0206-23 NY Times Crossword 6 Feb 23, Monday

Constructed by: Taylor Johnson
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Earthrise

Themed answers are all in down-direction, and each includes “EARTH” as a hidden word. That EARTH RISES as we progress across the grid from left to right:

  • 9D Ancient tool for hunters or warriors : SPEAR-THROWER
  • 11D Phenomenon witnessed from space … or a hint to this puzzle’s sequence of shaded squares : EARTHRISE
  • 22D Like a diet low in sodium and favoring whole grains : HEART-HEALTHY
  • 34D “Gotcha” : I HEAR THAT
  • 53D What the Apollo 8 crew was orbiting when astronaut Bill Anders took his iconic 11-Down photograph : MOON

Bill’s time: 5m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 One really shouldn’t be used to clean your ears, doctors say : Q-TIP

Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”. This was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

17 The first Mrs. Donald Trump : IVANA

Ivana Zelníčková was born in Czechoslovakia. She married an Austrian named Alfred Winklmayr, in an arrangement that allowed her to leave Communist Czechoslovakia. The marriage was dissolved within two years, and Zelníčková settled in Canada. She was an excellent skier, and was named as an alternate for the 1982 Czech Olympic Team. She was promoting the Montreal Olympics in New York in 1976 when she met Donald Trump. Ivana and Donald’s marriage was very public and well-covered by the media, but not nearly as well-covered as their very litigious divorce in the early nineties.

19 Gazelle, to a cheetah : PREY

When running at a sustained speed, gazelles can move along at 30 miles per hour. If needed, they can accelerate for bursts up to 60 miles per hour.

The cheetah can run faster than any other land animal, achieving speeds of 70-75 mph. The name “cheetah” comes into English from Sanskrit via Hindi, from the word for “variegated”. Something that is variegated has different colored zones, like the mottled hide of the cheetah.

20 Red hat of the Ottoman Empire : FEZ

A fez is a red, cylindrical hat worn mainly in North Africa, and by Shriners here in the US. The fez used to be a very popular hat across the Ottoman Empire. The etymology of “fez” is unclear, although it may have something to do with the Moroccan city named Fez.

21 One of the two main branches of Islam : SHIA

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

23 Dogs with curly tails : AKITAS

The Akita breed of dog is named for its point of origin, Akita Prefecture in Japan. When Helen Keller visited Japan in 1937, she asked for and was given an Akita breed of dog, with the name of Kamikaze-go. Sadly, the dog died within a year from distemper. The following year the Japanese government officially presented Keller with a replacement dog. Supposedly Keller’s dogs were the first members of the breed to be introduced into the US.

25 Higher on the Rotten Tomatoes rating scale : FRESHER

Rotten Tomatoes is a website that mainly provides reviews and ratings of movies, although it now covers TV shows as well. The site was launched in 1998 and takes its name from the practice of audience members throwing rotten tomatoes at an unappreciated performer on stage.

32 Popular same-sex dating app : GRINDR

Grindr is a social networking app aimed at gay and bisexual men. Subscribers locate potential partners using the geolocation capabilities of smartphones. A user in a particular location can view a grid showing pictures of fellow subscribers arranged by proximity.

36 Birth control option, for short : IUD

It seems that it isn’t fully understood how the intrauterine device (IUD) works. The design that was most popular for decades was a T-shaped plastic frame on which was wound copper wire. It’s thought that the device is an irritant in the uterus causing the body to release chemicals that are hostile to sperm and eggs. This effect is enhanced by the presence of the copper.

38 Singing voice above baritone : TENOR

A tenor (plural “tenori”) is a male voice that falls between that of a countertenor and a baritone. The word “tenor” comes from the Latin “tenere” meaning “to hold”. This etymology refers to the tenor part that carries the sustained melody (canto fermo) of a traditional polyphonic composition.

The baritone is the second-lowest of male voices, above the bass and below the tenor. The term “baritone” comes from the Greek word “barytonos” meaning “deep-sounding”.

40 Italian wine region : ASTI

Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine. Moscato d’Asti is produced from the same grape (Moscato Bianco). Moscato is a much sweeter wine with a lower alcohol content, and is usually served as a dessert wine.

42 Like some retro carpeting : SHAG

Shag carpet is one with a deep pile, one with a “shaggy” appearance.

48 The “R” of H.R.H. : ROYAL

His/Her Royal Highness (HRH)

49 What one should do twice before cutting once : MEASURE

Measure twice, cut once.

53 Major toymaker : MATTEL

Mattel is the world’s largest toy manufacturer. Mattel was founded by Harold “Matt” Matson and Elliot Handler in 1945, and they chose the company name by combining “Matt” with “El-liot” giving “Matt-el”.

56 The “p” of m.p.h. : PER

Miles per hour (mph)

60 U.S. facility in Cuba, informally : GITMO

The Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba is often referred to by using the abbreviation “GTMO” or simply “Gitmo”. Gitmo is the oldest overseas base operated by the navy and dates back to the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903, at which time the US leased the facility as a fueling station. A perpetual lease was offered by Tomas Estrada Palma, the first President of Cuba, after the US took over control of Cuba from Spain following the Spanish-American War of 1898.

62 Country bordering Yemen : OMAN

The Arabian Peninsula is shaped like a boot, with the Sultanate of Oman occupying the toe of that boot.

65 ___ pot (device for clearing sinuses) : NETI

A neti pot is a spouted vessel that is used for nasal irrigation. “Neti” is a Sanskrit word meaning “nasal cleansing”.

66 Thanksgiving side dish : YAMS

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.

67 Al ___ (firm, as pasta) : DENTE

The Italian expression “al dente” literally means “to the tooth” or “to the bite” and is used to describe not only pasta, but also vegetables that are cooked so that they are tender and yet still crisp.

Down

8 Humongous : BIG

Something humongous is very, very large. “Humongous” comes from the words “huge” and “monstrous”.

10 Edible squash seed : PEPITA

Pumpkin seeds are also known as “pepitas”, from the Mexican Spanish term “pepita de calabaza” meaning “little seed of squash”.

11 Phenomenon witnessed from space … or a hint to this puzzle’s sequence of shaded squares : EARTHRISE
[53d What the Apollo 8 crew was orbiting when astronaut Bill Anders took his iconic 11-Down photograph : MOON]

“Earthrise” is the appearance of the Earth above the horizon when viewed from, say, the moon. There is a famous photograph with the title “Earthrise” that was taken from lunar orbit by astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. The picture shows the Earth rising above the surface of the moon, and is a beautiful image.

26 Tax IDs: Abbr. : SSNS

The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So starting in 1986, the IRS made it a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987. Today, a SSN is required for a child of any age in order to receive a tax exemption.

27 Texas city between Dallas and Austin : WACO

The Texas city of Waco is named for the Wichita people known as the “Waco”, who occupied the area for thousands of years.

35 “Life of Pi” director Lee : ANG

Taiwanese director Ang Lee sure has directed a mixed bag of films, mixed in terms of genre but not in terms of quality. He was at the helm for such classics as “Sense & Sensibility” (my personal favorite), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hulk”, “Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi”.

The 2012 movie “Life of Pi” is based on a 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel. The “Pi” in the title is an Indian boy named Pi Patel who finds himself adrift for 227 days in a small boat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

39 ___ Grey tea : EARL

The Earl Grey blend of tea is supposedly named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey who was Prime Minister of the UK from 1830 to 1834. Earl Grey tea has a distinctive flavor that is largely due to the addition of oil from the rind of the bergamot orange.

42 Eyelid irritation : STYE

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

46 Twisty-shaped pasta : ROTINI

Rotini is a corkscrew-shaped pasta that is often used in pasta salads. Even though “rotini” sounds like it comes from a word meaning “twist, rotate”, the word “rotini” doesn’t exist in Italian other than as the name for the pasta.

50 Supermodel Kate : UPTON

Kate Upton is a fashion model from St. Joseph, Michigan. Kate is a niece of US Representative Fred Upton of Michigan. Kate married professional baseball pitcher Justin Verlander in 2014.

55 Salon job : PERM

“Perm” is the common name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls.

59 Narrow inlet : RIA

A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, and both are formed as sea levels rise. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Apt rhyme for “paws” : CLAWS
6 Cries loudly : SOBS
10 Mountain : PEAK
14 Maximum allowed : LIMIT
15 One really shouldn’t be used to clean your ears, doctors say : Q-TIP
16 Relaxed feeling : EASE
17 The first Mrs. Donald Trump : IVANA
18 Strong desire : URGE
19 Gazelle, to a cheetah : PREY
20 Red hat of the Ottoman Empire : FEZ
21 One of the two main branches of Islam : SHIA
23 Dogs with curly tails : AKITAS
25 Higher on the Rotten Tomatoes rating scale : FRESHER
27 Ire : WRATH
28 Clothing line? : SEAM
29 Not yet found, as a criminal : AT LARGE
32 Popular same-sex dating app : GRINDR
35 Be hurting : ACHE
36 Birth control option, for short : IUD
37 Sounds of wonderment : OOHS
38 Singing voice above baritone : TENOR
40 Italian wine region : ASTI
41 Sweetie : BAE
42 Like some retro carpeting : SHAG
43 Most strange : ODDEST
45 More intelligent : SMARTER
47 Wowed : AWED
48 The “R” of H.R.H. : ROYAL
49 What one should do twice before cutting once : MEASURE
53 Major toymaker : MATTEL
55 Sound of a contented cat : PURR
56 The “p” of m.p.h. : PER
57 “Fancy seeing you here!” : OH HI!
58 Very: Fr. : TRES
60 U.S. facility in Cuba, informally : GITMO
62 Country bordering Yemen : OMAN
63 Bring on staff : HIRE
64 Egg-shaped : OVOID
65 ___ pot (device for clearing sinuses) : NETI
66 Thanksgiving side dish : YAMS
67 Al ___ (firm, as pasta) : DENTE

Down

1 Steep drop-off : CLIFF
2 Meat that may be “chopped” : LIVER
3 Wow : AMAZE
4 Take the pot, in poker : WIN
5 Tucked (away) : STASHED
6 Wiggle from discomfort : SQUIRM
7 ___ vez (again, in Spanish) : OTRA
8 Humongous : BIG
9 Ancient tool for hunters or warriors : SPEAR-THROWER
10 Edible squash seed : PEPITA
11 Phenomenon witnessed from space … or a hint to this puzzle’s sequence of shaded squares : EARTHRISE
12 On the ocean : ASEA
13 C minor and F sharp major, for two : KEYS
22 Like a diet low in sodium and favoring whole grains : HEART-HEALTHY
24 Salad green some chefs massage to soften : KALE
26 Tax IDs: Abbr. : SSNS
27 Texas city between Dallas and Austin : WACO
30 Courage, metaphorically : GUTS
31 Computer menu with Undo and Redo : EDIT
32 Bunches : GOBS
33 Wander : ROAM
34 “Gotcha” : I HEAR THAT
35 “Life of Pi” director Lee : ANG
39 ___ Grey tea : EARL
40 Does sums : ADDS
42 Eyelid irritation : STYE
44 “For heaven’s sake!” : DEAR GOD!
46 Twisty-shaped pasta : ROTINI
47 Entertains : AMUSES
50 Supermodel Kate : UPTON
51 Send, as a payment : REMIT
52 Wear away : ERODE
53 What the Apollo 8 crew was orbiting when astronaut Bill Anders took his iconic 11-Down photograph : MOON
54 “Alas!” : AH ME!
55 Salon job : PERM
59 Narrow inlet : RIA
61 “So ___ heard” : I’VE

7 thoughts on “0206-23 NY Times Crossword 6 Feb 23, Monday”

  1. Is SPEAR THROWER a weapon or the person throwing the weapon?

    Just trying to be down to earth.

  2. 19:05 no errors…SW corner slowed me down…didn’t give the theme a second thought.
    Stay safe😀

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