0627-26 NY Times Crossword 27 Jun 26, Saturday

Bill’s time: 11m 55s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16A Dancer’s restraint? : REIN

We get the names for Santa’s reindeer from the famous 1823 poem called “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, although we’ve modified a couple of the names over the years. The full list is:

• Dasher
• Dancer
• Prancer
• Vixen
• Comet
• Cupid
• Donder (originally “Dunder”, and now often “Donner”)
• Blitzen (originally “Blixem”)

Rudolph was added to the list by retailer Montgomery Ward, would you believe? The store commissioned Robert L. May to create a booklet that could be handed out to children around Christmas in 1939, and May introduced us to a new friend for Santa, namely Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

18A City on India’s “golden triangle” tourism circuit : AGRA

The Golden Triangle is a popular tourist circuit in Northern India. It encompasses the triangular region between New Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur.

1. New Delhi is the capital of India. Some of the must-see attractions in the broader Delhi area are the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, and the Akshardham Temple.
2. Agra is home to the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
3. Jaipur is known for its pink sandstone buildings, including the Hawa Mahal and the City Palace.

20A Alternative to Word : DOCS

Microsoft Word was introduced in 1983 as Multi-Tool Word for Xenix (Xenix is a discontinued version of the Unix operating system). I used to be a power user of Word, but now use Google Docs for all of my word processing needs.

28A He’s credited as the director of photography for the 1967 film “Magical Mystery Tour” : RINGO STARR

Ringo Starr is a musician, best known as the drummer for the Beatles. Beyond his music career, Ringo Starr has appeared in a number of films. In addition to his film work, Ringo Starr has also done voiceover work for several animated television shows and movies. He has lent his distinctive voice to characters in shows like “Thomas & Friends” and “The Simpsons”.

32A Female lobster : HEN

A male lobster is called a cock, and a female a hen. A lobster weighing less than a pound is called a chicken.

34A Hindu rule of living : SUTRA

The word “sutra” is used in Hinduism for a learned text, one usually meant to be studied by students.

35A U-Haul competitor : RYDER

The Ryder company was founded in 1933 in Miami, Florida by James Ryder. It started out as a concrete hauling company, but changed its focus a few years later to the leasing of trucks.

The U-Haul company was started by married couple Leonard Shoen and Anna Mary Carty in Ridgefield, Washington in 1945. The Shoens used $5,000 of seed money to build trailers in their garage, and then cleverly recruited gas station owners as franchisees with whom they would split the rental revenue. There are now well over 20,000 U-Haul dealers across the country.

44A Defense council? : WAR CABINET

In the Westminster system, the Cabinet is a group of sitting politicians chosen by the Prime Minister to head up government departments and also to participate collectively in major governmental decisions in all areas. In the US system, the Cabinet is made up not of sitting politicians, but rather of non-legislative individuals who are considered to have expertise in a particular area. The Cabinet members in the US system tend to have more of an advisory role outside of their own departments.

47A ___ climbing a tree (Sichuan noodle dish) : ANTS

Sichuan (also “Szechuan”) is a province in southwest China. It is noted for its cuisine, which is hot and spicy as it uses plenty of garlic, chili peppers and the Sichuan peppercorn. A famous Szechuan dish in the US is Kung Pao chicken or shrimp.

48A Musical group that went on hiatus in 2022 so its members could serve in the military : BTS

BTS is a boy band from South Korea with seven members. The initialism “BTS” stands for the phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan”, which translates literally as “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. It is the best-selling musical act in the history of South Korea.

49A British ___ (colonial rule of India) : RAJ

The period of colonial rule by the British in South Asia from 1858 to 1947 is referred to as the British Raj. Prior to 1858, the area was ruled by a private enterprise, the British East India Company. “Raj” is the Hindi word for “reign”.

60A British buddy : CHAP

“Chap” is an informal term meaning “lad, fellow” that is used especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.

Down

4D Wanes, with “off” : TAPERS …

I used to think that the word “taper” was used for a slender candle because said candle was “tapered” in shape, but it’s exactly the opposite. It turns out that our word “tapered” comes from the candle. “Taper” and “tapur” are Old English words meaning “candle”. From these nouns arose the verb “to taper” meaning “shoot up like flame”. This meaning evolved into “become slender” from the idea that a candle’s flame has such a shape.

7D Persian poet who wrote the “Masnavi” : RUMI

Rumi was a poet, theologian and mystic who lived and worked in the 13th century, towards the end of the Islamic Golden Age. His best known work is a six-volume poem titled “Spiritual Couplets” in English, which is sometimes referred to as “the Quran in Persian”.

10D City between Madrid and Ciudad Real : TOLEDO

Toledo is a city in central Spain that is located just over 40 miles south of the capital Madrid. Toledo is sometimes called the “City of Three Cultures”, due to the historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions.

12D Toy adorned with a tiny rubber cape : LEGO BATMAN

Lego Batman is a line of Lego construction toys under license from DC Comics. The series was so popular that it spawned Lego Batman TV shows, video games and movies.

14D Things analyzed in some forensic tests : DNA STRANDS

Francis Crick and James Watson discovered that DNA had a double-helix, chain-like structure, and published their results while working at Cambridge University in 1953. To this day the discovery is mired in controversy, as some crucial results collected by fellow researcher Rosalind Franklin were used without her permission or even knowledge. In 1962, along with molecular biologist Maurice Wilkins, Watson and Crick were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Something described as forensic is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The term comes from the Latin “forensis” meaning “of a forum, of a place of assembly”. We mainly use the word today to mean “pertaining to legal trials” as in “forensic medicine” and “forensic science”.

31D Prom night rental : TUX

Apparently, the style of men’s evening dress called a “tuxedo” was first worn to a country club event in 1886 in New York. The use of a dark dinner jacket without tails became fashionable at the club with the members, and the tradition spread from there. The country club was located in Tuxedo Park, New York, giving the style of dress its name.

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

46D ___ Oluo, author of 2018’s “So You Want to Talk About Race” : IJEOMA

“So You Want to Talk About Race” is a 2018 book by Ijeoma Oluo in which she explores race in the US today. She also offers advice on how to talk about the issues surrounding race. Soon after publication, “So You Want to Talk About Race” made it onto the New York Times Best Seller List, but just for one week. After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the book re-entered the list, and stayed there for a lot more than a week.

47D Diamond pattern : ARGYLE

The argyle pattern is based on the Campbell tartan. The Campbell clan is based in the Argyll region (note the spelling) in the west of Scotland, giving the Argyle pattern its name.

55D Way up a mountain, perhaps : T-BAR

A T-bar is a ski lift on which the skiers are pulled up the hill in pairs, with each pair standing (not sitting!) either side of a T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skiers as they remain standing on their skis (hopefully!). There’s also a J-bar, which is a similar device but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.

58D Super Bowl X M.V.P. ___ Swann : LYNN

After his professional football career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lynn Swann became a sportscaster and has been very active in Republican politics in recent years. Swann ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2006. He also publicly declared his interest in running for the House of Representatives in 2008, but bowed out of the race early.

59D Diamond edges? : DEES

The edges of the word “diamond” are letters D (dees).