0701-22 NY Times Crossword 1 Jul 22, Friday

Constructed by: Christina Iverson & Caitlin Reid
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 13m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 It’s kneaded to make naan and roti : ATTA

Atta is a whole-wheat flour used to make flatbreads in South Asian cuisine, such as chapati and naan. “Atta” is the Hindi or Urdu word for “dough”.

15 Animal on the reverse side of a Canadian two-dollar coin : POLAR BEAR

Polar bears are close cousins of brown bears, and are thought to have evolved from a population of brown bears that became isolated during a period of glaciation. Most polar bears live north of the Arctic Circle, and live mainly on seals that they capture near the edge of ice floes.

17 Instruction in a game with dice : ROLL AGAIN

The numbers on dice are arranged so that the opposite faces add up to seven. Given this arrangement, the numbers 1, 2 and 3 all meet at a common vertex. There are two ways of arranging the 1, 2 and 3 around the common vertex, a so-called right-handed die (clockwise 1-2-3) or a left-handed die (counterclockwise 1-2-3). Traditionally, dice used in Western cultures are right-handed, whereas Chinese dice are left-handed. Quite interesting …

18 Enterprise that’s folding : ORIGAMI

Origami is the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. The best-known example of the craft is the paper crane (“orizuru“). The word “origami” is derived from “ori“ (folding) and “kami” (paper).

21 Book fair org. : PTA

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

22 Tribe known for ranching and oil and gas operations : UTE

The Ute are a group of Native-American tribes who now reside in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups. The word “Ute” means “Land of the Sun”, and “Ute” also gave us the state name “Utah”.

23 Snack that can be messy to eat : NACHOS

The dish known as “nachos” was supposedly created by the maître d’ at a restaurant called the Victory Club in the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. The name of the maître d’ was Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya.

25 Meter reader? : POET

The meter of a poem is its rhythmic structure.

26 Take advantage of low A.P.R., perhaps : REFI

Annual percentage rate (APR)

28 Many a nanny : GOAT

Male goats are bucks or billies, although castrated males are known as wethers. Female goats are does or nannies, and young goats are referred to as kids.

29 Our, in Tours : NOTRE

Tours is the largest city in the Centre region of France. Sitting on the Loire river, it is said that the people of Tours speak the “purest” form of French in the whole country. The French spoken by a local is also said to be free of any accent.

30 Museum guides : DOCENTS

“Docent” is a term used for a university lecturer. There are also museum docents, people who serve as guides for visitors to their institutions and who usually provide their services for free. The term comes from the Latin “docere” meaning “to teach”.

33 Sit beside a driver : RIDE SHOTGUN

The person riding alongside the driver of a vehicle is said to be “riding shotgun”. Even though the phrase is a reference to the armed guard who rode beside the driver of a stagecoach in the Old West, the term wasn’t coined until the early 20th century.

39 Song featuring up to 176 verses : PSALM

The Greek word “psalmoi” originally meant “songs sung to a harp”, and gave us the word “psalms”. In the Jewish and Western Christian traditions, the Book of Psalms contains 150 individual psalms, divided into five sections.

48 Founding member of N.W.A., familiarly : DRE

NWA was a hip hop group from Compton, California. The original five group members included rappers who have made a name for themselves as solo acts, including: Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. The story of NWA is told in a 2015 film, also called “Straight Outta Compton”. I hear that the movie was well received, although hip hop is not my cup of tea. I’m just too old …

51 Classic sketch comedy show from the ’60s and ’70s : LAUGH-IN

“Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” was originally recorded as a one-off special for NBC in 1967, but it was so successful that it was brought back as a series to replace the waning spy show “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” Personally, I loved both shows!

53 Modern-day “Brava!” : YOU GO, GIRL!

To express appreciation for a male performer at an operatic performance, traditionally one calls out “bravo!”. Appreciation for a female performer is shown by using “brava!”, and for more than one performer of either sex by using “bravi!”

56 “Heated” events : MEETS

The term “heat”, meaning “qualifying race”, dates back to the 1660s. Originally, a heat was a run given to a horse to prepare it for a race, to “heat” it up.

58 Rumpus : MELEE

Our term “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

59 Start of a choosing game : ONE POTATO …

One Potato is a counting out game designed to select a person who is “it” in a kid’s game. The selection depends on the rhyme:

One potato, two potato,
Three potato, four,
Five potato, six potato,
Seven potato, more,
One big bad spud.

60 Relatives of garters : ASPS

The venomous snake called an asp was a symbol of royalty in ancient Egypt.

The garter snake is found right across the continent, It is in fact the most widely distributed genus of reptile in North America, being found anywhere from Southeast Alaska to Central America.

Down

4 Nobel Peace Prize winner from Ghana : ANNAN

Kofi Annan was a diplomat from Ghana who served as General Secretary of the UN for ten years until the beginning of 2007. Annan was born into an aristocratic family, and had a twin sister named Efua Atta. Efua and Kofi shared the middle name “Atta”, which means “twin” in the Akan language of Ghana. Annan attended the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1971-72, and graduated with a Master of Science degree. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, winning jointly with the United Nations organization itself.

7 Oscar- and Emmy-nominated Page : ELLIOT

Canadian actor Elliot (formerly “Ellen”) Page came to prominence playing the female lead in the 2007 hit film “Juno”. Page also played the female lead in one of my favorite films of recent time, namely 2010’s “Inception”. Elliot came out as a gay woman in 2014, and then as a trangender man in 2020.

8 Classic destination for honeymooners : FALLS

For well over a century now, the twin cities of Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario have been popular spots for honeymooners. Niagara Falls got a boost as a honeymoon destination in 1953 with the release of “Niagara”, a film noir starring Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton.

The concept of a honeymoon vacation only started in the early 1800s. In Britain, wealthy couples would take a “bridal tour” together after the wedding, visiting those friends and relatives who could not attend the ceremony. The etymology of “honeymoon” isn’t very clear, and may even have a negative derivation as it might suggest that the sweetness (honey) of love is doomed to wane like a passing phase of the moon. The equivalent terms in other languages are “moon of honey” (French), “honey month” (Welsh) and “tinsel week” (German).

9 Kind of phase : ORAL

According to Freudian psychology, we have an instinctive sexual appetite that develops in five phases, named for the erogenous zones that are the source of the drive in each phase. They are:

  1. the oral stage (~ 0-2 years)
  2. the anal stage (~ 1-3 years)
  3. the phallic stage (~ 3-6 years)
  4. the latency stage (~ 6 years – puberty)
  5. the genital stage ( ~ puberty – adult life)

I’m not so sure …

10 Bygone Supreme Court inits. : RBG

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) served on the US Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman to join the Court, and was nominated by President Bill Clinton. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During that time she did not miss one day on the bench. In 2009 Justice Ginsburg had surgery for pancreatic cancer, and was back to work 12 days later. She had left-lung lobectomy to remove cancerous nodules in 2018, which forced Justice Ginsburg to miss oral argument in January 2019, for the first time since joining the court 25 years earlier. She finally succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2020. Much of Ginsburg’s life is recounted in the excellent 2018 movie “On the Basis of Sex”.

13 Like Byzantine architecture : ORNATE

Byzantium was a Greek colony that was centered on what was to become Constantinople, now Istanbul. Legend suggests that there was a king Byzas, who gave his name to the city and later the Byzantine Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire later became known as the Byzantine Empire, right up until the Middle Ages.

24 Something to follow on social media : HASHTAG

A hashtag is a word preceded by the symbol #. Hashtags are big these days because of its use by Twitter. The “#” symbol is usually referred to as the “number sign”, but here in the US the name “pound sign” is very common as well.

25 Nowheresville : PODUNK

“Podunk” is an Algonquian word meaning a boggy place (literally “where you sink in mire”). European settlers used the name “Podunk” for the indigenous people that lived in what is now southern New England. These Podunks had no name for themselves as a tribe, and they were christened “Podunks” as they lived on relatively marshy lands. “Podunk” has come to mean “the middle of nowhere”.

27 Bit of Christmas tree trimming : ICICLE

The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

31 Dutch export : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

38 Mythical beings : SPRITES

A sprite is an elfin or fairy-like creature of European myth. The term “sprite” comes from the Latin “spiritus” meaning “spirit”.

40 Sedan : U.S. :: ___ : U.K. : SALOON

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

42 Religious exodus : HEGIRA

“Hijra” (also “Hegira”) is an Arabic word meaning migration or flight. In the Islamic tradition, “Hijra” is the name given to the journey of Muhammad with his followers from Mecca to Medina, a journey necessitated by a threat to assassinate the prophet.

47 Word on some diplomas : SUMMA

When an academic degree is awarded, a level of distinction can be noted depending on the degree of success achieved by the student. There are three types of honor, each with a Latin name:

  • cum laude: meaning “with honor” (literally “with praise”)
  • magna cum laude: meaning “with great honor”
  • summa cum laude: meaning “with highest honor”

52 Large sums of money, informally : GEES

“G”, “K” and “thou” are slang terms used for a thousand dollars.

54 Org. whose history is profiled in the 2015 best seller “To Make Men Free” : GOP

The Republican Party has had the nickname Grand Old Party (GOP) since 1875. That said, the phrase was coined in the “Congressional Record” as “this gallant old party”. The moniker was changed to “grand old party” in 1876 in an article in the “Cincinnati Commercial”. The Republican Party’s elephant mascot dates back to an 1874 cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast for “Harper’s Weekly”. The Democrat’s donkey was already an established symbol. Nast drew a donkey clothed in a lion’s skin scaring away the other animals. One of the scared animals was an elephant, which Nast labeled “The Republican Vote”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 It’s kneaded to make naan and roti : ATTA
5 Had a meal during pregnancy : ATE FOR TWO
14 Airlifted (in) : FLOWN
15 Animal on the reverse side of a Canadian two-dollar coin : POLAR BEAR
16 Brought through the door : LED IN
17 Instruction in a game with dice : ROLL AGAIN
18 Enterprise that’s folding : ORIGAMI
20 “___ live” : I’LL
21 Book fair org. : PTA
22 Tribe known for ranching and oil and gas operations : UTE
23 Snack that can be messy to eat : NACHOS
25 Meter reader? : POET
26 Take advantage of low A.P.R., perhaps : REFI
28 Many a nanny : GOAT
29 Our, in Tours : NOTRE
30 Museum guides : DOCENTS
32 Material for a prairie home : SOD
33 Sit beside a driver : RIDE SHOTGUN
36 Furball, maybe : CAT
37 Courtside seats? : THRONES
39 Song featuring up to 176 verses : PSALM
42 One of the six reaction buttons for a text on an iPhone : HA-HA!
43 Maintained : KEPT
45 ___ My Professors : RATE
46 Fathers, in the Bible : BEGETS
48 Founding member of N.W.A., familiarly : DRE
49 Genre prefix : ALT-
50 Give a little : SAG
51 Classic sketch comedy show from the ’60s and ’70s : LAUGH-IN
53 Modern-day “Brava!” : YOU GO, GIRL!
56 “Heated” events : MEETS
57 Tag line? : DO NOT IRON
58 Rumpus : MELEE
59 Start of a choosing game : ONE POTATO …
60 Relatives of garters : ASPS

Down

1 Made aware : ALERTED
2 Absolutely divine : TO DIE FOR
3 Result of branching out? : TWIG
4 Nobel Peace Prize winner from Ghana : ANNAN
5 Sun-Maid snack : APRICOTS
6 Besides : TOO
7 Oscar- and Emmy-nominated Page : ELLIOT
8 Classic destination for honeymooners : FALLS
9 Kind of phase : ORAL
10 Bygone Supreme Court inits. : RBG
11 One letting off steam? : TEAPOT
12 Cry in a restaurant : WAITER
13 Like Byzantine architecture : ORNATE
14 Grocery bagful : FLOUR
19 You might draw things with this : MAGNET
24 Something to follow on social media : HASHTAG
25 Nowheresville : PODUNK
27 Bit of Christmas tree trimming : ICICLE
29 Canceled : NO-GO
31 Dutch export : EDAM
32 Sheets of rock : STRATA
34 “Not on your life!” : OH HELL NO!
35 “Want a hand?” : NEED HELP?
38 Mythical beings : SPRITES
39 “By all means,” in old parlance : PRAY DO
40 Sedan : U.S. :: ___ : U.K. : SALOON
41 Harmonize : ATTUNE
42 Religious exodus : HEGIRA
44 Wound up : TENSE
46 Quit, slangily : BAG IT
47 Word on some diplomas : SUMMA
50 Words before speak : SO TO …
52 Large sums of money, informally : GEES
54 Org. whose history is profiled in the 2015 best seller “To Make Men Free” : GOP
55 Nonsense : ROT