0512-26 NY Times Crossword 12 May 26, Tuesday

Bill’s time: 6m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16A One piece of a three-piece suit : VEST

Here’s another word that often catches me out. What we call a vest here in the US is a waistcoat back in Ireland. And, the Irish use the word “vest” for an undershirt.

17A Listing at an ice cream shop in Ipswich : FLAVOUR OF THE DAY

Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk in the south of England. It is an ancient town that owes much of its development to its proximity to the North Sea, located about 10 miles downriver. The Ipswich docks on the River Orwell have operated since the 7th century.

20A Lou Gehrig’s disease, in brief : ALS

Baseball legend Lou Gehrig was known as a powerhouse. He was a big hitter and just kept on playing. Gehrig broke the record for the most consecutive number of games played, and held the record for the most career grand slams for decades. His durability earned him the nickname “The Iron Horse”. Sadly, he died in 1941 at 37 years old suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an illness we now call “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. The New York Yankees retired the number four on 4th of July 1939 in his honor, making Lou Gehrig the first baseball player to have his number retired.

21A “___ Robinson” (Simon & Garfunkel song) : MRS

When Mike Nichols was making the 1967 film “The Graduate” he apparently became obsessed with the music of Simon and Garfunkel, who were just coming into the limelight. Nichols made a deal with Paul Simon to write three songs that he could use on the soundtrack of his new movie. Simon and Garfunkel were touring constantly around that time, so Nichols had to badger Simon to hold up his end of the bargain. When Nichols was ready to lay down the film’s soundtrack there was only one commissioned song available, so Nichols had to basically beg Paul Simon for anything. Simon mentioned that he was finishing up one new song, but it wasn’t written for the film. It was more a celebration of former times, with lyrics about baseball great Joe DiMaggio and former First Lady, Mrs. Roosevelt. Nichols informed Simon that the song was no longer about Mrs. Roosevelt, and instead was about “Mrs. Robinson” …

27A Kids’ items at a day care in Derby : COLOURING BOOKS

Derby is a city in the East Midlands of England. It had a major role to play in Britain’s Industrial Revolution due to the location of textile mills in the surrounding area. For example, Derby was home to the nation’s first water-powered silk mill, in 1721.

37A Members of the aristocracy : ELITES

An aristocracy is a state in which the power of government is placed in the hands of a privileged few. The term “aristocracy” ultimately comes from the Greek “aristos” meaning “excellent” and “kratos” meaning “rule”. In ancient Greece, aristocracy was compared favorably with a monarchy, the idea being that the best-qualified few would serve better than an individual who inherited power. More recently, particularly during the French Revolution, aristocracy has been compared unfavorably with democracy.

41A Quaint lead-in to while : ERST

“Erst” is an archaic way of saying “formerly, before the present time”. The term is mostly seen as part of the word “erstwhile”, an adjective meaning “of times past”.

46A Areas on a map of Manchester : NEIGHBOURHOODS

Manchester is a large city in the UK, located in the northwest of England. It grew in size dramatically during the Industrial Revolution. Home to a thriving textile industry, Manchester is often referred to as the world’s first industrialized city. People from Manchester are known as “Mancunians”.

63A Laura of “Jurassic Park” : DERN

Actress Laura Dern is the daughter of actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd. Among her many notable roles, Laura Dern played the Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris in the 2008 movie “Recount”, and Dr. Ellie Sattler in the 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park”.

“Jurassic Park” is a 1993 Steven Spielberg movie that is based on Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name. According to Spielberg, the terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex is “the star of the movie”. That may be true, but what’s not true is that the creature existed during the Jurassic period. The T. rex roamed the Earth much later, in the late Cretaceous period.

64A A pelican can hold more water in this than in its belly : BILL

The pelican is an example of a piscivore. A piscivorous animal is actually a carnivore, but one that lives on fish.

65A Franz ___, Prague-born writer of dark fiction : KAFKA

Franz Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague, then part of Bohemia and today the capital of the Czech Republic. Kafka is known as one of the greatest novelists who worked in the German language, and even has an adjective named after him. Something that is “kafkaesque” is senseless, disorienting and may have menacing complexity. As it was for many great artists, Kafka’s fame came after his death when much of his work was published.

66A Force holding us onto Earth, informally : ONE G

The force of gravity (g-force) that we all feel is referred to as “one G”. As gravity is an accelerating force, acceleration is measured relative to that force of gravity. So, if we are sitting in a vehicle that accelerates at 3G, then we are experiencing a force that is three times that which we feel from the gravitational pull of the earth. Zero G is weightlessness that is experienced when in space, and outside the influence of the earth’s gravity. And yes, I know that gravity is really NOT a force, according to the Theory of General Relativity. We’re Newtonian here …

Down

1D Divan : SOFA

Divans are essentially couches without backs or arms. The design originated in the Middle East, where the couches were commonly found lining the walls of an office that was known as a “divan” or “diwan” meaning “government office”.

3D Lead-in to “poor Yorick!” : ALAS

In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, there is a scene when Prince Hamlet holds in his hand the skull of the deceased court jester Yorick. Hamlet starts into a famous monologue at this point:

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is …

The opening line is often misquoted as “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well.”

4D Al Sharpton’s title, for short : REV

The Reverend Al Sharpton is a high-profile Baptist minister and civil rights activist whose voice is commonly heard on radio and television. Sharpton preached his first sermon when he was only 4-years-old.

5D Instrument with a Renaissance-era ancestor called a sackbut : TROMBONE

The brass instrument known as a trombone takes its name from the trumpet. The Italian for trumpet is “tromba”, and the suffix “-one” means “big”. So, “trombone” means “big trumpet”.

8D Hermey is one, in TV’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” : ELF

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is a stop motion animated Christmas special that first aired on NBC in December of 1964. The program has become a staple during the holiday season since then, just like “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. The cast of characters in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” includes Rudolph of course, and Santa Claus, but also Sam the Snowman, Hermey the Elf and the Abominable Snow Monster of the North.

12D One son of Isaac and Rebekah : ESAU

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Esau was the elder twin brother of Jacob, and son of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau sold his birthright, which entitled him to a double portion of his father’s inheritance, for a bowl of lentil stew because he was hungry and didn’t want to wait for his brother to cook food.

13D Bacterial eye malady : STYE

A stye is a bacterial infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes, and is also known as a hordeolum.

18D Pakistani language : URDU

Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of the 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

24D Stool pigeons, in police shorthand : CIS

Confidential informant (CI)

Stoolies, also called “canaries”, will “sing” to the cops given the right incentive. “Stoolie” is short for “stool pigeon”. A stool pigeon was a decoy bird tied to a stool so as to lure other pigeons. Originally a stoolie was a decoy for the police, rather than an informer, hence the name.

26D Kind of arch in architecture : OGEE

An ogee is a type of S-curve. Specifically, it is a figure consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite directions (like an S) but both ends of the curve end up parallel to each other (which is not necessarily true for an S). An ogee arch is composed of two ogees, with one being the mirror of the other and meeting at the arch’s apex.

27D ___ asada : CARNE

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

28D Resident of a Mideast sultanate : OMANI

Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Oman is a monarchy, and the official name of the state is the Sultanate of Oman. All of the country’s legislative, executive and judiciary power resides with the hereditary sultan.

30D Wails : KEENS

To keen is to wail in lamentation. The word “keening” has its roots in Ireland, coming from the Irish word “caoinim” meaning “I weep, wail, lament”.

39D Ways to raise capital, in brief : IPOS

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

42D Lowe on TV : ROB

Actor Rob Lowe is one of the “founding” members of the so-called Brat Pack, having appeared in the movie “St. Elmo’s Fire”. More recently, he played a regular character on the TV show “Parks and Recreation”. My favorite of his roles though, was playing Sam Seaborn on Aaron Sorkin’s great drama series “The West Wing”. When “The West Wing” first aired, Seaborn was billed as the show’s main character, but outstanding performances from the rest of the cast and some great writing meant that Lowe’s role became “one of many”. This led to some dissatisfaction on Lowe’s part, and eventually he quit the show.

43D Big ___, West Coast tourist destination : SUR

Big Sur is a lovely part of the California Coast located south of Monterey and Carmel. The name “Big Sur” comes from the original Spanish description of the area as “el sur grande” meaning “the big south”.

48D Streaming service owned by Disney : HULU

Hulu.com is a website providing streaming video of full television shows. It is now owned by Disney, and so features a lot of Disney content.

51D Birdbrain : DODO

The dodo was a direct relative of the pigeon and the dove, although the fully-grown dodo was usually three feet tall. One of the reasons the dodo comes to mind when we think of extinction of a species, is that it disappeared not too long ago (last recorded alive in 1662) and humans were the reason for its demise. The dodo lived exclusively on the island of Mauritius and when humans arrived, we cut back the forests that were its home. We also introduced domestic animals, such as dogs and pigs, that ransacked the dodo’s nests. The dodo was deemed to be an awkward flightless bird and so the term “dodo” has come to mean a dull-witted person.

53D Brontë heroine : EYRE

“Jane Eyre” is a classic 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë, published under the pseudonym “Currer Bell”. It’s a coming-of-age tale in which the title character endures a harsh childhood and education before becoming a governess at Thornfield Hall. Jane falls in love with her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester, but there’s a rocky road to travel before the couple finally get to the altar.

55D Popular female poodle name : FIFI

The standard poodle breed of dog is considered by many to be the second-most intelligent breed, after the border collie. The name “poodle” comes from a Low German word meaning “to splash about”, reflecting the original use of the breed as a water retriever.

60D Site of the world’s largest Carnival celebration : RIO

The Rio de Janeiro Carnaval is the largest carnival celebration in the world. The city hosts about two million celebrants on its streets for the six days of the festival.

61D Wapiti, by another name : ELK

Wapiti, also known as elk, are one of the largest species of deer found in North America and East Asia. They are social animals and live in herds of up to 400 individuals. The herds are usually led by a dominant male, known as a bull, who defends his harem of females during the mating season.