0810-19 NY Times Crossword 10 Aug 19, Saturday

Constructed by: Anna Gundlach & Erik Agard
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 21m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 What takes motion out of motion pictures? : STEADICAM

“Steadicam” is a brand of stabilizing camera mount that was introduced in 1975 by cameraman Garrett Brown, who named his invention the “Brown Stabilizer”. Brown received an Academy Award for Merit in 1978, in recognition of the importance of his creation.

10 Goddess of spring and rebirth : MAIA

Maia is one of the Pleiades of Greek mythology, and is the eldest of the Seven Sisters. The month of May is named for Maia.

21 Certain online food critic : YELPER

yelp.com is a website that provides a local business directory and reviews of services. The site is sort of like Yellow Pages on steroids, and the term “yelp” is derived from “yel-low p-ages”.

23 Place for a tab : CAN

The term “pop top” refers to a whole family of designs for opening the top of a soda can. The oldest method is the “pull tab” or “ring pull”, invented in Canada in 1956. The design was long-lived, but it had its problems, so the world heaved a sigh of relief with the invention of the stay-on-tab in 1975. The new design led to less injuries and eliminated all those used pull tabs that littered the streets.

39 Word whose musical sense was added to Merriam-Webster dictionaries in 1986 : RAP

George and Charles Merriam founded their publishing company in 1831, and in 1843 purchased the rights to Noah Webster’s dictionary a few months after his death. Merriam-Webster has been publishing mainly dictionaries and reference books ever since.

40 Competitor of Petro-Canada : ESSO

Petro-Canada started out life as a government-owned corporation in 1976. Petro-Canada is now a brand name of Suncor Energy.

42 Some baskets : TWOS

That would be basketball.

44 Business card abbr. : RES

Residence (res.)

45 California W.N.B.A. team, on scoreboards : LAS

The Los Angeles Sparks (LAS) women’s basketball team was founded just before the WNBA opened its doors for business in 1997.

59 ___ Montoya, swordsman in “The Princess Bride” : INIGO

In the William Goldsmith novel “The Princess Bride”, the title character is kidnapped by a trio of outlaws that includes fencing master Inigo Montoya. In the 1987 film adaptation, Montoya is played by Mandy Patinkin.

61 Body parts that sound like some units of measure : PECS

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

A peck is a dry measure equal to a quarter of a bushel. The term can be used figuratively to mean a considerable quantity in general, as in the phrase “a peck of trouble”.

62 Start of an anti-coal petition : DEAR SANTA …

Apparently, the tradition of putting coal in the Christmas stocking of a poorly-behaved child comes simply from the proximity of the stocking (hanging on the fireplace) to a source of coal!

Down

2 Fabric whose name is French for “cloth” : TOILE

Toile fabric can be used as upholstery, as wallpaper, or even as a fabric for clothing. The name “toile” comes from the French word for “canvas, linen cloth”.

3 Tom ___, co-star of Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch” : EWELL

Actor Tom Ewell is best remembered for playing the male lead in the “The Seven Year Itch”, both on the Broadway stage and in the 1955 Hollywood movie. I also know Ewell as the “bad guy” in one of my favorite movies, 1949’s “Adam’s Rib”.

“The Seven Year Itch” is a 1955 movie by Billy Wilder that is based on a stage play of the same name by George Axelrod. The film stars Marilyn Monroe, and Tom Ewell as the guy with “the itch”. Perhaps the most famous scene in the film is the one with Monroe standing over a subway grate allowing the updraft to billow the skirt of her white dress above her knees. The manoeuvre was meant to cool her down, but I think it had the opposite effect on some in the audience! The phrase “seven year itch” had been used by psychologists to describe declining interest in staying monogamous after seven years of marriage.

4 “Venus and the Cat” author : AESOP

Aesop is remembered today as a fabulist, a writer of fables. Aesop lived in ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. Aesop was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

9 Cry on a battlefield : MEDIC!

A doctor in a company of soldiers might be called a medic.

10 Unlikely entrant in a Westminster show : MUTT

The American Kennel Club (AKC) is the organization that handles registration of purebred dogs The AKC also promotes dog shows around the country, including the famous Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

11 Some demographic data : AREA CODES

Area codes were introduced in the 1940s. Back then, the “clicks” one heard when dialling a number led to mechanical wear on various pieces of equipment. In order to minimize overall mechanical wear, areas with high call volumes were given the most efficient area codes (lowest number of clicks). That led to New York getting the area code 212, Los Angeles 213 and Chicago 313.

12 Emphasized : IN ITALICS

Italic type leans to the right, and is often used to provide emphasis in text. The style is known as “italic” because the stylized calligraphic form of writing originated in Italy, probably in the Vatican.

15 Mai ___ : TAI

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts Orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

20 Arrow on a screen : MOUSE POINTER

The computer mouse was invented at the Stanford Research Institute in 1963, by one Douglas Engelbart. Sadly for him, his patent ran out before mice became standard equipment on computers, so he never made any money from his amazing invention.

25 Kind of project for a hardware store customer, in brief : DIY

Back in Ireland, we don’t have “hardware stores” as such, but rather “DIY centres” (and that’s the spelling of “centres”). “DIY” is an initialism standing for “do-it-yourself”.

27 Goddess of peace : PAX

Pax was the Roman goddess of peace, and the daughter of Jupiter (the god of the sky and thunder) and Justitia (the goddess of justice). The Greek equivalent to Pax was Eirene.

28 Person whom people take their complaints to, informally : SUPE

“Supe” is short for “supervisor”.

36 Certain connection for a 30-Down, for short : DSL
(30D Connection to the outside world : PHONE LINE)

The initialism “DSL” originally stood for Digital Subscriber Loop, but is now accepted to mean (Asymmetric) Digital Subscriber Line. DSL is a technology that allows Internet service be delivered down the same telephone line as voice service, by separating the two into different frequency signals.

37 Negotiating partner with G.M. : UAW

The United Auto Workers (UAW) was founded to represent workers in auto plants in the Detroit area in 1935. Nowadays the UAW’s membership extends into the aerospace, agriculture and other industries.

48 Competitor of Stearns & Foster : SERTA

Serta was founded in 1931 when a group of 13 mattress manufacturers came together, essentially forming a cooperative. Today, the Serta company is owned by eight independent licensees in a similar arrangement. Serta advertisements feature the Serta Counting Sheep. Each numbered sheep has a different personality, such as:

  • #1 The Leader of the Flock
  • #½ The Tweener
  • #13 Mr. Bad Luck
  • #53 The Pessimist
  • #86 Benedict Arnold

53 Fad game of the 1990s : POGS

The game of pogs was originally played with bottle caps from POG fruit juice. The juice was named for its constituents, passion fruit, orange and guava.

55 It reaches to touch one’s hand : ULNA

The radius and ulna are bones in the forearm. If you hold the palm of your hand up in front of you, the radius is the bone on the “thumb-side” of the arm, and the ulna is the bone on the “pinky-side”.

58 What you can take that I can’t? : … ARE

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 What takes motion out of motion pictures? : STEADICAM
10 Goddess of spring and rebirth : MAIA
14 Superiority-asserting action : POWER MOVE
15 Drunk, in modern slang : TURNT
16 Is to come : LIES AHEAD
17 Wiped out : ATE IT
18 Fair game : ALLOWED
19 Parody : IMITATE
21 Certain online food critic : YELPER
22 Prefix with car : ECO-
23 Place for a tab : CAN
24 Wine lover’s favorite team? : REDS
26 Persuaded to take a higher-priced option : UPSOLD
29 Enemies, in slang : OPPS
33 Lose balance : TIP
34 Women who were legally permitted to drive for the first time in 2018 : SAUDIS
35 Response to someone with unrealistic hopes : WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?
38 “Take your time” : NO RUSH
39 Word whose musical sense was added to Merriam-Webster dictionaries in 1986 : RAP
40 Competitor of Petro-Canada : ESSO
41 Green-light : ENABLE
42 Some baskets : TWOS
44 Business card abbr. : RES
45 California W.N.B.A. team, on scoreboards : LAS
47 “This party’s poppin’!” : IT’S LIT!
52 Boo-boos : SLIP-UPS
55 Off guard : UNREADY
56 Discover serendipitously : HIT ON
57 Article of summer wear : HALTER TOP
59 ___ Montoya, swordsman in “The Princess Bride” : INIGO
60 Woman’s name that’s an anagram of INTERNEES : ERNESTINE
61 Body parts that sound like some units of measure : PECS
62 Start of an anti-coal petition : DEAR SANTA …

Down

1 Spread out : SPLAY
2 Fabric whose name is French for “cloth” : TOILE
3 Tom ___, co-star of Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch” : EWELL
4 “Venus and the Cat” author : AESOP
5 Storage site : DRAWER
6 “Let me assist you” : I’M HERE TO HELP
7 Like some rec leagues : COED
8 Palindromic woman’s name : AVA
9 Cry on a battlefield : MEDIC!
10 Unlikely entrant in a Westminster show : MUTT
11 Some demographic data : AREA CODES
12 Emphasized : IN ITALICS
13 Deals with : ATTENDS TO
15 Mai ___ : TAI
20 Arrow on a screen : MOUSE POINTER
22 Field for gamers : ESPORTS
25 Kind of project for a hardware store customer, in brief : DIY
27 Goddess of peace : PAX
28 Person whom people take their complaints to, informally : SUPE
29 It can pass when you pass : OWNERSHIP
30 Connection to the outside world : PHONE LINE
31 Spongelike : PARASITIC
32 Proof of purchase, perhaps : STUB
36 Certain connection for a 30-Down, for short : DSL
37 Negotiating partner with G.M. : UAW
43 Natural ager : STRESS
46 Flicked, in a way : ASHED
48 Competitor of Stearns & Foster : SERTA
49 Music store category : LATIN
50 Words before know, care or mind : I DON’T …
51 Most serious kind of flu : TYPE A
53 Fad game of the 1990s : POGS
54 Unnamed individual from Italy : UNO
55 It reaches to touch one’s hand : ULNA
58 What you can take that I can’t? : … ARE