Constructed by: Byron Walden
Edited by: Will Shortz
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… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: None
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Bill’s time: 23m 59s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
15 1997 title role for Peter Fonda : ULEE
“Ulee’s Gold” is a highly respected film from 1997 in which Peter Fonda plays the title role of Ulee. Ulee’s “gold” is the honey that Ulysses “Ulee” Jackson produces. It is a favorite role for Peter Fonda and he has shared that playing Ulee brought to mind his father Henry Fonda, who himself kept a couple of hives. So if you see Peter Fonda in “Ulee’s Gold” you’re witnessing some characteristics that Peter saw in his father.
Peter Fonda is the son of actor Henry, brother of actress Jane, and father of actress Bridget. Peter nearly didn’t make it to the stage. He was one of the many children who have been victims of shooting accidents. Peter shot himself in the stomach when he was just 11-years-old, and very nearly died.
17 Sheltie shelterer, in brief : SPCA
Unlike most developed countries, the US has no umbrella organization with the goal of preventing cruelty to animals. Instead there are independent organizations set up all over the nation using the name SPCA. Having said that, there is an organization called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that was originally intended to operate across the country, but really it now focuses its efforts in New York City.
22 Heel : CAD
Our word “cad”, meaning “person lacking in finer feelings”, is a shortening of the word “cadet”. “Cad” was first used for a servant, and then students at British universities used “cad” as a term for a boy from the local town. “Cad” took on its current meaning in the 1830s.
25 ___ Noël : PERE
A central figure on Christmas Day is Santa Claus, aka “Father Christmas”, and “Père Noël” in French.
26 Form of birth control : VASECTOMY
“Vas” is an anatomical term for a tube. The vasa deferentia are the ducts that carry sperm into the urethra during ejaculation. In a vasectomy, the vasa deferentia are cut and the ends tied to prevent sperm from reaching the urethra.
27 Nickname for Bill Clinton : BUBBA
President Bill Clinton was born not as a Clinton, but as William Jefferson Blythe. Bill’s father was killed in a car accident just three months before he was born. His mother remarried a few years later, to Roger Clinton. Bill didn’t formally adopt the Clinton name until he was fourteen years old, although he used it as he was growing up.
33 Old fogy : DOTARD
A dotard is a person who is in his or her dotage, someone who has become senile.
An old fogey is someone with old-fashioned ideas, and is usually more advanced in years. The term “fogey”(sometimes “fogy”) comes to us from the Scottish “foggie”, which back in the late 1700s described an army pensioner or veteran.
42 Number before nove : OTTO
In Italian, “otto” (eight) lies between “sette” (seven) and “nove” (nine).
45 Crimean Peninsula resort in W.W. II history : YALTA
Yalta is a resort city on the Black Sea on the Crimean Peninsula. Crimea is very much in the news in recent years as ownership of the territory is in dispute between Russia and the Ukraine. Yalta was also in the news at the end of WWII, as it was the site of the 1945 Yalta Conference between the leaders of the three main Allies.
47 Some arcade habitués : PINBALLERS
Our modern game of pinball evolved from an earlier table game called bagatelle that used balls, pins and holes (and I remember playing bagatelle as a boy in a pub in Ireland). The first pinball machine was made by a British inventor who settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. He modified the game of bagatelle, adding a coiled spring and a plunger to introduce balls at the end of the table, a device that is still in use today. From there, manufacturers developed coin-operated versions of pinball, which became popular during the depression as they provided a little entertainment for a few pennies. One distributor of the coin-operated pinball machines started manufacturing them himself as he couldn’t source new games fast enough. He called his pinball game Ballyhoo, and eventually named his company Bally, a brand name well known in the gambling industry to this day.
Our word “arcade” comes from the Latin “arcus” meaning “arc”. The first arcades were passages made from a series of arches. This could be an avenue of trees, and eventually any covered avenue. I remember arcades lined with shops and stores when I was growing up on the other side of the Atlantic. Arcades came to be lined with lots of amusements, resulting in amusement arcades and video game arcades.
A “habitué” is someone who frequents a particular spot. “Habituer” is the French word for “to accustom”.
Down
2 Wool source : ALPACA
Alpacas are like small llamas, but unlike llamas were never beasts of burden. Alpacas were bred specifically for the fleece. As such, there are no known wild alpacas these days, even in their native Peru.
4 Rocky wears one in his famous training montage : BEANIE
A beanie is a knitted, close-fitting hat with no brim. The name probably comes from the slang term “bean” meaning “head”.
If ever there was a movie that defined a career breakthrough for an actor, it would have to be “Rocky” for Sylvester Stallone. Stallone was a struggling actor in 1975 when a Muhammad Ali fight inspired Stallone to write a screenplay for a boxing movie, which he did in just three days. His efforts to sell the script went well but for the fact that the interested studios wanted a big name for the lead role, and Stallone was determined to be the star himself. Stallone persevered and “Rocky” was eventually made with him playing the title role of Rocky Balboa. The movie won three Oscars, and “Sly” Stallone had arrived …
5 Book that originated the phrase “skin of my teeth” : JOB
It is believed that the Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible.
10 Excited reaction at trivia night : OH! OH!
Trivia are things of little consequence. “Trivia” is the plural of the Latin word “trivium” which means “a place where three roads meet”. Now that’s what I call a trivial fact …
11 For whom the gymnast Nadia Comaneci won gold in 1976: Abbr. : ROM
Romania sits just east of Hungary and north of Bulgaria in Europe. It was formed from the union of two principalities in 1859, Moldavia and Wallachia. The Kingdom of Romania grew larger in size after WWI with the addition of three new regions, including the “vampirish” Transylvania.
Romanian Nadia Comaneci won three golds in the 1976 Summer Olympics and was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of ten in the gymnastics competition. Comaneci published a book called “Letters to a Young Gymnast” in 2003, and now lives in the United States.
24 Amazon area : E-TAIL
“E-tail” is the term used these days for online shopping (coming from “retail”). E-tail is often compared to regular shopping in the “real world” by juxtaposing it with a “brick-and-mortar” store.
25 Stage of metamorphosis : PUPA
A pupa is a stage in the life of some insects. All four stages are embryo, larva, pupa and imago. Pupae can look like little dolls, hence the name. “Pupa” is the Latin for “doll”.
32 “The Sickness ___ Death” (Kierkegaard book) : UNTO
Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher and theologian, and I’ve never really understood anything that he wrote!
34 Marched en masse : TROOPED
“En masse” is a French term, one that best translates as “as a group”
35 Supporting strips in construction : BATTENS
Battens are strips of wood, especially those used to secure canvas covers over a ship’s hatches. The phrase “batten down the hatches” means “to prepare for disaster, the impending storm”.
38 1984 #3 hit with the lyric “Ain’t no law against it yet” : SHE BOP
“She Bop” is a hit song released by Cyndi Lauper in 1984. The song was considered controversial because of the sexual nature of the lyrics. In fact, Lauper claims that she recorded the vocal track while she was naked.
39 State bordering Arizona and New Mexico : SONORA
Sonora is the state in Mexico that lies just south of Arizona and New Mexico. It is the second-largest state in the country, after Chihuahua.
41 Group with the 1961 hit “Rama Lama Ding Dong,” with “the” : … EDSELS
“Rama Lama Ding Dong” was a hit in 1961, although it had been released in 1957 under the erroneous title “Lama Rama Ding Dong” and didn’t quite make it. The song was recorded by the doo-wop group called the Edsels, named after the latest (and “doomed”) Ford automobile. Before becoming the Edsels, the group was called the Essos, after the oil company.
43 ___ d’Or : PALME
The “Palme d’Or” (or “Golden Palm” in English) is the highest award given at the Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d’Or goes to the director of the film that is selected as the best shown at the festival that year. The palm was selected as an emblem for the award as there is a palm featured on the coat of arms of the Commune of Cannes.
48 Derek ___, former president of Harvard : BOK
Derek Bok was President of Harvard from 1971 to 1991, returning in 2006 for a year to act as President after the resignation of Lawrence Summers.
49 ID since 1935 : SSN
The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So starting in 1986, the IRS made it a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987. Today, a SSN is required for a child of any age in order to receive a tax exemption.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Put-ons? : GARB
5 Jubilate : JUMP FOR JOY
15 1997 title role for Peter Fonda : ULEE
16 San Francisco’s War Memorial, for one : OPERA HOUSE
17 Sheltie shelterer, in brief : SPCA
18 Program that includes Build Back Better, informally : BIDENOMICS
19 Ride : TAUNT
21 Circumstance, in modern slang : SITCH
22 Heel : CAD
23 Not reserve : ACTIVE DUTY
25 ___ Noël : PERE
26 Form of birth control : VASECTOMY
27 Nickname for Bill Clinton : BUBBA
28 Stumbles for a speaker : HAWS
29 Make sound : REPAIR
30 Enlighten : CLUE IN
33 Old fogy : DOTARD
34 Commanders became part of it in 2022, for short : THE NFL
35 Big shot : BELT
36 A whole bunch : RAFTS
37 It’s bound to run in the third quarter : FALL ISSUE
42 Number before nove : OTTO
43 Tables : PUTS ON HOLD
44 “Still the Same ___ Me” (George Jones album) : OLE
45 Crimean Peninsula resort in W.W. II history : YALTA
46 Restroom sign : GENTS
47 Some arcade habitués : PINBALLERS
50 Drip : BORE
51 University stores : ENDOWMENTS
52 Like most depositions : ORAL
53 Someone who can’t stand working? : DESK PERSON
54 “Not for me” : PASS
Down
1 ___ Graves (Bond villain in “Die Another Day”) : GUSTAV
2 Wool source : ALPACA
3 Does some further editing on : RECUTS
4 Rocky wears one in his famous training montage : BEANIE
5 Book that originated the phrase “skin of my teeth” : JOB
6 “Nothing makes sense anymore!” : UP IS DOWN
7 Dead ringers? : MEDIUMS
8 Rather : PRETTY
9 Like : FANCY
10 Excited reaction at trivia night : OH! OH!
11 For whom the gymnast Nadia Comaneci won gold in 1976: Abbr. : ROM
12 Place to get a smoothie : JUICE BAR
13 “For your consideration” campaign : OSCAR BID
14 Partnership agreement? : YES, DEAR
20 Cooks from the box? : TV CHEFS
24 Amazon area : E-TAIL
25 Stage of metamorphosis : PUPA
27 Bookmaker’s concern : BETTING
29 ___ Rhubarb, foil for the Katzenjammer Kids of old comics : ROLLO
30 Many a 900 number : CHAT LINE
31 Some defensive football players : LEFT ENDS
32 “The Sickness ___ Death” (Kierkegaard book) : UNTO
33 Italian painter Andrea : DEL SARTO
34 Marched en masse : TROOPED
35 Supporting strips in construction : BATTENS
37 Worker who processes wool : FULLER
38 1984 #3 hit with the lyric “Ain’t no law against it yet” : SHE BOP
39 State bordering Arizona and New Mexico : SONORA
40 Radicals : ULTRAS
41 Group with the 1961 hit “Rama Lama Ding Dong,” with “the” : … EDSELS
43 ___ d’Or : PALME
45 Harsh cry : YAWP!
48 Derek ___, former president of Harvard : BOK
49 ID since 1935 : SSN
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