0410-23 NY Times Crossword 10 Apr 23, Monday

Constructed by: Gia Bosko
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Redundancy

Themed answers are all common phrases that repeat a word or words:

  • 18A “The rules apply to everyone,” redundantly : FAIR IS FAIR
  • 23A “Stick to the agreement,” redundantly : A DEAL IS A DEAL
  • 36A “There can be no changing things now,” redundantly : WHAT’S DONE IS DONE
  • 47A “We’ll just have to adapt,” redundantly : IT IS WHAT IT IS
  • 57A “We all deserve to have our intimate relationships honored,” redundantly : LOVE IS LOVE

Bill’s time: 4m 37s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Read electronically, as a U.P.C. : SCAN

The initialism “UPC” stands for Universal Price Code or Universal Product Code. The first ever UPC-marked item to get scanned in a store was on June 26, 1974 at 08:01 a.m. at Marsh’s supermarket in Troy, Ohio. It was a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

14 Daytime TV drama, informally : SOAP

The original soap operas were radio dramas back in the fifties. Given the structure of society back then, the daytime broadcasts were aimed at women working in the home as housewives. For some reason the sponsors of those radio shows, and the television shows that followed, were soap manufacturers like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers. And that’s how the “soap” opera got its name …

17 One of the Starks on “Game of Thrones” : ARYA

Maisie Williams is the English actress who plays the tomboyish young girl Arya Stark on the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones”.

25 Salmon topping for a bagel : LOX

Lox is a brine-cured salmon filet that is finely sliced. The term “lox” comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely “Lachs”.

40 Fine and dandy : A-OK

Our term “A-OK” is supposedly an abbreviation for “A(ll systems are) OK”, and arose at NASA in the sixties during the space program.

42 British brew with a red triangle logo : BASS ALE

The red triangle on the label of a bottle of Bass Ale was registered in 1875 and is UK Registered Trade Mark (TM) No: 00001, the first trademark issued in the world.

53 Novelist Charlotte, Emily or Anne : BRONTE

The first work that any of the three Brontë sisters had in print was an 1846 collection of poetry that they published jointly. That first work was titled “Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell”, each using a male pen name. Charlotte Brontë published her novel “Jane Eyre” under the name Currer Bell. Emily Brontë followed soon after with “Wuthering Heights” published under the name Ellis Bell. The youngest sister, Anne Brontë, published “Agnes Grey” using the name Acton Bell.

56 Snarled-up mess of debris : RAT’S NEST

Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, is credited with popularizing the elaborate hairstyle known as the pouf. The hair was styled using a pomade made from wholesome ingredients such as beef marrow and bear grease. Because of the complexity of the hairstyle, ladies wore it for a week or two, during which time the animal fat would become rancid. It was reported that vermin would be attracted to the hair while sleeping, which apparently led to the phrase “her hair is a rat’s nest”.

60 Shaquille of the N.B.A. : O’NEAL

Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality shows: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”

61 Beehive State collegians : UTES

When Mormon pioneers were settling what is today the state of Utah, they referred to the area as Deseret, a word that means “beehive” according to the Book of Mormon. Today Utah is known as the Beehive State and there is a beehive symbol on the Utah state flag. In 1959, “Industry” was even chosen as the state motto, for the term’s association with the beehive.

63 Sykes of comedy : WANDA

Wanda Sykes is a very successful American comedian and comic actress. Interestingly, Sykes spent her first five years out of school working for the NSA. I saw her perform in Reno some years ago, and she is very, very funny.

Down

1 Carne ___ (taco choice) : ASADA

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

4 Tony-winning musical with the song “Knights of the Round Table” : SPAMALOT

The hit musical “Spamalot” is a show derived from the 1974 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. In typical Monty Python style, the action starts just before the curtain goes up with an announcement recorded by the great John Cleese:

(You can) let your cell phones and pagers ring willy-nilly … (but) be aware there are heavily armed knights on stage that may drag you on stage and impale you.

6 Fragrant spiced teas : CHAIS

Chai is a drink made from spiced black tea, honey and milk, with “chai” being the Hindi word for “tea”. We often called tea “a cup of char” growing up in Ireland, with “char” being our slang word for tea, derived from “chai”.

7 “West Side Story” role for Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose : ANITA

Leonard Bernstein’s musical “West Side Story” is based on William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. The musical is set in New York City and features two rival gangs: the Sharks from Puerto Rico and the Jets with working-class, Caucasian roots. Tony from the Jets (played by Richard Beymer) falls in love with Maria (played by Natalie Wood) from the Sharks. All this parallels Romeo from the House of Montague falling for Juliet from the House of Capulet in the Italian city of Verona. The stage musical was adapted into a very successful 1961 movie with the same title.

12 Hertz competitor : AVIS

Avis has been around since 1946, and is the second largest car rental agency after Hertz. Avis has the distinction of being the first car rental company to locate a branch at an airport.

13 Emperor who purportedly fiddled while Rome burned : NERO

The Great Fire of Rome raged for five and a half days in 64 AD. Of the fourteen districts of Rome, three were completely destroyed and seven more suffered serious damage. The emperor at the time was Nero, although reports that he fiddled, played his lyre or sang while the city burned; those accounts are probably not true. In fact, Nero was staying outside of Rome when the fire started and rushed home upon hearing the news. He organized a massive relief effort, throwing open his own home to give shelter to many of the citizens who were left living on the street.

24 Viggo Mortensen and Hans Christian Andersen, by nationality : DANES

Viggo Mortensen is a Danish-American actor who is famous for playing Aragorn in “The Lord of the Rings” movies. Mortensen was born in New York City and lived for periods in the US and periods in Denmark when he was younger. He is fluent in English, Danish and also Spanish.

The wonderful storyteller Hans Christian Andersen became very successful in his own lifetime. In 1847 he visited England for the summer and made a triumphal tour of English society’s most fashionable drawing rooms. There Andersen met with the equally successful Charles Dickens, and the two seemed to hit it off. Ten years later Andersen returned to England and stayed for five weeks in Dickens’ home as his guest. Dickens published “David Copperfield” soon after, and supposedly the less than lovable character Uriah Heep was based on Dickens’ house guest Hans Christian Andersen. That wasn’t very nice!

27 Run ___ (go berserk) : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

Our word “berserk” meaning “deranged” comes from the “Berserkers”, Norse warriors described in Old Norse literature. Berserkers were renowned for going into battle in a fury, and some believe that they consumed drugged food to get themselves worked up for the fighting ahead.

29 Card that beats a deuce : TREY

A trey is a three in a deck of cards. The term “trey” can also be used for a domino with three pips, and even for a three-point play in basketball.

30 Q-tip, e.g. : SWAB

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

43 O’Connor with the 1990 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” : SINEAD

Sinéad O’Connor is a singer-songwriter from Dublin, and a somewhat outspoken and controversial character. My sister-in-law was in the same class as her in high school, and she tells me that Sinéad stood out among her peers even back then.

44 Fifth-century leader of the Huns : ATTILA

In his day, Attila the Hun was the most feared enemy of the Roman Empire, until he died in 453 AD. Attila was the leader of the Hunnic Empire of central Europe and was famous for invading much of the continent. However, he never directly attacked Rome.

51 St. Croix and St. Thomas, for two : ISLES

The US Virgin Islands (USVI) are located in the Caribbean, and are part of the Virgin Islands archipelago. The three largest islands of the US territory are Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas. The island chain was named by Christopher Columbus in 1493 in honor of Saint Ursula and her virgin followers. The United States bought the islands from Denmark during WWI in a move designed to thwart plans by Germany to use them as a submarine base.

54 Novelist Jaffe : RONA

Rona Jaffe was an American novelist perhaps most famous for two of her books, “The Best of Everything” and “Mazes and Monsters”. “The Best of Everything” was published in 1958 and has been compared with the HBO television series “Sex and the City” as it depicts women in the working world. “Mazes and Monsters” was published in 1981 and explores a role-playing game similar to Dungeons & Dragons and the impact it has on players.

58 Galoot : LUG

“Galoot” is an insulting term describing an awkward or boorish man, an ape. “Galoot” comes from the nautical world, where it was originally what a sailor might call a soldier or marine.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Smartphone downloads : APPS
5 Read electronically, as a U.P.C. : SCAN
9 City-related : URBAN
14 Daytime TV drama, informally : SOAP
15 “Actually, you’re way off …” : UH, NO …
16 Gumption : NERVE
17 One of the Starks on “Game of Thrones” : ARYA
18 “The rules apply to everyone,” redundantly : FAIR IS FAIR
20 Considers to be appropriate : DEEMS FIT
22 “May that happen,” in Shakespeare : BE IT SO
23 “Stick to the agreement,” redundantly : A DEAL IS A DEAL
25 Salmon topping for a bagel : LOX
26 Minimally : AT LEAST
30 Descended swiftly, like a hawk : SWOOPED IN
35 Tarnish : MAR
36 “There can be no changing things now,” redundantly : WHAT’S DONE IS DONE
40 Fine and dandy : A-OK
41 It opens all doors : MASTER KEY
42 British brew with a red triangle logo : BASS ALE
46 Utter : SAY
47 “We’ll just have to adapt,” redundantly : IT IS WHAT IT IS
53 Novelist Charlotte, Emily or Anne : BRONTE
56 Snarled-up mess of debris : RAT’S NEST
57 “We all deserve to have our intimate relationships honored,” redundantly : LOVE IS LOVE
59 Swanky bash : GALA
60 Shaquille of the N.B.A. : O’NEAL
61 Beehive State collegians : UTES
62 Computer operator : USER
63 Sykes of comedy : WANDA
64 Fellow : GENT
65 Annoying sort : PEST

Down

1 Carne ___ (taco choice) : ASADA
2 Studied carefully, with “over” : PORED …
3 Money order recipient : PAYEE
4 Tony-winning musical with the song “Knights of the Round Table” : SPAMALOT
5 Added at the end, like the “-ness” in “kindness” : SUFFIXED
6 Fragrant spiced teas : CHAIS
7 “West Side Story” role for Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose : ANITA
8 Neither’s partner : NOR
9 Open, as an envelope : UNSEAL
10 Amend one’s tax return : REFILE
11 Obnoxious kid : BRAT
12 Hertz competitor : AVIS
13 Emperor who purportedly fiddled while Rome burned : NERO
19 “Yeah, right …” : I BET …
21 Spills messily : SLOPS
24 Viggo Mortensen and Hans Christian Andersen, by nationality : DANES
27 Run ___ (go berserk) : AMOK
28 Rational : SANE
29 Card that beats a deuce : TREY
30 Q-tip, e.g. : SWAB
31 “Hold your horses!” : WHOA!
32 Sturdy trees : OAKS
33 Tops of many cathedrals and temples : DOMES
34 Like peas ___ pod : IN A
37 “They just want to see how we’ll react” : IT’S A TEST
38 Plane assignments : SEATS
39 Evaporating : DRYING UP
43 O’Connor with the 1990 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” : SINEAD
44 Fifth-century leader of the Huns : ATTILA
45 Untruths : LIES
48 Jotted down : WROTE
49 Sanctuary : HAVEN
50 Poke fun at : TEASE
51 St. Croix and St. Thomas, for two : ISLES
52 Set into motion : START
53 Erupt : BLOW
54 Novelist Jaffe : RONA
55 Pizzeria fixture : OVEN
58 Galoot : LUG