1122-20 NY Times Crossword 22 Nov 20, Sunday

Constructed by: Alex Eaton-Salners
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: It All Adds Up

Pairs of hidden numbers are circled in the grid. We replace both of those hidden numbers with their sum:

  • 23A Bygone office group : STENO POOL (NINE + ONE = TEN)
  • 3D Made the rounds? : TENDED BAR (NINE + ONE = TEN)
  • 25A Final remark in an argument : THE LAST WORD (ONE + ONE = TWO)
  • 15D Doctor’s reassurance before a shot : IT WON’T HURT (ONE + ONE = TWO)
  • 66A Long-running show whose iconic hourglass is in the Smithsonian collection : DAYS OF OUR LIVES (TWO + TWO = FOUR)
  • 35D 1943 Pulitzer-winning Thornton Wilder play, with “The” : SKIN OF OUR TEETH (TWO + TWO = FOUR)
  • 113A Union Pacific vehicle : FREIGHT TRAIN (FOUR + FOUR = EIGHT)
  • 72D Qualifies to fight in a certain class : MAKES WEIGHT (FOUR + FOUR = EIGHT)
  • 116A Neither gains nor loses : BREAKS EVEN (ZERO + SEVEN = SEVEN)
  • 77D Journalists might be invited to it : PRESS EVENT (ZERO + SEVEN = SEVEN)

Bill’s time: 16m 53

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 ___ alla bolognese (meat-based pasta sauce) : RAGU

A ragout is a dish from French cuisine, and is a highly-seasoned stew of either meat or fish. The name “ragout” comes from the verb “ragouter”, “to revive the taste”. The Italian “ragù” is a term borrowed from the French that describes a meat-based sauce served with pasta.

Bolognese sauce is a meat-based sauce originating from Bologna in Italy, hence the name. The recipe is usually referred to as “ragù alla bolognese” in Italian, or simply “ragù”. Note that the Ragú brand of sauces introduced in North America in 1937 takes its name from the same source (pun … sauce!). However, the brand name uses the wrong accent (“Ragú” instead of “Ragù”), which drives a pedant like me crazy ..

9 Don’s partner in the underworld : CAPO

More properly called a caporegime, a capo is a high-ranking member of the Mafia (Cosa Nostra).

19 Condo, e.g. : UNIT

The terms “condominium” and “apartment” tend to describe the same type of residential property, namely a private living space with facilities shared with others residing in the same building or complex. The difference is that a condominium is usually owned, and an apartment is rented. At least that’s how it is in the US. The word “condominium” comes from the Latin “com-” (together) and “dominum” (right of ownership).

22 Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy : NOONAN

Peggy Noonan is an author and columnist, and was once a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan. Noonan was responsible for one of President Reagan’s most-remembered speeches, when he addressed the nation after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. She also came up with some famous phrases used by President George H. W. Bush, such as “a kinder, gentler nation”, “a thousand points of light” and “read my lips; no new taxes”.

23 Bygone office group : STENO POOL

Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).

30 ), when it follows :- : SMILE

An emoticon is a glyph created using text characters to represent facial features, and usually oriented sideways. The emoticon is designed to indicate emotion or attitude. The classic example is the smiley face 🙂. “Emoticon” is short for “emotion icon”.

31 H : ETA

Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.

34 Pieces of gangs : GATS

“Gat” is a slang term for a gun that is derived from “Gatling gun”, the precursor to the modern machine gun. The Gatling gun was invented by Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861. Apparently he was inspired to invent it so that one man could do as much damage as a hundred, thereby reducing the size of armies and diminishing the suffering caused by war. Go figure …

36 Pain reliever containing aspirin and caffeine : ANACIN

Anacin is a brand of pain reliever that comprises aspirin and caffeine as active ingredients.

38 Golfer Ernie : ELS

Ernie Els is a South African golfer. He is a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname “The Big Easy”. Els is a former World No. 1 and has won four majors: the US Open (1994 & 1997) and the British Open (2002 & 2012).

48 “The Dark Knight ___,” 2012 superhero movie : RISES

“The Dark Knight Rises” is a 2012 movie in the “Batman” franchise that stars Christian Bale as the superhero. The bad guys that Batman battles are cat burglar Selina Kyle played by Anne Hathaway, and mercenary Bane played by Tom Hardy.

51 Actress Jessica : ALBA

Actress Jessica Alba got her big break when she was cast in the Fox science fiction show “Dark Angel”. Alba had a tough life growing up as she spent a lot of time in hospital and so found it difficult to develop friendships. As a youngster she twice had a collapsed lung, frequently caught pneumonia, suffered from asthma, had a ruptured appendix and a tonsillar cyst. On top of all that, Alba acknowledges that she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child.

52 No Doubt vocalist Gwen : STEFANI

Gwen Stefani is lead singer with the rock band No Doubt. She joined the band in 1986, focused on a solo career from 2004-2008, but is now back singing and working with No Doubt. She joined the reality show “The Voice” as a coach in 2014, replacing Christina Aguilera. A year later, Stefani announced a relationship with Blake Shelton, a fellow coach on “The Voice”.

60 Council of ___ (Counter-Reformation body) : TRENT

Trento is a city in northern Italy that is famous as the host of the 16th-century Council of Trent held by the Roman Catholic Church. This Ecumenical Council meeting was held largely in response to the growing Protestant Reformation. The decisions made at the Council of Trent led to the Counter-Reformation, the revival of the Catholic church over the following 100 years.

62 Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT

The initialism “QED” is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. QED stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

65 Wanders around the head of a line, briefly? : TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the agency that employs the good folks who check passengers and baggage at airports.

66 Long-running show whose iconic hourglass is in the Smithsonian collection : DAYS OF OUR LIVES

NBC’s “Days of Our Lives” is the second-longest running soap opera on US television, second only to “General Hospital”. “Days …” has been aired since November 1965.

73 Con ___ (with animation, musically) : MOTO

The musical term “con moto” indicates that a passage should be played quickly, briskly, The term translates from Italian as “with motion”.

75 It has issues with celebrities : PEOPLE

There used to be a “People” page in each issue of “Time” magazine. This page was spun-off in 1974 as a publication of its own, which we now call “People” magazine. “People” is noted for its annual special editions with features such as “Best & Worst Dressed” and “Sexiest Man Alive”. The “Sexiest Man Alive” edition now appears at the end of November each year. The first choice for “Sexiest Man” was Mel Gibson, in 1985.

84 Had a heaping helping of humility : ATE CROW

The phrase “eat crow”, an alternative to “eat humble pie”, perhaps refers to the fact that cooked crow may be edible, but is not a great food choice.

85 Catchy 1950s slogan : I LIKE IKE

“I Like Ike” was a political slogan that originated with the grassroots movement to get Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) to run for president in the 1952 presidential election.

93 Little louse : NIT

A nit is an egg of a louse.

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 …

99 Something that’s helpful in a dash? : GPS

Global positioning system (GPS)

102 Night call : HOOT

Much of an owl’s diet consists of small mammals. As a result, humans have used owls for centuries to control rodent populations, usually by placing a nest box for owls on a property. Despite the fact that owls and humans live together in relative harmony, owls have been known to attack humans from time to time. Celebrated English bird photographer Eric Hosking lost an eye when attacked by a tawny owl that he was trying to photograph. Hosking wrote a 1970 autobiography with the wry title “An Eye for a Bird”.

107 They outrank viscounts : EARLS

In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquis. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquis and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known as a countess.

In the British peerage system, a viscount ranks below an earl and above a baron. The term “viscount” basically means “deputy of a count”, i.e. a “vice-count”.

109 Legendary sea monster : KRAKEN

Kraken are huge sea monsters of legend that were reputed to live off the coasts of Iceland and Norway. It’s possible that the kraken legend was inspired by real-life giant squid.

111 Floor cleaner, for short : VAC

The first practical portable vacuum cleaner was invented by James Spangler in 1907. Spangler sold the patent for the design to his cousin’s husband, William Henry Hoover. Hoover then made his fortune from manufacturing and selling vacuum cleaners. Hoover was so successful in my part of the world that back in Ireland we don’t use the verb “to vacuum” and instead say “to hoover”. Also, “hoover” is what we call a vacuum cleaner, regardless of who makes it.

113 Union Pacific vehicle : FREIGHT TRAIN

The Union Pacific Railroad is the largest railroad in the US. Union Pacific operates over 8,000 locomotives, and all of that rolling stock operates west of Chicago and New Orleans.

118 Chant for the Dream Team : USA! USA!

In 1989, the International Basketball Federation changed its rule requiring amateur status for participants in the Olympic Games (although prior to the ruling, European and South American professionals could play). So the US was able to field the “Dream Team” at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Since the rules changed, the US won gold in four out of the five Olympic tournaments.

119 Eldest of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” : OLGA

Olga, Masha and Irina are the “Three Sisters” in the play by Anton Chekhov. The three title characters were inspired by the three Brontë sisters, the English authors.

122 “And now good-___ to our waking souls”: John Donne : MORROW

John Donne was one of England’s most celebrated poets, and was active at the start of the 17th century. He spent much of his life in poverty and even spent a short time in prison for having married his wife without procuring the appropriate permissions. After his release, his wife bore him 12 children in 16 years, passing away a few days after the twelfth child was born.

124 Digital IDs : SSNS

A Social Security number (SSN) is divided into three parts i.e AAA-GG-SSSS, Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Since 1973, the Area Number reflects the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN is the Group Number, and the SSSS in the number is the Serial Number. However, this is all moot. Since 2011 SSNs are assigned randomly. However, some random numbers have been excluded from use, i.e. Area Numbers 000, 666 (!) and 900-999.

Down

1 Creative inspiration : MUSE

In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

  • Calliope (epic poetry)
  • Clio (history)
  • Erato (lyric poetry)
  • Euterpe (music)
  • Melpomene (tragedy)
  • Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
  • Terpsichore (dance)
  • Thalia (comedy)
  • Urania (astronomy)

Before the adoption of the nine muses of Greek mythology, there were originally three muses, the three Boeotian Muses. These were:

  • Mneme (memory)
  • Melete (meditation)
  • Aoede (song)

2 Miso soup mushroom : ENOKI

Enokitake (also known as “enoki”) are long and thin white mushrooms often added to soups or salads.

4 Native of the Beehive State : UTE

When Mormon pioneers were settling what is today the state of Utah, they referred to the area as Deseret, a word that means “beehive” according to the Book of Mormon. Today Utah is known as the Beehive State and there is a beehive symbol on the Utah state flag. In 1959, “Industry” was even chosen as the state motto, for the term’s association with the beehive.

8 Send to the cloud, say : UPLOAD

In the world of computing, when one operates “in the cloud”, one’s files and key applications are not stored on one’s own computer, but rather are residing “in the cloud”, on a computer somewhere out on the Internet. I do 90% of my computing in the cloud. That way I don’t have to worry about backing up files, and I can operate from any computer if I have to …

12 Country singer K. T. ___ : OSLIN

Singer K. T. Oslin is best known for her string of country hits in the eighties.

13 HBO show co-starring Issa Rae : INSECURE

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.

16 Tech news website : C|NET

c|net is an excellent technology website. c|net started out in 1994 as a television network specializing in technology news. The host of “American Idol”, Ryan Seacrest, started off his career as host of a c|net show.

17 With 80-Across, longtime CBS News correspondent : LARA …
(80A See 17-Down : … LOGAN)

Lara Logan is a South African newswoman who started a 16-year stint with CBS News as a foreign correspondent in 2002. CBS placed Logan on a forced leave of absence at the end of 2013 for comments that she made about the US Government’s culpability in the Benghazi attack and for inaccuracies in her reporting of the story. She moved on from CBS in 2018, joining conservative media company Sinclair.

24 Smelter’s inputs : ORES

Metals are found in ore in the form of oxides. In order to get pure metal from the ore, the ore is heated and the metal oxides within are reduced (i.e. the oxygen is removed) in the chemical process known as smelting. The oxygen is extracted by adding a source of carbon or carbon monoxide which uses up the excess oxygen atoms to make carbon dioxide, a waste product of smelting (and, a greenhouse gas).

26 “C’est la vie” : ALAS

“C’est la vie” is French for “that’s life”.

29 Spot from which a dove once notably flew : MT ARARAT

Mount Ararat is in Turkey. It is a snow-capped, dormant volcano with two peaks. The higher of the two, Greater Ararat, is the tallest peak in the country. Ararat takes its name from a legendary Armenian hero called Ara the Beautiful (or “Ara the Handsome”). According to the Book of Genesis, Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat as the Great Flood subsided.

33 Makes cloudy : BLEARS

To blear is to dim the vision, usually with watery eyes.

35 1943 Pulitzer-winning Thornton Wilder play, with “The” : SKIN OF OUR TEETH

Thornton Wilder was a playwright and novelist from Madison, Wisconsin. Wilder won three Pulitzer Prizes, including one for his 1937 play “Our Town”.

37 Like the noble gases : INERT

The rare gases are better known as the noble gases, but neither term is really very accurate. “Noble” gas might be a better choice though, as they are all relatively unreactive. But “rare” they are not. Argon, for example, is a major constituent (1%) of the air that we breathe.

45 100 satang, in Thailand : BAHT

The baht is the currency of Thailand. One baht is subdivided into 100 satang.

46 On the safe side : ALEE

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather.

47 Spiritual retreat : ASHRAM

“Ashram” is a term used in the Hindu tradition to describe a place of spiritual retreat, one that is typically located in a remote location conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation.

53 1960s sitcom set at Fort Courage : F TROOP

Relatively few people outside of the US saw the American sitcom “F-Troop”, which was made in the sixties. I remember watching the show as a young lad because it was picked up by the Irish national television service. The only other country that showed “F-Troop” was Australia.

55 Set in a man cave : HD TV

High-definition (HD)

57 Bill’s time-traveling partner in film : TED

“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” is a 1989 comedy sci-fi film, starring Alex Winter as Bill and Keanu Reeves as Ted. It’s about two lazy students traveling through time in preparation for a history assignment, with a lot of “Dude!” and “Excellent!” scattered throughout the dialog. Reading the plot, this isn’t a movie that I’d normally go for, but somehow, I enjoyed it …

59 “Holy ___!” : TOLEDO

The origin of the term “Holy Toledo!” is much debated. My favorite story is that it comes from the days of Vaudeville. Back then, the week before Easter (Holy Week) was the worst week at the box office. Old Vaudeville entertainers used to quip that any week in Toledo was Holy Week, that ticket sales were always bad there. They referred to the city as “Holy Toledo”.

64 The deadly sins, e.g. : SEPTET

The cardinal sins of Christian ethics are also known as the seven deadly sins. The seven sins are:

  • Wrath
  • Greed
  • Sloth
  • Pride
  • Lust
  • Envy
  • Gluttony

67 House involved in the Wars of the Roses : YORK

The Wars of the Roses was a series of civil wars fought for the throne of England between the rival Houses of Lancaster (with a symbol of a red rose) and York (with a symbol of a white rose). Ultimately the Lancastrians emerged victorious after Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry was crowned King Henry VII, and so began the Tudor dynasty. Henry Tudor united the rival houses by marrying his cousin Elizabeth of York. Henry VII had a relatively long reign of 23 years that lasted until his death, after which his son succeeded to the throne as Henry VIII, continuing the relatively short-lived Tudor dynasty. Henry VIII ruled from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry VIII was the last male to lead the House of Tudor, as his daughter Queen Elizabeth I died without issue. When Elizabeth died, the Scottish King James VI succeeded to the throne as James I of England and Ireland. James I was the first English monarch of the House of Stuart.

69 Holy ___ : SEE

Vatican City is a sovereign city-state that is walled off within the city of Rome. Vatican City is about 110 acres in area, and so is the smallest independent state in the world. With about 800 residents, it is also the smallest state in terms of population. Although the Holy See dates back to early Christianity, Vatican City only came into being in 1929. At that time, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini signed a treaty with the Holy See on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy that established the city-state.

76 “We are the 99%” movement, familiarly : OCCUPY

The Occupy movement is a protest directed against economic and social inequality worldwide. The first such protest to garner major attention took place in Wall Street in 2011, and from there similar protests spread around the world.

78 Prospector’s find : LODE

A lode is a metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure. The mother lode is the principal deposit in a mine, usually of gold or silver. “Mother lode” is probably a translation of “veta madre”, an expression used in mining in Mexico.

81 Home of a mythological lion : NEMEA

“The Twelve Labors of Hercules” is actually a Greek myth, although Hercules is the Roman name for the hero that the Greeks called “Heracles”. The first of these labors was to slay the Nemean lion, a monster that lived in a cave near Nemea. Hercules had a tough job as the lion’s golden fur was impenetrable to normal weapons. One version of the story is that Hercules killed the lion by shooting an arrow into its mouth. Another version says that Hercules stunned the monster with a club and then strangled him with his bare hands.

83 Language of Pakistan : URDU

Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of the 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

86 Au naturel : IN THE RAW

“Au naturel” is a French phrase, one simply meaning “in a natural state”. We use the term in English in the same sense, and also to mean “nude”.

88 Garments for acrobats : UNITARDS

A unitard is like a leotard, except that it has long legs and perhaps long sleeves. It wouldn’t be a good look for me …

98 Ranker of the rich : FORBES

The Forbes 400 is a list published annually by “Forbes Magazine”, a list of the 400 Americans with the largest net worth. Top of the list for the 17 years up to 2010 was Bill Gates. In the year 2000, the 400 wealthiest people controlled 12.2% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. That’s 12.2%! I wonder what Thomas Jefferson would have thought of that …

112 Monk’s hood : COWL

A cowl is a long garment with a hood that is primarily worn by monks in the Christian tradition. The term “cowl” can also describe the hood itself.

113 “Fee, fi, fo, ___” : FUM

The line “fee-fi-fo-fum” (with various spellings) comes from the famous English fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk”. Within the story, the giant at the top of the beanstalk utters a little poem when he detects the presence of Jack:

Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead
I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.

114 Military support grp. : USO

The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

115 D.C. player : NAT

The Washington Nationals (“Nats”) started out life as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and were the first Major League Baseball team in Canada. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 becoming the Nats.

117 Designer Posen : ZAC

Zac Posen is an American fashion designer from New York City. Fashion … not my forte … ask anyone who has seen me out and about …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 List of courses : MENU
5 ___ alla bolognese (meat-based pasta sauce) : RAGU
9 Don’s partner in the underworld : CAPO
13 Melting point? : ICICLE
19 Condo, e.g. : UNIT
20 Crowning : ATOP
21 Crew’s control? : OARS
22 Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy : NOONAN
23 Bygone office group : STENO POOL
25 Final remark in an argument : THE LAST WORD
27 Scratch (out) : EKE
28 Like the luck of the draw : RANDOM
30 ), when it follows :- : SMILE
31 H : ETA
32 “Seems that way” : I’D BET
34 Pieces of gangs : GATS
36 Pain reliever containing aspirin and caffeine : ANACIN
38 Golfer Ernie : ELS
39 Gave birth : HAD A KID
41 Sheltered balcony with abundant natural light : SUNTRAP
45 Wished : BADE
47 Archer’s pride : AIM
48 “The Dark Knight ___,” 2012 superhero movie : RISES
50 Bring back on board : REHIRE
51 Actress Jessica : ALBA
52 No Doubt vocalist Gwen : STEFANI
54 Best-selling self-help book subtitled “Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right” : THE RULES
56 Hot spots : HEARTHS
58 Moved briskly : TROTTED
60 Council of ___ (Counter-Reformation body) : TRENT
61 More to the point : TERSER
62 Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT
63 Chooses : OPTS
65 Wanders around the head of a line, briefly? : TSA
66 Long-running show whose iconic hourglass is in the Smithsonian collection : DAYS OF OUR LIVES
70 Rotating engine part : CAM
73 Con ___ (with animation, musically) : MOTO
74 Hot spot : OVEN
75 It has issues with celebrities : PEOPLE
80 See 17-Down : … LOGAN
82 Ostensible : REPUTED
84 Had a heaping helping of humility : ATE CROW
85 Catchy 1950s slogan : I LIKE IKE
87 Send another way : REROUTE
89 Let go of : CEDE
90 Serious : SOLEMN
91 Runway professional : MODEL
93 Little louse : NIT
94 Purposes : USES
95 Car stereo choices : PRESETS
97 Zoning, so to speak : OUT OF IT
99 Something that’s helpful in a dash? : GPS
100 Emotive brass sound : WAH-WAH
102 Night call : HOOT
103 Marketer’s target : BUYER
105 Bumbling sort : OAF
107 They outrank viscounts : EARLS
109 Legendary sea monster : KRAKEN
111 Floor cleaner, for short : VAC
113 Union Pacific vehicle : FREIGHT TRAIN
116 Neither gains nor loses : BREAKS EVEN
118 Chant for the Dream Team : USA! USA!
119 Eldest of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” : OLGA
120 Town near Buffalo that sounds like paradise : EDEN
121 From the start : ANEW
122 “And now good-___ to our waking souls”: John Donne : MORROW
123 Desire : WANT
124 Digital IDs : SSNS
125 ___-X (cut) : CTRL

Down

1 Creative inspiration : MUSE
2 Miso soup mushroom : ENOKI
3 Made the rounds? : TENDED BAR
4 Native of the Beehive State : UTE
5 Knock on, as a window : RAP AT
6 Oodles : A TON
7 Words said with a post-match handshake : GOOD GAME
8 Send to the cloud, say : UPLOAD
9 Camp sight : COT
10 Sighing sounds : AAHS
11 Not custom-tailored : PREMADE
12 Country singer K. T. ___ : OSLIN
13 HBO show co-starring Issa Rae : INSECURE
14 Dove’s sound : COO
15 Doctor’s reassurance before a shot : IT WON’T HURT
16 Tech news website : C|NET
17 With 80-Across, longtime CBS News correspondent : LARA …
18 Conclusion : END
24 Smelter’s inputs : ORES
26 “C’est la vie” : ALAS
29 Spot from which a dove once notably flew : MT ARARAT
33 Makes cloudy : BLEARS
35 1943 Pulitzer-winning Thornton Wilder play, with “The” : SKIN OF OUR TEETH
37 Like the noble gases : INERT
39 Singles, e.g. : HITS
40 “That so?” : IS IT?
42 Steams up : RILES
43 “Garden” or “Center,” often : ARENA
44 Pain in the neck : PEST
45 100 satang, in Thailand : BAHT
46 On the safe side : ALEE
47 Spiritual retreat : ASHRAM
49 Intervene : STEP IN
53 1960s sitcom set at Fort Courage : F TROOP
55 Set in a man cave : HD TV
57 Bill’s time-traveling partner in film : TED
59 “Holy ___!” : TOLEDO
62 Favor : ESTEEM
64 The deadly sins, e.g. : SEPTET
67 House involved in the Wars of the Roses : YORK
68 Scenic vista : OVERLOOK
69 Holy ___ : SEE
70 Orange or plum : COLOR
71 Fleet of foot : AGILE
72 Qualifies to fight in a certain class : MAKES WEIGHT
76 “We are the 99%” movement, familiarly : OCCUPY
77 Journalists might be invited to it : PRESS EVENT
78 Prospector’s find : LODE
79 Flock members : EWES
80 Misarticulate, in a way : LISP
81 Home of a mythological lion : NEMEA
83 Language of Pakistan : URDU
84 Working away : AT IT
86 Au naturel : IN THE RAW
88 Garments for acrobats : UNITARDS
92 “Wow, that’s beautiful!” : OOH LA LA!
96 Big bat : SWAT
98 Ranker of the rich : FORBES
99 Greasy goo : GUNK
101 It takes a bow : ARROW
103 Partner of rice : BEANS
104 Less well done : RARER
105 Thereabouts : OR SO
106 In the distance : AFAR
108 + or – : SIGN
110 Sharp : KEEN
112 Monk’s hood : COWL
113 “Fee, fi, fo, ___” : FUM
114 Military support grp. : USO
115 D.C. player : NAT
117 Designer Posen : ZAC

16 thoughts on “1122-20 NY Times Crossword 22 Nov 20, Sunday”

  1. 45:36 With one lookup. Took me longer than it should have. The theme gave it all away, but even though I was adding the numbers it took a while for it to all add up in my early morning brain.

  2. 34:46, no errors. It took me a rather long time to figure out the gimmick, after which I went back and checked all the theme entries to make sure I had them right.

    I do have an excuse (of sorts) for my lousy performance: I did the puzzle, with its tiny little grid squares, on my iPad Mini, after a five-hour walk that left me with seriously blurred vision in my left eye. I’ve been having this problem, on and off, for a while now. I don’t know if it’s a byproduct of simple fatigue or if cold air is affecting the cornea somehow. Anyone else here noticing such effects as they get older? (Probably time to see an ophthalmologist, huh? … 😳)

  3. 35:41. The fill in this puzzle is actually pretty easy. I found myself running all over the grid doing it. I finally had to deal with the theme. FR 8 TRAIN / MAKES W 8 is where the light finally went on. I got confused at SEVEN/ZERO, ironically, because it made sense where the other theme answers did not. But I got the music. Like I say, there are no style points in solving these things.

    Interesting history of “Holy Toledo”. I guess it’s synonymous with Toledo hell?

    A+ theme IMHO today – especially for originality.

    Best –

  4. 1:10:37 “fr8 train” finally got me started, but I totally screwed up on the NE, can you tell?

    Nonny, yep, right there with you…my right eye has started to get blurry, cataracts maybe? Not sure, but I see my ophthalmologist annually, so I’ll have an update in a couple of months. Guessing it’s the aging process, but getting old doesn’t suck, it’s not getting old that sucks…

  5. 1:44:35 with multiple errors in 9 & 21A…it is very frustrating to spend this much time and get bogged down in one area(as usual)
    Same as Nonny & Duncan on the eye thing.
    Stay safe😀
    Go Ravens (what’s left of them.

  6. Nice — except NE corner didn’t need any deciphering because the original letters (two/two) fitted without alteration. Same with SE corner. ‘Break zero’ could mean the same as ‘break even,’ and ‘seven’ stays ‘seven.’ A worthy effort nonetheless.

  7. I’m not a fan of this setter’s puzzles. I find a lot of his cluing misleading. For instance, 65A reads “Wanders around the head of a line, briefly” and the answer is TSA. Well, wanders is a verb and the TSA is a collective noun, so shouldn’t it read “Wanderers”? Aren’t they supposed to agree?

    1. @Lisa … The TSA folks use electronic wands to check for … whatever it is they’re checking for (😜) … and to use such a wand is to be a “wander”. Misleading? Yes, but that’s a big part of puzzles being … well … puzzling.

  8. 40:33, no errors. No difficulty with the theme except for the SEVEN/ZERO cross. Kept trying to make THREE/FOUR work, somehow. My downfall was my almost total unfamiliarity with the proper names today. Also, created a rat’s nest in the top center: entering MOLL in 5A; LANGE in 12D (I know it’s spelled wrong, but only familiar with either personality via crossword clues); and ANGER in 30A.

  9. Nice to have a Sunday puzzle that gets away from the usual
    play-on-words theme. No errors and my comps to the constructor.

    1. @carl …

      I’ve been musing about your comments for five days now and I am still unable to assign any meaning whatsoever to the words “with different answers in different places”. What were you trying to say?

      Does anyone else have a clue about this?

    1. @Anon Mike
      You replace the ZERO with the sum of ZERO and SEVEN. So you get BREAKSEVEN. (BREAKS EVEN.

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