LA Times Crossword Answers 7 Feb 16, Sunday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
23. Austria’s Railjet, for one (#33) HIGH-SPEED TRAIN (HSH: Harry S. Truman)
Austria’s Railjet operates at speeds up to 143 mph. Railjet started operating at the end of 2008, and extends to high-speed services operating in bordering countries.

27. “The Lion King” baddie SCAR
Among the group of lions at the center of “The Lion King” story, young Simba is the heir apparent, the lion cub destined to take over as leader of the pride. His uncle is jealous of Simba, and plots with a trio of hyenas to kill Simba, so that he can take his position. The uncle was originally named Taka (according to books) but he was given the name Scar after being injured by a buffalo. The trio of hyenas are called Shenzi, Banzai and Ed.

28. French connections? TETE-A-TETES
A “tête-à-tête” is a one-on-one meeting, literally “head-to-head” in French.

32. Source of twigs called withies OSIER
Most willows (trees and shrubs of the genus Salix) are called just that, willows. Some of the broad-leaved shrub varieties are called sallow, and the narrow-leaved shrubs are called osier. The variety known as osier is commonly used in basketry, as osier twigs are very flexible. The strong and flexible willow stems are sometimes referred to as withies.

34. __ nouveau ART
Art Nouveau (French for “new art”) is a style that was popular from 1890 to 1910. Although the English-speaking world adopted the French name for the style, Art Nouveau was known as “Jugendstil” in Germany, “Modern” in Russia and “Stile Liberty” in Italy.

36. Vietnam’s __ Dinh Diem NGO
When France withdrew from French Indochina in the mid-fifties, Ngo Dinh Diem led the movement to create the Republic of Vietnam. In what was regarded as a fraudulent referendum, the new country of Vietnam was formed and in 1955 Diem declared himself its first president. His rule was far from peaceful, and he was assassinated by rivals in 1963.

38. MLB scorecard entry SAC
A sac(rifice) fly, in baseball.

40. Most massive known dwarf planet ERIS
Eris is the largest known dwarf planet in our solar system. It is also the ninth largest body orbiting the sun, a fact that helped relegate Pluto (the tenth largest body) from its status of planet in 2006. Eris was discovered in 2005.

42. Word on mail from Madrid AEREO
“Aereo” is the Spanish for “air”.

Madrid is the largest city in Spain and the capital. Madrid is located very close to the geographical center of the country. It is the third-largest city in the European Union (after London and Paris). People from Madrid called themselves Madrileños.

45. Changes the play at the line of scrimmage (#21) CALLS AN AUDIBLE (CAA: Chester A. Arthur)
Chester Arthur was the 21st President of the US, and came to power after the assassination of James Garfield in 1881. President Arthur was known to be socially adept, and was very conscious of his role in society. He was always immaculately attired, apparently even changing his pants several times in a day. He was called “Chet” by family and friends, and sometimes answered to his middle name, Alan. However, he insisted that Alan be pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, Al-an.

50. NutraSweet developer SEARLE
NutraSweet is a brand name for the artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame was discovered by a chemist working for Searle in 1965, but it took 15 years for the company to be granted approval for its sale. I wonder why …???

53. Fatty acid type OLEIC
Oleic Acid is a fatty acid, found in many animal and plants sources, but most notably in olives. As such, “Oleic” means “derived from the olive”. Oleic acid dissolves in basic solutions to create soaps.

54. Sea-Tac abbr. ARR
Sea-Tac Airport is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.

55. Some oscilloscope users: Abbr. EES
Electrical engineer (EE)

An oscilloscope is an electronic instrument that visually shows the variation in voltage of an electrical signal.

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

Here is another example of a difference in terminology on either side of the Atlantic. What we call the Mohawk hairstyle in the US is known as a “Mohican” in the British Isles. The Mohawk hairstyle is named after the Mohawk nation, who wore their hair in the same fashion. The Mohawk style has been around for a long time elsewhere in the world. There was a well-preserved male body found in a bog near Dublin in Ireland in 2003. The body is about 2,000 years old, and has the Mohawk haircut.

62. “Avatar” extras ETS
Extraterrestrial (ET)

69. Missoula home MONTANA
Missoula, Montana is home to the University of Montana. Missoula was the birthplace of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to hold high government office, when she was elected to the US congress in 1916. Mike Mansfield was another famous Missoula resident, the longest-serving Majority Leader in the history of the US Senate.

73. Latin trio word AMO
“Amo, amas, amat: … “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”, in Latin.

74. Words from a returning traveler (#43) GUESS WHO’S BACK! (GWB: George W. Bush)
President George W. Bush is named for his father, George H. W. Bush. The “W” in the name of both father and son stands for “Walker”. Walker was the family name of President George H. W. Bush’s mother, Dorothy Walker.

78. White wine aperitif KIR
Kir is a French cocktail, made by adding a teaspoon or so of creme 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 (expensive tastes!) is particularly fond of a variant called a Kir Royale, in which the white wine is replaced with champagne.

79. “M” director Fritz LANG
Fritz Lang was an Austrian-born American filmmaker. His masterpiece “Metropolis” was produced in Germany in 1927, a work of science-fiction that explored the struggle between workers and owners in a capitalist society. “Metropolis” was the most expensive silent movie ever made. One of Lang’s more famous sound films is “M”, which stars Peter Lorre and was released in 1931.

81. 1988 NFL MVP ESIASON
Boomer Esiason is a retired NFL quarterback, now working as a sports commentator. Esiason has had the nickname “Boomer” since before he was born. His mother called him “Boomer” because he was constantly kicking away in her womb.

84. Bits in a byte, e.g. OCTET
In the world of computers, a “bit” is the basic unit of information. It has a value of 0 or 1. A “byte” is a small collection of bits (usually 8), the number of bits needed to uniquely identify a character of text. The prefix mega- stands for 10 to the power of 6, so a megabyte (meg) is 1,000,000 bytes. And the prefix giga- means 10 to the power of 9, so a gigabyte (gig) is 1,000,000,000 bytes. Well, those are the SI definitions of megabyte and kilobyte. The purists still use 2 to the power of 20 for a megabyte (i.e. 1,048,576), and 2 to the power of 30 for a gigabyte.

91. Prophet’s claim ESP
Extrasensory perception (ESP)

93. Yet, to Yeats THO’
Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 for “inspired poetry” that gave “expression to a whole nation”. Yeats was Ireland’s first Nobel laureate.

102. D.C. trip highlight (#27) WHITE HOUSE TOUR (WHT: William Howard Taft)
William Howard Taft may have been the 27th President of the United States, but his lifelong ambition was to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. President Taft was able to realize that dream in 1921, eight years after losing his bid for re-election as president. As Chief Justice, this former US President swore in two new presidents: Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929). William Howard Taft is also remembered as the most obese president. In the last year of his presidency, he weighed about 340 pounds (he was 5 feet 11 inches tall). Twelve months after leaving the White House, President Taft had dropped 80 pounds and substantially lowered his blood pressure.

106. Author Madeleine L’__ ENGLE
Madeleine “L’Engle” is was an author who specialized in writing fiction for young adults. Her most famous work is “A Wrinkle in Time”, which spawned a series of sequels. Published in 1962, “A Wrinkle in Time”is described as a science fantasy. Included in the book’s cast of characters are Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, all of whom turn out to be supernatural beings who transport the protagonists through the universe.

108. Holly genus ILEX
Ilex, commonly known as holly, is a genus of hundreds of species of flowering plants. The holly used for Christmas decoration is Ilex aquifolium. The wood from the holly bush was once a favorite for construction of Scottish bagpipes, until dense tropical woods became readily available.

111. Former Saturn model ION
The Saturn Ion was produced by GM from 2003 to 2007. It was the longest (in length) of any car sold in North America that was labelled as a “compact”.

117. Alibi problems GAPS
“Alibi” is the Latin word for “elsewhere” as in, “I claim that I was ‘elsewhere’ when the crime was committed … I have an ‘alibi'”.

126. Agricultural pioneer DEERE
John Deere invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. Prior to Deere’s invention, farmers used an iron or wooden plow that constantly had to be cleaned as rich soil stuck to its surfaces. The cast-steel plow was revolutionary as its smooth sides solved the problem of “stickiness”.

130. Drinking song popularized by the Glenn Miller Orchestra (#36) LITTLE BROWN JUG (LBJ: Lyndon B. Johnson)
“Little Brown Jug” was an instrumental hit for Glenn Miller in 1939, although it was first published way back in 1869. Written as a drinking song, it endured as a folk song before becoming popular during the Prohibition Era due to the references to alcohol. The Glenn Miller version was featured the 1953 biopic “The Glenn Miller Story” starring James Stewart in the title role.

President Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) is one of only four people to have held all four elected federal offices, namely US Representative, US Senator, US Vice-President and US President (along with John Tyler, Andrew Johnson, and Richard Nixon). As President he is perhaps best remembered for escalating involvement in the Vietnam War, and for his “Great Society” legislation.

133. ’90s veep AL GORE
Al Gore was born in Washington DC, the son of Al Gore, Sr., then a US Representative for the state of Tennessee. After deferring his military service in order to attend Harvard, the younger Gore became eligible for the draft on graduation. Many of his classmates found ways of avoiding the draft, but Gore decided to serve and even took the “tougher” option of joining the army as an enlisted man. Actor Tommy Lee Jones shared a house with Gore in college and says that his buddy told him that even if he could find a way around the draft, someone with less options than him would have to go in his place and that was just wrong.

135. Andalusian city GRANADA
Granada is a city and province in Andalusia in the south of Spain. Granada should not to be confused with Grenada (note the different spelling), the island nation in the Caribbean that was invaded by the US in 1983.

Andalusia (“Andalucia” in Spanish) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities in the Kingdom of Spain, and is the most southerly. The capital of Andalusia is the old city of Seville. The name Andalusia comes from its Arabic name, Al-Andalus, reflecting the region’s history as the center of Muslim power in Iberia during medieval times.

137. Roma road STRADA
“Strada” is Italian for “road”.

Down
1. When doubled, a common dolphinfish MAHI
Mahi-mahi is the Hawaiian name for the dolphin-fish, also called a dorado. The mahi-mahi is an ugly looking creature if ever I saw one …

4. Centric start ETHNO-
To be ethnocentric is to believe in the superiority of one’s own race, or to have an obsessive concern with race.

5. ’90s Toyota PASEO
The Paseo is a compact car sold in the US by Toyota from 1991 to 1997. “Paseo” is Spanish for “walk, stroll”.

6. Netmen’s gp. ATP
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is an organization that looks out for the interests of male tennis professionals. The equivalent organization for women is the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

7. “Cheers” actor Roger REES
Roger Rees was a Welsh actor. Rees played the character Robin Colcord on “Cheers”, the posh love interest for Rebecca Howe played by Kirstie Alley. Rees also appeared periodically on “The West Wing” as the marvelously flamboyant and eccentric Lord John Marbury, the British Ambassador.

8. Icelandic literary works EDDAS
The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are two ancient works that are the source for much of Norse mythology. Both Eddas were written in the 13th century, in Iceland.

10. Skating legend ORR
Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …

11. Venomous venting DIATRIBE
A diatribe is a bitter discourse, and comes from the Greek “diatribein” meaning “to wear away”.

12. Nicollette’s “Desperate Housewives” role EDIE
Edie Williams is a character on television’s “Desperate Housewives” played by Nicollette Sheridan. Edie has had a few marriages as the “Desperate Housewives” storyline progressed. Edie Williams was formerly Edie Britt, Edie McLain and Edie Rothwell.

I’m told that her name is now Edie William, and that she used to be called Edie McLain and also Edie Rothwell. She must be a desperate housewife …

16. Sweetie along the Seine AMIE
A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

The Seine is the river that flows through Paris. The Seine empties into the English Channel to the north, at the port city of Le Havre.

17. On a lark (#35) JUST FOR KICKS (JFK: John F. Kennedy)
President John F. Kennedy was often referred to by his initials JFK, the F standing for Fitzgerald, his mother’s maiden name. The president’s brother Robert F. Kennedy was also referred to using his initials, RFK, with the F standing for his middle name Francis.

18. Soviet cooperative ARTEL
The Russian cooperative associations known as artels were often pretty informal affairs. Basically any group could get together and form an artel for any specific commercial purpose … anything from gold-mining and fishing, to stealing and begging.

19. Unkempt MESSY
The word “unkempt” means “disheveled, not well-combed”. It derives from the Old English word “cemban” meaning “to comb”. The opposite to the more common “unkempt” is … “kempt”.

31. Screening org. TSA
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks. TSA personnel carry out the baggage and body searches at US airports. The TSA has a Trusted Traveler program that allows certain passengers to move more quickly through security screening. These passengers pay the TSA a one-time fee that covers a background check after which successful applicants are issued a Known Traveler Number (KTN).

33. NW Penn. airport ERI
Erie International Airport (ERI)

36. Base fig. NCO
An NCO is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces. Usually such an officer is one who has earned his or her rank by promotion through the enlisted ranks. A good example would be a sergeant.

39. Santa __ winds ANA
The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.

43. Like Pinocchio, eventually REAL
“The Adventures of Pinocchio” is an 1883 children’s novel by Carlo Collodi, which is all about an animated puppet called Pinocchio and Geppetto, his poor woodcarver father. Pinocchio is prone to telling lies, the stress of which causes his short nose to become longer.

44. Cinch course EASY A
The term “cinch” was absorbed into American English from Spanish in the mid-1800s, when it was used to mean a “saddle-girth”. “Cincha” is the Spanish for “girdle”. In the late 1800s, “cinch” came to mean a ‘sure thing”, in the sense that a saddle-girth can provide a “sure hold”.

48. Immortalized vessel of rhyme URN
Here’s the first verse of the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats:

THOU still unravish’d bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

51. “Law & Order” detective Briscoe LENNIE
Detective Lennie Briscoe is a character on the TV show “Law & Order” who appeared for twelve years, from 1992 until 2004. Briscoe was played by respected actor Jerry Orbach.

60. Mercedes rivals BMWS
The abbreviation BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

61. Pacific salmon COHOS
The Coho salmon is dark blue with silver along the side of its body, but only during the phase of its life while it is in the ocean. When spawning and heading up into a freshwater river, the Coho has bright red sides.

66. End of the ’50s TV intro that began “This is the city” … I’M A COP
The TV detective show “Dragnet” opened up each episode with lines spoken by the character Sergeant Joe Friday:

This is the city, Los Angeles, California, I work here. I’m a cop.

In later series, the phrase “I’m a cop” was replaced with “I carry a badge”.

67. Could be more productive (#34) DON’T DO ENOUGH (DDE: Dwight D. Eisenhower)
President Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas and given the name David Dwight Eisenhower, but by the time he made it to the White House he was going by the name Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE). Growing up, his family called him Dwight, and when “Ike” enrolled in West Point he himself reversed the order of his given names.

68. Badlands formation MESA
Badlands may be “bad lands” for agriculture, but they can be beautiful. A badlands is an extensive area from which the topsoil has been eroded by wind and water, leaving exposed rock and very little vegetation. One of the most beautiful badlands areas in the US is preserved for the nation as South Dakota’s Badlands National Park.

70. Verboten thing NO-NO
“Verboten” is the German word for “forbidden”, a word that we have imported into English with the same meaning.

71. Aleve can alleviate one ACHE
Aleve is a brand name used for the anti-inflammatory drug Naproxen sodium.

75. Toughness SINEW
Sinew is another name for a tendon. Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle. We also use the term “sinew” to mean muscular power.

77. Danish capital KRONE
“Krone” translates into English as “crown”, and was the name given to coins that bore the image of the monarch in several countries. Today, the krone is the name given to the currency of Norway and of Denmark. Some of the Norwegian and Danish kroner have holes in the middle, giving them a “doughnut” or “torus” shape.

83. Structural subj. ANAT
Anatomy (anat.)

85. Half a patio pair TONG
A pair of tongs is a tool with a scissor-like hinge used to pick up things, like meat cooking on a barbecue grill or ice from an ice bucket.

92. Columnlike architectural piece PILASTER
A pilaster is an architectural feature built into or applied to the face of a wall, designed to give the appearance of a supporting column.

94. Hang out HOBNOB
“To hobnob with” means “to rub elbows with, associate with”. The term dates back to the mid 1700s and is derived from “hob and nob”, a phrase meaning to toast each other in turn, or to buy alternate rounds of drinks.

95. “__ Gang” OUR
The marvelous series of “Our Gang” comedy short films was also known as “The Little Rascals”. The series was produced by Hal Roach starting in 1922, and running up until 1944. There were 220 “Our Gang” film shorts made in all, and one feature film title “General Spanky” released in 1936.

97. Saskatchewan city MOOSE JAW
Moose Jaw is a city in Saskatchewan. Among the city’s claims to fame is that Moose Jaw is home to the Snowbirds, Canada’s military aerobatic team.

99. “The Chronic” Dr. DRE
“The Chronic” is 1992 studio album by hip hop artist Dr. Dre. The title is a slang term for high-grade cannabis.

103. French possessive TES
“Tes” is the French word for “your”, when referring to a group of items and when talking to someone with whom you are familiar.

107. Gp. that hired an orchestra for its “Eldorado” album ELO
ELO of course stands for the Electric Light Orchestra, a symphonic rock group from the north of England. ELO’s manager was Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne (wife of Ozzy).

111. Phased-out Apple messaging tool ICHAT
iChat was introduced in 2002, and was discontinued in 2012. It was Apple’s “instant messaging” application that integrated with the Mac Operating System. The replacement application is known as Messages.

112. Papal garment ORALE
A “fanon” is a vestment worn exclusively by the Pope, when he says Mass. At one time the fanon was known as an “orale”.

114. Anklebone TALUS
The collection of seven bones in the foot just below the foot are known collectively as the tarsus. One of those bones is the talus (plural “tali”), more commonly called the ankle bone. The talus is the lower part of the ankle joint and articulates with the lower ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower leg.

116. Barack’s 2010 High Court appointee ELENA
Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States who replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the first female US Solicitor General and the fourth female US Supreme Court justice. I hear she is a fan of Jane Austen, and used to reread “Pride and Prejudice” once a year. Not a bad thing to do, I’d say …

119. Shells alternative PENNE
Cylindrical pasta is known in general as “penne”, and there are many variants. For example, ziti is a particularly large and long tube with square-cut ends. “Penne” is the plural of “penna”, the Italian for “feather, quill”.

121. Astringent fruit SLOE
The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin.

A substance that is astringent is a chemical compound that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues.

123. By __ of: due to DINT
A “dint” is an effort or power, as in “he made it by dint of hard work”. “By dint of” is a new expression to me, but it has been around since the early 1300s. I must have been out that day …

125. Joule components ERGS
An erg is a unit of mechanical work or energy. It is a small unit, as there are 10 million ergs in one joule. it has been suggested that an erg is about the amount of energy required for a mosquito to take off.

128. “Great Scott!” EGAD!
No one seems to know for sure who the Scott is in the exclamation “great Scott!”. One theory is that the reference is to the commander-in-chief of the US Army during the Civil War, General Winfield Scott. Scott weighed in at 300 pounds later in his life, and was so obese that he could not ride a horse.

131. Power agcy. created in 1933 TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has to be one of America’s great success stories when it comes to economic development. Created in 1933, the TVA spearheaded economic development in the Tennessee Valley at the height of the Great Depression. Central to the success was the federally-funded construction of flood-control and electricity-generation facilities.

132. Fido’s find ORT
Orts are small scraps of food left after a meal. “Ort” comes from Middle English, and originally described scraps left by animals.

“Fido”, the name for many a dog, is Latin for “I trust”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Got a four, probably MADE PAR
8. Undermines ERODES
14. With one’s back against the wall IN A JAM
20. Unsettle AGITATE
21. Ridicule DERIDE
22. Retiring DEMURE
23. Austria’s Railjet, for one (#33) HIGH-SPEED TRAIN (HSH: Harry S. Truman)
25. Has a life EXISTS
26. Fatuous INANE
27. “The Lion King” baddie SCAR
28. French connections? TETE-A-TETES
30. Derisive shout HOOT
32. Source of twigs called withies OSIER
34. __ nouveau ART
35. Take the high way? FLY
36. Vietnam’s __ Dinh Diem NGO
38. MLB scorecard entry SAC
40. Most massive known dwarf planet ERIS
42. Word on mail from Madrid AEREO
45. Changes the play at the line of scrimmage (#21) CALLS AN AUDIBLE (CAA: Chester A. Arthur)
50. NutraSweet developer SEARLE
53. Fatty acid type OLEIC
54. Sea-Tac abbr. ARR
55. Some oscilloscope users: Abbr. EES
56. Invited ASKED
57. Actor with a mohawk MR T
59. “Football Night in America” network NBC
62. “Avatar” extras ETS
64. Telling tales LYING
65. Like many an infielder’s throw SIDEARM
69. Missoula home MONTANA
72. Spotty affliction? ACNE
73. Latin trio word AMO
74. Words from a returning traveler (#43) GUESS WHO’S BACK! (GWB: George W. Bush)
78. White wine aperitif KIR
79. “M” director Fritz LANG
81. 1988 NFL MVP ESIASON
82. Sentence sections PHRASES
84. Bits in a byte, e.g. OCTET
86. Vague number ANY
87. One who might be given the business SON
89. Ages and ages EON
90. Acknowledge tacitly NOD TO
91. Prophet’s claim ESP
93. Yet, to Yeats THO’
96. Put a handle on NAMED
100. Cuddles SPOONS
102. D.C. trip highlight (#27) WHITE HOUSE TOUR (WHT: William Howard Taft)
106. Author Madeleine L’__ ENGLE
108. Holly genus ILEX
109. Sports __ BRA
110. Valuable deposit ORE
111. Former Saturn model ION
113. Max. ULT
115. Drained of color ASHEN
117. Alibi problems GAPS
120. Critical point CROSSROADS
124. Lotion additive ALOE
126. Agricultural pioneer DEERE
129. Call on the carpet HAUL UP
130. Drinking song popularized by the Glenn Miller Orchestra (#36) LITTLE BROWN JUG (LBJ: Lyndon B. Johnson)
133. ’90s veep AL GORE
134. Bumpy UNEVEN
135. Andalusian city GRANADA
136. Snickered TE-HEED
137. Roma road STRADA
138. Tossed about STREWED

Down
1. When doubled, a common dolphinfish MAHI
2. Back-country “contrary to” AGIN
3. Do spadework DIG A HOLE
4. Centric start ETHNO-
5. ’90s Toyota PASEO
6. Netmen’s gp. ATP
7. “Cheers” actor Roger REES
8. Icelandic literary works EDDAS
9. Gave it another go RETRIED
10. Skating legend ORR
11. Venomous venting DIATRIBE
12. Nicollette’s “Desperate Housewives” role EDIE
13. Words with letter or fax SENT A
14. Conceptualizes IDEATES
15. To follow NEXT
16. Sweetie along the Seine AMIE
17. On a lark (#35) JUST FOR KICKS (JFK: John F. Kennedy)
18. Soviet cooperative ARTEL
19. Unkempt MESSY
24. Green wheels ECOCAR
29. One may be named for a president ERA
31. Screening org. TSA
33. NW Penn. airport ERI
36. Base fig. NCO
37. __ pal GAL
39. Santa __ winds ANA
41. Rains hard? SLEETS
43. Like Pinocchio, eventually REAL
44. Cinch course EASY A
46. Bar fruit LIME
47. Beanpole SCRAG
48. Immortalized vessel of rhyme URN
49. Abbr. before a year ESTAB
51. “Law & Order” detective Briscoe LENNIE
52. Trimming tools EDGERS
58. “No argument” TRUE
60. Mercedes rivals BMWS
61. Pacific salmon COHOS
63. Walk in the park SNAP
65. Drawing rooms SALONS
66. End of the ’50s TV intro that began “This is the city” … I’M A COP
67. Could be more productive (#34) DON’T DO ENOUGH (DDE: Dwight D. Eisenhower)
68. Badlands formation MESA
70. Verboten thing NO-NO
71. Aleve can alleviate one ACHE
75. Toughness SINEW
76. Greets, with “to” SAYS HI
77. Danish capital KRONE
80. Board GET ON
83. Structural subj. ANAT
85. Half a patio pair TONG
88. High degree NTH
92. Columnlike architectural piece PILASTER
94. Hang out HOBNOB
95. “__ Gang” OUR
97. Saskatchewan city MOOSE JAW
98. Asian lead-in EUR-
99. “The Chronic” Dr. DRE
101. Downed noisily SLURPED
103. French possessive TES
104. Blew out EXHALED
105. Give a little SAG
107. Gp. that hired an orchestra for its “Eldorado” album ELO
111. Phased-out Apple messaging tool ICHAT
112. Papal garment ORALE
114. Anklebone TALUS
116. Barack’s 2010 High Court appointee ELENA
118. Exchange of nasty spots AD WAR
119. Shells alternative PENNE
121. Astringent fruit SLOE
122. Foolproof SURE
123. By __ of: due to DINT
125. Joule components ERGS
127. Snippy, say RUDE
128. “Great Scott!” EGAD!
131. Power agcy. created in 1933 TVA
132. Fido’s find ORT

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