0310-26 NY Times Crossword 10 Mar 26, Tuesday

Bill’s time: 6m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A ___-C cable (computer connector) : USB

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and dealing with electrical power through those connections.

13A Seattle M.L.B. player : MARINER

The Seattle Mariners (SEA) are the only Major League team never to have appeared in a World Series.

16A Cut above the rest? : PRIME RIB

“Standing rib roast” is another name for “prime rib”. The use of the term “standing” is a reference to the practice of standing the cut on the rib bones when roasting, so that the meat does not touch the pan.

19A “Star Wars” antagonist : SITH

The Sith are characters in the “Star Wars” universe who use the “dark side” of “the Force”, and as such are the antithesis of the Jedi Knights. Members of the Sith use the title “Darth” before their name, as in “Darth Vader”. The sixth “Star Wars” movie is titled “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.

20A New Zealand native : MAORI

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing mortal humans from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.

The first European to sight the nation that we know today as New Zealand was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. He labeled the land “Staten Landt”, believing it to be part of South America. Dutch cartographers changed the name to “Nova Zelandia”, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. That Latin name evolved into the Dutch “Nieuw Zeeland”, which Captain James Cook anglicized to “New Zealand”.

22A Grain used in making Cheerios : OAT

Cheerios breakfast cereal has the distinction of being the first oat-based cereal introduced into the market, hitting the grocery store shelves in 1941. Back then, Cheerios were known as CheeriOats.

23A Something I can stand for? : IOTA

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

31A ___ Owens (birth name of Queen Latifah) : DANA

“Queen Latifah” is the stage name of the multitalented Dana Owens. The name “Latifah” is Arabic in origin and translates as “delicate, very kind”. Owens found the name and was attracted to it when she was just eight years old.

34A Hardwood tree … or what’s left after it burns : ASH

The wood of the ash tree is hardwood, although it is relatively elastic. Famously, ash is the wood of choice for baseball bats. It is also the wood of choice for hurleys, the wooden sticks used in the Irish sport of hurling.

35A Serenade : SING

A serenade is a musical performance in the open air, specifically at night. We tend to think of the term applying to a young man serenading his lover from below her window. We imported the word via French from the Italian “serenata” meaning “evening song”, influenced by the Italian “sera” meaning “evening”.

36A 8-pointer in Scrabble : J TILE

The game of Scrabble has been produced in many international versions, and each of these editions has its own tile distribution to suit the local language. For example, in English we have two tiles worth ten points: one “Q” and one “Z”. If you play the game in French then there are five tiles worth ten points: one “K”, one “W”, one “X”, one “Y” and one “Z”.

40A For a single purpose, as a committee : AD HOC

The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”. An ad hoc committee, for example, is formed for a specific purpose and disbanded after making its final report.

44A 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.

48A Word with shift or skeleton : … KEY

The shift key on a modern keyboard is used primarily to type uppercase letters. The term “shift” is a hangover from typewriter keyboards. The shift keys on a typewriter are held down to “shift” either the type bar or the paper-bearing carriage in order to cause a capital version of the letter to imprint on the inked ribbon.

50A Permit for an international traveler : ENTRY VISA

A visa is usually a stamp in one’s passport, an indication that one is authorized to enter (and less often, to exit) a particular country. The word “visa” comes into English, via French, from the Latin expression “charta visa” meaning “paper that has been seen”, or “verified paper”.

52A Subway system : METRO

The Paris Métro is the busiest underground transportation system in western Europe. The network carries about 4.5 million passengers a day, which is about the same ridership as the New York City Subway. The system took its name from the company that originally operated it, namely “La Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris” (The Metropolitan Paris Railroad Company), which was shortened to “Métro”. The term “Metro” was then adopted for similar systems in cities all over the world.

60A Kind of soup from Japan : MISO

Miso is the name of the seasoning that makes miso soup. Basic miso seasoning is made by fermenting rice, barley and soybeans with salt and a fungus to produce a paste. The paste can be added to stock to make miso soup, or perhaps to flavor tofu.

63A Eddie who voiced Donkey in “Shrek” : MURPHY

Eddie Murphy is a multi-faceted performer and entertainer from the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Murphy was a comedian on “Saturday Night Live” from 1980 to 1984. He has also appeared in several hit movies, the success of which made Murphy the second-highest grossing actor in the country, as of 2014.

In the 2001 animated feature “Shrek”, the title character is voiced by Mike Myers. Eddie Murphy voices Shrek’s sidekick Donkey, and Princess Fiona is voiced by Cameron Diaz.

69A Natural seasoning : SEA SALT

The lobbyists have done their shameful job when it comes to the labeling of “sea salt”. In the US, sea salt doesn’t even have to come from the sea. The argument is that all salt came from the sea if you look back far enough. The politics of food; don’t get me started …

70A Capital of North Macedonia : SKOPJE

Skopje is the capital city of North Macedonia. It was hit by a powerful earthquake in 1963 (6.1 on the Richter Scale), which killed over a thousand people, and left over 100,000 people homeless. As well as the loss to life, over 75% of the city was destroyed, triggering a massive rebuilding effort supported by countries in the region and around the globe.

North Macedonia is one of the nations that emerged following the breakup of Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1992. It occupies the northern third of the geographic and historical region known as Macedonia, sharing the area with Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo. North Macedonia used the disputed name “Macedonia” after gaining independence in 1991, but agreed to change the name to “North Macedonia” starting in 2019.

72A Bronx-born star, to fans … or a phonetic hint to 3-, 8- 17-, 32- and 45-Down : J.LO

“J.Lo” is the nickname of singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. “J.Lo” is also the title of her second studio album, which was released in 2001.

Down

2D Bollywood wrap : SARI

“Bollywood” is the informal name given to the huge film industry based in Mumbai in India. The term “Bollywood” is a melding of “Bombay” (the former name of Mumbai), and “Hollywood”.

3D Focus of Gandhi protests : BRITISH 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”.

Mohandas Gandhi was a political and spiritual leader in India in the first part of the 20th century, as the country sought independence from Britain. He was also referred to as “Mahatma”, meaning “great soul”. His remarkable philosophy of nonviolence and living a modest lifestyle was a great inspiration to the Indian people. India (and Pakistan) was granted independence in 1947. Tragically, Gandhi was assassinated the very next year.

8D One playing 45s, informally : RADIO DJ

The world’s first radio disc jockey (DJ) was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his debut broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, Newby started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.

11D Sol’s sister, in Roman myth : LUNA

“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero. She also had a temple on the Palatine Hill in which a lamp remained lit, illuminating the night.

Sol was the Roman god personifying the Sun. For centuries, English astronomers have used the name “Sol” for our sun, to distinguish it from suns in other planetary systems.

17D Mediterranean dish whose name can be translated as “pampered daddy” : BABA GHANOUJ

Baba ganoush (also “baba ghanouj” and “baba ghanoush”) is an Arab dish with the main ingredient of mashed eggplant. It is sometimes served as a (delicious) dip.

25D Bizet’s “Habanera,” for one : ARIA

“L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” is a very popular aria from Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen”, although the aria is often referred to simply as “Habanera”. Lovely stuff …

27D Comedian Bargatze : NATE

Nate Bargatze is a stand-up comedian from Nashville who is known for his clean comedy, generally avoiding potentially controversial material. That’s pretty unusual, I’d say …

28D Razor scooters and Rubik’s Cubes, once : FADS

What was originally called the “Magic Cube” became better known as “Rubik’s Cube”, and was named for its inventor Ernő Rubik. Rubik’s Cube is the world’s biggest selling puzzle game, with over 350 million sold in just over 30 years.

30D Something a Möbius strip lacks : END

A Möbius strip is a surface that has only one side. One is easily made by taking a strip of paper and joining the ends together, but with a twist so that it isn’t a regular “band”.

32D All-time best-selling female rapper worldwide : NICKI MINAJ

Nicki Minaj is a rapper from the New York borough of Queens who was born in Trinidad.

37D Big name in New Age music : ENYA

New-Age music is created to provide a relaxing and stress-free atmosphere. The New Age movement is often said to have begun with the release of an album called “Spectrum Suite” by Steven Halpern in 1975.

39D Trolley : TRAM

A tram is a means of public transportation that runs on rails laid along the length of streets in cities and towns. Trams might also be referred to as trolleys or streetcars.

42D Low-___ diet : CARB

Perhaps most notably, the eating of relatively few carbohydrates is central to the diet proposed by Robert Atkins. Atkins first laid out the principles behind the Atkins diet in a research paper published in 1958 in the “Journal of the American Medical Association”. He popularized his diet starting in 1972 with his book “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution”.

50D Mispell a word, say : ERR

This has to be a joke/pun …

Speaking as someone who misspells all the time, I find it somewhat amusing that one of the more common words to misspell is “misspell” (written incorrectly as “mispell”).

51D “Let’s go, muchacho!” : VAMOS!

To vamoose is to to leave, coming from the Spanish “vamos” meaning “let’s go”.

57D Grain-shaped pasta : ORZO

Orzo is pasta that has been formed into granular shapes, much like barley. And indeed, “orzo” is the Italian word for “barley”. Orzo is also called “risoni”, meaning “large rice”.

59D Ignominious failure : BUST

Ignominy is deep personal humiliation and disgrace. It literally means “loss of name”, coming from the Latin “ignominia”, which is derived from “ig-” (not) and “nomen” (name). So, it describes a disgrace so deep it essentially strips away one’s reputation or “good name”.

61D Place for a pie to cool, stereotypically : SILL

“Sill plate”, or simply “sill”, is an architectural term describing a bottom horizontal member to which vertical members are attached. Window sills and door sills are specific sill plates found at the bottoms of windows and door openings.

62D “A Man Called ___” : OTTO

“A Man Called Otto” is a marvelous 2022 comedy-drama movie starring Tom Hanks as a grumpy old man who gets dragged, reluctantly, into the lives of his neighbors. It is a remake of the 2015 Swedish film “A Man Called Ove”, which in turn is an adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by Fredrik Backman. In flashbacks, young Otto is played by Truman Hanks, one of Tom Hanks’ sons.

64D Bubble wrap sound : POP!

Bubble wrap was invented in 1957 in an abortive attempt to make a 3-dimensional wall covering. The result was a material that wasn’t suitable as a “wallpaper” but that did make a great packing material. And don’t forget the last Monday of every January … that’s Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day.