0717-24 NY Times Crossword 17 Jul 24, Wednesday

Bill’s time: 7m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Over 3,500 feet, for the George Washington Bridge : SPAN

New York City’s George Washington Bridge (GWB) spans the Hudson River and links the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan with Fort Lee in New Jersey. When the bridge was opened in 1931 it had one deck, allowing six lanes of traffic to traverse the river. The bridge’s designer allowed for the construction of a second deck under the first, and this was added in 1946. Today, the bridge carries 14 lanes of traffic, which is more than any other suspension bridge anywhere. As a result, the GWB is the world’s busiest vehicular bridge. Some locals refer to that second deck as “Martha”, a reference to the president’s wife.

17 Nail polish brand with colors like “Berry Fairy Fun” and “Aurora Berry-alis” : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film.

21 Caribbean country whose capital is Castries : ST LUCIA

The Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia has a population of less than 200,000. Remarkably, Saint Lucia has produced two Nobel Laureates: economist Arthur Lewis and poet Derek Walcott.

There are only two sovereign nations named for women. The island country of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse. The island country of Ireland (“Éire” in Irish) was named the goddess Ériu from Irish mythology.

30 Unwritten code? : DNA

Nucleobases are molecules that form the backbone of DNA and RNA chains. It is the sequence of these bases in the DNA chain that makes up the so-called “genetic code”. In DNA, the four bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and cytosine (C). The same bases are found in RNA, except that thymine is replaced by uracil (U). In DNA, the nucleobases exist in “base pairs”.

33 “Shogun,” e.g. : SAGA

“Shogun” is a novel by James Clavell, and the third in his famous “Asian Saga” suite of six titles. The six books are:

• “King Rat”
• “Tai-Pan”
• “Shōgun”
• “Noble House”
• “Whirlwind”
• “Gai-Jin”

39 Diana of Motown : ROSS

Diana Ross is one of the most prolific recording artists in history. She sang with the Supremes from 1959 to 1970 and then launched an incredibly successful solo career. Ross was listed in the 1993 edition of “The Guinness Book of World Records” as the most successful music artist ever, with eighteen #1 records.

44 What “down” means in diner lingo : ON TOAST

Diner lingo, the verbal slang used by the staff, can be very colorful. Here are a few examples:

• Adam & Eve on a raft: two poached eggs on toast
• Adam & Eve on a raft and wreck ’em: two scrambled eggs on toast
• Burn one: put a hamburger on the grill
• Burn one, take it through the garden and pin a rose on it: hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion
• Down: on toast
• Whiskey down: on rye toast
• Cluck and grunt: ham and eggs

46 Future D.A.’s exam : LSAT

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

48 Multivolume ref. : OED

Work started on what was to become the first “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) in 1857. Several interim versions of the dictionary were published in the coming years with the first full version appearing, in ten bound volumes, in 1928. The second edition of the OED appeared in 1989 and is made up of twenty volumes. The OED was first published in electronic form in 1988 and went online in 2000. Given the modern use of computers, the publishing house responsible feels that there will never be a third print version of the famous dictionary.

54 With 65-Across, source of this puzzle’s pictorial clues : AMERICAN …
65 See 54-Across : … SIGN LANGUAGE

It’s really quite unfortunate that American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) are very different, and someone who has learned to sign in one cannot understand someone signing in the other.

57 Rival of Chanel : DIOR

Christian Dior was a highly influential fashion designer who is widely credited with revolutionizing women’s fashion in the post-World War II era. Before he became a fashion designer, Dior worked as an art dealer, and he even ran his own art gallery for a time. There, he and a friend sold works by Pablo Picasso and others.

58 “Finding ___” (Pixar sequel) : DORY

Pixar’s 2016 animated feature “Finding Dory” is a sequel to the megahit film “Finding Nemo”. “Finding Dory” seems to have built on the success of its predecessor and had the highest-grossing opening weekend ever in North America for an animated movie.

59 “Razor-billed” bird : AUK

Auks are penguin-like sea birds that live in colder northern waters including the Arctic. Like penguins, auks are great swimmers, but unlike penguins, auks can fly.

64 Company that purchased Time Warner in 2001 : AOL

AOL’s “first” initial public offering was in 1992. Years later, the company was picked up by Time Warner (not a great investment for Time Warner, it turned out). AOL was spun off as a separate entity again in 2009 and the new company had a “second” IPO that same year.

67 Greek consonant hidden in the names of two Greek vowels : PSI

Psi is the 23rd and penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet, and the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.

69 “___ Kitchen” (cooking show) : HELL’S

The American reality TV show “Hell’s Kitchen” is based on the UK show of the same name, which in turn is based on a New Zealand show that also uses the same title.

71 Stinging plant : NETTLE

Most nettle species have stinging hairs that secrete formic acid. This formic acid is the same chemical that is found in the venom injected with a bee or ant sting. The Latin word for ant is “formica”, which gives its name to the acid.

Down

3 ___ Gawande, author of the 2014 best seller “Being Mortal” : ATUL

Atul Gawande is a surgeon and author. One of his books is a 2009 work titled “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right”, in which he makes a powerful argument that formal checklists improve efficiency, consistency and even safety.

4 Poet Pablo : NERUDA

“Pablo Neruda” was the pen name, and eventually the legal name, used by Chilean writer Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. Basoalto chose the name as an homage to Czech poet Jan Neruda.

6 Caterpillar roll ingredient : EEL

You might be able to order a caterpillar roll in your local sushi restaurant. It is an inside-out sushi roll topped with thinly sliced avocado.

9 Allegro or adagio : TEMPO

The tempo (plural “tempi”) of a piece of music is usually designated with an Italian word on the score. For example, “grave” is slow and solemn, “andante” is at a walking pace, “scherzo” is fast and light-hearted, and “allegro” is fast, quickly and bright.

An adagio is a piece of music with a slow tempo. The “adagio” marking on the score is an instruction to play the piece slowly and in a stately manner. The word “adagio” is Latin for “at ease”.

12 Olympic gold medalist Ohno : APOLO

Speed-skater Apolo Ohno has won more Winter Olympics medals than any other American. Ohno also did a great job winning the 2007 season of television’s “Dancing with the Stars”.

13 Like the “Ramayana” : HINDU

The Ramayana is one of the two important epic texts of Hinduism, the other being the Mahabharata. It describes the life of Rama, a major Hindu deity.

15 School break : RECESS

To recess is to go back, to retreat. The use of the noun “recess” to mean “period of stopping from usual work” dates back to the early 1600s. This usage might stem from the action of parliamentarians “recessing” into, returning to private chambers.

19 Smart aleck : WISEASS

Apparently, the original “smart Alec” (sometimes “Aleck”) was one Alec Hoag, a pimp, thief and confidence trickster who plied his trade in New York City in the 1840s.

26 Kilmer of “Top Gun: Maverick” : VAL

Val Kilmer’s first big leading role in a movie was playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic “The Doors”. A few years later, Kilmer was chosen for the lead in another big production, “Batman Forever”. Things haven’t really gone as well for Kilmer since then, I’d say. Off the screen, he flirted with the idea of running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010. A Hollywood actor as a governor? Would never happen …

2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick” is the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 film “Top Gun”. Tom Cruise reprises his role as the navy pilot with the handle “Maverick”, this time training a group of younger Top Gun graduates to fly a dangerous mission. Personally, I think that the sequel is better than the original.

27 Burning man? : PYRO

A firebug is a pyromaniac (“pyro”, in slang), a person with an irresistible impulse to start fires.

28 R&B singer Bridges : LEON

Leon Bridges is an R&B singer from Fort Worth, Texas who is best known for his 2015 hit single “Coming Home”. Bridges’ debut album, also titled “Coming Home,” was released in 2015 and peaked at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was praised for its authenticity and vintage sound, which Bridges achieved by recording with analog equipment and using techniques from the 1960s.

29 One side of Checkpoint Charlie : EAST BERLIN

After World War II, the allies agreed to divide the city of Berlin into four sectors. The sector administered by the Soviets became known as “East Berlin”, and the sectors administered by the Americans, French and British became known as “West Berlin”. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was established in 1949, and declared its capital as East Berlin. Starting in 1961, the GDR built a wall (the Berlin Wall) around West Berlin, separating that portion of the city from East German territory.

Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous crossing point in the Berlin Wall, between the East and West. Originally designated as “checkpoint C”, it was quickly termed “Checkpoint Charlie” from the C-designation in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

36 Podium delivery : ORATION

“Podium” (plural “podia”) is the Latin word for “raised platform”.

37 ___ Squad (tech support group) : GEEK

Best Buy is a retailer specializing in the supply of consumer electronics. Best Buy services include the famous “Geek Squad”, a band of technical experts that will help solve your computer and other consumer electronic problems.

45 Pop star Grande, to fans : ARI

Ariana Grande is a singer and actress from Boca Raton, Florida. Grande plays the role of Cat Valentine on the sitcom “Victorious” that aired for four seasons on Nickelodeon. Grande’s singing career took off with the release of the 2011 album “Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show”.

55 Mammal whose babies can outrun humans at only three days old : MOOSE

The moose is the largest species in the deer family, and can stand almost at 7 feet at the shoulder. Moose are a little unusual in that they are solitary animals, unlike other deers who tend to move in herds. We use the term “moose” here in North America, but confusingly, the same animal is referred to as “elk” in British English.

56 Michael of “The Dark Knight” : CAINE

There have been only two actors who have been nominated for an Academy Award in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s. One is Jack Nicholson, and the other is Michael Caine. Caine is now known as Sir Michael Caine, as he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the year 2000.

“The Dark Knight” is a 2008 film featuring Christian Bale as Batman, the title character. The movie is the second in what’s now known as “The Dark Knight Trilogy” (after “Batman Begins” and before “The Dark Knight Rises”. Christopher Nolan directed all three films in the trilogy.

57 Male duck : DRAKE

A male duck is a drake, and a female duck is a hen. That said, a female is sometimes just referred to as a duck!

62 Fruit named for its unsightly appearance : UGLI

The ugli fruit is a hybrid of an orange and a tangerine that was first discovered growing wild in Jamaica where most ugli fruit comes from today. “UGLI” is a trademark name that is a variant of “ugly”, a nod to the fruit’s unsightly wrinkled rind.