1216-23 NY Times Crossword 16 Dec 23, Saturday

Bill’s time: 20m 19s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 Name found forward and backward in “Miranda rights” : IRA

The Miranda warning is given by US police officers to suspects in order to ensure that any statements made by the suspect can be used at trial. The warning became part of police procedure after a 1966 Supreme Court decision in the case of Miranda v. Arizona. The crux of the court’s decision was that statements made by a suspect during interrogation were only admissible at trial if the defendant was informed of his or her right to consult an attorney, and right to remain silent. The “Miranda” in the case was Ernesto Miranda, who was arrested by the Phoenix PD on suspicion of kidnapping and rape. The Supreme Court decision set aside Miranda’s conviction as his confession was deemed inadmissible. Miranda was rearrested and retried. At the second trial he was convicted without the use of the contested confession.

15 Motion pictures? : OPTICAL ART

Op art is also known as optical art, and puts optical illusions to great effect.

17 Film unlikely to have a costume designer : PORNO

The word “pornography” comes from the Greek “pornographos” meaning “writing of prostitutes”.

21 New LinkedIn members, perhaps : GRADS

LinkedIn is a website used by professionals wishing to network with other professionals. From what I’ve heard, LinkedIn is mainly used by folks looking for a job, and other folks looking for suitable candidates to hire.

23 Tiny type size : AGATE

In the world of typography, agate is a unit of measure. One agate is equal to 5.5 points, or about one quarter of an inch. It is generally the smallest type size used in newspapers, and is generally restricted to advertisements and market reports in financial publications.

24 One side in a noted family feud : CAPULETS

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is all about the love between the two title characters, which is forbidden as the pair come from two families who are sworn enemies. Early in the play, Romeo (a Montague) sneaks into a masquerade ball being held by the Capulets in the hope of meeting a Capulet girl named Rosaline. Instead, he meets and falls for Juliet, also a Capulet. Tragedy ensues …

26 First band to surpass one billion streams on Spotify (2014) : COLDPLAY

Coldplay is a rock band that was formed in London in 1996 by Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland. Chris Martin was married to the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow for twelve years.

Spotify is a popular music-streaming service that was launched in Sweden in 2008.

27 ___ sauce : SOY

Soy sauce is made by fermenting soybeans with a mold in the presence of water and salt. Charming …

29 Alternative to cooking oil : PAM

PAM cooking spray was introduced in 1961 by Leon Rubin and Arthur Meyerhoff. The name “PAM” is an acronym … standing for “Product of Arthur Meyerhoff”. Who’d a thunk it …?

34 Surfing hazards : RIPTIDES

Riptides are stretches of turbulent water caused by the meeting of different currents in the ocean.

35 Singer Bobby with a brave-sounding last name : DARIN

Singer Bobby Darin had a short but eventful life. Darin started in show business as a songwriter for Connie Francis. He then made it big as a performer with huge hits like “Splish Splash”, “Dream Lover”, “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea”. He was active politically as a supporter of Robert Kennedy, and was present in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when Kennedy was assassinated. Soon after, Darin found out that the people he thought were his parents, were in fact his grandparents. The woman he knew as his older sister was in fact his mother. Darin died following a heart operation at only 37 years old.

38 Companies : FIRMS

A business is sometimes called a firm. “Firm” comes into English from Latin via the Italian “firma” meaning signature. The concept is that business transactions are confirmed, made firm, by applying a signature.

39 One subject to a religious ban from the 1521 Edict of Worms : LUTHERAN

Lutheranism is the third largest branch of Protestant Christianity, after the Pentecostal and Anglican traditions. The Lutheran Church’s split with the Catholic Church started with Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517.

A diet was a general assembly of the estates of the former Holy Roman Empire. The most famous of these assemblies was the Diet of Worms, a 16th-century meeting that took place in the small town of Worms on the Rhine River in Germany. The main item on the agenda was discussion of the 95 theses of Martin Luther. Luther was summoned to the meeting, and there found to be guilty of heresy and so was subsequently excommunicated by the Pope.

40 Savoury pies : PASTIES

A pasty is a meat pie, one traditionally filled with beef, potato, rutabaga (swede) and onion. The most famous variety of the pie is the Cornish pasty sold in Cornwall in England. Cornish miners brought the recipe with them as they emigrated, so various versions are found around the world. I always get a pasty when I am in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, for example.

42 Buenos ___ : AIRES

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, and is located on the estuary of the Ria de la Plata. As it is a port city, the people of Buenos Aires are known as porteños (“people of the port”). The name “Buenos Aires” can be translated from Spanish as “fair winds”.

43 “Be prepared” : SCOUT MOTTO

As every little boy (of my era) knows, the Scouting movement was founded by Lord Baden-Powell, in 1907. He also founded the Girl Guide and Girl Scout organization in 1910, along with this sister Agnes Baden-Powell. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) soon followed, also in 1910. The Boy Scouts motto is “Be Prepared”.

45 World Wildlife Fund and others, in brief : NGOS

Non-governmental organization (NGO)

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was founded in 1961. It’s mission is …

… to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Down

1 Trash hauler : SCOW

A scow is a flat-bottomed boat with squared-off ends that’s often used for transportation, usually pushed or pulled by a barge. Often, a scow can be seen carrying junk or garbage.

2 Musical effect that comes from the Italian for “to play on a harp” : ARPEGGIO

An arpeggio is a technique in which the notes of a chord are played in sequence, one after the other. “Arpeggio” can be translated from Italian as “broken chord”

6 Audacious self-assurance : BRASS

Someone described as brazen might also be described as shameless. The term “brazen” comes from the Middle English “brasen” meaning “made of brass”. The suggestion is that a shameless person has a hardened, brass-like face. And so, the similar-meaning word “brassy” has the same etymology.

8 Tiny messenger : RNA

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA. An added complication is that small changes in the sequence of amino acids specified by DNA sometimes takes place in a process known as RNA editing. This RNA editing occurs after the nucleotide sequence has been transcribed from DNA, but before it is translated into protein.

10 Sentence with a lot of commas, perhaps : RUN-ON

A “run-on sentence” is one in which two separate clauses are linked without appropriate conjugation. Two examples would be:

Today’s crossword is really tough I can’t finish.
Today’s crossword is really tough, I can’t finish.

More acceptable sentences would be:

Today’s crossword is really tough. I can’t finish.
Today’s crossword is really tough; I can’t finish.
Today’s crossword is really tough, so I can’t finish.

11 They’re impulsive : AXONS

A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron. The long nerve fiber that conducts signals away from the neuron is known as the axon. The axon is surrounded by a myelin sheath, which acts as an electrical insulator and which increases the rate the impulses pass along the axon.

14 Courteous behavior, formally : COMITY

“Comity” is an atmosphere of social harmony and mutual respect. The term derives from the Latin “comitas” meaning “courtesy”.

22 Its moves include Enchufla and Sombrero steps : SALSA DANCE

The genre of music called salsa is a modern interpretation of various Cuban traditional music styles.

24 Events with matadores : CORRIDAS

Spanish bullfighting is known locally as “corrida de toros”, literally “race of bulls”.

The term “torero” is used to describe all bullfighters. The term “matador” is reserved for the bullfighter whose job is to make the final kill. Aptly enough, “matador” is Spanish for “killer”.

26 Hades vis-à-vis Persephone : CAPTOR

In Greek mythology, Persephone was made queen of the underworld after having been abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld.

28 Thickets : COPSES

A copse is a small stand of trees. The term “copse” originally applied to a small thicket that was specifically grown for cutting.

30 Fragrant brew used in traditional medicine : ANISE TEA

The essential oil in the anise plant is anethole. Anethole has a licorice-like flavor, and is used extensively in cooking and to flavor several distilled alcoholic drinks.

32 Church gifts : TITHES

Traditionally, a tithe is a payment of one tenth of a person’s annual income and is usually given to a church. Tithing is a practice taught in many traditions, and according to a 2002 survey, about 3% of American adults donate 10% or more of their income to a church.

34 Custom car built with old parts and a shabby aesthetic : RAT ROD

A custom-assembled car, made with cheap or cast-off parts, is known as a rat rod (a play on “hot rod”).

A hot rod is an American car that has been modified for speed by installing a larger than normal engine. A street rod is generally a more comfortable type of hot rod, with the emphasis less on the engine and more on custom paint jobs and interiors. By definition, a street rod must be based on an automobile design that originated prior to 1949.

36 Cut used for London broil, traditionally : FLANK

London broil is purely an American dish, and has nothing to do with London in England. That said, the origin of the same seems unclear. London Broil is usually grilled, marinated flank steak that is cut into thin slices. It’s important to cut across the grain, in order to render tender a relatively tough cut of meat.

37 Classic video game character portrayed by John Leguizamo (1993) : LUIGI

John Leguizamo is an actor whose big break came playing Luigi, one the Mario brothers in the 1993 film “Super Mario Bros.” Leguizamo was born in Bogotá, Colombia, but moved to the US with his family when he was four years old.

38 Ruling in Islamic law : FATWA

In the Muslim tradition, a fatwā is a religious opinion issued by an Islamic scholar (a “mufti”) on a matter of Islamic law. There is a common misconception that a fatwā is a death sentence imposed on a person, and although such a drastic directive is a possible component of the opinion, it is a very rare occurrence.