0213-21 NY Times Crossword 13 Feb 21, Saturday

Constructed by: Will Nediger
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 14m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Like the emo genre : ANGSTY

The emo musical genre originated in Washington, D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. “Emo” is also the name given to the associated subculture. Not my cup of tea …

17 Holiday production? : BLUES MUSIC

Billie Holiday was a jazz singer from Philadelphia. Holiday had a tough life, which she described in her 1956 autobiography “Lady Sings the Blues”. She recorded an album, also called “Lady sings the Blues”, that was released at the same time as the autobiography. The book was the basis of the 1972 film of the same name starring Diana Ross in the title role.

20 Insects that may lack mouths : MOTHS

Moths are insects closely related to butterflies. As a generalization, moths differ from butterflies in that the former are almost always nocturnal. Also, butterflies tend to have much thinner antennae.

22 Subject of many a conspiracy theory : UFO

Unidentified flying object (UFO)

23 Hajj, e.g. : RITE

“Haji” (also “Hajji” and “Hadji”) is the term used for someone who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and it is sometimes also used as a form of address for such a person. The journey itself goes by the name “haj”, “hajj” or “hadj”.

25 Overplay : HAM UP

The word “ham”, describing a performer who overacts, is a shortened form of “hamfatter” and dates back to the late 1800s. “Hamfatter” comes from a song in old minstrel shows called “The Ham-Fat Man”. It seems that a poorly performing actor was deemed to have the “acting” qualities of a minstrel made up in blackface.

28 The Atlantic, but not the Pacific, for short : ZINE

“The Atlantic” magazine was founded in 1857 in Boston as “The Atlantic Monthly”. The impressive list of founding sponsors includes Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Harriet Beecher Stowe. I guess double-barreled names were all the rage back then …

30 Metaphorical setting in which everything is inverted from the norm : BIZARRO WORLD

Bizarro World is a planet in the DC Comics universe. It is a world of opposites, and is inhabited by its own versions (mirror images) of other characters. For example, Bizarro is a supervillain, and someone with the opposite characteristics of Superman. There is also a Bizarro Lois Lane and a Bizarro Jimmy Olsen. The Bizarro version of Batman is Batzarro, who is billed as the “World’s Worst Detective”.

37 Covered with fat : LARDED

Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called suet. Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily so it has to be rendered, purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call lard. Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as tallow.

39 Breathing exercises, in brief? : CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has for decades involved the simultaneous compression of the chest to pump blood using the heart, and artificial respiration by blowing air into the lungs. Nowadays emergency services are placing more emphasis on heart compressions, and less on artificial respiration.

46 Jazzman who was a pioneer of Afrofuturism : SUN RA

“Sun Ra” was the stage name of jazz composer and performer Herman Blount. Sun Ra was a bit “out there”, and claimed that he wasn’t from Earth, but rather was of the Angel Race from the planet Saturn.

48 Thoroughly examined, in a way : CASED

The phrase “to case the joint” is American slang meaning “to examine a location with the intent of robbing it”. The origins of the phrase are apparently unknown, although it dates back at least to 1915.

51 Upbraids : REPROACHES

To upbraid is to reproach, find fault with. “Upbraid” is of Swedish origin.

53 Texted lead-in to an alternative : OTOH

On the other hand (OTOH)

55 Literary member of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen : NEMO

“The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” is a 2003 superhero film inspired by a series of comic books of the same name by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. “The League” comprises a series of fictional characters created in various works, including

  • H. Rider Haggard’s Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery)
  • Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer (Shane West)
  • Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend)
  • Arthur Conan Doyle’s Professor Moriarty (Richard Roxburgh) 

56 “Why, every fault’s condemn’d ___ it be done”: “Measure for Measure” : ERE

“Measure for Measure” is one of William Shakespeare’s plays, ostensibly a comedy. The title “Measure for Measure” is actually a quotation from the Bible found in the Gospel According to Luke.

Down

2 Bly who traveled around the globe in 72 days : NELLIE

“Nellie Bly” was a pen name used by American journalist Elizabeth Cochran. In 1888, Bly took a trip around the world, emulating the fictional trip of Phileas Fogg in “Around the World in Eighty Days”. She departed from New York and arrived back in San Francisco two days behind schedule, jeopardizing her goal of beating the “eighty days”. The owner of her newspaper chartered a private train for her and she made it back to New York in just over 72 days. Quite a woman …

3 Set of programs including Drive and Docs, once : G SUITE

G Suite (formerly “Google Apps”) is a free group of services that includes communication, productivity and collaboration tools. Well, the free services do include some advertising, but enterprise-level versions of G Suite are ad-free. I use G Suite all the time (for free) to help me write and manage my crossword blogs. I’m a big fan …

4D With 16-Across, championship-winning head coach of the Golden State Warriors : STEVE …
(16 See 4-Down : … KERR)

Steve Kerr is a retired NBA basketball player who moved into team management. Kerr was born in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of an American academic who specialized in Middle East studies. Kerr’s father was assassinated by militant nationalists in Beirut when Steve was 19 years old.

5 Stun, in a way : TASE

Victor Appleton wrote a novel for young adults called “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle”. The company that developed the TASER electroshock weapon partly named its product as a homage to the novel. The acronym “TASER” stands for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle”.

10 Emulate Olympian Lindsey Vonn : SKI

Lindsey Vonn is a World Champion alpine ski racer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. She is one of the few women to have won World Cup races in all five alpine racing disciplines: downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and super combined. In fact, Vonn is the most successful US ski racer in history.

11 Visual effect from a partial eclipse : PENUMBRA

A shadow usually has three distinct parts called the umbra, penumbra and antumbra, with the terms most often used with reference to the shadows cast by celestial bodies. The terms can also be used to describe the levels of darkness in sunspots. The umbra (Latin for “shadow”) is the innermost, darkest part of a shadow. The penumbra (“almost shadow”, from Latin) is a lighter part of a shadow, where part of the light source “leaks” around the body casting the shadow. The antumbra phenomenon is experienced when the object casting the shadow is sufficiently far away from the viewer so that it appears smaller than the light source, with an annular ring around it. When the eye is in the shadow cast by an object that has light passing around it, the eye is in the antumbra.

13 Moved en masse : TROOPED

“En masse” is a French term, one that best translates as “as a group”

24 Monitor, e.g. : LIZARD

Monitor lizards are so called because they tend to stand up on their hind legs and “monitor” their surroundings.

26 Digs, so to speak : ABODE

“Digs” is short for “diggings” meaning “lodgings”. Where “diggings” came from, no one seems to know.

28 They have many small teeth : ZIPPERS

What we know today as a “zipper” was invented by mechanical engineer Whitcomb Judson in 1890, when it was called a “clasp locker”. The device was introduced at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, but was not successful. Several people made improvements to the basic design over the coming decades. By the 1920s, the B. F. Goodrich Company was using the device on a line of rubber boots. It was Goodrich who introduced us to the name “zipper”.

30 “Lincoln in the ___” (2017 best-selling novel) : BARDO

“Lincoln in the Bardo” is a 2017 work by George Saunders. The novel centers on Abraham Lincoln as he deals with the death of his son Willie, and takes place in the “bardo”, the intermediate state between death and rebirth in the Buddhist tradition.

31 Stuff in stuffing : ROSEMARY

The herb known as rosemary is reputed to improve the memory. As such, rosemary has been used as a symbol of remembrance, especially in Europe and Australia. For example, mourners might throw sprigs of rosemary into graves, symbolically remembering the dead. The character Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” utters the line “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance”. The name of the herb comes from the Latin “ros marinus” which means “dew of the sea”. The idea is that rosemary can in fact grow in some arid locations with only the moisture that is carried by a sea breeze.

35 Part of a company : PLATOON

In military terms, a platoon is a subdivision of a company-sized unit, and is usually divided into squads or sections. The term “platoon” arose in the 1630s from the French “peloton”. “Peloton” translates literally as “little ball”, and is used to this day to mean “agglomeration”. “Peloton” gives rise to our word “pellet”. Also, we use the Modern French “peloton” in English now to refer to the main body (agglomeration) of riders in a bicycle race.

41 Morning omen for sailors : RED SKY

We often see red in the sky at sunrise and sunset. This is because at those times of day, sunlight travels through the thickest part of the atmosphere and only the red wavelengths of light make it through. Dust and moisture particles in the atmosphere tend to scatter the other wavelengths. These scattering particles are most concentrated in high pressure weather systems, and high pressure is associated with stable air. Weather systems tend to move from west to east, because of westerly trade winds. So, if we see a red sky illuminated by the sun rising in the east, then the red is caused by a high-pressure system to the east i.e. a period of stable air that has passed. If we see a red sky lit by a setting sun in the west, it is likely that the sunlight is coming through a high-pressure system that is on its way. So the old adage has some truth to it:

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning

44 Apt rhyme for “stash” : CACHE

A cache is a secret supply. We imported the term into English from French Canadian trappers in the 17th century. Back then, “cache” was a slang term for a “hiding place for stores”, derived from the French verb “cacher” meaning “to hide”.

48 Actress Blanchett : CATE

Cate Blanchett is a great actress from Australia, and a winner of an Academy Award for playing Katherine Hepburn in “The Aviator”. Winning for that role made Blanchett the first person to win an Academy Award for playing an actor (Hepburn) who had also won an Oscar. Now that, that is trivial information …

50 Sister channel of Flix, for short : SHO

Flix is a cable television channel that screens feature films released from the 1970s to the present day. The network uses two slogans: “Movies You Grew Up With” and “Cool Classics for the Movie Generation”.

52 Kind of milk : OAT

Oat milk is one of the alternatives to cow’s milk, and is lactose free. I’m a big fan …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Like the emo genre : ANGSTY
7 Chocolate or caramel : HUE
10 Contretemps : SPAT
14 Wait here! : RESTAURANT
16 See 4-Down : … KERR
17 Holiday production? : BLUES MUSIC
18 Really feeling : INTO
19 Item on a toothpick : OLIVE
20 Insects that may lack mouths : MOTHS
22 Subject of many a conspiracy theory : UFO
23 Hajj, e.g. : RITE
24 “And … we’re ___!” : LIVE
25 Overplay : HAM UP
27 Word with red or reason : SEE …
28 The Atlantic, but not the Pacific, for short : ZINE
29 Devour, with “up” : GOBBLE …
30 Metaphorical setting in which everything is inverted from the norm : BIZARRO WORLD
32 Be peevish with : SNAP AT
34 Sometime : ONE DAY
35 Many are under the influence of this at college parties : PEER PRESSURE
37 Covered with fat : LARDED
38 “Sure, I’m game” : LET’S
39 Breathing exercises, in brief? : CPR
42 Vehemence : ARDOR
43 Bottom lines : SUMS
44 Mind : CARE
45 Sorting label for a Twitter search : TOP
46 Jazzman who was a pioneer of Afrofuturism : SUN RA
48 Thoroughly examined, in a way : CASED
49 Couple’s word : OURS
51 Upbraids : REPROACHES
53 Texted lead-in to an alternative : OTOH
54 “Thanks, Captain Obvious!” : GEE, YA THINK?!
55 Literary member of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen : NEMO
56 “Why, every fault’s condemn’d ___ it be done”: “Measure for Measure” : ERE
57 Minute : TEENSY

Down

1 Shady spots : ARBORS
2 Bly who traveled around the globe in 72 days : NELLIE
3 Set of programs including Drive and Docs, once : G SUITE
4 With 16-Across, championship-winning head coach of the Golden State Warriors : STEVE …
5 Stun, in a way : TASE
6 Compliment to the chef : YUM!
7 Entertains : HAS OVER
8 Bond : UNITE
9 Really impress? : ETCH
10 Emulate Olympian Lindsey Vonn : SKI
11 Visual effect from a partial eclipse : PENUMBRA
12 With cunning : ARTFULLY
13 Moved en masse : TROOPED
15 Brood : RUMINATE
21 Springtime forecast : SHOWERS
24 Monitor, e.g. : LIZARD
26 Digs, so to speak : ABODE
28 They have many small teeth : ZIPPERS
29 Freak out : GO NUTS
30 “Lincoln in the ___” (2017 best-selling novel) : BARDO
31 Stuff in stuffing : ROSEMARY
32 Main course? : SEA ROUTE
33 Nickname for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner : NERD PROM
35 Part of a company : PLATOON
36 Popular ice drink : SLURPEE
39 Redeem, as at a casino : CASH IN
40 Gets ready for a date, maybe : PREENS
41 Morning omen for sailors : RED SKY
43 It’s not a good look : SNEER
44 Apt rhyme for “stash” : CACHE
47 Something an ascetic might fight : URGE
48 Actress Blanchett : CATE
50 Sister channel of Flix, for short : SHO
52 Kind of milk : OAT