0216-23 NY Times Crossword 16 Feb 23, Thursday

Bill’s time: 20m 23s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Sound before a toast : TING!

The tradition of toasting someone probably dates back to the reign of Charles II, when the practice was to drink a glass of wine to the health of a beautiful or favored woman. In those days, spiced toast was added to beverages to add flavor, so the use of the word “toast” was an indicator that the lady’s beauty would enhance the wine. Very charming, I must say …

9 Dorm V.I.P.s : RAS

Resident assistant/adviser (RA)

12 Spanish term of endearment : MI AMOR

“Tu eres mi amor” is Spanish for “you are my love”.

14 Actor Sharif : OMAR

Omar Sharif was a great Hollywood actor from Egypt, someone who played major roles in memorable movies such as “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia”. But to me, he was my bridge hero (the card game). In his heyday, Sharif was one of the best bridge players in the world.

15 Next-generation releases? : OVA

“Ovum” (plural “ova”) is Latin for “egg”.

16 Turkish city that lends its name to a species of rabbit, cat and goat : ANKARA

Ankara is the second largest city in Turkey, after Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). After WWI, the Ottoman Empire had been defeated and the Allies occupied the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. The victors planned to break up most of Turkey, leaving native Turks just part of their country for their own. In the inevitable War of Independence that followed, the Turkish Nationalists used Ankara as their base. When the Nationalists emerged victorious, they declared Ankara the new capital of Turkey.

Angora wool comes from the Angora rabbit. On the other hand, the Angora goat produces the wool known as mohair. Both rabbit and goat are named for Turkey’s capital Ankara, which was known as “Angora” in many European languages.

The Turkish Angora is a breed of domestic cat that is often called simply an Angora or Ankara cat. The Angora is particularly prized for its white coat, although the breed can come in a variety of colors.

The Angora goat produces the wool known as mohair. On the other hand, Angora wool comes from the Angora rabbit. Both rabbit and goat are named for Turkey’s capital Ankara, which was known as “Angora” in many European languages.

17 Dramatic honor : OBIE

The Obies are the Off-Broadway Theater Awards. They have been presented annually since 1956. The recipients used to be chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper, but now are jointly administered with the American Theatre Wing.

18 Start of X-X-X : TIC-

When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

19 Cousin ___ (“Succession” character) : GREG

“Succession” is a very popular dark comedy-drama series that premiered in 2018. It’s about a family-owned, global media company. The “succession” in question is who will get to run the empire after the passing of the ailing family patriarch. The marvelous Scottish actor Brian Cox plays the head of the company Logan Roy.

20 Lead-in to care : MEDI-

Medicare is a national medical insurance program administered by the US government. The term “Medicare” originally applied to a government program introduced in 1956 that provided coverage for families of those serving in the military. The current Medicare program was introduced by the Johnson administration in 1966, to provide health insurance to anyone aged 65 years or older.

22 Last model in iPod’s product line : TOUCH

The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant and gaming console with a Wi-Fi capability. Essentially, I think it’s a stripped-down version of an iPhone.

25 Aid in self-defense : MACE

“Mace” is actually a brand name, one introduced by Lake Erie Chemical when they started to manufacture “Chemical Mace”, with the name being a play on the club-like weapon from days of old. Mace was originally a form of tear gas, but Mace today uses a formula that is actually a pepper spray, a different formulation.

26 Musical with the song “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” : ANNIE

“It’s the Hard-Knock Life” is a song written for the 1977 Broadway musical “Annie”. The musical was based on Harold Gray’s comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”. There were two subsequent film adaptations, both really quite successful, including one released in 1982 directed by John Huston of all people. “Annie” was Huston’s only ever musical.

28 Industry bigwig : BARON

A bigwig is someone important. The use of the term “bigwig” harks back to the days when men of authority and rank wore … big wigs.

32 Female whales : COWS

Male whales are referred to as bulls, females are cows, and the young are calves.

35 Nonbasic characteristic : LOW PH

As we all recall from chemistry class, a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Anything less than 7 is an acid, and anything above 7 is a base.

38 Flat, for short : TWO-D

The dimension of an object is defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify each point in the object. Therefore, a line is one-dimensional, as you only need an x-coordinate to specify a particular point on the line. A surface is two-dimensional, as you need both an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate to locate a point on the surface. The inside of a solid object is then three-dimensional, needing an x-, y- and z-coordinate to specify a point, say within a cube.

41 Sketchy stranger, in slang : RANDO

“Rando” is a slang term describing a “random person”. The term tends not to be used flatteringly.

44 Juillet to juillet, e.g. : ANNEE

“Année” is a French word for “year”.

In French, “juillet” (July) is a month in the “été” (summer).

49 “___ From the Bridge” (Arthur Miller play) : A VIEW

“A View From the Bridge” is a play by Arthur Miller. It has an unusual structure for a play first performed in 1955 in that it is a verse-drama, meaning that all of the dialog is spoken in the form of verse, somewhat like the works of Shakespeare.

51 Pod producer : TIDE

The dark side of social media struck again in late 2017 when “The Tide Pod Challenge” became an Internet sensation. Participants were eating Tide detergent pods on camera, and getting very sick and dangerously injured.

52 Multihued bird : MACAW

Macaws are beautifully-colored birds native to Central and South America that are actually a type of parrot. Most species of macaws are now endangered, with several having become extinct in recent decades. The main threats are deforestation and illegal trapping and trafficking of exotic birds.

54 Singer known as the “Queen of New Age” : ENYA

Enya’s real name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career, eventually becoming Ireland’s best-selling solo musician. And, she sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!

56 Scepter toppers : ORBS

A scepter (“sceptre” in Britain and Ireland) is a ceremonial staff, one often held by a monarch.

61 Kind of milk : OAT

Oat milk is one of the alternatives to cow’s milk, and is lactose free. I’m a huge fan …

64 Like sauvignon blanc : DRY

Sauvignon blanc is a variety of grape used in wine-making. It is an old grape variety, and is indigenous to South West France. The name “sauvignon” probably comes from the French word “sauvage” meaning “wild”, and probably refers to its origins as a grape growing wild. The term “Fumé Blanc” may be used in California for a sauvignon blanc wine, but that’s just marketing.

65 Workplaces for some essential workers, in brief : ERS

Emergency room (ER)

Down

1 Accept defeat, in modern parlance … or a hint to entering five answers in this puzzle : TAKE THE L

Just take the L, take the loss.

2 GIF, e.g. : IMAGE

A bitmap is an image file format used to store digital images. Basically, each pixel in a bitmap file is stored as a “bit” of information, hence the name “bitmap”. In 1987, CompuServe introduced a new type of image file called the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF). A GIF image takes the same information as a bitmap and then compresses it, resulting in a smaller file size. However, during compression the image may lose some resolution. The GIF format also handles short video clips, usually animations.

4 Ones who don’t want to hear that you’re laying down on the job? : GRAMMAR POLICE

There is often confusion between the verbs “to lie” and “to lay”. The latter is a transitive verb, and so needs an object. So we can’t “lay down”, we must “lie down”. But, we can “lay out” a plan.

8 Director Gerwig : GRETA

Greta Gerwig is an actress from Sacramento whose best-known role is probably opposite Russell Brand in the remake of the film “Arthur”. Gerwig has turned to directing, and was at the helm for the 2019 movie “Little Women”.

11 Scented pouch : SACHET

A sachet is a small packet of perfumed powder left in perhaps a closet or trunk to scent clothes. The word “sachet” is a diminutive of the French word “sac” meaning “bag”.

12 Underground rock? : MAGMA

Magma is the molten material below the Earth’s surface. When magma cools, it forms igneous rock. “Magma” is a Greek term that describes a thick ointment.

21 Event first observed in 1970 : EARTH DAY

Earth Day was founded in the US, where it was introduced by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. Earth Day was designed to increase awareness and appreciation of our planet’s natural environment. The original Earth Day was on April 22nd, 1970. Decades later, the day is observed in over 175 countries.

31 Joint stockholders? : POT DEALERS

“Potiguaya” is the Mexican-Spanish word for “marijuana leaves”. The slang name “pot” comes from “potiguaya”.

33 Certain woodwind requirement : OBOE REED

A double-reed instrument is one in which two pieces of cane vibrate against each other to produce sound. In a single-reed instrument, just one piece of cane vibrates the mouthpiece. The best-known examples of double-reed instruments are the oboe and the bassoon.

37 Henry Ford or Nikola Tesla : ENGINEER

Industrialist Henry Ford was born in Michigan, and was the son of an Irish immigrant from County Cork. Ford’s most famous vehicle was the one that revolutionized the industry: the Model T. Ford’s goal with the Model T was to build a car that was simple to drive, and cheap to purchase and repair. The Model T cost $825 in 1908, which isn’t much over $20,000 in today’s money.

Nikola Tesla was born in Serbia, but later moved to the US. Tesla’s work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

41 Cannon loader : RAMROD

A ramrod is a stick that is inserted into the barrel of an older firearm in order to pack the bullet or ball tightly against the charge of gunpowder. A ramrod can also be used to push a cleaning rag through the barrel of a gun. We use the verb “to ramrod” figuratively, to mean “to force acceptance”.

42 Blockbuster of 2009 : AVATAR

2009’s epic “Avatar” is a science fiction film from James Cameron, who was the director, writer and producer. It was an expensive movie to make and to promote, but was destined to become the highest-grossing film in the history of cinema. 20th Century Fox made a deal with Cameron to produce four “Avatar” sequels.

51 Brilliant fish : TETRA

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that is native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

57 Sturgeon delicacy : ROE

Sturgeons are sometimes classed a primitive fish, meaning that their characteristic features are relatively unchanged when compared to the earliest fossil records. Several species of sturgeon are farmed for their roe, which is made into caviar.