0214-24 NY Times Crossword 14 Feb 24, Wednesday

Constructed by: Ella Dershowitz
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Love Letters

Today’s grid includes shaded letters that are arranged in the shape of the four letters L-O-V-E. The letters within each “letter” spell out a synonyms of “LOVE”:
35A Valentine’s Day exchanges … or what this puzzle’s shaded areas are? : LOVE LETTERS

The synonyms are:

  • L: ROMANCE
  • O: FONDNESS
  • V: PASSION
  • E: RESPECT

Bill’s time: 7m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Confidence : APLOMB

“Aplomb” is such a lovely word, one meaning “confidence, assurance”. It is a French word that literally means “perpendicularity”, or “on the plumb line”. The idea is that someone with aplomb is poised, upright, balanced.

13 Snake on a limb : TREE BOA

Tree boas are a genus of snakes with exceptionally long anterior teeth. Like all boas, they are nonvenomous snakes. The long teeth are used to penetrate layers of feathers so that they better grip birds, which make up most of their diet.

16 Members of the genus Vespa : HORNETS

A hornet is a large type of wasp, with some species reaching over two inches in length.

22 Oklahoma’s ___ Air Force Base : VANCE

Vance Air Force Base is located just a few miles south of Enid, Oklahoma. The main mission of the base is to train pilots for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Vance AFB is named after a Medal of Honor recipient from WWII, Leon Robert Vance, Jr.

24 Alma mater for Martin Scorsese and Lady Gaga, in brief : NYU

The main campus of the private New York University (NYU) is located right in Manhattan, in Washington Square in the heart of Greenwich Village. NYU has over 12,000 resident students, the largest number of residents in a private school in the whole country. NYU’s sports teams are known as the Violets, a reference to the violet and white colors that are worn in competition. Since the 1980s, the school’s mascot has been a bobcat. “Bobcat” had been the familiar name given to NYU’s Bobst Library computerized catalog.

The literal translation for the Latin term “alma mater” is “nourishing mother”. The phrase was used in ancient Rome to refer to mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity the term was used to refer to the Virgin Mary. Nowadays, one’s alma mater is the school one attended, either high school or college, usually one’s last place of education.

Movie director Martin Scorsese is very much a New York City native, and is well-known for directing movies set in the Big Apple. Among the list of great Scorsese films are “Taxi Driver”, “Raging Bull”, “Goodfellas”, “Cape Fear”, “Casino” and “The Departed”.

“Lady Gaga” is the stage name of Stefani Germanotta. Germanotta is a big fan of the band Queen, and she took her stage name from the marvelous Queen song titled “Radio Ga Ga”.

35 Valentine’s Day exchanges … or what this puzzle’s shaded areas are? : LOVE LETTERS

Saint Valentine’s Day was introduced by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saint’s day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

42 Actress Wong : ALI

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who is a protégé of Chris Rock. She made two very successful Netflix stand-up specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”. She also worked as a writer for the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat”.

43 Achievements for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John, colloquially : EGOTS

The acronym “EGOT” stands for “Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony”, and is a reference to performers who have won all four awards. Also known as the “Showbiz Award Grand Slam”, there are relatively few individuals who have been so honored. The first five to do so were:

  1. Richard Rodgers in 1962
  2. Helen Hayes in 1977
  3. Rita Moreno in 1977
  4. John Gielgud in 1991
  5. Audrey Hepburn in 1994 (posthumously)

47 Like the blue side, in brief : DEM

On political maps, red states are usually Republican and blue states usually 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.

53 Did a marathon, say : RAN

The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.

58 Connected, as a bathroom : EN SUITE

The expression “en suite” is an example of the French language being used in English, but with a new meaning. Firstly, the word “ensuite” translates from French as “then” or “later”. The phrase “en suite” translates as “as a set, series”. The French also use the term “suite” as we do sometimes, as in a suite of connecting rooms. Over in Britain and Ireland, “en suite” is a phrase used in the hotel industry for a bedroom that has a private bathroom or shower room attached. Some smaller establishments in that part of the world might rent out bedrooms with the occupants having to share bathing facilities.

62 Role in a game of Taboo : GUESSER

Taboo is a guessing game that was introduced by Parker Brothers in 1989. Players must encourage their teammates to guess a word on a card, without using that word or related words defined on the card. It’s a fun game that’s played regularly around here …

63 Final watcher? : PROCTOR

A proctor is a supervisor, and especially a person overseeing a school examination or a dormitory. The word “proctor” originated in the late 1500s, and is a contraction of the word “procurator”, the name given to an official agent of a church.

64 Dog tag wearers, in brief : GIS

The identification tags worn by soldiers are often called “dog tags”, simply because they do resemble tags worn by dogs. US military personnel are required to wear dog tags when in the field. Each soldier wears either two tags or a special tag that breaks easily into two identical pieces. The idea is that if a soldier is killed, then one half can be removed for notification and the remaining half stays with the body. Each tag contains basics such as name and ID number, medical information like blood type, and possibly a religious preference.

65 Sister channel of QVC : HSN

The Home Shopping Network (HSN) was the first national shopping network, and was launched locally as the Home Shopping Club in Florida in 1982. Its first product was a can opener.

Down

2 Popular Italian beer : PERONI

The Peroni Brewery is based in Rome, although it was founded in Vigevano in Lombardy in 1846. Outside of Italy, Peroni is particularly popular in the UK.

3 ___ Cariou, Broadway’s original Sweeney Todd : LEN

Len Cariou is a Canadian actor who is famous for his Broadway portrayal of “Sweeney Todd”. I most recognize Cariou from supporting roles in “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Thirteen Days”, two great movies.

4 Like many bodybuilders, according to B.M.I. alone : OBESE

The body mass index (BMI) is the ratio of a person’s height to his or her mass.

5 Fan of the flame? : MOTH

It isn’t really understood why moths are attracted to artificial lights. There is one theory that sounds plausible to me though. It is suggested that moths navigate at night by maintaining the moon (the brightest celestial object) at a fixed angle. When a moth finds a brighter light source, like an artificial light, it gets confused.

7 ___ seeker : ASYLUM

Asylum (plural “asyla”) is a Latin word meaning “sanctuary”.

9 Fancy billiards shot : MASSE

In billiards, a massé shot is one in which the cue ball makes an extreme curve due to the player imparting heavy spin on the ball with his or her cue held relatively vertically. Some pool halls don’t allow massé shots as there’s a risk of ripping the cloth covering the table.

11 Popular Mexican beer : CORONA

The Mexican beer called Corona was the biggest-selling imported beer in the United States, until it lost popularity due the resemblance of its name with “Coronavirus”.

13 Resource for service members, colloquially : THE VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was formed in 1930 to manage pre-existing government benefits for war veterans. Some of those benefits dated back to the Continental Congress. Today, the most visible benefit is probably the network of VA medical centers that provide comprehensive healthcare services to veterans.

23 “Scarface” : CAPONE

When Al Capone was a young man, he worked as a bouncer in nightclubs and saloons. He was working the door of a Brooklyn night spot one evening when he apparently insulted a woman, sparking off a fight with her brother. In the tussle, Capone’s face was slashed three times. Capone wasn’t too proud of the incident, nor the “Scarface” moniker that he was given as a result. He always hid the scars as best he could when being photographed, and was also fond of telling people that the scars were from old war wounds.

29 Playful suffix for “best” : -EST

This is the bestest crossword …

32 Vegan salon brand : AVEDA

Horst Rechelbacher was traveling in India in 1970 when he was introduced to the Hindu science of longevity called Ayurveda, which inspired him to set up his own company of skin and hair care products that he called Aveda. The company opened its doors in 1978 and is based in Blaine, Minnesota.

37 Kagan on the Court : ELENA

Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States from 2009 until 2010, when she replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the first female US Solicitor General and the fourth female US Supreme Court justice. Kagan also served as the first female dean of Harvard Law School from 2003 to 2009.

39 Italian city known for its limoncello : SORRENTO

Sorrento is a small town on the Italian coast that sits on a peninsula overlooking the Bay of Naples. It is an extremely popular tourist destination. The island of Capri lies off the western tip of the Sorrento Peninsula.

Limoncello is a rather tasty lemon liqueur that is mostly associated with Southern Italy. I’ve come across California-made limoncello quite a lot in recent years …

40 Allison Janney’s role on “The West Wing” : CJ CREGG

Allison Janney is a favorite actress of mine, and one whom I first saw on “The West Wing” TV show. Janney went on to play one of the moms on the sitcom “Mom”. She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the title character’s abusive mother in the 2017 biopic “I, Tonya”.

In the excellent television show “The West Wing”, President Jed Bartlet is played by Martin Sheen. Leo McGarry was played very ably by John Spencer. If you haven’t seen them, the early seasons of “The West Wing” are just fabulous. I learned so much about the workings of the American government through this TV show.

41 Easter Island : RAPA NUI

“Rapa Nui” is the Polynesian name for what we are more likely to call “Easter Island”. The European name was coined by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who came across the island on Easter Sunday in the year 1722. Chilean-owned Easter Island is inhabited and is a location that is remarkably distant from neighboring civilization. The nearest inhabited island is Pitcairn Island, which is almost 1300 miles away.

51 Post-its, e.g. : NOTES

The Post-it note was invented at 3M following the accidental discovery of a low-tack, reusable adhesive. The actual intent of the development program was to produce a super-strong adhesive.

61 Sister of Helios : EOS

In Greek mythology, Eos was the goddess of the dawn who lived at the edge of the ocean. Eos would wake each morning to welcome her brother Helios the sun. The Roman equivalent of Eos was Aurora. Rather delightfully, Homer referred to Eos as “rosy-fingered dawn” in both “Iliad” and “Odyssey”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Confidence : APLOMB
7 In the same quantity : AS MUCH
13 Snake on a limb : TREE BOA
14 Bubbles on a beach : SEA-FOAM
16 Members of the genus Vespa : HORNETS
17 “Answer the simple question!” : YES OR NO!
18 Genre associated with guyliner and black nail polish : EMO
19 Sword go-withs : SHIELDS
21 Word with sock or duck : ODD …
22 Oklahoma’s ___ Air Force Base : VANCE
24 Alma mater for Martin Scorsese and Lady Gaga, in brief : NYU
25 Word used when making a choice, maybe : EENIE
27 Where the five most widely practiced religions originated : ASIA
28 “I can help!” : USE ME!
30 Controls : MANS
31 Comforting touch : PAT
33 French holy title: Abbr. : STE
35 Valentine’s Day exchanges … or what this puzzle’s shaded areas are? : LOVE LETTERS
40 Witch : CRONE
42 Actress Wong : ALI
43 Achievements for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John, colloquially : EGOTS
46 Yammered : JAWED
47 Like the blue side, in brief : DEM
48 Audacity : NERVE
49 ___ training (requirement for H.S. graduation in most states) : CPR
50 “Have you heard back yet?” : ANY NEWS?
53 Did a marathon, say : RAN
54 Puddle producer : RAIN
56 21, say : OF AGE
57 Bench press muscles, informally : PECS
58 Connected, as a bathroom : EN SUITE
60 Used a little of, as someone else’s speaking time : ATE INTO
62 Role in a game of Taboo : GUESSER
63 Final watcher? : PROCTOR
64 Dog tag wearers, in brief : GIS
65 Sister channel of QVC : HSN
66 Part of GPS: Abbr. : SYS
67 Hosp. locales : ORS

Down

1 Chamomile and cedarwood, for two : AROMAS
2 Popular Italian beer : PERONI
3 ___ Cariou, Broadway’s original Sweeney Todd : LEN
4 Like many bodybuilders, according to B.M.I. alone : OBESE
5 Fan of the flame? : MOTH
6 Sink components : BASINS
7 ___ seeker : ASYLUM
8 Pit, e.g. : SEED
9 Fancy billiards shot : MASSE
10 Sci-fi sky sighting : UFO
11 Popular Mexican beer : CORONA
12 Submit : HAND IN
13 Resource for service members, colloquially : THE VA
15 Styles : MODES
20 Potato part : EYE
23 “Scarface” : CAPONE
26 Come into view : EMERGE
28 Salt Lake City athlete : UTE
29 Playful suffix for “best” : -EST
32 Vegan salon brand : AVEDA
34 High schoolers, typically : TEENS
35 Walk-ups, often : LOW-RISES
36 Feathery perennial : LADY-FERN
37 Kagan on the Court : ELENA
38 Intervals : TIME GAPS
39 Italian city known for its limoncello : SORRENTO
40 Allison Janney’s role on “The West Wing” : CJ CREGG
41 Easter Island : RAPA NUI
44 Serial performer : TV ACTOR
45 Self-driving cars have lots of these : SENSORS
51 Post-its, e.g. : NOTES
52 “Glad you noticed our hard work” : WE TRY
55 Some Greek letters : NUS
57 Insta post : PIC
59 Kinda sorta : ISH
61 Sister of Helios : EOS