0722-23 NY Times Crossword 22 Jul 23, Saturday

Bill’s time: 16m 14s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13 Extreme challenges : DOUBLE-DOG DARES

The idiomatic phrase “double-dog dare” is very American, and dates back at least to the 1940s. One reference from back then cites the incrementally daring sequence:

• I dare you
• I dog dare you
• I double-dog dare you
• I black-dog dare you
• I double-black-dog dare you

18 Big blows : GALES

A gale is a very strong wind, one defined by the Beaufort scale as having wind speeds from 50 to just over 100 kilometers per hour.

19 Measure of inflation: Abbr. : PSI

Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.

22 Military acronym first used in W.W. II : SNAFU

“SNAFU” is an acronym standing for “situation normal: all fouled up” (well, that’s the polite version!). As one might perhaps imagine, the term developed in the US Army, during WWII.

24 Inflated : VAIN

That would be an inflated ego.

25 Like archaeological finds, typically : DATED

“Archaeology” is a word that looks like it’s British English, and one might be forgiven for using the spelling “archeology” in American English. Even though the latter spelling has been around for a couple of hundred years, the former is the standard spelling on both sides of the Atlantic.

26 Musical unit : SET

That would be a set during a performance, say.

29 National security adviser under Obama : SUSAN RICE

Susan Rice served as UN Ambassador and then National Security Adviser in the Obama administration.

33 “Just a sec,” in texts : BRB

Be right back (brb)

37 Periodic table no. : AT WT

The atomic weight (at. wt.) of an element is the mass of one atom of the element, relative to the mass of an atom of carbon (which is assumed to have an atomic weight of 12).

40 001-01-0001, for one: Abbr. : SSN

A Social Security number (SSN) is divided into three parts, i.e AAA-GG-SSSS. Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Starting in 1973, the Area Number reflected the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN was the Group Number, and the SSSS number the Serial Number. This is all moot today. Since 2011, SSNs have been assigned randomly. Some random numbers, however, have been excluded from use, i.e. Area Numbers 000, 666 (!) and 900-999.

41 Red dot in the middle of the forehead : BINDI

A bindi is a bright decorative dot worn applied to the middle of the forehead, particularly by Hindu women living on the Indian subcontinent. The term “bindi” comes from the Sanskrit “bindu” meaning “point, dot, small particle”.

44 Pan-fried dishes served to commemorate the Miracle of the Oil : LATKES

A latke is a delicious potato pancake (I’m Irish, so anything made with potatoes is delicious, to be honest).

50 Places to find faults : EPICENTERS

The epicenter is the point on the surface of the Earth that is directly above the focus of an earthquake.

Down

3 Some new job requirements, in jargon : RELOS

Relocate (relo)

4 Long shot in sports : 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.

6 Kaiser’s grp. : HMO

Kaiser Permanente is a health maintenance organization (HMO) based in Oakland, California. “Kaiser” is the largest provider of managed care in the whole country.

7 Mind reading, in brief? : EEG

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

8 Snorri’s story : EDDA

Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian and poet who wrote the “Prose Edda”, an important narrative of Norse mythology. Sturluson lived from 1179 to 1241 CE.

10 Court in a courtyard, perhaps : SERENADE

A serenade is a musical performance in the open air, specifically at night. We tend to think of the term applying to a young man serenading his lover from below her window. We imported the word via French from the Italian “serenata” meaning “evening song”, influenced by the Italian “sera” meaning “evening”.

13 “L’Absinthe” painter : DEGAS

Edgar Degas was a French artist who was famous for both his paintings and his sculptures. Some of Degas’ most beautiful works feature female ballet dancers, and others depict women bathing.

14 Like the leeward side : SAFER

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather. The sheltered side of an island, for example, might be referred to as the “lee” side.

17 Heady stuff? : SUDS

That would be the head on a beer. Something to be enjoyed in moderation. The head, I mean.

19 Hats originating in Ecuador, despite their name : PANAMAS

Panama hats are traditional headgear from Ecuador, and have never been made in volume in Panama. The “panama” moniker came about as many of the hats were shipped to the Isthmus of Panama for transportation by sea to the rest of the world. Authentic panama hats are made from the leaves of a palm-like plant known locally as the jipijapa palm.

20 Some seals : SIGNETS

A signet is a seal, in particular one used by an official to mark a document. A signet can be incorporated into a “signet ring”.

24 Glass for cerveza : VASO

In Spanish, when buying “cerveza” (beer), one might purchase a “paquete de seis” (six-pack).

28 Dryer detritus : LINT

Detritus is loose material that results from the process of erosion. The usage of the term has evolved to describe any accumulated material or debris. “Detritus” is Latin for “a wearing away”.

32 Sue Grafton Memorial Award and others : EDGARS

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (“Edgars”) are presented annually by the Mystery Writers of America. There are several categories of awards. For example, the Ellery Queen Award honors “writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry”. The Raven Award is presented to non-writers, who contribute to the mystery genre.

Sue Grafton wrote detective novels, and her “alphabet series” features the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “’A’ Is for Alibi” in 1982 and worked her way up to “‘Y’ is for Yesterday” before she passed away in 2017.

33 Nuts or bananas : BONKERS

The word “bonkers” meaning “crazy” originated in the fifties. The term might come from navy slang meaning “slightly drunk”, behaving as though one received a “bonk” on the head.

44 Mikhail Baryshnikov, by birth : LETT

Mikhail “Misha” Baryshnikov started his dancing career with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad before defecting to Canada in 1974. The only time my wife ever lined up to get an autograph was when she did so outside the stage door after seeing Baryshnikov dance in Syracuse, New York many moons ago. In her eyes, the man is a god …

47 Dr. ___ : DRE

“Dr. Dre” is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.

48 Chaney who was known as “The Man of a Thousand Faces” : LON

Lon Chaney, Sr. played a lot of crazed-looking characters in the days of silent movies. He did much of his own make-up work, developing the grotesque appearances that became his trademark, and earning himself the nickname “the man of a thousand faces”. Most famous were his portrayals of the title characters in the films “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) and “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925).