0603-23 NY Times Crossword 3 Jun 23, Saturday

Constructed by: John Westwig
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 16m 41s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Winner of three Emmys for Outstanding Game Show Host : SAJAK

Pat Sajak took over as host of “Wheel of Fortune” from Chuck Woolery back in 1983 and has been doing the job ever since. Sajak had a short run as a talk show host in 1989/1990 and used to sub quite often for Larry King and Regis Philbin.

15 Sword in the stone : EXCALIBUR

Excalibur is the legendary sword of the legendary King Arthur of Great Britain. In some accounts, Arthur was given the sword by the Lady of the Lake. There is sometimes confusion about the origin of Excalibur, as Arthur famously is said to have pulled a sword from a stone, hence proving him to be a true king. The Sword in the Stone is a different sword, and not Excalibur.

19 City in northeast France, home of the country’s oldest church : METZ

The city of Metz is in the northeast of France, and close to the German border. Given the proximity to Germany, Metz has both a strong German tradition and a strong French tradition. Metz was handed over to the French following WWI, after nearly 50 years of German rule. It quickly fell back into German hands in 1940 during WWII, with many German officers delighted to have returned to the city of their birth. Perhaps because of this long association with Germany, the US Army under General Patton encountered stiff resistance when liberating Metz in 1944. The cathedral in Metz is home to the largest expanse of stained glass in the world, almost 70,000 square feet in all.

20 What has spikes of interest? : CACTUS

The cactus (plural “cacti”) is a member of a family of plants that are particularly well-adapted to extremely dry environments. Almost all cacti are native to the Americas, although some succulent plants from the old world are similar in appearance and are often mislabeled as “cacti”.

21 Four-time presidential candidate beginning in 1996 : NADER

Ralph Nader has run as a third-party candidate for the office of President of the United States four times now, in every election from 1996 to 2008. Nader’s name was first linked with the presidential race in 1971, when the famous Dr. Benjamin Spock offered to stand aside as a candidate in the 1972 race if Nader would agree to run, but he declined.

24 Hawaiian for “long” : LOA

Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii is the largest volcano on the planet (in terms of volume). The name “Mauna Loa” is Hawaiian for “Long Mountain”.

40 Frost-covered, poetically : RIMY

Rime is the beautiful coating of ice that forms on surfaces like roofs, trees and grass, when cold water freezes instantly under the right conditions.

41 Wick for a Molotov cocktail : RAG

Vyacheslav Molotov was a prominent Soviet politician and protégé of Joseph Stalin. During the Winter War of WWII, between the Soviet Union and Finland, Molotov claimed in radio broadcasts that Finland was not being bombed, but rather that the Soviet Union was dropping food to relieve famine. With a sense of irony, the Finns started to call the Soviet bombs “Molotov bread baskets”. The Finns also improvised incendiary bombs using bottles and a gasoline-based fuel, and called these devices “Molotov cocktails”, a name that persists to this day.

44 Actress Sink of “Stranger Things” : SADIE

“Stranger Things” is a sci-fi horror TV show made for Netflix that aired its first season in 2016. I don’t do horror, and so haven’t seen it …

46 Made a return online : E-FILED

E-file: that’s certainly what I do with my tax return …

50 Top of a tax form : LINE A

Form 1040, issued by the IRS, is the “US Individual Income Tax Return”. It was originally created just for tax returns from 1913, 1914 and 1915, but it’s a form that just keeps on giving, or should I say “taking” …?

57 Shows up out of nowhere? : TELEPORTS

Teleportation is a favorite of authors of science fiction. The hypothetical process results in the transfer of matter from one point to another, with actually crossing the intervening space. Beam me up, Scotty!

Down

3 One below a lieut. : NCO

Non-commissioned officer (NCO)

12 Byzantine emperor known as “Rhinotmetos” (“the slit-nosed”) : JUSTINIAN II

Byzantium was a Greek colony that was centered on what was to become Constantinople, now Istanbul. Legend suggests that there was a king Byzas, who gave his name to the city and later the Byzantine Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire later became known as the Byzantine Empire, right up until the Middle Ages.

21 “No Country for Old Men” or “The Usual Suspects” : NEO-NOIR FILM

“No Country for Old Men” is a 2007 thriller made by the Coen brothers that is based on a novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. I have to put this one on my list as I hear good things about it. It won several Oscars and stars Tommy Lee Jones, a favorite actor of mine.

“The Usual Suspects” is somewhat of a cult film now, released in 1995. The cast is amazing, including Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak and Kevin Spacey. The title comes from one of the most memorable lines in movie history, from the film “Casablanca”. In that 1942 movie, Captain Renault (played by Claude Rains) pronounces, “Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects.”

23 “The merciful man ___ good to his own soul” (Proverbs 11:17) : DOETH

The Book of Proverbs is in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. The original Hebrew title for the book translates as “Proverbs of Solomon”. It was likely compiled by multiple authors over a long period of time, with some proverbs back to the time of King Solomon in the 10th century BCE.

27 One of the so-called “eight limbs” of yoga : ASANA

“Asana” is a Sanskrit word that translates literally as “sitting down”. The asanas are the poses that a practitioner of yoga assumes. The most famous is the lotus position, the cross-legged pose called “padmasana”.

28 Phallic object worshiped as a symbol of Shiva : LINGAM

Shiva (also “Siva”) is one of the major deities of the Hindu tradition, and is known as the destroyer of evil and the transformer. Shiva is also part of the Hindu trinity known as the Trimurti, along with Brahma and Vishnu.

29 ___ chef : SOUS

The “sous-chef de cuisine” (a French term) is the “under-chef of the kitchen”, the second-in-command.

33 Middle of to-day? : … THIS …

To this day …

46 Part of the Tuscan Archipelago : ELBA

I had a lovely two-week vacation in Tuscany once, including what was supposed to be a two-night stay on the island of Elba. I had envisioned Elba as a place full of history, and maybe it is, but it is also overrun with tourists who use it as a beach getaway. We left after one day and we won’t be going back again …

49 1970 hit for the Kinks : LOLA

“Lola” is a fabulous song that was written by Ray Davies and released by the Kinks back in 1970. Inspired by a real life incident, the lyrics tell of a young man who met a young “lady” in a club, danced with her, and then discovered “she” was actually a transvestite. The storyline isn’t very traditional, and the music is superb.

51 Big act in K-pop : BTS

BTS is a boy band from South Korea with seven members. The initialism “BTS” stands for the phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan”, which translates literally as “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. BTS is the best-selling musical act in the history of South Korea.

K-pop (Korean pop) is a genre of music from South Korea that emerged in the early nineties.

53 Place for a bouquet, maybe : URN

“Bouquet” comes from the French word for “bunch” in the sense of “bunch of flowers”. In French, the term is derived from an older word describing a little wood or small grove of trees. We started using “bouquet” to mean “perfume from a wine” in the early 1800s.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Shape or edge, say : LANDSCAPE
10 Winner of three Emmys for Outstanding Game Show Host : SAJAK
15 Sword in the stone : EXCALIBUR
16 Jeers to a team at an away game, say : ABUSE
17 Purify, in metallurgy : DEOXIDIZE
18 Inclined to be verbose, informally : GASSY
19 City in northeast France, home of the country’s oldest church : METZ
20 What has spikes of interest? : CACTUS
21 Four-time presidential candidate beginning in 1996 : NADER
24 Hawaiian for “long” : LOA
26 Most common Korean surname : KIM
27 38-Across, as a prefix : AERO-
28 Walks with difficulty : LIMPS
30 Bookstore section : NEW
32 What a strangely quiet person might have : SOMETHING TO HIDE
36 “Don’t hold back, it’s my treat!” : ANYTHING YOU WANT
37 Words that may fail to soften an insult : NOTHING PERSONAL
38 See 27-Across : AIR
39 Ancient navigation aids : STARS
40 Frost-covered, poetically : RIMY
41 Wick for a Molotov cocktail : RAG
43 Music genre : EMO
44 Actress Sink of “Stranger Things” : SADIE
46 Made a return online : E-FILED
48 Ran : BLED
50 Top of a tax form : LINE A
51 Completely lose it : BLOW A FUSE
56 Ewe said it! : BLEAT
57 Shows up out of nowhere? : TELEPORTS
58 Church chorus : AMENS
59 Get wise : SMARTEN UP

Down

1 Set the pace : LED
2 Chopper : AXE
3 One below a lieut. : NCO
4 Actor/podcaster Shepard : DAX
5 Goo : SLIME
6 Apple press release? : CIDER
7 Kinda : A BIT
8 Stumper : PUZZLING PROBLEM
9 Preceder to long or now : ERE …
10 Story for the ages : SAGA
11 Taken ___ : ABACK
12 Byzantine emperor known as “Rhinotmetos” (“the slit-nosed”) : JUSTINIAN II
13 Criminal’s cover, maybe : ASSUMED NAME
14 They’re copied for partners : KEYS
20 Certain cell provider : CAPTOR
21 “No Country for Old Men” or “The Usual Suspects” : NEO-NOIR FILM
22 One on base? : ARMY TRAINEE
23 “The merciful man ___ good to his own soul” (Proverbs 11:17) : DOETH
25 Enthusiastic approval in a text : OMG YES!
27 One of the so-called “eight limbs” of yoga : ASANA
28 Phallic object worshiped as a symbol of Shiva : LINGAM
29 ___ chef : SOUS
31 How dogs kiss : WETLY
33 Middle of to-day? : … THIS …
34 Didn’t say directly : HINTED
35 “Hell,” euphemistically : H-WORD
42 Extract : GLEAN
44 Part of an underground system : SEWER
45 Become acclimatized, e.g. : ADAPT
46 Part of the Tuscan Archipelago : ELBA
47 Grub : EATS
49 1970 hit for the Kinks : LOLA
51 Big act in K-pop : BTS
52 Other side : FOE
53 Place for a bouquet, maybe : URN
54 Apt name for a worrier : STU
55 Medium capacity? : ESP