0207-25 NY Times Crossword 7 Feb 25, Friday

Constructed by: Kelly Morenus
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 11m 33s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

19 Step on a shampoo bottle: RINSE

Back in the 1760s, the verb “to shampoo” was an Anglo-Indian word meaning “to massage”. A century later we started “to shampoo” our hair.

21 Site where a previously unidentified species of sea urchin was discovered in 2004: EBAY

There have been some notable things sold on eBay over the years. For example:

  • Ad space on a guy’s forehead, in the form of a temporary tattoo – $37,375
  • William Shatner’s kidney stone – $25,000
  • A cornflake shaped like Illinois – $1,350
  • A single corn flake – $1.63
  • A box of 10 Twinkies – $59.99
  • The original Hollywood sign – $450,400
  • The meaning of life – $3.26

34 Popular mode of transport in Dhaka: RICKSHAW

A pedicab is also known as a cycle rickshaw.

Dhaka (once “Dacca”) is the capital city of Bangladesh. Dhaka is known for many things, including production of the finest muslin in the world. It’s also the rickshaw capital of the world, with about 400,000 rickshaws running each day.

35 ___ Bunton a.k.a. Baby Spice: EMMA

The five members of the English pop group the Spice Girls are:

  • Scary Spice (Melanie Brown, or Mel B)
  • Baby Spice (Emma Bunton)
  • Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell)
  • Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham)
  • Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm, or Mel C)

36 South Asian wood: TEAK

Teak is a hardwood tree in the mint family that is commonly found in monsoon forests of Asia. Teak’s tight grain and high oil content make it very suitable for constructing outdoor furniture, where weather resistance is valued. For the same reason, teak is the wood of choice for wooden decks on boats.

44 Shakespearean prince: HAL

“Prince Hal” is a term used for Prince Henry, the son of the title character in Shakespeare’s plays “Henry IV, Part 1” and “Henry IV, Part 2”. Prince Hal then becomes king in Shakespeare’s “Henry V”.

45 First English football club to win the European Cup, informally: MAN U

Manchester United (“Man U” and “the Red Devils”) is one of the most successful football (soccer) clubs in England, having won more League titles than any other in the history of the game. The club is also famous for an airplane crash known as the 1958 Munich air disaster. The British European flight crashed during takeoff, resulting in the death of 23 passengers, including eight members of the Manchester United team.

Down

1 10-legged crustacean: PRAWN

The terms “prawn” and “shrimp” are often used interchangeably on menus. Over in the UK, the term “prawn” is most common, while “shrimp” is seen more often here in North America. Sometimes there is a differentiation from a food standpoint, with “prawn” being used for larger species and “shrimp” for smaller species. As a result, “jumbo prawns” seems to be an acceptable descriptor for a dish, whereas “jumbo shrimp” seems to be an oxymoron.

Decapods are an order of crustaceans that includes crayfish, crabs, lobsters, prawns and shrimp. Even though decapods can have perhaps over 30 appendages, only ten of these are considered legs, hence the name “decapod”.

7 Kojak and Friday, for two: TV COPS

“Kojak” is a fun police drama that had an original run on TV from 1973 to 1978. The title character was NYPD Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak, played by Telly Savalas. Famously, Kojak sucks away on Tootsie Pops as he tries to quit cigarettes. Kojak is assisted in his cases by Sergeant “Fatso” Stavros played by George Savalas, Telly’s younger brother. Who loves ya, baby?

The TV detective show “Dragnet” opened up each episode with lines spoken by the character Sergeant Joe Friday:

This is the city, Los Angeles, California, I work here. I’m a cop.

In later series, the phrase “I’m a cop” was replaced with “I carry a badge”.

8 A long, long time: AEONS

Geologic time is divided into a number of units of varying lengths. These are, starting from the largest:

  • supereon
  • eon (also “aeon”)
  • era
  • period
  • epoch
  • age

10 Architect Maya: LIN

Maya Lin is a Chinese-American artist and architect from Athens, Ohio. Her most famous work is the moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Lin was only 21-years-old when she won a public design competition in 1981 to create the memorial. Although her design is very fitting, sadly Lin was not a popular choice for the work given her Asian heritage. As she said herself, she probably would not have been picked had the competition been judged with the knowledge of who was behind each submission.

12 “Parasite” actor ___ Woo-shik: CHOI

Choi Woo-shik is a Canadian actor who was born in South Korea. His most memorable role has to be the lead character Kim Ki-woo in the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite”.

15 Felipe VI, en España: REY

Felipe VI became King of Spain in 2014 when his father, King Juan Carlos I, abdicated. Felipe is quite the competitive sailor, and comes from a sailing family. He was a member of the Spanish sailing team in the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona. His father and sister also sailed for Spain’s Olympic sailing team.

20 Source of some smokiness in whiskey: PEAT

Many whiskies are noted for a peaty, smoky flavor. That taste is introduced when the malted grain is dried over a peat-heated fire.

22 Some sources of typhus: LICE

Lice (singular “louse”) are small wingless insects, of which there are thousands of species. There are three species of lice affecting humans, i.e. head lice, body lice and pubic lice. Most lice feed on dead skin found on the body of the host animal, although some feed on blood. Ick …

27 Hot couples: ITEMS

An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as “an item” in the papers, led to the use of “item” to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

28 John ___, longtime W.W.E. wrestler: CENA

John Cena is a professional wrestler turned rapper and actor. Although wrestling, rapping and “Cena-style” movies wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I have to admire Cena’s philanthropic record. He holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that benefits children with life-threatening medical conditions.

30 Tree with red berrylike fruit: YEW

The family of trees and shrubs known as yews propagate by producing a seed surrounded by soft, sweet and brightly colored aril. Birds eat the fruit and then disperse the seed in their droppings. The birds leave the seed undamaged, and so are unharmed by the potent poisons taxane and taxol that are found within the seed. The seeds are highly toxic to humans.

32 Command: FIAT

A fiat is an arbitrary rule that is imposed. The verb “fiat” is Latin for “let it be done”.

36 Campus protection: TENURE

A job in a university that is described as “tenure-track” is one that can lead to a tenured position. A tenured position is a “job for life”. A person with tenure can only be dismissed for cause.

42 Depilatory brand: NAIR

A depilatory agent is something capable of removing hair. The root of the term is “pilus”, the Latin for “hair”, and the same word that gives us “pile” (as in a carpet).

46 Uncle Remus title: BR’ER

Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox are characters in the Uncle Remus stories, written by Joel Chandler Harris. The “Uncle Remus” stories are adaptations of African American folktales that Harris collected across the Southern States. “Br’er” is an abbreviated form of “brother”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Like the ending of a typical rom-com: PREDICTABLE
12 Murder she wrote?: CRIME NOVELIST
14 Bumping into someone, e.g.: CHANCE ENCOUNTER
16 Material that goes on a foundation: POWDER
17 What’s holding up dessert?: CONE
18 Chop: AXE
19 Step on a shampoo bottle: RINSE
20 Amps (up): PEPS
21 Site where a previously unidentified species of sea urchin was discovered in 2004: EBAY
22 Grazing spaces: LEAS
23 Buds: PALS
24 Recognized: OFFICIAL
29 It lightens things: LEVITY
31 Cushion: PROTECT
32 Divine: FORESEE
33 At peace: SERENE
34 Popular mode of transport in Dhaka: RICKSHAW
35 ___ Bunton a.k.a. Baby Spice: EMMA
36 South Asian wood: TEAK
37 Ergo: THUS
38 Wild ___: WEST
39 Campus figures: DEANS
44 Shakespearean prince: HAL
45 First English football club to win the European Cup, informally: MAN U
46 Campus figure: BURSAR
47 Every other day, say: ON A REGULAR BASIS
50 Play with one’s food?: DINNER THEATER
51 Sets off mayhem: CAUSES A RIOT

Down

1 10-legged crustacean: PRAWN
2 Some garnishes: RINDS
3 Announcer: EMCEE
4 Does, perhaps: DEER
5 Chemical suffix: -INE
6 Mask: CONCEAL
7 Kojak and Friday, for two: TV COPS
8 A long, long time: AEONS
9 Down: BLUE
10 Architect Maya: LIN
11 Prove: ESTABLISH
12 “Parasite” actor ___ Woo-shik: CHOI
13 Oil, slangily: TEXAS TEA
14 Medic’s skill, for short: CPR
15 Felipe VI, en España: REY
20 Source of some smokiness in whiskey: PEAT
21 Aid in keeping rain away from walls: EAVES
22 Some sources of typhus: LICE
23 Benefit: PERK
24 Brief missions: OPS
25 One way to illustrate: FREEHAND
26 Unoriginal, as a plot: FORMULAIC
27 Hot couples: ITEMS
28 John ___, longtime W.W.E. wrestler: CENA
29 Secure: LOCK
30 Tree with red berrylike fruit: YEW
32 Command: FIAT
34 They may be guaranteed … “or your money back”: RESULTS
36 Campus protection: TENURE
37 Poetic conjunction: THO’
38 Topic for collective bargaining: WAGES
39 Land that has no personal income tax: DUBAI
40 Muse with a lyre: ERATO
41 Positive: ASSET
42 Depilatory brand: NAIR
43 Campus figs.: SRS
45 It might be open for lunch: MENU
46 Uncle Remus title: BR’ER
48 Minuscule messenger: RNA
49 ___ moment: AHA