0409-26 NY Times Crossword 9 Apr 26, Thursday

Bill’s time: 9m 41s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Start issuing stock, in Wall Street lingo : GO IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

17A Joey of kid-lit : ROO

Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”, the kangaroo named “Roo” was inspired by a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin. Most of the original stuffed animals belonging to Christopher Robin are currently on display at the New York Public Library. Roo is the only major character in the stories whose original is missing from the famous collection, as the real Roo was lost in an apple orchard in the 1920s.

18A One with thick skin, notably : RHINO

There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, with the smaller Sumatran 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.

21A Charlatan : POSER

A charlatan is someone who makes false claims of skill or knowledge. “Charlatan” is a word we imported from French, although the original derivation is the Italian “ciarlatano”, a term meaning “quack”.

22A Ex-Yankee with appearances on “Shark Tank,” familiarly : A-ROD

Professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez earned more nicknames than just “A-Rod”. He has been called “the Cooler” by some players as there was a perception that teams went cold when he joined them and hot when he left. He has also been called “A-Fraud” by teammates because of another perception, that he is over-demanding. Rodriguez was in a world of hurt not so long ago, for using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. He retired from baseball in 2016.

“Shark Tank” is a reality television show that features aspiring entrepreneurs making pitches to potential investors (the “sharks”) as they try to grow their businesses. The show is a Mark Burnett production and is based on a British series called “Dragons’ Den”.

23A “Stay” singer Lisa : LOEB

“Stay (I Missed You)” is a 1994 song by singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb. It gained significant popularity after being featured in the 1994 film “Reality Bites,” starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke.

32A Stone that’s often carved : JADE

“Jade” is actually the name given to two different mineral rocks, both of which are used to make gemstones. The first is nephrite, a mineral with a varying degree of iron content, the more iron the greener the color. The second is jadeite, a sodium and aluminum-rich pyroxene. As well as being used for gemstones, both jade minerals can be carved into decorative pieces.

37A Tiny pieces of technology : NANOBOTS

Nanorobots (also “nanobots”) are tiny devices that range from 0.1 to 10 micrometers in size. The technology of nanorobotics is in its infancy, but it is hoped that nanobots might be used (for example) in medicine one day. The oft-cited application is the use of nanobots inserted inside the body to identify and destroy cancer cells.

42A Amundsen who went to the South Pole 15 years before he flew over the North Pole : ROALD

Roald Amundsen was an explorer of the polar regions from Norway. Most notably perhaps, he was the leader of the first team to reach the South Pole, doing so in 1911. Amundsen was also one of the first humans to reach the North Pole. He did this in an airship in 1926 with a team of fifteen. Amundsen disappeared while participating in the attempted rescue of the crew of another airship exploring the North Pole. His remains were never recovered.

45A Tone used to create an antique vibe : SEPIA

Sepia is that rich, brown-gray color so common in old photographs. “Sepia” is the Latinized version of the Greek word for cuttlefish, as sepia pigment is derived from the ink sac of the cuttlefish. Sepia ink was commonly used for writing and drawing as far back as ancient Rome and ancient Greece. The “sepia tone” of old photographs is not the result of deterioration over time. Rather, it is the result of a deliberate preservation process which converts the metallic silver in the photographic image to a more stable silver sulfide. Prints that have been sepia-toned can last in excess of 150 years.

50A Lead-in to Pen : EPI-

EpiPen is a brand of epinephrine auto-injector. An EpiPen delivers a measured dose of epinephrine, which is a common treatment for an extreme allergic reaction.

53A Zebras in the field? : REFS

A football referee is sometimes called a “zebra”, a reference to the striped shirt that is part of the official uniform.

54A Article of summer wear : TANK TOP

“Tank top” is another one of those terms that always catches me out, as it has a different meaning on each side of the Atlantic. In the US, a tank top is a sleeveless shirt, something we would call a “vest” back in Ireland (and the US “vest” is what we call a “waistcoat”). A tank top in Ireland is a sleeveless sweater, which further adds to the confusion. The name “tank top” is derived from “tank suit”, an old name for a woman’s one-piece bathing suit. The use of “tank” for the bathing suit came from “swimming tank”, an obsolete term used in the 1920s for a swimming pool.

58A On which to watch the Beeb : TELLY

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is also known as “the Beeb”, a name given to the network by the great Peter Sellers on the classic British radio comedy called “The Goon Show”. Another nickname is “Auntie”, perhaps a reference to an old idiom “Auntie knows best”. As a result, the moniker “Auntie Beeb” has also become popular! The BBC was founded in 1922, and was the world’s first national broadcasting organization.

60A Retail giant with a three-syllable name in four letters : IKEA

The IKEA furniture chain was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17 years old. IKEA is an acronym standing for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.

67A Oil bigwig? : ART CURATOR

The term “curator” is Latin and applies to a manager, guardian or overseer. In English, the original curators were the guardians and overseers of minors and those with mental disease. Today, we use the term “curator” particularly for someone in charge of a museum, zoo or other exhibition.

A bigwig is someone important. The use of the term “bigwig” harks back to the days when men of authority and rank wore … big wigs.

72A Community traversed by the Pacific Coast Highway : MALIBU

Malibu is a beach city in Southern California that is known as home to many Hollywood movie stars. It is also home to several beaches including Malibu Surfrider Beach, which was dedicated in 2010 as the first World Surfing Reserve.

“Pacific Coast Highway” is the name given to several sections of California State Route 1, which runs along much of the state’s Pacific coastline.

73A Shadow : UMBRA

A shadow usually has three distinct parts called the umbra, penumbra and antumbra, with the terms most often used with reference to the shadows cast by celestial bodies. The terms can also be used to describe the levels of darkness in sunspots. The umbra (Latin for “shadow”) is the innermost, darkest part of a shadow. The penumbra (“almost shadow”, from Latin) is a lighter part of a shadow, where part of the light source “leaks” around the body casting the shadow. The antumbra phenomenon is experienced when the object casting the shadow is sufficiently far away from the viewer so that it appears smaller than the light source, with an annular ring around it. When the eye is in the shadow cast by an object that has light passing around it, the eye is in the antumbra.

74A ___-Man : ANT

In the Marvel universe, Ant-Man has been the superhero persona of three different fictional characters: Hank Pym, Scott Lang and Eric O’Grady. In the 2015 film “Ant-Man”, Michael Douglas plays Hank Pym, and Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang.

75A Lines 9 through 14 of a classic sonnet : SESTET

A sonnet is a short poem with varying rhyming schemes but always with 14 lines. The sonnet form has been around at least since the 13th century. The Shakespearean sonnet is composed of three quatrains (4 lines) and a final couplet (2 lines). The Petrarchan sonnet comprises two quatrains (4 lines) followed by a sestet (6 lines), or two tercets (3 lines).

Down

1D John Irving’s “The World According to ___” : GARP

John Irving’s 1978 novel “The World According to Garp” is somewhat biographical. In fact, Irving’s mother found parts of the novel difficult to read, recognizing elements of herself in Garp’s mother Jenny Fields.

2D Número that’s half of dieciséis : OCHO

In Spanish, “ocho” (eight) is “dieciséis dividido por dos” (sixteen divided by two).

3D Anatomical ring : IRIS

The iris is the colored part of the eye. It has an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.

6D Dessert in a boat, literally : BANANA SPLIT

The banana split was created in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1904. This particular sundae was the idea of David Strickler, a young apprentice pharmacist at the Tassel Pharmacy’s soda fountain.

8D Jimmy known for shoes : CHOO

Jimmy Choo is a designer of handmade women’s shoes who was born in Malaysia but grew up and was educated in London. Choo sold the 50% stake that he had in his shoe manufacturing company in 2001, for 10 million pounds.

9D “___ Gabler” (Ibsen play) : HEDDA

“Hedda Gabler” is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen that was first published in 1890. The titular character is a woman who is trapped in a loveless marriage and struggling to find meaning in her life. The play was controversial when it was first produced due to its depiction of a strong-willed, independent woman who defies societal expectations and norms.

10D Opposite of virtually, to texters : IRL

In real life (IRL)

13D “Wheel of Fortune” purchase : VOWEL

Contestants have been spinning the “Wheel of Fortune” since the game show first aired in 1975.

14D Big name in surround sound : DOLBY

The Dolby noise-reduction system was introduced in the 1960s by Dolby Laboratories, founded by engineer Ray Dolby. Basically, that initial Dolby noise-reduction system was designed to reduce background hiss heard on audio tapes.

20D Dessert with a streusel-like topping, literally : BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE

Streusel is a crumbly topping made from flour, butter and sugar that is baked on top of pies, breads and muffins.

29D Follower of “Gossip” or “Gone” : … GIRL

“Gossip Girl” is a series of young adult novels by American author Cecily von Ziegesar. The Gossip Girl in the title is the narrator of the tale, a gossip blogger who recounts the experiences of two friends, Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen.

“Gone Girl” is a thriller novel written by Gillian Flynn that was first published in 2012. The story tells of a man whose wife has disappeared, with the reader not being certain if the husband is involved in the disappearance. The book was adapted into a movie of the same name released in 2014, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

31D Pole, e.g. : SLAV

The Slavic peoples are in the majority in communities covering over half of Europe. This large ethnic group is traditionally broken down into three smaller groups:

• the West Slavic (including Czechs and Poles)
• the East Slavic (including Russians and Ukrainians)
• the South Slavic (including Bulgarians, Croats and Serbs)

33D Music producer 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.

36D “Intelligence is the ability to ___ to change”: Stephen Hawking : ADAPT

Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist from Oxford, England. Hawking owed much of his fame in the world of popular science to his incredibly successful book called “A Brief History of Time”. “A Brief History of Time” has sold over 10 million copies and was on London’s “Sunday Times” bestseller list for over four years. Hawking does a wonderful job of explaining many aspects of cosmology without losing the average reader. There is only one equation in the whole book, and that equation is “E = mc²”. Hawking’s life story is recounted in the excellent 2014 film “The Theory of Everything”.

39D Early Ron Howard TV role : OPIE

Opie Taylor is the character played by Ron Howard on “The Andy Griffith Show”. Opie lives with widowed father Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) and his great-aunt Beatrice “Aunt Bee” Taylor (played by Frances Bavier). Ron Howard first played the role in 1960 in the pilot show, when he was just 5 years old. Howard sure has come a long way since playing Opie Taylor. He has directed some fabulous movies including favorites of mine like “Apollo 13”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Da Vinci Code”.

44D Aromatic bit of attire : LEI

Leis are traditional Hawaiian garlands that are made from various types of flowers, leaves, and other materials. They were originally worn by ancient Hawaiians as a symbol of their social status and to signify important events such as weddings and funerals.

49D Fish that may return to the ocean to spawn : EEL

The Sargasso Sea is an area within the Atlantic Ocean that is famous as the home to many species of Sargassum, the algae floating on the surface that gives the area its name. The Sargasso Sea is also where both European and American species of eel lay their eggs and hatch their young. The young eels (or “elvers”) then head east or west, depending on the species.

52D Flashing light : STROBE

A strobe light is a device that produces regular flashes, like the light on top of a police car. The term derives from the Greek “strobos” meaning “twisting, whirling”.

54D Accessory on “Downton Abbey” or “Bridgerton” : TIARA

One of my favorite scenes from the period drama “Downton Abbey” takes place around the dinner table. Matthew Crawley, a practicing lawyer being introduced to the aristocratic Grantham family says, “I will have plenty of time to do that over the weekend”. To which the Dowager Countess of Grantham (played brilliantly by Maggie Smith) remarks, “but what is a weekend?” Ah, the joys of the easy way of life …

“Bridgerton” is a fascinating period drama TV series based on a series of historical romance novels by Julia Quinn. Most of the action takes place in London’s high society during the Regency Era. An intriguing element is the show’s approach to race. There is a common, albeit unfounded, assertion that King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte was of African descent. “Bridgerton” runs with this assertion, portraying the era’s society as quite diverse.

55D So-called “Rubber City,” home of Goodyear : AKRON

For much of the 1910s and 1920s, the Ohio city of Akron was the fastest-growing city in the country, feeding off the industrial boom of that era. The city was founded in 1825 and its location, along the Ohio and Erie canal connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River, helped to fuel Akron’s growth. Akron sits at the highest point of the canal and the name “Akron” comes from the Greek word meaning “summit”. Indeed, Akron is the county seat of Summit County. The city earned the moniker “Rubber Capital of the World” for most of the 20th century, as it was home to four major tire companies: Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone and General Tire.

The Goodyear tire company was founded in 1898. The company was named for Charles Goodyear, the man who invented vulcanized rubber in 1839. Despite the Goodyear name, Charles Goodyear himself had no connection with the company. Sadly, he never really reaped a financial reward for his inventions.

59D Pose for which you must plant your body on the mat? : LOTUS

“Asana” is a Sanskrit word that translates as “sitting down”. The asanas are the poses that a practitioner of yoga assumes. The most famous is the lotus position, the cross-legged pose called “padmasana”.

69D “Norma ___” : RAE

“Norma Rae” is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called “Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance”.