Constructed by: Alan Siegel
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Smartphone
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Themed answers are all things that can be replaced by a SMARTPHONE:
- 63A Device that can replace 16-, 23-, 37-, 40- and 51-Across : SMARTPHONE
- 16A Morning waker-upper : ALARM CLOCK
- 23A Step counter : PEDOMETER
- 37A Orienteering aid : COMPASS
- 40A Trove of business contacts : ROLODEX
- 51A What many a home movie was once shot on : CAMCORDER
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… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 5m 58s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Genre for the boy band BTS : K-POP
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.
K-pop (Korean pop) is a genre of music from South Korea that emerged in the early nineties.
5 Palm that yields deep purple fruit : ACAI
Açaí (pronounced “ass-aye-ee”) is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.
14 Nut from an oak : ACORN
These days, we don’t usually consider acorns as a foodstuff. But in days past, many cultures around the world have used acorns as food. Usually, bitter tannins that occur in acorns need to be leached out in water. Acorn meal can be a substitute for grain flour, which can then be used to make bread. Acorns have also been used as a substitute for coffee, especially when coffee was rationed. Notably, acorn coffee was brewed up by Confederates during the American Civil War, and by Germans during World War II.
18 “Terrible” czar : IVAN
The Grand Prince of Moscow, and first Tsar of Russia, Ivan IV became known as “Ivan the Terrible”. The name “terrible” is a translation from Russian, and perhaps creates the wrong impression about the man. The Russian word is “Grozny”, which is more akin to “strict” and “powerful” rather than “cruel” or “abominable”.
19 ___ the Frog : KERMIT
Kermit has to be the most readily recognized puppet character created by the late great Jim Henson. Henson came up with Kermit way back in 1955 when he appeared on a puppet show called “Sam and Friends” that aired in Washington, D.C. Kermit is loved so much that he even has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
21 The one for Starbucks shows a two-tailed mermaid : LOGO
Starbucks is a coffee company based in Seattle, Washington. It is the largest coffeehouse company in the world and has over 19,000 stores. In the 1990s, Starbucks was opening one new store every single day! Starbucks is named after the chief mate on the Pequod in Herman Melville’s book “Moby Dick”.
23 Step counter : PEDOMETER
A pedometer is an instrument worn by a runner or walker that measures the number of steps taken. The name of the device comes from “pes”, the Latin for “foot”.
25 Baghdad currency : DINAR
The dinar is the official currency in many countries, such as Iraq, Tunisia, Bahrain and Serbia. The gold dinar dates back to the early days of Islam, with the name deriving from the Roman currency called “denarius” meaning “ten times” (as it was originally a coin worth ten asses).
According to the University of Baghdad, the name “Baghdad” dates way back, to the 18th-century BCE (yes, BCE!). The name can be translated into English from the language of ancient Babylon as “old garden” (bagh-) and “beloved” (-dad).
27 Skin art, in brief : TAT
The word “tattoo” (often shortened to “tat”) was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”. Tattoos are sometimes referred to as “ink”.
33 Upstate New York city : UTICA
Utica in New York is known as “Second Chance City” these days, due to the recent influx of refugees from war-torn parts of the world and from Bosnia in particular. These immigrants have helped revitalize the area and reverse a trend of population loss.
37 Orienteering aid : COMPASS
We use the term “compass” to describe both a drawing tool/mathematical instrument, and a mariner’s directional tool. The name was applied first to the drawing tool, back in the 1300s. The usage extended to the navigational tool a century later. That extension of usage is probably because a directional compass is circular and has a needle or point, and so resembles the mathematical instrument.
40 Trove of business contacts : ROLODEX
The brand name “Rolodex” is short for “rolling index”, and applies to a device that was invented back in 1956. Even in today’s world that is run by computers, Rolodexes are still quite popular.
43 Wise one in “Star Wars” : YODA
In the “Star Wars” series of films, the character named Yoda has a unique speech pattern. He often uses the word order object-subject-verb. For example:
- Patience you must have …
- Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.
- To answer power with power, the Jedi way this is not.
55 Cocktail favored by Carrie Bradshaw on “Sex and the City” : COSMO
Like so many famous cocktails, the actual origins of the cosmopolitan are disputed. It is a very nice drink, in my humble opinion. One of the standard recipes is 4 parts citrus vodka, 1.5 parts Cointreau, 1.5 parts lime juice and 3 parts cranberry juice.
The HBO show “Sex and the City” is based on a book of the same name by Candace Bushnell. Bushnell created the book by compiling columns that she wrote for the “New York Observer”. The lead character Carrie Bradshaw is really Bushnell’s alter ego (note that the initials CB apply both to author and character).
59 Home of the N.B.A.’s Jazz : UTAH
The Utah Jazz professional basketball team moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. As one might guess from the name, the team originated in New Orleans, but only played there for five seasons. New Orleans was a tough place to be based because venues were hard to come by, and Mardi Gras forced the team to play on the road for a whole month.
62 ___ fides (credentials) : BONA
“Bona fide(s)” translates from the Latin as “in good faith”, and is used to indicate honest intentions. It can also mean that something is authentic, like a piece of art that is represented in good faith as being genuine.
65 Profession for many an M.I.T. grad: Abbr. : ENGR
Engineer (engr.)
66 Do, re, mi, etc. : NOTES
The sol-fa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.
69 Harbinger : OMEN
A harbinger is a person or a thing that indicates what is to come. The word comes from the Middle English “herbenger” describing a person sent ahead to arrange lodgings.
70 Muscat’s land : OMAN
Muscat is the capital of Oman. The city lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.
Down
1 Army uniform material : KHAKI
“Khaki” is an Urdu word that translates literally as “dusty”. The word was adopted for its current use as the name of a fabric by the British cavalry in India in the mid-1800s.
2 Like pastels compared to primary colors : PALER
A “pastel” is a crayon made from a “paste” containing a powdered pigment in a binder. The term “pastel” can also be used to describe a work created using pastels.
3 Missouri’s ___ Mountains : OZARK
The Ozark Mountains aren’t really mountains geographically speaking, and so the Ozarks are better described by the alternate name, the Ozark Plateau. It’s not really certain how the Ozarks got their name, but my favorite theory is that “Ozarks” is the phonetic spelling of “aux Arks”, short for “of Arkansas” in French.
4 Set in waves, as hair : PERMED
“Perm” is the common name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls.
5 ___ tear (athlete’s injury) : ACL
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee.
6 Cask makers : COOPERS
A cooper is a craftsman who makes wooden vessels, such as barrels. The term “cooper” ultimately derives from the Latin “cupa” meaning “barrel”.
7 Rainbow-shaped : ARCED
Sunlight reflected by airborne water droplets can produce rainbows. The water droplets act as little prisms, dispersing the white light into its constituent colors. Sometimes we see double rainbows. If we look carefully, we can see that the order of the colors in the first and second arcs is reversed.
8 Receptacle into which a quill is dipped : INKPOT
Quills have been used as writing implements since the 6th century. Historically, goose, swan and turkey feathers have been the quills of choice. A bird’s feather is well suited for writing, as the hollow shaft acts as a reservoir for ink which then flows to the tip due to capillary action. Choice of feather is important. Right-handed writers are best served by feathers from the left wing, as the feather curves away from the palm of the hand when writing. The tip of the quill is sharpened using a “quill knife”. This quill knife is the ancestor of what we know today as a “penknife”.
9 Shoe sometimes called a “spike heel” : STILETTO
The stiletto knife was developed in Italy, and is a knife intended for thrusting and stabbing as opposed to slashing and cutting. The term “stiletto” comes from the Latin “stilus”, which was a thin pointed writing instrument used in ancient Rome to engrave wax or clay tablets. And, there are also stiletto heels on some women’s shoes, heels that are long and thin.
12 Pavarotti’s vocal range : TENOR
Luciano Pavarotti was one of the most celebrated tenors of all time. He was able to appeal to audiences beyond the traditional fans of opera, helped by his performances with the Three Tenors: Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Pavarotti made his final performance on stage at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where he sang his famous rendition of the moving aria “Nessun dorma” and brought the house down. Pavarotti passed away from pancreatic cancer the following year, at the age of 71.
26 Music’s Lil ___ X : NAS
“Lil Nas X” is the stage name of rapper Montero Lamar Hill. He was born and raised just outside of Atlanta. His first hit was “Old Town Road”, which is classified as country rap.
28 5G-regulating org. : FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been around since 1934, when it replaced the Federal Radio Commission.
Telecommunication companies started deploying 5G broadband cellular networks in 2019. The name “5G” stands for “fifth generation”. 5G network speeds are about 100 times faster than 4G speeds. However, 5G uses a higher frequency signal than 4G. Higher-frequency signals are more easily blocked by walls and other structures, and so wireless carriers are forced to install many, many small cell sites around the network’s backbone sites in order to provide “seamless” coverage.
30 Moody music genre : EMO
“Emo” is short for “emotional hardcore”.
32 Command accompanying a pounding gavel : ORDER!
The small hammer that one raps on a table or desk to call a meeting to order, or perhaps to signify a sale at an auction, is called a gavel. The term “gavel” is actually American English, and is a word that emerged in the early 19th century.
34 Drivers’ licenses and such : IDS
Identity document (ID)
36 Body spray brand : AXE
Axe is a brand of male grooming products. Axe is sold under the name Lynx in some parts of the world.
38 Apt infographic for showing a bakery’s sales : PIE CHART
A pie chart can also be referred to as a circle graph. It is often stated that Florence Nightingale invented the pie chart. While this is not in fact true, she is due credit for popularizing it, and for developing the pie chart variation known as the polar area diagram. The earliest known pie chart appears in a book published in 1801 by Scottish engineer William Playfair.
39 Woody’s folk-singer son : ARLO
Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for singing protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m 34s. In the song Guthrie tells how, after being drafted, he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War based on his criminal record. He had only one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.
47 Largest inland city in California : FRESNO
Fresno is the largest inland city in the state of California. The city was named for the many ash trees that lined the San Joaquin River, as “fresno” is the Spanish for “ash tree”.
49 Single-serving coffee pod : K-CUP
A K-Cup is a single-portion cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate in which the beverage is prepared in situ. K-Cup packs are used with brewing machines made by Keurig, a manufacturer of coffee brewers based in Reading, Massachusetts. Personally, I use a Nespresso machine …
53 Japanese comics style : MANGA
The Japanese word “manga” means “whimsical pictures” and is an apt term to describe the Japanese style of comic book. Manga publications are more diverse than American comic books and have a larger audience. Manga covers many subjects including romance, sports, business, horror, and mystery.
56 Hurricane or typhoon : STORM
A severe tropical storm is called a hurricane when it occurs in the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, a typhoon in the Northwest Pacific, and a cyclone in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. Tropical storms form over warm water, picking up energy from the evaporation from the ocean surface.
57 High-I.Q. group : MENSA
Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.
58 Classical theater : ODEON
In ancient Greece, an odeon (also “odeum”) was like a small theater, with “odeon” literally meaning “building for musical competition”. Odea were used in both Greece and Rome for entertainments such as musical shows and poetry readings.
61 Four of these make a gal. : QTS
The quart, the unit of volume, is so called because it is one quarter of a gallon.
64 Kylo ___ of “Star Wars” : REN
Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Genre for the boy band BTS : K-POP
5 Palm that yields deep purple fruit : ACAI
9 Rotating barbecue rod : SPIT
13 Befuddled state : HAZE
14 Nut from an oak : ACORN
15 Answer to Gollum’s riddle in “The Hobbit” “This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers …” : TIME
16 Morning waker-upper : ALARM CLOCK
18 “Terrible” czar : IVAN
19 ___ the Frog : KERMIT
20 Vigor : PEP
21 The one for Starbucks shows a two-tailed mermaid : LOGO
22 Peeved : IRKED
23 Step counter : PEDOMETER
25 Baghdad currency : DINAR
27 Skin art, in brief : TAT
28 “Friend or ___?” : FOE
31 Furthermore : ALSO
33 Upstate New York city : UTICA
37 Orienteering aid : COMPASS
40 Trove of business contacts : ROLODEX
42 Singing group often in robes : CHOIR
43 Wise one in “Star Wars” : YODA
45 “Didn’t I call it?” : SEE?
46 Helper for Santa : ELF
48 Upbeat and cheerful : PERKY
51 What many a home movie was once shot on : CAMCORDER
55 Cocktail favored by Carrie Bradshaw on “Sex and the City” : COSMO
59 Home of the N.B.A.’s Jazz : UTAH
60 Goof up : ERR
61 Repeated verbatim : QUOTED
62 ___ fides (credentials) : BONA
63 Device that can replace 16-, 23-, 37-, 40- and 51-Across : SMARTPHONE
65 Profession for many an M.I.T. grad: Abbr. : ENGR
66 Do, re, mi, etc. : NOTES
67 Guesstimate words : OR SO
68 Aisle, window or middle, on a plane : SEAT
69 Harbinger : OMEN
70 Muscat’s land : OMAN
Down
1 Army uniform material : KHAKI
2 Like pastels compared to primary colors : PALER
3 Missouri’s ___ Mountains : OZARK
4 Set in waves, as hair : PERMED
5 ___ tear (athlete’s injury) : ACL
6 Cask makers : COOPERS
7 Rainbow-shaped : ARCED
8 Receptacle into which a quill is dipped : INKPOT
9 Shoe sometimes called a “spike heel” : STILETTO
10 Turn on an axis : PIVOT
11 Publicist’s concern : IMAGE
12 Pavarotti’s vocal range : TENOR
14 Part of a play : ACT
17 Skirt length that ends midcalf : MIDI
23 ___-walsy (chummy) : PALSY
24 Handle roughly : MAUL
26 Music’s Lil ___ X : NAS
28 5G-regulating org. : FCC
29 Reaction to fireworks : OOH!
30 Moody music genre : EMO
32 Command accompanying a pounding gavel : ORDER!
34 Drivers’ licenses and such : IDS
35 So-so grade : CEE
36 Body spray brand : AXE
38 Apt infographic for showing a bakery’s sales : PIE CHART
39 Woody’s folk-singer son : ARLO
41 Rowing implement : OAR
44 Perform surgery : OPERATE
47 Largest inland city in California : FRESNO
49 Single-serving coffee pod : K-CUP
50 “Hello-o-o-o!” : YOO-HOO!
51 Shapes of most sugar lumps : CUBES
52 Do penance : ATONE
53 Japanese comics style : MANGA
54 She may take your temp before tucking you in : DR MOM
56 Hurricane or typhoon : STORM
57 High-I.Q. group : MENSA
58 Classical theater : ODEON
61 Four of these make a gal. : QTS
64 Kylo ___ of “Star Wars” : REN
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