The name’s William Ernest Butler, but please call me Bill. I grew up in Ireland, but now live out here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m retired now, from technology businesses that took our family all over the world. I answer all emails, so please feel free to email me at bill@paxient.com, or leave a comment below. If you are working on the New York Times crossword in any other publication, you are working on the syndicated puzzle. Here is a link to my answers to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword. To find any solution other than today’s, enter the crossword number (e.g. 1225, 0107) in the “Search the Blog” box above.
This is my solution to the crossword published in the New York Times today …
COMPLETION TIME: 38m 50s
THEME: None
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
TODAY’S WIKI-EST, AMAZONIAN GOOGLIES
Across
Chuck Yeager
Kreplach
16. Purina partner replaced by Nestlé : RALSTON
Purina began operations in 1894, as an operation for producing feed for farm animals. A few years later, in 1902, the Ralston name was introduced when Webster Edgerly joined the business, Edgerly was the founder of a controversial social movement called Ralstonism. Central to the movement was personal health, with RALSTON standing for Regime, Activity, Light, Strength, Temperation, Oxygen and Nature.
18. Home of the Great Geysir : ICELAND
The Great Geysir is the first known geyser to have been discovered and recorded in a printed source. The name “Geysir” comes from the Icelandic and Old Norse word “geysa” meaning “to gush”. It is the Great Geysir that gives us our English word “geyser”.
22. “Socrate” composer : SATIE
French composer Erik Satie wrote “Socrate” in 1917-1918, a work commissioned by Princess Edmond de Polignac. It is a work for voice and small orchestra, and the Princess was very adamant that those voices had to be female.
Lita Ford was the lead singer for the Runaways, later becoming famous for her solo work (never heard of her!).
24. Red flannel hash ingredients : BEETS
Red Flannel Hash is made from beets, potatoes, onions and corned beef. It used to be a traditional meal served the day after a corned beef and cabbage dinner, presumably to use up leftover corned beef.
26. Isinglass : MICA
Mica is a mineral, a sheet silicate. Thin sheets of mica are transparent, and were used in place of glass in certain applications. This form of mica is called isinglass, and had a better thermal performance than glass, making a great choice for “peepholes’ in boilers and lanterns.
Joan Miro
35. They keep airliners aloft : HOLDING PATTERNS
A holding pattern is usually a racetrack, oval pattern that is flown by aircraft while waiting for the OK to land at an airport. Holding patterns are used if an airport gets congested and cannot handle the required number of landings.
42. Adds to the staff : NOTATES
Notation is the act of writing something in notation, such as music on a musical staff.
44. ___ tide : NEAP
Neap tides are when the difference between the height of the water at high tide and low tide is relatively small. Spring tide is the opposite, with a big swing in the height of the water. Tides of course are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the lesser gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tides, the sun and the moon’s gravities act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.
Elvis recorded “Mama Like the Roses” in 1969, and you can buy it on the compilation album “Suspicious Minds
50. Words from M.L.K. Jr. : SER
Martin Luther King Jr. often delivered a sermon.
56. Common blog link : YOUTUBE
YouTube is a video-sharing website. it was started in 2005 by three ex-PayPal employees. It was, and still is, an enormous success. Google bought YouTube in 2006, less than two years after it was founded, and paid $1.65 billion. Yep, $1.65 billion …
59. Supply : LITHELY
I love this clue. I It took me ages to realize that supply wasn’t “make available” but rather the adverb of “supple”.
Down
1. Night ___ : CRAWLER
Nightcrawlers are a type of earthworm.
Lahaina
4. Roadster that debuted in 1989 : MIATA
I’ve always liked the looks of the Mazda Miata, probably because it reminds me so much of old British sports cars. It is built in Horoshima, Japan.
6. Grp. with the 1977 album “Out of the Blue” : ELO
“Out of the Blue” is a double album released in 1977 by ELO. All the tracks were written by band leader Jeff Lynne in just three weeks in a rented chalet in the Swiss Alps. Creative environment I guess …
The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was formed in 1942, and the unit was converted to full status the following year, the Women’s Army Corps
10. France’s ___ d’Hyères : ILES
The Isles d’Hyeres are three islands in the southeast of France: Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Ile du Levant.
11. “The straight path” : ISLAM
In Arabic, the straight path is “Sirat al-Mustaqim”. It can also be called the right path, or the Islamic faith.
24. Fuel derivable from biomass : BUTANOL
Butanol is used as an alternative fuel to gasoline. It is more similar to gasoline physically and chemically, so is considered more desirable than ethanol as it can be used in gasoline engines without modification.
28. Lethal compound : SARIN
Sarin is used as a chemical weapon. It was first discovered in Germany by scientists looking for stronger pesticides. The name Sarin was derived from the names of the discovering scientists: Schrader, Ambros, Rudiger and Van der Linde.
29. Neighbors of Belarusians : LETTS
Belarusians live in Belaruse, and Letts live in the neighboring country, Latvia. Both Belaruse and Latvia were former Soviet Socialist Republics.
Genuine batik cloth is produced by applying wax to the parts of the cloth that are not to be dyed. After the cloth has been dyed, it is dried and then dipped in solvent that dissolves the wax.
38. Colts’ former home : RCA DOME
The RCA Dome was probably better known as the Hoosier dome, home to the Indianapolis Colts from 1984-2007. It was torn down in 2008, but the inflated roof was put to good use afterwards. The material was re-purposed by local artisans, creating wallets, messenger bags etc. These can still be purchased, with proceeds going to charity.
40. Like Buckingham Palace : STATELY
Buckingham Palace is a stately home alright. Since the days of Queen Victoria, it has been the official residence of the British monarch. It was originally a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703, hence the name.
Pepto-Bismol
47. Dame of whodunits : MARSH
Dame Ngaio Marsh was a New Zealand crime writer. She is known as one of the four original “Queens of Crime”, namely: Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Marsh. All her novels features her hero, a British CID detective, Roderick Alleyn.
49. Trenchtown, for one : SLUM
Trenchtown is a neighborhood in Kingston, Jamaica. The area used to be known as Trench Pen, the name given to 33 acres of grazing land used for livestock by an Irish immigrant called James Trench.
Hoyt Wilhelm
53. “Chicago” lyricist : EBB
The musical “Chicago” was written by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics). Ebb, along with Bob Fosse, then wrote a book based on the musical.
55. Org. in “The Sting” : FBI
“The Sting” … what a great film! It did of course star Paul Newman and Robert Redford, still riding the wave of success from their collaboration in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. The “Sting” also had the same director as their prior hit, George Roy Hill.