1014-22 NY Times Crossword 14 Oct 22, Friday

Constructed by: David Steinberg
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 15m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Discipline with tantric Buddhist origins : HATHA YOGA

Hatha yoga is a yoga system developed in 15th century India. Traditional Hatha yoga is a more “complete” practice than often encountered in the west, involving not just exercise but also meditation and relaxation. “Hatha” is a Sanskrit word meaning “force”.

15 Congresswoman who wrote “This Is What America Looks Like” : ILHAN OMAR

Ilhan Omar has been representing Minnesota’s 5th congressional district in the US House since 2019. At that time, she became one of the first two Muslim women, as well as the first Somali American, to serve in the US Congress.

20 Celebrity gossip source : E! NEWS

E! Entertainment Television started out in 1987 as Movietime, and hired on-air hosts such as Greg Kinnear and Paula Abdul. It was renamed in 1990 to E! Entertainment Television, underscoring the focus on Hollywood gossip and the like.

22 “Do you, my poppet, feel infirm? / You probably contain a ___”: Ogden Nash : GERM

Ogden Nash was a poet from Rye, New York who is remembered for his light and quirky verse. Nash had over 500 such works published between 1931 and 1972.

23 Indonesian province with a Hindu majority : BALI

Bali is both an island and a province in Indonesia. It is a popular tourist spot, although the number of visitors dropped for a few years as a result of terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005 that killed mainly tourists. Bali became more popular starting in 2008 due to a significant and favorable change in the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Indonesian rupiah.

27 Chives feature : BULB

Chives are the smallest species of edible onion, and a favorite of mine …

30 Relative of latex : SAP

Latex is a naturally occurring polymer made by some plants that can also be made synthetically. About one in ten of the flowering plants in the world make the milky fluid called latex. It serves as a defense against insects and is exuded when a plant is injured or attacked by insects. Latex is collected commercially and is the source of natural rubber, which can be used to make things such as gloves, condoms and balloons.

32 Literally, “trumpets” : TUBAS

The tuba is the lowest-pitched of all brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”. Oom-pah-pah …

33 Pile of texts? : POOP EMOJI

An emoji is a character found on many cell phones that is much like an emoticon, but is more elaborate. The use of emojis originated in 1997 on mobile phones in Japan, and within a few years spread around the world. “Emoji” is a Japanese word meaning “picture word”.

42 20 sources : ATMS

The twenty-dollar bill is called a “Jackson” as it bears the portrait of President Andrew Jackson on the front side of the bill. Jackson’s image replaced that of President Grover Cleveland in 1928, and there doesn’t seem to be any record documenting just why that change was made. Over one-fifth of all notes printed today are 20-dollar bills. The average life of a Jackson is a little over 2 years, after which it is replaced due to wear.

43 14-time N.B.A. All-Star Nowitzki : DIRK

Dirk Nowitzki is an NBA player from Northern Bavaria in Germany. Nowitzki has scored more points in the NBA than any other foreign-born player in the league’s history. He also turns out for the German national team, for which is the captain. Indeed, Nowitzki was named German Sports Personality of the Year in 2011.

49 Spotted, as a horse : PINTO

A pinto is a horse with patchy markings of white mixed with another color. “Pinto” means “painted” in American Spanish.

55 Delta connection? : RIVER

A river delta is a triangular landform at the mouth of a river created by the deposition of sediment. The use of the term “delta” in this context comes from the triangular shape of the Greek letter delta. The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is one of the world’s largest river deltas, and covers 150 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean. The most famous “delta” in the United States isn’t actually a delta at all. The Mississippi Delta is an alluvial plain that lies 300 miles north of the river’s actual delta, yet it is known as the “Mississippi River Delta”. Very confusing …

60 “Hammer” with a bat : HANK AARON

Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run on 8th April 1974, breaking the record of 714 career home runs held by Babe Ruth. Aaron went on to hit 755 home runs prior to his retirement from the game in 1976.

61 Line on a letter : SERIF

Serifs are details on the ends of characters in some typefaces. Typefaces without serifs are known as sans-serif, using the French word “sans” meaning “without” and “serif” from the Dutch “schreef” meaning “line”. Some people say that serif fonts are easier to read on paper, whereas sans-serif fonts work better on a computer screen. I’m not so sure though …

62 Nasdaq’s home, informally : THE STREET

The Nasdaq has some descriptive symbols to represent companies. Here are some examples:

  • HOG – Harley-Davidson
  • HEINY – Heineken
  • ROCK – Gibraltar Industries
  • GRR – The Asian Tigers Fund
  • BEN – Franklin Resources
  • TWNK – Hostess Brands

Down

2 Part in the middle? : ALTO

In choral music, an alto (plural “alti”) is the second-highest voice in a four-part chorus made up of soprano, contr(alto), tenor and bass. The word “alto” describes the vocal range, that of the deepest female singing-voice, whereas the term “contralto” describes more than just the alto range, but also its quality and timbre. An adult male’s voice (not a boy’s) with the same range as an alto is called a “countertenor”.

7 Like some rials : OMANI

The rial is the currency of Oman (as well as Yemen, Iran and Tunisia). Generally, there are 1,000 baisa in one rial.

10 Lead-in to K : PRE-

Pre-kindergarten (pre-K)

11 Center of Pluto? : LONG U

The letter at the center of the word “Pluto” is a long letter U.

14 Marijuana discard : STEM

We’ve been using the term “weed” to mean “marijuana” since the 1920s. Centuries prior to that, we started using “weed” for “tobacco”.

21 Half-blood wizard of fiction : SNAPE

Severus Snape is a character in the “Harry Potter” novels by J. K. Rowling. He is the Potions Professor at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Snape was played by the wonderful Alan Rickman on the big screen.

28 One who’ll take you for a ride : UBER DRIVER

When transportation company Uber went public in 2019, it was a well-subscribed offering. However, Uber’s shares dropped in value soon after trading opened, and finished the day 11% down. As a result, Uber shares suffered the biggest IPO first-day dollar loss in US history.

29 Their spines aren’t flexible : BOOKS

In the US, the convention is to write the title on the spine of a book from top-to-bottom. In most of Europe, the convention is to write the title from bottom-to-top. We have a lot of books in the “library” in our house from both sides of the Atlantic, and so there is much movement of the head from left to right as we glance along our bookshelves.

31 Small carton size : PINT

A US pint comprises 16 fluid ounces, and an imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces. The term “pint” comes into English via Old French, ultimately from the Latin “picta” meaning “painted”. The name arose from a line painted on the side of a beer glass that marked a full measure of ale.

33 Big matter of concern for senior management? : PROM NIGHT

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

34 Washington, Jackson or Ford : MOVIE STAR

Denzel Washington is an actor from Mount Vernon, just outside New York City. Washington’s big break came with a TV role, playing Dr. Philip Chandler on “St. Elsewhere” from 1982 to 1988.

According to some sources, Samuel L. Jackson is the highest-grossing actor of all time. He earns that ranking because of his talent and box-office draw, but also because of the large number of films in which he appears.

Harrison Ford played at least three celebrated, recurring roles in movies: Han Solo in the “Star Wars” series, the title character in the “Indiana Jones” series, and Jack Ryan in the movie versions of Tom Clancy novels. In the early days, Ford became a self-taught carpenter in order to put bread on the table while he looked for acting roles. As a carpenter he worked as a stagehand for the rock band “The Doors”, and he built a sun deck for actress Sally Kellerman (from the movie “M*A*S*H”). George Lucas hired him to build cabinets in his home, and then gave him a part in “American Graffiti”, after which I think Ford hung up his tool belt …

36 Half of an evening outfit, informally : PJ TOP

Our word “pajamas” (sometimes “PJs” or “jammies”) comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. On the other side of the Atlantic, the spelling is “pyjamas”.

39 Turn in the air, say : YAW

The word “yaw” means to deviate from the line of a course and is used mainly at sea and in the air. “Yaw” is derived from the Old Norse word “jaege” which means “to drive, chase”. As such, “yaw” is etymologically related to our word “yacht”.

45 “S.N.L.” alum who co-starred in 2003’s “Dumb and Dumberer” : OTERI

Cheri Oteri was the SNL (“Saturday Night Live”) cast member who regularly appeared with Will Ferrell in the skit featuring a pair of Spartan cheerleaders.

“Dumb and Dumber” is a 1994 comedy starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as two pretty dumb guys, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. There was a prequel released in 2003 titled “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd”, and a sequel in 2011 called “Dumb and Dumber To”.

46 Most prolific author of children’s horror fiction, per Guinness : STINE

Author R. L. Stine is sometimes referred to as the Stephen King of children’s literature, as he writes horror stories for young people.

47 Makes like a goose : HONKS

A male goose is called a gander, with the female simply being referred to as a goose. Young geese are called goslings.

50 Organizer of a couples getaway? : NOAH

Genesis 6:19-20 states that Noah was instructed to take two animals of every kind into the ark. Later, in Genesis 7:2-3 Noah was instructed to take on board “every clean animal by sevens … male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth”. Apparently, “extras” (7 rather than 2) were needed for ritual sacrifice.

52 Instrument created by Hermes from a tortoise shell : LYRE

The lyre is a stringed instrument that is most closely associated with ancient Greece, and with the gods Hermes and Apollo in particular. According to myth, Hermes slaughtered a cow from a sacred herd belonging to Apollo and offered it to the gods but kept the entrails. Hermes used the entrails to make strings that he stretched across the shell of a tortoise, creating the first lyre. Apollo liked the sound from the lyre and agreed to accept it as a trade for his herd of cattle.

56 Card holder, maybe : 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.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Discipline with tantric Buddhist origins : HATHA YOGA
10 Ruses : PLOYS
15 Congresswoman who wrote “This Is What America Looks Like” : ILHAN OMAR
16 “I’m not a ___” (online confirmation) : ROBOT
17 Cramming together, e.g.? : STUDY DATE
18 Unfold : ENSUE
19 Mixer at a mixer : SODA
20 Celebrity gossip source : E! NEWS
22 “Do you, my poppet, feel infirm? / You probably contain a ___”: Ogden Nash : GERM
23 Indonesian province with a Hindu majority : BALI
25 Ultimate purpose : END USE
27 Chives feature : BULB
29 When you might hear people sing, for short : B-DAY
30 Relative of latex : SAP
32 Literally, “trumpets” : TUBAS
33 Pile of texts? : POOP EMOJI
35 They push a motion forward : AYES
36 Ready for a back rub, say : PRONE
37 What cooks your goose? : OVEN
38 Something that’s cracked and gross : DIRTY JOKE
40 Manage to stop : AVERT
41 “Your point being?” : AND?
42 20 sources : ATMS
43 14-time N.B.A. All-Star Nowitzki : DIRK
44 Become more appealing to : GROW ON
46 Its tongue sticks out : SHOE
48 On the job : AT IT
49 Spotted, as a horse : PINTO
51 Healthy slice : SLAB
55 Delta connection? : RIVER
57 Travel by private jet, say : GO IN STYLE
59 Informal summons : C’MERE
60 “Hammer” with a bat : HANK AARON
61 Line on a letter : SERIF
62 Nasdaq’s home, informally : THE STREET

Down

1 Noise that sounds like its last two letters : HISS
2 Part in the middle? : ALTO
3 Bad result of an attempt at humor : THUD
4 Lived it up : HAD A BLAST
5 Whichever : ANY
6 Belt out in the mountains : YODEL
7 Like some rials : OMANI
8 Airport ticket info : GATE
9 “Can I go now?” : ARE WE DONE?
10 Lead-in to K : PRE-
11 Center of Pluto? : LONG U
12 Think, think, think about : OBSESS OVER
13 Rude response to rudeness : YOU’RE A JERK
14 Marijuana discard : STEM
21 Half-blood wizard of fiction : SNAPE
24 They get harder the more you work out : ABS
26 Wigmaker’s supply : DYE
27 Stalling : BUYING TIME
28 One who’ll take you for a ride : UBER DRIVER
29 Their spines aren’t flexible : BOOKS
31 Small carton size : PINT
32 “There!” : TA-DA!
33 Big matter of concern for senior management? : PROM NIGHT
34 Washington, Jackson or Ford : MOVIE STAR
36 Half of an evening outfit, informally : PJ TOP
39 Turn in the air, say : YAW
40 Bother : ADO
45 “S.N.L.” alum who co-starred in 2003’s “Dumb and Dumberer” : OTERI
46 Most prolific author of children’s horror fiction, per Guinness : STINE
47 Makes like a goose : HONKS
48 Parentheses, e.g. : ARCS
50 Organizer of a couples getaway? : NOAH
52 Instrument created by Hermes from a tortoise shell : LYRE
53 Plant with fleshy leaves : ALOE
54 Warped : BENT
56 Card holder, maybe : REF
58 Didn’t sell : SAT

17 thoughts on “1014-22 NY Times Crossword 14 Oct 22, Friday”

  1. 21:48. Pretty easy for a Friday except when it wasn’t.

    Interesting that ILHAN OMAR would appear in a puzzle set by David Steinberg.

    I was surprised at 33A as well. I’m against people mentioning that crap….Oh wait….

    Best –

  2. 18:17, no errors. Like Jeff said, pretty easy for a Friday. I’m off to Roatan today for some SCUBA diving adventures. I don’t know if I’ll have access to the Internet. I’ll be back in a few weeks.

    1. Alaska Steve – I’ve been to Roatan several times, but the last time was around 1999. I suspect it’s changed a lot since then. I just remember absolutely loving that place. Have fun

    2. Never been myself but happy, happy trails to you, Alaska Steve…puzzles will be here for you, en masse, when you return…

      Do people work through what they’ve missed or start over upon their return?
      I am not one who maintains a streak, just curious.

      1. I don’t worry about streaks. I do them when I can and if my brain is foggy, I just skip it.

  3. 19:25, no errors. Happy to finish a Friday puzzle in under 20 minutes. There were no answers that I didn’t know, just a matter of matching them with the deliberately misdirecting clues.

  4. 47:02, just my typical last place finish, but happy to finish a Friday in under an hour….yep, I have low, yet realistic expectations.

    MaryR.T. By now you might have guessed I gave up on streaks long ago, given that I sometimes finish Sunday, then Friday, then Saturday. I’m just a “pick it up, put it down, pick it up, put it down” rank amateur :- )

    1. Thanks for modeling fun and ease with the pacing for me 😀 I notice I appreciate clever constructions less when I’m heads-down, speed-solving.

  5. After yesterday, this was a quick run.

    Never thought of SAP as akin to latex but I guess so. Especially in crossword land.

  6. 27:48 no errors…this is an all time record for me on a David Steinberg puzzle…you’re getting soft in your young old age Mr Steinberg😀
    Stay safe😀

    1. Interesting observation. According to Wordplay his original submission was rejected because the clues were too easy.

      Steinberg’s response was that he’s been doing puzzles elsewhere that are more similar to a NYT Tuesday so his clue skills had eroded somewhat.

      I guess the NYT team helped shore up the cluing a bit, but it still wasn’t what we’re used to with this guy.

  7. 35 minutes. No errors etc. Much much easier than yesterday. Although I did not even know there was such thing as a poop emoji. Never seen it anyway.

  8. For me, speed-solving crosswords is a way to take most of the fun out of the process. I don’t see how … learning to write (or type) rapidly (perhaps by scribbling lower-case characters) … letting one’s fingers go off and enter an answer while one’s eyes are occupied with reading the next clue … changing the order in which the clues are read so as to minimize the time it takes to find the next one … well, you get the idea … how all that appeals to anyone who isn’t bent on going to the ACPT, pwning the competition, and thereby acquiring massive bragging rights.

    Some of the harder puzzles I’ve done recently involved completion times (including very necessary “walkaway” time) measured in hours and I thoroughly enjoyed each of them.

    Streaking, now … that’s a whole ‘nother thing … I’m very much into streaking … 😜. (My “Current Streak” on the NYT puzzles is now at 1538 and I’m pretty obsessed with maintaining it … 😳.)

    My two cents’ worth … 🤨.

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