0114-23 NY Times Crossword 14 Jan 23, Saturday

Constructed by: David Karp
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 11m 30s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Offer that can’t be refused, in business : HOSTILE TAKEOVER

In the world of business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another. If board members of a target company believe that the purchase is a good idea for its shareholders, they usually recommend that the shareholders accept the offer, and the takeover is termed “friendly”. If the target company’s board rejects the purchase offer, then the acquiring company can still try to proceed with the transaction, usually by offering the shareholders a price above market level. This is termed a “hostile” takeover. If the acquiring company can get control of a majority of shares, it is then free to replace the old board and complete the transaction.

17 Key in a corner : ESC

The escape key (Esc) was originally used just to control computer peripherals. It was a key that allowed the computer operator to stop what the peripheral was doing (cancel a print job, for example). Nowadays the escape key is used for all sorts of things, especially in gaming programs.

19 Market event, in brief : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

20 Word of woe : ALAS

Our word “alas”, used to express unhappiness or concern, comes from the Old French phrase “ha, las”. “Ha, las” translates as “ah, unfortunate”. The modern French equivalent is “hélas”, which translates as “alas”! Go figure …

22 Design deets : SPECS

“Deets” is slang for “details”.

24 Day in movies : DORIS

Actress and singer Doris Day was born Doris Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio. Day made more than 650 recordings as a singer with Columbia Records, and also appeared in 39 movies. Outside the world of entertainment, she was an ardent supporter of animal rights. She lived in retirement in Carmel-by-the-Sea in California, along with her many pets and stray animals that she adopted over the years.

27 Ride in space : SALLY

Sally Ride was a physicist and astronaut who flew two missions on the space shuttle Challenger. In 1983, she became the first American woman in space, having been preceded by two female cosmonauts (in 1963 and 1982). Ride was 32 years on that first mission, making her the youngest astronaut ever to make it into space. In another first, Ride was the first LGBT astronaut, a fact that was revealed after her death in 2012.

28 “Copy” machines? : WALKIE-TALKIES

The more formal name for a walkie-talkie is “handheld transceiver”. It is a handheld, two-way radio, and a device first developed for military use during WWII by Motorola (although others developed similar designs soon after). The first walkie-talkie was portable, but large. It was back-mounted and was carried around the battlefield by a radio officer.

31 Designer Michael : KORS

American fashion designer MIchael Kors has dressed quite a few celebrities over the years. First Lady Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses for her official portrait during President Obama’s first term. She also wore a Michael Kors dress to the 2015 State of the Union address.

39 Japanese tech giant : NEC

“NEC” is the name that the Nippon Electric Company chose for itself outside of Japan after a rebranding exercise in 1983.

46 D.O.J. V.I.P.s : AGS

Attorneys General (AGs) head up the Department of Justice (DOJ). When the office of the Attorney General was created in 1789 it was a part-time job, with no departmental support. The Department of Justice came into being in 1870.

47 Husky apparatus : DOGSLED

The Siberian Husky is one of the oldest breeds of dog, and originated in northern Asia. Siberian Huskies were imported into Alaska in great numbers in the early 1900s for use as sled dogs during the gold rush.

50 Dated TV star? : THE BACHELORETTE

“The Bachelorette” is a reality television show about dating with the intent of marriage, and is a spin-off of “The Bachelor”. The marriage that resulted from the first season (2003) is still going strong, with the couple now parents.

54 Hardens : INURES

To inure is to harden oneself against the effects of, to accustom oneself to.

55 Ones unlikely to order the house wine, say : SNOBS

Back in the 1780s, a snob was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word “snob” was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

Down

1 What one might use to lash out? : MASCARA

Variants of mascara have been around a long time, and certainly there was a similar substance in use in ancient Egypt. “Mascara” is a Spanish word meaning “stain, mask”.

2 Genre prefix : ALT

“Alt-” is a prefix used to denote “alternative”, and is used to define a number of music genres e.g. alt-rock, alt-country.

3 Capital on the island of Upolu : APIA

Upolu is the second-largest island in the Polynesian island nation of Samoa. The largest Samoan island is Savaiʻi, although Upolu is home to the country’s capital city Apia.

4 Places with multiple outlets : MALLS

Surprisingly (to me!), our word “mall”, meaning “shady walk” or “enclosed shopping space”, comes from the Italian for “mallet”. All of our shopping-style malls are named for “The Mall” in St. James’s Park in London. This tree-lined promenade was so called as it used to be a famous spot to play the croquet-like game called “pall-mall”. The game derived its name from the Italian for ball (palla) and mallet “maglio”. The London thoroughfare called the Mall still exists, at one end of which is Buckingham Palace. Indeed, parallel to the Mall is a street called Pall Mall.

8 Like fine wine, but not fine olive oil : AGED

Virgin olive oil is oil produced from olives with no chemical treatment involved in the production process at all. To be labeled “virgin”, the oil must have an acidity level of less than 2% and must be judged to have “a good taste”. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) comes from virgin oil production, and is the portion with acidity levels of less than 0.8% acidity that is judged to have “superior taste”.

9 Soup sometimes served with hanh dam : PHO

Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is a noodle soup from Vietnam that is a popular street food. It is often ordered with a side of hanh dam, pickled white onions.

10 Birthplace of flamenco : SEVILLE

The city of Seville (“Sevilla” in Spanish) is the capital of Andalusia in southern Spain. Seville is a favored setting for many operas including “The Barber of Seville” by Rossini, “Fidelio” by Beethoven and Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and “The Marriage of Figaro”.

Flamenco is a style of Spanish music and dance. The origin of the word “flamenco” isn’t clearly understood, but the explanation that seems most credible to me is that it comes from Flanders in Northern Europe. Given that “flamenco” is the Spanish word for “Flemish” and Flanders is home to the Flemish people it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

15 Foot the bill : TREAT

To foot the bill is to pay it, to pay the total at the “foot” of the bill.

25 Clothing portmanteau : SKORT

The garment called a “skort” is a hybrid between a “skirt” and “shorts”.

27 Tiny bit : SKOSH

“Skosh” is a slang term meaning “a little bit”, and was originally military slang that came out of the Korean War. “Skosh” derives from the Japanese word “sukoshi” which translates as “few, little, some”.

30 ___ Banos, Calif. : LOS

Los Banos isn’t too far from here, and lies in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The original name of the city was Los Baños, Spanish for “the baths”, a homage to the nearby source of water, the San Joaquin River. Even though the city’s name is spelled without the tilde, it is still pronounced “los banyos”. Go figure …

35 Intrinsically : PER SE

“Per se” is a Latin phrase that translates as “by itself”. We use “per se” pretty literally, meaning “in itself, intrinsically”.

36 Internet company whose logo is a cat wearing earphones : NAPSTER

In its first and most famous incarnation, Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing service. Basically, the service allowed people to easily share files over the Internet. What happened was that users opened up mainly their music files for sharing, and as a result there was massive copyright infringement taking place. The music industry sued Napster, and the company went bankrupt in 2002.

38 Unpleasant sound from a tuba : BLAT!

The tuba is the lowest-pitched of all brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”. Oom-pah-pah …

41 Cutesy to a fault : TWEE

In the UK, something “twee” is cutesy or overly nice. “Twee” came from “tweet”, which is the cutesy, baby-talk way of saying “sweet”.

44 Téa of “Madam Secretary” : LEONI

Téa Leoni is an American actress. One of Leoni’s early parts was in the great film “A League of Their Own” (a minor role: Racine at first base). She also played the fiancée of Sam Malone from “Cheers” on the spin-off sitcom “Frasier”. A leading role on the big screen was opposite Adam Sandler in “Spanglish”. My favorite of her more prominent movie roles was as Jane in “Fun with Dick and Jane”. Leoni started playing the title role in the drama series “Madam Secretary” in 2014, and that’s a show I quite enjoy …

“Madam Secretary” is A TV show that first aired from 2014 to 2019. It is about an ex-CIA analyst who is appointed as US Secretary of State. Téa Leoni plays the title role, ably supported by a favorite actress of mine, Bebe Neuwirth. I like this show …

47 Harry Belafonte catchword : DAY-O

“Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” is a traditional folk song from Jamaica. It is sung from the standpoint of dock workers unloading boats on the night shift, so daylight has come, and they want to go home. The most famous version of “Day-O” was recorded by Harry Belafonte, in 1956.

Singer and actor Harry Belafonte is of Caribbean descent, from Jamaica through his mother’s heritage and from Martinique through his father. Born in New York City, Belafonte came to be known as the “King of Calypso”. His most famous recording is 1956’s “The Banana Boat Song”, and I suspect that his most famous movie performance is in Otto Preminger’s “Carmen Jones”.

52 Poetic palindrome : ERE

The three most famous palindromes in English have to be:

  • Able was I ere I saw Elba
  • A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
  • Madam, I’m Adam

One of my favorite terms is “Aibohphobia”, although it doesn’t appear in the dictionary and is a joke term. “Aibohphobia” is a great way to describe a fear of palindromes, by creating a palindrome out of the suffix “-phobia”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Terms of address : MA’AMS
6 Hit sounds : WHAPS
11 Sister from another mister : GAL PAL
12 More on the up and up? : HIGHER
14 Offer that can’t be refused, in business : HOSTILE TAKEOVER
17 Key in a corner : ESC
18 Tipped off : ALERTED
19 Market event, in brief : IPO
20 Word of woe : ALAS
22 Design deets : SPECS
23 Show off one’s physique, in a way : FLEX
24 Day in movies : DORIS
26 ___-di-dah : LAH
27 Ride in space : SALLY
28 “Copy” machines? : WALKIE-TALKIES
31 Designer Michael : KORS
32 Tie up : MOOR
33 Sign of enforced boundaries : NO TRESPASSING
38 Suit : BEFIT
39 Japanese tech giant : NEC
40 Fearlessness : HEART
42 Video game turn : LIFE
43 Go ___ : VIRAL
45 Eject : SPEW
46 D.O.J. V.I.P.s : AGS
47 Husky apparatus : DOGSLED
49 “Get it?” : SEE?
50 Dated TV star? : THE BACHELORETTE
53 Patronize, as a resort : STAY AT
54 Hardens : INURES
55 Ones unlikely to order the house wine, say : SNOBS
56 Go-getter : TIGER

Down

1 What one might use to lash out? : MASCARA
2 Genre prefix : ALT
3 Capital on the island of Upolu : APIA
4 Places with multiple outlets : MALLS
5 Tired excuses? : SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
6 Word when you can’t find the word : WHATCHAMACALLIT
7 Engages in some outdoor recreation : HIKES
8 Like fine wine, but not fine olive oil : AGED
9 Soup sometimes served with hanh dam : PHO
10 Birthplace of flamenco : SEVILLE
11 “Easy!” : GO SLOW!
13 Drives away : REPELS
14 Part of a river that ironically doesn’t contain the mouth : HEAD
15 Foot the bill : TREAT
16 Women’s surfwear brand : ROXY
21 Fine neckwear : SILK TIE
23 Fabled tooth-takers : FAIRIES
25 Clothing portmanteau : SKORT
27 Tiny bit : SKOSH
29 Face reddener : IRE
30 ___ Banos, Calif. : LOS
33 They come straight from the horse’s mouth : NEIGHS
34 Balances : OFFSETS
35 Intrinsically : PER SE
36 Internet company whose logo is a cat wearing earphones : NAPSTER
37 Says “Hey” to, say : GREETS
38 Unpleasant sound from a tuba : BLAT!
41 Cutesy to a fault : TWEE
43 Words to remember, for short : VOCAB
44 Téa of “Madam Secretary” : LEONI
47 Harry Belafonte catchword : DAY-O
48 Generic, e.g. : DRUG
51 Outlaw : BAN
52 Poetic palindrome : ERE