LA Times Crossword 14 May 23, Sunday

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Constructed by: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Hidden Figures

Themed answers are PICTURE titles. Within each title is a hidden word that is the title role of another PICTURE:

  • 110A Multifeed television setting, and what six of this puzzle’s answers display : PICTURE-IN-PICTURE
  • 27A Will Smith title role in a beauty pageant movie? : MISS CONGENIALITY (hiding “ALI”)
  • 37A Salma Hayek Pinault title role in a body swapping movie? : FREAKY FRIDAY (hiding “FRIDA”)
  • 45A Jamie Foxx title role in a globe-trotting movie? : EAT PRAY LOVE (hiding “RAY”)
  • 68A Dev Patel title role in a boxing movie? : MILLION DOLLAR BABY (hiding “LION”)
  • 87A Benicio del Toro title role in a crime thriller movie? : JACK REACHER (hiding “CHE”)
  • 96A Angelina Jolie title role in a space robot movie? : THE IRON GIANT (hiding “GIA”)

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

Bill’s time: 16m 06s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 __ donna : PRIMA

The Italian operatic term “prima donna” is used for the lead female singer in an opera company. “Prima donna” translates from Italian as “first lady”. The lead male singer is known as the “primo uomo”. The term “prima donna assoluta” is reserved for a prima donna who is generally accepted as being an outstanding performer. We tend to use “prima donna” for a female performer who has an inflated ego.

6 Dalai Lama’s homeland : TIBET

Tibet is a plateau region that is part of China, and is located northeast of the Himalayas. Tibet declared its independence from China in 1913, but fell back under Chinese control after the Invasion of Tibet in 1951. The Tibetan leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, fled the country during the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion. Since then, he has led the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India.

The Dalai Lama is a religious leader in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th to hold the office. He has indicated that the next Dalai Lama might be found outside of Tibet for the first time, and may even be female.

15 Porpoise kin : ORCA

Porpoises are aquatic mammals. Studies of porpoises in captivity have shown that they have an unusual sleep pattern. Basically, while one hemisphere of the brain rests, is asleep, the other hemisphere remains alert.

21 “When in __ … ” : ROME

The proverb “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” probably dates back to the days of St. Augustine. St. Augustine wrote a letter around 390 AD in which he states:

When I go to Rome, I fast on Saturday, but here [Milan] I do not. Do you also follow the custom of whatever church you attend, if you do not want to give or receive scandal?

23 “The L Word” co-creator Chaiken : ILENE

Ilene Chaiken is the co-creator of the Showtime drama series “The L Word”. The show deals with lesbian, bisexual and transgender people living in West Hollywood. The title refers to “the L word”: lesbian.

24 Gastric ailment : ULCER

Until fairly recently, a peptic ulcer was believed to be caused by undue amounts of stress in one’s life. It is now known that 70-90% of all peptic ulcers are in fact associated with a particular bacterium.

25 Point after deuce : AD IN

In tennis, if the score reaches deuce (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the advantage. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. The player calling out the score announces “ad in”, or more formally “advantage in”, if he/she has the advantage. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?

26 Mojito garnish : MINT

A mojito is a Cuban cocktail, although the exact origins appear to be unclear, as does the derivation of the name. Want one? Put 4 mint leaves in a glass, and add the juice of half a lime and a teaspoon of powdered sugar. Muddle the ingredients, smashing them together with a muddler or a spoon. Add some crushed ice, two ounces of white rum and stir. Top with a couple of ounces of club soda, and garnish with a sprig of mint and/or a slice of lime. Cheers!

27 Will Smith title role in a beauty pageant movie? : MISS CONGENIALITY (hiding “ALI”)

“Miss Congeniality” is a comedy released in 2000 starring Sandra Bullock as an FBI agent who goes undercover in the Miss United States pageant. The critics panned this one, but I really enjoyed it …

“Ali” is a 2001 biographical movie about Muhammad Ali, with Will Smith in the title role. Among other things, the film is noted for its realistic fight scenes. The scenes were realistic because Smith was really being hit, as hard as his opponents could manage.

31 Unpaid TV ads : PSAS

Public service announcement (PSA)

33 TV pioneer : RCA

RCA, or the Radio Corporation of America, played a significant role in the history of television as a pioneer in the industry. RCA developed and introduced the first electronic television system in 1939 at the New York World’s Fair. RCA also created the NTSC (National Television System Committee) broadcast standard, which was adopted in the United States in 1953 and is still used today for analog television broadcasting. Additionally, RCA produced the first color television sets in 1954.

35 Drum kit pieces : HI-HATS

In a drum kit, a hi-hat is a pairing of cymbals that sits on a stand and is played by using a foot pedal. The top cymbal is raised and lowered by the foot, hence creating a crashing sound.

37 Salma Hayek Pinault title role in a body swapping movie? : FREAKY FRIDAY (hiding “FRIDA”)

“Freaky Friday” is a well-known children’s novel, written by Mary Rodgers and published in 1972. The basic story is that one Friday, a mother and her teenage daughter have their bodies switched due to the effects of an enchanted fortune cookie. Hilarity ensues! Disney adapted the novel into a movie three times in all:

  1. In 1976, starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster
  2. In 1995, starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffman
  3. In 2003, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan

“Frida” is a 2002 biographical film about the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Salma Hayek plays the title role, and Alfred Molina plays Kahlo’s husband and fellow artist Diego Rivera. Hayek’s performance earned her a nomination for a Best Actress Oscar, making her the first Mexican actress to be so honored.

42 Online icon : AVATAR

The Sanskrit word “avatar” describes the concept of a deity descending into earthly life and taking on a persona. It’s easy to see how in the world of online presences one might use the word avatar to describe one’s online identity.

44 Unagi and anago : EELS

“Unagi” is the Japanese term for” freshwater eel”, and “anago” is the term for “saltwater eel”.

45 Jamie Foxx title role in a globe-trotting movie? : EAT PRAY LOVE (hiding “RAY”)

“Eat, Pray, Love” is a 2006 memoir by novelist Elizabeth Gilbert. “Eat, Pray, Love” is a huge bestseller that received a boost with the release of a 2010 screen adaptation starring Julia Roberts.

Ray Charles came up with his stage name by dropping the family name from his real moniker “Ray Charles Robinson”. His life was a wild ride, and was well-represented in the excellent 2004 biopic called “Ray” starring Jamie Foxx in the title role. Ray Charles was married twice and fathered 12 children with nine different women. As I said, a wild ride …

49 Fencing blade : EPEE

The French word for sword is “épée”. In competitive fencing the épée is connected to a system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent’s body.

56 Square and Squarespace space? : IT SECTOR

Information technology (IT)

68 Dev Patel title role in a boxing movie? : MILLION DOLLAR BABY (hiding “LION”)

“Million Dollar Baby” is a 2004 sports drama film about a young boxer, played by Hilary Swank, and her trainer, played by Clint Eastwood. At one point in the film, Eastwood’s character dubs his trainee “Mo Chuisle” meaning “Darling, Sweetheart” (literally “My Pulse”). He has that name embroidered on the back of her boxing robe. But, the film’s wardrobe team spelled the Irish word incorrectly: “Mo Cuishle”.

“Lion” is a 2016 film based on the autobiographical book “A Long Way Home” by Saroo Brierley. Brierley is an Indian-born Australian who was accidentally separated from his mother when he was 5 years old, ending up stranded on a train that took the young boy nearly 1,500 km from his home. The excellent film adaptation stars Dev Patel as the older Brierley, who searches for his birth-family. Excellent movie …

72 Luxury car brand : ACURA

Acura is a luxury vehicle brand produced by the Japanese automaker Honda. Acura was the first Japanese luxury car brand to be introduced to the US, in 1986. The Acura Legend and Acura Integra were the first two models released.

74 Moolah : DO-RE-MI

“Do-re-mi” is a slang term for cash. The term is American in origin and dates back to the 1920s. “Do-re-mi” is likely to be a pun on “dough”, another slang term for cash or money.

78 App used for selfie retouching : FACETUNE

Facetune is a popular photo editing app that is primarily used to retouch portraits and selfies taken with smartphone cameras. The app makes it fairly easy to make changes like whitening of teeth, removal of blemishes and correcting bad lighting.

81 Tandoori bread : NAAN

A tandoor is a cylindrical clay or metal oven used in cuisines from several Asian locales, including India.

83 “__ Te Ching”: philosophical text : TAO

Lao Tse (also “Lao-Tzu”, “Laozi”) was a central figure in the development of the religion/philosophy of Taoism. Tradition holds that Lao-Tzu wrote the “Tao Te Ching”, a classical Chinese text that is fundamental to the philosophy of Taoism.

84 Texter’s “Not gonna lie … ” : TBH …

To be honest (TBH)

85 Ritzy : POSH

No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that “posh” is actually an acronym standing for “port out, starboard home” is completely untrue, and is a story that can actually be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers traveling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.

87 Benicio del Toro title role in a crime thriller movie? : JACK REACHER (hiding “CHE”)

Lee Child is the pen name of British thriller writer Jim Grant. The hero of Child’s stories is an American ex-military policeman named Jack Reacher. The novel “One Shot” was adapted for the big screen as “Jack Reacher”, which was released in 2012 with Tom Cruise in the title role.

“Che” is a 2008 film about the life of the revolutionary hero Che Guevara. Starring Benicio del Toro in the title role, the movie is in two parts. The first part is called “The Argentine” and deals with the part Guevara played in the Cuban Revolution. Part two is called “Guerrilla” and covers Guevara’s attempt to foment revolution in Bolivia.

91 Extinct bird : DODO

The dodo was a direct relative of the pigeon and the dove, although the fully-grown dodo was usually three feet tall. One of the reasons the dodo comes to mind when we think of extinction of a species, is that it disappeared not too long ago (last recorded alive in 1662) and humans were the reason for its demise. The dodo lived exclusively on the island of Mauritius and when humans arrived, we cut back the forests that were its home. We also introduced domestic animals, such as dogs and pigs, that ransacked the dodo’s nests. The dodo was deemed to be an awkward flightless bird and so the term “dodo” has come to mean a dull-witted person.

93 Franklin known as the “Queen of Soul” : ARETHA

I think that Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul”, had a tough life. Franklin had her first son when she was just 13-years-old, and her second at 15. In 2008, “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked Franklin as number one on its list of the greatest singers of all time.

96 Angelina Jolie title role in a space robot movie? : THE IRON GIANT (hiding “GIA”)

“The Iron Giant” is a 1999 animated sci-fi film based on the 1968 novel “The Iron Man” by Ted Hughes. The title character’s voice is provided by Vin Diesel. Believe it or not, the film adaptation started out as a musical.

“Gia” is a 1998 American biographical made-for-TV movie about Gia Carangi, a famous fashion model who died of AIDS in 1986. Angelina Jolie portrayed Carangi, and Faye Dunaway portrayed her agent Wilhelmina Cooper.

109 Part of the HOMES mnemonic : ERIE

A well-known mnemonic for remembering the names of the Great Lakes is HOMES, an acronym standing for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. Another mnemonic serving the same purpose is “super heroes must eat oats”.

118 Viscounts’ superiors : EARLS

In the British peerage system, a viscount ranks below an earl and above a baron. The term “viscount” basically means “deputy of a count”, i.e. “vice-count”.

119 “The Sympathizer” Pulitzer winner __ Thanh Nguyen : VIET

Author Viet Thanh Nguyen won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his debut novel “The Sympathizer”. Nguyen was born in Vietnam, and fled the country with his family after the fall of Saigon in 1975, when he was just five years old.

Down

1 Gussy up : PRIMP

To gussy up is to dress showily. The term “gussy” was a slang term that was used to describe an overly-dressed person.

5 Comedian Mapa : ALEC

Alec Mapa is an actor and comedian from San Francisco. To TV audiences, he is perhaps best known for playing Suzuki St. Pierre on “Ugly Betty”, as well as Vern on “Desperate Housewives”.

8 __ curls : BICEP

The biceps muscle is made up of two bundles of muscle, both of which terminate at the same point near the elbow. The heads of the bundles terminate at different points on the scapula or shoulder blade. “Biceps” is Latin for “two-headed”.

10 Actress Garr : TERI

Actress Teri Garr had a whole host of minor roles in her youth, including appearances in nine Elvis movies. Garr’s big break came with the role of Inga in “Young Frankenstein”, and her supporting role in “Tootsie” earned Garr an Academy Award nomination. Sadly, Teri Garr suffers from multiple sclerosis. She is a National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

12 Type of bear important to the Alutiiq people : KODIAK

Brown bears are found over much of northern Europe, Asia, and North America. They are sometimes referred to as bruins, which is a term that persists from Middle English. The biggest subspecies of brown bear is the Kodiak bear, which is the largest land-based predator in the world. Named for the Kodiak Archipelago in Alaska, the Kodiak bear grows to about the same size as the enormous polar bear.

15 Absorption process : OSMOSIS

Osmosis is the movement of a solvent (often water) across a semipermeable membrane. In the process of osmosis, the solvent tends to flow from an area of less concentration to an area of higher concentration. This sense of absorbing water effortlessly gives rise to the expression “learning by osmosis”.

28 Vegan milk choice : OAT

Oat milk is one of the alternatives to cow’s milk, and is lactose free. I’m a huge fan …

39 Throw forcefully, in slang : YEET

In contemporary slang, to yeet is to throw away, discard. “To yeet” usually implies the use of force and a general disregard for what is being discarded. As in, I really want to yeet the word “yeet” …

42 Pie __ mode : A LA

In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie. Pie served à la mode includes a dollop of cream or ice cream, or as I recall from my time living in Upstate New York, with a wedge of cheddar cheese.

46 Web portal co. : AOL

AOL was a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the 1980s and 1990s. The company does still provide dial-up access to the Internet for some subscribers, but most users now access AOL using faster, non-AOL ISPs.

47 Indigo plant : ANIL

“Anil” is another name for the indigo plant, as well as the name of the blue indigo dye that is obtained from it. The color of anil is relatively close to navy blue. The main coloring agent in indigo dye is a crystalline powder called indigotin.

48 Bigfoot kin : YETI

The yeti, also known as the abominable snowman, is a beast of legend. “Yeti” is a Tibetan term, and the beast is fabled to live in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. Our equivalent legend in North America is that of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch. The study of animals whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology, and a cryptid is a creature or plant that isn’t recognized by the scientific community, but the existence of which has been suggested.

52 Carpool lane letters : HOV

In some parts of the country, one sees high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Out here in California we refer to them as carpool lanes.

58 Die shape : CUBE

The numbers on dice are arranged so that the opposite faces add up to seven. Given this arrangement, the numbers 1, 2 and 3 all meet at a common vertex. There are two ways of arranging the 1, 2 and 3 around the common vertex, a so-called right-handed die (clockwise 1-2-3) or a left-handed die (counterclockwise 1-2-3). Traditionally, dice used in Western cultures are right-handed, whereas Chinese dice are left-handed. Quite interesting …

61 Venetian blind part : SLAT

Venetian blinds probably did not originate in Venice, and rather were brought to Europe from Persia by Venetian traders. Apparently, the French haven’t forgotten the true origins of the design as they call Venetian blinds “Les Persiennes”.

63 Four-term pres. : FDR

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was the only child of Sara Delano and James Roosevelt Sr. The Delano family history in America goes back to the pilgrim Philippe de Lannoy, an immigrant of Flemish descent who arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. The family name “de Lannoy” was anglicized here in the US, to “Delano”. Franklin was to marry Eleanor Roosevelt, and apparently the relationship between Sara and her daughter-in-law was very “strained”.

65 National Mall tree : ELM

The National Mall is a park in downtown Washington, D.C. It is home to several museums that are part of the Smithsonian, as well as the National Gallery of Art.

71 Source of misery : BANE

Today, we tend to use the word “bane” to mean “anathema, a source of persistent annoyance”. A few centuries ago, a bane was a cause of harm or death, perhaps a deadly poison.

73 Alternative to zin or pinot : CAB

The cabernet sauvignon (often just “cab”) grape has been around since the 17th century, and is the result of a chance crossing in southwestern France of the cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc grapes.

76 Abu Dhabi’s fed. : UAE

Abu Dhabi is one of the seven Emirates that make up the federation known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two largest members of the UAE (geographically) are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the only two of the seven members that have veto power over UAE policy. Before 1971, the UAE was a British Protectorate, a collection of sheikdoms. The sheikdoms entered into a maritime truce with Britain in 1835, after which they became known as the Trucial States, derived from the word “truce”.

80 Midday : NOON

Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.

82 Nickname preceder : AKA

Also known as (aka)

87 MSNBC political analyst Psaki : JEN

The very able Jen Psaki served as the first White House press secretary for the Biden administration. During the Obama administration, she held several positions including White House deputy secretary and spokesperson for the Department of State.

88 QB passing stat : ATT

In football, a quarterback’s (QB’s) performance can be measured by attempts (ATT), a statistic (stat).

92 Mother lode material : ORE

A lode is a metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure. The mother lode is the principal deposit in a mine, usually of gold or silver. “Mother lode” is probably a translation of “veta madre”, an expression used in mining in Mexico.

94 Hearty meat and tomato sauce : RAGU

The Ragú brand of pasta sauce was introduced in 1937. The name ”Ragù” is the Italian word for a sauce used to dress pasta, however the spelling is a little off in the name of the sauce. In Italian, the word is “Ragù” with a grave accent over the “u”, but if you look at a jar of the sauce on the supermarket shelf it is spelled “Ragú” on the label, with an acute accent. Sometimes I think we just don’t try …

101 Brief “Spare me the details” : TMI

Too much information (TMI)

102 Apollo Theater locale : HARLEM

The Apollo Theater in the Harlem district of Manhattan, New York opened in 1914 as Hurtig and Seamon’s New Burlesque Theater. The original facility was a whites-only venue. When it was opened to African Americans in 1934, the name was changed to “The Apollo”.

105 Anoushka Shankar’s instrument : SITAR

Anoushka Shankar is a British sitar player, and is the daughter of Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar. Through her father, Anoushka is also the half-sister of American singer Norah Jones.

114 Business bigwigs : CEOS

A bigwig is someone important. The use of the term “bigwig” harks back to the days when men of authority and rank wore … big wigs.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 __ donna : PRIMA
6 Dalai Lama’s homeland : TIBET
11 Greenlighted : OK’ED
15 Porpoise kin : ORCA
19 Celebrate wildly : REVEL
20 Still in it to win it : ALIVE
21 “When in __ … ” : ROME
22 Go yachting, say : SAIL
23 “The L Word” co-creator Chaiken : ILENE
24 Gastric ailment : ULCER
25 Point after deuce : AD IN
26 Mojito garnish : MINT
27 Will Smith title role in a beauty pageant movie? : MISS CONGENIALITY (hiding “ALI”)
30 Fun run dist. : ONE-K
31 Unpaid TV ads : PSAS
32 Perched upon : ATOP
33 TV pioneer : RCA
34 “I can help however you see fit” : USE ME
35 Drum kit pieces : HI-HATS
37 Salma Hayek Pinault title role in a body swapping movie? : FREAKY FRIDAY (hiding “FRIDA”)
41 “Where __ sign?” : DO I
42 Online icon : AVATAR
44 Unagi and anago : EELS
45 Jamie Foxx title role in a globe-trotting movie? : EAT PRAY LOVE (hiding “RAY”)
49 Fencing blade : EPEE
51 That girl : SHE
54 [I’m trying to scare you!] : [BOO!]
55 Orderly : NEAT
56 Square and Squarespace space? : IT SECTOR
59 Misses a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, say : BLOWS IT
62 Cause and __ : EFFECT
67 Sophisticated : SUAVE
68 Dev Patel title role in a boxing movie? : MILLION DOLLAR BABY (hiding “LION”)
72 Luxury car brand : ACURA
74 Moolah : DO-RE-MI
75 Abates : EASES UP
78 App used for selfie retouching : FACETUNE
81 Tandoori bread : NAAN
83 “__ Te Ching”: philosophical text : TAO
84 Texter’s “Not gonna lie … ” : TBH …
85 Ritzy : POSH
87 Benicio del Toro title role in a crime thriller movie? : JACK REACHER (hiding “CHE”)
91 Extinct bird : DODO
93 Franklin known as the “Queen of Soul” : ARETHA
95 Sushi garnish : ROE
96 Angelina Jolie title role in a space robot movie? : THE IRON GIANT (hiding “GIA”)
100 Overpowering odor : STENCH
103 Lemon slice : WEDGE
104 Nonprofit 34-Down ending : ORG
105 Read quickly : SKIM
107 Sudsy stuff : SOAP
109 Part of the HOMES mnemonic : ERIE
110 Multifeed television setting, and what six of this puzzle’s answers display : PICTURE-IN-PICTURE
115 “I’m down!” : LET’S!
116 French for “mine” : A MOI
117 Largish jazz combo : OCTET
118 Viscounts’ superiors : EARLS
119 “The Sympathizer” Pulitzer winner __ Thanh Nguyen : VIET
120 Global extremity : POLE
121 Big spender at a casino : WHALE
122 Beginning phase : ONSET
123 Ultimate goals : ENDS
124 “No ifs, __, or buts” : ANDS
125 In a way : SORTA
126 Comes (from) : STEMS

Down

1 Gussy up : PRIMP
2 Hot dog topper : RELISH
3 “Me and my big mouth!” : I’VE SAID TOO MUCH!
4 Place to find boxers and bow ties, say : MEN’S SHOP
5 Comedian Mapa : ALEC
6 Shouts “neener neener” at, say : TAUNTS
7 Volunteer’s offer : I’LL GO
8 __ curls : BICEP
9 Well-matched : EVEN
10 Actress Garr : TERI
11 Brushing, flossing, etc. : ORAL CARE
12 Type of bear important to the Alutiiq people : KODIAK
13 Throw off : EMIT
14 Say no to : DENY
15 Absorption process : OSMOSIS
16 Drizzled : RAINED
17 Movie house : CINEMA
18 Element of some computer shortcuts : ALT KEY
28 Vegan milk choice : OAT
29 Part of town : AREA
34 Clickable address : URL
36 Broadcast : AIR
37 Most-loved, informally : FAV
38 GPS suggestion : RTE
39 Throw forcefully, in slang : YEET
40 Hidden costs, often : FEES
42 Pie __ mode : A LA
43 Action urged by some political ads : VOTE NO
45 Recede : EBB
46 Web portal co. : AOL
47 Indigo plant : ANIL
48 Bigfoot kin : YETI
50 Stuffed pocket : PITA
51 Keeps on keeping on : STAYS THE COURSE
52 Carpool lane letters : HOV
53 Before, in poetry : ERE
57 Those, in Spanish : ESAS
58 Die shape : CUBE
60 Transfer, as money : WIRE
61 Venetian blind part : SLAT
63 Four-term pres. : FDR
64 Counter person? : FOE
65 National Mall tree : ELM
66 Secure, as a playoff berth : CLINCH
69 Poems of praise : ODES
70 Raise, as kids : REAR
71 Source of misery : BANE
72 Toward the stern : AFT
73 Alternative to zin or pinot : CAB
76 Abu Dhabi’s fed. : UAE
77 __ favor : POR
79 High bun, e.g. : UPDO
80 Midday : NOON
82 Nickname preceder : AKA
86 Pony accessories? : HAIR TIES
87 MSNBC political analyst Psaki : JEN
88 QB passing stat : ATT
89 “You __ so busted!” : ARE
90 Unrelenting : CONSTANT
91 Processes : DIGESTS
92 Mother lode material : ORE
94 Hearty meat and tomato sauce : RAGU
96 Midday : TWELVE
97 On these pages : HEREIN
98 Prepped for publication : EDITED
99 Yield no further clues, as a trail : GO COLD
100 Hydrate while down with the flu, maybe : SIP TEA
101 Brief “Spare me the details” : TMI
102 Apollo Theater locale : HARLEM
105 Anoushka Shankar’s instrument : SITAR
106 Posed in a team photo, maybe : KNELT
108 Annoying ones : PESTS
110 Family nickname : PAPA
111 “Time for me to take the stage!” : I’M ON
112 Spats : ROWS
113 Reverberating sound : ECHO
114 Business bigwigs : CEOS