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Base Pairs

January 04, 2026

By Gene Louise De Vera • 136 Clues

Across Clues

1. It protects the heart → RIBCAGE
8. Egyptian god of the underworld → OSIRIS
14. Dr.'s order? → AMA
17. Substances found in cured meats and explosives → NITRATES
18. Theme park with attractions like The Count's Splash Castle and Oscar's Rusty Rotten Rockets → SESAMEPLACE
21. High marks → APLUSSES
22. "That's enough bickering!" → STOPITYOUTWO
24. Valletta's land → MALTA
25. Sci-fi protagonist who says "I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life" → NEO
27. Max's opposite → MIN
28. Morpheus, to 25-Across → MENTOR
29. Good ol' boy → BUBBA
31. Actor Thomas ___ Church → HADEN
34. Stares stupidly → GAWKS
35. General who crossed the Rubicon → CAESAR
37. Snubs → IGNORES
39. Ultimate end, to Aristotle → TELOS
40. TV E.T. → ALF
41. Secondary list of options → SUBMENU
43. ___ Veronese, "The Wedding at Cana" painter → PAOLO
45. Queen ___ Land (region of Antarctica claimed by Norway) → MAUD
47. Classification that anyone can donate to → TYPEAB
48. Got off → ALIT
49. With warts and all → ASIS
53. Pesto ingredients → PINENUTS
55. Made less angry now → PLACATED
58. Ozone no-no, for short → CFC
59. The dash in many an emoticon → NOSE
60. It's a "tyrannical discipline," said Sylvia Plath → POETRY
61. Titular role in a 2024 Disney prequel → MUFASA
63. Derived from gold → AURIC
66. Steals, informally → FILCHES
67. Something a bug produces → ERROR
68. Certain Army noncom → SGTMAJ
70. Points to a church? → SPIRES
71. What the 7 may mean in 7/11 → JULY
73. Brewed beverage → ALE
74. Perseveres → PUSHESON
76. Certain drink + what that drink has a lot of = women's lifestyle website → POPSUGAR
80. "Horsefeathers!" → PISH
82. "Fiddlesticks!" → DRAT
83. Combine using heat without melting, as particles → SINTER
85. Make a lot, say? → PAVE
86. Famed firefighter Red → ADAIR
88. "All right, but that's not my opinion" → SAYSYOU
90. L.A.P.D. unit? → LOS
91. The Lamb → JESUS
93. Devoted effort to looking attractive → PREENED
96. Leaning → ASLANT
98. Bandage brand → CURAD
99. Possessed, biblically → HADST
100. Word before winner or after Wonder → BREAD
101. Brick homes → ADOBES
103. Buffalo's home: Abbr. → NYS
104. "Sprechen ___ Deutsch?" → SIE
106. Eponym of element 96 → CURIE
109. They'll get there eventually → LATEBLOOMERS
113. Like the cultivation of land → AGRARIAN
115. Country whose border shape is the world's roundest → SIERRALEONE
116. Zero → GOOSEEGG
117. Co.'s $$$ head → CFO
118. Steal for ransom → KIDNAP
119. Whence the phrase "wear one's heart on one's sleeve" → OTHELLO

Down Clues

1. Kelly of morning TV → RIPA
2. "Come on and let loose for a while!" → ITLLBEFUN
3. Name of Ohio State's buckeye mascot → BRUTUS
4. Wrinkly fruits → CASABAS
5. Parts of many online handles → ATS
6. Davis of "Thelma & Louise" → GEENA
7. "___ quam videri" (North Carolina's motto) → ESSE
8. 1940s spy grp. → OSS
9. Ready ... or a word after ready → SET
10. Chemist's variant → ISOMER
11. Violent seizure, as of property → RAPINE
12. "Sign me up" → IMIN
13. He scattered his brother's remains across the land and usurped his throne → SET
14. Soothing goo → ALOEGEL
15. Hawaiian for "long mountain" → MAUNALOA
16. Intermission follower on Broadway → ACTTWO
17. War zone for Rambo, informally → NAM
19. Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon ___" → PYM
20. Wicket and Teebo of Endor, e.g. → EWOKS
23. Hosp. areas → ORS
26. "I'm flattered!" → OHGEE
30. Believing his friend and ally had too much power, he led a party of conspirators to put an end to him → BRUTUS
32. State capital that's closest to the U.S. Capitol → ANNAPOLIS
33. Like five Across answers by five Down answers in this puzzle, literally and figuratively → DOUBLECROSSED
35. Kids' summer getaway → CAMP
36. Kyrgyzstani mountain range → ALAI
37. Urchins → IMPS
38. Fans out → SPLAYS
39. Where idols go head-to-head? → TOTEM
42. Small part in a gig → BYTE
44. British isle → AIT
46. It's in your jeans → DENIM
48. Plot divisions → ACRES
50. Traumatize → SCAR
51. "Assuming that's true ..." → IFSO
52. He led his brother to his demise by endangering his nephew → SCAR
54. "Not gonna lie ..." → NOCAP
56. First enactors of democracy → ATHENIANS
57. Fencing contests → DUELS
60. Chemistry lab dropper → PIPET
62. Prepare quickly, as eggs for breakfast → FRYUP
63. Chop-chop → ASAP
64. Wrinkly fruit → UGLI
65. GPS lines: Abbr. → RTES
66. Programming language that's also a musical key → FSHARP
69. He sold out his master in exchange for silver → JUDAS
71. Baby in a pouch → JOEY
72. Pandemonium → UPROAR
75. Title for a guru → SRI
76. Survivor's affliction, for short → PTSD
77. Elf portrayed by Cate Blanchett in "The Fellowship of the Ring" → GALADRIEL
78. Big name in makeup → AVON
79. Music score squiggle → REST
81. Disagrees (with) → HASABEEF
84. Ixnays from Irkutsk → NYETS
87. Obnoxious fratty sort, colloquially → DUDEBRO
89. Possible scenario, to a coder → USECASE
91. 2011 Lady Gaga hit → JUDAS
92. Steamy → EROTIC
94. Paired chips with dips? → RHYMED
95. Touch lightly, as a gas pedal → EASEON
97. Floral victory symbol → LAUREL
98. Lead-in to Tech → CAL
100. Spawned → BEGOT
102. Camera inits. → SLR
103. ___ me tangere (Latin warning) → NOLI
105. Jafar's parrot in "Aladdin" → IAGO
107. Driven by envy toward his comrades, he fabricated events that led to their downfall → IAGO
108. Official lang. of Liberia → ENG
110. Acorn, in the future → OAK
111. Messenger ___ → RNA
112. Birth month of most Virgos: Abbr. → SEP
114. "Ruh-___!" (cry from Astro on "The Jetsons") → ROH