Constructed by: Milo Beckman & David Steinberg
Edited by: Will Shortz
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Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Rainbow Flag
Honoring LGBT Pride Month, we have a rainbow flag in today’s grid. Every second horizontal line in the grid points to a color of the flag, as the across-answer need a color for completion. In order, those are RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE and PURPLE, the colors of the stripes in the rainbow flag. As a bonus, there are also several other clues relevant to the LGBT movement:
- 15A. Some cross-country flights : RED-EYES
- 16A. Path to an Oscar? : RED CARPET
- 17A. Foe of Snoopy : RED BARON
- 21A. Syracuse athletes, once : ORANGEMEN
- 22A. Tropicana plant : ORANGE TREE
- 23A. Ingredient in a classic gin martini : ORANGE BITTERS
- 30A. Salad items picked at the midpoint of their maturity : YELLOW PEPPERS
- 34A. Path in a hit 1939 film : YELLOW BRICK ROAD
- 43A. Lambeau Field pro : GREEN BAY PACKER
- 46A. DC Comics hero with a magic ring : GREEN LANTERN
- 57A. Some shopping restrictions : BLUE LAWS
- 59A. University of Delaware mascot : BLUE HEN
- 67A. Flowery writing : PURPLE PROSE
- 68A. Hero decorations : PURPLE HEARTS
- 69A. Prince album that was #1 for 24 weeks : PURPLE RAIN
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Bill’s time: 12m 52s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Flower part : STAMEN
The stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower. The part of the stamen known as the anther sits on a stalk called the filament, and carried carries the pollen. The pollen is picked up by insects, especially bees, who then transfer pollen from flower to flower. The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and it accepts the pollen.
11. Gilpin of “Frasier” : PERI
Peri Gilpin is an actress best known for playing Roz Doyle on the hit sitcom “Frasier”. “Frasier” was a spinoff of “Cheers”. Gilpin actually made an appearance on the original show, albeit playing a completely different character.
15. Some cross-country flights : RED-EYES
A red-eye flight is one departing late at night and arriving early the next morning. The term is a reference to tired passengers disembarking with red eyes.
17. Foe of Snoopy : RED BARON
Snoopy, the famous beagle in the “Peanuts” comic strip, has a number of alter-egos and is sometimes depicted as a World War I flying ace. Snoopy’s arch-enemy in the air is Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, and Snoopy can often be seen shaking his fist and crying out, “Curse you, Red Baron!”
20. ___ flu : ASIAN
The so called “Asian Flu” was a pandemic that originated in China in 1956, and lasted until 1958. The H2N2 virus, which caused the disease, killed an estimated 2 million people worldwide, including almost 70,000 in the US. Years later, in 1997, the financial crisis that rocked many countries across Asia was given the same name “Asian Flu”. The crisis started in Thailand when the Thai currency collapsed, and like a virus the panic spread across much of southeast Asia and Japan.
22. Tropicana plant : ORANGE TREE
The Tropicana company is most famous for its orange juice. The company is headquartered in Chicago, where not many oranges are grown …
23. Ingredient in a classic gin martini : ORANGE BITTERS
The term “martini” probably takes it name from the “Martini & Rossi” brand of dry vermouth, although no one seems to be completely sure. What is clear is that despite the Martini name originating in Italy, the martini drink originated in the US. The original martini was made with gin and sweet vermouth, but someone specifying a “dry” martini was given gin and dry vermouth. Nowadays we use dry vermouth for all martinis and the term “dry” has become a reference to how little vermouth is included in the drink. Famously, Noël Coward liked his drink very dry and said that a perfect martini is made by “filling a glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy”. The German-American journalist and satirist H. L. Mencken referred to the martini as “the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet”.
26. Big acronym in Hollywood : SAG
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was formed back in 1933, at a time when Hollywood stars were really being exploited by the big movie studios, especially the younger and less inexperienced performers. Early supporters of the Guild included famous names like Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney (you could imagine them in a negotiation!). Past presidents of SAG were also big names, such as Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Reagan, Howard Keel, Charlton Heston, Ed Asner and Melissa Gilbert. SAG merged with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) in 2012 to create SAG-AFTRA.
29. A.F.L.-___ : CIO
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was founded in 1886, making it one of the first federations of unions in the country. Over time the AFL became dominated by craft unions, unions representing skilled workers of particular disciplines. In the early thirties, John L. Lewis led a movement within the AFL to organize workers by industry, believing this would be more effective for the members. But the craft unions refused to budge, so Lewis set up a rival federation of unions in 1932, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The two federations became bitter rivals for over two decades until finally merging in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO.
34. Path in a hit 1939 film : YELLOW BRICK ROAD
According to L. Frank Baum’s series of “Oz” novels, there are two Yellow Brick Roads that lead to the Emerald City from Munchkin Country, and it turns out that Dorothy chose the harder of the two. In addition to the yellow roads, there is also a Red Brick Road, which leads from Munchkin County to the Country of the Quadlings.
39. Cyberaddresses : URLS
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).
42. Libretto listing : ARIA
A libretto can be the book that contains the text of a dramatic musical work, with the text itself also being called the libretto.
43. Lambeau Field pro : GREEN BAY PACKER
When Curly Lambeau founded his small-town football team in Green Bay in 1919, he was working for the Indian Packing Company. Lambeau went to his employers looking for sponsorship and was given $250 provided that the team was named for the company. And so, the team was originally referred to as the Green Bay Indians, but by the time they took to the field for their first game it had changed to the Packers, and Lambeau was $250 richer.
46. DC Comics hero with a magic ring : GREEN LANTERN
The Green Lantern is a comic book superhero who has had a number of alter egos through the life of the character. The Green Lantern is a member of the Justice League of America superhero team. Other members of the League include Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
49. What you may have that I can’t? : ARE
As in “you are”, as opposed to “I am”.
50. A traffic jam may change it, for short : ETA
Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
52. Wrangler rival : LEE
The Lee company that’s famous for making jeans was formed in 1889 by one Henry David Lee in Salina, Kansas.
Wrangler is a manufacturer of jeans headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina. Wrangler jeans were first made in the mid-1940s and were designed specifically for use by cowboys in rodeos.
53. Villainous army in a 1968 Beatles film : BLUE MEANIES
“Yellow Submarine” is a 1968 animated film that features the music of the Beatles. A little trivia for you: one of the screenwriters was Erich Segal, author of the novel and screenwriter of the film “Love Story”.
57. Some shopping restrictions : BLUE LAWS
Blue Laws are prohibitive statutes designed to restrict activities on a Sunday for religious reasons. There seem to be a few dubious etymologies published to explain the use of the term “blue” in such a context. The most credible derivation seems to point at the supporters of Oliver Cromwell in the British Parliament of the mid-17th century, who were called “blue-stockings”.
59. University of Delaware mascot : BLUE HEN
The Delaware Blue Hen has been the state bird of Delaware since 1939. As a result, the athletic teams of the University of Delaware are known as the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens.
67. Flowery writing : PURPLE PROSE
Purple prose is writing that is overly ornate and flowery, so much so that it draws attention to itself, and detracts from the narrative.
68. Hero decorations : PURPLE HEARTS
The Purple Heart is a military decoration awarded by the President to members of the US military forces who have been wounded or killed while serving. Today’s Purple Heart was originally called the Badge of Military Merit, an award that was established by George Washington 1782 while he was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The Purple Heart is a heart-shaped medal with a gold border bearing a profile of President Washington, and a purple ribbon.
69. Prince album that was #1 for 24 weeks : PURPLE RAIN
“Purple Rain” is a 1984 song by Prince that is the title track from an album of the same name. The album in turn was the soundtrack from the film “Purple Rain”. The song reached #2 in the charts in 1984, but then made it to #1 soon after Prince’s death in 2016.
70. Luxurious : POSH
No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that “posh” is actually an acronym standing for “port out, starboard home” is completely untrue, and is a story that can actually be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers travelling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.
Down
2. Chicago’s ___ Park : HYDE
Hyde Park is a Chicago neighborhood located on the shores of Lake Michigan. The area is home to the University of Chicago, and is also home to former US President Barack Obama.
4. What gets the show on the road, for short? : USO
The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.
7. Start of a new year : ARIES
Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.
8. Fueling concern, in brief : MPG
Miles per gallon (mpg)
9. Fair-hiring inits., as for L.G.B.T. workers : EEO
“Equal Employment Opportunity” (EEO) is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act. Title VII of the Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, color, national origin or religion.
10. Grp. called in when things go off the rails? : NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is responsible for the investigation of major accidents involving transportation. Included in this broad definition is the transportation of fluids in pipelines. The organization is independent in that it has no ties to other government agencies or departments so that its investigations can be viewed as “impartial”. The NTSB also earns a little money for the US as it hires out its investigation teams to countries who don’t have the necessary resources available on their own soil.
12. Stop on Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited : ERIE
Erie is a city in the very north of Pennsylvania, right on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The city takes its name from the Erie Native American tribe that resided in the area. Erie is nicknamed the Gem City, a reference to the “sparkling” water of Lake Erie.
Amtrak is the name used commercially by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. “Amtrak” comes from a melding of the words “America” and “track”.
14. Stonewall and others : INNS
The police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 29th, 1969. That raid triggered to a spate of violent demonstrations led by the LGBT community. Now known as the Stonewall riots, those demonstrations are viewed by many as a significant event leading to the modern-day fight for LGBT rights in the US. Since then, June has been chosen as LGBT Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall riots.
17. Dyeing art : BATIK
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.
19. Ocular infection : STYE
A stye is a bacterial infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes, and is also known as a hordeolum.
24. Old transportation agcy. : ICC
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was set up in 1887 to regulate the railroads and later the trucking industry. The ICC was abolished in 1995 and its functions were absorbed by the Surface Transportation Board.
25. H.S. course in which students might read Cervantes : AP SPANISH
The full name of the author of “Don Quixote” was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. As a young man in 1570, Cervantes was a soldier fighting for the Spanish Navy, stationed in Naples, at that time a possession of Spain. He was injured in battle, receiving three gunshot wounds including two to the chest. His injuries left him without the use of his left arm. After recuperating, he returned to active service, and in 1575 he was captured by Algerian corsairs, and spent the next five years in slavery in North Africa. His parents found him and bought his freedom, and brought him home to his native Madrid.
28. The “me” of “Despicable Me” : GRU
The main protagonist in the “Despicable Me” movies is the supervillain Felonius Gru, usually referred to simply as “Gru”.
“Despicable Me” is a 2010 animated comedy film. The main voice actor in the movie is the very funny Steve Carell. “Despicable Me” is a Universal Pictures production, although all of the animation was done in France. The 2010 film was followed by a sequel “Despicable Me 2” released in 2013, with a prequel/spin-off film called “Minions” released in 2015.
31. The Gay Nineties, e.g. : ERA
When looking back at the 1890s, here in America we sometimes refer to the era as the Gay Nineties. The term is associated with a time of emerging wealth in the days before income taxes were permanently levied on citizens. Back in the British Isles, the same decade is known as the Naughty Nineties, days of society scandals and the outrageous antics of the likes of Oscar Wilde.
36. Material collected in Minecraft : ORE
It’s a video game.
38. L.G.B.T. activist Savage : DAN
Dan Savage is an author and journalist who is famous for writing a sex advice column under the title “Savage Love”. “Savage Love” is directed towards the gay community and is syndicated in several dozen newspapers across the world.
45. Start to cry? : CEE
The starting letter of the word “cry” is a letter C (cee).
48. Adjective-to-noun changer : -NESS
For example “dry” to “dryness”, and “Irish” to “Irishness” 🙂
56. Manhattan area north of TriBeCa : SOHO
The Manhattan neighborhood known today as SoHo was very fashionable in the early 1900s, but as the well-heeled started to move uptown the area became very run down and poorly maintained. Noted for the number of fires that erupted in derelict buildings, SoHo earned the nickname “Hell’s Hundred Acres”. The area was then zoned for manufacturing and became home to many sweatshops. In the mid-1900s artists started to move into open loft spaces and renovating old buildings as the lofts were ideal locations in which an artist could both live and work. In 1968, artists and others organized themselves so that they could legalize their residential use of an area zoned for manufacturing. The group they formed took its name from the name given to the area by the city’s Planning Commission i.e “South of Houston”. This was shortened from So-uth of Ho-uston to SoHo as in the SoHo Artists Association, and the name stuck.
TriBeCa is a clever little acronym that expands into “TRI-angle BE-low CA-nal Street”. The name was developed by local residents who basically copied the naming technique used by residents of the neighboring area of SoHo, which is short for “SO-uth of HO-uston Street”.
59. Den ___, Nederland : HAAG
“Den Haag” is the Dutch name for the city in the Netherlands that we know in English as The Hague. Even though The Hague is the seat of the Dutch parliament and is where Queen Beatrix resides, it is not the country’s capital city. That honor goes to Amsterdam.
66. Miracle-___ : GRO
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company was founded in 1868 by one Orlando Scott, and initially dols seed to the agricultural industry. In the early 1900s, Scotts started to sell to homeowners, and mainly supplied lawn seed. The company merged with the gardening company Miracle-Gro in 1955.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1. Drive follower : -THRU
5. Flower part : STAMEN
11. Gilpin of “Frasier” : PERI
15. Some cross-country flights : RED-EYES
16. Path to an Oscar? : RED CARPET
17. Foe of Snoopy : RED BARON
18. “Peace, y’all!” : ADIOS, AMIGOS!
20. ___ flu : ASIAN
21. Syracuse athletes, once : ORANGEMEN
22. Tropicana plant : ORANGE TREE
23. Ingredient in a classic gin martini : ORANGE BITTERS
25. Mate’s consent : AYE
26. Big acronym in Hollywood : SAG
29. A.F.L.-___ : CIO
30. Salad items picked at the midpoint of their maturity : YELLOW PEPPERS
34. Path in a hit 1939 film : YELLOW BRICK ROAD
39. Cyberaddresses : URLS
40. Run ___ of : AFOUL
42. Libretto listing : ARIA
43. Lambeau Field pro : GREEN BAY PACKER
46. DC Comics hero with a magic ring : GREEN LANTERN
49. What you may have that I can’t? : ARE
50. A traffic jam may change it, for short : ETA
52. Wrangler rival : LEE
53. Villainous army in a 1968 Beatles film : BLUE MEANIES
57. Some shopping restrictions : BLUE LAWS
59. University of Delaware mascot : BLUE HEN
62. Some luxury cars : AUDIS
63. In a slump : OFF ONE’S GAME
67. Flowery writing : PURPLE PROSE
68. Hero decorations : PURPLE HEARTS
69. Prince album that was #1 for 24 weeks : PURPLE RAIN
70. Luxurious : POSH
71. Accepts a perceived flaw with pride : OWNS IT
72. Check out : OGLE
Down
1. “Go, ___!” : TEAM
2. Chicago’s ___ Park : HYDE
3. Horse leader? : REIN
4. What gets the show on the road, for short? : USO
5. “Boo!” shouter : SCARER
6. Having hardly any spice : TAME
7. Start of a new year : ARIES
8. Fueling concern, in brief : MPG
9. Fair-hiring inits., as for L.G.B.T. workers : EEO
10. Grp. called in when things go off the rails? : NTSB
11. Minister’s office : PASTORATE
12. Stop on Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited : ERIE
13. Tornado sound : ROAR
14. Stonewall and others : INNS
17. Dyeing art : BATIK
19. Ocular infection : STYE
24. Old transportation agcy. : ICC
25. H.S. course in which students might read Cervantes : AP SPANISH
27. Emergency cry from a pilot : ABORT!
28. The “me” of “Despicable Me” : GRU
30. ___ crawl : PUB
31. The Gay Nineties, e.g. : ERA
32. Wield : PLY
33. Bag, in product names : SAK
35. “___ say!” : I’LL
36. Material collected in Minecraft : ORE
37. Publicize : AIR
38. L.G.B.T. activist Savage : DAN
41. Toll : FEE
44. Crop up : ARISE
45. Start to cry? : CEE
47. Home to every M.L.B. club whose name starts with “A” : AL WEST
48. Adjective-to-noun changer : -NESS
51. Then: Fr. : ALORS
53. ___ v. Ohio (landmark case barring illegally obtained evidence from being used in court) : MAPP
54. Prefix with skeptic : EURO-
55. Big scenes : ADOS
56. Manhattan area north of TriBeCa : SOHO
58. Prefix with discrimination : ANTI-
59. Den ___, Nederland : HAAG
60. Boy’s name that’s a fruit spelled backward : EMIL
61. Chilean child : NENE
64. Small number : FEW
65. Rooter : FAN
66. Miracle-___ : GRO
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