1128-23 NY Times Crossword 28 Nov 23, Tuesday

Bill’s time: 8m 34s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16 Tiny country in the Pyrenees : ANDORRA

Andorra is a small principality nestled in the Pyrénées between France and Spain. It is a very prosperous country, mainly due to its status as a tax haven and thriving tourist industry. We used to help out the tourist industry there in the winters, enjoying a couple of skiing vacations there. Happy memories …

23 ___ José, Costa Rica : SAN

San José is the capital of Costa Rica. Costa Rica is in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua in the north and Panama to the South. It is a remarkable county in my opinion, a leader on the world stage in many areas. It has been referred to as the “greenest” country in the world, the “happiest” country in the world, and has a highly educated populace. In 1949, the country unilaterally abolished its own army … permanently!

24 Colorful rhyme for a filming background : GREEN SCREEN

Chroma keying is a post-production technique used to layer two video streams together based on color. Usually, a green background (“green screen”) is dropped from one stream, and replaced with another. Because the technique removes a specific green color from the whole frame, that color green cannot be included in the foreground that is to be retained.

31 Church council : SYNOD

The word “synod” comes from the Greek word for “assembly, meeting”. A synod is a church council, usually one in the Christian faith.

32 Lyra’s brightest star : VEGA

Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. Vega (along with Altair and Deneb from other constellations) is also part of the group of three stars that is called the Summer Triangle. Vega is the star at the right-angle of said triangle.

35 Go bananas : FREAK

The expression “to go bananas”, meaning “to become excited or angry”, is one that I would have imagined had a clear etymology but that doesn’t seem to be the case. A further surprise is that we’ve only been “going bananas” since the sixties, the days of flower power. One apt theory about the hippy roots of the phrase is that there was an unfounded belief that ingesting roasted banana peels had a similar hallucinogenic effect as magic mushrooms.

39 “___ the season …” : ‘TIS

The music for the Christmas song “Deck the Halls” is a traditional Welsh tune that dates back to the 16th century. The same tune was used by Mozart for a violin and piano duet. The lyrics with which we are familiar (other than the “fa-la-la”) are American in origin, and were recorded in the 19th century.

“’Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la la!”

40 Sign seen at an S.P.C.A. center, perhaps : ADOPT ME

Unlike most developed countries, the US has no umbrella organization with the goal of preventing cruelty to animals. Instead there are independent organizations set up all over the nation using the name SPCA. Having said that, there is an organization called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that was originally intended to operate across the country, but really it now focuses its efforts in New York City.

44 With 46-Across, colorful rhyme for a 1966 Donovan hit : MELLOW …
46 See 44-Across : … YELLOW

“Donovan” is the stage name of Scottish folk and pop singer Donovan Leitch. One of his more famous recordings on this side of the pond is 1966’s “Mellow Yellow”.

49 Soccer star Hamm : MIA

Mia Hamm is a retired American soccer player. She played as a forward on the US national team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. Hamm scored 158 international goals, which was more than any other player in the world, male or female, until the record was broken in 2013. Amazingly, Hamm was born with a clubfoot, and so had to wear corrective shoes when she was growing up.

50 Hot and spicy, as salsa : PICANTE

“Picante” is a Spanish word meaning “spicy hot”.

54 Sticky notes : POST-ITS

The Post-it note was invented at 3M following the accidental discovery of a low-tack, reusable adhesive. The actual intent of the development program was to produce a super-strong adhesive.

60 Finland joined it in 2023 : NATO

The Nordic country of Finland is the most sparsely populated nation in the European Union. The relatively modest population of 5.5 million people lives in the eighth largest country on the continent.

61 Big name in tractors : DEERE

John Deere invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. Prior to Deere’s invention, farmers used an iron or wooden plow that constantly had to be cleaned as rich soil stuck to its surfaces. The cast-steel plow was revolutionary as its smooth sides solved the problem of “stickiness”. The Deere company that John founded uses the slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere”, and has a leaping deer as its logo.

62 Ruckus : STIR

The word “ruckus” is used to mean “commotion”, and has been around since the late 1800s. “Ruckus” is possibly a melding of the words “ruction” and “rumpus”.

63 Grandson of Adam : ENOS

Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve, and nephew of Cain and Abel. According to the ancient Jewish work called the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his own sister Noam.

65 Benjamin who wrote “The Tao of Pooh” : HOFF

Author Benjamin Hoff is best known for his 1982 book “The Tao of Pooh”, and a successor title published in 1992 called “The Te of Piglet”. Both books use the “Winnie-the-Pooh” stories to illustrate Taoist beliefs.

Down

2 Dublin’s land, to Dubliners : EIRE

“Éire” is the Irish name for Ireland, coming from “Ériu”. Ériu was the matron goddess of Ireland in Irish mythology.

The city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is known as “Baile Átha Cliath” in Irish (“town of the hurdled ford”). The English name “Dublin” is an anglicized form of the older Irish name for the city “Dubh Linn”, meaning “black pool”.

4 Matthew ___ of “The Americans” : RHYS

Welsh actor Matthew Rhys got his break playing Kevin Walker on the TV drama “Brothers & Sisters” from 2006 to 2011. He gained even further recognition playing the co-lead role of Philip Jennings in the excellent spy drama series “The Americans” that ran from 2013 to 2018. Rhys started a relationship with his co-star in “The Americans”, Keri Russell, in 2014. The couple had a child together in 2016, and refer to each other as husband and wife.

5 I, on the periodic table : IODINE

The chemical element iodine is a halogen (as are fluorine, chlorine and bromine) and has the symbol “I”. At room temperature, iodine is a purple-black solid. With heat, it melts into violet liquid, and at high temperatures a violet gas. The name “iodine” comes from the Greek “ioeides” meaning “violet-colored”.

8 Road goo : TAR

The terms “tarmac” and “macadam” are short for “tarmacadam”. In the 1800s, Scotsman John Loudon McAdam developed a style of road known as “macadam”. Macadam had a top-layer of crushed stone and gravel laid over larger stones. The macadam also had a convex cross-section so that water tended to drain to the sides. In 1901, a significant improvement was made by English engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley who introduced tar into the macadam, improving the resistance to water damage and practically eliminating dust. The “tar-penetration macadam” is the basis of what we now call “tarmac”.

9 What an Uno player has in hand upon crying “Uno!” : ONE CARD

The classic card game Uno now comes in several versions. Uno ColorAdd allows people with color blindness to play, and there is also a Braille version that allows blind and sighted friends to play together.

11 Helmut ___, 1980s-’90s German chancellor : KOHL

Helmut Kohl was Chancellor of West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down leading to German reunification. Kohl was Chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990, and Chancellor of Germany from 1990 to 1998. That made Kohl the longest serving Chancellor since Otto von Bismarck.

12 Cookie often dipped in milk : OREO

There is an “official” competition involving Oreo cookies, in case anyone is interested in participating. A competitor has to take several steps to finish an OREO Lick Race:

1. Twist open the cookie.
2. Lick each half clean of creme.
3. Show the clean cookie halves to the fellow competitors.
4. Dunk the cookie halves in a glass of milk.
5. Eat the cookie halves.
6. Drink the milk.
7. Ready, set, go …

13 ___ Drescher, leader of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike : FRAN

Fran Drescher’s real name is Francine Jane Drescher. She is a comedian and comic actress best known for playing Fran Fine on the sitcom “The Nanny”. Fran was born in Queens, New York (go figure!). Her big break came with a small role, but in a huge movie. You might recall in “Saturday Night Fever” that John Travolta was asked by a pretty dancer, “Are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?” Well, that young lady was Fran Drescher.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was formed back in 1933, at a time when Hollywood stars were really being exploited by the big movie studios, especially the younger and less inexperienced performers. Early supporters of the Guild included famous names like Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney (you could imagine them in a negotiation!). Past presidents of SAG were also big names, such as Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Reagan, Howard Keel, Charlton Heston, Ed Asner, Melissa Gilbert. SAG merged with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) in 2012 to create SAG-AFTRA. One of the more notable presidents of SAG-AFTRA was elected in 2021: Fran Drescher.

23 “Beam me up, ___!” (“Star Trek” misquotation) : SCOTTY

The catchphrase “Beam me up, Scotty” has its origins in the TV show “Star Trek”. Supposedly, it is a line that was often spoken by Captain Kirk to the Starship Enterprise’s Chief Engineer Mr. Scott. All that said, the line was never ever spoken on the show, nor in any of the spinoff movies.

24 Birds in a gaggle : GEESE

A collection of geese is referred to as a “gaggle” when on the ground. When geese are in V-formation in flight, they are referred to collectively as a “skein”.

25 Multivitamin stat, for short : RDA

Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII, and were replaced by Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs) in 1997.

26 Cakewalk : SNAP

The Cakewalk is a dance that originated in the African-American community from the “Prize Walk”, in the days of slavery. The Prize Walk was a procession in which couples “walked” with as much style as possible, with the intent of winning the big prize, a large cake. Our term “cakewalk”, meaning something easily accomplished, derives from this tradition. The expression “take the cake” has the same etymology.

29 Back, to a boatswain : AFT

A boatswain works on the deck of a boat. He or she is unlicensed, and so is not involved in the navigation or handling of the vessel, and instead is in charge of the other unlicensed workers on the deck. “Boatswain” is pronounced “bosun” and this phonetic spelling is often used interchangeably with “boatswain”. The contraction “bo’s’n” is also very popular.

33 What fireflies and happy faces do : GLOW

Some living organisms are able to produce light, a phenomenon known as “bioluminescence”. A famous example on land is the firefly, with its glowing tail.

36 Mindy of “The Mindy Project” : KALING

“The Mindy Project” is a Fox sitcom that stars and was created by Mindy Kaling. Mindy plays an obstetrician/gynecologist, a role that was inspired by her own mother who is an OB/GYN.

38 Hot dog topping : RELISH

A hot dog is a sausage served in a split roll. The term “hot dog” dates back to the 19th-century and is thought to reflect a commonly-held opinion that the sausages contained dog meat.

41 Partner of a crossed “t” : DOTTED “I”

A tittle is a small diacritical mark used in writing. Examples are the cedilla and tilde used in some languages, and the dot over the lowercase letters i and j in English.

42 Big name in cassette tapes, once : MEMOREX

Memorex was a brand of data storage products. It started out in 1961 in Silicon Valley as a company making computer tapes, eventually adding storage disks and other media to its portfolio of products. A famous advertising campaign featured singer Ella Fitzgerald singing a note that shattered a glass. A recording of that note was then played, which also shattered the glass. The tag line to the ad became very famous: “Is it live, or is it Memorex?”

45 South American grasslands : LLANOS

“Llano” is a Spanish word meaning “plain, flat region”. The Llanos is a vast grassland in the northwest of South America.

51 Tehran’s land : IRAN

Tehran is the capital of Iran and is the largest city in the Middle East, with a population of about 8.5 million. Iran has been around a really long time and Tehran is actually the country’s 31st national capital.

52 Roman senator who insisted “Carthage must be destroyed” : CATO

Cato the Elder was a Roman statesman, known historically as “the elder” in order to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger. Cato the Elder’s ultimate position within Roman society was that of Censor, making him responsible for maintaining the census, and for supervising public morality. Famously, Cato made several forceful speeches in which he urged the Roman Republic to do battle with her ancient rival Carthage. He ended almost all of his speeches with the phrase “Carthage must be destroyed”.

56 What you might say as you crack open a beer : TGIF

“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF)

57 Medieval worker : SERF

A serf was a member of the lowest feudal class, someone attached to land owned by a lord. “Serf” comes from the Latin “servus”, meaning “slave”.

59 Massive ref. : OED

The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was published in installments between 1884 and 1928. It was edited by James Murray and a team of lexicographers and linguists, who worked to collect and document the history and usage of English words from the earliest known written sources.