0222-20 NY Times Crossword 22 Feb 20, Saturday

Constructed by: Trenton Charlson
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 19m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Senator who wrote “Faith of My Fathers” : MCCAIN

John McCain went into the US Naval Academy in 1958, following a family tradition as his father and grandfather were both four-star admirals. The younger McCain did not achieve the same rank, and retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981. That said, his career development was interrupted by almost six years spent as a prisoner of war (POW) in North Vietnam. John McCain was a US Senator from Arizona from 1987 until 2018.

16 “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” girl : TOPSY

Topsy is a young slave girl in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”.

17 Energizer choice : AAA

We are all fairly familiar with the Energizer Bunny, I am guessing. The Energizer Bunny was introduced in 1989 to promote Energizer batteries, by parodying the Duracell Bunny that had been introduced in 1973.

18 Some radio antennas : DIPOLES

When German physicist Heinrich Hertz first demonstrated radio waves in 1887, he used the simplest form of antenna, namely a dipole antenna. A dipole antenna comprises two metal rods that are usually pointing away from each other. Ideally, the length of each rod is one half of the wavelength off the signal to be received.

24 Member of the starling family : MYNA

Some species of myna (also “mynah”) birds are known for their ability to imitate sounds.

28 “Lido Shuffle” singer Boz : SCAGGS

Boz Scaggs is an American musician, and a longtime collaborator with Steve Miller.

41 Tesla, e.g. : SERB

Nikola Tesla was born in Serbia, but later moved to the US. Tesla’s work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

45 Jamaican genre : SKA

Ska originated in Jamaica in the late fifties and was the precursor to reggae music. No one has a really definitive etymology of the term “ska”, but it is likely to be imitative of a sound.

48 Extinct bird that grew as tall as 12 feet : MOA

Moas were flightless birds native to New Zealand that are now extinct. The fate of the Moa is a great example of the detrimental effect that humans can have on animal populations. The Maoris arrived in New Zealand about 1300 AD, upsetting the balance of the ecosystem. The Moa were hunted to extinction within 200 years, which had the knock-on effect of killing off the Haast’s Eagle, the Moa’s only predator prior to the arrival of man. Moa were huge creatures, measuring up to 12 feet tall with their necks stretched upwards.

51 Creature with eyespots on its wings : IO MOTH

The Io moth is a colorful moth that is native to North America. It has a large spot on either wing that resembles an eye. The “eyes” work as a disguise, as the moth can look like the face of a mammal, and hence ward off potential moth predators.

53 Summer cocktail that sometimes has a strawberry garnish : FROZEN DAIQUIRI

Daiquirí is a small village on the coast near Santiago, Cuba and a key location in the American invasion of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Supposedly, the cocktail called a “Daiquiri” was invented by American mining engineers in a bar in nearby Santiago.

59 “___ Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes” (1910 story collection) : ARSENE

Arsène Lupin is a character created by the French writer Maurice Leblanc. Leblanc was writing in the days of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and his gentleman detective Lupin is as popular in the French-speaking world as Sherlock Holmes is in English.

Down

1 Unstable subatomic particle : MUON

A muon is a subatomic particle that is similar to an electron but very unstable. A muon has a mean lifetime of only 2.2 microseconds.

3 Bygone sovereigns : CZARINAS

A tsarina (also “czarina”) was the wife of a tsar (also “czar”), and so was a Russian empress.

4 The F.D.A. approved it in 1987 : AZT

“AZT” is the abbreviated name for the drug azidothymidine, which is used extensively in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. AZT was originally developed in the seventies as a potential treatment for retroviruses (cancer-causing viruses), although it was never approved for use in treatment. In 1984, it was confirmed that AIDS was caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), so scientists turned to known antiviral drugs in the search for a viable treatment. Burroughs-Wellcome came up with a treatment regime using AZT, and filed a patent in 1985. The patent was challenged in court but the patent expired anyway in 2005 without any decision being made. There are now at least four generic forms of AZT approved for sale in the US.

5 First Super Bowl to be called “Super Bowl” : III

Super Bowl I was played in January 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers emerged victorious in a game with a score of 35-10. That game was officially known as the AFL-NFL Championship Game, as the name “Super Bowl” wasn’t applied until two seasons later. That “first” Super Bowl is now known as Super Bowl III and was played between the New York Jets and the Baltimore Colts. The Jets came out on top.

6 Base fig. : NCO

Non-commissioned officer (NCO)

7 “Stand and Deliver” star, 1987 : OLMOS

Edward James Olmos is a Mexican-American actor. I mostly remember Olmos as the Lieutenant who was the boss of Crockett and Tubbs on television’s “Miami Vice”.

”Stand and Deliver” is a 1988 drama film based on the true story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher in East LA. Actor Edward James Olmos earned himself a Best Actor nomination for portraying Escalante.

10 Yokohama is on it : TOKYO BAY

Yokohama is the second-most populous city in Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, and is just a 40-minute drive from the nation’s capital.

12 What a hafiz has memorized : QUR’AN

“Hafiz” is an Arabic word meaning “guardian” and “retentive”. The term is used for someone who has completely memorized the Qur’an and is knowledgeable and is an authority on the text.

19 Hairstyle associated with Prince Valiant : PAGEBOY

What we now know as the “pageboy” hairstyle was apparently one introduced and made famous by the fifties fetish model, Betty Page. Women’s magazines dissociated themselves from the connection with Ms. Page and sold the hairstyle to the public as one historically worn by English pageboys, hence the name. A pageboy hairstyle is sort of like a “long bob cut” I guess. But don’t listen to me; I get a “number one all over” at my local barber shop …

“Prince Valiant” is a comic strip that first appeared in 1937 when it was created by Hal Foster. Edward, Duke of Windsor called the “Prince Valiant” comic strip the “greatest contribution to English literature in the past one hundred years”. I’m not so sure …

20 Texter’s exclamation : OMG!

“OMG” is text-speak for “Oh My Gosh!” “Oh My Goodness!” or any other G-words you might care to use …

21 Only inductee into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame : LES PAUL

Les Paul was a guitarist, songwriter and inventor. When he was 33 years old, Paul was involved in a near-fatal car crash that left his right arm and elbow shattered. Surgeons offered him the choice of amputation or a rebuilding of the limb that would leave him unable to bend his elbow. He told them to set his arm at just under 90 degrees so that he could at least hold his guitar and perhaps play it.

27 Weevils’ targets : BOLLS

The boll is the seed-bearing capsule of some plants, particularly of flax and cotton.

A weevil is a small beetle known for the damage that it can do to crops. The boll weevil damages cotton plants by laying eggs inside cotton bolls. The young weevils then eat their way out. Some weevils have snouts that are as long as their body.

29 No. brain? : CPA

Certified public accountant (CPA)

30 New Deal org. : NRA

The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was one of the first agencies set up under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program. On the one hand the NRA help set minimum wages and maximum working hours for workers in industry, and on the other hand it helped set minimum prices for goods produced by companies. The NRA was very popular with the public, and businesses that didn’t opt to participate in the program found themselves boycotted. The NRA didn’t survive for long though, as after two years of operation it was deemed to be unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court and so it ceased operations in 1935.

35 Quilting technique with patches : APPLIQUE

An appliqué is a small ornamental design that is applied to a surface. Appliqués are often applied to textiles, but also to other surfaces such as ceramics. “Appliqué” is French for “applied”.

38 UV index monitor : EPA

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The UV index is a measure of the strength of ultraviolet radiation (UV) at a particular location and on a particular day.

40 Egypt’s Mubarak : HOSNI

Hosni Mubarak was the fourth President of Egypt, taking over after Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Mubarak resigned in 2011 in the early months of the Arab Spring after 18 days of public demonstrations. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012, but released in 2017.

43 Indian flatbread : ROTI

In an Indian restaurant, naan bread is very popular. Roti is an unleavened cousin of naan.

44 “Poppycock!” : BAH!

It is thought that the relatively gentle term “poppycock”, meaning “nonsense”, comes from a Dutch word for “dung” combined with a Latin word for “excrete”. Not so gentle after all …

50 Men’s sportswear brand : IZOD

Jack Izod was a tailor of some repute over in England, producing shirts for King George V as well as other members of the Royal Family. As Izod was about to retire, he was approached for the use of his name by an American clothing manufacturer based in New York. The brand Izod of London was introduced to America in 1938.

52 Tiny amount : MITE

A mite is a small amount, as in “The Widow’s Mite”, a story from the Bible.

53 Prez who said “Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth” : FDR

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was the only child of Sara Delano and James Roosevelt Sr. The Delano family history in America goes back to the pilgrim Philippe de Lannoy, an immigrant of Flemish descent who arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. The family name “de Lannoy” was anglicized here in the US, to “Delano”. Franklin was to marry Eleanor Roosevelt, and apparently the relationship between Sara and her daughter-in-law was very “strained”.

56 Certain test subjects : IQS

Although it is correct these days to say that the abbreviation IQ stands for “intelligence quotient”, the term was actually coined by German psychologist William Stern, and so is actually an abbreviation for the German “Intelligenz-Quotient”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Senator who wrote “Faith of My Fathers” : MCCAIN
7 Bound for : OFF TO
12 Expression of one at sea, perhaps : QUIZZICAL LOOK
14 What two fingers on each hand can represent : QUOTATION MARKS
15 Part of a hot plate : BURNER
16 “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” girl : TOPSY
17 Energizer choice : AAA
18 Some radio antennas : DIPOLES
22 Something instructors explain : HOW
24 Member of the starling family : MYNA
26 Going by : NAMED
27 Sweets : BABE
28 “Lido Shuffle” singer Boz : SCAGGS
30 Itinerant sort : NOMAD
31 Emulate a 30-Across, say : TRAIPSE
34 Negotiation talks : PARLEYS
36 Imagist poet Doolittle : HILDA
37 “Little help here” : BE A PAL
39 Getaway locale : ISLE
40 Energize : HOP UP
41 Tesla, e.g. : SERB
45 Jamaican genre : SKA
46 To the nth degree : ROYALLY
48 Extinct bird that grew as tall as 12 feet : MOA
49 Takes the high way? : FLIES
51 Creature with eyespots on its wings : IO MOTH
53 Summer cocktail that sometimes has a strawberry garnish : FROZEN DAIQUIRI
57 Place characterized by ill repute : DEN OF INIQUITY
58 Marsh flora : REEDS
59 “___ Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes” (1910 story collection) : ARSENE

Down

1 Unstable subatomic particle : MUON
2 Made an example of : CITED
3 Bygone sovereigns : CZARINAS
4 The F.D.A. approved it in 1987 : AZT
5 First Super Bowl to be called “Super Bowl” : III
6 Base fig. : NCO
7 “Stand and Deliver” star, 1987 : OLMOS
8 Tent feature : FLAP
9 “Bad, bad, bad!” : FOR SHAME
10 Yokohama is on it : TOKYO BAY
11 Clears : OKS
12 What a hafiz has memorized : QUR’AN
13 Put up : ANTED
14 Landing spot : QUAY
15 Sound made by a slug : BAM!
19 Hairstyle associated with Prince Valiant : PAGEBOY
20 Texter’s exclamation : OMG!
21 Only inductee into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame : LES PAUL
23 Binds : WEDS
25 Digression : ASIDE
27 Weevils’ targets : BOLLS
29 No. brain? : CPA
30 New Deal org. : NRA
31 “Get ___!” : THIS
32 100% guaranteed : RISK FREE
33 Lacking support : ALL ALONE
35 Quilting technique with patches : APPLIQUE
38 UV index monitor : EPA
40 Egypt’s Mubarak : HOSNI
42 Virginia’s ___ & Henry College : EMORY
43 Indian flatbread : ROTI
44 “Poppycock!” : BAH!
46 Perils for mariners : REEFS
47 Dealer’s quick query : YOU IN?
50 Men’s sportswear brand : IZOD
52 Tiny amount : MITE
53 Prez who said “Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth” : FDR
54 ___ test : DNA
55 Put on : AIR
56 Certain test subjects : IQS