0820-19 NY Times Crossword 20 Aug 19, Tuesday

Constructed by: Evan Kalish
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Golf Ball

Themed answers start with places where a GOLF BALL might be found on a golf hole, and in order from TEE to CUP:

  • 60A Sports item that can be found at the starts of 17-, 21-, 32-, 42- and 54-Across : GOLF BALL
  • 17A Souvenir from a concert tour : TEE SHIRT
  • 21A Cavalryman under Teddy Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War : ROUGH RIDER
  • 32A Revolutionary War battle in Boston : BUNKER HILL
  • 42A Leafy course : GREEN SALAD
  • 54A Hot order with marshmallows : CUP OF COCOA

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 5m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 School grp. that doesn’t include children : PTA

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

13 Museum holdings : ART

The term “museum” comes from the ancient Greek word “mouseion” that denoted a temple dedicated to the “Muses”. The Muses were the patrons of the arts in Greek mythology.

14 Disney collectibles : CELS

In the world of animation, a cel is a transparent sheet on which objects and characters are drawn. In the first half of the 20th century the sheet was actually made of celluloid, giving the “cel” its name.

16 Coastal city SE of Roma : NAPOLI

Naples (“Napoli” in Italian) is the third largest city in Italy. The name “Napoli” comes from the city’s Ancient Greek name, which translates as “New City”. That’s a bit of a paradox as today Naples is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world.

21 Cavalryman under Teddy Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War : ROUGH RIDER

The regiment known formally as the 1st US Volunteer Cavalry is more familiarly known as the Rough Riders. When Theodore Roosevelt was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the unit, it became known as “Roosevelt’s Rough Riders”.

23 March parade honoree, colloquially : ST PADDY

There is a fair amount known about Saint Patrick, some of which comes from two letters written in his own hand. St. Patrick lived in the fifth century, but was not born in Ireland. He was first brought to Ireland at about 16 years of age from his native Britain, by Irish raiders who made him a slave for six years. Patrick managed to escape and returned to his homeland where he studied and entered the Church. He went back to Ireland as a bishop and a missionary and there lived out the rest of his life. There seems to be good evidence that he died on March 17th (now celebrated annually as Saint Patrick’s Day), although the year is less clear. The stories about shamrock and snakes, I am afraid they are the stuff of legend.

28 Concerns for a dermatologist, informally : ZITS

The slang term “zit”, meaning “pimple”, came into the language in 1966, but no one seems to know its exact derivation.

32 Revolutionary War battle in Boston : BUNKER HILL

The Battle of Bunker Hill was a victory for the British early in the American War of Independence, although the British losses were so large that it emboldened the inexperienced colonial militiamen who were up against regular army troops. The battle was named for nearby Bunker Hill located close to Charlestown, Massachusetts, although almost all of the combat took place on Breed’s Hill.

36 Ingredient in jelly beans and M&M’s : DYE

Jelly beans are thought to have originated in Boston, and it is documented that they were sent from there by families and friends of soldiers fighting in the Civil War.

Forrest Mars, Sr. was the founder of the Mars Company. Forrest invented the Mars Bar while living over in England and then developed M&M’s when he returned to the US. Mars came up with the idea for M&M’s when he saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating chocolate pellets. Those pellets had a hard shell of tempered chocolate on the outside to prevent them from melting. Mars got some of the funding to develop the M&M from William Murrie, the son of the president of Hershey’s Chocolate. It is the “M” and “M” from “Mars” and “Murrie” that gives the name to the candy.

37 “The Road Not Taken” poet : FROST

Robert Frost had a poem published in 1916 in which he describes the road he took in the last lines:

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Because of these last lines, the poem is often assumed to be titled “The Road Less Traveled”. In fact, the poem’s correct name is “The Road not Taken”. Quite interesting …

38 Class for citizens-to-be, in brief : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

39 Part of a squirrel’s stash : ACORN

There are several species of gray squirrel that are native to North America. Even though I live here in the west of the continent, I am most familiar with the eastern gray squirrel. That’s because that particular species was introduced into Italy in 1948, and now the whole continent is overrun with the animal. The result in Britain and Ireland is that the native red squirrel population is now endangered and there are active programs to eradicate the invading species. There was even a plan to have celebrity chefs promote gray squirrel recipes in an effort to cull the population!

41 Prez who established Social Security : FDR

The Social Security Administration (SSA) was set up as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The first person to receive a monthly retirement benefit was Ida May Fuller of Vermont who received her first check for the sum of $22.54 after having contributed for three years through payroll taxes. The New Deal turned out to be a good deal for Ms. Fuller, as she lived to be 100 years of age and received a total benefit of almost $23,000, whereas her three years of contributions added up to just $24.75.

46 “___ Misérables” : LES

Victor Hugo’s famous 1862 novel “Les Misérables”has been translated into English several times. However, the title is usually left in the original French as a successful translation of “les misérables” seems to be elusive. Some suggestions for an English title are “The Wretched”, “The Victims” and “The Dispossessed”. The novel follows the lives of several characters including an ex-convict Jean Valjean, a fanatic police inspector Javert, a beautiful prostitute Fantine, and Fantine’s illegitimate daughter Cosette.

47 It’s mostly nitrogen : AIR

Air is mainly composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and argon (1%). We hear a lot about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It makes up (or should make up!) about 0.04%, but that’s an important 0.04%.

50 Washington peak named after the second U.S. president : MT ADAMS

Mount Adams is a volcanic peak in the state of Washington, in the Cascade Range. There was an unsuccessful attempt in the 1930s to have the Cascade Range renamed to the President’s Range, with each of the major peaks named for a US president. The plan was to rename Mount Hood as Mount Adams, after President John Adams. Due to a cartographer’s error, the relatively unknown peak that we now call Mount Adams was given the name, instead of Mount Hood. The plans for “the President’s Range” came to nought, but the Mount Adams name stuck.

54 Hot order with marshmallows : CUP OF COCOA

The beverages hot cocoa and hot chocolate differ from each other in that the latter contains cocoa butter, whereas the former does not.

63 Monogram component: Abbr. : INIT

A monogram is a design with two or more letters intertwined or combined in some way to make a single symbol. The term “monogram” comes from the Greek “mono” meaning “single” and “gramma” meaning “letter”.

66 Jiffy : SEC

“Jiff” or “jiffy”, meaning “short time, instant” is thought originally to be thieves’ slang for “lightning”.

67 Santa ___, Calif. : ANA

Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California and takes its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city.

Down

4 German cry : ACH!

The German exclamation “ach!” is usually translated into English as “oh!”

6 “The Jetsons” son : ELROY

“The Jetsons” is an animated show from Hanna-Barbera that had its first run in 1962-1963, and then was recreated in 1985-1987. When it debuted in 1963 on ABC, “The Jetsons” was the network’s first ever color broadcast. “The Jetsons” is like a space-age version of “The Flintstones”. The four Jetson family members are George and Jane, the parents, and children Judy and Elroy. Residing with the family in Orbit City are Rosie the household robot and Astro the pet dog.

7 Hush-hush : ON THE DL

Something described as “on the down low” is “secret”. The phrase is often shortened to “on the DL”, The same abbreviated expression can also mean “on the disabled list” in sports.

9 Small squirt, as of perfume : SPRITZ

A spritz is a squirt, a brief spray of liquid. The term “spritz” ultimately comes from German, possibly via Yiddish, in which language “spritzen” means “to squirt, spout”. A spritzer is a glass of wine with a spritz of carbonated water, and is a drink we’ve been enjoying since the early sixties.

11 Ye ___ Shoppe : OLDE

The word “olde” wasn’t actually used much earlier than the 1920s. “Olde” was introduced to give a quaint antique feel to brand names, shop names etc. as in “Ye Olde Shoppe”.

15 Disco ___ (character on “The Simpsons”) : STU

On “The Simpsons”, the character of Disco Stu is voiced by Hank Azaria, although the original intent was for him to be voiced by Phil Hartman. Disco Stu is described as “a black, wrinkly John Travolta”.

18 Semiformal pants : SLACKS

The term “slacks” was introduced in the early 1800s with the meaning “loose trousers”. Those early slacks were part of a military uniform.

30 Host Banks of “America’s Next Top Model” : TYRA

Tyra Banks is a tremendously successful model and businesswoman. Banks created and hosted the hit show “America’s Next Top Model “, and also had her own talk show. She was also the first African-American woman to make the cover of the “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit issue.

32 Closest of pals, informally : BFFS

Best friend forever (BFF)

33 Language of Pakistan : URDU

Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of the 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

39 Home of the Himalayas : ASIA

The magnificent Himalaya range of mountains in Asia takes its name from the Sanskrit for “abode of snow”. Geographically, the Himalaya separates the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau to the north.

40 Rapper with the 2018 #1 album “Invasion of Privacy” : CARDI B

“Cardi B” is the stage name of rap artist Belcalis Almánzar from the Bronx in New York City. The name “Cardi B” comes from the brand name “Bacardi”.

42 Montana’s ___ National Park : GLACIER

The beautiful Glacier National Park has been a park since 1910, and covers over one million acres of Montana.

43 Actress Portman : NATALIE

Actress Natalie Portman was born in Israel, in Jerusalem. She moved to the US with her family when she was just three years old.

45 Ski resort vehicle : SNO-CAT

The brand name “Sno-Cat” is owned by the Tucker company. All snowcats are tracked vehicles built to work in snow, and are famously used in expeditions to the polar regions. The modern Sno-Cat from Tucker differs from its competitors in that it has four independently-mounted tracks.

50 Deimos and Phobos, for Mars : MOONS

Mars has two moons, the larger of which is Phobos and the smaller Deimos. “Phobos” is the Greek word for “fear”, and “Deimos” is Greek for “dread”.

51 Carne ___ (burrito filling) : ASADA

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

52 Cantaloupe or honeydew : MELON

The cantaloupe is the most popular type of melon consumed in the US. Apparently the cantaloupe was first cultivated in Cantalupo in Sabina, a town near Rome in Italy.

What we call honeydew melons are also known as white antibes, especially in France and Algeria where the cultivar has been grown for many years. Antibes is a commune in southeastern France, located between Nice and Cannes.

53 Site of a 1965 civil rights march : SELMA

The Alabama city of Selma was settled in 1815. It was named in 1820 by Alabama politician William R. King, who would later serve briefly as US Vice President under President Franklin Pierce. Meaning “high seat, throne”, King chose the city’s name from the Ossianic poem “The Songs of Selma”. Today, the city is perhaps best known for the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, which ultimately led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

54 Part of T.L.C. : CARE

Tender loving care (TLC)

55 Iris’s place in the eye : UVEA

The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball. The outer layer is called the fibrous tunic, and the inner layer is the retina.

The iris is the colored part of the eye. It has an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.

57 Some special FX : CGI

Computer-generated imagery (CGI)

“FX” (sometimes “f/x”) is an abbreviation for “effects”, as in “special effects”.

61 U.S. consumer watchdog, for short : FTC

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established in 1914 with the mission of protecting consumers.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 School grp. that doesn’t include children : PTA
4 Amazement : AWE
7 “You flatter me!” : OH STOP!
13 Museum holdings : ART
14 Disney collectibles : CELS
16 Coastal city SE of Roma : NAPOLI
17 Souvenir from a concert tour : TEE SHIRT
19 Intense rant : TIRADE
20 Lug : HAUL
21 Cavalryman under Teddy Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War : ROUGH RIDER
23 March parade honoree, colloquially : ST PADDY
25 At ___ (stationary) : REST
26 Signal to start : CUE
27 Clear (of) : RID
28 Concerns for a dermatologist, informally : ZITS
32 Revolutionary War battle in Boston : BUNKER HILL
36 Ingredient in jelly beans and M&M’s : DYE
37 “The Road Not Taken” poet : FROST
38 Class for citizens-to-be, in brief : ESL
39 Part of a squirrel’s stash : ACORN
41 Prez who established Social Security : FDR
42 Leafy course : GREEN SALAD
44 Totals : SUMS
46 “___ Misérables” : LES
47 It’s mostly nitrogen : AIR
48 Without ice, at a bar : NEAT
50 Washington peak named after the second U.S. president : MT ADAMS
54 Hot order with marshmallows : CUP OF COCOA
58 “Ah, gotcha” : I SEE
59 Late Swedish electronic musician with the 2013 hit “Wake Me Up” : AVICII
60 Sports item that can be found at the starts of 17-, 21-, 32-, 42- and 54-Across : GOLF BALL
62 Entertain, as with stories : REGALE
63 Monogram component: Abbr. : INIT
64 Suffix with star or tsar : -DOM
65 Spring celebration : EASTER
66 Jiffy : SEC
67 Santa ___, Calif. : ANA

Down

1 Network in a park : PATHS
2 Real pleasure : TREAT
3 Bought completely : ATE UP
4 German cry : ACH!
5 More unusual : WEIRDER
6 “The Jetsons” son : ELROY
7 Hush-hush : ON THE DL
8 Split ___ (nitpick) : HAIRS
9 Small squirt, as of perfume : SPRITZ
10 Relative of a frog : TOAD
11 Ye ___ Shoppe : OLDE
12 Waterfront projection : PIER
15 Disco ___ (character on “The Simpsons”) : STU
18 Semiformal pants : SLACKS
22 Feature on the front of a car : GRILLE
24 Song that can’t be sung alone : DUET
27 Goes up : RISES
29 Worshiped one : IDOL
30 Host Banks of “America’s Next Top Model” : TYRA
31 Mail : SEND
32 Closest of pals, informally : BFFS
33 Language of Pakistan : URDU
34 It’s to be expected : NORM
35 Regarding this point : HERETO
39 Home of the Himalayas : ASIA
40 Rapper with the 2018 #1 album “Invasion of Privacy” : CARDI B
42 Montana’s ___ National Park : GLACIER
43 Actress Portman : NATALIE
45 Ski resort vehicle : SNO-CAT
49 Modern I.R.S. submission option : E-FILE
50 Deimos and Phobos, for Mars : MOONS
51 Carne ___ (burrito filling) : ASADA
52 Cantaloupe or honeydew : MELON
53 Site of a 1965 civil rights march : SELMA
54 Part of T.L.C. : CARE
55 Iris’s place in the eye : UVEA
56 In a ___ eye : PIGS
57 Some special FX : CGI
61 U.S. consumer watchdog, for short : FTC