Constructed by: Andrew Zhou
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: The Art of Puzzle-Making
There is a note with today’s puzzle:
After completing this puzzle, draw a line connecting the circles, starting and ending at the first circle of 62-Across, to spell a five-word message. The connected circles will reveal a picture related to the puzzle’s theme. (Note: Rounded edges look best.) To complete the effect, draw a line between the circle at 36-Across and the circle at the third square of 37-Across.
Themed answers refer to René Magritte’s work “The Treachery of Images” that features an image of a pipe, as does this grid after the circles are joined. Magritte’s work also features some text under that pipe, and the circled letters spell out that text in the grid:
Ceci n’est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe)
- 23A. Where 68-Across is permanently housed : LOS ANGELES
- 25A. How 122-Across is usually described : SURREALIST
- 68A. 1929 work that is the theme of this puzzle, with “The” : TREACHERY OF IMAGES
- 85A. With 96- and 105-Across, how 122-Across explained the subject of this puzzle : IT’S JUST …
- 96A. See 85-Across : … A REPRESENTATION, …
- 105A. See 85-Across : … IS IT NOT?
- 120A. Place for works that are in the works … or what the message formed by the connected letters is? : PIPELINE
- 122A. Creator of 68-Across : MAGRITTE
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 21m 55s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Accents to tuxedos : STUDS
Apparently, the style of men’s evening dress called a “tuxedo” was first worn to a country club event in 1886 in New York. The use of a dark dinner jacket without tails became fashionable at the club with the members, and the tradition spread from there. The country club was located in Tuxedo Park, New York, giving the style of dress its name.
6. Leader in a robe : EMIR
An emir is a prince or chieftain, one most notably from the Middle East. In English, “emir” can also be written variously as “emeer, amir, ameer” (watch out for those spellings in crosswords!).
10. Stinger : WASP
While the wasp is considered to be a nuisance by many, the insect is very important to the agricultural industry. Wasps prey on many pest insects, while having very little impact on crops.
14. Wind-borne seed : SPORE
Spores are produced by many bacteria, fungi and non-flowering plants. A spore is a reproductive body encased in a protective shell that is highly resistant to damage, and resistant to heat in particular.
19. “Sesame Street” figure : ERNIE
The muppet character named Bert usually plays the straight man to his partner character Ernie. Bert has a unibrow, while Ernie has no brows at all.
21. Western ski resort : ALTA
Alta ski resort actually lies within the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area. The first ski lift in the resort was opened way back in 1939. Today, Alta is one of only three ski resorts in the country that prohibits snowboarding (along with Deer Valley, Utah and Mad River Glen, Vermont. The ski resort of Snowbird, located next to Alta, has been in operation since 1971.
22. N.F.L.’s Kaepernick : COLIN
Colin Kaepernick was the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. In high school, Kaepernick was known as a baseball pitcher rather than a football player. He was a two-time California all-state baseball player and received several offers of baseball scholarships. Kaepernick finally received an offer of a football scholarship by the University of Nevada, Reno.
23. Where 68-Across is permanently housed : LOS ANGELES
(68A. 1929 work that is the theme of this puzzle, with “The” : TREACHERY OF IMAGES)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
25. How 122-Across is usually described : SURREALIST
(122A. Creator of 68-Across : MAGRITTE)
The cultural movement known as Surrealism emerged in the 1920s, and grew out of the Dada activities that were a response to WWI. The first person to coin the word “surrealist” was Guillaume Apollinaire, when he used it in the preface of his play “Les Mamelles de Tirésias”.
28. Curiosity or Opportunity : MARS ROVER
There have been several rovers sent to Mars from Earth. The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 landed in 1971, and failed. Mars 3 landed the same year, and ceased operation just 20 seconds after landing. NASA’s Sojourner landed in 1997 (what a great day that was!) and operated from July through September. The British rover Beagle 2 was lost six days before its scheduled entry into the Martian atmosphere. NASA’s Spirit landed in 2004, and operated successful for over six years before getting trapped in sand and eventually ceasing to communicate. NASA’s Opportunity also landed in 2004, and it is still going. And then NASA’s Curiosity made a spectacular, hi-tech landing in 2012 and is continuing to explore the planet today.
29. Imperial ___ (bar orders) : IPAS
India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.
30. Pill alternative, for short : IUD
It seems that it isn’t fully understood how the intrauterine device (IUD) works. The design that was most popular for decades was a T-shaped plastic frame on which was wound copper wire. It’s thought that the device is an irritant in the uterus causing the body to release chemicals that are hostile to sperm and eggs. This effect is enhanced by the presence of the copper.
“The Pill” is more correctly called “the combined oral contraceptive pill”. The formulation is a combination of an estrogen called estradiol and a progestogen called progestin.
31. Vegas inits. : MGM
MGM Grand is the name given to a chain of hotel resorts and casinos, most famously the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The MGM Grand Las Vegas was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in 1993, and is now second largest (behind the Venetian, also in Las Vegas).
35. Blood parts : SERA
Blood serum (plural “sera”) is the clear, yellowish part of blood i.e. that part which is neither a blood cell or a clotting factor. Included in blood serum are antibodies, the proteins that are central to our immune system. Blood serum from animals that have immunity to some disease can be transferred to another individual, hence providing that second individual with some level of immunity. Blood serum used to pass on immunity can be called “antiserum”.
36. It may be a shocker : EEL
“Electrophorus electricus” is the biological name for the electric eel. Despite its name, the electric “eel” isn’t an eel at all, but rather what is called a knifefish, a fish with an elongated body that is related to the catfish. The electric eel has three pairs of organs along its abdomen, each capable of generating an electric discharge. The shock can go as high as 500 volts with 1 ampere of current (that’s 500 watts), and that could perhaps kill a human.
37. Hawaiian for “appetizer” : PU-PU
In Hawaiian, “pu-pu” is a word originally meaning “snail”. Nowadays “pu-pu” denotes many different types of food that are usually served as an hors d’oeuvres. A “pupu platter” then is a selection of such foods served in a Hawaiian restaurant.
39. Sport-___ (off-roaders) : UTES
A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sport-utes and crossover-utes.
41. Recipe amt. : TSP
Teaspoon (tsp.)
42. Ones making the grade, for short? : TAS
Teaching assistant (TA)
43. Triangular snacks : DORITOS
The product that was to become Doritos was a creation at the Casa de Fritos in Disneyland in the early sixties. A marketing executive from Frito-Lay noticed how well the snack was selling in the park, and made a deal to produce the chips under the name “Doritos”, starting in 1964. “Doritos” translates from Spanish as “little bits of gold”.
46. D.J. ___ tha Kyd : SYD
“Syd” (also “Syd tha Kyd”) is the stage name of rapper Sydney Loren Bennett. I know nothing …
52. Dogie catcher : REATA
A riata is a lariat or a lasso. “Riata” comes from “reata”, the Spanish word for lasso.
“Dogie” is cowboy slang for a motherless calf in a herd.
59. Writer with an interest in cryptography : POE
Edgar Allan Poe lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.
61. Idiot, in slang : NIMROD
“Nimrod” is a slang term used to describe a foolish person.
68. 1929 work that is the theme of this puzzle, with “The” : TREACHERY OF IMAGES
“The Treachery of Images” is a painting by René Magritte. It is a very simple image of a pipe that one might smoke, with the words below (in French), “This is not a pipe”. Magritte’s point was that that the painting wasn’t a pipe, but rather an image of a pipe.
74. Mild cheeses : EDAMS
Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.
77. AAA line: Abbr. : RTE
Route (rte.)
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.
78. California wine city : LODI
Lodi, California may not be as well known as a wine producer as Sonoma and Napa counties, but it has been given the moniker “Zinfandel Capital of the World”.
79. Nickname for the Philadelphia Eagles stadium, with “the” : LINC
The Philadelphia Eagles football team play in Lincoln Financial Stadium (“The Linc”). Lincoln Financial Group paid the princely sum of just under $140 million for the naming rights of the new stadium while it was under construction in 2002.
82. Lake that’s the source of the Mississippi : ITASCA
Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota is the main source of the Mississippi River. Known by Native Americans as “Elk Lake”, the name was changed by Henry Schoolcraft, who led the 1832 expedition to find the source of the Mississippi River. The name “Itasca” is formed from the Latin words for “truth” (ver-ITAS) and “head” (CA-put).
92. Bests in a Fourth of July hot dog contest, say : OUTEATS
Nathan’s Famous has held a Hot Dog Eating Contest every July 4th since 1916, and always at the same location on Coney Island.
94. Irony or hyperbole : TROPE
A trope is a figure of speech. The term “trope” comes from the Greek word “tropos” that has the same meaning.
95. MI6 R&D division in 007 novels : Q BRANCH
In military circles a quartermaster is an officer responsible for supplying equipment and supplies to troops. The term “quartermaster” comes from “quartier-maître”, a ship’s officer in the French navy who was responsible for stowing cargo and supplies in the hold. In the James Bond stories, the character called “Q” is in charge of “Q Branch” and is named for “quartermaster”.
104. Lead-in to cab : PEDI-
A pedicab is also known as a cycle rickshaw.
111. Quantity of eggs : ONE DOZEN
Our word “dozen” is used for a group of twelve. We imported it into English from Old French. The modern French word for “twelve” is “douze”, and for “dozen” is “douzaine”.
121. Houston-based petroleum giant, informally : OXY
Occidental Petroleum is an oil and gas multinational based in Houston that was founded in 1920 in California. The company name is often abbreviated to “Oxy”, which is the Occidental Petroleum’s ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.
122. Creator of 68-Across : MAGRITTE
(68A. 1929 work that is the theme of this puzzle, with “The” : TREACHERY OF IMAGES)
Belgian artist René Magritte was a surrealist. His most recognized work maybe is “The Son of Man”, a painting he created as a self-portrait. It is the work that shows a man in a bowler hat with his face covered by an apple. The image features prominently in a great movie, the 1999 remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair”.
124. Drying-out woe, for short : DTS
The episodes of delirium that can accompany withdrawal from alcohol are called delirium tremens (the DTs). The literal translation of this Latin phrase is “trembling madness”.
Down
1. Modern pic : SELFIE
A selfie is a self-portrait, usually one taken with a digital camera or cell phone. A “group selfie” is sometimes referred to as a “groufie” or “wefie”. A “couple selfie” is known as an “usie” or “ussie”, although those terms are sometimes also used for a group picture.
2. Moving company? : TROUPE
“Troupe” is a French word for “company, band”.
4. Set in a cockpit : DIALS
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the original “cockpit” was a “pit” used for fighting “cocks”. The term was then applied nautically, as the name for the compartment below decks used as living quarters by midshipmen. The cockpit of a boat today, usually on a smaller vessel, is a sunken area towards the stern in which sits the helmsman and others (who can fit!). The usage extended to aircraft in the 1910s and to cars in the 1930s.
8. Composer of the “Concord” Sonata : IVES
Charles Ives was one of the great classical composers, and probably the first American to be so recognized. Sadly, his work largely went unsung (pun intended!) during his lifetime, and was really only accepted into the performed repertoire after his death in 1954.
“Piano Sonata No. 2” by Charles Ives is often referred to as the “Concord Sonata”. It is so called because it was inspired by the works of the 19th-century Concord writers (such as Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson).
9. Dorm V.I.P.s : RAS
A resident assistant or resident adviser (RA) is a peer leader found in a residence hall, particularly on a college campus.
12. Cloud type : STRATUS
Stratus clouds (plural “strati”) are very common, and as they are wider than they are tall and flat along the bottom, we might just see them as haze in a featureless sky above us. Stratus clouds are basically the same as fog, but above the ground. Indeed, many stratus clouds are formed when morning fog lifts into the air as the ground heats up.
16. Michigan college or its town : OLIVET
Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan opened to students in 1844. The school is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
17. Choir stands : RISERS
A riser is a platform that elevates a group of people above a crowd, and so is ideal for the performance of a choir.
24. Julius Caesar’s first name : GAIUS
The most famous Roman known as “Caesar” was Gaius Julius Caesar, the dictator usually referred to as Julius Caesar. It was Julius Caesar’s actions and assassination that ushered in the end of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire. The name Gaius Julius Caesar was also used by the dictator’s father, and indeed by his grandfather.
26. ___ Park, Colo. : ESTES
Estes Park is a town in a beautiful part of the US, in northern Colorado. Estes Park is home to the headquarters of Rocky Mountain National Park.
31. Kind of sauce : MARINARA
Italians use the term “marinara” not for a sauce, but in the name of a recipe that includes a tomato-based sauce. For example, “spaghetti alla marinara” would be a spaghetti dish, served “mariner’s style”. The tomato sauce that we call “marinara” is called “salsa di pomodoro” in Italy.
32. Camera crane operator : GRIP
On a film set, grips are lighting and rigging technicians who set up the infrastructure that supports lights, cameras etc. The key grip is the leader of the whole team. The first grips were technicians that worked in circuses in its early days. The name “grip” possibly comes from the bags called grips, in which the technicians carried their tools.
44. Palindromic musician : ONO
Yoko Ono was born in 1933 in Tokyo into a prosperous Japanese family, and is actually a descendant of one of the emperors of Japan. Yoko’s father moved around the world for work, and she lived the first few years of her life in San Francisco. The family returned to Japan, before moving on to New York, Hanoi and back to Japan just before WWII, in time to live through the great firebombing of Tokyo in 1945. Immediately after the war the family was far from prosperous. While Yoko’s father was being held in a prison camp in Vietnam, her mother had to resort to begging and bartering to feed her children. When her father was repatriated, life started to return to normal and Yoko was able to attend university. She was the first woman to be accepted into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University.
45. Palindromic tribe : OTO
The Otoe (also “Oto”) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestward, ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.
50. Milk-Bone, e.g. : DOG TREAT
Milk-Bone is a brand of dog biscuit that was introduced in 1908 as “Maltoid”. The treat was renamed to reflect its high content of cow’s milk.
55. Scores after deuces, informally : ADS
In tennis, if the score reaches deuce (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the advantage. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. If the one of the players is calling out the score then if he/she has the advantage then that player announces “ad in” or more formally “advantage in”. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?
57. Tijuana title: Abbr. : SRA
The equivalent of “Mrs.” in French is “Mme.” (Madame), in Spanish is “Sra.” (Señora) and in Portuguese is also “Sra.” (Senhora).
Tijuana is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California, and lies just across the US-Mexico border from San Diego. Tijuana is also the most westerly of all Mexican cities. A lot of Tijuana’s growth took place in the twenties as tourists flocked south of the border during the days of prohibition in the US. One of the many casinos and hotels that flourished at that time was Hotel Caesar’s in the Avenida Revolución area. Hotel Caesar’s claims to be the birthplace of the now ubiquitous Caesar Salad.
61. Org. with a June draft : NBA
National Basketball Association (NBA)
65. ___ Rand Institute : AYN
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist born Alisa Rosenbaum. Her two best known works are her novels “The Fountainhead” published in 1943 and “Atlas Shrugged” from 1957. Back in 1951, Rand moved from Los Angeles to New York City. Soon after, she gathered a group of admirers around her with whom she discussed philosophy and shared drafts of her magnum opus, “Atlas Shrugged”. This group called itself “The Collective”, and one of the founding members was none other than future Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan. Rand described herself as “right-wing” politically, and both she and her novel “Atlas Shrugged” have become inspirations for the American conservatives, and the Tea Party in particular.
69. Broadcast antennas, e.g. : EMITTERS
An antenna’s job is to convert electrical power into radio waves, and radio waves into an electrical signal. The first antennas were built by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1888.
70. Bit of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” : FALSETTO
Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a marvelously unique song in the pop repertoire. It has a very appealing structure, with no chorus but three distinct parts and with three distinct “sounds”. The opening is truly a slow ballad, which morphs into an operatic middle section, ending with a really heavy, rock-guitar conclusion. The song monopolized the number one slot in the UK charts for weeks in 1975/76, and made a comeback in 1996 when it appeared in the movie “Wayne’s World”. Great stuff …
71. Witches in “Macbeth,” e.g. : TRIO
The three witches in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” have some lovely lines as they boil up and evil brew and cast a spell:
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,–
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
72. Words upon a shocked realization : ET TU?
It was Shakespeare who popularized the words “Et tu, Brute?” (meaning “And you, Brutus?”). They appear in his play “Julius Caesar”, although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life (if anything at all) as he was assassinated on on the steps of the Senate in Rome.
75. Form 1099-___ : MISC
IRS Form 1099 is a series of forms used to report various types of income, other than wages, salaries and tips that are reported on Form W-2. Examples are Form 1099-INT used to report interest income, 1099-DIV used to report dividend income, and 1099-MISC used to report miscellaneous income.
76. Actor Green : SETH
Seth Green is an actor and comedian best-known by many as creator and voice actor on the animated television series “Robot Chicken”. I know him best for playing “Napster” in the 2005 film “The Italian Job”.
87. Cawfee : JOE
It seems that no one really knows why we refer to coffee as “joe”, but we’ve been doing so since early in WWII.
88. Channel that aired “Moesha” : UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was a TV channel that launched in 1995, and shut down in 2006. Some of UPN’s programming was moved to the CW channel at the time of UPN’s demise.
“Moesha” is a sitcom that originally aired in the late nineties starring singer Brandy Norwood in the title role, a high school student in LA. “Moesha” may be a sitcom, but it had a reputation for dealing with very real social issues such as teen pregnancy, race relations, and infidelity.
90. Half-Betazoid “Star Trek” character : TROI
Deanna Troi is a character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” who is played by the lovely Marina Sirtis. Sirtis is a naturalized American citizen and has what I would call a soft American accent on the show. However, she was born in the East End of London and has a natural accent off-stage that is more like that of a true Cockney.
91. German city with a Pennsylvania namesake : MANNHEIM
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. The city is a little unusual in that it has streets and avenues laid out in a grid pattern, rather like an American city. For this reason, Mannheim has the nickname “die Quadratestadt” (city of the squares).
99. Figure in the “Arabian Nights” : GENIE
The “genie” in the bottle takes his or her name from “djinn”. “Djinns” were various spirits considered lesser than angels, with people exhibiting unsavory characteristics said to be possessed by djinn. When the book “The Thousand and One Nights” was translated into French, the word “djinn” was transformed into the existing word “génie”, because of the similarity in sound and the related spiritual meaning. This “génie” from the Arabian tale became confused with the Latin-derived “genius”, a guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at birth. Purely as a result of that mistranslation the word genie has come to mean the “djinn” that pops out of the bottle. A little hard to follow, I know, but still quite interesting …
The marvelous collection of folk tales from the Middle East called “One Thousand and One Nights” is sometimes known as “Arabian Nights” in the English-speaking world. The original collection of tales did not include the three with which we are most familiar in the West. European translators added some stories, including “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp”, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, and “The Seven Voyages of Sinbad”.
104. Boston ___ : POPS
The marvelous Boston Pops orchestra specializes in playing light classical and popular music. The Boston Pops Orchestra grew out of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), founded in 1885 by Henry Lee Higginson. Higginson instituted a series of performances by the BSO of lighter classics for the summer months, starting in 1885. These performances were originally known as the “Promenade Concerts”, and soon became year-round events. The name evolved into “Popular Concerts”, which was shortened to “Pops” and officially adopted in 1900.
112. Suffix with Motor : -OLA
The original Motorola is now two independent companies called Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions. Motorola started in 1928 as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago. Founder Paula V. Galvin created the brand name “Motorola” for a car radio the company developed in 1930. He linked “motor” (meaning “car”) with “-ola” (meaning “sound”), implying “sound in motion”.
113. Unsightly spot : ZIT
The slang term “zit”, meaning “pimple”, came into the language in 1966, but no one seems to know its exact derivation.
114. Chemical ending : -ENE
In organic chemistry, the three basic classes of hydrocarbons are alkanes, alkenes and alkynes. Three of the simplest members of these classes are ethane, ethene (commonly called “ethylene”), and ethyne (commonly called “acetylene”).
118. Tour grp. : PGA
The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) was founded in 1916 and today has its headquarters (unsurprisingly) in Florida, where so many golfers live. Back in 1916, the PGA was based in New York City.
119. Winner of a record eight N.H.L. Norris Trophies : ORR
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the top defensive player in the NHL each year, based on votes by members of the professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Bobby Orr won the award every single season from 1967-1975. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1. Accents to tuxedos : STUDS
6. Leader in a robe : EMIR
10. Stinger : WASP
14. Wind-borne seed : SPORE
19. “Sesame Street” figure : ERNIE
20. “Long live …!” : VIVA …!
21. Western ski resort : ALTA
22. N.F.L.’s Kaepernick : COLIN
23. Where 68-Across is permanently housed : LOS ANGELES
25. How 122-Across is usually described : SURREALIST
27. Hoses connect to them : FUEL TANKS
28. Curiosity or Opportunity : MARS ROVER
29. Imperial ___ (bar orders) : IPAS
30. Pill alternative, for short : IUD
31. Vegas inits. : MGM
34. Rug rat : TOT
35. Blood parts : SERA
36. It may be a shocker : EEL
37. Hawaiian for “appetizer” : PU-PU
38. Sum to : ARE
39. Sport-___ (off-roaders) : UTES
41. Recipe amt. : TSP
42. Ones making the grade, for short? : TAS
43. Triangular snacks : DORITOS
46. D.J. ___ tha Kyd : SYD
48. Time for pampering oneself : ME DAY
51. Lightly bite : NIP AT
52. Dogie catcher : REATA
56. Invisible lures : AROMAS
58. Thither : YON
59. Writer with an interest in cryptography : POE
61. Idiot, in slang : NIMROD
62. Not cooped up : CAGE-FREE
64. Sigh of relief : AAH!
66. Experimental writing? : LAB NOTES
68. 1929 work that is the theme of this puzzle, with “The” : TREACHERY OF IMAGES
71. Short : TERSE
73. “Our” side in a sci-fi battle : HUMAN RACE
74. Mild cheeses : EDAMS
77. AAA line: Abbr. : RTE
78. California wine city : LODI
79. Nickname for the Philadelphia Eagles stadium, with “the” : LINC
81. Falsity : LIE
82. Lake that’s the source of the Mississippi : ITASCA
85. With 96- and 105-Across, how 122-Across explained the subject of this puzzle : IT’S JUST …
89. Tops : AT MOST
92. Bests in a Fourth of July hot dog contest, say : OUTEATS
94. Irony or hyperbole : TROPE
95. MI6 R&D division in 007 novels : Q BRANCH
96. See 85-Across : … A REPRESENTATION, …
99. Certain laundry appliance : GAS DRYER
101. Three ___ of the Wheel of Dharma (Buddhist concept) : TURNINGS
104. Lead-in to cab : PEDI-
105. See 85-Across : … IS IT NOT?
109. Spanish greeting : HOLA!
111. Quantity of eggs : ONE DOZEN
115. ___-green : PEA
116. Prosy : UNPOETIC
120. Place for works that are in the works … or what the message formed by the connected letters is? : PIPELINE
121. Houston-based petroleum giant, informally : OXY
122. Creator of 68-Across : MAGRITTE
123. Established figures? : SET RATES
124. Drying-out woe, for short : DTS
125. “Whew!” elicitor : NEAR MISS
Down
1. Modern pic : SELFIE
2. Moving company? : TROUPE
3. Open : UNSEAL
4. Set in a cockpit : DIALS
5. Mailed : SENT
6. Tie, as a score : EVEN UP
7. Caramel morsel from Hershey : MILK DUD
8. Composer of the “Concord” Sonata : IVES
9. Dorm V.I.P.s : RAS
10. “Time ___ …” : WAS
11. Grad : ALUM
12. Cloud type : STRATUS
13. Pirate’s pet : PARROT
14. Lasting reminder : SCAR
15. Some pullovers : POLOS
16. Michigan college or its town : OLIVET
17. Choir stands : RISERS
18. Snare : ENTRAP
24. Julius Caesar’s first name : GAIUS
26. ___ Park, Colo. : ESTES
31. Kind of sauce : MARINARA
32. Camera crane operator : GRIP
33. Something that shouldn’t be mixed : METAPHOR
37. How to get the permit, say : PAY A FEE
40. Shot deliverer : SYRINGE
42. Circus employees : TAMERS
44. Palindromic musician : ONO
45. Palindromic tribe : OTO
47. Showed, informally : DEMOED
48. Bub : MAC
49. Big stretch : ERA
50. Milk-Bone, e.g. : DOG TREAT
53. Cultural gathering : ART SALON
54. Boot part : TOE
55. Scores after deuces, informally : ADS
57. Tijuana title: Abbr. : SRA
58. Violinist Menuhin : YEHUDI
60. Draw out : ELICIT
61. Org. with a June draft : NBA
63. Call back? : ECHO
65. ___ Rand Institute : AYN
67. “I agree fully!” : AMEN!
69. Broadcast antennas, e.g. : EMITTERS
70. Bit of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” : FALSETTO
71. Witches in “Macbeth,” e.g. : TRIO
72. Words upon a shocked realization : ET TU?
75. Form 1099-___ : MISC
76. Actor Green : SETH
78. “See ya!” : LATER!
80. Plane area : CABIN
83. Beach house owner : SEASIDER
84. ID : CARD
86. Graduating grp. : SRS
87. Cawfee : JOE
88. Channel that aired “Moesha” : UPN
90. Half-Betazoid “Star Trek” character : TROI
91. German city with a Pennsylvania namesake : MANNHEIM
93. Dangerous job : SPY
95. Play period: Abbr. : QTR
97. French queens : REINES
98. Fall : AUTUMN
99. Figure in the “Arabian Nights” : GENIE
100. Virtuosic : ADEPT
102. 2018 biopic with a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes : GOTTI
103. Narrow cuts : SLITS
104. Boston ___ : POPS
106. Device outmoded by smartphones : IPOD
107. Unusual feature of 68-Across : TEXT
108. Second side to vote : NAYS
110. Nails : ACES
112. Suffix with Motor : -OLA
113. Unsightly spot : ZIT
114. Chemical ending : -ENE
117. Scottish denial : NAE
118. Tour grp. : PGA
119. Winner of a record eight N.H.L. Norris Trophies : ORR
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32 thoughts on “0923-18 NY Times Crossword 23 Sep 18, Sunday”
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29:48, no errors. I’ve certainly heard of René Magritte, but I was not familiar with this painting or what was said about it, so I was a little dubious about being able to finish without error, but it all worked out.
I completed this puzzle but it wasn’t the most enjoyable due to the fact that I am not familiar with this artwork or painter, nor do I like smoking pipes. Hopefully next week we will get a rebus puzzle or one with a clever twist!
Rather obtuse instructions for drawing connected lines- one would normally follow as occur or by number neither of which produce a pipe): In addition,five word message is not a combo of connected letters as stated but combo of clues regarding theme.Really poorly explained in preface paragraph.
@Mary … The circled letters are connected in the order specified by the clause “to spell a five-word message” and, as Bill points out, that message is “Ceci n’est pas une pipe”. Unfortunately for me (as for others, probably), that message is in French, so, even if I had been doing the puzzle on paper, it would have been difficult for me to follow the directions, but I think they are really quite clear (after a bit of thought).
Ever since the format for the puzzle has changed (the past few weeks) I have not been able to get the puzzle. I am a subscriber and have been for years. I need to print the puzzle as I am handicapped. Please let me know how I can continue getting the puzzle in a printable format.
Thank you.
Pat
This is ridiculous. Just provide a challenging crossword.
Neat concept, I had to look up the painting after I completed the puzzle in 1:46 over the span of three days. I never would have figured out to draw the line “connecting the dots”. Props to the constructor, this really took an effort to create, I’m sure
DNF after 1 hr and 50 min. I could not get the lower left corner.
This puzzles clues were like a corporate tax return rather than a crossword.
49 down, an era is not necessarily a big stretch, an eon is
104 across, never heard of a pedicab.
87 down, cawfee , really?
I guess by now you have figured out what I think of this puzzle.
Jack we concur. Never finished it. In fact just filed it under G for garbage.
I agree with Mary. Should have been a better explanation about how to connect the circles (clockwise?). Also I dislike puzzles where you have to connect circles/letters or otherwise engage in something other than wordplay. I am not artistic and my grid is often too messy to even see the circles after I have solved the puzzle.
French? Really?
Cawfee? Who spells coffee that way? UGH. Too many cross references for me.
I think the “cawfee” clue was an attempt to capture the pronunciation of a native of New York (New Yawk? 😜). In fact, a good friend of mine, from there, pronounces the word exactly like that and he would also be likely to use the slang phrase “cup of joe”.
It sucked!!
14A: A “spore” is NOT a “seed”. Never has been; never will be. Please, let’s get the definitions correct.
@S. Kaplan … I would be inclined to agree with you, but see this entry from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
“broadly : a propagative plant structure (such as a spore or small dry fruit”
I think the puzzle constructor deserves a break … 😜
Sorry, but I must disagree. A spore is a unicellular structure whereas a seed is multicellular and, in essence, is a miniature plant. Here’s a Wikipedia entry that goes into more detail: “The main difference between spores and seeds as dispersal units is that spores are unicellular, while seeds contain within them a multicellular gametophyte that produces a developing embryo, the multicellular sporophyte of the next generation. Spores germinate to give rise to haploid gametophytes, while seeds germinate to give rise to diploid sporophytes.” Not to make too much of this, but if I made this error in grad school (PhD in plant science, 1975, Purdue), my major prof, not to mention my committee, would have failed me on the spot. Let’s stick to accurate definitions.
I apologize for being too pedantic. This clue plus others that I’ve seen that are technical in nature but are rendered incorrectly or sloppily just get my goat.
No need to apologize. I saw your point and, as I said, I was inclined to agree with you. Nevertheless, I think that crossword puzzle constructors need to be generalists and cannot be expected to research all the technical details of every clue they write. As the dictionary entry I cited demonstrates, there is a non-technical definition of “seed” that, in my view, makes the clue defensible. (My standard mantra is, “They’re called clues, not definitions.” 😜)
50:57, no errors. Did not bother trying to connect the letters, but since I filled all the boxes correctly, I consider it done.
DNF after 61:50, 9 errors. Concur with the others, this puzzle was a complete pile of rot!
As one of “the others”, I must respectfully disagree … 😜
The note made more of the pipe and its outline than was merited. Got most of the puzzle, but dumped it because of the time it was taking due largely to the overdone, messy theme.
I finished most of it. This venture was not particularly enjoyable for me. I do like the new things I learn from the puzzles, though, including this one.
After further thought, there is more depth to this puzzle than I realized.
Not a very satisfying puzzle. Or, was it just supposed to be a representation of a puzzle?
I loved this puzzle. Just challenging enough and learned a lot in the process. I’ll hope Zhou has more up his sleeve.
Very frustrating puzzle, especially since I do these with a pencil by hand on the only day of the week when I get a newspaper (Sunday)! For those of us (like me) who are not conversant in the French language, how are we expected to get the message spelled by the circled letters? And as far as that goes, I did take Spanish in high school, and “riata” is spelled with an “I”, not an “E”, so 52 Across made 47 Down impossible to solve! I always look forward to doing this puzzle every Sunday, but this one was all the more maddening because it was the only one I wasn’t able to finish without looking at the explanation on this website!
I did recognize a couple of possibly French words that could be made from the circled letters and would probably have allowed myself to look online for the phrase associated with the painting but, in the end, I managed to finish the puzzle without it and therefore was content to come here to find out what it was … 😜
The word “riata” has been adopted from Spanish into English and is spelled with either an “a” or an “e”. (I don’t know which spelling, if either, is preferred.) More information may be found here (on “Wiktionary”).
It took me hours, but only one error filling it out. For 121a I had OSY. I traced the image and printed out all the circled letters across the top of the page but didn’t realize I was looking at French. Nice puzzle Andrew!
I understood the French message after an agonizingly long time, but have never heard of “ceci” being a word for “this.” When I took French in high school, I always knew it as “ce.” Perhaps it’s a dialectical difference?
Anyway, I am “meh” about this puzzle. Most of the fill was okay, but the theme component was a bit more of a head-scratcher. Having never heard of Rene Magritte, that was even truer.
Hopefully, next week’s puzzle is a bit less of a pain.
I enjoyed most of this puzzle, but « seasider » for 83-down « beach-house owner » seemed pretty lame. Who uses that term?