0519-25 NY Times Crossword 19 May 25, Monday

Bill’s time: 6m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Occasion for pampering : SPA DAY

Back in the late 1500s. The verb “to pamper” meant “to cram with food”. Over time, the usage evolved to mean “to overindulge”.

11 Taxi : CAB

We call cabs “taxis”, a word derived from “taximeter cabs” that were introduced in London in 1907. A taximeter was an automated meter designed to record distance traveled and fare to be charged. The term “taximeter” evolved from “taxameter”, with “taxa” being Latin for “tax, charge”.

14 The “T” of B.L.T. : TOMATO

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

15 Queen of the Nile, informally : CLEO

“Queen of the Nile” is a common description used for Cleopatra VII of Egypt, the last pharaoh to rule the country. After she died, Egypt became a province in the Roman Empire.

16 Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the ___” : USA

“Party in the USA” is a 2009 song released by Miley Cyrus. It was co-written by Jessi J, with the intention that she would record it herself. She decided that the end product wasn’t “edgy” enough for her, and so passed it onto Cyrus. The Cyrus version made it to number-two in the charts, and Jessie J eventually recorded a cover version.

17 Casual dining chain with unlimited breadsticks : OLIVE GARDEN

Olive Garden is a chain of Italian-American restaurants that has over 800 locations worldwide. The chain was originally established as part of General Mills. The current owners of the chain also operate Red Lobster restaurants. Apparently there are plans to co-located Olive Garden and Red Lobster eateries so that they have separate entries but share kitchens.

22 Home to Zion National Park : UTAH

To me, the most spectacular feature of southwestern Utah’s Zion National Park is the magnificent Zion Canyon. The canyon cuts through red Navajo sandstone and truly is a beautiful sight.

23 Capital of Italia : ROMA

In Italian, “Roma” (Rome) is the “capitale” (capital) of “Italia” (Italy).

27 “… or that’s what I think, anyway,” online : … IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

28 Event whose symbol is five interlocking rings : OLYMPIC GAMES

The symbol of the Olympic Games consists of five interlocking rings, with each ring representing one of the five continents involved in the Olympics. The five continents are Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and America (North and South combined). The symbol was designed in 1912, adopted in 1914, and introduced at the 1920 Games.

33 Discontinued Apple program for organizing images : IPHOTO

iPhoto is a digital photo manipulation application that Apple no longer supports, having replaced it with the Photos app.

38 Musical genre for D’Angelo and Erykah Badu : NEO SOUL

“D’Angelo” is the stage name of R&B singer Michael Archer. His biggest success came in 2000 with the release of the album “Voodoo”. D’Angelo’s career went into decline for over a decade as he struggled with alcoholism, but he pulled things together and won a Grammy for his 2014 album “Black Messiah”.

40 Some R-rated material : EROTICA

The name of Eros, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word “erotic” meaning “arousing sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as both “Amor” (meaning “love”) and “Cupid” (meaning “desire”).

42 Number of amendments in the Bill of Rights : TEN

The Constitution of the United States was adopted on September 17, 1787. There have been 27 amendments to the constitution, the first ten of which are collectively called the Bill of Rights. In essence the Bill of Rights limits the power of the Federal Government and protects the rights of individuals. For example, the First Amendment states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

45 “We hold these ___ to be self-evident” : TRUTHS

On 11 June 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee of five people to draft a declaration of independence. Included in the five were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Adams persuaded the other committee members to give Jefferson the task of writing the first draft. A resolution of independence was passed by the Congress on 2 July 1776. The final draft of the declaration was approved by the Congress two days later, on July 4th. John Adams wrote a letter to his wife that included an assertion that July 2nd (the date of the resolution of independence) would become a great American holiday. Adams was wrong, and it was actually the date the Declaration of Independence was finalized that came to be celebrated annually.

46 Theater binoculars : OPERA GLASSES

Opera glasses are relatively small, and low-power binoculars designed for use at theater performances. The compact size makes the instruments convenient to carry into a theater, and the low magnifying power means that the user gets a large enough field of view without image shake.

51 Silverstein who wrote “A Boy Named Sue” : SHEL

“A Boy Named Sue” is a classic song by Shel Silverstein that was popularized by Johnny Cash. Famously, Cash recorded the song at a live concert he gave in 1969 at San Quentin State Prison.

54 President’s “no” : VETO

The verb “veto” comes directly from Latin and means “I forbid”. The term was used by tribunes of ancient Rome to indicate that they opposed measures passed by the Senate.

60 “Red” or “Reputation,” for Taylor Swift : ERA

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is a journey through her musical career, with each stage of the show representing a different “era” or album. Here’s the breakdown:

1. Lover
2. Fearless
3. Evermore
4. Reputation
5. Speak Now
6. Red
7. Folklore
8. 1989
9. Midnights

61 Starting point for Tropicana or Florida’s Natural juice : ORANGE GROVE

The Tropicana company is most famous for its orange juice. The company is headquartered in Chicago, where not many oranges are grown …

65 Dryer fuzz : LINT

“Lint”, meaning “fluff”, is one of those terms that I had to learn when I moved to the US. We call the same thing “fuzz” on the other side of the Atlantic.

67 Buzzer near a flower : BEE

There are over 16,000 species of bees, with the best-known probably being the western honey bee, the most common of the honey bees worldwide. Bees feed on nectar and pollen, and in so doing play a crucial role in the pollination of many plants. That’s one of the main reasons there is great concern about diminishing populations of wild bees.

Down

2 From the Arctic : POLAR

The geographic North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, although there is almost always a covering of sea ice at that location. The geographic South Pole is located on land, on the continent of Antarctica.

5 Chowed down : ATE

“Chow” is a slang term for “food” that originated in California in the mid-1800s. “Chow” comes from the Chinese pidgin English “chow-chow” meaning “food”.

6 Meditation method : YOGA

In the West, we tend to think of yoga as just a physical discipline, a means of exercise that uses specific poses to stretch and strengthen muscles. While it is true that the ancient Indian practice of yoga does involve such physical discipline, the corporeal aspect of the practice plays a relatively small part in the whole philosophy. Other major components are meditation, ethical behavior, breathing and contemplation.

8 Alternative to Axe or Brut : OLD SPICE

The Old Spice brand of grooming products was introduced in 1937, and was originally intended for a female clientele. The first male product hit the shelves in 1938, and today Old Spice is completely focused on products for men.

9 Poetical units : FEET

In poetry, a foot is a metrical unit comprising usually two, three or four syllables. Lines of verse are often classified by the number of feet that they contain, e.g. pentameter: containing five feet.

10 Colossal amount : TON

A colossus (plural “colossi”) is an exceptionally large statue, the most famous of which was the Colossus of Rhodes. This was a statue of the god Helios that stood over 100 feet tall, on the Greek island of Rhodes. New York’s Statue of Liberty was designed to have similar dimensions. The Emma Lazarus poem that is inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty is in fact titled “The New Colossus”. We get our adjective “colossal”, meaning “of exceptional size”, from “colossus”.

18 Former student, for short : ALUM

An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.

22 Thurman of “Pulp Fiction” : UMA

Uma Thurman was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Award at the Oscar ceremony held in 1995, for her performance in “Pulp Fiction”. She didn’t win (Dianne Wiest did, for “Bullets Over Broadway”), but Thurman did make her mark on the ceremony. She wore a lavender chiffon gown by Prada that attracted a lot of attention. It is credited with launching Prada as a mainstream clothier in America.

I’m not a big fan of director Quentin Tarantino, nor his work. His movies are too violent for me, and the size of his ego just turns me right off. Having said that, I think “Pulp Fiction” is a remarkable film. If you can look past the violence, it’s really well written. And what a legacy it has. John Travolta’s career was on the rocks and he did the film for practically no money, and it turned out to be a re-launch for him. Uma Thurman became a top celebrity overnight from her role. Even Bruce Willis got some good out of it, putting an end to a string of poorly-received performances.

25 Woodwind in a jazz band : ALTO SAX

The saxophone was invented by Belgian musician Adolphe Sax, hence the name. Sax developed lip cancer at one point in his life, and one has to wonder if his affliction was related to his saxophone playing (I am sure not!). I had the privilege of visiting Sax’s grave in the Cemetery of Montmartre in Paris a few years ago.

32 Sail the seven ___ : SEAS

The phrase “the seven seas” has been used for centuries by many different peoples. The actual definition of what constitutes the collection of seven has varied depending on the period and the culture. Nowadays we consider the seven largest bodies of water as the seven seas, namely:

• The North Pacific Ocean
• The South Pacific Ocean
• The North Atlantic Ocean
• The South Atlantic Ocean
• The Indian Ocean
• The Southern Ocean
• The Arctic Ocean

35 Nickname for Lincoln : HONEST ABE

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the US. There are several stories told about how he earned the nickname “Honest Abe”. One story dates back to early in his career as a lawyer. Lincoln accidentally overcharged a client and then walked miles in order to right the wrong as soon as possible.

39 Film incorrectly announced as Best Picture before “Moonlight” : LA LA LAND

There was a celebrated gaffe made at the Oscar ceremony honoring the best films of 2016. Presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, due to no fault of their own, declared “La La Land” as the winner of the Best Picture award. The producers of “La La Land” were over two minutes into their acceptance speeches when it became clear that the actual winner of the award was the movie “Moonlight”.

41 Patootie : TUSH

“Tush”, a word meaning “backside”, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

Back in the 1920s, the term “patootie” was used for a sweetheart, a very pretty girl. Somehow, the term has evolved into slang for the posterior, rear end.

47 Carnaval city : RIO

The Rio de Janeiro Carnival is the largest carnival celebration in the world. The city hosts about two million celebrants on its streets for the six days of the festival.

53 Flood embankment : LEVEE

A levee is an artificial bank, usually made of earth, that runs along the length of a river. It is designed to hold back river water at a time of potential flooding. “Levée” is the French word for “raised” and is an American term that originated in French-speaking New Orleans around 1720.

55 Pennsylvania city on a Great Lake : ERIE

Erie is a port city in the very north of Pennsylvania, sitting on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The city takes its name from the Erie Native American tribe that resided in the area. Erie is nicknamed the Gem City, a reference to the “sparkling” water of Lake Erie.

57 Office missive : MEMO

“Memorandum” means “thing to be remembered” in Latin, from the verb “memorare” meaning “to call to mind”.

59 Cohort that grew up with the internet : GEN-Z

Definitions vary, but it seems that the term “Generation Z” is reserved for the children of “Generation X”, and for the generation that follows the “Millennials” (Generation Y). Gen-Zers are also known as “Zoomers”, a portmanteau of “Z” and “boomer” (as in “baby boomer”).

“Cohort” can be used as a collective noun, meaning “group, company”. The term can also apply to an individual supporter or companion, although usually in a derogatory sense. “Cohort” comes from the Latin “cohors”, which was an infantry company in the Roman army, one tenth of a legion.