Constructed by: Thomas van Geel
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Kickstarter
Themed answers each START with a kind of “KICK”:
- 62A. Crowdfunding site … or a hint to the beginnings of 17-, 30- and 46-Across : KICKSTARTER
- 17A. Giving away unwanted items rather than trashing them : FREECYCLING (giving “free kick”)
- 30A. Extra job in the gig economy : SIDE HUSTLE (giving “sidekick”)
- 46A. Dramatically end a speech, in a way : DROP THE MIC (giving “drop kick”)
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 4m 25s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Joint that a sock covers : ANKLE
The ankle joint proper is the hinge joint connecting the ends of the tibia and fibula in the leg with the top of the talus in the foot.
11. Karl Marx’s “___ Kapital” : DAS
The ankle joint proper is the hinge joint connecting the ends of the tibia and fibula in the leg with the top of the talus in the foot.
14. Country star Tucker : TANYA
Country singer Tanya Tucker’s first hit was “Delta Dawn”, which she recorded in 1972 at only 13 years of age.
16. Month with Columbus Day: Abbr. : OCT
The discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus is celebrated with a national holiday in many countries. Here in the US we have Columbus Day, in the Bahamas there is Discovery Day, and in Uruguay there is the Day of the Americas.
19. Second letter after epsilon : ETA
Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.
21. Luau dance : HULA
The hula is a native dance of Hawaii that uses arm movements to relate a story. The hula can be performed while sitting (a noho dance) or while standing (a luna dance).
24. Broccoli ___ : RABE
Broccoli rabe is perhaps better known as “rapini”, and is a vegetable often used in Mediterranean cuisines. It is quite delicious sauteed with garlic …
26. Clark of the Daily Planet : KENT
Superman’s comic book creators gave their title character’s alter-ego the name “Clark Kent” by melding the names of Clark Gable and Kent Taylor, two leading men of the cinema at the time Superman was created. However, they modeled Clark’s character more on the silent film actor Harold Lloyd.
The “Daily Planet” is the fictional newspaper for which Clark Kent and Lois Lane work in the “Superman” universe.
28. Obsessive to a fault : ANAL
The use of the word “anal” to mean “stiffly conventional” is an abbreviated form of “anal-retentive”, a term derived from Freudian psychology. Regardless, I’m not a big fan of the term …
29. The Supremes’ “___! In the Name of Love” : STOP
The Supremes were the most successful vocal group in US history based on number-one hits. The group started out in 1959 as a four-member lineup called the Primettes. The name was changed to the Supremes in 1961. One member dropped out in 1962, leaving the Supremes as a trio. Lead singer Diana Ross began to garner much of the attention, which eventually led to a further name change, to Diana Ross & the Supremes.
30. Extra job in the gig economy : SIDE HUSTLE (giving “sidekick”)
Musicians use “gig” to describe a job, a performance. The term originated in the early 1900s in the world of jazz. The derivative phrase “gig economy” applies to a relatively recent phenomenon where workers find themselves jumping from temporary job to temporary job, from gig to gig.
33. Gin’s partner in a classic drink : TONIC
The original tonic water was a fairly strong solution of the drug quinine dissolved in carbonated water. It was used in tropical areas in South Asia and Africa where malaria is rampant. The quinine has a prophylactic effect against the disease, and was formulated as “tonic water” so that it could be easily distributed. In British colonial India, the colonial types got into the habit of mixing in gin with the tonic water to make it more palatable by hiding the bitter taste of the quinine. Nowadays, the level of quinine in tonic water has been dropped, and sugar has been added.
39. Greeting in Tel Aviv : SHALOM
“Shalom” is a Hebrew word meaning “peace” that is also used to mean “hello” and “goodbye”.
The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. “Tel Aviv” translates into “Spring Mound”, a name chosen in 1910.
44. Alternatives to Nikes : FILAS
Fila was originally an Italian company, founded in 1911 and now based in South Korea. Fila was started in Piedmont by the Fila brothers, primarily to make underwear that they sold to people living in the Italian Alps. The company started to focus on sportswear in the seventies, using tennis-great Bjorn Borg as their major endorser.
46. Dramatically end a speech, in a way : DROP THE MIC (giving “drop kick”)
A mic drop takes place when a performer has done particularly well and decides to celebrate by throwing or dropping the microphone to the floor. That doesn’t seem to happen at the performances I tend to frequent …
52. Many, many, many, many, many moons : EONS
Geological time is divided into a number of units of varying lengths. These are, starting from the largest:
- supereon
- eon (also “aeon”)
- era
- period
- epoch
- age
54. Ex-senator Bayh : EVAN
Evan Bayh is the son of Birch Bayh, and like his father was US Senator for the state of Indiana. Prior to serving in the Senate, Evan Bayh was State Governor.
60. Mind’s I? : EGO
Sigmund Freud created a structural model of the human psyche, breaking it into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is that part of the psyche containing the basic instinctual drives. The ego seeks to please the id by causing realistic behavior that benefits the individual. The superego almost has a parental role, contradicting the id by introducing critical thinking and morals to behavioral choices.
61. Reaction to an overshare : TMI
Too much information! (TMI!)
62. Crowdfunding site … or a hint to the beginnings of 17-, 30- and 46-Across : KICKSTARTER
Kickstarter.com is an increasingly popular “crowdfunding” website. Kickstarter is a contemporary version of the traditional model in which artists sought out patrons from among their audiences to fund their work. The website brings together individuals willing to fund projects, usually in exchange for some reward from the artist.
66. Inventor Howe : ELIAS
Elias Howe was an American inventor. Howe wasn’t the first to come up with the idea of a sewing machine, but he was the first to develop one that was functional.
68. Martial arts master Bruce : LEE
Bruce Lee was born not far from here in San Francisco, although he was raised in Hong Kong, returning to the US to attend college. Sadly, Bruce Lee died when he was only 32 years old, due to cerebral edema (a swelling of the brain) attributed to adverse reactions to the pain killing drug Equagesic.
69. What a star on the American flag represents : STATE
Legend has it that Betsy Ross made the first American flag for General George Washington. However, this story only surfaced during the centennial celebrations of 1876, and although Betsy Ross was indeed one of several flag makers in Philadelphia in the days of George Washington, sadly there’s no definitive evidence that Ross provided that first Stars and Stripes.
Down
2. Holden Caulfield, for “The Catcher in the Rye” : NARRATOR
“The Catcher in the Rye” is the most famous novel from the pen of J. D. Salinger. The main character and narrator in the book is Holden Caulfield, a teenager who gets expelled from a university prep school. Caulfield also makes appearances in several short stories written by Salinger, as do other members of the Caulfield family. The title “The Catcher in the Rye” is a reference to the 1782 poem “Comin’ Thro” the Rye” by Scottish poet Robert Burns.
3. Patella : KNEEBONE
The patella is the kneecap. The bone’s Latin name is “patella”, which is a diminutive form of “patina”, the word for “pan”. The idea is that the kneecap is pan-shaped.
4. Chemical compound with the formula NaOH : LYE
Sodium hydroxide is a highly caustic salt, with the chemical formula NaOH. Often referred to as “lye”, sodium hydroxide is also known as “caustic soda” because of its caustic properties.
7. Components of archipelagoes : ISLANDS
“Archipelago” is our spelling of the Italian “arcipelago”, a word that has Greek roots. The Aegean Sea was once known as the Archipelago. The usage of “Archipelago” migrated over time, eventually applying only to the Aegean Islands. As a result, we use the term “archipelago” today not for a sea, but for a group or chain of islands.
8. Second letter after upsilon : CHI
The Greek letter “chi” is the one that looks like our letter X.
9. Roosters’ mates : HENS
The term “rooster” dates back to the late 1700s, and is used to describe an adult male chicken, primarily here in the US. The word “rooster” originated as an alternative to “cock”, as puritans objected to the association with the slang usage of the latter term.
27. Bagful carried by a caddie : TEES
“Caddie” is a Scottish word, as one might expect given the history of the game of golf. “Caddie” is a local word derived from the French “cadet”, meaning a younger son or brother, and also a student officer in the military.
32. Mil. branch with B-52s : USAF
The B-52 Stratofortress has been a mainstay of the USAF since its introduction in 1955. The stated intention is to keep the B-52 in service until 2045, which would give a remarkable length of service of over 90 years.
43. Look smugly upon : SMIRK AT
The Old English word “smearcian” means “to smile”, and gave us our verb “to smirk”, meaning “to smile in a self-satisfied manner”.
45. Madrid matrons : SENORAS
Madrid is the largest city in Spain, and is the nation’s capital. Madrid is located very close to the geographical center of the country. It is the third-largest city in the European Union (after London and Paris). People from Madrid called themselves Madrileños.
49. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE
The Latin term “in esse” is used to mean “actually existing”, and translates as “in being”.
50. Coin with Lincoln on it : CENT
The US one-cent coin has borne the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of Lincoln’s birth. Fifty years later, a representation of the Lincoln Memorial was added to the reverse side.
57. Pinball fail : TILT
In a game of pinball, some players get an irresistible urge to “nudge” the machine . Such a nudge, a movement of the machine designed to influence the path taken by the ball, is called a “tilt”. Most pinball machines have sensors designed to detect a tilt, and when activated a “tilt” warning light comes on and the player’s controls are temporarily disabled.
64. Band with the 1993 hit “Everybody Hurts” : REM
R.E.M. was a rock band from Athens, Georgia formed in 1980. Apparently, the name “R.E.M.” was chosen randomly from a dictionary.
Read on, or …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1. Joint that a sock covers : ANKLE
6. Small recess : NICHE
11. Karl Marx’s “___ Kapital” : DAS
14. Country star Tucker : TANYA
15. Theater worker : USHER
16. Month with Columbus Day: Abbr. : OCT
17. Giving away unwanted items rather than trashing them : FREECYCLING (giving “free kick”)
19. Second letter after epsilon : ETA
20. Rage : IRE
21. Luau dance : HULA
22. Absorbs, as gravy on a plate : SOPS UP
24. Broccoli ___ : RABE
26. Clark of the Daily Planet : KENT
28. Obsessive to a fault : ANAL
29. The Supremes’ “___! In the Name of Love” : STOP
30. Extra job in the gig economy : SIDE HUSTLE (giving “sidekick”)
33. Gin’s partner in a classic drink : TONIC
35. Look at, in the Bible : SEEST
36. Put in more ammunition : RELOAD
39. Greeting in Tel Aviv : SHALOM
42. Lessens, as pain : EASES
44. Alternatives to Nikes : FILAS
46. Dramatically end a speech, in a way : DROP THE MIC (giving “drop kick”)
51. Result of a traffic ticket : FINE
52. Many, many, many, many, many moons : EONS
53. Hanker (for) : PINE
54. Ex-senator Bayh : EVAN
55. “Hold your horses” : NOT YET
58. Tear to bits : REND
60. Mind’s I? : EGO
61. Reaction to an overshare : TMI
62. Crowdfunding site … or a hint to the beginnings of 17-, 30- and 46-Across : KICKSTARTER
65. Goal : AIM
66. Inventor Howe : ELIAS
67. Prefix between tri- and penta- : TETRA-
68. Martial arts master Bruce : LEE
69. What a star on the American flag represents : STATE
70. Slightly off : AMISS
Down
1. Initially : AT FIRST
2. Holden Caulfield, for “The Catcher in the Rye” : NARRATOR
3. Patella : KNEEBONE
4. Chemical compound with the formula NaOH : LYE
5. Made for ___ other : EACH
6. Centers of atoms : NUCLEI
7. Components of archipelagoes : ISLANDS
8. Second letter after upsilon : CHI
9. Roosters’ mates : HENS
10. Therefore : ERGO
11. “Crime ___ pay” : DOESN’T
12. Real : ACTUAL
13. Alternative to a paper clip : STAPLE
18. Hardy-har-hars : YUKS
23. Previous incarnation : PAST LIFE
25. Disorder resulting in seizures : EPILEPSY
27. Bagful carried by a caddie : TEES
31. When repeated, a sneaky laugh : HEH
32. Mil. branch with B-52s : USAF
34. Paint layer : COAT
37. Wood for a baseball bat : ASH
38. Profound : DEEP
40. Classic typewriter brand : OLIVETTI
41. Bosses : MANAGERS
43. Look smugly upon : SMIRK AT
45. Madrid matrons : SENORAS
46. Insurance type that often accompanies medical : DENTAL
47. Dormmate, e.g. : ROOMIE
48. Punctual : ON TIME
49. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE
50. Coin with Lincoln on it : CENT
56. Barely makes, with “out” : EKES
57. Pinball fail : TILT
59. Facts and figures : DATA
63. Spying org. : CIA
64. Band with the 1993 hit “Everybody Hurts” : REM
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