0321-24 NY Times Crossword 21 Mar 24, Thursday

Bill’s time: 13m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16 Something that can be spun : TALE

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.

19 “Laugh-In” comedian Johnson : ARTE

Arte Johnson, as well as being a frequent judge on “The Gong Show”, played the German soldier on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. Johnson’s character’s famous catchphrase was, “Very interesting, but …”

“Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” was originally recorded as a one-off special for NBC in 1967, but it was so successful that it was brought back as a series to replace the waning spy show “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” Personally, I loved both shows!

24 Part of your body that smells the most? : NOSTRIL

The nostrils are also known as the nares (singular “naris”).

27 Repeated sound that can be “cured” : HIC

Hiccups is a series of forced intakes of breath, the result of spasms in the muscles of the chest and throat. The most common cause of hiccups is some sort of irritation to the stomach or esophagus, usually taking place while eating. Apparently, we don’t really understand the reason why we hiccup, but a favored suggestion is that it may be something that we inherited from our ancestors of long ago who didn’t stand up quite as straight as we do. Gravity helps us swallow our food, but animals who walk on all fours don’t have that advantage as the food moves horizontally down the throat and into the stomach. Such beasts are in greater need of an involuntary hiccup should some food get stuck. Just a theory …

32 Galley gear : OARS

Galleys were large medieval ships found mainly in the Mediterranean. They were propelled by a combination of sails and oars.

35 Detroit River’s terminus : ERIE

The Detroit River runs just under 30 miles from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie, and so technically might be referred to as a strait. In fact, the waterway’s original name in French was “Rivière du Détroit”, which translates as “River of the Strait”.

40 Classic sports car feature : T-TOP

A T-top is a car roof that has removable panels on either side of a rigid bar that runs down the center of the vehicle above the driver.

43 Front of the bus? : OMNI-

We use the term “bus” for a mode of transportation as it is an abbreviated form of the original “omnibus”. We imported “omnibus” via French from Latin, in which language it means “for all”. The idea is that an omnibus is a carriage “for all”.

48 Genesis antagonist : SERPENT

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them from becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

51 Norse war god : TYR

Týr was the Norse god of single combat, victory and heroic glory. According to legend, Týr showed great courage when he and his fellow gods were attempting to shackle the wolf monster called Fenrir. The wolf was tricked into accepting bindings that were actually magical ribbons of great strength. Fenrir submitted to the bonds because Týr agreed to place his hand in the wolf’s mouth, as a gesture of assurance that the ribbon was harmless. When Fenrir recognized the deceit, he bit off Týr’s hand. As a result, the god Týr is almost always depicted with only one hand.

53 Opera that premiered in Cairo : AIDA

“Aida” is a celebrated opera by Giuseppe Verdi that is based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. Mariette also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first staged in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline, Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radamès is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then complications arise!

58 Genre for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones : SKA

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones is a ska punk band that formed in 1983 in Boston. The band hosts an annual music festival in Boston around Christmas that is known as the Hometown Throwdown. The band’s frontman, Dicky Barrett, was the announcer for the late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from 2004 until 2022.

59 Roman slate : TABULA

Tabula rasa (plural “tabulae rasae”) is the idea that people are born with a “blank, clean slate”, and that knowledge comes from experience and perception. “Tabula rasa” translates literally from Latin as “scraped tablet”.

62 Deals a mighty blow : SMITES

To smite is to strike with a firm blow. The term “smite” can also mean “strike down and slay”.

Down

1 Martin Sheen’s real first name : RAMON

“Martin Sheen” is the stage name of actor Ramón Estévez. Despite all of his great performances, Sheen has never even been nominated for an Academy Award. Isn’t that something? I thought he was outstanding in his starring role in television’s “The West Wing”.

2 Kind of organic acid : AMINO

There are 20 different types of amino acids that make up proteins. However, only 11 of them can be synthesized by the human body, while the remaining nine essential amino acids must be obtained from food sources.

5 2002 George Clooney film set in a space station : SOLARIS

“Solaris” is a 2002 film adaptation of a 1961 novel of the same name by Polish author Stanislaw Lem. The movie stars George Clooney as a clinical psychologist on a solo mission from Earth to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris.

Actor George Clooney’s breakthrough role was playing Dr. Doug Ross on TV’s “ER”, although before that he had a fairly regular role on the sitcom “Roseanne”. George’s aunt was the singer and actress Rosemary Clooney.

6 “Ooh-la-la!” : TRES CHIC!

“Très chic” is a French term meaning “very stylish”.

9 Group on Louisiana’s state flag : PELICANS

The official nickname of Louisiana is the Pelican State, but it is also known as the Bayou State, the Child of Mississippi, the Creole State, the Sportsman’s Paradise and the Sugar State.

10 Longtime Los Angeles sports venue : STAPLES CENTER

The Crypto.com Arena (formerly “Staples Center”) is a sports arena in Los Angeles that opened in 1999. It is home to several sporting franchises, including the LA Lakers and LA Clippers NBA teams, the LA Sparks WNBA team and the LA Kings hockey team.

12 Second-highest of four : ALTO

The voice types soprano, alto, tenor and bass can be abbreviated to the initialism “SATB”.

18 Malcolm’s dad on 2000s TV : HAL

Actor Bryan Cranston is best known today for playing Walter White in the crime drama “Breaking Bad”. Prior to joining that incredibly successful show, Cranston played Hal in the sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle”. He also had a recurring role on “Seinfeld” from 1994 to 1997, as Jerry’s dentist Dr. Tim Whatley.

25 1970s-’80s sitcom about a trio of zany roommates : THREE’S COMPANY

The tremendously successful US sitcom “Three’s Company” ran from 1977 to 1984. The show was actually a remake of an equally successful British sitcom called “Man About the House”. I must, I was a fan of both shows. The American show started its run with three roommates, played by Joyce DeWitt, Suzanne Somers and John Ritter. The trio lived in an apartment building owned by characters Stanley and Helen Roper. The Ropers were eventually replaced by landlord Ralph Furley, played by the marvelous Don Knotts.

28 Paleontology : fossils :: speleology : ___ : CAVES

“Speleology” is the scientific study of caves, coming from “spelaeum”, the Latin for “cave”.

30 Semimonthly tide : NEAP

Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

33 Line from Nike : AIR JORDAN

Air Jordan is a Nike brand of shoe (and other apparel) endorsed by NBA great Michael Jordan. The silhouette of a basketball player that features on Air Jordans is known as the “Jumpman” logo.

36 Quality of many episodes of “The Twilight Zone” : EERINESS

The iconic television series “The Twilight Zone” first aired in 1959 and then ran for 156 episodes before being pulled in 1964. “The Twilight Zone” was revived for four years in the late eighties, and was also spun-off into a movie by Steven Spielberg in 1983.

39 Fantasy character? : RUNE

A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

40 Iconic painting housed at Oslo’s Nasjonalmuseet : THE SCREAM

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian expressionist, and most famous for his painting “The Scream”, painted in 1893. What a wonderful work that is, a true representation of expressionism. The Munch Museum in Oslo is dedicated to his work and life. In 2004, two of Munch’s paintings, “The Scream” and “Madonna”, were stolen from the Munch Museum by armed robbers who subdued the museum guards. The paintings were missing for two years, but recovered in 2006.

42 Dead spots? : CRYPTS

A crypt is a chamber that is located partially or totally underground. The term “crypt” comes from the Greek “kryptos” meaning “hidden”.

46 Mathematician George known for his work on logic gates : BOOLE

Boolean logic is a logic system used in computers. The system takes its name from the man who devised it in 1854, George Boole. Boolean logic is used by many Internet search engines. Using Boolean logic in a search you can combine words into one search term “like this” by using quotation marks. You can also search for pages that contain “term one” but not “term two” by searching for “term one” – “term two”.

47 Stone and others : EMMAS

Actress Emma Stone is from Scottsdale, Arizona. Shereally came to prominence with her performance in the 2010 high school movie called “Easy A”, and won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 2016 movie “La La Land”. Now one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Stone values her privacy and works hard to maintain a low profile. Good for her, I say …

48 Herb in saltimbocca : SAGE

Saltimbocca is a dish from southern Europe made of veal topped with prosciutto and sage, and then marinated in perhaps wine. The name “saltimbocca” is Italian for “jump in the mouth”.

49 St. Patrick’s land : EIRE

There is a fair amount known about Saint Patrick, some of which comes from two letters written in his own hand. St. Patrick lived in the fifth century, but was not born in Ireland. He was first brought to Ireland at about 16 years of age from his native Britain, by Irish raiders who made him a slave for six years. Patrick managed to escape and returned to his homeland where he studied and entered the Church. He went back to Ireland as a bishop and a missionary and there lived out the rest of his life. There seems to be good evidence that he died on March 17th (now celebrated annually as Saint Patrick’s Day), although the year is less clear. The stories about shamrock and snakes, I am afraid they are the stuff of legend.