0114-22 NY Times Crossword 14 Jan 22, Friday

Constructed by: Matthew Stock & Sid Sivakumar
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 19m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 St. Louis clock setting, briefly : CST

Central Standard Time (CST)

The city of St. Louis, Missouri was settled by French explorers in 1763. Sitting on the Mississippi River, it grew into a very busy port. By the 1850s, it was the second busiest port in the country, with only New York moving more freight. St. Louis was named for Louis IX of France. Louis was canonized in 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII, and was the only French king to be declared a saint.

14 Where to try out some gunpowder? : TEA TASTING

Gunpowder tea is a mainly Chinese green tea in which the leaves are rolled into small pellets. Apparently the resulting grains of tea resemble black powder, giving the name “gunpowder tea”. There is also a variety known as Formosa gunpowder grown in Taiwan, and a Ceylon gunpowder grown in Sri Lanka.

15 Italian verse form : RIMA

“Rima” is Italian for “rhyme”.

17 ___ Academy, organization for self-paced education online : KHAN

“Khan Academy” is a not-for-profit organization that aims to provide a “free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere”. Founded by educator Sal Khan in 2006, the academy mainly teaches mathematics and science through the medium of YouTube videos. Check out some of the videos. They are really excellent …

23 Author of “What I Know for Sure,” familiarly : OPRAH

What can you say about Oprah Winfrey that hasn’t been said already? Born into poverty to a single mother and with a harrowing childhood, Oprah is now the greatest African American philanthropist the world has ever known. Oprah’s name was originally meant to be “Orpah” after the Biblical character in the Book of Ruth, and that’s how it appears on her birth certificate. Apparently folks had trouble pronouncing “Orpah”, so she’s now “Oprah”.

24 Place of rest away from everything : OASIS

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.

26 ___ Jones : DOW

Dow Jones & Company was founded as a publishing house in 1882 by three newspaper reporters, Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser. Today, the company’s most famous publication has to be “The Wall Street Journal”. In 1884, Charles Dow started reporting the average dollar value of the stock of eleven companies, an index which spawned a whole host of metrics that carry the Dow Jones name to this day. The most famous of these metrics is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), also known as “the Dow 30” or simply “the Dow”.

27 What purple prose and technical jargon have in common : VERBIAGE

Purple prose is writing that is overly ornate and flowery, so much so that it draws attention to itself, and detracts from the narrative.

The noun “jargon” can describe nonsensical and meaningless talk, or the specialized language of a particular group, trade or profession. The term “jargon” is Old French, with the more usual meaning of “chattering”. How apt …

29 Donations for life? : OVA

“Ovum” (plural “ova”) is Latin for “egg”.

35 Build-your-own IHOP order : OMELETTE

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests.

38 They outrank viscounts : EARLS

In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquis. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquis and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known as a countess.

42 Dandy accessories : CRAVATS

The cravat originated in Croatia and was an accessory used with a military uniform. Cravats were introduced to the fashion-conscious French by Croatian mercenaries enlisted into a regiment of the French army. The English placed a lot of emphasis on the knot used for the cravat, and in the period after the Battle of Waterloo the cravat came to be known as a “tie”. What we now call a tie in English is still called a “cravate” in French.

46 Abbr. near zero : OPER

On the buttons of a phone you often see TUV on the 8-key and OPER (for “operator”) on the 0-key. Well, you used to …

51 Sith superpower : EVIL EMPIRE

The Sith are characters in the “Star Wars” universe who use the “dark side” of “the Force”, and as such are the antithesis of the Jedi Knights. Members of the Sith use the title “Darth” before their name, as in Darth Vader. The last made of the six “Star Wars” movies is called “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.

Down

1 Headwear for many a barbershop quartet singer : BOATER

A boater is a straw hat often associated with boating, hence the name.

Barbershop music is played in the a cappella style, meaning that it is unaccompanied vocal music. Barbershop music originated in the African-American communities in the South, as gospel quartets often gathered in neighborhood barber shops to sing together.

2 Google Docs feature : AUTOSAVE

Google Docs is a word processing application that is part of the Google Drive suite of services. In fact, I am typing this blog post right now in Google Docs.

3 Org. whose initials are found in “unsafe,” ironically : NSA

National Security Agency (NSA)

5 One who’s light-headed? : MOTH

It isn’t really understood why moths are attracted to artificial lights. There is one theory that sounds plausible to me though. It is suggested that moths navigate at night by maintaining the moon (the brightest celestial object) at a fixed angle. When a moth finds a brighter light source, like an artificial light, it gets confused.

6 Footwear brand : AVIA

The “Avia” brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

7 Osaka and others : TENNIS ACES

Naomi Osaka is a Japanese-born tennis professional who became the first Asian player to be ranked number-one in singles.

8 Bit of work : ERG

An erg is a unit of mechanical work or energy. It is a small unit, with one joule comprising 10 million ergs. It has been suggested that an erg is about the amount of energy required for a mosquito to take off. The term comes from “ergon”, the Greek word for work.

9 Hybrid fair fare : CHILI DOG

The full name of the dish that is often called simply “chili” is “chili con carne”, Spanish for “peppers with meat”. The dish was created by immigrants from the Spanish Canary Islands in the city of San Antonio, Texas (a city which the islanders founded). The San Antonio Chili Stand was a popular attraction at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and that stand introduced the dish to the rest of America and to the world.

14 DoorDash designation : TO-GO

DoorDash is the largest food delivery company in the country. Customers can order food from many different restaurants using the DoorDash app, and a DoorDash driver delivers it to a home or office. DoorDash also operates ghost kitchens, facilities that prepare meals for delivery customers of a group of restaurants.

20 Once-ler’s opponent in a Dr. Seuss book : THE LORAX

“The Lorax” is a children’s book written by Dr. Seuss. It is an allegorical work questioning the problems created by industrialization, and in particular its impact on the environment. At one point in the story, the Lorax “speaks for the trees, for the trees have no tongues”. “The Lorax” was adapted into an animated film that was released in 2012, with Danny DeVito voicing the title character.

30 World of ___ : WARCRAFT

World of Warcraft is an online role-playing game (RPG). My son informs me that the game is not that great. Like I would know …

39 Skill event that might follow barrel racing : ROPING

Barrel racing is an event featured in rodeos. Competitors on horses race around barrels in a cloverleaf pattern, each trying to complete the course in the fastest time. The event tends to be confined to male and female youths, and to women riders.

40 Bath water unit : LITRE

On the other side of the Atlantic we use the French spelling for measurements that originated in French, so “metre” for “meter” and “litre” for “liter”.

Bath is a beautiful city in South West England of which I have very fond memories. It is an old Roman spa town, and the city’s name comes from the Roman baths that have been excavated and restored.

41 Blackthorn : SLOE

The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin. A sloe looks like a small plum, but is usually much more tart in taste.

48 “___ Enchanted” (2004 romantic comedy) : ELLA

“Ella Enchanted” is a fantasy novel written by Gail Carson Levine, and published in 1997. It is a retelling of the story of Cinderella, with lots of mythical creatures added. A film adaptation was released in 2004 that features Anne Hathaway in the title role.

52 Miroir image? : MOI

In French, when I look in the “miroir” (mirror), I see “moi” (me).

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 One playing second fiddle, perhaps : BANDMATE
9 St. Louis clock setting, briefly : CST
12 Move a cursor across : MOUSE-OVER
13 Burn : CHAR
14 Where to try out some gunpowder? : TEA TASTING
15 Italian verse form : RIMA
16 “Cars 2” competitor ___ Bonn : OTTO
17 ___ Academy, organization for self-paced education online : KHAN
18 Kicked butt : RULED
19 They can be friendly while patronizing : GUESTS
21 Not allowed to go back, say : IN EXILE
23 Author of “What I Know for Sure,” familiarly : OPRAH
24 Place of rest away from everything : OASIS
26 ___ Jones : DOW
27 What purple prose and technical jargon have in common : VERBIAGE
29 Donations for life? : OVA
30 Modern source of juice : WIRELESS CHARGER
34 Summer sip suffix : -ADE
35 Build-your-own IHOP order : OMELETTE
36 “Coolio!” : RAD!
37 Responds to an alarm, in a way : RISES
38 They outrank viscounts : EARLS
42 Dandy accessories : CRAVATS
44 Stir-fry recipe step : ADD OIL
45 “Cool it!” : RELAX!
46 Abbr. near zero : OPER
49 Doing : UP TO
50 Assents asea : AYES
51 Sith superpower : EVIL EMPIRE
53 Stronghold : FORT
54 “This better not get out” : TELL NO ONE
55 When repeated, an expression of disapproval : TUT
56 Playing God? : CREATING

Down

1 Headwear for many a barbershop quartet singer : BOATER
2 Google Docs feature : AUTOSAVE
3 Org. whose initials are found in “unsafe,” ironically : NSA
4 Hotels have ones in front : DESKS
5 One who’s light-headed? : MOTH
6 Footwear brand : AVIA
7 Osaka and others : TENNIS ACES
8 Bit of work : ERG
9 Hybrid fair fare : CHILI DOG
10 2013 Macklemore/Ryan Lewis hit with the lyric “And I can’t change, even if I tried” : SAME LOVE
11 Conflict that may involve sanctions : TRADE WAR
12 Got together : MET UP
13 Heart : CRUX
14 DoorDash designation : TO-GO
18 Shifted in a theater, say : RESEATED
20 Once-ler’s opponent in a Dr. Seuss book : THE LORAX
22 When repeated, call to someone going to bed : NIGHT
24 Go gaga for : OBSESS OVER
25 Choice in a cabin : AISLE
28 “Please ___” (printed request) : REMIT
30 World of ___ : WARCRAFT
31 It’s a challenge : I DARE YOU
32 “Warning!” : RED ALERT
33 Study : READ UP ON
39 Skill event that might follow barrel racing : ROPING
40 Bath water unit : LITRE
41 Blackthorn : SLOE
43 Like the universe : VAST
44 Fail to be : AREN’T
47 Accumulation : PILE
48 “___ Enchanted” (2004 romantic comedy) : ELLA
51 …: Abbr. : ETC
52 Miroir image? : MOI