0715-22 NY Times Crossword 15 Jul 22, Friday

Constructed by: Matthew Stock & Nam Jin Yoon
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 10m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 1976’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” or 2018’s “Shallow” : DUET

“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” is a 1976 hit recorded by Elton John and Kiki Dee. The song was composed by Ann Orson and Carte Blanche, at least that’s what it says on the label. “Ann Orson” and “Carte Blanche” are pseudonyms used by Elton John and Bernie Taupin respectively. Why those names? Well, “Ann Orson and Carte (Blanche)” sounds like “an ‘orse and cart”.

9 Fighting sport, for short : MMA

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.

14 Corporate “carrot” : PROMOTION

There is some debate about the “carrot/stick” metaphor. Some say that a carrot represents an incentive and a stick represents a threat, with the idea being that an incentive is more effective than a threat. Another version of the metaphor is that the carrot is dangled on a stick before a donkey, incentivizing the animal to move forward. There’s no threat, just a reward that never gets any more attainable …

16 The N.B.A.’s Curry, familiarly : STEPH

Stephen “Steph” Curry is a professional basketball player who was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 2009 draft. Steph’s father is former NBA player Dell Curry, and his younger brother is current player Seth Curry. Steph Curry is noted for accuracy in shooting. Curry set the record for three-pointers made in a regular season in 2013, broke that record in 2015, and broke it yet again in 2016. Then, in 2021, he broke the record for career three-pointers.

17 One might be measured in pounds : RESCUE DOG

One might measure the rescue dog while it is in the dog pound.

21 Clan emblems : TOTEMS

“Totem” is a word used to describe any entity that watches over a group of people. As such, totems are usually the subjects of worship. Totem poles are really misnamed, as they are not intended to represent figures to be worshiped, but rather are heraldic in nature, and often celebrating the legends or notable events in the history of a tribe.

23 They’re put in quotes : PRICES

When one provides a quote prior to a sale, one includes the price.

25 Bit of dancewear : TUTU

The word “tutu”, used for a ballet dancer’s skirt, is actually a somewhat “naughty” term. It came into English from French in the early 20th century. The French “tutu” is an alteration of the word “cucu”, a childish word meaning “bottom, backside”.

33 Drink with an onomatopoeic name : SLURPEE

A slushie is a flavored frozen drink. The brand names Slurpee and ICEE are examples of the genre.

Onomatopoeia is the naming of something by vocally imitating the sound associated with it. Examples of onomatopoeia are “chirp”, “clash”, “click” and “hiccups”.

35 When repeated, a dance move : NAE

The Nae Nae is a hip hop dance that is named for the 2013 song “Drop that NaeNae” recorded by We Are Toon. The main move in the dance involves swaying with one hand in the air and one hand down, with both feet firmly planted on the dancefloor. Go on, do it. You know you want to …

41 National park with Devils Garden : ARCHES

The gorgeous Arches National Park is located in eastern Utah, just outside of Moab. The main focus of the park is the preservation of over 2,000 natural sandstone arches. The arches are relatively fragile, and 43 have collapsed since 1970, mainly due to erosion caused by wind and rain.

42 Thick tortilla that’s the national dish of El Salvador : PUPUSA

“Tortilla” translates literally from Spanish as “little cake”.

47 Buck of baseball : O’NEIL

Buck O’Neil was a first baseman and manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, a team in the Negro American League. He was appointed as a coach with the Chicago Cubs in 1962, making him the first African-American coach in the major leagues.

48 Some early January sporting events : BOWL GAMES

The oldest of all the bowl games is the Rose Bowl and so has the nickname “The Granddaddy of Them All”. The first Rose Bowl game was played in 1902.

51 Warped fabric, it’s said : SPACETIME

In the world of physics, spacetime is a 4-dimensional model that melds the three dimensions of space with time as a fourth dimension. I’ve tried to understand spacetime so many times, but have never gotten very far. What I hear all the “time” is that the curvature of spacetime is … gravity.

56 Show that opens with an iconic crane shot, in brief : SNL

“Saturday Night Live” (SNL)

57 Actress Beverly of 1989’s “Lean on Me” : TODD

“Lean on Me” is a film released in 1989 based on the true story of a high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey. Morgan Freeman plays the hero of the piece who works to improve test scores so that his inner city school isn’t taken over by the state.

58 Side dish that’s uncooked : SLAW

The term “coleslaw” is an Anglicized version of the Dutch term “koolsla”, which in itself is a shortened form of “Koolsalade” meaning “cabbage salad”.

Down

1 What might elicit an “Oh, snap!” : DISS

“Dis” (also “diss”) is a slang term meaning “insult” that originated in the eighties. It is a shortened form of “disrespect” or “dismiss”.

“Oh snap!” might be described as street talk. The phrase is used as a retort to someone who makes a verbal dig at you. It was apparently popularized by Tracy Morgan on “Saturday Night Live”.

4 With 44-Down, the “bubble” in bubble tea : TAPIOCA …
44D See 4-Down : … PEARL

The cassava plant is a woody shrub native to South America grown largely for its carbohydrate-rich tubers. In fact, cassava is the third largest food source of carbohydrates (for humans) in the world. Ordinarily, that carbohydrate is extracted from the plant and dried as flour, and is known as tapioca.

5 Neck lines : FRETS

A fret is a metal strip embedded in the neck of a stringed instrument, a guitar perhaps. The fingers press on the frets, shortening a string and hence changing the note played. The note increases by one semitone as a finger shortens a string by one fret.

6 Wine choice : ROSE

Rosé wines get their color from the skins of the grapes, although the intensity of the color is not sufficient to make them red wines. Of the varying type of rosé wines available, we are most familiar with sweet White Zinfandels. Personally, I am fond of the dry Provençal rosé wines.

7 Co. that patented the combination cup holder and armrest : AMC

When Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company came together in 1954, it was the largest US corporate merger to date. The new company was called American Motors Corporation (AMC), and was of a size that could compete with the “Big Three” automakers. A few months after the merger, George W. Romney was given the top job at AMC. George was the father of presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

9 Tiny pest : MIDGE

“Midge” is a familiar term used for many different kinds of small flies.

19 “___ Amants” (Louis Malle film) : LES

“Les Amants” (“The Lovers”) is a 1958 French movie directed by Louis Malle when he was just 25 years old. The film was a great success in France but when it was first shown here in the US, a theater manager was actually convicted of distributing obscene material.

23 English four-wheeler : PRAM

Another word used in Britain and Ireland that’s rarely used over here is “pram”, which in my day was the most common term for what is called a baby carriage in the US. “Pram” is short for “perambulator”.

24 European capital known for its Art Nouveau architecture : RIGA

Riga is the capital city of Latvia. The historical center of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, declared as such because of the city’s magnificent examples of Art Nouveau architecture.

27 Sizable incisor : TUSK

The hard, white material called ivory has mainly been sourced from the tusks of elephants, although it can also be collected from the walrus, hippopotamus, killer whale, wart hog and others. The word “ivory” comes into English via Latin from the ancient Egyptian word for “elephant”.

31 Janitors’ janglers : KEYS

A janitor is someone who takes care of the maintenance or cleaning of a building. An older definition of the term “janitor” is “doorman”. Our word comes from the Latin “ianitor” meaning “doorkeeper”.

34 Sibling of Sol, in Roman myth : LUNA

“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero.

Sol was the Roman god personifying the Sun. For centuries, English astronomers have used the name “Sol” for our sun, to distinguish it from suns in other planetary systems.

37 Streaming channel? : SLUICE

A sluice is a water channel with a gate at its head that is used to control the amount of water flowing.

39 Desserts once known as petites duchesses : ECLAIRS

The name for the pastry known as an “éclair” is clearly French in origin. The French word for lightning is “éclair”, but no one seems to be too sure how it came to be used for the rather delicious bakery item.

41 Something seen in a knee M.R.I. : ACL

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee.

49 Island east of Corsica : ELBA

I had a lovely two-week vacation in Tuscany once, including what was supposed to be a two-night stay on the island of Elba. I had envisioned Elba as a place full of history, and maybe it is, but it is also overrun with tourists who use it as a beach getaway. We left after one day and we won’t be going back again …

50 Host : SLEW

Corsica (“La Corse” in French) is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France. Napoléon Bonaparte was born on Corsica, in the town of Ajaccio.

52 Bruno, to Mirabel, in Disney’s “Encanto” : TIO

In Spanish, a “tio” (uncle) is a “miembro de la familia” (member of the family).

“Encanto” is a 2021 animated Disney film. It is about a Colombian family, named the Madrigals, who have magical powers that provide assistance to the people in their community (Encanto).

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 1976’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” or 2018’s “Shallow” : DUET
5 Wear out : FRAY
9 Fighting sport, for short : MMA
12 Relatively new addition to Thanksgiving? : IN-LAW
14 Corporate “carrot” : PROMOTION
16 The N.B.A.’s Curry, familiarly : STEPH
17 One might be measured in pounds : RESCUE DOG
18 Regular partygoer : SOCIALITE
20 Crazy party : RAGER
21 Clan emblems : TOTEMS
22 Funny business : COMEDY
23 They’re put in quotes : PRICES
25 Bit of dancewear : TUTU
26 Be as good as : RIVAL
27 Stick in one’s mouth : TOOTHPICK
32 What some films don’t do well : AGE
33 Drink with an onomatopoeic name : SLURPEE
35 When repeated, a dance move : NAE
36 Their customers lie for them : MASSEUSES
38 Give another go : RETRY
40 Modern meeting invite : LINK
41 National park with Devils Garden : ARCHES
42 Thick tortilla that’s the national dish of El Salvador : PUPUSA
45 Submissive : DOCILE
47 Buck of baseball : O’NEIL
48 Some early January sporting events : BOWL GAMES
51 Warped fabric, it’s said : SPACETIME
53 Friendly start to a group email : HI, ALL …
54 Utter disasters : TIRE FIRES
55 Band : TRIBE
56 Show that opens with an iconic crane shot, in brief : SNL
57 Actress Beverly of 1989’s “Lean on Me” : TODD
58 Side dish that’s uncooked : SLAW

Down

1 What might elicit an “Oh, snap!” : DISS
2 Hymnal preposition : UNTO
3 Campus choices : ELECTIVES
4 With 44-Down, the “bubble” in bubble tea : TAPIOCA …
5 Neck lines : FRETS
6 Wine choice : ROSE
7 Co. that patented the combination cup holder and armrest : AMC
8 “No, the opposite” : YOUR OTHER RIGHT
9 Tiny pest : MIDGE
10 Responded to a cattle call : MOOED
11 Cross : ANGRY
13 “So … did we get everything?” : WHAT ELSE IS LEFT?
14 Niminy-piminy : PRIM
15 Join forces : TEAM UP
19 “___ Amants” (Louis Malle film) : LES
22 Aww-inspiring : CUTE
23 English four-wheeler : PRAM
24 European capital known for its Art Nouveau architecture : RIGA
25 Absolutely no more than that : TOPS
27 Sizable incisor : TUSK
28 It may come from the hills : ORE
29 Signed and sealed, but not delivered : IN THE MAIL
30 Mind : CARE
31 Janitors’ janglers : KEYS
34 Sibling of Sol, in Roman myth : LUNA
37 Streaming channel? : SLUICE
39 Desserts once known as petites duchesses : ECLAIRS
41 Something seen in a knee M.R.I. : ACL
42 Fencing needs : POSTS
43 Remove from the top of one’s profile, as a tweet : UNPIN
44 See 4-Down : … PEARL
45 Like many mosques : DOMED
46 Is short : OWES
48 Early morning caller : BIRD
49 Island east of Corsica : ELBA
50 Host : SLEW
52 Bruno, to Mirabel, in Disney’s “Encanto” : TIO