1010-26 NY Times Crossword 10 Oct 26, Saturday

Bill’s time: 15m 06s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Artist whose first two initials stand for “Maurits Cornelis” : ESCHER

M. C. Escher was a graphic artist from the Netherlands. Escher was noted for creating works inspired by mathematics, often works that were physical impossibilities. One such work is “Drawing Hands” (1948) in which a pair of hands emerge from a piece of paper and actually draw themselves. He also created a drawing in which a group of red ants are crawling around a Möbius strip, never reaching the end.

7A Get to know a little better, say : BONE UP ON

The phrasal verb “to bone up” means “to study”, and is student slang that dates back to the 1880s. The term probably comes from a series of books used by students back then called “Bohn’s Classical Library”.

17A Like Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear : TRAGIC

The full title of William Shakespeare’s play that we tend to call “Hamlet” is “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”. It is the most performed of all Shakespeare’s plays and it is also his longest, the only one of his works comprising over 4,000 lines. That’s about a 4-hour sitting in a theater …

There is a superstition in the theatrical world that uttering the name “Macbeth” in a theater will bring disaster of some sort. To avoid this, the euphemism “the Scottish Play” is used instead.

Shakespeare was inspired to write his famous drama “King Lear” by the legend of “Leir of Britain”, the story of a mythological Celtic king.

20A Peak overlooking the Grindelwald Valley : EIGER

The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is a noted peak for mountain climbing, with its treacherous north face being the most famous approach to the summit. Over sixty climbers have died since 1935 on that north face.

Grindelwald is a Swiss mountain village in the Bernese Alps. The village’s local economy is very much dependent on tourism, both in the summer and winter. It is a major skiing resort, and is also the primary starting-point for mountain climbers wanting to summit the famed Eiger. James Bond was chased through a snowy Grindelwald in the movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.

23A Frito ___ (Tex-Mex dish) : PIE

The oldest known printed recipe for frito pie dates back to 1949, in a Texas publication. Most recipes include chile, cheese and corn chips (usually Fritos), but can also include salsa, refried beans, sour cream, onion, rice and/or jalapeños.

24A “Float like a butterfly” and “sting like a bee” : SIMILES

Muhammad Ali first used his famous catchphrase “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee” before his world title fight against Sonny Liston in 1964. Back then Ali still went by his birth name of Cassius Clay.

26A Office building abbr. : STE

Suite (ste.)

27A It’s a lot for one person to take : GROUP SELFIE

A selfie is a self-portrait, one usually taken with a digital camera or cell phone. A “group selfie” is sometimes referred to as a “groufie” or “wefie”. A “couple selfie” is known as an “usie” or “ussie”, although those terms are sometimes also used for a group picture.

35A Natives call it Muncibeddu, meaning “mountain of mountains” : ETNA

Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, and indeed the largest of all active volcanoes in Europe. Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Mt. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-gauge railway, and two ski resorts. It is sometimes referred to as “Mongibello” in Italian, and as “Mungibeddu” (sometimes “Muncibeddu”) in Sicilian. The English name “Etna” comes from the Greek “aitho” meaning “I burn”.

36A Seattle’s W.N.B.A. team : STORM

The Seattle Storm started competing in the WNBA at the beginning of the 2000 season. The team name “Storm” is a reference to Seattle’s reputation as a rain-soaked city.

39A Be boastful : CROW

The verb “to crow” meaning “to exult in triumph” is imitative of the sound made by a crow, perhaps as it settles over some dead animal that it has found …

40A Member of the winning 2025 Super Bowl team : EAGLE

The Philadelphia Eagles were established in 1933 and joined the National Football League as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets, also from Philadelphia. The “Eagle” name was inspired by the Blue Eagle insignia that was used by companies who were in compliance with the National Industrial Recovery Act that was central to President Roosevelt’s New Deal Program.

42A Some 1980s Jane Fonda performances : WORKOUTS

Jane Fonda is the daughter of Henry Fonda, sister of Peter Fonda, and aunt of Bridget Fonda, making the Fondas quite the acting family. Jane Fonda had many memorable screen performances, but is equally memorable for her anti-war activism. Most famously she was outspoken against the Vietnam War, going so far as to visit North Vietnam during the height of the conflict in 1972, posing for photographs and making radio broadcasts denouncing American leaders as “war criminals”. For her stance, Fonda was nicknamed “Hanoi Jane”.

47A Este día : HOY

“Ahora” is the Spanish word for “now”. “Hoy día” is Spanish for “today”.

50A Determine the going price? : SET BAIL

In most states in the US, it is legal for a bail bond agent to post bail for someone facing trial. Bail bond agencies are commercially driven enterprises, and are peculiar to the United States. In the rest of the developed world, posting a defendant’s bond for profit is considered illegal.

51A London’s ___ Gardens : KEW

Kew Gardens is a beautiful location in southwest London that was formerly known as the Royal Botanic Gardens. Kew Gardens has the world’s largest collection of different living plants.

56A ___ Dee, lead role on HBO’s “Insecure” : ISSA

“Insecure” is a comedy-drama TV show that premiered in 2016. It is co-written by and stars Issa Rae, who also created the comedy web series “Awkward Black Girl” on which “Insecure” is based.

61A Croupier’s query : ARE YOU IN?

A croupier is someone who conducts a game at a gambling table. In the world of gaming, the original croupier was someone who stood behind a gambler, holding reserves of cash for the person in a game. Before that, “croupier” was someone who rode behind the main rider on a horse. “Croup” was a Germanic word for “rump”. So, a croupier used to be a “second”, as it were.

Down

1D Legally prohibit : ESTOP

The term “estop” means to block or stop by using some legal device. “Estop” comes from Old French, in which “estopper” means “to stop up” or “to impede”.

5D Prefix with dermis : EPI-

The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin. The thickest piece of epidermal tissue in humans is on the soles of the feet and the palms, and measures about 1.5 mm. The thinnest measures 0.1 mm, and that would be the human eyelid.

10D Some Caltech grads: Abbr. : EES

Electrical engineer (EE)

Caltech is more properly known as the California Institute of Technology, and is a private research-oriented school in Pasadena. One of Caltech’s responsibilities is the management and operation of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. If you watch “The Big Bang Theory” on television like me, you might know that the four lead characters all work at Caltech.

11D It’s seen near a wrist : ULNA

The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, located on the side of the pinkie finger. Its name is the Latin word for “elbow”.

12D Commoners : PLEBS

In ancient Rome, the patricians were the members of the families in the ruling classes. Those Romans who were not patricians by birth were known as plebs.

14D “Buona ___” (bedtime words in Roma) : NOTTE

In Italian, one might say “buona notte” (goodnight) before heading to bed.

24D Like a sketchy person : SUS

The slang term “sus” is a shortened form of “suspicious” or “suspect”.

25D One-named singer with the 2016 #1 hit “Cheap Thrills” : 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.

“Cheap Thrills” is a 2015 song that was the first number-one hit in the US for Australian singer/songwriter Sia.

28D Flossing brand : ORAL-B

The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

29D Walt Disney initially designed it as a utopian city : EPCOT

EPCOT Center (now just called “Epcot”) is the theme park beside Walt Disney World in Florida. EPCOT is an acronym standing for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and is a representation of the future as envisioned by Walt Disney. Walt Disney actually wanted to build a living community for 20,000 residents at EPCOT, but he passed away without that vision being realized.

33D Where a wallflower often stands : TO THE SIDE

The wallflower is a genus of flowering plants that usually have the ability to cling to loose mortar in walls, hence the name. We use the term “wallflower” to describe a shy person, evoking the image of that person sitting shyly by the wall at a party.

38D 1980s chart-topping band with a semi-duplicative name : MR MISTER

Mr. Mister was a pop rock group that was big in the eighties. The band took its name from the record “Mr. Gone” by the Weather Report. The band used to make fun of the song calling it “Mister This”, “Mister That” and eventually “Mr. Mister”.

41D Camera brand named after a goddess : EOS

I’ve been using Canon EOS cameras for decades now, and have nothing but good things to say about both the cameras and the lenses. The EOS name stands for Electro-Optical System, and was chosen because it evokes the name of Eos, the Titan goddess of dawn from Greek mythology.

43D Actor Penn : KAL

Indian American actor Kal Penn made a name for himself in the “Harold & Kumar” series of comedy films. These so-called “stoner comedies” are not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed him playing his more mainstream roles on TV’s “House” and “24”. He left the world of acting when President Obama won the 2008 election to work as an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement (although he did leave the White House briefly to film the “Harold & Kumar” sequel).

47D Contents of a laugh track : HA-HAS

A laugh track is a separate soundtrack containing audience laughter that is added to a recorded comedy performance. Personally, I can’t stand hearing an “obvious” laugh track, but tests consistently demonstrate that shows broadcast with a laugh track fare better than shows filmed without any audience reaction at all. Fortunately, comedy shows are now being recorded more and more without an audience, and without a laugh track. Great examples are “The Middle”, “Modern Family”, “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation”.

48D John who wrote “BUtterfield 8” : O’HARA

“BUtterfield 8” (note the capitalization of both the “B” and the “U”) is a film released in 1960 starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. The title of the movie, and of the John O’Hara novel on which the film is based, is actually a telephone number. Up to the mid-sixties, telephone exchanges were given names rather than numbers. BUtterfield 8 was an exchange in the wealthy Upper East Side of Manhattan, and calling BU-8 was equivalent to 28-8, the first three digits of a 7-digit phone number.

49D Certain snack cake : YODEL

Yodels are snack cakes made by Drake’s baking company. They are similar to Hostess Ho Hos and Little Debbie’s Swiss Rolls.

54D Danny who was UNICEF’s’s first goodwill ambassador : KAYE

Actor Danny Kaye was a big hit in his native US, but also in France. Kaye was the first ambassador-at-large for UNICEF and the French awarded him the Legion of Honor in 1986 for his work.

58D Title of a #1 Rihanna song and #1 SZA album : SOS

“SOS” is a dance-pop song released by Rihanna in 2006.

60D Suffix with morph- : -INE

Morpheus was the Greek god of dreams and sleep, and is my favorite of the Greek gods. Morpheus gave his name to morphine, the sedative. The idiom “in the arms of Morpheus” means “asleep”.