0928-21 NY Times Crossword 28 Sep 21, Tuesday

Constructed by: Meghan Morris
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer Angle

Themed answers each include a type of ANGLE. That ANGLE also crosses circled letters in the grid that spell out ANGLE:

  • 31D Relationship of the circled letters to the apt words they connect to in this puzzle : ANGLE
  • 17A Refusing to understand : BEING OBTUSE
  • 40A 1989 Spike Lee title offering good, if vague, advice : DO THE RIGHT THING
  • 63A One of a résumé pair? : ACUTE ACCENT

Bill’s time: 10m 48s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Carne ___ (taco option) : ASADA

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

11 B’way’s “___ Miz” : LES

The 1980 musical “Les Misérables” is an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The show opened in London in 1985, and is the longest running musical in the history of London’s West End. My wife and I saw “Les Miz” in the Queen’s Theatre in London many years ago, but were only able to get tickets in the very back row. The theater seating is very steep, so the back row of the balcony is extremely high over the stage. One of the big events in the storyline is the building of a street barricade over which the rebels fight. At the height we were seated we could see the stagehands behind the barricade, sitting drinking Coke, even smoking cigarettes. On cue, the stagehands would get up and catch a dropped rifle, or an actor who had been shot. It was pretty comical. I didn’t really enjoy the show that much, to be honest. Some great songs, but the musical version of the storyline just didn’t seem to hang together for me.

19 Org. enforcing RICO laws : FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was set up in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), with the name changing in 1935. The Bureau was set up at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt was largely moved to do so after the 1901 assassination of President McKinley, as there was a perception that anarchists were threatening law and order. The FBI’s motto uses the organization’s initialism, and is “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity”.

The RICO Act is more fully called the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The law was used largely to prosecute members of the Mafia in the seventies, and has been applied more broadly since.

21 Like Prince William vis-à-vis Prince Harry : ELDER

The British laws of royal succession changed in 2013. The centuries old law dictated that males in a family were ranked higher than all females, regardless of age. The current line of succession is:

  1. Prince Charles (Elizabeth’s eldest son)
  2. Prince William (Charles’ eldest son)
  3. Prince George (William’s eldest child)
  4. Princess Charlotte (William’s second-oldest child)
  5. Prince Louis (William’s third-oldest child)
  6. Prince Harry (Charles’ second-oldest son)

Under the old system, when Prince William and his wife had Prince Louis, the male child would have bumped Princess Charlotte down one rung of the ladder. Under the new system, Princess Charlotte gets to “hold her ground”.

24 Language from which “bandana” comes : URDU

Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of the 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

30 Org. supporting mom-and-pop stores : SBA

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a government agency with the mission of assisting small businesses. The SBA doesn’t give loans itself, but it does act as a guarantor under the right circumstances. The SBA was set up in 1953, and isn’t a favorite with fiscal conservatives.

37 When a football might be hiked : ON TWO

The quarterback (QB) starts each play in football with a snap (also called a “hike”). He announces to his teammates the exact moment of the snap by calling out signals, usually including the word “hut” one or more times in a prearranged sequence.

40 1989 Spike Lee title offering good, if vague, advice : DO THE RIGHT THING

“Do the Right Thing” is a Spike Lee movie that was released in 1989. Much of the action in the film is centered on a local pizzeria called “Sal’s” owned by Italian-American Salvatore Frangione (played by Danny Aiello).

43 Runner’s midsection? : ENS

The word “runner” has two letters N (ens) in the midsection.

46 Samovar : TEA URN

The samovar originated in Russia. It is a water boiler, one usually used for making tea. As such, there is often an attachment on top of a samovar to keep a teapot warm.

48 One of football’s Mannings : ELI

Eli Manning is a retired footballer who played quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli’s brother Peyton Manning retired from football as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 2015. Eli and Peyton’s father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback. Eli, Peyton and Archie co-authored a book for children titled “Family Huddle” in 2009. It describes the Mannings playing football together as young boys.

50 Jennifer who wrote “A Visit From the Goon Squad” : EGAN

Jennifer Egan is an author who grew up in San Francisco. Egan’s 2010 work “A Visit from the Goon Squad” won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Usually termed a novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” is structured in such a way that it is sometimes described as a collection of linked short stories.

51 Fort ___, N.C. : BRAGG

Fort Bragg in North Carolina is a very large army installation that covers over 250 square miles. The base is named for General Braxton Bragg, the native North Carolinian who commanded the Confederate Army forces during the Civil War.

Braxton Bragg was a US Army officer from Warrenton, North Carolina who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. After Bragg’s forces were routed at the Battles for Chattanooga, Bragg was recalled in 1864 to Richmond where he served as military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. After the war, Bragg worked at the New Orleans waterworks, supervised the work at the harbor in Mobile, Alabama and worked on the railroad in Texas.

55 Derby cocktail : JULEP

A mint julep is a bourbon-based cocktail that is associated with the American South, and with the Kentucky Derby in particular. If you’d like to make yourself a mint julep, one recipe is:

  • 3 oz of Bourbon
  • 4-6 sprigs of mint
  • granulated sugar to taste

The first Kentucky Derby took place in 1875, and is a race modeled on the Epsom Derby in England and the Grand Prix de Paris (now called the “Prix de l‘Arc de Triomphe”). As such, the Kentucky Derby was run over 1½ miles, although in 1896 this was shortened to 1¼ miles. The winning horse is presented with a very elaborate blanket made of red roses, and so the Derby is nicknamed “Run for the Roses”. The race is held on the first Saturday in May each year, and is limited to 3-year-old horses.

59 ___ page (help source) : FAQ

Most websites have a page listing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Even this blog has one!

62 Actress de Armas : ANA

Ana de Armas is an actress from Cuba. Having attended the National Theater School of Cuba, she moved to Spain at the age of 18. Thre, she made a name for herself in a Spanish TV series called “El Internado”. De Armas moved to Los Angeles in 2014, after which her performance opposite Ryan Gosling in 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049” earned her critical acclaim.

63 One of a résumé pair? : ACUTE ACCENT

A résumé is a summary of a person’s job experience and education and is used as a tool by a job seeker. In many countries, a résumé is equivalent to a curriculum vitae. “Résumé” is the French word for “summary”.

67 Motorola phones : RAZRS

The Razr is a series of smartphones introduced by Motorola in 2003. The “Razr” name was chosen in part because of the phone’s relatively thin form factor.

70 Romeo and Juliet had one : TRYST

In the most general sense, a tryst is a meeting at an agreed time and place. More usually we consider a tryst to be a pre-arranged meeting between lovers. The term comes from the Old French “triste”, a waiting place designated when hunting. Further, a tryst taking place at lunchtime is sometimes referred to as a nooner.

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is all about the love between the two title characters, which is forbidden as the pair come from two families who are sworn enemies. Early in the play, Romeo (a Montague) sneaks into a masquerade ball being held by the Capulets in the hope of meeting a Capulet girl named Rosaline. Instead, he meets and falls for Juliet, also a Capulet. Tragedy ensues …

71 Cockpit array : DIALS

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the original “cockpit” was a “pit” used for fighting “cocks”. The term was then applied nautically, as the name for the compartment below decks used as living quarters by midshipmen. The cockpit of a boat today, usually on a smaller vessel, is a sunken area towards the stern in which sits the helmsman and others (who can fit!). The usage extended to aircraft in the 1910s and to cars in the 1930s.

Down

1 Actress Jessica : ALBA

Actress Jessica Alba got her big break when she was cast in the Fox science fiction show “Dark Angel”. Alba had a tough life growing up as she spent a lot of time in hospital and so found it difficult to develop friendships. As a youngster she twice had a collapsed lung, frequently caught pneumonia, suffered from asthma, had a ruptured appendix and a tonsillar cyst. On top of all that, Alba acknowledges that she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child.

4 With 14-Across, longtime CNN host : DON
(14A See 4-Down : LEMON)

Don Lemon is a TV journalist and news anchor based in New York who hosts the show “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon”.

6 Co-founder of the N.A.A.C.P. and author of “The Souls of Black Folk” : WEB DU BOIS

W. E. B. Du Bois was a sociologist and civil rights activist from Massachusetts. Du Bois was the first African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard, and went on to become a professor at Atlanta University. In 1909, he was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

7 Works in the Galleria degli Uffizi : ARTE

The Uffizi Gallery (“Galleria degli Uffizi” in Italian) is one of the oldest art museums in the western world and is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy. The Palazzo was built in 1560, intended to house the offices of the Florentine magistrates. This original usage gave the gallery its name, as “uffizi” is Italian for “offices”.

8 Island nation that’s the world’s smallest republic : NAURU

Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation, and is located in the South Pacific 300 km to the east of Kiribati. The island was taken as a colony by Germany in the late 1800s, and came under the administration of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom after WWI. The Japanese invaded during WWII, but Nauru was one of the islands that was bypassed in the US advance across the Pacific towards Japan. Nauru achieved independence in 1968.

12 Actor Idris with an O.B.E. : ELBA

English actor Idris Elba plays the drug lord Stringer Bell in the marvelous HBO drama series “The Wire”, and played the title character in the 2013 film “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”. Off the screen, Elba occasionally appears as a disk jockey using the name “DJ Big Driis”.

23 Year in the reign of Nero : LIX

Nero was Emperor of Rome from 54 to 68 CE, and towards the end of his reign participated in the Olympic Games in the year 67. The Roman leader raced in a ten-horse chariot, of which he lost control and nearly perished after being thrown from the vehicle. Acting and singing were Olympic events back then, and Nero also took part in those competitions. By all accounts, Nero performed badly in every event in which he vied, and yet somehow still managed to win Olympic crowns that he paraded around Rome on his return from Greece. Just before he died, Nero reportedly declared, “What an artist the world is losing in me!”

24 Six-sided state : UTAH

When viewed on a map of the US, the state of Utah has six sides. It’s almost shaped like a rectangle, but there is a “bite” out of that rectangle in the northeast corner of the state.

26 Abbr. on a wrapper : NT WT

Net weight (nt. wt.)

27 Air Force Academy student : CADET

The US Air Force Academy (USAFA) is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I had the privilege not too long ago of visiting the Academy, and what an impressive campus it is. When the USAF Academy graduated its first class in 1959, it became the youngest of the five service academies to do so. Significantly, female candidates were first accepted by the academy in 1976, and today the graduating classes include over 20% women.

31 Relationship of the circled letters to the apt words they connect to in this puzzle : ANGLE

In geometry, there are several classes of angles:

  • Acute (< 90 degrees) 
  • Right (= 90 degrees) 
  • Obtuse (> 90 degrees and < 180 degrees) 
  • Straight (180 degrees) 
  • Reflex (> 180 degrees)

33 “American ___ Warrior” : NINJA

“American Ninja Warrior” is an entertaining, televised sports competition that is a spin-off of the very popular Japanese show “Sasuke”. Competitors have to navigate their way through a series of very challenging obstacles in the fastest time possible.

34 Scientist who said “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark” : SAGAN

Carl Sagan was a brilliant astrophysicist, and a great communicator. He was famous for presenting obscure concepts about the cosmos in such a way that we mere mortals could appreciate. Sagan also wrote the novel “Contact” that was adapted into a fascinating 1997 film of the same name starring Jodie Foster.

49 Store with a one-way route through its cavernous space : IKEA

The IKEA furniture chain was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17-years-old. IKEA is an acronym standing for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.

55 Language that may be used in 56-Down : JAVA

56 See 55-Down : UNIX

Java is a programming language that was developed by Sun Microsystems. Java was originally designed for interactive television, but it didn’t fit the needs at the time. Back then, the language was called Oak, named after an oak tree that stood outside the designer’s office. Later it was called Green, and finally named Java, which was simply picked out of a list of random words.

Unix is a computer operating system that was developed at Bell Labs in 1969. The initial name for the project was Uniplexed Information and Computing Service (Unics), and this evolved over time into “Unix”.

58 Much mail: Abbr. : LTRS

Letter (ltr.)

59 Cheese in a Greek salad : FETA

Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk, or a mixture of sheep and goat’s milk. The cheese is salted and cured in a brine solution for several months before it is eaten.

60 Seriously uptight : ANAL

The use of the word “anal” to mean “stiffly conventional” is an abbreviated form of “anal-retentive”, a term derived from Freudian psychology. Regardless, I’m not a big fan of the term …

61 Periods in the N.B.A.: Abbr. : QTRS

Quarter (qtr.)

64 It might be jacked up : CAR

“Jack” is a nickname for “John”. Back in the 1500s, the term “jack” came to be used colloquially to describe any man of low status (as in “jack of all trades, master of none”). The usage was extended to describe any tool that saved work, perhaps replaced menial labor. By the end of the 1600s, the term “jack” became particularly associated with a portable device used to lift heavy weights using leverage.

65 Forensic abbr. : CSI

Crime scene investigation (CSI)

Something described as forensic is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The term comes from the Latin “forensis” meaning “of a forum, of a place of assembly”. We mainly use the word today to mean “pertaining to legal trials” as in “forensic medicine” and “forensic science”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Carne ___ (taco option) : ASADA
6 Ebbed : WANED
11 B’way’s “___ Miz” : LES
14 See 4-Down : LEMON
15 Backspace through, say : ERASE
16 Type : ILK
17 Refusing to understand : BEING OBTUSE
19 Org. enforcing RICO laws : FBI
20 Tack on : ADD
21 Like Prince William vis-à-vis Prince Harry : ELDER
22 Beg : PLEAD
24 Language from which “bandana” comes : URDU
25 Strip sails and ropes from : UNRIG
27 Put in a movie role : CAST
30 Org. supporting mom-and-pop stores : SBA
32 Targets of cleanses : TOXINS
35 Bothered a lot : ATE AT
37 When a football might be hiked : ON TWO
39 Through : VIA
40 1989 Spike Lee title offering good, if vague, advice : DO THE RIGHT THING
43 Runner’s midsection? : ENS
44 Much-requested airplane seat : AISLE
45 Actress Sohn of “The Wire” : SONJA
46 Samovar : TEA URN
48 One of football’s Mannings : ELI
50 Jennifer who wrote “A Visit From the Goon Squad” : EGAN
51 Fort ___, N.C. : BRAGG
53 Aliases, informally : AKAS
55 Derby cocktail : JULEP
57 Change : ALTER
59 ___ page (help source) : FAQ
62 Actress de Armas : ANA
63 One of a résumé pair? : ACUTE ACCENT
66 To wit: Abbr. : VIZ
67 Motorola phones : RAZRS
68 Spanish 101 verb : ESTAR
69 Bit of firefighting equipment : AXE
70 Romeo and Juliet had one : TRYST
71 Cockpit array : DIALS

Down

1 Actress Jessica : ALBA
2 Germ : SEED
3 Surrounded by : AMID
4 With 14-Across, longtime CNN host : DON
5 Rile up : ANGER
6 Co-founder of the N.A.A.C.P. and author of “The Souls of Black Folk” : WEB DU BOIS
7 Works in the Galleria degli Uffizi : ARTE
8 Island nation that’s the world’s smallest republic : NAURU
9 Certain curve : ESS
10 Strong connection, as to one’s land : DEEP ROOTS
11 Animating : LIFE-GIVING
12 Actor Idris with an O.B.E. : ELBA
13 Lose traction : SKID
18 Alero or Aurora, informally : OLDS
23 Year in the reign of Nero : LIX
24 Six-sided state : UTAH
26 Abbr. on a wrapper : NT WT
27 Air Force Academy student : CADET
28 Make amends (for) : ATONE
29 Fires up? : SETS ABLAZE
31 Relationship of the circled letters to the apt words they connect to in this puzzle : ANGLE
33 “American ___ Warrior” : NINJA
34 Scientist who said “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark” : SAGAN
36 Rend : TEAR APART
38 What’s new? : THE LATEST
41 Part of a wedding ceremony : RING
42 Digs up, in a way : HOES
47 Suffix with architect : -URE
49 Store with a one-way route through its cavernous space : IKEA
52 Like many bridal veils : GAUZY
54 Like paths of missiles : ARCED
55 Language that may be used in 56-Down : JAVA
56 See 55-Down : UNIX
58 Much mail: Abbr. : LTRS
59 Cheese in a Greek salad : FETA
60 Seriously uptight : ANAL
61 Periods in the N.B.A.: Abbr. : QTRS
64 It might be jacked up : CAR
65 Forensic abbr. : CSI