0831-23 NY Times Crossword 31 Aug 23, Thursday

Bill’s time: 8m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Follower of November : OSCAR

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

6 Main character in a Verne novel : NEMO

The Jules Verne sci-fi novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” was first published in 1869-1870 as a serial in a French magazine. Star of the novel (to me) is Captain Nemo’s magnificent submarine called the Nautilus. The “20,000 leagues” in the title is the distance traveled by the Nautilus underwater, and not a depth. 20,000 leagues is about three times the circumference of the Earth.

10 Preserves, maybe : JAM

Jelly is made using strained juice from crushed fruit. Jam is similar, but the whole crushed fruit is used, and often includes seeds.

13 Instant ___ : KARMA

“Instant Karma!” is a John Lennon song that he released in 1970. The song contains a line starting with “We all shine on …”, which Stephen King used as inspiration for the title of his 1977 novel “The Shining”.

14 Actress Lena of “Chocolat” : OLIN

Lena Olin is a Swedish actress, and someone who has acting in her blood. Her mother was the actress Britta Holmberg and her father the actor and director Stig Olin. Olin had a very successful career in Sweden, often working with the great Ingmar Bergman. Olin’s breakthrough international and English-speaking role was playing opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” released in 1988. Way back in 1974, Miss Olin was crowned Miss Scandinavia in a beauty pageant for Nordic women held in Helsinki, Finland. Olin’s most famous performance was in “Chocolat” released in 2000, and then she won an Emmy in 2003 for Best Supporting Actress in the TV show “Alias”.

The movie “Chocolat” released in 2000 is a big-screen adaption of the novel of the same name by Joanne Harris. “Chocolat” tells the story of a young mother with a six-year-old daughter who opens up a chocolate shop in a French village. The mother is played by the talented Juliette Binoche.

15 Neural conductor : AXON

A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron. The branched projections that receive electrochemical signals from other neurons are known as dendrites. The long nerve fiber that conducts signals away from the neuron is known as the axon. A neuron that has no definite axon is referred to as “apolar” or “nonpolar”. In apolar neurons the nerve impulses radiate in all directions.

17 2009 fantasy rom-com starring Zac Efron : AGAIN

Zac Efron is an actor from San Luis Obispo, California. Apparently, Efron is a heartthrob to “tweenyboppers”. His big break came with the hit Disney movie “High School Musical”.

19 What the dish congee is made from : RICE

Congee is an Asian dish. It is a gruel prepared by cooking rice in water for an extended period, long enough for the grains to practically disintegrate.

20 Food item that may be candied : YAM

Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the world than they are in this country, and are especially common in Africa.

26 Former N.B.A. star who has unofficially served as a peace ambassador with North Korea : RODMAN

Retired professional basketball player Dennis Rodman was quite the character on the court, and made a big splash off the court too (and still is!). Famously, Rodman had an affair with the singer Madonna, was married for a while to Carmen Electra, and turned out in a wedding dress to promote his autobiography!

28 “___ all mad here”: Cheshire cat : WE’RE

The Cheshire Cat is a character in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. The Cheshire Cat has an expansive grin, and at one point magically disappears in front of Alice, leaving just the grin visible.

Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,’ thought Alice; `but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!

31 “Understood” : TEN-FOUR

There is a set of “ten-codes” that were developed in 1937 for the use of law enforcement departments. As of 2006, the US federal government is recommending that they be replaced by plain language due to a lack of standardization in ten-codes. Examples of ten-codes are:

• 10-1 meaning “bad reception”
• 10-4 meaning “understood”
• 10-9 meaning “say again”
• 10-33 meaning “emergency, all units stand by”

43 Shade that might be made in the shade? : FAKE TAN

The most effective fake tans available today are not dyes or stains. Instead, they are sprays with the active ingredient dihydroxyacetone (DHA). DHA reacts chemically with amino acids in the dead layer of skin on the surface of the body. Sounds a little risky to me …

49 Site for artisans : ETSY

Etsy.com was founded in 2005 as a way for artists and craftspeople to sell their handmade goods online, and has since grown to include vintage items and crafting supplies as well. The company’s name is derived from the Italian word “etsi,” which means “oh, yes”? This was a nod to founder Rob Kalin’s love of Italy and his appreciation for the country’s history and artistry.

50 Chips in England : CRISPS

French fries are called “chips” back in Ireland where I grew up. And what we call “chips” in the US are known as “crisps” in Britain and Ireland. In France, French fries are known as “pommes frites” (fried potatoes).

56 Desert feline : SAND CAT

Sand cats are found primarily in the stony and sandy deserts of northern Africa as well as southwest and central Asia. They are well adapted to their environment, capable of tolerating temperatures ranging from well below freezing to over 125 degrees F. They can survive months without drinking water, absorbing just the water in their food.

58 Where to find canines : JAW

The canine teeth of a mammal are also called the eyeteeth or cuspids. The name “canine” is used because these particular teeth are very prominent in dogs. The prefix “eye-” is used because in humans the eyeteeth are located in the upper jaw, directly below the eyes.

66 Worker’s cry of relief : TGIF!

“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF) is a relatively new expression that apparently originated in Akron, Ohio. It was a catchphrase used first by disk jockey Jerry Healy of WAKR in the early seventies. That said, one blog reader wrote to me to say that he had been using the phrase in the fifties.

67 Any of three major-league brothers : ALOU

Felipe Alou is a former professional baseball player and manager. Alou managed the Montreal Expos from 1992 to 2001, and the San Francisco Giants from 2003 to 2006. Alou was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and came to the US to play for the Giants in 1955. Felipe’s brothers Matty and Jesús followed him to the US, and into Major League baseball.

68 The first “O” of O/O : OWNER

Owner/operator (O/O), as in the trucking industry.

69 Word with rack or trick : HAT

A hat trick is the scoring of three goals by the same player in a game of perhaps soccer or hockey.

Down

2 Long, long yarn : SAGA

The phrase “to spin a yarn”, meaning “to tell a tall tale”, originated in the early 1800s with seamen. The idea was that sailors would tell stories to each other while engaged in mindless work such as twisting yarn.

5 Vacation time, informally : R AND R

A vacation (“vacay”) might provide some rest and relaxation/recuperation (R&R).

7 Popular store chain with a green, red and orange logo : 7-ELEVEN

The first precursor to the 7-Eleven store opened in Dallas, Texas in 1927. The stores were so named (much later, in 1946) because they were open longer than other stores, from 7am to 11pm.

8 2002 film that earned Eminem two MTV Movie Awards : 8 MILE

The movie “8 Mile” stars Eminem as a young rap artist in Detroit, and features the song “Lose Yourself” that was performed and written by Eminem. The song won Eminem the 2002 Oscar for Best Original Song, making him the first rap artist to be so honored.

9 Out of jail early, perhaps : ON PAROLE

“Parole” is a French word that we use in English, with the French “parole” meaning “word, speech”. Of particular interest is the French phrase “parole d’honneur” which translates as “word of honor”. In the early 1600s we started using “parole” to mean a promise by a prisoner of war not to escape, as in the prisoner giving his “word of honor” not to run off. Over time, parole has come to mean conditional release of a prisoner before he or she has served the full term of a sentence.

11 Fundamental math assumption : AXIOM

In the world of mathematics, an axiom is a proposition, one that is taken as basic and self-evident. The term “axiom” extends beyond mathematics with a similar meaning, an established or self-evident truth.

12 Dark brown shade : MOCHA

Mocha is a port city in Yemen on the Red Sea and was once the principal port for the capital city of Sana’a. Mocha was the major marketplace in the world for coffee until the 1600s, and gave its name to the Mocha coffee bean, which in turn gave its name to the mocha brown color, and the flavor of coffee infused with chocolate.

22 Templeton of “Charlotte’s Web,” for one : RAT

“Charlotte’s Web” is a children’s novel by author E. B. White. Charlotte is a barn spider, who manages to save the life of a pig named Wilbur. Wilbur is a pet pig, owned by the farmer’s daughter, Fern Arable. The story also includes a gluttonous rat named Templeton who provides some light and comical moments.

25 Members of the Flat Earth Society, e.g. : DENIERS

The Flat Earth Society is a modern incarnation of a much older group that believed that the earth was in fact flat and not an oblate spheroid. The new version was established by Samuel Shenton in 1956 in Dover in the UK. When man ventured to the moon, the Flat Earth Society took the position that the Apollo program was an elaborate hoax. The contemporary Flat Earth Society is run out of Lancaster, California.

27 2008 rom-com starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden : 27 DRESSES

“27 Dresses” is a 2008 romantic comedy movie starring Katherine Heigl. Heigl plays someone who sees herself as a perennial bridesmaid, a bridesmaid at 27 weddings, hence the film’s title.

Katherine Heigl is best associated with the television show “Grey’s Anatomy”, in which she plays Dr. Izzie Stevens. That’s not a show I ever watched, but I did enjoy the espionage show “State of Affairs” in which Heigl played the lead. I guess I was in the minority though, as NBC canceled “State of Affairs” after only one season …

28 Ragamuffin : WAIF

A waif is a street urchin, or perhaps a stray animal.

29 The monster Typhon was said to be trapped under it, in Greek myth : ETNA

Typhon was known as the “father of all monsters” in Greek mythology, and he was married to the “mother of all monsters”, Echidna. Typhon had a huge human torso with a hundred dragon heads. His lower body was made up of gigantic viper coils. Although all the gods feared Typhon, Zeus finally defeated him and trapped him underneath Mount Etna.

30 NBC comedy series starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin : 30 ROCK

“30 Rock” is a sitcom on NBC that was created by the show’s star Tina Fey. Fey plays an ex-performer and writer from “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) and uses her experiences on that show as a basis for the “30 Rock” storyline. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer for the fictional sketch comedy series “TGS with Tracy Jordan”.

32 Peeps : FAM

“Peeps” is a slang term for one’s associates or friends, one’s “people”.

39 1935 Hitchcock thriller, with “The” : … 39 STEPS

“The 39 Steps” is a marvelous Alfred Hitchcock movie based on the John Buchan novel “The Thirty-Nine Steps”. Released in 1935, the film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. I love this movie …

48 Balneotherapy locale : SPA

Balneotherapy is similar to hydrotherapy and is the treatment of a disease by sitting a patient in baths. Mineral baths and water massages would be considered part of balneotherapy.

50 Rapper Curtis Jackson, more familiarly : 50 CENT

Rap star 50 Cent’s real name is Curtis James Jackson III, and is from South Jamaica in Queens, New York. 50 Cent had a rough life starting out, first dealing drugs at the age of 12. He dropped his illegal activities to pursue a rap career, but still fell victim to an assailant who pumped nine bullets into him. The alleged shooter was himself shot three weeks later, and died. 50 Cent’s alleged attacker was a bodyguard and close friend of Mike Tyson.

57 ___ contendere (court plea) : NOLO

“Nolo contendere” (sometimes shortened to “nolo”) is a legal term that translates from Latin as “I do not wish to contend”. It’s the plea of no contest, and is an alternative to guilty and not guilty, meaning that one doesn’t admit guilt but nor does one dispute the charge.

58 Singer Mitchell : JONI

Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Fort MacLeod in Alberta. Mitchell is perhaps best known for her recordings “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Woodstock”.

65 Noted head turner : OWL

Owls can rotate their heads 270 degrees, allowing them to look completely around without moving their bodies.