0408-23 NY Times Crossword 8 Apr 23, Saturday

Constructed by: Sid Sivakumar
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 15m 57s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Source of masago, in Japanese cuisine : SMELT

The Japanese dish called “masago” is actually the roe of the capelin fish. Masago is often mixed with wasabi and served as “wasabi caviar”.

11 Soft drink that originally contained the mood-stabilizing drug lithium citrate : SEVEN-UP

7UP was introduced to the world as “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda”, and was a patent medicine that contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. The introduction of a mood-stabilizing medication was pretty timely, as the 1929 Wall Street Crash happened just two weeks later. 7UP’s “Uncola” advertising campaign dates back to 1967.

20 Collaborative work : WIKI

A wiki is a website on which users are allowed to create and edit content themselves. The term “wiki” comes from the name of the first such site, introduced in 1994 and called WikiWikiWeb. “Wiki” is a Hawaiian word for “quick”, and is used because comprehensive content is created very quickly, as there are so many collaborators contributing to the site.

21 ___ Brothers, winners of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 : ISLEY

The Isley Brothers are an R&B group from Cincinnati, Ohio. The original lineup was a vocal trio consisting of three brothers: O’Kelly, Jr., Rudolph and Ronald Isley. The three brothers wrote the fabulous 1959 hit “Shout”, the song which brought the group its first success.

24 Number in brackets : SEED

“Bracketology” is a term used to describe the process of predicting which college basketball teams will advance in a bracket in the annual NCAA Basketball Tournament. President Barack Obama famously participates in an ESPN segment called “Baracketology” in which he predicts the outcome of the tournament, game by game.

26 They have bags under their eyes, for short : TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the agency that employs the good folks who check passengers and baggage at airports.

30 Astronomer’s calculation : SOLAR TIME

Local solar time was replaced with standard time zones due to the increasing use of rail travel and telecommunications as the variations in local solar times became somewhat inconvenient. Time zones in the US vary in hourly increments, but in some parts of the world a 30-minute or even 15-minute difference can apply.

37 Things from Mars available for purchase : CANDY BARS

Forrest Mars, Sr. was the founder of the Mars Company. Forrest invented the Mars Bar while living over in England and then developed M&M’s when he returned to the US. Mars came up with the idea for M&M’s when he saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating chocolate pellets. Those pellets had a hard shell of tempered chocolate on the outside to prevent them from melting. Mars got some of the funding to develop the M&M from William Murrie, the son of the president of Hershey’s Chocolate. It is the “M” and “M” from “Mars” and “Murrie” that give the name to the candy.

42 They’re always launching new projects : SPACEX

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) is a space transportation company that was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, veteran of PayPal and Tesla Motors. In 2012, SpaceX became the first private concern to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), and in 2020, the first to send humans to the ISS. Apparently, SpaceX is the lowest-price player in the game.

45 Campus protection : TENURE

A job in a university that is described as “tenure-track” is one that can lead to a tenured position. A tenured position is a “job for life”. A person with tenure can only be dismissed for cause.

47 Emma Thompson and Anna Wintour, for two : DAMES

Emma Thompson is one of my favorite English actresses, and someone who has appeared in many of my favorite films. She probably first came to attention in the US when she won an Oscar for her role in “Howards End”, which she followed up with “Remains of the Day” and “In the Name of the Father”. Perhaps my favorite production of hers is her own adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility”, which won her Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress. Emma Thompson went to Cambridge University and was good friends with a host of successful British actors and entertainers, including her ex-boyfriend Hugh Laurie who is famous in the US for playing the title role in television’s “House”.

Anna Wintour is fashion editor in Britain, and is also the editor-in-chief of American “Vogue”. Lauren Weisberger wrote the book “The Devil Wears Prada” with the tyrannical main character apparently based on Wintour.

Down

2 “Anne of Green Gables” setting : AVONLEA

“Anne of Green Gables” is a 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery that she set in the fictional Prince Edward Island community of Avonlea. Montgomery wrote several sequels to “Anne”, with them all being set on Prince Edward Island (PEI), from where the author hailed.

4 Unit of logs : ENTRY

The word “logbook” dates back to the days when the captain of a ship kept a daily record of the vessel’s speed, progress etc. using a “log”. A log was a wooden float on a knotted line that was dropped overboard to measure speed through the water.

5 Longtime character revealed to be gay in 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond” : SULU

John Cho is an actor and musician who was born in Seoul, South Korea but has lived in the US since he was a young boy. Cho’s break in movies came in playing Harold Lee in the ”Harold & Kumar” films. He is now making a name for himself playing Mr. Sulu in the latest “Star Trek” movies.

7 Sorry start? : MEA …

Many Roman Catholics are very familiar with the Latin phrase “mea culpa” meaning “my fault”, as it is used in the Latin Mass. The additional term “mea maxima culpa” translates as “my most grievous fault”.

10 Rides for rug rats : TRIKES

“Rug rat” and “ankle-biter” are familiar terms meaning “child”, and especially a child who is not yet walking.

11 Dominatrix, perhaps : SADIST

A sadist is someone who derives pleasure from inflicting pain, with that pleasure often being sexual in nature. The term “sadist” comes from the Marquis de Sade, who was known to exhibit such tendencies.

23 Game that’s hard to follow : MONTE

Three-card monte is a confidence trick in which someone is goaded into betting money on the assumption that he or she can find the “money card” (usually a queen) among three cards placed face down. The “mark” who is being duped has all sorts of ways to lose and there are usually several people in on the scam, including others playing who seem to be winning.

30 Rock band named after its founding guitarist : SANTANA

Santana is a Latin rock band formed by guitarist Carlos Santana in San Francisco in 1967. Santana’s big break came with a well-received performance at Woodstock in 1969, before which the band was completely unknown.

31 Amounts at a deli : TARES

Tare is the weight of a container that is deducted from the gross weight to determine the net weight, the weight of the container’s contents.

33 Figure in Greek tragedy who says “I ask this one thing: Let me go mad in my own way” : ELECTRA

Electra was a princess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Agamemnon. Electra had to mourn the death of her father who was murdered, and then the death of her mother Clytemnestra, who was also murdered.

38 Ripped, in slang : SWOLE

“Swole” is an informal term meaning “very muscular”. Yeah, I hear that word all the time …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Knocks for a loop : DAZES
6 Source of masago, in Japanese cuisine : SMELT
11 Soft drink that originally contained the mood-stabilizing drug lithium citrate : SEVEN-UP
13 General senses : TENORS
15 Men on a mission : APOSTLES
17 Wipes out : EATS IT
18 “Relax, I’m almost finished” : DON’T RUSH ME
20 Collaborative work : WIKI
21 ___ Brothers, winners of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 : ISLEY
22 One picking out something for a cart, maybe : COAL MINER
24 Number in brackets : SEED
25 Some tailgate party accessories : BEER BONGS
26 They have bags under their eyes, for short : TSA
27 Cultural draws for New York and Los Angeles : ART SCENES
28 Appeal : PLEA
29 Top gear? : HATS
30 Astronomer’s calculation : SOLAR TIME
32 ___-green : PEA
35 Hosts of the 1988 and 2010 Winter Olympics : CANADIANS
36 Leave to others? : WILL
37 Things from Mars available for purchase : CANDY BARS
38 Followers : SHEEP
39 Gets off the fence, so to speak : OPTS
40 A promising talent : ONE TO WATCH
42 They’re always launching new projects : SPACEX
44 2019 chart-topper for Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello : SENORITA
45 Campus protection : TENURE
46 Lifts : PILFERS
47 Emma Thompson and Anna Wintour, for two : DAMES
48 Name that spells something nice to have backward : TESSA

Down

1 Boots, so to speak : DEPOSES
2 “Anne of Green Gables” setting : AVONLEA
3 Like some citrus fruit : ZESTED
4 Unit of logs : ENTRY
5 Longtime character revealed to be gay in 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond” : SULU
6 Supporting elements in a story? : STEEL BEAMS
7 Sorry start? : MEA …
8 Coils : ENTWINES
9 Money that goes to a casino : LOSINGS
10 Rides for rug rats : TRIKES
11 Dominatrix, perhaps : SADIST
12 Consumer of cod, but not cow : PESCETARIAN
14 Tizzy : STIR
16 Metaphor for one’s personal perspective : SHOES
19 Rigidly conform : MARCH IN STEP
23 Game that’s hard to follow : MONTE
25 They help keep food fresh : BREADBOXES
27 Ease : ALLAY
28 Dirty film : POND SCUM
30 Rock band named after its founding guitarist : SANTANA
31 Amounts at a deli : TARES
32 Conventional respects : PIETIES
33 Figure in Greek tragedy who says “I ask this one thing: Let me go mad in my own way” : ELECTRA
34 Pack leaders : ALPHAS
35 Like some data plans : CAPPED
36 Docking points : WHARFS
37 Go for : COST
38 Ripped, in slang : SWOLE
41 Words after step or sleep : … ON IT
43 “I will find you twenty lascivious turtles ___ one chaste man”: Shak. : ERE

12 thoughts on “0408-23 NY Times Crossword 8 Apr 23, Saturday”

  1. 46:58, no errors. Worthy and often frustrating Saturday challenge. Ready to throw in the DNF towel several times.
    So SWOLE is slang for ‘Ripped’ which is also slang. Feels silly to mince the meanings of slang words, but I’ve interpreted ‘Ripped’ as muscle definition, while SWOLE refers to muscle mass. Not that I have ever used either in conversation.

  2. 31;50. What Bruce said about SWOLE. Two different things IMHO.

    BEER BONGS. Oh the memories…uhhh…of watching other guys do it…cough…gag.

    I’m not a big concert guy. They’re loud and uncomfortable, and wow I sound old. I’ve been to about 3 or 4 in my lifetime. One of them was seeing SANTANA play. They had no warm up band and played for 3 hours solid. A remarkable show.

    Best –

  3. 29:45, no errors. For me, a pretty rough solve. As usual with a puzzle from Sid Sivakumar, though, by the time I was finished, it all made sense.

    Recently, the dentist I was referred to to remove the roots of a broken molar that I had already removed the visible portions of (while eating a bowl of ramen 😳), decided to check my pockets (the ones around my teeth; he emptied the one containing my wallet later 😳) and tsk-tsked at what he found in them. I was then motivated to explain that, at 80, I am perhaps getting a bit lax about my dental hygiene. At the end (to finally clarify what my story has to do with this puzzle), I said, “Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!”. At that point, he looked at me quizzically and inquired whether I was, in fact, still speaking English. I guess they don’t teach Latin in medical school these days.

  4. 43:04 just binge solved Wednesday through today’s. Had a harder time with Wednesday’s than this one. “Coal miner” held me up the longest, maybe I shop on line too much…
    Happy Easter everybody! (I know, it’s tomorrow, but who knows if and when I’ll finish it!)

  5. 41:39, no errors. Pretty hard one for me but I powered through it. Solved this while listening to my granddaughter practice her viola. They leave Hawaii tomorrow. I leave next Thursday. Sigh🍹

  6. Over an hour for me but no errors..

    I was happy to discover PESCE(A)TARIAN all by myself. That was a breakthrough for me on this grid.

  7. Killer.
    107:40 1 err.
    Sea green instead of Pea green.
    Stymied for a long time by NW corner til I got coal miner.

  8. 23:10, no errors. Let’s just say a rather ominous start to a real bad puzzling day so to speak.

  9. I’m not done talking about this puzzle. You don’t have to read it. There is some humour not everyone might appreciate. But I want to get it off my chest.

    I do believe the appearance of ‘sadist’ was a cameo by the author of the puzzle and 1 across, knock for a loop, announced the theme of the puzzle, at least for me. The author was out to get you from the getgo. I’m not bellyaching, that’s fair game.

    I struggled to get a toe hold at first and with little inroads here and there all over the grid but no solidly filled block, I thought, “this is the puzzle that’s going to do me in. This is the my last crossword. I give up on crosswords.”

    In a stupor I started to make slow progress, one pathetic one here, like a consolation prize, one there, but still getting nowhere, bogged down at the bottom, but slowly worked my way up, inch by inch with painstaking progress til only the top left corner remained.

    But the punishment was only beginning. I had steel, trikes, erases, tenors, and stir penciled at various times but erased them a few times. It was not until coalminer rolled into my head along the bottom and like a steel beam provided stability for the structure and the pieces finally all fit together.

  10. One letter. Had SPELT (wheat) for 6-A. I didn’t get what 7-D was
    all about so I crossed my fingers and stuck with PEA. I saw tons of concerts back in the day and, unfortunately, Santana was among the worst. He seemed bored and uninterested and managed to inject politics into the show. Los Lonely Boys opened. Tough act to follow,
    maybe.

  11. I will not mention anyone by name but some of the recent Friday and Saturday constructors are sadistically brutal. Maybe it’s me. I’ve had an acceptable solve rate (some clean) but getting there has been excruciating. Just wanted to vent.

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