Constructed by: Sarah Sinclair
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Dating App
Themed answers each start with the name of a dating app:
- 59A Modern medium for meeting someone … or what each of the starts of 17-, 25-, 37- and 50-Across is : DATING APP
- 17A Be determined by : HINGE UPON
Hinge is a dating app that was launched in 2012. Apparently, a key feature of the app is the use of Facebook friends to facilitate introductions to potential matches. - 25A Critical moment in tennis : MATCH POINT
Match.com is an online dating service. The company was started in 1993 and claims to have over 20 million members worldwide, in the ratio of male to female of 49:51. - 37A Extremely flammable, as vegetation : TINDER DRY
Tinder is a matchmaking app that uses Facebook profiles. Users “swipe” photos of potential matches, either to the right (“like”) or to the left (“not interested”). Users who “match” each other can then chat within the app. - 50A Fuzzy buzzers : BUMBLEBEES
Bumble is a dating app that was founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd, the co-founder of Tinder. Bumble has been described as a “feminist dating app”. Indeed, first contact in a potential heterosexual relationship can only be made by a female user.
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Bill’s time: 6m 15s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 “The Fresh Prince of ___-Air” : BEL
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” sitcom originally ran from 1990 to 1996. It starred Will Smith as a teenager from Philadelphia who arrives in Bel Air to live in a mansion with his wealthy aunt and uncle.
4 Icy ocean hazards : BERGS
An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that is floating freely after having broken away from a glacier or ice shelf. Our use of “iceberg” comes from the Dutch word for the same phenomenon “ijsberg”, which translates literally as “ice mountain”.
9 Less than 90º, as an angle : ACUTE
In geometry, there are several classes of angles:
- Acute (< 90 degrees)
- Right (= 90 degrees)
- Obtuse (> 90 degrees and < 180 degrees)
- Straight (180 degrees)
- Reflex (> 180 degrees)
14 Down Under bird : EMU
The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …
15 State known for potatoes : IDAHO
Idaho has the nickname “Gem State”, mainly because almost every known type of gemstone has been found there. Idaho is also sometimes called the Potato State, as potatoes are such a popular crop in the state. I’d go for the potatoes over the gems, but that’s probably just me. Oh, and Idaho license plates have borne the slogan “Famous Potatoes” for decades …
20 Encourage, as in behavior : EGG ON
The verb “to edge” has been used to mean to incite, to urge on, from the 16th century. Somewhere along the way “edge” was mistakenly replaced with “egg”, giving us our term “to egg on” meaning “to goad”.
23 School fig. that might be weighted : GPA
Grade point average (GPA)
32 Wimbledon unit : SET
The Wimbledon Championships of tennis are held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club located in Wimbledon, a district of London. The Wimbledon Championships started in 1877, and have been played on grass since day one.
33 Garlicky sauce : AIOLI
To the purist, especially in Provence in the South of France, aioli is prepared just by grinding garlic with olive oil. However, other ingredients are often added to the mix, particularly egg yolks.
36 Ballet, e.g., in French : DANSE
The term “ballet” came into English via French from the Latin “ballare” meaning “to dance”.
42 Apt vowels missing from this phrase: TH_ L_TTL_ K_DS’ S_NG : E-I-E-I-O
There was an old American version of the English children’s song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (E-I-E-I-O) that was around in the days of WWI. The first line of the older US version goes “Old MacDougal had a farm, in Ohio-i-o”.
43 Mac alternatives : PCS
The original IBM Personal Computer is model number 5150, which was introduced to the world on August 12, 1981. The term “personal computer” was already in use, but the success of the IBM 5150 led to the term “PC” being used for all computer products compatible with the IBM platform.
46 Vampire vanquisher, e.g. : SLAYER
66 Vampire-vanquishing weapon : STAKE
Legends about vampires were particularly common in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans in particular. The superstition was that vampires could be killed using a wooden stake, with the preferred type of wood varying from place to place. Superstition also defines where the body should be pierced. Most often, the stake was driven through the heart, but Russians and northern Germans went for the mouth, and northeastern Serbs for the stomach.
50 Fuzzy buzzers : BUMBLEBEES
Bumblebees aren’t very aggressive, but they can sting if they deem it necessary. Unlike honey bees, bumblebees survive the stinging action as their stinger has no barb. There are a few misconceptions about bumblebees. One is that a bumblebee should be incapable of flight based on the laws of aerodynamics, but this isn’t true. Another misconception is that the bee’s buzzing sound is caused by the beating of its wings. In fact, the sound comes from the vibration of its flight muscles. The bee can decouple those muscles from its wings, and so can make a buzzing sound without the wings moving at all.
54 Engineered crop letters : GMO
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is one with genetic material that has been altered by genetic engineering. One might argue that the oldest form of genetic engineering is selective breeding, the use of animals or plants with desired traits for the creation of the next generation.
57 Chinese or Lao : ASIAN
The world’s most populous country is the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Republic of China (ROC) is the official name of the sovereign state that we usually call Taiwan.
The official name for the country of Laos is the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. In the Lao language, the country’s name is “Meuang Lao”. The French ruled Laos as part of French Indochina, having united three separate Lao kingdoms. As there was a plural of “Lao” entities united into one, the French added the “S” and so today we tend to use “Laos” instead of “Lao”.
62 Like the taste of Tic Tacs : MINTY
Tic Tacs aren’t American candies (as I always mistakenly believed). Tic Tacs are made by the Italian company Ferrero, and were introduced in 1969.
64 D.C. baseballer : NAT
The Washington Nationals (“Nats”) started out life as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and were the first Major League Baseball team in Canada. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 becoming the Nats.
Down
1 Gives the Anne Boleyn treatment : BEHEADS
Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII of England. Anne was found guilty of high treason after about a thousand days of marriage to Henry, accused of adultery and incest (probably trumped-up charges). She was executed, but perhaps her legacy lived on in her only child, as her daughter reigned for 45 very prosperous years as Queen Elizabeth I.
2 Many an expat : EMIGREE
An émigré (fem. “émigrée”) is an emigrant. The term is French in origin, and particularly applies to someone who is a political refugee from his or her native land.
Expatriate (expat)
4 Good, in Guatemala : BIEN
Guatemala in Central America became independent from Spain in 1821, first becoming part of the Mexican Empire, and then becoming completely independent two years later.
5 School website ending : EDU
The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:
- .com (commercial enterprise)
- .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
- .mil (US military)
- .org (not-for-profit organization)
- .gov (US federal government entity)
- .edu (college-level educational institution)
6 Genre for Nicki Minaj : RAP
Nicki Minaj is a rapper from the New York borough of Queens who was born in Trinidad.
7 Stop replying to, as on a 59-Across : GHOST
[59 Modern medium for meeting someone … or what each of the starts of 17-, 25-, 37- and 50-Across is : DATING APP]
A rather insensitive person might break off a relationship simply by cutting off all communication with his or her partner, without any warning. Such a move is referred to as “ghosting” in modern parlance, particularly when the relationship relies heavily on online interaction.
8 Video game hedgehog : SONIC
Sonic the Hedgehog is a title character in a videogame and the mascot of Sega, the computer game developer. Sonic was set up as a rival to Nintendo’s mascot Mario.
10 Storage spot in a ship : CARGO BAY
Cargo is freight carried by some vehicle. The term “cargo” comes into English via Spanish, ultimately deriving from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load on a cart”.
11 Perfect : UTOPIAN
The word “Utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More in his book “Utopia” published in 1516 to describe an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More’s use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek “ou” meaning “not” and “topos” meaning “place”. By calling his perfect island “Not Place”, More was apparently making the point that he didn’t think that the ideal could actually exist.
12 Ones with leases : TENANTS
A tenant is a person or entity “holding” property by virtue of title or lease. The term “tenant” comes from the Latin “tenere” meaning “to hold”.
13 One of up to 200(!) on a scallop : EYE
A scallop is a marine mollusk that is often served as seafood. Scallops are often served baked in milk and this method of preparation has become known as “scalloping”. So, scalloped potatoes are potatoes baked in milk.
18 Provoke : GOAD
A goad is a pointed rod that is used to push on an animal. It is from the noun that we get the verb “to goad” meaning “to incite, rouse”.
22 Hood wearer at a graduation, for short : PHD
“Ph.D.” is an abbreviation for “philosophiae doctor”, Latin for “teacher of philosophy”. Often, candidates for a PhD already hold a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, so a PhD might be considered a “third degree”.
25 Common street name : MAIN
The most common street name in the US is “Second Street”. “First Street” comes in only at number three, and this is because many cities and towns forgo the use of “First” and instead go with “Main” or something more historical in nature. The spooky “Elm Street” appears on the list at number fifteen.
26 Battery terminal : ANODE
A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electric energy. A simple battery is made up of three parts: a cathode, an anode and a liquid electrolyte. Ions from the electrolyte react chemically with the material in the anode producing a compound and releasing electrons. At the same time, the electrolyte reacts with the material in the cathode, absorbing electrons and producing a different chemical compound. In this way, there is a buildup of electrons at the anode and a deficit of electrons at the cathode. When a connection (wire, say) is made between the cathode and anode, electrons flow through the resulting circuit from the anode to cathode in an attempt to rectify the electron imbalance.
27 Five Portuguese kings : PEDROS
Portugal is the most westerly country in Europe, and is located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula alongside Spain. The name “Portugal” comes from the Latin “Portus Cale”, the name used by ancient Romans for Porto, now the country’s second largest city. Portugal was a far-reaching power in the 15th and 16th centuries, at the center of the world’s first truly global empire. A legacy of the Portuguese Empire is that today there are more than 240 million Portuguese speakers across the world.
28 Bit of concert merch : TEE
Merchandise (merch)
30 “The Marvelous Mrs. ___” : MAISEL
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is a comedy drama TV show set in the late fifties and early sixties. The title character, played by Rachel Brosnahan, is a New York housewife who opts for a career as a standup comedian.
34 Hawaiian garland : LEI
“Lei” is a Hawaiian word meaning “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a lei is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.
35 Adler in the Sherlock Holmes canon : IRENE
The character Irene Adler only appears in one of the many Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the story “A Scandal in Bohemia”, Holmes expresses remarkable admiration for Adler as a woman and as a foe. As a result, derivative works in the Holmes genre often feature Adler as something of a romantic interest for Sherlock.
39 Car-to-phone connection option : USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and dealing with electrical power through those connections.
41 Beaver’s job : DAMMING
Beavers build dams so that they can live in and around the slower and deeper water that builds up above the dam. This deeper water provides more protection for the beavers from predators such as bears. Beavers are nocturnal animals and do all their construction work at night.
44 Person being used by another : CAT’S-PAW
There’s an old tale, dating back to the 16th century, about a monkey persuading a cat to pull chestnuts out of the fire for him to avoid burning his own paws. Since then, “cat’s-paw” used to describe a dupe, someone used by another.
47 Whistle blower : 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.
57 Doctor’s org. : AMA
The list of American Medical Association (AMA) past-presidents includes William James Mayo (1906-07) and Charles Horace Mayo (1917-18). William and Charles were brothers, and were two founders of the famous Mayo Clinic located in Rochester, Minnesota.
58 Longtime media inits. : NYT
“The New York Times” (NYT) has been published since 1851, and is sometimes referred to as “the Gray Lady”. These days a viable alternative to buying the paper is to read the news online. NYTimes.com is the most popular online newspaper website in the country.
60 Green or black beverage : TEA
The process for making most teas involves oxidation. During oxidation, the leaves become darker in color as chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. The oxidation step is skipped when producing green teas.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 “The Fresh Prince of ___-Air” : BEL
4 Icy ocean hazards : BERGS
9 Less than 90º, as an angle : ACUTE
14 Down Under bird : EMU
15 State known for potatoes : IDAHO
16 Pirate’s pal : MATEY
17 Be determined by : HINGE UPON
19 Lying facedown : PRONE
20 Encourage, as in behavior : EGG ON
21 Small drink : SIP
23 School fig. that might be weighted : GPA
24 Geometry calculation : AREA
25 Critical moment in tennis : MATCH POINT
29 Sort who tells no tales, per an old saying : DEAD MAN
31 Argue : DEBATE
32 Wimbledon unit : SET
33 Garlicky sauce : AIOLI
36 Ballet, e.g., in French : DANSE
37 Extremely flammable, as vegetation : TINDER DRY
39 Certain wedding hairstyles : UPDOS
42 Apt vowels missing from this phrase: TH_ L_TTL_ K_DS’ S_NG : E-I-E-I-O
43 Mac alternatives : PCS
46 Vampire vanquisher, e.g. : SLAYER
48 “Don’t worry about it” : NO SWEAT
50 Fuzzy buzzers : BUMBLEBEES
53 Keen on : INTO
54 Engineered crop letters : GMO
55 Repair : FIX
56 “Thus …” : AND SO …
57 Chinese or Lao : ASIAN
59 Modern medium for meeting someone … or what each of the starts of 17-, 25-, 37- and 50-Across is : DATING APP
62 Like the taste of Tic Tacs : MINTY
63 Give the most votes, as a candidate : ELECT
64 D.C. baseballer : NAT
65 Common teenage emotion : ANGST
66 Vampire-vanquishing weapon : STAKE
67 First clue number in this puzzle that doesn’t have an Across answer : TWO
Down
1 Gives the Anne Boleyn treatment : BEHEADS
2 Many an expat : EMIGREE
3 Attack, as in fencing : LUNGE AT
4 Good, in Guatemala : BIEN
5 School website ending : EDU
6 Genre for Nicki Minaj : RAP
7 Stop replying to, as on a 59-Across : GHOST
8 Video game hedgehog : SONIC
9 Hype (up) : AMP
10 Storage spot in a ship : CARGO BAY
11 Perfect : UTOPIAN
12 Ones with leases : TENANTS
13 One of up to 200(!) on a scallop : EYE
18 Provoke : GOAD
22 Hood wearer at a graduation, for short : PHD
25 Common street name : MAIN
26 Battery terminal : ANODE
27 Five Portuguese kings : PEDROS
28 Bit of concert merch : TEE
30 “The Marvelous Mrs. ___” : MAISEL
34 Hawaiian garland : LEI
35 Adler in the Sherlock Holmes canon : IRENE
37 Playthings in bathtubs : TOY BOATS
38 “Ay ___ mío!” (Spanish “OMG!”) : DIOS
39 Car-to-phone connection option : USB
40 Connects to an electrical outlet : PLUGS IN
41 Beaver’s job : DAMMING
43 Necklace dangler : PENDANT
44 Person being used by another : CAT’S-PAW
45 Go as low as : STOOP TO
47 Whistle blower : REF
49 Common eyeliner shape : WING
51 ___ one’s time (waits) : BIDES
52 Laud : EXALT
56 Starting poker payment : ANTE
57 Doctor’s org. : AMA
58 Longtime media inits. : NYT
60 Green or black beverage : TEA
61 “Gross!” : ICK!
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