0103-24 NY Times Crossword 3 Jan 24, Wednesday

Bill’s time: 6m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Teacher of the Talmud : RABBI

The Talmud is a collection of writings by thousands of rabbis and is a central text in Rabbinic Judaism, second only to the Torah.

10 Cousin of a picnic, informally : BBQ

It is believed that our word “barbecue” (BBQ) comes from the Taíno people of the Caribbean in whose language “barbacoa” means “sacred fire pit”.

14 Home of Bach Ma Temple : HANOI

Hanoi (“Hà Nội” in Vietnamese) was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state. Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is located in the delta of the Red River, and is just over 50 miles from the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.

15 Nickname for Missouri’s second-largest city, with “the” : … LOU

The city of St. Louis, Missouri was settled by French explorers in 1763. Sitting on the Mississippi River, it grew into a very busy port. By the 1850s, it was the second busiest port in the country, with only New York moving more freight. St. Louis was named for Louis IX of France. Louis was canonized in 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII, and was the only French king to be declared a saint.

19 Start of a simple selection process : EENY …

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch the tiger/monkey/baby by the toe.
If it hollers/screams let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, you are it!

20 Eartha who sang “I Want to Be Evil” : KITT

Eartha Kitt really did have a unique voice and singing style. Her rendition of “Santa Baby” has to be one of the most distinctive and memorable recordings in the popular repertoire. Some of you will no doubt remember Eartha playing Catwoman on the final series of the 1960s TV show “Batman”.

23 Janet’s “not-a-robot” boyfriend on “The Good Place” : DEREK

“The Good Place” is a fantasy-comedy TV show about a woman who wakes up in the afterlife. The woman is played by Kristen Bell, and the afterlife is a heaven-like utopia designed by Michael, an immortal architect portrayed by Ted Danson. I haven’t seen this one …

29 International intelligence organization? : MENSA

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

35 Apple ___ : INC

Apple Computers was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company incorporated the following year, but without Wayne. He sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak, for $800 …

50 Musical instrument also called a chac-chac : MARACA

Maracas are percussion instruments that are native to Latin America. They are constructed from dried shells, like those of a coconut, to which handles are attached. The shells are filled with dried seeds or beans, and played by shaking.

53 TV’s Ted Lasso, e.g. : COACH

“Ted Lasso” is a marvelous sports-comedy TV show about an American college football coach who moves to the UK to manage an English soccer team. The title character is played very admirably by Jason Sudeikis. Sudeikis first played Lasso in a series of TV commercials commissioned to promote NBC’s coverage of the British Premier League. The character became so popular that he inspired a whole TV series. Great stuff, and highly recommended …

57 Eton students, traditionally : BOYS

Eton College near Windsor in the south of England was founded way back in 1440 by King Henry VI. Originally known as “The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor”, the school was intended to provide free education to poor boys. Free education today at Eton? Not so much …

60 .png alternative : .JPG

The JPEG image file format (also “.jpg”) was created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), hence the name.

61 Sanctuary like Yellowstone : NATURE RESERVE

Yellowstone was the first National Park to be established in the world when it was designated as such by President Grant in 1872. What a great tradition it started! The American National Parks are truly a treasure …

Down

1 Broccoli ___ : RABE

Broccoli rabe is perhaps better known as “rapini”, and is a vegetable often used in Mediterranean cuisines. It is quite delicious sauteed with garlic …

2 It’s vera soothing! : ALOE

Aloe vera has a number of alternate names that are descriptive of its efficacy as a medicine. ancient Egyptians knew it as the plant of immortality, and Native Americans called it the wand of heaven.

3 Rural shindig : BARN DANCE

“Shindig” is such a lovely word, I think. It describes a party that usually includes some dancing. Although its origin isn’t really clear, the term perhaps comes from “shinty”, a Scottish game that’s similar to field hockey.

4 Edy’s competitor : BREYERS

Breyers ice cream was introduced by William A. Breyer in 1866, in Philadelphia. Always known for using all-natural ingredients, Breyers products made in recent years contain more and more food additives in an attempt to cut costs in a competitive market. In fact, most Breyers products can’t even be labeled “ice cream” anymore as they don’t contain enough milk and cream and so are labeled “frozen dairy dessert” instead.

6 Power unit : WATT

The watt (W) and the volt-ampere (VA) are equivalent units of power, although not the same thing. Both are measures of electrical power but watts refer to “real power” and volt-amperes refer to “apparent power”. That’s all I know!

9 Escort of a sort : GIGOLO

In French, a “gigole” is a “dancing girl, prostitute”. The male form of the word, “gigolo”, came into use in English in the 1920s.

10 Apathetic : BLASE

“Blasé”, meaning “nonchalant, bored from overindulgence” comes from French, in which language it can mean “satiated”.

12 Dungeons & Dragons mission : QUEST

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D, DnD) is a complex role-playing game (RPG) introduced in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules Incorporated (TSR). Dungeons & Dragons was probably the first of the modern role-playing games to be developed, and the most successful. It is still played by lots of people today, including my youngest son …

14 Sort of poem not usually pluralized by adding an -s : HAIKU

A haiku is a very elegant form of Japanese verse. When writing a haiku in English we tend to impose the rule that the verse must contain 17 syllables. This restriction comes from the rule in Japanese that the verse must contain 17 sound units called “moras”, but moras and syllables aren’t the same thing. Sadly, the difference is not so clear to me. Here’s an example of a Haiku:

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator

27 Tours de force : COUPS

A tour de force (plural “tours de force”) is a great display of strength or skill. “Tour de force” is French, in which language it has the same meaning.

29 Customizable Nintendo avatar : MII

Nintendo introduced customizable avatars for the company’s video game consoles starting in 1997. The first customizable avatars for the Wii system were introduced in 2006, and were given the inventive name “Miis”.

32 1800s steam-powered locomotive : IRON HORSE

The term “iron horse” started appearing in Victorian times, describing those new-fangled steam-driven trains and trams that left horse-drawn vehicles in their dust. The term was especially popular in North America, where it described steam locomotives.

34 Good ___ (kind soul) : EGG

A person might be described as a “good egg” or “bad egg”. There doesn’t seem to be a clear explanation for how “egg” came to mean “person”. One suggestion is that the term reflects the resemblance between the shape of the human head and the shape of an egg.

37 ___ Klein, author of “Why We’re Polarized” : EZRA

Ezra Klein is a journalist and blogger who writes for “The Washington Post”, “Bloomberg” and “MSNBC”. Klein’s contribution at “The Washington Post” is the most-read blog that the paper publishes.

45 Subject of a centuries-old theatrical superstition : MACBETH

There is a superstition in the theatrical world that uttering the name “Macbeth” in a theater will bring disaster of some sort. To avoid this, the euphemism “the Scottish Play” is used instead.

50 Mundane employment, derisively : MCJOB

“McJob” is a slang term for a low-paying position that offers little chance for advancement. The term comes from front-line jobs at a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant.

58 Part of Y.S.L. : YVES

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

62 Québécois confidant : AMI

In French, an “ami” (friend) is the opposite of an “adversaire” (adversary).

A “Québécois” is someone from Quebec.