0609-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 9 Jun 2018, Saturday

Constructed by: Roland Huget
Edited by: Will Shortz

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Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 22m 45s

Bill’s errors: 2

  • HERB (herm!!)
  • BOLET (Molet)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16. Subject for James Beard or Emeril Lagasse : AMERICAN CUISINE

James Beard was a chef from Portland, Oregon who was noted for popularizing French cooking in the fifties here in North America.

Emeril Lagasse is an American chef who was born in Massachusetts. Lagasse first achieved notoriety as executive chef in Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Now famous for his television shows, his cuisine still showcases New Orleans ingredients and influences. Lagasse started using his famous “Bam!” catchphrase in order to keep his crew awake during repeated tapings of his show.

19. Viking poet : SKALD

“Skald” is a Scandinavian term for a poet, referring in particular to the poets of the Viking Age and the Middle Ages.

26. Descendant of Ishmael : ARAB

Ishmael was the first son of Abraham, according to the Bible and the Qur’an. Ishmael’s mother was Hagar, the handmaiden to Abraham’s wife Sarah.

27. When le jardin is at its height : ETE

In French, “le jardin” (the garden) can be a nice spot in the “été” (summer).

28. Untouchables : PARIAHS

“Pariah” is an anglicized version of the Tamil word “Paraiyar”. The Paraiyar are a social group of about 9 million people found in some Indian states and in Sri Lanka. The term “pariah” came to be a general term for members of the lowest caste in society, outcasts.

30. Who said “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” : EVE

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

43. Windjammer’s setting : SEA

A windjammer is a very large sailing ship with a metal hull that carried cargo in the 1800s and 1900s. Windjammers had 3-5 masts and large square sails. The term “windjammer” comes from the verb “to jam”, as the large sails were said “to jam” the wind.

46. Safari sighting : ELAND

An eland is a large African antelope, in fact the largest on the continent. Both male and female elands have horns, and those horns have a steady spiral ridge along their length.

47. Some referee calls, for short : TKOS

In boxing, a knockout (KO) is when one of the fighters can’t get up from the canvas within a specified time, usually 10 seconds. This can be due to fatigue, injury, or the participant may be truly “knocked out”. A referee, fighter or doctor may also decide to stop a fight without a physical knockout, especially if there is concern about a fighter’s safety. In this case the bout is said to end with a technical knockout (TKO).

50. ___ plane : AWACS

When the British developed radar in WWII, they also came up with an airborne system that they actually deployed during the war. In 1944 the US Navy commissioned a similar system, and so launched the first American Airborne Early Warning (AEW) system, also before the war was over. The more modern term for the technology is Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS for short.

51. The glow of a glowworm : BIOLUMINESCENCE

Some living organisms are able to produce light, a phenomenon known as “bioluminescence”. A famous example on land is the firefly, with its glowing tail. There are many marine animals, such as jellyfish, that emit light. The frequently observed bioluminescence on the surface of the sea is usually caused by plankton. This phenomenon may be referred to as “sea fire”.

Down

3. Tools for pharmacists : PESTLES

I’ve always loved the sound of the words “mortar” and “pestle”, ever since I was first introduced to them in the chemistry lab. The Romans called a receptacle for pounding or grinding things a “mortarium”, giving us “mortar”. Mortarium was also the word for the product of pounding and grinding, which gives us our “mortar” that’s used with bricks to build a wall. And further, short stubby cannons used in the 16th century resembled a grinding bowl and so were called “mortars”, which evolved into our contemporary weapon of the same name. As far as the pestle is concerned, it is also derived from its Latin name “pistillum”, which comes from the word for “crush”.

4. “Glee” character in a wheelchair : ARTIE

Artie Abrams is a character in the Fox television show “Glee”. Abrams is played by the young actor Kevin McHale, and is the character who gets around in a wheelchair.

7. ___ kwon do : TAE

Tae kwon do is the national sport of Korea. “Tae” means “to strike or break with foot”; “kwon” means “to strike or break with fist”; “do” means “way” or “art”. Along with judo, tae kwon do is one of only two martial arts included in the Olympic Games.

9. Common French word that sounds like two letters of the alphabet : ICI

“Ici” is a French word meaning “here”.

10. Greek consonants : NUS

The Latin equivalent of the Greek letter nu is N. An uppercase nu looks just like the Latin capital N. However, the lowercase nu looks like our lowercase V. Very confusing …

11. Residents: Abbr. : CITS

Citizen (cit.)

13. Source of some Mideast calls : MINARET

A minaret is an architectural feature of Islamic mosques, a tall tower with an onion-shaped crown that is used for the call to prayer. The world’s oldest minaret is part of the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia, having been completed in 836 BCE. The term “minaret” comes from the Arabic for “lighthouse”.

14. West Berlin used to be one : ENCLAVE

An enclave is a portion of a country, or sometimes a whole country, that is completely surrounded by another.

21. Feature of Wayne Manor : BATPOLE

Wayne Manor is the home of Bruce Wayne, the alter-ego of Batman. It is a huge manor that lies just outside Gotham City. Looking after the house is the Wayne family servant, Alfred. Beneath the grounds of the manor is an extensive cave system where Bruce Wayne put together his Batcave. Access is to the cave is via a staircase behind a hidden door. The door is opened by moving the hands of a non-functioning grandfather clock to 10:47, the time at which Wayne’s parents were murdered. It is the murder of his parents that sets Bruce off on his journey of crime fighting.

22. Magazine : ARSENAL

Our word “arsenal” comes from the Italian “arzenale”, a work adapted from the Arabic for “workshop”. There was a large wharf in Venice called the Arzenale that became associated with the storage of weapons and ammunition, and this led to our contemporary usage of “arsenal”.

The word “magazine” was originally used to denote a place for storing goods, particularly military arms and ammunition, back in the late 1500s. This usage was extended to include packs of ammunition attached to automatic weapons. The first use of “magazine” in the sense of a periodical or journal dates back to 1731, with the publication of “Gentleman’s Magazine”. “Magazine” had come to mean a printed list of military stores, and the idea was that the new periodical was to be a “storehouse” of information.

23. 1942 Abbott and Costello comedy : RIO RITA

“Rio Rita” is a 1942 comedy movie that was adapted from a 1927 Broadway musical of the same name by Flo Ziegfeld. Comedy duo Abbott and Costello star as stowaways who get mixed up with Nazi spies.

25. Shamelessly promoted, with “for” : SHILLED

A shill is someone planted, perhaps in an audience, with the job of feigning enthusiasm.

28. Zaftig : PLUMP

A woman who is described as “zaftig” has a full and shapely figure. “Zaftig” comes from the Yiddish word “zaftik” meaning “juicy”. I am not going to touch this one …

29. Popular author most of whose work is written in anapestic tetrameter : SEUSS

“Dr. Seuss” was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Geisel first used the pen name while studying at Dartmouth College and at the University of Oxford. Back then, he pronounced “Seuss” as it would be in German, i.e. rhyming with “voice”. After his books found success in the US, he went with the pronunciation being used widely by the public, quite happy to have a name that rhymes with “Mother Goose”.

33. ABC or Fox, in Variety-speak : NET

“Variety” is a trade magazine dedicated to the entertainment industry. It was founded in 1905 in New York, but is now based in Los Angeles.

38. Suspiciously : ASKANCE

To look askance is to look with suspicion, or to look with a side glance.

47. Exercise in economy of language : TWEET

I have never tweeted in my life, and have no plans to do so (but one should never say “never”). Twitter is a microblogging service that limits any post sent to just 280 characters. In a sense, it is similar to this blog. Here I send out a post once a day containing information that I think might be useful to folks (thank you for reading!). I don’t think I could send out much of interest using just 280 characters.

50. Court proceedings : ACTA

Actum (plural “acta”) is the Latin word for “deed”. “Acta” is used in English to describe many official records, including minutes, proceedings etc.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. They may require more than one return : SEPARATE INCOMES
16. Subject for James Beard or Emeril Lagasse : AMERICAN CUISINE
17. Not fade : LAST THE DISTANCE
18. Loosen, in a way : UNTIE
19. Viking poet : SKALD
20. Account : TALE
21. Cutting comments : BARBS
26. Descendant of Ishmael : ARAB
27. When le jardin is at its height : ETE
28. Untouchables : PARIAHS
30. Who said “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” : EVE
31. Practical-minded : RESULTS-ORIENTED
34. Stuff used in some nasty pranks : SUPERGLUE
35. Race day opening event : CEREMONIAL START
41. “Hey!,” to Jorge : OYE!
42. Relatives of guppies : PLATIES
43. Windjammer’s setting : SEA
44. Element in traditional medicine : HERB
46. Safari sighting : ELAND
47. Some referee calls, for short : TKOS
48. Something one can be knocked for : A LOOP
50. ___ plane : AWACS
51. The glow of a glowworm : BIOLUMINESCENCE
57. Fed decision that spurs growth : INTEREST RATE CUT
58. Explored before making a commitment : TESTED THE WATERS

Down

1. Soldier, at times : SALUTER
2. Issue : EMANATE
3. Tools for pharmacists : PESTLES
4. “Glee” character in a wheelchair : ARTIE
5. Confirmation, e.g. : RITE
6. Haus call? : ACH!
7. ___ kwon do : TAE
8. Tip : END
9. Common French word that sounds like two letters of the alphabet : ICI
10. Greek consonants : NUS
11. Residents: Abbr. : CITS
12. Home of the first Universal Studios outside the U.S. : OSAKA
13. Source of some Mideast calls : MINARET
14. West Berlin used to be one : ENCLAVE
15. Makings of a plot : SEEDBED
21. Feature of Wayne Manor : BATPOLE
22. Magazine : ARSENAL
23. 1942 Abbott and Costello comedy : RIO RITA
24. Three-for-two, say : BARGAIN
25. Shamelessly promoted, with “for” : SHILLED
28. Zaftig : PLUMP
29. Popular author most of whose work is written in anapestic tetrameter : SEUSS
32. Put mileage on : USE
33. ABC or Fox, in Variety-speak : NET
35. Be roommates : COHABIT
36. Middle of a field of vision : EYELINE
37. Gets accustomed to a transplant : REROOTS
38. Suspiciously : ASKANCE
39. Come back : REOCCUR
40. Plate armor designed to protect the thighs : TASSETS
45. Pianist Jorge : BOLET
47. Exercise in economy of language : TWEET
49. Unalloyed : PURE
50. Court proceedings : ACTA
52. Doc’s recommendation : MED
53. Final finish? : -IST
54. Utmost : NTH
55. Now or long lead-in : ERE
56. Prop for a classic magician’s trick : SAW