NYXCrossword.com

Bill’s time: 14m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Ventricle suppliers : ATRIA

The heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers are the atria. The right atrium accepts deoxygenated blood, while the left atrium accepts oxygenated blood from the lungs. The atria squeeze those blood supplies into the two lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles), “priming” the pump, as it were. One ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the other pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.

11A Rx for a root canal : PAIN MED

There seems to be some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol “Rx” that’s used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter’s blessing to help a patient recover.

17A Sommeliers’ assets : PALATES

The roof of the mouth is known as the palate. The anterior part of the palate is very bony, and is called the hard palate. The posterior part is very fleshy and is called the soft palate. The soft palate is muscular and moves to close off the nasal passages while swallowing. We often use the term “palate” figuratively, to describe the sense of taste.

“Sommelier” is the French word for “wine steward”. The role of a sommelier extends beyond just uncorking bottles. A trained and knowledgeable sommelier is responsible for developing wine lists, providing wine service, and expertly pairing wines with food. Beyond wine, the term “sommelier” has expanded to include other beverage specialists, such as a “beer sommelier” (also known as a “cicerone”) or a “sake sommelier”.

20A Fast fliers : FALCONS

There are about 40 species of the birds of prey classed as falcons, with examples being several species of kestrel. Falcons differ from hawks and eagles in that they kill their prey with their beaks, as opposed to their talons. Famously, falcons swoop down on their prey at great speed. Peregrine falcons have been clocked at well over 200 miles per hour, making them the fastest-moving creatures on the planet.

22A Insect nicknamed for its small size : NO-SEE-UM

“No-see-um” is a familiar term used in North America for the small flies known as biting midges. We call them “midgies” in Ireland …

25A “Midsommar” director Aster : ARI

Ari Aster is a film director from New York City. He is into horror films, and I am not …

“Midsommar” … it’s a horror film.

26A “Nova” network : PBS

“Nova” is an excellent science television series on PBS. It was created back in 1974, and was inspired by a very similar BBC show called “Horizon”, a show with which I grew up. Many “Nova” episodes are actually co-productions with the BBC, with an American narrator used for the PBS broadcasts and a British narrator for the BBC broadcasts.

28A Sport that takes place in an octagon, in brief : MMA

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.

35A “I, Robot” author Asimov : ISAAC

Isaac Asimov was a wonderful science fiction writer, and a professor of biochemistry. He was a favorite author as I was growing up and I must admit that some hero worship on my part led me to study and work as a biochemist for a short while early in my career. My favorite of his works is the collection of short stories called “I, Robot”, although Asimov’s most famous work is probably his “Foundation” trilogy of novels. Asimov wrote three autobiographies, the last of which was called “I, Asimov”, which was published in 1994, two years after his death.

37A Facilities, informally : LAV

Our word “lavatory” (sometimes “lav”) originally referred to a washbasin, and comes from the Latin “lavatorium”, a place for washing. In the 1600s, “lavatory” came to mean a washroom, and in the 1920s a toilet.

41A Torah writers : SCRIBES

The Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, are traditionally believed to have been written by Moses. As such, they are sometimes referred to as the Law of Moses, or Mosaic Law. Those five books are:

• Bereshit/Genesis
• Shemot/Exodus
• Vayikra/Leviticus
• Bamidbar/Numbers
• Devarim/Deuteronomy

51A Big payroll service co. : ADP

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is an enterprise based in Roseland, New Jersey that provides business services to companies. The company was founded back in 1949 by Henry Taub as Automatic Payrolls, Inc.

55A Joel’s smuggling partner on “The Last of Us” : TESS

“The Last of Us” is a post-apocalyptic drama TV show that is based on a video game of the same name. The apocalypse in the storyline is caused by mass fungal infection that developed into a pandemic. Those infected turn into zombie-like creatures. Ugh …

57A Bouquet : AROMA

“Bouquet” comes from the French word for “bunch” in the sense of “bunch of flowers”. In French, the term is derived from an older word describing a little wood or small grove of trees. We started using “bouquet” to mean “perfume from a wine” in the early 1800s.

59A Tzatziki scooper : PITA

Tzatziki (also “tarator”) is a sauce made from cucumbers mixed into yogurt with other flavorings. It is primarily associated with Greece, although variants are found in cuisines of other parts of Southeastern Europe and the Middle East.

60A Some delivery data, in brief : ETAS

Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

61A Number of Super Bowl rings for Tom Brady : SEVEN

Quarterback Tom Brady signed up with the New England Patriots in 2000, and led the team to more Super Bowl appearances than any other player in history. He signed up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, and led them to win the Super Bowl in his first season. Brady is from San Mateo, California, which isn’t very far from here. He dated actress Bridget Moynahan for a couple of years, and the pair have a child together. Brady was also married to Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, for thirteen years.

Down

2D Fields medalist Terence : TAO

The Fields Medal is a prize in mathematics that is awarded by the International Mathematical Union every four years. The official name of the award is the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics. The unofficial name is in honor of Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields who founded the award.

15D Source of a deal with The Devil? : TAROT

Tarot cards originated in 15th-century Italy, not as a mystical tool, but as playing cards for a game similar to bridge. It wasn’t until the late 18th century that they became widely associated with divination, particularly after French occultists began publishing treatises on their symbolic meanings.

33D Igneous rock that makes up most of Venus’s surface : BASALT

Basalt is a volcanic rock that is created when lava cools rapidly at the earth’s surface.

40D Achievement for Whoopi Goldberg and Rita Moreno, in brief : EGOT

Whoopi Goldberg’s real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson. Goldberg is multi-talented, and is one of a very short list of entertainers to have won all four major showbiz awards:

• an Oscar (for “Ghost”)
• an Emmy (two, for “The View” and “Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel”)
• a Grammy (for “Whoopi Goldberg: Original Broadway Show Record”)
• a Tony (for producing “Thoroughly Modern Millie”)

Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress Rita Moreno is one of the few performers to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony (EGOT). Moreno got her big break, and won her Oscar, for playing Anita in the 1961 screen adaptation of “West Side Story”. And, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2004.

41D Planned : SLATED

An item that has been slated has been put on the agenda, scheduled. The verb “to slate” comes from the notion of writing something down on a slate board.

43D Tool with coarse teeth : RIPSAW

In woodworking, a cut across the grain is known as a cross cut. A cut along the grain is called a rip cut. Most saws are designed to perform the best cross cuts, but there is a special ripsaw that more easily cuts straight lines along the grain.

45D Portmanteau for a queer Fortnite player, say : GAYMER

Fortnite is a very, very popular online game that was released in 2017. There are several versions of the game, including the original Fortnite: Save the World.

46D Fish whose name is Spanish for “pretty” : BONITO

Bonito is the name given to several species of fish, intermediate in size between mackerel and tuna. The name comes directly from the Spanish word for “pretty”. In some parts of Spain, tuna is known as “Bonito del Norte”.

56D Fig. with two hyphens : SSN

A Social Security Number (SSN) is divided into three parts, i.e AAA-GG-SSSS. Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Starting in 1973, the Area Number reflected the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN was the Group Number, and the SSSS number the Serial Number. This is all moot today. Since 2011, SSNs have been assigned randomly. Some random numbers, however, have been excluded from use, i.e. Area Numbers 000, 666 (!) and 900-999.

58D Journalist Curry : ANN

Television journalist Ann Curry is perhaps best known for the time she spent as co-host on NBC’s “Today” show. NBC executives asked Curry to resign from the “Today” show because ratings were low. I just read online that Curry was also pushed out because of the way she insisted on dressing and because she refused to dye her gray hair. I hope that isn’t true …