1102-22 NY Times Crossword 2 Nov 22, Wednesday

Constructed by: Ethan Zou & Tomas Spiers
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Boxer

We have a rebus puzzle today, with “ER” occupying several BOXES in the grid:

  • 39A One serving punch? … or, parsed differently, a hint to 12 squares in this puzzle : BOXER or BOX “ER”
  • 17A Italian confection brand known for its gold foil wrappers : FERRERO ROCHER
  • 22A Slangy command to someone arriving with a six-pack : BEER ME!
  • 38A Notification : ALERT
  • 40A Transport back and forth : FERRY
  • 43A Stiff, as competition : FIERCE
  • 53A Loath (to) : AVERSE
  • 60A Small dog originally bred for fox hunting : BORDER TERRIER
  • 62A Soeur’s sibling : FRERE
  • 2D Flag carrier airline of Spain : IBERIA
  • 4D Assert : AVER
  • 9D Oracle : SEER
  • 11D First men’s tennis player to reach 10 consecutive Grand Slam singles finals : ROGER FEDERER
  • 34D Shout that may accompany many arms waving : WE’RE OVER HERE!
  • 47D Dinosaur DNA source in “Jurassic Park” : AMBER
  • 58D Two-thirds of 100 : ZEROS
  • 61D Bombeck who wrote “Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession” : ERMA

Bill’s time: 12m 21s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Like the ocean’s ebb and flow : TIDAL

Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

16 Indian flatbread : ROTI

In an Indian restaurant, naan bread is very popular. Roti is an unleavened cousin of naan.

17 Italian confection brand known for its gold foil wrappers : FERRERO ROCHER

The Italian manufacturer of chocolate known as Ferrero is one of the largest producers of chocolate products in the world. The company was founded in 1946 in Piedmont, Italy by Pietro Ferrero. Some of Ferrero’s famous products are the chocolate and hazelnut spread called Nutella. Ferrero Rocher chocolates (delicious!) and Tic Tacs breath mints.

19 Composer Stravinsky : IGOR

Composer Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works were completed relatively early in his career, when he was quite young. His three ballets “The Firebird”, “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” were published in 1910-1913, when Stravinsky was in his early thirties.

20 “Tiny” Dickens boy : TIM

“Tiny Tim” is the nickname of Timothy Cratchit, a character in the Charles Dickens novella “A Christmas Carol”. Tiny Tim is the son of Ebenezer Scrooge’s underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit, and is a sickly child. Famously, the child utters the words “God bless us, every one!” at Christmas dinner, which words are repeated by the author at the end of the story.

21 Butterflies-to-be : PUPAE

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”.

23 2007 Alicia Keys album : AS I AM

“Alicia Keys” is the stage name of Alicia Cook, an R&B and soul singer from Hell’s Kitchen in New York City.

37 “___ Dere” (jazz classic about a toddler’s many questions) : DAT

“Dat Dere” is a jazz song by Bobby Timmons and Oscar Brown, Jr. that was first recorded in 1960, by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. The song tells the story of a young boy visiting a zoo with his father.

42 Dough : MOOLA

Lettuce, cabbage, kale, dough, bread, scratch, cheddar, simoleons, clams and moola(h) are all slang terms for money.

44 Fall Out Boy, for one : EMO BAND

Fall Out Boy is a rock band from Chicago that formed in 2001.

46 Item split by pedants : HAIR

A pedant is a person “who trumpets minor points of learning”, a person who tends to nit-pick. “Pedant” comes via Middle French from the Italian word “pedante” meaning “teacher”.

48 Casual getaways : VACAYS

A vacation (“vacay”) might provide some rest and relaxation/recuperation (R&R).

50 Southwestern sights : MESAS

“Mesa” is the Spanish for “table” and is how we get the term “mesa” that describes the geographic feature. A mesa is similar to a butte. Both are hills with flat tops, but a mesa has a top that is wider than it is tall. A butte is a much narrower formation, taller than it is wide.

55 Gaming novices : NOOBS

“Noob” (sometimes “newb”) is a not-so-nice, slang term for a “newbie”, and often refers to someone who is new to an online community.

57 La ___, Bolivia : PAZ

The administrative capital of Bolivia, La Paz, is officially named Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace). La Paz is the seat of the Bolivian government, even though the constitutional capital of the country is Sucre.

59 Friedrich who created a scale of hardness : MOHS

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest. On the scale, diamond is the hardest (and rated 10), while talc is the softest (and rated 1).

60 Small dog originally bred for fox hunting : BORDER TERRIER

Border terriers take their name from the Scottish borders, where they were bred to hunt small game and to kill rodents.

62 Soeur’s sibling : FRERE

“Soeur” is the French word for “sister’. “Frère” is the French word for “brother”.

64 Protein-building acid : AMINO

Amino acids are essential to life in many ways, not least of which is their use as the building blocks of proteins. Nine amino acids are considered “essential” for humans. These nine must be included in the diet as they cannot be synthesized in the body.

66 ___ Gerritsen, author of medical and crime thrillers : TESS

Tess Gerritsen is a novelist and retired physician. Her most famous novels are the “Rizzoli & Isles” series, featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. The Isles character also appears in the stand-alone crime thriller “The Bone Garden”, first published in 2007.

Down

1 Only U.S. president also to serve as chief justice : TAFT

William Howard Taft may have been the 27th President of the United States, but his lifelong ambition was to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The future president had served as dean and professor at the Cincinnati Law School. President Taft was able to realize that dream in 1921, eight years after losing his bid for re-election as president. As Chief Justice, this former US President swore in two new presidents: Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929). William Howard Taft is also remembered as the most obese president. In the last year of his presidency, he weighed about 340 pounds (he was 5 feet 11 inches tall). Twelve months after leaving the White House, President Taft had dropped 80 pounds and substantially lowered his blood pressure.

2 Flag carrier airline of Spain : IBERIA

The airline called Iberia is the flag carrier for Spain and is based in the country’s capital city at Madrid-Barajas Airport.

3 Campus quarters : DORMS

We use the term “quarters” for a place of abode, especially housing for military personnel. Back in the late 16th century, quarters were a portion (quarter) of a town reserved for a military force.

5 Its spots are actually rosettes : LEOPARD

The spots on spotted animals such as leopards and jaguars are arranged in groups. Those grouped spots are termed “rosettes”. The spotted patterns on such animals are unique to each individual.

6 Restaurant chain with a smile in its logo : IHOP

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests.

7 Unleaded, so to speak : DECAF

Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant that is found in several plants. The chemical serves as a natural pesticide by paralyzing and killing certain insects that would otherwise feed on the plant. Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug that is consumed by humans across the world.

9 Oracle : SEER

In ancient Greece and Rome, an oracle was someone believed to be inspired by the gods to give wise counsel. The word “oracle” derives from the Latin “orare” meaning “to speak”, which is the same root for our word “orator”. One of the most important oracles of ancient Greece was Pythia, the high priestess to Apollo at Delphi.

11 First men’s tennis player to reach 10 consecutive Grand Slam singles finals : ROGER FEDERER

Roger Federer is a Swiss tennis player considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer is married to former tennis pro Mirka Vavrinec. The couple are parents to two sets of twins.

12 Subject of study at CERN’s laboratory : ATOM

“CERN” is an acronym standing for “Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire” (European Council for Nuclear Research. CERN’s mission is to provide the largest particle physics lab in the world, and it does just that, having built several enormous particle accelerators. The CERN particle accelerator most in the news these days is the Large Hadron Collider located near Geneva.

24 Founder of heavy metal’s Body Count : ICE-T

Rapper Ice-T must be tired of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles (I know I am!). Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about breakdancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since the year 2000.

30 Deal breaker? : NARC

“Narc” and “narco” are slang terms describing a law enforcement officer who tracks down criminals associated with illegal drugs. Both words are short for “narcotics officer”. Narcs might work for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

31 Eyelid woe : STYE

A stye is a bacterial infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes, and is also known as a hordeolum.

33 One mentioned in “Class Notes,” informally : ALUM

An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.

36 Rocker Rose : AXL

Axl Rose is the lead vocalist of the American rock band Guns N’ Roses.

39 ___ fide : BONA

“Bona fide(s)” translates from the Latin as “in good faith”, and is used to indicate honest intentions. It can also mean that something is authentic, like a piece of art that is represented in good faith as being genuine.

40 Much of Finland’s wilderness : FIRS

Firs are evergreen coniferous trees, with several species being popular as Christmas trees. The most commonly used species during the holidays are the Nordmann fir, noble fir, Fraser fir and balsam fir. We also see a lot of Douglas fir trees at Christmas, but they’re not actually true firs.

The Nordic country of Finland is the most sparsely populated nation in the European Union. The relatively modest population of 5.5 million people lives in the eighth largest country on the continent.

42 Nutmeg’s “sister spice” : MACE

The fruit of the nutmeg tree yields two very different spices. What we call “nutmeg” comes from the seed of the tree. “Mace” is the dried covering of the seed.

43 Parties that become naps when their first letter is changed to an “s” : FIESTAS

We use the word “siesta” to describe a short nap in the early afternoon, and imported the word into English from Spanish. In turn, the Spanish word is derived from the Latin “hora sexta” meaning “the sixth hour”. The idea is that the nap is taken at the sixth hour after dawn.

45 ___ hound : BASSET

The basset hound wouldn’t be my favorite breed of dog, to be honest. Basset hounds have a great sense of smell with an ability to track a scent that is second only to that of the bloodhound. The name “basset” comes from the French word for “rather low”, a reference to the dog’s short legs.

47 Dinosaur DNA source in “Jurassic Park” : AMBER

Amber’s technical name is “resinite”, reflecting its composition and formation. Amber starts out life as soft sticky tree resin but then under high temperature and pressure from overlying layers of soil, it fossilizes. The sticky resin can trap organisms or other plant matter, and this material can sometimes remain virtually intact inside the amber fossil giving us a unique gift from the past.

“Jurassic Park” is a 1990 novel by Michael Crichton that was adapted into a hugely successful movie by Steven Spielberg in 1993. One of the main premises of the novel is that dinosaur DNA could be harvested from mosquitoes trapped in amber (fossilized tree resin), the DNA coming from the dinosaur blood consumed by the mosquitoes. The dinosaur DNA is then sequenced and used to create clones of the original beasts. Apparently, that’s a clever idea, but not very practical …

51 When many hibernations end : APRIL

When animals hibernate, they are minimally active, have low body temperatures, relatively slow breathing and a low metabolic rate overall. HIbernation can last days and even months, and is most closely associated with the winter season. The term “hibernation” comes from the Latin “hibernare” meaning “to pass the winter, occupy winter quarters”.

53 Radio toggle : AM/FM

Amplitude modulation/frequency modulation (AM/FM)

54 Suffix with omni- : -VORE

The term “omnivore” comes from Latin, meaning “one who devours all”.

61 Bombeck who wrote “Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession” : ERMA

Erma Bombeck wrote for newspapers for about 35 years. She produced more than 4,000 witty and humorous columns under the title “At Wit’s End”, with all describing her home life in suburbia.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Like the ocean’s ebb and flow : TIDAL
6 Words said at the front of an aisle : I DOS
10 Babysitter’s handful : BRAT
14 ___ it all (unaffected) : ABOVE
15 Giggle : HE-HE
16 Indian flatbread : ROTI
17 Italian confection brand known for its gold foil wrappers : FERRERO ROCHER
19 Composer Stravinsky : IGOR
20 “Tiny” Dickens boy : TIM
21 Butterflies-to-be : PUPAE
22 Slangy command to someone arriving with a six-pack : BEER ME!
23 2007 Alicia Keys album : AS I AM
25 Scatter like a flock of birds : FLY OFF
27 Home, colloquially : CRIB
29 Starts to remove, as screws : LOOSENS
32 Hemmed and ___ : HAWED
35 Underhanded move for an athlete? : LAYUP
37 “___ Dere” (jazz classic about a toddler’s many questions) : DAT
38 Notification : ALERT
39 One serving punch? … or, parsed differently, a hint to 12 squares in this puzzle : BOXER or BOX “ER”
40 Transport back and forth : FERRY
41 Way to go, in Paris : RUE
42 Dough : MOOLA
43 Stiff, as competition : FIERCE
44 Fall Out Boy, for one : EMO BAND
46 Item split by pedants : HAIR
48 Casual getaways : VACAYS
50 Southwestern sights : MESAS
53 Loath (to) : AVERSE
55 Gaming novices : NOOBS
57 La ___, Bolivia : PAZ
59 Friedrich who created a scale of hardness : MOHS
60 Small dog originally bred for fox hunting : BORDER TERRIER
62 Soeur’s sibling : FRERE
63 Drew on : USED
64 Protein-building acid : AMINO
65 Swimming competition : MEET
66 ___ Gerritsen, author of medical and crime thrillers : TESS
67 Seasons, in a way : SALTS

Down

1 Only U.S. president also to serve as chief justice : TAFT
2 Flag carrier airline of Spain : IBERIA
3 Campus quarters : DORMS
4 Assert : AVER
5 Its spots are actually rosettes : LEOPARD
6 Restaurant chain with a smile in its logo : IHOP
7 Unleaded, so to speak : DECAF
8 “Amen!” : OH HELL YEAH!
9 Oracle : SEER
10 Intimate apparel in many lawyer puns : BRIEFS
11 First men’s tennis player to reach 10 consecutive Grand Slam singles finals : ROGER FEDERER
12 Subject of study at CERN’s laboratory : ATOM
13 Exhaust : TIRE
18 13th-century Persian poet and mystic : RUMI
22 Cutesy sound that may accompany a poke : BOOP!
24 Founder of heavy metal’s Body Count : ICE-T
26 ___ Highness : YOUR
28 Temporary embarrassment in a public competition, figuratively : BLOODY NOSE
30 Deal breaker? : NARC
31 Eyelid woe : STYE
32 Sprinter that’s a homophone of 46-Across : HARE
33 One mentioned in “Class Notes,” informally : ALUM
34 Shout that may accompany many arms waving : WE’RE OVER HERE!
36 Rocker Rose : AXL
39 ___ fide : BONA
40 Much of Finland’s wilderness : FIRS
42 Nutmeg’s “sister spice” : MACE
43 Parties that become naps when their first letter is changed to an “s” : FIESTAS
45 ___ hound : BASSET
47 Dinosaur DNA source in “Jurassic Park” : AMBER
49 Sensitive spots : SORES
51 When many hibernations end : APRIL
52 Extremely virtuous sort : SAINT
53 Radio toggle : AM/FM
54 Suffix with omni- : -VORE
56 “What are the ___?” : ODDS
58 Two-thirds of 100 : ZEROS
60 Start of an objection : BUT …
61 Bombeck who wrote “Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession” : ERMA

9 thoughts on “1102-22 NY Times Crossword 2 Nov 22, Wednesday”

  1. Ugh. It took me a while to figure out that this was a Thursday-type rebus. There was a lot i just didn’t know. Tricky. 23:22!

  2. 19:30. Took a minute to realize this was a rebus puzzle. Strangely, my aha moment came at AVER – a crosswordese word that I never really use.

    I’ve flown on IBERIA, and I was struck by how much more legroom they give you than the U.S. airlines do. This was about 20 years ago so I don’t know if it’s still like that. But it was nice flying them at the time.

    Never heard of FERRERO ROCHER. Am I missing out on something?

    Best –

  3. 19:58 After seeing “boxer” and seeing not enough space for “Erma”, I actually figured out the theme. A rebus on Wednesday only increases my fear of what lies ahead….

  4. 38:43 with one error where 2 foreign clues crossed (whats new) and a rebus on Wednesday (what else is new?) and two setters.
    Way to go guys👎👎
    Stay safe😀

  5. Got all the clues except for one space. I had sumi instead of rumi which meant I didn’t get rocher either. Never heard of either of those answers.

  6. Jeff and Tom — you sure are missing out on something — those little gold-wrapped chocolates are yummy!

  7. Got the theme early. I started down at the bottom with ERMA BOMBECK and knew something was afoot!

    Never heard of FERRERO ROCHER. sound yummy.

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