0602-24 NY Times Crossword 2 Jun 24, Sunday

Bill’s time: 24m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Nike competitor : ASICS

ASICS is a Japanese company based in Kobe that produces athletic gear, including running shoes. The company name comes from the first letters of the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano”, which translates to “a healthy soul in a healthy body”.

19 Kiwi or cassowary : RATITE

Ratites are species of birds that cannot fly. They are different physiologically than other birds in that they have nowhere on their sternum to attach the muscles needed for flight.

The kiwi is an unusual bird in that it has a highly developed sense of smell and is the only one of our feathered friends with nostrils located at the tip of its long beak.

The cassowary is a large, flightless bird found mainly in New Guinea. One species of cassowary is the third tallest bird on the planet, second only to the ostrich and the emu.

22 “RUFFALO” and “TWAIN”? : QUOTATION MARKS (Mark Ruffalo & Mark Twain)

Mark Ruffalo is a Hollywood actor whose career really took off when he portrayed Bruce Banner/Hulk in a series of superhero films. He also gave an acclaimed performance in the 2014 biographical drama “Foxcather”, playing wrestler Dave Schultz. My personal favorite of Ruffalo’s performances is in the excellent 2015 film “Spotlight”.

“Samuel Langhorne Clemens” was the real name of the author Mark Twain. Twain wasn’t the only pen name used by Clemens. Early in his career he signed some sketches as “Josh”, and signed some humorous letters that he wrote under the name “Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass”. The name of Mark Twain came from the days when Clemens was working on riverboats on the Mississippi. A riverboatman would call out “by the mark twain” when measuring the depth of water. This meant that on the sounding line, according to the “mark” on the line, the depth was two (“twain”) fathoms, and so it was safe for the riverboat to proceed.

32 Support for a swing : TEE

A tee is a small device on which, say, a golf ball is placed before striking it. The term “tee” comes from the Scottish “teaz”, which described little heaps of sand used to elevate a golf ball for the purpose of getting a clean hit with a club.

33 HARLO and SMAR? : CUTOFF JEANS (Jean Harlow & Jean Smart)

Jean Harlow was a Hollywood actress who was at the height of her success in the nineteen-thirties, appearing in many hit movies for MGM. Sadly, Harlow died in 1937, when she was only 26 years old, from kidney failure that was probably the result of her suffering scarlet fever when she was 15. Harlow wrote a novel that took many years to get published. Called “Today is Tonight”, it first appeared on bookshelves in 1965.

Actress Jean Smart is best known perhaps for her comedic roles, for example Charlene Frazier on CBS’s “Designing Women”. She also did a great job playing the dramatic role of First Lady Martha Logan on Fox’s “24”, and the Governor of Hawaii in the remake by CBS of “Hawaii Five-0”. Smart was married to fellow actor Richard Gilliland, whom she met while he was playing J.D. Shackelford on “Designing Women”.

45 Norse goddess of death : HEL

Hel is a being from Norse Mythology who presides over a realm that is also called Hel. The underworld of Hel receives many of the dead, and the term “go to Hel” is used in Norse accounts to mean “to die”.

46 LORD and KEMP? : JUMPING JACKS (Jack Lord & Jack Kemp)

Actor Jack Lord was best known for portraying Steve McGarrett in the hit TV show “Hawaii Five-O” that ran for twelve years starting in 1968. In the big screen, Lord was the first actor to play CIA operative Felix Leiter in the James Bond films, doing so in 1962’ “Dr. No”. Lord was so closely associated with his role in “Hawaii Five-O” that cinematographers sometimes refer to a 50mm (Five-O) lens as a “Jack Lord”.

Jack Kemp was a candidate for US Vice President in the 1996 presidential election, on the Republican ticket with Bob Dole. Prior to politics, Kemp played football in the NFL, serving as quarterback and captain of the San Diego Chargers and the Buffalo Bills. Kemp passed away in 2009, and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.

53 Flavoring for ouzo or sambuca : ANISE

Ouzo is an apéritif from Greece that is colorless and flavored with anise. Ouzo is similar to French pastis and Italian sambuca. All three liqueurs turn cloudy with the addition of water.

Sambuca is an Italian liqueur that is flavored with anise. It is often served straight up with three coffee beans floating on the surface. The beans are said to represent health, happiness and prosperity. A more “saucy” representation for the beans is husband, wife and mistress.

59 Diego Rivera’s “The Allegory of California,” for one : MURAL

A mural is a painting that is applied directly to a wall or a ceiling. The term “mural” comes from the Latin “murus” meaning “wall”.

Diego Rivera was a prominent Mexican painter and muralist who is best known for his large-scale murals that depict social and political issues of his time. He was married four times, including to the artist Frida Kahlo, who was his third wife. Rivera was an outspoken communist and a strong supporter of the Soviet Union. This led to some controversy in his home country of Mexico, as well as in the US, where his political beliefs were viewed with suspicion during the Cold War. In 1933, Rivera was commissioned to paint a mural in the Rockefeller Center in New York City, but it was later destroyed due to its controversial political themes.

60 Metal coatings : PATINAS

Patina is the oxide film that develops on brass and similar metals over time. For example, it’s patina that makes Lady Liberty the lovely green color that she is.

63 *O’NEIL* and *ROGERS*? : STAR BUCKS (Buck O’Neil & Buck Rogers)

Buck O’Neil was a first baseman and manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, a team in the Negro American League. He was appointed as a coach with the Chicago Cubs in 1962, making him the first African-American coach in the major leagues.

Before Buck Rogers made it into the big time in the comic strip “Buck Roger in the 25th Century”, he was a character in a pair of short stories written by Philip Francis Nowlan, the first of which was “Armageddon 2419 A.D.” In the stories, he was known as Anthony Rogers, and was given a name change when he went into the comics.

66 CEEEEENA and LENNNNNON? : LONG JOHNS (John Cena & John Lennon)

The long underwear known as “long johns” were likely named for the heavyweight boxer John L. Sullivan.

John Cena is a professional wrestler turned rapper and actor. Although wrestling, rapping and “Cena-style” movies wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I have to admire Cena’s philanthropic record. He holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that benefits children with life-threatening medical conditions.

John Lennon grew up in a modest home in Liverpool in the northwest of England. Named “Mendips”, the house belonged to Lennon’s maternal aunt and her husband. Lennon was raised by his aunt from the age of five, after his mother was persuaded that the arrangement would be of benefit to young John. Mendips was purchased by Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono in 2002, who then handed it over to the National Trust, a British conservation organization.

74 Sole survivor in “Reservoir Dogs” : MR PINK

“Reservoir Dogs” was the first film directed by Quentin Tarantino and was released in 1992. I really don’t like Tarantino movies as I just cannot take all the violence. I checked the cast listing for “Reservoir Dogs” and it is a “men only” production. There are no named characters in the film played by women. All I can see is Linda Kaye who played “Shocked Woman”, and Suzanne Celeste who played “Shot Woman” …

79 Baseball award given to Shohei Ohtani in ’23 : AL MVP

Shohei Ohtani is a baseball pitcher from Japan who started his professional career in 2013 playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He was signed by the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, and in 2018 was named the American League’s Rookie of the Year.

82 Place for a stirrup : EAR

The middle ear is the portion of the ear immediately behind the eardrum. The middle ear contains three small bones called the ossicles, the three smallest bones in the human body. The ossicles’ job is to transmit sound from the outer ear to the inner ear. The shape of the bones gives rise to their names: the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus) and stirrup (stapes).

85 WILDERODDENBERRY? : SPLICED GENES (Gene Wilder & Gene Roddenberry)

Gene Wilder was an actor noted for his comedic roles. Wilder had a successful collaboration with Mel Brooks on three great films: “The Producers”, “Blazing Saddles” and my favorite, “Young Frankenstein”. For a while, Wilder dated his “Young Frankenstein” co-star Teri Garr, but he was married most famously to “Saturday Night Live” star Gilda Radner.

Gene Roddenberry is best-remembered for creating the original “Star Trek” TV show. Such was the success of the series that Roddenberry became the first TV writer to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (in 1985). For a while, Roddenberry was in a relationship with actress Nichelle Nichols who was later to play Uhura on “Star Trek”. After he passed away in 1991, Roddenberry’s body was cremated. Some of his ashes went into space the following year, carried aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. In 1997, some more of his cremated remains were sent into space aboard a Celestis spacecraft, along with remains from twenty-three other people including the psychologist and writer Timothy Leary.

90 Solar wind particle : ION

The Sun’s upper atmosphere continually ejects a stream of the charged particles that have such high energy that they can escape the Sun’s gravity. This supersonic plasma consisting mainly of electrons, protons and alpha particles is referred to as the solar wind. The solar wind extends as far as the outer limits of our solar system, and is responsible for phenomena such as the Earth’s northern and southern lights, the geomagnetic storms that affect radio reception, and the plasma tails of comets.

96 Portrayer of the show creator in “The Truman Show” : ED HARRIS

Ed Harris is a very talented actor, one noted for two great performances in movies about the US Space Program. Harris played John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” in 1983, his “breakthrough” role. Twelve years later he had a “stellar” performance as flight director Gene Kranz in “Apollo 13”.

“The Truman Show” is an interesting film starring Jim Carrey as a man who, although unaware of the fact, is living and starring in a life-long reality TV show.

100 S-O-L-O and L-A-N-G-E? : DASHED HOPES (Hope Solo & Hope Lange)

Hope Solo is a retired soccer player who was goalkeeper for the US national team from 2000 to 2026. She holds several records, including the US record for the most career clean sheets, i.e. games without any goals being scored against her.

Actress Hope Lange is perhaps best known to moviegoers for playing Selena Cross in the 1957 film adaption of “Peyton Place”. To TV audiences, she is known for her Emmy-winning performances as Carolyn Muir in the sitcom “The Ghost & Mrs. Muir”.

103 “Great” child detective : NATE

The “Nate the Great” series of children’s novels was written (mainly) by Marjorie Sharmat. Nate is like a young Sherlock Holmes, with a dog for a sidekick called Sludge. Some of the books have been adapted for television.

105 Younger Jetson kid : ELROY

“The Jetsons” is an animated show from Hanna-Barbera that had its first run in 1962-1963, and then was recreated in 1985-1987. When it debuted in 1963 on ABC, “The Jetsons” was the network’s first ever color broadcast. “The Jetsons” is like a space-age version of “The Flintstones”. The four Jetson family members are George and Jane, the parents, and children Judy and Elroy. Residing with the family in Orbit City are their household robot Rosie and pet dog Astro.

109 Moo goo ___ pan : GAI

Moo goo gai pan is the American version of a traditional Cantonese dish. In Cantonese, “moo goo” means “button mushroom”, “gai” is “chicken” and “pan” is “slices”.

112 RU$$ELL and BLA$$? : TWO-DOLLAR BILLS (Bill Russell & Bill Blass)

Bill Russell is a retired basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969. Russell also captained the gold medal-winning US national team at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

Bill Blass was a fashion designer from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Blass volunteered for the US Army during WWII. He had a very creative role in the military, working for the 603rd Camouflage Battalion. The unit’s job was to fool the Germans into thinking Allied troops were in fake locations. Blass worked with the battalion in support of the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine river and the North African campaign.

120 “Lovergirl” singer Marie : TEENA

Teena Marie was a very successful R&B singer who was born Mary Christine Brockert in Santa Monica, California. She had several good celebrity friends, and so was godmother to Maya Rudolph (daughter of Minnie Ripperton) and Nona Gaye (daughter of Marvin Gaye).

Down

1 Title spy in a Robert Ludlum series : BOURNE

“The Bourne Identity” is a great spy novel written by Robert Ludlum, and first published in 1980. It has been ranked as the second best spy novel of all time, just behind the even more enjoyable “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” by John le Carré. Ludlum wrote two sequels, and all three parts of the Bourne Trilogy have been made into very successful movies now, starring Matt Damon in the title role. Ludlum died before he could write more than three novels featuring Jason Bourne, but five more titles in the series have been published, each written by Eric Van Lustbader. I must check them out …

2 Canadian dollar coin : LOONIE

The common loon (also “great northern diver”) is the provincial bird of Ontario, and the state bird of Minnesota. The loon once appeared on Canadian $20 bills and also appears on the Canadian one-dollar coin, giving the coin the nickname “the loonie”.

3 QB stat: Abbr. : ATT

In football, one statistic (stat) used to track the performance of a quarterback (QB) is attempts (ATT).

5 High-fat weight-loss diet, for short : KETO

A ketogenic (also “keto”) diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. When a body consumes insufficient carbohydrates to meet the need for energy, then the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies in order to make up the energy deficit. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the bloodstream is known as “ketosis”, a term that gives rise to the name “ketogenic diet”. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe a ketogenic diet in order to control epilepsy in children. A condition of ketosis can reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

6 Golfer Palmer, familiarly : ARNIE

Arnold Palmer was one of the greats of the world of golf. He was very popular with many fans of the game, and his followers were usually referred to as “Arnie’s Army”. Off the course, Palmer was an avid pilot until his latter years. He resided in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for much of the year and the local airport is named in his honor: Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.

7 “Ditto!” : SAME!

The word “ditto” was originally used in Italian (from Tuscan dialect) to avoid repetition of the names of months in a series of dates. So, “ditto” is another wonderful import from that lovely land …

9 Wispy cloud : CIRRUS

Cirrus (plural “cirri”) clouds are those lovely wispy, white strands that are often called “mare’s tails”.

10 Half of a Caribbean nation : ST KITTS

Saint Kitts is the more familiar name for Saint Christopher Island in the West Indies. Saint Kitts, along with the neighboring island of Nevis, is part of the country known as the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts has had a troubled history, with the Spanish, British and French all vying for control of the island. Most of the population today is descended from slaves brought onto Saint Kitts to farm tobacco and then sugarcane. Most of the slaves were from Africa, although Irish and Scottish slaves were also used.

13 The “S” of New York City’s SIR train line : STATEN

Staten Island is part of New York City and is the least populous of the city’s five boroughs. The island was originally called Staaten Eylandt by Henry Hudson and was named after the Dutch parliament, the Staaten Generaal.

15 Classic novel set in rural Nebraska : O PIONEERS!

American author Willa Cather wrote what’s referred to as the “Prairie Trilogy”, novels that tell the story of Swedish immigrants living in Nebraska. The titles in the trilogy are “O Pioneers!”, “The Song of the Lark” and “My Ántonia”. Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for another novel “One of Ours”, which is set in Nebraska and the French battlefields of WWI.

17 Kind of kick in football : SQUIB

A squib kick is a kickoff tactic used in American football. When kicking off, the ball is kicked short, so that it bounces on the ground and lands in front of the slower players of the receiving team, rather than reaching the faster kick returner. Also, the bounce on the ground can make it difficult for the receiving players to catch the ball.

20 Gamers’ games : ESPORTS

Esports (electronic sports) are video game competitions. The International Olympic Committee has held meetings to consider the inclusion of esports in the Olympic Games. What about medals for crossword solving …?

34 Thin sauce : JUS

The French term “au jus” is usually translated as “with its own juice”.

35 Pope who met with Attila the Hun : ST LEO

The first pope named Leo is now known as Pope Saint Leo the Great. Leo I is famous for meeting with the feared Attila the Hun and persuading him to turn back his invading force that was threatening to overrun Western Europe.

39 Looney Tunes turtle : CECIL

“Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” are two series of animated short films produced by Warner Bros. from 1930 until 1969. The list of famous “Looney Tunes” characters includes Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, and my favorites Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

47 Mole or mile : UNIT

The mole (abbreviated to mol.) is a fundamental unit in chemistry. It is an amount unit, and might be compared to a pair and a dozen. It is a specific measure of the number of atoms, or molecules, in a given sample of matter. Technically, one mole is the number of atoms in exactly 12 grams of pure carbon-12. That number is a constant known as Avogadro’s number (6.02214076×10²³).

48 Glam rock? : MICA

Mica is a silicate mineral. Thin sheets of mica are transparent and are used in place of glass in certain applications. This form of mica is called isinglass, and as it has a better thermal performance than glass it is a great choice for “peepholes” in boilers and lanterns. Mica is also used in the electronics industry, making use of its unique electrical and thermal insulating properties.

49 Preserves in slices, as meat : JERKS

Jerky is meat that has been trimmed of fat and dried. The term “jerky” comes into English via Spanish from the Incan Quechua “ch’arki” meaning “dried flesh”.

50 Big name in motor oil : STP

STP is a brand name of automotive lubricants and additives. The name “STP” is an initialism standing for “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”.

52 Soybean product : MISO

Miso is the name of the seasoning that makes miso soup. Basic miso seasoning is made by fermenting rice, barley and soybeans with salt and a fungus to produce a paste. The paste can be added to stock to make miso soup, or perhaps to flavor tofu.

57 Cap worn by dervishes : TAJ

In the Muslim tradition, the dervishes are members of a Sufi fraternity. The term “dervish” is often used specifically to refer to members of that fraternity who choose an ascetic lifestyle. The Western term “whirling dervish” describes a member of the Mevlevi Order, a Sufi order in Turkey. The “whirling” adjective is a reference to the whirling dance that serves as a physically active meditation.

62 Neck and neck : IN A DEAD HEAT

A race ending in a dead heat ends in a tie. A heat is one of a series of races, and it might be described as “dead” if there is no decisive outcome, if there is a tie.

71 Anderson who directed “Asteroid City” : WES

Film director Wes Anderson’s most famous movie is probably “The Royal Tenenbaums” that was released in 2001, and is not my favorite film by any stretch. However, Anderson’s 2007 release “The Darjeeling Limited”; that I enjoyed.

76 Glides over the coast, say : PARASAILS

Parasailing is hanging below a tethered parachute that is towed by a boat.

79 Tourist destination in northern India : AGRA

Agra is a medieval city on the banks of the river Yamuna in India that was the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658. The city is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• The Taj Mahal: the famous mausoleum built in memory of Mumtaz Mahal.
• Agra Fort: the site where the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond was seized.
• Fatehpur Sikri: a historic city that’s home to well-preserved Mughal architecture.

83 Titular character in a Menotti opera : AMAHL

Composer Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” has a special place in the repertoire, in that it is the first opera specifically composed for American television. It was commissioned by NBC and had its debut at the NBC studios in Rockefeller Center on Christmas Eve, 1951. In today’s world of commercially-driven television, I can’t imagine a network commissioning a classical work …

89 What’s generated by solar panels : DC POWER

There are two types of electric current. The 120V supply that is distributed throughout our homes provides us with alternating current (AC). The AC current moves back and forth every 1/60 second, in two different directions. AC is great for transmission around the country, and that’s the main reason that AC is piped into our homes. However, all of our electronic devices need direct current (DC), current that flows in one direction. That’s why those devices have adapters at the end of a power cable. The 120V AC supply is converted by the adapter into the DC supply used by the device.

Solar panels are arrays of solar cells that make use of what’s known as the photovoltaic effect. We are more likely to have learned about the photoelectric effect in school, in which electrons were ejected from the surface of some materials when it was exposed to light or other forms of radiation. The photovoltaic effect is related but different. Instead of being electrons ejected from the surface, in the photovoltaic effect electrons move around in the material creating a difference in voltage.

95 Friend of Winnie-the-Pooh : EEYORE

Eeyore is the donkey character in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”. Eeyore is very lovable, but has a gloomy and pessimistic outlook on life.

97 Sleeve style with slanted seams : RAGLAN

The hereditary title of Baron Raglan was created in 1852 as a reward for Lord Fitzroy Somerset for his service commanding the British troops during the Crimean War. It’s the raglan sleeve that gives the name to the raglan coat. A raglan sleeve extends right to the collar of the garment, a design used to fit the first Baron Raglan who had lost his arm at the Battle of Waterloo.

98 Padova’s home : ITALIA

The city of Padua is in northern Italy, and not far from Venice. Padua has many claims to fame. For example, Galileo was one of the lecturers at the University of Padua, and William Shakespeare chose the city as the setting for his play “The Taming of the Shrew”.

101 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.

111 Fish often served with kabayaki sauce : EEL

“Unadon” is the Japanese word for “eel bowl”. “Unadon” is actually a contraction of “unagi no kabayaki” (grilled eel) and “donburi” (rice bowl dish).