Constructed by: Carly Schuna
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Tech Booms
Themed answers are examples of “BOOMS” in the world of TECH:
- 58A Big times in Silicon Valley … or a hint to 17-, 25-, 35- and 49-Across? : TECH BOOMS
- 17A Make a goofy appearance in someone else’s picture : PHOTOBOMB
- 25A Multipost rant online : TWEETSTORM
- 35A What the “spinning beach ball of death” might indicate : COMPUTER CRASH
- 49A Message sent to many recipients : EMAIL BLAST
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 7m 21s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
14 Actor Mineo : SAL
Actor Sal Mineo’s most famous role was John “Plato” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Mineo was murdered in 1976 when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. When an arrest was made it was discovered that the murderer had no idea that his victim was a celebrity, and that his plan was just to rob anyone who came along.
16 Ingredient in laundry products : BORAX
Borax is also known as sodium borate, and is a salt of boric acid. Borax is a white powder that dissolves easily in water. The compound has many uses, for example as an antifungal agent, water-softening agent and as an antiseptic. Actor and future US president Ronald Reagan used to tout 20 Mule Team Borax that was used as a laundry product.
17 Make a goofy appearance in someone else’s picture : PHOTOBOMB
Photobombing is the act of intruding during the taking of a photograph as a practical joke. The term has gotten a lot of usage in recent years due to the proliferation of smartphone cameras. Collins English Dictionary named “photobomb” as Word of the Year for 2014.
20 “Nevermore” speaker, in poetry : RAVEN
“The Raven” is a narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe that tells of a student who has lost the love of his life, Lenore. A raven enters the student’s bedchamber and perches on a bust of Pallas. The raven can talk, to the student’s surprise, but says nothing but the word “nevermore” (“quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”). As the student questions all aspects of his life, the raven taunts him with the same comment, “nevermore”. Finally, the student decides that his soul is trapped beneath the raven’s shadow and shall be lifted “nevermore”.
21 Twins’ org. : MLB
The Minnesota Twins baseball team was founded as the Kansas City Blues in 1894, before becoming the Washington Senators in 1901. The team arrived in Minneapolis in 1961.
23 Sitcom ET from the planet Melmac : ALF
“ALF” is a sitcom that aired in the late eighties. The title character is a hand-puppet, and supposedly an alien named Gordon Shumway from the planet Melmac. The alien crash-landed into the house of amateur radio enthusiast Willie Tanner. Tanner renamed the intruder “ALF”, standing for “alien life form”.
25 Multipost rant online : TWEETSTORM
In the “wonderful” world of Twitter (said he, sarcastically), a tweetstorm is a series of related tweets by a single user on a related subject.
29 How tuna or steak may be served : TARTARE
Steak tartare was first served in French restaurants in the early 1900s. Back then, the dish went by the name “steak à l’Americaine”, would you believe? It was basically raw, seasoned beef mixed with egg yolk. A later version of l’Americaine, without the egg yolk and with tartar sauce served on the side, was dubbed “steak tartare”. Over time the two versions became one, and the steak tartare moniker won out. By the way, if you order steak tartare in Switzerland, I believe you are served horse meat. There are now similar “tartare” dishes made with raw salmon, or raw tuna.
32 Fancy : POSH
No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that “posh” is actually an acronym standing for “port out, starboard home” is completely untrue, and is a story that can actually be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers traveling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.
35 What the “spinning beach ball of death” might indicate : COMPUTER CRASH
That computer would be one using the macOS operating system.
40 Schwarzenegger, familiarly : 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.
42 Greyhound station freebie : BUS MAP
Speaking as someone who lived much of my life outside of the US, I have to say that the Greyhound bus is a real symbol of America. I grew up seeing Greyhound buses in so many old movies. In Ireland the official provincial bus service “stole” the famous logo that gracefully adorns the sides of these buses, but uses a running Irish Setter in place of the iconic greyhound.
44 Crispy tortilla dish : TOSTADA
In Mexican cuisine, a tostada is a flat or bowl-shaped tortilla
52 Many a Mideasterner : ARAB
In geographical terms there are three “Easts”. “Near East” and “Middle East” are terms that are often considered synonymous, although “Near East” tends to be used when discussing ancient history and “Middle East” when referring to the present day. The Near/Middle East encompasses most of Western Asia and Egypt. The term “Far East” describes East Asia (including the Russian Far East), Southeast Asia and South Asia.
53 Rank below cpl. : PFC
Private first class (PFC)
54 Title equivalent to Dame : SIR
The title “Dame” in the British system of honors is the female equivalent to “Sir”, as used to address a knight. In days of old, the wife of a knight was given the title of Dame. Since the 17th century, the wife of a knight has been called “Lady”. So now, anyone with the title of Dame has earned the honor in her own right and not through marriage.
55 Foamy part of un espresso : CREMA
“Crema” is the name given to that brown foam that sits on the top of a freshly prepared cup of espresso. There’s no milk involved; just foamy coffee.
Espresso is made by forcing extremely hot water, under pressure, through finely ground coffee beans. The result is a thick and concentrated coffee drink that contains quite a lot of solids and a lot of foam. An espresso machine was first patented in 1884 in Italy, although it was a machine to make the beverage in bulk. The first patent for a machine that made individual measures was applied for in 1901, also in Italy.
56 Bail on plans, with “out” : FLAKE …
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.
58 Big times in Silicon Valley … or a hint to 17-, 25-, 35- and 49-Across? : TECH BOOMS
The Santa Clara Valley, located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay, is better known as “Silicon Valley”. The term “Silicon Valley” dates back to 1971 when it was apparently first used in a weekly trade newspaper called “Electronic News” in articles written by journalist Don Hoefler.
61 Actress/model Bo : DEREK
Bo Derek’s most famous role was in the comedy film from 1979 titled “10”, in which she starred opposite Dudley Moore. Born Mary Cathleen Collins in Long Beach, California, she started a romantic relationship when she was 16 with actor and director John Derek, who was thirty years her senior. The couple moved to Germany in order to avoid the statutory rape laws in California, eventually returning to the US to marry in 1976, when Cathleen was 20. Around the same time, she changed her name to Bo Derek.
63 Big name in jeans : LEE
The Lee company that is famous for making jeans was formed in 1889 by one Henry David Lee in Salina, Kansas.
65 Indiana pro basketballer : PACER
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, who play in the NBA. The name was chosen when the team was formed in 1967. “Pacers” is a homage to harness racing pacers (famed in Indiana) and the pace car used in the Indianapolis 500.
Down
1 Vivacity : ESPRIT
Our word “esprit”, meaning “liveliness of mind”, comes to us from Latin via French. The Latin “spiritus” means “spirit
2 Much of Chad and Mali : SAHARA
The name “Sahara” means “greatest desert” in Arabic. The Sahara is just that, a great desert covering almost 4 million square miles of Northern Africa. That’s almost the size of the United States.
The landlocked African country called Chad takes its name from the second largest wetland on the continent, which is known as Lake Chad.
The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in western Africa located south of Algeria. Formerly known as French Sudan, the nation’s most famous city is Timbuktu. Mali is the third-largest producer of gold on the continent, after South Africa and Ghana.
5 Basketball stat: Abbr. : REB
Rebounds (Reb)
9 Six-pack contents : ABS
The abdominal muscles (abs) are more correctly referred to as the rectus abdominis muscles. They might be referred to as a “six-pack”, or even a “ten-pack”, in a person who has developed the muscles and who has low body fat. In my case, more like a keg …
10 Light piano piece : SONATINA
A cantata is a piece of music that is sung, as opposed to a sonata, which is a piece that is played on some instrument, often a piano. A sonatina is in effect a sonata that has been labeled as something lighter and shorter.
12 Subway line? : EAT FRESH
The SUBWAY chain of fast food restaurants is the largest single-brand restaurant in the world. I’m a big fan of SUBWAY sandwiches, especially the toasted ones …
13 Pharmacy pickups : RXS
There seems to be some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol “Rx” that’s used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter’s blessing to help a patient recover.
18 Litmus ___ : TEST
Litmus is a mixture of naturally-occurring dyes that responds to acidity by changing color. Litmus was probably first used around 1300 by the Spanish alchemist Arnaldus de Villa Nova, who extracted the blue dye from lichens. One suggestion is that the term “litmus” comes from the Old Norse “litmose” meaning “lichen for dyeing”. Litmus is often absorbed onto filter paper, creating “litmus paper” or “pH paper”. We also use the phrase “litmus test” figuratively to describe any test in which a single factor decides the outcome.
22 “Oh, and also …,” in a text : BTW …
By the way (BTW)
25 Short pants? : TROU
Trousers are pants, the garment covering the lower body and each leg separately. Ultimately, the word “trousers” evolved from the Erse word “triubhas” that described close-fitting shorts. Back in the 1600s there was a colorful saying:
A jellous wife was like an Irish trouze, alwayes close to a mans tayle
26 Mae who said “I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure” : WEST
Comic actress Mae West can be quoted so easily, as she had so many great lines delivered so well. Here are a few:
- When I’m good, I’m very good. When I’m bad, I’m better.
- When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I’ve never tried before.
- I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.
- Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution yet.
- I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
- Why don’t you come on up and see me sometime — when I’ve got nothin’ on but the radio.
- It’s better to be looked over than overlooked.
- To err is human, but it feels divine.
- I like my clothes to be tight enough to show I’m a woman, but loose enough to show I’m a lady.
- I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.
- Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
28 Old TV star whose haircut was inspired by Mandinka warriors : MR T
Mr. T’s real name is Laurence Tero Tureaud. Mr. T is famous for many things, including the wearing of excessive amounts of jewelry. He started this habit when he was working as a bouncer, wearing jewelry items that had been left behind by customers at a nightclub so that the items might be recognized and claimed. It was also as a bouncer that he adopted the name Mr. T. His catch phrase comes from the movie “Rocky III”. In the film, before he goes up against Rocky Balboa, Mr. T says, “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool”. He parlayed that line into quite a bit of success. He had a reality TV show called “I Pity the Fool”, and produced a motivational video called “Be Somebody … or Be Somebody’s Fool!”.
36 Watching the big game? : ON SAFARI
“Safari” is a Swahili word meaning “journey” or “expedition”.
40 Fiver : ABE
The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Abraham Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.
43 “Nova” network : PBS
“Nova” is an excellent science television series on PBS. It was created back in 1974, and was inspired by a very similar BBC show called “Horizon”, a show that I grew up with. Many “Nova” episodes are actually co-productions with the BBC, with an American narrator used for the PBS broadcasts and a British narrator for the BBC broadcasts.
45 Tuber type : TARO
Taro is a root vegetable that is grown for its edible underground plant stems (corms). The English name “taro” is borrowed from the Maori language of New Zealand. The same plant is known as “gabi” in the Philippines, “arbi” in much of India, and “jimbi” in parts of Africa where Swahili is spoken.
46 Anatomical ring : AREOLA
An areola (sometimes “areole”) in anatomy is a small ring of color, as in the areola surrounding the nipple, and the areola surrounding the pupil of the eye. “Areola” (plural “areolae”) comes from Latin, meaning “small open space”, and is a diminutive of the Latin word “area”, meaning “open space”.
55 “Good buddy” speaker : CB’ER
A CB’er is someone who operates a Citizens Band (CB) radio. In 1945, the FCC set aside certain radio frequencies for the personal use of citizens. The use of the Citizens Band increased throughout the seventies as advances in electronics brought down the size of transceivers and their cost. There aren’t many CB radios sold these days though, as they have largely been replaced by cell phones.
56 Public health org. : FDA
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has its roots in the Division of Chemistry (later “Bureau of Chemistry”) that was part of the US Department of Agriculture. President Theodore Roosevelt gave responsibility for examination of food and drugs to the Bureau of Chemistry with the signing of the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Bureau’s name was changed to the Food, Drug and Insecticide Organization in 1927, and to the Food and Drug Administration in 1930.
59 Public health org. : CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC started out life during WWII as the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities. The CDC worries about much more than malaria these days …
60 Rose or lilac : HUE
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 “Get out” key : ESC
4 Rocky outcroppings : CRAGS
9 According to : AS PER
14 Actor Mineo : SAL
15 Watercolor and oil, for two : MEDIA
16 Ingredient in laundry products : BORAX
17 Make a goofy appearance in someone else’s picture : PHOTOBOMB
19 Little brats : SNOTS
20 “Nevermore” speaker, in poetry : RAVEN
21 Twins’ org. : MLB
23 Sitcom ET from the planet Melmac : ALF
24 Angers : IRES
25 Multipost rant online : TWEETSTORM
29 How tuna or steak may be served : TARTARE
31 Annoying complainer : WHINER
32 Fancy : POSH
34 Existential dread : ANGST
35 What the “spinning beach ball of death” might indicate : COMPUTER CRASH
40 Schwarzenegger, familiarly : ARNIE
41 Ingredient in lemon curd : YOLK
42 Greyhound station freebie : BUS MAP
44 Crispy tortilla dish : TOSTADA
49 Message sent to many recipients : EMAIL BLAST
52 Many a Mideasterner : ARAB
53 Rank below cpl. : PFC
54 Title equivalent to Dame : SIR
55 Foamy part of un espresso : CREMA
56 Bail on plans, with “out” : FLAKE …
58 Big times in Silicon Valley … or a hint to 17-, 25-, 35- and 49-Across? : TECH BOOMS
61 Actress/model Bo : DEREK
62 Not deserved : UNDUE
63 Big name in jeans : LEE
64 Brief comment to an audience : ASIDE
65 Indiana pro basketballer : PACER
66 Throw in : ADD
Down
1 Vivacity : ESPRIT
2 Much of Chad and Mali : SAHARA
3 Honey source : CLOVER
4 “Hurry up!” : C’MON!
5 Basketball stat: Abbr. : REB
6 Tizzy : ADO
7 “Ooh, I need that!” : GIMME!
8 Black : SABLE
9 Six-pack contents : ABS
10 Light piano piece : SONATINA
11 Drags out : PROLONGS
12 Subway line? : EAT FRESH
13 Pharmacy pickups : RXS
18 Litmus ___ : TEST
22 “Oh, and also …,” in a text : BTW …
25 Short pants? : TROU
26 Mae who said “I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure” : WEST
27 Ocean beasts that lack bones, surprisingly : SHARKS
28 Old TV star whose haircut was inspired by Mandinka warriors : MR T
30 Take to a higher court : APPEAL
33 “What’s the big idea?!” : HEY!
35 Wads, as paper : CRUMPLES
36 Watching the big game? : ON SAFARI
37 Did an impression of : MIMICKED
38 Goes bad : ROTS
39 Coagulate : CLOT
40 Fiver : ABE
43 “Nova” network : PBS
45 Tuber type : TARO
46 Anatomical ring : AREOLA
47 Blocked, as a river : DAMMED
48 Degraded : ABASED
50 Suddenly showed happiness : LIT UP
51 Impressive venue to sell out : ARENA
55 “Good buddy” speaker : CB’ER
56 Public health org. : FDA
57 Barely manage, with “out” : EKE …
59 Public health org. : CDC
60 Rose or lilac : HUE
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