1004-23 NY Times Crossword 4 Oct 23, Wednesday

Constructed by: Gary Larson
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Artificial or Intelligence?

Themed clues each have two alternatives, with identical answers except for A or I in one or two squares:

  • 19A Story or mosaic piece : TALE or TILE
  • 20A What to compile before travel or a “choice” that’s not really a choice : PACKING LIST or PICKING LAST
  • 37A Tickle pink or top-notch : ELATE or ELITE
  • 40A Walks fancily or some rulers : PRANCES or PRINCES
  • 58A Green land or garland : LEA or LEI
  • 59A Dynamos or menus : BALLS OF FIRE or BILLS OF FARE
  • 2D Fallen angel or luxurious fabric : SATAN or SATIN
  • 8D Underlying or salad herb : BASAL or “BASIL
  • 11D Lip cover or bettor’s pile : CHAPSTICK or CHIP STACK
  • 33D Sensational scoring feats or sensational songs : HAT TRICKS or HOT TRACKS
  • 56D Stuffs or spots : SATES or SITES
  • 60D Boats or bothers : ARKS or IRKS

Bill’s time: 10m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Cousins of daisies : ASTERS

Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

7 Longtime pugilists’ grp. : WBA

World Boxing Association (WBA)

“Pugilism”, another word for “boxing”, comes from the Latin “pugil” meaning “boxer”. In turn, “pugil” derives from “pugnus”, the word for “fist”.

14 Central Plains nation : PAWNEE

The Pawnee people, now of Oklahoma, refer to themselves in the Pawnee language as “Chaticks si Chaticks” meaning “Men of Men”.

16 Singer with the “Living Proof” farewell tour (2002-05) … as well as a “Here We Go Again” tour (2018-20) : CHER

“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” is a 2018 sequel to the hit 2008 movie “Mamma Mia!” I am an unashamed fan of the original film, and really loved both the original and the sequel. I especially enjoyed Cher’s rendition of a couple of ABBA hits at the end of the second movie, and happily received Cher’s 2018 album “Dancing Queen” for Christmas that year …

17 Superfluous : OTIOSE

“Otiose” means “lazy, indolent”, and comes from the Latin word “otium” meaning “leisure”. Use of the term has extended to mean “without profit, futile”.

19 Story or mosaic piece : TALE or TILE

In the Middle Ages, mosaics were often dedicated to the Muses. The term “mosaic” translates as “of the Muses”.

28 Material for a loom : YARN

There are many types of loom used to weave cloth, but they all hold parallel threads in tension in one direction, while allowing the interweaving of threads in the perpendicular direction. The threads held under tension are the warp threads, and the “woven” threads are the “weft” threads.

30 Go to ___ : POT

The phrase “go to pot”, meaning “fall into ruin”, has been around since the 1500s. Back then, it really meant go to (the) pot, i.e. be chopped up and boiled for food.

31 Home to Iolani Palace : OAHU

The ‘Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu is unique within this country. It is the only royal palace in the US that was used as an official residence by a reigning monarch. The Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1893 so the palace was used by successive governments even after Hawaii was awarded statehood in 1959. The palace has been a public museum since 1978.

35 Archaeological projects : DIGS

“Archaeology” is a word that looks like it’s British English, and one might be forgiven for using the spelling “archeology” in American English. Even though the latter spelling has been around for a couple of hundred years, the former is the standard spelling on both sides of the Atlantic.

42 Will supplement : CODICIL

A codicil is a document attached to a will that amends the original, rather than replacing it. The term comes from the Latin “coedilcillus” meaning “a short writing”.

44 Parishioner’s portion, perhaps : TITHE

Traditionally, a tithe is a payment of one tenth of a person’s annual income and is usually given to a church. Tithing is a practice taught in many traditions, and according to a 2002 survey, about 3% of American adults donate 10% or more of their income to a church.

45 U-___ : HAUL

The U-Haul company was started by married couple Leonard Shoen and Anna Mary Carty in Ridgefield, Washington in 1945. The Shoens used $5,000 of seed money to build trailers in their garage, and then cleverly recruited gas station owners as franchisees with whom they would split the rental revenue. There are now about 15,000 U-Haul dealers across the country.

47 Big Apple clothing brand : DKNY

Donna Karan is an American fashion designer, creator of the Donna Karan New York (DKNY) clothing label. Karan was very much raised in the fashion industry, as her mother was a model and her stepfather a tailor.

51 ___ diem : CARPE

“Carpe diem” is a quotation from Horace, one of ancient Rome’s leading lyric poets. “Carpe diem” translates from Latin as “seize the day” or “enjoy the day”. The satirical motto of a procrastinator is “carpe mañana”, “translating” as “seize tomorrow”.

54 Eden-to-Nod direction : EAST

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, after Cain murdered his brother Abel, he fled to the “Land of Nod”. Nod was located “east of Eden” (from which John Steinbeck got the title for his celebrated novel “East of Eden”).

63 Lines on an airline map : ARCS

When navigating between two points on the Earth, the shortest path is known as a great circle route. Using a globe, it’s easy to see that a great circle route is the shortest past. However, on a mercator projection map, a great circle route appears curved, because of the distortion caused by artificially making lines of longitude parallel. A straight line on a mercator projection map is known as a rhumb line. Navigators might follow a rhumb line for convenience, as the compass direction remains the same for such a course.

66 Surprise element in the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” trilogy : PART IV

One of the themes in the Douglas Adams novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is the search for the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe and Everything”. The supercomputer called Deep Thought ponders this question for 7½ million years and comes to the conclusion that the answer is … 42.

69 Much-studied micro-organism : AMOEBA

An ameba (also “amoeba”) is a single-celled microorganism. The name comes from the Greek “amoibe”, meaning change. The name is quite apt, as the cell changes shape readily as the ameba moves, eats and reproduces.

Down

2 Fallen angel or luxurious fabric : SATAN or SATIN

Satan is the bringer of evil and temptation in the Abrahamic religions. The name “Satan” is Hebrew for “adversary”.

The material known as “satin” takes its name from “Zayton”, the medieval Arabic name for the Chinese port city of Quanzhou. Quanzhou was used for the export of large amounts of silk to Europe.

4 Fuji fungus : ENOKI

Enokitake (also known as “enoki”) are long and thin white mushrooms often added to soups or salads.

7 “Moby-Dick” subject : WHALING

In Herman Melville’s 1851 novel “Moby-Dick”, the animal named in the title is an albino sperm whale.

11 Lip cover or bettor’s pile : CHAPSTICK or CHIP STACK

ChapStick is a brand of lip balm produced by Pfizer, although the brand is so popular that the term “chapstick” tends to be used generically. ChapStick was invented way back in the 1880s by a Dr. Charles Browne Fleet in Lynchburg, Virginia.

12 Free-for-all : MELEE

Our term “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

32 Singer Grande, to fans : 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”.

33 Sensational scoring feats or sensational songs : HAT TRICKS or HOT TRACKS

A hat trick is the scoring of three goals by the same player in a game of perhaps soccer or hockey.

36 Oars in pairs : SCULLS

A scull is a boat used for competitive rowing. The main hull of the boat is often referred to as a shell. Crew members who row the boat can be referred to as “oars”. And, a scull is also an oar mounted on the stern of a small boat. It’s all very confusing …

39 Nevada mining town : ELY

Ely is a city in eastern Nevada. The city was founded as a Pony Express stagecoach station, and then experienced a mining boom after copper was discovered locally in 1906. One of Ely’s former residents was First Lady Pat Nixon, who was born there in 1912.

43 Cabo cheer : OLE!

Cabo San Lucas is a major tourist destination at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. “Cabo” is sometimes referred to as the “Fort Lauderdale of Mexico”.

46 “This Is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, essentially : APOLOGY

William Carlos Williams was somewhat unique as a poet, in that he also worked full time as a pediatrician and general practitioner. Williams was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and never gave up his medical practice, even when he earned recognition in the world of literature.

52 Lofty spot for brooding : AERIE

An aerie (sometimes “eyrie”) is an eagle’s nest. The term “aerie” can also more generally describe any bird’s nest that is located on a cliff or a mountaintop.

61 Australian export : OPAL

97% of the world’s opals come from Australia, so it’s no surprise perhaps that the opal is the national gemstone of the country. The state of South Australia provides the bulk of the world’s production, i.e. about 80%. White, gray and green opals are the most common varieties found, and black opals the rarest.

62 Hollywood’s ___ Rachel Wood : EVAN

Actress Evan Rachel Wood’s most famous role to date is playing one of the leads in the 2003 movie “Thirteen”. Wood’s private life draws a lot of attention, especially as she was romantically linked for some time with the “outrageous” musician Marilyn Manson.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Cousins of daisies : ASTERS
7 Longtime pugilists’ grp. : WBA
10 Highest of highs : ACME
14 Central Plains nation : PAWNEE
15 It can be cured : HAM
16 Singer with the “Living Proof” farewell tour (2002-05) … as well as a “Here We Go Again” tour (2018-20) : CHER
17 Superfluous : OTIOSE
18 Nile danger : ASP
19 Story or mosaic piece : TALE or TILE
20 What to compile before travel or a “choice” that’s not really a choice : PACKING LIST or PICKING LAST
23 Bench press muscle, informally : PEC
24 German refusal : NEIN
25 Feel bad : AIL
26 Plus : ASSET
28 Material for a loom : YARN
30 Go to ___ : POT
31 Home to Iolani Palace : OAHU
35 Archaeological projects : DIGS
37 Tickle pink or top-notch : ELATE or ELITE
40 Walks fancily or some rulers : PRANCES or PRINCES
42 Will supplement : CODICIL
44 Parishioner’s portion, perhaps : TITHE
45 U-___ : HAUL
47 Big Apple clothing brand : DKNY
48 Up to, informally : ‘TIL
49 Answered a charge : PLED
51 ___ diem : CARPE
53 Fa-la connection : SOL
54 Eden-to-Nod direction : EAST
58 Green land or garland : LEA or LEI
59 Dynamos or menus : BALLS OF FIRE or BILLS OF FARE
63 Lines on an airline map : ARCS
65 Vintage vehicle : REO
66 Surprise element in the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” trilogy : PART IV
67 Apt name for a karaoke star : MIKE
68 Relative of a hogshead : KEG
69 Much-studied micro-organism : AMOEBA
70 Fly in the face, e.g. : PEST
71 Bond, for one : SPY
72 Abate : LESSEN

Down

1 Each : A POP
2 Fallen angel or luxurious fabric : SATAN or SATIN
3 Think ___ : TWICE
4 Fuji fungus : ENOKI
5 Like some pitches : RESINY
6 In public : SEEN
7 “Moby-Dick” subject : WHALING
8 Underlying or salad herb : BASAL or “BASIL
9 Band aids : AMPS
10 Do something : ACT
11 Lip cover or bettor’s pile : CHAPSTICK or CHIP STACK
12 Free-for-all : MELEE
13 At attention : ERECT
21 Loud, visually : GARISH
22 On the record, in a way, though not on a record : TAPED
27 In good shape : SOLID
29 Block ending : -ADE
31 Make a choice : OPT
32 Singer Grande, to fans : ARI
33 Sensational scoring feats or sensational songs : HAT TRICKS or HOT TRACKS
34 Squarish? : UNHIP
36 Oars in pairs : SCULLS
38 Kind of soldier : TIN
39 Nevada mining town : ELY
41 Many a subject of the E! channel : CELEB
43 Cabo cheer : OLE!
46 “This Is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, essentially : APOLOGY
50 Cast aspersions on : DEFAME
51 C-shaped tool : CLAMP
52 Lofty spot for brooding : AERIE
53 Bad thing to do in class : SLEEP
55 Picked dos : AFROS
56 Stuffs or spots : SATES or SITES
57 Social group : TRIBE
60 Boats or bothers : ARKS or IRKS
61 Australian export : OPAL
62 Hollywood’s ___ Rachel Wood : EVAN
64 Comedy club division : SET