1227-25 NY Times Crossword 27 Dec 25, Saturday

Bill’s time: 11m 57s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Org. that organizes rec leagues : YMCA

The YMCA (the Y) is a worldwide movement that has its roots in London, England. There, in 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded with the intent of promoting Christian principles through the development of “a healthy spirit, mind and body”. The founder, George Williams, saw the need to create YMCA facilities for young men who were flocking to the cities as the Industrial Revolution flourished. He saw that these men were frequenting taverns and brothels, and wanted to offer a more wholesome alternative.

5A ___ Seton, author of “Foxfire” and “Katherine” : ANYA

“Anya Seton” was the pen name of Ann Seton, an author of historical romances from New York City. Seton’s 1944 novel “Dragonwyck” was released into theaters in 1946 and starred Gene Tierney and Walter Huston.

9A Interloper whom no one seems to know, informally : RANDO

“Rando” is a slang term describing a “random person”. It tends not to be used flatteringly.

24A Knights of ___, ancient cult in the “Star Wars” universe : REN

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.

25A Group that protects the QB : O-LINE

Offensive line (O-line)

28A Bussing on the street, e.g., in brief : PDA

Public display of affection (PDA)

To buss is to kiss.

31A Halves of Hamiltons : ABES

The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Abraham Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

The obverse of the US ten-dollar bill features the image of Alexander Hamilton, the first US Secretary of the Treasury. As such, ten-dollar bills are sometimes called “Hamiltons”. By the way, the $10 bill is the only US currency in circulation in which the portrait faces to the left. The reverse of the ten-dollar bill features the US Treasury Building.

32A Superman’s mother : LARA

Lara Lor-Van is the biological mother of Kal-El, and wife of scientist Jor-El. Kal-El is sent to Earth, where we would know him better as “Superman”.

36A Zip : JACK DIDDLY-SQUAT

“Squat” is a slang term for “nothing”. “Squat” and the variant “Jack squat”, probably have a distasteful derivation that is related to a bodily function.

43A Many a popular TikTok : MEME

A meme (from “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

47A Amazon wrapper : BOA

Boa constrictors are members of the Boidae family of snakes, all of which are non-venomous. Interestingly, the female boa is always larger than the male.

48A Thermostat display, informally : ROOM TEMP

The suffix “-stat” comes from the Greek “statos” meaning “standing, stationary”. It was first used in the mid-1700s in the term “heliostat”, which described an instrument that made the sun appear stationary. We still use “-stat” in the name of devices that stabilize or regulate. For example, a thermostat controls temperature and a rheostat uses resistance to control current flow in an electrical circuit.

55A What many wine corks do : TAPER

Cork, as in the material used to make wine stoppers, comes from the bark of cork oak trees. The bark of a cork oak is very thick and rugged and can be harvested every 7-10 years, without harming the trees.

56A March Madness group : ELITE EIGHT

In the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship, the teams remaining at various stages of the tournament are known as:

• The “Sweet Sixteen” (the regional semi-finalists)
• The “Elite Eight” (the regional finalists)
• The “Final Four” (the national semi-finalists)

60A Man’s name that describes a radio that’s lost half its frequencies? : NOAM

Amplitude modulation/frequency modulation (AM/FM)

61A Pitch one might try to perfect : SPIEL

A spiel is a lengthy speech or argument designed to persuade, like a sales pitch. “Spiel” comes to us from German, either directly (“spiel” is the German for “play”) or via the Yiddish “shpil”.

Down

2D One of Time magazine’s “Most Influential Teens” during the 2010s : MALIA OBAMA

Former First Daughter Malia Obama was a staff writer for the 2023 satirical horror series “Swarm”, co-created by Donald Glover. She is credited as a co-writer for the show’s fifth episode, “Girl, Bye”. Glover praised her contribution, saying, “She’s an amazingly talented person. She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard”. Her interest in the industry started much earlier when she interned on the set of the HBO show “Girls” in 2015 and worked as a production assistant on the CBS sci-fi drama “Extant” in 2014.

4D They may go in for cursing : ASTERISKS

The name of the typographical symbol “asterisk” comes from the Greek word “asteriskos” meaning “little star”. The original use of the asterisk was by printers of family trees in feudal times. Back then it was a symbol indicating the date of birth.

A string of typographical symbols such as “@#%!” that is used to replace a swear word is called a “grawlix”. The term “grawlix” was coined by Mort Walker, the creator of comic strip “Beetle Bailey”, in 1964.

6D Phrase on some seasoning labels : NO MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring, non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines, intensifying the umami flavor. Whether or not MSG is harmful seems to be still under debate.

8D Lhasa ___ : APSO

The Lhasa apso breed of dog originated in Tibet and is named after “Lhasa” (the capital city) and “apso” (a Tibetan word meaning “bearded”). The Lhasa apso has been around since 800 BC and is one of the oldest breeds in the world, one very closely related to the ancestral wolf.

9D Wilma Flintstone and Jane Jetson, for two : REDHEADS

The famous animated children’s show “The Flintstones” is set in the fictional prehistoric town of Bedrock, which is the county seat of Cobblestone County. One of the local TV stations is ABC (Abbadabba Broadcasting Company), on which you can see the “The Ed Sulleystone Show”. Graduates from Bedrock High School might move on to attend Princestone University or Shale University, both of which are schools in the Poison Ivy League.

“The Jetsons” is an animated show from Hanna-Barbera that had its first run in 1962-1963, and then was recreated in 1985-1987. When it debuted in 1963 on ABC, “The Jetsons” was the network’s first ever color broadcast. “The Jetsons” is like a space-age version of “The Flintstones”. The four Jetson family members are George and Jane, the parents, and children Judy and Elroy. Residing with the family in Orbit City are their household robot Rosie and pet dog Astro.

10D ___ Brown, host on the Food Network : ALTON

Alton Brown is a celebrity chef who is behind the Food Network show “Good Eats”, and who is the host of “Iron Chef America”.

11D 2021 science fiction novel by Nnedi Okorafor : NOOR

Nnedi Okorafor is a Nigerian-American author known for her works in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. Among her best known works is the “Binti Trilogy”, a series of novellas and a short story about a young woman who leaves Earth to attend a university in space.

16D John with some ground-breaking inventions : DEERE

John Deere invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. Prior to Deere’s invention, farmers used an iron or wooden plow that constantly had to be cleaned as rich soil stuck to its surfaces. The cast-steel plow was revolutionary as its smooth sides solved the problem of “stickiness”. The Deere company that John founded uses the slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere”, and has a leaping deer as its logo.

20D Cardinal ___ : SIN

The cardinal sins of Christian ethics are also known as the seven deadly sins. The seven sins are:

• Wrath
• Greed
• Sloth
• Pride
• Lust
• Envy
• Gluttony

23D Spot for a sub : DELI

The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

27D “Do the Right Thing” pizzeria : SAL’S

“Do the Right Thing” is a Spike Lee movie that was released in 1989. Much of the action in the film is centered on a local pizzeria called “Sal’s” owned by Italian-American Salvatore Frangione (played by Danny Aiello).

29D Extreme music subgenre with heavily distorted guitars : DEATH METAL

Death metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music. Let me check for some death metal titles in my music collection here … nope … none …

31D “The soul should always stand ___”: Emily Dickinson : AJAR

Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1800 poems in her lifetime, with less than a dozen published before she died in 1886. Emily’s younger sister discovered the enormous collection, and it was published in batches over the coming decades.

33D Leading man? : ADAM

According to the Bible, God created Adam from “the dust of the ground”. Eve was created as Adam’s companion, from Adam’s rib.

35D Historical region of southwestern France : AQUITAINE

Aquitaine is a historical region in the southwest of France that is part of the modern administrative region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Aquitaine was an English possession for almost three hundred years after the duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine married King Henry II in 1154. During that period, the English kings made more money from exporting wine from Aquitaine than from any other single source.

38D “No day but today!” : YOLO!

You only live once (YOLO)

46D First responder, for short : EMT

Emergency medical technician (EMT)

47D Hollywood icon Davis : BETTE

I must confess that I have a problem watching movies starring Bette Davis. I think I must have seen her play one of her more sinister roles when I was a kid and it gave me nightmares or something.

49D Actor ___ Jackson Jr. : O’SHEA

O’Shea Jackson Jr. is an American actor and rapper who is best known for his portrayal of his own father, rapper Ice Cube, in the biopic “Straight Outta Compton” (2015).

50D British baby buggies : PRAMS

Another word used in Britain and Ireland that’s rarely used over here is “pram”, which in my day was the most common term for what is called a baby carriage in the US. “Pram” is short for “perambulator”.

52D Off-kilter : ALOP

To be “off-kilter” is to be off-balance, not aligned. To be “out of kilter” is to be out of order, not in good condition.

53D South American monkey with a reduplicative name : TITI

Titis are monkeys found in much of South America. Titis have tails that are a little bit longer than the length of their heads and bodies.