0425-25 NY Times Crossword 25 Apr 25, Friday

Bill’s time: 13m 00s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Cold War alliance : SOVIET BLOC

The term “Cold War” was coined by novelist George Orwell in a 1945 essay about the atomic bomb. Orwell described a world under threat of nuclear war as having a “peace that is no peace”, in a permanent state of “cold war”. The specific use of “cold war” to describe the tension between the Eastern bloc and the Western allies is attributed to a 1947 speech by Bernard Baruch, adviser to Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

There is some debate about the timing of the start and end of the Cold War, the period of geopolitical tension between the US and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. One significant factor at the start of the Cold War was the Truman Doctrine, the foreign policy adopted by President Harry S. Truman that firmly ended America’s pre-WWII isolationism in favor of support for nations threatened by Soviet influence. A clear sign of the end of the Cold War was the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

11 Quick shots : JABS

An injection using a hypodermic needle might be termed a “shot” in North America, and a “jab” in Britain and Ireland.

16 Sch. that joined the Big Ten in 2024 : UCLA

The Big Ten is the nation’s oldest Division I college athletic conference. It was founded in 1896, and earned the name “Big Nine” in 1899 when Iowa and Indiana joined to bring the number of teams in the conference to nine. The conference name was changed to the Big Ten after Michigan rejoined in 1917. Right after WWII, the University of Chicago dropped out so the conference became known as the Big Nine again until 1949. The official designation of “Big Ten” was adopted in 1987 when the conference (once again with a complement of ten teams) registered as a not-for-profit corporation. It was decided to keep the official name of Big Ten when Penn State joined in 1990 bringing the number of schools to the level of eleven. The number of schools in the conference continues to evolve, but that “Big Ten” moniker persists.

19 Skinny : INSIDE DOPE

The use of the word “skinny”, meaning “information”, comes from WWII military slang for “the truth”. The term is probably a derivative of the expression “the naked truth”, which is evocative of “skinny-dipping”.

21 Inits. in eight-bit gaming : NES

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was sold in North America from 1985 to 1995. It was the biggest selling gaming console of the era. Nintendo replaced the NES with Wii, which is also the biggest-selling game console in the world.

24 R&B singer Ella ___ : MAI

Ella Mai is an R&B singer from England. Mai went to high school in New York City before returning to Britain.

26 Lean sirloin cut : TIP ROAST

A tri-tip is a cut of meat that might also be called tip roast, round tip roast and sirloin tip roast. Tri-tip is a cut of beef from the rear of the animal. It is a triangular muscle, hence the name.

30 Lead-in to -verse : META-

Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel “Snow Crash” is set in a virtual realm that he dubs the Metaverse. A key element of Stephenson’s Metaverse is the use of “avatars,” which are the visual representations of users within the virtual world. Stephenson’s novel significantly popularized the use of the term “avatar” in the context of virtual reality.

31 Certain swimming event : RELAY

Competitive medley swimming can be either individual medley (one swimmer) or medley relay (four swimmers). The four different swimming styles used are:

1. Butterfly
2. Backstroke
3. Breaststroke
4. Freestyle

39 Daytime ___ : EMMY

The Emmy Awards are the television equivalent of the Oscars from the world of film, the Grammy Awards in music and the Tony Awards for the stage. Emmy Awards are presented throughout the year, depending on the sector of television being honored. The most famous of these ceremonies are the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards. The distinctive name “Emmy” is a softened version of the word “immy”, the nickname given to the video camera tubes found in old television cameras. The Emmy statuette was designed by television engineer Louis McManus in 1948, and depicts a woman holding up an atom. McManus used his wife as a model for the woman.

40 ___ Toretto, female protagonist of the “Fast and the Furious” films : MIA

“The Fast and the Furious” is a series of action movies about street racing and car heists. The original 2001 film spawned several sequels, making it Universal Pictures’ most successful franchise of all time.

44 Number that stands for letters, in brief : GPA

Grade point average (GPA)

45 You may find it hard to swallow : CAPLET

Caplets combine the advantages of capsules and tablets. They are essentially tablets shaped like capsules, offering a smooth, coated exterior for easier swallowing. The capsule-like shape of caplets helps them slide down the throat more easily, while still providing the accurate dosage and convenience of a tablet.

46 Language in which the first five counting numbers are nung, song, sam, si, ha : LAO

Lao, the language of Laos, does not use spaces between words (or periods!), although this is apparently changing. Spaces are used between sentences and clauses.

49 Prepares for a marathon, in a way : CARBO-LOADS

Only relatively small amounts of carbohydrate can be stored by the human body, but those stores are important. The actual storage molecule is a starch-like polysaccharide called glycogen, which is found mainly in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is a quick source of energy when required by the body. Most of the body’s energy is stored in the form of fat, a more compact substance that is mobilized less rapidly. Endurance athletes often eat meals high in carbohydrates (carbo-loading) a few hours before an event, so that their body’s glycogen is at optimum levels.

55 Wyndham alternative : OMNI

The Wyndham hotel chain was founded in Dallas in 1981 by one Trammell Crow. Apparently, Trammell named the company for a woman who wrote a profile of him for “Fortune” magazine. The woman’s name was Wyndham Robertson.

56 Award-winning actress for “The Bear” : AYO EDEBIRI

Actor, comedian and television writer Ayo Edebiri gained prominence for her role as Sydney Adamu, the young sous-chef in the very successful Hulu series “The Bear”.

“The Bear” is a comedy-drama TV show that started airing in 2022. It stars Jeremy Allen White (of “Shameless” fame) as a chef from a Michelin-star restaurant who heads home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop after his brother dies. I really enjoyed this one …

57 Urban irritant : SMOG

“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s. Several cities around the world have a reputation of being particularly smoggy. For example, the most smog-plagued city in Latin America is Mexico City, which is located in a highland “bowl” that traps industrial and vehicle pollution.

Down

1 She “learned” Arabic in December 2015 : SIRI

Siri is a software application that works with Apple’s iOS operating system. “Siri” is an acronym standing for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. Voice-over artist Susan Bennett revealed herself as the female American voice of Siri a few years ago. The British version of Siri is called Daniel, and the Australian version is called Karen. Also, “Siri” is a Norwegian name meaning “beautiful woman who leads you to victory”, and was the name the developer had chosen for his first child.

2 Home to the Bahla Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site : OMAN

The town of Bahla in Oman is famous for its old fort, pottery and a surrounding oasis.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is better known by the acronym “UNESCO”. UNESCO’s mission is to help build peace in the world using programs focused on education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. The organization’s work is aimed in particular at Africa, and gender equalization. UNESCO also administers a World Heritage Site program that designates and helps conserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to humanity across the world.

4 “Fighting” Big Ten team : ILLINI

The Illini (also “Fighting Illini”) are the athletic teams and marching band of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Illinois” is a French name that was given to the people who lived in the area (called “Illiniwek”).

27 “Baby ___ You” (Shirelles hit) : IT’S

The Shirelles were a vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were the first all-female group to have a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with their song “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” in 1961.

28 Actor Dev of “Lion” : PATEL

Dev Patel is an actor from Harrow in England who is perhaps best known for playing the lead in the hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. He also stars in a lovely 2012 film called “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” alongside an incredible cast that included Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson. Patel also had a regular role in the marvelous HBO drama series called “The Newsroom”.

“Lion” is a 2016 film based on the autobiographical book “A Long Way Home” by Saroo Brierley. Brierley is an Indian-born Australian who was accidentally separated from his mother when he was 5 years old, ending up stranded on a train that took the young boy nearly 1,500 km from his home. The excellent film adaptation stars Dev Patel as the older Brierley, who searches for his birth-family. Excellent movie …

29 Jon M. ___, director of 2024’s “Wicked” : CHU

Jon M. Chu is a movie and television director who is perhaps known for directing 2018’s highly-acclaimed film “Crazy Rich Asians”. Chu’s firstborn child is named “Willow”, after the 1998 film “Willow”. His second-born child is named “Jonathan Heights”, after the 2021 movie “In the Heights”.

“Wicked” (2024) is the first installment of a two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical of the same name. It stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, and shows the events that lead them to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. I skipped this one, because I am scared of flying monkeys …

30 An Olympian might pretend to take a bite out of it : MEDAL

In the Ancient Olympic Games, the winner of an event was awarded an olive wreath. When the games were revived in 1896, the winners were originally given a silver medal and an olive branch, with runners-up receiving a bronze medal and a laurel branch. The tradition of giving gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri.

36 Tell-all Reddit sesh : AMA

Reddit.com is a networking and news website that started up in 2005. It is essentially a bulletin board system with posts that are voted up and down by users, which determines the ranking of posts. The name “Reddit” is a play on “read it”, as in “I read it on Reddit”. One popular feature of the Reddit site is an online forum that is similar to a press conference. Known as an AMA (for “ask me anything”), participants have included the likes of President Barack Obama, Madonna, Bill Gates, Stephen Colbert and Gordon Ramsay. President Obama’s AMA was so popular that the high level of traffic brought down many parts of the Reddit site.

42 “My child is on the honor roll” and others : DECALS

A decal is a decorative sticker. “Decal” is a shortening of “decalcomania”. The latter term is derived from the French “décalquer”, the practice of tracing a pattern from paper onto glass or perhaps porcelain.

48 Swanky : POSH

No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that “posh” is actually an acronym standing for “port out, starboard home” is completely untrue, and is a story that can actually be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers traveling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.

50 Setting for “Gladiator” : ROME

“Gladiator” is an epic drama film released in 2000 starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. Veteran British actor Oliver Reed played a supporting role, the final performance before his death. In fact, Reed died before all of his scenes had been shot, requiring the use of a CGI body double and changes in the script for completion of the film.

51 Leche drinker : BEBE

In Spanish, one might have “café con leche” (coffee with milk).

52 Work that debuted at the Cairo opera house in 1871 : AIDA

“Aida” is a celebrated opera by Giuseppe Verdi that is based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. Mariette also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first staged in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline, Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radamès is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then complications arise!