0623-25 NY Times Crossword 23 Jun 25, Monday

Bill’s time: 5m 47s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4A Classic dog name : FIDO

“Fido”, the name for many a dog, is Latin for “I trust”.

11A iPod __ (old music provider) : NANO

The iPod Nano was the successor to the iPod Mini and was introduced to the market at the end of 2005. There were seven versions of the Nano, until it was discontinued in 2017.

13A Bra or purse part : STRAP

The brassiere is a relatively modern invention, with the first contemporary bra being patented in 1914. However, there are ancient artifacts that show that women have been wearing garments to support their breasts for thousands of years. One of the most famous examples is a mosaic from Sicily that dates back to the 4th century AD. It depicts women athletes wearing bra-like garments while throwing the discus, lifting weights, and playing ball games.

15A Can it! : DILL PICKLE

Often, a dill pickle is actually a pickled gherkin, as the gherkin and cucumber are different cultivars within the same species. Here in the US, dill is commonly added to pickling vinegar or brine, but this wasn’t the case when I used to eat them back in Ireland (I can’t stand dill!). You might see jars labeled as “cornichons”, but they’re gherkins. “Cornichon” is the French word for “gherkin”.

19A __ Juan, Puerto Rico : SAN

San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico. The city was founded in 1521 by the Spanish, who called it “Ciudad de Puerto Rico” (Rich Port City).

20A Insect in a nest : WASP

While wasps are considered a nuisance by many, they are very important to the agricultural industry. Wasps prey on many pest insects, while having very little impact on crops.

25A Locale for a goatee : CHIN

A goatee is a beard formed by hair on a man’s chin. The name probably comes from the tuft of hair seen on an adult goat.

28A Off-road ride, for short : ATV

All-terrain vehicle (ATV)

30A Acknowledgment to a 31-Down operator : ROGER

The term “roger”, meaning “yes” or “acknowledged”, comes from the world of radiotelephony. The British military used a phonetic alphabet in the fifties that included “Roger” to represent the letter “R”. As such, it became customary to say “Roger” when acknowledging a message, with R (Roger) standing for “received”.

47A Stephen Vincent ___, “John Brown’s Body” poet : BENET

Stephen Vincent Benét was an author best known for his lengthy narrative poem “John Brown’s Body” that was first published in 1928, and for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. Benét also wrote the story “The Sobbin’ Women” which was later adapted into the musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”.

49A Stamp for a notary public : SEAL

A notary public is a public officer licensed to perform specific legal actions in non-contentious legal matters. The main duties are to administer oaths, take affidavits and witness the execution of documents.

51A Nut that contains caffeine : KOLA

The nut of the kola tree has a bitter taste, and is loaded with caffeine. Despite the taste, the nut is habitually chewed in some cultures, especially in West Africa where the tree is commonly found in the rainforest. Here in the US we best know the kola nut as a flavoring used in cola drinks.

59A Hollywood’s Driver or Sandler : ADAM

Adam Driver is an actor perhaps best known to TV audiences for playing Adam Sackler on the show “Girls” that airs on HBO. Driver’s movie career got a huge boost in 2015 when he played villain Kylo Ren in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

Adam Sandler’s big break came with “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). He then went on to make several successful movies and now Sandler has his own movie and television production company. Personally, I am not a fan …

62A Fuzzy green stuff on some trees : MOSS

There is a traditionally-held belief that in the northern hemisphere there is a heavier growth of moss on the north-facing side of trees. The assumption is that the sun creates a drier environment on the south side of the tree, an environment that is less conducive to the growth of moss.

63A Scorpion pose or cobra pose : ASANA

“Asana” is a Sanskrit word that translates as “sitting down”. The asanas are the poses that a practitioner of yoga assumes. The most famous is the lotus position, the cross-legged pose called “padmasana”.

64A Samoa’s capital : APIA

Apia is the capital city, and the only city, of the Pacific island-nation of Samoa. The harbor of Apia is famous for a very foolish incident in 1889 involving seven naval vessels from Germany, the US and Britain. A typhoon was approaching so the safest thing to do was to head for open water away from land, but no nation would move its ships for fear of losing face in front of others. Six of the ships were lost in the typhoon as a result and 200 American and German sailors perished. The British cruiser HMS Calliope barely managed to escape from the harbor and rode out the storm safely. Apia is also known as the home of writer Robert Louis Stevenson, for the last four years of his life.

65A Ballet, beadwork or bonsai : ART

The term “bonsai” is used more correctly to describe the Japanese art of growing carefully shaped trees in containers, although it has come to be used as the name for all miniature trees in pots. “Bonsai” translates literally as “tray planting”.

66A “In the middle of the night I call your name / Oh ___ / Oh ___” (John Lennon lyric) : YOKO

“Oh Yoko!” is a song written and performed by John Lennon in 1971 that appears on his iconic album “Imagine”. The title refers to Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono.

Down

2D Sprinter Devers, three-time gold medal winner at the Olympics : GAIL

Gail Devers is a US Olympic champion, winning the 100m gold at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, and winning the 100m individual and relay golds at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Back in 1990, doctors considered amputating Devers’ feet as they were in such poor condition as a result of treatment for Graves’ disease.

3D The first “O” of YOLO : ONLY

You only live once (YOLO)

4D Org. to which to report a phone scam : FTC

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established in 1914 with the mission of protecting consumers. It is the agency that runs the National Do Not Call Registry, which can limit the amount of telemarketing calls that consumers receive. To register your number, simply go to the website www.donotcall.gov.

6D ___ Lama (Tibetan leader) : DALAI

The Dalai Lama is a religious leader in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th to hold the office. He has indicated that the next Dalai Lama might be found outside of Tibet for the first time, and may even be female.

7D Hosp. scan that’s better for claustrophobes : OPEN MRI

MRI scans can be daunting for many people as they usually involve the patient lying inside a tube with the imaging magnet surrounding the body. Additionally, the scan can take up to 40 minutes in some cases. There are some open MRI scanners available that help prevent a feeling of claustrophobia. However, the images produced by open scanners are of lower quality as they operate at lower magnetic fields.

9D Grains often found on top of an apple crisp : OATS

“Apple crisp” is the name used in the US for a dessert comprising baked apples topped with a crisp streusel crust. The latter is a crumbly topping made from flour, butter and sugar. Apple crisp is usually referred to as “apple crumble” in Canada and the UK.

10D Dot on a radar screen : BLIP

Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called “Radio Detection And Ranging”, which was shortened to the acronym “RADAR”.

14D Breakfast items for Rocky in “Rocky” : RAW EGGS

If ever there was a movie that defined a career breakthrough for an actor, it would have to be “Rocky” for Sylvester Stallone. Stallone was a struggling actor in 1975 when a Muhammad Ali fight inspired Stallone to write a screenplay for a boxing movie, which he did in just three days. His efforts to sell the script went well but for the fact that the interested studios wanted a big name for the lead role, and Stallone was determined to be the star himself. Stallone persevered and “Rocky” was eventually made with him playing the title role of Rocky Balboa. The movie won three Oscars, and “Sly” Stallone had arrived …

16D Yorkie-___ (dog hybrid) : POO

The yorkipoo (also “yorkiepoo”) designer dog breed is a cross between a Yorkshire terrier and a poodle.

24D Underwater tracking aid : SONAR

The British developed the first underwater detection system that used sound waves. Research was driven by defense demands during WWI, leading to production of working units in 1922. This new sound detection system was described as using “supersonics”, but for the purpose of secrecy the term was dropped in favor of an acronym. The work was done under the auspices of the Royal Navy’s Anti-Submarine Division, so ASD was combined with the “IC” from “superson-ic-s” to create the name ASDIC. The navy even went as far as renaming the quartz material at the heart of the technology “ASDivite”. By the time WWII came along, the Americans were producing their own systems and coined the term SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging), playing off the related application, RADAR. And so, the name ASDIC was deep-sixed …

26D Fruit of the Loom rival : HANES

The Hanes brand of apparel was founded in 1901. A related brand was introduced in 1986 called Hanes Her Way.

29D Salsa ___ (green sauce) : VERDE

“Salsa verde” is simply Spanish for “green sauce”.

34D Menial workers : PEONS

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

35D Hanukkah coins : GELT

In the Jewish tradition, it is common to gift small amounts of money during the festival of Hanukkah. This money is referred to as Hanukkah gelt, or simply “gelt”. Recipients of the gelt are usually children, and perhaps teachers. “Gelt” is the Yiddish word for “money”.

37D Groups of spin doctors, informally : PR TEAMS

We use the term “spin” to describe an attempt to influence media reporters, with the term “spin doctor” describing a public relations person who is spouting such “spin”. Apparently, the use of “spin” in this context was popularized during the Reagan administration, when White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan was known informally as the “Director of Spin Control”.

41D Popular vitamin brand or its recommended dosage : ONE A DAY

One A Day is a line of multivitamins made by Bayer. It was introduced way back in 1940.

42D Texas city in the book and film “Friday Night Lights” : ODESSA

The city of Odessa, Texas has as its symbol the jack rabbit. This is because from the thirties through the seventies the city hosted a rodeo for roping rabbits. The Humane Society applied pressure and the city did away with the tradition in 1977.

“Friday Night Lights” is a 2004 film based on a 1990 book “Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream” by H. G. Bissinger. The film stars Billy Bob Thornton as a high school football coach. I haven’t seen the movie, but thoroughly enjoyed “Friday Night Lights”, the subsequent TV series.

46D ”Welcome to Honolulu!” : ALOHA!

Honolulu is the largest city in Hawaii, and the state capital. Located on the island of Oahu, the name “Honolulu” translates from Hawaiian as “place of shelter, calm port, sheltered bay”.

50D Coolers of condos, e.g. : ACS

The terms “condominium” and “apartment” tend to describe the same type of residential property, namely a private living space with facilities shared with others residing in the same building or complex. The difference is that a condominium is usually owned, and an apartment is rented. At least that’s how it is in the US. The word “condominium” comes from the Latin “com-” (together) and “dominum” (right of ownership).

51D ___ Sutra : KAMA

The “Kama Sutra” is renowned for its descriptions of positions that can be used for sexual intercourse, but the sutra includes many other texts that deal with various matters of a sexual nature, including how to woo a woman, the conduct of a “chief wife”, the conduct of “other wives”, how to make money as a courtesan, and much more.

57D Faucet annoyance : DRIP

The common “faucet” in an American house is almost always referred to as a “tap” on the other side of the pond.

61D ___-Caps (candy brand) : SNO

Sno-Caps are a brand of candy usually only available in movie theaters. Sno-caps have been around since the 1920s, would you believe?