0527-23 NY Times Crossword 27 May 23, Saturday

Constructed by: Samuel Smalley
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 16m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Creates by artificial means : GINS UP

“To gin up” is slang meaning “to enliven, excite”. The term probably derives from the older “to ginger up”. Gingering up was the rather nasty practice of putting ginger up inside a horse to make it lively and move with a high tail.

7 Bit of marathon attire : RACE BIB

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.

15 Rapacious cry : ALL MINE!

The adjective “rapacious”, meaning “predatory”, derives from the Latin “rapere” (to seize).

16 What’s closed at closing time : OPEN TAB

When we run a “tab” at a bar, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

19 Pop corn? : DAD JOKES

Here are a few dad jokes that I use to annoy my kids:

  • When does a joke become a “dad joke”? When it becomes apparent.
  • I had a happy childhood. My dad used to put me in tires and roll me down hills. Those were Goodyears.
  • It’s a shame that the Beatles didn’t make the submarine in that song green. That would’ve been sublime.
  • I told your mom she needs to start embracing her mistakes. So she hugged me
  • When your mom is depressed, I let her color in my tattoos. She just needs a shoulder to crayon.

22 Diner owner in “Garfield” : IRMA

“Garfield” is a comic strip drawn by Jim Davis from 1978. The title character is an orange tabby cat. Davis named his cartoon hero Garfield after his own grandfather.

23 Like a lion : TAWNY

Something described as tawny is yellow-brown or tan in color. The term comes from the Anglo-French “tauné” meaning “the color of tanned leather”.

33 Squee-inducing : TOTES ADORBS

“Totes adorbs” is a slang term meaning “totally adorable”.

34 Traveling sorts : HOBOS

No one seems to know for sure how the term “hobo” originated, although there are lots of colorful theories. My favorite is that “hobo” comes from the first letters in the words “ho-meward bo-und”, but it doesn’t seem very plausible. A kind blog reader tells me that according to Click and Clack from PBS’s “Car Talk” (a great source!), “hobo” comes from “hoe boy”. Hoe boys were young men with hoes looking for work after the Civil War. Hobos differed from “tramps” and “bums” in that “bums” refused to work, “tramps” worked when they had to, while “hobos” traveled in search of work.

40 Like hams : STAGY

The word “ham”, describing a performer who overacts, is a shortened form of “hamfatter” and dates back to the late 1800s. “Hamfatter” comes from a song in old minstrel shows called “The Ham-Fat Man”. It seems that a poorly performing actor was deemed to have the “acting” qualities of a minstrel made up in blackface.

41 Biblical mother of Zebulun : LEAH

In the Torah, the Israelites are traced back to Jacob, grandson of Abraham and twin brother of Esau. Jacob had twelve sons through his concurrent wives Leah and Rachel, and his two concubines Bilhah and Zilpah. The sons became the ancestors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The sons were:

  1. Reuben
  2. Simeon
  3. Levi
  4. Judah
  5. Dan
  6. Naphtali
  7. Gad
  8. Asher
  9. Issachar
  10. Zebulun
  11. Joseph
  12. Benjamin

42 Impediment to picking things up : HERNIA

In general terms, a “hernia” is the protrusion of an organ or part of an organ through the wall that normally contains that organ.

45 Scientists’ discards : LAB WASTE

Our term “laboratory”, often shortened to “lab”, comes from the Medieval Latin word “laboratorium” meaning “place for labor, work”. This in turn comes from the Latin verb “laborare” meaning “to work”.

52 Some credit opportunities : AP TESTS

The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers college-level courses to kids who are still in high school (HS). After being tested at the end of an AP course, successful students receive credits that count towards a college degree.

53 California-based soft drink company : SHASTA

The soft drink company Shasta Beverages started off bottling mineral water from Shasta Springs in Northern California back in 1889. The water was originally shipped in railroad cars that were lined with glass. Costly transportation, I’d say …

Down

4 “The Wire” actress Sohn : SONJA

I didn’t watch the HBO series called “The Wire” when it first aired. We ended up buying all five series on DVD and we watched the whole thing several years ago. It is a great drama series, and I thoroughly recommend it.

7 Campus V.I.P.s : RAS

Resident assistant/adviser (RA)

8 Where to get the ball rolling, maybe : ALLEY

Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

9 Actress DuVall of “21 Grams” : CLEA

“21 Grams” is a fascinating 2003 drama film starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. The title refers to work done by American physician Duncan MacDougall in the early 1900s. MacDougall weighed six patients who were dying from tuberculosis in the old age home. When it was clear that the afflicted were hours away from death, the patient’s bed was placed on a large weighing scale. From this study, MacDougall asserted that the human body lost a mass of 21 grams at the moment of death, and that this change in weight represented the departure of the soul.

10 Certain dignitary : EMIR

An emir is a prince or chieftain, one most notably from the Middle East in Islamic countries. In English, “emir” can also be written variously as “emeer, amir, ameer” (watch out for those spellings in crosswords!).

24 Spelunker’s challenge : NARROW GAP

“Spelunking” is an American term describing recreational caving, although the word has Latin roots (“spelunca” is the Latin for “cave”). The term originated in the 1940s in New England when it was adopted by a group of men who explored caves in the area.

27 Gets on board : LADES

The verb “to lade” meaning “to load” comes from an Old English word “hladan”. “Lade” also used to mean “draw water” and indeed gave us our word “ladle”. So “lade” and “ladle” are close cousins.

28 Bits and pieces : DRIBS

A drib is a negligible amount, as in “dribs and drabs”. The term “drib” arose in Scotland in the 18th century, and might possibly come from the verb “to dribble”.

30 Role played by a dog with a bigger salary than some human actors in the same film : TOTO

Toto is Dorothy’s dog in the film “The Wizard of Oz”, and in the original book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. Toto was played in the movie by a dog called Terry, but Terry’s name was soon changed to Toto in real life due to the success of the film.

34 “LMAO” : HA HA HA

Laughing my a** off (LMAO)

40 French toast : SALUT!

In French, “salut” means “hi”, and is less formal than “bonjour”. The former term can also be used as a friendly toast.

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 …

41 Doodlebug, e.g. : LARVA

“Doodlebug” is a name given to the larva of an antlion, a type of flying insect. Antlions tend to live in sandy areas, and their larvae move through the sand leaving winding spirals that look like doodles, inattentive drawings. Hence the name “doodlebug”.

44 Some launches, for short : IPOS

An initial public offering (IPO) is a significant event for a company as it marks the first time it becomes a publicly traded company. IPOs are often accompanied by a so-called “lock-up period.” This is a period of time, typically 90 to 180 days after the IPO, during which company insiders, such as executives and early investors, are not allowed to sell their shares on the open market. The purpose of the lock-up period is to prevent a flood of shares from hitting the market and potentially driving down the price of the stock.

48 Subjects of some conspiracy theories, in brief : ETS

In 1952, the USAF revived its studies of reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in a program called Project Blue Book. Project Blue Book ran from 1952 until it was shut down in 1969 with the conclusion that there was no threat to national security and that there were no sightings that could not be explained within the bounds of modern scientific knowledge.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Creates by artificial means : GINS UP
7 Bit of marathon attire : RACE BIB
14 New Year’s Day, informally : ONE ONE
15 Rapacious cry : ALL MINE!
16 What’s closed at closing time : OPEN TAB
18 Some toy carriers : SLEIGHS
19 Pop corn? : DAD JOKES
21 Achieve one’s due honestly : EARN IT
22 Diner owner in “Garfield” : IRMA
23 Like a lion : TAWNY
25 Uplifting offering : ODE
26 Stretch (out) : EKE
27 Start of a schedule : LINE A
28 Took some courses : DINED
30 Impossible to get into : TAMPER-PROOF
32 Bad things to lose track of? : MODEL TRAINS
33 Squee-inducing : TOTES ADORBS
34 Traveling sorts : HOBOS
35 They can regenerate their eyes, hearts and spinal cords : NEWTS
36 Still : YET
39 Pet sound : ARF!
40 Like hams : STAGY
41 Biblical mother of Zebulun : LEAH
42 Impediment to picking things up : HERNIA
45 Scientists’ discards : LAB WASTE
47 More than one : A COUPLE
49 Sarcastic response to a first-world-problem complaint : POOR YOU!
50 Distribute : HAND OUT
51 Help line? : SAVE US!
52 Some credit opportunities : AP TESTS
53 California-based soft drink company : SHASTA

Down

1 It’s a treat : GOODIE
2 Not going anywhere, say : IN PARK
3 “Is it OK if I leave?” : NEED ME?
4 “The Wire” actress Sohn : SONJA
5 Biblical preposition : UNTO
6 When restaurants are busiest : PEAK TIMES
7 Campus V.I.P.s : RAS
8 Where to get the ball rolling, maybe : ALLEY
9 Actress DuVall of “21 Grams” : CLEA
10 Certain dignitary : EMIR
11 Major infractions of etiquette : BIG NO-NOS
12 Very clear, say, colloquially : IN HI-DEF
13 One-upped : BESTED
17 Pod holder : BEAN PLANT
20 Steal : SWEET DEAL
24 Spelunker’s challenge : NARROW GAP
27 Gets on board : LADES
28 Bits and pieces : DRIBS
29 They have their pluses and minuses : IONS
30 Role played by a dog with a bigger salary than some human actors in the same film : TOTO
31 Political heavyweight : PARTY BOSS
32 Cover for a criminal organization : MOB FRONT
33 “So we’re all on the same page … ” : TO RECAP …
34 “LMAO” : HA HA HA
36 Approval often uttered impatiently : YES YES
37 Patronize a restaurant : EAT OUT
38 Largest country without an official language, for short : THE USA
40 French toast : SALUT!
41 Doodlebug, e.g. : LARVA
43 Going without, in a way : NUDE
44 Some launches, for short : IPOS
46 Response of shock, in one spelling : WOAH!
48 Subjects of some conspiracy theories, in brief : ETS

11 thoughts on “0527-23 NY Times Crossword 27 May 23, Saturday”

  1. 41:52, no errors. Just happy to walk from this unscathed. The NW corner was the last to fall. Took a while to remember the owner/waitress in diner of the Garfield comic strip. That was key to breaking the wall. CAN I GO had to evolve into NEED ME. 6D morphed from LUNCH HOUR to BUSY TIMES to MEAL TIMES to PEAK TIMES.

    “Squee inducing”, TOTES ADORBS, STAGY? Anyone really talk like this?

  2. 29:56. Would never have finished without some good guessing. Took forever to get a foothold in some places.

    “Maned” before TAWNY. I guess that’s a color. New to me. “Salty” before STAGY. “SAVE me” before SAVE US…which probably says something about me.

    Ashamed to admit I remember TOTES ADORBS from crosswords past.

    I learned the term “spelunking” from an episode of “Gilligan’s Island”. The Professor used it. Who says tv isn’t educational?

    Best –

    1. I watched your solve. By around the 10 min. mark I think I actually may have had more of the grid completed but you turned on the afterburners after that.
      Fairly similar path to completion, roughly counter clockwise and ending in the NW.

  3. I must’ve picked up this puzzle four or five times and quit. Finally finished it Sunday afternoon after many tears and sweat mixed with bits of blood. Finally… Done with no errors.

Comments are closed.