0611-22 NY Times Crossword 11 Jun 22, Saturday

Constructed by: Sid Sivakumar
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 14m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Travel aid in science fiction : TIME WARP

A time warp is a hypothetical concept much used in science fiction. The idea is that a distortion in the flow of time might cause events to move from one time period to another.

9 Classic musical with the song “If He Walked Into My Life” : MAME

The musical “Mame” opened on Broadway in 1966, with Angela Lansbury in the title role. The musical is based on the 1955 novel “Auntie Mame” written by Patrick Dennis.

13 Some spandex garments : SHAPEWEAR

What we call spandex in the US is known as lycra in Britain and Ireland. “Spandex” was chosen as the name for the elastic fiber as it is an anagram of “expands”.

15 The Midwest’s so-called “Queen Wheat City” : ENID

Enid, Oklahoma takes its name from the old railroad station around which the city developed. Back in 1889, that train stop was called Skeleton Station. An official who didn’t like the name changed it to Enid Station, using a character from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”. Maybe if he hadn’t changed the name, the city of Enid would now be called Skeleton, Oklahoma! Enid has the nickname “Queen Wheat City” because it has a huge capacity for storing grain, the third largest grain storage capacity in the world.

22 Copy room supply : REAMS

A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a “short ream”. We also use the term “reams” to mean a great amount, evolving from the idea of a lot of printed material.

23 Vehicles in “The Phantom Menace” : PODRACERS

Podracers are one-man racing craft in the “Star Wars” universe. Young Ani Skywalker is an expert podracer, showing off his skills in “The Phantom Menace”.

“Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” was the fourth film released in the “Star Wars” franchise, and the first in a prequel trilogy (the first three films were Episodes IV, V & VI). “The Phantom Menace” was released in 1999, twenty-two years after the original “Star Wars” movie, and sixteen years after the previous episode, “Return of the Jedi”.

24 Comic Notaro : TIG

Tig Notaro is a stand-up comedian known for her deadpan delivery.

26 Ollas, e.g. : STEW POTS

An olla is a traditional clay pot used for the making of stews. “Olla” was the Latin word used in ancient Rome to describe a similar type of pot.

30 Ironic word before an expletive : HOLY …

Batman’s partner Robin is known for his very creative “Holy …!” exclamations. Here are few worth repeating from the original “Batman” TV show:

  • “Holy Tintinnabulation!”
  • “Holy Knit One, Purl Two!”
  • “Holy Oleo!”
  • “Holy Hole in a Doughnut!”

31 Rapper Fiasco : LUPE

“Lupe Fiasco” is the stage name of rap artist Wasalu Muhammad Jaco. Jaco uses his real name when performing with the rock band Japanese Cartoon.

32 Planks can strengthen it : CORE

The plank is an isometric exercise that strengthens the abdominals, as well as the back and shoulder muscles. There are variations of the plank, such as the side plank and the reverse plank.

39 Black bird : ANI

The tropical bird called the ani is related to the cuckoo. Cuckoos go around robbing other birds’ best, but anis don’t.

40 Writer of the autobiography “Freedom in Exile” : DALAI LAMA

The Dalai Lama is a religious leader in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th to hold the office. He has indicated that the next Dalai Lama might be found outside of Tibet for the first time, and may even be female.

41 Game of manual dexterity : JENGA

Jenga is a relatively simple but entertaining game, one in which one stacks wooden blocks as high as possible until the resulting tower collapses. “Jenga” is the Swahili word for “to build”

45 Paul ___, pet food company founder : IAMS

Iams dog food was introduced by animal nutritionist Paul Iams. He felt that household pets were suffering somewhat by being fed a diet of table scraps, so he developed dry dog food that he felt was more nutritious and suitable for pet dogs. He founded the Iams company, now part of Procter & Gamble, in 1946.

49 Intervals represented by adjacent frets on a guitar : SEMITONES

A fret is a metal strip embedded in the neck of a stringed instrument, a guitar perhaps. The fingers press on the frets, shortening a string and hence changing the note played. The note increases by one semitone as a finger shortens a string by one fret.

50 Millennials, by another name : GEN-Y

The Millennial Generation are sometimes referred to as “Generation Y” (Gen-Y). Millennials were born after the “Gen-Xers”, from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

51 Jumble : RAT’S NEST

Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, is credited with popularizing the elaborate hairstyle known as the pouf. The hair was styled using a pomade made from wholesome ingredients such as beef marrow and bear grease. Because of the complexity of the hairstyle, ladies wore it for a week or two, during which time the animal fat would become rancid. It was reported that vermin would be attracted to the hair while sleeping, which apparently led to the phrase “her hair is a rat’s nest”.

Down

4 Where The Oaks is run : EPSOM

The Surrey town of Epsom in England is most famous for its racecourse (Epsom Downs), at which the Epsom Derby is run every year, one of the three races that make up the English Triple Crown. We also come across “Epsom salts” from time to time. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters. Epsom was indeed a spa town at one time. The town is also home to Epsom College, an English “public school” (which actually means “private, and expensive”). One of Epsom’s “old boys” was the Hollywood actor Stewart Granger.

7 Authority in the field, informally : REF

Back in the early 17th century, a referee was someone who examined patent applications. We started using the same term for a person presiding over a sporting event in the 1820s. “Referee” is a derivative of the verb “to refer”, and literally describes someone who has the authority to make a decision by “referring” to a book, archive etc.

8 They don’t know what they’re talking about : PARROTS

Scientists tell us that parrots are some of the most intelligent species of birds. Many of those species are able to imitate the human voice. Such characteristics have led to parrots becoming popular house pets, and a resulting drop in populations of parrots living in the wild.

11 AA and AAA : MINORS

That would be baseball.

12 Shangri-las : EDENS

Shangri-La is the earthly paradise in the mountains of Tibet described by James Hilton in his novel “Lost Horizon”. Shangri-La is “edenic” (perfect, like the Garden of Eden from the Book of Genesis). Frank Capra directed a wonderful screen adaptation of “Lost Horizon” in 1937 starring Ronald Colman.

21 Ruler chosen through the Islamic process of shura : CALIPH

“Caliph” is an Arabic word meaning “successor”. In the Islamic tradition, a caliph is a leader who is deemed to be a successor of Muhammad.

25 One side of a fast-food restaurant : COLESLAW

The term “coleslaw” is an Anglicized version of the Dutch term “koolsla”, which in itself is a shortened form of “Koolsalade” meaning “cabbage salad”.

31 Currency depicting the Persian poet Rumi : LIRA

The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira, which is divided into 100 kuruş. In 1927, the Turkish lira replaced the Ottoman lira, which had been in use since 1844.

32 Big brand of camping gear : COLEMAN

W. C. Coleman started his company in 1900, making and selling lamps in Kingfisher, Oklahoma.

33 ___ wheel : HAMSTER

The rodents known as hamsters are commonly kept as house pets. Male hamsters are called bucks, females are called does, and baby hamsters are known as pups.

35 Inventions of Karl Benz and Rudolf Diesel : ENGINES

It is generally accepted that Karl Benz invented the internal combustion engine, although others were doing similar work around the same time. He certainly was awarded the first patent for an automobile, in 1886. His first automobile, the Patent-Motorwagen, couldn’t get up hills unaided so his wife Bertha Benz suggested the introduction of gears. Sure enough, the next model had two gears. Behind every successful man …

Rudolf Diesel was a German engineer, and the inventor of the diesel engine. Diesel died under mysterious circumstances, having disappeared from a passenger vessel sailing from Antwerp to London. Whether death was due to an accident, suicide or murder is the subject of much speculation.

36 One sitting on the bench, maybe : PIANIST

What was remarkable about the piano when it was invented, compared to other keyboard instruments, was that notes could be played with varying degrees of loudness. This is accomplished by pressing the keys lightly or firmly. Because of this quality, the new instrument was called a “pianoforte”, with “piano” and “forte” meaning “soft” and “loud” in Italian. We tend to shorten the name these days to just “piano”.

38 Wrapping weights : TARES

Tare is the weight of a container that is deducted from the gross weight to determine the net weight, the weight of the container’s contents.

41 Banned backyard game : JARTS

Jarts is a brand of lawn darts.

Lawn darts is a game played on lawns in which participants toss large darts towards horizontal targets laid out on the grass. After many injuries, and several deaths, lawn darts were banned in the US and Canada. A modified version of lawn darts that uses projectiles with blunt tips can now be purchased in the US.

42 N.B.A. general manager Brand : ELTON

Elton Brand is a professional basketball player who played most of his career with the LA Clippers (from 2001 to 2008).

47 Sport with hits and strikes, for short : MMA

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Travel aid in science fiction : TIME WARP
9 Classic musical with the song “If He Walked Into My Life” : MAME
13 Some spandex garments : SHAPEWEAR
15 The Midwest’s so-called “Queen Wheat City” : ENID
16 No-fuss : HASSLE-FREE
18 Teen issue getting much topical coverage? : ACNE
19 “Weird …” : IT’S ODD …
20 Button on a Facebook post : REACTION
22 Copy room supply : REAMS
23 Vehicles in “The Phantom Menace” : PODRACERS
24 Comic Notaro : TIG
25 Drawings with lots of little blocks : CITY PLANS
26 Ollas, e.g. : STEW POTS
29 What might collect a lot of checks : LIST
30 Ironic word before an expletive : HOLY …
31 Rapper Fiasco : LUPE
32 Planks can strengthen it : CORE
33 Walk or run in a showy way : HIGH-STEP
37 Mega-celebrities, so to speak : ROCK STARS
39 Black bird : ANI
40 Writer of the autobiography “Freedom in Exile” : DALAI LAMA
41 Game of manual dexterity : JENGA
43 Willingness to listen : OPEN EARS
44 Enclose : WALL IN
45 Paul ___, pet food company founder : IAMS
46 Drink with dry vermouth, paradoxically : WET MARTINI
48 What has new seeds every spring?: Abbr. : NCAA
49 Intervals represented by adjacent frets on a guitar : SEMITONES
50 Millennials, by another name : GEN-Y
51 Jumble : RAT’S NEST

Down

1 They can be graphic : T-SHIRTS
2 [grimace] : [I HATE IT]
3 Pressure treatment? : MASSAGE
4 Where The Oaks is run : EPSOM
5 Joins a heavy metal band, say : WELDS
6 Thunderstruck : AWED
7 Authority in the field, informally : REF
8 They don’t know what they’re talking about : PARROTS
9 Some supermarket displays : MEAT CASES
10 Long gone : ANCIENT
11 AA and AAA : MINORS
12 Shangri-las : EDENS
14 Like much marshland : REEDY
17 Study buds? : EARPLUGS
21 Ruler chosen through the Islamic process of shura : CALIPH
23 Ache for, in a way : PITY
25 One side of a fast-food restaurant : COLESLAW
27 “It’s anyone’s guess” : WHO CAN SAY?
28 Certain crossbred lap dog : PORKIE
31 Currency depicting the Persian poet Rumi : LIRA
32 Big brand of camping gear : COLEMAN
33 ___ wheel : HAMSTER
34 Abrupt change in tone, perhaps : TANLINE
35 Inventions of Karl Benz and Rudolf Diesel : ENGINES
36 One sitting on the bench, maybe : PIANIST
37 Noomi ___, lead actress of 2009’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” : RAPACE
38 Wrapping weights : TARES
40 Undertaking : DOING
41 Banned backyard game : JARTS
42 N.B.A. general manager Brand : ELTON
44 “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” : WAIT!
47 Sport with hits and strikes, for short : MMA

9 thoughts on “0611-22 NY Times Crossword 11 Jun 22, Saturday”

  1. This was a really tough one for me–22:58. Must’ve hit a lot of my blind spots.

  2. 28:18. Nice challenge, but I thought Friday’s puzzle was tougher. I’ve been saying that a lot lately. Maybe I’m just brain-dead on Fridays.

    Had clay POTS before STEW POTS and a couple of other missteps.

    A hair treatment of bear grease and beef marrow?? I am so glad I wasn’t around in Marie Antoinette days. I guess L’oreal and Paul Mitchell weren’t around then either…

    I’ve found that the effects of tequila mirror those of a TIME WARP Bill describes..

    Where has Nonny been these last couple of weeks?

    Best –

  3. 51:43. Had to creep through this grid, box by box. 0 for 4 on proper names. Two words I’ve become vaguely familiar with only through crosswords: OLLA and OAST. They seem to interchange in my mind. I was trying to fit OVEN or OVENS in 26A. On the bright side, I have a 13 day streak going, using the NYT App.

  4. Quick run for me on a Saturday puzzle. Missed 47D. Had MTA instead of MMA. That gave me SETITONES for 49A. If I would have sounded it out, SEMITONES sounds better. Even if I don’t know anything about guitars.

  5. Eleven down was the last to fall and even then I had to think about it before the light went on. Some of the best and most creative cluing
    IMHO. No errors and an enjoyable Fri/Sat sweep.

  6. I knew it had to be “LIRA,” but didn’t know Turkey’s currency before now

    I finished no errors – not as fast as you all

    Agree Fri vs Sat – I never know which will be harder

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