0827-22 NY Times Crossword 27 Aug 22, Saturday

Constructed by: Andrew Linzer
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 11m 59s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 ___ Network, onetime HGTV spinoff : DIY

The DIY Network is a television channel that focuses on DIY (do-it-yourself) projects. You can learn about anything from rebuilding an engine to scrapbooking on the DIY channel.

15 Rock variety : EMO

“Emo” is short for “emotional hardcore”.

16 Bit of album info : RELEASE DATE

The Latin word “album” translates as “white”. Back in the 17th century, public notices and lists of names were written on a board painted white, or in a souvenir book with white pages known as an “albo” (from “album”). Over time, the term “album” came to be used in English for a blank book created to collect signatures or other mementos. By the end of the 19th century, albums were used to collect photographs. The term “album” was applied to long-playing gramophone records in the early 1950s, because the record sleeves resembled large photographic albums.

18 Where to see the big picture? : IMAX THEATER

The IMAX Corporation, which is behind the IMAX film format, is a Canadian company. The impetus for developing the system came after Expo ’67 in Montreal. Back then large format screenings were accomplished using multiple projectors with multiple screens, with images basically stitched together. The team behind the IMAX technology set out to simplify things, and developed a single-camera, single-projector system.

19 ___ Nkrumah, first P.M. and president of Ghana : KWAME

Kwame Nkrumah led the Gold Coast into independence from British rule, under its new name “Ghana”. He was leader of his country from 1952 until 1966, when he and his government were overthrown in a military coup (backed by the CIA). Nkrumah went into exile in Guinea, never to return to Ghana.

22 Flat topper : TAM

A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap worn traditionally by Scotsmen. “Tams” were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”) but as more dyes became readily available they became more colorful. The name of the cap comes from the title character of the Robert Burns poem “Tam o’ Shanter”. A pom-pom adorning a tam is known as a toorie.

23 First Stuart king of England : JAMES I

The Royal House of Stewart (also “Stuart”) came to power in Scotland in the late 14th century, starting with Robert II of Scotland. The Stewarts extended their power to England and Ireland when the Tudor line became extinct as Queen Elizabeth I died without issue. James VI of Scotland became James I of England at that time. The last Stuart monarch was Anne, Queen of Great Britain who also died without issue, despite going through seventeen pregnancies. Assuming Prince William, Duke of Cambridge becomes the British Monarch one day, then there will be a Stewart descendant on the throne again. William is the son of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Diana was descended from the Stewart monarchs.

35 Religious group affected by the Edict of Nantes : HUGUENOTS

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.

The Edict of Nantes was issued by King Henry IV of France in 1598. The edict granted specific rights to Protestants, a major concession in Catholic France, and was intended to end religious strife in the country.

36 Disney’s Splash Mountain, for one : WATER RIDE

The Disneyland ride called Splash Mountain is inspired by the 1946 Disney movie “Song of the South”, which in turn is based on the “Uncle Remus” stories featuring Br’er Rabbit and friends. The most famous song heard while on the ride is “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”, which comes from the film’s soundtrack. Splash Mountain made its debut in 1989 in Disneyland in Anaheim. The same ride opened in Disneyworld in florida and Tokyo Disneyland in 1992. The “splashy” ride was deemed unsuitable for Disneyland Paris due to the frequent cold weather in that part of Europe.

40 “Chicago” performance : JAZZ DANCE

The wonderful 1975 musical “Chicago” is based on a 1926 play of the same name written by a news reporter called Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins had been assigned to cover the murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the “Chicago Tribune”, and used the story that unfolded as the basis for her play. Annan became the character Roxie Hart, and Gaertner became Velma Kelly. I’ve only ever seen the movie version of “Chicago” and never a live performance …

43 Superhero with a lightning bolt on his costume : SHAZAM

“Shazam” is a word that was coined in the “Captain Marvel” comics in 1940. Billy Batson is a boy who can transform himself into the superhero Captain Marvel (aka “Shazam”) by speaking the magic word “Shazam”. “Shazam” is actually an acronym standing for “Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury”.

45 Trigonometry meas. : RAD

The radian is a unit of angular measure. The unfortunate radian has been demoted, as the SI unit of angular measure is the steradian.

46 Helps out with a lift : SPOTS

People at the gym who are doing weight-training will often “spot” for each other. This means that the person who is spotting assists in the lift, allowing the lifter to work with more weight than usual.

55 ___ Future, rap group in which Tyler, the Creator got his start : ODD

“Tyler, the Creator” is the stage name of rap singer Tyler Okonma.

57 Rio maker : KIA

South Korean automaker Kia has been making the subcompact model called the Rio since 2000.

58 Future residents : MED STUDENTS

A resident is a physician who has graduated from medical school, and who is receiving specialized graduate training in a hospital. The concept of residency developed in the late 1800s. Back then, the doctors would often “reside” in hospital-provided housing while receiving the training, hence the term “resident”.

Down

6 “___ the day!” (exclamation from “Twelfth Night”) : ALAS

“Alas the day”, and variants thereof, is a phrase used a few times by William Shakespeare. For example, Iago says “Alas the day!” in “Othello”, as does Viola in “Twelfth Night”. Also in “Othello”, Desdemona says “Alas the heavy day!”.

8 Kind of sauce made with peanuts : SATE

The dish known as “satay” originated in Java, Indonesia and is marinated pieces of meat served on a skewer in a sauce, often a spicy peanut sauce. “Satay” is the Indonesian spelling, and “sate” is the Malay spelling.

9 North Carolina county whose seat is Jefferson : ASHE

Samuel Ashe was the Governor of North Carolina from 1795 to 1798. North Carolina’s Ashe County and the cities of Asheboro and Asheville are named in his honor.

11 1890 admission to the Union: Abbr. : IDA

Idaho was admitted as the 43rd state of the union in 1890. The passage to statehood was not without difficulty. There had been plans in Washington to split what is now Idaho between the new states of Washington and Nevada.

13 Like a sauna : STEAMY

As my Finnish-American wife will tell you, “sauna” is a Finnish word, and is pronounced more correctly as “sow-nah” (with “sow” as in the female pig).

28 The names of most of its models end in “X” : ACURA

Acura is the luxury brand of the Honda Motor Company. As an aside, Infiniti is the equivalent luxury brand for the Nissan Motor Company, and Lexus is the more luxurious version of Toyota’s models.

30 Drink once consumed to prevent malaria : TONIC

The original tonic water was a fairly strong solution of the drug quinine dissolved in carbonated water. It was used in tropical areas in South Asia and Africa where malaria is rampant. The quinine has a prophylactic effect against the disease, and was formulated as “tonic water” so that it could be easily distributed. In British colonial India, the colonial types got into the habit of mixing gin with the tonic water to make it more palatable by hiding the bitter taste of quinine. Nowadays, the level of quinine in tonic water has dropped, and sugar has been added.

34 Mess (with) : FUTZ

To futz around is to waste time on trivial matters, to fool around. “Futz” is probably derived from a “not-so-nice” word that has been merged with “putz”.

37 Gum brand with a red, white and blue wrapper : BAZOOKA

The Bazooka brand of bubble gum was introduced by the Topps Company soon after the end of WWII. Bazooka have included comic strips in the wrappers for their gum since the early to mid-fifties. The hero of the strip is Bazooka Joe, a young man who wears an eyepatch.

40 Woodward or Whalley of the big screen : JOANNE

Joanne Woodward is perhaps best-known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1957’s “The Three Faces of Eve”, and for being married to Paul Newman.

48 Something that gives takes : OP-ED

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

53 Contents of some chats, in brief : IMS

Instant message (IM)

54 Care provider inits. : EMT

Emergency medical technician (EMT)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 ___ Network, onetime HGTV spinoff : DIY
4 “Never thought I’d see the day!” : THAT’S A FIRST!
15 Rock variety : EMO
16 Bit of album info : RELEASE DATE
17 Temporary decline : SAG
18 Where to see the big picture? : IMAX THEATER
19 ___ Nkrumah, first P.M. and president of Ghana : KWAME
21 Prepare (oneself) : STEEL
22 Flat topper : TAM
23 First Stuart king of England : JAMES I
25 Trees that canopy Central Park’s Literary Walk : ELMS
26 Kind of health : ORAL
27 Super-useful item? : MASTER KEY
33 Lay down, in a way : BET
34 Where jobs may be on the line : FACTORIES
35 Religious group affected by the Edict of Nantes : HUGUENOTS
36 Disney’s Splash Mountain, for one : WATER RIDE
37 See 49-Down : … BAG
40 “Chicago” performance : JAZZ DANCE
41 Gig for a caterer, maybe : GALA
42 Word before double or after heavenly : BODY
43 Superhero with a lightning bolt on his costume : SHAZAM
45 Trigonometry meas. : RAD
46 Helps out with a lift : SPOTS
51 Habitation : ABODE
52 Venue for computer chips? : ONLINE POKER
55 ___ Future, rap group in which Tyler, the Creator got his start : ODD
56 Again : ONE MORE TIME
57 Rio maker : KIA
58 Future residents : MED STUDENTS
59 Even one : ANY

Down

1 Seated position? : DESK JOB
2 “Yes, this has been brought to my attention” : I’M AWARE
3 You might hold different positions on it : YOGA MAT
4 Taxes : TRIES
5 Show some hesitancy : HEM
6 “___ the day!” (exclamation from “Twelfth Night”) : ALAS
7 Reach quickly, in a way : TEXT
8 Kind of sauce made with peanuts : SATE
9 North Carolina county whose seat is Jefferson : ASHE
10 Vibe : FEEL
11 1890 admission to the Union: Abbr. : IDA
12 Makes nervous or worried : RATTLES
13 Like a sauna : STEAMY
14 They come with conditions : TERMS
20 Nickname that elides “vin” : MEL
24 Scanned, perhaps : IMAGED
25 Squeezes : EKES
28 The names of most of its models end in “X” : ACURA
29 Rhadamanthine : STERN
30 Drink once consumed to prevent malaria : TONIC
31 Breaks the bank? : ERODES
32 Confirmation, e.g. : RITE
34 Mess (with) : FUTZ
35 Unclear : HAZY
36 Moved clumsily : WADDLED
37 Gum brand with a red, white and blue wrapper : BAZOOKA
38 Broadway musical with the song “These Palace Walls” : ALADDIN
39 Playing time : GAME DAY
40 Woodward or Whalley of the big screen : JOANNE
41 Blah-blah-blah : GAB
42 Dirt gatherer : BROOM
44 Pride : lions :: husk : ___ : HARES
46 Insolent twerp : SNOT
47 Country whose name can be typed on just the top row of a keyboard : PERU
48 Something that gives takes : OP-ED
49 With 37-Across, small carry-on : TOTE …
50 Bit of kitchen waste : SKIN
53 Contents of some chats, in brief : IMS
54 Care provider inits. : EMT

15 thoughts on “0827-22 NY Times Crossword 27 Aug 22, Saturday”

  1. 10:01. Like yesterday, this one went fairly smoothly. I was pleased with myself for coming up with MED STUDENTS without any surrounding fill.

  2. 26:47, no errors. Nothing seemed easy today. Lost about 10 minutes trying to make MOTHERBOARD work in 52A. Guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to see the term “FUTZ around”.

  3. 24:22. Not too bad for a Saturday puzzle.

    Who knew SHAZAM was an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury? Easy acronym to remember. The mnemonic is built in…

    I always thought a SAUNA was dry heat and when you added water it turned into a steam bath – ie SAUNAs are always dry. But I guess there is such a thing as a wet SAUNA so no lawsuit will be necessary.

    Best –

  4. 54:53, solved between two countries, In which I discovered that you can still work the NYT App with cell and wifi service shut off, since I was not paying extra to have a working phone in Canada for a day. *cheapskate* That said, you can only work the “Spelling Bee” if you have service, unless it is active on your screen when you shut off the services.

  5. 12:02, no errors. While I’d like to think I’m a good solver at these, it’s hard to really say anything with these being so inconsistent from week to week.

    1. Re yesterday’s “asymmetry” question: Can you throw me a tiny bone? The name of an indie constructor? The URL of a web site?

      1. Like I said, you’re just going to have to keep your eyes open. It’s semi-rare but it happens.

        1. Your original comment was quite different:

          “Honestly, assymetry was never that much of an issue to me as a solver and usually outside of more ‘mainstream’ sources any puzzle I see is almost always asymmetric.”

          That’s why I was so interested in knowing where you were seeing such puzzles. I shall now cease and desist from looking for them … 😜

  6. No errors. That doesn’t happen for Saturdays. Crosses helped big time.

    Had a tough time giving up PUTZ. but after I worked clear around the middle, I was forced to deal with it.
    FUTZ finally came.

  7. After my first look at all the clues I thought I was probably going to have a really hard time even finishing this one. Anyway I got a good start in the southwest and went from there, finishing in 38 minutes with no look ups Or errors.

  8. 40:04 no errors…I did have to look up 19A…I know I should have known that as most of you probably did but I didn’t 🤪🤪
    Stay safe😀

  9. A rare miss for Bill! The radian is alive and well: the steradian is a measure of solid angles, while the radian does the trick for plane angles. In fact, the name steradian comes from stereo plus radian.

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