1105-20 NY Times Crossword 5 Nov 20, Thursday

Bill’s time: 11m 46s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Product that’s available on tap? : APP

Just tap the screen on your phone …

4 Ship guarded by Hera : ARGO

In Greek mythology, Jason and the Argonauts set sail on the Argo from the city of Iolcos in search of the Golden Fleece. Jason’s vessel was called the “Argo” in honor of the ship’s builder, a man named Argus.

In Greek mythology, Hera was the wife of Zeus and the goddess of women, marriage, family and childbirth. She was noted for her jealous and vengeful nature, particularly against those who vied for the affections of her husband. The equivalent character to Hera in Roman mythology was Juno. Hera was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea.

14 Rocker Reed : LOU

Lou Reed was best known as a rock musician and songwriter, and was especially associated with the fabulous 1973 hit “Walk on the Wildside”. Reed is less well known as a photographer, but he published two collections of his work. The first was released in 2003 under the title “Emotions in Action”, and the second in 2006 called “Lou Reed’s New York”. Reed passed away in 2013.

22 Game-ending shout : GIN!

Gin rummy is a faster variant of standard rummy. It was introduced in 1909 by one Elwood Baker and his son.

24 Dallas sch. : SMU

Southern Methodist University (SMU) is located in University Park, Texas (part of Dallas) and was founded in 1911. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Mustangs. Also, SMU is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

27 Doctrine that was found unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education : SEPARATE BUT EQUAL

In 1890, the State of Louisiana enacted a statute requiring separate accommodations for African Americans on trains, a statute called the Separate Car Act. An alliance of activists arranged for one Homer Plessy to be arrested for breaking the law, so that they could forward an appeal to the US Supreme Court. However, the plan backfired when the decision of the upper court led to the doctrine of “separate but equal”, a doctrine that remained in place until it was struck down in 1954 by Brown v. Board of Education.

Brown v. Board of Education was the US Supreme Court Case that established the unconstitutionality of separate public schools for black and white students. Oliver L. Brown was one of thirteen parents who filed a class action suit against the Topeka, Kansas Board of Education on behalf of their twenty children. The suit called for the city to reverse its racial segregation policy. The final decision by the US Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, was unanimous in rejecting segregation.

32 It can be substituted for Gouda : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

Gouda is a cheese that originated in the Dutch city of the same name, although today Gouda is produced all over the world and very little of it comes from the Netherlands. Gouda is often smoke-cured, which gives it a yellowish-brown outer skin and that characteristic smoky taste.

33 What the sun and Sunoco have in common : GAS

Our sun is a sphere of hot plasma that forms the center of our solar system. The Sun’s mass has two main components, with almost three quarters made up by hydrogen, and a quarter by helium. The continual nuclear fusion reaction in the Sun’s core converts hydrogen into helium, and generates a lot of energy. We should all be pretty grateful to the Sun for generating that energy …

Back in the late 1800s, Sunoco was known as the Sun Oil Company, hence “Sun-o-co”.

34 Gourd : NOGGIN

Slang terms for “head” are “bean”, “coconut”, “gourd”, “noodle” and “noggin”.

38 Locale where the French may take des vacances : MER

In French, “été” (summer) is a common time to go “en vacances” (on vacation), perhaps by the “mer” (sea).

39 Symbol formed by four crossings in this puzzle : HASHTAG

A hashtag is a word preceded by the symbol #. Hashtags are big these days because of its use by Twitter. The “#” symbol is usually referred to as the “number sign”, but here in the US the name “pound sign” is very common as well.

42 How promgoers typically arrive : IN TWOS

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

45 Bluesy Redding : OTIS

Otis Redding is often referred to as the “King of Soul”, and what a voice he had. Like so many of the greats in the world of popular music it seems, Redding was killed in a plane crash, in 1967 when he was just 26 years old. Just three days earlier he had recorded what was to be his biggest hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”.

67 Drama that’s credited with boosting sales of Lucky Strike cigarettes : MAD MEN

“Mad Men” was the flagship show on the AMC television channel for several seasons. Set in the sixties, it’s all about an advertising agency located on Madison Avenue in New York (hence the title). “Mad Men” became the first show created by a basic cable channel to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.

Lucky Strike is an R.J. Reynolds brand of cigarette. It was the single most successful brand during the thirties in terms of sales. A marketing campaign in the twenties promoted Lucky Strikes to women, touting it as a cigarette that could help keep the weight down, an alternative to eating candy. Times have changed, thank goodness …

Down

2 Water ___ : POLO

The sport of water polo is thought to have originated in Scotland, where it was a feature of fairs and festivals. Men’s water polo was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1900, making it one of the oldest team sports in the Games.

6 “___ Paradise,” 1995 #1 hit for Coolio : GANGSTA’S

Rap star Coolio has a web-based cooking show called “Cookin’ with Coolio”. And, he has a cookbook of the same name. Coolio likes to refer to himself as the “ghetto Martha Stewart” and the “black Rachael Ray”.

7 “Wowie!,” to Gen Z : OMG!

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

10 Drugmaker Lilly : ELI

Eli Lilly is the largest corporation in the state of Indiana. Founder Eli Lilly was a veteran of the Union Army in the Civil War, and a failed Mississippi plantation owner. Later in life he returned to his first profession and opened a pharmaceutical operation to manufacture drugs and sell them wholesale. Under Lilly’s early guidance, the company was the first to create gelatin capsules to hold medicines and the first to use fruit flavoring in liquid medicines.

11 White noise? : LONG I

The middle letter in the word “white” is a long letter I.

26 Kristen formerly of “S.N.L.” : WIIG

Kristen Wiig is a comic actress who appears on “Saturday Night Live”. She also made an appearance on the first season of Spike TV’s quirky “The Joe Schmo Show”, playing “Dr. Pat”. More recently, she co-wrote and starred in the 2011 hit film “Bridesmaids”, and co-starred in the 2016 reboot of “Ghostbusters”.

28 Fall setting : EDEN

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them from becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

31 Dress (up), old-style : TOG

The verb “to tog up”, meaning “to dress up”, comes from the Latin “toga” describing the garment worn in ancient Rome. “Tog” can also be used as an informal word for a coat or a cloak. Back in Ireland, togs are what we call swimming shorts.

43 Some Nintendo consoles : WIIS

Introduced in 2006, Nintendo’s Wii quickly became the biggest-selling game console in the world.

45 What takes a toll? : ONE AM

At the hour of one a.m., the clock tolls once.

48 Nov. 11 honorees : US VETS

Veterans Day used to be known as Armistice Day, and is observed on November 11th each year. This particular date was chosen as the Armistice that ended WWI was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

49 Branch of Islam : SHIISM

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

50 Vital vessel : AORTA

The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

56 Package directive: Abbr. : ATTN

Attention (attn.)

59 “Shepherd Moons” singer, 1991 : ENYA

Enya’s real name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career, eventually becoming Ireland’s best-selling solo musician. And, she sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!

63 Pride : lions :: ___ : emus : MOB

A group of lions is known as a pride. It’s possible that the term “pride”, in this context, derives from the Latin “praeda” meaning “prey”.