0102-22 NY Times Crossword 2 Jan 22, Sunday

Constructed by: Paolo Pasco
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Color Mixing

Themed clues are pairs of COLORS; themed answers are arrived at by MIXING the letters in the corresponding clue:

  • 21A CERISE + LAVENDER = certain baby animals : REINDEER CALVES
  • 32A CORAL + GOLD = pet store purchase : DOG COLLAR
  • 46A AMBER + GREEN = imported brew : GERMAN BEER
  • 52A PEAR + CRIMSON = fighting group : MARINE CORPS
  • 60A LIME + MAGENTA = visualization : MENTAL IMAGE
  • 74A RUST + SCARLET = celestial group : STAR CLUSTER
  • 83A CREAM + PEACH = nonviolent protest : PEACE MARCH
  • 94A TEAL + OCHER = breakfast option : HOT CEREAL
  • 107A MAUVE + TANGERINE = restaurant handout : VEGETARIAN MENU

Bill’s time: 24m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Singer with the 2016 #1 album “A Seat at the Table” : SOLANGE

Solange Knowles is a singer/songwriter, and the younger sister of the incredibly successful singer Beyoncé. Solange was in the news a while back when security camera footage was released showing her punching and kicking Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z in an elevator.

13 Disney queen : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Spoiler alert: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seems to be a good guy for most of the film, but turns out to be a baddie in the end. And, a snowman named Olaf provides some comic relief.

18 Front lines? : FOREWORD

A preface is a book’s introduction that is written by the author himself or herself. A “foreword” is an introduction written by a different person, and precedes the author’s preface. Note the spelling of “foreword”, as opposed to the spelling of the relative direction “forward”. A book may also have an “afterword”, a commentary that may or may not be written by the author.

21 CERISE + LAVENDER = certain baby animals : REINDEER CALVES

The reindeer species of deer is also known as “caribou” in North America.

23 God sometimes depicted with green skin : OSIRIS

Osiris was the Egyptian god of the underworld. Osiris was the son of Geb the Earth god, and Nut the sky goddess. His wife Isis was also his sister. Osiris was killed and mutilated by Set, his own brother. Isis reassembled Osiris and revived him, just long enough that they could conceive their son Horus.

25 State in which “Parks & Recreation” is set: Abbr. : IND

“Parks and Recreation” is a sitcom that started airing on NBC in 2009, and is a show that has grown on me. It stars the “Saturday Night Live” alum Amy Poehler. The creators of “Parks and Recreation” are part of the team responsible for the American version of “The Office”, so you’ll notice some similarities in the style of the two shows, and some actors that have appeared in both.

36 Veto : NIX

The use of “to nix” as a verb, meaning “to shoot down”, dates back to the early 1900s. Before that, “nix” was just a noun meaning “nothing”. “Nix” comes from the German “nichts”, which also means “nothing”.

37 ___ stick : POGO

What we know today as a pogo stick was invented in Germany by Max Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall. The name “pogo” comes from the first two letters in each of the inventors’ family names: Po-hlig and Go-ttschall.

38 Quarterback who holds the N.F.L. record for most consecutive games started (297) : FAVRE

Brett Favre is best known as a former quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Favre retired in 2010 after playing with the Minnesota Vikings for a short time. Among the many NFL records held by Favre, he made the most consecutive starts.

43 One-named singer with the album “Lovers Rock” : SADE

Singer Sade’s real name is Helen Folasade Adu. Although born in Nigeria, Sade grew up and lives in the UK. She was the lead vocalist for the English group Sade, and adopted the name of the band. The band’s biggest hits were “Smooth Operator” (1984) and “The Sweetest Taboo” (1985).

48 Final Fantasy character who shares his name with a U.S. city : RENO

“Final Fantasy” is a series of fantasy role-playing video games that is much-respected in the gaming community. The first game was released back in 1987.

49 Sashay, say : STRUT

To sashay is to strut along in a showy manner. “Sashay” is an Anglicized form of the French word “chassé”, a sliding step used in square dancing.

50 ___ B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting : IDA

Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and leader of the civil rights movement. She published a pamphlet in 1892 called “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases”, which publicized the horrors of lynching of African Americans by white mobs in the South.

55 Hospital settings, briefly : ERS

Emergency room (ER)

58 Bo or bonsai : TREE

The term “bonsai” is used more correctly to describe the Japanese art of growing carefully shaped trees in containers, although it has come to be used as the name for all miniature trees in pots.

68 Subj. of some collegiate bragging : GPA

Grade point average (GPA)

73 “Herc could stop a show / Point him at a monster and you’re talking ___” (lyric in Disney’s “Hercules”) : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

78 Daughter in the comic strip “FoxTrot” : PAIGE

“FoxTrot” is a comic strip by Bill Amend that was first published in 1988. Originally appearing seven days a week, “Foxtrot” has been a Sunday-only offering since 2007. The strip’s main characters are the five members of the Fox family, and Quincy, the pet iguana belonging to the youngest Fox child.

87 Many an art print, briefly : LITHO

Lithography is a printing technique that was invented in 1796 as a cheap way to publish theatrical works. In the litho process the image is drawn on a metal plate, although originally it was drawn on a stone (hence the prefix “litho-“). The image is drawn in such a way that some regions of the plate repel ink, and then when paper is applied to the plate, those areas are ink-free. A “lithograph” is a print that is made using the technique, and is often a reproduction of a work of art.

92 Devotee, informally : STAN

“Stan” is a song by rapper Eminem (featuring Dido) that was recorded in 2000. The title refers to a fictional Eminem fan named “Stan” who becomes obsessed with the rapper, and who grows irate when his letters to his idol go unanswered. Stan’s final act is to make a voice recording as he drives into a river, with his pregnant girlfriend locked in the trunk. One of the legacies of the song is that “stan” is now used as a slang term for an obsessed and maniacal fan.

102 One towering over the rest of the field? : SILO

“Silo” is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English. The term ultimately derives from the Greek “siros”, which described a pit in which one kept corn.

103 Actress Rooney : MARA

Actress Rooney Mara is noted for her role in the 2010 film “The Social Network” and for playing the title character in the 2011 hit movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. Mara has American football in her blood. Her mother’s family founded the Pittsburgh Steelers, and her father’s family founded the New York Giants.

104 ___ Giedroyc, co-host of “The Great British Bake Off” : MEL

“The Great British Bake Off” is a television baking competition introduced by the BBC in the UK in 2010. The show was a phenomenal and perhaps surprising success almost immediately. “Bake Off” is rebroadcast in the US by PBS as “The Great British Baking Show”. There was great controversy in the UK in 2016 when the BBC couldn’t find the fund to pay the producers for the show, and so it had moved to a new channel, with a new set of hosts. The BBC hosts decided not to move with the show, saying they weren’t interested in the “dough” (their pun!).

105 Nappy : U.K. :: ___ : U.S. : DIAPER

“Diaper” is another word that I had to learn when I moved to America. What are called “diapers” over here, we call “nappies” back in Ireland. The term “diaper” is actually the original term that was used in England for the garment, where “diaper” referred to the cloth that was used. The term “diaper” was brought to the New World where it stuck. Back in Britain, “diaper” was displaced by the word “nappy”, a diminutive of “napkin”.

112 African antelope : ELAND

The eland (plural “eland, elands”) is a large African antelope, in fact the largest antelope on the planet. Both male and female eland have horns, and those horns have a steady spiral ridge along their length.

114 Goddess who turned Picus into a woodpecker : CIRCE

Circe was a minor goddess in Greek mythology. The goddess of magic, she was fond of transforming those who did not please her into animals by using magical potions. In Homer’s “Odyssey”, Odysseus was given the herb called “moly” to protect him from the magical powers of Circe.

116 Unbelievable rumors : CANARDS

“Canard” is the French word for “duck”. We use the term to describe a hoax or a misleading rumor. This usage comes from a phrase used in French that translates as “to half-sell a duck”, meaning “to cheat”.

Down

3 Christopher Street Day celebration : PRIDE PARADE

The first gay pride parades were held all on the same weekend in 1970, in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

7 Fantasy creature whose name is an anagram of another fantasy creature : ORC

According to Tolkien, Orcs are small humanoids that live in his fantasy world of Middle-earth (also called “Mordor”). They are very ugly and dirty, and are fond of eating human flesh.

The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, one reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants. The roc was said to come from the Indian subcontinent. The supposed existence of the roc was promulgated by Marco Polo in the accounts that he published about his travels through Asia.

11 Artist El ___ : GRECO

El Greco (“the Greek”, in Spanish) was the nickname of the artist whose real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos. El Greco was born in Crete in 1541, and moved to Venice to study art when he was in his early twenties. A few years later he moved to the city of Toledo in central Spain, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.

12 “The motor industry’s Titanic,” per a 1994 book : 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”.

13 Nwodim of “S.N.L.” : EGO

Actress and comedian Ego Nwodim joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 2018. She was a biology major at the University of Southern California, a classic foundation for a successful comedian …

16 “Wait for It” singer in “Hamilton” : AARON BURR

“Hamilton” is a 2015 musical based on the life of US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as described in the 2004 biography by Ron Chernow. The show opened off-Broadway in February 2015, and transferred to Broadway in August of the same year. Advance ticket sales for the Broadway production were unprecedented, and reportedly amounted to $30 million. The representations of the main characters are decidedly ground-breaking. The show is rooted in hip-hop and the main roles such as Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are all played by African-American and Hispanic actors.

18 Stave (off) : FEND

The word “stave” was originally the plural of “staff”, a word describing a wooden rod. To “stave off” originated with the concept of holding off with a staff. In the world of barrel-making, a stave is a narrow strip of wood that forms part of a barrel’s side.

22 Prefix with centric or vision : EURO-

Eurovision is a TV network that was founded in 1954 in Geneva. The network encompasses dozens of broadcasting organizations, not only in Europe, but around the world. Eurovision was set up initially to facilitate the exchange of TV programming. Today, the Eurovision brand is mainly associated (to the public) with multinational competitions that are arranged with a host broadcaster. The best example of such an event is the Eurovision Song Contest that is held annually. Another Eurovision event that was huge in Europe from the sixties through the nineties was “Jeux Sans Frontières”, a multinational TV game show.

24 Volleyball teams, e.g. : SEXTETS

Indoor volleyball was invented in 1895 and was originally called “mintonette”, a reference to the related game of “badminton”. The variant called beach volleyball originated in 1915 on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, but was popularized on the beaches of Santa Monica starting in 1920.

41 Wood in some incense : CEDAR

Cedar is used for the manufacture of some wardrobes and chests as it has long been believed that the fragrant oil in the wood is a moth-repellent. However, whether or not cedar oil is actually effective at keeping moths away seems to be in doubt.

43 Truth ___ : SERUM

\“Truth serum” is a common name given to any medication used to obtain information from subjects who are unwilling to give the information willingly. Examples of drugs used as a truth serum are scopolamine, sodium pentathol and ethanol (aka “alcohol”, like that served in a bar!).

44 “Jung at heart” persona? : ANIMA

The concepts of anima and animus are found in the Carl Jung school of analytical psychology. The idea is that within each male there resides a feminine inner personality called the anima, and within each female there is a male inner personality known as the animus.

52 Grinding tooth : MOLAR

Molars are grinding teeth. The term “molar” comes from the Latin “mola” meaning “millstone”.

63 Progressive alternative : GEICO

GEICO was founded in 1936 with a very specific mission, to provide auto insurance for employees of the federal government and their families, hence the name Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO). GEICO is a private company, despite the word “government” in its name. The founders’ idea was to focus on government employees as they believed such a group represented a lower risk profile than the rest of the population. Nowadays any qualifying person can take out a policy with GEICO.

67 One arranging for flood insurance? : NOAH

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, rain fell for forty days and forty nights, resulting in the Great Flood. All creatures on the land perished, except Noah, his family, and the animals that he brought into the ark.

77 Vessels hunted by K-ships : U-BOATS

The term “U-boat” comes from the German word “Unterseeboot” (undersea boat). U-boats were primarily used in WWII to enforce a blockade against enemy commercial shipping, with a main objective being to cut off the supplies being transported to Britain from the British colonies and the US. The epic fight for control of the supply routes became known as the Battle of the Atlantic.

78 Element in many henna designs : PETAL

Henna has been used for centuries as a dye, for leather and wool as well as hair and skin. In modern days, henna is often used for temporary tattoos.

84 Latin 101 word : AMAS

“Amo, amas, amat” translates from Latin as “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”.

91 Heavy footwear choice : BROGAN

A brogan is a heavy boot, with the original brogans being boots worn by soldiers on both sides during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Apparently some British soldiers in the Revolutionary War wore brogans that could be worn on either foot in an attempt to get more even wear.

92 Evening in Italy : SERA

In Italian, “pomeriggio” (afternoon) is followed by “sera” (evening).

95 Car model name made entirely of Roman numerals : CIVIC

Introduced in 1972, the Honda Civic is the second-oldest brand of Japanese car made for the US today (only the Toyota Corolla has been around longer). Today’s Civic is a compact car, but the original was smaller, and classed as a sub-compact. The first design had a transverse-mounted engine and front-wheel drive to save on space, copying the configuration introduced with the British Mini.

96 Novelist Ferrante : ELENA

Elena Ferrante is an Italian author, best known for her 4-part series known as the “Neapolitan Novels”. What is very interesting about “Ferrante” is that the moniker is a pseudonym, and no one seems to know the author’s real name. There is some speculation that “Elena” is in fact a man.

97 Of the flock : LAIC

Anything described as laic (or “laical, lay”) is related to the laity, those members of the church who are not clergy. The term “laic” ultimately comes from the Greek “laikos” meaning “of the people”.

99 Sooty channels : FLUES

The flue in a chimney is a duct that conveys exhaust gases from a fire to the outdoors. An important feature of a flue is that its opening is adjustable. When starting a fire, the flue should be wide open, maximizing airflow to get help ignition.

103 Diagnostic scans, for short : MRIS

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine uses powerful magnetic fields to generate images that can be used by medical professionals to diagnose injury and disease.

108 Clean energy grp. : EPA

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

109 Stuff in cigarettes, but not e-cigarettes : TAR

The partially-combusted particulate matter that is produced as a cigarette burns forms a resinous material called “tar”. Cigarette tar is different from the tar used on roads, but it is still very toxic. Marijuana smoke produces a very similar tar to cigarette smoke, and is just as dangerous.

111 Rapper known offstage as Mathangi Arulpragasam : MIA

“M.I.A.” is the stage name of British rap artist Maya Arulpragasam.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Game option represented by a flat palm : PAPER
6 Singer with the 2016 #1 album “A Seat at the Table” : SOLANGE
13 Disney queen : ELSA
17 Not clash : AGREE
18 Front lines? : FOREWORD
19 Said without saying : GOT AT
21 CERISE + LAVENDER = certain baby animals : REINDEER CALVES
23 God sometimes depicted with green skin : OSIRIS
25 State in which “Parks & Recreation” is set: Abbr. : IND
26 Pull some strings, maybe? : TUNE
27 Clinches : ICES
29 Chip away at : ERODE
30 Employee on an airline or cruise ship : STEWARD
32 CORAL + GOLD = pet store purchase : DOG COLLAR
36 Veto : NIX
37 ___ stick : POGO
38 Quarterback who holds the N.F.L. record for most consecutive games started (297) : FAVRE
39 “You’re on!” : IT’S A BET!
41 Train set : CARS
42 Tailor, maybe : ALTER
43 One-named singer with the album “Lovers Rock” : SADE
45 Lipstick choice : NUDE
46 AMBER + GREEN = imported brew : GERMAN BEER
48 Final Fantasy character who shares his name with a U.S. city : RENO
49 Sashay, say : STRUT
50 ___ B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting : IDA
51 A bunch : LOADS
52 PEAR + CRIMSON = fighting group : MARINE CORPS
54 Bottle flipping in the mid-2010s, e.g. : FAD
55 Hospital settings, briefly : ERS
56 Poster board? : FORUM
57 Max’s opposite : MIN
58 Bo or bonsai : TREE
60 LIME + MAGENTA = visualization : MENTAL IMAGE
64 [“You’re still talking?”] : [YAWN]
68 Subj. of some collegiate bragging : GPA
70 Actor Gallagher : AIDAN
71 Go astray : ERR
73 “Herc could stop a show / Point him at a monster and you’re talking ___” (lyric in Disney’s “Hercules”) : SRO
74 RUST + SCARLET = celestial group : STAR CLUSTER
78 Daughter in the comic strip “FoxTrot” : PAIGE
80 Cha chaan teng serving : TEA
81 Plot problems : HOLES
82 Dis-tressed : BALD
83 CREAM + PEACH = nonviolent protest : PEACE MARCH
85 Plantings lining the Literary Walk in Central Park : ELMS
86 Skier’s accessory : POLE
87 Many an art print, briefly : LITHO
88 “No injuries here” : I’M OK
89 2019 space film : AD ASTRA
91 B’s in math? : BETAS
92 Devotee, informally : STAN
93 A ways : FAR
94 TEAL + OCHER = breakfast option : HOT CEREAL
97 Absolves : LETS OFF
100 Fisher of 2018’s “Eighth Grade” : ELSIE
102 One towering over the rest of the field? : SILO
103 Actress Rooney : MARA
104 ___ Giedroyc, co-host of “The Great British Bake Off” : MEL
105 Nappy : U.K. :: ___ : U.S. : DIAPER
107 MAUVE + TANGERINE = restaurant handout : VEGETARIAN MENU
112 African antelope : ELAND
113 Frenzied : IN A PANIC
114 Goddess who turned Picus into a woodpecker : CIRCE
115 Throws in : ADDS
116 Unbelievable rumors : CANARDS
117 Takes the edge off : EASES

Down

1 2024 Olympics host : PARIS
2 Deal maker : AGENT
3 Christopher Street Day celebration : PRIDE PARADE
4 Still, for a poet : E’EN
5 Outlet store come-on : RED TAG SALE
6 Miffed : SORE
7 Fantasy creature whose name is an anagram of another fantasy creature : ORC
8 Rural setting : LEA
9 What’s the point of leatherwork? : AWL
10 Newcomer : NOVICE
11 Artist El ___ : GRECO
12 “The motor industry’s Titanic,” per a 1994 book : EDSEL
13 Nwodim of “S.N.L.” : EGO
14 Ne’er-do-wells : LOSERS
15 Keep from sticking, say : STIR
16 “Wait for It” singer in “Hamilton” : AARON BURR
18 Stave (off) : FEND
20 Got ready for guests, in a way : TIDIED UP
22 Prefix with centric or vision : EURO-
24 Volleyball teams, e.g. : SEXTETS
28 Lost traction while driving over : SLID ON
31 Sinuous dance that emulates a creature : WORM
32 3/4 and 7/8, e.g. : DATES
33 Done : OVER
34 Hound sound : GRR!
35 Homophone of the sum of this clue number’s digits : ATE
38 Took off : FLED
40 Who says “That I did love thee, Caesar, O, ’tis true” : ANTONY
41 Wood in some incense : CEDAR
42 Bring down : ABASE
43 Truth ___ : SERUM
44 “Jung at heart” persona? : ANIMA
46 Talent : GIFT
47 Par for the course : NORMAL
48 ___ to go : RARIN’
49 Chemistry, for one: Abbr. : SCI
52 Grinding tooth : MOLAR
53 Come out : EMERGE
56 High on marijuana, in slang : FADED
59 Way to go : EGRESS
61 Twangy, as a singer : NASAL
62 “Us,” “It” or “Her” : TITLE
63 Progressive alternative : GEICO
65 Ones doing stellar work : ASTRONOMERS
66 Total : WRECK
67 One arranging for flood insurance? : NOAH
69 Parts of many gaming rigs : PCS
72 Payment sent : REMITTANCE
74 In a bundle, as documents : SHEAFED
75 Wasn’t straight : TOLD A LIE
76 Culinary phrase after “pollo” or “scaloppine” : AL MARSALA
77 Vessels hunted by K-ships : U-BOATS
78 Element in many henna designs : PETAL
79 “I’m in heaven!” sounds : AAHS
83 Doner kebab bread : PITA
84 Latin 101 word : AMAS
86 For : PRO
87 Film director ___ Isaac Chung : LEE
90 “That’s it” : THE END
91 Heavy footwear choice : BROGAN
92 Evening in Italy : SERA
95 Car model name made entirely of Roman numerals : CIVIC
96 Novelist Ferrante : ELENA
97 Of the flock : LAIC
98 Cross swords : FENCE
99 Sooty channels : FLUES
101 Modern checkout device : IPAD
103 Diagnostic scans, for short : MRIS
106 Map lines: Abbr. : RDS
108 Clean energy grp. : EPA
109 Stuff in cigarettes, but not e-cigarettes : TAR
110 “… is there more?” : … AND?
111 Rapper known offstage as Mathangi Arulpragasam : MIA