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Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Theme: Coin a Phrase
Themed answers are common phrases with “CO” added IN:
- 22A Church official who can’t walk in a straight line? : DIZZY DEACON (“co” in “Dizzy Dean”)
- 28A Bottom part of a San Diego Chicken costume, e.g.? : HALF MASCOT (“co” in “half mast”)
- 42A Dupes with a Florida twist? : KEY LIME COPIES (“co” in “Key lime pies”)
- 65A Experts in core conditioning? : TUMMY COACHES (“co” in “tummy aches”)
- 71A Snake with a healing bite? : MIRACLE COBRA (“co” in “Miracle Bra”)
- 93A Jackpot for a pork lover? : LIFETIME BACON (“co” in “lifetime ban”)
- 112A Near misses in regime changes? : CLOSE COUPS (“co” in “close-ups”)
- 120A Quiet type with unexpected punchlines? : HIDDEN COMIC (“co” in “hidden mic”)
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 13m 56s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Lethal African reptile : MAMBA
Mambas, most famously black mambas, are highly venomous snakes that used to be responsible for a great number of fatalities before anti-venoms became available. Mamba venom is a deadly mix of neurotoxins that attack the nervous system and cardiotoxins that attack the heart. A bite, if left untreated, causes the lungs and the heart to shut down.
14 Urban honors, for short : CMAS
The Country Music Association Awards, or CMAs, are presented annually in Nashville. The inaugural ceremony was held in 1967, hosted by Sonny James and Bobbi Gentry.
Keith Urban is a country singer from Australia who was actually born in New Zealand. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1992, and married Australian actress Nicole Kidman in 2006.
19 Brand fit for a queen? : SERTA
Serta was founded in 1931 when a group of 13 mattress manufacturers came together, essentially forming a cooperative. Today, the Serta company is owned by eight independent licensees in a similar arrangement. Serta advertisements feature the Serta Counting Sheep. Each numbered sheep has a different personality, such as:
- #1 The Leader of the Flock
- #½ The Tweener
- #13 Mr. Bad Luck
- #53 The Pessimist
- #86 Benedict Arnold
20 Painter with a “Magic Square” series : KLEE
Paul Klee’s “Magic Square” series of paintings were executed primarily in the 1920s and 30s. The works are characterized by grid-like structures and vibrant, often muted palettes. One of the most famous in the series is a 1923 oil on cardboard painting titled “Architecture”, which can be seen at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
22 Church official who can’t walk in a straight line? : DIZZY DEACON (“co” in “Dizzy Dean”)
Dizzy Dean was a Major League Baseball pitcher who is best remembered for his time with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1930s. Dean had a successful second career after he retired from the game, working as a radio and television sportscaster. The 1952 movie “The Pride of St. Louis” is a biographical film about his life and career, with Dan Dailey portraying Dean.
24 Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA
Oaxaca is a state in the southern part of Mexico on the Pacific coast. The state takes the name of Oaxaca, its largest city.
27 Genre for FKA Twigs : ART POP
FKA Twigs, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, is a British singer-songwriter and dancer. According to the singer herself, the “FKA” doesn’t stand for anything, but was a necessary addition after another artist named Twigs emerged. The “Twigs” portion of her name references the cracking sound her joints make when she dances, a nod to her early career as a backup dancer.
28 Bottom part of a San Diego Chicken costume, e.g.? : HALF MASCOT (“co” in “half mast”)
The San Diego Chicken is a sports mascot that originated as an advertising mascot on television in 1974. A San Diego State student called Ted Giannoulas was hired to wear the chicken suit back then, and he has been wearing it ever since.
30 Private dinner? : MESS
“Mess” first came into English about 1300, when it described the list of food needed for a meal. The term comes from the Old French word “mes” meaning a portion of food or a course at a meal. This usage in English evolved into “mess” meaning a jumbled mass of anything, from the concept of “mixed food”. The original usage, in the sense of a food for a meal, surfaced again in the military in the 1500s when a “mess” was a communal eating place.
32 Fifth of August? : ESS
The fifth letter in the word “August” is an S (ess).
33 Movement sparked by Stonewall, for short : GAY LIB
The police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 29th, 1969. That raid triggered a spate of violent demonstrations led by the LGBT community. Now known as the Stonewall riots, those demonstrations are viewed by many as a significant event leading to the modern-day fight for LGBT rights in the US. Since then, June has been chosen as LGBT Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall riots.
36 Reiwa __: Japanese calendar designation since 2019 : ERA
The Reiwa era, which began in Japan on May 1, 2019, marks the current period of the Japanese calendar. It commenced with the ascension of Emperor Naruhito to the Chrysanthemum Throne, following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito. The name “Reiwa” is derived from classical Japanese poetry, and translates as “beautiful harmony.”
38 Gift that may contain a GIF : E-CARD
The Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) is an image format developed in the 1980s by CompuServe (remember CompuServe?). GIF images are compressed, reducing the file size, but without losing information. So, the original image can be reconstructed perfectly from the compressed GIF version. But, and it’s a big but, GIF images use only 256 individual colors. This means that GIF is a relatively poor choice of compression for color photographs, while it is usually fine for logos with large blocks of single colors.
42 Dupes with a Florida twist? : KEY LIME COPIES (“co” in “Key lime pies”)
The species of citrus fruit called Key lime is so named due to its association with the Florida Keys.
51 Shrub in the olive family : LILAC
The ornamental flowering plant known as lilac is native to the Balkans, and is a member of the olive family. The name “lilac” comes from the Persian word “lilaq,” which means “flower.”
55 “Invisibilia” network : NPR
NPR’s radio show and podcast “Invisibilia” “explores the intangible forces that shape human behavior—things like ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions.” The show was conceived by Alilx Spiegel, one of the producers behind the incredibly successful radio program “This American Life”.
56 Humana rival : AETNA
When the healthcare management and insurance company known as Aetna was founded, the name was chosen to evoke images of Mount Etna, the Italian volcano.
Humana is a health insurance company based in Louisville. It is the largest company in the state of Kentucky.
71 Snake with a healing bite? : MIRACLE COBRA (“co” in “Miracle Bra”)
“Cobra” is the name given to a group of snakes, some of which are in different families. The term is reserved for those snakes that can expand their neck ribs to create a hood. The name “cobra” is an abbreviated form of “cobra de capello” which translates from Portuguese as “snake with hood”.
The Miracle Bra line of bras was introduced in 1993 by Victoria’s Secret.
75 Bart’s grandpa : ABE
In the animated TV show called “The Simpsons”, Grampa Abe Simpson is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the same actor who provides the voice for Homer.
76 Clownfish with a lucky fin : NEMO
“Finding Nemo” is a 2003 animated blockbuster from Pixar. The film was the winner of the Oscar that year for Best Animated Feature. Believe it or not, “Finding Nemo” is the best-selling DVD of all time and, until 2010’s “Toy Story 3”, it was the highest-grossing, G-rated movie at the box office.
Clownfish are very colorful, attractive-looking fish. They are orange and often have broad strips of white and black on their bodies depending on species. Clownfish spend their lives in a symbiotic relationship with sea anemones.
80 “On the double!” : PRONTO!
The Spanish and Italian (and now English) word “pronto” is derived from the Latin “promptus” meaning “ready, quick”.
85 Dallas sch. : SMU
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is located in University Park, Texas (part of Dallas) and was founded in 1911. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Mustangs. Also, SMU is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
88 “White Girls” author Hilton : ALS
Hilton Als is a writer, theater critic, and essayist. He received the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his essays in “The New Yorker”.
89 Pancakes sometimes topped with caviar : BLINI
A blintz (also “blintze” and “blin”, plural “blini”) is a thin pancake similar to a crêpe, although unlike a crêpe, a blintz may contain yeast.
93 Jackpot for a pork lover? : LIFETIME BACON (“co” in “lifetime ban”)
“Bacon” is an Old French word that we imported into English. The term ultimately comes from the Proto-Germanic “bakkon” meaning “back meat”.
The term “jackpot” dates back to the 1800s and comes from the game of poker. In some variants there are progressive antes. This means that players have to ante up, add to the “pot”, when no player has a pair of “jacks” or better. They build a “jackpot”.
100 Hami or honeydew : MELON
Hami melons originate from the city of Hami in the Xinjiang region of China, hence the name. They are known for their elongated, oval shape and distinctive netted rind, and a flavor often described as a blend of honeydew and cantaloupe.
102 Judge who swings for the fences : AARON
Aaron Judge is a baseball outfielder who was selected as 2017’s American League Rookie of the Year. Judge is a big guy. He weighs 282 pounds, and is 6 foot 7 inches tall.
104 Capital with a namesake 101-floor skyscraper : TAIPEI
The building known as Taipei 101, in the capital of Taiwan, is so-called because it has 101 floors, and the capital is Taipei. It was the tallest skyscraper in the world from 2004 until 2010 when the Burj Khalifa was completed in Dubai.
112 Near misses in regime changes? : CLOSE COUPS (“co” in “close-ups”)
A coup d’état (often just “coup”) is the sudden overthrow of a government, and comes from the French for “stroke of state”. The Swiss-German word “putsch” is sometimes used instead of “coup”, with “Putsch” translating literally as “sudden blow”. We also use the abbreviated “coup” to mean “sudden, brilliant and successful act”.
114 Welsh dogs : CORGIS
The Welsh corgi is a herding dog that originated in Britain, with two recognized breeds: the Pembroke and Cardigan. Corgis aren’t fast enough to do their job by running around livestock like collies, and instead nip at the heels. “Corgi” is Welsh for “dwarf dog”.
118 Bones in a cage : RIBS
In the human rib cage, the top seven sets of bones are known as true ribs as they are attached directly to the sternum or breastbone. The five sets below the true ribs are called false ribs as they don’t have this direct connection. The bottom two of the false ribs are also called floating ribs as they don’t connect to the sternum at all.
122 “The Lost Bookshop” novelist Woods : EVIE
Evie Woods is the pen name of author Evie Gaughan. Hailing from Galway in the West of Ireland, Gaughan’s is best known for her 2023 novel “The Lost Bookshop”.
128 U.N. member until 1991 : USSR
When the former Soviet Union (USSR) dissolved in 1991, it was largely replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The formation of the CIS underscored the new reality, that the former Soviet Republics (SSRs) were now independent states. Most of the 15 former SSRs joined the CIS. Notably, the three Baltic SSRs (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) opted not to join the new commonwealth, and in 2004 joined NATO and the EU.
Down
2 Like parkour athletes : AGILE
Parkour (also “freerunning”) is a physical discipline that involves moving from one point to another in an urban environment using only the human body. Parkour practitioners (“traceurs”) use a variety of techniques, including running, jumping, climbing, and vaulting, to move quickly and efficiently through their environment. The discipline originated in France, and the name “parkour” comes from the French “parcours du combattant”, which can be translated as “obstacle course”.
3 Cornfield challenges : MAZES
A corn maze is simply a maze cut into a cornfield. On the other side of the pond, the same attraction is known as a maize maze … cute!
5 “The Menu” star Taylor-Joy : ANYA
Actress Anya Taylor-Joy had quite the international upbringing. She was born in Miami, and raised in Buenos Aires and then London. She is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma”, and the lead role in the Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit”.
“The Menu” is a 2022 comedy horror movie starring Ralph Fiennes as a celebrity chef with an exclusive restaurant. I’m afraid that I don’t do horror, not even comedy horror …
6 Tiny tweak to an atomic clock : LEAP SECOND
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard used to regulate clocks around the world. Because the Earth’s rotational speed is decreasing ever so slowly, UTC can vary slightly from solar time. As a result, leap seconds are added as required to UTC, on average about once every 19 months. Leap seconds are always added on June 30th or December 31st.
An atomic clock is the most accurate tool known for keeping track of time. Most clocks work using some sort of an oscillation that takes place at a regular interval, like a pendulum. In the case of an atomic clock, the oscillation that is measured is between the nucleus of an atom (usually a cesium atom) and its surrounding electrons.
7 With the bow, musically : ARCO
“Arco” is a musical direction instructing a string player to return to normal bowing technique after a passage played using some other technique (perhaps pizzicato).
10 Danish toast : SKOAL!
“Skoal” (sometimes “skol”) is a Scandinavian toast that has roots in the old Norse word “skaal” meaning “cup”.
11 Fiction genre that may use chat logs and social media posts : ALT-LIT
Alternative literature (alt-lit) is a literary movement that exists only online. In contemporary terms, it is seen as outside the mainstream of literature. Whether or not that will always be the case, that is yet to be seen …
12 Squishy indoor toy : NERF BALL
Nerf is a soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. “NERF” is an acronym, standing for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam.
13 A-line line : SEAM
An A-line skirt is one that fits snugly at the hips and flares towards the hem. The term “A-line” was first used in fashion by French designer Christian Dior in his 1955 spring collection.
15 “Jiminy Cricket,” e.g. : MINCED OATH
The verb “to mince” can mean “to make light of”, and more specifically “to criticize using polite language”. William Shakespeare used the term in such a sense in a couple of his plays, although the derivative expression “mince words” was first used in print in Benjamin Disraeli’s first novel “Vivian Grey”, published in 1826:
Your Lordship’s heart is very warm in the cause of a party, which, for I will not mince my words, has betrayed you.
So, to mince words is to moderate one’s language while still giving criticism. The related phrase “minced oath” describes a euphemistic phrase used to replace a more profane phrase, e.g. “gosh” for “God”, “heck” for “hell”.
“Jiminy cricket!” is a minced oath used to express consternation or surprise. Walt Disney had the dwarfs utter said oath in the 1937 animated feature “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And in 1939, Judy Garland had the line “Oh! Oh! Jiminy crickets!” in “The Wizard of Oz”. Disney used the name “Jiminy Cricket” for the Talking Cricket when adapting Carlo Collodi’s 1883 children’s book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” for the big screen in 1940.
16 Tycoon on the Titanic : ASTOR
John Jacob Astor IV was a member of the famous and wealthy Astor family of New York. Astor and his second wife Madeleine were passengers on the RMS Titanic when it made its fateful journey in 1912. John did not survive the tragedy, and was the wealthiest person to go down with the ship. Madeleine was picked up in a lifeboat, along with her nurse and maid.
28 Mr. with a dark side : HYDE
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story, including that the author wrote the basic tale in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, Stevenson’s use of cocaine stimulated his creative juices during those few days of writing.
34 “The Mole” host Shapiro : ARI
Ari Shapiro served very ably as White House correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) for several years. He then became a co-host of the network’s drive-time program “All Things Considered” in 2015. When he’s not working, Shapiro likes to sing. He appears regularly as a guest singer with the group Pink Martini, and has appeared on several of the band’s albums. He also turned up as host of the seventh season of the reality game show “The Mole”.
37 Stage and screen legend Moreno : RITA
Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress Rita Moreno is one of the few performers to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony (EGOT). Moreno got her big break, and won her Oscar, for playing Anita in the 1961 screen adaptation of “West Side Story”. And, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2004.
39 Marlee Matlin Oscar winner : CODA
“CODA” is a 2021 movie, a remake of the 2014 French-Belgian film “La Famille Bélier”. The English-language version stars Emilia Jones as the only hearing member of a deaf family struggling with a fishing business in Gloucester, Massachusetts. “CODA” was the first film distributed by a streaming service (Apple TV+) to win a Best Picture Oscar. The title “CODA” is an acronym standing for “child of deaf adults”.
Marlee Matlin won her well-deserved Oscar for the role she played in “Children of a Lesser God”. Matlin played opposite William Hurt in the movie, and won her Academy Award in 1986 when she was just 21 years old. My favorite performance of hers, though, is the recurring role she had in “The West Wing”.
42 Salad dressing choice : KEN’S
Ken’s Foods is a prominent, family-owned manufacturer of salad dressings, sauces, and marinades. Founded in 1941 by Ken Hanna as a small steakhouse in Framingham, Massachusetts, the company initially produced its signature salad dressing for restaurant patrons. As its popularity grew, Ken transitioned from restaurant to manufacturing, expanding its product line and distribution.
43 Trade show : EXPO
The first World’s Fair was held in 1851, known back then as the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. The fair was the idea of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. It was held in a magnificent glass and cast-iron structure called the Crystal Palace that was purpose-built for the occasion. The Great Exhibition spawned a tradition of what became known as World’s Fairs, expositions that feature national pavilions created by participating countries. The term “Expo” was coined for Expo 67, a 1967 World’s Fair held in Montreal. Since then, we’ve been using “expo” to describe any large exposition or trade show.
46 Poetry showdowns : SLAMS
A poetry slam is a competition in which poets read their own work (usually), with winners being chosen by members of the audience. Apparently the first poetry slam took place in Chicago in 1984. Now there is a National Poetry Slam that takes place each year, with representatives from the US, Canada and France.
52 Letters of affection : ILY
I love you (ily)
54 Some MLB batters : DH’S
Baseball’s American League (AL) has allowed a designated hitter (DH) in each team’s lineup since 1973, whereas the National League (NL) only adopted the DH rule in 2022.
59 “Cruella” star Stone : EMMA
Actress Emma Stone is from Scottsdale, Arizona. She really came to prominence with her performance in the 2010 high school movie called “Easy A”, and won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 2016 movie “La La Land”. Now one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Stone values her privacy and works hard to maintain a low profile. Good for her, I say …
2021’s “Cruella” (2021) is a movie that provides an origin story for one of Disney’s most iconic villains, Cruella de Vil, who was originally introduced as the antagonist in Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel, “The Hundred and One Dalmatians”. The film is set against the backdrop of 1970s London, and stars Emma Stone as Estella, a rebellious and ambitious young fashion designer who transforms into the vengeful Cruella. Key to the narrative is her complex relationship with the formidable Baroness von Hellman, played by Emma Thompson.
65 Pop-tops : TABS
The term “pop top” refers to a whole family of designs for opening the top of a soda can. The oldest method is the “pull tab” or “ring pull”, invented in Canada in 1956. The design was long-lived, but it had its problems, so the world heaved a sigh of relief with the invention of the stay-on-tab in 1975. The new design led to less injuries and eliminated all those used pull tabs that littered the streets.
66 “Guernica” style : CUBISM
In the art movement known as Cubism, objects that are the subject of a painting are broken up and reassembled in an abstract form. The pioneers of the Cubist movement were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.
“Guernica” is a painting by Pablo Picasso that he completed in 1937. Picasso painted it soon after the aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The attack was carried out by German warplanes sent by Adolf Hitler at the request of the Spanish Nationalist government. The town was regarded as a bastion of Republican resistance, although it had no military significance. As the town was largely left without men who were fighting for the Republican cause, the vast majority of casualties were women and children.
71 Can. lawmakers : MPS
Member of Parliament (MP)
72 “It’s Raining” singer Thomas : IRMA
Irma Thomas is a singer from New Orleans who had a challenging start to her life. She had been married twice by the time she was 19 years old, and had four children. Thomas is often referred to as the “Soul Queen of New Orleans”.
73 Tournament format : ROUND-ROBIN
The original use of the term “round-robin” was in signing documents. The idea was that multiple signatures were added to a controversial document in an arrangement that disguised the name of the “ring leader” of those endorsing the letter’s contents.
74 Animated frame : CEL
Animation cels are transparent sheets made of celluloid acetate that were used in traditional hand-drawn animation to create animated films. They were first introduced in the 1930s and were widely used in animation production until the late 1990s, when digital animation techniques began to dominate the industry.
78 Burrito holder? : MANO
In Spanish, there are “cinco dedos” (five fingers) on a “mano” (hand).
79 Norse god who drinks from Mímir’s well : ODIN
Mímir, in Norse mythology, was renowned for his wisdom. He was associated with the well of Mímir, located beneath one of the roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree. The well was a source of profound knowledge. Odin, seeking this wisdom, famously sacrificed an eye to drink from Mímir’s well.
82 Purring pet, in Peru : GATO
In Spanish, a “gato” (cat) is a “felino doméstico” (domestic feline).
The nation of Peru is remarkable in many ways, both in terms of history and geography. For example, it is home to one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”, i.e. the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. It is also home to the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the world, deeper than the Grand Canyon. Most importantly (to me), it was from Peru that the Spanish brought the potato to the rest of the world …
87 South Africa’s “Jacaranda City” : PRETORIA
Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, is also known as “Jacaranda City” due to the thousands of jacaranda trees that line its streets and adorn its parks. Jacaranda trees are not native to South Africa and the first two seedlings were imported from Australia. Building on these initial plantings, the city ran a program to plant tens of thousands of the trees through the twentieth century.
99 Dish at a tea party : SAUCER
A saucer is a shallow plate used to support a cup or other vessel from which a liquid can spill. The term “saucer” comes from the Anglo-Latin “saucerium” meaning “sauce dish”.
107 Like sharp cheddar : AGED
Cheddar cheese takes its name from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset. Over 50% of the cheese sold in the UK is cheddar. Here in the US, cheddar is the second-most popular cheese sold, behind mozzarella.
120 Stephanie of “Joy Ride” : HSU
Actress Stephanie Hsu’s breakthrough role came when she co-starred with Michelle Yeoh in the 2022 film “Everything Everywhere All at Once”. She also had a recurring role, playing Mei Lin, in the third season of the TV show “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”.
The 2023 film “Joy Ride,” is a comedic road trip film directed by Adele Lim, co-writer for “Crazy Rich Asians”. “Joy Ride” follows four Asian American friends on an international trip through Asia that is full of misadventures.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Lethal African reptile : MAMBA
6 End of the line : LAST
10 Without : SANS
14 Urban honors, for short : CMAS
18 Once more : AGAIN
19 Brand fit for a queen? : SERTA
20 Painter with a “Magic Square” series : KLEE
21 Speech therapy focus : LISP
22 Church official who can’t walk in a straight line? : DIZZY DEACON (“co” in “Dizzy Dean”)
24 Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA
25 Opposed to : ANTI
26 Tavern quaff : ALE
27 Genre for FKA Twigs : ART POP
28 Bottom part of a San Diego Chicken costume, e.g.? : HALF MASCOT (“co” in “half mast”)
30 Private dinner? : MESS
32 Fifth of August? : ESS
33 Movement sparked by Stonewall, for short : GAY LIB
35 “Finally done!” : THERE!
36 Reiwa __: Japanese calendar designation since 2019 : ERA
38 Gift that may contain a GIF : E-CARD
40 Tried a bit of : TASTED
42 Dupes with a Florida twist? : KEY LIME COPIES (“co” in “Key lime pies”)
47 String along : LEAD ON
49 Praise highly : EXALT
50 Sign of approval : NOD
51 Shrub in the olive family : LILAC
53 Help out : AID
55 “Invisibilia” network : NPR
56 Humana rival : AETNA
58 Get better : HEAL
60 Rough drawing : SKETCH
62 Covers with grass : SODS
64 Quick clip : VID
65 Experts in core conditioning? : TUMMY COACHES (“co” in “tummy aches”)
67 Meh poker hand : PAIR
69 Damages : HARMS
70 Hit Ctrl+Z : UNDO
71 Snake with a healing bite? : MIRACLE COBRA (“co” in “Miracle Bra”)
75 Bart’s grandpa : ABE
76 Clownfish with a lucky fin : NEMO
80 “On the double!” : PRONTO!
81 Crafty etailer : ETSY
82 Move effortlessly : GLIDE
84 Writer’s block? : PAD
85 Dallas sch. : SMU
86 Plentiful : AMPLE
88 “White Girls” author Hilton : ALS
89 Pancakes sometimes topped with caviar : BLINI
91 One who’s gone fishing : ANGLER
93 Jackpot for a pork lover? : LIFETIME BACON (“co” in “lifetime ban”)
98 Sources of aerial shots : DRONES
100 Hami or honeydew : MELON
101 Drug taken on some trips : LSD
102 Judge who swings for the fences : AARON
104 Capital with a namesake 101-floor skyscraper : TAIPEI
106 Clumsy sort : OAF
108 Foot part : SOLE
112 Near misses in regime changes? : CLOSE COUPS (“co” in “close-ups”)
114 Welsh dogs : CORGIS
117 Pizza choice : HAM
118 Bones in a cage : RIBS
119 Seal hunter : ORCA
120 Quiet type with unexpected punchlines? : HIDDEN COMIC (“co” in “hidden mic”)
122 “The Lost Bookshop” novelist Woods : EVIE
123 Ran out of juice : DIED
124 Knight’s mount : STEED
125 In the know : AWARE
126 Ship out : SEND
127 Listening devices? : EARS
128 U.N. member until 1991 : USSR
129 On edge : TENSE
Down
1 Respectful address : MADAM
2 Like parkour athletes : AGILE
3 Cornfield challenges : MAZES
4 Industry, casually : BIZ
5 “The Menu” star Taylor-Joy : ANYA
6 Tiny tweak to an atomic clock : LEAP SECOND
7 With the bow, musically : ARCO
8 Temporary fix : STOPGAP
9 Sandy shade : TAN
10 Danish toast : SKOAL!
11 Fiction genre that may use chat logs and social media posts : ALT-LIT
12 Squishy indoor toy : NERF BALL
13 A-line line : SEAM
14 Locked horns : CLASHED
15 “Jiminy Cricket,” e.g. : MINCED OATH
16 Tycoon on the Titanic : ASTOR
17 Ill will : SPITE
19 Match components : SETS
23 Bedtime story? : DREAM
28 Mr. with a dark side : HYDE
29 Negative spot : ATTACK AD
31 Put on 81-Across, say : SELL
34 “The Mole” host Shapiro : ARI
37 Stage and screen legend Moreno : RITA
39 Marlee Matlin Oscar winner : CODA
41 Experienced : SEASONED
42 Salad dressing choice : KEN’S
43 Trade show : EXPO
44 Mower’s target : YARD
45 Complete : ENTIRE
46 Poetry showdowns : SLAMS
48 “Good going” : NICE
52 Letters of affection : ILY
54 Some MLB batters : DH’S
57 Sign of trouble : EVIL OMEN
58 “Get a move on!” : HURRY!
59 “Cruella” star Stone : EMMA
61 Class for a future exec : ECON
63 Bridge measure : SPAN
65 Pop-tops : TABS
66 “Guernica” style : CUBISM
68 Have no help : ACT ALONE
69 Place with key cards : HOTEL
71 Can. lawmakers : MPS
72 “It’s Raining” singer Thomas : IRMA
73 Tournament format : ROUND-ROBIN
74 Animated frame : CEL
75 Shipshape : ALL IN ORDER
77 Totally amazing : EPIC
78 Burrito holder? : MANO
79 Norse god who drinks from Mímir’s well : ODIN
82 Purring pet, in Peru : GATO
83 Dwindles : EBBS
87 South Africa’s “Jacaranda City” : PRETORIA
90 Young fellas : LADS
92 Brought in : GROSSED
94 Little rascals : IMPS
95 Price to pay : FEE
96 Draws out : ELICITS
97 Pixielike : ELFIN
99 Dish at a tea party : SAUCER
102 Land parcels : ACRES
103 Still in the game : ALIVE
105 Tablets with passcodes : IPADS
107 Like sharp cheddar : AGED
109 “Bummer” : OH MAN
110 Wildlife refuges : LAIRS
111 Host of a roast : EMCEE
113 Honor system : CODE
115 Sonnets’ more adoring kin : ODES
116 “Get lost!” : SCAT!
120 Stephanie of “Joy Ride” : HSU
121 Get behind : OWE
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