Constructed by: Richard D. Allen
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Spellbound
The starts of themed answers, when read from top to bottom, phonetically SPELL out the word “B-O-U-N-D”:
- 63A Entranced … or what one can do by reading the starts of 17-, 24-, 34-, 44- and 50-Across in order? : SPELLBOUND or SPELL “BOUND”
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Bill’s time: 9m 19s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Kids and their parents : GOATS
Male goats are bucks or billies, although castrated males are known as wethers. Female goats are does or nannies, and young goats are referred to as kids.
6 Help with a job, in a way : ABET
The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (literally “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.
10 Wanted, but nowhere to be found : AWOL
MPs (military police officers) often track down personnel who go AWOL (absent without leave).
14 Nickname for Schwarzenegger or Palmer : ARNIE
Body-builder, actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Graz in Austria, the son of the local police chief. Schwarzenegger’s family name translates into the more prosaic “black plowman”. In his bodybuilding days, he was often referred to as the Austrian Oak. When he was Governor of California he was called “the Governator”, a play on his role in the “The Terminator” series of movies.
Arnold Palmer was one of the greats of the world of golf. He was very popular with many fans of the game, and his followers were usually referred to as “Arnie’s Army”. Off the course, Palmer was an avid pilot until his latter years. He resided in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for much of the year and the local airport is named in his honor: Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.
15 Winged chatterbox : MYNA
Some species of myna (also “mynah”) birds are known for their ability to imitate sounds.
23 Video chat disruption : LAG
In Internet terms, lag is a delay in response caused by network latency. We might notice lag when streaming a video, for example.
24 Words before “the stars are brightly shining,” in a carol : O HOLY NIGHT
The Christmas carol known in English as “O Holy Night” is also known as “Cantique de Noël” in the original French. The melody was written by French composer Adolphe Adam, and the French lyrics are a poem called “Minuit, chrétiens” written by Placide Cappeau. Interestingly, it was the second piece of music ever to be broadcast on radio. The Canadian-American inventor Reginald Fessenden made what is thought to be the first AM radio broadcast on Christmas Eve 1906. He included some music, starting with a piece by Handel, followed by “O Holy Night” played on the violin.
32 Winged hooter : OWL
“Hoot owl” is an informal name for the barred owl. Barred owls have dark stripes running up and down the underside of their bodies, hence the name “barred”. They also have a very distinctive two-phrase vocalization, hence the name “hoot”.
34 Second-most-visited website worldwide, after Google : YOUTUBE
YouTube is a video-sharing website that was launched in 2005 by three ex-PayPal employees. Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Yep, $1.65 billion, less than two years after it was founded …
39 Some South Pacific greetings : ALOHAS
The Hawaiian word “aloha” has many meanings in English: affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. More recently, “aloha” has come to mean “hello” and “goodbye”, but only since the mid-1800s.
42 “Skol!,” in Sauternes : SALUT!
In French, “salut” means “hi”, and is less formal than “bonjour”. The former term can also be used as a friendly toast.
“Skoal” (sometimes “skol”) is a Scandinavian toast that has roots in the old Norse word “skaal” meaning “cup”.
44 Literally, “on fire” … or, metaphorically, excellent : EN FUEGO
A sports player who is doing really well might be said to be “on fire”. Sometimes “on fire” is translated into Spanish, and the person is said to be “en fuego”.
45 “Three coins” fountain location : 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.
“Three Coins in the Fountain” is a 1954 film about three young American women in Rome looking for romance. In the story, each of the girls throws a coin into the city’s famous Trevi fountain making a wish. The title song, performed by an uncredited Frank Sinatra, is probably the most famous composition by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn.
50 Drink that comes with a buzz cut? : DECAF LATTE
The term “latte” is an abbreviation of the Italian “caffelatte” meaning “coffee (and) milk”. Note that in the correct spelling of “latte”, the Italian word for milk; there is no accent over the “e”. An accent is often added by mistake when we use the word in English, perhaps meaning to suggest that the word is French.
53 Gently touch, either forward or backward : PAT
“Pat” is “tap” spelled backwards.
55 Frustrate : STYMIE
The word “stymie” comes from golf, and is a situation in which one’s approach to the hole is blocked by an opponent’s ball. We use the term more broadly as a verb to describe standing in the way of something.
65 Neatnik’s opposite : SLOB
The suffix “-nik” is of Slavic origin. It is somewhat like the suffix “-er” in English. By adding “-nik” to a noun, the new word describes a person related to what that noun describes. Examples of the use of “-nik” in mainstream English are “beatnik” and “”refusenik”. Examples of more casual “-nik” terms are “neatnik” and “peacenik”.
66 Palindromic fashion magazine : ELLE
The three most famous palindromes in English have to be:
- Able was I ere I saw Elba
- A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
- Madam, I’m Adam
One of my favorite terms is “Aibohphobia”, although it doesn’t appear in the dictionary and is a joke term. “Aibohphobia” is a great way to describe a fear of palindromes, by creating a palindrome out of the suffix “-phobia”.
70 Garlic squeezer : PRESS
Our word “garlic” evolved via Old English from “gar” (spear) and “leac” (leek). The use of “spear” is apparently a reference to the shape of a clove.
Down
2 Twistable snack item : OREO
There’s a smartphone app featuring the Oreo cookie. It’s a game in which one twists Oreo cookies apart, “licks” the cream from the center and then dunks the remainder of the cookie in a glass of milk.
4 First man, in Polynesian creation myth : TIKI
A tiki is a large carving of wood or stone resembling a human form that is found in Polynesian cultures. The carvings often mark out boundaries surrounding sites that are sacred to the locals.
6 Rock blaster : AMP
An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.
12 ___ Book Club : OPRAH’S
“Oprah’s Book Club” was a segment that started in 1996 on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. Each book reviewed was a personal recommendation by Winfrey herself. The first book reviewed was “The Deep End of the Ocean” by Jacquelyn Mitchard. The original book club ended in 2011, but there’s now a reboot known as “Oprah’s Book Club 2.0” that focuses on digital media now that “The Oprah Winfrey Show” is no more.
26 West Coast burger chain : IN-N-OUT
In-N-Out Burger is a fast food chain that’s very popular out here on the left coast. Unusually for a fast food business, In-N-Out Burger has no franchises and is privately owned. The company also prides itself on paying all employees above minimum wage. Also, if you check the packaging of the food and drink items, you’ll find a bible verse discreetly printed on the bottom of cups and wrappers, reflecting the Christian beliefs held by the company ownership. In-N-Out Burger was founded in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder, and is now owned by Lynsi Snyder, the couple’s only grandchild.
28 “Sweet Jane” songwriter Reed : LOU
Lou Reed was best known as a rock musician and songwriter, and was especially associated with the fabulous 1973 hit “Walk on the Wildside”. Reed is less well known as a photographer, but he published two collections of his work. The first was released in 2003 under the title “Emotions in Action”, and the second in 2006 called “Lou Reed’s New York”. Reed passed away in 2013.
35 Sch. affiliated with the Latter-day Saints : BYU
Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah has about 34.000 students on campus making it the largest religious university in the country. The school was founded in 1875 by Brigham Young, then President of the Church of Latter-day Saints.
37 Amy who wrote “The Joy Luck Club” : TAN
Amy Tan lives not too far from here, in Sausalito just north of San Francisco. Tan is an American writer of Chinese descent whose most successful work is “The Joy Luck Club”. “The Joy Luck Club” was made into a movie produced by Oliver Stone in 1993. The novel and movie tell of four Chinese-American immigrant families in San Francisco who start the Joy Luck Club, a group playing Mahjong for money and eating delicious food.
44 911 responder : EMT
Emergency medical technician (EMT)
The first use of a national emergency phone number was in 1937 in the UK, where the number 999 was introduced to call emergency services. If you need emergency services in the UK or Ireland to this day, you have to dial 999. It’s not really clear why 911 became the emergency number in the US. The most credible suggestion (to me) is that when it was introduced by the FCC in 1967, it was a number that “fit” with the numbers already used by AT&T for free services (211-long distance; 411-information; 611-repair service).
45 QB’s six-pointer : TD PASS
Touchdown (TD)
51 Means of tagging in a game : LASER
The name “Laser Tag” is really a misnomer as lasers are rarely used in the game. The “guns” actually send out infrared light, and not laser light, that is picked up by infrared detectors worn by the players.
52 Class offered at many Y.M.C.A.s : ESL
English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
56 Baking meas. : TBSP
Tablespoon (tbsp.)
58 Workhorse that’s only part horse : MULE
A hinny is the offspring of a male horse (the “h-” from h-orse) and a female donkey/ass (the “-nny” from je-nny). A mule is more common, and is the offspring of a female horse and male donkey/ass.
62 “American Idol” airer starting in 2018 : ABC
“American Idol” is a spin-off show that was created after the amazing success of the British television show “Pop Idol”. Aired on Fox from 2002 to 2016, the show “jumped ship” and moved to ABC starting in the 2018 season.
64 “___ Miz” : LES
The 1980 musical “Les Misérables” is an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The show opened in London in 1985, and is the longest running musical in the history of London’s West End. My wife and I saw “Les Miz” in the Queen’s Theatre in London many years ago, but were only able to get tickets in the very back row. The theater seating is very steep, so the back row of the balcony is extremely high over the stage. One of the big events in the storyline is the building of a street barricade over which the rebels fight. At the height we were seated we could see the stagehands behind the barricade, sitting drinking Coke, even smoking cigarettes. On cue, the stagehands would get up and catch a dropped rifle, or an actor who had been shot. It was pretty comical. I didn’t really enjoy the show that much, to be honest. Some great songs, but the musical version of the storyline just didn’t seem to hang together for me.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Kids and their parents : GOATS
6 Help with a job, in a way : ABET
10 Wanted, but nowhere to be found : AWOL
14 Nickname for Schwarzenegger or Palmer : ARNIE
15 Winged chatterbox : MYNA
16 Deal (with) : COPE
17 Hive minders : BEEKEEPERS
19 Having trouble deciding : TORN
20 Early-season farming task : SOWING
21 C, for one : NOTE
23 Video chat disruption : LAG
24 Words before “the stars are brightly shining,” in a carol : O HOLY NIGHT
27 Lute ___, longtime Arizona basketball coach : OLSON
32 Winged hooter : OWL
33 Grind, as one’s teeth : GNASH
34 Second-most-visited website worldwide, after Google : YOUTUBE
36 Many a Hollywood car crash : STUNT
38 So as not to stand out : SUBTLY
39 Some South Pacific greetings : ALOHAS
42 “Skol!,” in Sauternes : SALUT!
44 Literally, “on fire” … or, metaphorically, excellent : EN FUEGO
45 “Three coins” fountain location : TREVI
47 Lip : RIM
49 Scatter, as flower petals : STREW
50 Drink that comes with a buzz cut? : DECAF LATTE
53 Gently touch, either forward or backward : PAT
54 Staples of West African cuisine : YAMS
55 Frustrate : STYMIE
61 Et ___ (and others) : ALIA
63 Entranced … or what one can do by reading the starts of 17-, 24-, 34-, 44- and 50-Across in order? : SPELLBOUND or SPELL “BOUND”
65 Neatnik’s opposite : SLOB
66 Palindromic fashion magazine : ELLE
67 Petulant : SULKY
68 Line up : SYNC
69 Ones calling offsides : REFS
70 Garlic squeezer : PRESS
Down
1 Yaks : GABS
2 Twistable snack item : OREO
3 From the top : ANEW
4 First man, in Polynesian creation myth : TIKI
5 Observed : SEEN
6 Rock blaster : AMP
7 “Ta-ta!” : BYE NOW!
8 Prepares to get schooled, perhaps : ENROLLS
9 Yummilicious : TASTY
10 Not just sit around daydreaming : ACT
11 Just sit around daydreaming : WOOL-GATHER
12 ___ Book Club : OPRAH’S
13 Yardstick measurement : LENGTH
18 ___ trip : EGO
22 Swamps : ENGULFS
25 De-weeder : HOE
26 West Coast burger chain : IN-N-OUT
27 Cries of dismay : OYS
28 “Sweet Jane” songwriter Reed : LOU
29 Indented part of an outline : SUBSECTION
30 ___ rima (eight-line stanza) : OTTAVA
31 Invalidate : NULLIFY
35 Sch. affiliated with the Latter-day Saints : BYU
37 Amy who wrote “The Joy Luck Club” : TAN
40 Bouncer’s concern : AGE
41 Female hog : SOW
43 Ride roughshod over : TRAMPLE
44 911 responder : EMT
45 QB’s six-pointer : TD PASS
46 In actuality : REALLY
48 In and of ___ : ITSELF
51 Means of tagging in a game : LASER
52 Class offered at many Y.M.C.A.s : ESL
56 Baking meas. : TBSP
57 “That’s ___ business” : YOUR
58 Workhorse that’s only part horse : MULE
59 Tattoo shop supplies : INKS
60 Ice cream brand : EDY’S
62 “American Idol” airer starting in 2018 : ABC
64 “___ Miz” : LES
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