Crossword

Note: This puzzle is part of Merl’s best-of series.

ACROSS

1 Island gift 4 Nettled 10 1966 film, Cast ___ Shadow 16 Welsh dog 19 Skylight? 20 1969 Stella Stevens thriller, The ___ 22 Early TV host who was an associate of J. Fred Muggs 24 “Baby doll” 26 Dressed to the ___ 27 Ukraine grain port 29 Old cheer 30 Campus 50 miles W of Topeka 31 Bottom lines, in a way 32 Corduroy or velvet 33 Motive 35 “Ike” introducers 37 Worldly worry 39 Mohandas portrayer 40 Horner’s fruit 41 Contradict 42 Skating waiters 44 Look agog 47 Soi-disant 49 Madeira, for one 50 The first transplant? 52 Actress Grey 53 Breakfast at

Tiffany’s girl 54 Writer Silverstein 55 Devon river 56 New Mexico Indian 58 Hood’s heater 59 Dumbo’s mom, e.g. 62 Limo riders 64 Thinness exemplar 66 Year before Jesus’ birth 68 Tint 69 Corresponds, e.g. 71 Mix of letters which, when “unknotted,” will spell out what the people in this puzzle have in common 73 Dobbs or Spade portrayer 75 Chewbacca’s chum 76 Thrill 78 Where diners spend dinars 79 Homework assignment: abbr. 80 Have creditors 81 Homespun abode? 82 Meter food 84 Mason, for one 86 Endorsements of tauricide 89 Denoted 91 Penultimate mo. 92 Example of 7 Down, perhaps? 93 City of bandits 94 Young girl at a rock concert 97 Was sure of 99 Seems to never end 101 Nail’s partner 102 Kenny Rogers hit 104 English isle or Ron 106 Siamese sounds 107 Make like Cicero 108 Thumbs up 109 Woody’s kid 111 Celebrators of seders 112 Switch positions 113 P, in Piraeus 115 “Green grow” these 117 Not copies: abbr. 119 ___ a Deal 122 Larry Harmon persona 125 Reason for a shot 126 Lack of vitality 127 Wed informally 128 Workaholic 129 Bowling buttons 130 Dollop’s opposite

DOWN

1 Watch display, commonly 2 Of the dawn 3 Dapper journalist and author who was an on-air NBC correspondent for 45 years (1950-95) 4 Fore score? 5 World War I or II locale 6 Damaging, as soil 7 Vanna’s turn? 8 Clear the boards 9 Quite a while 10 Decibel increaser, for short 11 He hosted I’ve Got A Secret 12 Notion 13 A Watergate prosecutor 14 “Oh ___ won’t!” 15 Got sick 17 Film critic 18 “By the Time ___ Phoenix” 21 Maine man Ed 23 10th Commandment animal 25 Rescuer’s horse 28 Cobbler’s tool 34 Crowd’s silence 36 Dutch painter 37 Galatea’s love 38 Punny poet 39 Bingo call or vitamin 40 Teller’s magic partner 43 Security breach 45 World War II beachhead in Italy 46 Longtime Illinois senator 48 Heavy hitter 51 The cap of France 57 Greek letter or little bit 59 Kuralt’s Sunday Morning heir 60 Part of SOS, apocryphally 61 Unsuitable for sitting 63 Erstwhile nerd of TV and film 65 Overwhelmed 67 Japanese warrior 69 A “W” 70 Like a shampoo egg 72 Macron’s kin 74 Political columnist 77 Fictional rube 83 Too fresh, as print 85 He was simply Devine 87 Sufficient, old-style 88 Henry VIII’s quest 89 Grounder grabber 90 Factual 94 Norm Peterson’s perch 95 Waspish fellow? 96 “Celebrated,” at a banquet 98 Open invitation 100 Punish discretionarily 103 Minuet event 105 Went to pieces: slang 109 Unescorted 110 Flattens, as flats 111 Blow or Schmo 114 Mandlikova of the court 116 Girder type 118 Pittsburgh’s location, gazetteer-style 120 Shoat’s home 121 It means “within” 123 Grasps 124 Bird’s beak