0208-20 NY Times Crossword 8 Feb 20, Saturday

Constructed by: Hemant Mehta
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 16m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Modest qualifier, online : IMHO

In my humble opinion (IMHO)

13 Easy kill in Fortnite, say : NOOB

“Noob” is a not-so-nice slang term for a “newbie”, and often refers to someone who is new to an online community.

14 ___ days : SALAD

One’s salad days are the days of our youth, days of carefree exuberance and idealism. The expression “salad days” originated in William Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” as Cleopatra refers to her youthful indiscretions saying:

…My salad days, / When I was green in judgment, cold in blood…

16 Nabe : HOOD

“Nabe” is a familiar term for a neighborhood, or for a local movie theater.

22 Media pro : PR PERSON

Public relations (PR)

28 U.N. agcy. headquartered in Geneva : WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations agency. The WHO was set up in 1948, and has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

40 Rocker Joan : JETT

“Joan Jett” is the stage name of rock guitarist and singer Joan Marie Larkin. She is best known as a member of the band Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, which formed in 1979.

41 Lights or darks, e.g. : LOAD

That would be laundry.

42 One way to take stock? : LASSO

Our English word “lasso” comes from the Spanish “lazo”, and ultimately from the Latin “laqueum” meaning “noose, snare”.

49 What Brits call a “saloon” : SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in the UK), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

54 Corvine : crows :: strigine : ___ : OWLS

The adjective “corvine” can be used to describe things pertaining to crows and ravens. “Corvus” is the Latin word for “raven”.

59 Hullabaloo : STIR

Our word “hullabaloo”, meaning “commotion”, is a derivative of an older term “hollo-ballo”. “Hollo-ballo” was a word used for an uproar in the north of England and Scotland.

Down

1 Worshipers of the rain god Illapa : INCAS

The Inca people emerged as a tribe around the 12th century, in what today is southern Peru. The Incas developed a vast empire over the next 300 years, extending along most of the western side of South America. The Empire fell to the Spanish, finally dissolving in 1572 with the execution of Túpac Amaru, the last Incan Emperor.

5 One-sixth of a fl. oz. : TSP

Teaspoon (tsp.)

12 The plot of Genesis? : EDEN

The Book of Genesis is the first book in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. Some of the main figures in the book are Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses and Abraham. “Genesis” is a Greek word meaning “origin, creation”.

21 “Bridesmaids” co-star Chris : O’DOWD

“Bridesmaids” is a 2011 comedy movie co-written by and starring Kristen Wiig. I wasn’t crazy about this film until Chris O’Dowd turned up as a traffic cop. Wiig and O’Dowd were great together, I thought. Pity about the rest of the movie …

30 Plains people : OTOS

The Otoe (also “Oto”) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestward, ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

31 Hwy. crossings : JCTS

Junction (jct.)

32 North/South divide, with “the” : OHIO

The Ohio River forms in Pittsburgh where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet. It empties into the Mississippi near the city of Cairo, Illinois.

34 They get big bucks from big Bucks : NBA AGENTS

The Bucks are the NBA team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who joined the league as an expansion team in 1968. There was a fan contest held to choose the team’s name, and the winning entry was “Robins”, in honor of Wisconsin’s state bird. However, the judges opted for “Bucks”, the second-most popular choice and a reference to the state’s official wild animal, the white-tailed deer.

40 Part of a frame job? : JAMB

A door or window jamb is the vertical portion of the frame. The term “jamb” comes from the French word “jambe” meaning “leg”.

42 Pet peeve? : LEASH

The phrase “pet peeve”, meaning “thing that provokes one most”, seems to be somewhat ironic. A “peeve” is a source of irritation, and the adjective “pet” means “especially cherished”.

44 Businesswoman Zuckerberg, sister of Mark : RANDI

Randi Zuckerberg is the sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Randi was the marketing director of Facebook, and then ran her own social media firm called R to Z Studios.

46 Break-dancer, in slang : B-BOY

A b-boy is a male devotee of rap-music and breakdancing. Apparently the term “b-boy” comes from either “Bronx boy” or “break boy”.

47 Home-improvement chain eponym : LOWE

Lucius S. Lowe opened the first Lowe’s hardware store in 1921, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Lucius only knew the one store, as it was family who expanded the company after he passed away in 1940.

48 Where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played college ball : UCLA

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gets more applications from potential students than any other university in the country. UCLA also has more students enrolled than any other university in the state.

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s name at birth was Ferdinand Lewis “Lew” Alcindor. Alcindor changed his name when he converted to Islam.

52 Counterpart of FF : REW

When watching record audio or video, fast forward (FF) is opposite to rewind (REW).

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Modest qualifier, online : IMHO
5 Sling : TOSS
9 Where it’s at : SITE
13 Easy kill in Fortnite, say : NOOB
14 ___ days : SALAD
16 Nabe : HOOD
17 Problems with pay or paper : … CUTS
18 Information in a shopping guide : PRICE RANGE
20 End of some business names : AND CO
22 Media pro : PR PERSON
23 Rides into battle : STEEDS
25 Grease : OIL UP
26 Bratty kid : SNOT
27 Bomb : FLOP
28 U.N. agcy. headquartered in Geneva : WHO
31 Many a staffer for a late-night show : JOKE WRITER
34 “Keen!” : NEAT!
35 Musical alter ego of Donald Glover : CHILDISH GAMBINO
37 Minute : TINY
38 Relatives of water skis : KNEEBOARDS
39 Go soft, in a way : SOG
40 Rocker Joan : JETT
41 Lights or darks, e.g. : LOAD
42 One way to take stock? : LASSO
43 Gardeners’ tools : EDGERS
46 Beer with an astronomical name : BLUE MOON
49 What Brits call a “saloon” : SEDAN
50 Cookout option for a vegetarian : BOCA BURGER
53 Last option on a survey : NONE
54 Corvine : crows :: strigine : ___ : OWLS
55 Word said with a handshake : TRUCE
56 Lip, in slang : ‘TUDE
57 When doubled, “I heard you the first time” : YEAH
58 Cartoonish wail : YEOW!
59 Hullabaloo : STIR

Down

1 Worshipers of the rain god Illapa : INCAS
2 Knight’s need : MOUNT
3 Office-sharing system, in modern lingo : HOT-DESKING
4 To an excessive degree : OBSCENELY
5 One-sixth of a fl. oz. : TSP
6 One might make a splash : OAR
7 Possible insight for a psychologist : SLIP OF THE TONGUE
8 Irreverence : SACRILEGE
9 Exactly : SHARP
10 Sci-fi beam makeup : IONS
11 Packed with plasticware, perhaps : TO GO
12 The plot of Genesis? : EDEN
15 Deserving of condemnation : DEPLORABLE
19 Extend, as an employment contract : RE-UP
21 “Bridesmaids” co-star Chris : O’DOWD
24 Tries and fails : STRIKES OUT
28 Getting a strange vibe : WEIRDED OUT
29 Helper : HAND
30 Plains people : OTOS
31 Hwy. crossings : JCTS
32 North/South divide, with “the” : OHIO
33 Feels no remorse : ISN’T SORRY
34 They get big bucks from big Bucks : NBA AGENTS
36 Climates : MOODS
40 Part of a frame job? : JAMB
42 Pet peeve? : LEASH
44 Businesswoman Zuckerberg, sister of Mark : RANDI
45 Not look so good? : SNEER
46 Break-dancer, in slang : B-BOY
47 Home-improvement chain eponym : LOWE
48 Where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played college ball : UCLA
51 Prefix with system : ECO-
52 Counterpart of FF : REW

15 thoughts on “0208-20 NY Times Crossword 8 Feb 20, Saturday”

  1. 35:39 with 2 look ups. Hard for me as well. I didn’t get the clue for LOAD until I came here to the blog. Had to get HOT DESKING and CHILDISH GAMBINO entirely via crosses.

    Best –

  2. Don’t understand 13a… noob being an easy kill in 14 days; and shouldn’t 20a have an abbreviation in the clue like “end of some bus. names”?

    1. Steve –

      Fortnite (as opposed to fortnight which is 14 days) is a popular video game these days. A NOOB is slang esp. in gaming for someone new and inexperienced. Presumably they’d be easy kill for a regular player.

      As for 20A I guess they’re just hinting at what comes at the end of their names which indeed reads AND CO. I think they’re saying whether it’s an abbreviation or not is irrelevant in this case as they are just reflecting the ending.

      Best –

  3. A 2X Bill’s time for me today at 35:52. I should have waited one more second for a palindromic time 🙂

  4. No errors, but needed a few crosses and logical-letter guesses to finish.
    Solid Saturday offering by Mr.(?) Mehta. Enjoyed 41A; LOAD.

  5. 1:24:10 with 3 errors….a big waste of time IMO….who really knew 35A as well as others ?

  6. 38:25, no errors. A lot of head scratching, felt like a puzzle designed ‘not to be solved’. 38A started with wake board, then wave board before KNEE BOARD. 10D rays before IONS. Took a while to realize that WEIRDED OUT could be present tense as well as past tense. Learned today that BLUE MOON actually has an astronomical definition. I met Kareem (at a basketball court, of course) in NYC project housing in Queens. I was in Junior High, he was already a standout player at Power Memorial.
    Knew CHILDISH GAMBINO from watching his video on YouTube ‘Feels Like Summer’.

  7. I had the same question. The internet will tell us but it is still a crappy clue.

    Who is going to know this stuff unless you have eaten one ….

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