0620-20 NY Times Crossword 20 Jun 20, Saturday

Constructed by: Stella Zawistowski
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 19m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Setting for “The Golden Girls” : MIAMI

“The Golden Girls” is a sitcom that originally aired in the eighties and nineties. The show features Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty as four older women who share a house in Miami.

14 Performer at a flag lowering ceremony : BUGLER

“Taps” is played nightly by the US military to indicate “lights out”. It’s also known as “Butterfield’s Lullaby” as it is a variation of an older bugle called the “Scott Tattoo”, arranged during the Civil War by the Union Army’s Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield. The tune is called “Taps”, from the notion of drum taps, as it was originally played on a drum, and only later on a bugle. The whole tune comprises just 24 notes, with there only being four different notes within the 24, i.e. “low G”, C, E and “high G”. Minimalism at its best …

17 Individually : A LA CARTE

On a restaurant menu, items that are “à la carte” are priced and ordered separately. A menu marked “table d’hôte” (also called “prix fixe”) is a fixed-price menu with limited choice. “Table d’hôte” translates as “table of the host”.

18 1949 novel set in the Wyoming Territory : SHANE

The classic 1953 western movie “Shane” is based on the novel of the same name by Jack Schaefer published in 1949. Heading the cast is Alan Ladd in the title role, alongside Jean Arthur and Van Heflin.

19 Pacific Ocean phenomenon : LA NINA

The ocean-atmosphere phenomenon known as “La Niña” (Spanish for “the girl”) is the opposite of the more familiar “El Niño”. During a period of La Niña, the surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean is lower than usual by 3-5 degrees centigrade. During a period of El Niño, that same temperature is higher than normal.

20 They have an “itis” named after them : SENIORS

“Senioritis” is the colloquial name given to the tendency of some senior students to lose motivation to study as they head towards the end of high school and college careers.

31 Alternative to “stand” : HIT ME

“Stand” and “hit me” are instructions to the dealer in the card game Blackjack. The instruction “stand” means “I don’t want any more cards, I’ll use these”. The instruction “hit me” means “please deal me another card”.

32 Broadway character who sings “The Gods Love Nubia” : AIDA

The rock musical “Aida” is based on Giuseppe Verdi’s original opera. It premiered in 1998 and is still performed today. Music is by Elton John and lyrics are by Tim Rice.

Nubia is a region shared by Egypt and Sudan that lies along the Nile river. The name “Nubia” comes from the Nuba people who settled in the area in the 4th century.

33 1960 Miles Davis album inspired in part by flamenco music : SKETCHES OF SPAIN

Jazz musician Miles Davis was born into a relatively affluent family, so he had plenty of music lessons as a child. After high school, Davis studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York but he dropped out before finishing his studies. He stated later that the Juilliard classes focused too much on European and “white” music, but he acknowledged that the school gave him a foundation in music theory that helped him in later life.

40 Plumbing fitting with a bend : P-TRAP

Most sinks in a home have a P-trap in the outlet pipe that empties into the sewer line. This P-trap has at its heart a U-bend that retains a small amount of water after the sink is emptied. This plug of water serves as a seal to prevent sewer gases entering into the home. By virtue of its design, the U-bend can also capture any heavy objects (like an item of jewelry) that might fall through the plughole. But the “trapping” of fallen objects is secondary to the P-trap’s main function of “trapping” sewer gases.

47 Something found near a six-pack : PEC

“Pecs” is the familiar name for the chest muscle, which is more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is the Latin word for “breast, chest”.

48 I.S.P. once called Quantum Computer Services : AOL

Founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1983, the company changed its name in 1989 to America Online. As America Online went international, the acronym AOL was used in order to shake off the “America-centric” sound to the name. During the heady days of AOL’s success the company could not keep up with the growing number of subscribers, so people trying to connect often encountered busy signals. That’s when users referred to AOL as “Always Off-Line”.

50 Word in the “Survivor” motto : OUTPLAY

The reality show “Survivor” is based on a Swedish television series created in 1997 called “Expedition Robinson”.

51 Ticklish area : ARMPIT

“Axilla” is the anatomical name for armpit, not to be confused with “maxilla”, the upper jawbone.

54 Hooch holder : FLASK

In the Klondike gold rush, a favorite tipple of the miners was “Hoochinoo”, a liquor made by the native Alaskans. Soon after “hooch” (also “hootch”) was adopted as a word for cheap whiskey.

55 “Lean and hungry type,” in a Hall & Oates hit : MANEATER

Daryl Hall & John Oates are a pop music duo who were most successful in the late seventies and early eighties. They had six number one hits, including the 1982 release “Maneater”.

57 Port in County Kerry : TRALEE

Tralee is the county town of Kerry in Ireland. It is home to the famed “Rose of Tralee” Festival that is so well attended by representatives from North America.

Down

1 Bird that lent its name to Toledo’s Triple-A team : MUDHEN

The Toledo Mud Hens are a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Detroit Tigers.

2 Pet that can regrow its tail : IGUANA

Iguanas have what is known as a “third eye” on their heads. Known as the parietal eye, it can sense levels of light, although it cannot make out details.

5 Schedule issuer, for short : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

8 Sicilian town that lost a bell to Fascists, in literature : ADANO

“A Bell for Adano” is a novel written by John Hersey. Hersey’s story is about an Italian-American US Army officer, Major Joppolo, who found a replacement for a town’s bell stolen by fascists. “A Bell for Adano” was made into a film in 1945, the same year the novel won a Pulitzer.

There seems to be some debate about the definition of fascism, and also some debate about the differences between fascism and communism. With regard to the latter debate, I tend to think of communism as an idealist, classless society with a global focus. Fascism is very different, with a class-based society that follows a strong leader who emphasizes a nationalist identity. Historically, fascism has also been associated with ideals of restoring a nation to former greatness, as well as placing blame on some minority group for perceived ills in society. Two of the most infamous fascist rulers were Benito Mussolini in Italy, and Adolf Hitler in Germany. The word “fascisim” was coined in 1915 by supporters of Mussolini. The term comes from the Italian “fascio” meaning “group”, which in turn comes from the Latin “fasces” meaning “bundle of sticks”. A metaphor for the strength of fascism was that a single stick is easily broken, while a bundle of sticks will stand strong.

9 Playing craps, e.g. : DICING

If one considers earlier versions of craps, then the game has been around for a very long time and probably dates back to the Crusades. It may have been derived from an old English game called “hazard” also played with two dice, which was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” from the 1300s. The American version of the game came here courtesy of the French and first set root in New Orleans where it was given the name “crapaud”, a French word meaning “toad”.

12 “Master Melvin” of baseball : OTT

At 5′ 9″, baseball legend Mel Ott weighed just 170 lb (I don’t think he took steroids!) and yet he was the first National League player to hit over 500 home runs. Sadly, Ott died in a car accident in New Orleans in 1958 when he was only 49 years old. And, according to Wikipedia, “Ott’s name frequently appears in crossword puzzles, on account of its letter combination and brevity.” True that …

14 Met villains, often : BASSI

The bass is the lowest male singing voice. A man with such a voice might be called a “basso” (plural “bassi”). In an opera, the villain of the piece is usually played by a basso.

21 Big name in retirement accounts : ROTH

Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (Roth IRAs) were introduced in 1997 under a bill sponsored by Senator William Roth of Delaware, hence the name.

25 Company whose logo symbolizes the union of four manufacturers : AUDI

The predecessor to today’s Audi company was called Auto Union. Auto Union was formed with the merger of four individual entities: Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer. The Audi logo comprises four intersecting rings, each representing one of the four companies that merged.

28 Commuter scooter : VESPA

Vespa is a brand of motor scooter that was originally made in Italy (and now all over the world) by Piaggio. “Vespa” is Italian for “wasp”.

33 Uno card with a slashed circle : SKIP

UNO is a card game that was developed in the early seventies and that has been sold by Mattel since 1992. UNO falls into the shedding family of card games, meaning that the goal is to get rid of all your cards while preventing opponents from doing the same.

36 ___ Octavius, Spider-Man villain : OTTO

Otto Octavius is a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. Also known as Doctor Octopus or Doc Ock, Octavius is primarily a foe of Spider-Man.

37 German title : FRAU

“Frauen” (“women” in German) live across the border from “femmes” (“women” in French).

42 Hot ___ : TAMALE

Hot Tamales are a cinnamon candy made by Just Born. They look like red versions of the other Just Born candy called Mike and Ike. That’s no coincidence as Hot Tamales were developed as a way to make use of rejected Mike and Ike candy. The dark red color and intense cinnamon flavor was added to the Mike and Ike rejects, masking the original flavor and color.

44 Windy event? : SLALOM

“Slalom” is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”. There is a longer version of the traditional slalom that is called giant slalom

45 Acronymic weapons : TASERS

Victor Appleton wrote a novel for young adults called “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle”. The company that developed the TASER electroshock weapon partly named its product as a homage to the novel. The acronym “TASER” stands for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle”.

46 Comic Wanda : SYKES

Wanda Sykes is a very successful American comedian and comic actress. Interestingly, Sykes spent her first five years out of school working for the NSA. I saw her perform in Reno not that long ago, and she is very, very funny.

53 ___ leches : TRES

A tres leches cake is a type of sponge cake that has been soaked in three kinds of milk, in heavy cream, condensed milk and evaporated milk.

56 Landmark civil rights legislation of 1990: Abbr. : ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

57 Emmitt Smith’s 175, for short : TDS

Emmitt Smith is a retired football player who turned out for the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals. Smith was on three Super Bowl-winning teams with the Cowboys. Smith is also quite a dancer and won the “Dancing with the Stars” mirror ball trophy in 2006.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Setting for “The Golden Girls” : MIAMI
6 Unlikely place to find bars : DEAD SPOT
14 Performer at a flag lowering ceremony : BUGLER
15 Point to : INDICATE
16 “We’re all ___ here” : ADULTS
17 Individually : A LA CARTE
18 1949 novel set in the Wyoming Territory : SHANE
19 Pacific Ocean phenomenon : LA NINA
20 They have an “itis” named after them : SENIORS
23 Suffix for a fan gathering : -CON
24 Fabric feature : NAP
27 Performing well : IN A GROOVE
29 Evil spirit : GHOUL
31 Alternative to “stand” : HIT ME
32 Broadway character who sings “The Gods Love Nubia” : AIDA
33 1960 Miles Davis album inspired in part by flamenco music : SKETCHES OF SPAIN
39 “American Pie” actor Eddie ___ Thomas : KAYE
40 Plumbing fitting with a bend : P-TRAP
41 Unresponsive : INERT
43 Spark plugs : CATALYSTS
47 Something found near a six-pack : PEC
48 I.S.P. once called Quantum Computer Services : AOL
50 Word in the “Survivor” motto : OUTPLAY
51 Ticklish area : ARMPIT
54 Hooch holder : FLASK
55 “Lean and hungry type,” in a Hall & Oates hit : MANEATER
57 Port in County Kerry : TRALEE
58 Cellphone account offering : ADD A LINE
59 Looks inside? : DECORS
60 They may be under the table : PAYMENTS
61 Apparently is : SEEMS

Down

1 Bird that lent its name to Toledo’s Triple-A team : MUDHEN
2 Pet that can regrow its tail : IGUANA
3 Strenuous thing to pull : ALL-NIGHTER
4 Swift and sudden : METEORIC
5 Schedule issuer, for short : IRS
6 Word after speed or drunk : … DIAL
7 Tangle up : ENLACE
8 Sicilian town that lost a bell to Fascists, in literature : ADANO
9 Playing craps, e.g. : DICING
10 Once-over : SCAN
11 “Just a heightened sense of awareness,” per John Lennon : PARANOIA
12 “Master Melvin” of baseball : OTT
13 Tank alternative : TEE
14 Met villains, often : BASSI
21 Big name in retirement accounts : ROTH
22 More than none : SOME
25 Company whose logo symbolizes the union of four manufacturers : AUDI
26 Not wing it : PLAN
28 Commuter scooter : VESPA
30 Where to find bliss : HAPPY PLACE
33 Uno card with a slashed circle : SKIP
34 Danity ___, girl group with a self-titled 2006 #1 album : KANE
35 It’s nice to see : EYE CANDY
36 ___ Octavius, Spider-Man villain : OTTO
37 German title : FRAU
38 Bland, in a way : SALT-FREE
42 Hot ___ : TAMALE
43 Consultant’s customer : CLIENT
44 Windy event? : SLALOM
45 Acronymic weapons : TASERS
46 Comic Wanda : SYKES
49 Join : OPT IN
52 Extract juice from : REAM
53 ___ leches : TRES
55 Front desk handout : MAP
56 Landmark civil rights legislation of 1990: Abbr. : ADA
57 Emmitt Smith’s 175, for short : TDS