0328-21 NY Times Crossword 28 Mar 21, Sunday

Constructed by: Olivia Mitra Framke
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Over the Moon

Themed clues start with a synonym of “OVER THE MOON”, and each of those synonyms sits OVER the name of a MOON in the grid:

  • 21A Brand of fruity hard candy : JOLLY RANCHER
  • 24A URANUS : ARIEL (JOLLY over ARIEL)
  • 40A Comfort in not knowing, say : BLISSFUL IGNORANCE
  • 50A JUPITER : GANYMEDE (BLISSFUL over GANYMEDE)
  • 66A Song standard on “Barbra Streisand’s Greatest Hits” : HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
  • 71A SATURN : TITAN (HAPPY over TITAN)
  • 86 One feature of a perfect nanny, in a “Mary Poppins” song : CHEERY DISPOSITION
  • 91A MARS : DEIMOS (CHEERY over DEIMOS)
  • 113A Classic carnival ride : MERRY-GO-ROUND
  • 117A NEPTUNE : NAIAD (MERRY over NAIAD)

Bill’s time: 15m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Pest control product : RAID

Raid insecticide has been killing bugs since 1956.

18 Video game princess of the Kingdom of Hyrule : ZELDA

“The Legend of Zelda” is a video game. Apparently, it’s very successful …

19 Writer Zora ___ Hurston : NEALE

Zora Neale Hurston was an American author who was most famous for her 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.

20 Take part in a D&D campaign, e.g. : ROLE-PLAY

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a complex role-playing game (RPG) introduced in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules Incorporated (TSR). Dungeons & Dragons was probably the first of the modern role-playing games to be developed, and the most successful. It is still played by lots of people today, including my youngest son …

21 Brand of fruity hard candy : JOLLY RANCHER

Jolly Ranchers are a brand of hard candies that has been produced since 1949. Founded in 1949 in Golden, Colorado, the Jolly Rancher name was chosen to present a friendly, western image.

23 Personae non gratae : OUTCASTS

A persona non grata (plural “personae non gratae”) is someone who is not welcome. The phrase is Latin for “an unacceptable person”. The opposite phrase is “persona grata”, meaning “acceptable person”.

24 URANUS : ARIEL

All of the twenty-seven moons of the planet Uranus are named for characters from literature, with each being characters created by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. The five major moons are so large that they would be considered planets in their own right if they were orbiting the sun directly. The names of these five moons are:

  • Miranda (from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”)
  • Ariel (from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock”)
  • Umbriel (from Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock”)
  • Titania (from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”)
  • Oberon (from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”)

25 “Arrivederci!” : CIAO!

“Ciao” is Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.

28 One taking the long view? : TELESCOPE

The first patent application for a telescope was filed in 1608 in the Netherlands, to eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey. However, research has shown that there is some evidence that telescopes were built before 1608, perhaps as early as the mid-1500s. But it is clear that reports of Lippershey’s design spread quickly around Europe. By 1609, Galileo had built his own telescope and started to explore the night sky.

31 Tarot deck character : DEVIL

Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future. The list of tarot cards includes the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man and the Lovers.

39 All-star duo? : GEMINI

The constellation of Gemini contains 85 stars that are visible with the naked eye, but the two brightest are Pollux and Castor. These two stars are named for the twins Pollux and Castor of Greek mythology. The name “Gemini” is Latin for “twins”.

50 JUPITER : GANYMEDE

Ganymede is the largest of Jupiter’s sixty-seven moons, and is the largest moon in the Solar System. Ganymede was discovered in 1610 by Galileo. Astronomer Simon Marius gave the moon the name Ganymede, for Zeus’s lover in Greek mythology.

52 Sch. on the Rio Grande : UTEP

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) was founded in 1914 as the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. To this day, there is a mine shaft on the campus. The mascot of the school’s sports teams is Paydirt Pete, a prospector from the mining industry. The teams are also known as the UTEP Miners and Lady Miners.

The Rio Grande (Spanish for “big river”) is a waterway that forms part of the border between Mexico and the United States. Although we call the river the Rio Grande on this side of the border, in Mexico it is called the Río Bravo or Río Bravo del Norte (Spanish for “furious river of the north”).

56 “Back to the Future” antagonist : BIFF

Biff Tannen (and variants) is the bully character in the “Back to Future” trilogy. He is played by Thomas F. Wilson.

60 Hit movie released as “Vaselina” in Mexico : GREASE

“Grease” was, and still is, a very successful stage musical with a blockbuster film version released in 1978. The movie stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Travolta wasn’t the first choice for the lead role. It was first offered to Henry Winkler of “Happy Days” fame in which he played “the Fonz”. Winkler turned down the role for fear of being typecast as a leather-clad fifties “hood”.

Vaseline is a brand of petroleum jelly owned by Unilever. The term “vaseline” has entered many languages, including English, as a generic term for petroleum jelly.

62 Husk-wrapped dish : TAMALE

A tamale is a traditional dish from Central America composed of a starchy dough that is steamed or boiled in a wrapper made from a corn husk or banana leaf. The dough is called masa, and can include many different ingredients including meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables. A hot tamale is a kind of tamale that originated in the Mississippi Delta. It is particularly spicy, and the masa is replaced with corn meal.

65 Colorful tropical fish : TETRA

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that is native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

66 Song standard on “Barbra Streisand’s Greatest Hits” : HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

Barbra Streisand has recorded 31 top-ten albums since 1963, more than any other female recording artist. In fact, she has had an album in the top ten for the last five decades, a rare achievement in itself.

71 SATURN : TITAN

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn. Titan is unusual in many ways, including the fact that it is the only known satellite in the solar system that has its own atmosphere (our own moon does not, for example). Titan is the second largest moon in the solar system, after Ganymede that orbits Jupiter. Titan is so large that it has a greater volume than Mercury, the solar system’s smallest planet.

72 With 11-Down, hit 2001 film with an “!” in its title : MOULIN …
(11D See 72-Across : … ROUGE!)

“Moulin Rouge!” is a musical film that was released in 2001, starring Nicole Kidman as the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, and Ewan McGregor as the young man who falls in love with her. Although set in the early 1900s, the film uses many, many contemporary songs. There were so many that it took the producers almost two years to secure the rights to use the music.

75 Muralist ___ Clemente Orozco : JOSE

José Clemente Orozco was a Mexican painter famous for his themed murals, often promoting the causes of the peasants and the workers. His most famous work is probably a fresco painted in the Library of Dartmouth College called “The Epic of American Civilization”.

76 2021 Super Bowl champs : TAMPA

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the Bucs) joined the NFL in 1976, along with the Seattle Seahawks, as an expansion team. The Bucs had a tough start in the NFL, losing their first 26 games. Things went better in the early eighties, but then the team went through 14 consecutive losing seasons. Their luck changed again though, and they won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2002 season.

80 Boy, in Barcelona : NINO

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, after the capital Madrid. Barcelona is the largest European city that sits on the Mediterranean coast. It is also the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia.

81 Animated character who wears a red shirt and no pants : POOH

Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author who is best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

85 Fleet runner: Abbr. : ADM

Admiral (adm.)

86 One feature of a perfect nanny, in a “Mary Poppins” song : CHEERY DISPOSITION

The “Mary Poppins” series of children’s novels were written by Australian-born English writer and actress P. L. Travers. Mary Poppins is a magical children’s nanny with a best friend Bert. In the famous 1964 musical film adaptation of the Mary Poppins stories, Poppins is played by Julie Andrews and Bert is played Dick Van Dyke.

91 MARS : DEIMOS

Mars has two moons, the larger of which is Phobos and the smaller Deimos. “Phobos” is the Greek word for “fear”, and “Deimos” is Greek for “dread”.

98 Jaded sort : CYNIC

Our term “jaded”, meaning tired and feeling a little “ho-hum”, comes from the noun “jade” which in the 14th century was an old, worn-out horse.

99 Solo flier? : CHEWBACCA

Wookiees are a biped race featured in “Star Wars”. The most notable Wookiee is Chewbacca (aka “Chewie”), the loyal friend and associate of Han Solo who serves as co-pilot on the Millennium Falcon spaceship.

105 Prefix meaning “both” : AMBI-

The prefix “ambi-” that we use to mean “both” is a Latin word that actually means “around” or “round about”.

117 NEPTUNE : NAIAD

Given that Neptune was the Roman god of the freshwater and the sea, the moons of the planet Neptune are all named with reference to water. For example, the largest moon is Triton, named for the Greek sea god and son of Poseidon. The innermost moon is Naiad, named for the female water spirits of Greek mythology.

118 Golding of “Crazy Rich Asians” : HENRY

“Crazy Rich Asians” is a 2018 romcom based on a 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan. The film garnered a lot of attention and accolades, not only for the quality of the script and performances. It was the first major Hollywood movie to feature a principal cast of Asian descent since 1993’s “The Joy Luck Club”.

119 Sporty car : ROADSTER

A roadster is a two-seater car with an open body and a sporty appearance. The term “roadster” is American in origin, and was first used back in the 19th century to describe a horse that was used when traveling by road.

121 World of Warcraft spellcaster : MAGE

World of Warcraft is an online role-playing game (RPG). My son informs me that the game is not that great. Like I would know …

Down

3 Pastoral poem : IDYL

An idyll (also “idyl”) is a short poem with a pastoral theme, usually depicting the scene in romantic and idealized terms. The word “idyl” comes from the Greek “eidyllion”, which literally translates to “little picture” but was a word describing a short poem with a rustic theme.

4 ___ es Salaam : DAR

Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania, and sits right on the east coast of Africa. The city’s name is usually translated from Arabic as “Haven of Peace”.

5 Navel type : INNIE

The navel is basically the scar left behind when the umbilical cord is removed from a newborn baby. One interesting use of the umbilicus (navel, belly button) is to differentiate between identical twins, especially when they are very young.

6 Sticker on the back of a laptop, say : DECAL

A decal is a decorative sticker. “Decal” is a shortening of “decalcomania”. The latter term is derived from the French “décalquer”, the practice of tracing a pattern from paper onto glass or perhaps porcelain.

7 Home to the Sugar Bowl and Heavenly ski resorts : TAHOE

Lake Tahoe (often referred to simply as “Tahoe”) is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and is located right on the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the country, and the largest lake in general, behind the five Great Lakes. It’s also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.

9 Neighbor of Belg. : GER

Belgium (Bel.) shares a border with Germany (Ger.).

10 Word after focus or Facebook : … GROUP

A focus group is a small group of people who are asked their opinions about a product or perhaps a political candidate. Researchers use the information learned as an approximation of the opinions of the larger population.

12 Mountain map figs. : ALTS

Altitude (alt.)

14 Rio beach of song : IPANEMA

Ipanema is a beach community in the south of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The name Ipanema is a local word meaning “bad water”, signifying that the shore is bad for fishing. The beach became famous worldwide following the release of the song “The Girl from Ipanema” in 1962.

15 Hollow center? : ELS

There are two letters L (els) at the center of the word “hollow”.

16 Turner who led an 1831 slave rebellion : NAT

Nat Turner was a slave in Virginia who led a slave rebellion in 1831 that led to the deaths of over a hundred people. Half of the casualties were white,and half were black. The 55 white deaths took place on the day of the rebellion as a growing mob of slaves traveled from house-to-house freeing fellow slaves but also killing any white people they came across; men, women and children. The rebellion was suppressed within two days by a white militia. Slaves involved in the rebellion were tried for insurrection and related crimes, and a total of 56 blacks were executed on suspicion of involvement in the uprising. In the aftermath, life for slaves became even more difficult as any freedoms that they had earned were largely curtailed.

17 Grateful sentiments, in online shorthand : TYS

Thank you (TY)

18 “The Greek” of film : ZORBA

The film “Zorba the Greek” and the musical “Zorba” are adaptations of the 1952 novel “Zorba the Greek” by Nikos Kazantzakis. The 1964 film version stars Anthony Quinn in the title role, and Alan Bates. The movie is set and was filmed on location on the island of Crete, the home of author Kazantzakis.

26 Nobel laureate Morrison : TONI

Writer Toni Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Amongst other things, Morrison is noted for coining the phrase “our first black President”, a reference to President Bill Clinton.

29 Poker variety : STUD

“Stud poker” is the name given to many variants of poker, all of which are characterized by the dealer giving each player a mix of cards face-down and face-up. The cards facing upwards are called “upcards”. The cards facing downwards are called “hole cards”, cards only visible to the individual who holds that particular hand. This gives rise to the phrase “ace in the hole”, a valuable holding that only the player with the ace is aware of.

30 “This Will Be” singer Natalie : COLE

Natalie Cole is the daughter of Nat King Cole. Natalie’s mother was Maria Cole, a singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The most famous version of the hit song “Unforgettable” was released in 1951 by Nat King Cole. In 1991, Natalie Cole recorded a version that was mixed with an earlier 1961 version sung by her father, creating an “unforgettable” father-daughter duet that was made 26 years after Nat King Cole had passed away.

32 Sommelier’s métier : VIN

“Sommelier” is the French word for “wine steward”. If that steward is a female, then the term used in French is “sommelière”.

“Métier” is French for “trade, profession”.

33 “Monsters, ___” : INC

The animated feature “Monsters, Inc.” was released in 2001, and was Pixar’s fourth full-length movie. It’s about cute monsters, and that’s all I know other than that the voice cast included the likes of John Goodman, Billy Crystal and Steve Buscemi.

36 “Notorious” Supreme Court initials : RBG

The 2015 book “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg” was co-written by Shana Knizhnik and Iris Carmon. Knizhnik had previously authored a “Notorious R.B.G” blog. The moniker “Notorious RBG” is reminiscent of the name of rap star the Notorious B.I.G.

42 One of five in “pronunciation”: Abbr. : SYL

There are five syllables (syls.) in the word “pronunciation”.

43 Choice of sizes, briefly : S-M-L

Small (S), medium (M) and large (L).

46 Cowboy or Patriot, for short : NFLER

The Dallas Cowboys play in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the NFL. The Cowboys are famous for a lengthy streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons, from 1966 to 1985. They are the highest-valued sports franchise in the country. The only team in the world that’s worth more money is the UK’s Manchester United soccer team.

The New England Patriots football team was founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots. The “Patriots” name was selected from suggestions made by football fans in Boston. The team played at several different stadiums in the Boston area for just over ten years, before moving to their current home base in Foxborough, Massachusetts. At the time of the move, the “Boston” name was dropped and changed to “New England”.

47 Zeros : AUGHTS

An “aught” is a zero. The term can be used in the context of dates as in “the aughts”, the years 2000-2009. I’ve also heard those years referred to as “the noughties”.

53 Fruit also called a custard apple or prairie banana : PAPAW

The papaw (also “pawpaw”) tree is native to North America and has a fruit that looks similar to a papaya. Papaw probably gets its name from the word papaya, but papaw and papaya are two distinct species.

57 Land jutting into il Mediterraneo : ITALIA

The Mediterranean Sea is almost completely enclosed by land, and is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the narrow Strait of Gibraltar. The sea takes its name from the Latin “mediterraneus”, which means “in the middle of land”.

58 Quaker : FRIEND

Members of the Religious Society of Friends are known as Friends or Quakers. The Christian sect started in England in the 1640s, led by George Fox. The principal tenet at that point was that Christians could have direct experience of Jesus Christ without the mediation of clergy, a reflection of the increasing dissatisfaction with the established church at that time. The term “Quaker” is thought to have been used earlier in reference to foreign religious sects whose followers were given to fits of shaking during religious fervor. Somehow that term became used for members of the Religious Society of Friends.

61 Thesaurus listing: Abbr. : SYN

Synonym (syn.)

The first person to use the term “thesaurus” to mean a “collection of words arranged according to sense” was Roget in 1852, when he used it for the title of his most famous work. Up to that point in time, a thesaurus was basically an encyclopedia. Before being used with reference to books, a thesaurus was a storehouse or treasury, coming from the Latin “thesaurus” meaning “treasury, treasure”.

63 Melber of MSNBC : ARI

Ari Melber is a television journalist and the chief legal correspondent for MSNBC. He started hosting his own daily show called “The Beat with Ari Melber” in 2017.

64 Candy featured in a classic “MythBusters” episode : MENTOS

Mentos are mints made by the Italian confectioner Perfetti Van Melle. You might have seen videos of Mentos mints being dropped into bottles containing a carbonated drink. The surface of the mint causes an explosive release of carbon dioxide resulting in a geyser of foam that can shoot many feet up into the air.

“MythBusters” is an entertaining TV show that was originally hosted by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. Prior to the launch of “Mythbusters”, Hyneman and Savage had both developed careers in the world of special effects. In the show, the hosts test the validity of myths and assumptions used in famous movie scenes.

65 Confucian’s spiritual path : TAO

The name of the Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Taoism signifies the true nature of the world.

68 Nintendo dinosaur who eats fruit and throws eggs : YOSHI

Yoshi is a dinosaur-like character in some Nintendo video games. Yoshi first appeared as a sidekick to Mario and Luigi in the 1991 game called “Super Mario World”.

70 2003 best seller whose title is one letter different from a fantasy creature : ERAGON

Christopher Paolini began writing his best-selling fantasy story “Eragon” at the age of 15. Christopher’s parents, when they read the final version two years later, decided to self-publish it and support Christopher as he toured the US promoting the novel. It was eventually republished by Alfred A. Knopf in 2003, and became the second-best-selling children’s paperback of 2005. The book was adapted for the big screen in 2006. I’d call that a success story …

77 Grammy winner DiFranco : ANI

Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a “feminist icon”, and in 2006 won the “Woman of Courage Award” from National Organization for Women.

78 Rendezvoused : MET

A rendezvous is a meeting. The noun used in English comes from the French phrase “rendez vous” meaning “present yourselves”.

83 Archaeologist’s find : TOMB

“Archaeology” is a word that looks like it’s British English, and one might be forgiven for using the spelling “archeology” in American English. Even though the latter spelling has been around for a couple of hundred years, the former is the standard spelling on both sides of the Atlantic.

84 Brian once of glam rock : ENO

Brian Eno is a musician, composer and record producer from England who first achieved fame as the synthesizer player with Roxy Music. As a producer, Eno has worked with David Bowie, Devo, Talking Heads and U2.

I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in Britain and Ireland during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and the infamous Gary Glitter.

86 U.S. health org. : CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC started out life during WWII as the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities. The CDC worries about much more than malaria these days …

88 Austrian article : EIN

The name “Austria” is a Latin variant of the German name for the country, “Österreich”. “Österreich” itself means “Eastern borderlands”, a reference to the country’s history as a prefecture of neighboring Bavaria to the west.

94 Bit of luau wear : SARONG

“Sarong” is the Malay word for “sheath”. The term originally described a garment worn by Malay men and women around their waists. The Malay sarong is actually a tube of fabric, about a yard wide and two-and-a-half yards long. Many variations of the sarong are worn all over South Asia and the Pacific Islands. I had occasion to wear one in Hawaii many years ago, and found it very … freeing!

The Hawaiian party or feast known as a “luau” really dates back to 1819, when King Kamehameha II removed religious laws that governed the eating of meals. These laws called for women and men to eat separately. At the same time as he changed the laws, the king initiated the luau tradition by symbolically eating with the women who moved in his circle.

96 Magazine whose 60th anniversary issue had the cover line “Denzel, Halle & Jamie” : EBONY

“Ebony” is a lifestyle magazine founded in 1945 that is marketed towards the African-American community. Way back in 1957/58, “Ebony” was home to a monthly advice column penned by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Titled “Advice for Living”, he used the column to answer many of the letters that the magazine received that were addressed to Dr. King personally. Having recently read a few of those columns, I must say that they provide some fascinating insight into race relations in the 1950s …

97 What’s hard about a melon? : RIND

Melons are plants with edible, fleshy fruits that are usually sweet. The fruit of a melon is actually a berry.

99 Origami shape called “orizuru” : CRANE

Origami is the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. The best-known example of the craft is the paper crane (“orizuru“). The word “origami” is derived from “ori“ (folding) and “kami” (paper).

101 Interior chambers : ATRIA

In modern architecture, an atrium (plural “atria” or “atriums”) is a large open space usually in the center of a building and extending upwards to the roof. The original atrium was an open court in the center of an Ancient Roman house. One could access most of the enclosed rooms of the house from the atrium.

102 Gem weight : CARAT

The carat is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg (0.2 grams). It is used in sizing gemstones.

103 Bonnie’s partner in crime : CLYDE

Bonnie and Clyde were criminals who robbed and killed their way across the central US during the Great Depression. Clyde Barrow was born a desperately poor young boy just south of Dallas, Texas. He was always in trouble with the law, first getting arrested at the age of 16. He met Bonnie Parker in 1930 at a friend’s house, and the smitten Parker followed Clyde into a life of crime. The pair were killed by a posse of Texas police officers just four years later in Louisiana.

110 Camera type, briefly : SLR

The initialism “SLR” stands for “single lens reflex”. Usually, cameras with changeable lenses are the SLR type. The main feature of an SLR is that a mirror reflects the image seen through the lens out through the viewfinder, so that the photographer sees exactly what the lens sees. The mirror moves out of the way as the picture is taken, and the image that comes through the lens falls onto unexposed film, or nowadays onto a digital sensor.

112 DuVernay who directed “Selma” : AVA

Ava DuVernay is a filmmaker who became the first African-American woman to win the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, a feat she achieved in 2012 for her feature film “Middle of Nowhere”. “Middle of Nowhere” tells the story of a woman who drops out of medical school to focus on her husband when he is sentenced to 8 years in prison. DuVernay also directed the 2014 film “Selma” about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

“Selma” is a 2014 film about the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the movie stars David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson.

115 Piece de resistance? : OHM

The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Pest control product : RAID
5 Luggage label : ID TAG
10 Color effect in graphic design : GRADIENT
18 Video game princess of the Kingdom of Hyrule : ZELDA
19 Writer Zora ___ Hurston : NEALE
20 Take part in a D&D campaign, e.g. : ROLE-PLAY
21 Brand of fruity hard candy : JOLLY RANCHER
23 Personae non gratae : OUTCASTS
24 URANUS : ARIEL
25 “Arrivederci!” : CIAO!
26 Jerks : TUGS ON
27 “___ to differ!” : I BEG
28 One taking the long view? : TELESCOPE
31 Tarot deck character : DEVIL
35 Some surgical tools : LASERS
38 “Unit” of fun : TON
39 All-star duo? : GEMINI
40 Comfort in not knowing, say : BLISSFUL IGNORANCE
47 Request : ASK
50 JUPITER : GANYMEDE
51 Ships passing in the night? : UFOS
52 Sch. on the Rio Grande : UTEP
54 Hollers : YELLS
55 Like some parties and flowers : WILD
56 “Back to the Future” antagonist : BIFF
60 Hit movie released as “Vaselina” in Mexico : GREASE
62 Husk-wrapped dish : TAMALE
65 Colorful tropical fish : TETRA
66 Song standard on “Barbra Streisand’s Greatest Hits” : HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
71 SATURN : TITAN
72 With 11-Down, hit 2001 film with an “!” in its title : MOULIN …
73 Stirred up : ROILED
74 Cold shower? : SNOW
75 Muralist ___ Clemente Orozco : JOSE
76 2021 Super Bowl champs : TAMPA
80 Boy, in Barcelona : NINO
81 Animated character who wears a red shirt and no pants : POOH
82 Time before computers, facetiously : STONE AGE
85 Fleet runner: Abbr. : ADM
86 One feature of a perfect nanny, in a “Mary Poppins” song : CHEERY DISPOSITION
91 MARS : DEIMOS
92 Hesitate in speaking : HEM
93 More inquisitive : NOSIER
98 Jaded sort : CYNIC
99 Solo flier? : CHEWBACCA
105 Prefix meaning “both” : AMBI-
106 Welled (up) : TEARED
108 Like people who are much looked up to : TALL
109 Insurance fraud ploy : ARSON
110 Determiner of cannabis legality, e.g. : STATE LAW
113 Classic carnival ride : MERRY-GO-ROUND
116 Cherished family member : LOVED ONE
117 NEPTUNE : NAIAD
118 Golding of “Crazy Rich Asians” : HENRY
119 Sporty car : ROADSTER
120 Deliver a speech : ORATE
121 World of Warcraft spellcaster : MAGE

Down

1 Leans (on) : RELIES
2 Claim : ALLEGE
3 Pastoral poem : IDYL
4 ___ es Salaam : DAR
5 Navel type : INNIE
6 Sticker on the back of a laptop, say : DECAL
7 Home to the Sugar Bowl and Heavenly ski resorts : TAHOE
8 Draft pick? : ALE
9 Neighbor of Belg. : GER
10 Word after focus or Facebook : … GROUP
11 See 72-Across : … ROUGE!
12 Mountain map figs. : ALTS
13 Ones getting the message : DECODERS
14 Rio beach of song : IPANEMA
15 Hollow center? : ELS
16 Turner who led an 1831 slave rebellion : NAT
17 Grateful sentiments, in online shorthand : TYS
18 “The Greek” of film : ZORBA
21 Corner space in Monopoly : JAIL
22 Juggling or magic, in a talent show : ACT
26 Nobel laureate Morrison : TONI
29 Poker variety : STUD
30 “This Will Be” singer Natalie : COLE
32 Sommelier’s métier : VIN
33 “Monsters, ___” : INC
34 Be on the level? : LIE
36 “Notorious” Supreme Court initials : RBG
37 Knocked ’em dead : SLAYED
39 Not spoiled : GOOD
41 Suffix with serpent : -INE
42 One of five in “pronunciation”: Abbr. : SYL
43 Choice of sizes, briefly : S-M-L
44 Celebratory, quaintly : FESTAL
45 Deception : GUILE
46 Cowboy or Patriot, for short : NFLER
47 Zeros : AUGHTS
48 Distinct melodic segment : STRAIN
49 Not waver from : KEEP TO
53 Fruit also called a custard apple or prairie banana : PAPAW
55 Baby’s cry : WAH!
56 Cue at an audition : BEGIN
57 Land jutting into il Mediterraneo : ITALIA
58 Quaker : FRIEND
59 Community of followers : FANDOM
61 Thesaurus listing: Abbr. : SYN
63 Melber of MSNBC : ARI
64 Candy featured in a classic “MythBusters” episode : MENTOS
65 Confucian’s spiritual path : TAO
67 In ___ (peeved) : A MOOD
68 Nintendo dinosaur who eats fruit and throws eggs : YOSHI
69 Bring to court : SUE
70 2003 best seller whose title is one letter different from a fantasy creature : ERAGON
75 Pleasures : JOYS
77 Grammy winner DiFranco : ANI
78 Rendezvoused : MET
79 ___ gow (Chinese domino game) : PAI
81 Money earned from an event, say : PROCEEDS
82 Gush : SPEW
83 Archaeologist’s find : TOMB
84 Brian once of glam rock : ENO
86 U.S. health org. : CDC
87 “Hands off, that’s mine!” : HEY!
88 Austrian article : EIN
89 Sent off : EMITTED
90 Lose a layer : SHED
94 Bit of luau wear : SARONG
95 “No question!” : I’M SURE!
96 Magazine whose 60th anniversary issue had the cover line “Denzel, Halle & Jamie” : EBONY
97 What’s hard about a melon? : RIND
99 Origami shape called “orizuru” : CRANE
100 Tree surgeon, at times : HEWER
101 Interior chambers : ATRIA
102 Gem weight : CARAT
103 Bonnie’s partner in crime : CLYDE
104 Quadratic formula subj. : ALG
107 Oodles : A LOT
109 Measurement in plane geometry : AREA
110 Camera type, briefly : SLR
111 As well : TOO
112 DuVernay who directed “Selma” : AVA
113 Queue before P : -M-N-O-
114 Canal locale : EAR
115 Piece de resistance? : OHM

12 thoughts on “0328-21 NY Times Crossword 28 Mar 21, Sunday”

  1. 12:02. This one felt way too easy for a Sunday. Too much 3-letter fill, and no wordplay or misdirection in the theme.

  2. 31:32. Pretty good for a Sunday for me. The squares on my 10″ tablet are pretty small on Sundays and my fat fingers waste a lot of time correcting goofs.

  3. 27:56. I was cruising along thinking I might get my first sub 20 min. Sunday, but drew blanks in a couple places, especially the block encompassing 66A. Even tho I had 3 of the 6 acrosses, I just blanked. After about 5 minutes “Vaselina” finally hit me – DOH!!

  4. I guess I’m just now noticing that the cheerful synonyms are over (and the same length as) the moons pointed out by Bill. Clever, and makes me think a bit more highly of the puzzle, though I still thought it a bit easy for a Sunday.

  5. 47:17 If it weren’t for down answers I never would have solved this…looks like I’m the only one who had no clue regarding the names of moons, other than ours….”moon”….

  6. 35:23, no errors. Struggled with this one. Didn’t help that I spelled 26D as TONY, which caused the entry 40A BLISSFULY IGNORANT. Not recognizing the missing L.
    Clever construction.

  7. 85A: Fleet runner=ADM. No sweat. Archer Daniels Midland and their fleet of ships and trucks delivering food. Ain’t gotta be right, just gotta fit.

  8. @DUNCAN, me too. The MOON theme was OVER my head.. fairly quick solve regardless.

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