LA Times Crossword 24 Sep 23, Sunday

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Constructed by: Tracy Gray
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Exchanging Words

Themed answers are common phrases with words that have been replaced (EXCHANGED) with an “X”, a common abbreviation:

  • 21A Big name in health insurance associations : BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD (X = cross)
  • 35A Quaint emporium : FIVE AND TEN CENT STORE (X = ten)
  • 47A Preschool activity with crayons : COLOR BY NUMBER (X = by)
  • 67A Go it alone : STRIKE OUT ON ONE’S OWN (X = strike)
  • 87A Hopeful expression after two failures : THIRD TIME’S A CHARM (X = times)
  • 96A Tony Award-winning musical based on a Manuel Puig novel : KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (X = kiss)
  • 116A Irving Stone novel about Michelangelo : THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY (X = ecstasy)

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

Bill’s time: 18m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Beach community near Tourmaline Surfing Park : LA JOLLA

The name of the city of La Jolla is often said to be a corruption of the Spanish “La Joya” meaning “The Jewel”, giving rise to the city’s nickname “Jewel City”. Scholars dispute this etymology, but it makes for good marketing.

14 Hunk of granite : SLAB

Granite is an igneous rock that forms underground when magma cools and solidifies. The term “granite” comes from the Latin word “granum” meaning “grain”, reflecting the coarse grainy structure of the rock.

19 Former first lady, familiarly : JACKIE O

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was born into a privileged family, the daughter of Wall Street stockbroker John Vernou Bouvier III. Ms. Bouvier moved in the same social circles as the Kennedy clan, and first met the then-US Representative John Kennedy at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. Years later, after she saw her husband assassinated and then her brother-in-law (Bobby Kennedy) suffer the same fate, Jackie declared that she feared for the life of her children as they bore the Kennedy name. She left the country, eventually meeting and marrying Aristotle Onassis. Reportedly, she was very satisfied that the Greek shipping magnate was able to provide privacy and security for her children.

21 Big name in health insurance associations : BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD (X = cross)

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association formed in 1982 with the merger of Blue Shield and Blue Cross Association in 1982. Blue Cross health insurance plans were established in 1929 based on a plan used at Baylor University in Dallas. Blue Shield plans were first developed by employers in lumber and mining camps in the Pacific Northwest in 1910.

23 Foam art medium : LATTE

“Latte art” is the name given to the designs that can be drawn on the surface of coffee drinks. Some of those designs can be quite intricate.

25 Like many Etsy shops : ARTSY

Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.

31 Old Pontiac muscle car : GTO

When the Pontiac division of General Motors brought out the GTO muscle car, the Oldsmobile division responded with a beefed-up version of the Cutlass that was dubbed 4-4-2. The 4-4-2 designation indicated a four-barrel carburettor, a four-speed manual gearbox and dual exhausts.

34 Tabloid twosome : ITEM

An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as “an item” in the papers, led to the use of “item” to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

“Tabloid” is the trademarked name (owned by Burroughs Wellcome) for a “small tablet of medicine”, a name that goes back to 1884. The word “tabloid” had entered into general use to mean a compressed form of anything, and by the early 1900s was used in “tabloid journalism”, which described newspapers that had short, condensed articles and stories printed on smaller sheets of paper.

35 Quaint emporium : FIVE AND TEN CENT STORE (X = ten)

A five-and-ten is a store that sells inexpensive items. “Five-and-ten” is an alternative name for “dime store”, “five-and-dime” and “ten-cent store”. The “five-and-ten” name is short for “five-and-ten cent store”.

41 The Voice coach Gwen : STEFANI

Gwen Stefani is lead singer with the rock band No Doubt. She joined the band in 1986, focused on a solo career from 2004-2008, but is now back singing and working with No Doubt. She joined the reality show “The Voice” as a coach in 2014, replacing Christina Aguilera. A year later, Stefani announced a relationship with Blake Shelton, a fellow coach on “The Voice”.

45 Measles symptom : RED DOT

Measles is a viral infection of the respiratory system. Apparently, there is no really effective treatment of measles, although there is some evidence that high doses of vitamin A can reduce the chances of mortality in the very young. Measles is also known as “rubeola”, not to be confused with “rubella”, which is an alternative name for German measles.

47 Preschool activity with crayons : COLOR BY NUMBER (X = by)

The concept of painting by numbers was first patented in 1923. The idea didn’t take off until 1951, when the Craft Master brand of paint-by-number kits was introduced. The kits were marketed with the strapline “A beautiful oil painting the first time you try”.

51 Bogus : NOT REAL

Our word “bogus”, meaning “not genuine” was coined (pun!) in the 1830s, when it applied to counterfeit money.

53 Big exporter of saffron : IRAN

Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice by weight. It is derived from the saffron crocus. The spice itself is the dried stigma found in the flower of the plant.

54 Tart-tasting fruit : SLOE

The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin. A sloe looks like a small plum, but is usually much more tart in taste.

55 Firewood protector : TARP

Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.

58 Nintendo princess : ZELDA

“The Legend of Zelda” is a whole series of video games. First released in 1986, I hear that it is very successful …

62 Mmes., in Mérida : SRAS

Mérida is the capital city of the Mexican state of Yucatán in southeastern Mexico. It has a high level of public security, so that it is considered one of the safest cities in the Americas. It has also been listed as the Mexican city with the highest quality of life.

64 Electronic control mechanisms, briefly : SERVOS

A servomechanism (also “servo”) is a control system in which usually a hydraulic or pneumatic arm or plunger is actuated by a low-energy signal received from a sensor. An example is the device operating the cruise control on a car. The servo pushes the gas pedal to accelerate and lets off to slow down. The signal to the servo comes from the speedometer.

66 Base for some sashimi : ICE

Sashimi is thinly sliced raw fish, although it can also be raw meat. The word “sashimi” translates literally as “pierced body”, which may be a reference to the practice of sticking the tail and fin to sliced fish to identify it.

70 Actress Vardalos : 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”.

75 Line that intersects a circle in two places : SECANT

In geometric terms, a secant is a straight line that intersects a curve at two points. The term “secant” comes from the Latin “secare” meaning “to cut”, in the sense that secants “cut” a curve. The section of the secant line that is bounded by the two intersecting points is known as a chord.

77 Three-dimensional : CUBIC

The dimension of an object is defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify each point in the object. Therefore, a line is one-dimensional, as you only need an x-coordinate to specify a particular point on the line. A surface is two-dimensional, as you need both an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate to locate a point on the surface. The inside of a solid object is then three-dimensional, needing an x-, y- and z-coordinate to specify a point, say within a cube.

82 Belgian surrealist Magritte : RENE

Belgian artist René Magritte was a surrealist. His most recognized work may be “The Son of Man”, a painting he created as a self-portrait. It is the work that shows a man in a bowler hat with his face covered by an apple. The image features prominently in a great movie, the 1999 remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair”.

92 European capital known as the “City of a Hundred Spires” : PRAGUE

The beautiful city of Prague is today the capital of the Czech Republic. Prague’s prominence in Europe has come and gone over the centuries. For many years, it was the capital city of the Holy Roman Empire. Back in the 1800s, Bohemian mathematician Bernard Bolzano conducted a count of all the spires in Prague, resulting in the enduring nickname “City of a Hundred Spires”. Today, that count is closer to “Five Hundred”.

95 Melodic passages : ARIOSOS

An arioso (plural “ariosi”) is a solo vocal piece in a classical work such as an opera or an oratorio. An arioso’s structure lies somewhere between that of a full-blown aria and speech-like recitative.

96 Tony Award-winning musical based on a Manuel Puig novel : KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (X = kiss)

“Kiss of the Spider Woman” is a musical first staged in 1990 that is based on a 1976 novel of the same name (“El beso de la mujer araña”, in Spanish) by Argentine writer Manuel Puig. Both the musical and novel are about a man in a prison in Argentina. The prisoner escapes the prison routine by imagining movies. One of the imaginary characters is the spider woman, who kills with a kiss.

101 Like the Atacama Desert : ARID

Even deserts get rain at some point in the year, with very few exceptions. One of those exceptions is the Atacama Desert in South America, which receives no rain at all.

103 Mork’s planet : ORK

The sitcom “Mork & Mindy” was broadcast from 1978 to 1982. We were first introduced to Mork (played by Robin Williams) in a special episode of “Happy Days”. The particular episode in question has a bizarre storyline culminating in Fonzie and Mork having a thumb-to-finger duel. Eventually Richie wakes up in bed, and alien Mork was just part of a dream! Oh, and “Nanu Nanu” means both “hello” and “goodbye” back on the planet Ork. “I am Mork from Ork, Nanu Nanu”. Great stuff …

104 Software test versions : BETAS

In the world of software development, the first tested issue of a new program is usually called the alpha version. Expected to have a lot of bugs that need to be fixed, the alpha release is usually distributed to a small number of testers. After reported bugs have been eliminated, the refined version is called a beta and is released to a wider audience, but with the program clearly labeled as “beta”. The users generally check functionality and report further bugs that are encountered. The beta version feeds into a release candidate, the version that is tested just prior to the software being sold into the market, hopefully bug-free.

108 __ Files: long-running true-crime series : FORENSIC

“Forensic Files” is a documentary TV show that first aired in 1996 under the title “Medical Detectives”. The show was narrated by Peter Thomas, who was more famous for narrating most of the “Nova” episodes. After Thomas’ death, Bill Camp took over as narrator of “Forensic Files II”.

113 __ snuff : UP TO

The term “up to snuff” today means “up to standard”. It was introduced to us for the first time in 1811 in a play called “Hamlet Travestie” by Englishman John Poole. He used the phrase to mean “in the know”. It was perhaps a reference to the habit of taking powdered tobacco, a practice back then that was associated with the upper classes, the educated, those in the know.

115 WWII sub : U-BOAT

The term “U-boat” comes from the German word “Unterseeboot” (undersea boat). U-boats were primarily used in WWII to enforce a blockade against enemy commercial shipping, with a main objective being to cut off the supplies being transported to Britain from the British colonies and the US. The epic fight for control of the supply routes became known as the Battle of the Atlantic.

116 Irving Stone novel about Michelangelo : THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY (X = ecstasy)

“The Agony and the Ecstasy” is a 1961 biographical novel about Michelangelo that was penned by Irving Stone. Stone also wrote a 1934 biographical novel about Vincent van Gogh called “Lust for Life”. Both novels were adapted for the big screen. Charlton Heston played Michelangelo in 1965’s “The Agony and the Ecstasy”, and Kirk Douglas played Van Gogh in 1956’s “Lust for Life”.

“Ecstasy” (sometimes “XTC”, or simply “X”) is a street name for the drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). MDMA was first synthesized way back in 1912, but wasn’t used recreationally until the late sixties and early seventies. The drug was designated a controlled substance in the US in 1988.

121 Where Ducks and Penguins play? : RINKS

The Walt Disney Company founded the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim hockey team in 1993, with the franchise’s name being a nod to the 1992 Disney movie called “The Mighty Ducks”. The name was changed to the Anaheim Ducks when Disney sold the team before the 2006-2007 season.

The Penguins are a professional hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They have been around since 1967, and were one of the first expansion teams when the NHL grew from six to twelve teams. The expansion team were to play in Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena, a domed structure known locally as the Igloo. It was the “Igloo” name that inspired a fan to suggest the “Penguins” moniker, which won a contest to choose the name of the new franchise.

122 Diehards : ZEALOTS

A diehard is a person who continues resisting against hopeless odds. The phrase “die hard” was coined in 1811 by a British soldier leading the 57th Regiment of Foot during a battle in the Napoleonic Wars. Lieutenant-Colonel William Inglis was wounded, but opted to stay on the battlefield crying out the words “Die hard 57th, die hard!”. The regiment later adopted the name “Die Hards”.

124 Garlands of okika or pikake : LEIS

Leis are traditional Hawaiian garlands that are made from various types of flowers, leaves, and other materials. They were originally worn by ancient Hawaiians as a symbol of their social status and to signify important events such as weddings and funerals.

125 Star-shaped bloomers : ASTERS

Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

126 Prodded : EGGED ON

The verb “to edge” has been used to mean to incite, to urge on, from the 16th century. Somewhere along the way “edge” was mistakenly replaced with “egg”, giving us our term “to egg on” meaning “to goad”.

Down

1 Culture centers? : LABS

Our term “laboratory”, often shortened to “lab”, comes from the Medieval Latin word “laboratorium” meaning “place for labor, work”. This in turn comes from the Latin verb “laborare” meaning “to work”.

2 Book replaced by GPS : ATLAS

The first modern atlas was published in 1570 by Abraham Ortelius, a Flemish cartographer. It was called “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum” (Theater of the World).

3 Short excursion : JAUNT

A jaunt is a short pleasure trip, although back in the 1500s, the word “jaunt” described a tiresome journey. Back then, one would jaunt a horse, meaning that one tired it out by riding it back and forth.

4 Like Nero Wolfe : OBESE

Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective and the hero of many stories published by author Rex Stout. There are 33 Nero Wolfe novels for us to read, and 39 short stories. There are also movie adaptations of two of the novels: “Meet Nero Wolfe” (1936) which features a young Rita Hayworth, and “The League of Frightened Men” (1937). One of Wolfe’s endearing traits is his love of good food and beer, so he is a pretty rotund character.

5 Cured salmon : LOX

Lox is a brine-cured salmon filet that is finely sliced. The term “lox” comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely “Lachs”.

6 Ad follower : LIB

“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage, the phrase is usually shortened to “ad-lib”. On the stage, the concept of an ad-lib is very familiar.

7 Penne __ vodka : ALLA

Penne alla vodka is a pasta dish with a sauce made of vodka, cream, tomatoes, onions and sausage or bacon.

9 Heading for the whirlpool, say : ACHY

“Jacuzzi” is one of those brand names that has become so much associated with the product that it is often assumed to be a generic term. The Jacuzzi company was founded in 1915 by the seven(!) Jacuzzi brothers in Berkeley California. The brothers, who were Italian immigrants, pronounced their name “ja-coot-si”, as one might suspect when one realizes the name is of Italian origin. The company started off by making aircraft propellers and then small aircraft, but suspended aircraft production in 1925, when one of the brothers was killed in one of their planes. The family then started making hydraulic pumps, and in 1948 developed a submersible bathtub pump so that a son of one of the brothers could enjoy hydrotherapy for his rheumatoid arthritis. The “hydrotherapy product” took off in the fifties with some astute marketing towards “worn-out housewives” and the use of celebrity spokesman Jack Benny.

10 Enjoy Stowe : SKI

Stowe ski resort is located on the slopes of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak, near the town of Stowe, Vermont. Alpine skiing was brought first to Mount Mansfield, after the Civilian Conservation Corps cut trails back in 1933. The following year, Mount Mansfield was home to the first ski patrol in the nation, which became the model for the National Ski Patrol.

12 Repaired, as car brakes : RELINED

The drum brake was invented in 1902 by Louis Renault (founder of Renault, the automobile company). In a drum brake, there is a set of brake shoes that usually press on the inner surface of the drum to slow down rotation. Nowadays, the disc brake system is more popular, a design which uses brake pads instead of brake shoes.

13 Jedi who said, “Always in motion is the future” : YODA

Yoda is one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe, known for his wisdom and unique speech patterns. The character’s appearance and mannerisms were inspired by a real-life person: British motion picture make-up artist Stuart Freeborn. Freeborn designed Yoda’s facial features to be a caricature of his own, although the eye wrinkles resemble those of theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.

14 Extras in trunks : SPARE TIRES

In North America we use the word “trunk” for the storage space in the back of a vehicle as that space is reminiscent of the large traveling chest called a “trunk”. Such trunks used to be lashed onto the back of automobiles before storage was integrated. On the other side of the Atlantic, a trunk is known as a “boot”. The original boot was a built-in storage compartment on a horse-drawn carriage on which a coachman would sit.

16 When Alexander meets Eliza, in “Hamilton” : ACT I

Elizabeth “Eliza” Schuyler Hamilton was the wife of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Eliza was with her husband when he passed away the day after his famous duel with Vice President Aaron Burr.

17 Borscht base : BEET

Borscht is a beetroot soup that originated in Ukraine. Borscht can be served both hot and cold.

19 Passat alternative : JETTA

“Jetta” is one in a series of model names related to winds that has been used by Volkswagen. “Jetta” comes from the German for “jet stream”, and the model name “Passat” comes from the German for “trade wind”.

“Passat” is one in a series of model names related to winds that has been used by Volkswagen. “Jetta” comes from the German for “jet stream”, and the model name “Passat” comes from the German for “trade wind”.

20 Roulette wheel components : SLOTS

The term “roulette” means “little wheel” in French, and the game as we know it today did in fact originate in Paris, in 1796. A roulette wheel bears the numbers 1-36. A French entrepreneur called François Blanc introduced the number “0” on the wheel, to give the house an extra advantage. Legend has it that Blanc made a deal with the devil in order to unearth the secrets of roulette. The legend is supported by the fact that the numbers 1 through 36 add up to a total of “666”, which is the “Number of the Beast”. Spooky …

30 Cable series about an erotic magazine for women : MINX

“Minx” is a sitcom about a feminist in LA who partners with a publisher of adult entertainment to create “Minx”, the so-called first erotic magazine for women. This one started off 2022 with the streaming service Max, was canceled in the middle of season 2, and then picked up by Starz.

33 Med. condition portrayed on “Monk” : OCD

“Monk” is a comedy cop show in which the title character is an ex-San Francisco Police Department detective who is recovering from a nervous breakdown. Tony Shalhoub plays the title character, Adrian Monk, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). I binge-watched this one a few years ago. Good show …

37 Beats by __ : DRE

Beats by Dre is a brand of audio products made by Beats Electronics, a company that was co-founded by rapper Dr. Dre. Apple bought Beats for $3 billion in 2014, the largest acquisition by far in the company’s history.

41 Hugo Award genre : SCI-FI

The Hugo Awards are presented annually for excellence in science fiction and fantasy writing. The awards are named for Hugo Gernsback, founder of the sci-fi magazine “Amazing Stories”.

42 Cheerio-shaped : TORIC

Cheerios breakfast cereal has the distinction of being the first oat-based cereal introduced into the market, hitting the grocery store shelves in 1941. Back then, Cheerios were known as CheeriOats.

44 Arial, for one : FONT

We tend to use the terms typeface and font interchangeably. Technically, a typeface and font are not the same thing. A complete set of characters with a common design is referred to as a typeface (common examples being Helvetica and Arial). That typeface consists of a whole collection of fonts, all varying in weight and size. One set of Helvetica fonts, for example, might be Helvetica 14 point or Helvetica 16 point, i.e. a specific size. Another set might be Helvetica bold, or Helvetica italic. The difference between fonts and typefaces mattered a great deal when printers had collections of individual letters to make up blocks of text. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about that these days.

48 Belfast’s province : ULSTER

Ireland is divided into four provinces: Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster. “Ulster” is sometimes used as a synonym for “Northern Ireland”, but in fact Ulster comprises the six counties of Northern Ireland and three more, namely Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan.

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, and an important port city. That said, much of Belfast’s success as a port is in the past. In the early 1900s, the Harland and Wolff shipyard was the world’s largest. The most famous vessel built by Harland & Wolff was the RMS Titanic. Belfast was also the largest linen producing center in the world, resulting in the city being nicknamed “Linenopolis”. More recently, Belfast is noted as home to the film studios where “Game of Thrones” was produced.

50 Ivy and __: kid-lit series by Annie Barrows : BEAN

“Ivy and Bean” is a series of children’s books written by Annie Barrows and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. The title characters are friends, two 7-year-old girls with very different personalities.Ivy is quiet and bookish, and is training to be a witch. Bean is a very boisterous tomboy. The first book in the series is “Ivy and Bean”, published in 2006.

52 Breakout area, to dermatologists : T-ZONE

The T-zone on one’s faces includes the forehead (the horizontal line of the “T”) and the chin and nose (the vertical line of the “T”).

65 19-Down and others, briefly : VWS
[19D Passat alternative : JETTA]

“VW” stands for “Volkswagen”, which translates from German into “people’s car”. The original Volkswagen design was the Beetle and was built under a directive from Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap car built that ordinary people could afford to purchase. Hitler awarded the contract to engineer Ferdinand Porsche, whose name (paradoxically) would forever be associated with high performance, expensive cars. The Beetle was the official name of the VW model released in North America, but it was usually referred to as a “Bug” here in the US, and a “Beetle” elsewhere in the world.

69 Onigiri wrapper : NORI

Onigiri is an item from Japanese cuisine, one often served in a bento box. It comprises white rice, usually formed into the shape of a pyramid or cylinder. The rice is wrapped in nori, dried edible seaweed.

72 Bohr model subjects : ATOMS

Niels Bohr and Ernest Rutherford introduced a model in which the atom comprised a small, positively charged nucleus around which traveled negatively-charged electrons. This model is often referred to as the Rutherford-Bohr model, or simply the Bohr model.

76 Silver salmon : COHO

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.

77 Cable cable, familiarly : COAX

Coaxial cable is designed to carry high frequency electrical signals, and is used in applications like cable television and broadband Internet networking. The use of coaxial cables dates way back, to the 1850s. The name “coaxial” refers to the two conductive parts of the cable, which share the same geometric axis. The inner conductive core is surrounded by an insulator, which in turn is surrounded by a relatively thin conducting shield. The whole assembly is covered with an external protective sheath.

79 Chef Boyardee concoction : BEEFARONI

The Chef Boyardee brand of canned food products was named after Ettore Boiardi who introduced the product line in the twenties. Boiardi was an Italian immigrant who owned an Italian restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. He started the line of canned recipes based on the demand for samples of his dishes from satisfied customers at his restaurant.

86 Slanted columns : OP-EDS

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

89 Many a Saudi native : ARAB

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country in the Middle East and is the world’s largest oil producer, home to the world’s largest oil reserves. The Saudi dynasty started in central Arabia in 1744 when the secular leader Muhammad ibn Saud joined forces with the Islamic scholar and Imam, Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. At the time, Saud was a ruler of a town near Riyadh and he was determined to bring “true” Islam to the Arabian peninsula. Since 1744 the fortunes of the Saudi family have risen and fallen, but it is that same family who rules what we know today as Saudi Arabia.

93 Southwestern people : APACHES

The Apache are a group of Native American peoples originally from the Southwest US. The Navajo are a separate but related people, through culture and language, and are often described as “Apachean”.

94 Negroni need : GIN

The negroni is a lovely cocktail, one that hails from Italy. A classic recipe calls for equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. According to legend, the drink was first made by bartender Fosco Scarselli at the request of Count Camillo Negroni, hence the name. The count wanted a stronger version of an Americano, and so Scarselli dropped the Americano’s soda water and replaced it with gin!

98 Many “Westworld” characters : ROBOTS

“Westworld” is a highly entertaining sci-fi thriller that was released in 1973. The film was written and directed by the great Michael Crichton and stars Yul Brynner. Brynner plays a rogue android in a Western-themed, futuristic theme park. Great stuff …

99 Builders of dome-shaped nests : WRENS

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests. Despite their small size, they are known for their loud and complex songs. Male wrens often sing to attract mates and to establish territory, They have been known to attack much larger birds that get too close to their nests.

105 Mozart’s “Così fan __” : TUTTE

Mozart’s comic opera “Così fan tutte” is also known in English as “The School for Lovers”. The literal translation of the opera’s Italian title is “Thus do all (women)”, or “Women are like that”.

106 Peony pest : APHID

Aphids are called “greenfly” back in Britain and Ireland where I come from. The most effective way to control aphids, in my experience, is to make sure there are plenty of ladybugs in the garden (called “ladybirds” in Ireland!).

The flowering plant called a peony is named for Paean, the mythical physician to the Greek gods. Indiana adopted the peony as its state flower in 1957.

107 __ pad : STENO

Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).

109 Stage honor : OBIE

The Obies are the Off-Broadway Theater Awards. They have been presented annually since 1956. The recipients used to be chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper, but now are jointly administered with the American Theatre Wing.

110 Chichén __: pyramid site : ITZA

The giant step-pyramid known as El Castillo at Chichen Itza is probably the most famous example of Mayan ceremonial architecture. Chichén Itzá is a Mayan ruin located in the Mexican state of Yucatán. It is the second-most visited archaeological site in the country (after the ancient city of Teotihuacan). Chichén Itzá has seen a surge in the number of visitors since the development of nearby Cancún as a tourist destination.

111 Grammy-winning album for Tyler, the Creator : IGOR

“Igor” is a 2019 studio album released by Tyler, the Creator. “Tyler, the Creator” is the stage name of rap singer Tyler Okonma.

114 Yoked bovines : OXEN

A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of animals so that they are forced to work together.

117 Scarf down : EAT

To snarf down is to gobble up, to eat voraciously. “Snarf” is a slang term that is probably related to “scarf”, which has the same meaning.

118 Hoppy quaff : ALE

“Quaff” is both a verb and a noun. One “quaffs” (takes a hearty drink) of a “quaff” (a hearty drink).

119 Eggy quaff : NOG

It’s not really clear where the term “nog” (as in “eggnog”) comes from although it might derive from the word “noggin”, which was originally a small wooden cup that was long associated with alcoholic drinks.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Beach community near Tourmaline Surfing Park : LA JOLLA
8 Bear claw or beaver tail : PASTRY
14 Hunk of granite : SLAB
18 Seething : AT A BOIL
19 Former first lady, familiarly : JACKIE O
20 Room : SPACE
21 Big name in health insurance associations : BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD (X = cross)
23 Foam art medium : LATTE
24 Lacking : SANS
25 Like many Etsy shops : ARTSY
26 Don’t change a thing! : I ADORE IT!
28 Mirror fogger : STEAM
31 Old Pontiac muscle car : GTO
32 Long time : EON
34 Tabloid twosome : ITEM
35 Quaint emporium : FIVE AND TEN CENT STORE (X = ten)
41 The Voice coach Gwen : STEFANI
45 Measles symptom : RED DOT
46 Pop star : IDOL
47 Preschool activity with crayons : COLOR BY NUMBER (X = by)
51 Bogus : NOT REAL
53 Big exporter of saffron : IRAN
54 Tart-tasting fruit : SLOE
55 Firewood protector : TARP
58 Nintendo princess : ZELDA
59 Sheet type : FITTED
62 Mmes., in Mérida : SRAS
64 Electronic control mechanisms, briefly : SERVOS
66 Base for some sashimi : ICE
67 Go it alone : STRIKE OUT ON ONE’S OWN (X = strike)
70 Actress Vardalos : NIA
73 Squanders : WASTES
74 Entwined : WOVE
75 Line that intersects a circle in two places : SECANT
77 Three-dimensional : CUBIC
80 61-Down follower : … TRES
82 Belgian surrealist Magritte : RENE
84 Hold __ your hat! : ONTO
85 Like pedi-showing shoes : OPEN-TOE
87 Hopeful expression after two failures : THIRD TIME’S A CHARM (X = times)
91 Lemon drinks : ADES
92 European capital known as the “City of a Hundred Spires” : PRAGUE
95 Melodic passages : ARIOSOS
96 Tony Award-winning musical based on a Manuel Puig novel : KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (X = kiss)
101 Like the Atacama Desert : ARID
102 __ port in a storm : ANY
103 Mork’s planet : ORK
104 Software test versions : BETAS
108 __ Files: long-running true-crime series : FORENSIC
111 Structural girder : I-BEAM
113 __ snuff : UP TO
115 WWII sub : U-BOAT
116 Irving Stone novel about Michelangelo : THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY (X = ecstasy)
121 Where Ducks and Penguins play? : RINKS
122 Diehards : ZEALOTS
123 Same old same old : ROUTINE
124 Garlands of okika or pikake : LEIS
125 Star-shaped bloomers : ASTERS
126 Prodded : EGGED ON

Down

1 Culture centers? : LABS
2 Book replaced by GPS : ATLAS
3 Short excursion : JAUNT
4 Like Nero Wolfe : OBESE
5 Cured salmon : LOX
6 Ad follower : LIB
7 Penne __ vodka : ALLA
8 Turn down : PASS ON
9 Heading for the whirlpool, say : ACHY
10 Enjoy Stowe : SKI
11 Knotted accessory : TIE
12 Repaired, as car brakes : RELINED
13 Jedi who said, “Always in motion is the future” : YODA
14 Extras in trunks : SPARE TIRES
15 Newer, as an automobile : LATE MODEL
16 When Alexander meets Eliza, in “Hamilton” : ACT I
17 Borscht base : BEET
19 Passat alternative : JETTA
20 Roulette wheel components : SLOTS
22 Craving : URGE
27 Same for me! : DITTO
29 Many miles off : AFAR
30 Cable series about an erotic magazine for women : MINX
32 Put forth, as energy : EXERT
33 Med. condition portrayed on “Monk” : OCD
36 French wines : VINS
37 Beats by __ : DRE
38 Amateur : NON-PRO
39 Map line : ROAD
40 Spanish “she” : ELLA
41 Hugo Award genre : SCI-FI
42 Cheerio-shaped : TORIC
43 Make happy : ELATE
44 Arial, for one : FONT
48 Belfast’s province : ULSTER
49 Despondent : MOROSE
50 Ivy and __: kid-lit series by Annie Barrows : BEAN
52 Breakout area, to dermatologists : T-ZONE
56 Yours alternative : AS EVER
57 Deal with an email error message, maybe : RESEND
60 On the money : EXACT
61 80-Across preceder : DOS …
63 Farm noun or verb : SOW
65 19-Down and others, briefly : VWS
68 Speaks : UTTERS
69 Onigiri wrapper : NORI
70 Grannies : NANAS
71 Prologue : INTRO
72 Bohr model subjects : ATOMS
73 Series of successes : WIN STREAKS
76 Silver salmon : COHO
77 Cable cable, familiarly : COAX
78 Off-the-neck hairstyle : UPDO
79 Chef Boyardee concoction : BEEFARONI
81 Prepare for an 83-Down, say : STUDY
83 Apt rhyme for “cram” : EXAM
86 Slanted columns : OP-EDS
88 Laugh half : -HEE
89 Many a Saudi native : ARAB
90 French film : CINE
93 Southwestern people : APACHES
94 Negroni need : GIN
97 Help for those at sea : HINTS
98 Many “Westworld” characters : ROBOTS
99 Builders of dome-shaped nests : WRENS
100 Works for me! : OKAY!
105 Mozart’s “Così fan __” : TUTTE
106 Peony pest : APHID
107 __ pad : STENO
108 Roll up : FURL
109 Stage honor : OBIE
110 Chichén __: pyramid site : ITZA
111 Grammy-winning album for Tyler, the Creator : IGOR
112 Female horse : MARE
114 Yoked bovines : OXEN
117 Scarf down : EAT
118 Hoppy quaff : ALE
119 Eggy quaff : NOG
120 Sought buried treasure, perhaps : DUG