0821-26 NY Times Crossword 21 Aug 26, Friday

Bill’s time: 24m 32s

Bill’s errors: 2

• RAGE (rate)
• BACKLOG (back lot!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Leader in a robe called a kasaya : LAMA

“Lama” is a Tibetan word meaning “chief, high priest”.

14A Jejune : ARID

The adjective “jejune” means “dull in the mind”. The term comes from the Latin “ieiunus” meaning “dry, barren”.

15A Coupling rings? : BOOTY CALLS

“Booty call” is a slang meaning “request for casual sexual relations”.

19A Remy’s brother in “Ratatouille” : EMILE

“Ratatouille” is a 2007 animated film produced by Pixar. The hero of the piece is Remy, a rat whose ambition is to become a chef. Remy was voiced by stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt. The veteran actor Peter O’Toole voiced the character Anton Ego, a restaurant critic.

21A High tea treat : SCONE

In countries historically influenced by Britain, the term “tea” is often used to describe several meals usually taken in the mid-afternoon to early evening. Afternoon tea is a light meal in the mid- to late afternoon. Typical fare served at an afternoon tea are sandwiches followed by cakes. A cream tea is a snack, one associated with the West Country of England. It usually consists of scones served with clotted cream, jam and a cup of tea. High tea is an evening meal typically eaten in the early evening. This is a meal historically associated with the working classes. When I was growing up, we had “dinner”, our main meal, in the middle of the day. Our evening meal was called “(high) tea”.

22A Mathematician Terence, winner of the 2006 Fields Medal : TAO

The Fields Medal is a prize in mathematics that is awarded by the International Mathematical Union every four years. The official name of the award is the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics. The unofficial name is in honor of Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields who founded the award.

27A One-named pop star with Monkey Puzzle Records : SIA

“Sia” is the stage name of Australian singer Sia Furler from Adelaide. She is a cousin of Australian Christian Rock musician Peter Furler. Sia is a very private person, and even covers her face with a blond wig while performing.

43A Hindi for “reign” : 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”.

45A Focus of a concussion protocol : HEAD

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).

46A N.L. East team, on scoreboards : PHI

Philadelphia’s baseball team was founded in 1883 as the Quakers, with the name changing to “Philadelphias” and “Phillies” not long into the team’s history. The Phillies have been based in the same city using the same team name longer than any other team in US professional sports.

49A Especially ornate : ROCOCO

The rococo style is also known as “late baroque”. Rococo is a very floral and playful style, very ornate.

51A Mass. summer setting : EDT

Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

60A Target of a search party : AWOL

MPs (military police officers) often track down personnel who go AWOL (absent without leave).

62A Word repeated before “against the dying of the light” in a Dylan Thomas poem : RAGE

Dylan Thomas is perhaps the most famous Welsh poet and writer. His most famous poems are “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “And death shall have no dominion”. He also wrote a famous radio drama called “Under Milk Wood” that was first broadcast in 1954, and that was eventually adapted for the stage and the big screen. My favorite Dylan Thomas work is “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” that was also written originally for the radio, before being published as a work of prose.

Down

2D Language spoken by Jesus : ARAMAIC

The ancient Biblical land of Aram was named after Aram, a grandson of Noah. Aram was located in the center of modern-day Syria. Aramaic became the everyday language of Syria, Mesopotamia and Palestine.

6D Bovine sounds : MOOS

Something described as bovine is related to a cow, ox or buffalo, or indeed any ruminant in the genus Bos. “Bos” is the Latin for “cow”, and “bovinus” a Late Latin derivative term.

7D Sport similar to pétanque : BOCCE

The Italian bowling game of bocce (often anglicized as “bocci” or “boccie”) is based on a game played in ancient Rome. “Bocce” is the plural of the Italian word “boccia” meaning “bowl”.

“Pétanque” is a form of the game of boules that is played in France, mainly in Provence.

9D “Sinners” director, 2025 : RYAN COOGLER

Film director Ryan Coogler was at the helm for a string of successful movies early in his career, namely “Fruitvale Station” (2013), “Creed” (2015) and “Black Panther” (2018). Coogler works a lot with actor Michael B. Jordan, who appeared in all of the aforementioned films.

“Sinners” is a 2025 horror film that earned a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations, out of 17 possible categories. The movie stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as 1930s gangster twins who return to Jim Crow-era Mississippi to open a juke joint, only to face an invasion of vampires. Vampires! Not for me …

10D Apogee : ACME

In the celestial world, an apsis is a point in an orbit when the orbiting body is at its greatest, or least, distance from its center of orbit. The farthest and closest points of orbit are known as the apogee and perigee, when talking about bodies orbiting the Earth. The farthest and closest points for bodies orbiting the sun are known as the aphelion and perihelion.

12D Haut monde : ELITES

“Haut monde” is a French term meaning “high society” that we use in English with the same meaning.

13D ___ Crosley, author of 2008’s “I Was Told There’d Be Cake” : SLOANE

Sloane Crosley is an American essayist and novelist known for her sharp wit and insightful observations. Beyond her writings, Crosley has also made appearances as herself in television shows. Notably, she appeared in an episode of the popular series “Gossip Girl” in 2011. Additionally, she had multiple appearances on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” between 2010 and 2014.

20D Paris’s Champs-___ : ELYSEES

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world. It is the main thoroughfare in Paris, home to the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde. The name “Champs-Élysées” is French for Elysian Fields, a place where the righteous went after death, according to Greek mythology.

24D Grand Canyon lookout whose name suggests visitors’ reactions : OOH AAH POINT

The Grand Canyon is in Arizona. The canyon continues to be carved out of layers of rock by the Colorado River. It is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and over a mile deep.

26D Some baroque instruments : LUTES

The lute is a stringed instrument with a long neck and usually a pear-shaped body. It is held and played like a guitar, and was popular from the Middle Ages right through to the late Baroque era. A person who plays the lute can be referred to as a “lutenist”.

The Baroque Era flourished from the early 1600s to the 1750s, following the Renaissance. The Baroque style of architecture, music, painting and other arts is very ornamented. The list of Baroque artists includes Rembrandt, Rubens and Caravaggio. The list of composers associated with the Baroque style includes Bach, Handel and Vivaldi.

31D Metal tube in a nuclear reactor : FUEL ROD

A common nuclear fuel is uranium dioxide (UO₂). The UO₂ comes in powder form and is compacted into pellets that are fired at high temperature producing ceramic pellets. The pellets are ground into a near-perfect cylindrical shape and are then stacked inside tubes made of zirconium alloy. These tubes are what we usually refer to as nuclear fuel rods.

33D Jazz musician Jamal : AHMAD

Ahmad Jamal was an American jazz pianist whose style deeply influenced Miles Davis.

34D Neighbor of Colo. : NEB

Nebraska gets its name from the Platte River which flows through the state. “Nebraska” is an anglicized version of Otoe and Omaha words meaning “flat water”.

35D Mass unit : GRAM

The mass of an object differs from its weight. Mass measures the amount of matter present in the object, while its weight is the force exerted on the object by gravity. So, the mass of an object is the same on Earth as it is on the Moon. On the Moon, the same object weighs 16.5% of what it does on Earth.

37D First filmmaker to receive the Order of Culture in Japan : KUROSAWA

Akira Kurosawa was an Oscar-winning Japanese film director. His most famous movie to us in the West has to be “The Seven Samurai”, the inspiration for “The Magnificent Seven” starring Yul Brynner.

57D Neighbor of Ark. : TEX

The single star on the state flag of Texas is a reminder of the “lone star” on the 1836 National Standard of Texas. The single white star on a blue background symbolizes Texas as an independent republic and its struggle for independence from Mexico.