0403-19 NY Times Crossword 3 Apr 19, Wednesday

Constructed by: Ross Trudeau
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Search Results

Themed answers are the RESULTS of SEARCHES by famous people:

  • 55A Google returns … or the answers to the four starred clues : SEARCH RESULTS
  • 19A *Louis Pasteur, 1885 : RABIES VACCINE
  • 25A *Roald Amundsen, 1906 : NORTHWEST PASSAGE
  • 38A *William Herschel, 1781 : URANUS
  • 48A *Howard Carter, 1922 : TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMB

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

Bill’s time: 6m 19s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 Mexican resort area, for short : CABO

Cabo San Lucas is a major tourist destination at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. “Cabo” is sometimes referred to as the “Fort Lauderdale of Mexico”.

8 Car body option : SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in the UK), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

16 Bond wore a white one in “Goldfinger” : TUXEDO

Apparently, the style of men’s evening dress called a “tuxedo” was first worn to a country club event in 1886 in New York. The use of a dark dinner jacket without tails became fashionable at the club with the members, and the tradition spread from there. The country club was located in Tuxedo Park, New York, giving the style of dress its name.

“Goldfinger” is the Ian Fleming’s seventh James Bond novel, and was first published in 1959. Fleming was in the habit of naming his characters after people in the real world. The novel’s colorful antagonist Auric Goldfinger was named after Hungarian-born British architect Ernő Goldfinger.

19 *Louis Pasteur, 1885 : RABIES VACCINE

“Rabies” is actually the Latin word for “madness”. The name is a good choice for the viral disease, as once the virus spreads to the brain the infected person or animal exhibits very tortured and bizarre behavior including hydrophobia, a fear of water. The virus is passed on to humans most often through a bite from an infected dog. It is curable if it is caught in time, basically before symptoms develop. Once the virus passes up the peripheral nervous system to the spine and the brain, there isn’t much that can be done. We can also use the derivative term “rabid” figuratively, to mean extremely violent, to have extreme views.

24 U2 can call it home : EIRE

Irish singer Bono is a Dubliner who was born Paul David Hewson. As a youth, Hewson was given the nickname “Bono Vox” by a friend, a Latin expression meaning “good voice”, and so the singer has been known as Bono since the late seventies. His band’s first name was “Feedback”, later changed to “The Hype”. The band members searched for yet another name and chose U2 from a list of six names suggested by a friend. They picked U2 because it was the name they disliked least …

25 *Roald Amundsen, 1906 : NORTHWEST PASSAGE

The Northwest Passage (NWP) is a collection of sea routes allowing navigation between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The first expedition to traverse the NWP was led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, an expedition lasting from 1903 until 1906.

35 Where Apia is found : SAMOA

Apia is the capital city, and in fact the only city, of the Pacific island-nation of Samoa. The harbor of Apia is famous for a very foolish incident in 1889 involving seven naval vessels from Germany, the US and Britain. A typhoon was approaching so the safest thing to do was to head for open water away from land, but no nation would move its ships for fear of losing face in front of the others. Six of the ships were lost in the typhoon as a result and 200 American and German sailors perished. The British cruiser HMS Calliope barely managed to escape from the harbor and rode out the storm safely. Apia is also known as the home of writer Robert Louis Stevenson, for the last four years of his life.

36 Queens’s Arthur ___ Stadium : ASHE

Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York opened in 1997 and for years was the largest outdoor, tennis-only venue in the world. The stadium was often criticized for not having a retractable dome to protect the playing surface from inclement weather. Well, that changed in 2016 when the stadium debuted its new retractable roof, a $150 million investment in the facility.

38 *William Herschel, 1781 : URANUS

William Herschel was a British (born in Germany) astronomer who discovered Uranus and two of its moons, as well two moons of Saturn. Herschel also discovered infrared radiation. If that’s not enough, he was also an accomplished composer and wrote 24 symphonies.

43 One-named Latin singer : CHARO

Charo is an actress, comedian and flamenco guitarist from Spain. She is quite famous for her comedic catchphrase “cuchi cuchi”. Charo’s real name is … wait for it … María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romaguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten.

48 *Howard Carter, 1922 : TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMB

“King Tut” is a name commonly used for the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. Tutankhamun may not have been the most significant of the pharaohs historically, but he is the most famous today largely because of the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter. Prior to this find, any Egyptian tombs uncovered by archaeologists had been ravaged by grave robbers. Tutankhamun’s magnificent burial mask is one of the most recognizable of all Egyptian artifacts.

55 Google returns … or the answers to the four starred clues : SEARCH RESULTS

The search engine Google was originally called “BackRub” would you believe? The name was eventually changed to “Google”, an intentional misspelling of the word “googol”. A googol is a pretty big number, 10 to the power of 100. That would be the digit 1 followed by 100 zeros.

68 Home of the Titans : TENNESSEE

The Tennessee Titans are a football team based in Nashville. The team relocated to Nashville from Houston in 1997. They were called the Tennessee Oilers for two seasons, before adopting the “Titans” moniker.

70 Unwanted blanket : SMOG

“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s. Several cities around the world have a reputation of being particularly smoggy. For example, the most smog-plagued city in Latin America is Mexico City, which is located in a highland “bowl” that traps industrial and vehicle pollution.

71 Chicken ___ : POX

Chicken pox is a viral infection, and a classic disease of childhood most commonly caught by 4-10 year olds. There is a complication that can arise later in life if the virus reactivates to cause shingles.

Down

1 Goose ___ : EGG

The use of the phrase “goose egg” to mean “zero” is baseball slang that dates back to the 1860s. The etymology is as expected: the numeral zero and a goose egg are both large and round.

2 Reine’s husband : ROI

“La reine” (the queen) is the wife of “le roi” (the king), in French.

3 One issuing red cards, for short : REF

A series of colored penalty cards is used by referees and umpires in several sports, most notably in soccer. The cards were first used in the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, after language difficulties created confusion during the prior competition in 1966. The main cards used are a yellow card indicating a caution, and a red card indicating expulsion from the game.

4 The “C” of F.C. Barcelona : CLUB

“Barça” is the nickname of the soccer club FC Barcelona (Futbol Club Barcelona). Barcelona is one of the most financially successful football clubs in the world in terms of revenue, along with the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

5 Others, in a Latin list : ALII

“Et alii” (et al.) is the equivalent of “et cetera” (etc.), with “et cetera” being used in place of a list of objects, and “et alii” used for a list of names. In fact, “et al.” can stand for “et alii” (a group of males, or males and females), “et aliae” (a group of women) and “et alia” (a group of neuter nouns, or a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

10 Lucy’s man : DESI

Desi Arnaz was famous for his turbulent marriage to Lucille Ball. Arnaz was a native of Cuba, and was from a privileged family. His father was Mayor of Santiago and served in the Cuban House of Representatives. However, the family had to flee to Miami after the 1933 revolt led by Batista.

11 Deuce follower : AD IN

In tennis, if the score reaches deuce (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the advantage. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. If the one of the players is calling out the score then if he/she has the advantage then that player announces “ad in” or more formally “advantage in”. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?

15 Annual mystery writer’s award : AGATHA

The Agathas are literary awards given annually for mystery and crime writers producing exceptional works in the “cozy mystery” genre. “Cozies” are crime fiction in which there is a dearth of sex and violence, and in which the crime is committed and solved in a small community or gathering. The awards are named for the queen of the cozy mystery genre, Agatha Christie.

22 Kind of pork on a Chinese menu : MOO SHU

Moo shu pork (also “mu shu pork”) is a traditional dish from northern China, with the main ingredients being shredded pork and scrambled egg. In North America, the dish is served with tortilla-like wrappers that are sometimes referred to as “moo shu pancakes”.

26 Sch. system with campuses in Pullman and Spokane : WSU

Washington State University Spokane was established in 1989 as a branch campus of Washington State University (WSU), which is based in Pullman, Washington. That same year saw two other branch campuses established: WSU Tri-Cities (in Richmond) and WSU Vancouver.

30 Seattle-based retail giant : AMAZON

Amazon.com is the largest online retailer in the world. It is also the most largest Internet company in the world by revenue. The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, in his garage in Bellevue, Washington. I’m a big fan of Amazon’s approach to customer service …

31 Magic creatures of Jewish lore : GOLEMS

“Golem” is Yiddish slang for “dimwit”. In Jewish folklore, a golem is an anthropomorphic being made out of inanimate matter, and is somewhat like an unintelligent robot.

39 Bit of Oscar recognition, informally : NOM

Nomination (nom.)

40 French article : UNE

In French, feminine nouns take the indefinite article “une”, and the definite article “la”.

46 Kind of fly : TSETSE

Tsetse flies live on the blood of vertebrate mammals. The name “tsetse” comes from Tswana, a language of southern Africa, and translates simply as “fly”. Tsetse flies are famous for being carriers of the disease known as “sleeping sickness”. Sleeping sickness is caused by a parasite which is passed onto humans when the tsetse fly bites into human skin tissue. If one considers all the diseases transmitted by the insect, then the tsetse fly is responsible for a staggering quarter of a million deaths each year.

49 Competitor of Target : KOHL’S

Kohl’s is a department store chain with its headquarters in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The store takes its name from the founder, Maxwell Kohl.

50 “Ben-___” : HUR

The celebrated 1959 Charlton Heston movie “Ben-Hur” is a dramatization of a book published in 1880 by Lew Wallace titled “Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ”. The 1959 epic film won a record 11 Academy Awards, a feat that has been equaled since then but has never been beaten. The other winners of 11 Oscars are “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Rings”.

57 Verdi’s “La donna è mobile,” for one : ARIA

“La donna è mobile” is a very famous aria from Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto”.

61 Helmut of fashion : LANG

Helmut Lang is an artist and fashion designer from Austria who lives and works in New York.

64 Topic in parapsychology, for short : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

65 Vintage car inits. : REO

Ransom Eli Olds was a pioneer in the automotive industry, and the founder of the Oldsmobile and REO brands. Olds introduced the first modern “stationary” assembly line (Henry Ford’s famous innovation was the “moving” assembly line). As a result, it can be argued that the Oldsmobile Curved Dash was the first mass-produced, low-priced automobile, rather than the Ford’s Model T.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Goof : ERR
4 Mexican resort area, for short : CABO
8 Car body option : SEDAN
13 Bets everything one’s got : GOES ALL IN
16 Bond wore a white one in “Goldfinger” : TUXEDO
17 Commercial holiday mailing : GIFT GUIDE
18 Strands at a ski lodge, say : ICES IN
19 *Louis Pasteur, 1885 : RABIES VACCINE
21 Losing poker player’s declaration : I’M OUT
24 U2 can call it home : EIRE
25 *Roald Amundsen, 1906 : NORTHWEST PASSAGE
33 Street cleaning day event : TOW
34 “Stat!” : ASAP!
35 Where Apia is found : SAMOA
36 Queens’s Arthur ___ Stadium : ASHE
38 *William Herschel, 1781 : URANUS
42 Half of square dance participants, typically : GALS
43 One-named Latin singer : CHARO
45 “I’ll do that job” : ON IT
47 Letter above a sleeping toon : ZEE
48 *Howard Carter, 1922 : TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMB
53 Heart and ___ : SOUL
54 Ver-r-ry small : EENSY
55 Google returns … or the answers to the four starred clues : SEARCH RESULTS
62 Partner of part : PARCEL
63 Enhances, as an original recording : REMASTERS
67 Old British biplanes with an apt name : AVIANS
68 Home of the Titans : TENNESSEE
69 Pick on : TEASE
70 Unwanted blanket : SMOG
71 Chicken ___ : POX

Down

1 Goose ___ : EGG
2 Reine’s husband : ROI
3 One issuing red cards, for short : REF
4 The “C” of F.C. Barcelona : CLUB
5 Others, in a Latin list : ALII
6 Wait : BIDE
7 Length of a quick tennis match : ONE SET
8 Favorable outcome : SUCCESS
9 Prez or veep : EXEC
10 Lucy’s man : DESI
11 Deuce follower : AD IN
12 Abstainer’s portion : NONE
14 Peacock’s walk : STRUT
15 Annual mystery writer’s award : AGATHA
16 Pageant topper : TIARA
20 ___ access : VIP
21 Still in one piece : INTACT
22 Kind of pork on a Chinese menu : MOO SHU
23 “… am I right?!” : … OR WHAT?!
26 Sch. system with campuses in Pullman and Spokane : WSU
27 Big part of an elephant : EAR
28 Aromatherapy spot : SPA
29 Droop : SAG
30 Seattle-based retail giant : AMAZON
31 Magic creatures of Jewish lore : GOLEMS
32 Pass slowly and carefully : EASE BY
37 Time to remember : ERA
39 Bit of Oscar recognition, informally : NOM
40 French article : UNE
41 Something to confess at a confessional : SIN
44 Where’s it’s happening : ON-SCENE
46 Kind of fly : TSETSE
49 Competitor of Target : KOHL’S
50 “Ben-___” : HUR
51 Bells and whistles, maybe : ALERTS
52 Exams : TESTS
55 Dust-up : SPAT
56 Overhang : EAVE
57 Verdi’s “La donna è mobile,” for one : ARIA
58 Some HDTVs : RCAS
59 Appear : SEEM
60 “Let me think … huh-uh” : UM … NO
61 Helmut of fashion : LANG
64 Topic in parapsychology, for short : ESP
65 Vintage car inits. : REO
66 Possible reason for an R rating : SEX