Constructed by: Brooke Husic & Nam Jin Yoon
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: None
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Bill’s time: 21m 25s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Billboard magazine feature : CHART
“Billboard” was founded way back in 1894 as a trade magazine for the advertising and bill posting industry. The editorial focus gradually moved towards music as phonographs, radios and the recorded music business took off in the early part of the 20th century. “Billboard” published its first “music hit parade” 1936, and is now famous for its collection of lists that track music sales.
6 Abbr. in skin care : SPF
In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …
9 Creatures with asymmetrical ears for accuracy in hunting : OWLS
Much of an owl’s diet consists of small mammals. As a result, humans have used owls for centuries to control rodent populations, usually by placing a nest box for owls on a property. Despite the fact that owls and humans live together in relative harmony, owls have been known to attack humans from time to time. Celebrated English bird photographer Eric Hosking lost an eye when attacked by a tawny owl that he was trying to photograph. Hosking wrote a 1970 autobiography with the wry title “An Eye for a Bird”.
16 Some summer arrivals : LEOS
Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 23 to August 22 are Leos.
18 World’s best-selling contemporary female artist of all time, per Billboard magazine : DION
French-Canadian singer Céline Dion first came to international attention when she won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, in which she represented Switzerland in the competition that was hosted in Dublin, Ireland. She is now the best-selling Canadian artist of all time.
24 Children in Vienna : KINDER
Vienna is the capital of Austria. The city has a long musical tradition and was home to Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss (I and II), Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler. As such, Vienna is sometimes called the “City of Music”. It is also called the “City of Dreams” as it was home to the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
26 Costume that might start with a cardboard box : ROBOT
Karel Čapek was a Czech writer noted for his works of science fiction. Čapek’s 1921 play “R.U.R.” is remembered in part for introducing the world to the word “robot”. The words “automaton” and “android” were already in use, but Capek gave us “robot” from the original Czech “robota” meaning “forced labor”. The acronym “R.U.R.”, in the context of the play, stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots”.
28 Two cents for a paper, perhaps : OP-ED
“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.
To put in one’s two cents is to add one’s opinion. The American expression derives from the older English version, which is “to put in one’s two pennies’ worth”.
33 Pass (out) : CONK
The phrase “conk out” was coined by airmen during WWI, and was used to describe the stalling of an engine.
34 Trinket : TCHOTCHKE
“Tchotchke” is a slang term meaning “cheap, showy trinket”. It came into English from a Slavic source via Yiddish.
Trinkets and baubles are small ornaments, and often pieces of jewelry.
43 Data head? : CIO
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
47 Seasoned rice dish : PILAF
“Pilaf” is a Persian word, one that we use to describe rice that is browned in oil and then cooked in a seasoned broth. It can also be called “pilau”.
54 Actress Sink of “Stranger Things” : SADIE
“Stranger Things” is a sci-fi horror TV show made for Netflix that aired its first season in 2016. I don’t do horror, and so haven’t seen it …
55 Say goodbye to many a 34-Across à la Marie Kondo : DECLUTTER
(34A Trinket : TCHOTCHKE)
Marie Kondo runs a very successful organizing consulting business that she founded when she was 19 years old, and while a student at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University. She wrote an extremely successful book titled “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” that was first published in 2011. I’ve read it, and acted on at least some of the advice given therein …
57 Destiny’s Child’s “___ My Name” : SAY
Destiny’s Child was an R&B group active from 1990 to 2006. The trio’s lineup changed over the years, and probably the most famous former member of the group is Beyoncé Knowles.
Down
1 Newmark with an eponymous list : CRAIG
Craigslist (usually written as “craigslist”) is an online network of communities that features classified advertisements organized geographically. Craigslist was started by Craig Newmark in 1995, originally as an email distribution list for his friends who lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area.
5 “Claws” channel : TNT
“Claws” is a comedy-drama show that first aired in 2017. It’s all about a group of five manicurists who branch out into organized crime.
7 One way to avoid a lecture : PLAY HOOKY
Apparently the term “hooky” comes from “hoekje”, the Dutch name for the game hide-and-seek. To play hooky is to shirk one’s responsibility, as in a schoolkid taking a day off without permission.
12 W-2 ID : SSN
Form W-2 is provided by US employers to their employees by January 31 each year. The form reports wages paid to the employees, as well as taxes withheld.
27 Summons before congress? : BOOTY CALL
“Booty call” is a slang meaning “request for casual sexual relations”.
31 Group with the 2020 #1 album “Be” : 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.
32 Country whose official languages are French and Arabic : CHAD
The landlocked African country called Chad takes its name from the second largest wetland on the continent, which is known as Lake Chad.
35 Jazz great Laine : CLEO
Cleo Laine is a jazz singer from England who is noted for her remarkable range of nearly four octaves. Laine is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in each of the classical, jazz and popular music categories. My favorite of her recordings is “He Was Beautiful”, which is also known as “Cavatina” and is a version of the theme from the film “The Deer Hunter”.
36 What a bee may be : CONTEST
Back in 18th-century America, when neighbors would gather to work for the benefit of one of their group, such a meeting was called a bee. The name “bee” was an allusion to the social nature of the insect. In modern parlance, a further element of entertainment and pleasure has been introduced, for example in a quilting bee, or even a spelling bee.
39 “To All the ___ I’ve Loved Before” (2018 film) : BOYS
The “To All the Boys” films are a series of teenage romance dramas based on a trilogy of novels of the same name by Jenny Han. The series title is a reference to five letters written by a young lady to boys that she had crushes on. She never plans to mail the letters, but they get sent out anyway.
46 Oozing smarm : SLIMY
The word “smarm” describes insincere flattery. The term comes from a colloquial word “smalm” that was used in the mid-19th century to mean “smear the hair with some sort of styling product”.
49 Liu of “Why Women Kill” : LUCY
Lucy Liu is an actress from Queens, New York. Liu’s big break came when she was chosen to play the Ling Woo character in “Ally McBeal”. I liked her in the 2000 film “Charlie’s Angels” but as I am no fan of Quentin Tarantino, I did not enjoy the movie “Kill Bill”. I do enjoy one of Liu’s more recent projects in which she plays Joan Watson, one of the two lead characters in the TV crime drama “Elementary”.
53 Card display? : STL
The St. Louis Cardinals were originally called the “Brown Stockings”, changing their name to the “Perfectos” in 1899. That obviously didn’t go down well with the locals, as the owners changed it one year later to the Cardinals.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Billboard magazine feature : CHART
6 Abbr. in skin care : SPF
9 Creatures with asymmetrical ears for accuracy in hunting : OWLS
13 Facts-as-fiction work : ROMAN A CLEF
16 Some summer arrivals : LEOS
17 “Join the club!” : AREN’T WE ALL!
18 World’s best-selling contemporary female artist of all time, per Billboard magazine : DION
19 “Who ___?” : ISN’T
20 “So … who wants in on this deal?” : ANY TAKERS?
22 Snag : GET
23 Alongside : WITH
24 Children in Vienna : KINDER
26 Costume that might start with a cardboard box : ROBOT
28 Two cents for a paper, perhaps : OP-ED
30 Body with a floor : SEA
31 Orchestral instrument that doesn’t make a sound : BATON
32 Extension ___ : CORD
33 Pass (out) : CONK
34 Trinket : TCHOTCHKE
36 Unpolished : CRUDE
37 One might be chosen for its perspective : SEAT
38 Loafers : LAYABOUTS
40 Like hair at salons : STYLED
42 Bad side : CONS
43 Data head? : CIO
44 Drummed-up measures? : RHYTHMS
47 Seasoned rice dish : PILAF
50 Make a big stink : RAISE HELL
52 Blue book alternative : ADULT SITE
54 Actress Sink of “Stranger Things” : SADIE
55 Say goodbye to many a 34-Across à la Marie Kondo : DECLUTTER
56 Prunes : TRIMS
57 Destiny’s Child’s “___ My Name” : SAY
58 Was appealing? : PLED
59 Some time : DAYS
Down
1 Newmark with an eponymous list : CRAIG
2 Series of stakes : HORSE RACES
3 “Truer words were never spoken!” : AMEN TO THAT!
4 Word from the Dutch for “talk nonsense” : RANT
5 “Claws” channel : TNT
6 Trail : SCENT
7 One way to avoid a lecture : PLAY HOOKY
8 Experienced : FELT
9 Bygone : OLDEN
10 Makes very uncomfortable, informally : WEIRDS OUT
11 They may be tied up in a sequel : LOOSE ENDS
12 W-2 ID : SSN
14 Are in store : AWAIT
15 Didn’t come through as promised, in slang : FLAKED
21 Not be serious : KID
23 Given (to) : WONT
25 Garden tool : RAKE
27 Summons before congress? : BOOTY CALL
29 More sententious : PREACHIER
31 Group with the 2020 #1 album “Be” : BTS
32 Country whose official languages are French and Arabic : CHAD
33 Be superinfatuated with someone : CRUSH HARD
35 Jazz great Laine : CLEO
36 What a bee may be : CONTEST
39 “To All the ___ I’ve Loved Before” (2018 film) : BOYS
41 Hoist, redundantly : LIFT UP
44 Given a number, maybe : RATED
45 Press, e.g. : MEDIA
46 Oozing smarm : SLIMY
47 Fills with fluff : PADS
48 One may be floated or rough : IDEA
49 Liu of “Why Women Kill” : LUCY
50 Coronation, e.g. : RITE
51 – : LESS
53 Card display? : STL
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14 thoughts on “0513-22 NY Times Crossword 13 May 22, Friday”
Comments are closed.
Re: 18 across explanation.
The Dion referred to in the explanation is male. Shouldn’t the reference be to Celine Dion, a contemporary female artist?
Good catch, Richard. A case of more haste, less speed, I think. Thanks for the help. I’ll fix that right now.
19:25, no errors. Pretty thoughtful, in spots … 🤨.
Thanks to Brendan Emmett Quigley, Nam Jin Yoon is well known to me as the creator of a great tool that I use on my iMac to create an elegant PDF from a PUZ file:
https://niyoon.github.io/
Oddly, when I try to use it on my iPad (which I’ve never tried to do before), I get an error message. (Apparently, “GitHub” is another of the many things on the internet that I don’t understand.)
27:54 with a little help. Brain on vacation today.
24:47. Really struggled in the SW. Ended up with CLUsTER/SsL which is particularly embarrassing since I’m a big STL Cardinal fan.
TCHOTCHKE made me feel way out in the woods – assuming I had a big error or errors somewhere. Obviously I’d never heard the word before.
I’d heard the term “faction” but never ROMANA CLEF. I looked them up, and as best I can see, they are the same thing.
Nice challenge. Makes me fear tomorrow’s puzzle, however.
Best –
40:48 Geez, if Jeff is in fear of tomorrow I might as well punch out and go home now…
34:46. Widely disparate clues, definitely designed for difficulty. From ROMAN Á CLEF and TCHOTCHKE to CRUSH HARD and BOOTY CALL. The latter made me chuckle, but surprised to see in the NYT Crossword. I suppose nothing in the NYT should surprise me anymore.
23:50; brain fried after a long day on the road and many distractions, but even with all that taken into account, this was a hard one. Everything @BruceB said.
30:19, 1 Natick.
DNF -had about 70% complete. got stuck at TCHOTCHKE. Did not know how to spell it. Had part of it and couldn’t finish it with crosses so I looked it up.
Also had OPART for 1A and wouldn’t let go of it. CHART is so more obvious.
Actually stuck BOOTYCALL in for 27A but I don’t get it?
Totally missed ROMANACLEF.
Tough puzzle for me.
36 minutes. No errors or look ups. This was a nice challenge for sure. Regarding booty call, think of two people getting together.
I had as much chance of finishing this as Trump had of overturning the election 👎👎👎👎
Stay safe😀
19:19
Also got a chuckle out of bootycall. Excellent clue.
Struggled mightily. In the end I completed the puzzle with ONE incorrect letter. ONE! ! ! ! If doing crosswords is exercise for the brain, mine must look like Charles Atlas.