0311-23 NY Times Crossword 11 Mar 23, Saturday

Constructed by: Tom Pepper
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 33m 16s

Bill’s errors: 4

  • OH HELL (Oh Well)
  • HORCRUX (Worcrux)
  • FAVEA (fovea)
  • ALOHA ‘OE (Alaha ‘Oe!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Patisserie offering : BRIOCHE

“Brioche” is a French bread that has been enriched with lots of egg and butter, to the extent that it is also considered a pastry.

15 Author of the influential 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” : TURING

Alan Turing was an English mathematician. He was well-respected for his code-breaking work during WWII at Bletchley Park in England. However, despite his contributions to cracking the German Enigma code and other crucial work, Turing was prosecuted for homosexuality in 1952. He agreed to chemical castration, treatment with female hormones, and then two years later he committed suicide by taking cyanide. Turing’s life story is told in the 2014 film “The Imitation Game” with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the lead. I thoroughly enjoyed that film …

16 Piffle : CLAPTRAP

“Claptrap” these days means nonsense talk. It was originally a term used on the stage meaning a trick to attract applause, hence the name “clap trap”.

17 It’s northwest of 1 : ESC

That would be on a keyboard.

20 Jack Bauer’s wife on “24” : TERI

“24” is an action-packed TV show with Kiefer Sutherland starring as counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer in the show’s original incarnation. The title refers to the structure of the series. Each season has 24 episodes, with each episode representing an hour of real-time action in the story. The collection of 24 episodes builds up to a plot that lasts a full 24 hours.

23 Messing around on a TV set? : DEBRA

Debra Messing is most famous for playing Grace Adler on the television series “Will & Grace”.

25 Fund-raising attractions at carnivals : DUNK TANKS

A dunk tank is a funfair attraction consisting of a large tank filled with water, over which a volunteer sits on a collapsing seat. Balls that are successfully thrown at a target cause the seat to collapse, and the unfortunate volunteer gets dunked.

29 Word with dance or date : RAIN …

A rain date is an alternative date scheduled if an event is postponed due to rain.

30 Ones getting under your skin? : X-RAY TECHS

X-rays were first studied comprehensively by the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (also “Roentgen”), and it was he who gave the name “X-rays” to this particular type of radiation. Paradoxically, in Röntgen’s native language of German, X-rays are routinely referred to as “Röntgen rays”. In 1901, Röntgen’s work on X-rays won him the first Nobel Prize in Physics that was ever awarded.

32 Blast maker : TNT

“TNT” is an abbreviation for “trinitrotoluene”. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.

33 Apt anagram of “I sew a hole” : ELIAS HOWE

Elias Howe was an American inventor. Howe wasn’t the first to come up with the idea of a sewing machine, but he was the first to develop one that was functional.

35 Some coll. degrees : BAS

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

38 Winsome : ENDEARING

“Winsome” is such a lovely-sounding word, with a lovely meaning. Someone described as winsome has a childlike charm and innocence.

44 Tiny pit in the 55-Across : FOVEA
(55 See 44-Across : RETINA)

The fovea centralis is a small depression on the retina and is the point of sharpest vision. About half of the nerve fibers in the optic nerve terminate at the fovea, with the other half carrying signals from the rest of the retina. “Fovea” is Latin for “pit”, and is a term used from several anatomical depressions found in the body.

The retina is the tissue that lines the inside of the eye, and is the tissue that is light-sensitive. There are (mainly) two types of cells in the retina that are sensitive to light, namely rods and cones. Rods are cells that best function in very dim light and only provide black-and-white vision. Cones on the other hand function in brighter light and can perceive color.

46 Skin blemish : WEN

“Wen” is the common name for any of a number of different growths that can occur on or under the skin. A wen can be a lipoma for example, a benign fatty growth that can form under the skin.

47 Potential cause of a respiratory problem : SMOG

“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s. Several cities around the world have a reputation of being particularly smoggy. For example, the most smog-plagued city in Latin America is Mexico City, which is located in a highland “bowl” that traps industrial and vehicle pollution.

58 Tripping : ON ACID

Someone taking the drug LSD is often said to be “dropping acid”. The use of the verb “to drop” was popular slang long before LSD came on the scene, and back then applied to the taking of any illegal drug.

Down

3 Bit of dark magic in Harry Potter : HORCRUX

A Horcrux is a magical object found throughout the Harry Potter series of novels, one that comes to the fore in the final two books. It is a very resilient receptacle, difficult to destroy. The evil Lord Vlodemort’s soul was divided and resides in a number of Horcruxes, all of which are destroyed by different characters using various weapons.

5 TV journalist Lisa : LING

Lisa Ling is a journalist who is best known as a former co-host of the television show “The View”. Lisa’s younger sister is Laura Ling. Laura is one of the pair of journalists who were sentenced to 12 years hard labor in prison for illegal entry to North Korea, but who were released in 2009 after a visit from former President Bill Clinton.

7 Asia’s ___ Sea : ARAL

The Aral Sea is a great example of how humankind can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

9 “Why ___?” : BOTHER

Why indeed …

10 Word from the Greek for “walking on tiptoe” : ACROBAT

An acrobat is someone who performs gymnastic feats. The term “acrobat“ comes into English via French from the Greek “akrobatos” meaning “going on tip-toe, climbing up high”.

14 Cryptocurrency technologies : BLOCKCHAINS

A blockchain is … well, you know … need I say more …? 🙂

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset that I simply do not understand. Apparently, an essential aspect of cryptocurrency is that it has no central administration. The first, and most famous, decentralized cryptocurrency is bitcoin.

24 Subject for a myrmecologist : ANT

The study of ants is known as myrmecology. The term “myrmecology” derives from the Greek “myrmex” meaning “ant”.

31 “Hot Lips” Houlihan portrayer : SWIT

Loretta Swit started playing Major “Hot Lips” Houlihan on “M*A*S*H” in 1972. She and Alan Alda were the only actors who appeared in both the pilot and the series finale. Swit has written a book on needlepoint, would you believe? It’s called “A Needlepoint Scrapbook”.

34 Genesis 5 figure : ENOS

Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve, and nephew of Cain and Abel. According to the ancient Jewish work called the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his own sister Noam.

35 Close one, in brief : BFF

Best friend forever (BFF)

36 Folk song whose name translates to “Farewell to Thee” : ALOHA ‘OE

“Aloha ‘Oe” is a song of Hawaii composed by Liliuokalani, the last monarch of Hawaii and her only queen. The title translates as “Farewell to Thee”.

37 Habitat for giraffes : SAVANNA

A savanna (also “savannah”) is a grassland. If there are any trees in a savanna, by definition they are small and widely spaced so that light can get to the grasses allowing them to grow unhindered.

The giraffe is the tallest terrestrial animal on the planet. Its main source of food is acacia leaves that they eat from high, high up in trees, where other herbivores cannot reach.

43 Coin with a polar bear on its reverse, informally : TOONIE

“Toonie” is the familiar name for a two-dollar coin in Canada. The toonie was introduced in 1996, and gets its familiar name from the one-dollar coin known as a “loonie”.

52 U.S. government product made at twice the cost of what it’s worth : CENT

The original one-cent coin was introduced in the US in 1793 and was made of 100% copper, giving rise to the nickname “copper”. The composition varied over time, and was 100% bronze up to the 1940s. During WWII there was a shortage of copper to make bronze, so the US Mint switched to zinc-coated steel for production of one-cent coins in 1943. The “steelie” is the only coin ever issued by the US mint that can be picked up by a magnet. Today’s one-cent coin consists mainly of zinc.

56 Natural order of the universe, in East Asian philosophy : TAO

The name of the Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Taoism signifies the true nature of the world.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Trick-taking card game : OH HELL
7 Monastery head’s jurisdiction : ABBACY
13 “Sweet!” : COOLIO!
14 Patisserie offering : BRIOCHE
15 Author of the influential 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” : TURING
16 Piffle : CLAPTRAP
17 It’s northwest of 1 : ESC
18 Fully commit : GO WHOLE HOG
20 Jack Bauer’s wife on “24” : TERI
22 Here, in Latin : HIC
23 Messing around on a TV set? : DEBRA
25 Fund-raising attractions at carnivals : DUNK TANKS
29 Word with dance or date : RAIN …
30 Ones getting under your skin? : X-RAY TECHS
32 Blast maker : TNT
33 Apt anagram of “I sew a hole” : ELIAS HOWE
35 Some coll. degrees : BAS
38 Winsome : ENDEARING
40 Stir : FLAP
42 Started fighting : GOT INTO IT
44 Tiny pit in the 55-Across : FOVEA
46 Skin blemish : WEN
47 Potential cause of a respiratory problem : SMOG
49 “Hold up …” : HANG ON A SEC …
53 Low sound : MOO
54 Some garage conversions : MAN CAVES
55 See 44-Across : RETINA
57 Air-purifying device : IONIZER
58 Tripping : ON ACID
59 One holding all the cards : DEALER
60 Pumps up : STOKES

Down

1 Four + four : OCTET
2 Accommodated, in a way : HOUSED
3 Bit of dark magic in Harry Potter : HORCRUX
4 Name in “fuel injection” : ELI
5 TV journalist Lisa : LING
6 Business card feature : LOGO
7 Asia’s ___ Sea : ARAL
8 One standing on one’s own two feet? : BIPED
9 “Why ___?” : BOTHER
10 Word from the Greek for “walking on tiptoe” : ACROBAT
11 Discomfiture : CHAGRIN
12 Informal agreement : YEP
14 Cryptocurrency technologies : BLOCKCHAINS
16 Green, black, white and yellow are varieties of these : CHINESE TEAS
19 “Bummer!” : WHAT A DOWNER!
21 Memo starter : IN RE
24 Subject for a myrmecologist : ANT
26 Ingredient in the Tuscan soup ribollita : KALE
27 Evening : TYING
28 Cut off : SHORN
31 “Hot Lips” Houlihan portrayer : SWIT
34 Genesis 5 figure : ENOS
35 Close one, in brief : BFF
36 Folk song whose name translates to “Farewell to Thee” : ALOHA ‘OE
37 Habitat for giraffes : SAVANNA
39 Attention-getter, maybe : GIMMICK
41 Makeup kit item : PENCIL
43 Coin with a polar bear on its reverse, informally : TOONIE
45 Looking steadily : AGAZE
48 Provokes : GOADS
50 No longer affected by : OVER
51 Versace ___ (high-end fragrance) : EROS
52 U.S. government product made at twice the cost of what it’s worth : CENT
54 Prefix with section : MID-
56 Natural order of the universe, in East Asian philosophy : TAO