0127-25 NY Times Crossword 27 Jan 25, Monday

Constructed by: Alexander Liebeskind
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Look the Other Way

Themed answers each include a synonym of “LOOK” as a hidden word, but written “THE OTHER WAY, backwards:

  • 40A Ignore suspicious behavior … or a hint to the circled letters in 17-, 24-, 51- and 62-Across : LOOK THE OTHER WAY
  • 17A Commonly visited part of a website : HOME PAGE (hiding “GAPE”, the other way)
  • 24A Study abroad program on a ship : SEMESTER AT SEA (hiding “STARE”, the other way)
  • 51A Funding sources for many labs : FEDERAL GRANTS (hiding “GLARE”, the other way)
  • 62A Stance for a yoga beginner : TREE POSE (hiding “PEER”, the other way)

Bill’s time: 6m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 * : STAR

The name of the typographical symbol “asterisk” comes from the Greek word “asteriskos” meaning “little star”. The original use of the asterisk was by printers of family trees in feudal times. Back then it was a symbol indicating the date of birth.

21 Bay Area airport code : SFO

The San Francisco Bay Area is served by three major airports: San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC).

24 Study abroad program on a ship : SEMESTER AT SEA

Semester at Sea is a unique study abroad program that takes place on a ship. Instead of being based in one location, students travel the globe, visiting multiple countries while taking college courses. Semester at Sea offers a wide range of courses and is open to students from various universities. Founded in 1963, the program has attracted some impressive guest lecturers over the years, including figures like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Fidel Castro, Arthur C. Clarke, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and Mother Teresa.

28 Krypton or argon : GAS

Krypton (Kr) was discovered in 1898 by two British chemists, Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers. They chilled a sample of air, turning it into a liquid. They then warmed that liquid and separated out the gases that boiled off. Along with nitrogen, oxygen and argon (already known), the pair of scientists discovered two new gases. The first they called “krypton” and the second “neon”. “Krypton” is Greek for “the hidden one” and “neon” is Greek for “new”.

The chemical element argon has the symbol Ar. It is a noble gas, and so by definition is relatively nonreactive. The name “argon” comes from the Greek word for “lazy, inactive”. There’s a lot of argon around, as it is the third-most abundant gas in our atmosphere.

36 One of the Obamas : SASHA

Sasha is the younger of the two Obama children, having been born in 2001. She was the youngest child to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy, Jr. moved in with his parents as a small infant. Sasha’s Secret Service codename is “Rosebud”, and her older sister Malia has the codename “Radiance”.

43 Musical based on a comic strip : ANNIE

The Broadway musical “Annie” is produced in more than one version. There is an “Annie Jr.” that has been edited down to a shortened version more suitable for young performers and audiences. An even shorter version that lasts only 30 minutes is called “Annie KIDS”, and is meant for performers still in elementary school.

46 Actor Malek who played Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” : RAMI

Actor Rami Malek’s big break came with the leading role in the television series “Mr. Robot”. In 2018, Malik gave an Oscar-winning performance playing Freddie Mercury in the hit biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”. That marked the first time that an actor of Egyptian descent won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

50 Way of sending textspeak : SMS

Short Message Service (SMS) is the name for the text messaging service that many of us still use on our cell phones to contact friends and family.

56 Currier and ___ : IVES

Currier and Ives was a printmaking concern in New York City run by Nathaniel Currier and his partner James Merritt Ives from 1834 to 1907. The firm specialized in making affordable, hand-colored black and white lithographs.

62 Stance for a yoga beginner : TREE POSE

The tree pose in yoga is more correctly known as “vrikshasana”. It involves standing on one leg, with the other leg bent and the foot placed on the inner thigh of the straight leg. The hands are placed together and raised directly over the head.

66 Main dish : ENTREE

“Entrée” means “entry” in French. An entrée can be something that helps one get “a way in”, an interview for example perhaps helped along by a recommendation letter. In Europe, even in English-speaking countries, the entrée is the name for the “entry” to the meal, the first course. I found the ordering of meals to be very confusing when I first came to America!

70 TV coach Lasso : TED

“Ted Lasso” is a marvelous sports-comedy TV show about an American college football coach who moves to the UK to manage an English soccer team. The title character is played very admirably by Jason Sudeikis. Sudeikis first played Lasso in a series of TV commercials commissioned to promote NBC’s coverage of the British Premier League. The character became so popular that he inspired a whole TV series. Great stuff, and highly recommended …

Down

1 “Tsk, tsk,” in textspeak : SMH

Shaking my head (SMH)

4 Actress Witherspoon : REESE

Actress Reese Witherspoon started her own production company, Hello Sunshine, in 2016 to produce films and TV shows that focus on stories by and about women. The company has since produced several successful projects, including the HBO series “Big Little Lies,” which Witherspoon also starred in and co-produced.

9 Phillipa of “Hamilton” : SOO

Phillipa Soo is an actress and singer who is perhaps best known for portraying Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the title character’s wife in the original Broadway production of “Hamilton”.

13 Actress Thompson of the “Creed” movies : TESSA

Tessa Thompson is an actress from Los Angeles who is known for playing the supporting role of Jackie Cook on the TV show “Veronica Mars”, and for playing student leader Diane Nash in the 2014 film “Selma”. She also portrays superheroine Valkyrie in movies based on Marvel Comics characters.

“Creed” is a 2015 boxing movie, the seventh in the “Rocky” franchise. Sylvester Stallone returns as Rocky Balboa, but this time as a trainer. Rocky trains Apollo Creed’s son Adonis. Stallone was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in the film. It was the first Academy Award nomination he had received since the first “Rocky” film, which was released almost forty years earlier.

18 Cotton variety : PIMA

Pima is a soft cotton that is very durable and absorbent. Pima cotton is named after the Pima Native Americans who first cultivated it in this part of the world.

26 Bird named for its beak’s shape : SHOEBILL

The Shoebill is a bird that is native to tropical east Africa. It looks like a stork, although it is more closely related to the pelican.

29 Part of a brain connection : AXON

A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron. The long nerve fiber that conducts signals away from the neuron is known as the axon. The axon is surrounded by a myelin sheath, which acts as an electrical insulator and which increases the rate the impulses pass along the axon.

37 Sweet, swirly dessert item : SWISS ROLL

The cake that we tend to call a “jelly roll” in the US is referred to as a “swiss roll” in many other parts of the world. It is a rolled sponge cake, filled with perhaps whipped cream or jam.

39 Yes votes that are an anagram of other yes votes : AYES

“Aye” is an anagram of “yea”.

42 Greek marriage goddess : HERA

In Greek mythology, Hera was the wife of Zeus and the goddess of women, marriage, family and childbirth. She was noted for her jealous and vengeful nature, particularly against those who vied for the affections of her husband. The equivalent character to Hera in Roman mythology was Juno. Hera was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea.

53 Land at a river’s mouth : DELTA

A river delta is a triangular landform at the mouth of a river created by the deposition of sediment. The use of the term “delta” in this context comes from the triangular shape of the Greek letter delta. The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is one of the world’s largest river deltas, and covers 150 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean. The most famous “delta” in the United States isn’t actually a delta at all. The Mississippi Delta is an alluvial plain that lies 300 miles north of the river’s actual delta, yet it is known as the “Mississippi River Delta”. Very confusing …

55 Small Spanish dishes : TAPAS

“Tapa” is the Spanish word for “lid”. There is no clear rationale for why this word came to be used for an appetizer. There are lots of explanations cited, all of which seem to involve the temporary covering of one’s glass of wine with a plate or item of food to either preserve the wine or give one extra space at the table.

59 Norway’s biggest city : OSLO

Oslo, the capital of Norway, is an ancient city that was founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV and renamed to Christiania. In 1877 there was an official change of the spelling of the city’s name to “Kristiana”, and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have almost gone full circle and now the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has apparently been renamed to Christiania.

63 ___ v. Wade : ROE

Roe v. Wade was decided in a US District Court in Texas in 1970, and reached the Supreme Court on appeal. The basic decision by the Supreme Court was that a woman’s constitutional right to privacy applied to an abortion, but that this right had to be balanced with a state’s interest in protecting an unborn child and a mother’s health. The Court further defined that the state’s interest became stronger with each trimester of a pregnancy. So, in the first trimester the woman’s right to privacy outweighed any state interest. In the second trimester the state’s interest in maternal health was deemed to be strong enough to allow state regulation of abortion for the sake of the mother. In the third trimester the viability of the fetus dictated that the state’s interest in the unborn child came into play, so states could regulate or prohibit abortions, except in cases where the mother’s life was in danger. I’m no lawyer, but that’s my understanding of the Supreme Court decision …

65 It’s full of cones and rods : EYE

The retina is the tissue that lines the inside of the eye, and is the tissue that is light-sensitive. There are (mainly) two types of cells in the retina that are sensitive to light, namely rods and cones. Rods are cells that best function in very dim light and only provide black-and-white vision. Cones on the other hand function in brighter light and can perceive color.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 * : STAR
5 Section of a circle : ARC
8 Accompany, as to a dance : ESCORT
14 Manufactured : MADE
15 “Well, ___-di-dah!” : LAH
16 Suitemate, e.g. : ROOMIE
17 Commonly visited part of a website : HOME PAGE
19 Series of professional calls, as by doctors : ROUNDS
20 Emphatic yes, in Spanish : SI! SI!
21 Bay Area airport code : SFO
23 Illegally fixes : RIGS
24 Study abroad program on a ship : SEMESTER AT SEA
28 Krypton or argon : GAS
30 “I see!” : AAH!
31 Kids’ game that may be played on a road trip : I SPY
32 x or y, on a graph : AXIS
34 They’re no pros : CONS
36 One of the Obamas : SASHA
40 Ignore suspicious behavior … or a hint to the circled letters in 17-, 24-, 51- and 62-Across : LOOK THE OTHER WAY
43 Musical based on a comic strip : ANNIE
44 Soft French cheese : BRIE
45 Extremely serious : DIRE
46 Actor Malek who played Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” : RAMI
48 Period of time : ERA
50 Way of sending textspeak : SMS
51 Funding sources for many labs : FEDERAL GRANTS
56 Currier and ___ : IVES
57 ___-mo : SLO
58 Purple-flecked root vegetable : TARO
60 Secure again, as a door : RELOCK
62 Stance for a yoga beginner : TREE POSE
66 Main dish : ENTREE
67 It comes with a charge : ION
68 Foe’s opposite : ALLY
69 Explicitly said : STATED
70 TV coach Lasso : TED
71 Purple fruit used for flavoring : SLOE

Down

1 “Tsk, tsk,” in textspeak : SMH
2 New Mexico art locale : TAOS
3 What applicants may be seeking : ADMISSION
4 Actress Witherspoon : REESE
5 Pie ___ mode : A LA
6 Aid in washing a car : RAG
7 Treasure holder : CHEST
8 They may be forced or unforced : ERRORS
9 Phillipa of “Hamilton” : SOO
10 Central area of many a palace : COURTYARD
11 Some upscale hotels : OMNIS
12 Mountain crest : RIDGE
13 Actress Thompson of the “Creed” movies : TESSA
18 Cotton variety : PIMA
22 More spunky : FEISTIER
25 A pop : EACH
26 Bird named for its beak’s shape : SHOEBILL
27 Quiet place in a church : APSE
28 Fancy party : GALA
29 Part of a brain connection : AXON
33 Snowy getaway : SKI RESORT
35 Neither’s partner : NOR
37 Sweet, swirly dessert item : SWISS ROLL
38 Damage : HARM
39 Yes votes that are an anagram of other yes votes : AYES
41 Rip : TEAR
42 Greek marriage goddess : HERA
47 Dressed like many superheroes : MASKED
49 Poker buy-in : ANTE
51 Dumps from the payroll : FIRES
52 Listing in an engagement calendar : EVENT
53 Land at a river’s mouth : DELTA
54 “I see!” : GOT IT!
55 Small Spanish dishes : TAPAS
59 Norway’s biggest city : OSLO
61 2.0 : CEE
63 ___ v. Wade : ROE
64 Conclusion : END
65 It’s full of cones and rods : EYE

5 thoughts on “0127-25 NY Times Crossword 27 Jan 25, Monday”

  1. 04:52. Nice, easy one to start off the week.

    Needed the crosses for 61D, however. No idea about the clue or the answer for it. Considering even Bill had avoided expanding on it, I’m guessing it must be something very obvious?

    Any help in understanding 61D is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

  2. 9:02, no errors. Spent too much time in SE corner, because I have never heard of a Jelly Roll referred to as a SWISS ROLL. Learn something new every day.

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