0105-23 NY Times Crossword 5 Jan 23, Thursday

Constructed by: Emily Carroll
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Squeeze Play

We have a rebus puzzle today, with the names of four PLAYS SQUEEZED into four boxes in the grid:

  • 54A Risky baseball strategy that’s indicated four times in this puzzle? : SQUEEZE PLAY
  • 17A Rise in the air : LEVITATE
  • 2D Certain to happen : INEVITABLE
  • 21A Establishment offering tom yum soup or pad woon sen noodles : THAI RESTAURANT
  • 5D Runs together, in a way : CO-CHAIRS
  • 36A Acclaimed HBO comedy series whose creator stars as himself : CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
  • 28D Kind of guidance : PARENTAL
  • 61A Body image? : CAT SCAN
  • 61D Condiment for a burger : CATSUP

Bill’s time: 12m 28s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 ___ lab (hosp. location for stent placements) : CATH

In the world of surgical medicine, a stent is an artificial tube inserted inside a vessel in the body, say an artery, in order to reduce the effects of a local restriction in the body’s conduit.

9 “American Psycho” novelist : ELLIS

Bret Easton Ellis wrote a trio of novels that were made into very successful movies:

  1. “Less Than Zero” (1987, starring Andrew McCarthy)
  2. “American Psycho” (2000, starring Christian Bale)
  3. “The Rules of Attraction” (2002, starring James van der Beek).

“American Psycho” is a comedy horror film released in 2000 that is based on a 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. I don’t do horror, comedic or not …

15 Fantasy foe : OGRE

An ogre is a hideous monster of legend. There is a suggestion that “ogre” is French in origin and comes from “Orcus”, the name of an Etruscan underworld god who fed on human flesh. Nice guy …

16 Smallest South Pacific nation : NAURU

Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation, and is located in the South Pacific 300 km to the east of Kiribati. The island was taken as a colony by Germany in the late 1800s, and came under the administration of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom after WWI. The Japanese invaded during WWII, but Nauru was one of the islands that was bypassed in the US advance across the Pacific towards Japan. Nauru achieved independence in 1968.

18 “Veep” actress DuVall : CLEA

“Veep” is a political satire sitcom on HBO that is a remake of the British show “The Thick of It” (Warning: strong, strong language!). “Veep” is set in the office of fictional US Vice President Selina Meyer, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

19 Biblical mount : SINAI

According to the Bible, Mount Sinai is the mountain on which Moses was given the Ten Commandments. The Biblical Mount Sinai is probably not the mountain in Egypt that today has the same name, although this is the subject of much debate. The Egyptian Mount Sinai has two developed routes that one can take to reach the summit. The longer gentler climb takes about 2 1/2 hours, but there is also the steeper climb up the 3,750 “steps of penitence”.

20 Pilates target : ABS

Pilates is a physical exercise system developed by, and named for, Joseph Pilates. Pilates introduced his system of exercises in 1883 in Germany.

25 GPS options: Abbr. : RTES

A global positioning system (GPS) might point out a route (rte.).

26 Yellow-flowered medicinal plant : SENNA

Sennas are plants in the legume family. Historically, the pods and leaves of the senna plant have been used as a laxative.

32 Fantasy foe : ORC

Orcs are mythical humanoid creatures that appear in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. Since Tolkien’s use of orcs, they have also been featured in other fantasy fiction as well as in fantasy video games.

35 Certain entry requirement : VISA

A visa is usually a stamp in one’s passport, an indication that one is authorized to enter (and less often, to exit) a particular country. The word “visa” comes into English, via French, from the Latin expression “charta visa” meaning “paper that has been seen”, or “verified paper”.

36 Acclaimed HBO comedy series whose creator stars as himself : CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” is an improv comedy show aired by HBO that was created and stars Larry David, the creator of “Seinfeld”. As an aside, Larry David sat a few feet from me at the next table in a Los Angeles restaurant a few years ago. I have such a huge claim to fame …

42 Strand in a cell : RNA

Both DNA and RNA are complex molecules comprising nucleotide bases arranged in chains. Famously, DNA molecules form a double-helix structure, with two chains coiled around each other. RNA chains are single-stranded structures that usually fold onto themselves.

43 Dallas pro : MAV

The Mavericks (also “Mavs”) are an NBA franchise in Dallas, Texas. The team was founded in 1980, and the Mavericks name was chosen by fan votes. The choice of “Mavericks” was prompted by the fact that the actor James Garner was a part-owner of the team, and Garner of course played the title role in the “Maverick” television series.

45 Vodka brand, informally : STOLI

Stolichnaya is a brand of “Russian” vodka made from wheat and rye grain. “Stoli” originated in Russia, but now it’s made in Latvia. Latvia is of course a completely different country, so you won’t see the word “Russian” on the label anymore.

51 Wheels on a base : JEEP

The Jeep is the original off-road vehicle. It was developed by the American Bantam Car Company in 1940 at the request of the US government who recognized the upcoming need for the armed forces as American involvement in WWII loomed. The Bantam Company was too small to cope with demand, so the government gave the designs to competing car companies. The design and brand eventually ended up with AMC in the seventies and eighties.

52 Recover from a bender : SOBER UP

The terms “jag” and “bender” describe periods of unrestrained activity, particularly those involving alcohol. Both words have been in use since the 1800s.

54 Risky baseball strategy that’s indicated four times in this puzzle? : SQUEEZE PLAY

In baseball, a squeeze play (also “squeeze bunt”) is one in which a batter bunts the ball expecting to be thrown out at first, but gives a runner at third base a chance to score. In a safety squeeze the runner at third waits to see where the bunt is going before heading for home. In a suicide squeeze, the runner heads home as soon as the pitcher throws the ball.

58 Stand-up comedian Wong : ALI

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who is a protégé of Chris Rock. She made two very successful Netflix stand-up specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”. She also worked as a writer for the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat”.

61 Body image? : CAT SCAN

A CT (or “CAT”) scan produces (via computer manipulation) a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object, usually the human body. It does so by taking a series of two dimensional x-ray images while rotating the camera around the patient. The issue with CT scans is that they use x-rays. High doses of radiation can be harmful, causing damage that is cumulative over time. The initialism “CT” stands for “computed tomography”. The older initialism “CAT” stands for “computed axial tomography”.

62 Work at St. Peter’s Basilica : PIETA

The Pietà is a representation of the Virgin Mary holding in her arms the dead body of her son Jesus. The most famous Pietà is undoubtedly the sculpted rendition by Michelangelo that is located in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. That particular sculpture is thought to be the only work that Michelangelo signed. In some depictions of the Pietà, Mary and her son are surrounded by other figures from the New Testament. Such depictions are known as Lamentations.

The Basilica of St. Peter in Rome was built during the late Renaissance and has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, capable of holding 60,000 people. There is a popular misconception that St. Peter’s is the cathedral of Rome, but actually it isn’t, and instead is a papal basilica. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral church of Rome.

64 Body part that’s an anagram of 11-Down : ULNA
[11D Roman goddess who’s an anagram of 64-Across : LUNA]

The bones in the forearm are the radius and ulna. “Ulna” is the Latin word for “elbow”, and “radius” is Latin for “ray”. The humerus (plural “humeri”) is the long bone in the upper arm.

66 One of 28 in a Monopoly box : DEED

In the game of Monopoly there are 28 title deeds:

  • 22 streets
  • 4 railroads
  • 2 utilities

67 Negroni garnish : PEEL

The Negroni is a lovely cocktail, one that hails from Italy. A classic recipe calls for equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. According to legend, the drink was first made by bartender Fosco Scarselli at the request of Count Camillo Negroni, hence the name. The count wanted a stronger version of an Americano, and so Scarselli dropped the Americano’s soda water and replaced it with gin!

Down

1 The flowers in Amy Lowell’s “Your great puffs of flowers / Are everywhere in this my New England” : LILACS

Amy Lowell was an American poet, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926 for the collection of her poems called “What’s O’Clock”.

6 Tips for shoemakers : AGLETS

An aglet is a plastic or metal sheath that is found on the end of a shoelace or perhaps a drawstring. The name “aglet” comes from the Old French word “aiguillette” meaning “needle”.

7 ___ leches (Latin American cake) : TRES

A tres leches cake is a type of sponge cake that has been soaked in three kinds of milk, in heavy cream, condensed milk and evaporated milk.

11 Roman goddess who’s an anagram of 64-Across : LUNA
[64A Body part that’s an anagram of 11-Down : ULNA]

“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero.

12 Modern-day site of ancient Persepolis : IRAN

Persepolis is located in modern Iran, just northeast of the city of Shiraz. The earliest remains of the city date back to around 500 BC. Much of the city’s construction took place during the reign of King Xerxes the Great.

21 Lachrymose : TEARY

“Lachrymose” means “teary”, from the Latin “lacrima”, the word for “tear”.

22 Many a fancy hotel lobby : ATRIUM

In modern architecture, an atrium (plural “atria” or “atriums”) is a large open space usually in the center of a building and extending upwards to the roof. The original atrium was an open court in the center of an Ancient Roman house. One could access most of the enclosed rooms of the house from the atrium.

24 Self-important types : SNOBS

Back in the 1780s, a snob was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word “snob” was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

29 Soccer great Hamm : MIA

Mia Hamm is a retired American soccer player. She played as a forward on the US national team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. Hamm scored 158 international goals, which was more than any other player in the world, male or female, until the record was broken in 2013. Amazingly, Hamm was born with a clubfoot, and so had to wear corrective shoes when she was growing up.

30 Biblical mount : ASS

The ass or donkey is mentioned several times in the Bible. One of the most-quoted biblical stories involving an ass is the story of Balaam. Balaam was a diviner who appears in the Book of Numbers in. In one account, Balaam is held to task by an angel for particularly cruel treatment of an ass.

31 Agricultural item that Nigeria produces more of than the rest of the world combined : YAM

Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the world than they are in this country, and are especially common in Africa.

35 Joie de ___ : VIVRE

“Joie de vivre” means “joy of living” in French. We use the phrase to mean the happy, carefree enjoyment of life, like when we finish our crossword puzzles …

36 The fish in fish and chips, commonly : COD

In Britain and Ireland, the most common fish that is used in traditional “fish and chips” is Atlantic cod. Cod has been overfished all over the world, and is now considered to be an endangered species by many international bodies. Confrontations over fishing rights in the North Atlantic led to conflicts called “the Cod Wars” between Iceland and the UK in the 1950s and the 1970s, with fishing fleets being protected by naval vessels and even shots being fired.

37 Cry at a card table : UNO!

The classic card game Uno now comes in several versions. Uno ColorAdd allows people with color blindness to play, and there is also a Braille version that allows blind and sighted friends to play together.

38 It’s cut by a dancer : RUG

To cut a rug is to dance. The etymology of “cut a rug” isn’t clearcut (pun!), but the wear caused by repeatedly dancing on a rug seems to be the culprit in one form or another.

48 Big competitor of Microsoft and IBM : ORACLE

Oracle is a huge software company with headquarters in Redwood City, California. Oracle’s main product is enterprise software, software that meets the needs of an organization rather than an individual user. Oracle was co-founded in 1977 by Larry Ellison, who is now one of the richest business people in the world.

49 University with a pelican mascot : TULANE

Tulane University is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane was founded in 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana. The university was privatized with the aid of an endowment from philanthropist Paul Tulane in 1884, and as a result the school’s name was changed to Tulane University. The school’s sports teams use the name Tulane Green Wave, and the team mascot is Riptide the Pelican.

50 Kind of column : SPINAL

The human spine comprises five regions of vertebrae, which are (starting at the neck):

  • Cervical (C1 – C7)
  • Thoracic (T1 – T12)
  • Lumbar (L1 – L5)
  • Sacral (S1 – S5)
  • Coccyx (also known as the tailbone)

51 Compact Volkswagen : JETTA

“Jetta” is one in a series of model names related to winds that has been used by Volkswagen. “Jetta” comes from the German for “jet stream”, and the model name “Passat” comes from the German for “trade wind”.

53 Sculled, e.g. : OARED

A scull is a boat used for competitive rowing. The main hull of the boat is often referred to as a shell. Crew members who row the boat can be referred to as “oars”. And, a scull is also an oar mounted on the stern of a small boat. It’s all very confusing …

57 Politico Buttigieg : PETE

Politician Pete Buttigieg is a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and an unsuccessful candidate for US president in 2020 Democratic Party primaries. He is a Harvard graduate and also graduated from Oxford, which he attended on a Rhodes Scholarship. He served as an intelligence officer in the US Navy Reserve for eight years, and was deployed to Afghanistan for seven months in 2014. He was appointed as Secretary of Transportation in the Biden administration in 2021, making him the first openly gay cabinet secretary in the history of the US.

61 Condiment for a burger : CATSUP

“Catsup” is an American spelling of “ketchup” that is sometimes used, especially in the south of the country.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Fake news source? : LIAR
5 ___ lab (hosp. location for stent placements) : CATH
9 “American Psycho” novelist : ELLIS
14 To whom Mama Cocha was goddess of the sea : INCA
15 Fantasy foe : OGRE
16 Smallest South Pacific nation : NAURU
17 Rise in the air : LEVITATE
18 “Veep” actress DuVall : CLEA
19 Biblical mount : SINAI
20 Pilates target : ABS
21 Establishment offering tom yum soup or pad woon sen noodles : THAI RESTAURANT
23 Most immediate : CLOSEST
25 GPS options: Abbr. : RTES
26 Yellow-flowered medicinal plant : SENNA
27 Goes toe to toe (with) : SPARS
29 Can alternative : MAY
32 Fantasy foe : ORC
34 “___ said …” : AS I
35 Certain entry requirement : VISA
36 Acclaimed HBO comedy series whose creator stars as himself : CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
41 Unwanted responsibility : ONUS
42 Strand in a cell : RNA
43 Dallas pro : MAV
44 Relentlessly follow : DOG
45 Vodka brand, informally : STOLI
47 Leisurely paces : TROTS
51 Wheels on a base : JEEP
52 Recover from a bender : SOBER UP
54 Risky baseball strategy that’s indicated four times in this puzzle? : SQUEEZE PLAY
58 Stand-up comedian Wong : ALI
59 Boots : OUSTS
60 Within reach : NEAR
61 Body image? : CAT SCAN
62 Work at St. Peter’s Basilica : PIETA
63 Ending with leather or towel : -ETTE
64 Body part that’s an anagram of 11-Down : ULNA
65 This is for suckers : STRAW
66 One of 28 in a Monopoly box : DEED
67 Negroni garnish : PEEL

Down

1 The flowers in Amy Lowell’s “Your great puffs of flowers / Are everywhere in this my New England” : LILACS
2 Certain to happen : INEVITABLE
3 Pursues, as a hunch : ACTS ON
4 Good name for a marine biologist? : RAE
5 Runs together, in a way : CO-CHAIRS
6 Tips for shoemakers : AGLETS
7 ___ leches (Latin American cake) : TRES
8 Summer eruption : HEAT RASH
9 Comes after : ENSUES
10 Haunts : LAIRS
11 Roman goddess who’s an anagram of 64-Across : LUNA
12 Modern-day site of ancient Persepolis : IRAN
13 Word with power or strong : … SUIT
21 Lachrymose : TEARY
22 Many a fancy hotel lobby : ATRIUM
24 Self-important types : SNOBS
28 Kind of guidance : PARENTAL
29 Soccer great Hamm : MIA
30 Biblical mount : ASS
31 Agricultural item that Nigeria produces more of than the rest of the world combined : YAM
33 Nevada senator Catherine ___ Masto : CORTEZ
35 Joie de ___ : VIVRE
36 The fish in fish and chips, commonly : COD
37 Cry at a card table : UNO!
38 It’s cut by a dancer : RUG
39 Still sealed : UNOPENED
40 Did nothing : SAT BY
45 School board? : SEESAW
46 Falls behind : IS LATE
48 Big competitor of Microsoft and IBM : ORACLE
49 University with a pelican mascot : TULANE
50 Kind of column : SPINAL
51 Compact Volkswagen : JETTA
53 Sculled, e.g. : OARED
54 Dips in gravy : SOPS
55 Give up : QUIT
56 End-___ : USER
57 Politico Buttigieg : PETE
61 Condiment for a burger : CATSUP

5 thoughts on “0105-23 NY Times Crossword 5 Jan 23, Thursday”

  1. 22:04. Got CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM fast enough, but it took me a while to get the other three rebuses.

    I kept wanting to put ketchup before CATSUP (this was before I had seen the reveal). Who says CATSUP anymore anyway??

    I always thought the smallest South Pacific nation was Gilligan’s Island

  2. Messed up on 5A and 6D.
    Did not see HEAT RASH. Thought it was SEA TRASH. So 5A became CATS.
    didn’t know CATH….. still dont.

  3. Completed except for 2 squares.

    Didn’t get :

    5A. ___ lab (hosp. location for stent placements)
    or
    5D. Runs together, in a way

  4. Mike and Nick — a stent is placed in an artery through a catheter, hence cath. And if you cochair, say, a committee, you are running it together with another chairperson. Cute, huh?

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