1104-18 NY Times Crossword 4 Nov 18, Sunday

Constructed by: Patrick Berry
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Unthemed

Bill’s time: 19m 43s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Goes to grab a bite, say : BOBS FOR APPLES

Bobbing for apples is a game played on Halloween. Participants must hold their hands behind their backs and grab apples floating in a large basin of water, using only their mouths.

22. “1984” superstate that includes America : OCEANIA

The action in George Orwell’s 1949 novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” takes place in the intercontinental superstate of Oceania. Orwell also created two other superstates, called Eurasia and Eastasia.

25. “Marriage Italian-Style” star : LOREN

Sophia Loren certainly has earned her exalted position in the world of movies. In 1962 Loren won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the Italian film “Two Women”, the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English speaking performance. She received a second nomination for Best Actress for her role in “Marriage Italian-Style”, another Italian-language movie, released in 1964.

27. Donny who won “Dancing With the Stars” : OSMOND

Former teen idol Donny Osmond was a member of the Osmond Brothers singing group that appeared for years on the “The Andy Williams Show”. At the height of his solo career, Donny teamed up with his younger sister Marie Osmond in their own variety show called “Donny & Marie”. The pair have been working together ever since and have been appearing at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas since 2008.

When I was growing up in the Ireland, there was a surprisingly popular BBC television show featuring professional ballroom dancing called “Come Dancing”. It ran almost every year from 1949 to 1998, and in 2004 the BBC resurrected it with a new twist, adding celebrities to dance with the professionals. The new show, called “Strictly Come Dancing”, is a huge success and has become a worldwide franchise. Over here we watch the American version called “Dancing with the Stars”. It really can be fun television …

32. Stickers forming a patch : BRIARS

“Briar” is a generic name for several plants that have thorns or prickles, including the rose. Famously, Br’er Rabbit lives in a briar patch.

36. Soda brand with more than 90 flavors : FANTA

The soft drink named “Fanta” has quite an interesting history. As WWII approached, the Coca-Cola plant in Germany had trouble obtaining the ingredients it needed to continue production of the cola beverage, so the plant manager decided to create a new drink from what was available. The new beverage was built around whey (leftover from cheese production) and pomace (left over after juice has been extracted from fruit). The inventor asked his colleagues to use their “imagination” (“Fantasie” in German) and come up with a name for the drink, so they piped up “Fanta!”

42. Tommy or Jimmy of jazz : DORSEY

The brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey headed up a studio band in the early thirties and had a lot of success together, including two number one hits. The pair had a very acrimonious relationship though, and split up in 1935, each forming his own band. They did even better after the parting of the ways, with Tommy having seventeen more number one hits, and Jimmy ten.

47. ___ pasta (farfalle) : BOW-TIE

“Farfalle” is commonly referred to as “bow-tie pasta” because of its shape. The name comes from the Italian “farfalla” meaning “butterfly”.

48. 2018’s debate over “Yanny or Laurel,” e.g. : MEME

A meme (short for “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

49. Joey Potter’s portrayer on “Dawson’s Creek” : KATIE HOLMES

Tom Cruise’s third wife was actress Katie Holmes The high-profile couple were dubbed “TomKat” by the entertainment media. Cruise and Holmes had one child together, a daughter named Suri who was born in 2006. TomKat divorced in 2012.

The television show “Dawson’s Creek” is described as a teen drama. The story revolves around a group of teenagers and follows them through high school and college.

51. Travel on-line? : PARASAIL

Parasailing is hanging below a tethered parachute that is towed by a boat.

56. Party of 13? : BAR MITZVAH

A Jewish girl becomes a Bat Mitzvah at 12 years of age, the age at which she becomes responsible for her actions. Boys become Bar Mitzvahs at 13. The terms translate into English as daughter and son of the commandments.

58. Home arena of the Bruins and Celtics : TD GARDEN

TD Garden is a sports arena that was built in the 1990s to replace the aging Boston Garden as home for the Boston Celtics basketball team and the Boston Bruins hockey team.

The Boston Bruins professional ice hockey team goes way back, and has been in existence since 1924. The National Hockey League back then was a Canadian-only league, but was expanded to include the US in 1923. The Bruins were the first US-team in the expanded league.

The Boston Celtics NBA basketball team were founded just after WWII in 1946. The Celtics won eight league championships in a row from 1958 to 1966. That’s the longest consecutive championship winning streak of any professional sports team in North America.

61. Trunk fastener? : CORSET

A corset is a close-fitting undergarment that is stiffened with a material such as whalebone. Corsets are more usually worn by women, to shape the body. The word “corset” is a diminutive of the Old French “cors” meaning “body”.

63. Ringo Starr’s real first name : RICHARD

Sir Ringo Starr’s real name is Richard Starkey. Before he joined the Beatles, replacing drummer Pete Best, Starkey played with the Raving Texans. It was with the Raving Texans that he adopted the name “Ringo Starr”, because he wore a lot of rings and he thought it sounded “cowboyish”. Back then his drum solos were billed as “Starr Time”.

67. Palate cleanser in a multicourse meal : SORBET

“Sorbet” can mean different things around the world. Here in the US, sorbet is a non-fat frozen dessert that is made without any dairy content.

68. Reptiles that can walk on ceilings : GECKOS

The word “gecko” comes from an Indonesian/Javanese word “tokek”, which is imitative of the reptile’s chirping sound. In making such a sound, geckos are unique in the world of lizards. More interesting to me than a gecko’s chirping is its ability to cling to walls and to other vertical surfaces. Their feet are specially adapted with “toes” that make extremely intimate, close contact to a surface. The toes have millions of hairs called setae that enable the clinging. It isn’t suction that supports them, but rather van der Waals forces (weak “gravitational” attractions). Fascinating stuff …

69. Casanova’s intrigues : AMOURS

Giacomo Casanova was an 18th-century adventurer from Venice. We know so much about him, and his reputation as a womanizer, because he left us his autobiography “Histoire de ma vie” (Story of My Life). A guy recounting stories of his love life and conquests? All true, I am sure …

71. Wigs out : GOES APE

The idea behind the expression “to wig out”, meaning “to go crazy”, is that there is so much going on in your brain that it might “lift your hair/wig”.

73. ___ the Great (ninth-century English king) : ALFRED

Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex in the latter part of the ninth century, and the dominant ruler in the whole of England. Wessex was the familiar name of the Kingdom of the West Saxons in the southwest of Britain.

77. Purely academic : MOOT

To moot is to bring up as a subject for discussion or debate. So, something that is moot is open to debate. Something that is no longer moot, is no longer worth debating. We don’t seem to be able get that right, which drives me crazy …

78. Striker’s replacement : SCAB

We first started calling strikebreakers “scabs” in the early 1800s, and before that a scab was a person who refused to join a trade union (back as early 1777). The word probably comes from the use of “scab” as a symptom of a skin disease, and so is a term that is meant to insult.

86. Old “It cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth” sloganeer : COLGATE

The Colgate company, of toothpaste fame, was started by Englishman William Colgate in 1806 as a soap and candle factory in New York City. As the Colgate family prospered, they spent decades providing financial support to Madison University in Hamilton, New York. In recognition of this support, the school was renamed in 1890 to “Colgate University”.

92. Paprika lookalike : CAYENNE PEPPER

The cayenne pepper is a hot chili pepper that is often used in a powdered form, when it might be referred to as “red pepper”. The pepper is named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, an overseas department of France located on the northeast coast of South America.

93. Forerunners of combines : REAPERS

A combine harvester is a machine that “combines” the work that without it would take three steps, i.e. reaping, binding and threshing.

Down

2. Greek hero killed by a giant scorpion : ORION

According to Greek mythology, Orion was a giant hunter who was placed in the night sky by Zeus, the king of the gods. Orion is very recognizable as a constellation, especially with the three bright stars known as “Orion’s Belt”. Additionally, the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is said to be Orion’s hunting dog, and this star sits at Orion’s “foot”.

3. Who once said “You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you” : BERRA

Yogi Berra is regarded by many as the greatest catcher ever to play in Major League Baseball, and has to be America’s most celebrated “author” of malapropisms. Here are some greats:

  • It ain’t over till it’s over.
  • 90% of the game is half mental.
  • Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
  • When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
  • It’s déjà vu all over again.
  • Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.
  • A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

5. Green housewarming gift : FERN

Ferns are unlike mosses in that they have xylem and phloem, making them vascular plants. They also have stems, leaves and roots, but they do not have seeds and flowers, and reproduce using spores. Spores differ from seeds in that they have very little stored food.

6. Wordsworth wrote one on immortality : ODE

The great English poet William Wordsworth is intrinsically linked with the Lake District in the north of England, where he lived from much of his life. The Lake District is a beautiful part of the country, and I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Dove Cottage in Grasmere a couple of times, where Wordsworth lived with his sister Dorothy …

9. Essentially : PER SE

“Per se” is a Latin phrase that translates as “by itself”. We use “per se” pretty literally, meaning “in itself, intrinsically”.

10. Many faculty members, in brief : PHDS

“Ph.D.” is an abbreviation for “philosophiae doctor”, Latin for “teacher of philosophy”. Often, candidates for a PhD already hold a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, so a PhD might be considered a “third degree”.

11. Stan who co-created Spider-Man : LEE

Stan Lee did just about everything at Marvel Comics over the years, from writing to being president and chairman of the board. If you like superhero movies based on the characters from Marvel Comics, then you could spend a few hours trying to spot Stan Lee in those films as he has a penchant for making cameo appearances. Lee can be spotted in “X-Men” (2000), “Spider-Man” (2002), “Hulk” (2003), “Fantastic Four” (2005), “Iron Man” (2008) and many other films.

Spider-Man is a creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and first appeared in comics in 1962. Spider-Man was a somewhat groundbreaking character in that his alter ego was a teenage high school student (named Peter Parker), which marked the first time that a young person featured front and center as the superhero.

31. Rock musician with a knighthood : BONO

Irish singer Bono is a Dubliner who was born Paul David Hewson. As a youth, Hewson was given the nickname “Bono Vox” by a friend, a Latin expression meaning “good voice”, and so the singer has been known as Bono since the late seventies. His band’s first name was “Feedback”, later changed to “The Hype”. The band members searched for yet another name and chose U2 from a list of six names suggested by a friend. They picked U2 because it was the name they disliked least …

32. Deadbeat student at TV’s Highland High : BEAVIS

“Beavis and Butt-Head” is an adult cartoon television show and film. The show ran on MTV, which is only one reason why I’ve never seen it …

33. “The Lady Is a Tramp” lyricist : HART

“The Lady Is a Tramp” is a song from the 1937 musical “Babes in Arms” by Rodgers and Hart. The song was also sung by Frank Sinatra in the 1957 movie “Pal Joey”.

34. Stephen King novel with a misspelling in the title : PET SEMATARY

“Pet Sematary” is a horror novel by Stephen King that was first published in 1983. King was inspired to write the story after his experiences in a rented house on a busy road. Lots of animals were killed on the road so local children created a pet cemetery in a nearby field.

35. Like some tires : BELTED

Radial (actually “radial-ply”) tires are so called because the cord plies embedded in the rubber are arranged radially from the centre of the tire. This means that the plies are at right angles to the direction of travel. In older tires the plies were criss-crossed over each other, at angles of 60 and -60 degrees from the direction of travel. Such tires are called cross-ply or bias tires.

41. Wearers of white hats : LAWMEN

In western movies and television, the bad guys tend to wear black hats, and the good guys wear white. Well, that’s the perception. As a result, we’ve come to use the phrase “black hat” to mean “villain”.

44. Game featured in 2006’s “Casino Royale” : HOLD ‘EM

The official birthplace of the incredibly popular poker game of Texas hold ’em is Robstown, Texas where the game dates back to the early 1900s. The game was introduced into Las Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texan enthusiasts including Doyle Brunson, a champion often seen playing on TV today. Doyle Brunson published a poker strategy guide in 1978, and this really helped increase the popularity of the game. But it was the inclusion of Texas hold ‘em in the television lineup that really gave the game its explosive surge in popularity, with the size of the prize money just skyrocketing.

2006’s “Casino Royale” is the 21st film in the “James Bond” series, and the first to star Daniel Craig in the lead role. The film was directed by New Zealander Martin Campbell, someone who my next door neighbor for a couple of years (my claim to fame!). Campbell also directed “GoldenEye” in 1995, which introduced Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. I find it interesting that Campbell was asked back to oversee the introduction of Daniel Craig to the role.

52. Ancient Mexicas, e.g. : AZTECS

The Aztec people of Central America dominated the region in the 14th – 16th centuries. Two traits of the Aztec people are oft cited today. They built some magnificent pyramids, and they also engaged in human sacrifice. The two traits were linked in a way … for the consecration of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan, 84,400 prisoners were sacrificed over a period of four days.

53. Sister of Tiffany : IVANKA

Ivanka Trump is the daughter of President Donald Trump and his first wife, Ivana Trump. Ivanka’s birth name is Ivana Marie Trump. “Ivanka” is a diminutive of “Ivana”, and has been the First Daughter’s nickname for most of her life. Ivanka converted to the Hebrew faith after marrying Jared Kushner in 2009. Ivanka’s Hebrew name is “Yael”.

57. German-Swiss author who won the 1946 Nobel in Literature : HESSE

Hermann Hesse was not only a novelist, but also a poet and a painter. His best known work is probably his 1927 novel “Steppenwolf”.

61. Satine’s profession in “Moulin Rouge!” : COURTESAN

“Moulin Rouge!” is musical film that was released in 2001, starring Nicole Kidman as the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, and Ewan McGregor as the young man who falls in love with her. Although set in the early 1900s, the film uses many, many contemporary songs. There were so many that it took the producers almost two years to secure the rights to use the music.

63. Copper wheels? : RADIO CAR

“To cop” was northern British dialect for “to seize, catch”, and is still a slang term meaning “to get hold of, steal”. This verb evolved in the noun “copper”, describing a policeman, someone who catches criminals. “Copper” is often shortened to “cop”.

65. Julius Caesar’s first wife : CORNELIA

Julius Caesar’s first wife was Cornelia, and she had died one year before he married his second wife Pompeia Sulla. Caesar divorced his second wife a few years later as there were unfounded allegations that she was having an affair. Caesar stated at the time that, “my wife ought not even to be under suspicion”, giving rise to the proverb “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion”.

66. Calls from quarterbacks : HUTS

The quarterback (QB) starts each play in football with a snap (also called a “hike”). He announces to his teammates the exact moment of the snap by calling out signals, usually including the word “hut” one or more times in a prearranged sequence.

68. U.S. Naval Academy mascot : GOAT

Bill the Goat is the US Naval Academy’s mascot. The first mascot for the school was a gorilla, and then followed a couple of cats, a bulldog and a carrier pigeon. The first goat to make an appearance as a mascot was named El Cid, and that was back in 1893. A goat has been the USNA’s mascot continuously since 1904.

70. Small jumper : FLEA

Fleas are flightless insects, but they sure can jump. Their very specialized hind legs allow them to jump up to 50 times the length of their bodies.

73. James of TV’s “How the West Was Won” : ARNESS

James Arness played the role of Matt Dillon, Marshal of Dodge City, on “Gunsmoke” for twenty years. If you count the occasions when he reprised the role for specials, he actually performed as Matt Dillon over five decades. Did you know that the real name of Peter Graves, the actor who played Jim Phelps on “Mission: Impossible”, was Peter Arness, as he and James were brothers.

76. Pan resistant to aging : PETER

J.M. Barrie’s stage play “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” premiered in London in 1904. Barrie adapted the play into a 1911 novel titled “Peter and Wendy”. The character Peter Pan actually predated the play, having been introduced by Barrie as baby in his 1902 adult novel called “The Little White Bird”.

78. Slaloming spot : SLOPE

“Slalom” is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”. There is a longer version of the traditional slalom that is called giant slalom

79. Ford Mustang, for one : COUPE

The type of car known as a “coupe” or “coupé” is a closed automobile with two doors. The name comes from the French word “couper” meaning “to cut”. In most parts of the English-speaking world the pronunciation adheres to the original French, but here in most of North America we go with “coop”. The original coupé was a horse-drawn carriage that was cut (coupé) to eliminate the rear-facing passenger seats. That left just a driver and two front-facing passengers. If the driver was left without a roof and out in the open, then the carriage was known as a “coupé de-ville”.

The Ford Mustang car was introduced in 1964. Back then the Mustang wasn’t a brand new design, but was based on the Ford Falcon. The Mustang was the first of the “pony cars”, American models that are compact and affordable, as well as sporty in image and performance.

83. Stuff : SATE

“Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Goes to grab a bite, say : BOBS FOR APPLES
14. What a crop top exposes : MIDRIFF
21. “Anything else, or can I go?” : ARE WE DONE HERE?
22. “1984” superstate that includes America : OCEANIA
23. Early reel-to-reel devices : WIRE RECORDERS
24. Expired IDs? : TOE TAG
25. “Marriage Italian-Style” star : LOREN
26. Give mouth-to-mouth to? : KISS
27. Donny who won “Dancing With the Stars” : OSMOND
29. Construction on Broadway : SET
30. Speak sharply : SNAP
31. Stockpot addition : BONE
32. Stickers forming a patch : BRIARS
33. Keep it under your hat! : HEAD
34. Petulant expression : POUT
35. Leaves mystified : BEFOGS
36. Soda brand with more than 90 flavors : FANTA
37. Ancestry : DESCENT
41. Picks up : LEARNS
42. Tommy or Jimmy of jazz : DORSEY
43. As a whole : IN TOTO
44. Two for one? : HALVES
45. Case workers? : PORTERS
46. Golfing hazards : TRAPS
47. ___ pasta (farfalle) : BOW-TIE
48. 2018’s debate over “Yanny or Laurel,” e.g. : MEME
49. Joey Potter’s portrayer on “Dawson’s Creek” : KATIE HOLMES
51. Travel on-line? : PARASAIL
55. Receptive to new ideas : OPEN-MINDED
56. Party of 13? : BAR MITZVAH
58. Home arena of the Bruins and Celtics : TD GARDEN
59. Painter’s roll : MASKING TAPE
60. Overflow : TEEM
61. Trunk fastener? : CORSET
62. Lets out : RENTS
63. Ringo Starr’s real first name : RICHARD
67. Palate cleanser in a multicourse meal : SORBET
68. Reptiles that can walk on ceilings : GECKOS
69. Casanova’s intrigues : AMOURS
70. Ran into in court? : FOULED
71. Wigs out : GOES APE
72. On the take : DIRTY
73. ___ the Great (ninth-century English king) : ALFRED
74. Cereal ingredient : BRAN
75. Places to crash on road trips : INNS
76. Very : PRETTY
77. Purely academic : MOOT
78. Striker’s replacement : SCAB
82. Copa América cheer : OLE!
83. Century in American politics : SENATE
84. Brewery sights : VATS
85. In the ballpark : CLOSE
86. Old “It cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth” sloganeer : COLGATE
88. Awfully large : AS BIG AS A HOUSE
91. Takes to the sky : AVIATES
92. Paprika lookalike : CAYENNE PEPPER
93. Forerunners of combines : REAPERS
94. You can’t go back on them : ONE-WAY STREETS

Down

1. Cries loudly : BAWLS
2. Greek hero killed by a giant scorpion : ORION
3. Who once said “You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you” : BERRA
4. Win every prize in : SWEEP
5. Green housewarming gift : FERN
6. Wordsworth wrote one on immortality : ODE
7. Crank up the amp to 11 and go wild : ROCK OUT
8. Name, as a successor : ANOINT
9. Essentially : PER SE
10. Many faculty members, in brief : PHDS
11. Stan who co-created Spider-Man : LEE
12. Presented perfectly : ERROR-FREE
13. Courtroom periods : SESSIONS
14. Travels by car : MOTORS
15. Touchscreen array : ICONS
16. Document kept in a safe : DEED
17. Untrustworthy sort : RAT
18. Sort of : IN A SENSE
19. Shiny beetle disliked by fruit growers : FIGEATER
20. You should avoid feeding on them : FAST DAYS
28. Food & Wine and Field & Stream : MAGS
31. Rock musician with a knighthood : BONO
32. Deadbeat student at TV’s Highland High : BEAVIS
33. “The Lady Is a Tramp” lyricist : HART
34. Stephen King novel with a misspelling in the title : PET SEMATARY
35. Like some tires : BELTED
36. Shade in the woods : FOREST GREEN
37. Steve who co-created Spider-Man : DITKO
38. Absorbed : ENRAPT
39. Express : STATED
40. Muddling through : COPING
41. Wearers of white hats : LAWMEN
42. Sphere : DOMAIN
44. Game featured in 2006’s “Casino Royale” : HOLD ‘EM
45. Department of Buildings issuance : PERMIT
47. Became inseparable : BONDED
48. Selling point? : MARKET
50. Companies that need help : HIRERS
51. Didn’t bid : PASSED
52. Ancient Mexicas, e.g. : AZTECS
53. Sister of Tiffany : IVANKA
54. It may be open for business : LAPTOP
56. Unkind, as criticism : BARBED
57. German-Swiss author who won the 1946 Nobel in Literature : HESSE
59. Safer of “60 Minutes” : MORLEY
61. Satine’s profession in “Moulin Rouge!” : COURTESAN
63. Copper wheels? : RADIO CAR
64. Torch carrier’s announcement : I’M IN LOVE!
65. Julius Caesar’s first wife : CORNELIA
66. Calls from quarterbacks : HUTS
67. Its shell doesn’t crack : SOFT TACO
68. U.S. Naval Academy mascot : GOAT
70. Small jumper : FLEA
71. Show’s earnings : GROSSES
73. James of TV’s “How the West Was Won” : ARNESS
74. Field with lots of growth? : BOTANY
76. Pan resistant to aging : PETER
77. Ars ___ (anagram of “anagrams,” aptly) : MAGNA
78. Slaloming spot : SLOPE
79. Ford Mustang, for one : COUPE
80. Valuable possession : ASSET
81. Round units? : BEERS
83. Stuff : SATE
84. What an essay presents : VIEW
85. Her 2018 album “Dancing Queen” consists entirely of Abba covers : CHER
87. Break : GAP
89. Word spoken while waving : BYE
90. Well-chosen : APT

16 thoughts on “1104-18 NY Times Crossword 4 Nov 18, Sunday”

  1. Came to Las Vegas to play golf with the boys. Today is our off day – so I bought the New York Times and I am doing the puzzle in real time instead of five weeks later (San Diego Union Tribune) . Lots of fun, no errors. NO THEME? Sorta feel gipped.

  2. 51:17. I really liked the theme (someone had to say it…). Very interesting to see a Sunday themeless, but I liked it. I’d like to see more. Agree with Liggy in the sense that it seemed like we solvers had to do all the work this time.

    Interesting write up on the word MOOT. It does seem that we have that backwards, but common usage trumps traditional meanings eventually. So it’s not worth debating that which is open for debate…or something like that.

    Best –

    1. @Jeff
      >Very interesting to see a Sunday themeless, but I liked it.

      I see them every once in a great while for indie puzzles. They’re fun. I’m looking forward to next week. I wouldn’t want to see it incredibly regularly, but it wouldn’t hurt to see a bit more than I do.

      1. @Glenn –
        I read the NYT blurb on this puzzle. There has never been a NYT Sunday themeless in the Shortz era. Then they went into the archives and said there has never been one period. But then, of all people, 21 year old David Steinberg pointed out that all Sunday puzzles up through the 1950’s were themeless. Interesting. So in a way this was a throwback Sunday puzzle.

  3. Really nice puzzle . We vote for more non theme puzzles. Do I hear any seconder’s

    43 across in toto need to re visit our Latin.

  4. 1 hr. and 10 min. and no errors.
    I kept thinking throughout this puzzle that UNTHEMED was somehow going to be the theme.

  5. 32:12, no errors. Enjoyable challenge, vague clueing forced me to imagine how the next 3 or 4 entries would fit before I could write in an answer. A lot of interesting trivia in Bill’s ‘Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies’. Did not know the connection between Colgate the University and Colgate the personal products.

  6. Always impressed with Bill’s times and those of any who get reasonably close to his, playing by rules similar to his.

  7. 1 hr. 10 mins, first pass. Went out, came back, finished in 6 mins. I was pretty proud of myself, no cheatin’!
    (took me awhile to even understand the joke, 24 across “toe tags.”)

  8. Positives and negatives of this puzzle:

    POSITIVES:
    *31D – BONO (“Rock musician with a knighthood”).
    *36D – FOREST GREEN (“Shade in the woods”).
    *63A – RICHARD (“Ringo Starr’s real first name” – love the Beatles!).
    *67D – SOFT TACO (“Its shell doesn’t crack”).

    NEGATIVES:
    *No theme – bit of a let-down for me.
    *Slip-ups on some (52D – MAYANS instead of AZTECS, e.g.).
    *Slang used excessively.
    *No sort of “Eureka” / “A-ha” moment!

    ‘Nuff said.

    1. @David … From “dictionary.com”: As an adjective, “express” means “clearly indicated; distinctly stated; definite; explicit; plain”. For example: “He defied my express command.”

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