0129-19 NY Times Crossword 29 Jan 19, Tuesday

Constructed by: Benjamin Kramer
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Volleyball

Themed answers each end with a “touch” in a game of volleyball:

  • 57A. Sport hinted at by the ends of 17-, 24-, 36- and 47-Across : VOLLEYBALL
  • 17A. Empty talk not backed by action : LIP SERVICE
  • 24A. Boost after appearing on a certain old Comedy Central show : COLBERT BUMP
  • 36A. Product from RCA or LG : TELEVISION SET
  • 47A. Symbol of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad : GOLDEN SPIKE

Bill’s time: 6m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Barred from competition, briefly : DQ’ED

Disqualified (DQ’ed)

5. Prefix with economics : MACRO-

Macroeconomics is the study of economies as a whole, rather than individual markets. Microeconomics is focused on the actions of individual entities like companies or individuals, and how these actions impact specific markets.

14. Liqueur with a licoricelike flavor : OUZO

Ouzo is an apéritif from Greece that is colorless and flavored with anise. Ouzo is similar to French pastis and Italian sambuca.

15. Psychologist Alfred : ADLER

Alfred Adler was one of the group of medical professionals that founded the psychoanalytic movement. Today, Adler is less famous than his colleague Sigmund Freud.

19. Screenwriter James of “The African Queen” : AGEE

James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.

“The African Queen” is a 1935 novel by C. S. Forester that was adapted into a very successful 1951 film of the same name starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. The title refers to a steam-powered launch that travels the Ulanga River. The story is set during World War I. At the climax of the tale, the African Queen is used as a makeshift torpedo to sink a German gunboat (spoiler!).

20. Santa ___, Calif. : ANA

Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California and takes its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city.

23. Like all natural numbers: Abbr. : POS

In mathematics, the “whole” numbers are the natural counting numbers (1, 2, 3, etc), with the important inclusion of the number zero. Zero is usually excluded from the list of “natural” numbers.

24. Boost after appearing on a certain old Comedy Central show : COLBERT BUMP

Stephen Colbert is a political satirist who hosted his own show on Comedy Central, “The Colbert Report”. Colbert’s first love was theater, and so he studied to become an actor. He then moved into comedy, and ended up on the “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”. He left “The Daily Show” in 2005 to set up his own spin-off, “The Colbert Report”. In his own inimitable way, Colbert likes to use a “French” pronunciation for the name of his show, so “The Colbert Report” comes out as “The Col-bear Rep-oar”. Colbert took over the “Late Show” when David Letterman retired.

27. Malia Obama’s sister : SASHA

Sasha is the younger of the two Obama children, having been born in 2001. She was the youngest child to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy, Jr. moved in with his parents as a small infant. Sasha’s Secret Service codename is “Rosebud”, and her older sister Malia has the codename “Radiance”.

30. Lion in the heavens : LEO

The constellation named Leo can be said to resemble a lion. Others say that it resembles a bent coat hanger. “Leo” is the Latin for “lion”, but I’m not sure how to translate “coat hanger” into Latin …

35. Arkin of “Catch-22” : ALAN

The actor Alan Arkin won his only Oscar (Best Supporting Actor) for his role in “Little Miss Sunshine” from 2006, a movie that I just did not understand …

The 1970 movie “Catch-22” is a satire on war that is set in WWII. The film is based on the very successful novel of the same name by Joseph Heller. The remarkable cast of “Catch-22” includes Alan Arkin, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Orson Welles and Art Garfunkel in his acting debut. I tend to compare “Catch-22” with “M*A*S*H”, another black comedy about war that was released the same year. “M*A*S*H” comes out way ahead in my opinion …

43. Sedan alternative : COUPE

The type of car known as a “coupe” or “coupé” is a closed automobile with two doors. The name comes from the French word “couper” meaning “to cut”. In most parts of the English-speaking world the pronunciation adheres to the original French, but here in most of North America we go with “coop”. The original coupé was a horse-drawn carriage that was cut (coupé) to eliminate the rear-facing passenger seats. That left just a driver and two front-facing passengers. If the driver was left without a roof and out in the open, then the carriage was known as a “coupé de-ville”.

47. Symbol of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad : GOLDEN SPIKE

The First Transcontinental Railroad was a cooperative project between the Western Pacific, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies. The Western Pacific Railroad constructed line between Oakland and Sacramento in California. The Central Pacific Railroad laid line from Sacramento to Promontory Summit, Utah. The Union Pacific Railroad put down tracks in a westerly direction, from the existing network terminus near Omaha, Nebraska, all the way to Promontory Summit. It was the connecting of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads at Promontory Summit that completed the First Transcontinental Line in 1869. The driving of the Golden Spike (also “Last Spike”) symbolically completed the project. That spike was pounded into the ground by Leland Stanford, president of both the Southern Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads. The spike can now be viewed in Stanford University, the school founded by and named for Leland.

55. Gift for which you might reply “Mahalo” : LEI

In Hawaiian, “mahalo” means “thank you” and “mahalo nui loa” translates as “thank you very much”.

57. Sport hinted at by the ends of 17-, 24-, 36- and 47-Across : VOLLEYBALL

In volleyball, each team can only touch the ball a maximum of three times before it returns to the other side of the net. The three contacts are often a “bump” (a preliminary pass) and a “set” (setting up the attacking shot) followed by a “spike” (a shot into the opposing court).

60. Universal donor type, for short : O-NEG

The most important grouping of blood types is the ABO system. Blood is classified as either A, B, AB or O, depending on the type of antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. A secondary designation of blood is the Rh factor, in which other antigens are labelled as either positive or negative. When a patient receives a blood transfusion, ideally the donor blood should be the same type as that of the recipient, as incompatible blood cells can be rejected. However, blood type O-neg can be accepted by recipients with all blood types, A, B, AB or O, and positive or negative. Hence someone with O-neg blood type is called a universal donor.

61. Paragon : IDEAL

A paragon is an model of excellence, a peerless example. Ultimately the term derives from the Greek “para-” meaning “on the side” and “akone” meaning “whetstone”. This derivation comes from the ancient practice of using a touchstone to test gold for its level of purity by drawing a line on the stone with the gold and comparing the resulting mark with samples of known purity.

62. Christmastime : YULE

Yule celebrations coincide with Christmas, and the words “Christmas” and “Yule” (often “Yuletide”) have become synonymous in much of the world. However, Yule was originally a pagan festival celebrated by Germanic peoples. The name “Yule” comes from the Old Norse word “jol” that was used to describe the festival.

65. Column on a flight board, for short : ETAS

Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

Down

2. Trendy food from the Andes : QUINOA

Quinoa is a grain crop that is more closely related to beetroots and spinach that it is to cereals and grasses. Quinoa is mainly cultivated for its edible seeds, which are high in protein. The seeds are also gluten free, which seems to be a big deal these days. I do like my quinoa …

3. Toll method on the New Jersey Turnpike : E-ZPASS

E-ZPass was a technology development driven (pun!) by the tolling agencies of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The first E-ZPass toll booth was built on the New York Thruway, and opened at the Spring Valley toll plaza in 1993.

4. Uno + uno : DOS

In Spanish, “uno y uno” (one plus one) makes “dos” (two).

5. Kingpin on “The Wire” : MARLO

I didn’t watch the HBO series called “The Wire” when it first aired. We ending up buying all five series on DVD and we watched the whole thing several years ago. It’s is a great drama series, and I thoroughly recommend it. Personally, I think that HBO produces some of the best dramas on American television.

6. Excedrin competitor : ADVIL

Advil is Wyeth’s brand of ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug.

8. DVR button : REC

Digital Video Recorder (DVR)

9. Molybdenite, for molybdenum : ORE

Molybdenum is a metallic element with the symbol “Mo” and atomic number 42.

10. Toothpaste brand : ORAL-B

The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

11. Airport named for a president : DE GAULLE

Charles de Gaulle was a colonel in the French army at the outbreak of WWII. He was promoted to brigadier general after a successful attack on German tank forces in 1940, one of the few successes enjoyed by the French at the start of the war. Some months later, he was appointed junior minister in the French government, at which time he strenuously argued against surrender to Germany, advocating removal of the government to the French territory of Algeria. He was unsuccessful in his arguments and so flew to England where he set about building the Free French Forces from soldiers who had also fled the country. De Gaulle made several important radio addresses to the French from London that helped rally the resistance movement. Despite a shaky relationship with Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower, De Gaulle managed to maintain a working relationship with the rest of the Allies and was accepted as leader of the new French government when Paris was liberated in 1944.

12. Venison : DEER MEAT

Venison is the meat of a deer. In days of yore, the term “venison” applied not just to deer, but to any large game. The word ultimately derives from the Latin “venare” meaning “to hunt”.

22. Texter’s segue : BTW

By the way (BTW)

A segue is a transition from one topic to the next. “Segue” is an Italian word that literally means “now follows”. It was first used in musical scores directing the performer to play into the next movement without a break.

25. Orange Muppet : ERNIE

The muppet character named Bert usually plays the straight man to his partner character Ernie. Bert has a unibrow, while Ernie has no brows at all.

26. Whirler on a whirlybird : ROTOR

“Whirlybird” is an informal name for a helicopter.

32. Water with the Alps in its logo : EVIAN

Évian-les-Bains (or simply Évian) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As one might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. Personally, I can’t stand the distinctive taste of Évian water …

35. Apropos of : AS TO

“Apropos”, meaning “relevant, opportune”, comes into English directly from French, in which language “à propos” means “to the purpose”. Note that we use the term as one word (apropos), whereas the original French is two words (à propos).

36. Luke Skywalker’s home planet : TATOOINE

Tatooine is the desert planet that features in almost every “Star Wars” movie. It is the home planet of Anakin and Luke Skywalker, and is also where Obi-Wan Kenobi first met Han Solo.

42. The first “B” of B&B : BED

An intimate inn (in the US) is a bed & breakfast (B&B). A bed & breakfast back in Ireland is traditionally more basic accommodation, and used to be much cheaper than a comparable hotel room.

44. German mark : UMLAUT

An “umlaut” (also “diaeresis”) is a diacritical mark consisting of two horizontal dots placed over a letter, usually a vowel. Here in the West, we are perhaps most familiar with umlauts in German, as in “Schön”.

45. Spanish rice dish : PAELLA

Paella is sometime referred to as the Spanish national dish, but not by Spaniards. In Spain, paella is regarded as a typical regional dish from Valencia.

48. Bottom of the barrel : DREGS

The dregs in wine, the sediment that settles during fermentation (and sometimes in the bottle), are also called “lees”.

49. Primitive kind of diet : PALEO

The paleolithic (or “paleo, caveman”) diet is a fad diet that became popular in the 2000s. The idea is to eat wild plants and animals that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (roughly the Stone Age). This period precedes the introduction of agriculture and domestication of animals. As a result, someone on the diet avoids consuming grains, legumes, dairy and processed foods. The diet consists mainly of lean meat (about 45-65% of the total calorie intake), non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

59. “Ciao!” : BYE!

“Ciao” is Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Barred from competition, briefly : DQ’ED
5. Prefix with economics : MACRO-
10. Sportsbook offering : ODDS
14. Liqueur with a licoricelike flavor : OUZO
15. Psychologist Alfred : ADLER
16. Stumble around in a daze : REEL
17. Empty talk not backed by action : LIP SERVICE
19. Screenwriter James of “The African Queen” : AGEE
20. Santa ___, Calif. : ANA
21. Slender : SLIM
22. Play loudly, as music : BLARE
23. Like all natural numbers: Abbr. : POS
24. Boost after appearing on a certain old Comedy Central show : COLBERT BUMP
27. Malia Obama’s sister : SASHA
29. Use an oar : ROW
30. Lion in the heavens : LEO
31. In effect : OPERANT
35. Arkin of “Catch-22” : ALAN
36. Product from RCA or LG : TELEVISION SET
39. Something traced to draw a turkey : HAND
40. Get, as from a will : INHERIT
41. “___ the least I can do” : IT’S
42. Groceries holder : BAG
43. Sedan alternative : COUPE
47. Symbol of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad : GOLDEN SPIKE
52. Upper extreme, informally : MAX
53. Stockpile : HOARD
54. Work without ___ : A NET
55. Gift for which you might reply “Mahalo” : LEI
56. Happening now, as a telecast : LIVE
57. Sport hinted at by the ends of 17-, 24-, 36- and 47-Across : VOLLEYBALL
60. Universal donor type, for short : O-NEG
61. Paragon : IDEAL
62. Christmastime : YULE
63. Exchanges “I do’s” : WEDS
64. Sounds from a pet owner’s lap : MEOWS
65. Column on a flight board, for short : ETAS

Down

1. Practice swimming : DO LAPS
2. Trendy food from the Andes : QUINOA
3. Toll method on the New Jersey Turnpike : E-ZPASS
4. Uno + uno : DOS
5. Kingpin on “The Wire” : MARLO
6. Excedrin competitor : ADVIL
7. Do some mountaineering : CLIMB
8. DVR button : REC
9. Molybdenite, for molybdenum : ORE
10. Toothpaste brand : ORAL-B
11. Airport named for a president : DE GAULLE
12. Venison : DEER MEAT
13. Take some time to consider : SLEEP ON
18. Break free : ESCAPE
22. Texter’s segue : BTW
25. Orange Muppet : ERNIE
26. Whirler on a whirlybird : ROTOR
28. “Please ___” (secretary’s words) : HOLD
32. Water with the Alps in its logo : EVIAN
33. Men’s gymnastics event : RINGS
34. Bit of volcanic fallout : ASH
35. Apropos of : AS TO
36. Luke Skywalker’s home planet : TATOOINE
37. Forced into bondage : ENSLAVED
38. Fine point : NICETY
39. Poker variant in which the worst set of cards splits the pot : HIGH/LOW
42. The first “B” of B&B : BED
44. German mark : UMLAUT
45. Spanish rice dish : PAELLA
46. Banishees : EXILES
48. Bottom of the barrel : DREGS
49. Primitive kind of diet : PALEO
50. Holiday guest that a couple might fight over : IN-LAW
51. Starting points in shipbuilding : KEELS
57. Get-up-and-go : VIM
58. Payment of tribute? : ODE
59. “Ciao!” : BYE!