0127-22 NY Times Crossword 27 Jan 22, Thursday

Constructed by: Lewis Rothlein & Jeff Chen
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Repeat

Themed answers include 4-letter strings that are repeated, shown with musical “repeat symbols” in the printed and online grids (but not mine!):

  • 47D What two sets of dots within double lines indicate, in musical scores : REPEAT
  • 17A Question after a digression : NOW, WHERE WERE WE?
  • 30A Who wrote “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past” : GEORGE ORWELL
  • 35A Classic John Donne line : NO MAN IS AN ISLAND
  • 41A Garden produce named for an Italian city : ROMA TOMATOES
  • 57A Go on horseback à la Lady Godiva : RIDE SIDESADDLE

Bill’s time: 12m 09s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 German physicist after whom a unit of magnetism is named : GAUSS

Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist, by all accounts a child prodigy and one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He did a lot of work in the field of magnetism in his latter years, and for this the metric system’s unit of magnetic induction was given the name “gauss”.

20 Nonkosher lunch order : BLT

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

According to Jewish dietary laws, kosher food is fit to eat, and food that is not fit to eat is referred to as treif (or “tref”). The usage of “kosher” has extended to include anything considered legitimate.

21 Villain in the DC Universe : ARES

Superhero Wonder Woman first appeared in print in 1941, in a publication from DC Comics. As she was created during WWII, Wonder Woman’s first foes were the axis powers. In the less realistic world her biggest foe was and still is Ares, a “baddie” named after the Greek mythological figure. Wonder Woman had several signature expressions, including “Merciful Minerva!”, “Suffering Sappho!” and “Great Hera!”. She also has several devices that she uses in her quest for justice, e.g. the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets and a tiara that can be used as a deadly projectile. Wonder Woman uses the name “Diana Prince” when “out of uniform”.

22 It can be a show-stopper : REMOTE

The first television remote control was introduced by Zenith Radio Corporation, in 1950. That remote was hard-wired to the TV, and was marketed as “Lazy Bones”. Personally, my first “remote” was a broomstick that I used by pushing in large mechanical buttons that selected each of the three channels that were available back then on the east coast of Ireland …

24 Foofaraw : ADO

Foofaraw is excessive or flashy ornamentation, or a fuss over something that is unimportant.

25 O.R. staffers : RNS

A registered nurse (RN) might work in an operating room (OR).

26 “I’m with ___” (2016 campaign slogan) : HER

“I’m With Her” is a campaign slogan used by the 2016 campaign to elect Hillary Clinton as US president.

27 Easy mark : SAP

“Sap” is slang for “fool, someone easily scammed”. The term arose in the early 1800s in Britain when it was used in “saphead” and “sapskull”. All these words are derived from “sapwood”, which is the softwood found in tree trunks between the bark and the heartwood at the center.

28 Alaskan peak : DENALI

“Denali” means “the high one” in the native Athabaskan language, and is now the name used for Mount McKinley. Denali’s summit stands at 20,237 feet, making it the highest mountain peak in North America. I was surprised to learn that there is a Denali State Park, as well as the Denali National Park. The two are located adjacent to each other (which makes sense!). The State Park is undeveloped for all practical purposes, with just a few campgrounds and trailheads.

30 Who wrote “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past” : GEORGE ORWELL

George Orwell’s famous novel actually has the title “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (as opposed to “1984”), with the date spelled out.

32 1970s-’80s Renaults : LE CARS

French automaker Renault made the “mini-like” Renault 5 and sold it as the Renault Le Car in North America. My Dad had a Renault 5 in Ireland, back in the day …

35 Classic John Donne line : NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

John Donne wrote a piece of prose called “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions”. One passage contains two phrases that are oft-quoted: “No man is an island”, and “for whom the bell tolls”.

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

40 Republican politico Michael : STEELE

Michael Steele served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2009 to 2011, and was the first African American to fill the post.

41 Garden produce named for an Italian city : ROMA TOMATOES

The Roma tomato isn’t considered an heirloom variety but it is very popular with home gardeners, especially those gardeners that don’t have a lot of space. It is a bush type (as opposed to vine type) and needs very little room to provide a lot of tomatoes.

52 Young celebrity socialite : IT GIRL

Clara Bow was a fabulous silent film star, with her most famous movie being “It” from 1927. Clara Bow’s performance was so celebrated in the movie that she was forever to be known as the “It girl”. The term “it” was a euphemism for “sex appeal”, and that is what Clara Bow was known to “exude”. Bow applied her red lipstick in the shape of a heart, and women who copied this style were said to put on a “Clara Bow”. We now use the term “it girl” more generally to describe a celebrity or personality perceived to exhibit sex appeal.

57 Go on horseback à la Lady Godiva : RIDE SIDESADDLE

In the legend of Lady Godiva, the noblewoman rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England, basically as a dare from her husband in return for relieving the taxes of his tenants. Lady Godiva issued instructions that all the town’s inhabitants should stay indoors while she made her journey. However, a tailor in the town named Tom disobeyed the instructions by boring holes in the shutters on his windows, and “peeped”. As a result, Peeping Tom was struck blind, and the term “peeping Tom” has been in our language ever since.

60 “Forever, ___” (1996 humor book) : ERMA

Erma Bombeck wrote for newspapers for about 35 years. She produced more than 4,000 witty and humorous columns under the title “At Wit’s End”, with all describing her home life in suburbia.

62 Wasatch Mountains resort town : ALTA

Alta ski resort actually lies within the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area. The first ski lift in the resort was opened way back in 1939. Today, Alta is one of only three ski resorts in the country that prohibits snowboarding (along with Deer Valley, Utah and Mad River Glen, Vermont. The ski resort of Snowbird, located next to Alta, has been in operation since 1971.

The Wasatch Range is at the western edge of the Rocky Mountains and runs through Utah. “Wasatch” is a Ute word meaning “mountain pass”.

63 Tanners’ supplies : DYES

Leather is made from animal skins. When the flesh, fat and hair is removed from the skin and it is dried, the resulting product is rawhide. Further treatment of the skin with chemicals that permanently alter the protein structure of the skin is known as tanning, and the resulting product is leather.

65 Dennis the Menace, e.g. : PEST

“Dennis the Menace” is a comic strip that first appeared in 1951, and was originally drawn by Hank Ketcham. The strip made the jump over the years from the newspaper to television and the silver screen. Dennis’s full name is Dennis Mitchell, and his parents are Henry and Alice (Johnson) Mitchell. Dennis’s nemesis is his neighbor, Mister George Everett Wilson. Hank Ketcham drew his inspiration for the story from his real life. When he introduced the strip he had a 4-year-old son called Dennis, and a wife named Alice.

Down

1 Storied mariner : SINBAD

“Sinbad” is the stage name of standup comedian and actor David Adkins. Adkins chose the stage name early in his career, simply in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. Sinbad has certainly achieved success, but has had trouble managing his finances. He owed a lot of money to the state of California for taxes, and had to declare bankruptcy in 2010.

2 Princess in a Wagner opera : ISOLDE

“Tristan und Isolde” is an epic opera by Richard Wagner (Wagner … not one of my favorites!). Many see the work as the first serious move away from the traditional harmony and tonality of the classical and romantic eras.

Richard Wagner was born in the Jewish quarter of Leipzig in 1813. Decades later, Wagner became known not only for writing magnificent music, but also for his anti-semitic views and writings.

3 “Principia” author, 1687 : NEWTON

Sir Isaac Newton’s 1687 publication “Principia” lays out his laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation. The full title of the work is “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” (“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” in Latin).

4 London district famous for its botanic garden : KEW

Kew Gardens is a beautiful location in southwest London that was formerly known as the Royal Botanic Gardens. Kew Gardens has the world’s largest collection of different living plants.

5 Picasso antiwar masterpiece : GUERNICA

“Guernica” is a painting by Pablo Picasso that he completed in 1937. Picasso painted it soon after the aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The attack was carried out by German warplanes sent by Adolf Hitler at the request of the Spanish Nationalist government. The town was regarded as a bastion of Republican resistance, although it had no military significance. As the town was largely left without men who were fighting for the Republican cause, the vast majority of casualties were women and children.

6 Preceder of ski or midi : APRES-

“Après-ski” is a French term meaning “after skiing”. It refers to the good times to be had after coming off the slopes.

In French, “soir” (evening) follows “après-midi” (afternoon), which in turn follows “matin” (morning).

9 “Fantasia” was the first commercial film shown in it : STEREO

“Fantasia” was Disney’s third feature length movie, and was released in 1940. The film had a disappointing critical reception and pushed the Disney company into financial difficulties. RKO took over the film’s distribution in 1946. The folks at RKO cut a full hour off the running time and relaunched the movie into a successful run. If you haven’t seen “Fantasia”, I urge you to do so. It’s a real delight …

10 It’s measured in feet, not inches : POEM

In poetry, a foot is the natural unit of stressed and unstressed syllables which make up the work. For example, an iambic foot consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

18 Setting for the 2009 film “Precious” : HARLEM

The Manhattan district of Harlem is sometimes divided into Central Harlem, West Harlem and East Harlem. East Harlem is also known as “Spanish Harlem”.

“Precious” is a 2009 big screen adaptation of the 1996 novel “Push” written by Sapphire. It certainly has been very successful, helped by winning numerous awards at its opening in various film festivals including Sundance and Cannes. The film also benefited from promotional assistance from Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, two of the co-producers. Included in the cast is Mariah Carey who plays the social worker working with “Precious”, the title character.

26 Locale of Wiesbaden, Germany : HESSE

Hesse is a German state. The capital of Hesse is Wiesbaden, although the largest city is Frankfurt.

Wiesbaden is the capital city of the federal state of Hesse in southwestern Germany. Wiesbaden is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe, and its name translates literally to “meadow baths”.

29 Pearl City greeting : ALOHA

Pearl City is located in Honolulu, along the north shore of Pearl Harbor.

31 Red and rosé, for two : WINES

Rosé wines get their color from the skins of the grapes, although the intensity of the color is not sufficient to make them red wines. Of the varying type of rosé wines available, we are most familiar with sweet White Zinfandels. Personally, I am fond of the dry Provençal rosé wines.

33 Adams behind a camera : ANSEL

As an avid amateur photographer, I have been a big fan of the work of Ansel Adams for many years and must have read all of his books. Adams was famous for clarity and depth in his black and white images. Central to his technique was the use of the zone system, his own invention. The zone system is a way of controlling exposure in an image, particularly when there is a high contrast in the subject. Although the technique was developed primarily for black & white film, it can even apply to digital color images. In the digital world, the main technique is to expose an image for the highlights, and one or more images for the shadows. These images can then be combined digitally giving a final photograph with a full and satisfying range of exposures.

35 1965 Shirley Ellis hit full of wordplay, with “The” : … NAME GAME

Shirley Ellis was a soul music singer famous for her novelty songs, “The Clapping Song” from 1965 and “The Name Game” from 1964. “The Name Game” is also known as “The Banana Song”, and is really a children’s singalong rhyming game. But, it was a big pop hit all the same.

37 Michelle Obama vis-à-vis Princeton : ALUMNA

Michelle Obama née Robinson grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Her brother is Craig Robinson, former coach of men’s basketball at Oregon State University. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Michelle Robinson worked as an associate at the Chicago office of the Sidley Austin law firm. Barack Obama joined the firm as a summer associate and Michelle Robinson was assigned to mentor him, and as they say, one thing led to another …

53 Some long-term plans, in brief : IRAS

Individual retirement account (IRA)

58 Like Bach’s Partita for Violin No. 3 : IN E

A “partita” can be a suite of music written for one instrument. The Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach wrote two sets of partitas, one set for a solo keyboard and one set for a solo violin.

59 Fist-bump : DAP

The dap is a form of handshake, and often a complicated and showy routine of fist bumps, slaps and shakes. Some say that “dap” is an acronym standing for “Dignity And Pride”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 What hearts and ships may do : SINK
5 German physicist after whom a unit of magnetism is named : GAUSS
10 Round houses? : PUBS
14 “Hmm, OK” : I SEE
15 Surprise ending, of sorts : UPSET
16 “I’m starting right now!” : ON IT!
17 Question after a digression : NOW, WHERE WERE WE?
19 Lip : EDGE
20 Nonkosher lunch order : BLT
21 Villain in the DC Universe : ARES
22 It can be a show-stopper : REMOTE
24 Foofaraw : ADO
25 O.R. staffers : RNS
26 “I’m with ___” (2016 campaign slogan) : HER
27 Easy mark : SAP
28 Alaskan peak : DENALI
30 Who wrote “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past” : GEORGE ORWELL
32 1970s-’80s Renaults : LE CARS
34 Like a stamp pad : INKY
35 Classic John Donne line : NO MAN IS AN ISLAND
38 So-so : BLAH
40 Republican politico Michael : STEELE
41 Garden produce named for an Italian city : ROMA TOMATOES
44 Driller’s blowout : GUSHER
48 Grazed : ATE
49 Suffer : AIL
50 Escort’s offering : ARM
51 Chopper : AXE
52 Young celebrity socialite : IT GIRL
54 Something to break at a casino? : EVEN
55 Be off guard : NAP
56 Blacken on a grill : SEAR
57 Go on horseback à la Lady Godiva : RIDE SIDESADDLE
60 “Forever, ___” (1996 humor book) : ERMA
61 Immobile : INERT
62 Wasatch Mountains resort town : ALTA
63 Tanners’ supplies : DYES
64 Upstanding fellows : GENTS
65 Dennis the Menace, e.g. : PEST

Down

1 Storied mariner : SINBAD
2 Princess in a Wagner opera : ISOLDE
3 “Principia” author, 1687 : NEWTON
4 London district famous for its botanic garden : KEW
5 Picasso antiwar masterpiece : GUERNICA
6 Preceder of ski or midi : APRES-
7 Arenas typically have many of them : USES
8 Finish, with “up” : SEW …
9 “Fantasia” was the first commercial film shown in it : STEREO
10 It’s measured in feet, not inches : POEM
11 Action after a change of mind : UNDO SEND
12 Rodomontade : BIG TALK
13 How mountain roads rise : STEEPLY
18 Setting for the 2009 film “Precious” : HARLEM
23 Drop the ball : ERR
26 Locale of Wiesbaden, Germany : HESSE
29 Pearl City greeting : ALOHA
30 Cornmeal dish : GRITS
31 Red and rosé, for two : WINES
33 Adams behind a camera : ANSEL
35 1965 Shirley Ellis hit full of wordplay, with “The” : … NAME GAME
36 Certain amenities for first-class passengers : LEG RESTS
37 Michelle Obama vis-à-vis Princeton : ALUMNA
38 Cooked slowly in a closed pot : BRAISED
39 Cause for many people to scratch : LOTTERY
42 Gob : TAR
43 Something well-placed? : OIL RIG
45 Take care of : HANDLE
46 Glorifies : EXALTS
47 What two sets of dots within double lines indicate, in musical scores : REPEAT
50 Head off : AVERT
53 Some long-term plans, in brief : IRAS
54 It’s perfect : EDEN
58 Like Bach’s Partita for Violin No. 3 : IN E
59 Fist-bump : DAP