1205-24 NY Times Crossword 5 Dec 24, Thursday

Bill’s time: 16m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Mate’s call : AHOY!

“Ahoy!” is a nautical term used to signal a vessel. When the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, he suggested that “ahoy” be used as a standard greeting when answering a call. However, Thomas Edison came up with “hello”, and we’ve been using that ever since.

15 Setting for the 2019 comedy “Wine Country” : NAPA

“Wine Country” is a 2019 comedy movie directed by, produced by and co-starring Amy Poehler. It’s about some women celebrating the 50th birthday of one member of their group by spending a weekend in Napa County’s wine country.

20 Moxie : SPUNK

We’ve been using the word “spunk” to mean “pluck, courage” since the late 1700s. Prior to that, it was a Scottish word meaning “spark” that we had absorbed into English.

Back as far as 1876, Moxie was a brand name of a “medicine” peddled with the claim that it “built up your nerve”. In 1924, “Moxie” was registered as a trademark for a bitter, non-alcoholic beverage (no more claims of nerve-building). We’ve used the term “moxie” to mean “nerve” ever since …

23 Singer with the 2016 #1 hit “Cheap Thrills” : SIA

“Cheap Thrills” is a 2015 song that was the first number-one hit in the US for Australian singer/songwriter Sia.

24 What Monday meals might lack : MEAT

To help the war effort, the United States Food Administration (led by Herbert Hoover) introduced “Meatless Tuesdays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays” for the duration of WWI. Similar campaigns were revived during WWII. Wheatless Wednesdays have fallen by the wayside but Meatless Monday is very much in vogue these days as an attempt to improve the population’s health and help reduce global warming (less methane from fewer cows).

28 Nickname for N.B.A. great Nate Archibald (he was actually 6’1″) : TINY

Nate Archibald is a retired basketball player who played mainly for the Kansas City Kings and the Boston Celtics. Archibald could get the ball in the basket, but was also willing to pass to a teammate when advantageous. He is the only player to lead the league in assists and scoring in the same season.

33 Melber on MSNBC : ARI

Ari Melber is a television journalist and the chief legal correspondent for MSNBC. He started hosting his own daily show called “The Beat with Ari Melber” in 2017.

38 Big bash : SHINDIG

“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.

40 Breaking down grammatically : PARSING

The verb “to parse” means “to state the parts of speech in a sentence”. “Parse” comes from the Latin word “pars” meaning “part”.

43 Elaborate hairstyle : COIF

A coif is a hairdo. The term “coif” comes from an old French term “coife” describing a skull-cap that was worn under a helmet back in the late 13th century.

44 Org. with the sculpture “Kryptos” outside its headquarters : CIA

“Kryptos” is a fascinating sculpture that sits on the grounds of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The work contains four encrypted messages that were created by the sculptor Jim Sanborn and Ed Scheidt, then Chairman of the CIA Cryptographic Center. What’s interesting is that only three of the messages have been decoded to date.

45 Lao-___ : TSE

Lao Tse (also “Lao-Tzu”, “Laozi”) was a central figure in the development of the religion/philosophy of Taoism. Tradition holds that Lao-Tzu wrote the “Tao Te Ching”, a classical Chinese text that is fundamental to the philosophy of Taoism.

57 Rapper who founded Aftermath Entertainment : DR DRE

“Dr. Dre” is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. He is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.

60 Big name in dental floss : ORAL-B

The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

62 Pixar film whose title suggests how to read five answers in this puzzle : INSIDE OUT

“Inside Out” is a 2015 Pixar animated feature film. It’s all about a young girl who relocates with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco. The movie’s action is actually set inside the girl’s head, as five personified emotions deal with the changes she has to face. Those emotions are voiced by:

• Amy Poehler (Joy)
• Phyllis Smith (Sadness)
• Lewis Black (Anger)
• Bill Hader (Fear)
• Mindy Kaling (Disgust)

65 Org. with conferences : NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

66 Name on Canadian pumps : ESSO

The Esso brand has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

67 Marsh plant : SEDGE

Sedges are a family of plants that resemble grasses and rushes. They are more properly called Cyperaceae.

Down

1 Raincoats, in England : MACS

When I was growing up in Ireland, we had to take our macs to school in case it rained (and it usually did!). “Mac” is short for “macintosh”, a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric. The coat was named after its inventor, Scotsman Charles Macintosh.

2 Chain restaurant whose name sounds like something a rabbit might say? : IHOP

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests.

4 Largest city on the Tasman Sea : SYDNEY

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia. People from Sydney are known as “Sydneysiders”.

The Tasman Sea lies between Australia and New Zealand. It is named for the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who was the first European to reach New Zealand. Locally, the Tasman Sea is often referred to as “the Ditch”, and so one “crosses the Ditch” to get from Australia to New Zealand.

5 12 meses : ANO

In Spanish, there are 12 “meses” (months) in an “año” (year).

6 Dr. Zhivago’s love : LARA

The heroine of Boris Pasternak’s epic novel “Doctor Zhivago” is Lara Antipova. The Lara character was inspired by Pasternak’s mistress Olga Ivinskaya.

7 Go caving : SPELUNK

“Spelunking” is an American term describing recreational caving, although the word has Latin roots (“spelunca” is the Latin for “cave”). The term originated in the 1940s in New England when it was adopted by a group of men who explored caves in the area.

9 “A Series of Unfortunate Events” villain : COUNT OLAF

Count Olaf is the antagonist in “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, the collection of children’s novels penned by Lemony Snicket (the pen name of Daniel Handler).

11 Voltaire or Leibniz, religiously speaking : DEIST

Deism (from the Latin “deus” meaning god) is the belief that a supreme being created the universe, a belief based on observation and reason, and without the need for faith. Further, a deist does not accept divine intervention and rather believes that the supreme being, having created the universe, leaves the world to its own devices.

“Voltaire” was the pen name of French writer and philosopher François-Marie Arouet. He chose the name “Voltaire” as it is an anagram of “Arovet Li”, the Latinized spelling of his family name “Arouet”.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a mathematician and philosopher from Leipsig in modern-day Germany. Leibniz is best remembered today for coming up with the basic concepts behind differential and integral calculus around the same time that Isaac Newton was introducing calculus to the world. Indeed, it was Leibniz’s notation that gave us the symbols dx and dy that are still used in calculus by today’s mathematicians.

12 One of a pair of mismatched friends on “Sesame Street” : ERNIE

Bert and Ernie are two of the most beloved Muppet characters on the children’s television program “Sesame Street.” Their characters were originally created by Jim Henson and his team to be different from each other in every way possible. Bert is the more serious, analytical and uptight one, while Ernie is more carefree, spontaneous and playful. The contrast between their personalities was intentional, as it was meant to help children learn about different personalities and how to get along with people who may be different from themselves.

27 Food thickener : AGAR

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

29 Flower that gets its name from the Greek word for “rainbow” : IRIS

Iris is a genus of flowering plants that come in a wide variety of flower colors. The term “iris” is a Greek word meaning “rainbow”. Many species of irises are called “flags”. One suggestion is that the alternate name comes from the Middle English “flagge” meaning “reed”. This term was used because iris leaves look like reeds.

31 Director Lee : ANG

Ang Lee made history at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002 when he won the Best Director award for “Brokeback Mountain.” He became the first Asian person to win the award and the first non-white person to win in the category.

34 No place for fine china : KIDS’ TABLE

The ceramic known as “porcelain” can be referred to as “china” or “fine china”, as porcelain was developed in China.

36 Small amount of LSD, e.g. : MICRODOSE

LSD was sold in tablet form, with the tablets having varied shapes and sizes. The most famous were small pills that were commonly called “microdots”.

39 Native Rwandan : HUTU

Rwanda is a sovereign nation in central Africa that is populated by three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi (aka “Watusi”) and Twa. The Tutsi are the second largest population of people in Rwanda, with the Hutu being the largest group. The bloody conflict that has existed between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples dates back to about 1880 when Catholic missionaries arrived in the region. The missionaries found that they had more success converting the Hutus than the Tutsi, and when the Germans occupied the area during WWI they confiscated Tutsi land and gave it to Hutu tribes in order to reward religious conversion. This injustice fuels fighting to this very day.

41 Hefty expense for an R.V. trip : GAS

Recreational vehicle (RV)

49 Like the feeling of déjà vu : EERIE

“Déjà vu” is French for “already seen”.

50 Apple or BlackBerry : BRAND

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 …

The PDA (personal digital assistant) known as a BlackBerry was given its name because the keyboard on the original device resembled the surface on the fruit of a blackberry.

56 Onetime Kremlin ruler : TSAR

I was lucky enough to visit the Moscow Kremlin as a tourist a few decades ago. It sits right on Red Square, along with Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the famed GUM department store. “Kremlin” is a Russian word meaning “fortress”.

59 College where 20 prime ministers were educated : ETON

The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders, including prime ministers David Cameron and Boris Johnson. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington and George Orwell. Author Ian Fleming was also an Eton alumnus, as was Fleming’s iconic character James Bond, although 007 was expelled by the school.

63 First (and last) two words of “Green Eggs and Ham” : I AM

Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. “Green Eggs and Ham” now ranks twelfth in the list of top selling children’s books. By the way, “Harry Potter” books hold the top four slots in that list. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am