LA Times Crossword 31 Mar 19, Sunday

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Constructed by: Ed Sessa
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: Pardon My Yiddish

Themed answers are common phrases in which the start has been replaced by a similar-sounding Yiddish word:

• 23A Bar mitzvah celebratory drink? : MAZELTOV COCKTAIL (from “Molotov cocktail”)
• 36A Incompetent drivers? : SCHLEMIELS ON WHEELS (from “meals on wheels”)
• 50A Where decent people buy decent clothes at honest prices? : MENSCH STORE (from “men’s store”)
• 66A Cream cheese promotion? : SCHMEAR CAMPAIGN (from “smear campaign”)
• 84A Trash-talking broadcaster? : SCHLOCK JOCK (from “shock jock”)
• 93A Trudged through a nudist camp? : SCHLEPPED IN THE BUFF (from “slept in the buff”)
• 115A Disaster for a figure skater? : KLUTZ PERFORMANCE (from “clutch performance”)

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

Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment

Bill’s time: 15m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Dalí contemporary : ARP

Jean Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. Arp was sent home …

14 Corp. bigwigs : CFOS

A chief financial officer (CFO) might have a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.

18 Raspy-voiced Cooper : ALICE

Outrageous rock singer Alice Cooper’s real name is Vincent Furnier. “Alice Cooper” was originally the name of the band that Furnier fronted, but he adopted the name as his own when he started his solo career in 1975. Outside the recording studio, Cooper is an exceptional golfer. He has stated that golf was a great help to him as he overcame addiction to drugs and alcohol.

21 Evergreen bean : CACAO

The flowers of the cacao tree grow in clusters, directly on the trunk and on older branches. The pollinated flowers turn into ovoid cacao pods, each of which contain 20-60 seeds or beans. The seeds are used as the main ingredient in chocolate.

23 Bar mitzvah celebratory drink? : MAZEL TOV COCKTAIL (from “Molotov cocktail”)

“Tov” is the Hebrew word for “good”, as in “mazel tov” meaning “good luck”.

Vyacheslav Molotov was a prominent Soviet politician and protégé of Joseph Stalin. During the Winter War of WWII, between the Soviet Union and Finland, Molotov claimed in radio broadcasts that Finland was not being bombed, but rather that the Soviet Union was dropping food to relieve famine. With a sense of irony, the Finns started to call the Soviet bombs “Molotov bread baskets”. The Finns also improvised incendiary bombs using bottles and a gasoline-based fuel, and called these devices “Molotov cocktails”, a name that persists to this day.

A Jewish girl becomes a Bat Mitzvah at 12 years of age, the age at which she becomes responsible for her actions. Boys become Bar Mitzvahs at 13. The terms translate into English as daughter and son of the commandments.

26 “Roots” author Haley : ALEX

Not only did Alex Haley author the magnificent novel “Roots”, he was also the collaborator with Malcolm X on “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”. His 1976 novel “Roots” is based on Haley’s own family history, and he claimed to be a direct descendant of the real life Kunta Kinte, the slave who was kidnapped in the Gambia in 1767. If you remember the original television adaptation of “Roots”, you might recall that Kunta Kinte was played by LeVar Burton, who later went on to play another famous role, Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: the Next Generation”.

27 Current gauge : AMMETER

An ammeter measures electrical current. The term “ammeter” comes from “ampere meter”).

29 Jed Clampett, for one : HILLBILLY

Jed Clampett was played by Buddy Ebsen in “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

31 Sault Ste. Marie’s __ Locks : SOO

In the summer of 2010, I spent a very interesting afternoon watching ships make their way through the Soo Locks and Soo Canals between Lake Superior and the lower Great lakes. The name “Soo” comes from the US and Canadian cities on either side of the locks, both called Sault Ste. Marie.

33 Ring ruling : TKO

Technical knockout (TKO)

35 Two in a canoe : OARS

The boat know as a canoe takes its name from the Carib word “kenu” meaning “dugout”. It was Christopher Columbus who brought “kenu” into Spanish as “canoa”, which evolved into our English “canoe”.

36 Incompetent drivers? : SCHLEMIELS ON WHEELS (from “meals on wheels”)

A schlemiel is an awkward and clumsy person. “Shlemiel” is the Yiddish for “bungler”, with the term coming from the German story “The Wonderful History of Peter Schlemihl”, published in 1813.

44 Seaweed product : AGAR

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

47 Howard of old comedy films : MOE

“Moe Howard” was the stage name of Moses Harry Horwitz. Howard was one of the Three Stooges. In 1925, he married Helen Schonberger, who was a cousin of Harry Houdini.

48 Hereditary ruler : DYNAST

A “dynast” is someone who rules by virtue of heredity.

49 Thumbs-up letters : A-OK

Our term “A-OK” is supposedly an abbreviation for “A(ll systems are) OK”, and arose in the sixties during the Space Program.

50 Where decent people buy decent clothes at honest prices? : MENSCH STORE (from “men’s store”)

“Mensch” is a word that comes to us via Yiddish, and is ultimately derived from the German “mensch” meaning “human being”. We use the term to describe someone of integrity and honor.

56 Light sparkling wine : ASTI

Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a “poor man’s champagne”. The “Spumante” was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.

59 Collectible print, briefly : LITHO

Lithography is a printing technique that was invented in 1796 as a cheap way to publish theatrical works. In the litho process the image is drawn on a metal plate, although originally it was drawn on a stone (hence the prefix “litho-“). The image is drawn in such a way that some regions of the plate repel ink, and then when paper is applied to the plate, those areas are ink-free. A “lithograph” is a print that is made using the technique, and is often a reproduction of a work of art.

62 Stranger things : EXOTICA

The word “exotic” means “belonging to another country”, and is derived from the Greek “exo-” meaning “outside”. Exotica are things that are excitingly strange, often from foreign parts.

64 Officer Kalakaua’s group, familiarly : FIVE-O

Officer Kono Kalakaua is a character on the TV show “Hawaii Five-0” who is played by American/Canadian actress Grace Park. Park left the show along with co-star Daniel Dae Kim following a salary dispute.

65 Rainforest vine : LIANA

Liana (also “liane”) is a vine that generally grows in moist areas such as rain forests. Lianas grow using the trees in the forest as structural support. My bet is that Tarzan swung from tree to tree on liana vines …

66 Cream cheese promotion? : SCHMEAR CAMPAIGN (from “smear campaign”)

The word “schmear” comes from the Yiddish word “shmir” meaning “spread”. The phrase “the whole schmear” is a relatively recent one, dating back to around 1969 and coming from the world of business.

79 Gumbo thickeners : OKRAS

Gumbo is a type of stew or soup that originated in Louisiana. The primary ingredient can be meat or fish, but to be true gumbo it must include the “holy trinity” of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers and onion. Okra used to be a requirement but this is no longer the case. Okra gave the dish its name as the vernacular word for the African vegetable is “okingumbo”, from the Bantu language spoken by many of the slaves brought to America.

81 Label for some Elton John albums : MCA

“Elton John” is the stage name of English singer and pianist Reginald Dwight. John is an avid football (soccer) supporter, and is especially enthusiastic about Watford Football Club, which was his local team growing up. After he achieved financial success, John was able to purchase Watford FC, and owned the club from 1976 to 1987, and again from 1997 until 2002.

82 Son of Seth : ENOS

Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve. According to the ancient Jewish work called the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his own sister Noam.

83 Web address letters : URL

An Internet address (like NYXCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) is more correctly called a Uniform Resource Locators (URL).

84 Trash-talking broadcaster? : SCHLOCK JOCK (from “shock jock”)

Schlock is trash, something shoddy. The term “schlock” comes from the American Yiddish word “shlak”, with the same meaning.

A shock jock is a radio personality uses humor that is likely to offend much of the audience, and/or who expresses exaggerated opinions designed to generate a heated reaction. The list of broadcasters who have been labelled “shock jocks” includes Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, and Don Imus. Not a fan …

91 Joey’s mom : DOE

In Australia, male kangaroos are known by several names including bucks, boomers, jacks or old men. Females are called does, flyers, or jills. There seems to be just the one name for young kangaroos, i.e. joeys. A group of kangaroos might be called a mob, troop or court.

93 Trudged through a nudist camp? : SCHLEPPED IN THE BUFF (from “slept in the buff”)

Our word “schlep” means “carry, drag”. “Schlep” comes from Yiddish, with “shlepen” having the same meaning.

Buffe leather was commonly used in the 1500s, leather taken from the original buffalo, a type of ox. This concept of “buffe” as a hide or skin led to the phrase “in the buff”, meaning “in the nude”.

99 Sport with mallets : POLO

The sport of polo originated in Iran, possibly before the 5th century BC. Polo was used back them primarily as a training exercise for cavalry units.

101 Blood classification letters : ABO

Here is an approximate distribution of blood types across the US population:

• O-positive: 38 percent
• O-negative: 7 percent
• A-positive: 34 percent
• A-negative: 6 percent
• B-positive: 9 percent
• B-negative: 2 percent
• AB-positive: 3 percent
• AB-negative: 1 percent

102 Tubular pasta, for short : MAC

In many cases, the name given to a type of pasta comes from its shape. However, the name macaroni comes from the type of dough used to make the noodle. Here in the US, macaroni is usually elbow-shaped tubes, but it doesn’t have to be.

112 Sufi Muslim ascetic : DERVISH

In the Muslim tradition, the dervishes are members of a Sufi fraternity. The term “dervish” is often used specifically to refer to members of that fraternity who choose an ascetic lifestyle. The Western term “whirling dervish” describes a member of the Mevlevi Order, a Sufi order in Turkey. The “whirling” adjective is a reference to the whirling dance that serves as a physically active meditation.

114 Bull’s partner, in a story? : COCK

A cock and bull story is a tale that is fanciful and unbelievable. There are several etymologies floated for the phrase “cock and bull story”. One is that they described fabulous tales related in two coaching inns called “The Cock and Bull” located in Buckinghamshire, England. Another is that the reference is to tales about magical cocks and bulls. Take your pick …

115 Disaster for a figure skater? : KLUTZ PERFORMANCE (from “clutch performance”)

A klutz is an awkward individual, with the term “klutz” coming from Yiddish. The Yiddish word for a clumsy person is “klots”.

118 Musical diner fixture, for short : JUKE

Although coin-operated music players had been around for decades, the term “jukebox” wasn’t used until about 1940. “Jukebox” derives from a Gullah word, the language of African Americans living in the coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia. In Gullah, a “juke joint”, from “juke” or “joog” meaning “rowdy, wicked”, was an informal establishment where African Americans would gather and for some music, dancing, gambling and drinking. The coin-operated music players became known as “jukeboxes”.

119 Like Poe pieces : EERIE

Edgar Allan Poe (EAP) lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.

123 __ Haute : TERRE

Terre Haute, Indiana is a city close to the state’s western border with Illinois. The city is home to a state prison which in turn is home to the state’s death row. The name “Terre Haute” was chosen by French explorers in the 18th century to describe the location, as “terre haute” is French for “high ground”.

124 Letters on a Sun Bum container : SPF

In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

Down

2 Legendary mission : ALAMO

The famous Alamo in San Antonio, Texas was originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero. The mission was founded in 1718 and was the first mission established in the city. The Battle of the Alamo took place in 1836, a thirteen-day siege by the Mexican Army led by President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Only two people defending the Alamo Mission survived the onslaught. One month later, the Texian army got its revenge by attacking and defeating the Mexican Army in the Battle of San Jacinto. During the surprise attack on Santa Anna’s camp, many of the Texian soldiers were heard to cry “Remember the Alamo!”.

3 Rube Goldberg device, e.g. : GIZMO

The word “gizmo” (also “gismo”), meaning something the name of which is unknown or forgotten, was originally slang used by both the US Navy and the Marine Corps. The exact origin seems unknown.

Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist, engineer and inventor who became famous for designing overly-complicated gadgets to perform the simplest of tasks. Goldberg produced a famous series of cartoons depicting such designs. Such was the success of his work, the Merriam-Webster dictionary accepted the phrase “Rube Goldberg” as an adjective in 1931, an adjective meaning “accomplishing something simple through complicated means”.

4 Brand written in frosty letters : ICEE

Slush Puppie and ICEE are brands of frozen, slushy drinks. Ostensibly competing brands, ICEE company now owns the Slush Puppie brand.

5 Irish musical ensemble __ Woman : CELTIC

Celtic Woman is a musical group consisting of five Irish singers, one of whom plays the fiddle. The actual lineup of performers has changed over the years. The group was pulled together to cash in on the success of stage shows like “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance”, as well as the international reputation of female Irish singers such as Enya and Moya Brennan.

7 Short spin? : REV

Revolution (rev.)

8 D.C. fundraisers : PACS

A political action committee (PAC) is a private group that works to influence the outcome of a particular election or group of elections. Any group becomes a PAC by law when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election. In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that PACS that did not make direct contributions to candidates or parties could accept unlimited contributions. These “independent, expenditure-only committees” are commonly referred to as “super PACs”.

11 Smoothie berry : ACAI

Açaí (pronounced “ass-aye-ee”) is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.

14 Danes of “Homeland” : CLAIRE

Claire Danes is an actress from New York City who played the title role in the HBO movie “Temple Grandin”. More recently, she has been starring as Carrie Mathison in the excellent Showtime drama series “Homeland”.

“Homeland” is a psychological drama on Showtime about a CIA officer who is convinced that a certain US Marine is a threat to the security of the United States. The show is based on a series from Israeli television called “Hatufim” (Prisoners of War”). I saw the first season of this show and highly recommend it …

16 Like Nash’s lama : ONE-L

The poet Ogden Nash is well known for his light and humorous verse. Try this one for size:

The one-L lama,
He’s a priest.
The two-L llama,
He’s a beast.
And I would bet
A silk pajama
There isn’t any
Three-L lllama.

24 “A Deeper Faith” musician : TESH

John Tesh is a pianist and composer, as well as a radio and television presenter. For many years Tesh presented the show “Entertainment Tonight”. For “ET” he once covered the filming of an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. As part of the piece, he volunteered to act as a Klingon warrior. If you see the “Star Trek: TNG” episode called “The Icarus Factor” in reruns, watch out for John Tesh engaging in ritual torture with Mr. Worf as his victim.

30 Thai currency : BAHT

The baht is the currency of Thailand, and is subdivided into 100 satang.

37 Ambulance pros : EMTS

Emergency medical technician (EMT)

38 Of no consequence : MOOT

To moot is to bring up as a subject for discussion or debate. So, something that is moot is open to debate. Something that is no longer moot, is no longer worth debating. We don’t seem to be able get that right, which drives me crazy …

41 Warsaw Pact counterpart : NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an international military alliance that was established in 1949. NATO headquarters was initially set up in London, moved to Paris in 1952, and then to Brussels 1967.

The full title of the Warsaw pact was the Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. The Soviet Union was behind the signing of the 1955 treaty, and the signatories were:

• Bulgaria
• Czechoslovakia
• East Germany
• Hungary
• Poland
• Romania
• Soviet Union
• Albania

45 Millennials’ folks : GEN-X

The Millennial Generation are sometimes referred to as “Generation Y” (Gen-Y). Millennials were born after the “Gen-Xers”, from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

51 Peepers : CHICKS

Baby chickens go “peep!”

52 Anne of 1998’s “Psycho” : HECHE

My favorite movie starring the actress Anne Heche is “Six Days Seven Nights”, a romantic comedy in which she plays opposite Harrison Ford. Heche is noted for her difficult private life. She wrote that her father had molested her as a child and gave her a sexually transmitted disease (he later revealed that he was homosexual, and died of AIDS). Heche dated comedian Steve Martin for two years, and then lived with comedian Ellen DeGeneres for three. Soon after breaking up with DeGeneres, she started exhibiting eccentric behavior for a while, claiming that she was the daughter of God, and that she would take everyone back to heaven in her spaceship. Happily, I think things have calmed down for her in recent years.

The original “Psycho” film from 1960 was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starred Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. “Psycho” was remade in 1998. The remake was directed by Gus Van Sant and starred Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche.

53 “The King and I” kingdom : SIAM

Siam was the official name of Thailand up to 1939 (and again from 1945 to 1949).

“The King and I” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on a book by Margaret Landon called “Anna and the King of Siam” first published in 1944. Landon’s book is based on a true story, told in the memoirs of Anna Leonowens. Leonowens was the governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s, and she also taught the king’s wives.

56 Arkin and Menken : ALANS

The actor Alan Arkin won his only Oscar (Best Supporting Actor) for his role in “Little Miss Sunshine” from 2006, a movie that I just did not understand …

Alan Menken is a composer from New York City who is best known for scores he produced for Disney movies. Menken won Oscars for the scores for “The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin” and “Pocahontas”.

60 “Terrible” despot : IVAN

The Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan IV became known as “Ivan the Terrible”. The name “terrible” is a translation from Russian, and perhaps creates the wrong impression about the man. The Russian word is “Grozny”, which is more akin to “strict” and “powerful” rather than “cruel” or “abominable”.

65 Fragrant shrub : LILAC

The ornamental flowering plant known as lilac is native to the Balkans, and is a member of the olive family.

69 Jimi Hendrix do : AFRO

Many of his contemporaries regarded Jimi Hendrix as the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music. Hendrix was from Seattle and didn’t really have a really stellar start to his working life. He failed to finish high school and fell foul of the law by getting caught in stolen cars, twice. The courts gave him the option of the army or two years in prison. Hendrix chose the former and soon found himself in the famous 101st Airborne. In the army, his less-than-disciplined ways helped him (as he would have seen it) because his superiors successfully petitioned to get him discharged after serving only one year of his two-year requirement, just to get him out of their hair.

70 Drive-in with skating carhops : SONIC

SONIC Drive-In is a fast-food restaurant chain that is noted for its carhops who serve patrons on roller skates. SONIC was founded in Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1953 as Top Hat Drive-In. The restaurant introduced curbside speakers to hasten the ordering process. This led to the adoption of the slogan “Service at the Speed of Sound”, and renaming of the chain to SONIC.

74 Med. group options : HMOS

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

75 Behold, to Pilate : ECCE

Pontius Pilate was the judge at the trial of Jesus Christ and the man who authorized his crucifixion. Over the years, many scholars have suggested that Pilate was a mythical character. However, a block of limestone was found in 1961 in the modern-day city of Caesarea in Israel, and in the block was an inscription that included the name of Pontius Pilate, citing him as Prefect of Judea.

77 Red fox holes : DENS

The red fox is one of the most common species of true fox, and is found right across the Northern Hemisphere. There is a domesticated red fox that has been selectively bred in Russia since 1959. There are about 2,000 tame red foxes, with most raised on an experimental farm.

80 Swiss painter Paul : KLEE

The artist Paul Klee was born in Switzerland, but studied art in Munich in Germany. You can see many of Klee’s works in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. If you get to Bern in Switzerland, even more of them can be seen at the Zentrum Paul Klee that was opened in 2005. Klee’s most celebrated work is his pointillist painting from 1932 called “Ad Parnassum”, which is owned by the Kunstmuseum, also located in Bern.

85 Jewel case storage unit : CD TOWER

It seems that the derivation of the term “jewel case” (CD box) is unclear. One suggestion is that initial prototypes weren’t very successful, so when a workable design was found it was dubbed the “jewel” case.

86 Peter Pan rival : JIF

Jif is the leading brand of peanut butter in the US, and has been since 1981. Introduced in 1958, Jif is now produced by Smuckers.

88 Editor’s mark : DELE

“Dele” is the editorial instruction to delete something from a document, and is often written in red.

89 “… __ full of rye” : A POCKET

“Sing a Song of Sixpence” is an English nursery rhyme that dates back to the 1700s. In the rhyme there are a couple of lines that have always intrigued me:

Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie

This seems to be a reference to the practice in the 16th century of “baking” live birds into a pie for special occasions. When the crust was cut open the birds would fly away, much to the amusement of the diners.

95 Type of tide : NEAP

Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

97 It dropped “Cab” from its name in 2011 : UBER

Transportation network company Uber was founded in 2009 as “UberCab”. The company name was changed to “Uber” in 2011. The name change was largely driven by complaints from taxi operators in San Francisco.

103 Tied accessory : ASCOT

An Ascot is a horrible-looking (I think!), wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

104 Game with a mate : CHESS

In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

105 ’80s IBM flop nicknamed “Peanut” : PCJR

The IBM PC entered the personal computer market in 1981, and was by all accounts a surprising success, even to many IBM executives. The PC was directed at the business world, and in 1983 IBM made its first foray into the home computing world with the introduction of the PCjr. Codenamed “Peanut” during development, the PCjr has been described as one of the biggest commercial flops in computing history. Various reasons have been cited for the failure, including the poorly-designed keyboard, relatively high price and lack of compatibility with existing IBM products.

106 Don Juan : ROUE

“Roue” is a lovely word, I think, one used to describe a less than lovely man, someone of loose morals. “Roue” comes from the French word “rouer” meaning “to break on a wheel”. This describes the ancient form of capital punishment where a poor soul was lashed to a wheel and then beaten to death with cudgels and bars. I guess the suggestion is that a roue, with his loose morals, deserves such a punishment.

Don Juan is a flighty character who has been featured by a number of authors, poets and composers, including Molière, Byron, and Mozart. In the underlying legend, Don Juan ends up talking to the statue of the dead father of one of his conquests. Don Juan dines with the ghost of the dead man and when shaking the hand of the ghost he is dragged away to hell. We now use the term “Don Juan” to describe any womanizer or ladies’ man.

107 Mariner’s direction : ALEE

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather.

108 Sound from a lynx’s larynx : PURR

The voice box or larynx is where pitch and volume of sound are manipulated when we talk. The structure called the Adam’s apple that protrudes from the human neck is formed by the thyroid cartilage that surrounds the larynx. The Adam’s apple of males tends to increase in size during puberty, so the feature tended to be associated more with males in days gone by, perhaps leading to the name “Adam’s” apple. A doctor specializing in treating the larynx is a laryngologist.

The lynx is a wild cat, of which there are four species. These are:

• The Eurasian lynx: the biggest of the four species.
• The Canada lynx: well-adapted to life in cold environments.
• The Iberian lynx: a native of the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and the most endangered cat species in the world.
• The bobcat: our North American wildcat, the smallest of the four lynxes

111 God with a bow : EROS

The name of “Eros”, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word “erotic” meaning “arousing sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as both Amor (meaning “love”) and Cupid (meaning “desire”).

116 Slice of pizza? : ZEE

A “slice” of the word “pizza” might contain the letter Z (zee).

117 Dandy : FOP

A dandy is a man who is overly fastidious with regard to his personal appearance. There’s a suggestion that the term originated in Scotland, where “Dandy” is a diminutive of the name “Andrew”. Back in the early 1800s, when the use of “dandy” was at its height, the female equivalent was a dandizette.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Tricks that treat : MAGIC
6 Dalí contemporary : ARP
9 Shame : ABASH
14 Corp. bigwigs : CFOS
18 Raspy-voiced Cooper : ALICE
19 Protein provider : MEAT
21 Evergreen bean : CACAO
22 Road division : LANE
23 Bar mitzvah celebratory drink? : MAZEL TOV COCKTAIL (from “Molotov cocktail”)
26 “Roots” author Haley : ALEX
27 Current gauge : AMMETER
28 Body wrap venue : SPA
29 Jed Clampett, for one : HILLBILLY
31 Sault Ste. Marie’s __ Locks : SOO
32 “That __ fact!” : IS A
33 Ring ruling : TKO
35 Two in a canoe : OARS
36 Incompetent drivers? : SCHLEMIELS ON WHEELS (from “meals on wheels”)
44 Seaweed product : AGAR
47 Howard of old comedy films : MOE
48 Hereditary ruler : DYNAST
49 Thumbs-up letters : A-OK
50 Where decent people buy decent clothes at honest prices? : MENSCH STORE (from “men’s store”)
55 Lay idle : SAT
56 Light sparkling wine : ASTI
57 Lodging with a “keeper” : INN
58 Bank job : HEIST
59 Collectible print, briefly : LITHO
61 Dark marks : BLOTS
62 Stranger things : EXOTICA
64 Officer Kalakaua’s group, familiarly : FIVE-O
65 Rainforest vine : LIANA
66 Cream cheese promotion? : SCHMEAR CAMPAIGN (from “smear campaign”)
70 Sapling support : STAKE
72 Coordinate (with) : TIE IN
73 Traffic warning signal : FLASHER
77 Means of access : DOORS
78 Trouble from all sides : BESET
79 Gumbo thickeners : OKRAS
81 Label for some Elton John albums : MCA
82 Son of Seth : ENOS
83 Web address letters : URL
84 Trash-talking broadcaster? : SCHLOCK JOCK (from “shock jock”)
87 Pickable point : NIT
88 Confounded : DARNED
91 Joey’s mom : DOE
92 “Gotcha” : I SEE
93 Trudged through a nudist camp? : SCHLEPPED IN THE BUFF (from “slept in the buff”)
99 Sport with mallets : POLO
100 Metric introduction? : GEO-
101 Blood classification letters : ABO
102 Tubular pasta, for short : MAC
105 U.K. utility cost limitations : PRICE CAPS
110 Blow away : AWE
112 Sufi Muslim ascetic : DERVISH
114 Bull’s partner, in a story? : COCK
115 Disaster for a figure skater? : KLUTZ PERFORMANCE (from “clutch performance”)
118 Musical diner fixture, for short : JUKE
119 Like Poe pieces : EERIE
120 It ends at the gutter : ROOF
121 Choir voices : ALTOS
122 Nap : REST
123 __ Haute : TERRE
124 Letters on a Sun Bum container : SPF
125 Scientific methods : TESTS

Down

1 Some baby rockers : MAMAS
2 Legendary mission : ALAMO
3 Rube Goldberg device, e.g. : GIZMO
4 Brand written in frosty letters : ICEE
5 Irish musical ensemble __ Woman : CELTIC
6 Unprincipled : AMORAL
7 Short spin? : REV
8 D.C. fundraisers : PACS
9 “That’s awful!” : ACK!
10 Whole or half home unit : BATH
11 Smoothie berry : ACAI
12 Wind catcher : SAIL
13 Valleys : HOLLOWS
14 Danes of “Homeland” : CLAIRE
15 When many TV shows debut : FALL SEASON
16 Like Nash’s lama : ONE-L
17 Steamy : SEXY
20 Of the highest quality : TOP TIER
24 “A Deeper Faith” musician : TESH
25 It’s iced and sliced : CAKE
30 Thai currency : BAHT
34 Overused, jokewise : OLD
36 Yearbook gp. : SRS
37 Ambulance pros : EMTS
38 Of no consequence : MOOT
39 Bettor’s strategy : SYSTEM
40 After one bounce, in baseball lingo : ON A HOP
41 Warsaw Pact counterpart : NATO
42 Host of, in slang : LOTTA
43 Slope gear : SKIS
44 François’s friend : AMIE
45 Millennials’ folks : GEN-X
46 A year in Caesar’s time : ANNO
51 Peepers : CHICKS
52 Anne of 1998’s “Psycho” : HECHE
53 “The King and I” kingdom : SIAM
54 Brings out : ELICITS
56 Arkin and Menken : ALANS
60 “Terrible” despot : IVAN
61 No small favor : BIG ASK
63 60-Down et al. : TSARS
64 Given away : FREE
65 Fragrant shrub : LILAC
67 Endless, in verse : ETERNE
68 Organized like big stores : AISLED
69 Jimi Hendrix do : AFRO
70 Drive-in with skating carhops : SONIC
71 Sticks with the Swedish meatballs : TOOTHPICKS
74 Med. group options : HMOS
75 Behold, to Pilate : ECCE
76 Dirt smoother : RAKE
77 Red fox holes : DENS
78 Possible result of swallowing air : BURP
79 “Didn’t expect that” : OH-OH
80 Swiss painter Paul : KLEE
85 Jewel case storage unit : CD TOWER
86 Peter Pan rival : JIF
88 Editor’s mark : DELE
89 “… __ full of rye” : A POCKET
90 Archaeological site : DIG
94 Tiny portrait holder : LOCKET
95 Type of tide : NEAP
96 In money trouble, say : BAD OFF
97 It dropped “Cab” from its name in 2011 : UBER
98 Document details : FORMAT
102 Diner freebies : MINTS
103 Tied accessory : ASCOT
104 Game with a mate : CHESS
105 ’80s IBM flop nicknamed “Peanut” : PCJR
106 Don Juan : ROUE
107 Mariner’s direction : ALEE
108 Sound from a lynx’s larynx : PURR
109 To-do : STIR
111 God with a bow : EROS
113 Poetic lowland : VALE
116 Slice of pizza? : ZEE
117 Dandy : FOP

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