0719-20 NY Times Crossword 19 Jul 20, Sunday

Constructed by: Wyna Liu
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Doubles Play

To make sense of the themed answers we must sound out DOUBLE letters:

  • 22A *Performers who set the bar high? : TRAPP ARTISTS (trapeze artists)
  • 24A *Go-getter’s maxim : CC THE DAY (seize the day)
  • 39A *Public health agency’s mission : DIZZ CONTROL (disease control)
  • 48A *Feature of a Chippendales show : STRIP TT (striptease)
  • 67A *Places for coasters : AMUUMENT PARKS (amusement parks)
  • 84A *How to screw in a light bulb : CLOCKYY (clockwise)
  • 91A *What keeps up standards in the radio business? : OLDD STATION (oldies station)
  • 110A *”Holy moly!” : GG LOUISE! (Geez, Louise!)
  • 114A *Occasion for hiding in the dark : SURPRII PARTY (surprise party)

… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 18m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 Club setting for scenes in “GoodFellas” and “Raging Bull” : THE COPA

The Copacabana nightclub in New York City opened in 1940. After years of struggling to survive, it finally closed in 2020.

19 ___ Lee (dessert brand) : SARA

In 1935, businessman Charles Lubin bought a chain of three bakeries in Chicago called Community Bake Shops, and soon expanded the operation into seven stores. Lubin introduced a cream cheesecake that he named after his daughter who was only 8-years-old at the time, Sara Lee Lubin. The cheesecake was a hit and he renamed the bakeries to Kitchen of Sara Lee. The business was bought out by Consolidated foods in 1956, but the brand name Sara Lee persists to this day, as does Ms. Sara Lee herself who now goes by the name Sara Lee Schupf.

22 *Performers who set the bar high? : TRAPP ARTISTS (trapeze artists)

The circus act known as the “trapeze” is so called because the shape defined by the crossbar, ropes and ceiling of the tent is a “trapezium”.

24 *Go-getter’s maxim : CC THE DAY (seize the day)

“Carpe diem” is a quotation from Horace, one of ancient Rome’s leading lyric poets. “Carpe diem” translates from Latin as “seize the day” or “enjoy the day”. The satirical motto of a procrastinator is “carpe mañana”, “translating” as “seize tomorrow”.

28 One-named Grammy-winning singer : SADE

Singer Sade’s real name is Helen Folasade Adu. Although born in Nigeria, Sade grew up and lives in the UK. She was the lead vocalist for the English group Sade, and adopted the name of the band. The band’s biggest hits were “Smooth Operator” (1984) and “The Sweetest Taboo” (1985).

29 Worried exclamation from Astro on “The Jetsons” : RUH-ROH

“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 their household robot Rosie and pet dog Astro.

30 Writer and film critic James : AGEE

James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.

31 Platinum-selling rapper-turned-TV cop : ICE-T

Rapper Ice-T must be sick of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles (I know I am!). Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about breakdancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since the year 2000.

33 Sr.’s hurdle : GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

36 English cathedral city : ELY

Ely Cathedral is a famous and beautiful church in the city of Ely in the county of Cambridgeshire. There is a Gothic door on the north face of the cathedral that was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the man famous as the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Christopher Wren had a personal link to the church, as his uncle was the Bishop of Ely.

37 Brand with a jingle to the “Dragnet” theme : TUMS

The main ingredient in Tums antacid, made by GlaxoSmithKline, is calcium carbonate. Tums have been on the market since 1930. If you want to save a few pennies, Target brand antacid is identical to Tums, or so I hear …

The TV detective show “Dragnet” opened up each episode with lines spoken by the character Sergeant Joe Friday:

This is the city, Los Angeles, California, I work here. I’m a cop.

In later series, the phrase “I’m a cop” was replaced with “I carry a badge”.

46 Actress and civil rights activist Ruby ___ : DEE

Ruby Dee was an actress and civil rights activist. On the big screen, she is perhaps best remembered for co-starring in “A Raisin in the Sun” alongside Sidney Poitier, in “Do the Right Thing” alongside her husband Ossie Davis, and in “American Gangster” in which she played Denzel Washington’s mother.

47 Boors : YAHOOS

Yahoos are brutish creatures introduced by Irish author Jonathan Swift in “Gulliver’s Travels”. Their savage, slovenly ways gave rise to the use of “yahoo” in English to describe a lout or neanderthal.

48 *Feature of a Chippendales show : STRIP TT (striptease)

Chippendales is a big touring operation featuring male exotic dancers. The original Chippendales was a nightclub in Los Angeles in the early eighties. The establishment’s name was inspired by the Chippendale-style furniture used in the club.

57 P.R. event : PHOTO OP

Public relations (PR)

60 Gas numbers : OCTANES

The difference between a premium and regular gasoline is its octane rating. The octane rating is a measure of the resistance of the gasoline to auto-ignition i.e. its resistance to ignition just by virtue of being compressed in the cylinder. This auto-ignition is undesirable as multiple-cylinder engines are designed so that ignition within each cylinder takes place precisely when the plug sparks, and not before. If ignition occurs before the spark is created, the resulting phenomenon is called “knocking”. We sometimes use the adjective “high-octane” to mean “intense, dynamic, high-powered”

66 Stand-up comic Wong : ALI

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who is a protégé of Chris Rock. She made two very successful Netflix stand-up specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”. She also worked as a writer for the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat”.

71 Best horse of the 20th century, per The Associated Press : MAN O’ WAR

Man o’ War is thought by many to be the greatest thoroughbred racehorse of all time, having won 20 of 21 races in his career just after WWI.

73 Language spoken on Easter Island : RAPA NUI

“Rapa Nui” is the Polynesian name for what we are more likely to call “Easter Island”. The European name was coined by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who came across the island on Easter Sunday in the year 1722. Chilean-owned Easter Island is inhabited and is a location that is remarkably distant from neighboring civilization. The nearest inhabited island is Pitcairn Island, which is almost 1300 miles away.

74 Jazz’s Jackson : MILT

Milt Jackson was a jazz vibraphonist. A vibraphone is similar to a xylophone, but it has aluminum instead of wooden bars. Vibraphones are most commonly seen as part of jazz ensembles. Milt Jackson started his career as part of the band playing with Dizzy Gillespie.

80 Spud : TATER

The word “spud” is used as a slang term for a potato and was first recorded in the mid-1800s, in New Zealand would you believe?

82 Palate cleansers between courses : SORBETS

“Sorbet” can mean different things around the world. Here in the US, sorbet is a non-fat frozen dessert that is made without any dairy content.

84 *How to screw in a light bulb : CLOCKYY (clockwise)

Here’s a lightbulb riddle:

Question: How many mystery authors does it take to change a light bulb?Answer: Two! One to screw it almost all the way in, and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end.

88 “I didn’t need to know that” : TMI

Too much information (TMI)

94 Temple cabinets : ARKS

The Torah ark is found in a synagogue, and is the ornamental container in which the Torah scrolls are stored. The word “Torah” best translates as “teaching” or “law”, I am told.

98 Pioneer of detective fiction : POE

Edgar Allan Poe (EAP) lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.Edgar Allan Poe (EAP) lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.

99 Reed in a pit : OBOE

When the members of a full orchestra tune their instruments, they almost always tune to an “A” played by an oboe. A wind ensemble usually tunes to a B-flat, as this is an “open” note on many instruments, one in which all valves are open on trumpet for example, or the slider on a trombone is in home position.

105 Singer/activist Horne : LENA

Lena Horne was an American jazz singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne started her career as a nightclub singer and then began to get some meaty acting roles in Hollywood. However, she ended up on the blacklist during the McCarthy Era for expressing left wing political views. One of Horne’s starring roles was in the 1943 movie “Stormy Weather” for which she also performed the title song.

117 Genre for the Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair : ALT-ROCK

The Smashing Pumpkins are an alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Chicago.

Liz Phair is a rock singer from New Haven, Connecticut. Phair started out in the industry releasing homemade tapes under the name Girly Sound.

118 Beat poem allegedly inspired by a peyote vision : HOWL

Allen Ginsberg was a poet from Newark, New Jersey whose name became inextricably linked with the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the counterculture of the 1960s. His most famous work is the 1955 poem “Howl”, in which Ginsberg denounces capitalism and conformity in the US.

The peyote is a small, spineless cactus that is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico. When ingested, the peyote is known to have a psychoactive effect. One of the psychoactive alkaloids in peyote is mescaline, a recreational drug of choice for the likes of Aldous Huxley and Pablo Picasso.

Down

8 National Medal of Arts winner Davis : OSSIE

Ossie Davis was a very successful actor, but also a director, poet, playwright and social activist. One of Davis’s better known performances was in the 1993 movie “Grumpy Old Men”, in which he played the owner of the bait shop by the lake.

10 Altar place : APSE

The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

15 Some Montanans : CREE

The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US, Montana is home to most of the Cree nation. They live on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada, most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

17 ___ king : A LA

A dish prepared “à la king” (usually chicken or turkey), is prepared in a cream sauce with mushrooms, pimentos, green peppers and sherry.

18 Spanish chess piece : REY

In Spanish, a “rey” (king) is a key chess piece.

30 Phoenix sch. : ASU

Arizona State University (ASU) has a long history, and was founded as the Tempe Normal School for the Arizona Territory in 1885. The athletic teams of ASU used to be known as the Normals, then the Bulldogs, and since 1946 they’ve been called the Sun Devils.

32 Like polka : CZECH

The polka is a dance from central Europe, one that originated in Bohemia in the mid-1800s. It’s thought that “polka” comes from a Czech word meaning “little half”, reflecting the little half-steps included in the basic dance.

41 Pyle’s portrayer on “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” : NABORS

Jim Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith and brought onto “The Andy Griffith Show” as Gomer Pyle, the gas station attendant. Famously, Nabors then got his own show called “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.”

43 Love, in Lyon : AIME

The city of Lyon in France is sometimes known as “Lyons” in English. Lyon is the second-largest metropolitan area in the country, after Paris. It is located just to the north of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers.

45 Couple of fins : TENNER

The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Abraham Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

56 A.C. measure : BTU

In the world of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the power of a heating or cooling unit can be measured using the British Thermal Units (BTU). This dated unit is the amount of energy required to heat a pound of water so that the water’s temperature increases by one degree Fahrenheit.

58 First man, in Maori mythology : TIKI

A tiki is a large carving of wood or stone resembling a human form that is found in Polynesian cultures. The carvings often mark out boundaries surrounding sites that are sacred to the locals.

60 Oil-rich nation that’s not in OPEC : OMAN

The OPEC cartel was formally established in 1960 and has been headquartered in Vienna since 1965. The US is actually the third largest oil producer in the world (after Russia and Saudi Arabia). One reason America isn’t in OPEC, even though we are a big producer, is that we import a lot more than we export. But we all probably knew that already …

64 “Revelations” choreographer : AILEY

Alvin Ailey was a dancer who formed his own troupe in New York in 1958, naming it “the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater”. The most famous work that Ailey choreographed was called “Revelations”. President Barack Obama awarded Ailey the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously in 2014.

67 Oscars, e.g. : AWARDS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is the organization that gives the annual Academy Awards, also known as the “Oscars”. The root of the name “Oscar” is hotly debated, but what is agreed is that the award was officially named “Oscar” in 1939. The first Academy Awards were presented at a brunch in 1929 with an audience of just 29 people. The Awards ceremony is a slightly bigger event these days …

68 Blue Ribbon brand : PABST

Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is the most recognizable brand of beer from the Pabst Brewing Company. There appears to be some dispute over whether or not Pabst beer ever won a “blue ribbon” prize, but the company claims that it did so at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The beer was originally called Pabst Best Select, and then just Pabst Select. With the renaming to Blue Ribbon, the beer was sold with an actual blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle until it was dropped in 1916 and incorporated into the label.

69 It’s found in a key: Abbr. : ANS

Answer (ans.)

72 Mountain nymph of Greek myth : OREAD

The Oreads were the mountain nymphs that accompanied the ancient Greek goddess Artemis on her hunting expeditions. Each Oread dwelled on a different mountain, for example:

  • Daphnis (on Mount Parnassos)
  • Echo (on Mount Cithaeron)
  • Ida (on Mount Ida)

74 Comfy shoes, for short : MOCS

“Moc” is short for “moccasin”, a type of shoe. The moccasin is a traditional form of footwear worn by members of many Native American tribes.

77 Opposing forces in Risk : ARMIES

Risk is a fabulous board game that was introduced in France in 1957. It was invented by a very successful French director of short films called Albert Lamorisse. Lamorisse called his new game “La Conquête du Monde”, which translates into English as “The Conquest of the World”. A game of Risk is a must during the holidays in our house …

80 Sporty option : T-TOP

A T-top is a car roof that has removable panels on either side of a rigid bar that runs down the center of the vehicle above the driver.

81 Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO

Singer Arlo Guthrie is known for his protest songs, just like his father Woody Guthrie. The younger Guthrie only ever had one song in the top 40: a cover version of “City of New Orleans”. He has lived for years in the town of Washington, just outside Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His 1976 song “Massachusetts” has been the official folk song of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 1981.

84 Monopoly token : CAR

The tokens included with a game of Monopoly have changed over the years. Two of the more interesting tokens are the battleship and cannon. These were created by Hasbro for a board game called Conflict. When Conflict failed in the market, the excess tokens were recycled and included with Monopoly.

90 Issa of “Insecure” : RAE

Issa Rae is a Stanford University graduate who created a YouTube web series called “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”. Rae also plays the title role in the series, a young lady named “J”. “Awkward Black Girl” was adapted into an HBO comedy-drama called “Insecure”, in which Issa Rae stars.

97 She played “the devil” Miranda in “The Devil Wears Prada” : MERYL

“The Devil Wears Prada” is a 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger that is set in the fashion industry. One of the main characters in the story is Miranda Priestly, the tyrannical editor-in-chief of the fictional fashion magazine “Runway”. It has been suggested that the Priestly character was inspired by Anna Wintour, the real life editor-in-chief of “Vogue”. Weisberger’s book was adapted into a very successful film with the same title that was released in 2006, with Meryl Streep playing Priestly.

102 Kind of pants : CAPRI

Capri pants first became popular on the island of Capri, apparently. They were invented in Europe in 1948, but only became stylish in the US in the sixties. Mary Tyler Moore often wore Capri pants on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and to some extent she sparked a fashion trend. After a lull in the seventies and eighties there was a resurgence in sales after Uma Thurman wore them (and danced in them) in “Pulp Fiction”.

104 Japanese beer brand : ASAHI

Asahi is a Japanese beer, and the name of the brewery that produces it. “Asahi” is Japanese for “morning sun”. Asahi introduced a “dry beer” in 1987, igniting a craze that rocketed the brewery to the number one spot in terms of beer production in Japan, with Sapporo close behind.

105 Partially landlocked bay : LOCH

“Loch” is the Scottish Gaelic word for “lake”. The Irish-Gaelic word is “lough”, and the Welsh word is “llyn”.

106 Drachma replacement : EURO

The Greek drachma was in use until it was replaced by the euro in 2002. As well as being Greece’s currency in modern times, the drachma was also used in ancient Greece.

109 Five of these are needed to play Yahtzee : DICE

The dice game called Yahtzee was introduced in 1956 and is a variant of earlier dice games, especially the game “Yacht” (which even has a similar name). Yahtzee is required playing in our house at holidays. The game involves the rolling of five dice, with the intent of getting certain combinations. A lot of those combinations resemble poker hands, such as “three of a kind”, “four of a kind” and “full house”.

110 Astronaut Grissom : GUS

Gus Grissom was the second American to fly in space, and the first astronaut at NASA to make two space flights. Sadly, Grissom was one of the three astronauts who died in that terrible launch pad fire in 1967.

111 Transcript fig. : GPA

Grade point average (GPA)

115 Children’s author Asquith : ROS

Ros Asquith writes the “Teenage Worrier” books aimed at teens, as well as cartoons for “The Guardian” newspaper in the UK.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Ones out of this world, for short : ETS
4 Club setting for scenes in “GoodFellas” and “Raging Bull” : THE COPA
11 Something pressed in an emergency : PANIC BAR
19 ___ Lee (dessert brand) : SARA
20 Gets better : HEALS UP
21 Oppressive dominance : IRON RULE
22 *Performers who set the bar high? : TRAPP ARTISTS (trapeze artists)
24 *Go-getter’s maxim : CC THE DAY (seize the day)
25 In a way : OF SORTS
26 Eves : NITES
28 One-named Grammy-winning singer : SADE
29 Worried exclamation from Astro on “The Jetsons” : RUH-ROH
30 Writer and film critic James : AGEE
31 Platinum-selling rapper-turned-TV cop : ICE-T
33 Sr.’s hurdle : GRE
36 English cathedral city : ELY
37 Brand with a jingle to the “Dragnet” theme : TUMS
39 *Public health agency’s mission : DIZZ CONTROL (disease control)
43 Part of a ventilation system : AIR DUCT
46 Actress and civil rights activist Ruby ___ : DEE
47 Boors : YAHOOS
48 *Feature of a Chippendales show : STRIP TT (striptease)
51 Fix the colors on, say : RETOUCH
54 Boor : BRUTE
55 Special orders on new autos : TRIMS
56 It means well in Italy : BENE
57 P.R. event : PHOTO OP
59 Smooth sailing : EASE
60 Gas numbers : OCTANES
63 Bug : WIRETAP
66 Stand-up comic Wong : ALI
67 *Places for coasters : AMUUMENT PARKS (amusement parks)
70 Move in a hurry, quaintly : HIE
71 Best horse of the 20th century, per The Associated Press : MAN O’ WAR
73 Language spoken on Easter Island : RAPA NUI
74 Jazz’s Jackson : MILT
75 Matriarch’s title, maybe : GRANDMA
78 Chats away : GABS
79 Large musical combo : NONET
80 Spud : TATER
82 Palate cleansers between courses : SORBETS
84 *How to screw in a light bulb : CLOCKYY (clockwise)
86 Common chords : TRIADS
88 “I didn’t need to know that” : TMI
89 Tries hard : STRAINS
91 *What keeps up standards in the radio business? : OLDD STATION (oldies station)
94 Temple cabinets : ARKS
95 End of many addresses : COM
98 Pioneer of detective fiction : POE
99 Reed in a pit : OBOE
100 A while back : ONCE
103 Author/magazine editor Welteroth : ELAINE
105 Singer/activist Horne : LENA
107 Half of a record : SIDE-A
109 Celebrity … but just barely : D-LISTER
110 *”Holy moly!” : GG LOUISE! (Geez, Louise!)
114 *Occasion for hiding in the dark : SURPRII PARTY (surprise party)
116 In trouble, metaphorically : UP A CREEK
117 Genre for the Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair : ALT-ROCK
118 Beat poem allegedly inspired by a peyote vision : HOWL
119 Carpentry contraption : SAWHORSE
120 Words of understanding : YES, I SEE
121 Italian diminutive suffix : -INO

Down

1 Lengthy reprimand, so to speak : EARFUL
2 Lowbrow : TRASHY
3 Taste : SAPOR
4 “Ouch!” : THAT HURT!
5 Half of some matching sets : HERS
6 Put away : EAT
7 Hold tightly : CLING
8 National Medal of Arts winner Davis : OSSIE
9 Played miniature golf : PUTTED
10 Altar place : APSE
11 Snap : PIC
12 Inverse trig function : ARCSEC
13 Choking hazard label : NOT A TOY
14 How TV shows may be shown : IN HD
15 Some Montanans : CREE
16 Plant part : BUD
17 ___ king : A LA
18 Spanish chess piece : REY
19 Put away for later : STORE
23 Expert advice : PRO TIPS
27 Evaluate, as an opponent : SIZE UP
30 Phoenix sch. : ASU
32 Like polka : CZECH
33 What sheep participate in : GROUPTHINK
34 Plant part : ROOT
35 Alternatively : ELSE
38 Summer hrs. in Colorado : MDT
40 Words of commitment : I DO
41 Pyle’s portrayer on “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” : NABORS
42 Pang : THROE
43 Love, in Lyon : AIME
44 Defeat soundly : CREAM
45 Couple of fins : TENNER
48 Head of ___ : STEAM
49 Happy refrain : TRA-LA
50 National economic prosperity, metaphorically : RISING TIDE
52 Adolescent : TEENAGE
53 “What’s up?,” in textspeak : HOW R U?
56 A.C. measure : BTU
58 First man, in Maori mythology : TIKI
60 Oil-rich nation that’s not in OPEC : OMAN
61 Sour milk product : CURDS
62 Cathedral in N.Y.C. : ST PAT’S
64 “Revelations” choreographer : AILEY
65 Small, in a way : PETTY
67 Oscars, e.g. : AWARDS
68 Blue Ribbon brand : PABST
69 It’s found in a key: Abbr. : ANS
72 Mountain nymph of Greek myth : OREAD
74 Comfy shoes, for short : MOCS
76 Writing on many a license plate : MOTTO
77 Opposing forces in Risk : ARMIES
79 Preventing spills, say : NONSLIP
80 Sporty option : T-TOP
81 Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO
83 H.S. class : BIO
84 Monopoly token : CAR
85 Have a serious crush on, informally : LIKE LIKE
87 Less expressive : STONIER
90 Issa of “Insecure” : RAE
92 Puts down : ABASES
93 Little bump : NODULE
95 Ancestor of the modern lemon and lime : CITRON
96 Ring combo : ONE-TWO
97 She played “the devil” Miranda in “The Devil Wears Prada” : MERYL
101 “Dagnabbit!” : NERTS!
102 Kind of pants : CAPRI
104 Japanese beer brand : ASAHI
105 Partially landlocked bay : LOCH
106 Drachma replacement : EURO
108 “My word!” : I SAY!
109 Five of these are needed to play Yahtzee : DICE
110 Astronaut Grissom : GUS
111 Transcript fig. : GPA
112 Topic discussed by the bar : LAW
113 Barely manage, with “out” : EKE …
115 Children’s author Asquith : ROS

20 thoughts on “0719-20 NY Times Crossword 19 Jul 20, Sunday”

  1. 30:05, no errors. Clever theme. Today’s Washington Post puzzle has a quadruple-letter theme … different idea … just similar enough to notice … some vibe in the crossword-setting universe, I guess … 😜.

    I should be in bed, after a marathon hike in the heat yesterday, but I peeked out the window, noticed Venus in the sky, and had to check it out. Might go back out in a bit to see if the comet is visible …

    1. Thanks for the positive comment yesterday A Nonny. Nice to know this Left Coaster syndication solver (usually) didn’t totally miss the party on that tough Saturday puzzle.

  2. 59:47 just under an hour, which for me is a win. Took a while to recognize the theme, no surprise there 👍

    Saw the comet last night for a good hour before it clouded up. Glad the folks who were with me explained what I was seeing, as I was looking for more of a shooting star.

    For you sky gazers, log onto NASA’s “Spot The Station” website and it will tell you when the ISS will be visible in your zip code.

  3. Good job figuring this one out folks. I got the gimmick but could not get into the flow. Sometimes I’m just on a different wavelength. So, 1:15:13 with look ups, help, and errors. I’m done for today. Ugh!

  4. 29:53 Got the theme early and that helped in a couple areas. The question was just where the double letters would show up in the starred clues.

  5. 35:48, but in the end I just punted and looked up the “L” in AILEY/MILT. RAPA NUI is a newy for me.

    Originally put TRAPEZE in 22A and tried to figure out what else it could be besides ARTIST. Finally figured it out. Also for 91A I was initially trying to figure out why OLDEE STATION didn’t fit. Oh. OLDD STATION. Well, I had the right idea. Those two took up the most time.

    Best –

  6. I’ve read the “solution” a few times and I still don’t get it. Clues were ok but the theme was obscure, at best, and unenjoyable. I’ll take a share of this puzzle not working and a Sunday disappointment but not all of the blame.

  7. 1:23:30 no errors…I got the theme and it helped but overall I did not enjoy this one…too many obscure clues IMO …I was down to one unfilled space and had to look up Rapanui on google to finish…I have heard of a panic button but never a panic bar.
    My opinion for this one 👎👎👎👎
    Stay safe

  8. Got the trick early so it went quicker than a usual Sunday. Clever , I liked it. Some Sundays are a real slog.

  9. 55:08, no errors. Went down several blind alleys: AMOR before AIME; CHER before SADE; STRIVE before STRAIN; CRUSH before CREAM; etc. Did not understand the theme until 35 minutes in. I suppose PANIC BAR’s exist, just never heard of them. Sometimes the double letters employed the theme, and sometimes they didn’t (YAHOOS, PHOTO OP). Willing to accept non themed double letters in the vertical answers.

  10. Enjoyable Sunday with the right amount of difficulty and a solid theme. No errors and the last square to fall was the N in rapaNui/aNs when “answer key” finally came to me. I give it 👍👍👍👍

  11. Anybody notice the “mistake” that goes counter to the “theme”? 57A: The answer is PHOTO-OP, but it has two O’s consecutively, so, if it fits with the theme it’s… PHOTO’S-P????

    These constructors are often to damn clever for their own good. When I finally “got” the theme gimmick, I was more pissed off than satisfied at my “aha” moment. I just don’t like being “played” in my puzzles. Give me a vocabulary test, but skip all the “cute” stuff.

    1. @Allen …

      And what about YAHOOS in the seventh row of the grid?!?! Are we to interpret it as YAH(O’S)S?!?! My God, call out the crossword police!!!!

      Faux horror aside, your nit-picking is just silly … there are (symmetrically-placed) theme entries and there are normal entries and it doesn’t take a lot of insight or intelligence to see which is which.

      (And, actually, @BruceB commented on this … )

      Geez … 😳

      1. Not to mention that the theme is not replacing double letters, but using double letters to replace a longer “properly spelled” sounds. For example, “trapeze” sounds like “tra pees” ergo trapp (tra+plural pee); “oldies” sounds like “ol dees” ergo oldd (ol+plural dee). The doubles are replacements that have nothing to do with doubles in the original spellings. Neither yahoo (ya+who) or photo-op (oo=oh-ah) can be resolved to a double letter sound. Are there other non-themed answers that can? I didn’t check, but I’m not sure what difference it would make if there were.

        1. No, no, no. You’re making excuses for the inconsistency and poor execution of the theme. A gag should apply wherever it occurs in that grid. Either that, or some formatting of the clues (the “?”, or a star on the end) so we know where the ploy is in play.

          A Nony Mous simply found **another** example.

          1. Bill explained the theme in detail. Dan explained it in detail. I could try to create a simpler explanation, but it is amply clear that any such attempt would fail … 😳.

          2. By your logic AWD, if I constructed a puzzle that added the letter N to theme entries, I couldn’t use the letter N anywhere else in the puzzle. Obviously an absurd premise. Here the constructor added double letters to theme entries and had some non-theme entries that had double letters. Two completely unrelated events. You’re trying to force a connection where none exists. The puzzle is self-consistent. There may be things you don’t like about it, but there is no issue with the “execution of the theme.” At any rate, I hope you find future crosswords more satisfying. (As an aside, I apologize for my typo above. I made the word “sound” plural and forgot to remove the preceding A. My bad.)

  12. Themed answers were starred in my paper. Yahoos, photo-op not starred.
    Milt Who? Ailey who? Gus who? Ros who?
    In Canada it’s “Trap Zeds artists”
    Ha a loch isn’t just a lake? Who knew?
    Got stuck putting “strives” instead of “strains”.
    Clue to 88 should have contained an abbrev.
    It’s “panic button” not “panic bar”

    1. One comment: “Panic buttons” and “panic bars” are two different things. Go to a department store and find a door labeled “Emergency Exit: Push to Open”. One name for the thing you push on is “panic bar”.

  13. About an hour.. Mr Liu got me on73A With the language thing. I had RAPATUI because I misread 69D.. And I guessed ATS.. “missed it by that much”..

    Reference to Panic Bar.. I was a project manager working with security folks for over 10 years. The reason it’s shaped like a bar because you can ‘crash’ through it even in the dark. Its formal name is “panic” bar but it’s slang reference is crash bar.

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