0825-26 NY Times Crossword 25 Aug 26, Tuesday

Bill’s time: 7m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Sharpened point of a quill pen : NIB

“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning “beak of a bird”. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” describing the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

4A One-named Senegalese American singer with the #1 hits “I Wanna Love You” and “Don’t Matter” : AKON

Akon is a Senegalese American R&B and hip hop singer, who was born in St. Louis but lived much of his early life in Senegal. Akon is a stage name, and his real name is Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Bongo Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam. Got that?

“Don’t Matter” is a 2007 single by Senegalese American singer Akon. The song’s chorus features an interpolation of the 1979 song “Zimbabwe” by Bob Marley and the Wailers. As a result, Marley got a posthumous co-writing credit for “Don’t Matter”.

13A Actress Longoria : EVA

Eva Longoria is a fashion model and actress who had a regular role on TV’s “Desperate Housewives”, playing Gabrielle Solis. Her travel and food show “Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico” premiered on CNN in 2023. In 2013, she earned a master’s degree in Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge, attending night classes in person after wrapping daytime recording on the “Desperate Housewives” set. Her academic thesis focused on the value of Latinas in STEM careers.

14A Free-spirited style, informally : BOHO

“Boho” is short for “Bohemian”.

The region known as Bohemia covers most of the Czech Republic. Centuries ago, it was wrongly believed that gypsies came from Bohemia, giving rise to the term “Bohemian” meaning a “gypsy of society”.

15A *6th : SATURN

Saturn is easily visible from Earth with the unaided eye, but we need some help to see the planet’s famous rings. Galileo was the first person to see Saturn’s rings, when he turned his primitive telescope towards the night sky in 1610. However, he misinterpreted what he was observing and assumed that the rings were in fact two smaller planets located at either side of the larger Saturn.

16A Summer meteor shower named for a mythological hero : PERSEIDS

The two most famous meteor showers are the Perseids and Leonids. The Perseid meteor shower is most visible around August 12th each year, and the Leonid meteor shower is most notable around November 17th. The Perseids appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus, and the Leonids from the constellation Leo (hence the names “Perseids” and “Leonids”).

18A Paradise : UTOPIA

The word “Utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More in his book “Utopia” published in 1516 to describe an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More’s use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek “ou” meaning “not” and “topos” meaning “place”. By calling his perfect island “Not Place”, More was apparently making the point that he didn’t think that the ideal could actually exist.

19A Musical flutter : TRILL

In music a “trill” is the rapid alternation of two tones that are very close to each other to make a musical ornament.

23A “Miracle on Ice” foe, for short : USSR

Team USA won the gold medal in men’s hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The victory was a surprising one given the decades-long dominance of the USSR team. The “big result” for the American team was the epic victory against the Soviets, a victory often referred to as the “Miracle on Ice”. The US went on to defeat Finland in the final and secured the gold medal. The moniker “miracle” comes from words uttered by sportscaster Al Michaels, who was calling the game for ABC. He declared, in the final seconds, “Do you believe in miracles?! Yes!”

24A Smart set : MENSA

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

28A *2nd : VENUS

The planet Venus is the second planet from the Sun in our solar system. It is very bright in the night sky, brighter than any other planet or any star. When visible after sunset, Venus may be referred to as the Evening Star. When visible before sunrise, it is known as the Morning Star.

34A *1st : MERCURY

Mercury is the smallest of the planets in our solar system, and the nearest to the Sun. It orbits the sun relatively rapidly compared to the other planets, and this fact may have led to it being given the name “Mercury”, the Roman deity who was the speedy messenger to the gods.

47A Moon believed to have a subsurface ocean : TITAN

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn. It is unusual in many ways, including the fact that it is the only known satellite in the solar system that has its own atmosphere (our own moon does not, for example). It is the second largest moon in the solar system, after Ganymede that orbits Jupiter. Titan is so large that it has a greater volume than Mercury, the solar system’s smallest planet.

49A Gamer’s “off-line” : IRL

In real life (IRL)

50A Kool-Aid competitor : HI-C

Hi-C orange drink was created in 1946 and introduced to the market in 1948, initially in the south of the country. The name “Hi-C” was chosen to emphasize the high vitamin C content in the drink, as it contained added ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

51A *3rd : EARTH

The Earth is the third planet from the sun, and the fifth-largest planet in the Solar System.

53A McEntire of country music : REBA

Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW channels from 2001 to 2007. She is sometimes referred to as “The Queen of Country”.

54A Some Monopoly properties: Abbr. : AVES

The street names in the original US version of the board game Monopoly are locations in or around Atlantic City, New Jersey.

58A Mexican beer brand : TECATE

Tecate is a Mexican beer that takes its name from the city of Tecate in Baja California. Tecate is a brand produced by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery, along with beers such as Dos Equis, Bohemia and Carta Blanca.

62A *7th : URANUS

One of the unique features of the planet Uranus is that its north and south poles lie where most other planets have their equators. That means that Uranus’ axis of rotation is almost in its solar orbit.

65A Baker’s glassware brand : PYREX

Pyrex is a brand of glassware that was developed by Corning. As well as being used in bakeware and laboratory glassware, Pyrex is often the material of choice for optics in large telescopes used in astronomy. Corning’s PYREX (note the capital letters) is made from borosilicate glass, the main ingredients of which are silica and boron trioxide. Such Corning products are only available now outside of the US. Corning divested its consumer products division in 1998, resulting in the formation of World Kitchen. World Kitchen purchased the rights to the “Pyrex” name in the US, and marketed it as “pyrex” (all lowercase letters). So “PYREX” glassware is made from borosilicate glass, and “pyrex” products are made from cheaper tempered soda-lime glass.

66A “Thing with feathers that perches in the soul,” per Emily Dickinson : HOPE

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. Try this one for size:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

Down

1D *8th : NEPTUNE

Although Galileo noted a point of light in the night sky that was Neptune, as early as 1612, he labeled it as a star. Several 19th-century astronomers and mathematicians postulated the existence of Neptune, due to its gravitational interaction with Uranus, affecting the latter’s orbital path. German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle was the first to view and identify Neptune, doing so in 1846.

2D Allen who was the 2001 N.B.A. M.V.P. : IVERSON

Allen Iverson is a professional basketball player who played in the NBA for several years. Iverson signed up to play for a Turkish basketball team in 2010. He played in Turkey for two seasons and retired from the game in 2013. Iverson is known by the nickname “the Answer”.

3D One known for the morning grind? : BARISTA

A barista is a person who serves coffee in a coffee shop. “Barista” is Italian for “bartender”.

4D Second-born son in the Bible : ABEL

According to the Bible, Adam and Eve had several children, although only the first three are mentioned by name: Cain, Abel and Seth.

5D ___ pond : KOI

Koi are fish that are also known as Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

7D Tiny biting insect : NO-SEE-UM

“No-see-um” is a familiar term used in North America for the small flies known as biting midges. We call them “midgies” in Ireland …

10D *5th : JUPITER

The Great Red Spot oft seen in photographs of Jupiter is actually a huge storm in the planet’s atmosphere. It is believed that this storm has been raging for at least 360 years, and it’s not certain if and when it will abate.

29D “The Little Mermaid” prince : ERIC

“The Little Mermaid” is a 1989 animated feature from Disney that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. It tells the story of a mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the human Prince Eric. Ariel’s father is chief merman King Triton. Her best friend is Flounder, who despite his name is not a flounder at all and is actually a tropical fish. Ariel is also friends with Sebastian, a red Jamaican crab whose full name is Horatio Thelonious Ignatius Crustaceous Sebastian.

33D *4th : MARS

The surface of the planet Mars has a very high iron oxide content, so Mars is red because it is rusty!

35D Kelly of morning TV : RIPA

When Kelly Ripa secured the co-host spot on morning television with Regis Philbin, she was still acting in “All My Children” in a role she had been playing for over ten years. After a year of holding down two jobs, she eventually gave up the acting gig. Ripa has acted as spokeswoman for several brands over the years, including Electrolux and Rykä.

37D Neon ___ (aquarium fish) : TETRA

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that is native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

40D Raceway speed setter : PACE CAR

In automobile racing, a pace car is used for safety when there is an obstruction on the track. The pace car enters the track in front of the leader and slows the racing cars to what is deemed to be a safe speed. While the pace car is on the track, the competitors cannot pass the pace car and nor can they pass each other. When the pace car exits the track, the race resumes.

59D Black-and-white wedding 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.

61D Gullible sort : SAP

“Sap” is slang for “fool, someone easily scammed”. The term arose in the early 1800s in Britain when it was used in “saphead” and “sapskull”. All these words are derived from “sapwood”, which is the softwood found in tree trunks between the bark and the heartwood at the center.