1124-22 NY Times Crossword 24 Nov 22, Thursday

Constructed by: Pao Roy
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): It’s a … Rebus

Several squares in the grid contain DOTS, which are used in the across-direction, and ignored in the down-direction:

  • 10A And so on : DOT DOT DOT
  • 20A Iconic Voyager 1 photograph taken 3.7 billion miles from Earth : PALE BLUE DOT
  • 26A They’re spotted on Lucille Ball and Minnie Mouse : POLKA-DOT DRESSES
  • 43A Begins to see a pattern : CONNECTS THE DOTS
  • 51A Turn-of-the-century financial crisis : DOT-COM CRASH
  • 56A Pay attention to details … or a hint to filling in seven of this puzzle’s squares : DOT THE IS

Bill’s time: 9m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 And so on : DOT DOT DOT

An ellipsis (plural “ellipses”) is a series of dots (usually three) used to indicate an omission in some text. The term comes from the Greek word “élleipsis”, which means “omission”.

14 Actress Kirke of “Mozart in the Jungle” : LOLA

Lola Kirke is an actress and singer-songwriter who is perhaps best known for playing the lead in the TV show “Mozart in the Jungle”. Although raised in New York City, she was actually born in London.

If you want to read a fun book (almost an “exposé”) about life playing the oboe, you might try “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall.

16 Things most cars and many clocks have : ALARMS

There are two classes of car alarm, namely passive and active. A passive alarm turns on automatically when the vehicle’s doors are locked after the ignition is turned off. There is no need for the driver to set the alarm, hence the term “passive”. An active alarm requires the driver’s intervention for arming.

20 Iconic Voyager 1 photograph taken 3.7 billion miles from Earth : PALE BLUE DOT

“Pale Blue Dot” is a book about the cosmos by Carl Sagan. The title of the book is taken from the famous “Pale Blue Dot” photograph taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft from almost 4 million miles from the Earth. In the photo, our planet appears as a tiny “pale blue dot”. NASA had Voyager 1 take the photograph, at the request of Carl Sagan.

24 Big Apple debut of 1998 : IMAC

When Apple chose the letter “I” prefix for the iMac in 1998, that letter “I” stood for “Internet”. Steve Jobs and his marketing team followed up with the message that I also stood for “individual, instruct, inform and inspire”.

26 They’re spotted on Lucille Ball and Minnie Mouse : POLKA-DOT DRESSES

A polka-dot pattern is one featuring an array of filled circles, usually of the same size and color. There doesn’t seem to be any connection between the name of the pattern and the polka dance, other than both the dance and the pattern gaining popularity around the same time, in the late nineteenth century.

Lucille Ball was at the height of her success while she was married to Desi Arnaz. The couple met in 1940 and not long afterwards eloped. Lucy had several miscarriages before she gave birth to her first child in 1951, just one month before her fortieth birthday. A year and a half later, while “I Love Lucy” was garnering large audiences, she became pregnant with her second child, a pregnancy that was written into the television show’s script. In fact, the day that Lucy gave birth on the show, was the same day that she gave birth in real life.

Minnie and Mickey Mouse were both introduced to the world in 1928. Minnie was originally known as Minerva, and sometimes still is. Both Mickey and Minnie were originally voiced by Walt Disney himself.

31 Car at the front of a line, maybe : HEARSE

We use the term “hearse” for a vehicle used to transport a dead body to the place of burial. The original meaning, still used sometimes today, is for a framework hanging over a coffin that holds candles.

33 I, to Homer : IOTA

Homer was a famous poet of ancient Greece who is believed to be the author of the two classic epic poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. However, some scholars believe that Homer did not actually exist, but rather he is the personification of oral tradition that was passed down through the ages.

34 ___ de parfum : EAU

In the world of perfumery, eau de parfum (EdP) is generally more concentrated than eau de toilette (EdT), which in turn is generally more concentrated than eau de cologne (EdC).

36 Beltway insider : POL

The phrase “inside the Beltway” is used to refer to the infrastructure and politics of Washington, D.C. The Beltway in this case is Interstate 495, also known as the Capital Beltway.

39 Serf : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

A serf was a member of the lowest feudal class, someone attached to land owned by a lord. “Serf” comes from the Latin “servus”, meaning “slave”.

47 South Asian garment : SARI

The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that it is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

51 Turn-of-the-century financial crisis : DOT-COM CRASH

The dot-com bubble was a phenomenon seen in 1997 to 2000 during which speculation led to the overvaluation of poorly-understood Internet stocks. The bubble burst on March 10, 2000. Within ten days, the value of the NASDAQ was down by over 10%.

56 Pay attention to details … or a hint to filling in seven of this puzzle’s squares : DOT THE IS

A tittle is a small diacritical mark used in writing. Examples are the cedilla and tilde used in some languages, and the dot over the lowercase letters i and j in English.

58 City of 5+ million just north of Royal National Park : SYDNEY

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia. People from Sydney are known as “Sydneysiders”.

59 ___ Deco : ART

Art Deco is a style of design and architecture of the 1920s that actually had its roots in Belgium and then spread throughout Europe before arriving in North America. Celebrated examples of Art Deco architecture are the magnificent Chrysler Building in New York City completed in 1930, and the GE Building that sits in the middle of New York City’s Rockefeller Center with the address of “30 Rock”.

61 Like all animals in the genus Equus : MANED

There are seven living species of mammals in the genus Equus, each of which is referred to as “equine”. The seven species include all horses, asses and zebras. All equine species can crossbreed. For example, a mule is a cross between a male donkey and a female horse, a zorse is a cross between a zebra and a horse, and a zedonk is a cross between a zebra and a donkey.

63 Small bouquet : POSY

“Bouquet” comes from the French word for “bunch” in the sense of “bunch of flowers”. In French, the term is derived from an older word describing a little wood or small grove of trees. We started using “bouquet” to mean “perfume from a wine” in the early 1800s.

Down

1 Grown lad : CHAP

“Chap” is an informal term meaning “lad, fellow” that is used especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.

2 Salamanca salutation : HOLA

“Hola” is Spanish for the greeting “hi”.

Salamanca is a city and province in the commune of Castile and León in northwestern Spain. The University of Salamanca is the oldest university in the country, having been founded in 1218.

3 Kazakhstan’s ___ Sea : ARAL

The Aral Sea is a great example of how humankind can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

The Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia is the world’s largest landlocked country. Kazakhstan was also the last of the former Soviet Republics (SSRs) to declare itself independent from Russia.

6 Topical matter for the sunburned? : ALOE

Aloe vera is a succulent plant that grows in relatively dry climates. The plant’s leaves are full of biologically-active compounds that have been studied extensively. Aloe vera has been used for centuries in herbal medicine, mainly for topical treatment of wounds.

7 Olivia Rodrigo or Billie Eilish : POP IDOL

Billie Eilish is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. She has won several awards, and is the youngest person to have won all four major Grammy categories in the same year, i.e. Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.

8 “___ Coltrane” (1961 John Coltrane album) : OLE

John Coltrane was a jazz saxophonist who also went by the nickname “Trane”. John’s son Ravi Coltrane is also a noted jazz saxophonist.

9 Landmass once surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa : PANGAEA

Pangaea (also “Pangea”) was a supercontinent that existed during the age of the dinosaurs, the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. Pangaea broke apart due to movement of tectonic plates in the Earth’s crust. All of today’s continents were once part of Pangaea.

11 Rapscallion : IMP

We might call a little imp a “rapscallion”, an evolution from “rascallion” that in turn comes from “rascal”.

17 Quench : SLAKE

To slake is to satisfy a craving, as in “slaking one’s thirst”.

19 TV stories sometimes have them : ARCS

A story arc is a continuing storyline in say a television show that runs through a number of episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media.

21 N.B.A.’s Jazz, on scoreboards : UTA

The Utah Jazz professional basketball team moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. As one might guess from the name, the team originated in New Orleans, but only played there for five seasons. New Orleans was a tough place to be based because venues were hard to come by, and Mardi Gras forced the team to play on the road for a whole month.

25 TV actor who co-starred in “Rocky III” : MR T

“Rocky III” is the movie in which Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) goes up against Clubber Lang (Mr. T). “Rocky III” is a forgettable film, but Mr. T was grateful for his role no doubt as it launched his career and landed him a spot on television’s “The A-Team”. Also making an appearance was professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, an appearance that raised his profile as well and kick-started his career outside of the ring. But for me, the most memorable thing is the song “Eye of the Tiger”, which was commissioned for “Rocky III”. A great tune …

26 Song of triumph : PAEAN

A paean is a poem or song that expresses triumph or thanksgiving. “Paean” comes from the ancient Greek “paian” meaning “song of triumph”.

27 Ones colliding in the Large Hadron Collider : IONS

The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest particle accelerator. It is located on the French-Swiss border near Geneva, in a circular tunnel that is a whopping 17 miles in circumference.

28 Prey for polar bears : SEALS

Polar bears are close cousins of brown bears, and are thought to have evolved from a population of brown bears that became isolated during a period of glaciation. Most polar bears live north of the Arctic Circle, and live mainly on seals that they capture near the edge of ice floes.

31 Bank based in the U.K. : HSBC

HSBC is a UK-based financial services company that was the largest bank in Europe in 2018. It can trace its history back to 1865, when it was founded in British Hong Kong as the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. The initialism “HSBC” stood for the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

32 Pound alternative : EURO

The euro sign (€) looks like a letter C, but with two horizontal lines drawn across the middle. Inspiration for the design comes from the Greek letter epsilon.

The official name of the currency of the UK is the pound sterling (plural “pounds sterling”). The most plausible suggestion for the etymology of the term “sterling” is that it derives from the Old English “steorra” meaning “star”, with the diminutive “-ling”. The resulting “little star” or “sterling” referred to a silver penny used by the English Normans. The pound sterling is the world’s oldest currency still in use.

37 Singer with the debut single “My Bologna” (1979) : WEIRD AL

“Weird Al” Yankovic is a singer-songwriter who is noted for writing and performing parodies of popular songs. Of the 150 or so such songs, the best known are probably “Eat It” (parodying “Beat It” by Michael Jackson) and “Like a Surgeon” (parodying “Like a Virgin” by Madonna).

44 Cartoonist Thomas : NAST

Thomas Nast was an American caricaturist and cartoonist. He was the creator of the Republican Party elephant, the Democratic Party donkey, Uncle Sam and the image of the plump and jocular Santa Claus that we use today.

45 General in American Chinese cuisine : TSO

General Tso’s chicken is an American creation, and a dish often found on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. The name General Tso may be a reference to General Zuo Zongtang of the Qing Dynasty, but there is no clear link.

48 2006 Beyoncé album released, fittingly, on Sept. 4 : B-DAY

Birthday (b-day)

Beyoncé Knowles established herself in the entertainment industry as the lead singer with the R&B group Destiny’s Child. She launched her solo singing career in 2002, after making her first appearance as an actor. In 2006 she played the lead in the very successful movie adaptation of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls”. Beyoncé is married to rap star Jay-Z. She is also referred to affectionately as “Queen Bey”, a play on the phrase “the queen bee”. Her fan base goes by the name “Beyhive”.

50 James who sang “A Sunday Kind of Love” : ETTA

“Etta James” was the stage name of celebrated blues and soul singer Jamesetta Hawkins. James’ most famous recording was her 1960 hit “At Last”, which made it into the pop charts. James performed “At Last” at the age of 71 in 2009 on the reality show “Dancing with the Stars”, which was to be her final television appearance. She passed away in 2012.

52 Folk-rock quartet whose name derives from its members’ last initials : CSNY

The supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) is made up of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash. The band can grow to “CSNY” when the trio is joined by Neil Young. Fans have been known to call the act “C, S, N and sometimes Y”, a play on the expression that names all the vowels, “A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y”.

55 Literary alter ego : HYDE

Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story, including that the author wrote the basic tale in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, Stevenson’s use of cocaine stimulated his creative juices during those few days of writing.

57 Music genre for Dashboard Confessional : EMO

Dashboard Confessional is an emo band from Boca Raton, Florida.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 “Order waiting to be deciphered,” per José Saramago : CHAOS
6 Each : A POP
10 And so on : DOT DOT DOT
13 Aroused, informally : HORNY
14 Actress Kirke of “Mozart in the Jungle” : LOLA
15 The third : III
16 Things most cars and many clocks have : ALARMS
18 Guests may be welcomed with them : OPEN ARMS
20 Iconic Voyager 1 photograph taken 3.7 billion miles from Earth : PALE BLUE DOT
22 It has its ups and downs : GRAPH
23 Cover : COAT
24 Big Apple debut of 1998 : IMAC
26 They’re spotted on Lucille Ball and Minnie Mouse : POLKA-DOT DRESSES
31 Car at the front of a line, maybe : HEARSE
33 I, to Homer : IOTA
34 ___ de parfum : EAU
35 Took to court : SUED
36 Beltway insider : POL
37 Put on notice : WARN
38 Savage X Fenty product : BRA
39 Serf : PEON
41 Seems bad somehow : SMELLS
43 Begins to see a pattern : CONNECTS THE DOTS
46 On : ATOP
47 South Asian garment : SARI
48 Sanctify : BLESS
51 Turn-of-the-century financial crisis : DOT-COM CRASH
56 Pay attention to details … or a hint to filling in seven of this puzzle’s squares : DOT THE IS
58 City of 5+ million just north of Royal National Park : SYDNEY
59 ___ Deco : ART
60 A rooster crowing before midnight, it was once believed : OMEN
61 Like all animals in the genus Equus : MANED
62 “About ___ high” : YEA
63 Small bouquet : POSY
64 Not get reception? : ELOPE

Down

1 Grown lad : CHAP
2 Salamanca salutation : HOLA
3 Kazakhstan’s ___ Sea : ARAL
4 Known publicly : ON RECORD
5 &#$!@, e.g. : SYMBOLS
6 Topical matter for the sunburned? : ALOE
7 Olivia Rodrigo or Billie Eilish : POP IDOL
8 “___ Coltrane” (1961 John Coltrane album) : OLE
9 Landmass once surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa : PANGAEA
10 Nest egg option, for short : IRA
11 Rapscallion : IMP
12 To a certain extent : ISH
17 Quench : SLAKE
19 TV stories sometimes have them : ARCS
21 N.B.A.’s Jazz, on scoreboards : UTA
25 TV actor who co-starred in “Rocky III” : MR T
26 Song of triumph : PAEAN
27 Ones colliding in the Large Hadron Collider : IONS
28 Prey for polar bears : SEALS
29 Rapper ___ Sweatshirt : EARL
30 Space heaters? : SUNS
31 Bank based in the U.K. : HSBC
32 Pound alternative : EURO
36 Some baked entrees : POT PIES
37 Singer with the debut single “My Bologna” (1979) : WEIRD AL
39 Pound alternative : PET SHOP
40 ___-friendly : ECO
41 Charades : SHAMS
42 “Heavens!” : MERCY ME!
44 Cartoonist Thomas : NAST
45 General in American Chinese cuisine : TSO
48 2006 Beyoncé album released, fittingly, on Sept. 4 : B-DAY
49 Oral history : LORE
50 James who sang “A Sunday Kind of Love” : ETTA
52 Folk-rock quartet whose name derives from its members’ last initials : CSNY
53 A year in Italy : ANNO
54 Ooze : SEEP
55 Literary alter ego : HYDE
57 Music genre for Dashboard Confessional : EMO

11 thoughts on “1124-22 NY Times Crossword 24 Nov 22, Thursday”

  1. Don’t do this ever again!
    Did not like it, nor did I get it.
    Happy (dot) Thanksgiving! 😊

  2. I will only comment that the answer to 38-Across resulted in a Google search, revealing a selection of images that I am afraid I will never be able to unsee … 😜.

    And … yes … Happy Thanksgiving! May the tryptophan angels descend upon thee and give thee rest!

  3. What the…? Upper right had me fooled. 26:34 and at least my app didn’t go bonkers today. Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🦃🦃❗️

  4. 20:59. Waited longer than I needed to before seeking the reveal which made the rest of the puzzle pretty easy. Tripped up at the OLE/LOLA nexus for what seems to be my daily error recently.

    The photo of the PALE BLUE DOT was taken beyond Pluto. Pretty far away. I wonder if it was a polaroid?

    I looked up the images for the 38A’s of Savage X and had a difficult time turning away from the page. It’s already bookmarked….

    Happy Thanksgiving to all.

    Best –

  5. 19:05, a day late. Stayed home cleaning up leaves because all the extended family had Covid, the flu or RSV. BruceB, I saw what you did there, how the “bra” answer filled itself. Interesting that the bra clue was 38A, not a size you could buy on the website…yeah, I checked :- )

  6. I wouldn’t say the dots are ignored in the down clues since they are all
    dots above an i hence 56 across.

  7. For those of you that Google 38A, what did u get when you googled 13A??
    Or are we ignoring that like it wasn’t there?

    Good grid. I liked it

  8. Didn’t think I’d complete at first til I …

    Horny is the dirtiest word I’ve ever seen in a NYT puzzle.

  9. 41:35 and I had Lori for 14A…no indication that 36A is an abbreviation.
    Good example of “ anything goes” in crossword construction 👎👎
    Stay safe😀

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