0520-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 20 May 2018, Sunday

Constructed by: Will Nediger
Edited by: Will Shortz

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Today’s Theme: Rhymes, Schmymes

Themed answers are two rhyming words, in the format RHYME SCHMYME!

  • 23A. Conversation over a few whiskeys? : BOOZE SCHMOOZE
  • 38A. Filth covering pecans and such? : NUTS SCHMUTZ
  • 50A. Venison spread? : DEER SCHMEAR
  • 67A. Hardly a dolt? : NO SCHMO
  • 83A. Avoid a jerk? : DUCK SCHMUCK
  • 90A. Break up with an “unbreakable” Ellie Kemper character? : QUIT SCHMIDT
  • 111A. Puts a stop to sentimentality? : HALTS SCHMALTZ

Bill’s time: 18m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Picnic annoyance : BUG BITE

Our term “picnic” comes from the French word that now has the same meaning, namely “pique-nique”. The original “pique-nique” was a fashionable potluck affair, and not necessarily held outdoors.

8. Cold quarters : IGLOO

The Inuit word for “house” is “iglu”, which we usually write as “igloo”. The Greenlandic (yes, that’s a language) word for “house” is very similar, namely “igdlo”. The walls of igloos are tremendous insulators, due to the air pockets in the blocks of snow.

20. Like okapis and giraffes : AFRICAN

The okapi is closely related to the giraffe, although it does have markings on its legs and haunches that resemble those of a zebra. The okapi’s tongue is long enough to reach back and wash its eyeballs, and can go back even further to clean its ears inside and out.

The giraffe is the tallest terrestrial animal on the planet. The giraffe’s main source of food is acacia leaves that they eat from high, high up in trees, where other herbivores cannot reach.

23. Conversation over a few whiskeys? : BOOZE SCHMOOZE

To schmooze is to chat intimately. “Schmooze” is a word that comes from the Yiddish “schmusen” meaning “to chat” .

27. Mario Vargas Llosa’s country : PERU

Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian writer of renown, and one of the most significant authors from Latin America by all accounts. Llosa is also very active politically, and in 1990 ran unsuccessfully for the Peruvian presidency.

28. Strummed instrument, for short : UKE

The ukulele (“uke”) originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

32. Org. for drivers : AAA

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

33. Return to base : TAG UP

That would be baseball.

36. 2015 Verizon purchase : AOL

The telecommunications company that we know today as Verizon was founded in 1983 as Bell Atlantic, and was one of the “Baby Bells” that were formed after the breakup of AT&T. Bell Atlantic merged with fellow Baby Bell NYNEX in 1997, and then merged with GTE in 2000 to form Verizon. The new company name is a portmanteau of “veritas” (“truth” in Latin) and “horizon”.

38. Filth covering pecans and such? : NUTS SCHMUTZ

“Smut” means “dirt, smudge” and more recently “pornographic material”. The term comes from the Yiddish “schmutz”, which is a slang word used in English for dirt, as in “dirt on one’s face”.

45. Borodin opera prince : IGOR

“Prince Igor” is an opera by the Russian composer, Alexander Borodin. Borodin died before he had finished “Prince Igor”, so it was completed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. Music from “Prince Igor” and other Borodin works was used in the American musical “Kismet”.

48. Asian holiday : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

49. Tush : HEINIE

The slang term “heinie”, meaning “rear end”, is probably a contraction of “hind end”.

“Tush”, a word for the backside, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

50. Venison spread? : DEER SCHMEAR

The word “schmear” comes from the Yiddish word “shmir” meaning “spread”. The phrase “the whole schmear” is a relatively recent one, dating back to around 1969 and coming from the world of business.

Venison is the meat of a deer. In days of yore, the term “venison” applied not just to deer, but to any large game. The word ultimately derives from the Latin “venare” meaning “to hunt”.

56. Very beginning? : VEE

The beginning of the word “very” is a letter V (vee).

64. Sprayed in the face : MACED

“Mace” is actually a brand name, one introduced by Lake Erie Chemical when they started to manufacture “Chemical Mace”, with the name being a play on the club-like weapon from days of old. Mace was originally a form of tear gas, but Mace today uses a formula that is actually a pepper spray, a different formulation.

67. Hardly a dolt? : NO SCHMO

“Schmo” (also “shmo”) is American slang for a dull or boring person, and comes from the Yiddish word “shmok”.

68. Powerful scents : MUSKS

Musk has such an elegant connotation these days because of its use in the world of perfumery. However, its origin is not quite so glamorous. The original substance called musk, also used in perfumes, was extracted from a gland in the rectal area of the male musk deer. The name “musk” is a Sanskrit word for “testicle”.

71. Director Wenders : WIM

Wim Wenders is a German movie director and producer. Wenders has served as the president of the European Film Academy in Berlin since 1996.

72. Unnamed character in Camus’s “The Stranger” : ARAB

“The Stranger” was Albert Camus’ first novel, and it is probably his most famous. The original title in French is “L’Étranger”, which can indeed be translated as “The Stranger”. However, the book is usually called “The Outsider” when translated into English, as this alternative meaning of “L’Étranger” better reflects the novel’s theme.

75. Buds come in them : SIX-PACKS

The American beer called Budweiser (often shortened to “Bud”) is named for the Czech town of Budweis (“České Budějovice” in Czech). The name is the subject of a dispute as here is an original Czech beer with a similar name, Budweiser Budvar. American Budweiser is sold in most European countries as “Bud”.

89. It has lots on the internet : EBAY

eBay was founded in 1995 as AuctionWeb. One of the first items purchased was a broken laser pointer, for $14.83. The buyer was a collector of broken laser pointers …

90. Break up with an “unbreakable” Ellie Kemper character? : QUIT SCHMIDT

The actress Ellie Kemper’s big break came with the role of Erin Hannon, a receptionist on the sitcom “The Office”. More recently, Kemper has been playing the title role on the Netflix comedy series “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”.

93. “Black-ish” network : ABC

“Black-ish” is a sitcom starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered in 2014. The show is noted for tackling tough issues such as racism, police brutality, attitudes toward the LGBT community, and even the 2016 US presidential election.

94. Part of a kit : SNARE

Snare drums are so called because they have a set of wire strands (snares) stretching across the bottom surface of the drum. When the drum is struck, the snares vibrate against the bottom drumhead producing a unique sound.

96. Sashimi option : AHI

Sashimi is thinly sliced raw fish, although it can also be raw meat. The word “sashimi” translates literally as “pierced body”, which may be a reference to the practice of sticking the tail and fin to sliced fish to identify it.

100. DNA building block : BASE PAIR

Nucleobases are molecules that form the backbone of DNA and RNA chains. It is the sequence of these bases in the DNA chain that makes up the so-called “genetic code”. In DNA, the four bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and cytosine (C). The same bases are found in RNA, except that thymine is replaced by uracil (U). In DNA, the nucleobases exist in “base pairs”.

106. “What’s Going On” singer, 1971 : GAYE

Marvin Gaye was a singer-songwriter from Washington, D.C. who came to be known as “Prince of Soul” and “Prince of Motown”. Some of Gaye’s biggest hits are “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968), “What’s Going On?” (1971), “Let’s Get It On” (1973) and “Sexual Healing” (1982). Famously, Gaye was shot dead by his father while Marvin was sitting on his mother’s bed just talking to her. Marvin had given the gun to his father as a Christmas gift.

107. Tampa Bay N.F.L.’er : BUC

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the NFL in 1976 along with the Seattle Seahawks as expansion teams. The Bucs had a tough start in the NFL, losing their first 26 games. Things went better in the early eighties, but then the team went through 14 consecutive losing seasons. Their luck changed again though, and they won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2002 season.

111. Puts a stop to sentimentality? : HALTS SCHMALTZ

“Schmaltz” is an informal term used to describe things that are excessively sentimental. The word comes from the Yiddish “shmalts”, which means “melted fat”. Indeed, the modern German word for fat or grease is Schmaltz, and it can be used in the same figurative way in that language.

115. Subject of una serenata : AMORE

A serenade is a musical performance in the open air, specifically at night. We tend to think of the term applying to a young man serenading his lover from below her window. We imported the word via French from the Italian “serenata” meaning “evening song”, influenced by the Italian “sera” meaning “evening”.

116. Subject of the 2006 documentary “When the Levees Broke” : KATRINA

“When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” is a documentary by Spike Lee that was released in 2006. The film explores the devastation of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Down

1. Cake with rum : BABA

Rum baba (also “baba au rhum” in French) is a small yeast cake saturated in rum, and sometimes filled with whipped cream. Rum baba is derived from the recipe for the tall “babka” yeast cake that was introduced to the world by the Polish communities. The Polish words “baba” and “babka” mean “old woman” or “grandmother” in English. I guess someone must have thought that all grandmothers were saturated in rum!

2. Hovering craft : UFOS

Unidentified flying object (UFO)

3. Understand : GROK

To grok is to understand. “To grok” is a slang term that’s really only used in “techie” circles. “Grok” is the creation of science fiction author Robert Heinlein, who coined it in his 1961 novel “Stranger in a Strange Land”.

8. Watson’s company : IBM

Watson is a computer system developed by IBM. Watson is designed to answer questions that are posed in natural language, so that it should be able to interpret questions just as you and I would, no matter how the question is phrased. The program is named after the founder of IBM, Thomas J. Watson. Today’s Watson competed in a few memorable episodes of “Jeopardy!” in 2011 taking out two of the best players of the quiz show. That made for fun television …

9. Cavity filler : GROUT

Grout is a thin mortar used to fill the joints between ceramic tiles. The name “grout” comes from the Old English word “gruta”, the word for a “coarse porridge” (due to the similarity in appearance of the two). Interestingly, the word “grits” comes from the same root. Grout … grits … makes sense …

29. Singer of high notes : CASTRATO

The soprano is the highest singing voice. The term comes from the Italian “sopra” meaning “above”. A male countertenor who is able to sing in the soprano voice range is known as a sopranist. A castrated male who can sing in the same range is known as a “castrato”, and a boy soprano is referred to as a treble.

34. James who won a posthumous Pulitzer : AGEE

James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.

37. “When the Levees Broke” director : LEE

Film director Spike Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia but has very much made New York City his home and place of work. Most of Lee’s films are set in New York City, including his first feature film, 1986’s “She’s Gotta Have It”. That film was shot over two weeks with a budget of $175,000. “She’s Gotta Have It” grossed over $7 million at the US box office.

40. Publisher in a robe, familiarly : HEF

Hugh Hefner (often called “Hef”) was from Chicago. His first publishing job was in the military, where he worked as a writer for a US Army newspaper from 1944-46. He went to college after his military service and then worked as a copywriter for “Esquire” magazine. He left “Esquire” to found his own publication that he called “Playboy”, which first hit the newsstands in 1953. “Playboy” has been around ever since.

41. Algonquian Indians : MIAMIS

The Miami Native American nation lived in what is now Indiana, western Ohio and southwest Michigan. The Miami were moved by the US government in the 1840s to reservations in Kansas and then Oklahoma. Today, the federal government recognizes the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, but not the Miami Tribe of Indiana.

46. Fish whose name sounds like the past tense of 46-Across? : SCROD
(46A Fasten, in a way, with “in” : SCREW)

“Screwed” sounds like “scrod”? Not the way I say it …

Scrod is the name given to fish that has been “scrawed” i.e. split open, dried and then broiled.

57. Site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World : EPHESUS

Ephesus was an Ancient Greek city on the Ionian coast in present-day Turkey. Ephesus was home to the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The full list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is:

  • the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt
  • the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
  • the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece
  • the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
  • the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
  • the Colossus of Rhodes
  • the Lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt

62. Uses Gchat, e.g. : IMS

“Gchat” was a name commonly used for the Google Talk instant messaging (IM) service. Google Talk offered both text and voice communication as well as a plugin that allowed video chat. All of this functionality was replaced with the Google Hangouts service, and more recently with Google Duo.

64. H. G. Wells villain : MOREAU

“The Island of Doctor Moreau” is an 1896 novel penned by H. G. Wells. The book tells the story of a shipwrecked man who ends up on the island of Doctor Moreau. Moreau engages in vivisection and creates new beasts (the “Beast Folk”) by combining different species. The novel was adapted into at least two films of the same name: in 1977 with Burt Lancaster and Michael York, and in 1996 with Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer.

65. Four-time Australian Open winner : AGASSI

Retired tennis professional Andre Agassi has been married to fellow player Steffi Graf since 2001. Agassi wrote an autobiography called “Open”, published in 2009. An amazing revelation in the book is that Agassi’s famous head of hair was actually a wig for much of his playing career. Can you imagine how hard it must have been to play tennis at his level with a rug stuck on?

66. Picasso, e.g. : CUBIST

In the art movement known as Cubism, objects that are the subject of a painting are broken up and reassembled in an abstract form. The pioneers of the Cubist movement were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

69. Backyard shindig, informally : BAR-B-Q

“Shindig” is such a lovely word, I think, and is one describing a party that usually includes some dancing. Although its origin isn’t really clear, the term perhaps comes from “shinty”, a Scottish game similar to field hockey.

70. Perfect score, or half of a score : TEN

Our verb “to score” meaning “to tally”, comes from the Old Norse “skor”, which is a “mark, notch”. It is likely that items such a livestock were counted by placing a notch in a stick for each set of twenty, hence our use of the noun “score” to mean “twenty”.

73. Zooey of Fox’s “New Girl” : DESCHANEL

Zooey Deschanel is an actress and singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. Zooey is the younger sister of Emily Deschanel who plays the title role on the TV show “Bones”. Now Zooey is playing Jess Day, the lead character on the sitcom “New Girl”. In the world of music, Zooey teams up with “M” Ward in the duo that goes by the name “She & Him”.

77. Where Hemingway wrote “The Old Man and the Sea” : CUBA

Ernest Hemingway moved around a lot. He was born in Illinois, and after leaving school headed to the Italian front during WWI. There he served as an ambulance driver, an experience he used as inspiration for “A Farewell to Arms”. He returned to the US after being seriously wounded, but a few years later moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent. He covered the Spanish War as a journalist, from Spain, using this experience for “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. During the thirties and forties he had two permanent residences, one in Key West, Florida and one in Cuba. In the late fifties he moved to Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in 1961.

If you’ve read Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man And The Sea” (maybe first at school, like me!) you’ll likely remember it as a quick read as it is a novella, although it might be better described as a “long short story”. It was first published in 1952, the last major work that Hemingway had published in his lifetime. That first publication was as a story in “Life Magazine”, and it was such a hit that the magazine sold 5 million copies in the first two days. “The Old Man and the Sea” won a Pulitzer in 1952 and two years later the title was cited when Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

78. Old Chrysler : K-CAR

Chrysler introduced K-cars in the early 1980s at a time when demand for large cars with V8 engines was plummeting. Post-oil crisis consumers were seeking low-cost, fuel-efficient vehicles, which brought Chrysler to the brink of bankruptcy. It was the economical 4-cylinder, front-wheel drive platform that singlehandedly delivered the company into the profitability within a couple of years. K-cars were designed to carry 6 passengers, on two bench seats. Remember taking a corner a little too fast on those seats, in the days when no one wore seat belts?

79. ___ terrier : SKYE

The Skye terrier is a breed of dog that is actually under threat of extinction. A few years ago, there were only 30 Skye terriers born in the breed’s native land of the UK. The breed was named for the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

82. Pastor role in “There Will Be Blood” : ELI

“There Will Be Blood” is a 2007 film starring Daniel Day Lewis. The movie is based (loosely) on the 1927 novel by Upton Sinclair called “Oil!”

84. Keeper of the books, for short : CPA

Certified public accountant (CPA)

87. Japanese appetizer : EDAMAME

Edamame is a simple dish made of immature soybeans still in the pod. The pods are boiled and then salted before serving, usually as a snack or side dish. The name “edamame” translates as “twig bean”.

101. May or Bee : AUNT

Aunt May and Uncle Ben Parker are characters in the spider-Man universe created by Marvel Comics. The couple’s nephew is Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.

Aunt Bee is a character in “The Andy Griffith Show”. The character’s full name is Beatrice Taylor but everyone in Mayberry calls her “Aunt Bee”. In the storyline, she is the aunt of protagonist Sheriff Andy Taylor, and is great-aunt to Andy’s son Opie. Aunt Bee was played by actress Frances Bavier.

103. In conclusion : ERGO

“Ergo” is the Latin word for “hence, therefore”.

108. ___ Reader : UTNE

The “Utne Reader” is known for aggregation and republishing of articles on politics, culture and the environment from other sources in the media. The “Utne Reader” was founded in 1984 by Eric Utne, with management taken over by Eric’s wife Nina Rothschild Utne in 1990.

113. “Collage With Squares Arranged According to the Laws of Chance” artist : ARP

Jean Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. Arp was sent home …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Picnic annoyance : BUG BITE
8. Cold quarters : IGLOO
13. Racetrack informant : TIPSTER
20. Like okapis and giraffes : AFRICAN
21. Sit pensively : BROOD
22. Cry from a survivor : I’M ALIVE!
23. Conversation over a few whiskeys? : BOOZE SCHMOOZE
25. Wear : APPAREL
26. Pose : ASK
27. Mario Vargas Llosa’s country : PERU
28. Strummed instrument, for short : UKE
29. Where butter and cheese are produced : CREAMERY
30. ___ buddies : BOSOM
31. Moreover : TOO
32. Org. for drivers : AAA
33. Return to base : TAG UP
36. 2015 Verizon purchase : AOL
38. Filth covering pecans and such? : NUTS SCHMUTZ
45. Borodin opera prince : IGOR
46. Fasten, in a way, with “in” : SCREW
48. Asian holiday : TET
49. Tush : HEINIE
50. Venison spread? : DEER SCHMEAR
53. Relics, to Brits : ARTEFACTS
55. “You betcha!” : YES, SIREE!
56. Very beginning? : VEE
58. Give a leg up … or a hand : AID
59. Lose one’s coat : MOLT
60. Casting need : ROD
61. Notwithstanding : DESPITE
63. Brings on : HIRES
64. Sprayed in the face : MACED
67. Hardly a dolt? : NO SCHMO
68. Powerful scents : MUSKS
69. Made-up : BOGUS
70. Virus fighters : TECHIES
71. Director Wenders : WIM
72. Unnamed character in Camus’s “The Stranger” : ARAB
73. Ground cover? : DEW
74. Connections : INS
75. Buds come in them : SIX-PACKS
80. Office’s counterpart : RESIDENCE
83. Avoid a jerk? : DUCK SCHMUCK
85. Mozart’s Don Alfonso and Leporello : BASSOS
86. Shout with an accent : OLE!
88. Gathered intelligence (on) : SPIED
89. It has lots on the internet : EBAY
90. Break up with an “unbreakable” Ellie Kemper character? : QUIT SCHMIDT
93. “Black-ish” network : ABC
94. Part of a kit : SNARE
95. It may be found next to a spade : HOE
96. Sashimi option : AHI
98. Ready for battle : ARMED
100. DNA building block : BASE PAIR
105. Restroom sign : MEN
106. “What’s Going On” singer, 1971 : GAYE
107. Tampa Bay N.F.L.’er : BUC
110. Beats in the race : OUTRUNS
111. Puts a stop to sentimentality? : HALTS SCHMALTZ
114. Term for a word that isn’t the dictionary, but maybe should be : SNIGLET
115. Subject of una serenata : AMORE
116. Subject of the 2006 documentary “When the Levees Broke” : KATRINA
117. Promenades : STROLLS
118. Rehab program : DETOX
119. Plug : STOPPER

Down

1. Cake with rum : BABA
2. Hovering craft : UFOS
3. Understand : GROK
4. Industry, for short : BIZ
5. Treat on a stick : ICE POP
6. Stuns, in a way : TASES
7. Intruded (on) : ENCROACHED
8. Watson’s company : IBM
9. Cavity filler : GROUT
10. Be a witness : LOOK ON
11. Exude : OOZE OUT
12. Loving verse? : ODE
13. Some pageant wear : TIARAS
14. Brought charges against : IMPEACHED
15. Daddy : PAPA
16. Criticize severely : SLAM
17. Part of a makeshift swing : TIRE
18. ___ after : EVER
19. Depend : RELY
24. “Just pretend I’m right” : HUMOR ME
29. Singer of high notes : CASTRATO
30. Scottish accents : BURRS
33. Dusted off, say : TIDY
34. James who won a posthumous Pulitzer : AGEE
35. Says, informally : GOES
37. “When the Levees Broke” director : LEE
39. High ___ : TEA
40. Publisher in a robe, familiarly : HEF
41. Algonquian Indians : MIAMIS
42. Open, as a bottle : UNCORK
43. Prince and others : TITLES
44. Some drink garnishes : ZESTS
46. Fish whose name sounds like the past tense of 46-Across? : SCROD
47. Greets silently : WAVES HI
51. Begets : SIRES
52. Take back : RESCIND
54. 3-3, e.g. : TIE
57. Site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World : EPHESUS
61. Professional fixer, for short : DOC
62. Uses Gchat, e.g. : IMS
63. Scornful sound : HUMPH!
64. H. G. Wells villain : MOREAU
65. Four-time Australian Open winner : AGASSI
66. Picasso, e.g. : CUBIST
67. Recent arrival : NEWCOMER
68. Personalized music gift : MIX-CD
69. Backyard shindig, informally : BAR-B-Q
70. Perfect score, or half of a score : TEN
71. Smart remarks : WISECRACKS
73. Zooey of Fox’s “New Girl” : DESCHANEL
75. Long, narrow pieces of luggage : SKI BAGS
76. Modify : AMEND
77. Where Hemingway wrote “The Old Man and the Sea” : CUBA
78. Old Chrysler : K-CAR
79. ___ terrier : SKYE
81. Parties : DOS
82. Pastor role in “There Will Be Blood” : ELI
84. Keeper of the books, for short : CPA
87. Japanese appetizer : EDAMAME
91. Lifts : HOISTS
92. Everything : THE LOT
94. Appear that way : SEEM TO
97. 101 course : INTRO
99. “… I’ll eat ___!” : MY HAT
100. Order (around) : BOSS
101. May or Bee : AUNT
102. Prevent from clumping, say : STIR
103. In conclusion : ERGO
104. Sway : PULL
107. Random data point : BLIP
108. ___ Reader : UTNE
109. Powerful politico : CZAR
111. With 112-Down, coupled : HAD …
112. See 111-Down : … SEX
113. “Collage With Squares Arranged According to the Laws of Chance” artist : ARP

9 thoughts on “0520-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 20 May 2018, Sunday”

  1. 30:30, no errors. A slow solve for me, and I got hung up for a while in the BARBQ/MOREAU/AGASSI/CUBIST area. (Seeing AGASSI stung a bit, as that name was involved in last week’s WSJ metapuzzle, which I failed to solve. ?)

  2. 53:32 My usual Sunday pace. Plus a few minutes to find and correct a “Ummm, read the crosses as you fill in a ‘strong guess'” error. BASSeS. I liked the theme, but my laugh-out- loud moment was “Buds come in them!”

    And I totally agree about SCROD, though that was an easy fill for me. I guess constructors are allowed to commit heinous crimes so long as they put a question mark at the end of the clue.

  3. 52:57. I started this last night and after about 10 minutes had made very little headway. I came back to it this morning (i.e. rested) and it seemed much less daunting. I leaned more than I’d like to admit on the theme.

    Like EmGee, I appreciated the SIX PACKS cluing.

    Best –

  4. 35 minutes on the dot, and no errors. Kind of easy, although it took some doing to get the very middle of this grid to bend to my will.

    Not a big fan of the theme: my advice to the setter would be, MUZZLE PUZZLE. Take issue with HUMPH (isn’t the term HARRUMPH? [sp?]).

  5. 38:44, 5(!) errors: QUITS (S)HMIDT/DES(S)HANEL; SKI (C)A(S)S/A(C)C/(S)AYE. No clue as to the spelling of DESCHANEL or SCHMIDT, so an ‘almost there’ message would have helped. Just overlooked the obvious error in SKI CASS, which would have made me spend more time trying to unravel this knot. Also got bound up in trying to fit MORLOK into 64D and CASTRATI into 29D (never heard the term CASTRATO before).

  6. I had five letters wrong scattered out over the puzzle. This is still a good personal score for me. The theme helped quite a bit as I considered SCHM to essentially be four free letters for every time it appeared. Since so much of this type of rhyming is derived from Yiddish, I am wondering if the rhyme scheme itself derived from Yiddish speech. The SCHM can be tagged onto any previous word where it acts as a kind of diminishing put-down. I am just wondering if this is a characteristic associated with injecting meaning into vocalizations by Yiddish speakers. The meaning, namely, being dismissive of importance to the previous word. I tried to look this question up but my computer could not understand what it was that I was asking.

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