0212-26 NY Times Crossword 12 Feb 26, Thursday

Bill’s time: 11m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6A Home of War in the Pacific National Historical Park : GUAM

Guam is a US territory in the western Pacific Ocean, and is the largest of the Mariana Islands. Guam is also the first territory in the United States to see the sun rise on any particular day. As such, the territory has adopted the motto, “Where America’s day begins”. During WWII, the US territory of Guam was occupied by the Japanese for 31 months until it was liberated in the Battle of Guam in July 1944. Of the 18,000 Japanese men holding the island, only 485 surrendered, so almost all perished in the invasion. One Japanese sergeant hid out on the island for an incredible 28 years, finally surrendering in 1972!

15A Sapa ___ (“the only emperor” in Quechua) : INCA

“Sapa Inca” was the name given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Cusco, and then the Emperor of the Inca Empire. The last in the Sapa Inca line was Atahualpa, who was executed by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro.

16A Kitchen gadget brand : OXO

Entrepreneur Sam Farber founded OXO in 1990 after watching his wife struggle to use a vegetable peeler because of her arthritis. He pioneered the “Universal Design” philosophy, creating products like push-button POP containers that are easy for everyone to handle, regardless of hand strength.

20A Heavy metal band whose name is a big cat in Spanish : PANTERA

Pantera was a heavy metal band formed in 1981 by two brothers with the stage names of Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell. The group disbanded in 2003. Any hopes for a reunion were dashed in 2004 when Dimebag Darrell was shot dead on stage by a deranged fan.

30A Mount known to produce rare volcanic “smoke rings” : ETNA

According to Greek mythology, Mount Etna was the prison of a monster. After Zeus defeated the 100-headed giant Typhon, he trapped him under the volcano. The eruptions, smoke, and tremors were believed to be the giant’s fiery breath as he struggled to break free.

31A Off-road ride, for short : ATV

All-terrain vehicle (ATV)

32A Horned mountain climber : IBEX

“Ibex” is a common name for various species of mountain goat. “Ibex” is a Latin name that was used for wild goats found in the Alps and Apennines in Europe.

34A Pen : CORRAL

“Corral” is a Spanish word describing an enclosure for livestock, a word that we’ve imported into English. Ultimately, the term comes from the Vulgar Latin “currale” meaning “enclosure for carts”, itself coming from “currus”, the Latin for “cart”.

36A Dennis’s sister on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” : DEE

Deandra “Sweet Dee” Reynolds is a character played by Kaitlin Olson on the sitcom “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. Ronald “Mac” McDonald is also a character on the show, played by Rob McElhenney. Olson and McElhenney met on set, and married in 2008.

37A *New England-style chowder, for one : CLAM SOUP

The type of soup known as “chowder” is possibly named for the pot in which it used to be cooked called a “chaudière”, a French term.

40A Small surgical instrument : LANCET

“Lancet” is another name for a scalpel. There’s a publication called “The Lancet”, which is possibly the world’s most respected medical journal. It is certainly the oldest, first published in 1823.

44A Ingrid Bergman’s “Casablanca” role : ILSA

There is a famous exchange in the movie “Casablanca” that results in the piano player Sam singing “As Time Goes By”.

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times’ sake.
Sam: I don’t know what you mean, Miss Ilsa.
Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play “As Time Goes By.”
Sam: Oh, I can’t remember it, Miss Ilsa. I’m a little rusty on it.
Ilsa: I’ll hum it for you. Da-dy-da-dy-da-dum, da-dy-da-dee-da-dum…
Ilsa: Sing it, Sam.

45A Stuff with strands : DNA

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.

47A Lightweight fabric for a handkerchief : BATISTE

Batiste is an extremely soft and lightweight fabric made of cotton, wool or polyester.

50A Tomato type : ROMA

The Roma tomato isn’t considered an heirloom variety but it is very popular with home gardeners, especially those gardeners that don’t have a lot of space. It is a bush type (as opposed to vine type) and needs very little room to provide a lot of tomatoes.

54A *Long-legged wader : FLAMINGO

The name “flamingo” comes from the Greek word for “purple wing”. The flamingo’s pink or reddish color comes from the bird’s diet, and in particular the pigments ingested from animal and plant sources.

58A Provide comfort, in a way … or a hint to the answers to the four starred Across clues : GIVE A HUG
26D Quickly smooch … or a hint to the answers to the four starred Down clues : STEAL A KISS

In the letter sequence “X-O-X”, the X represents a kiss, and the O a hug. “O-O-O” is a string of hugs, and “X-X-X” a string of kisses. Hugs and kisses …

60A Northeastern prep school or its town : EXETER

Exeter is a town in New Hampshire that was incorporated way back in 1638. Exeter takes its name from the Exeter River that passes through the town.

Phillips Exeter Academy is a private college preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire that is usually referred to simply as “Exeter”. The list of Exeter former students includes US President Franklin Pierce, writers Gore Vidal, Dan Brown and John Irving, and businessman Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame.

63A Ceramics component : SILICA

A ceramic is a hard, heat- and corrosion-resistant material that is strong in compression but has a low tensile strength. Most ceramics are inorganic, non-metallic chemicals. As an aside, I have a degree in ceramics, believe it or not, after writing a thesis on the material used to make refrigerator magnets. Sad, really …

64A Web portal with a butterfly logo : MSN

Microsoft Network (MSN)

65A Schooner’s stabilizer : KEEL

By definition, a schooner is a sailing vessel with two or more masts, but one on which the foremast is shorter than the rear mast(s).

Down

2D 7-Eleven competitor on the East Coast : WAWA

Wawa is an East Coast chain of gas stations and convenience stores. Back in the late 1800s, Wawa was the name of a dairy farm operation that delivered milk to homes. When consumers started buying milk in grocery stores in the 1960s, the owners of Wawa shifted their focus and opened up the Wawa Food Market as an outlet for the milk from the dairy operation. Those early food markets developed into the chain of Wawa convenience stores.

3D Tree of knowledge locale : EDEN

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them from becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

6D Ones “over there” in “Over There,” in brief : GIS

“Over There” is a song that was popular in both WWI and WWII. It was written in 1917 by George M. Cohan, soon after the US declared war against Germany. The song’s title refers to being “over there” in Europe, fighting the good fight.

The initialism “GI” stands for “Government Issue”, and not “General Infantry” as is widely believed. “GI” was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

8D Legend, e.g. : ACURA

The Acura Legend was a mid-size luxury car introduced by Honda into the North American market in the 1986 model year. It was the first model produced by Honda with a V6 engine.

9D Beat in chess : MATED

In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

14D Sushi seaweed type : NORI

Nori is an edible seaweed that we used to know as “laver” when we were living in Wales. Nori is usually dried into thin sheets. Here in the US, we are most familiar with nori as the seaweed used as a wrap for sushi.

21D Befuddled : AT SEA

To be befuddled is to be confused. Originally, back in the late 1800s, that confusion was specifically caused by liquor or opium.

27D Square : EVEN-STEVEN

“Even steven” is an idiom that means “fair and equal.” It is believed to have originated in the 19th century in the United States. The phrase was likely derived from the concept of evenly dividing goods or resources between two parties.

31D Speak extemporaneously : AD-LIB

“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage, the phrase is usually shortened to “ad-lib”. On the stage, the concept of an ad-lib is very familiar.

34D Cow’s mouthful : CUD

Animals that chew the cud are called ruminants. Ruminants eat vegetable matter but cannot extract any nutritional value from cellulose without the help of microbes in the gut. Ruminants collect roughage in the first part of the alimentary canal, allowing microbes to work on it. The partially digested material (the cud) is regurgitated into the mouth so that the ruminant can chew the food more completely, exposing more surface area for microbes to do their work.

38D Wolf (down) : SNARF

To snarf down is to gobble up, to eat voraciously. “To snarf” is a slang term that is probably related to “to scarf”, which has the same meaning.

41D Michael nominated for Oscars in five different decades : CAINE

There have been only two actors who have been nominated for an Academy Award in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s. One is Jack Nicholson, and the other is Michael Caine. Caine is now known as Sir Michael Caine, as he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the year 2000.

46D Hollywood’s Anderson or Bach : PAMELA

Pamela Anderson is a Canadian American actress and model, whose most famous TV roles were on the shows “Home Improvement” and “Baywatch”. Anderson is a hot topic in the gossip columns, especially after a honeymoon sex tape was stolen from her home. Beyond all the hype, she is a very committed animal rights activist, having become a vegetarian in her teens after seeing her father cleaning an animal that he had killed while hunting.

51D Sounds from un estadio : OLES

In Spain, one might hear a shout of “olé!” in “un estadio” (a stadium).

57D Pâté de foie ___ : GRAS

Pâté is a rich spreadable paste made from a mixture of ground meat and fat to which various vegetables, herbs and spices may be added. The most famous version of the paste is pâté de foie gras, which is made from the fattened livers of geese (“foie gras” means “fat liver” in French).