Constructed by: Rachel Fabi
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: None
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 17m 12s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 750-milliliter bottles : FIFTHS
A fifth is an American unit of volume used for liquor. It used to be equal to one fifth of a US gallon. Since the seventies, we’ve been using a “metric fifth” that is equal to 750 mL, the standard size for wine bottles around the world.
13 Flowers known botanically as Leucanthemum vulgare : OXEYES
Oxeyes are in the daisy family of plants. Also known as dog daisies or marguerites, the flowers of oxeyes feature white petals surrounding yellow disc florets.
15 Lady Gaga album named for her aunt : JOANNE
“Lady Gaga” is the stage name of Stefani Germanotta. Germanotta is a big fan of the band Queen, and she took her stage name from the marvelous Queen song titled “Radio Ga Ga”.
21 Birthplace of Buddha : NEPAL
Nepal lies to the northeast of India. Today, the state is known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. In 2008, the Communist Party of Nepal won the country’s general election. Soon after, the Assembly voted to change the form of government, moving away from a monarchy and creating a secular republic.
Gautama Buddha was the sage on whose teachings the Buddhist tradition was founded. It is generally believed that the Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Kapilavastu in present-day Nepal, in about 563 BCE.
29 Tartarus, by another name : HELL
In Greek mythology, Tartarus was a deep abyss in Hades used to punish the wicked. Tartarus was also one of the Greek primordial deities, the first generation of gods and goddesses.
35 Actress whose nickname derives from her middle name, Stamatina : FEY
Comedian and actress Tina Fey was born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Fey is perhaps best known to television viewers as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” (1997-2006), and as the creator and star of the sitcom “30 Rock” (2006-2013).
40 Eponym of a red-and-white heraldic rose : TUDOR
The Wars of the Roses was a series of civil wars fought for the throne of England between the rival Houses of Lancaster (with a symbol of a red rose) and York (with a symbol of a white rose). Ultimately the Lancastrians emerged victorious after Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry was crowned King Henry VII, and so began the Tudor dynasty. Henry Tudor united the rival houses by marrying his cousin Elizabeth of York. Henry VII had a relatively long reign of 23 years that lasted until his death, after which his son succeeded to the throne as Henry VIII, continuing the relatively short-lived Tudor dynasty. Henry VIII ruled from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry VIII was the last male to lead the House of Tudor, as his daughter Queen Elizabeth I died without issue. When Elizabeth died, the Scottish King James VI succeeded to the throne as James I of England and Ireland. James I was the first English monarch of the House of Stuart.
42 Decorated athlete whose name could be parsed as “zero” + “loss” : NADAL
“Nadal” could be parsed as “nada” + “L” (“zero” + “loss”).
Rafael “Rafa” Nadal is a Spanish tennis player. He is noted for his expertise on clay courts, which earned him the nickname “The King of Clay”.
55 Outfit with flaps and snaps : ONESIE
A onesie is a baby’s one-piece bodysuit, and is a common gift at a baby shower.
56 Pays in the Alps? : SUISSE
In French, “la Suisse” (Switzerland) is a “pays” (country) in the Alps.
58 “The Divine Miss M” : BETTE
One of my favorite singers, and indeed all-round entertainers, is Bette Midler. If you’ve ever seen her live show you’ll know that “camp” is a good word to describe it, as her humor is definitely “out there” and quite bawdy. Early in her career, Midler spent years singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in New York City. There she became very close friends with her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow. While singing in the bathhouse, Bette only wore a white towel, just like the members of her audience. It was in those days that she created her famous character “the Divine Miss M” and also earned herself the nickname “Bathhouse Betty”.
Down
1 Challenging setting for the 2020 Olympics men’s road cycling course : FUJI
Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest and most famous mountain. Located just west of Tokyo, Mount Fuji is an active volcano, although its last eruption took place in 1707/1708.
The 2020 Olympic Games were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being held in 2021, in Tokyo, the Games were still labeled the “2020 Olympics”.
2 Playing past regulation, informally : IN OT
In overtime (in OT)
8 Cousin of a lutz : AXEL
An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.
In figure skating, a Lutz is a toe-pick-assisted jump that one starts skating backwards and ends skating backwards (there’s more to it that I don’t really understand!). The maneuver is named after Alois Lutz, an Austrian skater who first performed it in competition way back in 1913. Lutz wowed the crowd with a single jump, and today both men and women are landing triple Lutz jumps. No one has landed a clean quadruple Lutz in competition.
9 Reese in “Touched by an Angel” : DELLA
Della Reese is the stage name of actress, singer and all-round entertainer Deloreese Patricia Early. Her career started as a singer in the fifties and was revived in the nineties when she played the lead character in the TV show “Touched by an Angel”.
10 Affirmative on the U.S.S. Enterprise : AYE, SIR
The USS Enterprise was Vice Admiral William Halsey’s flagship. She was also the ship that he was aboard in the Pacific when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Apparently, Halsey remarked right after the attack, “Before we’re through with ’em, the Japanese language will only be spoken in hell.”
11 State emblem of Israel : MENORAH
There is a seven-branched menorah used symbolically in ancient temples. However, the Hanukkah menorah is a nine-branched lampstand that is lit during the eight-day holiday called Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. “Menorah” is the Hebrew word for “lamp”.
17 Member of the A.F.C. team with most division titles : STEELER
The Pittsburgh Steelers football team was founded in 1933, making it the oldest franchise in the AFC. Back in 1933, the team was known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates name was chosen as the Pittsburgh baseball team was the Pirates. The name was changed to the Steelers in 1940, and then the Steagles in 1943 when the team merged with the Philadelphia Eagles. There was a further merger in 1944, with the Chicago Cardinal to form Card-Pitt. The Steelers name was resurrected in 1945.
19 ___ y pimienta : SAL
In Spanish, one might set the “pimienta” (pepper) by the “sal” (salt).
20 “4 real?!?” : SRSLY!
“Srsly?” is text-speak for “seriously?”
26 British singer with the hits “How We Do (Party)” and “Your Song” : RITA ORA
Rita Ora is a British singer who was born Rita Sahatçiu in Pristina, Yugoslavia to Albanian parents. The family name “Sahatçiu” comes from a Turkish word meaning “watchmaker”. Rita’s parents changed their name to make it easier to pronounce. So, the family name morphed from “watchmaker” to “time”, which is “ora” in Albanian.
32 “I like telling ___ jokes. Sometimes he laughs!” : DAD
I tell dad jokes all the time, just to annoy the kids …
- I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down!
- If you see a robbery at an Apple Store, does that make you an iWitness?
- A termite walks into a bar and asks, “Is the bar tender here?”
- Two guys walk into a bar, the third one ducks.
- What’s the best part about living in Switzerland? I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus.
34 French Calvinist : HUGUENOT
Members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France in the 16th and 17th centuries were known as Huguenots. The term might derive from the name of an early Swiss politician named Besançon Hugues, who paradoxically worked to prevent the spread of the Protestant Reformation in his native city of Geneva. Hundreds of thousands of Huguenots fled Catholic France in order to escape prosecution, with some settling in English colonies in North America that were religiously tolerant.
43 Longhaired star of 1950s TV : LASSIE
The canine character Lassie is the creation of Eric Knight, an author who wrote a short story that he expanded into a novel called “Lassie Come Home” published in 1940. “Lassie Come Home” was turned into a movie three years later, the first of a very successful franchise. The original Lassie (a female) was played by a long-haired collie called Pal (a male). In fact, all of the dogs that played Lassie over the years were males, because they looked better on camera, retaining a thick coat even during the summer months.
45 Quickly put down : JOT
A jot is something very small, with “jot” coming from the Latin “jota”. In turn, “jota” is from the Greek “iota”, which is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet. The verb “to jot” comes from the noun, in the sense of making a small, short note.
52 One of the few places where traffic is appreciated : SITE
Yes indeed. I am very grateful for traffic to this site …
Read on, or …
… return to top of page
Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 750-milliliter bottles : FIFTHS
7 ___ C. J. Walker, first American woman to become a self-made millionaire, per Guinness : MADAM
12 Pretend : UNREAL
13 Flowers known botanically as Leucanthemum vulgare : OXEYES
15 Lady Gaga album named for her aunt : JOANNE
16 Stops being stubborn : RELENTS
18 “There’s no accounting for taste” : IT TAKES ALL SORTS
21 Birthplace of Buddha : NEPAL
22 More spacious : AIRIER
23 Walks in the park : STROLLS
25 Carries on : RAVES
26 Up : RISEN
27 Compliment to a chef : YUM!
29 Tartarus, by another name : HELL
30 Prefix with night or day : MID-
31 Mimicked : DID
33 Tepid assessment : MEH
35 Actress whose nickname derives from her middle name, Stamatina : FEY
36 Family prefix : STEP-
38 Make it, gamewise : TAG
40 Eponym of a red-and-white heraldic rose : TUDOR
42 Decorated athlete whose name could be parsed as “zero” + “loss” : NADAL
44 Nikkie ___, beauty vlogger with more than 13 million followers on YouTube : DE JAGER
46 “Way to go!” : BOOYAH!
48 Replenish : TOP UP
49 Eliminate from contention : CROSS OFF THE LIST
54 More affected : ARTSIER
55 Outfit with flaps and snaps : ONESIE
56 Pays in the Alps? : SUISSE
57 Move around : ROTATE
58 “The Divine Miss M” : BETTE
59 Thought and thought and thought (about) : STEWED
Down
1 Challenging setting for the 2020 Olympics men’s road cycling course : FUJI
2 Playing past regulation, informally : IN OT
3 ___ house : FRAT
4 Letters : TENANTS
5 Had a craving : HANKERED
6 Take time to think about something : SLEEP ON IT
7 By ethical standards : MORALLY
8 Cousin of a lutz : AXEL
9 Reese in “Touched by an Angel” : DELLA
10 Affirmative on the U.S.S. Enterprise : AYE, SIR
11 State emblem of Israel : MENORAH
14 Target : STRIVE FOR
17 Member of the A.F.C. team with most division titles : STEELER
19 ___ y pimienta : SAL
20 “4 real?!?” : SRSLY!
23 Lesser-used passages : SIDE DOORS
24 Total : SUM
26 British singer with the hits “How We Do (Party)” and “Your Song” : RITA ORA
28 They may be mixed : METAPHORS
30 Network with Joy Reid’s “The ReidOut” : MSNBC
32 “I like telling ___ jokes. Sometimes he laughs!” : DAD
34 French Calvinist : HUGUENOT
37 Check attachment : PAY STUB
39 Escape : GET FREE
41 Sap : DEPLETE
43 Longhaired star of 1950s TV : LASSIE
45 Quickly put down : JOT
47 Give a lift : HOIST
50 Suffix akin to “-o-rama” : -FEST
51 “You don’t have to tell me!” : I SAW!
52 One of the few places where traffic is appreciated : SITE
53 Ticked (off) : TEED
Leave a comment (below), or …
… return to top of page