0213-20 NY Times Crossword 13 Feb 20, Thursday

Constructed by: Amanda Chung & Karl Ni
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Roll the Dice

The circled letters in the grid are four versions of the word DICE. Themed answers run into the DICE and use those letters, even though they run into the line above:

  • 58A Take a chance … or a hint to the letters in the shaded squares : ROLL THE DICE
  • 17A Times when teachers go to school but students don’t : IN-SERVICE DAYS
  • 23A Vessel for dipping at a dinner table : SAUCE DISH
  • 36A Reference that arranges words by concept rather than alphabetically : REVERSE DICTIONARY
  • 51A Cousin of a sno-cone : SHAVED ICE

… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 14m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Loops in, in a way : CCS

I wonder do the kids of today know that “cc” stands for carbon copy, and do they have any idea what a carbon copy was? Do you remember how messy carbon paper was to handle? A kind blog reader pointed out to me a while back that the abbreviation has evolved and taken on the meaning “courtesy copy” in our modern world.

4 Marjoram, for one : HERB

Marjoram is a fragrant herb that is native to the Mediterranean area. Oregano, a related species, is sometimes known as wild marjoram.

13 Japanese affirmative : HAI

The word “yes” translates into “oui” in French, “ja” in German, and “hai” in Japanese.

15 Relative of a jaguarundi : OCELOT

The ocelot is a wildcat found mainly in South and Central America, although there have been sightings as far north as Arkansas. An ocelot doesn’t look too different from a domestic cat, and some have been kept as pets. Perhaps most famously, Salvador Dali had one that he carried around everywhere with him.

21 Where the lord’s work is done? : FIEF

Feudalism was a legal and military system that flourished in medieval Europe. Central to the system were the concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs. Lords would grant fiefs (land or rights) to vassals in exchange for allegiance and service.

34 Onetime “Truth in engineering” sloganeer : AUDI

In most countries around the world, Audi uses its corporate tagline in advertising, namely “Vorsprung durch Technik” (which translates as “Advancement through Technology”). However, the literal translation from the German was dropped for the US market, in favor of “Truth in Engineering”.

41 On the house : GRATIS

Something provided “gratis” is supplied free of charge. “Gratis” is a Latin term, a contraction of “gratiis” meaning “for thanks”.

42 Text-displaying technology for Kindles and Nooks : E INK

E Ink Corporation manufactures what is known as “electronic paper”, a material that is integrated into electronic displays used mainly in e-readers and smartphones. An example is the excellent display that comes with the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader.

43 Stows (away) : SALTS

To salt away is to put aside safely for the future, and usually refers to something of value like money. The use of “salt” here is a figurative usage of the verb in the sense of preserving, as in salting meat for a future meal.

44 Something found on a neck : FRET

A fret is a metal strip embedded in the neck of a stringed instrument, a guitar perhaps. The fingers press on the frets, shortening a string and hence changing the note played. The note increases by one semitone as a finger shortens a string by one fret.

49 Kind of yoga : HATHA

Hatha yoga is a yoga system developed in 15th century India. Traditional Hatha yoga is a more “complete” practice than often encountered in the west, involving not just exercise but also meditation and relaxation. “Hatha” is a Sanskrit word meaning “force”.

53 Traveler’s text message, maybe : ETA

Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

63 “I Am ___” (2013 best-selling autobiography) : MALALA

“I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban” is a memoir co-written by Malala Yousafzai and British journalist Christina Lamb. The title tells the essence of Malala’s story. She started a blog when she was 11 or 12 that outlined her life in northwest Pakistan under occupation by the Taliban. As the Pakistani military regained control of the area, Malala’s story was related in a documentary and she gave frequent interviews. One day a gunman came looking for her, and found her on a school bus. He shot Malala three times, with one bullet going into her forehead. She survived, and was taken to England to recuperate. She was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17, making her the youngest ever Nobel laureate.

64 Pants, in slang : TROU

Trousers are pants, the garment covering the lower body and each leg separately. Ultimately, the word “trousers” evolved from the Erse word “triubhas” that described close-fitting shorts. Back in the 1600s there was a colorful saying:

A jellous wife was like an Irish trouze, alwayes close to a mans tayle

65 Brooklyn-based sch. : LIU

Long Island University (LIU) in Brooklyn, New York is a private school that was chartered in 1926. LIU’s focus has always been on providing moderately-priced, effective education to people from all walks in life. To that end, LIU opened a second campus in 1951 in Brookville in the suburbs of New York City, recognizing the need to serve families that were living outside of the metropolis. The athletic teams of LIU’s Brooklyn campus are known as the Brooklyn Blackbirds, and the teams of the Brookville campus are called the Post Pioneers.

Down

2 Substance applied with a chamois : CAR WAX

The chamois is a goat-antelope species native to some European mountain ranges. The skin of the chamois is used to make real chamois leather, something often imitated. Chamois leather is very soft, and is frequently used for making gloves and for polishing prized metallic objects.

4 Classic children’s heroine once played in film by Shirley Temple : HEIDI

“Heidi” is a children’s book written by Swiss author Johanna Spyri and published in two parts. The first is “Heidi’s years of learning and travel”, and the second “Heidi makes use of what she has learned”. The books tell the story of a young girl in the care of her grandfather in the Swiss Alps. The most famous film adaptation of the story is the 1937 movie of the same name starring Shirley Temple in the title role.

5 Suffix with Euclid : -EAN

Euclid of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician who lived in the first millennium, often referred to as the “Father of Geometry”. He wrote a famous book called “Elements” on the subject of mathematics, and the title was so enduring that it was used as the main textbook for the subject right up to the late 19th century.

6 Campers : RVS

One using a recreational vehicle (RV) might be called an RVer.

7 Complaint : BEEF

A beef is a complaint or a grievance. It’s not quite clear how “beef” came to have this meaning, but one suggestion is that derives from the habit of soldiers at the end of the 1800s complaining about the quality or availability of beef in their rations.

9 ___ Conference : TED

The acronym “TED” stands for “Technology, Entertainment and Design”. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as “TED Talks”.

10 Co-star of 2019’s “Marriage Story” : ALAN ALDA

Alan Alda has had a great television career, most notably as a lead actor in “M*A*S*H”. He was born Alphonso D’Abruzzo in the Bronx, New York City. Alda won his first Emmy in 1972, for playing surgeon Hawkeye Pierce on “M*A*S*H”. He also won an Emmy in 2006 for his portrayal of Presidential candidate Senator Arnold Vinick in “The West Wing”. When it comes to the big screen, my favorite of Alda’s movies is the 1978 romantic comedy “Same Time, Next Year” in which he starred opposite Ellen Burstyn.

“Marriage Story” is a 2019 movie starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as a couple going through a messy divorce. The critics loved this one. Me, not so much …

11 Noted painter of scenes of the Napoleonic Wars : GOYA

Francisco Goya was a Spanish painter who was often called the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Two of Goya’s most famous works are “The Nude Maja” and “The Clothed Maja”.

12 Place for unique gifts : ETSY

Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.

24 Children’s author who wrote “There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” : SEUSS

“Dr. Seuss” was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Geisel first used the pen name while studying at Dartmouth College and at the University of Oxford. Back then, he pronounced “Seuss” as it would be in German, i.e. rhyming with “voice”. After his books found success in the US, he went with the pronunciation being used widely by the public, quite happy to have a name that rhymes with “Mother Goose”.

30 Less deserving of coal in one’s stocking : NICER

Apparently, the tradition of putting coal in the Christmas stocking of a poorly-behaved child comes simply from the proximity of the stocking (hanging on the fireplace) to a source of coal!

32 ___ Lingus : AER

Aer Lingus is my favorite airline! Well, the service isn’t that great, but when I get on board an Aer Lingus plane I feel like I am back in Ireland. Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland, with “Aer Lingus” being a phonetic spelling of the Irish “aer-loingeas” meaning “air fleet”. These days Aer Lingus can only lay claim to the title of Ireland’s oldest airline as it is no longer the biggest. That honor goes to the controversial budget airline Ryanair.

34 Pioneer in syllogistic logic : ARISTOTLE

Aristotle was actually a student of Plato in ancient Greece (and in turn, Plato was a student of Socrates). Aristotle’s most famous student was Alexander the Great.

36 Some offensive linemen, for short : RGS

Right guard (RG)

37 Ruth’s was 2.28 : ERA

Earned run average (ERA)

Jack Dunn was the owner/manager of the Baltimore Orioles back in 1913, when he signed on George Herman Ruth as a pitcher. The other players called Ruth “Jack’s newest babe”, and the name “Babe” stuck.

38 Locale in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” : VALHALLA

In Norse mythology, Valhalla (“hall of the slain”) is a gigantic hall in the world of Asgard. Asgard and Valhalla are ruled by the god Odin, the chief Norse god.

“Das Rheingold” is an 1869 opera by Richard Wagner, and is the first of four works that comprise his famous “Ring Cycle”.

39 Singer James : ETTA

“Etta James” was the stage name of celebrated blues and soul singer Jamesetta Hawkins. James’ most famous recording was her 1960 hit “At Last”, which made it into the pop charts. James performed “At Last” at the age of 71 in 2009 on the reality show “Dancing with the Stars”, which was to be her final television appearance. She passed away in 2012.

40 Popular Father’s Day gifts : TIES

Father’s Day was added as an official holiday in 1972, although bills to create the holiday had been with Congress since 1913. By rights, the holiday should be called “Fathers’ Day” (note the punctuation), but the bill that was introduced in 1913 used the “Father’s Day” spelling, and that’s the one that has stuck.

44 Kismet : FATE

“Kismet” is a Turkish word, meaning “fate, fortune, lot”.

45 Palindromic response to “Madam, I’m Adam” : EVE

The three most famous palindromes in English have to be:

  • Able was I ere I saw Elba
  • A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
  • Madam, I’m Adam

One of my favorite terms is “Aibohphobia”, although it doesn’t appear in the dictionary and is a joke term. “Aibohphobia” is a great way to describe a fear of palindromes, by creating a palindrome out of the suffix “-phobia”.

46 Sources of attar : PETALS

Attar is a fragrant essential oil obtained from flowers, and the term often particularly refers to attar of roses.

48 Count : CENSUS

The original census was taken during the days of the Roman Republic, and was a reckoning of all adult males who were fit for military service. The first US Census was taken in 1790, and was conducted by federal marshals.

52 Dweller on the Bering Sea : ALEUT

The Aleuts live on the Aleutian Islands of the North Pacific, and on the Commander Islands at the western end of the same island chain. The Aleutian Islands are part of the United States, and the Commander Islands are in Russia.

53 Humorist Bombeck : ERMA

Erma Bombeck wrote for newspapers for about 35 years. She produced more than 4,000 witty and humorous columns under the title “At Wit’s End”, with all describing her home life in suburbia.

59 Video game annoyance : LAG

In Internet terms, lag is a delay in response caused by network latency. We might notice lag when streaming a video, for example.

61 Counterpart of sin : COS

The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent (abbreviated to “sin, cos and tan”). Each of these is a ratio: a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The “reciprocal” of these three functions are cosecant, secant and cotangent. The reciprocal functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent. These inverted ratios should not be confused with the “inverse” trigonometric functions e.g. arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. These inverse functions are the reverse of the sine, cosine and tangent.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Loops in, in a way : CCS
4 Marjoram, for one : HERB
8 Theater : STAGE
13 Japanese affirmative : HAI
14 Home’s edge : EAVE
15 Relative of a jaguarundi : OCELOT
16 ___ chart : ORG
17 Times when teachers go to school but students don’t : IN-SERVICE DAYS
19 Had : OWNED
21 Where the lord’s work is done? : FIEF
22 “___, do not think I flatter”: Hamlet : NAY
23 Vessel for dipping at a dinner table : SAUCE DISH
26 First: Lat. : PRIMA
28 Fair : EXPO
29 “___ Nacht in Venedig” (operetta) : EINE
31 “___ that order!” (“Star Trek” command) : BELAY
34 Onetime “Truth in engineering” sloganeer : AUDI
35 “Haven’t the foggiest!” : NO IDEA!
36 Reference that arranges words by concept rather than alphabetically : REVERSE DICTIONARY
41 On the house : GRATIS
42 Text-displaying technology for Kindles and Nooks : E INK
43 Stows (away) : SALTS
44 Something found on a neck : FRET
45 For the ages : EPIC
49 Kind of yoga : HATHA
51 Cousin of a sno-cone : SHAVED ICE
53 Traveler’s text message, maybe : ETA
55 Swear words : OATH
57 Admitted : LET IN
58 Take a chance … or a hint to the letters in the shaded squares : ROLL THE DICE
62 Buses and taxis have them nowadays : ADS
63 “I Am ___” (2013 best-selling autobiography) : MALALA
64 Pants, in slang : TROU
65 Brooklyn-based sch. : LIU
66 Saying : ADAGE
67 Confer, as power : VEST
68 People profiled in hagiographies: Abbr. : STS

Down

1 Tap : CHOOSE
2 Substance applied with a chamois : CAR WAX
3 Enlist : SIGN UP
4 Classic children’s heroine once played in film by Shirley Temple : HEIDI
5 Suffix with Euclid : -EAN
6 Campers : RVS
7 Complaint : BEEF
8 Many an Arthur C. Clarke work : SCI-FI BOOK
9 ___ Conference : TED
10 Co-star of 2019’s “Marriage Story” : ALAN ALDA
11 Noted painter of scenes of the Napoleonic Wars : GOYA
12 Place for unique gifts : ETSY
15 Finished : OVER
18 As good as it’s going to get? : RIPE
20 Prefix with tourism : ECO-
24 Children’s author who wrote “There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” : SEUSS
25 Stash : HIDE
27 German possessive : MEIN
30 Less deserving of coal in one’s stocking : NICER
32 ___ Lingus : AER
33 “Woo-hoo!” : YAY!
34 Pioneer in syllogistic logic : ARISTOTLE
35 Like I Samuel among the books of the Old Testament : NINTH
36 Some offensive linemen, for short : RGS
37 Ruth’s was 2.28 : ERA
38 Locale in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” : VALHALLA
39 Singer James : ETTA
40 Popular Father’s Day gifts : TIES
44 Kismet : FATE
45 Palindromic response to “Madam, I’m Adam” : EVE
46 Sources of attar : PETALS
47 “Go me!” : I DID IT!
48 Count : CENSUS
50 “Fooled you!” : HA HA!
52 Dweller on the Bering Sea : ALEUT
53 Humorist Bombeck : ERMA
54 Super Mario Bros. character with a mushroom head : TOAD
56 Good resolution provider : HDTV
59 Video game annoyance : LAG
60 Red state : IRE
61 Counterpart of sin : COS

11 thoughts on “0213-20 NY Times Crossword 13 Feb 20, Thursday”

  1. 48:17, figured out the theme in time to use it to solve the northeast and southeast corners….go me!!

  2. 62 A very misleading clue. Buses and taxis have had ads on them for over 20 years. GPS might be the answer for nowadays.

  3. 18:12. Got the the reveal relatively early which made the puzzle a lot easier. VALHALLA was the name of a bar in college located below the Chemistry lecture hall on campus so that name is etched in my head. One mishap I saw the counterpart of “sin” (without in Spanish) as “con” (with) instead of COS. Took me a second to realize what I was doing.

    Best –

  4. Despite 1 Japanese ,1 Latin 2 German clues plus a bunch of “never heard ofs” and two setters against one solver I finished in 45:43 with no errors SO THERE.

  5. 17:01, 2 errors: CO(N)/VE(N)T. Enjoyable puzzle with a helpful theme.
    61D: had the same line of thought as @Jeff, but didn’t catch the error. After the fact, looked up the definition of ‘counterpart’, and clarified in my mind that sin and con would be opposites, while sine and cosine are counterparts. Should have caught the error from the word VEST. Also had some difficulty adding the ‘D’ to SHAVED ICE; too much time in the islands, where I am used to seeing ‘Shave Ice’.

  6. Always enjoy taking on a Thursday trickster, and this was a good one. More difficulty with some of the fill than with the theme.

  7. No errors. I am getting much better at nailing these Thursday-level puzzles. If I continue to gain confidence then I am going to start maybe attempting some Fridays.

    I thought that this was a perfectly good puzzle. I started to get the theme about halfway through. It proved to be indispensable for completing the hard spots—namely, NE and SW.

  8. I had a lot of fun with this one as it gave me a good 45 minutes of escape from the global goings on.
    I made the same error at the 61 down 67 across merge.
    I always enjoy the Thursday challenge and look forward to the comments of my fellow solvers. Wishing you all good health!

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