Friday, December 13, 2019 Victor Barocas

Time to Trim That Tree !

17. "O Tannenbaum" and others?: PINE NUMBERS.   Pin Numbers.   I mostly use four of them, all between 0 and 9.  Seems like too few possibilities.   

24. One trying to photograph a partridge during the holidays?: PEAR SHOOTER.   Pea shooter.   So quaint.  Wish it were now.

38. Muchacho working with wood?: ELM NINO.   El Nino.  Perfect clue / answer agreement with Muchacho / El Nino.

50. Boob tube yule log residue?: ASH SEEN ON TV.   That's just funny !  One channel airs continuous loops of "It's a Wonderful Life", another of "A Christmas Story", and another of "The Yule Log" from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day.  A television tradition.

60. Do some holiday decorating ... and what you need to do to four puzzle answers to produce familiar phrases?: TRIM THE TREE.

The Pine, Pear, Elm and Ash trees all need to drop a letter in Victor's imaginative creation, rather than the now more commonly accepted meaning of "trimming a tree",  as in adorning.

More commonly accepted of course, unless you are old-school and still relish in the final pruning of the tree you and your family have just hewn from the local Christmas tree farm. 

Across:

1. Innocents: LAMBs.

6. Uncool crime?: ARSON.    Literally and figuratively.

11. "That cracks me up!": LOL.  Laugh Out Loud

14. Video game giant: ATARI.   Early successes were Pong,  Asteroids and Missile Command.

15. Old-school: RETRO.

16. Leave breathless: AWE.

19. Resting place: INN.

20. Meal in a pot: STEW.

21. Meal in a pot: SOUP.   Loved the consecutive clue duplication.

22. Styx home: HADES.   They're not from Hades.  They are from Chicago.   You may not recognize their name, but you would most likely remember so many of their hit songs from the '70s and '80s.

27. Submerge: ENGULF.

30. Multilevel marketing giant: AMWAY.   "Multilevel marketing" just seems to reek of a pyramid scheme to me.  Caution flags go up. 

31. Most Belgraders: SERBs.  Belgrade, Serbia.

32. Playing with a full deck: SANE. 

34. Free game version, perhaps: DEMO.

37. This answer's consonant count, aptly: TWO.   Creative clue.

41. Title for Jagger: SIR.   Mick Jagger. 

42. NRA member?: ASSN.    National Rifle Association

44. Actress Skye: IONE.   Her father was Donovan, perhaps best known for mid '60s pop hits  Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow. 

45. Barely leading: UP ONE.

47. Lacrosse need: STICK.   La crosse is of French Canadian origin.  It literally means crooked stick.

49. Finds exciting: IS IN TO.
 
53. Fail to match: CLASH.     Like plaid pants and a striped shirt.   Or, The Clash.  "The only band that matters."   An English band that you may recall from the song "Rock The Casbah" 

54. Air Force prog. that first admitted women in 1969: ROTC.   Reserve Officer Training Corps.

55. Sworn statement: OATH.

59. Like rappers Jon and Wayne: LIL.   Spotify now lists over 8,000 artists with “Lil’” or “Lil” at the beginning of their name. 

63. Monopoly abbr.: AVE.   Mediterranean Avenue, Baltic Avenue, Oriental Avenue, etc.

64. "Biography" channel: A AND E.

65. Toroidal bread: BAGEL.

66. Victorious shout: YES.

67. "Understood": ROGER.

68. Fair-haired: BLOND.

Down:

1. Track count: LAPs.

2. Fighting: AT IT.

3. Clydesdale feature: MANE.   Perhaps Clydesdale was chosen on the off chance that someone might not know of the famous horses.   But I would say that the most significant feature of the Clydesdale is their massive size.     In the area where I grew up,  there are various breeds of heavy horses still being used for farm labor, especially by the Amish and Mennonites.   We called them Pennsylvania draft horses or just draft horses,  regardless if they were Belgian, Percheron, or Clydesdale.

4. Craft beer server: BREW PUB.    Budweiser was hardly a craft beer when August Busch Jr. presented his father with the famous hitch and first case of beer after the repeal of Prohibition.  Busch Sr. saw the marketing potential and had the team sent by rail to NY and New England, delivering cases of beer to both Alfred E Smith and Franklin D Roosevelt.  The rest, as they say, is history.

5. Serious code-breaking?: SIN.

6. Strong suit: ARMOR.   The deck of cards clue had me thinking of card games.

7. Picture puzzle: REBUS. 

8. Zimbalist of "Remington Steele": STEPHANIE.    The show launched the career of Pierce Brosnan.      

9. Hockey legend: ORR.   Bobby.   His primary role on the ice was as a defenseman, but he twice led the NHL in scoring.  He scored the game winning goals in each of the two Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup victories in the early '70s.  He remains the only defenseman to have ever won the scoring title. 

10. Reason for an empty seat: NO SHOW.

11. Saw: LAID EYES ON.   Have you seen the Peloton  "The Gift That Gives Back" commercial ?   Struck me as cringe worthy.    I found it on YouTube and the comments were not favorable, and then comments were disabled as the story went viral. 

Then Ryan Reynolds hired her for a commercial for his Aviation Gin product.   In this take, she's having a different perspective after receiving a Peloton from her husband.  I love how her girlfriends are trying to figure out what to say and how to help her.  

12. "For sale by" sign poster: OWNER.    Obvious, but cute.   Gives me an idea for a practical joke to pull on a buddy.

13. Spyglass part: LENS.

18. Its Space Command has HQ in Colorado: USAF.  

23. Not much at all: A TAD.

25. Otherwise: ELSE.

26. Sign to interpret: OMEN.

27. Cuban pronoun: ESTA.   

28. Latest: NEWS.

29. Financial report line: GROSS SALES.

32. Caterpillar's exhalation in Disney's "Alice in Wonderland": SMOKE RING.   I didn't specifically remember.    Looked it up later.    The caterpillar was lazing on a mushroom and smoking from a hookah pipe.  

33. Andy's doll pal: ANN.   The Raggedy siblings.

35. 36-Down flavor: MINT.  

36. Classic cookie: OREO.    Anyone ever try a mint flavored Oreo ?

39. Tiny parasites: LICE.

40. Drive from power: OUST.

43. Unnamed degrees: NTHs.

46. Indispensable: PIVOTAL.

48. Fictional title country in a 1987 film: ISHTAR.   Roger Ebert said,  "It's not funny, it's not smart and it's interesting only in the way a traffic accident is interesting."  He gave it one star.

49. Foot fraction: INCH.   Foot fracture ?   You'll probably need the special boot.  Been there, done that.  

50. Still in the game: ALIVE. 

51. __ plume: NOM DE.   A pen name or pseudonym.

1. David John Moore Cornwell ?
2. Charles Dodgson ?
3. Eric Arthur Blair ?
4. Stanley Lieber ?
5. Samuel Clemens ?

52. River swimmer: OTTER.   Eric "Otter" Stratton became a successful Beverly Hills OB/GYN after leaving Farber. 

53. Art class medium: CLAY.

56. Ship to Colchis: ARGO.  Perps.

57. Many a gamer: TEEN.   Our language evolves.  Before video games and RPGs, # 2 was # 1.

1. 
   

   a person who plays video games or participates in role-playing games.
2. 
   

   North American (especially in sports) a person known for consistently making a strong effort.

       Similar to a gamer, calling a basketball player a baller is a compliment.

58. Kept: HELD. 

61. '90s Indian prime minister: RAO.   Perps.

62. Recede: EBB.    Reseed: Sow (again).

PSA - Speaking of the clue at 2D.  Fighting:

A flu shot is your best protection.

Check you answers here:

Monday September 3, 2018 Victor Barocas

Theme: CHANGE HANDS (61. Be sold, as property ... and a hint to each set of circled letters) - HANDS is scrambled in each theme entry.

17. Not in need of drying or ironing: WASH AND WEAR.

25. Gets settled: FINDS A HOME.

40. "I do not like them with a fox" Seuss poem: GREEN EGGS AND HAM.

50. "... What a Feeling" movie: FLASH DANCE.

Boomer here. Wishing all of you a safe and restful holiday. I never understood why they called it Labor Day and then 80% of our friends and neighbors get the day off work. A sad week saying farewell to Senator McCain. I was most impressed by the rendition of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" performed by the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club.  "His truth is marching on".

Across:

1. Laughing sounds: HAHAS.

6. Charged, bull-style: RAN AT.

11. Diagram of streets, highways, etc.: MAP.  Most people have one on their Smartphone.  I still have to go on the internet to see where I'm going.

14. Egg-shaped: OVATE.  Okay, if this is the shape of an egg, What is it called if you cheer for somebody?

15. Football venue: ARENA.  I am pretty sure a football venue is a Stadium.

16. In the style of: ALA.  Crimson Tide.

19. Unit of sunlight: RAY.  We have a Sun Ray Shopping Center with Sun Ray Bowling Center in the same area of Saint Paul.

20. Scottish monster, familiarly: NESSIE. I have heard of the Loch Ness monster, but I think he hates to be called Nessie.

21. Former name of the Congo: ZAIRE.  When I was a kid, I believe it was called the Belgian Congo. Then it was changed to Zaire and I think it hosted a Foreman Ali fight,  Now they have changed the name back.

23. "Let's do it!": C'MON.  When I bowled a tournament in Billings Montana, we stayed at the C'mon Inn.

28. Salary increase: RAISE.

30. Philosopher Descartes: RENE.

31. Put two and two together: ADD.

32. Turkish hospice: IMARET.  In this case, a hospice is like a hotel.

36. Org. with a "Speak Freely" blog: ACLU.  American Civil Liberties Union

43. Walrus cousin: SEAL. We were in San Francisco once near "Seal Rocks" and I bet we saw 100 or more seals relaxing near the shore of the Pacific.  Did not see a Walrus though.

44. Throws gently: TOSSES.  I am old so I roll my bowling ball gently.  But I don't toss it. (Because I am old).

45. Lawyer's gp.: ABA.

46. Cupcake finisher: ICER.  My first thought of an ICER is a Zamboni.

48. Productive city for van Gogh: ARLES.  "I could have told you, Vincent, this world was never made for one as beautiful as you."  "Starry Night" - Don McClean

56. 90-degree pipes: ELLS.  Not to be confused with Golfer Ernie.

57. French farewell: ADIEU.  I took two quarters of French in college.  Then I bid it Adieu.

58. Where most Russians live: EUROPE.

60. Cruise on-screen: TOM.  Can he handle the truth??

66. Large primate: APE.  And his name is Harry.

67. Divided Asian peninsula: KOREA.  Lots going on there recently.  Not too much of it any good.

68. Landlocked African country: NIGER.

69. Young fellow: LAD. Los Angeles Dodgers on the scoreboard.

70. Brewery supply: YEAST. An interesting product. I used it frequently when preparing pizza dough.  Not sure what it does for beer.  I am not a beer drinker.

71. Cookies commonly in cookies and cream ice cream: OREOS.  Cookie watch.  This is the 4,688th time that Oreo has appeared in a crossword.

Down:

1. Addendum to the five W's: HOW.  Who, What, Where, and Why is this the answer ?

2. "A Wrinkle in Time" director DuVernay: AVA. Gardner would be my first clue choice.

3. Is completely stumped: HAS NO IDEA.

4. Parthenon city: ATHENS.  It's Greek to me.

5. Wet septet: SEAS.  All seven of them are near Italy.

6. Wheel spokes, geometrically: RADII.

7. Aragorn's love, in Tolkien: ARWEN.  Played by Liv Tyler.

8. Formerly, in bridal bios: NEE.  The season is upon us!! Do not take a nee in an NFL game.

9. NHL's Ducks, on ESPN crawls: ANA.  Hockey in Southern California is questionable, but I can't believe the NHL put a team in Las Vegas.  A pretty good one too.  They almost took home the Stanley Cup.

10. Hero in a loincloth: TARZAN.  Jane's boyfriend

11. Video game plumber: MARIO.  I hate to admit how many hours I spent guiding Mario through mazes.  Now I just waste time on Candy Crush.

12. Antitheft device: ALARM.  This could be an American League pitcher.

13. Check recipient: PAYEE.

18. Bad check letters: NSF.

22. Trailing no one: AHEAD. Or maybe a coin flip.  Remember when Bill Cosby used a coin flip to describe the upcoming battle between Sitting Bull and Custer?

23. Rock outcroppings: CRAGS.

24. Niña's mother: MADRE.

26. Prom gown, e.g.: DRESS.

27. Bristles, to a biologist: SETAE.

29. A, in German class: EIN.  Actually, I think it's "One".  If you go to the gasthaus and order "Ein Bier" they will know what you want.

33. Doled (out): METED.  One for you, two for me.

34. Plato's marketplace: AGORA.  Greece's answer to the "Mall of America".

35. Some QB protectors: RGS.  These are Right Guards.  In retail they are "Returned Goods".

37. Dare: CHALLENGE.

38. Clotheshorse's concern: LABEL.  In baseball we used to call the "Louisville Slugger" trademark the label.  Keep it facing up or you might break the bat.

39. Amherst sch.: UMASS. Interesting how these abbreviations develop.  The University of Minnesota is frequently referred to as the "U of M" not UMINN.

41. Beethoven's "Für __": ELISE.

42. Org. chronicled in "The Puzzle Palace": NSA.

47. Killer doll in "Child's Play": CHUCKY.  This guy spoiled the lives of a lot of guys named Charles.

49. Fix: REPAIR.

50. Lethal: FATAL. Michael Douglas' Attraction

51. Parkinson's drug: L-DOPA.

52. Zeroed in: AIMED.

53. Barcelona babies: NENES.

54. Bandleader Xavier: CUGAT.  This guy lived to 90 years old and had 5 different wives. (Not all at the same time),  The most famous was Charo.

55. Prior to, poetically: ERE.

59. "Yikes!": OH NO.  Apolo OHNO was an Olympic skater.

62. Flat-bladed garden tool: HOE.

63. Coach Parseghian: ARA. Very famous Notre Dame Football Coach.  He won two national championships.

64. __ volente: God willing: DEO.  Yes I had four years of Latin, and DEO is God in Latin.  Et Cum Spiritu tuo is not the Pope's phone number.

65. Oldest H.S. students: SRS. Some are on their fourth year of Latin!

Boomer

Wednesday, August 1st 2018 by Victor Barocas

Theme: It's Obvious

Today's offering is from a another prominent member of the Minnesota crossword contingent, making his second LAT appearance this week.  (I thought only C.C. did that.) Did you notice the WHITE RABBIT? Do you suppose Victor knew this one was destined to appear on the first of the month, or was that just serendipity? I like it, in either case.

The theme on this one was so obvious it jumped off the page. Impossible to miss. So I sent up an S-O-S to C.C. to let her know that I didn't get the theme, even with the reveal. Tabloid pairs make up another of the many black holes in my universe of useless information. Turns out I didn't need to know about Brangelina, TomKat or Kimye. I was over-thinking things. "IT" appears twice in every theme answer. As I said, so simple that IT's impossible to miss. D'oh!

 

17A. Liveliness: VITALITY.

23A. Jefferson Airplane song with the words "Go ask Alice": WHITE RABBIT. Pretty slick, Grace.

36A. "To boldly go," e.g.: SPLIT INFINITIVE. Star Trek's gift to the English language.

49A. Cat owner's purchase: KITTY LITTER. There's something wrong with buying kitty litter from a company named Chewy.com.

and the reveal:

59A. Tabloid pair found in 17-, 23-, 36- and 49-Across: IT COUPLE.

I am chagrined, but at least I was VICTORious in my solving efforts.

Across:

1. Light-ly armed fighter?: JEDI. That hyphen made it a dead giveaway.

5. "Better Call Saul" network: AMC.

8. Takes by force: SEIZES. WRESTS would also have worked. Wite-Out, please.

14. Nerve impulse carrier: AXON.

15. Bit of texting mirth: LOL. Laughing Out Loud, like Bernadette.

16. ThinkPad maker: LENOVO. It was the IBM ThinkPad until 2005.

19. "Grumpy" film guys: OLD MEN. Matthau and Lemmon, not dwarfs.

20. Really enjoyed, with "up": ATE.

21. Got 100 on: ACED.

22. Iberian river: EBRO. Fortunately, in cws it's always the same river.

 

27. To the degree that: AS FAR AS. Tried SO FAR AS, Wite-Out.

30. "It's __!": A DATE. It wasn't A WRAP. More W-O for d-o.

31. Like the Piper: PIED. Because of his multi-colored clothing, not his dessert preference. Could the legend be based on fact?

32. Wrapped up: OVER. Guarantees that 30a wasn't A WRAP.

33. Piece of land: LOT. Why do you suppose it's called a lot rather than a little?

41. Boston winter hrs.: EST.

42. Words before a start date: AS OF.

43. Swedish retail giant: IKEA. I'd never heard of 'em until they opened a store in Houston. King of the flat pack retailers.

44. Color from the French for "mole": TAUPE. We had this recently.

46. Multiplex theater count: SCREENS.

51. Deeply engrossed: RAPT.

52. Nest-building flier: WASP. Practically all flying creatures build nests. Used to be a label for a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Probably un-PC today.

53. Wordsmith's ref.: O.E.D.. Oxford English Dictionary

56. Verdict challenge: APPEAL.

61. Throwing money around, in slang: SPENDY. I've seen it, but don't believe I've ever heard it.

62. __ urchin: SEA. SEA, because STREET was too long. I was a street urchin in my ute.

63. Central: MAIN.

64. Chinese bamboo eaters: PANDAS.

65. TV shopper's option: HSN. Home Shopping Network.

66. Tom Stoppard creation: PLAY. Krigo probably recognizes the name. I had to look him up. He co-wrote Shakespeare In Love.

Down:

1. Indonesian island: JAVA. The J was already there. Otherwise I'm sure I would've inked in BALI.

2. __ interview: EXIT. I've mentioned my exit interview from the Navy: 

You don't want to ship-over, do you? 

Nope. 

All right, then. [Navy heaves huge sigh of relief.]

3. Spoil, with "on": DOTE.

4. Ship __ bottle: IN A. Gluey.

5. Keys of music: ALICIA. Didn't fool me. I immediately inked in ALISHA. Wite-out.

6. Church songs: MOTETS. Learning moment. I'd have guessed they were small motels. Here's a sample. I'd rank it right up there with opera.

7. Half a notorious crime duo: CLYDE. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. This is archival footage taken just 5 minutes after the famous 1934 ambush in Louisiana. Their driver, of course, was Clyde's brother Wheel Barrow.

8. __-mo replay: SLO. I call our black cat whose name is Moe, SLO-MO. DW doesn't like it. I also call our one-eyed cat, One-Eye. DW doesn't like that, either. There's a plethora of things DW doesn't like.

9. Slender aquarium swimmer: EEL. Do folks really keep eels in their aquaria? Do they name 'em Morey?

10. Like many a college graduate: IN DEBT. College was so much cheaper back in the day.

11. Resembling the walking dead: ZOMBIE-LIKE. Imhotep!

12. Tennis legend Chris: EVERT. She's 63 now, retired almost 30 years ago.

13. Prefix with gram: SONO. Don't WAG at this type of clue. It could be aerogram akhagram ambigram antigram aptagram ashigram attogram autogram babygram barogram bishgram bologram calogram cenogram datagram debagram decagram decigram dekagram dygogram echogram ectogram ergogram ethogram fluigram fourgram genogram gigagram goalgram hemogram hexagram hologram ideogram idiogram ionogram jhargram kaligram kanagram ketugram khargram kilogram kinegram kotigram kurigram kymogram lauegram lexigram lipogram logogram mailgram majigram mamogram marigram masagram megagram messgram metagram miligram mixogram monogram nabagram nanogram nayagram nitigram nomogram nonogram octagram ondogram optogram paragram petagram phrogram picogram piragram polygram renogram saligram sciagram semagram sevagram sewagram shalgram shongram sinogram skiagram skiogram sonagram sonogram specgram taligram taxogram tazagram telegram teragram tinygram tomogram tonogram trangram ursigram vasogram venogram wolfgram xerogram zymogram. Best to wait for a perp or two. I should have learned this back at 30a.

18. Cowardly Lion portrayer: LAHR. Bert.

23. Desert riverbed: WADI. Usually dry.

24. Sitar master Shankar: RAVI. He introduced the Beatles to the sitar. Norah Jones is his daughter.

25. Yemen's main port: ADEN. Hello, old cw friend.

26. City on the Adriatic: BARI. Not sure why I knew this one. It's the ninth largest city in Italy with a tad over 325,000 residents.

 

27. Semicircular church area: APSE. This knave only knows this word from cws.

28. Doesn't guzzle: SIPS. Name the song with these lines: "I can drink my liquor faster than a flicker. I can do it quicker and get even sicker."

29. Sharpie, e.g.: FELT TIP PEN. I keep one next to my year-at-a-glance wall calendar.

32. On vacation: OFF. Could'a been OUT. Wite-out.

34. "Cupcake Wars" appliance: OVEN.

35. Drinks with scones: TEAS. Seldom drink tea, have never had a scone.

37. Opposite of slack: TAUT. Sometimes confused with TAUNT, right Owen?

38. Game played with one's "little eye": I SPY. Also an old-timey TV show starring Robert Culp and he-who-shall-not-be-named.

39. Dramatist Coward: NOEL. I would've clued it as "First name of Paul of Peter, Paul and Mary"

40. Level: TIER.

45. Go to: ATTEND.

46. Declares: STATES. For a change it's not AVERS, he opined.

47. Diagnostic pic: CT SCAN. I won't say CAT SCAN, the Anon's brain might explode.

48. Loan default risk: REPO.

49. Iota follower: KAPPA. I finally put the Greek alphabet under the glass at my computer table. Makes it lots easier to "remember."

50. "If only": I WISH.

51. Rough file: RASP. Anybody think of this guy? 

53. Iridescent gem: OPAL. A synonym for "iridescent" is "opalescent." Go figure.

54. "East of Eden" director Kazan: ELIA. Those three vowels are just irresistible to crossword constructors.

55. Say no to: DENY.

57. MouthHealthy.org initials: ADA. American Dental Association.

58. Lille lily: LYS. Now we can revive that fleur-de-lis/lys discussion.

60. Diamond authority: UMP. Gratuitous baseball clue/answer.

With C.C.'s gracious help, here's the grid. Now it's your turn. Desper-otto over and out.

Sunday July 29, 2018 Victor Barocas

Theme: "Make Circles"- The circled letters are all car makes. The clue only refers to the second word in each theme entry.

21A. Coleoptera insect: VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE.

31A. Much of western Queensland: SUBARU OUTBACK.

43A. Gazelle cousin: CHEVROLET IMPALA.

65A. Type of center: HONDA CIVIC.

68A. Spring sign: FORD TAURUS.

84A. Long-distance exploration program: PLYMOUTH VOYAGER.

101A. Musical work: HYUNDAI SONATA.

112A. Scotland native: TOYOTA HIGHLANDER.

Victor gave us another puzzle with a fresh twist. Without the circles and its "Make Circles" title, this would be just another "listy" puzzle.

I wonder why "make" for cars but "brand" for everything else. "What's your favorite make of peanut butter" sounds odd.

Across:

1. Agreed: JIBED.

6. Compressed video format: MPEG. Moving Picture Experts Group.

10. Altar constellation: ARA.

13. Reach 22, in a game: BUST. Blackjack.

17. Features of Byzantine domes: OCULI. Plural of "oculus".

18. Retro diet, to put it mildly: PALEO. Sounds better than the Keto diet quite a few people follow.

19. Keaton role in "The Founder": KROC. Unaware of the film. Michael Keaton. Ray Kroc.

20. Sufficient, to the Bard: ENOW.

24. Stir (up): RILE.

25. Copier copy: Abbr.: ENL. Enlarged.

26. "Queen of Salsa" Cruz: CELIA.

27. Quaker cereal: LIFE.

28. Instrument in George Harrison's "Within You Without You": SITAR.

29. Beats soundly: DRUBS.

35. Select: CHOOSE.

37. Human-beast portmanteau: MANIMAL. Man and animal. New to me.

38. Gaggle members: GEESE. Boomer fed them fresh popcorn last time. The geese seemed to love the treat.

39. Flabbergast: DAZE.

40. Basic shelter: LEAN TO.

42. Blacken: CHAR.

48. Moscow Olympics mascot: MISHA.

 

52. Sage: WISE.

53. One spotted at the zoo: LEOPARD.

55. Highlands headgear: TAM.

56. Theodore Cleaver, casually: BEAV.

58. Like Ophelia, ultimately: MAD.

61. Two-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner: ORR. Wiki says "The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player during the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs." Learning moment for me.

62. "We're approved!": IT'S A GO.

70. Activist Davis: ANGELA.

71. Styled after: ALA.

72. Scientist with 19 Emmys: NYE. All with PBS's  "Bill Nye the Science Guy".

73. Sink one's teeth into: BITE. Have any of you tried the Korean cold noodles? I always eat the pear slices first. So good. Asian pears are very juicy.

74. Feel remorse over: RUE.

75. "Jabberwocky" word meaning "evening": BRILLIG. No idea.

79. Pride event abbr.: LGBT.

81. Faith with pillars: ISLAM.

90. Math points: LOCI.

92. Virtual human companion: NEOPET. Wiki said it's "an online cross of Pokémon and Tamagotchi".

93. Joker's prey: BUTT.

94. Ducks with a distinctive blue-green coloring: TEALS.

96. Won't take no for an answer: INSISTS.

99. Ill will: MALICE.

103. Like businesses on Yelp: RATED.

104. Massive hunters: ORCAS.

105. Pilgrim to Mecca: HAJI.

106. When repeated, #5 on Rolling Stone's 2007 list of "40 Songs That Changed the World": LOUIE.

108. Bitter __: END.

111. E-ZPass payment: TOLL.

116. Sooner State city: ENID.

117. "__-daisy!": UPSY.

118. Lloyd or Paul of Cooperstown: WANER. Forgot. We had this name before.

119. River to Lyon: SAONE.

120. Mother of Pollux: LEDA.

121. General on menus: TSO.

122. Border: EDGE.

123. Vandalized, in a way: EGGED.

Down:

1. Roman god of the sky: JOVE. Roman name for Zeus.

2. App symbol: ICON.

3. Level for building, as land: BULLDOZE.

4. Moose kin: ELK.

5. Decathlon event: DISCUS. Decathlon consists of four runs, three jumps and three throws. Who do you think is the greatest athlete ever?

6. Christmas trio: MAGI.

7. Mood-brightening: PLEASANT.

8. Gloaming, in verse: EEN.

9. Hunk: GOB.

10. Like Dickens' Dodger: ARTFUL.

11. Battle on a log: ROLEO. Log-rolling. Sort of combo word of Roll and Rodeo.

12. Low card in a wheel straight: ACE.

13. B-deficiency illness: BERI BERI. Wiki says "Historically, beriberi was associated with a diet including much polished rice (white rice)...."  Yeah, I like Wiki as much as Yellowrocks does.

14. Baltimore NFL great: UNITAS.

15. Comfort: SOLACE.

16. Shake it on the dance floor: TWERK. Associate this word with Miley Cyrus.

18. Buds: PALS.

19. Knightley of "Bend It Like Beckham": KEIRA.

22. Cub Scout badge: WEBELOS. I just learned that this word is an acronym: "We'll Be Loyal Scouts".

23. Ancient pre-Iranian civilization: ELAM. Never heard of it.

28. Engine power source: STEAM.

30. Major 1973 decision: ROE V WADE. Great fill.

32. No later than: UNTIL.

33. Ecological community: BIOME.

34. "Yuck!": UGH.

35. Govt. health org.: CDC.

36. Triumphant laugh: HAH.

37. West in old movies: MAE.

41. Varnish ingredient: ELEMI. The plural form is a luxury skincare brand.

42. Train unit: CAR.

44. Be equivalent to: RIVAL.

45. Magic act sound: POOF.

46. Shirt protector: APRON. Do you wear an apron when cooking?

47. Emmy winner David: LARRY. Notably "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

49. Opening: START.

50. Site of many Dutch embassies, with "The": HAGUE.

51. "Famous" snack guy: AMOS.

54. Morse "E": DIT.

56. Earnings booster: BONUS.

57. Tannenbaum topper: ENGEL. German for "angel". Tannenbaum is German term for fir tree.

59. Use: AVAIL.

60. Humdinger: DILLY.

63. Striped cat: TABBY.

64. Apt: SUITABLE.

65. Big name in WWI espionage: HARI. Mata. Very pretty.

66. Wine lover's word: CAB. Cabernet.

67. Problem for a sloop: CALM. Needs wind.

69. Dig (into): DELVE.

76. Troy, N.Y., school: RPI. Spitzboov & Irish Miss.

77. Ancient region of present-day Turkey: IONIA.

78. Unregistered user: GUEST.

80. Received an AOL message: GOT MAIL.

82. Longtime host of "Scientific American Frontiers": ALAN ALDA.

83. Shapes: MOLDS.

85. Coming to: TOTALING.

86. Some calculators: HPS.

87. Helper with a harness: GUIDE DOG. Another great fill.

88. And the rest: Abbr.: ETC.

89. I-5, e.g.: RTE.

91. NC joined it in 1861: CSA.

94. Power in old films: TYRONE.

95. "Elements" writer: EUCLID.

96. Parental argument ender: I SAY SO. After "Because".

97. "But there is __ in Mudville ... ": NO JOY.

98. Annoyed state: SNIT. Followed by 100. Relaxed: AT EASE.

101. Monopoly miniature: HOTEL.

102. Makers of many links: IHOPS.

103. Essen's river: RUHR.

107. S-shaped molding: OGEE.

109. Hawaii's state bird: NENE. It sounds like "You, You" in Cantonese.

110. 1857 plaintiff Scott: DRED.

112. His relics were the subject of a 1970s Met exhibit: TUT.

113. Niagara Falls reaction: AWE.

114. Suffered from: HAD.

115. Hound: NAG.

C.C.