1110-21 NY Times Crossword 10 Nov 21, Wednesday

Constructed by: Max Chen Lauring & Benjamin Chen Lauring
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer One Percent

Themed answers are what ONE PERCENT means to people cited in the clue:

  • 56A Small amount : ONE PERCENT
  • 17A 56-Across, to a dairy farmer : LOW-FAT MILK
  • 22A 56-Across, to a smartphone user : DYING BATTERY
  • 34A 56-Across, to a gambler : UNFAVORABLE ODDS
  • 46A 56-Across, to Occupy protesters : THE ULTRARICH

Bill’s time: 10m 20s

Bill’s errors: 2

Katz (Kat’s!!)
ZADDY (saddy!!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Redding of Stax Records : OTIS

Otis Redding is often referred to as the “King of Soul”, and what a voice he had. Like so many of the greats in the world of popular music it seems, Redding was killed in a plane crash, in 1967 when he was just 26 years old. Just three days earlier he had recorded what was to be his biggest hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”.

Stax Records was founded in 1957 as Satellite Records. The biggest star to record with Stax was the great Otis Redding.

10 Eponym of a famed N.Y.C. deli : KATZ

Katz’s of New York City is a famous delicatessen in Manhattan, New York City. Ever since WWII, Katz’s has had a promotion called “send a salami to your boy in the army”. Katz’s has shipped a lot of salamis in gift packages to Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years.

16 Contents of Lago Titicaca : AGUA

Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, and the highest navigable lake in the world (navigable by “large” commercial vessels). Lake Titicaca is located in the Andes, on the border between Peru and Bolivia.

18 South African currency : RAND

The rand is the currency of South Africa. Much of South Africa’s famed gold comes from mines around Johannesburg in the Witwatersrand (Afrikaans for “the ridge of white waters”). The rand currency takes its name from this ridge.

19 Singer Rita : ORA

Rita Ora is a British singer who was born Rita Sahatçiu in Pristina, Yugoslavia to Albanian parents. The family name “Sahatçiu” comes from a Turkish word meaning “watchmaker”. Rita’s parents changed their name to make it easier to pronounce. So, the family name morphed from “watchmaker” to “time”, which is “ora” in Albanian.

20 Side with tandoori chicken : NAAN

Naan (also “nan”) bread is very popular in Indian restaurants, as well as in other West, Central and South Asian cuisines. Indian Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven known as a tandoor.

30 State bird of Arizona or South Carolina : WREN

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests.

39 Battle of Britain grp. : RAF

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the oldest independent air force in the world (i.e. the first air force to become independent of army or navy forces). The RAF was formed during WWI on 1 April 1918, a composite of two earlier forces, the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and the Royal Naval Air Service. The RAF’s “finest hour” was the Battle of Britain, when the vastly outnumbered British fighters fought off the might of the Luftwaffe causing Hitler to delay his plan to cross the English Channel. This outcome prompted Winston Churchill to utter the memorable words

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

40 Reddit Q&As : AMAS

Ask me anything (AMA)

41 Plant used by ancient Greeks and Romans to treat wounds : ALOE

Aloe vera is a succulent plant that grows in relatively dry climates. The plant’s leaves are full of biologically-active compounds that have been studied extensively. Aloe vera has been used for centuries in herbal medicine, mainly for topical treatment of wounds.

42 BuzzFeed offering : QUIZ

BuzzFeed is an Internet media company that was founded in 2006 in New York City. Buzzfeed’s original focus was the publication of online quizzes and pop culture articles. The company branched into serious journalism in 2011 with the launch of the “Buzzfeed News” website.

46 56-Across, to Occupy protesters : THE ULTRARICH

“We are the 99%” is a slogan for the Occupy movement, the international protest against social and economic inequality. The ultimate source of the phrase was an article in “Rolling Stone” magazine that suggested the Occupy movement represented the 99%.

51 Bad, in Bolivia : MALO

Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America that is bordered by Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Peru and Argentina. The land now occupied by Bolivia was originally part of the Inca Empire. The country declared independence from Spain in 1809, which led to 16 years of war. When the Republic was finally named, “Bolivia” was chosen in honor of Venezuelan-born revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar.

55 Apple variety : IMAC

The iMac is a desktop computer platform that Apple introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated. The iMac also came in a range of colors that Apple marketed as “flavors”, such as strawberry, blueberry and lime.

62 Actor Buddy of “The Beverly Hillbillies” : EBSEN

Actor Buddy Ebsen was best known for playing Jed Clampett in television’s “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Ebsen had been cast in the role of the Tin Man in the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”, but he developed an allergy to the aluminium dust that was used in the makeup. He ended up in hospital and had to walk away from the part. Ebsen blamed “The Wizard of Oz” on persistent problems that he had with his lungs in subsequent years. But Ebsen lived 16 years longer than any of the other major cast members of the film, so maybe he got the last laugh!

“The Beverly Hillbillies” sitcom originally aired from 1962 to 1971. The show had consistently respectable ratings, but was canceled as part of “the Rural Purge” at CBS. Advertisers at the time were applying pressure on the network to move to more urban-themed shows. CBS responded by canceling shows such as “Petticoat Junction”, “Green Acres”, “Lassie” as well as “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

63 Rustic verse : IDYL

An idyll (also “idyl”) is a short poem with a pastoral theme, usually depicting the scene in romantic and idealized terms. The word “idyl” comes from the Greek “eidyllion”, which literally translates to “little picture” but was a word describing a short poem with a rustic theme.

Down

1 Nordic capital : OSLO

Oslo is the capital of Norway. The city of Oslo burns trash to fuel half of its buildings, including all of its schools. The problem faced by the city is that it doesn’t generate enough trash. So, Oslo imports trash from Sweden, England and Ireland, and is now looking to import some American trash too.

2 Marvel movie directed by Kenneth Branagh : THOR

The 2011 movie “Thor” is yet another film based on a comic book hero. Even though I won’t be seeing it (I don’t do comics), I must admit it does have an impressive cast. Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, supported by Natalie Portman, Rene Russo, Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins. And to crown it all, Kenneth Branagh is the director.

3 Johnny Carson’s home state : IOWA

Johnny Carson hosted “The Tonight Show” for thirty years, from 1962 to 1992. Although Carson was the first choice to take over the show from Jack Paar, he initially declined. Carson eventually took the job, after it had also been refused by Bob Newhart, Jackie Gleason, Groucho Marx and Joey Bishop.

4 Lotion letters : SPF

In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

9 Genesis craft : ARK

The term “ark”, when used with reference to Noah, is a translation of the Hebrew word “tebah”. The word “tebah” is also used in the Bible for the basket in which Moses was placed by his mother when she floated him down the Nile. It seems that the word “tebah” doesn’t mean “boat” and nor does it mean “basket”. Rather, a more appropriate translation is “life-preserver” or “life-saver”. So, Noah’s ark was Noah’s life-preserver during the flood.

10 Gold standards : KARATS

A karat (also “carat”, the spelling outside of North America) is a measure of the purity of gold alloys, with 24-karat representing pure gold.

11 Its dried stalks can be used to make didgeridoos : AGAVE

The didgeridoo is a wind instrument that was developed in northern Australia over a thousand years ago by the indigenous people. Despite the instrument’s origins, the name “didgeridoo” is not aboriginal, and is thought perhaps to be onomatopoetic and imitative of the sound made.

15 “Yeezus” rapper : KANYE

Kanye West is a rap singer who was born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago. He also spent some time in Nanjing, China as a child, where his mother was teaching as part of an exchange program. West is married to reality star Kim Kardashian.

21 Author of the “Fear Street” series : STINE

Author R. L. Stine is sometimes referred to as the Stephen King of children’s literature, as he writes horror stories for young people.

22 Cartoon character who says “Swiper, no swiping!” : DORA

“Dora the Explorer” is a cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon. Part of Dora’s remit is to introduce the show’s young viewers to some Spanish words and phrases. Dora’s constant companion is an anthropomorphic monkey named “Boots”, because he always wears red boots. She also hangs out with Isa, an iguana.

24 Jump on the ice : AXEL

An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

25 Day of the week named after 2-Down: Abbr. : THUR
(2D Marvel movie directed by Kenneth Branagh : THOR)

The days of the week are named for celestial bodies and gods

  • Sunday — Sun’s Day
  • Monday — Moon’s Day
  • Tuesday — Tiu’s day
  • Wednesday — Woden’s day
  • Thursday — Thor’s day
  • Friday — Freya’s day
  • Saturday — Saturn’s day

26 Actress Chaplin : OONA

Oona Chaplin is an actress from Madrid in Spain. Chaplin is getting a lot of airtime these days as she plays Talisa Maegyr on HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Oona is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and is named for her maternal grandmother Oona O’Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.

31 Wait for the light to change, say : IDLE

The first traffic lights date back to 1868 when they were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London. They resembled the signals already in use for trains, with semaphore arms and red and green gas lamps for nighttime use. That first system was operated manually, by a policeman at the base. Sadly, one police officer was killed just one year after the light’s installation, when the gas system exploded.

32 What helium and nitrogen lack : ODOR

Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and the element symbol “He”. Helium is a gas, and lighter than air. It is the second-most abundant element in the universe (after hydrogen). Helium was first detected in 1868 as an unknown yellow spectral line during a solar eclipse. As such, the gas was named for “Helios”, the Greek god of the Sun.

The chemical element nitrogen was first isolated and discovered by Scottish physician and chemist Daniel Rutherford in 1772. Rutherford did not identify nitrogen as an element, but isolated it as a gaseous component of air that did not support combustion, and that he called “noxious air”.

37 Popular flip phone of the mid-2000s : RAZR

The Razr is a series of smartphones introduced by Motorola in 2003. The “Razr” name was chosen in part because of the phone’s relatively thin form factor.

42 Ones who treat people poorly? : QUACKS

A quack is a person who pretends to have knowledge that he or she does not in fact possess. The term especially applies to someone fraudulently pretending to have medical skills. Our modern word is an abbreviation of “quacksalver”, an archaic term with Dutch roots that translates as “hawker of salve”, Back in the Middle Ages, quacksalvers would shout out (quack) as they sold their pseudo-medical wares.

43 Frothy beverage : FRAPPE

A “frappé” is a frozen, fruit-flavored dessert similar to sherbet. “Frappé” is a French word that can mean “chilled”.

44 Title woman in a hit song by Dexys Midnight Runners : EILEEN

“Come on Eileen” is a great song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners that was released in 1982. The astronauts on one of the Space Shuttle Discovery missions were woken up by NASA on the final day to the strains of “Come on Eileen”. The mission’s commander was astronaut Eileen Collins.

53 Professor ‘iggins : ‘ENRY

George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” was adapted by Lerner and Loewe to become the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady”. The musical spun off the wonderful 1964 film of the same name starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. To cockney Eliza Doolittle, Professor Henry Higgins was “‘Enry ‘Iggins”.

54 Texter’s sign-off : TTYL

Talk to you later (ttyl)

57 Writing tip? : NIB

“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning the beak of a bird. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” meaning the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

58 CBS series with spinoffs : CSI

The “CSI” TV show franchise uses hits from the Who as theme music:

  • “Who Are You” … “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
  • “Baba O’Riley” … “CSI: New York”
  • “Won’t Get Fooled Again” … “CSI: Miami”
  • “I Can See for Miles” … “CSI: Cyber”

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Redding of Stax Records : OTIS
5 It often surrounds high-maintenance people : DRAMA
10 Eponym of a famed N.Y.C. deli : KATZ
14 One who’s got the goods : SHOPKEEPER
16 Contents of Lago Titicaca : AGUA
17 56-Across, to a dairy farmer : LOW-FAT MILK
18 South African currency : RAND
19 Singer Rita : ORA
20 Side with tandoori chicken : NAAN
21 Backed up, say : SAVED
22 56-Across, to a smartphone user : DYING BATTERY
25 On and on and on : TO NO END
28 x or y, in math class : AXIS
29 ___ hand : HOUR
30 State bird of Arizona or South Carolina : WREN
31 Debtor’s note : IOU
34 56-Across, to a gambler : UNFAVORABLE ODDS
39 Battle of Britain grp. : RAF
40 Reddit Q&As : AMAS
41 Plant used by ancient Greeks and Romans to treat wounds : ALOE
42 BuzzFeed offering : QUIZ
43 Becomes more and more irksome : FESTERS
46 56-Across, to Occupy protesters : THE ULTRARICH
50 Succeeded in : WON AT
51 Bad, in Bolivia : MALO
52 “Wanna ___?” : BET
55 Apple variety : IMAC
56 Small amount : ONE PERCENT
59 Mishap during a shave : NICK
60 Pharmacist’s workplace in a hospital : DISPENSARY
61 They consist of reps : SETS
62 Actor Buddy of “The Beverly Hillbillies” : EBSEN
63 Rustic verse : IDYL

Down

1 Nordic capital : OSLO
2 Marvel movie directed by Kenneth Branagh : THOR
3 Johnny Carson’s home state : IOWA
4 Lotion letters : SPF
5 Hold up : DETAIN
6 Order back : REMAND
7 Mockery, of a sort : APING
8 Motivational speaker Robbins : MEL
9 Genesis craft : ARK
10 Gold standards : KARATS
11 Its dried stalks can be used to make didgeridoos : AGAVE
12 The “dial” in “Don’t touch that dial” : TUNER
13 Attractive, fashionable man, in modern parlance : ZADDY
15 “Yeezus” rapper : KANYE
21 Author of the “Fear Street” series : STINE
22 Cartoon character who says “Swiper, no swiping!” : DORA
23 Stinger : BARB
24 Jump on the ice : AXEL
25 Day of the week named after 2-Down: Abbr. : THUR
26 Actress Chaplin : OONA
27 “___ said!” : ‘NUFF
30 Is, in hindsight : WAS
31 Wait for the light to change, say : IDLE
32 What helium and nitrogen lack : ODOR
33 Exploits : USES
35 Olympic event featuring a table : VAULT
36 Not bring up : OMIT
37 Popular flip phone of the mid-2000s : RAZR
38 Sworn words : OATH
42 Ones who treat people poorly? : QUACKS
43 Frothy beverage : FRAPPE
44 Title woman in a hit song by Dexys Midnight Runners : EILEEN
45 Disdain : SCORN
46 Lookalikes : TWINS
47 “___ the Clown” (classic episode of “The Simpsons”) : HOMIE
48 Put into law : ENACT
49 Make ___ of things : A MESS
52 Bit of hair decoration : BEAD
53 Professor ‘iggins : ‘ENRY
54 Texter’s sign-off : TTYL
56 Dedicated work : ODE
57 Writing tip? : NIB
58 CBS series with spinoffs : CSI