0610-23 NY Times Crossword 10 Jun 23, Saturday

Constructed by: John Hawksley
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 10m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Central F.B.I. component? : BUREAU

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was set up in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), with the name changing in 1935. The Bureau was set up at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt was largely moved to do so after the 1901 assassination of President McKinley, as there was a perception that anarchists were threatening law and order. The FBI’s motto uses the organization’s initialism, and is “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity”.

16 Mythological figure with an eponymous body part : ACHILLES

Achilles is the protagonist in Homer’s “Iliad”. When Achilles was born, his mother attempted to make him immortal by dipping him into the River Styx. As he was held by the heel while under the water, this became the only vulnerable point on his body (his Achilles’ heel”). Years later he was killed when a poisoned arrow struck him in the heel. That arrow was shot by Paris.

The Achilles tendon is located at the back of the leg, above the heel. The name is a reference to Achilles, the hero of Greek myth who was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel.

19 Goddess of spring : MAIA

Maia is one of the Pleiades of Greek mythology, and is the eldest of the Seven Sisters. The month of May is named for Maia.

23 Use a laser, perhaps : ETCH

The term “laser” is an acronym standing for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”. It has been pointed out that a more precise name for laser technology is “light oscillation by stimulated emission of radiation”, but the resulting acronym isn’t quite so appealing, namely “loser”.

31 Roman statesman for whom a Midwest city was named : CINCINNATUS

Cincinnati, Ohio was the first major city to be founded after the American Revolution, and indeed was the first major inland city to be founded in the whole country. Cincinnati was a boomtown in the 1800s, but its growth slowed as the railroads displaced the steamboats as the major form of transportation. The city was founded in 1788, and was named “Cincinnati” two years later. It was named for the Society of Cincinnati, an organization with a mission to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the officers of the Revolutionary War. The society was in turn named for Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. Cincinnatus was a farmer in ancient Rome who left his land to serve as Consul and then lawful dictator of Rome during a war emergency, before happily handing back power to the Senate after the war was won.

32 Finds a time for, in a way : CARBON-DATES

Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that is found in nature in small amounts. Carbon-14 is used in the technique known as radiocarbon dating, a relatively accurate way of determining the age of something up to about 60,000 years old. When an organism is alive, the amount of radioactive carbon-14 it has compared to the amount of regular carbon-12, is a fixed ratio. After the organism dies, it is no longer exchanging carbon with the atmosphere through metabolism. So, the stable carbon-12 stays in the body as it rots but the radioactive carbon-14 gradually decays, causing the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 to fall. Scientists can determine the age of remains by measuring this carbon-14/carbon-12 ratio.

33 Rain check events : MAKEUP GAMES

The original rain check is a complimentary ticket for a future game given to paying spectators at a baseball game that has been canceled due to rain. The first such rain checks were issued in the 1870s. The first professional team to use a rain check system were the St. Louis Brown Stockings, in 1877.

35 “Speaking openly,” in texts : TBH

To be honest (TBH)

38 “Mad Men” network : AMC

AMC, formerly known as “American Movie Classics”, is one of my favorite television channels. Although the channel’s focus has shifted from airing classic movies to including other programming, there’s still a lot of quality output. AMC’s flagship shows are “Mad Men”, “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”.

39 Van trailer? : BUREN

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the US, and also served as Vice President and Secretary of State under President Andrew Jackson. Although Van Buren was the first president who was born a US citizen, he was the only president whose first language wasn’t English. Our eighth president grew up speaking Dutch.

40 Currency since the Ottoman Empire : LIRA

The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from the British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.

44 “___ eaten without either mirth or music is ill of digestion”: Sir Walter Scott : MEAT

Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish novelist and playwright, the first English-language author to gain popularity around the world during his own lifetime. The most famous of his works are “Ivanhoe”, “Rob Roy” and “The Lady of the Lake”.

46 Twain protagonist : SAWYER

Tom Sawyer is a favorite character created by Mark Twain. He turns up in four of Twain’s books:

  • “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”
  • “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
  • “Tom Sawyer Abroad”
  • “Tom Sawyer, Detective”

But that’s not all, as he appears in at least three works that Twain left unfinished:

  • “Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians” (a sequel to “Huckleberry Finn”)
  • “Schoolhouse Hill”
  • “Tom Sawyer’s Conspiracy” (a sequel to “Tom Sawyer, Detective”)

50 Either brother in an old pop duo : EVERLY

The Everly Brothers were noted for their steel guitar sound, and their great use of harmony. Their harmony onstage wasn’t reflected off the stage though. In 1973 the brothers decided to pursue separate careers and scheduled a farewell performance attended by many fans, family and stalwarts from the music industry. Don Everly came on stage too drunk to perform, and eventually brother Phil just stormed off into the wings, smashing his guitar as he left. The boys didn’t talk to each other for ten years after that incident. Phil Everly passed away in January 2014.

52 Late departure : RED-EYE

A red-eye flight is one departing late at night and arriving early the next morning. The term “red-eye” is a reference to tired passengers disembarking with red eyes.

53 Natural treatment for nausea : GINGER

Nausea is a sick feeling in the stomach. The term “nausea” derives from the Greek “naus” meaning “ship”. Originally, nausea was associated only with seasickness.

Down

4 Hall-of-Fame point guard Thomas : ISIAH

Isiah Thomas played his whole professional career with the Detroit Pistons. He retired from playing the game in 1994, and took up coaching in 2000, initially with the Indiana Pacers. When you’re out shopping for popcorn, keep an eye out for the Dale & Thomas brand, as it’s co-owned by Isiah Thomas.

6 Banned lighting option : HALOGEN BULB

A halogen lamp is a specific type of incandescent light that has a small amount of halogen in the atmosphere surrounding the tungsten filament. In regular incandescent lamps, tungsten evaporates from the filament and deposits on the inner surface of the glass bulb causing it to blacken and dim over time. The halogen, such as iodine or bromine, reacts with the evaporating tungsten keeping the bulb of the glass clean hence maintaining the light output level.

9 Composer Khachaturian : ARAM

Aram Khachaturian was a Soviet-Armenian composer who created many works that were influenced by Armenian culture. Khachaturian’s most famous piece of music is the frenetic “Saber Dance” from the ballet “Gayane”. My favorite composition though is the “Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia”. It was used as the theme for a BBC drama called “The Onedin Line” and will always evoke for me images of tall ships and vast oceans.

11 Cocktails with orgeat syrup : MAI TAIS

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

Orgeat is an almond-flavored syrup, and an essential ingredient in a classic mai tai cocktail. Although today’s orgeat is made from almonds, the original recipe called for a blend of almonds and barley. The name “orgeat” comes from Latin via the French “orge” meaning “barley”.

14 Constellation named for the instrument it depicts : TELESCOPIUM

The constellation known as Telescopium was named in the 18th century in honor of the invention of the telescope.

29 Home run, in slang : TATER

Apparently, a baseball has long been referred to as a tater (also “potato”). In the seventies, a long ball started to be called a “long tater”, and from this a home run became a “tater”.

30 Summers in Monaco : ETES

The Principality of Monaco is on the Mediterranean coast, and is otherwise surrounded by France, even though it is just under 10 miles from the Italian border. Monaco is the world’s most densely populated country, and the world’s second smallest country (the smallest being Vatican City). The principality has been very prosperous since the late 1800s, with the economy given a tremendous boost with the opening of several gambling casinos.

31 Word with round or pound : … CAKE

Pound cake is so called because the traditional recipe calls for a pound of each of four ingredients:

  • a pound of flour
  • a pound of butter
  • a pound of eggs
  • a pound of sugar

I’d say that’s a lot of cake …

32 Quoth the raven? : CAW-CAWED

Ravens and crows are very similar species, and it can be difficult to tell them apart. Ravens are a little larger and often travel in pairs, whereas crows are a little smaller and are usually seen in larger groups. Crows make a cawing sound, while the raven’s call is more like a croak.

33 Certain zen retreat : MOM CAVE

“Man cave” is a slang term for a male sanctuary within a home. That sanctuary is often a spare bedroom (as it is in our house) or a converted garage.

A “she shed” is the equivalent of a “man cave”. It is somewhere that “she” can use as her own space within a home.

36 Who wrote “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same” : BRONTE

“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë is essentially the story of a love triangle between the main characters: Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff and Edgar Linton.

40 Prized textile in ancient Egypt : LINEN

Flax is mainly grown for its seeds (to make oil) and for its fibers. Flax fibers have been used to make linen for centuries, certainly back as far as the days of the ancient Egyptians. Flax fibers are soft and shiny, resembling blond hair, hence the term “flaxen hair”.

42 Hermes’ invention, in myth : LYRE

The lyre is a stringed instrument that is most closely associated with ancient Greece, and with the gods Hermes and Apollo in particular. According to myth, Hermes slaughtered a cow from a sacred herd belonging to Apollo and offered it to the gods but kept the entrails. Hermes used the entrails to make strings that he stretched across the shell of a tortoise, creating the first lyre. Apollo liked the sound from the lyre and agreed to accept it as a trade for his herd of cattle.

47 Deli choice : RYE

The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

49 Volkswagen Golf model : GTI

The Volkswagen Golf used to be sold as the Volkswagen Rabbit here in North America. The Golf was introduced in 1974 as a front-wheel drive replacement for the hugely successful Volkswagen Beetle.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Curved bedframe style : SLEIGH
7 Distresses : ALARMS
13 Roast roost : HOT SEAT
15 Central F.B.I. component? : BUREAU
16 Mythological figure with an eponymous body part : ACHILLES
18 Add with force : CRAM IN
19 Goddess of spring : MAIA
20 Chorus in “E Viva Mexico” : OLES
22 Gives out : EMITS
23 Use a laser, perhaps : ETCH
24 Find time for : GET TO
26 Not from Scotland : NAE
27 From overseas? : DES
28 Blame-shifting words : HE STARTED IT
31 Roman statesman for whom a Midwest city was named : CINCINNATUS
32 Finds a time for, in a way : CARBON-DATES
33 Rain check events : MAKEUP GAMES
34 Athlete often found on the bench : POWERLIFTER
35 “Speaking openly,” in texts : TBH
38 “Mad Men” network : AMC
39 Van trailer? : BUREN
40 Currency since the Ottoman Empire : LIRA
41 2:1, e.g. : SCALE
44 “___ eaten without either mirth or music is ill of digestion”: Sir Walter Scott : MEAT
45 Smooth out : IRON
46 Twain protagonist : SAWYER
48 Remote indication of approval : E-SIGNING
50 Either brother in an old pop duo : EVERLY
51 Triple ___ : ENTENTE
52 Late departure : RED-EYE
53 Natural treatment for nausea : GINGER

Down

1 Red-faced : SHAMED
2 Not just track : LOCATE
3 Subject of a Senate committee with an interest in gifts : ETHICS
4 Hall-of-Fame point guard Thomas : ISIAH
5 Come together : GEL
6 Banned lighting option : HALOGEN BULB
7 Opening sequence : ABC …
8 Fly, at times : LURE
9 Composer Khachaturian : ARAM
10 “Please jog our memory …” : REMIND US …
11 Cocktails with orgeat syrup : MAI TAIS
12 A drop before bedtime? : SUNSET
14 Constellation named for the instrument it depicts : TELESCOPIUM
17 Liberating : SETTING FREE
21 That’s an order! : STAND AT EASE
25 Dressing up : ORNAMENTING
28 Headhunter’s correspondent : HIRER
29 Home run, in slang : TATER
30 Summers in Monaco : ETES
31 Word with round or pound : … CAKE
32 Quoth the raven? : CAW-CAWED
33 Certain zen retreat : MOM CAVE
34 Prudent poker player, perhaps : PASSER
35 Draining : TIRING
36 Who wrote “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same” : BRONTE
37 Choice at a dry cleaner : HANGER
40 Prized textile in ancient Egypt : LINEN
42 Hermes’ invention, in myth : LYRE
43 Tough to grasp : EELY
47 Deli choice : RYE
49 Volkswagen Golf model : GTI

12 thoughts on “0610-23 NY Times Crossword 10 Jun 23, Saturday”

  1. 33:16 after finding and fixing a couple of errors: I had put in TELESCOPIUS (never heard of TELESCOPIUM) and ABC (don’t watch AMC, or any other channel, nowadays) and neglected to check the crossing entries (MEAT and MOM CAVE) that would have given me the correct answers. That said, for me, filling in the middle of this puzzle was a laborious process, with many head-scratching pauses and missteps. Lesson: you can’t win ‘em all … 🤪.

  2. Don’t fret, Dave K. I got 2 minutes more “enjoyment” from this puzzle with 35:16. And I had the same issue with “ABC” vs. “AMC”, as I also have pretty much given up on TV except for maybe the local news/weather.

  3. 28:57, no errors. Same issues as Dave. At lot of head scratching, with many incorrect answers appearing to work at first: REMEMBER > REMIND ME > REMIND US. ABC before AMC (what tipped me off here was that ABC was used in 7D). Good Saturday challenge, especially since I finish with no errors. 😀

  4. 24:28. Bill’s time is amazing today. It took me 10 minutes just to realize I didn’t know anything. I think I spent 20 minutes getting about a fourth of the puzzle finished, but once you finally get a hold and get a few long answers it eases up. Last 75% of this puzzle took about 5 minutes to do.

    You’re all going to be penalized a full point off of your final grade for not appreciating my CEREAL COMMA joke yesterday. People here in Vegas pay big bucks for 1st class comedy like that…

    Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight. Fingers crossed for Vegas to win one in Florida.

    Best –

  5. @jeff, just read your comment here from June 10th… how funny and ironic is that!!!!!

    @dave kennison-reference to friday’s new yorker … what a Freudian slip that had to be. That was exactly where I wasn’t sure but it was the only thing that “fit” (ha!). Did you see how certain solver blogs like Crossword Buzz masked the answer???

    On to this crossword. I can put another saturday crossword notch on my belt… had some ink overs in same place as others but it worked. Not stellar times like some but I’m getting better.

    1. @Anon Mike …

      I’d never heard of “Crossword Buzz”, but I just found it and checked out the entry in question. How silly to mask the answer in that way! Are we not adults?

      That said, although I’ve gotten used to seeing just about anything in puzzles on indie sites (like Brendan Emmett Quigley’s, where you might see an occasional F-bomb), I was more than a little surprised to see the word the New New Yorker used. Times have changed.

      There are only a few words that I think should be banned from print (racial slurs, for example). Creating such a list is a slippery slope, though.

      1. The “New New Yorker”? Is age robbing me of my ability to proofread? SMH … 😳.

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