0205-25 NY Times Crossword 5 Feb 25, Wednesday

Constructed by: Kiran Pandey
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answers: Drops Down & Slush Pile

Themed answers each include a hidden word, giving a PILE of SLUSHY weather phenomena that DROP DOWN from the sky:

  • 18A Opens, as a menu… or a description of this puzzle’s circled letters?: DROPS DOWN
  • 54A Common assignment for editorial assistants… or a description of this puzzle’s circled letters?: SLUSH PILE
  • 30A Analytical thinker?: LEFT BRAIN (hiding “RAIN”)
  • 36A Doesn’t really matter: CARRIES NO WEIGHT (hiding “SNOW”)
  • 41A Steamed beverage with spices from the Indian subcontinent: CHAI LATTE (hiding “HAIL”)

Bill’s time: 7m 51s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8 Cocksure: BRASH

To be cocksure is to be confident, as assured as a “cock”. English author D. H. Lawrence introduced us to a female version of the term: “hensure”.

14 “You got me there!”: TOUCHE!

“Touché” is a term from fencing, one acknowledging a successful “touch” in a duel. The usage has been extended to mean that a successful criticism or riposte has hit home in a conversation.

23 Iridescent stone: OPAL

An opal is often described as having a milky iridescence known as opalescence.

24 Cellular messenger: RNA

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA. An added complication is that small changes in the sequence of amino acids specified by DNA sometimes takes place in a process known as RNA editing. This RNA editing occurs after the nucleotide sequence has been transcribed from DNA, but before it is translated into protein.

26 Oz., e.g.: AMT

Our term “ounce” (abbreviated to “oz.”) comes from the Latin “uncia”, which was 1/12 of a “libra”, the Roman “pound”. “Uncia” is also the derivation of our word “inch”, 1/12 of a foot.

34 Old standard of tape: VHS

The VHS video standard is more fully referred to as the Video Home System. VHS was one of many standards touted by various manufacturers in the seventies. The biggest rival to VHS was Betamax, but we all knew which of the two standards won the final round in that fight.

40 Himalayan ox: YAK

The English word “yak” is an Anglicized version of the Tibetan name for the male of the species. Yak milk is much prized in Tibetan culture. It is made into cheese and butter, and the butter is used to make a tea that is consumed in great volume by Tibetans. The butter is also used as a fuel in lamps, and during festivals the butter is even sculpted into religious icons.

49 Place for a cooling pie: SILL

“Sill plate”, or simply “sill”, is an architectural term describing a bottom horizontal member to which vertical members are attached. Window sills and door sills are specific sill plates found at the bottoms of windows and door openings.

54 Common assignment for editorial assistants… or a description of this puzzle’s circled letters?: SLUSH PILE

In the world of publishing, the slush pile is the collection of unsolicited manuscripts that have been submitted by hopeful authors.

57 Judger of pitches: UMP

Back in the 15th century, “an umpire” was referred to as “a noumpere”, which was misheard and hence causing the dropping of the initial letter N. The term “noumpere” came from Old French “nonper” meaning “not even, odd number”. The idea was that the original umpire was a third person called on to arbitrate between two, providing that “odd number” needed to decide the dispute.

58 Furry wetlands growth: CATTAIL

Cattails are flowering plants found in wetlands. We call them bulrushes back in Ireland …

64 Tennis period since 1968: OPEN ERA

In the sport of tennis, the Grand Slam tournaments were opened up to professional players, and not just amateurs, in 1968. So, the period since 1968 has been called the “Open Era”.

66 Appendage for a morning glory: TENDRIL

A tendril is a specialized leaf or stem that is shaped like a spiral thread. Tendrils are used for support by climbing plants.

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Down

3 Starchy food item named for a food it resembles: WAFFLE FRY

By definition, a waffle is made from dough or batter cooked between two patterned plates (a waffle iron). Modern-day waffles were preceded in the Middle Ages by communion wafers used in the Christian tradition. Such wafers usually had images of a crucified Jesus imprinted by the iron plates.

8 Climax in many a video game: BOSS LEVEL

In the world of video gaming, a significantly strong computer-controlled opponent is referred to as a boss. A fight against a boss is a boss battle or boss fight.

10 Hawke or Crowe: ACTOR

Ethan Hawke is a Hollywood actor who made his breakthrough in a supporting role in “Dead Poet’s Society”, playing opposite Robin Williams. Hawke used to be married to Uma Thurman, with whom he has two children.

Russell Crowe is a highly successful actor from New Zealand. Understandably, he doesn’t like people to call him “Australian”, even though it was in Australia that he launched his acting career. Not too long before the 9/11 attacks, the FBI contacted Crowe to inform him that al-Qaeda was plotting to kidnap him as part of a general attack on high-profile “American” icons. For a few months the New Zealander was guarded by Secret Service agents.

11 William ___, longtime editor of The New Yorker: SHAWN

William Shawn was the editor of “The New Yorker” from 1952 until 1987.

12 Dye in some body art: HENNA

Henna has been used for centuries as a dye, for leather and wool as well as hair and skin. In modern days, henna is often used for temporary tattoos.

20 Soft rock: TALC

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest. On the scale, diamond is the hardest (and rated 10), while talc is the softest (and rated 1).

21 Vicinity: AREA

A vicinity is an area surrounding a place. The term “vicinity” ultimately comes from the Latin “vicus” meaning “group of houses, village”.

29 Kind of seed: CHIA

Ground chia seeds are often used as a substitute for eggs in recipes calling for thickening or binding.

33 Linguist Chomsky: NOAM

Noam Chomsky is a former professor of linguistics at MIT. He is known as one of the fathers of modern linguistics.

35 Fictional bandleader of the 1960s: SGT PEPPER

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was the alter-ego of the Beatles, and the title of a famous studio album released in 1967, as well as the name of the album’s title track.

38 URL starter: HTTP

“http” are the first letters in many Internet links. “http” stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. More secure and “safer” websites (like this one!) use links starting with “https”, which stands for “http secure”.

39 Oolong and rooibos, for two: TEAS

The name for the Chinese tea called “oolong” translates into English as “black dragon” or “dark dragon”.

Red tea is made from the leaves of the South African rooibos plant. The name “rooibos” translates as “red bush”.

46 Character set for electronic communication: ASCII

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) lists codes for 32 “control” characters, as well as the 95 printable characters. These binary codes are the way that our computers can understand what we mean when we type, say a letter or a number. Unicode is a more contemporary standard, and is like “Ascii on steroids”, encompassing more characters.

50 Qualifier for many a rapper: LIL

“Lil’” is a short form of the word “little”. There are a whole slew of rappers named “Lil’ something”, such as Lil Wayne, Lil’ J, and Lil’ Kim.

52 Measure of brightness: LUMEN

The lumen is a measure of the amount of visible light emitted by a source.

53 Fix, as text: EMEND

The verb “to amend” means “to change for the better, put right, alter by adding”. The related verb “to emend” is used more rarely, and mainly in reference to the editing of professional writing. Both terms are derived from the Latin “emendare” meaning “to remove fault”.

55 Academic acronym: STEM

The acronym “STEM” stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

56 Showbiz quartet: EGOT

Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony Awards (EGOT)

60 Central figure in a classic sci-fi series: APE

The “Planet of the Apes” franchise of films is based on a French novel by Pierre Boulle called “La Planète des singes”. The book was published in English as “Monkey Planet”, but was re-released as “Planet of the Apes” when Hollywood had made its choice for a movie title.

61 Filmmaker Aster: ARI

Ari Aster is a film director from New York City. He is into horror films, and I am not …

62 Indian lentil dish: DAL

I love dal dishes, which are prepared from various peas or beans (often lentils) that have been stripped of their outer skins and split. Dal is an important part of Indian cuisines. I suppose in Indian terms, split pea soup (another of my favorites) would be called a dal.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Distance traversed by an arrow: BOW SHOT
8 Cocksure: BRASH
13 Not the same: UNALIKE
14 “You got me there!”: TOUCHE!
15 Obstacle in achieving one’s goal?: DEFENSE
16 Something acquired in a salon bed, perhaps: BASE TAN
17 Added fuel to: FED
18 Opens, as a menu… or a description of this puzzle’s circled letters?: DROPS DOWN
20 Bang the drum for: TALK UP
23 Iridescent stone: OPAL
24 Cellular messenger: RNA
25 Verb often abbreviated to a letter: ARE
26 Oz., e.g.: AMT
28 Brief bit of time: SEC
30 Analytical thinker?: LEFT BRAIN (hiding “RAIN”)
34 Old standard of tape: VHS
36 Doesn’t really matter: CARRIES NO WEIGHT (hiding “SNOW”)
40 Himalayan ox: YAK
41 Steamed beverage with spices from the Indian subcontinent: CHAI LATTE (hiding “HAIL”)
42 Up to now: YET
44 One trained in CPR: EMT
45 Educational support grp.: PTA
46 Notes or Messages: APP
49 Place for a cooling pie: SILL
51 Is out: SLEEPS
54 Common assignment for editorial assistants… or a description of this puzzle’s circled letters?: SLUSH PILE
57 Judger of pitches: UMP
58 Furry wetlands growth: CATTAIL
59 Console device with triggers and thumbsticks: GAMEPAD
63 Summer hire, perhaps: INTERN
64 Tennis period since 1968: OPEN ERA
65 Common reply to “Who’s there?”: IT’S ME
66 Appendage for a morning glory: TENDRIL

Down

1 Pardner: BUD
2 Four quarters: ONE
3 Starchy food item named for a food it resembles: WAFFLE FRY
4 Smooth and glossy: SLEEK
5 One who practices bhakti and puja: HINDU
6 Gives the thumbs up: OKS
7 Up for a drive?: TEED
8 Climax in many a video game: BOSS LEVEL
9 Regretted: RUED
10 Hawke or Crowe: ACTOR
11 William ___, longtime editor of The New Yorker: SHAWN
12 Dye in some body art: HENNA
14 Chopitos and croquetas, e.g.: TAPAS
16 Knock on the noggin: BOP
19 “Damn you!”: ROT IN HELL!
20 Soft rock: TALC
21 Vicinity: AREA
22 Trim (down): PARE
27 Like the French words for every weekday and month: Abbr.: MASC
29 Kind of seed: CHIA
31 Base for some lunches: TRAY
32 Modern transport service: BIKE SHARE
33 Linguist Chomsky: NOAM
35 Fictional bandleader of the 1960s: SGT PEPPER
37 Good things to have about you: WITS
38 URL starter: HTTP
39 Oolong and rooibos, for two: TEAS
43 Easy basket: TIP-IN
46 Character set for electronic communication: ASCII
47 Audience member who might be in on the trick: PLANT
48 Gentle strokes: PUTTS
50 Qualifier for many a rapper: LIL
52 Measure of brightness: LUMEN
53 Fix, as text: EMEND
55 Academic acronym: STEM
56 Showbiz quartet: EGOT
60 Central figure in a classic sci-fi series: APE
61 Filmmaker Aster: ARI
62 Indian lentil dish: DAL

3 thoughts on “0205-25 NY Times Crossword 5 Feb 25, Wednesday”

  1. 19:37 after finding and fixing a stupid error of the “well, duh!” variety that I am loath to be more specific about lest I suffer the public embarrassment that I so richly deserv

  2. … e. (And … I accidentally hit the “POST” button lurking below the keyboard.)

    I’m old, I’m getting ready for a trip, I have too many irons in the fire, I’m severely stressed, and I need to walk away from the blog for a couple of weeks. Later … 😳.

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