Light Opera

...What’s it all about, Orphée? This puzzle is part of Merl's best-of series

ACROSS

1 Got nosy 8 Belushi skit on SNL, “___ Delicatessen” 15 Tape measure? 18 Sylvan 19 Der Ring des Nibelungen, translated? 21 Tristan und Isolde, translated?

24 Part of TNT 25 Sigmoid shape 26 Oscar-worthy 27 And others, in Latin 28 Worker seeker 30 Italian priest’s title 31 Make ___ (object loudly)

35 It caters to skaters 36 “Oh, okay”

37 A trace of disgrace 39 Bitter cold 40 French holy ones: abbr. 41 Der Rosenkavalier, translated?

46 Dye plant

(or Fudd’s way home?) 47 Make a bow 48 Abdul and Deen 52 Tongue-tied Thom? 55 ___ the dotted line 58 Purified

60 Pest with a nest 62 The director of Autumn

Sonata, plus its star 64 Water buffalo

65 Parsifal, translated? 69 Shannon’s land 70 Pierced places 71 People who can’t keep secrets

72 Echo and echo 74 Absentee 77 Mideast seaport 78 Find 79 Confusion 80 Causerie 82 Die Götterdämmerung, angrily translated? 90 Aykroyd and Brown 93 Valley of San Francisco 94 Fictions

95 One little piggy had it 96 Kaplan of TV or Kapler of baseball 97 Silkworm state of India 99 Barely get (by) 100 Of the cheek 101 Stake ___ 103 South African fox (not a donkey) 105 Harem room

107 Bird among the 108 Die Fledermaus, translated?

(with 114 Across) 114 See 108 Across 115 Travel agency offerings

116 Your, among Friends 117 “Boy, that’s a new ___!”

118 Pours, as port

DOWN

1 Kind of lemony 2 Emphatic negative 3 Hymn to Him, perhaps

4 Less callow 5 Dries without rubbing 6 Adam’s grandson 7 Dentist’s degree 8 “Relief” has one, phonetically

9 Hole punchers 10 Spanish cloak or a ray of the deep 11 Red Cross Knight’s escort in The Faerie Queene

12 ACLU worry: abbr. 13 Map-supplying club 14 Runs in park?

15 To a certain extent 16 1970 Broadway musical

17 Jobs for Wisk 18 Like, in the know, y’know?

20 East, in German (or a Cockney emcee) 22 Dark wood

23 Talk and talk 29 Common Market abbr.

30 The D of LED 32 Release 33 Detroit org. 34 Shoplifting 37 Tandem’s accommodation 38 Blind as ___ 40 Latched

42 Liable one, often 43 Fairy tale collection 44 Chauvinists 45 Hot dips 49 Threatened to topple

50 Pull in the driveway 51 Old-time breath freshener

52 Very attached to Fisherman’s Wharf? 53 The Color of Money star

54 “___ a moment too soon”

56 Biblical Brother 57 California beach

58 The ___ Pavilions 59 Morse units 60 Actress Martha 61 “___ his own” 63 Control a dog team 66 Gen. George et al. 67 Ante68 LARIAT minus L, rearranged 73 Brokaw’s biz 75 Earth tone 76 Word to a pourer, perhaps

79 Line of questioning 81 Capp and Hirschfeld 83 Derek and Diddley 84 “Your ___ like pools—cesspools” (old gag) 85 Occupied

86 The common code? 87 Distribute in small amounts

88 Fills with love 89 Déjà viewing 90 Criminal class of India

91 Red in the face 92 Just about 96 Author Talese 97 “Why ___ blue?” 98 Of Uxmal’s people 100 Island S of Sicily 102 Testifier’s first answer

104 Not good, as chances 105 Theater award 106 The Maid of Orleans,

Jeanne ___ 109 Simony is one 110 SSW about-face 111 I swelling? 112 Ward Cleaver, e.g. 113 Guy of a thousand faces