0218-22 NY Times Crossword 18 Feb 22, Friday

Constructed by: Aimee Lucido
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 11m 06s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Offers a fist, in a way : DAPS

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”.

5 Speak like Clint Eastwood : RASP

Actor and director Clint Eastwood is a native of San Francisco, California. As a few of us perhaps remember, Eastwood’s big break was playing the supporting role of Rowdy Yates in the TV show “Rawhide” in the late fifties and early sixties. He then became the face of the spaghetti western genre of movie in the sixties, most notably in the classic “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. In later years, Eastwood branched out into directing and producing with remarkable success. In the late eighties, he also served as mayor of his hometown, Carmel-by-the-Sea.

14 Fort ___ (Peace Bridge terminus) : ERIE

The original Fort Erie was built by the British in 1764. The current structure can be visited today and is located in the province of Ontario, just across the Niagara River from the city of Buffalo, New York.

The Peace Bridge connects Buffalo, New York to Fort Erie, Ontario by spanning the Niagara River on the US-Canada border. The bridge opened in 1927, and about $40 billion-worth of trade crosses it annually.

15 Middle range : ALTO

In choral music, an alto (plural “alti”) is the second-highest voice in a four-part chorus made up of soprano, contr(alto), tenor and bass. The word “alto” describes the vocal range, that of the deepest female singing-voice, whereas the term “contralto” describes more than just the alto range, but also its quality and timbre. An adult male’s voice (not a boy’s) with the same range as an alto is called a “countertenor”.

19 Sophia of “Two Women” : LOREN

Sophia Loren certainly has earned her exalted position in the world of movies. In 1962 Loren won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the Italian film “Two Women”, marking the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English speaking performance. She received a second nomination for Best Actress for her role in “Marriage Italian-Style”, another Italian-language movie, released in 1964.

“Two Women” (“La Ciociara”, in Italian, meaning “The Woman from Ciociara”) is a 1960 film that won Sophia Loren that season’s Best Actress Oscar. The title characters are a widowed shopkeeper (played by Loren) and her 12-year-old daughter. The movie is set in WWII, and there is a very disturbing scene in which the two “women” are gang-raped by a group of soldiers. Actress Eleonora Brown played the daughter, and was actually only 12 years of age at the time of shooting. A tough scene to watch, and surely a tough scene to film …

23 General on a menu : TSO

General Tso’s chicken is an American creation, and a dish often found on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. The name General Tso may be a reference to General Zuo Zongtang of the Qing Dynasty, but there is no clear link.

25 A.T.M. maker : NCR

NCR is an American company that has been in business since 1884 and was originally called the National Cash Register Company. The company has done well in a market where new technologies seem to be constantly disrupting the status quo. NCR is a leading supplier of automated teller machines (ATMs) and barcode scanners.

27 ___Kosh B’gosh : OSH

OshKosh B’gosh is a company that produces and sells children’s clothes. The trademark OshKosh bib-overalls remind us of the company’s roots, as it was originally a manufacturer of adult work clothes based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

33 Hamilton and Burr, for two : BITTER ENEMIES

Alexander Hamilton was one of America’s Founding Fathers, chief of staff to General George Washington and the first Secretary of the Treasury. It was Hamilton who established the nation’s first political party, the Federalist Party. He is also famous for fighting a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, which resulted in Hamilton’s death a few days later.

Aaron Burr was the third vice-president of the US, and served under Thomas Jefferson from 1801 to 1805. In the final year of his term in office, Burr fought an illegal duel and killed his political rival Alexander Hamilton. Burr was charged with several crimes as a result, but those charges were eventually dropped. The Democratic-Republican Party had already decided not to nominate Burr as candidate for vice president to run alongside Jefferson in the 1804 election, largely because the relationship between Vice President Burr and President Jefferson was so poor. The subsequent fallout resulting from the killing of Alexander Hamilton effectively ended Burr’s political career.

39 Common way to communicate at Gallaudet University, in brief : ASL

Gallaudet University is a private school in Washington, D.C. that is focused on the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. Gallaudet was founded in 1864 and is officially a bilingual institution, with classes held in both English and American sign language (ASL).

40 Equinox mo. : SEP

An equinox is a phenomenon dictated by the tilt of the earth’s axis. Twice every year, that tilt “evens out” and the sun is equidistant from points at the same latitude both north and south of the equator. It is as if the earth has no tilt relative to the sun. The term “equinox” comes from the Latin for “equal night”, inferring that night and day are equally long, as the effect of the earth’s “tilt” is nullified. Equinoxes occur each year around March 21st (the vernal equinox) and September 23rd (the autumnal equinox).

41 Latest gossip, in modern lingo : TEA

To spill the beans is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”. The similarly meaning phrase “spill the tea” is more prevalent on the other side of the Atlantic.

54 Green features : HOLES

That would be golf.

55 It’s hardly Châteauneuf-du-Pape : BOXED WINE

The “box wine” package was invented in Australia, back in 1935. The original design had no tap, so the corner had to be cut off the bladder to get at the wine. The bladder with a tap was also invented in Australia, but not until 1967. I’ve done blind taste tests featuring bottled and boxed wines, and love the box concept, especially for a decent red wine …

Grenache is a red wine grape variety, and the major constituent of wines from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region in France (my favorites). Grenache is also used to make rosé wines in the Cotes du Rhone region (also a favorite of mine).

56 Dana Elaine ___, a.k.a. Queen Latifah : OWENS

Queen Latifah is the stage name of the multitalented Dana Owens. The name “Latifah” is Arabic in origin and translates as “delicate, very kind”. Owens found the name and was attracted to it when she was just eight years old.

59 Belgian Expressionist James : ENSOR

James Ensor was a Belgian painter who was active in the first half of the twentieth century. He lived in Ostend for almost all of his life. In fact, Ensor only made three brief trips abroad, to Paris, London and Holland.

Down

3 Soft : PIANO

In musical notation, the Italian word “piano” (p) instructs musicians to play softly, and “forte” (f) to play loudly. The additional notation “pianissimo” (pp) means “very soft”, and fortissimo (ff) means “very loud”.

4 Japanese watch brand : SEIKO

Watch manufacturer Seiko was founded as a watch and jewelry shop in Tokyo in 1881. The store was opened by one Kintaro Hattori, who started to produce clocks under the name Seikosha, which can be translated as “House of Exquisite Workmanship”. The first Seiko watches went on sale in 1924, and today the company suggests that the name “Seiko” is Japanese for “exquisite” and “success”.

5 Host : RAFT

A raft is a large amount, coming from the Middle English “raf” meaning the same thing.

8 Dope : POT

“Potiguaya” is the Mexican-Spanish word for “marijuana leaves”. The slang name “pot” comes from “potiguaya”.

9 Beyoncé song with the line “I got my angel now” : HALO

Beyoncé Knowles established herself in the entertainment industry as the lead singer with the R&B group Destiny’s Child. She launched her solo singing career in 2002, after making her first appearance as an actor. In 2006 she played the lead in the very successful movie adaptation of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls”. Beyoncé is married to rap star Jay-Z. She is also referred to affectionately as “Queen Bey”, a play on the phrase “the queen bee”. Her fan base goes by the name “Beyhive”.

10 Thick noodle : UDON

Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisines such as tempura.

11 Field that involves blood, sweat and tears? : FORENSICS

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”.

12 Some works by Goya : FRESCOES

A fresco is a painting created on a moist plaster, usually on a wall or ceiling. The plaster is “freshly” laid when the image is created, and “fresco” is the Italian for “fresh”.

Francisco Goya was a Spanish painter who was often called the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Two of Goya’s most famous works are “The Nude Maja” and “The Clothed Maja”.

13 Deep desire : YEN

The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium.

18 Small-scale study, for short : NANOTECH

Nanotechnology is the study of the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular level. Nanotechnology is essential to the electronic and biomaterials industries.

21 Some pinball machines, e.g. : COIN-OPS

Our modern game of pinball evolved from an earlier table game called bagatelle that used balls, pins and holes (and I remember playing bagatelle as a boy in a pub in Ireland). The first pinball machine was made by a British inventor who settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. He modified the game of bagatelle, adding a coiled spring and a plunger to introduce balls at the end of the table, a device that is still in use today. From there, manufacturers developed coin-operated versions of pinball, which became popular during the depression as they provided a little entertainment for a few pennies. One distributor of the coin-operated pinball machines started manufacturing them himself as he couldn’t source new games fast enough. He called his pinball game Ballyhoo, and eventually named his company Bally, a brand name well known in the gambling industry to this day.

24 Tibetan ethnic group : SHERPA

In the Tibetan language, “Sherpa” means “eastern people” (sher = east, pa = people). Sherpas are an ethnic group from Nepal, but the name is also used for the local guides who assist mountaineers in the Himalayas, and particularly on Mount Everest.

26 I.C.U. figures : RNS

A registered nurse (RN) might work in an intensive care unit (ICU).

29 Something drawn by an invisible horse outside Disney’s Haunted Mansion : HEARSE

We use the term “hearse” for a vehicle used to transport a dead body to the place of burial. The original meaning, still used sometimes today, is for a framework hanging over a coffin that holds candles.

32 Mideast ruler : EMIR

An emir is a prince or chieftain, one most notably from the Middle East in Islamic countries. In English, “emir” can also be written variously as “emeer, amir, ameer” (watch out for those spellings in crosswords!).

35 Popular gear retailer : REI

REI is a sporting goods store, with the initialism standing for Recreational Equipment Inc. REI was founded in Seattle by Lloyd and Mary Anderson in 1938 as a cooperative that supplies quality climbing gear to outdoor enthusiasts. The first full-time employee hired by the Andersons was Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to climb Mount Everest.

37 First K-pop group to perform at the Grammys : BTS

BTS is a boy band from South Korea with seven members. The initialism “BTS” stands for the phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan”, which translates literally as “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. BTS is the best-selling musical act in the history of South Korea.

42 Terminal type : ANODE

A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electric energy. A simple battery is made up of three parts: a cathode, an anode and a liquid electrolyte. Ions from the electrolyte react chemically with the material in the anode producing a compound and releasing electrons. At the same time, the electrolyte reacts with the material in the cathode, absorbing electrons and producing a different chemical compound. In this way, there is a buildup of electrons at the anode and a deficit of electrons at the cathode. When a connection (wire, say) is made between the cathode and anode, electrons flow through the resulting circuit from the anode to cathode in an attempt to rectify the electron imbalance.

44 Buzz Aldrin’s given name : EDWIN

Buzz Aldrin was a true American hero, I’d say. He flew 66 combat missions in Korea, shot down two MiGs, earned his Sc. D. degree from MIT, and was one of the two men who landed on the moon for the first time. Now that man, he lived a life worth living.

45 Children’s character who asks herself “And what is the use of a book without pictures or conversations?” : ALICE

The title character in Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is based on a child named Alice Liddell. Lewis Carroll (real name “Charles Lutwidge Dodgson”) met the Liddell family while he was photographing Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, after which he befriended the Liddells. Carroll told the three Liddell sisters (including Alice) a story about a little girl named Alice and her adventures, in order to entertain the children while on a boating trip on the River Isis in Oxford. He elaborated on the story for the girls on a subsequent boat trip, and agreed to write down the tale as the children loved it so much. Carroll’s writings became a full-fledged manuscript, including the author’s own illustrations. It was first published in 1865, three years after that boat trip.

46 Tendon : SINEW

“Sinew” is another name for “tendon”. Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle. We also use the term “sinew” to mean muscular power.

49 One side of a classic late- night feud : LENO

The so-called “War for Late Night” of 2010 involved Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno. O’Brien had stayed loyal to NBC on the understanding that he would take over “The Tonight Show” after Jay Leno retired. When Leno’s contract expired in 2009, NBC moved Leno aside, with his agreement, and O’Brien took over. But Leno then hosted a new spot in prime time called “The Jay Leno Show”, and apparently the two shows split the traditional late night audience, much to the annoyance of advertisers. NBC reacted by moving Leno back to the late night slot, and mayhem ensued!

50 Red states, once, in brief : USSR

The former Soviet Union (officially “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” or “USSR”) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

55 Diner’s neckwear : BIB

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Offers a fist, in a way : DAPS
5 Speak like Clint Eastwood : RASP
9 Irritated : HUFFY
14 Fort ___ (Peace Bridge terminus) : ERIE
15 Middle range : ALTO
16 Can’t get enough of : ADORE
17 Mental goof : BRAIN FART
19 Sophia of “Two Women” : LOREN
20 Deep-fried Japanese pork cutlet : TONKATSU
21 They come in waffle and sugar varieties : CONES
22 Faint theatrically : SWOON
23 General on a menu : TSO
25 A.T.M. maker : NCR
27 ___Kosh B’gosh : OSH
30 Recruits : HIRES ON
33 Hamilton and Burr, for two : BITTER ENEMIES
36 Pool class : WATER AEROBICS
37 Steamy period pieces : BODICE-RIPPERS
38 Pans : TRASHES
39 Common way to communicate at Gallaudet University, in brief : ASL
40 Equinox mo. : SEP
41 Latest gossip, in modern lingo : TEA
43 Restraint : LEASH
48 Not *quite* a failure : D-PLUS
51 It’s bald on its face : NAKED LIE
54 Green features : HOLES
55 It’s hardly Châteauneuf-du-Pape : BOXED WINE
56 Dana Elaine ___, a.k.a. Queen Latifah : OWENS
57 Torpid : IDLE
58 Cared for, as some injuries : ICED
59 Belgian Expressionist James : ENSOR
60 What might have ___ : BEEN
61 “Any ___?” : NEWS

Down

1 Credit card charges, essentially : DEBTS
2 Keyboard symbol : ARROW
3 Soft : PIANO
4 Japanese watch brand : SEIKO
5 Host : RAFT
6 Lead-in to some regrets : ALAS …
7 Walk around like you own the place : STRUT
8 Dope : POT
9 Beyoncé song with the line “I got my angel now” : HALO
10 Thick noodle : UDON
11 Field that involves blood, sweat and tears? : FORENSICS
12 Some works by Goya : FRESCOES
13 Deep desire : YEN
18 Small-scale study, for short : NANOTECH
21 Some pinball machines, e.g. : COIN-OPS
24 Tibetan ethnic group : SHERPA
26 I.C.U. figures : RNS
28 Most of the alphabet, in Washington, D.C. : STREETS
29 Something drawn by an invisible horse outside Disney’s Haunted Mansion : HEARSE
31 Was revolting? : REBELLED
32 Mideast ruler : EMIR
33 Corrupting sorts : BAD APPLES
34 “Affirmative” : IT IS
35 Popular gear retailer : REI
36 Nagged and nagged and nagged : WORE DOWN
37 First K-pop group to perform at the Grammys : BTS
42 Terminal type : ANODE
44 Buzz Aldrin’s given name : EDWIN
45 Children’s character who asks herself “And what is the use of a book without pictures or conversations?” : ALICE
46 Tendon : SINEW
47 Obeys : HEEDS
49 One side of a classic late- night feud : LENO
50 Red states, once, in brief : USSR
52 Toll unit, at times : AXLE
53 Sharp : KEEN
54 It might turn up a plot : HOE
55 Diner’s neckwear : BIB

15 thoughts on “0218-22 NY Times Crossword 18 Feb 22, Friday”

  1. 11:57, no errors.

    “BRAIN FART” and “BODICE RIPPERS” in the same puzzle! What’s not to love? (Hush, Margaret! … 😜)

  2. 19:05. Nice way to end the week (I’m in denial about having to deal with the Saturday puzzle tomorrow). Had “mortal” ENEMIES before BITTER so that ate up some time. Also guessed Mar before SEP (I had a 50/50 shot on that one).

    RAFT for “Host” threw me, but now I see it.

    I’d heard the term “BODICE buster” rather than BODICE RIPPER, but I actually had RIPPER before BODICE so it didn’t cost me.

    When I think of the Late Night wars, I’m more inclined to think of the Jay Leno-David Letterman feud to take over “The Tonight Show” for Johnny Carson back in the early 90’s. That was so ugly, HBO made a movie out of it called “The Late Shift” which is quite entertaining. Kathy Bates should have won an Oscar for her hilarious portrayal of Helen Kushnick, Leno’s crude and domineering agent at the time.

    Best –

  3. 27:25. Halfway through in 10 minutes. Then came my usual slowdown. I may chalk it up to Island Time.

  4. I was doing really well. This was not easy for me. Like @anonymous, my version had DANK for 8d. But that didn’t stop me.

    Got messed up on PIANO and TONKATSU.. wow, what a combo.

    Then throw in a BRAINFART and a BODICERIPPER and a NAKED LIE which I got all of , .. but wow.

    Where was Aimee Lucido when she put this together?

  5. 19:55, no errors. Not sure where I heard the term BODICE RIPPERS, but it was at least a couple decades ago. Thought it was hilarious, and it stuck with me. Never imagined it would be useful. BRAIN FART also came immediately to mind when I read the clue, but hesitated to enter it. Thought the ‘Gray Lady’ had higher standards.

  6. I have never heard the term “dank” used as a term for marijuana. But then I’ve never heard the term “tea” for gossip. And brain fart was just beyond me. I guess I’m getting too old for these hip clues.

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