Peak Performance
Across
1. Tight, like a tightrope
5. As ___ as thieves (like close friends)
10. Greenish-blue
14. Italian bowling
19. Fearsome beast
20. Gas tested for in homes
21. Backstabbing character
22. Honolulu hello
23. *Annoyed date’s demand
25. Bouillabaisse, for example
26. Cottonmouth’s poison
27. Dec. 24 or 31
28. Shakers leader
29. Germantown’s___ Valley High School
31. Test taken by a future PhD
32. Great Giant
34. *Scenic routes, often
37. Dennis’s moniker
41. “Adam Raised a ___ ” (Springsteen song)
42. Ease, as a rainstorm
45. Valley of the Kings locale
46. Supreme being?
51. *With 91 across, range with a beautiful parkway
53. Speedy Jesse
55. Perennial French Open winner
56. Good surname for a tavern owner
57. Fogs
59. Can’t abide
61. Cartoon explorer
62. “Now I understand!”
63. Soothing spot
64. Overact
66. Where an ark got parked
68. *It joins the Potomac at Harpers Ferry
72. New York’s ___ Island Ferry
75. Kingdom
76. The S of SATC
77. Vance or VandeHei
80. Constellation whose brightest star is Vega
81. “Bon appétit!”
83. “No, you’re not!” retort
86. Come in second
87. Women’s hoops powerhouse
89. Birth city of Garth Brooks
91. *See 51 across
93. Kali and Calliope, for two
95. Sty occupants
97. Littlest in litters
98. Numbskull
99. Shoots for the stars
101. *It lost to “Wild, Wonderful” in a 2007 vote to become West Virginia’s state slogan
106. 3-D circle
110. Tell a cover story
111. Threats to the king
112. Involve
116. Popeyes piece
117. The U of UV
119. Oral history
120. Singer of a famous song about West Virginia; its lyrics provided this puzzle’s starred theme entries
122. He hit 61 homers in 1961
123. More than expected
124. Make one
125. ___ lane
126. “Move along!”
127. Pitcher’s statistic
128. 23andMe considerations
129. Abbr. in many job titles
Down
1. ___ pole (Northwest carving)
2. Plant from which tequila is made
3. TV character with the catchphrase “Did I do that?”
4. Driver’s peg
5. Thirty, in Montreal
6. ___ ’s Shoes (old Washington-area chain)
7. Show with Lionel Richie, for short
8. “Walk with me”
9. Patella
10. Tearjerker watcher’s need
11. Gobbled up
12. RE/MAX worker
13. Like all the letters in this clue except the first
14. Shepherdstown’s ___ Inn
15. “Bravo!”
16. ___ line (fun for tourists in the Caribbean)
17. Struck a ___ (resonated)
18. Big name in chair design
24. Cotton ___ (Salem witch-trials figure)
30. Color used in printer cartridges
33. Playful semiaquatic creature
35. One more than hepta-
36. How NORAD tracks Santa Claus
38. Middle of the road?
39. Dozen you can crack
40. Putin’s “no”
42. “Dancing Queen” quartet
43. Boring
44. Ambience
46. Murder by ___ (1976 whodunit parody)
47. Latin for “between”
48. Bloodhound’s clue
49. “Love Song” singer Bareilles
50. Bed board
52. Be about to happen
54. Existentialist’s question
58. Family cars
60. Get at a discount
63. That lady
65. Gretchen of Boardwalk Empire
67. T. ___ (Jurassic Park creature)
68. ___ reason (make sense)
69. Make points and counterpoints
70. Young and Simon, for two
71. Relationship problems
72. Hit hard
73. Toy company bought by Mattel in 1997
74. AL MVP of 2003, 2005, and 2007
77. Become a member of
78. Fails to be
79. Disaster area
82. “You’ll get in trouble if you don’t!”
84. Whitaker played him to a Best Actor Oscar
85. Art who caught 940 NFL passes
86. Guffaw
88. Informative half hour, maybe
90. Arthur of the court
92. Increase by 200 percent
94. Jedi’s archenemy
96. Red or white container
99. Program showers
100. Halves of 45s
101. Grads
102. Purple shade
103. Six-line system
104. Bacterium that can cause food poisoning
105. Ohio city
107. “___ has left the building”
108. Smells atrocious
109. Bird with fine plumes
113. “___ of the above”
114. Weak, as an excuse
115. Chips before hands
118. 2016 Olympics city, briefly
121. Org. for the Magic and the Wizards
