Constructed by: Alex Murphy
Edited by: Joel Fagliano
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… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme: None
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Bill’s time: 12m 51s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
16 Cello parts are written in it : BASS CLEF
“Clef” is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on a stave. The bass clef is also known as the F-clef, the alto clef is the C-clef, and the treble clef is the G-clef.
The word “cello” (plural “celli” or “cellos”) is an abbreviation for “violoncello”, an Italian word for “little violone”, referring to a group of stringed instruments that were popular up to the end of the 17th century. The name violoncello persisted for the instrument that we know today, although the abbreviation “‘cello” was often used. Nowadays, we just drop the apostrophe.
19 Quarterback’s stat: Abbr. : ATT
In football, one statistic (stat) used to track the performance of a quarterback (QB) is attempts (ATT).
20 Canned liquid rich in essential fatty acids : TUNA OIL
Essential fatty acids (unlike “essential” oils) are fatty acids that we humans must ingest for good health, because our bodies cannot synthesize them. In that sense, essential fatty acids are like vitamins, being essential to the body but in very low quantities. In fact, the only two known essential fatty acids (alpha-linoleic acid and linoleic acid) were classified as “vitamin F” soon after they were discovered in the 1920s.
22 Broadway’s Salonga : LEA
Lea Salonga is a singer and actress from the Philippines who is known for originating the lead role in the musical “Miss Saigon” in both the West End and on Broadway. She also provided the singing voice for the Disney princesses Jasmine (in “Aladdin”) and Fa Mulan (in “Mulan”, both 1998 and 2004 versions). Salonga was the first Asian woman to win a Tony Award, for her performance in “Miss Saigon”.
23 Lowry who wrote “The Giver” : LOIS
Lois Lowry is a writer of children’s fiction. Lowry doesn’t stick to “safe” material in her books, and has dealt with difficult subjects such as racism, murder and the Holocaust. Two of her books won the Newbery Medal: “Number the Stars” (1990) and “The Giver” (1993).
27 Concoct, with “up” : DREAM …
To decoct is to extract the flavor of a liquid by boiling down and increasing the concentration. A related term is “to concoct”, meaning “to boil together”. We use the verb “to concoct” in a figurative sense to mean to contrive, devise.
30 One of the “Hollywood Chrises” : PRATT
Chris Pratt is an actor who really got his big break playing the rather dopey Andy Dwyer on the sitcom “Parks and Recreation”. Pratt then played a pretty macho role as a SEAL team operator in “Zero Dark Thirty”, before taking leading heroic roles in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Jurassic World”. Pratt was married from 2009 until 2018 to Anna Faris, the comedic actress who plays Christy Plunkett on the sitcom “Mom”. In 2019, he married Katherine Schwarzenegger, daughter of fellow actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
34 Dog’s post-surgery wear, familiarly : CONE OF SHAME
A vet may fit a cone-like device around an animal’s head to prevent it from biting or licking a wound. That device is known as an Elizabethan collar or pet cone, although it has more frivolously been referred to as a cone of shame, pet lampshade or pet radar dish.
37 “It was news to me,” in online shorthand : TIL
Today I learned (TIL)
43 Some compost bin detritus : PEELS
Composting is the process of decomposing organic matter to make the soil conditioner known as “compost”. The term “compost” ultimately comes from the Latin “com” (together) and “ponere” (to place). Compost is best made by “putting together” green waste that is rich in nitrogen, with brown waste that is rich in carbon, all in the presence of water and air.
Detritus is loose material that results from the process of erosion. The usage of the term has evolved to describe any accumulated material or debris. “Detritus” is Latin for “a wearing away”.
45 Iconic role for Frank Oz : YODA
Yoda is one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe, known for his wisdom and unique speech patterns. The character’s appearance and mannerisms were inspired by a real-life person: British motion picture make-up artist Stuart Freeborn. Freeborn designed Yoda’s facial features to be a caricature of his own, although the eye wrinkles resemble those of theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.
Jim Henson was a puppeteer, and most famously the creator of the Muppets characters. Henson produced his first puppets for a local television station in Hyattsville, Maryland while he was still in high school. As well as the famous Muppet characters, Henson created, operated and voiced the character Yoda in most of the “Star Wars” movies. Henson died from a streptococcal infection in 1990, on the same day that Sammy Davis, Jr. passed away.
47 Compounds in tea and wine : TANNINS
Some red wines and teas can have an astringent taste, a dry and puckering feeling, because of the presence of tannins. Tannins occur naturally in plants, probably as a defensive measure against predators who shy away from the astringent. The word “tannin” comes from an Old German word for oak or fir tree, as in “Tannenbaum”.
50 Fonda’s co-star on “Grace and Frankie” : TOMLIN
Lily Tomlin is a comedian and actress who got her big break as a regular member of the cast of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” in the late sixties and early seventies. Tomlin created several great characters on the show. My personal favorite is Ernestine, the condescending telephone operator with the marvelous nasal voice and snorting laugh. Ernestine was fond of saying “One ringy dingy …” I really enjoy Tomlin’s performances as an actress, notably in the movies “9 to 5” and “All of Me”, and on the TV shows “The West Wing” and “Grace and Frankie”. I went to her stage show many years ago in San Francisco, and just did not enjoy it. I was devastated …
Jane Fonda is the daughter of Henry Fonda, sister of Peter Fonda, and aunt of Bridget Fonda, making the Fondas quite the acting family. Jane Fonda had many memorable screen performances, but is equally memorable for her anti-war activism. Most famously she was outspoken against the Vietnam War, going so far as to visit North Vietnam during the height of the conflict in 1972, posing for photographs and making radio broadcasts denouncing American leaders as “war criminals”. For her stance, Fonda was nicknamed “Hanoi Jane”.
“Grace and Frankie” is a Netflix original comedy series starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the title roles, alongside Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston. Grace & Frankie are two ex-wives who decide to live together after their longtime husbands announce that they are in love and intend to get married.
55 Mount Rushmore’s makeup : GRANITE
The four presidents whose faces are carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although they might have been larger. The original intent was for each president to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.
57 Scandinavian capital : KRONER
“Krone” translates into English as “crown”, and was the name given to coins that bore the image of the monarch in several countries. Today, the krone is the name given to the currency of Norway, and of Denmark. Some of the Norwegian and Danish kroner have holes in the middle, giving them a “doughnut” or “torus” shape.
Down
2 Podium figure : ORATOR
“Podium” (plural “podia”) is the Latin word for “raised platform”.
5 Sunni or Shia, e.g. : SECT
The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.
6 Bone connected to the fibula : TALUS
The collection of seven bones in the foot just below the ankle are known collectively as the tarsus. One of those bones is the talus (plural “tali”), more commonly called “ankle bone”. The talus is the lower part of the ankle joint and articulates with the lower ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower leg.
The fibula is the calf bone. The fibula lies beside the tibia, with both bones sitting under the femur.
7 Nickname for an early 2000s governor of California : ARNIE
Body-builder, actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Graz in Austria, the son of the local police chief. Schwarzenegger’s family name translates into the more prosaic “black plowman”. In his bodybuilding days, he was often referred to as the Austrian Oak. When he was Governor of California he was called “the Governator”, a play on his role in the “The Terminator” series of movies.
8 Flake : BAIL
The phrase “to bail out” (sometimes just “to bail”) means to leave suddenly. We’ve been using the term since the early thirties, when it originated with airline pilots. To bail out is to make a parachute jump.
9 Indy label : STP
STP is a brand name of automotive lubricants and additives. The name “STP” is an initialism standing for “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”.
17 Misleading cognate, like the German “Gift” which actually means “poison” : FALSE FRIEND
Two things that are cognate are generically alike, or have the same ancestry. For example, the English word “night” and the German word “nacht” are cognate, in that they both come from the Proto-Germanic “nahts”.
21 What hucksters may be guilty of : OVERSELLING
A huckster is an aggressive peddler of goods. The term derives from the Middle Dutch “hokester”, a word for a peddler.
24 Ethnic minority in New Zealand : SAMOANS
The official name for the South Pacific nation formerly known as Western Samoa is the Independent State of Samoa. Samoa is the western part of the island group, with American Samoa lying to the southeast. The whole group of islands used to be known as Navigators Island, a name given by European explorers in recognition of the seafaring skills of the native Samoans.
The first European to sight the nation that we know today as New Zealand was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. He labeled the land “Staten Landt”, believing it to be part of South America. Dutch cartographers changed the name to “Nova Zelandia”, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. That Latin name evolved into the Dutch “Nieuw Zeeland”, which Captain James Cook anglicized to “New Zealand”.
26 It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry : DRAMEDY
Comedy-drama (dramedy)
32 Kamala Harris, once: Abbr. : SEN
Kamala Harris was a US Senator for California starting in 2017, after serving for six years as the Attorney General of California. In early 2019, Harris announced her run for the Democratic nomination for US president in the 2020 election. Although she dropped out of the race, she was chosen by eventual nominee Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate. When the Biden-Harris ticket won the election, Harris became the first female US vice president, and the highest-ranking female politician in the history of the nation. And then. Along comes the 2024 US presidential election …
33 “Guerrillero Heroico” subject, familiarly : CHE
“Guerrillero Heroico” is the name of an iconic photograph taken by Alberto Korda of the revolutionary Che Guevara. With the title translating into English as “Heroic Guerrilla Fighter”, the image shows Guevara in a dark beret, with an “implacable” stare. Versions of this photo have been used so many times in tattoos, posters, paintings, etc. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has determined that “Guerrillero Heroico” has been reproduced more than any other image in the history of photography.
34 Timesaver for a breakfast chef : CREPE MIX
“Crêpe” is the French word for “pancake”.
35 Male protocol popularized by “How I Met Your Mother” : BRO CODE
“How I Met Your Mother” is a sitcom that CBS has been airing since 2005. The main character is Ted Mosby, played by Josh Radnor. Mosby is also the narrator for the show looking back from the year 2030 (the live action is set in the present). As narrator, the older Mosby character is voiced by Bob Saget.
39 Tylenol alternative : MOTRIN
The anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen is sold under the brand names Advil and Motrin.
43 Violet variety : PANSY
The pansy is a garden flower that takes its name from the French word “pensée” meaning “thought”. This name was chosen as the flower was often used as a symbol of remembrance. The petals of pansies have dark blotches that often appear to form the outline of a face.
44 Tone of many tweets : SNARK
“Snark” is a term that was coined by Lewis Carroll in his fabulous 1876 nonsense poem “The Hunting of the Snark”. Somehow, the term “snarky” came to mean “irritable, short-tempered” in the early 1900s, and from there “snark” became “sarcastic rhetoric” at the beginning of the 21st century.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Hearty : ROBUST
7 Suck up : ABSORB
13 “This cannot be stressed enough …” : I REPEAT …
15 Fairly : RATHER
16 Cello parts are written in it : BASS CLEF
18 Occasionally censored part of the 12-Down : NIPPLE
19 Quarterback’s stat: Abbr. : ATT
20 Canned liquid rich in essential fatty acids : TUNA OIL
22 Broadway’s Salonga : LEA
23 Lowry who wrote “The Giver” : LOIS
25 Work out : SOLVE
26 Where the lions sleep tonight, presumably : DENS
27 Concoct, with “up” : DREAM …
29 Go through : USE
30 One of the “Hollywood Chrises” : PRATT
31 Flawless display of technique : MASTER CLASS
34 Dog’s post-surgery wear, familiarly : CONE OF SHAME
35 Head cold? : BRAIN FREEZE
36 Play place : ARENA
37 “It was news to me,” in online shorthand : TIL
38 Take in : ADMIT
42 Concessions : SOPS
43 Some compost bin detritus : PEELS
45 Iconic role for Frank Oz : YODA
46 Main ingredient of the Puerto Rican dessert piragua : ICE
47 Compounds in tea and wine : TANNINS
49 It’s a no. : TEL
50 Fonda’s co-star on “Grace and Frankie” : TOMLIN
52 Another name for C## : D-NATURAL
54 Yo-yos : IDIOTS
55 Mount Rushmore’s makeup : GRANITE
56 What might be included in an act of congress : SEX TOY
57 Scandinavian capital : KRONER
Down
1 Bawdy : RIBALD
2 Podium figure : ORATOR
3 Closest confidant, informally : BESTIE
4 High times : UPS
5 Sunni or Shia, e.g. : SECT
6 Bone connected to the fibula : TALUS
7 Nickname for an early 2000s governor of California : ARNIE
8 Flake : BAIL
9 Indy label : STP
10 “Come on, that’s just ridiculous” : OH, PLEASE
11 Lets up : RELENTS
12 See 18-Across : BREAST
14 Perfect score : TEN OUT OF TEN
17 Misleading cognate, like the German “Gift” which actually means “poison” : FALSE FRIEND
21 What hucksters may be guilty of : OVERSELLING
24 Ethnic minority in New Zealand : SAMOANS
26 It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry : DRAMEDY
28 Fever pitch : MANIA
30 Square : PLAZA
32 Kamala Harris, once: Abbr. : SEN
33 “Guerrillero Heroico” subject, familiarly : CHE
34 Timesaver for a breakfast chef : CREPE MIX
35 Male protocol popularized by “How I Met Your Mother” : BRO CODE
36 “Currently …” : AS IT IS …
39 Tylenol alternative : MOTRIN
40 Conceptualize : IDEATE
41 Like firstborn children vis-à-vis second-born children, statistically : TALLER
43 Violet variety : PANSY
44 Tone of many tweets : SNARK
47 “La Clemenza di ___” (Mozart opera) : TITO
48 Have the lead : STAR
51 Fate : LOT
53 ___ Show ‘Em No Mercy (card game variant) : UNO
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