0330-21 NY Times Crossword 30 Mar 21, Tuesday

Constructed by: Alex Rosen & Brad Wilber
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Mononym

Themed answers each include as a hidden word the name of a musical artist who uses a MONONYM as a stage name:

  • 38A Person known by a single name, as found in 20-, 29-, 47- and 55-Across : MONONYM
  • 20A Compensating reduction of greenhouse gas emissions : CARBON OFFSET (hiding “BONO”)
  • 29A 360° martial arts maneuver : SPIN KICK (hiding “PINK”)
  • 47A Distance for a first down : TEN YARDS (hiding “ENYA”)
  • 55A Greedy person’s cry : MINE MINE MINE! (hiding “EMINEM”)

Bill’s time: 5m 50s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Workers with taxing schedules, for short? : CPAS

Certified public accountant (CPA)

5 Japanese brewery : ASAHI

Asahi is a Japanese beer, and the name of the brewery that produces it. “Asahi” is Japanese for “morning sun”. Asahi introduced a “dry beer” in 1987, igniting a craze that rocketed the brewery to the number one spot in terms of beer production in Japan, with Sapporo close behind.

10 Who’s the Boss? : HUGO

Hugo Boss started a clothing company in a small town just south of Stuttgart in Germany in 1924. He joined the Nazi party before the war, and made a lot of money as an official supplier of uniforms to the likes of the SS and Hitler Youth. He paid the price of collaboration after the war (a fine), but his business survived. Boss (the boss) died in 1948, but the Hugo Boss company is still going strong today.

15 Big name in vacuum cleaners and fans : DYSON

Dyson vacuum cleaners do not use a bag to collect dust. James Dyson invented the first vacuum cleaner to use cyclonic separation in 1979, frustrated at the poor performance of his regular vacuum cleaner. As Dyson cleaners do not use bags, they don’t have to deal with collection bags that are blocked with fine dust particles, even after emptying. Cyclonic separation uses high speed spinning of the dust-containing air so that the dust particles are thrown out of the airflow into a collection bin. We have a Dyson now, and should have bought it years ago …

16 Cell with 23 unpaired DNA strands : OVUM

Francis Crick and James Watson discovered that DNA had a double-helix, chain-like structure, and published their results in Cambridge in 1953. To this day the discovery is mired in controversy, as some crucial results collected by fellow researcher Rosalind Franklin were used without her permission or even knowledge. In 1962, along with molecular biologist Maurice Wilkins, Watson and Crick were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

17 Longtime co-star of Mariska Hargitay on “Law & Order: SVU” : ICE-T

Rapper Ice-T must be sick of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles (I know I am!). Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about breakdancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since the year 2000.

Mariska Hargitay is the actress who plays Olivia Benson on the long-running police drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. Mariska’s father was actor and former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay. Her mother was Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield.

18 Big Mac ingredient : ONION

The iconic Big Mac sandwich was introduced nationally by McDonald’s in 1967. It was the creation of a Pittsburgh franchisee who offered it on the menu as a response to the very similar “Big Boy” sandwich offered by the competing Big Boy restaurant chain.

20 Compensating reduction of greenhouse gas emissions : CARBON OFFSET (hiding “BONO”)

Irish singer Bono is a Dubliner who was born Paul David Hewson. As a youth, Hewson was given the nickname “Bono Vox” by a friend, a Latin expression meaning “good voice”, and so the singer has been known as Bono since the late seventies. His band’s first name was “Feedback”, later changed to “The Hype”. The band members searched for yet another name and chose U2 from a list of six names suggested by a friend. They picked U2 because it was the name they disliked least …

Greenhouse gases are those that absorb and emit infrared radiation, meaning that they act as an insulator for our planet. The most abundant greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane. Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have increased by about 40% since 1750, and levels of methane have increased over 150% in the same time frame.

24 Bedouin stopping points : OASES

An isolated area of vegetation in a desert is called an oasis (plural “oases”). As water is needed for plant growth, an oasis might also include a spring, pond or small lake. We often use the term “oasis” more generally to describe a haven, a place of rest.

Bedouin tribes are Arab ethnic groups that predominantly live in the Middle East, in desert areas. Bedouin tribes tend to be nomadic, not settling permanently in one location.

28 Loops in, in a way : CCS

I wonder do the kids of today know that “cc” stands for carbon copy, and do they have any idea what a carbon copy was? Do you remember how messy carbon paper was to handle? A kind blog reader pointed out to me a while back that the abbreviation has evolved and taken on the meaning “courtesy copy” in our modern world.

29 360° martial arts maneuver : SPIN KICK (hiding “PINK”)

“P!nk” is the stage name of American singer Alecia Beth Moore. I know so little about “modern” music, but I do like the P!nk song “Just Give Me a Reason” …

Martial arts are various fighting traditions and systems used in combat or simply to promote physical well-being. The term “martial” ultimately derives from Latin and means “Arts of Mars”, a reference to Mars, the Roman god of war.

32 Willy of children’s literature : WONKA

Willy Wonka is the lead character in the 1964 novel by Roald Dahl called “Charlie & the Chocolate Factory”. Willy Wonka has been portrayed on the big screen twice. Gene Wilder was a fabulous Wonka in the 1971 version titled “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”, and Johnny Depp played him in the Tim Burton movie from 2005 called “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. I’m not too fond of Tim Burton movies, so I haven’t seen that one …

37 Fourth word of the “Star Wars” prologue : AGO

Every “Star Wars” film starts out with an opening crawl announcing “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….”

42 Swivel on an axis : SLUE

To slue (also “slew) is to turn sharply, or to rotate on an axis.

44 Some barbecue fare : RIBS

It is believed that our word “barbecue” (BBQ) comes from the Taíno people of the Caribbean in whose language “barbacoa” means “sacred fire pit”.

49 Leading female role in “Pulp Fiction” : MIA

“Pulp fiction” was the name given to cheap, fiction magazines that were popular from the late 1890s up to the 1950s. The phrase comes from the inexpensive wood pulp paper that was used for the publications. The upmarket equivalent was printed on fine glossy paper.

50 Collectible car of the late ’50s : EDSEL

The Edsel brand of automobile was named for Edsel Ford, son of Henry. Sadly, the name “Edsel” has become synonymous with “failure”, which was no fault of Edsel himself who had died several years before the Edsel line was introduced. When the Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel on 4 September 1957, Ford proclaimed the day to be “E Day”.

51 Sleep inducer of folklore : SANDMAN

The sandman is a mythical character from folklore who is said to induce sleep and bring good dreams by sprinkling sand on the eyes of children.

55 Greedy person’s cry : MINE MINE MINE! (hiding “EMINEM”)

The sandman is a mythical character from folklore who is said to induce sleep and bring good dreams by sprinkling sand on the eyes of children.

59 Tennis’s Nadal, to fans : RAFA

Rafael “Rafa” Nadal is a Spanish tennis player. He is noted for his expertise on clay courts, which earned him the nickname “The King of Clay”.

63 One of the sisters in 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.

68 “Animal House” character named for an animal : OTTER

The very funny 1978 movie “Animal House” has the prefix “National Lampoon’s …” because the storyline came out of tales that had already appeared in “National Lampoon” magazine. “Animal House” was to become the first in a long line of successful “National Lampoon” films. The main pledges in the movie are Tom Hulce (Pinto), who later played a magnificent “Amadeus”, and Stephen Furst (Flounder), who later played a regular role on television’s “Babylon 5”.

Down

1 Girl, in Guadalajara : CHICA

In Spanish, a “niña” is a young girl, a child. The term “chica” applies to an older girl or perhaps a young woman. The term “muchacha” applies to girls in general, I think …

2 Pie nut : PECAN

The pecan is the state nut of Alabama, Arkansas and California. Also, the pecan is the state tree of Texas.

5 Mortal lover of Aphrodite : ADONIS

In Greek mythology, Adonis is a beautiful young god loved by Aphrodite. Adonis dies in a hunting accident (gored by a boar), but not before he gives Aphrodite a child. Adonis was originally a Phoenician god “absorbed” into Greek lore (Phoenicia is modern day Lebanon). The child born of Adonis to Aphrodite was called Beroe, after which is named Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon. We also use the term “adonis” to mean “beautiful male”.

6 Gathering of bishops : SYNOD

The word “synod” comes from the Greek word for “assembly, meeting”. A synod is a church council, usually one in the Christian faith.

11 Campus designed by Thos. Jefferson : UVA

The University of Virginia (UVA) was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who then sat on the original Board of Visitors alongside former US Presidents James Madison and James Monroe. In fact, the original UVA campus was built on land near Charlottesville that was once a farm belonging to President Monroe.

13 “Srsly?!” : OMG!

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

21 Philosopher who lent his name to a “razor” : OCCAM

Ockham’s Razor (also “Occam’s Razor”) is a principle in philosophy and science that basically states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. This explanation is a corollary to the more exact statement of the principle, that one shouldn’t needlessly use assumptions in explaining something. The principle is referred to as “lex parsimoniae” in Latin, or “the law of parsimony”. Parsimony is being thrifty with money or resources.

25 Tuscan city : SIENA

Siena is a beautiful city in the Tuscany region of Italy. In the center of Siena is the magnificent medieval square called Piazza del Campo, a paved sloping open area made up of nine triangular sections. The square has to be seen to be believed. Twice a year, the famous bareback horse-race called the Palio di Siena is held in the Piazza.

26 Stroke of brilliance : ECLAT

“Éclat” can describe a brilliant show of success, as well as the applause or accolade that one receives for that success. The word “éclat” derives from the French “éclater” meaning “to splinter, burst out”.

27 Modern kind of call : SKYPE

The main feature of the Skype application when introduced was that it allows voice communication to take place over the Internet (aka VoIP). Skype has other features such as video conferencing and instant messaging, but the application made its name from voice communication. Skype was founded by two Scandinavian entrepreneurs and the software necessary was developed by a team of engineers in Estonia. The development project was originally called “Sky peer-to-peer” so the first commercial name for the application was “Skyper”. This had to be shortened to “Skype” because the skyper.com domain name was already in use.

30 Calligraphy tools : PENS

Calligraphy is the art of fine handwriting. The term “calligraphy” comes from the Greek “kallos” meaning “beauty” and “graphein” meaning “to write”.

31 Climber in academia? : IVY

The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

34 Majority of Mad Libs entries : NOUNS

Mad Libs is a word game, one mostly played by children in America. The idea is that one player provides a list of words which are then inserted into blank spots in a story, usually with hilarious results (they say!).

35 Mystery writer Blyton : ENID

Enid Blyton wrote stories for children that were very popular when I was growing up in Britain and Ireland. Not so long ago, I purchased and reread my favorite of her stories growing up, a children’s novel called “The Secret Island”.

39 Only defenseman to have won the N.H.L. scoring title (1970, 1975) : ORR

Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking. While still 31 years old, in 1979, Orr became the youngest person inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Prior to that, in 1967, Orr became the youngest person named the NHL’s Rookie of the Year.

40 Down East, to a New Englander : MAINE

The coast of Maine is often referred to as “Down East” by the people of New England. There is even a monthly magazine aimed at the people of Maine called “Down East”, that is published in Camden, Maine.

48 Mahershala with two Oscars : ALI

Mahershala Ali is an actor and sometime rapper. Among the more memorable roles Ali has had are lobbyist Remy Danton in TV’s “House of Cards”, and Colonel Boggs in “The Hunger Games” series of movies. He also won Best Supporting Actor Oscars for playing Juan in the 2016 drama “Moonlight”, and Dr. Don Shirley in 2018’s “Green Book”.

49 Makeshift crib, once : MANGER

A manger is an open box in which feed is placed for livestock. The term “manger” comes from the French verb “manger” meaning “to eat”.

52 Distance runner : MILER

The 4-minute barrier for the mile run was first broken in 1954 by Roger Bannister, when he finished in just over 3m 59s. If you plan on running a 4-minute mile, you should probably be warned that this means you have to run the whole race at an average speed of over 15 mph (do the math!).

56 Kind of alphabet : NATO

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. It goes Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

60 Japan’s largest carrier : ANA

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline, one that is now larger in size than the nation’s flag carrier Japan Airlines (JAL).

61 When tripled, 1964 Beach Boys hit : FUN

“Fun, Fun, Fun” is a 1964 song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the Beach Boys. The English rock band Status Quo released a great cover version of “Fun, Fun, Fun” in 1996, which featured the Beach Boys on backup vocals.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Workers with taxing schedules, for short? : CPAS
5 Japanese brewery : ASAHI
10 Who’s the Boss? : HUGO
14 Prefix with pad : HELI-
15 Big name in vacuum cleaners and fans : DYSON
16 Cell with 23 unpaired DNA strands : OVUM
17 Longtime co-star of Mariska Hargitay on “Law & Order: SVU” : ICE-T
18 Big Mac ingredient : ONION
19 Taste with a little zip : TANG
20 Compensating reduction of greenhouse gas emissions : CARBON OFFSET (hiding “BONO”)
23 Stomach soother : ANTACID
24 Bedouin stopping points : OASES
28 Loops in, in a way : CCS
29 360° martial arts maneuver : SPIN KICK (hiding “PINK”)
32 Willy of children’s literature : WONKA
35 Abbr. on a scenic overlook sign : ELEV
36 Slippery : EELY
37 Fourth word of the “Star Wars” prologue : AGO
38 Person known by a single name, as found in 20-, 29-, 47- and 55-Across : MONONYM
41 Little shut-eye : NAP
42 Swivel on an axis : SLUE
44 Some barbecue fare : RIBS
45 Subside : ABATE
47 Distance for a first down : TEN YARDS (hiding “ENYA”)
49 Leading female role in “Pulp Fiction” : MIA
50 Collectible car of the late ’50s : EDSEL
51 Sleep inducer of folklore : SANDMAN
55 Greedy person’s cry : MINE MINE MINE! (hiding “EMINEM”)
59 Tennis’s Nadal, to fans : RAFA
62 In the midst of : AMONG
63 One of the sisters in Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” : OLGA
64 Obligation to do something : ONUS
65 Color slightly : TINGE
66 Swerve (into) : VEER
67 Where one might go through withdrawal? : BANK
68 “Animal House” character named for an animal : OTTER
69 Blunders : ERRS

Down

1 Girl, in Guadalajara : CHICA
2 Pie nut : PECAN
3 “___ the media!” : ALERT
4 Partner of “relax” : SIT BACK
5 Mortal lover of Aphrodite : ADONIS
6 Gathering of bishops : SYNOD
7 “You wish!” : AS IF!
8 Body part where a shoe goes : HOOF
9 Some establishments next to airports : INNS
10 Provocative, quickly produced opinion piece : HOT TAKE
11 Campus designed by Thos. Jefferson : UVA
12 Word with ray or tommy : … GUN
13 “Srsly?!” : OMG!
21 Philosopher who lent his name to a “razor” : OCCAM
22 Seemingly forever : EON
25 Tuscan city : SIENA
26 Stroke of brilliance : ECLAT
27 Modern kind of call : SKYPE
29 Opposites of picker-uppers? : SLOBS
30 Calligraphy tools : PENS
31 Climber in academia? : IVY
32 It may be hazardous : WASTE
33 Looked at lustfully : OGLED
34 Majority of Mad Libs entries : NOUNS
35 Mystery writer Blyton : ENID
39 Only defenseman to have won the N.H.L. scoring title (1970, 1975) : ORR
40 Down East, to a New Englander : MAINE
43 Flight sleeping aid : EYE MASK
46 “Uh-oh, you shouldn’t have done that!” : BAD MOVE!
48 Mahershala with two Oscars : ALI
49 Makeshift crib, once : MANGER
51 Burn slightly : SINGE
52 Distance runner : MILER
53 ___ management : ANGER
54 Looms, say : NEARS
56 Kind of alphabet : NATO
57 Send out : EMIT
58 French peak : MONT
59 Hold up : ROB
60 Japan’s largest carrier : ANA
61 When tripled, 1964 Beach Boys hit : FUN

11 thoughts on “0330-21 NY Times Crossword 30 Mar 21, Tuesday”

  1. 09:33. for 29A I had OPENKICK and at the end it took me about 90 seconds to find that and change to SPINKICK. I had -P-N to start and not really reading the clue (not that I know any martial arts maneuvers) just made it OPEN. Also had FOOT before HOOF, tho I originally put in ASAHI for 5A. Somehow HO on the start of 8D didn’t seem right. Wasn’t thinking of animal shoes.

  2. 11:47 In the movie “Finding Nemo” the seagulls got my vote as having the best line with “mine! mine! mine!”….never noticed Eminem’s name in there…

    1. I would tend to agree. However – I started doing this and the WA Post puzzles online this past year and that has helped me speed up a lot from doing on paper, plus doing a couple puzzles a day for a year definitely expanded my Xword “vocabulary”. Just for grins I went thru the NYT online archives and did a couple Tues. puzzles from 1995, 96, and 2015. My times were about the average of my Tues. in the last year – 9 minutes. I also tried a 95 Sat. puzzle and this one had a rebus to boot. Wasn’t expecting that. Anyway, I finished in 25 minutes tho I did need two lookups. Still, it’s hard for me to believe that I’d “mostly” solve a Sat puzzle 25 years ago in 25 minutes.

      Not sure what conclusion to draw form this little test.

  3. 10:03. Very late today.

    I was so ready to complain about the circled name in 20A. I mean for crying out loud, Sonny BONO did not go by one name! Sometimes I feel old. For the record, Cher did….

    And how did crossword superstar, Adele, not make the cut??

    Best –

  4. 8:13, no errors. Felt three minutes faster than yesterday and still was about 30 seconds slower. How could that be?

  5. 31:05 no errors but the NE corner almost caused a DNF…this is IMO a Tuesday puzzle turned into a Thursday puzzle by two setters..while I am in a negative mood if ,when I was working, I was as good at my job as major league umpires are at calling balls and strikes I most likely would have spent a lot of time in the unemployment line…end of rant👎
    Stay safe😀

  6. 11:50, no errors. Similar problem with 29A, wanting to enter SIDE KICK, but waited until the verticals filled in; so I didn’t need to erase. Went with ORECK in 15A before DYSON.

  7. No errors. I was thinking that this was a really difficult puzzle considering that it was only Tuesday. But after cracking the theme it started to go much easier. I could also “read the minds” of the setters as to what they were likely to include. The last square to be filled was the HUGO/HOTTAKE cross. I had never heard of Hugo Boss or the term “hot take”. I arrived at the correct letter H only by the process of elimination.

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