Constructed by: Ruth Bloomfield Margolin
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: Craft Show
The circled letters in the grid define a SHIP SHAPE, which shape comprises several different lines defined by themed answers:
- 66A In perfect order … or, as two words, what’s formed by applying the answers for the five starred clues to the circled letters : SHIPSHAPE … or, SHIP SHAPE
- 48A *Winter vacation destination : SKI SLOPE
- 84A *Multi-episode narrative : STORY ARC
- 113A *Civic center : TOWN SQUARE
- 35D *Airport logjam : SECURITY LINE
- 36D *Rick, Ilsa and Victor had one in “Casablanca” : LOVE TRIANGLE
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 16m 57s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Front : FACADE
Our word “facade” has been meaning “front of a building” since the mid-17th century. We started using the term figuratively, to mean “superficial appearance”, in the mid-19th century. “Façade” is the original French word with the same meaning, from which our English term derives.
19 Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend : SLOANE
The character Sloane Peterson in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is played by actress Mia Sara. Sloane is the girlfriend of the title character.
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is one of my favorite movies of all time. It was written and directed by John Hughes and released in 1986. There are so many classic scenes in the film, including two wonderful musical interludes. The more sedate of these is a vignette shot in the Art Institute of Chicago that is beautifully filmed. The more upbeat musical scene is a rendition of “Twist and Shout” during a Von Steuben Day parade.
20 ___ B. Wells, civil rights pioneer : IDA
Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and leader of the civil rights movement. She published a pamphlet in 1892 called “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases”, which publicized the horrors of lynching of African Americans by white mobs in the South.
25 Icarus’s downfall : SUN
Daedalus was a master craftsman of Greek mythology who was tasked with creating the Labyrinth on the island of Crete that was to house the Minotaur. After the Labyrinth was completed, King Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tower, so that he could not spread word of his work. Daedalus fabricated wings so that he and Icarus could escape by flying off the island. Despite being warned by his father, Icarus flew too close to the sun so that the wax holding the wings’ feathers in place melted. Icarus drowned in the sea, and Daedalus escaped.
34 Boy band with two members who previously starred on “The Mickey Mouse Club” : NSYNC
NSYNC was a boy band from Orlando, Florida that was formed in 1995. The name of the group came from a comment by the mother of band member Justin Timberlake, who said the boys voices sounded “in sync”. But, it’s also true that the letters of the name NSYNC are the last letters of the given names of the five band members:
- Justin Timberlake
- Chris Kirkpatrick
- Joey Fatone
- Lance “Lansten” Bass
- JC Chasez
JC Chasez started his performing career at the age of 15, when he joined the cast of “The Mickey Mouse Club”. Chasez made friends with fellow Mouseketeer Justin Timberlake while appearing on the show. Chasez and Timberlake became the lead singers of the celebrated boy band NYSNC.
Justin Timberlake got his break by appearing on TV’s “Star Search” from which he was given a starring role in “The New Mickey Mouse Club”. It was on “The New Mickey Mouse Club” that he met his future girlfriend Britney Spears, as well JC Chasez who would join Timberlake in the lineup of the boy band NSYNC.
36 Little suckers : LICE
Lice (singular “louse”) are small wingless insects, of which there are thousands of species. There are three species of lice affecting humans, i.e. head lice, body lice and pubic lice. Most lice feed on dead skin found on the body of the host animal, although some feed on blood. Ick …
39 One of the Arnazes : DESI
Desi Arnaz has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One was placed to mark his contribution to motion pictures, and the other for his work in television.
43 Famously green shampoo : PRELL
Prell shampoo was introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1947. Back then it was a clear green concentrate sold in a tube (like toothpaste).
45 Rap’s Shakur : TUPAC
Rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur adopted the inventive stage name “2Pac”. He was a hard man, spending eleven months in prison for sexual assault. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at only 25 years of age.
47 Pope after Benedict IV : LEO V
Pope Leo V was head of the Roman Catholic Church for just one year, from 903 to 904. Leo V was imprisoned by Antipope Christopher just two months after taking office. It is likely that both Antipope Christopher and Pope Leo V were executed on the orders of Sergius III who took over the papacy in 904.
56 Silverback gorilla, e.g. : ALPHA
Adult male gorillas are commonly called silverbacks, a reference to the silver hair that runs down their backs. Gorillas live in groups called troops. Each troop usually has one silverback who runs the show, with several adult females and their offspring.
58 Moreno with an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony : RITA
Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress Rita Moreno is one of the few performers to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony. Moreno got her big break, and won her Oscar, for playing Anita in the 1961 screen adaptation of “West Side Story”. And, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2004.
60 Drag racing vehicles : HOT RODS
A hot rod is an American car that has been modified for speed by installing a larger than normal engine. A street rod is generally a more comfortable type of hot rod, with the emphasis less on the engine and more on custom paint jobs and interiors. By definition, a street rod must be based on an automobile design that originated prior to 1949.
73 “Hamilton” actor Leslie ___ Jr. : ODOM
Leslie Odom Jr. is the actor and singer who originated the role of Aaron Burr in “Hamilton” on Broadway.
77 Sea ___ : OTTER
The fur of the sea otter is exceptionally thick. It is the densest fur in the whole animal kingdom.
79 Prefix with -plasm : CYTO-
All of the material within a cell membrane, excluding the cell nucleus, is referred to as the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm comprises 80% water.
80 Piece paid by Pisans for a piece of pizza, previously : LIRA
The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.
82 Safe places : SANCTA
A “sanctum” (plural “sancta”) is a private place where one can hide away without fear of intrusion. I love my sanctum …
84 *Multi-episode narrative : STORY ARC
A story arc is a continuing storyline in say a television show that runs through a number of episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media.
87 Crucifix inscription : INRI
The letters written on the cross on which Jesus died were INRI. “INRI” is an initialism standing for the Latin “Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum”, which translates into English as “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews”.
90 En ___ (as a whole) : MASSE
“En masse” is a French term, one that best translates as “as a group”
91 Having tattoos : INKED
The word “tattoo” (often shortened to “tat”) was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”. Tattoos are sometimes referred to as “ink”.
94 The butler, stereotypically : CULPRIT
A culprit is a person guilty of a crime, or is perhaps the source of a problem. The term “culprit” comes from Anglo-French with an interesting etymology. Back in the day, a prosecutor opening a trial would use the words “Culpable: prest (d’averrer nostre bille)” meaning “guilty, ready (to prove our case”, which was abbreviated to “cul. prit”. The abbreviated French was mistakenly applied in English as a term to describe the defendant, the “culprit”.
A butler is the head servant in a household. The butler is often in charge of the wine stores in the house. The term “butler” comes from the Old French “boteillier” meaning “officer in charge of wine”, which in terms comes from the Old French “boteille”, the word for a “bottle”.
The cliché “the butler did it” is often attributed to a 1930 crime novel called “The Door” by Mary Roberts Rinehart. In “The Door”, the butler actually did commit the crime.
97 It gives Ford an “F”: Abbr. : NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) can give some quite descriptive ticker symbols to companies, for example:
- Anheuser-Busch (BUD, for “Budweiser”)
- Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP, as in “beer tap”)
- Steinway Musical Instruments (LVB, for “Ludwig van Beethoven”)
- Sotheby’s (BID, for the auction house)
100 First Alaskan on a major U.S. party ticket : PALIN
When John McCain selected Sarah Palin as candidate for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she became the first Alaskan to go on the national ticket for a major party. She also became the first woman nominated for Vice President by the Republican Party.
101 E-4, E-5 and E-6, in the U.S. Navy, in brief : NCOS
Non-commissioned officer (NCO)
102 Successors to LPs : CDS
The compact disc (CD) was developed jointly by Philips and Sony as a medium for storing and playing sound recordings. When the first commercial CD was introduced back in 1982, a CD’s storage capacity was far greater than the amount of data that could be stored on the hard drive of personal computers available at that time.
105 Part of Canada above Alta. and Sask. : NWT
Given its vast size and relatively low population, the Northwest Territories (NWT) has the highest per capita gross domestic product of any province or territory in Canada. The NWT’s economy is driven by the exploitation of its geological resources, which include gold, diamonds, natural gas and oil.
Alberta (Alta.) is a big province, one about the size of Texas. Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Princess Louise also donated her name to Lake Louise, the large glacial lake in the province, now within the bounds of Banff National Park.
The Canadian province of Saskatchewan (Sask.) takes its name from the Saskatchewan River. The river in turn takes its name from the Cree name, which translates as “swift flowing river”. The capital of Saskatchewan is Regina, although the biggest city in the province is Saskatoon.
106 One of the Gandhis : INDIRA
Indira Gandhi’s father was Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India. Indira herself became prime minister in 1966. She was assassinated in 1984 by two of her own bodyguards as she was walking to meet Peter Ustinov, who was about to interview her for Irish television.
115 Colored ring : AREOLA
An areola (sometimes “areole”) in anatomy is a small ring of color, as in the areola surrounding the nipple, and the areola surrounding the pupil of the eye. “Areola” (plural “areolae”) comes from Latin, meaning “small open space”, and is a diminutive of the Latin word “area”, meaning “open space”.
116 Washington’s Sea-___ Airport : TAC
Sea-Tac Airport (SEA) is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.
117 Non’s opposite : OUI
In French, a “législateur” (legislator) might vote “oui” (yes) or “non” (no).
120 College entrance exam org. : ETS
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) was founded in 1947, and produces standardized tests for students from kindergarten through college. Perhaps most famously, ETS operates the SAT testing process.
121 Hosp. V.I.P.s : RNS
Registered nurse (RN)
122 Author Zora ___ Hurston : NEALE
Zora Neale Hurston was an American author who was most famous for her 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.
Down
1 Compete in one leg of a modern pentathlon : FENCE
The original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic games consisted of a foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus. When a new pentathlon was created as a sport for the modern Olympic Games, it was given the name the “modern pentathlon”. First introduced in 1912, the modern pentathlon consists of:
- pistol shooting
- épée fencing
- 200m freestyle swimming
- show jumping
- 3km cross-country running
4 Not incl. : ADDL
Additional (addl.)
7 Smart ___ : ALEC
Apparently, the original “smart Alec” (sometimes “Aleck”) was one Alec Hoag, a pimp, thief and confidence trickster who plied his trade in New York City in the 1840s.
8 Painter of the “Four Freedoms” series, 1943 : ROCKWELL
Norman Rockwell is one of America’s most famous painters and illustrators. A native of New York City, Rockwell is perhaps best known for the cover art that he provided for “The Saturday Evening Post” for more than fifty years.
11 Pinnacle : ZENITH
The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.
12 ___ Chemical Company, onetime maker of VapoRub : VICK
The Vicks VapoRub formulation was developed in 1894 by American pharmacist Lunsford Richardson. Richardson called his product Vicks Croup and Pneumonia Salve. By 1890, Richardson had a range of “Vick’s Family Remedies” and founded the company now known as Richardson Vicks.
13 Writer Serwer of The Atlantic : ADAM
“The Atlantic” magazine was founded in 1857 in Boston as “The Atlantic Monthly”. The impressive list of founding sponsors includes Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Harriet Beecher Stowe. I guess double-barreled names were all the rage back then …
16 They’re listed by degrees : ALUMNI
An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.
17 ___ boom : SONIC
Supersonic transports (SSTs) like the Concorde broke Mach 1, the speed of sound. As a plane flies through the air, it creates pressure waves in front (and behind) rather like the bow and stern waves of a boat. These pressure waves travel at the speed of sound, so as an aircraft itself accelerates towards the speed of sound it catches up with the pressure waves until they cannot “get out of the way”. When the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, the compressed waves merge into one single shock wave, creating a sonic boom.
19 Struck, old-style : SMIT
“Smitten” is the past participle of “to smite”, meaning “to inflict a heavy blow”. We tend to use “smitten” to mean “affected by love, love-struck”.
24 Bygone Apple messaging app : ICHAT
iChat was introduced in 2002, and was Apple’s “instant messaging” application that integrated with the Mac Operating System. iChat was replaced by the Messages app.
33 Move, in Realtor jargon : RELO
“Real estate agent” is a general, generic term. “Realtor” is the name given to a member of the trade association known as the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR has gone so far as to trademark the term “Realtor” in the US.
36 *Rick, Ilsa and Victor had one in “Casablanca” : LOVE TRIANGLE
Victor Laszlo was played by Austrian-born actor Paul Henreid in 1942’s “Casablanca”. Apparently, Henreid didn’t mix well with his co-stars. He referred to Humphrey Bogart as “a mediocre actor”, and Ingrid Bergman referred to Henreid as a “prima donna”.
37 First lady between Eleanor and Mamie : BESS
Harry Truman and Bess Wallace first met when they were very young children at Sunday school. They were friends right through high school and became engaged in 1918, just before Harry went off to France during WWI, and married the next year. Bess Truman never really took to the Washington scene when she became First Lady and stayed out of the limelight as much as she could. Perhaps that contributed to her longevity. Mrs. Truman lived to the age of 97, making her the longest living First Lady in US history.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the daughter of Elliot, brother to President Theodore Roosevelt. “Eleanor” met Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was her father’s fifth cousin, in 1902. The two started “walking out together” the following year after they both attended a White House dinner with President Theodore Roosevelt.
Mamie Eisenhower was surely one of the most charming of all the First Ladies of the United States. Ms. Eisenhower suffered from an inner ear complaint called Ménière’s disease which caused her to lose her balance quite often. Because she was unsteady on her feet there were unfounded rumors floating around Washington that Ms. Eisenhower had a drinking problem. People can be very unkind …
38 Fanny : TUSH
“Tush”, a word meaning “backside”, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.
“Fanny” is a slang term for the buttocks, rump. You have to be careful using the slang term “fanny” if traveling in Britain and Ireland, because over there it has a much ruder meaning …
41 Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy, for two : REDHEADS
Raggedy Ann is a rag doll that was created by Johnny Gruelle in 1915 for his daughter, Marcella. He decided to name the doll by combining the titles of two poems by James Whitcomb Riley, “The Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphan Annie”. Gruelle introduced Raggedy Ann in a series of books three years later. Sadly, Marcella died at 13 years of age with her father blaming a smallpox vaccination she was given at school. Gruelle became very active in the movement against mass vaccination, for which Raggedy Ann became a symbol.
Raggedy Andy was introduced as the brother to Raggedy Ann in the 1920 book “Raggedy Andy Stories”.
44 “Ba-dum-tss” : RIMSHOT
A rimshot is a sound made when a drummer hits the head of a drum and the rim at the same time. It’s a sound often used by comics to help punctuate a gag.
46 Education support grps. : PTAS
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
48 ___ Paulo, Brazil : SAO
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.
50 “Frozen” queen : ELSA
“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Spoiler alert: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seems to be a good guy for most of the film, but turns out to be a baddie in the end. And, a snowman named Olaf provides some comic relief.
52 Endless YouTube viewing, e.g. : TIME SINK
YouTube is a video-sharing website that was launched in 2005 by three ex-PayPal employees. Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Yep, $1.65 billion, less than two years after it was founded …
57 Tropical yellow fruits : PAPAYAS
The papaya is the fruit of the Carica papaya, a large tree-like plant that is native to southern Mexico and Central America. One traditional use of papaya is as a meat tenderizer. The fruit and sap contain the enzyme papain that breaks down meat fibers. Papain is used today as a component in powdered meat tenderizers.
59 Writer Rand : AYN
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist born “Alisa Rosenbaum”. Her two best known works are her novels “The Fountainhead” published in 1943 and “Atlas Shrugged” from 1957. Back in 1951, Rand moved from Los Angeles to New York City. Soon after, she gathered a group of admirers around her with whom she discussed philosophy and shared drafts of her magnum opus, “Atlas Shrugged”. This group called itself “The Collective”, and one of the founding members was none other than future Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan. Rand described herself as “right-wing” politically, and both she and her novel “Atlas Shrugged” have become inspirations for the American conservatives, and the Tea Party in particular.
61 New York city with a marina : RYE
The New York city of Rye is the youngest in the state, having received its charter in 1942. Rye is home to the historic amusement park called Playland, which in 1987 was designated a National Historic Landmark. Opened in 1928, today’s Playland is actually owned and operated by Westchester County, making it one of the only government-operated amusement parks in the whole country.
62 Suffix with tour or Tory : -ISM
“Tory” comes from the Irish word “tóraí” meaning “outlaw, robber”. The term “tory” was originally used for an Irish outlaw and later became a term of abuse for Irish rebels. At the end of the reign of King Charles II in Britain, there was a political divide with one side being called “Whigs” and the other “Tories”. Historically, the term “Tory” evolved to basically mean a supporter of the British monarchy, and indeed was used to describe those who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution. Today, “Tory” is used for a member of the British Conservative Party.
64 ___-El (Superman’s birth name) : KAL
Jor-El was a scientist on the planet Krypton who was married to Lara. Jor-El and Lara had an infant son named Kal-El who they were able to launch into space towards Earth just before Krypton was destroyed. Kal-El became Superman. In the 1978 movie “Superman”, Jor-El was played by Marlon Brando, Lara was played by Susannah York, and Kal-El/Superman was played by Christopher Reeve.
65 Conflict during which the Lusitania was sunk: Abbr. : WWI
The RMS Lusitania was a Cunard ocean liner that was sunk off the coast of Ireland in May 1915 during WWI. The Lusitania was on its traditional route between Liverpool and New York City, having departed New York six days before the sinking. She was attacked by a German U-boat, with 1,198 of the 1,959 people on board being killed. The main result of the sinking was to turn public opinion against Germany, greatly contributing to the US entering the war.
67 Fateful date : IDES
In Act I of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, a soothsayer warns the doomed leader to “beware the ides of March”. Caesar ignores the prophecy and is subsequently killed on the steps of the Capitol by a group of conspirators on that fateful day.
68 What’s left at sea : PORT
The left side of a ship used to be called the “larboard” side, but this was dropped in favor of “port” as the pronunciation of “larboard” was easily confused with “starboard”, the right side of the vessel. The term “port” was chosen as it was customary to dock a ship, for loading in port, with the left side of the vessel against the dock.
72 Flat, round bread cooked on a griddle : ROTI
In an Indian restaurant, naan bread is very popular. Roti is an unleavened cousin of naan.
75 Noted congresswoman from the Bronx, familiarly : AOC
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a politician who is often referred to by her initials “AOC”. A Democrat, she was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018, representing part of the Bronx, Queens and Rikers Island in New York City. When she took office in 2019 at the age of 29, AOC became the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress.
78 After-bath application : TALC
Talc is a mineral, hydrated magnesium silicate. Talcum powder is composed of loose talc, although these days “baby powder” is also made from cornstarch.
81 Hoped-for response to an SOS : AID
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots). That said, in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so “SOS” is really only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics that were introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.
83 Lien holder, e.g. : CREDITOR
A lien is the right that one has to retain or secure someone’s property until a debt is paid. When an individual takes out a car loan, for example, the lending bank is usually a lien holder. The bank releases the lien on the car when the loan is paid in full.
85 Ahab’s father in the Bible : OMRI
Omri was the sixth king of Israel, and was succeeded by his son Ahab.
89 Hogwarts professor who was secretly a werewolf : LUPIN
In J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” universe, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by the four most brilliant witches and wizards of their time: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Each of the founders lent their name to a House in the school, i.e. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
91 “Awkward Black Girl” creator and star : ISSA 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.
93 Slapstick silliness : ANTICS
Slapstick is a physical form of comedy or horseplay. Back in the late 19th century, the term “slapstick” described a device made from two sticks loosely fastened together, which could be “slapped” together to create a sound effect offstage. The sound effect augmented the audience reaction when a clown or actor was given a slap on stage.
95 Gary who created “The Far Side” : LARSON
“The Far Side” is a cartoon series drawn by Gary Larson. It ran from 1980 to 1995, and continues today in reruns in many papers. A lot of “The Far Side” cartoons feature animals, often in outrageous, human-like situations. Larson was so popular with people working with animals that in 1989 a newly discovered insect species was named Strigiphilus garylarsoni. How cool is that?
99 U.S. govt. bond : T-NOTE
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.
102 Unisex fragrance : CK ONE
CK One is a fragrance that was developed for Calvin Klein and launched in 1994. It was to become the first really successful unisex fragrance.
103 ___ Street, Perry Mason’s secretary : DELLA
Della Street is Perry Mason’s very capable secretary in the Erle Stanley Gardner novels. Street was played on the TV show by Barbara Hale.
108 Bad things on motorists’ records, for short : DWIS
In some states, there is no longer a legal difference between a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Other states retain that difference, so that by definition a DUI is a lesser offence than a DWI.
110 “Dies ___” (hymn) : IRAE
“Dies Irae” is Latin for “Day of Wrath”. It is the name of a famous melody in Gregorian Chant, one that is often used as part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass.
114 The Jazz, on scoreboards : UTA
The Utah Jazz professional basketball team moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. As one might guess from the name, the team originated in New Orleans, but only played there for five seasons. New Orleans was a tough place to be based because venues were hard to come by, and Mardi Gras forced the team to play on the road for a whole month.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Front : FACADE
7 Spanish rice : ARROZ
12 Little sucker? : VAC
15 Smallish batteries : AAS
18 Like a seacoast after a storm, maybe : ERODED
19 Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend : SLOANE
20 ___ B. Wells, civil rights pioneer : IDA
21 ___-mo : SLO
22 S as in soup? : NOODLE
23 Kind of drawing : MECHANICAL
25 Icarus’s downfall : SUN
26 Skip work for health reasons : CALL IN SICK
28 Words after “Ooh, ooh!” : … PICK ME!
29 Beau, to Brigitte : AMI
30 Verbal stumbles : ERS
31 Baseball catcher : MITT
32 Ire : WRATH
34 Boy band with two members who previously starred on “The Mickey Mouse Club” : NSYNC
36 Little suckers : LICE
37 Headgear for a tailgater : BEER HAT
39 One of the Arnazes : DESI
40 “… but it’s up to you” : … OR NOT
43 Famously green shampoo : PRELL
45 Rap’s Shakur : TUPAC
47 Pope after Benedict IV : LEO V
48 *Winter vacation destination : SKI SLOPE
51 Parades : STRUTS
54 Barely beat : EDGE
55 Goals : AIMS
56 Silverback gorilla, e.g. : ALPHA
58 Moreno with an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony : RITA
60 Drag racing vehicles : HOT RODS
62 “___ trap!” : IT’S A
63 Meager : SKIMPY
65 Tired : WEARY
66 In perfect order … or, as two words, what’s formed by applying the answers for the five starred clues to the circled letters : SHIPSHAPE … or, SHIP SHAPE
70 Dined at home : ATE IN
71 More skeptical : WARIER
73 “Hamilton” actor Leslie ___ Jr. : ODOM
74 Break down, to a Brit : ANALYSE
76 Theory : IDEA
77 Sea ___ : OTTER
79 Prefix with -plasm : CYTO-
80 Piece paid by Pisans for a piece of pizza, previously : LIRA
82 Safe places : SANCTA
84 *Multi-episode narrative : STORY ARC
87 Crucifix inscription : INRI
88 Relentlessly question : GRILL
90 En ___ (as a whole) : MASSE
91 Having tattoos : INKED
92 Event that’s a bit off? : SALE
94 The butler, stereotypically : CULPRIT
97 It gives Ford an “F”: Abbr. : NYSE
99 Buff : TONED
100 First Alaskan on a major U.S. party ticket : PALIN
101 E-4, E-5 and E-6, in the U.S. Navy, in brief : NCOS
102 Successors to LPs : CDS
105 Part of Canada above Alta. and Sask. : NWT
106 One of the Gandhis : INDIRA
109 Where to get a mullet trimmed : FISH MARKET
112 “___ get it now!” : OH, I
113 *Civic center : TOWN SQUARE
115 Colored ring : AREOLA
116 Washington’s Sea-___ Airport : TAC
117 Non’s opposite : OUI
118 Ban … or bandit : OUTLAW
119 By and large : MAINLY
120 College entrance exam org. : ETS
121 Hosp. V.I.P.s : RNS
122 Author Zora ___ Hurston : NEALE
123 Son of Aphrodite : AENEAS
Down
1 Compete in one leg of a modern pentathlon : FENCE
2 Loud, as the surf : AROAR
3 Chills : COOLS
4 Not incl. : ADDL
5 Set the boundaries of : DELIMIT
6 Perfect : EDENIC
7 Smart ___ : ALEC
8 Painter of the “Four Freedoms” series, 1943 : ROCKWELL
9 Sound from a cheering crowd : RAH!
10 Even : ON A PAR
11 Pinnacle : ZENITH
12 ___ Chemical Company, onetime maker of VapoRub : VICK
13 Writer Serwer of The Atlantic : ADAM
14 Event planner’s need : CALENDAR
15 Attempts : ASSAYS
16 They’re listed by degrees : ALUMNI
17 ___ boom : SONIC
19 Struck, old-style : SMIT
24 Bygone Apple messaging app : ICHAT
27 Members of a blended family : STEPKIDS
33 Move, in Realtor jargon : RELO
35 *Airport logjam : SECURITY LINE
36 *Rick, Ilsa and Victor had one in “Casablanca” : LOVE TRIANGLE
37 First lady between Eleanor and Mamie : BESS
38 Fanny : TUSH
40 Accented cheer : OLE!
41 Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy, for two : REDHEADS
42 Restricted zone : NO-GO AREA
44 “Ba-dum-tss” : RIMSHOT
46 Education support grps. : PTAS
48 ___ Paulo, Brazil : SAO
49 Sea route, e.g. : PATH
50 “Frozen” queen : ELSA
52 Endless YouTube viewing, e.g. : TIME SINK
53 French island off the coast of Newfoundland : ST PIERRE
57 Tropical yellow fruits : PAPAYAS
59 Writer Rand : AYN
61 New York city with a marina : RYE
62 Suffix with tour or Tory : -ISM
64 ___-El (Superman’s birth name) : KAL
65 Conflict during which the Lusitania was sunk: Abbr. : WWI
67 Fateful date : IDES
68 What’s left at sea : PORT
69 Dig in : ENTRENCH
72 Flat, round bread cooked on a griddle : ROTI
75 Noted congresswoman from the Bronx, familiarly : AOC
78 After-bath application : TALC
79 Anatomical sac : CYST
81 Hoped-for response to an SOS : AID
83 Lien holder, e.g. : CREDITOR
85 Ahab’s father in the Bible : OMRI
86 Desert’s lack : RAINFALL
89 Hogwarts professor who was secretly a werewolf : LUPIN
91 “Awkward Black Girl” creator and star : ISSA RAE
92 “Who cares?” : SO WHAT?
93 Slapstick silliness : ANTICS
95 Gary who created “The Far Side” : LARSON
96 Award to be hung : PLAQUE
98 Start of a playground joke : YO MAMA …
99 U.S. govt. bond : T-NOTE
101 Compass letters : NSEW
102 Unisex fragrance : CK ONE
103 ___ Street, Perry Mason’s secretary : DELLA
104 Strong ropes used to support masts : STAYS
107 Verb preceder : NOUN
108 Bad things on motorists’ records, for short : DWIS
110 “Dies ___” (hymn) : IRAE
111 Curb, with “in” : REIN …
114 The Jazz, on scoreboards : UTA
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19 thoughts on “0809-20 NY Times Crossword 9 Aug 20, Sunday”
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27:06 after fixing an embarrassing error: I had put in “DUIS“ instead of “DWIS” and somehow failed to notice that it gave me “TOUN SQUARE”. For two cents, I’d go back to doing the NYT puzzles on paper. (On the other hand, the app tells me that it had seen me do 1694 puzzles, with a 99.9% solve rate, and my current streak is 707. How could I possibly give that up? 😜)
I also think about going back to paper. I think I’m faster and it’s easier to see my stupid mistakes…but then again,the geek in me just had to go with the higher technology.😂
45:17, no errors. About typical for a Sunday for me. I flew through parts of it and bogged down in the SW and SE. But I persevered, so I’m happy with that. On my tablet the “ship shape” keeps redrawing itself. Clever animation.
34:29 Though it took me about 5 minutes to find two DOH!! squares to find and fix. I had TNOTE for the longest time, giving CONED for “buff”. It made no sense to me, but I could not get past “C”NOTE, which is often in puzzles. And I had BEDHEADS for Raggedy Ann. Was thinking of dolls and BEDHEAD is a shampoo. Somehow it made sense, even tho I knew that OBNOT did NOT make any sense. Struggled with the NW corner and that was the last to go.
Had ANGER before WRATH; ECTO before CYTO; EXCL before ADDL (I know, EXCL seems WAY too easy);
Unfamiliar with OMRI, CK ONE, LUPIN (never read Harry Potter)
@Nonny and @Steve. I started with the app about 3 months ago and I find it faster overall. Easier to step thru the various clues, take a guess (educated, I hope) and keep chugging. Of course that makes it tough to find the fat fingered typo at the end. On Paper I’m much more cautious about what I fill in, not wanting to make a big mess, and do more cross referencing of the across and down clues / squares before I put anything in. That seems to take me much more time.
27:28. I figured the theme was something like the drawing, but I didn’t feel like going back and looking for it. I’ll admit it was more cleverly done than I had anticipated.
Really had to take CKONE on faith. Looks like it should be “scone” or something. I never thought of CK ONE.
Best –
Today’s last place finish…51:27, never saw Casablanca(I’m not much more movies or TV), so 36D took much to long to figure out, along with the SW corner in general. Still easier than last Friday. Oh, and you can only guess how much time I wasted after completing the puzzle trying to make a word out of the circled letters 🤣
Gosh! DuncanR,
It is not that surprising you don’t view movies or much TV. There is a lot of rubbish out there. However, ‘Casablanca’ is a classic black-and-white film. Great actors, great story. I have seen it several times, and never tire of it. Do try!
How ‘bout kudos to Ruth Margolin for her clever puzzle.
Talk about earning your money!
After struggling to finish this I wound up with one wrong letter…I had story art for story arc and had no idea who A.O.C. was…I didn’t give the theme a second look after spending a long time in the SE corner👎
Stay safe.
Since the paper did not have any clues in italics that made the 66A difficult to figure out. Still don’t know how answers to italicized clues connects with circled letters
32:24, 3 errors: (E)MIT; R(I)CKWELL; (E)L(I)ANE. Embarrassing to not get Norman ROCKWELL. Have seen ‘Ferris Bueller’ a couple times, vaguely remember the girlfriends name as sounding odd, but just couldn’t remember SLOANE.
Tried to figure out the theme before coming here, just couldn’t.
Gosh I’m slow…but it was a fun puzzle!
Several mistakes. I kept thinking it had to be “team” hat instead of beerhat.
49D seemed too obvious, so got hung up there b/c I couldn’t come up with “alpha” for some reason.
Why are the answers SO obvious once you figure them out?
Yes, congrats to Ruth B Margolin for a very clever puzzle!
Got the answer but didn’t understand why. Snag was that none of the clues was italicized. Looking at your explanation maybe the special five should have had asterisks?
So the circled letters don’t spell anything. Don’t see how italicized clues have anything to with it? Just connect the dots? Arc not an arc? Did the whole puzzle without figuring any of it out. Just plain stupid.
Obscure names should not cross
Issarae who? Aeneas who? Neale who?
@Dan …
Bill has explained the theme, above, much better than I could, but you may have to think about it for a bit. The answer to each starred clue describes the kind of line that you have to draw through a specified subset of the circled letters in order to complete a drawing of the object specified by 66-Across.
If you begin to do lots of crosswords, you will find that ISSA RAE, AENEAS, and ZORA NEALE HURSTON are anything but obscure.
Here in Canada, The Sunday NY Times appears in my local weekend paper on a Saturday (two weeks later). Pre-pandemic the puzzle took me a week to finish. Lately, during lockdown, I have been solving it by Monday! “Craft Show” was fun. I quickly answered italicized clues. Stumped by 45 across Rap’s Shukar, and could not see what connecting circled letters intended. Thanks for the drawing of the wee sail boat!!
Nice run. Got theme in general.. The printed version didn’t have all the circles so kind of a lost cause..
SE corner got me.. AINEAS…
I always thought it was YO MOMMA, not YO MOMA.. (Museum Of Modern Art??)..
@Anon Mike … What’s in the puzzle is “YO MAMA”, using an alternate spelling of “MOMMA”.
And further, it’s Yo Mama so that areola fits. 🙂