LA Times Crossword 21 Oct 18, Sunday

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Constructed by: John Lampkin
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: The French Disconnection

Themed answers are common phrases with the letters -LE removed (DISCONNECTED) from the end:

  • 113A. French article whose singular form is “disconnected” from nine puzzle answers : LES
  • 23A. Painting of an annoying bricklayer at work? : MORTAR AND PEST(LE)
  • 30A. 15th-century food-stained collectible? : GUTENBERG’S BIB(LE)
  • 46A. Fabulist’s Cheer alternative? : AESOP’S FAB(LE)
  • 63A. Dollar for a shot? : BELT BUCK(LE)
  • 67A. Dollars for shots? : ROUND TAB(LE)
  • 82A. “Snow White” witch’s download? : POISON APP(LE)
  • 94A. Mud, slop, pig, etc.? : ELEMENTS OF STY(LE)
  • 107A. Sailing maneuver to avoid a pirate’s threat? : DEFENSIVE TACK(LE)
  • 43D. Vehicle hired to carry steeplechase horses? : JUMPER CAB(LE)

Bill’s time: 18m 55s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

12. Audio units: Abbr. : DBS

In the world of acoustics, one bel is equal to ten decibels (dBs). The bel is named in honor of the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell.

15. “The Americans” agcy. : FBI

“The Americans” is a very engaging drama series set during the Cold War that features two KGB spies living as a married couple just outside Washington, D.C. The show was created by Joe Weisberg, who is a novelist and former CIA officer. The lead roles in “The Americans” are played by real-life couple Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.

18. First name in erotica : ANAIS

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

20. Place for a bootee : TOOTSIE

Knitted shoes called bootees might be made as a gift for a baby.

21. Seedy motel, say : RAT TRAP

We use the word “seedy” to mean “shabby”. The usage probably arose from the appearance of a flowering plant that has gone to seed.

23. Painting of an annoying bricklayer at work? : MORTAR AND PEST(LE)

I’ve always loved the sound of the words “mortar” and “pestle”, ever since I was first introduced to them in the chemistry lab. The Romans called a receptacle for pounding or grinding things a “mortarium”, giving us “mortar”. Mortarium was also the word for the product of pounding and grinding, which gives us our “mortar” that’s used with bricks to build a wall. And further, short stubby cannons used in the 16th century resembled a grinding bowl and so were called “mortars”, which evolved into our contemporary weapon of the same name. As far as the pestle is concerned, it is also derived from its Latin name “pistillum”, which comes from the word for “crush”.

25. Japan’s emperor : AKIHITO

Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan, and has been so since 1989. He is the eldest son of Emperor Hirohito who occupied the throne during World War II.

28. Least obfuscated : OPENEST

To obfuscate is to make something unclear. The verb is derived from the Latin “obfuscare” meaning “to darken”.

30. 15th-century food-stained collectible? : GUTENBERG’S BIB(LE)

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

The Gutenberg Bible was first printed in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany. This printing was significant in the history of the printed book because it marked the first time that movable type was used in printing in the West.

38. Chaotic mess : SNAFU

SNAFU is an acronym standing for “situation normal: all fouled up” (well, that’s the polite version!). As one might perhaps imagine, the term developed in the US Army, during WWII.

42. Bot head? : ECO-

EcoBot is a project to develop self-sustaining robots; self-sustaining in the sense that they are powered by waste matter in the environment. EcoBot-III went into operation in 2010. It is capable of operating in a closed environment for 7 days, utilizing no electricity and instead is powered by a microbial fuel cell. EcoBot-III uses leaves and organic waste as raw material for the fuel cell, and even “poops” out unwanted matter.

43. Harbor protector : JETTY

A jetty is a pier that juts out into a body of water. “Jetty” derives from the French verb “jeter” meaning “to throw”, the idea being that a jetty is a structure that is “thrown” out past the edge of the land surrounding the body of water.

45. Dutch South Africans : BOERS

“Boer” is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for “farmer”, and is a word that was used to describe the Dutch-speaking people who settled parts of South Africa during the 1700s.

46. Fabulist’s Cheer alternative? : AESOP’S FAB(LE)

Fab is a laundry detergent that was introduced by Colgate-Palmolive, but was sold off to Phoenix Brands in 2005.

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

48. “Exodus” author : URIS

“Exodus” is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris that was first published in 1947. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, a character played by Paul Newman in the 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.

49. Chickadee kin : TIT

The birds known as chickadees or titmice in North America, are usually called simply “tits” in the rest of the English-speaking world.

50. Undocumented Nepali? : 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.

51. Peak in Thessaly : OSSA

Mount Ossa in Greece is located between Mount Pelion in the south, and the famed Mount Olympus in the north. Mount Ossa is also known as Kissavos.

The region of Greece known as Thessaly used to be called Aeolia, and appears in Homer’s “Odyssey” under that name.

52. Big D cager : MAV

The Mavericks are the NBA franchise in Dallas, Texas. The team was founded in 1980, and the Mavericks name was chosen by fan votes. The choice of “Mavericks” was prompted by the fact that the actor James Garner was a part-owner of the team, and Garner of course played the title role in the “Maverick” television series.

“Big D” is a nickname for the city of Dallas, Texas.

In the early days of basketball, when a ball went out of bounds possession was awarded to the player who first retrieved the ball. This led to mad scuffles off the court, often involving spectators. As the game became more organized courts were routinely “caged”, largely because of this out of bounds rule, to limit interaction with the crowd. It’s because of these cages that basketball players are sometimes referred to today as “cagers”.

54. PC linkup : LAN

Local Area Network (LAN)

61. Popular Oahu beach : WAIKIKI

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, and home to the famous Waikiki Beach. The name “Waikiki” means “spouting fresh water” in Hawaiian.

63. Dollar for a shot? : BELT BUCK(LE)

“Buck” is a slang term for “dollar”. The term has been around at least since 1856, and is thought to derive from the tradition of using buckskin as a unit of trade with Native Americans during the frontier days.

67. Dollars for shots? : ROUND TAB(LE)

King Arthur (and his Round Table) probably never really existed, but his legend is very persistent. Arthur was supposedly a leader of the Romano-British as they tried to resist the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.

69. Captain Hook’s creator J.M. __ : BARRIE

Captain Hook is the bad guy in “Peter Pan”, the famous play by J. M. Barrie. Hook is Peter Pan’s sworn enemy, as Pan cut off Hook’s hand causing it to be replaced by a “hook”. It is implied in the play that Hook attended Eton College, just outside London. Hook’s last words are “Floreat Etona”, which is Eton College’s motto. Barrie openly acknowledged that the Hook character was based on Herman Melville’s Captain Ahab from the novel “Moby Dick”.

71. Eight furlongs : MILE

There are eight furlongs in a mile. The name “furlong” comes from the Old English “furh” (meaning “furrow”) and “lang” (meaning “long”). In Anglo-Saxon times, a furlong was the length of a furrow in ploughed field that was one acre in area. The width of said one-acre field was defined as one chain.

73. Erstwhile U.K. recording giant : EMI

The Big Four recording labels were (until EMI was broken up in 2012 and absorbed by what became “the Big Three”):

  1. Universal Music Group
  2. Sony Music Entertainment
  3. Warner Music Group
  4. EMI

“Erst” is an archaic way of saying “formerly, before the present time”. The term is mostly seen as part of the word “erstwhile”, an adjective meaning “of times past”.

74. Kind of trading, briefly : OTC

Over-the-counter (OTC) trading of stocks is a way of trading directly between two parties, as opposed to exchange trading in which trading occurs in an exchange.

75. Sweet Sixteen org. : NCAA

In the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship, the teams remaining at various stages of the tournament are known as:

  • The “Sweet Sixteen” (the regional semi-finalists)
  • The “Elite Eight” (the regional finalists)
  • The “Final Four” (the national semi-finalists)

77. With the bow, in music : 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).

81. Qatar’s capital : DOHA

Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar located on the Persian Gulf. The name “Doha” translates from Arabic as “the big tree”.

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.

82. “Snow White” witch’s download? : POISON APP(LE)

“Snow White” is a traditional German fairy tale that was published in 1812 in the collection of the Brothers Grimm. There is also a second, very different Grimms’ Fairy Tale called “Snow-White and Rose-Red”, not to be confused with its more famous cousin. In the latter tale, Snow-White and Rose-Red are sisters who get into trouble with a dwarf, but are rescued by a bear who turns into a prince.

84. Refine, as ore : SMELT

Metals are found in ore in the form of oxides. In order to get pure metal from the ore, the ore is heated and the metal oxides within are reduced (i.e. the oxygen is removed) in the chemical process known as smelting. The oxygen is extracted by adding a source of carbon or carbon monoxide which uses up the excess oxygen atoms to make carbon dioxide, a waste product of smelting (and, a greenhouse gas).

87. Stick on the grill : KEBAB

The term “kebab” (also “kabob”) covers a wide variety of meat dishes that originated in Persia. In the West, we usually use “kebab” when talking about shish kebab, which is meat (often lamb) served on a skewer. “Shish” comes from the Turkish word for “skewer”.

88. Beat it : LAM

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

89. Jamaican hybrid fruits : UGLIS

The ugli fruit is a hybrid of an orange and a tangerine that was first discovered growing wild in Jamaica where most ugli fruit comes from today. “UGLI” is a trademark name that is a variant of “ugly”, a nod to the fruits unsightly wrinkled rind.

91. China-related prefix : SINO-

The prefix “Sino-” is used to refer to things Chinese. It comes from the Latin word “Sinae” meaning … “Chinese”!

94. Mud, slop, pig, etc.? : ELEMENTS OF STY(LE)

Strunk & White’s “The Elements of Style” was first published in 1918. “The Elements of Style” is a relatively thin book, when compared to its modern counterpart “The Chicago Manual of Style”. Both books give guidance on the correct use of American English. The Chicago version is one of the most frequently used references on my bookshelf, and a constant reminder of my inadequacies!

104. Mythical flapper : ROC

The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, one reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants. The roc was said to come from the Indian subcontinent. The supposed existence of the roc was promulgated by Marco Polo in the accounts that he published of his travels through Asia.

105. Gulf of Guinea country : NIGERIA

Nigeria is in West Africa, and it takes its name from the Niger River which flows through the country. Nigeria is the most populous country on the continent, with over 180 million inhabitants. It is also the most populous member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The Gulf of Guinea is a large gulf that forms part of the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of Africa. One of the Gulf of Guinea’s claim to fame is that it is home to the intersecting point between zero degrees of latitude and zero degrees of longitude, i.e. where the Equator and Prime Meridian cross.

107. Sailing maneuver to avoid a pirate’s threat? : DEFENSIVE TACK(LE)

“To tack” is a sailing term, one meaning “to veer into and through the wind in order change course”. After the maneuver is completed, the wind is coming over the opposite side of the vessel.

110. City on the Elbe : DRESDEN

The German city of Dresden was almost completely destroyed during WWII, especially as a result of the famous firebombing of the city in 1945. Restoration work in the inner city in recent decades led to it being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, in 2006 when the city built a highway bridge close to the city center, UNESCO took Dresden off the list. This marked the only time a European location has lost World Heritage status.

The River Elbe rises in the Czech Republic and travels over a thousand kilometers before emptying into the North Sea near the port of Hamburg in Germany.

112. “Gymnopédies” composer : SATIE

Erik Satie was a French composer most famous for his beautiful composition, the three “Gymnopédies”. I have tried so hard to appreciate other works by Satie but I find them so very different from the minimalist simplicity of the lyrical “Gymnopédies”.

113. French article whose singular form is “disconnected” from nine puzzle answers : LES

The definite article in French can be “le” (with masculine nouns), “la” (with feminine nouns), and “les” (with plural nouns of either gender).

Down

1. Full range : GAMUT

In medieval times, the musical scale was denoted by the notes “ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la”. The term “gamma ut”, shortened to “gamut”, was used to describe the whole scale. By the 1620s, “gamut” was being used to mean the entire range of anything, the whole gamut.

4. Their pockets aren’t deep : PITAS

Pita is a lovely bread from Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Pita is usually round, and has a “pocket” in the center. The pocket is created by steam that puffs up the dough during cooking leaving a void when the bread cools.

5. Dutch town : STAD

“Stad” is both the Dutch and the Boer word for “city”.

6. Geological period : EON

Geological time is divided into a number of units of varying lengths. These are, starting from the largest:

  • supereon
  • eon (also “aeon”)
  • era
  • period
  • epoch
  • age

8. Twin-but-not-Twins’ city : ST PAUL

Saint Paul that is the state capital of Minnesota, and is one half of the “Twin Cities” , also known as Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Saint Paul used to be called Pig’s Eye, named after a popular tavern in the original settlement in the area. In 1841, Father Lucien Galtier established a log chapel nearby that he dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle, giving the city its current name. The magnificent Cathedral of St. Paul now sits on the site where the log chapel was built.

Target Field is a baseball park in Minneapolis, Minnesota that has been home to the Minnesota Twins since the stadium opening in 2010. Target Corporation, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, paid an undisclosed sum to get the naming rights of the park.

9. Half a fitness motto : USE IT …

Use it or lose it.

12. Window hanging : DRAPERY

When I was growing up on the other side of the pond, a drapery was a shop where one could buy cloth for making clothes or curtains. It was only when I came to America that I heard the term “drapes” used for curtains.

13. Where brownies come together : BAKERY

Apparently, the first brownies were created for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The recipe was developed by a pastry chef at the city’s Palmer House Hotel. The idea was to produce a cake-like dessert that was small enough and dainty enough to be eaten by ladies as part of a boxed lunch.

14. Wasp’s weapon : STING

While the wasp is considered to be a nuisance by many, the insect is very important to the agricultural industry. Wasps prey on many pest insects, while having very little impact on crops.

15. Disc golf “ball” : FRISBEE

Disc golf is also known as Frisbee golf, and sometimes even Frolf. Believe it or not, disc golf predates the introduction of the Frisbee. The first game was played at a school in Bladworth, Saskatchewan in 1926. The participating schoolkids threw tin lids into circles drawn on a course they created in the school grounds. They named the game “Tin Lid Golf”.

16. More eccentric : BATTIER

The expression “bats in the belfry” meaning “mad, crazy” conjures up images of bats flying around Gothic bell towers, but actually it’s a relatively recent addition to our vernacular. The term is American in origin, and dates back only to the early 1900s. The concept is that someone who is “crazy”, with wild ideas flying around his or her head, can be described as having bats (wild ideas) flying around the belfry (head). The terms “bats” and “batty” originated at the same time, and are clearly derivative.

17. WSJ news bit : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

“The Wall Street Journal” (WSJ) is a daily newspaper with a business bent that is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company. The WSJ has a larger US circulation than any other newspaper, with “USA Today” coming in a close second place.

28. Bios unread by their honorees : OBITS

Our word “obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”. The Latin term was used for “record of the death of a person”, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

32. Neh. and Esth. : BKS

In the Bible, the Book of Nehemiah is followed by the Book of Esther.

35. Ric of The Cars : OCASEK

Ric Ocasek is an American musician of Czech heritage. He was the lead vocalist of the rock band known as the Cars.

40. Home of Elaine, in Arthurian legend : ASTOLAT

Astolat is a legendary city referred to in stories of King Arthur. It is home to Elaine of Astolat, a maiden who dies unrequited love for Sir Lancelot. Astolat is sometimes known as “Shalott”, a name that Alfred Lord Tennyson used in his famous poem “The Lady of Shalott”. That “lady” is Elaine of Astolat.

41. Forces fraudulently (upon) : FOISTS

The word “foist”, meaning “to pass off as genuine”, comes from the Dutch word meaning “take in hand”. The original concept came from playing dice, in which one die was held surreptitiously in one hand.

43. Vehicle hired to carry steeplechase horses? : JUMPER CAB(LE)

Back in the 1700s there was a race called a “steeplehunt”, a horse race from a fixed location to some church in the distance which had a steeple visible. This evolved into the race that we know today as a “steeplechase”.

45. 61-Across wear : BIKINI
(61A. Popular Oahu beach : WAIKIKI)

The origin of the word “bikini”, describing a type of bathing suit, seems very uncertain. My favorite story is that it is named after the Bikini Atoll, site of American A-bomb tests in the forties and fifties. The name “bikini” was chosen for the swim-wear because of the “explosive” effect it had on men who saw a woman wearing the garment!

53. Iconic WWII island, briefly : IWO

Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. The name is Japanese for “Sulfur Island”, referring to the sulfur mining on which Iwo Jima’s economy once depended. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since. Control of the island was wrested from the Japanese in the five-week Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Said battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific theater in WWII.

55. Going by, for short : AKA

Also known as (aka)

56. Tip for solving in ink? : NIB

“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning the beak of a bird. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” meaning the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

60. Mystery award : AGATHA

The Agathas are literary awards given annually for mystery and crime writers producing exceptional works in the “cozy mystery” genre. “Cozies” are crime fiction in which there is a dearth of sex and violence, and in which the crime is committed and solved in a small community or gathering. The awards are named for the queen of the cozy mystery genre, Agatha Christie.

62. “Constant Craving” singer : KD LANG

k.d. lang is the stage name of Kathryn Dawn Lang, a Canadian singer and songwriter. Beyond her performing career, lang is a noted activist focused on animal rights, gay rights, and human rights in Tibet.

63. Carousel item : BAG

Apparently, the baggage carousel was developed by a French company. The first installation was in Paris Orly Airport in the 1950s.

65. Long-running forensic series : CSI

Something described as forensic is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The term comes from the Latin “forensis” meaning “of a forum, of a place of assembly”. We mainly use the word today to mean “pertaining to legal trials” as in “forensic medicine” and “forensic science”.

78. Cost-of-living no. : CPI

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures changes in the price of services and goods purchased by households. The United States CPI fell in 2009, for the first time since 1955. That’s how bad the 2009 recession was …

80. Bama rival : OLE MISS

“Ole Miss” is the nickname for the University of Mississippi. The name “Ole Miss” dates back to 1897, the first year a student yearbook was published. The graduating class held a competition to name the yearbook and “Ole Miss” emerged as the winner. The name stuck to the yearbook, and also as a nickname for the school itself. The University of Mississippi sports teams have been known as the Rebels since 1936. Prior to 1936, they were known as the Mississippi Flood.

85. “Tartuffe” dramatist : MOLIERE

“Molière” was the stage name of French actor and playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. It is amazing how well the comedies of Molière, written in the 1600s, entertain us on stage today. Among his best-known plays are “The Misanthrope”, “The School for Wives” and “Tartuffe or the Hypocrite”.

87. Cute calendar subjects : KITTENS

Our word “calendar” ultimately derives from the Latin “calendae”. “Calends” were the first days of each Roman month. The Latin “calendarium” was an account book, as the debts fell due and accounts were reckoned on the first day of each month.

93. Tel __ : AVIV

The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. “Tel Aviv” translates into “Spring Mound”, a name chosen in 1910.

95. Liszt work : ETUDE

An étude is a short instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer and a fabulous pianist. Particularly towards the end of his life, Liszt gained a tremendous reputation as a teacher. While he was in his sixties, his teaching profession demanded that he commute regularly between the cities of Rome, Weimar and Budapest. It is quite remarkable that a man of such advanced age, and in the 1870s, could do so much annual travel. It is estimated that Liszt journeyed at least 4,000 miles every year!

96. Middle Corleone brother : FREDO

Fredo Corleone is a middle son in the Corleone family that features in Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather”. He was considered the weak son, and was reduced to the role of “gopher”. Fredo was with his father when Don Corleone was shot, and although he tried to retaliate as the shooting took place, he dropped his gun. On the screen, Fredo was played by Italian-American actor John Cazale.

97. Mezzo-soprano Anne __ von Otter : SOFIE

Anne Sofie von Otter is a mezzo-soprano from Sweden. She has recorded quite a varied collection of songs, from opera to rock and pop, including a 2001 album with Elvis Costello.

101. “Breaking Bad” toxin : RICIN

Ricin is a highly toxic chemical found in the seeds of the castor oil plant. It is so poisonous because it inhibits one of the most basic metabolic processes, the synthesis of protein. One famous use of ricin as a weapon was the assassination of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in London in 1978. A agent of the Bulgarian secret police injected a tiny pellet of ricin into his victim’s leg using a modified umbrella.

The AMC drama “Breaking Bad” is a well-written show about a high school teacher stricken by lung cancer who turns to a life of crime to make money. It turns out that the teacher has a talent for making high-quality crystal meth. The show was created by Vince Gilligan who had spent many years as producer and writer of “The X-Files”. There is a “Breaking Bad” spin-off show running on AMC called “Better Call Saul” that focuses on the life of lawyer Saul Goodman. I hear that it’s pretty good …

106. Cholesterol letters : LDL

LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is one of the compounds responsible for transporting fats around the body. When LDL is combined with cholesterol it can be referred to as “bad cholesterol”. This is because LDL actually transports cholesterol into the inner walls of blood vessels leading to atherosclerosis.

107. Tigers’ home: Abbr. : DET

The origins of the Detroit Tigers baseball team’s name seems a little unclear. One story is that it was taken from the Detroit Light Guard military unit who were known as “The Tigers”. The Light Guard fought with distinction during the Civil War and in the Spanish-American War. Sure enough, when the Detroit baseball team went into the Majors they were formally given permission to use “The Tigers” name by the Detroit Light Guard.

108. Vardalos of film : NIA

Nia Vardalos is an actress and screenwriter whose biggest break came with the 2002 film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, which she wrote and in which she starred. The film tells the story of a Greek-American woman marrying a non-Greek Caucasian American who converts to the Greek Orthodox Church to facilitate the marriage. The storyline reflects the actual experiences of Vardalos and her husband, actor Ian Gomez. Vardalos and Gomez appeared together as hosts for two seasons of the reality competition “The Great American Baking Show”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Dropped-jaw stare : GAWP
5. Like loving caresses : SENSUAL
12. Audio units: Abbr. : DBS
15. “The Americans” agcy. : FBI
18. First name in erotica : ANAIS
20. Place for a bootee : TOOTSIE
21. Seedy motel, say : RAT TRAP
23. Painting of an annoying bricklayer at work? : MORTAR AND PEST(LE)
25. Japan’s emperor : AKIHITO
26. Like many forest roads : UNPAVED
27. Suffer : AIL
28. Least obfuscated : OPENEST
29. Football laterals, e.g. : TOSSES
30. 15th-century food-stained collectible? : GUTENBERG’S BIB(LE)
33. Beachcomber’s pace : STROLL
36. Breezy and open : AIRY
37. Glance : PEEK
38. Chaotic mess : SNAFU
42. Bot head? : ECO-
43. Harbor protector : JETTY
45. Dutch South Africans : BOERS
46. Fabulist’s Cheer alternative? : AESOP’S FAB(LE)
48. “Exodus” author : URIS
49. Chickadee kin : TIT
50. Undocumented Nepali? : YETI
51. Peak in Thessaly : OSSA
52. Big D cager : MAV
53. Annoy : IRK
54. PC linkup : LAN
57. Mexican mama bears : OSAS
59. Slip away : ELAPSE
61. Popular Oahu beach : WAIKIKI
63. Dollar for a shot? : BELT BUCK(LE)
66. “Hmm” : GEE
67. Dollars for shots? : ROUND TAB(LE)
68. Piles up : AMASSES
69. Captain Hook’s creator J.M. __ : BARRIE
71. Eight furlongs : MILE
72. Caught : GOT
73. Erstwhile U.K. recording giant : EMI
74. Kind of trading, briefly : OTC
75. Sweet Sixteen org. : NCAA
77. With the bow, in music : ARCO
80. Of __ mind : ONE
81. Qatar’s capital : DOHA
82. “Snow White” witch’s download? : POISON APP(LE)
84. Refine, as ore : SMELT
87. Stick on the grill : KEBAB
88. Beat it : LAM
89. Jamaican hybrid fruits : UGLIS
90. Fine-tune : HONE
91. China-related prefix : SINO-
92. Irritates : EATS AT
94. Mud, slop, pig, etc.? : ELEMENTS OF STY(LE)
98. Mist and such : VAPORS
103. Show great respect for, perhaps : IMITATE
104. Mythical flapper : ROC
105. Gulf of Guinea country : NIGERIA
106. Easy time : LEISURE
107. Sailing maneuver to avoid a pirate’s threat? : DEFENSIVE TACK(LE)
110. City on the Elbe : DRESDEN
111. Morning paper, e.g. : EDITION
112. “Gymnopédies” composer : SATIE
113. French article whose singular form is “disconnected” from nine puzzle answers : LES
114. Newsroom VIPs : EDS
115. Boot protectors : TOE CAPS
116. Smartphone component : LENS

Down

1. Full range : GAMUT
2. “That’s __!” : A NO-NO
3. Twists : WARPS
4. Their pockets aren’t deep : PITAS
5. Dutch town : STAD
6. Geological period : EON
7. Movement at a boring concert? : NOD
8. Twin-but-not-Twins’ city : ST PAUL
9. Half a fitness motto : USE IT …
10. Freezer __ : AISLE
11. Allow : LET
12. Window hanging : DRAPERY
13. Where brownies come together : BAKERY
14. Wasp’s weapon : STING
15. Disc golf “ball” : FRISBEE
16. More eccentric : BATTIER
17. WSJ news bit : IPO
19. Sets money aside : SAVES UP
22. What an X may mark : THE SPOT
24. Arm or chin follower : -REST
28. Bios unread by their honorees : OBITS
30. Universal : GLOBAL
31. Endemic : NATIVE
32. Neh. and Esth. : BKS
34. Penalty callers : REFS
35. Ric of The Cars : OCASEK
38. Opinion : SAY
39. French word in bios : NEE
40. Home of Elaine, in Arthurian legend : ASTOLAT
41. Forces fraudulently (upon) : FOISTS
43. Vehicle hired to carry steeplechase horses? : JUMPER CAB(LE)
44. Tip for changing your answer? : ERASER
45. 61-Across wear : BIKINI
47. Cavalier “My bad” : SO SUE ME
49. Emotional wounds : TRAUMAS
53. Iconic WWII island, briefly : IWO
54. Unlike idioms : LITERAL
55. Going by, for short : AKA
56. Tip for solving in ink? : NIB
58. Not in class : ABSENT
60. Mystery award : AGATHA
62. “Constant Craving” singer : KD LANG
63. Carousel item : BAG
64. Broody rock genre : EMO
65. Long-running forensic series : CSI
67. Put more varnish on : RECOAT
69. Owie : BOO-BOO
70. Not out-of-bounds, as a ball : IN PLAY
76. Goals : AIMS
78. Cost-of-living no. : CPI
79. Photo possibilities : OPS
80. Bama rival : OLE MISS
81. Tightly packed : DENSE
83. Some leave you powerless : OUTAGES
84. Miss, say : SHE
85. “Tartuffe” dramatist : MOLIERE
86. Foes : ENEMIES
87. Cute calendar subjects : KITTENS
91. Caught : SNARED
92. “Blah, blah, blah,” briefly : ETC ETC
93. Tel __ : AVIV
95. Liszt work : ETUDE
96. Middle Corleone brother : FREDO
97. Mezzo-soprano Anne __ von Otter : SOFIE
99. Part of a flower : PETAL
100. Speak : ORATE
101. “Breaking Bad” toxin : RICIN
102. Benefits : SAKES
105. 18-Across and family : NINS
106. Cholesterol letters : LDL
107. Tigers’ home: Abbr. : DET
108. Vardalos of film : NIA
109. Bread, for stew : SOP

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