0512-23 NY Times Crossword 12 May 23, Friday

Bill’s time: –m –s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Powdered green tea : MATCHA

Matcha is a powder made by grinding dried, green tea leaves. The selected tea bushes are heavily shaded for several weeks prior to harvest, which stimulates the production of chlorophyll resulting in darker green leaves. Matcha is used in East Asian cuisines to prepare tea for drinking, and also as an ingredient in dishes such as ice cream, cakes and sushi rolls.

16 Like Bluetooth connections : WIRELESS

Bluetooth is a standard for wireless technology that was introduced by Swedish telecom vendor Ericsson in 1994. The name was chosen in honor of Harald Bluetooth, a medieval King of Denmark and Norway. Harald is said to have earned his name because of his love of blueberries, which stained his teeth. Harald was said to have a gift for convincing diverse factions to talk to one another, so Ericsson’s communication protocol was given Harald’s name.

18 Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” e.g. : OPERETTA

“Candide” is an operetta by Leonard Bernstein that is based on the Voltaire novella of the same name. The operetta was first performed in 1956, on Broadway.

20 One way to start a point : SPIN SERVE

That might be badminton, for example …

24 Appalachian spring hrs. : EDT

Appalachia is the name of a region that encompasses the central and southern portions of the Appalachian Mountains. Major cities included in the region include Pittsburgh, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Birmingham and Asheville.

38 “The House of the Spirits” novelist : ISABEL ALLENDE

Isabel Allende is a Chilean writer, and the world’s most widely-read, Spanish-language author. Isabel is related to Salvador Allende, the ex-President of Chile.

40 Second sight, say : ESP

The so-called sixth sense is extrasensory perception (ESP). It is also referred to as second sight.

41 ___ Candy, best friend of Wonder Woman : ETTA

Etta Candy was introduced into Wonder Woman’s universe by DC Comics in 1942. She started out as an undernourished young woman who Wonder Woman encountered in a local hospital. The next time Etta appeared in the comics, she was a rather rotund woman who claims to have been rejuvenated by eating candy. That was 1942 …

42 Rock band with the 2020 Album of the Year nominee “Women in Music Pt. III” : HAIM

Haim is a Los Angeles band consisting of three Haim sisters: Este, Danielle and Alana.

44 Air safety org. : FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was set up in 1958 (as the Federal Aviation Agency). The agency was established at that particular time largely in response to an increasing number of midair collisions. The worst of these disasters had taken place two years earlier over the Grand Canyon, a crash between two commercial passenger airplanes that resulted in 128 fatalities.

45 Kind of pit : MOSH

Moshing (also “slam dancing”) is the pushing and shoving that takes place in the audience at a concert (usually a punk or heavy metal concert). The area directly in front of the stage is known as the mosh pit. When a performer does a “stage dive”, it is into (or I suppose “onto”) the mosh pit. It doesn’t sound like fun to me. Injuries are commonplace in the mosh pit, and deaths are not unknown.

54 Letter after phi : CHI

The letter chi is the 22nd letter in the Greek alphabet, and the one that looks like our Roman letter X.

55 Portmanteau structure built from discarded cans : BEERAMID

A portmanteau was a large suitcase, one that could be taken apart into two separate pieces. The word “portmanteau” is French for a “traveling bag”, from “porter” (to carry) and “manteau” (a coat, cloak). We also use “portmanteau” to mean a word that has been melded together from two parts (just as the suitcase comprised two parts). This usage was introduced to the world by Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. He explained to Alice that the nonsense words in the “Jabberwocky” poem were actually portmanteau words. For example “slithy” comes from “slimy” and “lithe”.

57 Daytona 500 org. : NASCAR

The acronym “NASCAR” stands for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The association is actually a privately held company that was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. NASCAR is very, very popular and commands the second-largest television audience of any professional sport in America, second only to football.

The coastal city of Daytona Beach in Florida is known for hard-packed sand on the beach. This makes a good surface for driving motorized vehicles, and resulted in Daytona Beach becoming a center for motorsports. The Daytona 500 is the event with the largest purse on the NASCAR calendar.

59 Third of Sophocles’ Theban plays : ANTIGONE

“Antigone” is a tragedy written by Greek playwright Sophocles and first performed in 442 BC. The title character is the daughter of King Oedipus of Thebes, and was born out of the incestuous relationship of the king with his mother Jocasta.

Sophocles was one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived. The first of these was Aeschylus, the second Sophocles, and the third Euripides. Sophocles is believed to have written 123 plays, the most famous of which are “Antigone” and “Oedipus the King”.

60 C2H6 compound : ETHANE

Ethane is the second largest component of natural gas after methane. Ethane’s main use is in the production of ethylene, a compound that is widely used in the chemical industry.

61 They “hatch” late in life : NEST EGGS

A nest egg is an amount of money laid down as a reserve. This is the figurative use of “nest egg” that originally described an artificial egg left in a nest to encourage a hen to lay real eggs in that spot. So our financial nest egg is set aside in anticipation of continued growth, more eggs being laid.

Down

2 Recess retort : ARE SO!

To recess is to go back, to retreat. The use of the noun “recess” to mean “period of stopping from usual work” dates back to the early 1600s. This usage might stem from the action of parliamentarians “recessing” into, returning to private chambers.

3 Like leaving the price tag on a gift : TACKY

Something tacky is in bad taste. The term “tacky” derives from the noun “tackey” that was used in the early 1800s to describe a neglected horse.

4 Farm-fresh box letters : CSA

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

9 General Sherman, in Tulare County, Calif., is the world’s largest one : TREE

The giant sequoia tree is also known as the giant redwood. There’s only one part of the world where you can see giant sequoias growing naturally, and that’s on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. However, there are plenty of examples of giant sequoias that have been planted as ornamentals all over the world.

10 Doktor alternative : HERR

In German, a “Herr” (Mr.) is married to a “Frau” (Mrs.), and they live together in a “Haus” (house).

11 Analgesic with a soothing-sounding name : ALEVE

“Aleve” is a brand name used for the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug Naproxen sodium.

12 Little confab : TETE-A-TETE

A “tête-à-tête” is a one-on-one meeting, and a term that translates from French as “head-to-head”.

“Confab”, meaning “chat” is a shortened form of “confabulation”. The word “confabulation” derives from the Latin from “com” (together) and “fabula” (a tale). “Fabula” is also the root of our word “fable”.

13 “Das ___ gut!” : IST

In German, one might remark that “Das ist gut!” (That is good!).

14 Stacker of plastic tubs, in brief : TSA

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

21 Brainstorming diagram : IDEA MAP

A “mind map” (also “idea map”) is a great tool (I think) for brainstorming. It’s a tree-like structure with a central idea at the center and various trains of thought branching outwards. In fact, I used a mind map when I was first thinking about blogging, eventually deciding to focus on crosswords.

23 Brand whose “B” stands for “brush” : ORAL-B

The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

26 Minus : SANS

In French, “avec” (with) and “sans” (without) are opposites.

29 Lauder of cosmetics : ESTEE

Estée Lauder was a very successful businesswoman, and someone with a great reputation as a salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales volume …

34 Subsection of an orchestra : CLARINETS

The clarinet is a lovely-sounding instrument, isn’t it? The name “clarinet” comes from the Italian word “clarino” meaning “trumpet”, with the “-et” suffix indicating “small”.

37 ___ Minor : ASIA

Asia Minor is also known as Anatolia. It is the geographic part of Asia that protrudes out into the west, towards Europe, and is roughly equivalent to modern-day Turkey.

46 Name associated with simple explanations : OCCAM

Ockham’s (also “Occam’s”) razor is a principle in philosophy and science that basically states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. This explanation is a corollary to the more exact statement of the principle, that one shouldn’t needlessly use assumptions in explaining something. The principle is referred to as “lex parsimoniae” in Latin, or “the law of parsimony”. Parsimony is being thrifty with money or resources. The principle was developed by 14th-century logician and Franciscan Friar William of Ockham (or “Occam” in Latin). The principle is dubbed a “razor” as it is used as a philosophical tool used to cut out absurd and spurious reasoning in an argument.

51 It’s hard to see through : SMOG

“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s. Several cities around the world have a reputation of being particularly smoggy. For example, the most smog-plagued city in Latin America is Mexico City, which is located in a highland “bowl” that traps industrial and vehicle pollution.

52 Word with pinky or promise : RING

The use of “pinkie” or “pinky” for the little finger or toe comes into English from “pinkje”, the Dutch word for the same digit. Who knew …?

56 Dir. traveled on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge : ENE

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is actually a pair of bridges that crosses the San Francisco Bay. The western span of the bridge connects San Francisco to Yerba Buena Island, and the eastern span connects Yerba Buena Island to Oakland. Part of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, resulting in complete reconstruction of that span.