LA Times Crossword 22 Sep 19, Sunday

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Constructed by: Gary Larson
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Film Openings

Themed answers are common phrases that OPEN with the title of a FILM:

  • 22A Review of a 2013 Disney musical? : “FROZEN” ACCOUNT
  • 39A 1:58 for the duration of a 2016 Amy Adams sci-fi flick? : “ARRIVAL” TIME
  • 70A Author of a 1990 Swayze/Moore fantasy romance? : “GHOST” WRITER
  • 101A Box-office receipts for a 1988 Tom Hanks comedy? : “BIG” BUSINESS
  • 117A First draft of a 1995 De Niro/Pacino thriller? : “HEAT” TREATMENT
  • 16D TV commercial for a 1983 Chevy Chase comedy? : “VACATION” SPOT
  • 62D Pretentious chatter about a 1960 Hitchcock thriller? : “PSYCHO” BABBLE

Bill’s time: 22m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 DSL provider : ISP

An Internet service provider (ISP) is just what the name indicates, a company that provides its customers with access to the Internet. One way that ISPs differentiate themselves from each other is in the way in which end users are connected to the ISP’s network. So, there are cable ISPs, DSL ISPs, dial-up ISPs and satellite ISPs.

4 MSNBC rival : CNN

CNN (Cable News Network) was launched in 1980 by the Turner Broadcasting System, and was the first television channel in the world to provide news coverage 24 hours a day.

MSNBC was founded in 1996 as a partnership between Microsoft (“MS”) and GE’s “NBC” broadcasting operation. Microsoft only owns a minority share in MSNBC today, but is still an equal partner in the separate company that runs msnbc.com.

7 Living room piece : DIVAN

Divans are essentially couches without backs or arms. The design originated in the Middle East, where the couches were commonly found lining the walls of an office that was known as a “divan” or “diwan” meaning “government office”.

12 Tennyson poem that begins, “I waited for the train at Coventry” : GODIVA

In the legend of Lady Godiva, the noblewoman rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England, basically as a dare from her husband in return for relieving the taxes of his tenants. Lady Godiva issued instructions that all the town’s inhabitants should stay indoors while she made her journey. However, a tailor in the town named Tom disobeyed the instructions by boring holes in the shutters on his windows, and “peeped”. As a result, Peeping Tom was struck blind, and the term “peeping Tom” has been in our language ever since.

“Godiva” is an 1840 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about the legendary Lady Godiva who rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England. Tennyson actually wrote the poem while he was traveling home from Coventry to London.

19 Sushi topping : ROE

Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If we want raw fish by itself, then we have to order sashimi.

20 Saudi neighbor : OMANI

The Arabian Peninsula is shaped like a boot, with the Sultanate of Oman occupying the toe of that boot.

21 Turkey’s highest peak : ARARAT

Mount Ararat is in Turkey. Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcano with two peaks. The higher of the two, Greater Ararat, is the tallest peak in the country. Ararat takes its name from a legendary Armenian hero called Ara the Beautiful (or Ara the Handsome). According to the Book of Genesis, Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat as the Great Flood subsided.

22 Review of a 2013 Disney musical? : “FROZEN” ACCOUNT

“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.

27 Green-winged night flier : LUNA MOTH

The lime-green luna moth is one of the largest moths found in North America, growing to a wingspan of up to 4½ inches.

30 Olympic skater Baiul : OKSANA

Oksana Baiul is a Ukrainian figure skater, and the 1994 Olympic champion. Baiul had a rough start to her life as her father deserted her and her mother when she was just two years old, and then her mother died when she was thirteen. Her grandparents had died earlier so she was left as an orphan, sleeping on a cot in her hometown ice rink.

31 Singer with numerically named albums : ADELE

“Adele” is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older. Her third studio album “25”, released in 2015, broke the first-week sales records in both the UK and the US.

32 Vocalist Kitt : EARTHA

Eartha Kitt really did have a unique voice and singing style. Her rendition of “Santa Baby” has to be one of the most distinctive and memorable recordings in the popular repertoire. Some of you will no doubt remember Eartha playing Catwoman on the final series of the 1960s TV show “Batman”.

37 Hanoi holiday : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

Hanoi (“Hà Nội” in Vietnamese) was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state. Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is located in the delta of the Red River, and is just over 50 miles from the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.

38 Place for a béret : TETE

In French, one wears a “chapeau” (hat), a (béret) beret perhaps, on one’s “tête” (head).

39 1:58 for the duration of a 2016 Amy Adams sci-fi flick? : “ARRIVAL” TIME

2016’s “Arrival” is a very entertaining sci-fi film that is based on a short story by Ted Chiang called “Story of Your Life”. Amy Adams plays a linguist who is called upon to communicate with aliens who have arrived on Earth.

41 QB’s stat : INT

Interception (Int.)

42 Inventor Otis : ELISHA

Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.

44 Macho guy : MAN’S MAN

A macho man is one showing pride in his masculinity. “Macho” is a Spanish word for “male animal”.

47 U.S. Army medal : DSC

The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the second-highest honor awarded to members of the US Army. The DSC is equivalent to the Navy Cross and the Air Force Cross.

51 George who was VP for both Jefferson and Madison : CLINTON

Not only was George Clinton the first Governor of New York, he was the state’s longest serving governor, holding office for eighteen years from 1777 to 1795. He was also the fourth Vice President of the United States, serving under both President Thomas Jefferson and President James Madison.

53 Three-time Oscar-winning director : CAPRA

I can’t tell you how many of Frank Capra’s movies are on my list of all-time favorites. He directed such classics as “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, “Lost Horizon”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Meet John Doe”, “Arsenic and Old Lace” and the holiday favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Capra was the first person to win three directorial Oscars: for “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” and “You Can’t Take It With You”. Capra also did his bit during WWII, enlisting just a few days after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Given his great talent, and the fact that he enlisted at the relatively advanced age of 44, the US Army put him to work directing 11 documentary war films in the “Why We Fight” series, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

60 How some stock is sold : AT PAR

Stocks and other financial vehicles may be sold “at par”, meaning at the original price, neither discounted nor at a premium.

63 Leader in a beret : CHE

Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born in Argentina, and in 1948 he started to study medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. While at school he satisfied his need to “see the world” by taking two long journeys around South America, the story of which are told in Guevara’s memoir later published as “The Motorcycle Diaries”. While travelling, Guevara was moved by the plight of the people he saw and their working conditions and what he viewed as capitalistic exploitation. In Mexico City he met brothers Raul and Fidel Castro and was persuaded to join their cause, the overthrow of the US-backed government in Cuba. He rose to second-in-command among the Cuban insurgents, and when Castro came to power Guevara was influential in repelling the Bay of Pigs Invasion and bringing Soviet nuclear missiles to the island. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to continue his work as a revolutionary. He was captured by Bolivian forces in 1967, and was executed. Fidel Castro led the public mourning of Guevara’s death, and soon the revolutionary was an icon for many left-wing movements around the world.

65 Hammock rests : NAPS

Our word “hammock” comes via Spanish from Haiti, and evolved from a word used to describe a fishing net.

69 Great, in slang : BOSS

“Boss” is a slang term meaning “excellent, great”.

70 Author of a 1990 Swayze/Moore fantasy romance? : “GHOST” WRITER

The fabulous film “Ghost” was the highest-grossing movie at the box office in 1990, bringing in over $500 million, despite only costing $21 million to make. Stars of the film are Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. You might want to check out the stage musical adaptation “Ghost The Musical”, which debuted in 2011 and is touring the UK and US.

74 Prefix with currency or zoology : CRYPTO-

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset that I simply do not understand. Apparently, an essential aspect of cryptocurrency is that it has no central administration. The first, and most famous, decentralized cryptocurrency is bitcoin.

The study of animals whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology.

76 Tool for a duel : EPEE

The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. The épée is similar to a foil and sabre, although the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.

81 Word on a dipstick : ADD

One form of measuring dipstick is used to measure the level of oil in an internal combustion engine.

83 Book IDs : ISBNS

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.

90 Cassis aperitif : KIR

Kir is a French cocktail made by adding a teaspoon or so of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) to a glass, and then topping it off with white wine. The drink is named after Felix Kir, the Mayor of Dijon in Burgundy, who used to offer the drink to his guests. My wife is particularly fond of a variant called a Kir Royale, in which the white wine is replaced with champagne.

95 High-spirited horse : ARABIAN

The Arab (also “Arabian”) breed of horse takes its name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. Like any animal that humans have over-bred, the horse falls prey to genetic diseases, some of which are fatal and some of which require the horse to be euthanized.

98 Diva Dion : CELINE

French-Canadian singer Céline Dion first came to international attention when she won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, in which she represented Switzerland in the competition that was hosted in Dublin, Ireland. She is now the the best-selling Canadian artist of all time.

101 Box-office receipts for a 1988 Tom Hanks comedy? : “BIG” BUSINESS

“Big” is a fun movie that was released in 1988. It is a romantic comedy with an unusual plot involving a young boy who is aged to adulthood overnight (played by Tom Hanks). Who can forget the scene where Hanks and the owner of a toy store hop around on a giant piano keyboard. Remember what they played? “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks” …

105 Professional org. since 1847 : AMA

American Medical Association (AMA)

107 California wine valley : SONOMA

Did you know that there are far more wine grapes produced in Sonoma than Napa? Within Sonoma County some of the more well-known appellations are Chalk Hill, Anderson Valley and Russian River Valley. Personally, when I want to visit the wine country, I head for the Russian River Valley as it’s far less crowded and much more fun than Napa Valley.

108 Titled rapper : DR DRE

“Dr. Dre” is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.

109 Immortal NBA first name : LEBRON

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

113 By birth, what Professor Jones wasn’t, surprisingly : INDIANAN

The title character in the “Indiana Jones” series of movies was born Henry Jones, Junior in Princeton, New Jersey. He adopted the nickname “Indiana” because that was the name of his dog when he was growing up. George Lucas, who created the character, used to have an Alaskan malamute dog name Indiana.

115 West African country : LIBERIA

Liberia is a nation in West Africa. The country was founded in 1847 by former American slaves who were repatriated to Africa. As a result, the Liberian flag resembles the US flag, and the country’s motto is “The love of liberty brought us here”.

117 First draft of a 1995 De Niro/Pacino thriller? : “HEAT” TREATMENT

“Heat” is a 1995 action movie starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer. De Niro plays an LAPD detective on the trail of a big-time thief played by Al Pacino. The storyline is based on the real-world interactions between Chicago cop Chuck Adamson and ex-Alcatraz inmate Neil McCauley.

120 Bordeaux wine : CLARET

Clairet is a dark rosé wine. Although it is uncommon today, clairet used to be the most common wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. For centuries now, English consumers have used the derivative term “claret” to describe any red wine from Bordeaux.

121 Houston player : ASTRO

The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros (sometimes “’Stros”) from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program. The Astros moved from the National League to the American League starting in the 2013 season.

124 Conger catchers : EELERS

Conger eels can grow to be very, very large, perhaps up to 10 feet in length.

125 Second-stringers : B-TEAM

We’ve been using the phrases “first string” and “second string” in athletics since the mid-19th century. The expressions come from archery, in which a competitor would carry a second bowstring in case the first broke.

126 General on a menu : TSO

General Tso’s chicken is an American creation, and a dish often found on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. The name General Tso may be a reference to General Zuo Zongtang of the Qing Dynasty, but there is no clear link.

Down

2 Pastries from the German for “whirlpool” : STRUDELS

Strudel is a layered pastry that is usually sweet. The word “strudel” means “whirlpool, eddy” in German.

4 Oreo filling : CREME

The Oreo was the best-selling cookie in the 20th century, and almost 500 billion of them have been sold since they were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco. In those early days the creme filling was made with pork fat, but today vegetable oils are used instead. If you take a bite out of an Oreo sold outside of America you might notice a difference from the homegrown cookie, as coconut oil is added in the overseas version to give a different taste.

7 Holliday title : DOC

The famous gunslinger Doc Holliday was from Georgia, and received the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in Philadelphia. Holliday moved to the Southwest after he contracted tuberculosis, in the hope that the climate might be good for his health. He first settled in Dallas, where he soon discovered that he could make a better living gambling than by running a dental practice. It was while gambling in saloons that Holliday got involved in gunfights and built a reputation as a gunslinger. The most famous shootout in which he was involved was the Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona when he fought alongside the Earp brothers. Holliday survived his many gunfights, but eventually succumbed to the disease in his lungs. He died in Glenwood Springs, Colorado at the age of 36.

8 Texting qualifier : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

9 Jazz singer Sarah : VAUGHAN

Sarah Vaughan was a jazz singer from Newark, New Jersey. The future winner of a Lifetime Achievement Grammy had a humble start to her career, singing and playing the piano at Newark Airport.

12 School of whales : GAM

A group of whales can be called a gam, as well as a pod.

13 Brightly plumed songbird : ORIOLE

The songbird called an oriole builds an interesting nest. It is a woven cup-like structure that is suspended from a branch like a hammock.

14 German thanks : DANKE

“Thank you” translates to “merci” in French, “gracias” in Spanish, and “danke” in German.

15 Tennessee state flower : IRIS

Tennessee’s state cultivated flower is the iris. The state wildflower is the purple passionflower.

16 TV commercial for a 1983 Chevy Chase comedy? : “VACATION” SPOT

“National Lampoon’s Vacation” is a 1983 comedy film starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, a husband and father who takes his family on a road trip from Chicago to a Southern California theme park named “Wally World”. The screenplay was written by John Hughes, who based it on his short story “Vacation 58” that appeared in the humor magazine “National Lampoon”, hence the movie title.

Chevy Chase is a comedian and actor from Lower Manhattan who was born into a wealthy New York City family who can trace its heritage back to the Mayflower. Chase’s real name is Cornelius and he was given his nickname “Chevy” by his grandmother who took it from the old English song The Ballad of Chevy Chase”.

23 “The Diamond Store” : ZALES

The first Zales jewelry store was opened by Morris and William Zale and Ben Lipshy in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1924. Zales became successful largely by offering credit to their customers, a revolutionary concept at the time.

33 Winter coat : RIME

Rime is the beautiful coating of ice that forms on surfaces like roofs, trees and grass, when cold water freezes instantly under the right conditions.

34 Super Bowl highlights? : TV ADS

The Super Bowl is used for high-profile advertising because of the high viewership numbers. For example, Super Bowl XLIX (2015) had an average audience of 114 million viewers, making it the most-watched American TV program in history.

36 Old Dodges : OMNIS

The Dodge Omni is basically the same car as the Plymouth Horizon, and was produced by Chrysler from 1978-90. The Omni is a front-wheel drive hatchback, the first in a long line of front-wheel drive cars that were very successful for Chrysler. The Omni was actually developed in France, by Chrysler’s Simca division. When production was stopped in the US in 1990, the tooling was sold to an Indian company that continued production for the Asian market for several years.

39 Group lobbying for lower drug prices : AARP

“AARP” is now the official name for the interest group that used to be called the American Association of Retired Persons. The name change reflects the current focus of the group on all Americans aged 50 or over, as opposed to just people who have retired.

40 HBO competitor : TMC

The Movie Channel is owned by Showtime, which in turn is a subsidiary of CBS. The channel’s name is often abbreviated to “TMC”, although this is informal usage.

43 Winter coat : HOAR

The Old English word “har” meant “gray, venerable, old”, and came into English as “hoar” (and later “hoary”) with the same meaning. The term “hoar-frost” dates back to the 13th century, and reflects the similarity of the white feathers of frost to the gray/white of an old man’s beard.

45 Series-ending abbr. : ET AL

“Et alii” (et al.) is the equivalent of “et cetera” (etc.), with “et cetera” being used in place of a list of objects, and “et alii” used for a list of names. In fact, “et al.” can stand for “et alii” (a group of males, or males and females), “et aliae” (a group of women) and “et alia” (a group of neuter nouns, or a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

49 St. Louis landmark : ARCH

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, and is the tallest monument in the United States. It was designed by Eero Saarinen, with the help of structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel. They did their design work back in 1947, but construction wasn’t started until 1963. In 1980, a daredevil took it upon himself to parachute onto the top of the arch, intending to further jump from the apex of the arch and parachute to the ground. He hit the arch all right, and slid all the way down one of the arches to his death. No comment …

50 Western resort : TAHOE

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

53 Sea in two continents : CASPIAN

The Caspian Sea is a landlocked body of water lying between Asia and Europe. By some definitions, the Caspian is the largest lake on the planet. The name “Caspian” comes from the Caspi people who lived to the southwest of the sea in South Caucasus.

59 Ring-around-the-rosy bouquet : POSY

“Ring a Ring o’ Roses” is a nursery rhyme that I well remember from my childhood.

Ring-a-ring o’ roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.

The lyrics tend to be a little different over here in North America:

Ring-a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down.

There’s an urban legend that the rhyme refers to the Great Plague that struck England in 1665. The inference is that “ring o’roses” is a rosy rash, and that “posies” of herbs were carried to ward off the disease. Victims would sneeze “a-tishoo” and “all fall down” dead.

61 Corrida opponent : TORO

Spanish bullfighting is known locally as “corrida de toros”, literally “race of bulls”.

62 Pretentious chatter about a 1960 Hitchcock thriller? : “PSYCHO” BABBLE

The classic Alfred Hitchcock suspense film “Psycho” released in 1960 is based on a 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The Bloch novel in turn is loosely based on actual crimes committed by murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. The female protagonist is named Mary Crane in the novel, but that name was changed to Marion Crane in the movie. Marion Crane, portrayed by Janet Leigh, died in a celebrated and terrifying shower scene

64 Debatable ability : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

66 Orwell’s Napoleon, for one : PIG

In George Orwell’s 1945 novella “Animal Farm”, the fierce-looking boar named Napoleon is an allegory of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

“Animal Farm” is a 1945 novella written by George Orwell, a satire of life in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. Orwell had trouble getting his novel published in his homeland of the UK during WWII, as anti-Soviet literature wasn’t a good thing to publish while the UK and USSR were on the same side of a World War. In fact, one publisher who was willing to distribute the book changed his mind after being warned off by the British Ministry of Information. Given his experiences, I find it interesting that Orwell should write “Nineteen Eighty-Four” a few years later, and introduce the world to Big Brother.

71 Wonderland drink : TEA

In Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, the “Mad Hatter” makes his first appearance in a chapter called “A Mad Tea-Party”. This event is usually described as “The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party”, even though the Mad Hatter was just a guest. The host was the March Hare. In fact, the phrase “Mad Hatter” doesn’t appear anywhere in Lewis Carroll’s novel, although the character, the Hatter (and sometimes “Hatta”), is described as “mad”.

72 Canadian tank filler : ESSO

The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

75 Container weight : TARE

Tare is the weight of a container that is deducted from the gross weight to determine the net weight, the weight of the container’s contents.

80 New World colonizer : SPAIN

European colonization of the Americas began when Christopher Columbus’ made landfall in Hispaniola in 1492. Even though Columbus was Italian, his voyage was sponsored by Spain, and it was the Spanish who were to become the first Europeans to settle and colonize the New World. John Cabot, another Italian explorer, landed on the mainland in 1497, marking the first exploration of coastal North America since the Norse landings in the 1200s. Cabot’s expedition was funded by King Henry VII of England.

84 Pittsburgh Pirates nickname : BUCS

The Pittsburgh Pirates (nicknamed the Bucs or Buccos) joined baseball’s National League in 1887 just six years after the league was formed. The Pirates played in the first ever World Series in 1903, and won their first World Series in 1909.

87 Keyboard key : TAB

Like most features on our computer keyboards, the tab key is a hangover from the days of typewriters. When using a typewriter, making entries into a table was very tedious, involving lots of tapping on the spacebar and backspace key. So, a lever was added to typewriters that allowed the operator to “jump” across the page to positions that could be set by hand. Later this was simplified to a tab key which could be depressed, causing the carriage to jump to the next tab stop in much the same way that the modern tab key works on a computer.

89 __ Domini : ANNO

The designations Anno Domini (AD, “year of Our Lord”) and Before Christ (BC) are found in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The dividing point between AD and BC is the year of the conception of Jesus, with AD 1 following 1 BC without a year “0” in between. The AD/BC scheme dates back to AD 525, and gained wide acceptance soon after AD 800. Nowadays a modified version has become popular, with CE (Common/Christian Era) used to replace AD, and BCE (Before the Common/Christian Era) used to replace BC.

91 Private info-sharing system : INTRANET

An intranet is a computer network that has limited access, usually only to members of a particular organization.

97 Quarantine : ISOLATE

The original use of our word “quarantine”, back in the 1500s, was as a legal term. A quarantine was the 40 days in which a widow had the legal right to reside in her dead husband’s house.

99 West Coast NFLer : LA RAM

The Los Angeles Rams are the only franchise to have won NFL championships in three different cities, i.e. Cleveland (1945), Los Angeles (1951) and St. Louis (1999). The Rams were based in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945, in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1994, in St. Louis from 1995 to 2015, and returned to Los Angeles in 2016.

102 Qatari leader : EMIR

Qatar is a sovereign state in the Middle East occupying the Qatar Peninsula, itself located in the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar lies on the Persian Gulf and shares one land border, with Saudi Arabia to the south. Qatar has more oil and gas reserves per capita of population than any other country in the world. In 2010, Qatar had the fastest growing economy in the world, driven by the petrochemical industry. Qatar is scheduled to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, although the nation’s eligibility to do so is under question after a far-reaching bribery scandal was uncovered at the sport’s governing body.

106 Mr. Moto portrayer : LORRE

The marvelous actor Peter Lorre was born in what is now modern-day Slovakia. Lorre’s real name was Laszlo Lowenstein. He started acting in Vienna when he was quite young, only 17 years old. When Hitler came to power, the Jewish Lowenstein headed to Paris and then London, eventually ending up in Hollywood. Lorre found himself typecast as the wicked foreigner in American movies, but I think he sneered and snarled his way to the bank.

The mysterious Mr. Moto is a Japanese secret agent who appears in six novels by American author, John P. Marquand. Mr. Moto was famously played by Peter Lorre in a series of eight films released in the 1930s.

108 “Same here” : DITTO

The word “ditto” was originally used in Italian (from Tuscan dialect) to avoid repetition of the names of months in a series of dates. So, “ditto” is just another wonderful import from that lovely land …

112 Queequeg’s captain : AHAB

Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. The role of Captain Ahab was played by Gregory Peck in the 1956 John Huston film adaptation. Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a 1998 miniseries in which Peck made another appearance, as Father Mapple.

Queequeg is a character in Herman Melville’s classic tale “Moby Dick”. Queequeg is the chief harpooner on the boat. He is also the son of a South Sea chieftain, and a cannibal who is covered in tattoos.

114 Speaker’s spot : DAIS

A dais is a raised platform for a speaker. The term “dais” comes from the Latin “discus” meaning a “disk-shaped object”. I guess that the original daises had such a shape.

116 @ signs : ATS

The “at symbol” (@) originated in the commercial word, as shorthand for “each at, per” and similar phrases. I suppose we see the symbol most commonly these days as part of email addresses.

119 Cruise, for one : TOM

Tom Cruise’s real name is Tom Cruise Mapother IV. Cruise was born in Syracuse, New York. That’s one of my favorite cities in the US, because it’s where I met my lovely wife-to-be …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 DSL provider : ISP
4 MSNBC rival : CNN
7 Living room piece : DIVAN
12 Tennyson poem that begins, “I waited for the train at Coventry” : GODIVA
18 Extreme degree : NTH
19 Sushi topping : ROE
20 Saudi neighbor : OMANI
21 Turkey’s highest peak : ARARAT
22 Review of a 2013 Disney musical? : “FROZEN” ACCOUNT
25 Small shooter : MINICAM
27 Green-winged night flier : LUNA MOTH
28 Sudden air movement : GUST
30 Olympic skater Baiul : OKSANA
31 Singer with numerically named albums : ADELE
32 Vocalist Kitt : EARTHA
35 Job for an actor : ROLE
37 Hanoi holiday : TET
38 Place for a béret : TETE
39 1:58 for the duration of a 2016 Amy Adams sci-fi flick? : “ARRIVAL” TIME
41 QB’s stat : INT
42 Inventor Otis : ELISHA
44 Macho guy : MAN’S MAN
45 Reduce bit by bit : ERODE
47 U.S. Army medal : DSC
48 Spoke at length : ORATED
51 George who was VP for both Jefferson and Madison : CLINTON
53 Three-time Oscar-winning director : CAPRA
54 Stand-in : SUB
57 Closes securely : SEALS UP
60 How some stock is sold : AT PAR
63 Leader in a beret : CHE
65 Hammock rests : NAPS
68 Star NFL player : ALL-PRO
69 Great, in slang : BOSS
70 Author of a 1990 Swayze/Moore fantasy romance? : “GHOST” WRITER
73 Many ages : EONS
74 Prefix with currency or zoology : CRYPTO-
76 Tool for a duel : EPEE
77 Pretentious talk : GAS
78 Pretentious : ARTSY
79 Events with tea, perhaps : SOCIALS
81 Word on a dipstick : ADD
83 Book IDs : ISBNS
85 Not easily able : HARD PUT
88 Expired : RAN OUT
90 Cassis aperitif : KIR
93 Performed with brilliance : SHONE
95 High-spirited horse : ARABIAN
98 Diva Dion : CELINE
100 __ mentality : MOB
101 Box-office receipts for a 1988 Tom Hanks comedy? : “BIG” BUSINESS
104 Sugar bowl marchers : ANTS
105 Professional org. since 1847 : AMA
106 Sans accomplice : LONE
107 California wine valley : SONOMA
108 Titled rapper : DR DRE
109 Immortal NBA first name : LEBRON
111 Go yachting : SAIL
113 By birth, what Professor Jones wasn’t, surprisingly : INDIANAN
115 West African country : LIBERIA
117 First draft of a 1995 De Niro/Pacino thriller? : “HEAT” TREATMENT
120 Bordeaux wine : CLARET
121 Houston player : ASTRO
122 Host’s invitation : SIT
123 Perceive : SEE
124 Conger catchers : EELERS
125 Second-stringers : B-TEAM
126 General on a menu : TSO
127 Benchmark: Abbr. : STD

Down

1 Blew up : INFLATED
2 Pastries from the German for “whirlpool” : STRUDELS
3 Like the spelling “kuh-zin” for “cousin,” e.g. : PHONETIC
4 Oreo filling : CREME
5 Laying-down-the-law item : NO-NO
6 More orderly : NEATER
7 Holliday title : DOC
8 Texting qualifier : IMO
9 Jazz singer Sarah : VAUGHAN
10 Yearbooks, say : ANNUALS
11 Tiny complaints : NITS
12 School of whales : GAM
13 Brightly plumed songbird : ORIOLE
14 German thanks : DANKE
15 Tennessee state flower : IRIS
16 TV commercial for a 1983 Chevy Chase comedy? : “VACATION” SPOT
17 Finished : AT AN END
23 “The Diamond Store” : ZALES
24 Blacken : CHAR
26 Not a shiny finish : MATTE
29 Courtroom event : TRIAL
33 Winter coat : RIME
34 Super Bowl highlights? : TV ADS
36 Old Dodges : OMNIS
39 Group lobbying for lower drug prices : AARP
40 HBO competitor : TMC
43 Winter coat : HOAR
45 Series-ending abbr. : ET AL
46 Painting aids : ROLLERS
49 St. Louis landmark : ARCH
50 Western resort : TAHOE
52 Within reach : NEAR
53 Sea in two continents : CASPIAN
55 Single : UNWED
56 Tavern : BAR
58 Footed vases : URNS
59 Ring-around-the-rosy bouquet : POSY
60 Beginner’s class material : ABCS
61 Corrida opponent : TORO
62 Pretentious chatter about a 1960 Hitchcock thriller? : “PSYCHO” BABBLE
64 Debatable ability : ESP
66 Orwell’s Napoleon, for one : PIG
67 Unwanted spot : STAIN
70 Medal for 30-Across : GOLD
71 Wonderland drink : TEA
72 Canadian tank filler : ESSO
75 Container weight : TARE
78 Chip in chips : ANTE
80 New World colonizer : SPAIN
82 Exhaust : DRAIN
84 Pittsburgh Pirates nickname : BUCS
86 Prods : URGES
87 Keyboard key : TAB
89 __ Domini : ANNO
90 Subject of some random acts : KINDNESS
91 Private info-sharing system : INTRANET
92 Begrudged : RESENTED
93 Wee : SMALL
94 Hockey advantage : HOME ICE
96 Most hectic : BUSIEST
97 Quarantine : ISOLATE
99 West Coast NFLer : LA RAM
101 More scrawny : BONIER
102 Qatari leader : EMIR
103 Least out there : SANEST
106 Mr. Moto portrayer : LORRE
108 “Same here” : DITTO
110 Honest-to-goodness : REAL
112 Queequeg’s captain : AHAB
114 Speaker’s spot : DAIS
116 @ signs : ATS
118 Musical syllable : TRA
119 Cruise, for one : TOM