0629-19 NY Times Crossword 29 Jun 19, Saturday

Constructed by: Kameron Austin Collins
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 12m 52s

Bill’s errors: 2

OUROBOROS (Ourohoros)
BOP (hop!!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Bush-league : AMATEURISH

“Bush league” is baseball slang for “minor league” or “unprofessional”. The idea is that a minor league team might be based in “the sticks” or “the bushes”, in a small town.

16 Book that’s the source of the phrase “Physician, heal thyself” : LUKE

The phrase “Physician, heal thyself” is a quotation from Jesus that appears in Luke’s Gospel.

18 Land of leprechauns : ERIN

A leprechaun is a mischievous fairy in Irish folklore. Traditionally, leprechauns spend their days making shoes and hide all their money in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Our word “leprechaun” comes from the Irish name for such a sprite, i.e. “leipreachán”.

31 Title genie played by Shaquille O’Neal in a 1996 film : KAZAAM

“Kazaam” is a 1996 family movie about a genie who grants three wishes to a young boy. Kazaam is the name of the genie, and is played by basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal. The film was directed by Paul Michael Glaser, who played Starsky on “Starsky and Hutch” in the seventies. No one seemed to like the “Kazaam” movie.

35 Racer Luyendyk : ARIE

Arie Luyendyk is a racing driver from the Netherlands, winner of the Indianapolis 500 on two occasions. Luyendyk’s son, also called Arie, is following in his father’s footsteps and is also an auto racer.

43 Liqueur flavorers : ANISES

The essential oil in the anise plant is anethole. Anethole has a licorice-like flavor, and is used extensively in cooking and to flavor several distilled alcoholic drinks.

47 Common tutoring subject : SAT

Today, the standardized test for admission to colleges is known as the SAT Reasoning Test, but it used to be called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, which led to the abbreviation “SAT”.

50 Farm sound : MAA!

“Maa” is the call of a goat.

53 ___ Vikander, Best Supporting Actress for 2015’s “The Danish Girl” : ALICIA

Alicia Vikander is an actress from Sweden. She gained recognition with American audiences when she played the humanoid robot in the fascinating 2015 film “Ex Machina”. In 2018, she played the title character in the film “Tomb Raider”. Vikander is married to Irish actor Michael Fassbender.

55 One may read “Reverse” : UNO CARD

In my youth I remember being taught a great card game by a German acquaintance of mine, a game called Mau Mau. Years later I discovered that UNO is basically the same game, but played with a purpose-printed deck instead of the regular deck of playing cards that’s used for Mau Mau. I hear that Mau Mau is derived from the game called Crazy Eights.

58 1983 Apple computer with a girl’s name : LISA

The Apple Lisa is a personal computer that was released in the early eighties as a cost-effective machine aimed at individual business owners. There was a lot of internal competition within Apple as the Lisa was developed. Steve Jobs was kicked off the project, forcing him to focus on the Apple Macintosh, which effectively killed off the Lisa when it was released in 1984.

64 Actress Cannon : DYAN

The actress Dyan Cannon is perhaps best known for playing Alice in the 1969 film “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice”, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Cannon is also famous for having been on Cary Grant’s long list of wives, from 1965 to 1968 (and he was 33 years her senior).

Down

1 Dueling weapon : SABER

A saber (sometimes “sabre”) is a sword with a curved blade and a relatively large hand guard. It is thought that the term originated with the Hungarian verb “szabni” meaning “to cut”.

2 Savory sensation : UMAMI

Umami is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. “Umami” is a Japanese word used to describe “a pleasant savory taste”. Umami was proposed as a basic taste in 1908, but it wasn’t until 1985 that the scientific community finally accepted it as such.

3 Lively dance in double time : GALOP

A galop is a type of dance that was especially popular in Parisian society in the 1800s. It is a fast-paced dance named after the fastest running gait of a horse (a gallop). The most famous exponent of the form was Johann Strauss II.

4 Juggernaut fighting vehicle in “Star Wars” movies : AT-AT

You might recall the huge walking vehicles that first appeared in the 1980 “Star Wars” movie “The Empire Strikes Back”. The proper name for such a walker is an All Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT).

5 Italian artist Guido : RENI

Guido Reni was an Italian painter from Bologna who was active in the first half of the 17th century. Reni’s most famous work is probably “Crucifixion of St. Peter”, an altarpiece commissioned in the early 1600s that is now on display in the Vatican.

9 Pac-12 sch. : ASU

Arizona State University (ASU) has a long history, and was founded as the Tempe Normal School for the Arizona Territory in 1885. The athletic teams of ASU used to be known as the Normals, then the Bulldogs, and since 1946 they’ve been called the Sun Devils.

10 Role for Liz Taylor : CLEO

The 1963 movie “Cleopatra” really is an epic work. It was the highest grossing film of the year, taking in $26 million dollars at the box office, yet it still lost money. The original budget for the film was just $2 million, but so many things went wrong the final cost swelled to a staggering $44 million dollars, making it the second most expensive movie ever made (taking into account inflation). Elizabeth Taylor was supposed to earn a record amount of $1 million for the film, and ended up earned seven times that amount due to delays. But she paid dearly, as she became seriously ill during shooting and had to have an emergency tracheotomy to save her life. The scar in her throat can actually be seen in some of the shots in the film.

15 What ends with Adar : HEBREW CALENDAR

Adar is the twelfth month of the Hebrew ecclesiastical calendar. Adar is equivalent to February-March in the Gregorian calendar.

21 Inspiration for Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” : LSD

“White Rabbit” is a song recorded in 1967 by Jefferson Airplane that made it into the top ten. The lyrics make blatant drug references, and use imagery from the “Alice” children’s novels by Lewis Carroll such as the White Rabbit, the White Knight, the Red Queen and the Dormouse.

25 Morales of “NYPD Blue” : ESAI

The actor Esai Morales is best known in the world of film for the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai). On the small screen, Morales plays Lt. Tony Rodriguez on “NYPD Blue” and Joseph Adama on “Caprica”.

28 “Till There ___ You,” song from “The Music Man” : WAS

“The Music Man” is a musical by Meredith Willson. The show was a big hit on Broadway in 1957. “The Music Man” won the first ever Grammy Award for the “Best Original Cast Album”. The show is set in the fictional River City, Iowa.

32 Principle associated with Machiavellianism : AMORALITY

Niccolo Machiavelli’s political treatise entitled “The Prince”, and the philosophical opinions expressed therein, gave rise to the term “Machiavellian” meaning “cunning and devious”, especially at the level of state politics. Indeed, it is said that the reception of Machiavelli’s work was such that he lent his name “Niccolo” to the language as the derivation of the term “Old Nick”, meaning “the Devil”,

33 Mexican revolutionary : ZAPATISTA

Emiliano Zapata was a leader in the Mexican Revolution that took place from 1910 to 1920. Zapata was the leader of the Liberation Army of the South, a force more commonly referred to as the Zapatistas.

37 Emmy-winning Ward : SELA

Actress Sela Ward turns up in crosswords a lot. Ward played Teddy Reed in the TV show “Sisters” in the nineties, and was in “Once and Again” from 1999-2002. I don’t know either show, but I do know Ward from the medical drama “House” in which she played the hospital’s lawyer and Greg House’s ex-partner. That was a fun role, I thought. More recently, Ward played a lead role on “CSI: NY” and was a very welcome and much-needed addition to the cast. And, Ward played Dr. Richard Kimble’s murdered wife in the 1993 film version of “The Fugitive”.

39 Icon of ambient music : ENO

Brian Eno was one of the pioneers of the ambient genre of music. Eno composed an album in 1978 called “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”, which was the first in a series of four albums with an ambient theme. Eno named the tracks, somewhat inventively, 1/1, 2/1, 2/1 and 2/2.

42 Pacific ring? : LEI

“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a lei is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

45 “100 Years … 100 Movies” listmaker, for short : AFI

The American Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1967 by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). One of the AFI’s more visible programs is the “100 Year Series”, including lists of Best Movies in several categories and a list of the Best Movie Quotes in 100 years of movie-making.

49 Hindu precept : SUTRA

The word “sutra” is used in Hinduism for a learned text, one usually meant to be studied by students.

50 Santa ___ (historic ship) : MARIA

When Columbus made his famous voyage of discovery, the largest of his three ships was the Santa Maria. The Santa Maria ran aground on the coast of Hispaniola on Christmas Day in 1492 and was lost. 39 of Columbus’s men were left behind with the permission of the locals. These men stripped the timbers from the Santa Maria and used them to build a settlement they called La Navidad (Spanish for “Christmas”). La Navidad is now the modern town of Môle-Saint-Nicolas in the Republic of Haiti.

51 Soviet workers’ group : ARTEL

The Russian cooperative associations known as artels were often pretty informal affairs. Basically any group could get together and form an artel for any specific commercial purpose … anything from gold-mining and fishing, to stealing and begging.

54 James of “The Godfather” : CAAN

James Caan is an actor from the Bronx, New York City. He is noted for his appearances in some very big movies such as “The Godfather”, “Misery”, “A Bridge Too Far”, “Rollerball” and more recently “Elf”. Caan is quite the sportsman. He plays golf with an 8 handicap, and is a 6-Dan Black Belt Master of Gosoku Karate.

60 “All My ___ Live in Texas” : EX’S

“All My Ex’s Live in Texas” is a song released in 1987 by country singer George Strait.

61 Club drug, informally : XTC

“Ecstasy” (sometimes “XTC”) is a street name for the drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). MDMA was first synthesised way back in 1912, but wasn’t used recreationally until the late sixties and early seventies. The drug was designated a controlled substance in the US in 1988.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Woman who spends money on a younger lover, in modern lingo : SUGAR MAMA
10 Total, in a way : COST
14 Bush-league : AMATEURISH
16 Book that’s the source of the phrase “Physician, heal thyself” : LUKE
17 End of a bill : BALANCE DUE
18 Land of leprechauns : ERIN
19 It’s just a feeling : EMOTION
20 Effloresces : BLOOMS
22 Lambaste : RIP
23 Lets out : UTTERS
26 Go (along) : BOP
27 Pained expressions : OWS
29 Start of a reminiscence : USED TO BE
31 Title genie played by Shaquille O’Neal in a 1996 film : KAZAAM
34 Big mouth : MAW
35 Racer Luyendyk : ARIE
36 Hoards : AMASSES
38 Freezing : ICE-COLD
40 Easy stride : LOPE
41 Country singer McDaniel : MEL
43 Liqueur flavorers : ANISES
44 Like chalk on a chalkboard : ERASABLE
46 Something to build on : LOT
47 Common tutoring subject : SAT
48 Crème de ___ (strawberry liqueur) : FRAISE
50 Farm sound : MAA!
53 ___ Vikander, Best Supporting Actress for 2015’s “The Danish Girl” : ALICIA
55 One may read “Reverse” : UNO CARD
58 1983 Apple computer with a girl’s name : LISA
59 Neighboring : NEXT DOOR TO
62 Lead-in to boy or girl : ATTA …
63 Fast-food order not for the diet-conscious : EXTRA FRIES
64 Actress Cannon : DYAN
65 Geographical eponym of a 1970s-’80s fad diet : SCARSDALE

Down

wn
1 Dueling weapon : SABER
2 Savory sensation : UMAMI
3 Lively dance in double time : GALOP
4 Juggernaut fighting vehicle in “Star Wars” movies : AT-AT
5 Italian artist Guido : RENI
6 Liner of the nose, e.g. : MUCOUS MEMBRANE
7 “___ we all?” : AREN’T
8 Central : MID
9 Pac-12 sch. : ASU
10 Role for Liz Taylor : CLEO
11 Ancient symbol depicting a serpent eating its own tail : OUROBOROS
12 Winter transport : SKIMOBILE
13 Certain bikes : TEN-SPEEDS
15 What ends with Adar : HEBREW CALENDAR
21 Inspiration for Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” : LSD
24 Belly, in totspeak : TUM
25 Morales of “NYPD Blue” : ESAI
27 Refuges : OASES
28 “Till There ___ You,” song from “The Music Man” : WAS
30 Understood : TACIT
31 Crunchy dish with green leaves : KALE SALAD
32 Principle associated with Machiavellianism : AMORALITY
33 Mexican revolutionary : ZAPATISTA
37 Emmy-winning Ward : SELA
39 Icon of ambient music : ENO
42 Pacific ring? : LEI
45 “100 Years … 100 Movies” listmaker, for short : AFI
49 Hindu precept : SUTRA
50 Santa ___ (historic ship) : MARIA
51 Soviet workers’ group : ARTEL
52 Give ___ of reality : A DOSE
54 James of “The Godfather” : CAAN
56 Punch lines? : OOFS
57 Clothesline, e.g. : CORD
60 “All My ___ Live in Texas” : EX’S
61 Club drug, informally : XTC