Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Created a Monster
Themed answers each include a MONSTER as a hidden word:
- 38A Emulated Dr. Frankenstein … or what you did after you filled in the shaded parts of 17-, 23-, 50- and 61-Across? : CREATED A MONSTER
- 17A Good accessory for the owner of a shedding dog : LINT ROLLER (hiding “TROLL”)
- 23A Nothing to write home about : NO GREAT SHAKES (hiding “OGRE”)
- 50A Move reluctantly : DRAG ONE’S HEELS (hiding “DRAGON”)
- 61A June celebration honoring the Stonewall uprising : PRIDE MONTH (hiding “DEMON”)
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 5m 31s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Director Almodóvar : PEDRO
Pedro Almodóvar is a very successful Spanish film director, born in a small town in the region of La Mancha (made famous by Don Quixote). I’m afraid I don’t recognize any of Almodovar’s films.
10 Dallas basketball squad, informally : MAVS
The Mavericks (also “Mavs”) are an NBA franchise in Dallas, Texas. The team was founded in 1980, and the Mavericks name was chosen by fan votes. The choice of “Mavericks” was prompted by the fact that the actor James Garner was a part-owner of the team, and Garner of course played the title role in the “Maverick” television series.
14 French farewell : ADIEU
“Adieu” is French for “goodbye, farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.
15 Word sung twice after “Que” : SERA
As Doris Day told us, “que será, será” is Spanish for “whatever will be, will be”. Actually, the phrase is “pseudo-Spanish”, and isn’t grammatically correct.
The 1956 song “Que Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” was first performed by Doris Day in the Hitchcock film “The Man Who Knew Too Much”. Day later used the same tune as the theme song for the sitcom “The Doris Day Show” that aired in the late sixties and early seventies.
17 Good accessory for the owner of a shedding dog : LINT ROLLER (hiding “TROLL”)
“Troll” is a term that comes from Norse mythology. Trolls are less-than-helpful creatures that tend to live on isolated mountains, in caves and under bridges.
19 “Raw” facts : DATA
Our word “data” (singular “datum”) comes from the Latin “datum” meaning “given”. The idea is that data are “things given”.
22 Popular pie nut : PECAN
The pecan is the state nut of Alabama, Arkansas and California. Also, the pecan is the state tree of Texas.
23 Nothing to write home about : NO GREAT SHAKES (hiding “OGRE”)
An ogre is a monster of mythology and folktales that has the appearance of a man, and which eats human beings. The term “ogre” comes to us via French from the name of the Etruscan god Orcus, who feasted on the flesh of humans.
27 “r u serious?!” : OMG!
“OMG” is text-speak for “Oh My Gosh!” “Oh My Goodness!” or any other G-words you might care to use …
31 One who might smoke ganja as a sacrament, informally : RASTA
I must admit that I don’t really know much about Rastafarianism. I do know that a “Rasta”, such as Bob Marley, is a follower of the movement. Some say that Rastafarianism is a religion, some not. I also know that it involves the worship of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia.
“Ganja” is another name for the drug cannabis. Cannabis is known to have been used thousands of years ago by ancient Hindus in India, and “ganja” is the Sanskrit term for the drug.
33 Director Anderson : WES
Film director Wes Anderson’s most famous movie is probably “The Royal Tenenbaums” that was released in 2001, and is not my favorite film by any stretch. However, Anderson’s 2007 release “The Darjeeling Limited”, that I enjoyed.
34 Ibiza, e.g., to a Spaniard : ISLA
Ibiza is a Mediterranean island located almost 100 miles off the Spanish coast. It is a very popular tourist destination, largely for its legendary nightlife.
38 Emulated Dr. Frankenstein … or what you did after you filled in the shaded parts of 17-, 23-, 50- and 61-Across? : CREATED A MONSTER
Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel has the full title of “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus”. The subtitle underscores one of the themes of the book, i.e. a warning about the expansion into the Industrial Revolution.
42 Sparkling Italian wine : ASTI
Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy that is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a “poor man’s champagne”. The “Spumante” was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.
43 Bagel and ___ : LOX
Lox is a brine-cured salmon filet that is finely sliced. The term “lox” comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely “Lachs”.
45 Exam with a logical reasoning section: Abbr. : LSAT
Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
47 Motor oil brand : STP
STP is a brand name of automotive lubricants and additives. The name “STP” is an initialism standing for “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”.
61 June celebration honoring the Stonewall uprising : PRIDE MONTH (hiding “DEMON”)
The police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 29th, 1969. That raid triggered a spate of violent demonstrations led by the LGBT community. Now known as the Stonewall riots, those demonstrations are viewed by many as a significant event leading to the modern-day fight for LGBT rights in the US. Since then, June has been chosen as LGBT Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall riots.
64 Sneaker giant headquartered in Beaverton, Ore. : NIKE
I remember seeing a lady named Carolyn Davidson on the television show “I’ve Got a Secret”. Davidson created the Nike “swoosh” back in 1971 when she was a design student at Portland State. She did it as freelance work for Blue Ribbon Sports, a local company introducing a new line of athletic footwear. The “swoosh” is taken from the wing of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. Years later, BRS changed its name to Nike, so I suppose the company should be grateful to Carolyn for both the great design, and a great company name.
The area surrounding Portland, Oregon between Beaverton and Hillsboro is often referred to as Silicon Forest due to the number of hi-tech companies located therein. Silicon Forest is home to mainly subsidiaries of companies such as Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox and Epson.
65 Doofus : BOZO
The unsavory word “bozo” describes a person with a low IQ, and someone who is usually quite muscular. The term has been used since the early 1900s, and possibly comes from the Spanish “bozal” that was used to describe someone who spoke Spanish poorly.
“Doofus” (also “dufus”) is student slang that has been around since the sixties. Apparently the word is a variant of the equally unattractive term “doo-doo”.
69 Easy mark : PATSY
The etymology of the word “patsy” meaning “fall guy” isn’t really understood. One colorful theory suggests that the term comes from an 1890s vaudeville character named Patsy Bolivar. Patsy always got the blame when something went wrong.
Down
5 “___ Father, who art in heaven …” : OUR
Our Father … (“Pater noster” in Latin) are the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer, which is probably the best-known prayer in the Christian tradition.
7 Hägar the Horrible’s wife : HELGA
“Hägar the Horrible” is a comic strip that was created by the late Dik Browne and is now drawn by his son, Chris Browne. “Hägar the Terrible” (not “Horrible”) was the nickname given to Dik by his sons. The strip’s title character is a red-bearded Viking living on the Norwegian coast during the Middle Ages. Hägar lives with his overbearing wife Helga, his sensitive son Hamlet, his pretty daughter Honi, and his clever dog Snert.
10 Prepared to play rock paper scissors : MADE A FIST
Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people, at least here in North America. Back in Ireland we called the game “scissors-paper-stone”, and another name encountered around the English-speaking world is “roshambo”. The game is often used as a way to choose between two options or two individuals.
12 Curriculum ___ : VITAE
A curriculum vitae (“CV” or “vita”) is a listing of someone’s work experience and qualifications, and is used mainly in making a job application. The term “curriculum vitae” can be translated from Latin as “course of life”.
13 Obsessive fans, in slang : STANS
“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.
18 Vegetable that becomes gooey when cooked : OKRA
The plant known as okra is mainly grown for its edible green pods. The pods are said to resemble “ladies’ fingers”, which is an alternative name for the plant. Okra is known as “ngombo” in Bantu, a name that might give us the word “gumbo”, the name for the name of the southern Louisiana stew that includes okra as a key ingredient.
22 Vietnamese noodle soup : PHO
Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is a noodle soup from Vietnam that is a popular street food.
24 Swarming pest : GNAT
Gnats are attracted to the smell of rotting food, and vinegar. Simple homemade traps that use vinegar are often constructed to attract and kill gnats.
25 Nonbinary pronoun : THEM
The non-binary (NB, enbie) spectrum of gender identities covers those that do not qualify as exclusively masculine or feminine.
27 Killer whale : ORCA
The taxonomic name for the killer whale is “Orcinus orca”. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.
28 Locale of the Perseverance rover : MARS
There have been several rovers sent to Mars from Earth. The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 landed in 1971, and failed. Mars 3 landed the same year, and ceased operation just 20 seconds after landing. NASA’s Sojourner landed in 1997 (what a great day that was!) and operated from July through September. The British rover Beagle 2 was lost six days before its scheduled entry into the Martian atmosphere. NASA’s Spirit landed in 2004, and operated successfully for over six years before getting trapped in sand and eventually ceasing to communicate. NASA’s Opportunity also landed in 2004, and operated for over fourteen years. And then NASA’s Curiosity made a spectacular, hi-tech landing in 2012 and is continuing to explore the planet today. Based on the Curiosity design, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in 2021, along with the Mars helicopter named Ingenuity. The China National Space Administration landed it’s first rover, named Zhurong (“Rover” in English), five months after Perseverance started its mission on the planet.
36 Shakespearean king : LEAR
Shakespeare was inspired to write his famous drama “King Lear” by the legend of “Leir of Britain”, the story of a mythological Celtic king.
37 Large group of ants : ARMY
Army ants are a collection of over two hundred different species of ants. Each species is known for aggressively raiding a certain area en masse, foraging for food. Army ants also stay on the move, never building permanent nests.
39 Exuberance : ELAN
Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning to ours, i.e “style, flair”.
46 Plant milk option : SOY
What are known as soybeans here in the US are called “soya beans” in most other English-speaking countries. So, I drink soy milk here in America, but when I am over in Ireland I drink “soya milk”.
54 Novelist Mario Vargas ___ : LLOSA
Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian writer of renown, and one of the most significant authors from Latin America by all accounts. Llosa is also very active politically, and in 1990 ran unsuccessfully for the Peruvian presidency.
58 Norms: Abbr. : STDS
Standard (std.)
61 Network supported by “Viewers Like You” : PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was founded in 1970, and is my favorite of the broadcast networks. I love PBS’s drama and science shows in particular, and always watch election results coming in with the NewsHour team.
62 Poppycock : ROT
It is thought that the relatively gentle term “poppycock”, meaning “nonsense”, comes from a Dutch word for “dung” combined with a Latin word for “excrete”. Not so gentle after all …
Read on, or …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Director Almodóvar : PEDRO
6 “Excuse me” : AHEM
10 Dallas basketball squad, informally : MAVS
14 French farewell : ADIEU
15 Word sung twice after “Que” : SERA
16 Somewhat : A BIT
17 Good accessory for the owner of a shedding dog : LINT ROLLER (hiding “TROLL”)
19 “Raw” facts : DATA
20 Blend, as batter : STIR
21 Big beer order : KEG
22 Popular pie nut : PECAN
23 Nothing to write home about : NO GREAT SHAKES (hiding “OGRE”)
27 “r u serious?!” : OMG!
29 Short snooze : NAP
30 What a horseshoe is attached to : HOOF
31 One who might smoke ganja as a sacrament, informally : RASTA
33 Director Anderson : WES
34 Ibiza, e.g., to a Spaniard : ISLA
38 Emulated Dr. Frankenstein … or what you did after you filled in the shaded parts of 17-, 23-, 50- and 61-Across? : CREATED A MONSTER
42 Sparkling Italian wine : ASTI
43 Bagel and ___ : LOX
44 Starting squad : A-TEAM
45 Exam with a logical reasoning section: Abbr. : LSAT
47 Motor oil brand : STP
49 Ask intimate questions, say : PRY
50 Move reluctantly : DRAG ONE’S HEELS (hiding “DRAGON”)
55 Race with a baton : RELAY
56 Consume : EAT
57 Needing directions, say : LOST
60 Leave out : OMIT
61 June celebration honoring the Stonewall uprising : PRIDE MONTH (hiding “DEMON”)
64 Sneaker giant headquartered in Beaverton, Ore. : NIKE
65 Doofus : BOZO
66 Comment from a stage actor directly to the audience : ASIDE
67 Some co-parents : EXES
68 Dish from a slow cooker : STEW
69 Easy mark : PATSY
Down
1 Buds : PALS
2 Move some text around, say : EDIT
3 Matching table and chairs in a kitchen : DINING SET
4 Vintage-inspired : RETRO
5 “___ Father, who art in heaven …” : OUR
6 Snoozing : ASLEEP
7 Hägar the Horrible’s wife : HELGA
8 Poet’s “before” : ERE
9 Damage : MAR
10 Prepared to play rock paper scissors : MADE A FIST
11 One way to be taken : ABACK
12 Curriculum ___ : VITAE
13 Obsessive fans, in slang : STANS
18 Vegetable that becomes gooey when cooked : OKRA
22 Vietnamese noodle soup : PHO
24 Swarming pest : GNAT
25 Nonbinary pronoun : THEM
26 Middling : SO-SO
27 Killer whale : ORCA
28 Locale of the Perseverance rover : MARS
32 Pregame activities in the parking lot : TAILGATES
33 Hair removal option : WAX
35 Hits the accelerator : STEPS ON IT
36 Shakespearean king : LEAR
37 Large group of ants : ARMY
39 Exuberance : ELAN
40 Lavish affection (on) : DOTE
41 Back of the neck : NAPE
46 Plant milk option : SOY
47 It’s shortest when the sun is directly overhead : SHADOW
48 Head: Fr. : TETE
50 Aid in filming aerial shots : DRONE
51 Club version of a song, often : REMIX
52 How great minds think, it’s said : ALIKE
53 Grab : SEIZE
54 Novelist Mario Vargas ___ : LLOSA
58 Norms: Abbr. : STDS
59 “What were ___ thinking?” : THEY
61 Network supported by “Viewers Like You” : PBS
62 Poppycock : ROT
63 Treasure hunter’s aid : MAP
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