0324-26 NY Times Crossword 24 Mar 26, Tuesday

Bill’s time: 7m 25s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A One-on-one clashes in “Hamilton” : DUELS

“Ten Duel Commandments” is a song from the musical “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The “commandments” are the rules to be applied to a duel. The song does not relate (directly) to the infamous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, but rather a duel between John Laurens and Charles Lee for which Hamilton acted as a second.

16A “Escape (The ___ Colada Song)” (last Billboard #1 hit of the 1970s) : PINA

“Piña colada” is a Spanish term that translates into “strained pineapple”. The piña colada cocktail was introduced in the Caribe Hilton San Juan in 1954, and since 1978 it has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico. The mocktail version of the drink is known as a nada colada.

17A “The Last Supper” painter : LEONARDO DA VINCI

Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural “The Last Supper” can be seen on an end wall of the dining hall in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. If you want to see the painting in person, you have to make a reservation ahead of time. And once you get there, you’re only allowed 15 minutes of viewing time. It’s very popular …

20A Saul Goodman’s field in “Better Call Saul” : LAW

“Better Call Saul” is a spin-off drama series from the hit show “Breaking Bad”. The main character is small-time lawyer Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, who featured in the original series. “Better Call Saul” is set six years before Goodman makes an appearance in the “Breaking Bad” storyline. The lawyer’s real name is James Morgan McGill, and his pseudonym is a play on the words “S’all good, man!”

21A Refs’ ring rulings : TKOS

Technical knockout (TKO)

27A “The Luncheon” painter : CLAUDE MONET

French artist Claude Monet was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement, and indeed the term “Impressionism” comes from the title of his 1872 painting “Impression, Sunrise”. That work depicts the port of Le Havre, which was Monet’s hometown. Later in his life, Monet purchased a house in Giverny, and famously installed lily ponds and a Japanese bridge in the property’s extensive gardens. He spent two decades painting the water lily ponds, producing his most famous works. I was fortunate enough to visit Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny a few years ago. A beautiful place …

35A Golfer’s sand-filled hazard : BUNKER

Sand traps on a golf course are referred to as bunkers on the other side of the Atlantic.

37A Sweet Japanese rice cake that may be filled with ice cream : MOCHI

Mochi is a sweet rice cake in Japanese cuisine. Special versions of mochi are produced for certain times of the year or holidays, e.g. New Year, spring time, Children’s Day and Girls’ Day.

39A ___ Moines, Iowa : DES

The city of Des Moines is the capital of Iowa, and takes its name from the Des Moines River. The river in turn takes its name from the French “Riviere des Moines” meaning “River of the Monks”. It looks like there isn’t any “monkish” connection to the city’s name per se. “Des Moines” was just the name given by French traders who corrupted “Moingona”, the name of a group of Illinois Native Americans who lived by the river. However, others contend that French Trappist monks, who lived a full 200 miles from the river, somehow influenced the name.

40A State flower of New Mexico : YUCCA

Yuccas are a genus of shrubs and trees that live in hot and dry areas of North and South America. One of the more famous species of Yucca is the Joshua tree. Yuccas have a unique pollination system, with moths transferring pollen from plant to plant. New Mexico adopted the yucca as its state flower in 1927. By the way, the yucca is in the asparagus family.

42A Soldier’s food kit, for short : MRE

The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) comes in a lightweight package that’s easy to tote around. The MRE replaced the more cumbersome Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) in 1981, a meal-in-a-can. In turn, the MCI had replaced the C-ration in 1958, a less sophisticated meal-in-a-can with a more limited choice.

43A Very large number : MYRIAD

The term “myriad”, meaning “innumerable”, comes from the Greek “myriados”, meaning “ten thousand”. “Myriad” is one of those words that sparks heated debate about the correct usage in English. “Myriad” can be used both as an adjective and a noun. One can have “a myriad of” engagements around the holidays, for example, or “myriad” engagements around those same holidays.

46A Castle in chess : ROOK

The corner piece in the game of chess is called a “rook”, a word coming from the Persian “rokh” meaning a “chariot”. The rook has also been called, perhaps incorrectly, the castle, tower, marquess and rector.

48A “The Buffet” painter : PAUL CEZANNE

Paul Cézanne was a post-impressionist artist who was born and worked in the beautiful city of Aix-en-Provence in the South of France. Cézanne has the reputation of being the artist who bridged the late 19th century Impressionist movement with the early 20th century Cubist movement. Both Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso are quoted as saying that Cézanne “is the father of us all”.

50A ___ Mawr College : BRYN

Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania is a women’s liberal arts school that was founded in 1885. Bryn Mawr was the first women’s university in the nation to offer a PhD program. While the undergraduate program is open only to females, the school opened up the postgraduate program to males in 1931.

51A “There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s ___.”: Poor Richard’s Almanack : SELF

“Poor Richard’s Almanack” was an annual publication authored by none other than Benjamin Franklin. The first edition hit the shelves in 1732, and was very, very successful, selling about 10,000 copies a year. Apparently Napoleon Bonaparte was a big fan.

55A Pantry problem : ANTS

The word “pantry” dates back to 1300, when it came into English from the Old French “panetrie” meaning a “bread room”. Bread is “pain” in French, and “panis” in Latin.

Down

4D Cornish game ___ : HEN

The Cornish game hen is a broiler chicken, and not a game bird. And, despite the designation “hen”, a Cornish game hen can be either male or female.

5D Hidden area of the internet : DARK WEB

“Dark web” is the name given to content on the World Wide Web that requires specific software and/or authorization for access. It is a subset of the “deep web”, the collection of content on the Web that isn’t indexed by search engines. Dark web users refer to the regular Web that you and I access as “Clearnet”.

9D Monterrey Mrs. : SRA

Monterrey is a Mexican city, and the capital of the state of Nuevo Leon in the northeast of the country. It is the second-largest city in Mexico in terms of area, and in terms of population (the largest city in the country, in area and population, is Mexico City).

10D Like hedgehogs and cacti : SPINY

Hedgehogs are spiny mammals that have adapted to a nocturnal life. Even though they have spines, hedgehogs are unrelated to porcupines. The term “hedgehog” arose in the 15th century. They are often found in hedgerows and have hog-like snouts, hence the name “hedgehog”.

The cactus (plural “cacti”) is a member of a family of plants that are particularly well-adapted to extremely dry environments. Almost all cacti are native to the Americas, although some succulent plants from the old world are similar in appearance and are often mislabeled as “cacti”.

19D Storage room in a church : VESTRY

A vestry is where a priest dresses for services. Like so many English words, “vestry” came into our language via Anglo-Norman, from the Latin “vestarium” meaning “wardrobe”.

24D Fraternity/sorority event : RUSH

A rush is a drive by a fraternity or sorority to recruit new members on campus.

25D Squid’s squirter : INK SAC

Octopodes and squid have the ability to release a dark pigment into the water as a means of escape. The dark pigment is called cephalopod ink (the squid and octopus belong to the class cephalopoda). It is produced in the ink gland and is stored in the ink sac. The dark color is created by melanin, the same substance that acts as a pigment in human skin.

55D Biology lab gel : AGAR

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

59D Award that the best plays are nominated for : ESPY

The ESPY Awards are a creation of the ESPN sports television network. One difference with similarly named awards in the entertainment industry is that ESPY winners are chosen solely based on viewer votes. The acronym “ESPY” stands for “Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly”.

61D Computer networking addresses, for short : IPS

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label assigned to every device on a computer network. The device that you’re using to read this blog post on has been assigned a unique IP address, as has the computer that I’m using to make this post …

63D High dudgeon : IRE

“Dudgeon” is a noun describing a state of sullen, ill humor. To be in a state of “high” dudgeon is to be in “really” ill humor.