Sunday New York Times Crossword – Man of Many Words by Elizabeth C. Gorski

This is such a Crossword Bebop puzzle, as it celebrates one of the great American songwriters of the 20th Century.

I’ve had various ideas for alternate clues, and I thought it might be a good idea to reclue the themed answers, instead of giving the themed answers.

21 Across – Numeral asssigned to infant?
26 Across – Yoda would say “Hmf! Anger in her there is!”
67 Across – What NASA scientists hoped to discover through natural satellite bombing?
108 Across – Kalashnikovs?
3 Down – Exclamation of optical excellence?
11 Down – Pleasure trip
46 Down – “Oh, oh, 1 word, two syllables!”
48 Down – A face in the misty night
59 Down – Dorothy’s aunt, possibly
90 Down – AMC model from 1971 to 1978

I love Byronic as fill. Ormolu (from French or moulu, signifying gold ground or pounded) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-karat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze. The mercury is driven off in a kiln. The French refer to this technique as bronze doré, in English gilt bronze. That was new to me. Here’s an instance of ormolu: