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Constructed by: Patrick Berry
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: None
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… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 15m 49s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Midway sights : RIDES
Back at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago there were rides and amusements that were all concentrated in one place, away from the exhibition halls. The rides included the world’s first Ferris wheel, and one could also see Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show. All these attractions were located in the mile-long linear park on the South Side of Chicago known as Midway Plaisance. Ever since then, the attractions at any fair have been located at “the midway”.
15. Dominican fashion designer’s last name … : … DE LA RENTA
16. … and first name : OSCAR …
Oscar de la Renta is a fashion designer who really came to prominence in the sixties when his designs were worn by Jacqueline Kennedy.
17. Uffizi work : OLD MASTER
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the oldest art museums in the western world and is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy. The Palazzo was built in 1560, intended to house the offices of the Florentine magistrates. This original usage gave the gallery its name, as “uffizi” is Italian for “offices”.
18. City that straddles the Arkansas River : TULSA
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma (after Oklahoma City). Tulsa started out as a settlement established by the Loachapoka and Creek Native American tribes in 1836. These early settlers called their new home “Tallasi” meaning “old town”, and this name morphed into “Tulsa” that we use today.
20. Like : A LA
The phrase “in the style of” can be translated in “alla” in Italian and “à la” in French.
24. Find fault : CARP
The word “carp” used to mean simply “talk” back in the 13th century, with its roots in the Old Norwegian “karpa” meaning “to brag”. A century later, the Latin word “carpere” meaning “to slander” influenced the use of “to carp” so that it came to mean “to find fault with”.
26. Bird called a “diver” in the U.K. : LOON
The great northern loon is the provincial bird of Ontario, and the state bird of Minnesota. The loon once appeared on Canadian $20 bills and also appears on the Canadian one-dollar coin, giving the coin the nickname “the loonie”.
28. Cabinet department : TREASURY
The Department of the Treasury was established in 1789 with the mission of managing government revenue. Famously, the first Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton.
31. Great American Ball Park team : REDS
Great American Ball Park is named after Great American Insurance Group. It seems a pity to me that the name was chosen for a sponsor, as it is such a grand name for a field dedicated to America’s pastime. Oh, and it is home to the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.
32. Tech enthusiast, say : GEEK
Originally, a geek was a sideshow performer, perhaps one at a circus. We use the term today for someone regarded as foolish or clumsy, and also for someone who is technically driven and expert, but often socially inept.
33. Bad call? : HECKLE
Originally, the verb “to heckle” meant to question severely, and for many years was associated with the public questioning of parliamentary candidates in Scotland. In more recent times, the meaning has evolved into questioning that is less polite and that is directed at standup comics.
40. Spring segment : APRIL
The exact etymology of “April”, the name of the fourth month of our year, seems to be uncertain. The ancient Romans called it “mensis Aprilis”, which roughly translated as “opening month”. The suggestion is that April is the month in which fruits, flowers and animals “open” their life cycles.
41. “Egypt was the gift of the ___”: Herodotus : NILE
Herodotus was a historian from Ancient Greece. Roman orator Cicero referred to him as “the Father of History” as Herodotus was regarded as the first historian to work methodically and publish a well-constructed narrative. The only known work completed by Herodotus is “The Histories”.
42. Leader of the Partisans in W.W. II : TITO
Marshal Josip Broz Tito led the Yugoslav resistance during WWII. After the war, he led the country as Prime Minister and then President.
43. “Lovers Who Wander” singer, 1962 : DION
Dion and the Belmonts were a vocal group from the fifties who had success in the late fifties. The four singers were from the Bronx in New York, with two living on Belmont Avenue, hence the name that was chosen. Perhaps the biggest hits for Dion and the Belmonts were “A Teenager in Love” and “Where or When”.
44. Cook, as latkes : PAN FRY
A latke is a delicious potato pancake (I’m Irish … so anything made with potato is delicious!).
46. Band-Aid site : CUT
“Band-Aid” is a brand name owned by Johnson & Johnson, although like many popular brands “band-aid” has become the generic term for an adhesive bandage, at least here in North America. The generic term we use in the British Isles for the same product is “plaster” …
49. Subject of the 2014 documentary “Life Itself” : EBERT
Roger Ebert co-hosted a succession of film review television programs for over 23 years, most famously with Gene Siskel until Siskel passed away in 1999. Siskel and Ebert famously gave their thumbs up or thumbs down to the movies they reviewed.
53. Willa Cather novel whose title ends with an exclamation point : O PIONEERS!
American novelist Willa Cather wrote what’s referred to as the “prairie trilogy”, books that tell the story of Swedish immigrants living in Nebraska. The titles in the trilogy are “O Pioneers!”, “The Song of the Lark” and “My Antonia”. Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for another novel, “One of Ours”, that is set in Nebraska and the French battlefields of WWI.
56. Disreputable : SEEDY
We use the word “seedy” to mean “shabby”. The usage probably arose from the appearance of a flowering plant that has gone to seed.
Down
1. It’s often read metaphorically : RIOT ACT
The Riot Act was a British law that was in force from 1715 to 1967. According to the Riot Act, government entities could declare any gathering of twelve or more people “unlawful”. Our expression “read the Riot Act to” is derived from the requirement for the authorities to read out the Riot Act proclamation to an unlawful assembly before the Act could be enforced.
8. Retired hoopster Odom : LAMAR
Lamar Odom is a basketball forward in NBA. Apparently Odom loves candy, and that’s how he earned his nickname, “The Candy Man”. Odom was married to Khloé Kardashian, and the couple’s wedding featured on an episode of the reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”. Not a show that I have ever seen …
9. Human member of an old TV trio : FRAN
“Kukla, Fran and Ollie” is an early television show that aired from 1947-1957. Kukla and Ollie (Oliver J. Dragon) were puppets and Fran was Fran Allison, usually the only human on the show.
10. Bit of attire for a bellhop : MESS JACKET
A bell captain supervises bellhops in a hotel. The term “bellhop” comes from the fact that the front desk clerk used to ring a “bell” to summon a porter, who then “hopped” to attention and received his or her instructions.
11. Fats Domino’s real first name : ANTOINE
Antoine “Fats” Domino was born and raised in New Orleans, with Creole as his first language. He made into the big time in 1949 when he recorded an early rock and roll record called “The Fat Man”. That record sold over a million copies, the first rock and roll record to achieve that milestone.
12. Onetime New York company famous for making art glass : STEUBEN
Steuben Glass Works was a manufacturer of art glass that was founded in 1903 and was shut down not so long ago, in 2011. The glass factory was located in Corning, New York. The city of Corning is in Steuben County, giving the company its name.
33. Got plenty upset : HAD A COW
The phrase “don’t have a cow” originated in the fifties, a variation of the older “don’t have kittens”. The concept behind the phrase is that one shouldn’t get worked up, it’s not like one is giving birth to a cow.
34. Marker writing : EPITAPH
Our word “epitaph” ultimately comes from the Greek “epitaphion”, meaning “funeral oration”.
BTW, that would be a grave marker.
35. U.N. member whose capital comes last alphabetically : CROATIA
Zagreb is the capital city of the Republic of Croatia. Zagreb has been around a long, long time, and dates back to the diocese of Zagreb that was founded at the end of 11th century.
41. Edict of ___ (Huguenot Wars ender) : NANTES
The Edict of Nantes was issued by King Henry IV of France in 1598. The edict granted specific rights to Protestants, a major concession in Catholic France, and was intended to end religious strife in the country.
Members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France in the 16th and 17th centuries were known as Huguenots. The term might derive from the name of an early Swiss politician named Besançon Hugues, who paradoxically worked to prevent the spread of the Protestant Reformation in his native city of Geneva. Hundreds of thousands of Huguenots fled Catholic France in order to escape prosecution, with some settling in English colonies in North America that were religiously tolerant.
44. Star of 2016’s “Lion” : PATEL
Dev Patel is an actor from Harrow in England. Patel is best known for playing the lead in the hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. He also stars in a lovely 2012 film called “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” alongside an incredible cast that included Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson. Patel also had a regular role in the marvelous HBO drama series called “The Newsroom”.
“Lion” is a 2016 film based on the autobiographical book “A Long Way Home” by Saroo Brierley. Brierley is an Indian-born Australian who was accidentally separated from his mother when he was 5 years old, ending up stranded on a train that took the young boy nearly 1,500 km from his home. The excellent film adaption stars Dev Patel as the older Brierley, who searches for his birth-family. Excellent movie …
50. Like Alice’s gown in “Alice in Wonderland” : BLUE
The title character in Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is based on a child named Alice Liddell. Lewis Carroll (real name “Charles Lutwidge Dodgson”) met the Liddell family while he was photographing Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, after which he befriended the Liddells. Carroll told the three Liddell sisters (including Alice) a story about a little girl named Alice and her adventures, in order to entertain the children while on a boating trip on the River Isis in Oxford. He elaborated on the story for the girls on a subsequent boat trip, and agreed to write down the tale as the children loved it so much. Carroll’s writings became a full-fledged manuscript, including the author’s own illustrations. It was first published in 1865, three years after that boat trip.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1. Midway sights : RIDES
6. Standard position? : HALF-MAST
14. Lifeless : INERT
15. Dominican fashion designer’s last name … : … DE LA RENTA
16. … and first name : OSCAR …
17. Uffizi work : OLD MASTER
18. City that straddles the Arkansas River : TULSA
19. Leaves penniless : CLEANS OUT
20. Like : A LA
21. Where people mix at parties? : WET BAR
23. Match up, as accounts : JIBE
24. Find fault : CARP
26. Bird called a “diver” in the U.K. : LOON
27. Leonine features : MANES
28. Cabinet department : TREASURY
30. Covered, in a way : DECENT
31. Great American Ball Park team : REDS
32. Tech enthusiast, say : GEEK
33. Bad call? : HECKLE
36. Render pliable : SOFTEN UP
40. Spring segment : APRIL
41. “Egypt was the gift of the ___”: Herodotus : NILE
42. Leader of the Partisans in W.W. II : TITO
43. “Lovers Who Wander” singer, 1962 : DION
44. Cook, as latkes : PAN FRY
46. Band-Aid site : CUT
47. On sight : AT A GLANCE
49. Subject of the 2014 documentary “Life Itself” : EBERT
51. Pet store bagful : CAT LITTER
52. Without allies : ALONE
53. Willa Cather novel whose title ends with an exclamation point : O PIONEERS!
54. Radio component : TUNER
55. “Am I forgetting anything?” : WHAT ELSE?
56. Disreputable : SEEDY
Down
1. It’s often read metaphorically : RIOT ACT
2. Isolated : INSULAR
3. Set forth : DECLARE
4. Chapters of history : ERAS
5. Item dropped in the drink? : STRAW
6. Superhero with hooves and a tail : HELLBOY
7. Jason with the #1 country hit “Dirt Road Anthem” : ALDEAN
8. Retired hoopster Odom : LAMAR
9. Human member of an old TV trio : FRAN
10. Bit of attire for a bellhop : MESS JACKET
11. Fats Domino’s real first name : ANTOINE
12. Onetime New York company famous for making art glass : STEUBEN
13. Most sour : TARTEST
15. Ward bosses? : DOCTORS
22. Shake : ELUDE
25. Metaphor for a jammed highway : PARKING LOT
27. Come together : MEET
29. Unload, say : SELL
30. Yield (to) : DEFER
32. Club owners : GOLFERS
33. Got plenty upset : HAD A COW
34. Marker writing : EPITAPH
35. U.N. member whose capital comes last alphabetically : CROATIA
36. Not kidding : SINCERE
37. “Great shot!” : NICE ONE!
38. Completely changed course : U-TURNED
39. Final outcome of a firing : POTTERY
41. Edict of ___ (Huguenot Wars ender) : NANTES
44. Star of 2016’s “Lion” : PATEL
45. “Horseman, pass by!” poet : YEATS
48. Airport security holdup : LINE
50. Like Alice’s gown in “Alice in Wonderland” : BLUE
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