0701-20 NY Times Crossword 1 Jul 20, Wednesday

Constructed by: Amanda Rafkin & Ross Trudeau
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Social Capital

Themed answers are common phrases reinterpreted as the movement of CAPITAL using SOCIAL media:

  • 54A Network of personal relationships … or a punny hint to 3-, 7- and 11-Down : SOCIAL CAPITAL
  • 3D Joins a Federal Reserve Facebook group? : FOLLOWS THE MONEY
  • 7D Uploads a photo of a government security? : POSTS BOND
  • 11D Retweets a photo of the U.S. gold repository? : SHARES THE WEALTH

… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 7m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 JPEG alternatives : PDFS

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

The JPEG file format (also “.jpg”) was created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), hence the name.

14 What might be taken away in a getaway : LOOT

“Loot” is the name given to anything taken by dishonesty or force, particularly during war. The term came into English from the Hindi “lut” meaning “goods taken from an enemy”.

15 Literary effect in O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” : IRONY

O. Henry’s short story called “The Gift of the Magi” was first published in 1905. It tells of relatively poor, newly-married couple who want to buy each other a gift for Christmas. The wife’s pride and joy is her long blonde hair, while the husband’s most treasured possession is his grandfather’s gold pocket watch. The wife sells her hair to buy her gift, and the husband sells his watch to buy his gift for his spouse. The wife is given a set of combs, hair accessories that are useless now that her hair is short. The husband gets a platinum fob chain for the watch that he no longer owns.

16 Primary ingredient in the snack Muddy Buddies : CHEX

The original Chex cereal was introduced in 1937 by Ralston Purina, although it is now produced by General Mills. Ralston Purina had a logo with a checkerboard square on it, which gave the pattern to the cereal as well as its name. Chex used characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip in its advertising for many years.

18 Irritable : TESTY

Somebody described as testy is touchy, irritably impatient. The term “testy” comes into English from Old French, ultimately deriving from “testu” meaning “stubborn, headstrong”, literally “heady”. So, our word “testy” comes from the same root as the French word “tête” meaning “head”.

20 Things that magnets and barbershops both have : POLES

Barbers originally offered a wide range of services, including surgery. Back in the Middle Ages, one of the primary services offered was bloodletting. The red and white sign outside a barber’s place of business represented bloody bandages wrapped around a pole. Henry VIII restricted barbers to just haircutting … and dentistry. Our term “barber” comes to us via Anglo-French from the Latin “barba” meaning “beard”.

23 “Bad, bad” Brown of song : LEROY

“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” is a song written and first performed by Jim Croce. It was a number-one hit for him in 1973. The song was inspired by a real-life Leroy Brown, who was someone that Croce met while serving in the US Army.

24 Like a show that’s hard to get tickets for, in brief : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

29 They go back and forth in bad weather : WIPER BLADES

You may have seen the 2008 movie “Flash of Genius”, which outlined the troubles Robert Kearns (played by Greg Kinnear) had in making money from his invention of the intermittent windshield wiper. Well, Mary Anderson developed the original wiper and received a patent in 1903. She didn’t make any money either …

34 Sergeant’s superior, in slang : LOOIE

Lieutenant (lt., and “looie” in slang).

40 Erin Burnett’s employer : CNN

Erin Burnett is a television journalist and the host of her own show on CNN called “Erin Burnett OutFront”. Apparently Burnett also used to show up occasionally as advisor to Donald Trump on “The Celebrity Apprentice”.

41 Women’s golf great Lorena : OCHOA

Lorena Ochoa is a retired professional golfer from Mexico who was ranked as the number one female golfer in the world from 2007 to 2010.

46 Connections on Air France? : ETS

One conjunction in French is “et” (and).

Air France is my favorite airline (okay … after Aer Lingus, the Irish airline). I used to fly Air France a lot (I lived in France for a while), but haven’t done so since the company merged with KLM in 2004. Back in 2008, Air France-KLM was the world’s largest airline in terms of revenue.

49 Onomatopoeic musical effect : WAH-WAH

A wah-wah (also “wa-wa”) pedal connected to an electric guitar alters the tone of the signal created so that it mimics the human voice.

Onomatopoeia is the naming of something by vocally imitating the sound associated with it. Examples of onomatopoeia are “chirp”, “clash”, “click” and “hiccups”.

51 Atlanta’s public transport system : MARTA

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)

53 “The Pit and the Pendulum” author, in brief : EA POE

“The Pit and the Pendulum” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that was first published in 1842. It is a macabre tale about a prisoner who is being tortured at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition. For part of the tale, the prisoner is bound to a wooden board while a scythe-like pendulum wings above him, getting nearer and nearer with each oscillation.

61 Daredevil Knievel : EVEL

Daredevil Evel Knievel contracted hepatitis C from the many blood transfusions that he needed after injuries incurred during stunts. He had to have a liver transplant as a result, but his health declined after that. Knievel eventually passed away in 2007.

62 Rapper West : KANYE

Kanye West is a rap singer who was born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago. He also spent some time in Nanjing, China as a child, where his mother was teaching as part of an exchange program. West is married to reality star Kim Kardashian.

64 Actor Diggs : TAYE

Taye Diggs is an actor most associated with the Broadway show “Rent”, in which he played the nasty landlord Benny. He then co-starred on the television show “Private Practice”. Diggs’ given name is “Scott”, and the nickname “Taye” comes from saying the given name as “Scottay”.

65 Golf’s “Slammin’ Sammy” : SNEAD

Sam Snead was probably the most successful golfer never to win a US Open title, as he won a record 82 PGA Tour events. Snead did win seven majors, but never the US Open. He was also quite the showman. He once hit the scoreboard at Wrigley Field stadium with a golf ball, by teeing off from home plate. Snead’s best-remembered nickname is “Slammin’ Sammy”.

66 Second-largest moon of Saturn : RHEA

Rhea is the second-largest of Saturn’s moons, and the ninth-largest of all the moons in our solar system. The moon is named after the Titan Rhea from Greek mythology. Unlike our moon, Rhea might have an atmosphere of sorts, and even rings.

Down

3 Joins a Federal Reserve Facebook group? : FOLLOWS THE MONEY

The Federal Reserve System is more usually known simply as “the Fed”, and is the central banking system of the US. It was introduced in 1913 in response to a number of financial panics at the beginning of the 20th century. The original role for the Fed was to act as a lender of last resort, in case there was a run on a bank. This can happen as most of the money that is deposited by customers in a bank is reinvested by that bank, so it has very little liquid cash available. If too many customers look for their money at one time, then the bank can be short of cash and this can start a “run”. The Fed’s responsibilities have broadened since those early days …

4 Ocular affliction : STYE

A stye is a bacterial infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes, and is also known as a hordeolum.

5 Short-beaked bird : TIT

The birds known as chickadees or titmice in North America, are usually called simply “tits” in the rest of the English-speaking world.

6 Style of music for Pat Benatar or Bon Jovi : ARENA ROCK

Arena rock (also “stadium rock” and “dad rock”) is a rock music played in large arenas. It is a phenomenon that dates back to the British Invasion when successful bands like the Beatles played to large audiences in places such as Shea Stadium in New York.

Pat Benatar is a singer from Brooklyn, New York who was born Patricia Andrzejewski. She married her high school boyfriend Dennis Benatar in 1972 when she was 19 years old, but they divorced in 1979. Presumably, she kept the Benatar name as her career was already showing signs of taking off. Benatar’s biggest hits are “Hit Me with Your Best Shot”, “Love is a Battlefield” and “We Belong”.

Jon Bon Jovi was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. He is the frontman of the band that took his name, i.e. Bon Jovi.

7 Uploads a photo of a government security? : POSTS BOND

A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

9 Bronx team, on scoreboards : NYY

The New York Yankees (NYY) baseball team has the nickname “the Bronx Bombers”. The nickname reflects where the team plays (the Bronx) and the team’s reputation for hitting (bombers). The Yankees were the first team to retire a uniform number, doing so on July 4, 1939. That day they retired the number 4 in honor of Lou Gehrig.

10 Ne plus ultra : ACME

“Ne plus ultra” is French for “no more beyond” and means just that in English, the high-point.

11 Retweets a photo of the U.S. gold repository? : SHARES THE WEALTH

Fort Knox is actually a US Army base, but it lends its name to the adjacent facility that is more correctly called the United States Bullion Depository. Most of the US gold reserves are in “Fort Knox”, although it isn’t the biggest gold repository in the US. That honor goes to the vault under the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Manhattan. Most of the gold stored in the New York vault belongs to foreign nations and banks.

12 Luciano Pavarotti, e.g. : TENOR

Luciano Pavarotti was one of the most celebrated tenors of all time. He was able to appeal to audiences beyond the traditional fans of opera, helped by his performances with the Three Tenors: Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Pavarotti made his final performance on stage at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where he sang his famous rendition of the moving aria “Nessun dorma” and brought the house down. Pavarotti passed away from pancreatic cancer the following year, at the age of 71.

13 Kind of daisy : OXEYE

Oxeyes are in the daisy family of plants.

21 Brand sold at gas stations : STP

STP is a brand name of automotive lubricants and additives. The name “STP” is an initialism standing for “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”.

23 Start of a trip, for short? : LSD

LSD (known colloquially as “acid”) is lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist named Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn’t until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man …

26 California river known more for salmon and trout than the fish it’s named after : EEL

The Eel River in California was named in 1850 by explorer Josiah Gregg after he made a trade with some Native Americans, swapping a frying pan for a large catch of eels.

27 “Norma ___” : RAE

“Norma Rae” is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called “Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance”.

36 Speck : IOTA

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

39 “Flashdance” actor Michael : NOURI

Michael Nouri is a Lebanese-American actor whose most famous role was that of Nick Hurley (Alex’s boss) in the 1983 movie “Flashdance”.

“Flashdance” is a 1983 romantic drama film about a young welder at a steel plant who aspires to become a professional dancer. The movie’s soundtrack was also a big hit and features songs like “Maniac” and “Flashdance …What a Feeling”. The latter was performed by Irene Cara, and won the Best Original Song Oscar for that season.

41 Relative of a giraffe : OKAPI

The okapi is closely related to the giraffe, although it does have markings on its legs and haunches that resemble those of a zebra. The okapi’s tongue is long enough to reach back and wash its eyeballs, and can go back even further to clean its ears inside and out.

52 Comedian ___ Sherman, creator of TV’s “I’ve Got a Secret” : ALLAN

Allan Sherman was a comedy writer and producer who made a name for himself singing song parodies in the sixties. Sherman’s most famous novelty song was called “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”, which became a hit single in 1963. The tune of the song is Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours”. The lyrics are a letter written home by a boy away at summer camp, which start out with:

Hello Muddah,
Hello Fadduh.
Here I am at
Camp Granada.
Camp is very
entertaining.
And they say we’ll have some fun if it stops raining.

“I’ve Got a Secret” was a fun panel show that originally aired in the fifties and sixties. “I’ve Got a Secret” was a spin-off of the very successful panel show “What’s My Line?”

54 Fiji’s largest city : SUVA

Suva is the capital city of Fiji, and is located on the island of Viti Levu. Suva is the largest city in the southern Pacific Ocean.

55 Word with sugar or candy : … CANE

When sugarcane is processed to extract sugar, it is crushed and mashed to produce a juice. The juice is boiled to make a sugary concentrate called cane syrup, from which sugar crystals are extracted. A second boiling of the leftover syrup produces second molasses, from which more sugar crystals can be extracted. A third boiling results in what is called blackstrap molasses.

Apparently, candy canes were created at the behest of the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral in Germany in 1672. The sweet sticks were basically used as bribes to keep children quiet during services. The choirmaster specified that the candy sticks should have a crook at the top so that they reminded the children of the three shepherds who visited the infant Jesus just after his birth.

60 Indian tourist destination : GOA

Goa is the smallest state in India, and is located in the southwest of the country. The Portuguese landed in Goa in the early 1500s, at first peacefully carrying out trade, but then took the area by force creating Portuguese India. Portugal held onto Portuguese India even after the British pulled out of India in 1947, until the Indian Army marched into the area in 1961.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 JPEG alternatives : PDFS
5 Lightly hit, as a shoulder : TAP ON
10 Regarding : AS TO
14 What might be taken away in a getaway : LOOT
15 Literary effect in O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” : IRONY
16 Primary ingredient in the snack Muddy Buddies : CHEX
17 Singular : ONLY
18 Irritable : TESTY
19 Mare hair : MANE
20 Things that magnets and barbershops both have : POLES
22 Unspecified degree : NTH
23 “Bad, bad” Brown of song : LEROY
24 Like a show that’s hard to get tickets for, in brief : SRO
25 Promos : TEASERS
28 Outmoded preposition : ERE
29 They go back and forth in bad weather : WIPER BLADES
32 Skin abnormality : CYST
34 Sergeant’s superior, in slang : LOOIE
35 Move around and around : STIR
38 Reveal : LET ON
40 Erin Burnett’s employer : CNN
41 Women’s golf great Lorena : OCHOA
42 [Now THAT’S relaxing!] : [AAH!]
43 Centerpiece of the Oval Office : OAK DESK
46 Connections on Air France? : ETS
47 How flowers and fabric samples may be sold : PRECUT
49 Onomatopoeic musical effect : WAH-WAH
51 Atlanta’s public transport system : MARTA
53 “The Pit and the Pendulum” author, in brief : EA POE
54 Network of personal relationships … or a punny hint to 3-, 7- and 11-Down : SOCIAL CAPITAL
57 Refuse : JUNK
58 Hold tightly : CLASP
59 Every country has one : FLAG
61 Daredevil Knievel : EVEL
62 Rapper West : KANYE
63 Holy Roman Empire’s ___ the Great : OTTO
64 Actor Diggs : TAYE
65 Golf’s “Slammin’ Sammy” : SNEAD
66 Second-largest moon of Saturn : RHEA

Down

1 Sits (down) hard : PLOPS
2 One helping to build an endowment fund : DONOR
3 Joins a Federal Reserve Facebook group? : FOLLOWS THE MONEY
4 Ocular affliction : STYE
5 Short-beaked bird : TIT
6 Style of music for Pat Benatar or Bon Jovi : ARENA ROCK
7 Uploads a photo of a government security? : POSTS BOND
8 At risk : ON THE LINE
9 Bronx team, on scoreboards : NYY
10 Ne plus ultra : ACME
11 Retweets a photo of the U.S. gold repository? : SHARES THE WEALTH
12 Luciano Pavarotti, e.g. : TENOR
13 Kind of daisy : OXEYE
21 Brand sold at gas stations : STP
23 Start of a trip, for short? : LSD
26 California river known more for salmon and trout than the fish it’s named after : EEL
27 “Norma ___” : RAE
30 “How was ___ know?” : I TO
31 Key near “∼” : ESC
32 Put your hands together : CLAP
33 There is one between birthdays : YEAR
36 Speck : IOTA
37 Hasty : RASH
39 “Flashdance” actor Michael : NOURI
41 Relative of a giraffe : OKAPI
44 Poison-pen letters, e.g. : ATTACKS
45 Exchanged : SWAPPED
48 Witch’s laugh : CACKLE
50 Lusting after : HOT FOR
52 Comedian ___ Sherman, creator of TV’s “I’ve Got a Secret” : ALLAN
53 Course you slide through : EASY A
54 Fiji’s largest city : SUVA
55 Word with sugar or candy : … CANE
56 Past one’s bedtime, say : LATE
57 Hot tub feature : JET
60 Indian tourist destination : GOA

21 thoughts on “0701-20 NY Times Crossword 1 Jul 20, Wednesday”

  1. 15:18, no errors. Paused for some time before putting in the “R” of “NOURI” (unknown to me) and “MARTA” (also unknown to me, though I guess “Rapid Transit Authority” should have come to mind). A good puzzle that gave me more trouble than it should have … 🙂.

  2. 15:17, a good Wednesday for me and 1 second faster than @A Nonny Muss. That will probably never happen again! My last entry was also the “R” in MARTA. I now await a big slice of humble pie that will be coming my way with Thursday’s puzzle.

  3. 13:11 Faster than @Nonny, and @Alaska?? OMG!! However, a confession. Did not know NOURI or SUVA (originally had TUVA as a guess), so I looked up Fijian city and that gave me the S and subsequently the first I in 54A, the revealer. Started with GIFS vs PDFS, OREO vs CHEX in the acrosses, so it was the downs that gave me initial toeholds.

    As @Alaska says – awaiting humble pie tomorrow. I anticipate the entire pie.

  4. 12:48. Only real misstep was putting in OREO before CHEX. I put OREO because it’s always OREO. Corrected that quickly, however.

    I love the fact that Henry VIII was the voice of reason regarding the scope of things barbers can do.

    “Ne plus ultra” confused me. I didn’t understand how it related to ACME until I came to the blog. I thought it was something to do with neon (Ne). Oh well, you don’t have to understand them all to get them all.

    Best –

      1. “I’ll try to be back ere the party.” Ere as a preposition.

        It’s archaic, but it is an actual word that can be used as a preposition or adverb (e.g. I’d met him once before). It can also be a conjunction, but I can’t think of an example off the top of my head.

        Best –

        1. Well I certainly didn’t finish as fast as many of you.. This one took me longer than the usual 10 to 15 minutes .. Missed a couple. Didn’t know NOURI or MARTA.. I guessed NOUTTI.. several other odd or foreign words I didn’t know but guessed at.. And they didn’t have anything to do with theme.. ETS. ACME GOA SUVA .. But that’s the way it is..

  5. Exactly the same as A Nonny cxcept for my time — over 20 minutes.

  6. I think I accidently responded to JEFF. Sorry about that.. Was supposed to be a general comment..

  7. 32:08 no errors…another 2 setter puzzle with an idiotic clue.
    Ne plus ultra is acme? …how much French,German,Hebrew,etc does one need to know to do a crossword puzzle? 👎.
    Stay safe

  8. Don’t know Atlanta or Flashdance acotors other than Jennifer Beale so easy puzzle except that R.

  9. 12:40, no errors. Shaky guess at the ‘A’ intersection of SUVA/TAYE, not familiar with either. I, too, fell into the Oreo trap. Lost significant time initially entering WEATHER VANE in 29A before WIPER BLADES.

  10. No errors. Same as most others on the NOURI/MARTA cross. After several minutes I hit upon NOURI as a name (not from the actor but from George Noory, late night radio host, though they are unrelated). From there the association of “Rapid transit” came to me and I was confident then that I had it right.

    The clue “Ne plus ultra” for ACME was a complete unknown for me. I too am beginning to wonder just how far afield should crosswords go into a foreign language.

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