0529-26 NY Times Crossword 29 May 26, Friday

Bill’s time: 14m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A “Oscar” of the French film industry : CESAR

The César Award is the national film award of France. The first César was awarded in 1975, named after the French sculptor César Baldaccini. The awards themselves are reproductions of an actual Baldaccini sculpture.

10A Singer/composer Bareilles : SARA

Sara Bareilles achieved success with her 2007 “Love Song” with the help of the iTunes online store. In one week in June of that year, iTunes offered the song as “free single of the week” and it quickly became the most downloaded song in the store. It was her debut single, and earned a couple of Grammy nominations.

18A Smurf who is more than 500 years old : PAPA

The Smurfs are little blue people created in 1958 by the Belgian cartoonist who went by the pen name Peyo. The Smurfs became famous in the US when Hanna-Barbera used them in a children’s cartoon series. The characters are largely a group of males. The original lineup included just one “Smurfette”, who is wooed by almost all of the boy Smurfs. Later, another female was introduced into the mix called Sassette, and still later along came Granny Smurf.

20A With 19-Across, swing dance originating in Harlem : LINDY …
19A See 20-Across : … HOP

The Lindy hop (sometimes just “lindy”) is a swing dance that evolved in Harlem in the twenties and was especially popular during the swing Era of the thirties and forties. Allegedly, the dance is named for aviator Charles Lindbergh. Lucky Lindy “hopped” the Atlantic in 1927, making the first nonstop solo flight from the US to Europe.

23A Only player to win three Super Bowl M.V.P. awards before turning 30 : MAHOMES

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017 as the 10th pick in the NFL draft. He is involved in more than American football, and became a co-owner of the Kansas City Curren women’s pro soccer team. Mahomes himself played soccer professionally, for the Icelandic club UMF Afturelding. He is also an accomplished golfer, and appears quite regularly in celebrity golf tournaments.

25A Reducing to rubble : RAZING

To raze (“rase” in British English) is to level to the ground. I’ve always thought it a little quirky that “raise”, a homophone of “raze”, means “build up”.

39A “La Tulipe Noire” novelist, 1850 : DUMAS

“The Black Tulip” is an 1850 historical novel by the French author Alexandre Dumas, père. Central to the plot is a competition in the Netherlands to grow a black tulip, and win a prize of 100,000 Dutch guilders.

42A Fall sign : SCORPIO

Scorpio is the eighth astrological sign of the Zodiac. Individuals born between October 23 and November 21 are Scorpios. I’m one of those Scorpios …

46A Hits : TOKES

“Toke” is a slang term describing a puff on a marijuana cigarette, or on a pipe containing the drug.

49A Zendaya’s role on “Euphoria” : RUE

“Euphoria” is an HBO teen drama show that is loosely based on a miniseries of the same name from Israel. The lead actress in the show is Zendaya, who plays a recovering teenage drug addict.

Zendaya Coleman, known simply as “Zendaya” on stage, is an actress and singer. Her big break as an actress came with the role of Rocky Blue on the Disney sitcom “Shake It Up”. Zendaya gained further attention from TV audiences when in 2013, at 16 years of age, she became the youngest contestant up to that time on “Dancing with the Stars”. She did well, coming in second in the competition.

52A Fictional manufacturer of a Do-It Yourself Tornado Kit : ACME

The Acme Corporation is a fictional company used mainly by Looney Tunes, and within the Looney Tunes empire it appears mostly in “Road Runner” cartoons. Wile E. Coyote is always receiving a new piece of gear from Acme designed to finally capture the Road Runner, but the equipment always leads to his downfall.

56A Author of “All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists” : TERRY GROSS

“Fresh Air” is a marvelous radio talk show broadcast on NPR, and hosted by Terry Gross. The first broadcast of the program was made in 1975, with Judy Blank hosting. Terry Gross took over a few months later, and Gross has been presenting and producing the show ever since. I had the privilege of hearing Terry Gross give a talk here in my hometown some years ago. What a fascinating woman she is, full of great stories about her experiences interviewing so many interesting personalities.

59A Variety of cold brew : NITRO

Most beers are carbonated due to the production (or introduction) of carbon dioxide. Some beers are made “sparkling” by introducing nitrogen gas into the liquid. Nitrogen bubbles are much smaller than CO2 bubbles. As a result, nitro beers are said to have a smoother mouthfeel than carbonated beers.

Down

4D Birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr.: Abbr. : ATL

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 35 years old when he won the Nobel Peace Prize, making him the youngest person to be so honored up to that time. King was given the award for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination using non-violent means. The following year he was awarded the American Liberties Medallion by the American Jewish Committee.

12D Currency in The Legend of Zelda : RUPEE

“The Legend of Zelda” is a whole series of video games. First released in 1986, I hear that it is very successful …

25D Snack brand since 1934 : RITZ

I’ve always liked Ritz crackers. They’ve been around since 1934 when they were introduced by Nabisco. The name Ritz was chosen because the marketing folks felt that the association with Ritz-Carlton would evoke images of wealth and the highlife.

27D Last U.S. national park, alphabetically : ZION

To me, the most spectacular feature of southwestern Utah’s Zion National Park is the magnificent Zion Canyon. The canyon cuts through red Navajo sandstone and truly is a beautiful sight.

30D Adhere to the kashrut dietary rules : EAT KOSHER

According to Jewish dietary laws, kosher food is fit to eat, and food that is not fit to eat is referred to as treif (or “tref”). The usage of “kosher” has extended to include anything considered legitimate.

38D Co-star of 2025’s “Wicked: For Good,” informally : ARI

Ariana Grande is a singer and actress from Boca Raton, Florida. Grande plays the role of Cat Valentine on the sitcom “Victorious” that aired for four seasons on Nickelodeon. Grande’s singing career took off with the release of the 2011 album “Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show”.

The 2025 musical fantasy film “Wicked: For Good” is also known as “Wicked: Part Two”, and is a sequel to 2024’s “Wicked”. The original “Wicked” is a big screen adaptation of the first act of the 2003 stage musical “Wicked”, and the sequel is an adaptation of the second act. In turn, the musical is loosely based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, as well as the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”.

43D Powder in a pantry : COCOA

Cocoa powder is the unsweetened, solid component of cacao beans that remains after most of the fat (the cocoa butter) has been pressed out. To make cocoa powder, cacao beans are fermented, roasted, and ground into a paste called chocolate liquor. This paste is then put under pressure to squeeze out the cocoa butter, leaving behind a dry “press cake” that is pulverized to yield cocoa powder.

45D Avoid rage-quitting, perhaps : RETRY

Rage-quitting is the act of abruptly abandoning an endeavor in a fit of frustration or anger. The term “rage-quit” originated in the early days of multiplayer video gaming.

48D Longtime college basketball coach VanDerveer : TARA

Tara VanDerveer is the only coach in NCAA history to win 1,000 games. She is also the all-time winningest coach in women’s college basketball, with 1,157 wins. Tara’s sister Heidi is also a very successful college and professional basketball coach.

50D Hammer-and-sickle land, for short : USSR

The Soviet flag has three symbols:

1. A hammer symbolizes the industrial workers, the proletarians
2. A sickle symbolizes the agricultural workers, the peasants
3. A five-pointed star symbolizes the rule of the Communist Party

51D Gas brand whose name sounds like two letters of the alphabet : ESSO

The Esso brand has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

54D Way to look inward, in brief? : MRI

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine uses powerful magnetic fields to generate images that can be used by medical professionals to diagnose injury and disease.