0219-23 NY Times Crossword 19 Feb 23, Sunday

Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Simile Irresistible

Themed answers are similes reinterpreted as synonyms of the single-word verb in the clue, alongside an illustrative object of the verb:

  • 22A Bus? : CLEAR, AS CRYSTAL
  • 32A Photosynthesize? : GREEN, AS GRASS
  • 48A Peal? : SOUND, AS A BELL
  • 65A Photoshop? : PRETTY, AS A PICTURE
  • 83A Sting? : SMART, AS A WHIP
  • 97A Iron? : SMOOTH, AS SILK
  • 112A Quenched? : PLEASED, AS PUNCH

Bill’s time: 22m 32s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Gas light : NEON

The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

18 Chow chow chow : ALPO

Alpo is a brand of dog food introduced by Allen Products in 1936, with “Alpo” being an abbreviation for “Allen Products”. Lorne Greene used to push Alpo dog food in television spots, as did Ed McMahon and Garfield the Cat, would you believe?

The chow chow is a breed of dog that originated in China. The Chinese name for the breed is “Songshi Quan”, which translates as “puffy-lion dog”, a rather apt name given its appearance …

19 Presidential “pet” that sprouts an Afro : CHIA OBAMA

Chia Obama is a decorative planter kit featuring the likeness of former United States President Barack Obama, designed to sprout chia seeds that grow into a green “hair” or foliage on top of the figurine’s head. The product was created by the same company that developed the popular Chia Pet line of products.

Chia is a flowering plant in the mint family. Chia seeds are an excellent food source and are often added to breakfast cereals and energy bars. There is also the famous Chia Pet, an invention of a San Francisco company. Chia Pets are terra-cotta figurines to which moistened chia seeds are applied. The seeds sprout and the seedlings become the “fur” of the Chia Pet.

21 Challah braids, e.g. : LOAVES

Challah is a special braided bread that is eaten by Ashkenazi Jews on the Sabbath. The bread is served to commemorate the manna that fell from the heavens as the Israelites wandered around the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.

24 Bowlers : DERBIES

I think that a bowler hat is usually called a derby here in the US. The bowler was first produced in 1849 in London by hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler, hence the name. The alternative name of “derby” comes from the tradition of wearing bowler hats at the Derby horse race (a major race held annually in England).

25 Ingredient in un cortado : LECHE

In Spanish, one might have “café con leche” (coffee with milk).

Cortado is a type of coffee beverage that originated in Spain. The name “cortado” comes from the Spanish word “cortar,” which means “to cut, dilute” and refers to the way the drink is prepared.

27 Subatomic particles : MUONS

A muon is a subatomic particle that is similar to an electron but very unstable. A muon has a mean lifetime of only 2.2 microseconds.

29 Antiquated, quaintly : OLDE

The word “olde” wasn’t actually used much earlier than the 1920s. “Olde” was introduced to give a quaint antique feel to brand names, shop names etc. as in “Ye Olde Shoppe”.

32 Photosynthesize? : GREEN, AS GRASS

Photosynthesis is the process used by plants (mainly) in which light energy is harnessed to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrate molecules. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy breathing, oxygen is released as a waste product of photosynthesis.

39 Little Energizers, say : AAAS

We are all fairly familiar with the Energizer Bunny, I am guessing. It was introduced in 1989 to promote Energizer batteries, by parodying the Duracell Bunny that made its debut in 1973.

44 Gift for a budding myrmecologist : ANT FARM

The study of ants is known as myrmecology. The term “myrmecology” derives from the Greek “myrmex” meaning “ant”.

51 Garments often seen at royal weddings : ALBS

An alb is a white, neck-to-toe vestment worn by priests, usually with a rope cord around the waist. The term alb comes from “albus”, the Latin word for “white”.

55 “American Greed” network : CNBC

“American Greed” is a documentary series in the “true crime” genre that airs weekly on CNBC. The crimes explored are corporate and white collar crimes.

56 “Jump” duo ___ Kross : KRIS

Kris Kross was a teenage rap duo from the nineties. They had a big hit called “Jump” in 1992.

57 Finales : CODAS

In music, a coda is primarily a passage that brings a movement to a conclusion. “Coda” is Italian for “tail”.

65 Photoshop? : PRETTY, AS A PICTURE

Photoshop is a wonderful piece of software used for editing graphics. When I first bought a copy of Photoshop, it was really expensive (about $300 in 1995), but now there are cost-effective, stripped-down versions available. Also, the full version of Photoshop is now only available as a monthly subscription service.

73 Intelligence org. : NSA

National Security Agency (NSA)

77 Actress Ward : SELA

Actress Sela Ward turns up in crosswords a lot. She played Teddy Reed in the TV show “Sisters” in the nineties, and was in “Once and Again” from 1999-2002. I don’t know either show, but I do know Ward from the medical drama “House” in which she played the hospital’s lawyer and Greg House’s ex-partner. That was a fun role, I thought. More recently, Ward played a lead role on “CSI: NY” and was a very welcome and much-needed addition to the cast. And, Ward played Dr. Richard Kimble’s murdered wife in the 1993 film version of “The Fugitive”.

78 Kristen of “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” : WIIG

Kristen Wiig is a comic actress who appears on “Saturday Night Live”. She also made an appearance on the first season of Spike TV’s quirky “The Joe Schmo Show”, playing “Dr. Pat”. More recently, she co-wrote and starred in the 2011 hit film “Bridesmaids”, and co-starred in the 2016 reboot of “Ghostbusters”.

80 Mama pigs : SOWS

A male pig is a boar, and a female is a sow. Young pigs are piglets.

81 Full house, in poker slang : BOAT

In early versions of poker, straights and flushes had no value as the game was focused on two, three, four-of-a-kind etc. Two-of-a-kind and three-of-a-kind in the same hand was “special” in those days as it was the only hand in which all five cards were of value. This hand was therefore called a “full” hand, which eventually became a “full house”.

82 Exquisitely made basket : DUNK

That would be basketball.

91 Role on “Seinfeld” : ELAINE

The character Elaine Benes, unlike the other lead characters (Jerry, Kramer and George), did not appear in the pilot episode of “Seinfeld”. NBC executives specified the addition of a female lead when they picked up the show citing that the situation was too “male-centric”.

92 Onetime Turkish title : PASHA

A pasha was a high-ranking official in the Ottoman Empire, and was roughly equivalent to an English lord.

101 2006 mockumentary with a 2020 “Subsequent Moviefilm” : BORAT

Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedian and comic actor from England. He is perhaps most famous for playing the characters Borat and Ali G on the small and large screens. I’m wasn’t a fan, but I must admit that I really enjoyed 2020’s “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”.

102 ___ Alto : PALO

The city of Palo Alto, California takes its name from a specific redwood tree called El Palo Alto (Spanish for “the tall stick”) that is located within the bounds of the city. The tree is 110 feet tall and over a thousand years old.

104 Drudge : 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.

118 Marathon segment : MILE

The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.

121 Crockpot creation : STEW

We often use the term “crockpot” as an alternative for “slow cooker”. The generic term comes from the trademark “Crock-Pot”, which is now owned by Sunbeam products.

Down

1 Table salt, to a chemist : NACL

Sodium chloride (NaCl, common salt) is an ionic compound. It comprises a crystal lattice made up of large chloride (Cl) ions in a cubic structure, with smaller sodium (Na+) ions in between the chlorides.

2 One of the Hearst magazines : ELLE

“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. “Elle” is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.

3 International grp. headquartered in Vienna : OPEC

The OPEC cartel was formally established in 1960 and has been headquartered in Vienna since 1965. The US is actually the third largest oil producer in the world (after Russia and Saudi Arabia). One reason America isn’t in OPEC, even though we are a big producer, is that we import a lot more than we export. But we all probably knew that already …

4 Comedian Trevor : NOAH

Trevor Noah is an outstanding comedian from Johannesburg, South Africa. Noah took over as host of the Comedy Channel’s “The Daily Show” after Jon Stewart retired. Noah can speak several languages, including English, Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Afrikaans, and German.

5 TV brand : RCA

RCA was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America, and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric (GE). GE divested RCA in 1932, and then reacquired the company in 1986. Today, RCA is just a brand name owned by Sony Music.

7 Muscles targeted by curls : BICEPS

The biceps muscle is made up of two bundles of muscle, both of which terminate at the same point near the elbow. The heads of the bundles terminate at different points on the scapula or shoulder blade. “Biceps” is Latin for “two-headed”.

9 Muscles targeted by planks : ABS

The plank is an isometric exercise that strengthens the abdominals, as well as the back and shoulder muscles. There are variations of the plank, such as the side plank and the reverse plank.

15 Spanish city enclosed within intact medieval walls : AVILA

Ávila is famous for the walled defenses around the old city (“la muralla de Ávila”) that date back to 1090. They were constructed out of brown granite, and are still in excellent repair. There are nine gateways and eighty-towers in all. Even the cathedral built between the 12th and 14th centuries is part of the city’s defenses, so it looks like an imposing fortress.

17 Tushies : ASSES

“Tush”, a word meaning “backside”, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

24 23andMe facilities : DNA LABS

23andMe was the first company to offer direct-to-consumer genetic testing, doing so in 2007. Initially, 23andMe offered a test that determined a subject’s predisposition to a list of specific genetic traits, including baldness and blindness. The company now offers a cost-effective ancestry DNA test as well. The name “23andMe” is a reference to the 23 pairs of chromosomes in the cells of a human.

31 “Today” co-host Kotb : HODA

Hoda Kotb is an Egyptian-American television journalist who is perhaps best known as a co-host of the NBC morning show “Today”. She is also the author of the bestselling autobiography “Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee”.

32 Chutzpah : GALL

Our word “chutzpah” meaning “nerve, gall, impudence” is derived from the Yiddish “khutspe”, which has the same meaning.

33 Commuter option : RAIL

Our verb “to commute”, meaning “to go back and forth to work”, ultimately derives from the Latin “commutare”, meaning “to often change”. Back in the late 1800s, a “commutation ticket” was a season pass, so named because it allowed one to “change” one kind of payment into another. Quite interesting …

34 Big Ben hrs. : GMT

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the time at the Prime Meridian, the meridian that runs through Greenwich in London.

“Big Ben” is the name commonly used for the large bell in the Clock Tower (“Elizabeth Tower” since 2012) of the Palace of Westminster (aka “Houses of Parliament”). Big Ben’s official name is the Great Bell, and there is some debate about the origins of the nickname. It may be named after Sir Benjamin Hall who supervised the bell’s installation, or perhaps the English heavyweight champion of the day Benjamin Caunt. Big Ben fell silent in 2017 to make way for four years of maintenance and repair work to the clock’s mechanism and the tower.

35 Hosts, as at a penthouse : HAS UP

Originally, the term “penthouse” described a modest building attached to a main structure. In fact, in centuries past, the manger in which Jesus was born was often referred to as a penthouse. The modern, more luxurious connotation dates back to the early twenties.

43 Ankle bones : TARSI

The tarsals (also “tarsi”) are the ankle bones, and are equivalent to the carpals in the wrist.

45 Help around the House : AIDE

The number of seats in the US House of Representatives has been 435 since the year 1913, although there was a temporary increase to 437 seats at the time of the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the Union. The number of representatives assigned to each state is proportional to that state’s population, except that each state is guaranteed a minimum of one delegate by the US Constitution.

46 Paper purchase : REAM

A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a “short ream”. We also use the term “reams” to mean a great amount, evolving from the idea of a lot of printed material.

49 Subject of Queen Mary : SCOT

Mary, Queen of Scots ruled over Scotland from 1542 until 1567, even though she spent most of that reign in France where she had grown up. 16-year-old Mary married 9-year-old Francis, the Dauphin of France in 1558, and the following year became queen consort when her husband acceded to the throne. Francis only ruled for a year before dying of natural causes. The young widow returned to Scotland, the country of her birth, in 1561. In 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favor of her one-year-old son James, after an uprising against Mary and her third husband, the Earl of Bothwell. Mary fled south to seek the protection of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. As Mary had once claimed Elizabeth’s throne as her own, Elizabeth had Mary imprisoned. Mary was held in confinement for over 18 years and eventually beheaded in 1587, having been found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth.

52 Course for an English major, informally : LIT CRIT

Literary studies, also called literary criticism (lit crit), is the evaluation and interpretation of literature.

57 Kvetch : CARP

The word “carp” used to mean simply “talk” back in the 13th century, with its roots in the Old Norwegian “karpa” meaning “to brag”. A century later, the Latin word “carpere” meaning “to slander” influenced the use of “to carp” so that it came to mean “to find fault with”.

The word “kvetch” comes to us from Yiddish, with “kvetshn” meaning “to complain” or “squeeze”.

59 Scans that may involve dye injections, in brief : MRIS

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine uses powerful magnetic fields to generate images that can be used by medical professionals to diagnose injury and disease.

60 Anthem contraction : O’ER

The words “o’er the ramparts we watched” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key.

62 Pseudoscientific ability, for short : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

66 Breakfast centers? : YOLKS

The yolk is the yellow part of a chicken’s egg. The term “yolk” comes from the Old English “geolu” meaning “yellow”.

67 Ancient Roman formal wear : TOGA

In ancient Rome, the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae” or “togas”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

68 Tea served with a jumbo straw : BOBA

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

69 Golden calf, for one : IDOL

According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, Moses’ brother Aaron made a golden calf as an idol for the Israelites to worship while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. When Moses returned, he became angry on seeing the calf and destroyed it.

79 “Where’s My Refund?” org. : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

82 Down B-52s, say : DO SHOTS

A B-52 is a layered cocktail that is usually served as a shot. It consists of coffee liqueur on the bottom, Irish cream in the center, and triple sec on top. The drink is named for the rock band called the B-52’s, and in turn the band is named for the long-range bomber.

85 Company that created a Sonic boom? : SEGA

Sonic the Hedgehog is a title character in a videogame and the mascot of Sega, the computer game developer. Sonic was set up as a rival to Nintendo’s mascot Mario.

90 Imagine ___ Peace (Ben & Jerry’s flavor) : WHIRLED

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield did a correspondence course on making ice-cream in 1977 that was given by Pennsylvania State University’s creamery. The following year they opened an ice cream parlor in an old gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Today Ben & Jerry’s has locations in over 20 countries around the world, and theirs was the first brand of ice-cream to go into space.

98 Kauffman who co-created “Friends” : MARTA

The remarkably successful sitcom “Friends” was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. For the first season, the six lead characters were each paid $22,500 per episode. That salary had increased to $1 million per episode by the show’s last season.

99 Ancient Mesoamerican civilization : OLMEC

The Olmecs were an ancient civilization that lived in the lowlands of south-central Mexico from about 1500 BC to about 400 BC.

Mesoamerica is a region extending from Central Mexico, south to Costa Rica. It is known as an area where societies flourished prior to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries.

100 Places for some piercings : SEPTA

In the world of anatomy, a septum (plural “septa”) is a dividing wall within a chamber or other structure. For example, the interatrial septum separates the left and right atria of the heart, and the nasal septum separates the nostrils of the nose.

101 Objections : BEEFS

A beef is a complaint or a grievance. It’s not quite clear how “beef” came to have this meaning, but one suggestion is that it derives from the habit of soldiers at the end of the 1800s complaining about the quality or availability of beef in their rations.

104 Winter setting in S.F. : PST

Pacific Standard Time (PST)

The city of San Francisco was established in 1776, just a few days before the US declared independence from Britain on the other side of the continent. San Francisco was founded by Spanish colonists who set up a fort at the Golden Gate and a nearby mission named for St. Francis of Assisi.

106 Tushies : BUMS

“Tush”, a word meaning “backside”, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

108 Campus with the ZIP code 90095 : UCLA

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gets more applications from potential students than any other university in the country. UCLA also has more students enrolled than any other university in the state.

109 Place to swim or play b-ball : THE Y

The YMCA (the Y) is a worldwide movement that has its roots in London, England. There, in 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded with the intent of promoting Christian principles through the development of “a healthy spirit, mind and body”. The founder, George Williams, saw the need to create YMCA facilities for young men who were flocking to the cities as the Industrial Revolution flourished. He saw that these men were frequenting taverns and brothels, and wanted to offer a more wholesome alternative.

111 Stock launch, in brief : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

113 Image on Australia’s coat of arms : EMU

The official symbol of Australia is a coat of arms that features a kangaroo and an emu.

114 Donkey Kong, for one : APE

The first video game featuring the ape named Donkey Kong was created in 1981. That same game introduced the world to the character known as Mario, four years before the game Super Mario Bros became such a big hit.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Gas light : NEON
5 Spa garment : ROBE
9 Hebrew word for “spring” : AVIV
13 Ideal course : PLAN A
18 Chow chow chow : ALPO
19 Presidential “pet” that sprouts an Afro : CHIA OBAMA
21 Challah braids, e.g. : LOAVES
22 Bus? : CLEAR, AS CRYSTAL
24 Bowlers : DERBIES
25 Ingredient in un cortado : LECHE
26 ___ across the board (perfect score) : TENS
27 Subatomic particles : MUONS
29 Antiquated, quaintly : OLDE
30 Looks to pick things up : SHOPS
32 Photosynthesize? : GREEN, AS GRASS
35 Some classic Chuck Taylor All Stars : HIGH TOPS
39 Little Energizers, say : AAAS
40 Replay tech. : SLO-MO
41 United : ALLIED
42 Volunteer : ENLIST
44 Gift for a budding myrmecologist : ANT FARM
48 Peal? : SOUND, AS A BELL
51 Garments often seen at royal weddings : ALBS
53 Stead : LIEU
54 Secondhand : USED
55 “American Greed” network : CNBC
56 “Jump” duo ___ Kross : KRIS
57 Finales : CODAS
58 Disposable sock in a shoe store : PED
59 Frame of mind : MOOD
61 Abhor : DETEST
64 Words stealthily mouthed to a friend while stuck in a boring conversation : SAVE ME
65 Photoshop? : PRETTY, AS A PICTURE
68 Olympic snowboarding event : BIG AIR
71 Family-style meal with simmering broth : HOT POT
72 Frolic : ROMP
73 Intelligence org. : NSA
76 Stinks : ODORS
77 Actress Ward : SELA
78 Kristen of “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” : WIIG
80 Mama pigs : SOWS
81 Full house, in poker slang : BOAT
82 Exquisitely made basket : DUNK
83 Sting? : SMART, AS A WHIP
87 Olympic runner ___ Felix : ALLYSON
89 Takes an oath : SWEARS
91 Role on “Seinfeld” : ELAINE
92 Onetime Turkish title : PASHA
94 “What’s the ___?” : HARM
95 Aggressively enterprising sort : GO-GETTER
97 Iron? : SMOOTH, AS SILK
101 2006 mockumentary with a 2020 “Subsequent Moviefilm” : BORAT
102 ___ Alto : PALO
103 Multiple-choice choice : OTHER
104 Drudge : PEON
105 It’s-time connector : … ABOUT …
110 Tickler’s targets : ARMPITS
112 Quenched? : PLEASED, AS PUNCH
116 Soaks in hot water : STEEPS
117 Wear white to a chili cook-off, you might say : TEMPT FATE
118 Marathon segment : MILE
119 Setting for ultra close-up photos : MACRO
120 For two, musically : A DUE
121 Crockpot creation : STEW
122 Collared shirt accessory : STAY

Down

1 Table salt, to a chemist : NACL
2 One of the Hearst magazines : ELLE
3 International grp. headquartered in Vienna : OPEC
4 Comedian Trevor : NOAH
5 TV brand : RCA
6 “You’re embarrassing me!” : OH STOP!
7 Muscles targeted by curls : BICEPS
8 Brings in : EARNS
9 Muscles targeted by planks : ABS
10 Large container : VAT
11 Cry from someone who’s disheveled : I’M A MESS
12 Esteem : VALUE
13 “___ qué?” (“Why?,” in Spanish) : POR
14 Passion project, perhaps : LABOR OF LOVE
15 Spanish city enclosed within intact medieval walls : AVILA
16 Food, air, water, etc. : NEEDS
17 Tushies : ASSES
20 Yiddish laments : OYS
21 Teachers’ teachings : LESSONS
23 Took five : RESTED
24 23andMe facilities : DNA LABS
28 Ending with clip or slip : -ONS
31 “Today” co-host Kotb : HODA
32 Chutzpah : GALL
33 Commuter option : RAIL
34 Big Ben hrs. : GMT
35 Hosts, as at a penthouse : HAS UP
36 “Can’t win ’em all” : I LOSE
37 Affixed in a scrapbook, say : GLUED
38 Posterior : HIND
39 Evidence derived from personal experience and observation : ANECDATA
42 Recede : EBB
43 Ankle bones : TARSI
45 Help around the House : AIDE
46 Paper purchase : REAM
47 Think out loud : MUSE
49 Subject of Queen Mary : SCOT
50 Phrase that may be repeated in a long story : AND THEN
52 Course for an English major, informally : LIT CRIT
56 Stayed toasty : KEPT WARM
57 Kvetch : CARP
59 Scans that may involve dye injections, in brief : MRIS
60 Anthem contraction : O’ER
62 Pseudoscientific ability, for short : ESP
63 Terence who’s known as the “Mozart of Mathematics” : TAO
64 Total : SUM
65 One who’s no fun at all : PARTY POOPER
66 Breakfast centers? : YOLKS
67 Ancient Roman formal wear : TOGA
68 Tea served with a jumbo straw : BOBA
69 Golden calf, for one : IDOL
70 Hockey score : GOAL
73 Pitch-perfect? : NO-HIT
74 Pigs : SWINE
75 “___ my last email …” : AS PER
77 Shade providers : SUN HATS
79 “Where’s My Refund?” org. : IRS
80 Whack : SWAT
82 Down B-52s, say : DO SHOTS
83 Close tightly : SEAL
84 Signifying symbol : MARK
85 Company that created a Sonic boom? : SEGA
86 Handle at the bar : ALE TAP
88 Succeeded at musical chairs : SAT
90 Imagine ___ Peace (Ben & Jerry’s flavor) : WHIRLED
93 Campfire remnant : ASH
95 Skilled in : GOOD AT
96 Elaborately decorated : ORNATE
97 Muscle contraction : SPASM
98 Kauffman who co-created “Friends” : MARTA
99 Ancient Mesoamerican civilization : OLMEC
100 Places for some piercings : SEPTA
101 Objections : BEEFS
104 Winter setting in S.F. : PST
106 Tushies : BUMS
107 “Dealing with that right now!” : ON IT!
108 Campus with the ZIP code 90095 : UCLA
109 Place to swim or play b-ball : THE Y
111 Stock launch, in brief : IPO
113 Image on Australia’s coat of arms : EMU
114 Donkey Kong, for one : APE
115 Make final, with “up” : SEW …

9 thoughts on “0219-23 NY Times Crossword 19 Feb 23, Sunday”

  1. 32:14, no errors. Recognized the theme early … sort of. Bill’s addition of the comma to the theme answers made the theme much clearer.
    @Bill: might want to check the explanation for 22A, it was duplicated from the previous entry.

    1. Thanks, Bruce. Yet another case of more haste, less speed. I appreciate the help.

  2. 19:36, no errors. Very clever. The clue “Bus?” for “CLEAR AS CRYSTAL” was a head-scratcher for me, but I plodded ahead and the next couple of theme answers (along with finally, for once, remembering a puzzle’s title!) brought everything into focus.

  3. 28:32. The commas made all the difference. “Iron?” SMOOTH AS SILK was my aha moment. I didn’t get “Bus?” until the end.

    I actually put NAOH (sodium hydroxide – aka LYE) before NACL for 1D. I just hope I don’t make the same mistake at the dinner table…

    MUONS are fascinating particles. They are a by product of cosmic rays hitting particles in our atmosphere. They illustrate the theory of relativity among other things. We have about 10,000 of them passing through us every minute which is the equivalent radiation of about 10 chest X-rays per year….

    Best –

  4. 30:13, not bad for me, given I don’t look at the game title before starting. “Bus” didn’t phase me, must be I did too
    many entry level restaurant jobs in my early life….

    1. no patience for the end game. I’m an underachiever. I’m happy with 99% completion.

  5. Slog.
    Last section to enter was NE corner. Was sure 14D was COLOR OF LOVE.
    Well, since I wouldn’t give that up, I didn’t finish well.

    Where I spent WAY too much time was 39A. ANECD—??? ANECDATA eventually came to me with the crosses but sheeeeesshhh!

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