0913-25 NY Times Crossword 13 Sep 25, Saturday

Bill’s time: 15m 01s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16A Italian pianist who composed the scores for “Nomadland” and “The Father” : LUDOVICO EINAUDI

“Nomadland” is a 2020 American drama film based on the non-fiction book “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century” by Jessica Bruder. Both the movie and book explore the experiences of older Americans who have lost their homes and jobs and now live on the road as “nomads.” The film stars Frances McDormand as Fern, a widow who becomes a nomad after losing her job and home in a Nevada mining town. Great movie …

18A Gumbo ingredients : OKRAS

Gumbo is a type of stew or soup that originated in Louisiana. The primary ingredient can be meat or fish, but to be true gumbo it must include the “holy trinity” of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers and onion. Okra used to be a requirement but this is no longer the case. Okra gave the dish its name as the vernacular word for the African vegetable is “okingumbo”, from the Bantu language spoken by many of the slaves brought to America.

22A Contents of Pandora’s box : EVILS

According to Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. She was created by the gods, with each god bestowing on her a gift. Her name can be translated from Greek as “all-gifted”. Pandora is famous for the story of “Pandora’s Box”. The story should be about Pandora’s “Jar”,as a 16th-century error in translation created a “box” out of the “jar”. In the story of Pandora’s Box, curiosity got the better of her and she opened up a box she was meant to leave alone. As a result she released all the evils of mankind, just closing it in time to trap hope inside.

25A The 21,728th page of 1989’s 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary : END

Work started on what was to become the first “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) in 1857. Several interim versions of the dictionary were published in the coming years with the first full version appearing, in ten bound volumes, in 1928. The second edition of the OED appeared in 1989 and is made up of twenty volumes. The OED was first published in electronic form in 1988 and went online in 2000. Given the modern use of computers, the publishing house responsible feels that there will never be a third print version of the famous dictionary.

27A Batman : Bruce :: Wonder Woman : ___ : DIANA

Bruce Wayne is the secret identity of Batman in the comic series created by DC Comics. The first name of Bruce was chosen as a homage to the Scottish king and heroic figure, Robert the Bruce. The family name was a nod to “Mad Anthony” Wayne, the US Army general and statesman who rose to prominence in the Revolutionary War.

Superhero Wonder Woman first appeared in print in 1941, in a publication from DC Comics. As she was created during WWII, Wonder Woman’s first foes were the axis powers. In the less realistic world her biggest foe was and still is Ares, a “baddie” named after the Greek mythological figure. Wonder Woman had several signature expressions, including “Merciful Minerva!”, “Suffering Sappho!” and “Great Hera!”. She also has several devices that she uses in her quest for justice, e.g. the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets and a tiara that can be used as a deadly projectile. Wonder Woman uses the name “Diana Prince” when “out of uniform”.

31A MX-5 and CX-50 maker : MAZDA

The Mazda MX-5 is sold as the Miata in North America, and as the Roadster in Japan. I’ve always liked the looks of the Mazda Miata, probably because it reminds me so much of old British sports cars. The Miata is built in Hiroshima, Japan. The name “Miata” comes from an Old High German word meaning “reward”.

Mazda’s CX-50 is a compact crossover that is slightly larger than the very successful CX-5. The CX-50 was introduced in 2022.

32A Province in the names of many Chinese restaurants : HUNAN

Hunan is a province in south-central China. It is located south of Lake Dongting, which gives the province its name, as “Hunan” translates as “south of the lake”.

33A Great volumes : TOMES

“Tome” first came into English from the Latin “tomus” which means “section of a book”. The original usage in English was for a single volume in a multi-volume work. By the late 16th century, “tome” had come to mean “large book”.

34A Petunia’s partner, in cartoons : PORKY

Porky Pig was the first of the characters created by Warner Bros. to become a hit with audiences. Porky Pig is the guy with the line at the end of each cartoon, “Th-th-th-that’s all folks!” If you don’t mind a little adult language, there’s a very funny 11-second Porky Pig clip that the studio released on a blooper reel in 1938. Porky Pig stutters out “Son of g-g-gun”, only he doesn’t say “gun” …

Petunia Pig is a cartoon character in the “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” universes. Petunia is the girlfriend of Porky Pig and has been around since 1937.

39A Botanical bristles : AWNS

“Awn” is the name given to hair- or bristle-like structures found in numerous species of plants. In some species, like barley, the awns can contain photosynthetic tissue.

41A Mountain West campus city : RENO

Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

43A Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious : A-ONE

The title of the “Mary Poppins” song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” has been broken into it’s individual components and given the meaning “Atoning for educability through delicate beauty”. I am none the wiser …

44A Beer alternative to a 38-Down : LAGER
38D Beer alternative to a 44-Across : PORTER

Lager is so called because of the tradition of cold-storing the beer during fermentation. “Lager” is the German word for “storage”.

Porter is a dark beer that originated in London in the 1700s. It is named for the street and river porters with whom it was very popular. Porter is a well-hopped beer made using brown malt, which gives it the dark color.

45A Pooped : PLUM TUCKERED OUT

The exact etymology of the verb “to tucker”, meaning “to tire”, seems to be uncertain. However, it seems to have originated in New England, and at least dates back to the 1830s.

Down

2D Actor Kieran of “Succession” : CULKIN

Kieran Culkin began his acting career alongside his older brother Macaulay in the 1990 film “Home Alone”. Kieran’s most lauded performance was the title role in 2002’s “Igby Goes Down”, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

“Succession” is a very popular dark comedy-drama series that premiered in 2018. It’s about a family-owned, global media company. The “succession” in question is who will get to run the empire after the passing of the ailing family patriarch. The marvelous Scottish actor Brian Cox plays the head of the company Logan Roy. Great stuff, albeit quite depressing and terrifying …

4D South Asian crepes : DOSAS

A dosa is a thin, savory pancake from South Indian cuisine. Dosas are made using a fermented batter consisting of ground black lentils and rice. They are usually served hot, and often with chutney and sambar, a lentil-based vegetable stew.

7D Much of a comet, typically : ICE

Comets and asteroids are similar, both being relatively small celestial bodies orbiting the sun. Comets differ from asteroids in that they have a coma or tail, especially when they are close enough to the sun. The coma and tail are temporary fuzzy atmospheres that develop due to the presence of solar radiation. Comets are sometimes referred to as “dirty snowballs”, a reference to their composition: rock, dust, water ice and frozen gasses.

8D The solution referred to in Sherlock Holmes’s “seven-per-cent solution” : COCAINE

“The Seven-Per-Cent Solution” is a 1974 Sherlock Holmes mystery written by Nicholas Meyer. Mayer adapted the novel into a screenplay for the 1976 film of the same name. Somehow, I’ve not seen this movie, despite a great cast that includes Robert Duvall as Dr. Watson, Samantha Eggar as Irene Adler and Laurence Olivier as Professor Moriarty. Nicol Williamson plays Sherlock Holmes, and Alan Arkin turns up as Sigmund Freud.

11D Jet-black stone : ONYX

Onyx is a form of quartz that comes in many different shades, but most often it’s the black version that’s used for jewelry. The name “onyx” comes from the Greek word for “fingernail”, as onyx in the flesh color is said to resemble a fingernail.

12D Much of Jupiter : GAS

In our solar system, the four planets nearest the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) are known as terrestrial planets, and are composed mainly of silicate rocks and metal. The remaining four planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) are referred to as gas planets, as they have no solid rock or metal. The gas planets do not have a solid surface, although they are sometimes said to have a “rocky center”. This is actually liquid metal or rock formed by the high temperatures and pressures at the centers of the gas planets.

13D Vegetable also called a Swedish turnip : RUTABAGA

The names of veggies cause me grief sometimes. What’s called a turnip here in the US, we call a swede back in Ireland. An Irishman’s turnip is a rutabaga over here. Thank goodness a potato is a potato, or I’d just give up altogether …

14D DNA compound whose name includes the letters D, N and A : ADENINE

Adenine is one of the four nucleobases found in DNA and RNA, along with guanine, cytosine, and thymine (uracil in RNA). These nucleobases form the “rungs” of the DNA ladder, pairing specifically (adenine with thymine, guanine with cytosine) to create the genetic code.

15D Pink-flowered tree : MIMOSA

Some members of the Mimosa genus of plant are capable of rapid movement. For example, if you touch the leaves of the Mimosa pudica, they curl up in less than a second.

22D Basketball Hall-of-Famer Baylor : ELGIN

Elgin Baylor is a retired NBA player and a former NBA general manager. Baylor spent 22 years as GM for the LA Clippers.

24D Watermelon detritus : RINDS

Detritus is loose material that results from the process of erosion. The usage of the term has evolved to describe any accumulated material or debris. “Detritus” is Latin for “a wearing away”.

29D Instant ___ : RAMEN

Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.

31D Home to the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, in brief : MOMA

The founding of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City was very much driven by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, wife of John D. Rockefeller. Working with two friends, Abby managed to get the museum opened in 1929, just nine days after the Wall Street Crash. The MoMA’s sculpture garden bears the name of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and has done so since 1949.

33D Like about 4% of the citizens of Kansas : TOPEKAN

Topeka is the capital of Kansas, and is located on the Kansas River in the northeast of the state. The name “Topeka” was chosen in 1855 and translates from the Kansa and the Ioway languages as “to dig good potatoes”. The reference isn’t to the common potato but rather to the herb known as the prairie potato (also “prairie turnip”), which was an important food for many Native Americans.

34D Soft, yellow fruit : PAWPAW

The papaw (also “pawpaw”) tree is native to North America and has a fruit that looks similar to a papaya. Papaw probably gets its name from the word papaya, but papaw and papaya are two distinct species.

35D Salsas, e.g. : DANCES

The genre of music called salsa is a modern interpretation of various Cuban traditional music styles.

37D Like paper napkins : ONE-USE

Our word “napkin” dates back to the 1300s, when it had the same meaning as today. The term comes from the old French word “nape” meaning “tablecloth” and the Middle English suffix “-kin” meaning “little”. So, a napkin is a little tablecloth.

40D Tilt : JOUST

“Jousting” and “tilting” are synonyms describing the medieval competition in which two horsemen yielding blunted lances attempt to unseat each other. Such an event has been referred to as “jousting” since the 1300s. At some point, the path of the two charging horsemen was separated by a cloth barrier known as a tilt (“tilt” meant “cloth covering”). The term “tilting” was applied to the sport in the 1500s, although by then the cloth barrier had been upgraded to a wooden fence.

41D ___ test (home inspection component) : RADON

The element radon (Rn) is a radioactive gas, and a byproduct produced when uranium decays naturally in the earth. Radon gas can collect and accumulate in buildings and rooms that are particularly well insulated with very little air exchange. The danger is very real, as radon is listed as the second most frequent cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoke.

43D Yours, in Tours : A TOI

Tours is the largest city in the Centre region of France. Sitting on the Loire river, it is said that the people of Tours speak the “purest” form of French in the whole country. The French spoken by a local is also said to be free of any accent.

44D Whose business is just around the block? : LEGO

Lego produces some wonderful specialized sets with which you can build models of celebrated structures, including:

• The Statue of Liberty (2,882 pieces)
• The Sydney Opera House (2,989 pieces)
• The Eiffel Tower (3,428 pieces)
• Tower Bridge (4,295 pieces)
• The Taj Mahal (5,922 pieces)
• The World Map (11,695 pieces)

47D “___ Beso” : ESO

“Eso Beso” is Spanish for “That Kiss”, and is the title of a 1962 hit song recorded by Canadian-born singer Paul Anka.