Constructed by: Daniel Mauer
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: Way Out West
We take a WAY OUT WEST in today’s crossword, along ROUTE SIXTY-SIX. We pass through the US post codes for eight states, highlighted in the grid. Themed answers are sights that we can see along the way. Nice theme …
- 114A Theme of this puzzle, which winds its way nearly 2,500 miles through all the shaded squares herein : ROUTE SIXTY-SIX
- 21A Nickname for 114-Across coined by John Steinbeck : THE MOTHER ROAD
- 34D Grant ___, northeast terminus of 114-Across : PARK
- 83D Santa Monica ___, southwest terminus of 114-Across : PIER
- 12A Small rodent : GERBIL (hiding “IL” for Illinois”)
- 23A Large rodents : MARMOTS (hiding “MO” for Missouri)
- 31A Down-to-earth : FOLKSY (hiding “KS” for Kansas)
- 52A “Go ahead and ask” : OK, SHOOT (hiding “OK” for Oklahoma)
- 75A Roux ingredient? : SILENT X (hiding “TX” for Texas)
- 99A Being treated, in a way : ON MEDS (hiding “NM” for New Mexico)
- 110A More far out : CRAZIER (hiding “AZ” for Arizona)
- 120A Art in the Television Hall of Fame : CARNEY (hiding “CA” for California)
- 39A Colorful natural attraction along 114-Across : PAINTED DESERT
- 65A Tall, curved attraction along 114-Across : GATEWAY ARCH
- 92A Graffitied artistic attraction along 114-Across : CADILLAC RANCH
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 20m 37s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 “Meet the ___” (baseball fight song) : METS
“Meet the Mets” is the fight song of the New York Mets baseball team. The song was first heard in 1962 when the brand new Mets team played its first game in New York City.
5 Pertaining to any of five Italian popes : SISTINE
The Sistine Chapel is located in the Pope’s residence in Rome. The chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who was responsible for restoring the old Capella Magna in the 15th century. It was about a century later (1508-1512) that Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel under the patronage of Pope Julius II.
12 Small rodent : GERBIL (hiding “IL” for Illinois”)
Most species of gerbil are native to arid regions, and in fact used to be called “desert rats”. They make popular household pets because they are very social and friendly by nature. As desert natives, they also have specially adapted kidneys that produce a very small amount of waste so that bodily fluids are preserved.
19 ___ Jay Hawkins, rock pioneer who wrote “I Put a Spell on You” : SCREAMIN’
“I Put a Spell on You” is a song written and recorded by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins that was released in 1956. Nina Simone recorded a popular cover version that was released in 1965, and re-released in 1969. Another cover version of the song was released in 2010 by Shane MacGowan and Friends, a record that was sold to help Concern Worldwide’s work in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake that killed so many. Included in the list of “friends” was Johnny Depp, playing the guitar.
21 Nickname for 114-Across coined by John Steinbeck : THE MOTHER ROAD
John Steinbeck was born not far from here, in Salinas, California in 1902. His most famous novels are probably “The Grapes of Wrath” from 1939, “East of Eden” from 1952 and the novella “Of Mice and Men” from 1937. For his work, Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.
23 Large rodents : MARMOTS (hiding “MO” for Missouri)
Marmots are large ground squirrels. Included in the genus is the famous groundhog, but not the equally famous prairie dog.
26 One of the Guccis : PAOLO
Gucci was founded in Rome, in 1921, by Guccio Gucci. Guccio’s son Aldo took over the company after his father’s death in 1953. It was Aldo who established the international presence for the brand and opened the company’s first overseas store, in New York City.
37 Instruction for some Thanksgiving cooking : BASTE
Thanksgiving Day was observed on different dates in different states for many years, until Abraham Lincoln fixed the date for the whole country in 1863. Lincoln’s presidential proclamation set that date as the last Thursday in November. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the fourth Thursday in November, arguing that the earlier date would give the economy a much-needed boost.
38 “Downton Abbey” countess : CORA
American actress Elizabeth McGovern is perhaps most famous today on the small screen for playing Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham in the hit period drama “Downton Abbey”. She gets a lot of TV work in England, partly because she lives in London with her British husband, filmmaker Simon Curtis. McGovern is also a professional musician. She plays the guitar, and has fronted the UK-based Americana-folk band Sadie and the Hotheads since 2007.
39 Colorful natural attraction along 114-Across : PAINTED DESERT
The Painted Desert in Arizona is a beautiful badlands area noted for colorful rock formations. The name was given way back in 1540 by the Spanish, and is an English translation of the Spanish name “El Desierto Pintado”.
46 Twitch user, perhaps : STREAMER
Twitch is a live-streaming platform used primarily by gamers. Folks playing games can broadcast their game play live to an audience.
49 Car-pooling inits. : HOV
In some parts of the country, one sees high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Out here in California we refer to them as carpool lanes.
56 Pastis flavorer : ANISE
The essential oil in the anise plant is anethole. Anethole has a licorice-like flavor, and is used extensively in cooking and to flavor several distilled alcoholic drinks.
58 Peridot, for one : GEM
Olivine is a relatively common mineral, but is rarely found with purity that is sufficient for use as a gemstone. When the olivine is pure enough to be used as a gem, it is called “peridot”. Peridot is always olive green in color, with its color intensity a function of how much iron is in the stone.
61 Bad stat for a QB: Abbr. : INT
In football, if a quarterback’s (QB’s) pass ends up in the hands of a cornerback (CB), then that’s an interception (INT).
65 Tall, curved attraction along 114-Across : GATEWAY ARCH
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, and is the tallest monument in the United States. It was designed by Eero Saarinen, with the help of structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel. They did their design work back in 1947, but construction wasn’t started until 1963. In 1980, a daredevil took it upon himself to parachute onto the top of the arch, intending to further jump from the apex of the arch and parachute to the ground. He hit the arch all right, and slid all the way down one of the arches to his death. No comment …
69 Gear for gondoliers : OARS
The word “gondola” was originally limited to the famous boats that travel along the canals of Venice. When man started to fly through the air in hot air balloons, “gondola” was used for the basket in which the passenger(s) traveled. By extension, the structure carrying passengers and crew under an airship is also called a gondola, as are the cars suspended from a cable at a ski resort.
71 Trafficker trackers, for short : DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was set up in 1973 while President Nixon was in office.
73 Animal in the genus Bos : YAK
The English word “yak” is an Anglicized version of the Tibetan name for the male of the species. Yak milk is much prized in Tibetan culture. It is made into cheese and butter, and the butter is used to make a tea that is consumed in great volume by Tibetans. The butter is also used as a fuel in lamps, and during festivals the butter is even sculpted into religious icons.
Something described as bovine is related to a cow, ox or buffalo, or indeed any ruminant in the genus Bos. “Bos” is the Latin for “cow”, and “bovinus” a Late Latin derivative term.
75 Roux ingredient? : SILENT X (hiding “TX” for Texas)
A roux is a mixture of wheat flour and clarified butter (or other fat) cooked together until it can be used as a thickening agent.
78 B3, nutritionally : NIACIN
Niacin is also known as vitamin B3. A deficiency of niacin causes the disease pellagra. Pellagra is often described by “the four Ds”, the symptoms being diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia and death.
82 Beverage with a “New England” variety : IPA
India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.
92 Graffitied artistic attraction along 114-Across : CADILLAC RANCH
Cadillac Ranch is a huge sculpture located near Amarillo, It consists of Cadillacs half-buried in the ground, and is somewhat reminiscent of Stonehenge.
94 Summers in la cité : ETES
In French, “été” (summer) starts in “juin” (June) and ends in septembre (September). Note that the names of months are not capitalized in French.
108 Component of lacquer thinner : ACETONE
Acetone is the active ingredient in nail polish remover, and in paint thinner.
114 Theme of this puzzle, which winds its way nearly 2,500 miles through all the shaded squares herein : ROUTE SIXTY-SIX
The famous old highway called Route 66 has largely been replaced by modern interstates. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, right through the heart of America, and so it was often called the “Main Street of America”. The road’s name really came into the public consciousness because of Nat King Cole’s song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, and also because of the sixties TV show called “Route 66”.
119 The Panthers of the N.C.A.A., familiarly : PITT
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) chose the nickname for its sporting teams in 1909, and claims that it was the first team in the country to adopt the name “Panthers”.
120 Art in the Television Hall of Fame : CARNEY (hiding “CA” for California)
Art Carney was best known as the actor who played Ed Norton on the fifties television show “The Honeymooners”. Carney walked with a limp for much of his life, as one leg was almost an inch shorter than the other due to a wound he received during the Battle of Normandy in WWII.
Down
1 One of 50,460 in the Chunnel : METRE
The Channel Tunnel between the UK and France is also known familiarly as “the Chunnel”, and in French as “Le tunnel sous la Manche” (translating as “the tunnel under the English Channel”. The earliest credible proposal for a tunnel under the Channel was made in 1802. The plan was for the 1802 tunnel to be illuminated with oil lamps and for transportation to be provided by horse-drawn carriages. There was even a plan for an artificial island to be placed mid-Channel where horses would be changed.
2 Actress Barrymore, great-aunt of Drew : ETHEL
Ethel Barrymore was one of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Ethel was the sister of John and Lionel Barrymore. Ethel was a close friend of Winston Churchill, and some even say that Winston proposed marriage to her.
3 Famed fountain of Rome : TREVI
The Trevi Fountain (“Fontana di Trevi”) is a huge fountain in Rome, one that is the largest constructed in the Baroque style. The tradition is that if one throws a coin in the fountain then one is guaranteed a return visit to the city. Tourists throw in an amazing 3,000 euros (over $4,000) every day. The money is collected and is used to stock a supermarket for the needy of the city.
4 Half step, in music : SEMITONE
In western music, an octave is composed of twelve notes, twelve semitones.
5 Character seen on a keyboard : SCHROEDER
Schroeder is a favorite character of mine in the comic strip “Peanuts”. He is a young boy who constantly plays a toy piano, especially pieces by Beethoven. Schroeder is also the subject of an extreme infatuation by young Lucy van Pelt, who often leans on his piano and looks at him adoringly as he plays.
8 Sun deck? : TAROT
Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future. The list of tarot cards includes the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man and the Lovers.
10 Actress Long : NIA
Nia Long is an American actress who is probably best known for playing Will Smith’s sometime girlfriend and fiancee Lisa Wilkes on the TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.
13 TV 6-year-old who attends Little Dipper School : ELROY
“The Jetsons” is an animated show from Hanna-Barbera that had its first run in 1962-1963, and then was recreated in 1985-1987. When it debuted in 1963 on ABC, “The Jetsons” was the network’s first ever color broadcast. “The Jetsons” is like a space-age version of “The Flintstones”. The four Jetson family members are George and Jane, the parents, and children Judy and Elroy. Residing with the family in Orbit City are their household robot Rosie and pet dog Astro.
15 Bit of writing on Twitter or Tinder : BIO
I have never tweeted in my life, and have no plans to do so (but one should never say “never”!). Twitter is a microblogging service that limits any post sent to just 280 characters. In a sense, it is similar to this blog. Here I send out a post once a day containing information that I think might be useful to folks (thank you for reading). I am way too verbose to make do with just 280 characters!
Tinder is a matchmaking app that uses Facebook profiles. Users “swipe” photos of potential matches, either to the right (“like”) or to the left (“not interested”). Users who “match” each other can then chat within the app.
17 Some mil. officers : LTS
Lieutenant (lt., and “looie” in slang).
19 Abbr. on many streets in Quebec : STE
“Sainte” (ste.) is French for “saint”, when referring to a “femme” (woman).
Québec is the largest province in Canada, and the only one with French as its sole official language. The name “Québec” comes from an Algonquin word “kebec” meaning “where the river narrows”. This refers to the area around Quebec City where the St. Lawrence River narrows as it flows through a gap lined by steep cliffs. The province has voted twice in referenda asking whether or not Quebec should become an independent country, once in 1980, and again in 1995. The 1995 result was 49% in favor of sovereignty, up from 40% in 1980.
30 Sierra ___ : MADRE
“Sierra Madre” is Spanish for “Mother Mountain Range”, and is a name given to several mountain ranges around the world.
31 1990s film with a famous wood chipper scene : FARGO
“Fargo” is one of my favorite films of all time, and stars perhaps my favorite actress, Frances McDormand. “Fargo” was directed by the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan. Frances McDormand is Joel’s wife.
32 Word with a wave in Oaxaca : HOLA
Oaxaca (officially “Oaxaca de Juárez”) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, which is located in the south of the country.
33 Classic Camaro : IROC
The IROC-Z is a model of Camaro that was introduced by Chevrolet in 1978. The IROC-Z takes its name from a famous stock car race, the International Race of Champions.
37 $100 bill, slangily : BEN
Benjamin Franklin’s portrait is featured on one side of the hundred-dollar bill (also called a “C-spot, C-note, benjamin”), and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on the other side. There is a famous error in the image of Independence Hall. If you look closely at the clock face at the top of the building you can see that the “four” is written in Roman numerals as “IV”. However, on the actual clock on Independence Hall, the “four” is denoted by “IIII”, which has been the convention for clock faces for centuries.
39 “What malarkey!” : PSHAW!
It’s not really known how the word “malarkey” came to mean “lies and exaggeration”. What is known is that “Malarkey” is also used as a family name.
41 Site of a U.C. in the O.C. : IRVINE
The California city of Irvine is a planned city that was incorporated in 1971. The Irvine Company started developing the area after it sold land to the University of California in 1959 that was used for what is now the school’s Irvine campus.
UC Irvine is one of ten campuses in the University of California, and is located in Irvine, California just outside of Los Angeles. Irvine’s athletic teams have been called the anteaters since 1965, a name suggested by students in honor of the anteater in the Johnny Hart comic strip “B.C.”
Orange County (OC) in the Greater Los Angeles Area is the smallest county in Southern California by area, and yet it is the sixth most populous county in the US. The county seat is Santa Ana.
42 Muscle-bone connector : 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.
44 Verb in Poe’s “The Raven” : QUOTH
“The Raven” is a narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe that tells of a student who has lost the love of his life, Lenore. A raven enters the student’s bedchamber and perches on a bust of Pallas. The raven can talk, to the student’s surprise, but says nothing but the word “nevermore” (“quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”). As the student questions all aspects of his life, the raven taunts him with the same comment, “nevermore”. Finally, the student decides that his soul is trapped beneath the raven’s shadow and shall be lifted “nevermore”.
53 Brownish-yellow hue : 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.
54 Big ___ : SUR
Big Sur is a lovely part of the California Coast located south of Monterey and Carmel. The name “Big Sur” comes from the original Spanish description of the area as “el sur grande” meaning “the big south”.
55 Monogram in the 2016 presidential election : HRC
HIllary Rodham-Clinton (HRC)
Apparently, Hillary Rodham decided as young as nine years old that she was going to use her name “Rodham” if she were to marry. When Bill Clinton campaigned to become the Democratic candidate for Governor of Arkansas in 1978, his opponent made Rodham’s use of her “maiden” name an issue. The assertion was that Clinton was “married to an ardent feminist, Hillary Rodham, who will certainly be the first First Lady of Arkansas to keep her maiden name.” Clinton won the primary, and the gubernatorial election. When Clinton sought the same office in 1982, Hillary’s use of the Rodham name was still perceived as an issue. That’s when she decided to make a pragmatic choice and change her name to Hillary Rodham Clinton. By the time she decided to run for US president, she was using the name “Hillary Clinton”, and that’s how her name appeared on the primary ballot.
62 Georgia, e.g. : NATION
The former Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of Georgia is now an independent country. Supposedly, the Georgian people were given their name because they especially revered St. George. The flag of Georgia does indeed feature five St. George’s crosses.
63 One of two circling the earth : TROPIC
Lines of latitude are imaginary horizontal lines surrounding the planet. The most “important” lines of latitude are, from north to south:
- Arctic Circle
- Tropic of Cancer
- Equator
- Tropic of Capricorn
- Antarctic Circle
65 Decorates deceptively : GILDS
To gild is to coat with gold. The phrase “to gild the lily” means to add unnecessary ornamentation, to try to improve something that is already ideal.
68 One-named New Age musician : YANNI
Yanni is a remarkable Greek musician who is very successful in the world of New Age music. What I find so remarkable is that he is a self-taught musician. Yanni was born Yiannis Chryssomallis in Kalamata, Greece and moved to the US in 1972 to attend the University of Minnesota.
70 Mower’s trail : SWATH
Our word “swath” comes from the German “Schwad” meaning “a row of cut grass”.
74 Means of electronic communication with restricted access : INTRANET
An intranet is a computer network that has limited access, usually only to members of a particular organization. An extranet is like an intranet, but is structured to allow access to authorized parties outside of the organization.
77 Self images? : X-RAYS
X-rays were first studied comprehensively by the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (also “Roentgen”), and it was he who gave the name “X-rays” to this particular type of radiation. Paradoxically, in Röntgen’s native language of German, X-rays are routinely referred to as “Röntgen rays”. In 1901, Röntgen’s work on X-rays won him the first Nobel Prize in Physics that was ever awarded.
79 Stevenson of 1950s politics : ADLAI
Back at the start of the 20th century, the term “egghead” just described someone who was bald. By 1920, the usage had extended to describe someone deemed an intellectual. Adlai Stephenson was labeled an egghead in the 1950s due to the nature of his presidential campaign. When asked what he thought about being labeled the rare intellectual in politics, Adlai replied in Latin, “Via ovicapitum dura est”. That translates as “The way of the egghead is hard”. Clever …
83 Santa Monica ___, southwest terminus of 114-Across : PIER
Santa Monica, California lies on Santa Monica Bay and is in Los Angeles County. The city is home to the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, which opened in 1909.
84 Golden rule preposition : UNTO
The Golden Rule is also known as the ethic of reciprocity, and is a basis for the concept of human rights. A version of the rule used in the Christian tradition is attributed to Jesus:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
85 Speed skater Kramer with nine Olympic medals : SVEN
Sven Kramer is a famous Dutch long-track speed skater, the holder of the world record for the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and the team pursuit. Kramer won the 5,000 meters gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games, and although he finished first in the 10,000 meters, he was disqualified for failing to make a required lane change. He wasn’t happy …
91 Brand with a bull in its logo : ELMER’S
Elsie the Cow is the mascot of the Borden Company. Elsie first appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, introduced to symbolize the perfect dairy product. She is so famous and respected that she has been awarded the degrees of Doctor of Bovinity, Doctor of Human Kindness and Doctor of Ecownomics. Elsie was also given a husband named Elmer the Bull. Elmer eventually moved over to the chemical division of Borden where he gave his name to Elmer’s Glue.
93 Some scores in horseshoes : LEANERS
In the game of horseshoes, a ringer is scored when the tossed shoe lands around the target stake. A leaner is almost as good as a ringer, and is scored when a horseshoe lands upright or leans against the stake.
96 “My Name Is Asher ___” : LEV
“My Name Is Asher Lev” is a novel by Rabbi Chaim Potok, first published in 1972. The story follows the experiences of Asher Lev, a Hasidic Jewish boy in New York City. His story continues in the sequel “The Gift of Asher Lev”.
99 Offer one’s two cents : OPINE
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”.
104 Singer O’Day : ANITA
“Anita O’Day” was the stage name of jazz singer Anita Colton. She chose the name as “O’Day” is Pig Latin for “dough”, a slang term for “money”. O’Day had problems with heroin and alcohol addiction leading to erratic behavior, earning her the nickname “The Jezebel of Jazz”.
105 Bad messages to send to the wrong person : SEXTS
Sexting (a portmanteau of “sex” and “texting”) is the sending of explicit dialog and images between cell phones. The term “sexting” was coined by the UK’s “Sunday Telegraph Magazine” in a 2005 article.
107 Tap-in, e.g. : PUTT
That would be golf.
110 Covid Data Tracker org. : CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC started out life during WWII as the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities. The CDC worries about much more than malaria these days …
111 New Deal power agcy. : REA
The Rural Electrification Administration (REA) was one of the New Deal agencies set up by President Franklin Roosevelt. Created in 1935, the agency’s goal was to provide electrical power to rural areas, something that the profit-conscious power companies weren’t willing to take on by themselves.
112 Fools are often seen at its start: Abbr. : APR
April Fools’ Day is celebrated on April 1st in the Western world. In the US (and Ireland) one can make practical jokes all day long if one wants, but in the UK there is a noon deadline. Anyone pranking after midday is called an “April Fool”.
113 Peaceful, informally : ZEN
Zen is a Buddhist school that developed its own tradition in China back in the 7th century AD. Zen is a Japanese spelling of the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” meaning “meditation”.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 “Meet the ___” (baseball fight song) : METS
5 Pertaining to any of five Italian popes : SISTINE
12 Small rodent : GERBIL (hiding “IL” for Illinois”)
18 To be, in France : ETRE
19 ___ Jay Hawkins, rock pioneer who wrote “I Put a Spell on You” : SCREAMIN’
20 Hardly a team player? : SOLOIST
21 Nickname for 114-Across coined by John Steinbeck : THE MOTHER ROAD
23 Large rodents : MARMOTS (hiding “MO” for Missouri)
24 Corpse ___ No. 2 (morning-after cocktail) : REVIVER
25 German surname part : VON
26 One of the Guccis : PAOLO
28 At the top : ELITE
29 Skip or drop : OMIT
31 Down-to-earth : FOLKSY (hiding “KS” for Kansas)
32 Cool : HIP
35 Opposite of a breeze : ORDEAL
37 Instruction for some Thanksgiving cooking : BASTE
38 “Downton Abbey” countess : CORA
39 Colorful natural attraction along 114-Across : PAINTED DESERT
43 An awful state to live in : SQUALOR
46 Twitch user, perhaps : STREAMER
47 Spanish : -ando or -iendo :: English : ___ : -ING
48 Attempt to grasp, as a complicated situation : UNPACK
49 Car-pooling inits. : HOV
50 Cuisine that includes gochujang paste : KOREAN
52 “Go ahead and ask” : OK, SHOOT (hiding “OK” for Oklahoma)
56 Pastis flavorer : ANISE
58 Peridot, for one : GEM
60 Smart, say : HURT
61 Bad stat for a QB: Abbr. : INT
64 Left : WENT
65 Tall, curved attraction along 114-Across : GATEWAY ARCH
69 Gear for gondoliers : OARS
71 Trafficker trackers, for short : DEA
72 Legend : ICON
73 Animal in the genus Bos : YAK
74 Following along : IN TOW
75 Roux ingredient? : SILENT X (hiding “TX” for Texas)
78 B3, nutritionally : NIACIN
82 Beverage with a “New England” variety : IPA
83 Gone to press? : PUSHED
86 Booked it : RAN
88 Phrase one might yell at the screen during a horror film : DON’T DO IT!
90 What roots are, to powers : INVERSE
92 Graffitied artistic attraction along 114-Across : CADILLAC RANCH
94 Summers in la cité : ETES
95 ___ Austin, Biden’s secretary of defense : LLOYD
97 Bugs : EATS AT
98 Jazz bassist Carter, who has appeared on more than 2,200 recordings : RON
99 Being treated, in a way : ON MEDS (hiding “NM” for New Mexico)
101 A whole can of worms? : BAIT
102 Mamas’ mamas : NANAS
106 Bug : PEEVE
107 Bad review : PAN
108 Component of lacquer thinner : ACETONE
110 More far out : CRAZIER (hiding “AZ” for Arizona)
114 Theme of this puzzle, which winds its way nearly 2,500 miles through all the shaded squares herein : ROUTE SIXTY-SIX
117 Wishy-washy response : DEPENDS
118 Captivate : ENTHRALL
119 The Panthers of the N.C.A.A., familiarly : PITT
120 Art in the Television Hall of Fame : CARNEY (hiding “CA” for California)
121 Dislikes and then some : DETESTS
122 Things sometimes named after presidents : ERAS
Down
1 One of 50,460 in the Chunnel : METRE
2 Actress Barrymore, great-aunt of Drew : ETHEL
3 Famed fountain of Rome : TREVI
4 Half step, in music : SEMITONE
5 Character seen on a keyboard : SCHROEDER
6 Bile : IRE
7 Obsequious : SERVILE
8 Sun deck? : TAROT
9 “That’s my cue!” : I’M ON!
10 Actress Long : NIA
11 Component of a bridge truss : END POST
12 Positive results of some strikes : GOALS
13 TV 6-year-old who attends Little Dipper School : ELROY
14 Lead-in to “com” : ROM-
15 Bit of writing on Twitter or Tinder : BIO
16 Natural conclusion? : -IST
17 Some mil. officers : LTS
19 Abbr. on many streets in Quebec : STE
20 “Holy ___!” : SMOKES
22 Pass : OVERTAKE
27 Not mainstream, for short : ALT
30 Sierra ___ : MADRE
31 1990s film with a famous wood chipper scene : FARGO
32 Word with a wave in Oaxaca : HOLA
33 Classic Camaro : IROC
34 Grant ___, northeast terminus of 114-Across : PARK
36 Kind of tape : DEMO
37 $100 bill, slangily : BEN
38 Underwriting? : CAPTION
39 “What malarkey!” : PSHAW!
40 Paid penance : ATONED
41 Site of a U.C. in the O.C. : IRVINE
42 Muscle-bone connector : SINEW
44 Verb in Poe’s “The Raven” : QUOTH
45 Trece menos doce : UNO
51 Many a Hollywood worker : AGENT
53 Brownish-yellow hue : KHAKI
54 Big ___ : SUR
55 Monogram in the 2016 presidential election : HRC
57 Puts away : STASHES
59 Suffragist and abolitionist Abby ___ Alcott : MAY
62 Georgia, e.g. : NATION
63 One of two circling the earth : TROPIC
65 Decorates deceptively : GILDS
66 High part of a deck : ACE
67 Bon ___ (fashionable world) : TON
68 One-named New Age musician : YANNI
70 Mower’s trail : SWATH
74 Means of electronic communication with restricted access : INTRANET
76 Ending with cash or front : -IER
77 Self images? : X-RAYS
79 Stevenson of 1950s politics : ADLAI
80 They may be ridden to victory : COATTAILS
81 Some co. name endings : INCS
83 Santa Monica ___, southwest terminus of 114-Across : PIER
84 Golden rule preposition : UNTO
85 Speed skater Kramer with nine Olympic medals : SVEN
87 Stir in : ADD
89 String or integer, in programming : DATA TYPE
91 Brand with a bull in its logo : ELMER’S
92 Critical warning : CODE RED
93 Some scores in horseshoes : LEANERS
96 “My Name Is Asher ___” : LEV
99 Offer one’s two cents : OPINE
100 Deprived : NEEDY
101 You usually do this lying down by yourself : BATHE
103 Naval “Negative” : NO, SIR
104 Singer O’Day : ANITA
105 Bad messages to send to the wrong person : SEXTS
107 Tap-in, e.g. : PUTT
109 140, in old Rome : CXL
110 Covid Data Tracker org. : CDC
111 New Deal power agcy. : REA
112 Fools are often seen at its start: Abbr. : APR
113 Peaceful, informally : ZEN
115 Partner of only : ONE
116 Posed for a portrait : SAT
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11 thoughts on “0515-22 NY Times Crossword 15 May 22, Sunday”
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24:41. This one was a struggle for me. It just seemed like nothing came easy.
39:18. Very cool nostalgic theme.
I have some memories of Route 66, but they’re all well after its heyday. It goes through St. Louis, and we used to go to the Route 66 drive-in theater. It’s where I saw “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” for the first time.
Apparently, the setter and his wife recently went on a trip through Route 66. He says in Wordplay that there were so many quirky things he could have included, but they are not well known so he didn’t use them. A trip like that is definitely on my bucket list.
Best –
56:05. When one takes a giant leap of faith, they can end up a long way off in the wrong direction. COLORADO RIVER fit well in 114A, unfortunately…
Standing ovation for the setter today. Not only do the shaded squares have diagonal symmetry, but ‘Route 66’ passes through all the states, from northeast to southwest, in the correct order.
34:58, no errors, but with a major holdup at the end: I had put DOT (as in “.com”) for 14-Down and then MARTENS (I know, I know, they’re not rodents!) for 23-Across, so of course I couldn’t finish filling the upper right corner, and I couldn’t figure out what the heck I’d done wrong for, like, next to forever … 😜.
After I finally figured it out, I was so wound up I couldn’t sleep, so I started working on a Sunday NYT puzzle from February 5, 1984, by Henry Hook, called “Beastly Assembly”, and was up until after midnight trying to come up with the theme entries PADDINGTON, SKIPPER DEE, TIGGY WINKLE, KING TIMAHOE, BRIGLIADORO, MINNALOUSHE, SAERHRIMNIR, and COPENHAGEN (most of which I actually got, from crosses!)
One of those times I’d have been better off leaving a puzzle until morning … 😳.
1:07:40, partly because I’m not very bright and partly because I solved this on Monday while trying to troubleshoot an ion gun. That said, “silent x” was the last to fall because I kept trying to pronounce it as one word. Like I said, not very bright….
9 errors and 2 hours of my life wasted👎👎👎👎
What on earth does clue booked it and answer ran have to do with each other?
One meaning of to book is to flee.
Common error – misspelled the name “Yawni” – of course YMMV.
45:55, 1 error. Almost brought it up yesterday, but one thing that the NYT likes to say is the Sunday puzzle isn’t harder, it’s just a Thursday. Consistently (including this week) the hardest for me – this was much nastier than the Fri or Sat puzzle of the week. For that matter, the Sunday puzzle always has been the hardest.
Wow, mixed feelings on this. Several hard cross clues to the theme.
Got the theme ok.
Like our friend POE always says “Quoth the sunday crossword”!
I think he says that. I read it somewhere on the internet