0523-24 NY Times Crossword 23 May 24, Thursday

Bill’s time: 22m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Many a download : PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF)

4 Rugby equivalent of a touchdown : TRY

In the game of rugby, a try is scored by grounding the ball behind the opposition’s goal line. A try is similar to a touchdown in American football, although in rugby the ball must be manually placed on the ground by the player making the score. The term “try” is used as originally that act of touching the ball to the ground simply qualified a team for a “try at goal”, an opportunity to kick the ball at goal to make the score.

7 Who said of himself, in 1912, “No one candidate was ever elected ex-president by such a large majority” : TAFT

William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States, serving from 1909 to 1913. During his presidency, Taft became known for his love of dairy products and his interest in keeping a cow on the White House lawn to provide fresh milk. His cow was named Pauline Wayne and was a Holstein-Friesian breed that was given to Taft by a Wisconsin senator in 1910.

16 U.S. region with a weather pattern affectionately known as “Karl the Fog” : BAY AREA

Acceptable nicknames for the California city of San Francisco are “the City by the Bay” and “Fog City”. Locals usually just refer to it as “the City” and never, never “Frisco”.

17 Highlands hillside : BRAE

“Brae” is a lowland Scots word for the slope or brow of a hill.

18 What a king might sit on? : SLATS

That would be a king-size mattress.

20 ’80s celeb who aptly appeared on Letterman? : MR T

Mr. T’s real name is Laurence Tero Tureaud. Mr. T is famous for many things, including the wearing of excessive amounts of jewelry. He started this habit when he was working as a bouncer, wearing jewelry items that had been left behind by customers at a nightclub so that the items might be recognized and claimed. It was also as a bouncer that he adopted the name Mr. T. His catch phrase comes from the movie “Rocky III”. In the film, before he goes up against Rocky Balboa, Mr. T says, “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool”. He parlayed that line into quite a bit of success. He had a reality TV show called “I Pity the Fool”, and produced a motivational video called “Be Somebody … or Be Somebody’s Fool!”.

Talk show host and comedian David Letterman appeared as a host on late-night television starting in 1982. He had the longest late-night hosting career on US television, 33 years, even longer than the iconic Johnny Carson.

21 Asian capital on the Mediterranean coast : BEIRUT

Beirut is the capital city of Lebanon. After WWI, Lebanon was placed under administrative control of the French and Beirut flourished as a financial center in the Middle East and as a major world tourist destination. The city was devastated in the Lebanese Civil War that raged from 1975 to 1990, but reconstruction has restored the city to much of its former glory, making it a major cultural center once again.

23 Colony member : ANT

“Formicary” is another name for “ant nest”, and comes from the Latin “formica” meaning “ant”. The phrase “ant colony” describes the ants living in an ant nest. A formicarium is similar to an aquarium, and used to house an ant colony perhaps for study. The phrase “ant farm” is usually reserved for ant nests built by an ant colony in a formicarium.

24 Paul who directed “Bridesmaids” : FEIG

As a director, actor and filmmaker Paul Feig is known for his collaborations with actress and comedian Melissa McCarthy. Their joint projects include the films “Bridesmaids” (2011), “The Heat” (2013), “Spy” (2015) and “Ghostbusters” (2016).

“Bridesmaids” is a 2011 comedy movie co-written by and starring Kristen Wiig. I wasn’t crazy about this film until Chris O’Dowd turned up as a traffic cop. Wiig and O’Dowd were great together, I thought. Pity about the rest of the movie …

28 British unit of mass : TONNE

The tonne, also known as a metric ton, is equivalent to 1,000 kg (or 2,205 lb). The tonne isn’t an official unit of mass in the metric system, but it is used a lot.

30 Tiniest change : DIMES

The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.

32 Hairstyle worn by Janet Jackson in the 1993 film “Poetic Justice,” with a hint to entering four pairs of answers in this puzzle : BOX BRAIDS

Janet Jackson is the youngest of the famed Jackson family of musicians. She is a very successful musical artist (she has sold over 100 million records!) but also devotes a lot of time to acting. When she was quite young she appeared on the TV show “Fame”, and in 1993 had her first starring role in a film, namely “Poetic Justice”. She followed that up with a part in “Nutty Professor II” playing opposite Eddie Murphy. As usual, she got to sing on the movie’s soundtrack and produced a number one with the song “Doesn’t Really Matter”. Then there was the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, and a wardrobe malfunction …

38 Govt. agency with the motto “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity” : FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was set up in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), with the name changing in 1935. The Bureau was set up at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt was largely moved to do so after the 1901 assassination of President McKinley, as there was a perception that anarchists were threatening law and order. The FBI’s motto uses the organization’s initialism, and is “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity”.

41 This is the life! : BIOTA

The biota of a region is the total collection of flora and fauna found there.

44 Buffet dispensers : URNS

Our word “buffet” comes from the French “bufet” meaning “bench, sideboard”. So, a buffet is a meal served from a “bufet”.

45 Texter’s “If you ask me …” : IMO …

In my opinion (IMO)

48 Heart test inits. : ECG

An EKG measures the electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred, as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

51 “Still I ___” (Maya Angelou poem) : RISE

“And Still I Rise” is a 1978 volume of poetry by Maya Angelou. The collection’s title poem is “Still I Rise”, which ends with:

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

54 Ambassador’s aide : ATTACHE

“Attaché” is a French term which literally means “attached”, and is used for a person who is assigned to the administrative staff of some agency or other service. The term is most recognized as it applies to someone assigned to an Ambassador’s staff at an embassy. The word was extended to “attaché case” at the beginning of the twentieth century, meaning a leather case used for carrying papers. I guess that an attaché case might be “attached” to an attaché at an embassy …

58 Ropes in : LASSOES

Our English word “lasso” comes from the Spanish “lazo”, and ultimately from the Latin “laqueum” meaning “noose, snare”.

59 Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD

Established (“est.” or “estd.”)

In practical terms, a cornerstone is the first stone set during the construction of a building with a masonry foundation. Also known as the foundation stone or setting stone, the cornerstone determines the final position of the final structure, as all other stones are laid with reference to that first stone. For some time, we’ve also used the term “cornerstone” in a ceremonial sense. A ceremonial cornerstone is set in a prominent position at the corner of a wall, and usually bears significant information such as date of construction and names of the architect and builder.

61 Show that Cicely Tyson became the first Black woman to host in ’79 : SNL

Cicely Tyson was an actress whose career really took off after her performance in the 1972 film “Sounder”, for which she received an Oscar nomination. In the outstanding mini-series “Roots”, she played the role of Binta, Kunta Kinte’s mother back in his homeland of Gambia. More recently, she played Analease Keating’s mother on the show “How to Get Away with Murder”. Tyson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2016. Sadly, she passed away in 2021 at the age of 96 years.

Down

4 Western bloc since ’93 : THE EU

The European Union (EU) was established in 1993 when twelve European nations brought into effect the Treaty on European Union, usually referred to as the Maastricht Treaty. Those original members of the EU were the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Irish Republic, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

5 Member of an Australian “mob,” colloquially : ROO

A male kangaroo is known as a buck, jack or boomer. A female is called a jill, flyer or doe. A young kangaroo is a joey, and a group of kangaroos is a mob or troop.

6 Strong desires : YENS

The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium.

8 Director DuVernay : AVA

Ava DuVernay is a filmmaker who became the first African-American woman to win the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, a feat she achieved in 2012 for her feature film “Middle of Nowhere”. “Middle of Nowhere” tells the story of a woman who drops out of medical school to focus on her husband when he is sentenced to 8 years in prison. DuVernay also directed the 2014 film “Selma” about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

13 ___ James, ABC’s first Black “Bachelor” : MATT

“The Bachelor” is an American dating and relationship reality show that debuted in 2002. Its success resulted in several spin-offs including “The Bachelorette”, “Bachelor Pad”, “Bachelor in Paradise”, as well as spawning many international editions of the original “The Bachelor” format.

14 Nature-centric channel, familiarly : NAT GEO

The National Geographic Channel is jointly owned by Fox and the National Geographic Society, and was launched in 2001.

19 Light entertainment? : LASER SHOW

The term “laser” is an acronym standing for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”. It has been pointed out that a more precise name for laser technology is “light oscillation by stimulated emission of radiation”, but the resulting acronym isn’t quite so appealing, namely “loser”.

21 Amazon predator : BOA

Boa constrictors are members of the Boidae family of snakes, all of which are non-venomous. Interestingly, the female boa is always larger than the male.

22 Food brand with a rabbit mascot : TRIX

Trix is a corn-based breakfast cereal that has been around since 1954, produced by General Mills. Ads for the cereal featured Trix Rabbit, who would try hard to get hold of bowls of the cereal. He would always get caught though, and be admonished with, “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” With 46% sugar content, the rabbit probably wouldn’t have liked it anyway …

27 Iconic declaration from Bruce Wayne : I’M BATMAN

Bruce Wayne is the secret identity of Batman in the comic series created by DC Comics. The first name of Bruce was chosen as a homage to the Scottish king and heroic figure, Robert the Bruce. The family name was a nod to “Mad Anthony” Wayne, the US Army general and statesman who rose to prominence in the Revolutionary War.

28 Initialism before an online summary : TL;DR

Too long, didn’t read (TL;DR)

30 ___ Maar, muse of Pablo Picasso : DORA

Dora Maar was a famous French photographer. She became Pablo Picasso’s lover and muse, when she was 29 and Picasso 54. The pair had a complicated relationship that lasted nine years. Picasso painted a portrait of her called “Dora Maar with Cat” that was sold at auction in 2006 for almost $100 million, which at that time was the second-highest price ever paid for a painting.

32 “Come” and “Don’t come,” at a craps table : BETS

If one considers earlier versions of craps, then the game has been around for a very long time and probably dates back to the Crusades. It may have been derived from an old English game called “hazard” also played with two dice, which was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” from the 1300s. The American version of the game came here courtesy of the French and first set root in New Orleans where it was given the name “crapaud”, a French word meaning “toad”.

36 Ends of a homemade walkie-talkie : TIN CANS

We tend to call tin cans “cans” here in the US, but they’re usually called “tins” in Britain and Ireland.

The more formal name for a walkie-talkie is “handheld transceiver”. It is a handheld, two-way radio, and a device first developed for military use during WWII by Motorola (although others developed similar designs soon after). The first walkie-talkie was portable, but large. It was back-mounted and was carried around the battlefield by a radio officer.

39 Add evenly, as a marinade : BRUSH ON

Our verb “to marinate” comes from the French “mariner” meaning “to pickle in sea brine”, which in turn comes from the Latin “marinus” meaning “of the sea”. So, “marinade” is related to “marine”.

40 Platform whose exploitation is called “jailbreaking,” for short : IOS

iOS is what Apple now calls its mobile operating system. Previously, it was known as iPhone OS.

43 Some athletic sneakers : AVIAS

The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

45 Popular brews : IPAS

India pale ale (IPA)

47 Chichi : ARTSY

Someone or something described as chichi is showily trendy and pretentious. “Chichi” is a French noun meaning “airs, fuss”.

50 Disney lion voiced by Beyoncé : NALA

In “The Lion King”, Nala is a lioness and the childhood friend of Simba. By the end of the story, Nala and Simba become wedded. “The Lion King” is inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, with Simba representing the title character, and Nala representing Hamlet’s love interest Ophelia.

The 2019 movie “The Lion King” is a remake of the animated Disney film “The Lion King” released in 1994. Despite being categorized as a live-action movie, the film was entirely created using computer-generated imagery (CGI) and virtual reality technology. The technology used for the film was so advanced that it allowed the filmmakers to make a near-exact replica of the original 1994 animated film, down to the smallest details like the fur on the animals’ backs.

56 Subj. for a nonnative speaker : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).