Constructed by: Sophie Buchmueller & Ross Trudeau
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer Head Fake
Themed answers are each something FAKE associated with the HEAD:
- 57A Basketball feint … or a hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 46-Across? : HEAD FAKE
- 17A Socket replacement? : GLASS EYE
- 24A Canine covering? : DENTAL CROWN
- 36A Batter’s additions? : FALSE LASHES
- 46A Old rug in a courtroom? : POWDERED WIG
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 8m 00s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 ___ Modern (London gallery) : TATE
The museum known as “the Tate” is actually made up of four separate galleries in England. The original Tate gallery was founded by Sir Henry Tate as the National Gallery of British Art. It is located on Millbank in London, on the site of the old Millbank Prison, and is now called Tate Britain. There is also the Tate Liverpool in the north of England that is located in an old warehouse, and the Tate St. Ives in the west country located in an old gas works. My favorite of the Tate galleries is the Tate Modern which lies on the banks of the Thames in London. It’s a beautiful building, a converted power station that you have to see to believe. As of 2018, the Tate Modern was the most visited art museum in the UK.
5 Put down in writing? : PAN
To pan something is to criticize it harshly.
15 Garten of eatin’ : INA
Ina Garten is an author as well as the host of a cooking show on the Food Network called “Barefoot Contessa”. She is a mentee of Martha Stewart, and indeed was touted as a potential “successor” to the TV celebrity when Stewart was incarcerated in 2004 after an insider trading scandal. Garten has no formal training as a chef, and indeed used to work as a nuclear policy analyst at the White House!
16 “You got me there” : TOUCHE
“Touché” is a term from fencing, one acknowledging a successful “touch” in a duel. The usage has been extended to mean that a successful criticism or riposte has hit home in a conversation.
20 Kind of tank : SEPTIC
A septic tank is a sewage system that resides locally beside a house, on the property i.e. “on-lot”. The term “septic” is used generally to describe anything related to the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, often with the emission of foul-smelling gases. Septic tanks usually rely on anaerobic bacteria to break down the solid waste that settles.
22 Amazon tree hugger : BOA
Boa constrictors are members of the Boidae family of snakes, all of which are non-venomous. Interestingly, the female boa is always larger than the male.
23 Card game cry : UNO!
UNO is a card game that was developed in the early seventies and that has been sold by Mattel since 1992. UNO falls into the shedding family of card games, meaning that the goal is to get rid of all your cards while preventing opponents from doing the same.
24 Canine covering? : DENTAL CROWN
The canine teeth of a mammal are also called the eyeteeth or cuspids. The name “canine” is used because these particular teeth are very prominent in dogs. The prefix “eye-” is used because in humans the eyeteeth are located in the upper jaw, directly below the eyes.
38 Gabbana’s partner in fashion : DOLCE
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian fashion house based in Milan, It was founded by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in 1985.
41 Feudal plot : FIEF
Feudalism was a legal and military system that flourished in medieval Europe. Central to the system were the concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs. Lords would grant fiefs (land or rights) to vassals in exchange for allegiance and service.
42 Save it for a rainy day : TARP
Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.
50 Cedar relative : FIR
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.
51 The “E” in B.C.E. : ERA
The designations Anno Domini (AD, “year of Our Lord”) and Before Christ (BC) are found in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The dividing point between AD and BC is the year of the conception of Jesus, with AD 1 following 1 BC without a year “0” in between. The AD/BC scheme dates back to AD 525, and gained wide acceptance soon after AD 800. Nowadays a modified version has become popular, with CE (Common/Christian Era) used to replace AD, and BCE (Before the Common/Christian Era) used to replace BC.
61 “De ___” (“You’re welcome”: Fr.) : RIEN
“Rien” is the French word for “nothing”. “De rien” translates literally from the French as “of nothing”, and is used to mean “you’re welcome” or “don’t mention it”. The Spanish have the same expression “de nada”, also translating to “of nothing” and used the same way.
63 Cent : euro :: ___ : krona : ORE
The Swedish Krona is divided into 100 öres, a term derived from the Latin “aureus” meaning “gold”.
Down
1 Prepares to score on a sac fly : TAGS UP
That would be baseball.
2 Garfield’s romantic interest, in the comics : ARLENE
Arlene is a pink stray cat who is fond of the title character in the “Garfield” comic strip by Jim Davis. Garfield is pretty rude to Arlene though, and often makes fun of the gap in her teeth.
3 “Short and stout” singer of nursery rhyme : TEAPOT
The children’s song “I’m a Little Teapot” was written and published in 1939, composed by a married couple who ran a dance school for children. They needed a simple tune that young ones could use to learn a simple tap routine, and came up with this:
I’m a little teapot,
Short and stout,
Here is my handle,
Here is my spout,
When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout,
Tip me over and pour me out!
4 Steinbeck’s “___ of Eden” : EAST
John Steinbeck considered “East of Eden” his magnum opus. Most of the storyline takes place near Salinas, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. Two of the characters in the story are brothers Cal and Aron Trask, representative of the biblical Cain and Abel.
According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, after Cain murdered his brother Abel, he fled to the “Land of Nod” located “east of Eden” (from which John Steinbeck got the title for his celebrated novel “East of Eden”).
7 When doubled, a 2010s dance fad : NAE
The Nae Nae is a hip hop dance that is named for the 2013 song “Drop that NaeNae” recorded by We Are Toon. The main move in the dance involves swaying with one hand in the air and one hand down, with both feet firmly planted on the dancefloor. Go on, do it. You know you want to …
8 Amazon’s business, informally : ETAIL
Amazon.com is the largest online retailer in the world. It is also the largest Internet company in the world by revenue. The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, in his garage in Bellevue, Washington. I’m a big fan of Amazon’s approach to customer service …
9 Like some offensive humor : NON-PC
Non-politically correct (non-PC)
12 Hammer ___ (certain summer Olympian) : THROWER
There are usually four throwing events in a track and field competition:
- hammer
- discus
- shot put
- javelin
18 “Toy Story” antagonist : SID
In the 1995 Pixar hit “Toy Story”, the toys are owned by a boy named Andy Davis. Andy’s neighbor is a not-so-nice boy named Sid Phillips. Sid gets a big kick out of destroying and torturing his own toys, and those owned by others.
25 One end of the Iditarod : NOME
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race covers an incredible 1,161 miles, from Anchorage to Nome in Alaska. The race starts every year on the first Saturday in March, with the first race having been held in 1973. Finishing times range from over 8 days to 15 days or more. The first few races only used a northern route, but then a southern route was added to the roster every second year. It’s kind of a good thing, because when the racers take the northern route they don’t even pass through the town of Iditarod!
26 Easy-to-read newspaper : TABLOID
“Tabloid” is the trademarked name (owned by Burroughs Wellcome) for a “small tablet of medicine”, a name that goes back to 1884. The word “tabloid” had entered into general use to mean a compressed form of anything, and by the early 1900s was used in “tabloid journalism”, which described newspapers that had short, condensed articles and stories printed on smaller sheets of paper.
33 Inc. cousin : LLC
A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.
38 “Let’s Make a Deal” choice : DOOR ONE
The game show “Let’s Make a Deal” first aired way back in 1963. For many years the show was hosted by Monty Hall, from 1963 until 1986, and again briefly in 1991. In more recent years, Wayne Brady took over as host in 2009.
48 Competition where you might pull a calf? : RODEO
“Rodeo” is a Spanish word that is usually translated into English as “round up”.
49 Jupiter or Mars : GOD
Jupiter, also known as Jove, was the king of the gods in the Roman tradition, as well as the god of sky and thunder. Jupiter was the Roman equivalent to the Greek god Zeus.
Mars was the god of war in ancient Rome. Mars was also viewed as the father of the Roman people and the father of Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers who founded Rome according to Roman mythology.
Read on, or …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 ___ Modern (London gallery) : TATE
5 Put down in writing? : PAN
8 Being : ENTITY
14 Word with rest or play : … AREA
15 Garten of eatin’ : INA
16 “You got me there” : TOUCHE
17 Socket replacement? : GLASS EYE
19 Ticks off : ANGERS
20 Kind of tank : SEPTIC
21 Puppy’s bite : NIP
22 Amazon tree hugger : BOA
23 Card game cry : UNO!
24 Canine covering? : DENTAL CROWN
28 Four-footed friends : PETS
30 Exclamation of shock, spelled in a modern way : WOAH!
31 Crossed (out) : EXED
32 Ascend : CLIMB
34 According to : AS PER
36 Batter’s additions? : FALSE LASHES
38 Gabbana’s partner in fashion : DOLCE
39 Burger topping : ONION
40 Achy : SORE
41 Feudal plot : FIEF
42 Save it for a rainy day : TARP
46 Old rug in a courtroom? : POWDERED WIG
50 Cedar relative : FIR
51 The “E” in B.C.E. : ERA
52 “I do,” for one : VOW
53 Roughly speaking? : COARSE
55 Phrased : WORDED
57 Basketball feint … or a hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 46-Across? : HEAD FAKE
59 Make it through a difficult period : ENDURE
60 Prohibit : BAR
61 “De ___” (“You’re welcome”: Fr.) : RIEN
62 Alliterative “Doctor” of children’s literature : DE SOTO
63 Cent : euro :: ___ : krona : ORE
64 They can be even, paradoxically : ODDS
Down
1 Prepares to score on a sac fly : TAGS UP
2 Garfield’s romantic interest, in the comics : ARLENE
3 “Short and stout” singer of nursery rhyme : TEAPOT
4 Steinbeck’s “___ of Eden” : EAST
5 Like a mathematical function that changes at different intervals : PIECEWISE
6 Whichever : ANY
7 When doubled, a 2010s dance fad : NAE
8 Amazon’s business, informally : ETAIL
9 Like some offensive humor : NON-PC
10 Harbor hauler : TUG
11 Old refrigerators : ICEBOXES
12 Hammer ___ (certain summer Olympian) : THROWER
13 Collaborative principle in improv comedy : YES, AND …
18 “Toy Story” antagonist : SID
21 Casual refusal : NAH
25 One end of the Iditarod : NOME
26 Easy-to-read newspaper : TABLOID
27 Preacher’s cry : REPENT!
29 Like fish and rock walls : SCALED
33 Inc. cousin : LLC
34 “Big deal” : AS IF I CARE
35 57-Down competitor : SHO
36 Sends on : FORWARDS
37 Once more : ANEW
38 “Let’s Make a Deal” choice : DOOR ONE
40 Expelled : SPEWED
41 Not many : FEW
43 Shaking in one’s boots : AFRAID
44 Chanced : RISKED
45 Self-grooms : PREENS
47 Turn inside out : EVERT
48 Competition where you might pull a calf? : RODEO
49 Jupiter or Mars : GOD
54 Prefix with futurism : AFRO-
56 Indie pop’s Tegan and Sara, e.g. : DUO
57 “I May Destroy You” network : HBO
58 Musician’s asset : EAR
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18 thoughts on “0915-21 NY Times Crossword 15 Sep 21, Wednesday”
Comments are closed.
8:43, no errors.
Getting old is so much fun: you get to be reminded of (or learn) a variety of medical terms (the current example being “vitreous detachment”) … 😜. (On the positive side, what’s happening so far is relatively easy to live with … 🙂.)
I learned of that term about 2 years ago – the lights flash on the outside edges of my eyes. But the light inside the brain is still dim!!
I also learned the term “trigeminal neuralgia” about 2 years ago as well.
BTW – my time for today was 12:02
Eat a Ser ing of pineapple, fresh or canned, and that will lessen or stop. At least worked for me.
16:53 Nonny, getting old is typically more fun than not getting old…
Oof! I just looked up “trigeminal neuralgia” and it sounds like a real bummer; I hope I skip that one. And yes, Duncan has the right of it … 🤨.
So far, the worst thing about my problem is a really annoying floater it seems to have released … like a fly constantly buzzing around in front of me … 🪰. Tomorrow, I get to talk to an eye doctor about it. (Maybe he can give me a fly swatter … 😳.)
13:07. I would have finished quicker, but I was too slow…..
Surprised to see PIECEWISE functions in a crossword. They’re easier to illustrate than explain. Imagine a function of x that is an array of functions and associated subdomains. The rule of what x is changes as input values vary. Our income tax system (yikes) would be one. Supposedly many models of our visual system are also PIECEWISE functions. Amusingly, group ticket sales could also be one – e.g. price of admission is $5 /person for a group of 1-9 or a fixed $50 fee for a group of 10 or more.
Speaking of “Let’s Make a Deal” having such a long run, I heard that today is the 50th anniversary of the very first “The Price is Right” I don’t watch the show, but…Wow. Didn’t Bob Barker start that?
Best –
17:08. Slow brain today. I also got another year older today. Celebrated with a 10+ mile mountain bike ride. 73 and still truckin’ along. 31 miles in the last 3 days. I’m surprised I can still walk!
8:29, no errors.
No errors.. thought this puzzle was a bit odd? Theme was of little value. Cute but not useful.
WOAH YESAND PIECEWISE
Don’t know DOCTOR DESOTO
37:20 no errors…for some reason 5D and 36A took forever.
Stay safe😀
Old joke — “I just spent 15 minutes chasing a floater around with a flyswatter.”
I can definitely relate! 😳😜🤪
@Jeff Thanx for the explanation of 5D guessed right @ 36A but just a guess I assume it’s a text phrase I’ve never seen.
OOps 30A not 36A
Old joke — “I spent the last 15 minutes chasing a floater around with a flyswatter.”
To add to Nonny , Duncan and Jeff’s sentiments :
The older I get , the better I was …
Cheers
Again, I can definitely relate! 😜
12:35, no errors.