1226-22 NY Times Crossword 26 Dec 22, Monday

Constructed by: Kurt Weller
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Clockwork

Themed answers are all steps that one might take to make a CLOCK WORK:

  • 59A Epitome of precision … or a description of 20-, 34- and 43-Across? : CLOCKWORK or CLOCK WORK
  • 20A Stick your tongue out, say : MAKE A FACE
  • 34A Move onto a new topic of conversation, metaphorically : SWITCH GEARS
  • 43A Pass to a different owner, as a business : CHANGE HANDS

Bill’s time: 6m 48s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Floating ice chunk : BERG

An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that is floating freely after having broken away from a glacier or ice shelf. Our use of “iceberg” comes from the Dutch word for the same phenomenon “ijsberg”, which translates literally as “ice mountain”.

14 Skunk’s defense : ODOR

Skunks have anal scent glands that can be used as defensive weapons. The glands produce sulfur-containing chemicals that have a really awful smell and that can irritate the eyes and skin.

15 Leon who wrote “Exodus” : URIS

“Exodus” is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris that was first published in 1947. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, a character played by Paul Newman in the 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.

17 “___ upon a time …” : ONCE

The stock phrase “Once upon a time …” has been used in various forms as the start of a narrative at least since 1380. The stock phrase at the end of stories such as folktales is often “and they all lived happily ever after”. The earlier version of this ending was “happily until their deaths”.

22 Use an e-cigarette : VAPE

An electronic cigarette (also called an “e-cigarette”) is a battery-powered device that resembles a real cigarette. The e-cigarette vaporizes a solution that contains nicotine, forming a vapor that resembles smoke. The vapor is inhaled in a process called “vaping”, delivering nicotine into the body. The assumption is that an e-cigarette is healthier than a regular cigarette as the inhaled vapor is less harmful than inhaled smoke. But, that may not be so …

27 Tinder or Hinge : APP

Tinder is a matchmaking app that uses Facebook profiles. Users “swipe” photos of potential matches, either to the right (“like”) or to the left (“not interested”). Users who “match” each other can then chat within the app.

Hinge is a dating app that was launched in 2012. Apparently, a key feature of the app is the use of Facebook friends to facilitate introductions to potential matches.

29 Beer ingredient : HOPS

The foodstuff that we call “hops” are actually the female flowers of the hop plant. The main use of hops is to add flavor to beer. The town in which I used to live here in California was once home to the largest hop farm in the world. Most of the harvested hops were exported all the way to the breweries of London, where they could fetch the best price.

32 ___ trick (hockey feat) : HAT

A hat trick is the scoring of three goals by the same player in a game of perhaps soccer or hockey.

33 College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa : COE

Coe College is a private school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that was founded in 1851. Coe is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. It was founded in 1851 as the School for Prophets. A farmer named Daniel Coe made a donation of $1,500 towards a campus in Cedar Rapid, but added the requirement that it be a co-educational institution. The school opened as the Cedar Rapids Collegiate Institute, and was renamed as Coe College Institute in 1875 in recognition of the original donation.

39 Campus quarters : DORM

“Dormitory” is a very apt anagram of “dirty room”. Well, sometimes it’s apt …

41 Beverage that comes in green and black varieties : TEA

The process for making most teas involves oxidation. During oxidation, the leaves become darker in color as chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. The oxidation step is skipped when producing green teas.

49 Electric ___ : EEL

Electric eels are so called because they are capable of delivering an eclectic shock that debilitates their prey. They are also able to electrolocate their prey. They do so by generating a weak electric field. The prey causes a distortion in this electric field, which is picked up by the eel’s electroreceptor organs.

50 Princess who says “Into the garbage chute, flyboy” : LEIA

The full name of the character played by Carrie Fisher in the “Star Wars” series of films is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and later Leia Organa Solo. Leia is the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and the daughter of Anakin Skywalker (aka “Darth Vader”) and Padmé Amidala. Leia is raised by her adoptive parents Bail and Breha Organa. She eventually marries Han Solo.

52 Best Rap Performance and Best Instrumental Composition, for two : GRAMMYS

The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held in 1959 and focused on recognizing outstanding achievement in the recording industry. The idea of a Grammy Award came up when recording executives were working on the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the fifties. These executives concluded that there were many people in the recording industry deserving of accolades but who would probably never make it to the Walk of Fame. As a result, they founded the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The Academy considered naming the award the “Eddies” after Thomas Edison, but then opted for “Grammy” after Edison’s invention: the gramophone.

56 “Get outta here!” : SCAT!

Our word “scat!” means “get lost!” It comes from a 19th-century expression “quicker than s’cat”, which meant “in a great hurry”. The original phrase probably came from the words “hiss” and “cat”.

58 Hershey’s candy with a caramel center : ROLO

Rolo was a hugely popular chocolate candy in Ireland when I was growing up. It was introduced in the thirties in the UK, and is produced under license in the US by Hershey. I was a little disappointed when I had my first taste of the American version as the center is very hard and chewy. The recipe used on the other side of the Atlantic calls for a soft gooey center.

59 Epitome of precision … or a description of 20-, 34- and 43-Across? : CLOCKWORK or CLOCK WORK

The more common meaning of “epitome” is “perfect example of a group, quality, type”. An epitome is also an abstract or summary of a book or article.

66 Capital of Italia : ROMA

In Italian, “Roma” (Rome) and “Firenze” (Florence) are cities in “Italia” (Italy).

67 Yoke-wearing animals : OXEN

A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of animals so that they are forced to work together.

70 One-dimensional drawing : LINE

The dimension of an object is defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify each point in the object. Therefore, a line is one-dimensional, as you only need an x-coordinate to specify a particular point on the line. A surface is two-dimensional, as you need both an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate to locate a point on the surface. The inside of a solid object is then three-dimensional, needing an x-, y- and z-coordinate to specify a point, say within a cube.

Down

2 ___ Mode of “The Incredibles” : EDNA

“The Incredibles” is a 2004 animated feature from Pixar, and not a great movie if you ask me. But asking me probably isn’t a good idea, as the film won two Oscars …

3 Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” for one : ROCK OPERA

Pink Floyd was an English rock band founded in 1965. The band’s most famous albums are probably “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall”.

4 Actress Garson of “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” : GREER

Greer Garson was a British actress who made a name for herself in Hollywood films in the 1940s. One of Garson’s most famous roles was playing the title character in the 1942 film “Mrs. Miniver”, starring alongside Walter Pidgeon. Garson married a much younger man in 1943, actor Richard Ney who played her son in “Mrs. Miniver”. That role earned her an appearance in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for having given the longest Oscar speech ever, at 5½ minutes. After that speech, the producers of the Academy Awards instituted a time limit.

The fabulous 1939 movie “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by James Hilton. Heading the cast are British actors Robert Donat and Greer Garson. “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” was remade as a musical in 1969 starring Peter O’Toole and Petula Clark. I haven’t seen the remake, and frankly am a little scared to do so …

6 Diva’s delivery : ARIA

The term “diva” comes to us from Latin via Italian. It is the feminine form of “divus” meaning “divine one”. The word is used in Italy to mean “goddess” or “fine lady”, and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.

7 97.5% of a penny : ZINC

The original one-cent coin was introduced in the US in 1793 and was made of 100% copper, giving rise to the nickname “copper” for a 1-cent coin. 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.

8 County in England or New Jersey : ESSEX

Essex is a county in England that is referred to as one of the “home counties”. The home counties are those that surround the city of London, outside of London itself. “Home county” is not an official designation but has been in popular use since the 1800s. The list of home counties usually comprises Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex.

There are five counties named Essex in the US:

  • Essex County, Massachusetts
  • Essex County, New Jersey
  • Essex County, New York
  • Essex County, Vermont
  • Essex County, Virginia
  • 9 Pirate’s bottleful : RUM

    The fictional sea shanty called “Dead Man’s Chest” was introduced in Robert Louis Stevenson’s great novel, “Treasure Island”. In the book, Stevenson only describes the chorus, which goes:

    Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest–
    …Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
    Drink and the devil had done for the rest–
    …Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

    12 Balderdash : TRIPE

    “Tripe” is an informal term meaning “rubbish, of little value”. Tripe is actually the rubbery stomach lining of an animal such as a cow. Tripe is a traditional dish in British cuisine that is prepared by poaching it with onions in milk.

    “Balderdash” means “senseless jumble of words”. The original balderdash (back before the late 1600s) was a jumbled mix of liquids like maybe beer and wine, or even beer and milk!

    13 Having had enough food : SATED

    “Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.

    21 Sounds from a sauna : AAHS

    As my Finnish-American wife will tell you, “sauna” is a Finnish word, and is pronounced more correctly as “sow-nah” (with “sow” as in the female pig).

    27 “Back in Black” band : AC/DC

    “Back in Black” is a 1980 song by Australian heavy metal band AC/DC. The band members wrote the song as a tribute to AC/DC’s former singer Bon Scott, who died earlier that year at the age of 33.

    28 “Hunny”-loving A. A. Milne character : POOH

    Winnie-the-Pooh’s favorite food is “hunny”, i.e. “honey”.

    35 Bit of Christmas candy : CANE

    Apparently, candy canes were created at the behest of the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral in Germany in 1672. The sweet sticks were basically used as bribes to keep children quiet during services. The choirmaster specified that the candy sticks should have a crook at the top so that they reminded the children of the three shepherds who visited the infant Jesus just after his birth.

    36 Venom neutralizer, e.g. : ANTITOXIN

    Antivenom (also “antivenin”) is made by extracting venom from say a snake (so called “milking”) and then diluting it and injecting it into a host animal (like a cat, horse or sheep). The animal undergoes an immune response and produces antibodies to neutralize the poison. The antibodies are harvested from the animal’s blood and are stored for use with victims who are bitten by the same snake, or by some other creature that injects the same or a similar venom. I guess antivenom might also be called antiserum …

    40 Memory device like “How I wish I could calculate pi,” e.g. : MNEMONIC

    The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is a mathematical constant, which we denote with the Greek letter pi (π). Approximate values for the pi that are often used in calculations are 22/7 and 3.1415926. If you count the letters in each word of the mnemonic “How I wish I could calculate pi easily”, the sequence gives you the first eight digits of the value of pi, i.e. 3.1415926.

    45 Ron of “Tarzan” fame : ELY

    Ron Ely is most famous for playing the title role in the “Tarzan” TV series in the sixties. Years later, Ely hosted the 1980 and 1981 “Miss America” pageants right after longtime host Bert Parks retired, before the job was taken over by Gary Collins. And Ely is a successful mystery novelist. He wrote “Night Shadows” and “East Beach” in the mid-nineties, both of which featured his private eye Jake Sands.

    55 Rugby formation : SCRUM

    If you’ve ever seen a rugby match, you’ll recognize the scrum, in which the players designated as forwards bind together and push against the forwards on the opposing team. It’s a way of restarting the game after various types of stoppages. “Scrum” is short for “scrummage”, which in itself is a variation of “scrimmage”. And “scrimmage” has its roots in the word “skirmish”. If you get the chance, take a look at the Matt Damon-Morgan Freeman movie called “Invictus”, directed by Clint Eastwood. It’s all about rugby in South Africa after Nelson Mandela came to power. A powerful film …

    57 Army no-shows : AWOLS

    MPs (military police officers) often track down personnel who go AWOL (absent without leave).

    62 Nevada’s “Biggest Little City in the World” : RENO

    Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

    65 Maker of an explosion : 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.

    Complete List of Clues/Answers

    Across

    1 Floating ice chunk : BERG
    5 House of mirrors at a carnival, for one : MAZE
    9 Takes a load off : RESTS
    14 Skunk’s defense : ODOR
    15 Leon who wrote “Exodus” : URIS
    16 Super- : ULTRA-
    17 “___ upon a time …” : ONCE
    18 Loud, prolonged noises : DINS
    19 ___ badge (award for a scout) : MERIT
    20 Stick your tongue out, say : MAKE A FACE
    22 Use an e-cigarette : VAPE
    23 Kind of exam at school or the dentist’s : ORAL
    24 Like old-fashioned railroad crossing signs : X-SHAPED
    27 Tinder or Hinge : APP
    29 Beer ingredient : HOPS
    32 ___ trick (hockey feat) : HAT
    33 College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa : COE
    34 Move onto a new topic of conversation, metaphorically : SWITCH GEARS
    39 Campus quarters : DORM
    41 Beverage that comes in green and black varieties : TEA
    42 Jacket fastener that’s not a button : SNAP
    43 Pass to a different owner, as a business : CHANGE HANDS
    48 Aunt: Sp. : TIA
    49 Electric ___ : EEL
    50 Princess who says “Into the garbage chute, flyboy” : LEIA
    51 Traveler’s stopover : INN
    52 Best Rap Performance and Best Instrumental Composition, for two : GRAMMYS
    56 “Get outta here!” : SCAT!
    58 Hershey’s candy with a caramel center : ROLO
    59 Epitome of precision … or a description of 20-, 34- and 43-Across? : CLOCKWORK or CLOCK WORK
    64 “You can’t make me!” : I WON’T!
    66 Capital of Italia : ROMA
    67 Yoke-wearing animals : OXEN
    68 Enclose, as on a farm : PEN IN
    69 ___-friendly : USER
    70 One-dimensional drawing : LINE
    71 Upright : ERECT
    72 Put a patch on, say : MEND
    73 Winter forecast, often : SNOW

    Down

    1 Sound of an explosion : BOOM!
    2 ___ Mode of “The Incredibles” : EDNA
    3 Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” for one : ROCK OPERA
    4 Actress Garson of “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” : GREER
    5 Landslide of wet sediment : MUD FLOW
    6 Diva’s delivery : ARIA
    7 97.5% of a penny : ZINC
    8 County in England or New Jersey : ESSEX
    9 Pirate’s bottleful : RUM
    10 Gives a lift : ELEVATES
    11 Wristwatch component : STRAP
    12 Balderdash : TRIPE
    13 Having had enough food : SATED
    21 Sounds from a sauna : AAHS
    25 “Quiet!” : SHH!
    26 Witch : HAG
    27 “Back in Black” band : AC/DC
    28 “Hunny”-loving A. A. Milne character : POOH
    30 Bitter part of an orange : PITH
    31 Thieve : STEAL
    35 Bit of Christmas candy : CANE
    36 Venom neutralizer, e.g. : ANTITOXIN
    37 Spring forecast, often : RAIN
    38 Bridge : SPAN
    40 Memory device like “How I wish I could calculate pi,” e.g. : MNEMONIC
    44 Jewel : GEM
    45 Ron of “Tarzan” fame : ELY
    46 Throw out : DISCARD
    47 Bag : SACK
    52 Complaint : GRIPE
    53 Crew team member : ROWER
    54 Flying solo : ALONE
    55 Rugby formation : SCRUM
    57 Army no-shows : AWOLS
    60 Finish last, say : LOSE
    61 A rainbow may be seen as a good one : OMEN
    62 Nevada’s “Biggest Little City in the World” : RENO
    63 Understood : KNEW
    65 Maker of an explosion : TNT