0629-25 NY Times Crossword 29 Jun 25, Sunday

Bill’s time: 19m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Muslim leader : IMAM

An imam is a Muslim leader, and often the person in charge of a mosque and/or perhaps a Muslim community.

5A Daffy Duck, for one : DRAKE

A male duck is a drake, and a female duck is a hen. That said, a female is sometimes just referred to as a duck!

Daffy Duck first appeared on the screen in “Porky’s Duck Hunt” in 1937. In the original cartoon, Daffy was just meant to have a small role, but he was a big hit as he had so much sass. Even back then, Daffy was voiced by the ubiquitous Mel Blanc.

25A Famed actress who portrayed Queen Christina in 1933’s “Queen Christina” : GARBO

Famously, Greta Garbo lived a life of seclusion in New York City after she retired from the entertainment business. Commentators often associated her need for privacy with a line she uttered in the great 1932 movie “Grand Hotel”. Her character Grusinskaya the Russian ballerina said, “I want to be alone (…) I just want to be alone”.

Greta Garbo famously portrayed Queen Christina in the 1933 film “Queen Christina”. The real Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) was quite the unconventional monarch. She ascended to the throne at age six, eventually converted to Catholicism and refused to marry. So, she abdicated at 28 and moved to Rome. Her decision to abdicate caused a considerable stir across Europe, as it was highly unusual for a reigning monarch to voluntarily give up their crown.

26A The Washington Monument, e.g. : OBELISK

An obelisk is a rectangular column that tapers to the top and is capped by a pyramid shape. An image of an obelisk was used by the ancient Egyptians as a hieroglyph.

Completed in 1885, the Washington Monument was the world’s tallest structure, but only for a few years. The Washington Monument lost its “world title” in 1889, on the completion of the Eiffel Tower. It retains the title of world’s tallest stone structure, standing at almost 555 feet in height.

27A Twistable piece on Mr. Potato Head : ARM

Mr. Potato Head (now just “Potato Head”) is an enduring and popular toy that has been around since its invention by George Lerner in 1949. In its original form, the toy was a collection of eyes, ears, and other facial features that were designed to be stuck into a real potato. Mr. Potato Head also has the distinction of being the first toy ever to be advertised on television.

29A Apt clue for the circled letters : TOLKIEN TREE CREATURE (ENT)

Ents are tree-like creatures that live in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth in his series of books “The Lord of the Rings”. “Ent” is an Old English word for “giant”.

37A Relative of a zither : LYRE

The zither is a stringed instrument, one in which the strings do not extend beyond the bounds of the sounding box. That means that the instrument has no neck, unlike a guitar.

41A “Mighty” Mudville batter : CASEY

“Casey at the Bat” is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, first published in the San Francisco Examiner. The poem became very popular due to repeated live performances in vaudeville by DeWolf Hopper. Casey played for the Mudville Nine, and the last line of the poem is “But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.”

43A Staff symbol for violists : C-CLEF

“Clef” is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on a stave. The bass clef is also known as the F-clef, the alto clef is the C-clef, and the treble clef is the G-clef.

The viola looks like and is played like a violin, but is slightly larger. It is referred to as the middle voice in the violin family, lying between the violin and the cello.

55A R.p.m. gauge, for short : TACH

The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer in a car measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).

56A “Parks and Recreation” character who says “Fishing relaxes me. It’s like yoga, except I still get to kill something” : RON

Ron Swanson is the boss, the director of the parks and recreation department on the NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation”. He is played by actor Nick Offerman.

60A Choice on “Let’s Make a Deal” : DOOR

Here is the text of the puzzle known as the Monty Hall problem:

Suppose you’re on a game show, and you’re given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what’s behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, “Do you want to pick door No. 2?” Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?

The answer is: switch to door No. 2, always. In this situation, you started with a ⅓ chance of choosing the right door. By showing that a goat is behind door No. 3, the odds of the car being behind door No. 2 jump to ⅔.

71A Employee welfare org. : OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

74A He rhymed 19 different words with “Lenore” in his most famous work : POE

“The Raven” is a narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe that tells of a student who has lost the love of his life, Lenore. A raven enters the student’s bedchamber and perches on a bust of Pallas. The raven can talk, to the student’s surprise, but says nothing but the word “nevermore” (“quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”). As the student questions all aspects of his life, the raven taunts him with the same comment, “nevermore”. Finally, the student decides that his soul is trapped beneath the raven’s shadow and shall be lifted “nevermore”.

80A Ax handlers, perhaps : ROADIES

In the world of music, “axe” is a slang term describing a musical instrument, especially a guitar or horn.

89A A.F.L.-___ : CIO

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was founded in 1886, making it one of the first federations of unions in the country. Over time the AFL became dominated by craft unions, unions representing skilled workers of particular disciplines. In the early thirties, John L. Lewis led a movement within the AFL to organize workers by industry, believing this would be more effective for the members. But the craft unions refused to budge, so Lewis set up a rival federation of unions in 1932, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The two federations became bitter rivals for over two decades until finally merging in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO.

98A Kentucky Derby prize : ROSES

The first Kentucky Derby took place in 1875, and was a race modeled on the Epsom Derby in England and the Grand Prix de Paris (now called the “Prix de l‘Arc de Triomphe”). As such, the Kentucky Derby was run over 1½ miles, although in 1896 this was shortened to 1¼ miles. The winning horse is presented with a very elaborate blanket made of red roses, and so the Derby is nicknamed “Run for the Roses”. The race is held on the first Saturday in May each year, and is limited to 3-year-old horses.

106A “Hey Ya” hip-hop duo : OUTKAST

“Hey Ya!” is a 2003 song by hip hop duo Outkast. I took a look at the song’s official music video, as I read that it was inspired by the 1964 appearance of the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. Fun …

115A Write by hand not using cursive : PRINT

Cursive handwriting is often referred to as “longhand” or “script”, although when I was learning it at school we knew it as “joined-up writing”. The term “cursive” ultimately comes from the Latin verb “currere” meaning “to run”. The idea is that the letters of words are written with a “running” hand.

120A Paint brand with an animal in its logo : BEHR

The name of the Behr brand of paint is pronounced “bear”, and the cans even have a bear logo. The company was founded in 1947 by Otho Behr, Jr.

122A Onetime high-speed fliers, for short : SSTS

The most famous supersonic transport (SST) is the retired Concorde. Concorde was developed and produced under an Anglo-French treaty by France’s Aérospatiale and the UK’s British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Concordes were mainly operated by Air France and British Airways, with both companies buying the planes with substantial subsidies from the French and British governments. The final Concorde flight was a British Airways plane that landed in the UK on 26 November 2003.

Down

2D Initialism directed at the overly inquisitive : MYOB

Mind your own business (MYOB)

4D Alternatives to cabernets : MERLOTS

Merlot is one of the main grapes used to make Bordeaux wines, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

5D Copenhagen language, to locals : DANSK

The Danish language (“Dansk” in Danish) is not only spoken in Denmark, but also in the Southern Schleswig region of northern Germany. One of the distinctive characteristics of Dansk is that it has 27 phonetically distinctive vowels.

Copenhagen is the largest city and the capital of Denmark. I haven’t had the privilege of visiting Copenhagen, but I hear it is a wonderful metropolis with a marvelous quality of life. The city is also very environmentally friendly, with over a third of its population commuting to work by bicycle.

6D Woman who is told “Don’t Lose That Number” in a Steely Dan title : RIKKI

Steely Dan’s heyday was in the seventies when they toured for a couple of years, although the group mainly focused on studio work. The band was formed in 1972 and broke up in 1981. The core of the band reunited in 1993, and is still performing today despite the passing of founding member Walter Becker in 2017. Steely Dan’s best-selling album is “Aja” (pronounced like “Asia”), which was released in 1977.

7D The D-backs, on sports tickers : ARI

The Arizona Diamondbacks (also “D-backs”) joined Major League Baseball’s National League in 1998. By winning the World Series in 2001, they became the fastest expansion team to do so in Major League history.

8D “I’ll take ‘Crossword Clues’ for $2,000, please, ___!” : KEN

Ken Jennings is a remarkable man, the person who had the longest winning streak on television’s “Jeopardy!”. He has also won more game show money than any other person. He was defeated after 75 appearances on the show, after racking up over $2.5 million in the prior episodes. In 2020, Jennings was named as the first interim host of “Jeopardy!” following the passing of Alex Trebek.

9D Bit of work : ERG

An erg is a unit of mechanical work or energy. It is a small unit, with one joule comprising 10 million ergs. It has been suggested that an erg is about the amount of energy required for a mosquito to take off. The term comes from “ergon”, the Greek word for work.

10D Eight more than a dozen : SCORE

Our verb “to score” meaning “to tally”, comes from the Old Norse “skor”, which is a “mark, notch”. It is likely that items such as livestock were counted by placing a notch in a stick for each set of twenty, hence our use of the noun “score” to mean “twenty”.

17D Bagpipe’s sound : DRONE

Bagpipes have been played for centuries all across Europe, in parts of Asia and North Africa, and in the Persian Gulf. However, the most famous versions of the instrument today are the Scottish Great Highland bagpipe and the Irish uilleann pipes (my personal favorite; I’m biased!). The bag in the Scottish version is inflated by blowing into it, whereas the Irish version uses a bellows under the arm.

21D ___ fresca (refreshing Latin American beverage) : AGUA

An agua fresca is a blended drink made with sugar and water flavored with fruit, cereal, flowers or seeds. Traditional aguas frescas are sold by street vendors, especially in Mexico and the American Southwest. Common flavorings are hibiscus and tamarind.

24D Like a $2 bill : RARE

The US two-dollar bill features a portrait of Thomas Jefferson. The bill was introduced in 1862, and withdrawn in 1966. It was reintroduced in 1976, and is still legal tender. That said, there are relatively few two-dollar bills in circulation. Some people even hold that possession of a two-dollar bill is bad luck.

33D Pixar film that takes place in the Land of the Dead : COCO

“Coco” is a 2017 Pixar movie about a 12-year-old boy named Miguel who ends up in the land of the dead by accident. There, he seeks out the help of the great-great-grandfather to get back to his family in the land of the living.

41D Wispy streaks in the sky : CIRRI

Cirrus (plural “cirri”) clouds are those lovely wispy, white strands that are often called “mare’s tails”.

46D ___ ball : NERF

Nerf is a soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. “NERF” is an acronym, standing for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam.

52D California ___, amphibian whose slippery skin produces a toxin lethal to humans : NEWT

The California newt’s skin produces tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin that is also found in pufferfish. The toxin is strong enough to kill most vertebrates, including humans. Garter snakes are one of the few natural predators of the California newt, and some garter snake species have developed a genetic resistance to tetrodotoxin.

54D Branch of Islam : SHIA

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

59D There are eight in a gallon: Abbr. : PTS

The name of our fluid measure called a “gallon” ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin term “galleta” meaning “bucket, pail”.

63D Fuzz : PO-PO

“Po-po” is a slang term meaning “police”.

64D Not worth ___ : A SOU

A sou is an old French coin. We use the term “sou” to mean “practically worthless amount”.

65D Entertainer who doesn’t sound very selfish? : CHER

“Cher” is the stage name used by singer and actress Cherilyn Sarkisian. Formerly one half of husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher, she is often referred to as the Goddess of Pop. In her acting career, Cher was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar of 1984 for her performance in “Silkwood”. She went further in 1988 and won the season’s Best Actress Oscar for playing Loretta Castorini in “Moonstruck”.

66D ___ -Ball : SKEE

Skee-Ball is the arcade game in which you roll balls up a ramp trying to “bounce” it into rings for varying numbers of points. The game was first introduced in Philadelphia, in 1909.

67D “Runaway Bride” actress Wilson : RITA

Actress Rita Wilson is also a producer. She produced the 2002 movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, which was destined to become the highest-grossing independent movie of all time. Wilson married fellow actor Tom Hanks in 1988.

“Runaway Bride” is a 1999 film starring Julia Roberts in the title role, and Richard Gere as the male romantic lead. I regard this one as a very watchable romantic comedy …

70D Jennifer who wrote “A Visit From the Goon Squad” : EGAN

Jennifer Egan is an author who grew up in San Francisco. Egan’s 2010 work “A Visit from the Goon Squad” won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Usually termed a novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” is structured in such a way that it is sometimes described as a collection of linked short stories.

82D Name on Irish stamps : EIRE

“Éire”, is the Irish word for “Ireland”. The related “Erin” is an anglicized version of “Éire” and actually corresponds to “Éirinn”, the dative case of “Éire”.

86D The Big Easy, in brief : NOLA

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana has the nickname “The Big Easy”. This name might come from the early 1900s when musicians found it relatively “easy” to find work there. The city is also known by the acronym NOLA, standing for New Orleans (NO), Louisiana (LA).

87D Cousin of a Nebula Award : HUGO

The Hugo Awards are presented annually for excellence in science fiction and fantasy writing. The awards are named for Hugo Gernsback, founder of the sci-fi magazine “Amazing Stories”.

The best works of science fiction and fantasy published each year are recognized annually by the Nebula Awards. The first Nebulas were awarded in 1966.

88D School founded as Kynge’s College of Our Ladye of ___ besyde Windesore : ETON

Eton College near Windsor in the south of England was founded way back in 1440 by King Henry VI. Originally known as “The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor”, the school was intended to provide free education to poor boys. Free education today at Eton? Not so much …

92D Pipes smoked at some lounges : HOOKAHS

A hookah is a water pipe, a device for smoking tobacco in which the smoke is passed through a water basin before it is inhaled.

93D Phrase meant to be repeated : MANTRA

A mantra is a word that is used as a focus for the mind while meditating. The term is Sanskrit in origin, and is now used figuratively in English to describe any oft-repeated word or phrase.

98D Campus mil. group : ROTC

Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)

100D Patty or Selma, to Bart and Lisa : AUNT

In “The Simpsons”, Marge Simpson has two older twin sisters. Their full names are Patricia “Patty” Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Stu-Simpson. Selma acquired that multiple-barreled name through a string of unsuccessful marriages.

103D Video game brother : LUIGI

Luigi is the younger and taller fraternal twin brother of Nintendo’s Mario. He first appeared in the 1983 arcade game “Mario Bros.”, and is often portrayed as a more timid character than his famous sibling.

108D Square root of nueve : TRES

In Spanish, “tres” (three) is the square root of “nueve” (nine).

110D Group of Black Friday shoppers, say : MOB

In the world of retail, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the US. It is also the day when many stores start the holiday shopping season, and so offer deep discounts to get ahead of the competition.