Crossword

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

ACROSS

1 Pierre’s Nobelist wife 6 The Elephant Boy star 10 Teeny-weeny sound 14 Calendar abbr. 17 “I” problem 18 Bench-sitting Kagan 20 Eddie, as a Beverly Hills cop 21 Half a dance 22 Start of a movie-song lyric 26 Desire, for one 27 One of the archangels 28 Hectare units 29 ___ kwon do 30 Pirate Lafitte 31 Grand Marquis, familiarly 32 Diner sign 34 Mop target 35 Drive-time companions? 37 Darn 38 A few 42 Source of the movie-song lyric 47 Tattered 48 Long time 49 Certain Alaskan 50 Star with a stick 51 Peters out 52 Relinquish 54 Chased 58 Inscribed pillar 60 Threepio’s friend, partly 61 Withdraws 62 End of the movie-song lyric 67 Pedestrian 69 So long 70 Champion’s neckwear 73 Leaning 75 Embellish 76 Ten-parter, perhaps 77 San Diego’s Miramar, for one: abbr. 78 West Indian snake (anagram of BORIC) 80 One for breakfast 82 Esther Williams married him 83 Start of a listener’s reaction to the lyric 87 Signal to sandbag 89 “Get off the stage!” 90 In a prissy way 92 Feature of St. Peter’s 93 Wheedles 97 Two-toed sloth 98 Judy’s eldest 99 Connect 102 “___ in itself” 103 Retails at 105 Good place to sit in Iowa 107 End of the listener’s comment 110 Naval abbr. 111 We, non? 112 Jukebox selection, perhaps 113 “No room at ___” 114 Originally named 115 Pub projectile 116 British gun 117 Kunta Kinte kin

DOWN

1 Devilfish 2 Giant of wrestling 3 React to a judge 4 Spillane classic 5 Optometrist’s offering 6 Enclosed chair 7 Of wings 8 “Stand By Me” singer ___ E. King 9 Not prompted 10 Unlike beachgoers, perhaps 11 Banish 12 “A mouse!” 13 Like some skirts 14 Clay pigment 15 Root (for) 16 Café cup 17 Humongous 19 BB gun 23 Criticize severely 24 Actress Kidman 25 The “uh” sound of “ago,” e.g. 31 Fannie or Ginnie follower 33 Mt. St. Helens fallout 34 Arctic vehicles 35 Soprano Scotto 36 Lizard’s tail? 38 Dos follower 39 Need 40 The Turtle poet 41 Worked on a trireme 43 Forgets to blink 44 Quasimodo’s haunt 45 Saskatchewan Indian 46 Slips 49 Green fruit 53 Charged particle 55 Clock shaped like a ship 56 Pile ingredient 57 Bargain source 59 Of grandparents (or backward, something spewed) 60 Soak 63 Alfonso’s queen 64 From which Tokyo rose 65 Terribly 66 Stickless drum 67 Combiner before script or mission 68 Home of Zion National Park 71 Seaweed product 72 Ninth in the lineup 74 Snare 75 Liqueur that makes the heart grow fonder? 79 “___ everything is in order ...” 81 Legendary tax protester 82 Man of ___ 84 WWII sub 85 Rembrandt’s home 86 Stubby part? 87 ___ shot 88 Twelfth 91 James and Perry 93 Louisiana dialect 94 Make smile 95 James or Owens 96 Scrub 98 Weighed down 99 Ms. Fields 100 O. Henry forte 101 007 attended it 104 Unseat 105 Chow down uptown 106 Banana coat 108 Luxurious scarf 109 S.J. Perelman’s gift