0130-21 NY Times Crossword 30 Jan 21, Saturday

Bill’s time: 17m 51s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Hero of Philadelphia : HOAGIE

“Hoagy” (sometimes “hoagie”) is another name for a submarine sandwich. The term “hoagy” originated in Philadelphia, and was apparently introduced by Italians working in the shipyards during WWI. The shipyards were located on Hog Island, and the sandwich was first called “the Hog Island”, which morphed into “hoagy”.

7 IG-11 on “The Mandalorian,” e.g. : DROID

“Droid” is short for “android” and is used to describe a robot that resembles a human. The Latin word “androides” was used in English in the 18th century to mean “like a man”. Science fiction writers introduced us to “android” in the early 1950s.

12 Stereotypically arcane subject : ROCKET SCIENCE

Something that is arcane is understood by only a few, something that might be described as mysterious.

19 “Between the World and Me” author, 2015 : COATES

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a journalist and author from Baltimore, Maryland. His 2015 book “Between the World and Me” won that year’s National Book Award for Nonfiction. Coates also made a name for himself in the world of comic books, and is the writer of a “Black Panther” series for Marvel Comics.

40 Rigmarole : ADO

“Rigmarole” is a lovely word, one used for an elaborate and complicated procedure. According to the OED, the term evolved from a medieval game of chance called “Ragman’s Roll”. I guess it was a complicated game …

41 Buck, boomer, jack, flyer or jill, informally : ROO

In Australia, male kangaroos are known by several names including bucks, boomers, jacks or old men. Females are called does, flyers, or jills. There seems to be just the one name for young kangaroos, i.e. joeys. A group of kangaroos might be called a mob, troop or court.

42 One might carry a torch : SCONCE

A sconce is a light fixture that today uses electric bulbs, but in the past used candles and torches. The defining feature of a sconce is that it is supported by a wall and does not have a base that stands on the ground. Usually the light is indirect, projected upwards towards the ceiling.

45 Longtime Sacha Baron Cohen persona : ALI G

Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedian and comic actor from England. Baron Cohen is perhaps most famous for playing the characters Borat and Ali G on the small and large screens. I’m wasn’t a fan, but I must admit that I really enjoyed 2020’s “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”.

Down

2 Dos y dos y dos y dos : OCHO

In Spanish, “cuatro” (four) times “dos” (two) is “ocho” (eight).

3 America’s first historically Black sorority, in brief : AKA

Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA)

11 De-frosting? : DETENTE

“Détente” is a French word meaning “loosening, reduction in tension” and in general it is used to describe the easing of strained relations in a political situation. In particular, the policy of détente came to be associated with the improved relations between the US and the Soviet Union in the seventies.

14 Setting of a 1945 conference : YALTA

Yalta is a resort city on the Black Sea on the Crimean Peninsula. The Crimea is very much in the news in recent years as ownership of the territory is in dispute between Russia and the Ukraine. Yalta was also in the news at the end of WWII, as it was the site of the 1945 Yalta Conference between the leaders of the three main Allies.

The Yalta Conference was a wartime meeting between WWII leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Held in February of 1945, the conference is most remembered for decisions made on the post-war organization of Europe. To a large extent, the three leaders made decisions carving up political influence around the world, decisions that have profound implications to this day.

32 Amphibian that Ogden Nash once rhymed with “bottle” : AXOLOTL

An axolotl is a salamander that is native to Central Mexico. The name “axolotl” translates as “water monster”, It’s an ugly little creature …

Ogden Nash was a poet from Rye, New York who is remembered for his light and quirky verse. Nash had over 500 such works published between 1931 and 1972.

33 “Little Women” actress Ronan : SAOIRSE

Saoirse Ronan is an Irish-American actress, having been born in the Bronx, New York and raised in Carlow and Dublin in Ireland. Ronan’s big break came when she was cast in the 2007 film “Atonement” at 12 years of age, a role for which she was nominated for that season’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar. “Saoirse” is the Irish word for “freedom”.

34 Milan ___, author of 1984’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” : KUNDERA

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” is a 1988 big screen adaptation of a 1984 novel of the same name by Milan Kundera. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Lena Olin, the film explores the complicated relationship of two couples living in Prague in 1968. That was the year of the Prague Spring, the brief period of political liberalization under Communist Party leader Alexander Dubček. It was also the year of the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact countries in response to Dubček’s reforms.

36 Parting word : ADIEU

“Adieu” is French for “goodbye, farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

39 Singing style with African-American roots : DOO-WOP

Doo-wop developed in the 1940s and can be described as a vocal-based R&B music. Even though the style has been around since the forties, the name doo-wop wasn’t introduced until the early sixties.

46 Actress Rowlands : GENA

Gena Rowlands is an actress best known for the films made with her husband, actor and director John Cassavetes. More recently, Rowlands played a lead role opposite James Garner in the weepy, weepy 2004 film “The Notebook”. “The Notebook” was directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. Rowlands was nominated for Oscars for her performances in two films: “Gloria” (1980) and “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974).