0914-25 NY Times Crossword 14 Sep 25, Sunday

Bill’s time: 19m 21s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A New H.S. student : FROSH

“Frosh” is a slang term for a college freshperson. We call such an individual a “fresher” back in Ireland …

14A Swanky Tokyo shopping district : GINZA

Ginza is a district in Tokyo that is noted for its western shops, and especially the leading fashion stores.

19A Supplier of oxygenated blood : AORTA

The aorta is the largest artery in the human body. It carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Even though it is a single vessel, it is divided into four main sections: the ascending aorta, the aortic arch, the thoracic aorta, and the abdominal aorta.

22A Shaped like a kiwi fruit : OVOID

What we call kiwifruit today (and sometimes just “kiwi”) used to be called a Chinese gooseberry. Marketing folks in the fifties decided to call it a “melonette”, and then New Zealand producers adopted the name “kiwifruit”.

23A Orange creature in an arcade game : Q*BERT

Q*bert is an arcade game that dates back to 1982. In the game, Q*bert is a character who starts at the top of a pyramid of cubes, and who is then moved around the pyramid by the player.

24A Trees native to the Yukon : RED ALDERS

Alders are deciduous (i.e. not evergreen) trees with fruit called catkins. The tree carries both male and female catkins that look very similar to each other, but the male catkin is longer than the female. Alders are pollinated by wind usually, although bees can play a role.

Canada’s federal territory known as Yukon takes its name from the Yukon River. “Yukon” means “Big Stream” in the local Gwich’in language.

25A Young bucks, say : FAWNS

A male deer is usually called a buck, and a female is a doe. However, the male red deer is usually referred to as a stag. The males of even larger species of deer are often called bulls, and the females called cows. In older English, male deer of over 5 years were called harts, and females of over 3 years were called hinds. The young of small species are known as fawns, and of larger species are called calves. All very confusing …

26A Supplier of 110-Across : ACME CORPORATION

The Acme Corporation is a fictional company used mainly by Looney Tunes, and within the Looney Tunes empire it appears mostly in “Road Runner” cartoons. Wile E. Coyote is always receiving a new piece of gear from Acme designed to finally capture the Road Runner, but the equipment always leads to his downfall.

29A Locale of the oracle of Apollo : DELPHI

In ancient Greece and Rome, an oracle was someone believed to be inspired by the gods to give wise counsel. The word “oracle” derives from the Latin “orare” meaning “to speak”, which is the same root for our word “orator”. One of the most important oracles of ancient Greece was Pythia, the high priestess to Apollo at Delphi.

36A Allhallows ___ : EVE

All Saints’ Day is November 1st each year. The day before All Saints’ Day is All Hallows’ Eve, better known by the Scottish term “Halloween”.

37A Trees on the National Mall : ELMS

The National Mall is a park in downtown Washington, D.C. It is home to several museums that are part of the Smithsonian, as well as the National Gallery of Art.

40A Nintendo character with a long, sticky tongue : YOSHI

Yoshi is a dinosaur-like character in some Nintendo video games. Yoshi first appeared as a sidekick to Mario and Luigi in the 1991 game called “Super Mario World”.

43A Emmy-winning actress Edebiri : AYO

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”.

50A Lindsay who played both twins in 1998’s “The Parent Trap” : LOHAN

I think that actress Lindsay Lohan’s big break came with the Disney remake of “The Parent Trap” in 1998. I’ve really only enjoyed one of Lohan’s films though, “Freaky Friday” from 2003 in which she stars alongside the fabulous Jamie Lee Curtis.

52A Voice of 110-Across : MEL BLANC

Mel Blanc was known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices”. We’ve all heard Mel Blanc at one time or another, I am sure. His was the voice behind such cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Woody Woodpecker, Elmer Fudd and Barney Rubble. And the words on Blanc’s tombstone are … “That’s all folks”.

56A Confectioner said to have co-created Rocky Road ice cream : EDY

The flavor of ice cream known as rocky road is made using chocolate ice cream mixed with nuts and marshmallows. The exact origin of the flavor seems to be disputed, but one story is that William Dreyer invented it in 1929, chopping up walnuts and marshmallows with sewing scissors belonging to his wife.

57A Liverpool’s borders? : ELS

The “bordering” letters of the word “Liverpool” are letters L (els).

58A Bowie collaborator Brian : ENO

Brian Eno is a musician, composer and record producer from England who first achieved fame as the synthesizer player with Roxy Music. As a producer, Eno has worked with David Bowie, Devo, Talking Heads and U2.

59A Key that a Mac lacks : ALT

The Alt (alternate) key is found on either side of the space bar on US PC keyboards. It evolved from what was called a Meta key on old MIT keyboards, although the function has changed somewhat over the years. Alt is equivalent in many ways to the Option key on a Mac keyboard, and indeed the letters “Alt” have been printed on most Mac keyboards, starting in the nineties.

60A 1949 short that marked the first appearance of 91- and 110-Across : FAST AND FURRY-OUS

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote was created first, and Road Runner was invented as someone for Wile E. to play off. I love this cartoon; definitely one of the best …

69A Left-wing activist movement : ANTIFA

The term “antifa” is a contraction of the German words “Antifaschistische Aktion”, the name of a militant anti-fascist group that operated in Germany in the 1930s. In the modern-day US, Antifa is not a single organization, but a highly decentralized, loosely-affiliated political movement.

72A Sax who invented the saxophone : ADOLPHE

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.

73A ___ horse : TROJAN

In the world of computing, a “Trojan horse” is an apparently useful computer program that is actually a piece of malicious code. The user is fooled into installing the program, hence the name. “Trojan horse” is a reference to the Ancient Greek story of the Wooden Horse of Troy.

77A Emulate an owl : HOOT

“Hoot owl” is an informal name for the barred owl. Barred owls have dark stripes running up and down the underside of their bodies, hence the name “barred”. They also have a very distinctive two-phrase vocalization, hence the name “hoot”.

80A Love letters? : XOXO

In the sequence letter sequence “X-O-X”, the X represents a kiss, and the O a hug. “O-O-O” is a string of hugs, and “X-X-X” a string of kisses. Hugs and kisses …

81A Apropos : APT

“Apropos”, meaning “relevant, opportune”, comes into English directly from French, in which language “à propos” means “to the purpose”. Note that we use the term as one word (apropos), whereas the original French is two words (à propos).

87A ___ Wong, co-star of “Always Be My Maybe” : ALI

“Always Be My Maybe” is a 2019 romantic comedy film starring Ali Wong and Randall Park. The pair play two people who are reunited as adults after having experienced a romantic fling as teenagers that had ended badly. Keanu Reeves has an interesting supporting role in the movie playing himself, and a love interest for the female lead.

93A Partner of a pestle : MORTAR

I’ve loved the sound of the words “mortar” and “pestle”, ever since I was first introduced to them in the chemistry lab. The Romans called a receptacle for pounding or grinding things a “mortarium”, giving us “mortar”. Mortarium was also the word for the product of pounding and grinding, which gives us our “mortar” that’s used with bricks to build a wall. And further, short stubby cannons used in the 16th century resembled a grinding bowl and so were called “mortars”, which evolved into our contemporary weapon of the same name. As far as the pestle is concerned, it is also derived from its Latin name “pistillum”, which comes from the word for “crush”.

94A Broadband connection, in brief : DSL

In Internet terms, the word “broadband” is used to describe Internet access that is faster than dialup. In more broad (pun!) telecommunication terms, “broadband” is used to describe “bandwidth” data transmission that is “broad” enough to carry several signals and several different types of traffic at the same time.

95A North Carolina college town : ELON

Elon is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina located close to the city of Burlington. Elon University is a private liberal arts school founded in 1889.

96A Eccentric : KOOKY

“Kooky” is a slang word meaning “out there, crazy”. The term has been around since the beatnik era, and it may be a shortened version of the word “cuckoo”.

106A P, to Pythagoras : RHO

Pythagoras of Samos is remembered by most these days for his work in mathematics, and for his famous Pythagorean theorem that states that in any right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Although there is very little of Pythagoras’s own work that survives, much has been written by his successors that shows how great his influence was above and beyond mathematics, in the fields of philosophy and religion in particular. In fact, it is believed that Pythagoras coined the word “philosophy”, coming from the Greek for “loving wisdom or knowledge”. On a “timeline” of famous Greek philosophers, Pythagoras was doing his work over a hundred years before Socrates, who was followed by Plato and then Aristotle.

107A DuBois’s portrayer in the film “A Streetcar Named Desire” : LEIGH

“Vivien Leigh” was the stage name of English actress Vivian Hartley. Leigh’s two most famous roles were probably Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind” and Blanche Dubois in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, for which she won her two Best Actress Oscars. Leigh’s second husband was fellow English actor Laurence Olivier.

“A Streetcar Named Desire” is a Tennessee Williams play that was first performed in 1947, on Broadway. The original cast included Jessica Tandy as Blanche Dubois, Karl Malden as Mitch Mitchell, and Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski. Malden and Brando reprised their stage roles in the celebrated 1951 big screen adaptation. Vivienne Leigh played Blanche Dubois in the movie, having performed the part in the London production of the play.

112A Company that once offered “50 Free Hours” CDs : AOL

In its early pursuit of market share, America Online (AOL) famously employed a strategy of mass-mailing millions of floppy disks, and later CDs, containing its dial-up internet access software. The tactic, though seemingly costly, proved incredibly effective in rapidly expanding its user base.

113A Bert’s best buddy : ERNIE

Ernie is one of the Muppets on the children’s TV show “Sesame Street”. He is usually seen with his roommate Bert, whom he frequently annoys and frustrates. Ernie is known for taking long baths with his rubber duckie. That “Rubber Duckie” is the title character in a hit song that Ernie (voiced by Jim Henson) released in 1970.

116A “Huh?,” in Honduras : QUE?

Honduras is a country in Central America that used to be known as Spanish Honduras, in order to differentiate it from British Honduras that is now called Belize. “Honduras” is the Spanish word for “the depths”, which is probably a reference to deep coastal waters.

118A Part of Wayne’s world? : WESTERN

John Wayne was named Marion Mitchell Morrison at birth, after his grandfather who was a Civil War veteran. When young Marion was a little boy, a local fireman used to call him “Little Duke” because he was always seen walking with his large dog called “Duke”. Marion liked the name “Duke” and so he called himself Duke Morrison for the rest of his life. That said, Duke Morrison also used John Wayne as a stage name.

Down

1D Page for online answers : FAQ

Most websites have a page listing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Even this blog has one!

5D It’s buried to make peace : HATCHET

The phrase “to bury the hatchet” means “to settle a disagreement”. The expression has its roots in a Native American peacekeeping custom involving the literal burial of two hatchets to signify a peace agreement.

A hatchet is a short-handled axe. The name of the axe comes from the Old French “hachete” meaning “small combat-axe”, with “hachete” being the diminutive of “hache” meaning “axe”.

7D Baldwin of “The Boss Baby” : ALEC

“The Boss Baby” is a computer-animated comedy film released in 2017. It’s all about the love for puppies and babies, and is apparently very funny. Alec Baldwin voices the title character. The film is loosely based on a picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee that was published in 2010.

8D Imbecile : DODO

The dodo was a direct relative of the pigeon and the dove, although the fully-grown dodo was usually three feet tall. One of the reasons the dodo comes to mind when we think of extinction of a species, is that it disappeared not too long ago (last recorded alive in 1662) and humans were the reason for its demise. The dodo lived exclusively on the island of Mauritius and when humans arrived, we cut back the forests that were its home. We also introduced domestic animals, such as dogs and pigs, that ransacked the dodo’s nests. The dodo was deemed to be an awkward flightless bird and so the term “dodo” has come to mean a dull-witted person.

The unsavory word “imbecile” was formerly used by the medical community to describe someone with moderate to severe mental retardation. The term comes from the Latin “imbecillus” meaning “weak, feeble”, which was extended to mean “weak-minded”. Back in the early 1900s, IQ tests were used to classify those suffering from mental retardation into categories:

• “idiot” … IQ of 0-20
• “imbecile” … IQ of 21-50
• “moron” …IQ of 51-70

10D Gucci who pioneered bamboo-handled handbags : ALDO

Gucci was founded in Rome, in 1921, by Guccio Gucci. Guccio’s son Aldo took over the company after his father’s death in 1953. It was Aldo who established the international presence for the brand and opened the company’s first overseas store, in New York City.

11D Auditorium balcony, e.g. : TIER

“Auditorium” (plural “auditoria”) is the Latin word for a lecture room, and translates literally as a “place where something is heard”. “Auditorium” is derived from “audire”, Latin for “to hear”.

12D Cajun cooking staple : OKRA

Cajun cuisine is named for the French-speaking Acadian people who were deported from Acadia in Canada to Louisiana in the 18th century.

15D Russian ruler nicknamed “The Moneybag” : IVAN I

Ivan I was Prince of Moscow, and was nicknamed “Kalita” (“Moneybag”). He used his wealth well, giving loans to neighboring principalities. These cities got into so much debt that Ivan’s successors were eventually able to annex them.

17D Wine also known as Primitivo, familiarly : ZIN

Zinfandel is one of my favorite red wine varietals. It amazes me that the rich and heavy red Zinfandel comes from the same grape as does the sweet White Zinfandel.

21D View from St. Moritz : ALP

St. Moritz is a pricey resort town in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, and a favorite destination of the rich and famous. “Moritz” is the German for “Maurice”.

33D Big ___ Burger, fictional Hawaiian fast-food chain in “Pulp Fiction” : KAHUNA

Like many words in Hawaiian, “kahuna” has several English translations, everything from a priest to an expert in some profession. The expression “the Big Kahuna” comes from the 1959 movie “Gidget”. The Big Kahuna was the leader of one of the surfing gangs in the film, and was played by Cliff Robertson.

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.

40D Oscar-winning Michelle : YEOH

Michelle Yeoh is an actress from Malaysia who appeared in several Hong Kong action films in which she did her own stunts and martial arts scenes. Her most famous action performance was in the 2000 movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, although I best know her for playing opposite Pierce Brosnan in the Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies”.

41D Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum site : OAHU

The US Navy’s presence in Pearl Harbor dates back to 1899. The original name for the bay was “Wai Momi”, which translates from Hawaiian as “Waters of Pearl”.

46D R&B group with the #1 hit “Waterfalls” : TLC

“Waterfalls” was a hit in 1995 for girl group TLC. It was to become the band’s signature song, and is notable in that it is the first number-one song to reference AIDS. In fact, “Waterfalls” also mentions the illegal drug trade and promiscuity.

47D Stand-up comic Margaret : CHO

Margaret Cho is a very successful stand-up comedian, and also a fashion designer with her own line of clothing. Cho acts as well, and you might have seen her in the John Travolta/Nicolas Cage movie “Face/Off” in which she played John Travolta’s FBI colleague.

55D Day, in Dijon : JOUR

Dijon is a city in eastern France in the Burgundy region. Dijon is famous for its mustard, a particularly strong variation of the condiment. The European Union doesn’t protect the name “Dijon” so anyone can use it on a label. That seems fair enough to me, given that 90% of the mustard made in and around Dijon is produced using mustard seed imported from Canada!

62D Silence-enforcing doc : NDA

Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

64D Spokeswoman in Progressive commercials : FLO

The character Flo, portrayed by actress Stephanie Courtney, has a last name that’s rarely used in the Progressive insurance company’s commercials: Flo Progressive. Courtney improvised the character’s signature perky attitude during her audition.

66D Some megafauna, informally : RHINOS

There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, with the smaller Javan Rhino being the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

The fauna (plural “faunae”) is the animal life of a particular region, and the flora (plural “florae”) is that region’s plant life. The term “fauna” comes from the Roman goddess of earth and fertility who was called Fauna. Flora was the Roman goddess of plants, flowers and fertility.

68D “Go ___!” (Boston cheer) : SOX

The Boston Red Sox are one of the most successful Major League Baseball teams and so command a large attendance, but only when on the road. The relatively small capacity of Boston’s Fenway Park, the team’s home since 1912, has dictated that every game the Red Sox have played there has been a sell-out from May of 2003 to April 2013. I had the pleasure of touring Fenway Park some years ago. It’s quite a place …

69D Captain in a classic novel : AHAB

Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. The role of Captain Ahab was played by Gregory Peck in the 1956 John Huston film adaptation. Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a 1998 miniseries in which Peck made another appearance, as Father Mapple.

71D Head over head? : TOTEM

“Totem” is a word used to describe any entity that watches over a group of people. As such, totems are usually the subjects of worship. Totem poles are really misnamed, as they are not intended to represent figures to be worshiped, but rather are heraldic in nature, and often celebrating the legends or notable events in the history of a tribe.

74D Actress Pflug : JO ANN

Jo Ann Pflug was co-host of “Candid Camera” in the seventies, along with Allen Funt. In 1971 she married celebrated game show host Chuck Woolery, although the marriage only lasted ten years. Pflug’s big break in movies came when she played an Army nurse in the 1970 film “M*A*S*H”.Best video game consoles

75D Rod in a hot rod : AXLE

A hot rod is an American car that has been modified for speed by installing a larger than normal engine. A street rod is generally a more comfortable type of hot rod, with the emphasis less on the engine and more on custom paint jobs and interiors. By definition, a street rod must be based on an automobile design that originated prior to 1949.

76D Word after film or pinot : NOIR

The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

The pinot noir wine grape variety takes its name from the French for “pine” and “black”. The grapes grow in tight clusters shaped like pine cones, and are very dark in color. The pinot noir grape is most closely associated with Burgundy wines in France, although in recent years the popularity (and price) of California pinot noir wine has soared after it featured so prominently in the wonderful 2004 movie “Sideways”. Grab a bottle of pinot, and go rent the movie …

79D H.S. diploma alternative : GED

The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a battery of four tests designed to demonstrate that a student has the academic skills of someone who has graduated from an American or Canadian high school.

83D Renowned N.Y.C. venue for divas : MET OPERA

The Metropolitan Opera (often simply “the Met”) of New York City is the largest classical music organization in the country, presenting about 220 performances each and every year. Founded in 1880, the Met is renowned for using technology to expand its audiences. Performances have been broadcast live on radio since 1931, and on television since 1977. And since 2006 you can go see a live performance from New York in high definition on the big screen, at a movie theater near you …

89D Raw fish dish : POKE

Poke is a Native Hawaiian dish featuring diced raw fish. “Poke” is a Hawaiian word meaning “to slice”.

97D Witherspoon of “A Wrinkle in Time” : REESE

“A Wrinkle in Time” is a book by Madeleine L’Engle. Published in 1962, it is described as a science fantasy. Included in the book’s cast of characters are Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, all of whom turn out to be supernatural beings who transport the antagonists through the universe. “A Wrinkle in Time” was adapted into a 2018 movie of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling as the three “Mrs” characters.

100D Ozone layer issue : HOLE

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used to be widely used as propellants in aerosols, and as refrigerants in cooling systems. CFCs make their way up into the ozone layer and trigger a chain reaction that converts ozone (O₃) into regular oxygen (O₂). That conversion creates “holes” in the ozone layer. Regular O₂ is good stuff, but we need O₃ to absorb harmful UV radiation raining down on us. CFC is not good stuff …

103D Paris’s Panthéon, for one : TOMB

A pantheon is the set of all gods in a particular religion or mythology. The term comes from the Greek “pan” (all) “theon” (of gods). “Pantheon” is also the name given to a temple dedicated to all deities.

105D Risqué message : SEXT

Sexting (a portmanteau of “sex” and “texting”) is the sending of explicit dialog and images between cell phones. The term “sexting” was coined by the UK’s “Sunday Telegraph Magazine” in a 2005 article.

“Risqué” is a French word, the past participle of the verb meaning “to risk”. So in English we use “risqué” to mean “racy”, but in French it means “risky”.