIET (ignored) CAR:

  • 116A Place for Amtrak passengers to unwind … and a hint to how to interpret eight puzzle answers : QUIET CAR
  • 23A *Discerning : EDGEWISE (quiet “EDGE”)
  • 24A *Building manager : SUPERCHARGER (quiet “CHARGER”)
  • 37A *Performer’s period on the job : CIVIC ENGAGEMENT (quiet “CIVIC”)
  • 53A *Electricity : BEETLEJUICE (quiet “BEETLE”)
  • 67A *Apportion : CONTINENTAL DIVIDE (quiet “CONTINENTAL”)
  • 84A *Follow : TRAILBLAZER (quiet “BLAZER”)
  • 94A *Work a side hustle : MOONLIGHT SONATA (quiet “SONATA”)
  • 113A *Infatuated with, with “on” : SOUL-CRUSHING (quiet “SOUL”)

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

Bill’s time: 14m 41s

Bill’s errors: 2

  • VALE (dale)
  • ACUVUE (ACUDUE!!!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Dried meat snacks : SLIM JIMS

Slim Jim is a brand of beef jerky that was introduced in 1969 for sale, although the product itself was invented in 1929 by Philadelphian Adolph Levis.

9 Whitewater craft : CANOES

The boat known 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”.

15 Son of Abraham : ISAAC

According to the Bible, Abraham’s son 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.

21 Greek island named for a storied flier : ICARIA

Icaria (also “Ikaria”) is a Greek island located in the Aegean Sea just over ten miles from the neighboring island of Samos. Icaria is named for Icarus, who is said to have fallen to his death in the sea nearby while trying to escape from Crete with his father Daedalus.

22 Rousey who was the first American woman to win an Olympic judo medal : RONDA

Ronda Rousey is a mixed martial artist, and the first US woman to win an Olympic medal in judo. Rousey is a popular person online, with hers being the third-most searched name on Google in 2015 (after Lamar Odom and Caitlyn Jenner).

23 *Discerning : EDGEWISE (quiet “EDGE”)

The Edge is a midsize crossover SUV that Ford has been manufacturing in the company’s plant in Oakville, Ontario since 2006.

24 *Building manager : SUPERCHARGER (quiet “CHARGER”)

The first Dodge Chargers came off the production line in 1966. One of the more famous Chargers was the General Lee, a 1969 model that was painted orange and driven by the title characters in “The Dukes of Hazzard”.

26 “Little Red Book” writer : MAO

During China’s Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party published a book of statements and writings from Chairman Mao Zedong. Here in the West the publication was usually referred to as “The Little Red Book”.

27 Author Tolstoy : LEO

Russian author Leo Tolstoy is best known for his novels “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina”. He also wrote the much-respected novellas “Hadji Murad” and “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”.

30 Mensa prereq : IQ TEST

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

31 Big __: Red Sox nickname : PAPI

The Dominican-American baseball player David Ortiz has the nickname “Big Papi”. After each home run that Ortiz scores, he looks upwards and points to the sky in a tribute to his mother who died in a car crash in 2002 when she was only 46 years old.

36 Call, old-style : DIAL

The first patent for a rotary dial mechanism for a phone was granted in 1898, and the familiar rotary dial phones (with holes for the finger) were introduced by the Bell System in 1919. This form of dialing was called “pulse dialing”. When you dialed the number 5, say, the dial would rotate back to the start position, opening and closing electrical contacts five times and sending five pulses over the telephone line. I used to love rotary dial phones when I was a kid. My grandfather was a telephone engineer and he showed me how to “tap out” the pulses on the “hook” at the top of a pay phone. I was able to make free calls that way. He definitely contributed to the delinquency of a minor …

37 *Performer’s period on the job : CIVIC ENGAGEMENT (quiet “CIVIC”)

Introduced in 1972, the Honda Civic is the second-oldest brand of Japanese car made for the US today (only the Toyota Corolla has been around longer). Today’s Civic is a compact car, but the original was smaller, and classed as a sub-compact. The first design had a transverse-mounted engine and front-wheel drive to save on space, copying the configuration introduced with the British Mini.

43 “A Hymn to __”: “My Fair Lady” song : HIM

George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” was adapted by Lerner and Loewe to become the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady”. The musical spun off the wonderful 1964 film of the same name starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. To cockney Eliza Doolittle, Professor Henry Higgins was “‘Enry ‘Iggins”.

47 Bauxite, to aluminum : ORE

Bauxite is an aluminum ore. It takes its name from the absolutely beautiful village of Les Baux in southern France, the home of the geologist who first recognized that the mineral was a useful source of the metal.

48 Conquer a hero? : EAT

A hero is a submarine sandwich. The hero originated in New York City in the 1800s among Italian immigrants who wanted an Italian sandwich that reminded them of home. The name “hero” was coined in the 1930s, supposedly by a food critic in the “New York Herald Tribune” when he wrote that “one had to be a hero” to finish the gigantic sandwich. Hero is a prevalent term to this day in New York City, reserved for a submarine sandwich with an Italian flavor.

50 Chaplin accessory : CANE

Charlie Chaplin earned the nickname “The Tramp” (also “Little Tramp”) from the much-loved character that he frequently played on the screen. Chaplin was much-respected as a performer. The great George Bernard Shaw referred to him as “the only genius to come out of the movie industry”.

52 Victoria’s Secret purchase : BRA

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

53 *Electricity : BEETLEJUICE (quiet “BEETLE”)

“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.

58 Smelting by-product : 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.

60 Corp. alternatives : LLCS

A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

62 Longtime U.K. record label : EMI

EMI was a British music company, with the initialism standing for Electric and Musical Industries.

63 Greek fabulist : AESOP

Aesop is remembered today as a fabulist, a writer of fables. Aesop lived in ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. Aesop was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

65 Bilbao bear : OSO

Bilbao is a city in the Basque region of northern Spain. One of the most famous buildings in the city is the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, a spectacular structure standing on the banks of the Nervión river in the downtown area.

67 *Apportion : CONTINENTAL DIVIDE (quiet “CONTINENTAL”)

The Lincoln Continental series of luxury automobiles was introduced by Ford way back in 1939. The original intent of the “Continental” name was to signify “continental European” exterior styling applied to an American body and chassis. Experts tend to cite the Lincoln Continental as the first personal luxury car.

72 Point after deuce : AD IN

The exact origins of the scoring system used for a game in tennis seems to be a tad murky. One suggestion is that clock faces were once used to keep score, with a hand pointing to 15, 30, 45 and 60. When the rules were changed to ensure games were won with more than a one-point difference in the score, the concept of “deuce” was introduced. The hand on the clock was then moved back to 40 (for deuce), and 50 was used for “advantage”, with 60 continuing to represent “game”. This resulted in the scores 15, 30, 40 and game.

74 Jefferson Memorial column type : IONIC

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

The beautiful Jefferson Memorial was completed in 1947 and sits on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The idea for the memorial really came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as he was a great admirer of President Jefferson.

75 Catch a few winks : NAP

Back in the early 1800s, folks took “nine winks” when getting a few minutes of sleep during the day. Dr. William Kitchiner extended this concept in his 1821 self-help book “The Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life”. He suggested “A Forty Winks Nap”, which we seem to have been taking ever since. Mind you, I’m up to about eighty winks most days …

82 “__ la France!” : VIVE

“Vive la France!” is usually translated from French for “Long live France!” or “Hurrah for France!”.

83 “The History of the Standard Oil Company” author Tarbell : IDA

Ida Tarbell was a teacher and what we would call today an “investigative journalist”, although back in her day she was known as a “muckraker”. Her most famous work is her 1904 book “The History of the Standard Oil Company”. It is an exposé that is credited with hastening the breakup of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil in 1911. She also wrote several books about President Abraham Lincoln.

84 *Follow : TRAILBLAZER (quiet “BLAZER”)

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

86 Neighbor of Ill. : WIS

The state of Wisconsin is a leading producer of dairy products, and is particularly known for its cheese. Wisconsin is sometimes referred to as the Dairy State, and the state’s licence plates have borne the motto “America’s Dairyland” since 1940.

90 Many Ph.D. students : TAS

Teaching assistant (TA)

94 *Work a side hustle : MOONLIGHT SONATA (quiet “SONATA”)

The Sonata is one of Hyundai’s most successful models, having been introduced in 1985 and still being sold today. The original model didn’t make it to the North American market as it had problems meeting emission standards. The first Sonatas hit this side of the Pacific in 1988, and were assembled in Bromont, Quebec.

103 Poppycock : HOOEY

“Hooey” is American slang of unknown origin that is used to mean “nonsense, foolishness”.

It is thought that the relatively gentle term “poppycock”, meaning “nonsense”, comes from a Dutch word for “dung” combined with a Latin word for “excrete”. Not so gentle after all …

105 Rod user : ANGLER

We use the verb “to angle” to mean “to fish” because “angel” is an Old English word meaning “hook”.

107 Teeny, tiny bit : IOTA

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

108 Kind of PC port : USB

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and deal with electrical power through those connections.

113 *Infatuated with, with “on” : SOUL-CRUSHING (quiet “SOUL”)

The Kia Soul is a compact car produced in South Korea, although it was designed by Kia here in the US, in Irvine, California. Yep, the Kia Soul is made in Seoul …

116 Place for Amtrak passengers to unwind … and a hint to how to interpret eight puzzle answers : QUIET CAR

Amtrak is the name used commercially by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. “Amtrak” comes from a melding of the words “America” and “track”.

120 Fiji neighbor : TONGA

The Kingdom of Tonga is made up of 176 islands in the South Pacific, 52 of which are inhabited and scattered over an area of 270,000 square miles. Tonga was given the name Friendly Islands in 1773 when Captain James Cook first landed there, a reference to the warm reception given to the visitors. The nation’s capital is the city of Nukuʻalofa on the island of Tongatapu.

122 Paragon of prestige : CLASS ACT

A paragon is a model of excellence, a peerless example. Ultimately the term derives from the Greek “para-” meaning “on the side” and “akone” meaning “whetstone”. This derivation comes from the ancient practice of using a touchstone to test gold for its level of purity by drawing a line on the stone with the gold and comparing the resulting mark with samples of known purity.

123 Mork’s leader : ORSON

“Mork & Mindy” is a sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982. The title characters were played by Robin Williams and Pam Dawber. Mork is an alien from the planet Ork who reports back to his superior called Orson. Orson is played by voice actor Ralph James. Ralph James was also known for providing the voice of Mr. Turtle in famous Tootsie Pop commercials in the seventies. Nanu nanu!

125 Fish with the largest brain : MANTA RAY

The manta ray is the largest species of ray, with the largest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds. It is sometimes referred to as the sea devil.

Down

2 Mother of Castor : LEDA

In Greek mythology, Leda was the beautiful Queen of Sparta who was seduced by Zeus when he took the form of a swan. Leda produced two eggs from the union. One egg hatched into Clytemnestra and the beautiful Helen of Troy, over whom was fought the Trojan War. The other egg hatched into the twins Castor and Pollux. Castor and Pollux had different fathers according to the myth. Pollux was the son of Zeus and was immortal, while Castor was the son of Leda’s earthly husband, and so he was a mortal. In the world of the arts, William Butler Yeats wrote a famous sonnet called “Leda and the Swan” in 1924, and Peter Paul Rubens made a copy of a now-lost painting called “Leda and the Swan” by Michelangelo.

3 “Aladdin” parrot : IAGO

In the 1992 Disney feature “Aladdin”, there is a parrot called Iago. Iago is voiced by the comic Gilbert Gottfried.

4 GI chow : MRE

The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) comes in a lightweight package that’s easy to tote around. The MRE replaced the more cumbersome Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) in 1981, a meal-in-a-can. In turn, the MCI had replaced the C-ration in 1958, a less sophisticated meal-in-a-can with a more limited choice.

5 Yom Kippur observer : JEW

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, and is also known as the Day of Atonement.

6 Despot Amin : IDI

Idi Amin received most of his military training in the British armed forces, eventually achieving the highest rank possible for a Black African in the British Colonial Army in 1959, that of Warrant Officer. On his return to Uganda Amin joined his country’s military and quickly rose to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Army. During that time he was quite the athlete. He was a noted rugby player and swimmer, and for nine years held the Ugandan national light-heavyweight boxing title. By the early seventies, Amin was commander of all the armed forces of Uganda and in 1971 seized power in a military coup, displacing the country’s president Milton Obote. There followed seven years of brutal rule by Amin during which it is estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were murdered. Amin was ousted from power in 1979 after a war with Tanzania, and fled to Libya where he stayed for a year. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he was financially supported by the Saudi Royal Family for the remainder of his life. Amin died in 2003.

7 Fabric from Iraq : MUSLIN

Muslin is a cotton fabric that was first encountered by Europeans in Mosul, Iraq. The city of Mosul loaned its name to the fabric. Despite the name, muslin actually originated in and around Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.

8 Graf __: WWII ship : SPEE

Maximilian Graf von Spee was actually born in Denmark, but of a noble German family. By the time WWI started, Spee had risen to the rank of Rear Admiral in the German Navy. He was killed in the Battle of the Falkland Islands (the original 1914 version!). He gave his name to the powerful pocket battleship, the Admiral Graf Spee, which was damaged in the Battle of the River Plate during WWII. The Graf Spee took refuge in the neutral port of Montevideo and when the boat was expelled by the government of Uruguay, the captain scuttled her rather than face the Allied flotilla waiting for her just outside the port.

9 Opposite of trans : CIS

In Latin, the prefix “cis-” means “this side of”. The prefix “trans-” means “the other side of”.

10 Contact lens giant : ACUVUE

Acuvue is a line of disposable contact lenses made by Vistakon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

11 Morning smell in “Apocalypse Now” : NAPALM

Napalm is an incendiary compound used in weapons that is made from petroleum mixed with a thickening agent. Napalm was developed in a secret program at Harvard during WWII. It was initially used in incendiary bombs and flamethrowers. The thickening agent in napalm causes the burning material to stick to skin causing severe burns. Because of this, the UN declared the use of napalm in civilian areas a war crime in 1980.

The most memorable line from the 1979 movie “Apocalypse Now” is delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, the commander of a helicopter-borne air assault unit:

I love the smell of napalm in the morning

13 Emerald Isle : EIRE

Ireland is often referred to as “the Emerald Isle” (and described as “green”) because of all that green grass that grows due to the seemingly non-stop rain.

15 Baghdad native : IRAQI

According to the University of Baghdad, the name “Baghdad” dates way back, to the 18th-century BCE (yes, BCE!). The name can be translated into English from the language of ancient Babylon as “old garden” (bagh-) and “beloved” (-dad).

17 Thin 77-Down : ANGEL HAIR
(77D 17-Down, e.g. : PASTA)

Capellini is a pasta that is like thin spaghetti. An even thinner version of the pasta is known as “capelli d’angelo”, which translates as “angel hair”.

28 “Gone With the Wind” family name : O’HARA

In Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind”, when Rhett Butler finally walks out on Scarlett O’Hara he utters the words “My dear, I don’t give a damn”. Most of us are more familiar with the slightly different words spoken by Clark Gable in the film adaptation of the story: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

31 Blotchy : PIED

Something described as pied is patchy or blotchy in color, piebald. The term comes from the Middle English “pie”, an old name for the magpie, and is a reference to the bird’s black and white plumage.

37 Secret supply : CACHE

A cache is a secret supply. We imported the term “cache” into English from French-Canadian trappers in the 17th century. Back then, “cache” was slang for “hiding place for stores”, derived from the French verb “cacher” meaning “to hide”.

38 Faith with Sunni and Shia branches : ISLAM

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

39 Pickle brand with a stork mascot : VLASIC

Apparently, Vlasic invented the glass-packed, shelf-stable pickle. The company adopted the stork mascot in the late sixties, with the stork originally carrying a baby. The mascot was a play on the perception that pregnant women have a higher than average appetite for pickles.

40 Medusa, for one : GORGON

In Greek mythology, Medusa was one of the monstrous female creatures known as Gorgons. According to one version of the Medusa myth, she was once a beautiful woman. She incurred the wrath of Athena who turned her lovely hair into serpents and made her face hideously ugly. Anyone who gazed directly at the transformed Medusa would turn into stone. She was eventually killed by the hero Perseus, who beheaded her. He carried Medusa’s head and used its powers as a weapon, before giving it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. One myth holds that as Perseus was flying over Egypt with Medusa’s severed head, drops of her blood fell to the ground and formed asps.

41 Neighbors of the Knicks : NETS

The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets were the New Jersey Nets until 2012, and were based in Newark. Prior to 1977, the team was known as the New York Nets and played in various locations on Long Island. Ten years earlier, the Nets were called the New Jersey Americans and were headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey.

42 Latvian chess champ Mikhail __ : TAL

Mikhail Tal truly was a chess legend. Tal holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competition chess. And the second longest winning streak? Well, that also was by Tal.

44 Atahualpa subject : INCA

Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro discovered the Incas in 1526, marking the beginning of the end for an ancient civilization that was to be ravaged by brutal Spanish colonists and by imported smallpox. The last leader of the Inca was Atahualpa. Pizarro staged a mock trial and then condemned Atahualpa to execution by burning. A Spanish friar intervened on behalf of the condemned man, as Atahualpa believed that if he was burned his soul would not move on to the afterlife. Pizarro was kind enough to have Atahualpa garroted instead.

49 Mideast port on the Mediterranean : TEL AVIV

The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. “Tel Aviv” translates into “Spring Mound”, and is a name that was chosen in 1910. Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 as a housing development outside the port city of Jaffa. Tel Aviv and Jaffa merged in 1950.

53 Police record : BLOTTER

A police blotter is (or used to be) a daily record of arrests made.

54 “Frozen” sister : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Spoiler alert: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seems to be a good guy for most of the film, but turns out to be a baddie in the end. And, a snowman named Olaf provides some comic relief.

55 Cause for a romaine recall : 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.

Romaine is also known as cos lettuce, with the “romaine” name being most common here in North America.

56 Muppet who plays lead guitar in the Electric Mayhem : JANICE

The Muppet character named Janice plays lead guitar in “The Muppet Show” band, which is actually called Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. Janice is the only female member of the band.

59 The Beatles’ last studio album : LET IT BE

“Let It Be” was the last album that the Beatles released as an active group playing together. The title song was written by Paul McCartney, and it is clearly one of his own favorites. McCartney says that he was inspired to write the song after having had a dream about his mother (who had died some years earlier from cancer). In fact, he refers to her (Mary McCartney) in the line “Mother Mary comes to me”. Paul’s first wife, Linda, is singing backing vocals on the song, the only time she is known to have done so in a Beatles recording. 18 years after that 1970 recording was made, Paul, George and Ringo sang “Let It Be” at a memorial service for Linda, who was also lost to cancer. Sad stuff, but a lovely song …

64 Rosie of “Do the Right Thing” : PEREZ

Rosie Perez is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent born in New York City. As well as pursuing her acting career, Perez is an activist promoting Puerto Rican rights, and was arrested in 2000 at a rally to protest US Navy weapons-training off the coast of Puerto Rico.

66 Tiny Oreos : MINIS

Bite-sized Oreo cookies were introduced in 1991 under the brand name Mini Oreo. Mini Oreos were dropped in the late nineties, but reintroduced in 2000 as part of a promotion for the Dodge Caravan. They’re still around, and you can now even get a mint version.

68 Place of refuge : 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.

69 Manet’s “Olympia,” e.g. : NUDE

Édouard Manet painted “Olympia”” in 1863. The painting caused a lot of controversy when it was first shown. Despite the grandiose title, Olympia is actually a courtesan, and that caused offence in the art appreciation circles at that time. I have been lucky enough to have seen the work (which doesn’t offend anyone anymore!) a few times in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

70 Anti-war : DOVISH

The dove is a symbol of peace, and the hawk is a symbol of war.

71 “The Imitation Game” encryption machine : ENIGMA

An Enigma machine is a cipher device developed at the end of WWI by German engineer Arthur Scherbius. The machine was used by Nazi Germany in the run-up to and during WWII. The Enigma codes used by the Germans were first broken by three Polish mathematicians who subsequently designed mechanical devices for automated deciphering of Enigma-coded messages. Polish Military Intelligence handed over the decryption technology to the French and British just before the outbreak of war.

“The Imitation Game” is a superb 2014 film that tells the story of Alan Turing and the decrypting operations undertaken by the British government during WWII. Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Turing, and Keira Knightley portrays Joan Clarke, a cryptanalyst who played a crucial and underappreciated role in the code-breaking program. Clarke was briefly engaged to be married to Turing, despite Turing’s closeted life as a gay man. Famously, Turing was prosecuted for homesexual acts in 1952, agreed to chemical castration treatment, and committed suicide in 1954.

79 “Rule, Britannia” composer Thomas : ARNE

Thomas Arne was an English composer from London. Arne wrote some iconic compositions, most notably “Rule, Britannia!” He also wrote a version of “God Save the King” that became the British national anthem.

“Rule, Britannia!” was a poem by James Thomson, for which Thomas Arne composed the famous music.

85 Run for it : LAM

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, to scram”.

86 Sought-after Japanese beef : WAGYU

Wagyu is a breed of beef cattle in Japan. The famous Kobe beef is obtained from wagyu cattle.

91 “Gangnam Style” rapper : PSY

“PSY” is the stage name of South Korean rapper Park Jae-sang. PSY became an international star when his 2012 music video “Gangnam Style” went viral on YouTube. That video had over 1 billion views on YouTube in about six months, making it the most viewed YouTube video clip of all time. The title of the song refers to a lifestyle experienced in the Gangnam District of Seoul.

96 A jiffy : NO TIME

“Jiff”, or “jiffy”, meaning “short time, instant” is thought originally to be thieves’ slang for “lightning”.

97 Repair shop offer : LOANER

A loaner car is often available at a dealership when one’s car is in for repair for a day or two.

98 __ rasa: blank slate : TABULA

“Tabula rasa” (plural “tabulae rasae”) is the idea that people are born with a “blank, clean slate”, and that knowledge comes from experience and perception.

106 American-born Jordanian queen : NOOR

Queen Noor is the widow of King Hussein of Jordan. She was born Lisa Halaby in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Najeeb Halaby. Her father was appointed by President Kennedy as the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, and later became the CEO of Pan Am. Lisa Halaby met King Hussein in 1977, while working on the design of Jordan’s Queen Alia Airport. The airport was named after King Hussein’s third wife who had been killed that year in a helicopter crash. Halaby and the King were married the next year, in 1978.

109 Area meas. about the size of a pinkie toenail : SQ CM

The use of “pinkie” or “pinky” for the little finger or toe comes into English from “pinkje”, the Dutch word for the same digit. Who knew …?

110 Part of the navel is one : SCAR

The navel is basically the scar left behind when the umbilical cord is removed from a newborn baby. One interesting use of the umbilicus (navel, belly button) is to differentiate between identical twins, especially when they are very young.

111 Guinea pig look-alike : PACA

There are two species of rodents called pacas, and both are found in Central and South America. In some parts, paca is considered a gourmet dish.

114 New England sch. : URI

The University of Rhode Island (URI) was chartered as an agricultural school back in 1888. Rhody the Ram was chosen as the school’s mascot in 1923, a nod to URI’s agricultural past. As a result, the school’s sports teams are known as the Rams. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston, with smaller campuses in Providence, Narragansett and West Greenwich.

115 Future Ph.D.’s test : GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

117 McKellen who played Gandalf : IAN

Sir Ian McKellen is a marvelous English actor, one who is comfortable playing anything from Macbeth on stage to Magneto in an “X-Men” movie. On the big screen, McKellen is very famous for playing Gandalf in “The Lord of Rings”. In the UK, Sir Ian is noted for being at the forefront of the campaign for equal rights for gay people, a role he has enthusiastically embraced since the eighties.

118 February Va. hours : EST

Eastern Standard Time (EST)

119 Flight safety org. : TSA

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Dried meat snacks : SLIM JIMS
9 Whitewater craft : CANOES
15 Son of Abraham : ISAAC
20 Got emotional : TEARED UP
21 Greek island named for a storied flier : ICARIA
22 Rousey who was the first American woman to win an Olympic judo medal : RONDA
23 *Discerning : EDGEWISE (quiet “EDGE”)
24 *Building manager : SUPERCHARGER (quiet “CHARGER”)
26 “Little Red Book” writer : MAO
27 Author Tolstoy : LEO
29 Land between hills : VALE
30 Mensa prereq : IQ TEST
31 Big __: Red Sox nickname : PAPI
34 Truckers’ loads : HAULS
36 Call, old-style : DIAL
37 *Performer’s period on the job : CIVIC ENGAGEMENT (quiet “CIVIC”)
43 “A Hymn to __”: “My Fair Lady” song : HIM
46 Not attentive : ASLEEP
47 Bauxite, to aluminum : ORE
48 Conquer a hero? : EAT
50 Chaplin accessory : CANE
51 Decked out : CLAD
52 Victoria’s Secret purchase : BRA
53 *Electricity : BEETLEJUICE (quiet “BEETLE”)
57 Is down with : HAS
58 Smelting by-product : SLAG
60 Corp. alternatives : LLCS
61 Unwitting test taker : LAB RAT
62 Longtime U.K. record label : EMI
63 Greek fabulist : AESOP
65 Bilbao bear : OSO
66 Locks in a barn : MANE
67 *Apportion : CONTINENTAL DIVIDE (quiet “CONTINENTAL”)
72 Point after deuce : AD IN
73 Sticking point? : RUT
74 Jefferson Memorial column type : IONIC
75 Catch a few winks : NAP
78 Handles clumsily : PAWS AT
81 Give up : CEDE
82 “__ la France!” : VIVE
83 “The History of the Standard Oil Company” author Tarbell : IDA
84 *Follow : TRAILBLAZER (quiet “BLAZER”)
86 Neighbor of Ill. : WIS
87 Obstacles to good teamwork : EGOS
88 Picnic crashers : ANTS
89 Play it by __ : EAR
90 Many Ph.D. students : TAS
91 Reminder : PROMPT
93 Make out : SEE
94 *Work a side hustle : MOONLIGHT SONATA (quiet “SONATA”)
99 __ old age : RIPE
103 Poppycock : HOOEY
104 Votes in favor : AYES
105 Rod user : ANGLER
107 Teeny, tiny bit : IOTA
108 Kind of PC port : USB
110 Place for a mask : SPA
113 *Infatuated with, with “on” : SOUL-CRUSHING (quiet “SOUL”)
116 Place for Amtrak passengers to unwind … and a hint to how to interpret eight puzzle answers : QUIET CAR
120 Fiji neighbor : TONGA
121 Tenant : ROOMER
122 Paragon of prestige : CLASS ACT
123 Mork’s leader : ORSON
124 Hider’s revelation : IN HERE
125 Fish with the largest brain : MANTA RAY

Down

1 Originate (from) : STEM
2 Mother of Castor : LEDA
3 “Aladdin” parrot : IAGO
4 GI chow : MRE
5 Yom Kippur observer : JEW
6 Despot Amin : IDI
7 Fabric from Iraq : MUSLIN
8 Graf __: WWII ship : SPEE
9 Opposite of trans : CIS
10 Contact lens giant : ACUVUE
11 Morning smell in “Apocalypse Now” : NAPALM
12 Vague threat : OR ELSE
13 Emerald Isle : EIRE
14 Egg container : SAC
15 Baghdad native : IRAQI
16 In a way, informally : SORTA
17 Thin 77-Down : ANGEL HAIR
18 Fruity thirst-quenchers : ADES
19 Horse preceder, when things are amiss? : CART
25 Laid low : HID
28 “Gone With the Wind” family name : O’HARA
31 Blotchy : PIED
32 Team’s #1 pitcher : ACE
33 Get-up-and-go : PEP
35 Sit in casks, say : AGE
37 Secret supply : CACHE
38 Faith with Sunni and Shia branches : ISLAM
39 Pickle brand with a stork mascot : VLASIC
40 Medusa, for one : GORGON
41 Neighbors of the Knicks : NETS
42 Latvian chess champ Mikhail __ : TAL
44 Atahualpa subject : INCA
45 Track competition : MEET
49 Mideast port on the Mediterranean : TEL AVIV
50 Like chicken-fried steak : CUBED
52 Washroom fixture : BASIN
53 Police record : BLOTTER
54 “Frozen” sister : ELSA
55 Cause for a romaine recall : E COLI
56 Muppet who plays lead guitar in the Electric Mayhem : JANICE
58 Flip-flop : SANDAL
59 The Beatles’ last studio album : LET IT BE
64 Rosie of “Do the Right Thing” : PEREZ
66 Tiny Oreos : MINIS
68 Place of refuge : OASIS
69 Manet’s “Olympia,” e.g. : NUDE
70 Anti-war : DOVISH
71 “The Imitation Game” encryption machine : ENIGMA
76 Rescue from a shelter : ADOPT
77 17-Down, e.g. : PASTA
78 K-12 fundraising gps. : PTAS
79 “Rule, Britannia” composer Thomas : ARNE
80 Pool party arsenal : WATER GUNS
81 Italian “dear” : CARO
85 Run for it : LAM
86 Sought-after Japanese beef : WAGYU
87 Ages and ages : EONS
90 Dressy accessory : TIE
91 “Gangnam Style” rapper : PSY
92 Sushi topping : ROE
95 “Pick me! Pick me!” : OH! OH! OH!
96 A jiffy : NO TIME
97 Repair shop offer : LOANER
98 __ rasa: blank slate : TABULA
100 Volunteer’s offer : I’LL GO
101 Type of pie popular in Southern cuisine : PECAN
102 Mess up : ERR
105 In the matter of : AS TO
106 American-born Jordanian queen : NOOR
107 Airs now : IS ON
109 Area meas. about the size of a pinkie toenail : SQ CM
110 Part of the navel is one : SCAR
111 Guinea pig look-alike : PACA
112 Affectedly cultured : ARTY
114 New England sch. : URI
115 Future Ph.D.’s test : GRE
117 McKellen who played Gandalf : IAN
118 February Va. hours : EST
119 Flight safety org. : TSA