0910-21 NY Times Crossword 10 Sep 21, Friday

Constructed by: Adrian Kabigting
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme None

Bill’s time: 18m 47s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Hack job : DATA BREACH

A computer hacker is a computer expert, and in particular one who uses that expertise to solve problems with hardware and software. So, the original use of the term “hacking” was very positive. Since the 1980s, the term “hacker” is more commonly used for an expert in subverting computer security.

15 News alert of old : EXTRA! EXTRA!

A newspaper extra is a special issue with content that arrived too late for the regular edition. Sale of a newspaper extra by street vendors, starting in the mid-1800s, was usually accompanied by the cry “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”

18 The toe of a geographical “boot” : OMAN

The Arabian Peninsula is shaped like a boot, with the Sultanate of Oman occupying the toe of that boot.

24 Literally, “disciple” : SIKH

Sikhism is a religion that was founded in the Punjab region, which straddles the India-Pakistan border. Even though Sikhism was established relatively recently, it is now the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak.

25 Gamete producer : GONAD

A gamete is a reproductive cell that has half the full complement of genes needed to make a normal cell. In sexual reproduction, it takes two gametes, one from each parent, to fuse into one cell which then develops into a new organism. The female gamete is the ovum, and the male the sperm.

28 AAA service : TOW

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

33 Clodhopper : RUBE

A rube is a person lacking sophistication, someone often described as a country bumpkin. The term derives from the masculine name “Reuben”, which was considered back in the early 1800s to be a typical name used in rural areas.

Our term “clodhopper” is used to describe a clumsy and coarse person. Back in the 1600s, a clodhopper was someone who worked on plowed land. Clodhoppers are also strong, heavy shoes.

36 LAX approximation : ETA

Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently, the “X” has no significant meaning.

38 Paris-to-Zurich dir. : ESE

The French capital of Paris is named for the Parisii, a Celtic Iron-Age people that lived in the area on the banks of the River Seine.

Zurich is located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the largest city in the country.

42 Get ready to drive : TEE UP

That would be golf.

43 Anago, on a Japanese menu : EEL

“Unagi” is the Japanese term for” freshwater eel”, and “anago” is the term for “saltwater eel”.

45 Some Christmas purchases : FIRS

Firs are evergreen coniferous trees, with several species being popular as Christmas trees. The most commonly used species during the holidays are the Nordmann fir, noble fir, Fraser fir and balsam fir. We also see a lot of Douglas fir trees at Christmas, but they’re not actually true firs.

47 Platform for a performer : RISER

A riser is a platform that elevates a group of people above a crowd, and so is ideal for the performance of a choir.

49 Nickname for Chicago’s Cloud Gate sculpture : THE BEAN

Cloud Gate is a famous sculpture that sits in the center of Chicago’s Millennium Park. Nicknamed “the Bean” because of its shape, Cloud Gate is the work of Indian-born British sculptor Anish Kapoor. The work comprises 168 stainless steel plates that are so highly polished that not one seam is visible.

57 What comes after the fall : WINTERTIME

Here in the US, we tend to refer to the season following summer as “fall”. This name is short for “fall of the leaf”, referring to the loss of leaves by deciduous trees. The term “autumn” is a more common name used in Britain and Ireland instead of “fall”. However, back before the mid-1600s the term “fall” was in common use on the other side of the pond.

Down

2 Skater’s leap : AXEL

An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

3 “G2G” : TTYL

In Internet slang and text speak, “g2g” means “got to go”, or possibly “good to go” or “get together”.

Talk to you later (ttyl)

4 Colored rings : AREOLAE

An areola (sometimes “areole”) in anatomy is a small ring of color, as in the areola surrounding the nipple, and the areola surrounding the pupil of the eye. “Areola” (plural “areolae”) comes from Latin, meaning “small open space”, and is a diminutive of the Latin word “area”, meaning “open space”.

10 Name associated with boxers : HANES

The Hanes brand of apparel was founded in 1901. A related brand was introduced in 1986 called Hanes Her Way.

12 ___ the 25-Down, founder of the kingdom of Hawaii : KAMEHAMEHA
(25D See 12-Down : GREAT)

King Kamehameha I Day is celebrated annually on June 11, and is a public holiday in Hawaii. The holiday was established in 1871 by Kamehameha V to honor his grandfather Kamehameha I (aka “Kamehameha the Great”), the founder of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

13 Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress ___ Rachel Wood : EVAN

Actress Evan Rachel Wood’s most famous role to date is playing one of the leads in the 2003 movie “Thirteen”. Wood’s private life draws a lot of attention, especially as she was romantically linked for some time with the “outrageous” musician Marilyn Manson.

26 Navel type : OUTIE

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.

27 Travel authority? : NBA REFEREE

“Traveling” is a basketball term describing an illegal move of the feet while holding the ball.

31 ___ tag : LASER

The name “Laser Tag” is really a misnomer as lasers are rarely used in the game. The “guns” actually send out infrared light, and not laser light, which is picked up by infrared detectors worn by the players.

32 Heaps : SLEWS

Our usage of “slew” to mean “large number” has nothing to do with the verb “to slew” meaning “to turn, skid”. The noun “slew” came into English in the early 1800s from the Irish word “sluagh” meaning “host, crowd, multitude”.

35 Marshal under Napoleon : NEY

Michel Ney was one of the first 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon. When Bonaparte was eventually defeated for the last time, Ney was arrested and sentenced to death. He was executed in Paris by firing squad. Nay refused to wear a blindfold, and demanded that he himself be allowed to give the order to fire.

40 Cavil : QUIBBLE

To cavil is to raise a trivial objection, a nit.

41 Jewelry creator Elsa who helped define the Tiffany brand : PERETTI

Elsa Peretti is a native of Florence, Italy who has been designing jewelry and related items for the top fashion houses in New York since the sixties.

Tiffany’s jewelry company is headquartered in New York City. The flagship Tiffany’s store is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, and famously featured in the delightful Audrey Hepburn movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.

44 Earths, in sci-fi : TERRAS

“Terra” is the Latin for “land, ground”.

51 River personified by the god Hapi : NILE

Depending on definition, the Nile is regarded generally as the longest river on the planet. The Nile forms from two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which join together near Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. From Khartoum the Nile flows north, traveling almost entirely through desert making it central to life for those living along its length.

53 Kristen of “S.N.L.” : WIIG

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

58 Small grouse : NIT

It isn’t really clear where we get our verb “to grouse” from (meaning “to complain”). The term was first used as slang in the British Army in the 1880s.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Hack job : DATA BREACH
11 Lean : SKEW
15 News alert of old : EXTRA! EXTRA!
16 Choose from the restaurant menu : HAVE
17 Hybrid citrus fruit native to China : MEYER LEMON
18 The toe of a geographical “boot” : OMAN
19 Bad reasoning : ILLOGIC
20 Piece of the action : PERCENT
22 “We’ll handle this one” : LET US
24 Literally, “disciple” : SIKH
25 Gamete producer : GONAD
28 AAA service : TOW
30 Gives a hand : DEALS
33 Clodhopper : RUBE
34 Unexplained by science, say : PARANORMAL
36 LAX approximation : ETA
37 Meeting after a meeting : DEBRIEF
38 Paris-to-Zurich dir. : ESE
39 What fuel economy standards might address : AIR QUALITY
41 Cry of relief : PHEW!
42 Get ready to drive : TEE UP
43 Anago, on a Japanese menu : EEL
44 Cat With ___ of Joy (emoji) : TEARS
45 Some Christmas purchases : FIRS
47 Platform for a performer : RISER
49 Nickname for Chicago’s Cloud Gate sculpture : THE BEAN
52 Words when throwing caution to the wind : SCREW IT
56 Rain or shine : VERB
57 What comes after the fall : WINTERTIME
59 Fibrous part of a potato : PEEL
60 Feeling of otherness : ALIENATION
61 Absolute delight : GLEE
62 Backgrounds in theater : SET DESIGNS

Down

1 ___ bra : DEMI
2 Skater’s leap : AXEL
3 “G2G” : TTYL
4 Colored rings : AREOLAE
5 Intruded, with “in” : BARGED …
6 On again : RELIT
7 Performing tasks according to encoded instructions, as a computer file : EXECUTABLE
8 Dispenser in many a vestibule : ATM
9 Edit out, as from a photo : CROP
10 Name associated with boxers : HANES
11 Upset of the century, say : SHOCKER
12 ___ the 25-Down, founder of the kingdom of Hawaii : KAMEHAMEHA
13 Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress ___ Rachel Wood : EVAN
14 Passed : WENT
21 Finished with : RID OF
23 More contrite : SORRIER
25 See 12-Down : GREAT
26 Navel type : OUTIE
27 Travel authority? : NBA REFEREE
29 Pending acceptance, in a way : WAIT-LISTED
31 ___ tag : LASER
32 Heaps : SLEWS
34 Matar, in Indian cuisine : PEA
35 Marshal under Napoleon : NEY
37 Cellist Jacqueline : DUPRE
40 Cavil : QUIBBLE
41 Jewelry creator Elsa who helped define the Tiffany brand : PERETTI
44 Earths, in sci-fi : TERRAS
46 Perceived to be : SAW AS
48 “A-a-a-and ___!” : SCENE
49 Common sitcom rating : TV-PG
50 No-goodnik : HEEL
51 River personified by the god Hapi : NILE
53 Kristen of “S.N.L.” : WIIG
54 Comment after a cue : I’M ON
55 Top marks : TENS
58 Small grouse : NIT

13 thoughts on “0910-21 NY Times Crossword 10 Sep 21, Friday”

  1. 21:29, no errors. What Tom said (both in the grid and in the clues): MEYER lemon, “disciple” for SIKH, “matar” for PEA, “anago” (instead of “unagi”) for EEL, Elsa PERETTI, “Hapi” as the personification of the NILE. Geez … you’d almost think this puzzle was meant to be puzzling! … 😳

    (And, in addition to all that, I don’t wear a DEMI bra … 😜).

    But it all finally worked out … 😜.

  2. 23:09 What @Tom and @Nonny said – only I was slower at figuring out the “puzzlements” than they were. TTYL

  3. Well, that was fun. Halfway through in 8 minutes. Final time 25:12. Once again I got the long entries and got stuck on the shorter ones. What @Ton R said. SCREW IT.

  4. 37:11. Half an hour plus a convenience store. Duncan might be safe today. Slow going, but I enjoyed it. Did this late last night, and it was a nice respite from a conference I’ve attended these last two days.

    KAMEHAMEHA was cruel.

    Oh well. Glad it’s Friday. I can use a weekend.

    Best –

  5. No errors but like others, tough and rough time with the cluing… absolutely didn’t know 12D KAMAHAHABAHAMAMAMA
    I let the crosses fill in. It worked for me this time.

  6. 59:32 with 2 errors in 17A…what everybody else said about this piece of crap👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
    Stay safe😀

  7. Quite the struggle for me, today but managed to come up just one letter short, the Y in TTYL/MEYER.

  8. It must be hard to decide the order for the puzzles as everyone has their own skill set. I found todays SO much easier than Thursday’s which took me forever and I still had two errors. I knocked out today’s in about 15 minutes with no errors. Well screw it nobody is going to see this anyway. One more thing – why do some insist on calling the puzzle “crap” or an “ego fest” etc. just because they didn’t like it or do well on it. Does the whole world revolve around you? Think about it.

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