0605-26 NY Times Crossword 5 Jun 26, Friday

Bill’s time: 14m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Adjusts, as text : EMENDS

The verb “to amend” means “to change for the better, put right, alter by adding”. The related verb “to emend” is used more rarely, and mainly in reference to the editing of professional writing. Both terms are derived from the Latin “emendare” meaning “to remove fault”.

10A Lecture setting : DAIS

A dais is a raised platform for a speaker. The term “dais” comes from the Latin “discus” meaning a “disk-shaped object”. I guess that the original daises had such a shape.

20A Coat on a tip? : POLISH

That would be a fingertip.

21A Round striker : PEEN

The peen of a hammer is on the head, and is the side of the head that is opposite the striking surface. Often the peen is in the shape of a hemisphere (as in a ball-peen hammer). More often than not, the peen is replaced with a claw, primarily for removing nails.

23A Pilots’ tools : RADARS

Famously, the early use of radar was the detection of air attacks during WWII. Early radar operators were frustrated because rain clouds created “echoes” that obscured enemy aircraft. This phenomenon, known as “clutter”, was eventually embraced by scientists who realized that if they could see the rain, they could track the storm.

26A Grocery stores? : PANTRIES

The word “pantry” dates back to 1300, when it came into English from the Old French “panetrie” meaning a “bread room”. Bread is “pain” in French, and “panis” in Latin.

30A Seaweed-based gels : AGARS

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

32A So-called “Champagne of Spain” : CAVA

Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine mainly from the Penedès area of Catalonia. “Cava” translates as “cave” or “cellar”, and was adopted in 1970 to distinguish it from French Champagne. The wine must be produced using the traditional method, similar to Champagne.

35A Targets of some regulations : EMISSIONS

The Clean Air Act is a US federal law designed to control air pollution nationwide that was first passed in 1963, and significantly amended several times since. It authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and welfare.

38A Fuji, e.g. : RED APPLE

The Fuji apple is a cross between two American varieties of apple that was developed in Japan, i.e. a cross between Red Delicious and old Virginia Ralls Genet.

39A Energizes : GOOSES

To goose is to prod into action, albeit in a very rude way. A “goose” is a prod or a pinch in the rear end.

40A Something you can see right through : IRIS

The iris is the colored part of the eye. It has an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.

45A New wave band with the 1979 album “Duty Now for the Future” : DEVO

Devo is a band from Akron, Ohio formed back in 1973. The band’s biggest hit is “Whip It” released in 1980. Devo have a gimmick: the wearing of red, terraced plastic hats that are referred to as “energy domes”. Why? I have no idea …

54A “___ y plata” (Montana’s motto) : ORO

“Oro y Plata” means “gold and silver”, and is the state motto of Montana. The motto was written in Spanish, apparently because “it had a nice ring to it”.

55A Southwestern dwellings : HOGANS

The traditional dwellings built by the Navajo people are known as hogans. “Hogan” is the anglicization of a Navajo word meaning “the home place”.

Down

1D Triage pros : EMTS

Triage is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on the battlefield. The term “triage” is French and means “sorting”.

2D Dorado fish, informally : MAHI

“Mahi-mahi” (meaning “very strong”) is the Hawaiian name for the dolphinfish, which is also known as the dorado. The mahi-mahi is an ugly looking creature if ever I saw one …

5D Attire that may snap on : DIAPERS

“Diaper” is another word that I had to learn when I moved to America. What are called “diapers” over here, we call “nappies” back in Ireland. The term “diaper” is actually the original term that was used in England for the garment, where “diaper” referred to the cloth that was used. The term “diaper” was brought to the New World where it stuck. Back in Britain, “diaper” was displaced by the word “nappy”, a diminutive of “napkin”.

8D Studio behind “Notorious” and “Nocturne” : RKO

RKO Pictures was one of the major film studios during Hollywood’s Golden Age. The studio’s iconic logo was a rotating globe with a radio tower atop. The tower beeped out “A Radio Picture” in Morse code. That is, except during WWII, when it beeped out “V for Victory”.

“Notorious” is an interesting Hitchcock film made in 1946 starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. I find it interesting as it is such a different dramatic role for Cary Grant, and a more gritty role for the lovely Ingrid Bergman, and the great Claude Rains is in there for good measure. It’s a story of espionage, love and intrigue set in Rio de Janeiro where there is a group of German Nazis hiding out after WWII. Definitely worth a rental if you’ve never seen it …

12D Deity with a temple in Pompeii : ISIS

The ancient city of Pompeii is situated close to Naples in Italy. Pompeii was destroyed in AD 79 by the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius. The city was completely lost from that time, and was only rediscovered in 1599. Excavations have uncovered the remarkably well-preserved buildings and roads, and Pompeii now attracts over 2 million visitors annually.

13D Actor Gilliam of “The Wire” : SETH

I didn’t watch the HBO series called “The Wire” when it first aired. We ended up buying all five series on DVD and we watched the whole thing many years ago. It is a great drama series, and I thoroughly recommend it.

21D Modern water sport : PARASAILING

Parasailing is hanging below a tethered parachute that is towed by a boat.

23D 500 competitor : RACER

The Indianapolis 500, often referred to simply as “the Indy 500”, is an iconic automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It’s one of the oldest and most prestigious auto races in the world, famous for its 500-mile distance.

25D Biblical shepherd-turned-king : DAVID

In the story of David and Goliath, the Israelites and the Philistines faced each other in battle at the Valley of Elah. Goliath was the warrior champion of the Philistines and each day he challenged the Israelites to send out their champion to decide the battle in a one-on-one fight. No one was courageous enough to accept the challenge until young David agreed to face the mighty Goliath. David felled the giant soldier with a stone from his sling.

27D I I I : IOTAS

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.

41D Blue side, with “the” : LEFT

The concept of left-right politics started in France during the French Revolution. When members of France’s National Assembly convened in 1789, supporters of the King sat to the President’s right, and supporters of the revolution to the President’s left. The political terms “left” and “right” were then coined in the local media, and have been used ever since.

On political maps, red states are predominantly Republican and blue states predominantly Democrat. The designation of red and blue states is a very recent concept, only introduced in the 2000 presidential election by TV journalist, the late Tim Russert. In retrospect, the choice of colors is surprising, as in other democracies around the world red is usually used to describe left-leaning socialist parties (the reds under the bed!), and blue is used for conservative right-wing parties. In election cycles, swing/battleground states are often depicted in purple.

42D Med. diagnostics : MRIS

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine uses powerful magnetic fields to generate its images so there is no exposure to ionizing radiation (such as X-rays). We used MRI equipment in our chemistry labs at school, way back in the days when the technology was still called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NMRI). Apparently the marketing folks didn’t like the term “nuclear” because of its association with atomic bombs, so now it’s just called MRI.

43D Maker of the Q3 : AUDI

The Audi name has an interesting history. The Horch company was founded by August Horch in 1909. Early in the life of the new company, Horch was forced out of his own business. He set up a new enterprise and continued to use his own name as a brand. The old company sued him for using the Horch name so a meeting was held to choose something new. Horch’s young son was studying Latin in the room where the meeting was taking place. He pointed out that “horch” was German for “hear” and he suggested “Audi” as a replacement, the Latin for “listen”.

45D Movie villain who is a member of SPECTRE : DR NO

“Dr. No” may have been the first film in the wildly successful James Bond franchise, but it was the sixth novel in the series of books penned by Ian Fleming. Fleming was inspired to write the story after reading the Fu Manchu tales by Sax Rohmer. If you’ve read the Rohmer books or seen the films, you’ll recognize the similarities between the characters Dr. Julius No and Fu Manchu. By the way, the author Ian Fleming tells us that Julius No attended medical school in Milwaukee.

48D Row houses, to Brits : MEWS

Back in the late 14th century, the king’s hawks were housed at a specific location in London known as the King’s Mews, with a “mew” being a cage for hawks. That location was converted to the Royal Stables in 1534, with the name “Royal Mews” persisting even when the stables were relocated to the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The use of the term “mews” to describe stable blocks spread to outside of London, and indeed internationally. Early in the 20th century, stables/mews became obsolete with the growth of motorized transportation, and so many were converted into housing.

51D Med. diagnostic : EKG

An EKG measures the electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred, as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.