Constructed by: Byron Walden
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Mid-Aughts
Themed answers each include a synonym of “AUGHT” as a hidden word, right in the MIDDLE:
- 60A Part of the George W. Bush era … or a hint to part of 18-, 26-, 38- and 46-Across : MID-AUGHTS
- 18A Almond confections : MARZIPANS (mid-ZIP)
- 26A Fried turnovers from southern Italy : PANZEROTTI (mid-ZERO)
- 38A Champaign region : EASTERN ILLINOIS (mid-NIL)
- 46A Oscar winner for “The Accidental Tourist” (1988) : GEENA DAVIS (mid-NADA)
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Bill’s time: 15m 55s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Residence for a parson : MANSE
A manse is a minister’s home in various Christian traditions. “Manse” derives from “mansus”, the Latin for “dwelling”. The term can also be used for any stately residence.
6 Fictional character who cries “I am madness maddened!” : AHAB
Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. The role of Captain Ahab was played by Gregory Peck in the 1956 John Huston film adaptation. Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a 1998 miniseries in which Peck made another appearance, as Father Mapple.
14 Single source? : ALBUM
The Latin word “album” translates as “white”. Back in the 17th century, public notices and lists of names were written on a board painted white, or in a souvenir book with white pages known as an “albo” (from “album”). Over time, the term “album” came to be used in English for a blank book created to collect signatures or other mementos. By the end of the 19th century, albums were used to collect photographs. The term “album” was applied to long-playing gramophone records in the early 1950s, because the record sleeves resembled large photographic albums.
17 Animal with fused toes on each hind paw, used for grooming its coat : KOALA
Koalas are not bears, but are marsupials, which means they carry their young in a pouch.They are known for their diet of eucalyptus leaves, which are toxic to most other animals. To cope with this, koalas have a special digestive system that allows them to break down the toxins and extract the nutrients from the leaves. Koalas are one of the sleepiest animals in the world, sleeping up to 20 hours a day. This is because eucalyptus leaves provide very little energy.
18 Almond confections : MARZIPANS
Marzipan is a scrumptious confection made from almond meal sweetened with sugar or honey. The former English name was “marchpane” meaning “March bread”. We now use the term “marzipan”, which is the German name.
21 Chain with a mansard roof in its logo : PIZZA HUT
Pizza Hut started out as a single location in Wichita, Kansas in 1958 and is now the world’s largest pizza franchise. Pizza Hut claims to be the world’s largest user of cheese, consuming 300 million pounds every year. The chain buys 3% of the cheese produced in the US, which means that 170,000 American cows are producing milk for Pizza Hut alone.
A mansard roof is a type of hip roof with two slopes on each side. The lower part of the roof has the steepest slope and is penetrated by several dormer windows. The style of roof takes its name from the French Baroque architect François Mansart.
22 Auto-correction? : UEY
Hang a “uey” or “uie”, make a u-turn, make a 180.
23 Cooper’s product : KEG
A cooper is a craftsman who makes wooden vessels, such as barrels. The term “cooper” ultimately derives from the Latin “cupa” meaning “barrel”.
35 “Round cleans better” sloganeer : ORAL-B
The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.
38 Champaign region : EASTERN ILLINOIS
The Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area is located in Illinois, southwest of Chicago. Champaign-Urbana is home to the flagship campus of the University of Illinois.
43 Shiraz and others : REDS
The Iranian city of Shiraz has long been associated with wine, but there is no proven link between the city and the wine/grape we know today as “Shiraz” (also called “Syrah”). Having said that, some clay jars were found just outside of the city of Shiraz that contained wine; wine that was 7,000 years old!
44 Home to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia’s “Talk to the People” program : WNYC
There are two WNYC radio stations, both of which are based in New York City. Both stations (one AM, and one FM) are in the National Public Radio family.
Fiorello La Guardia was the Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945, racking up three full terms in office. The famous airport that bears La Guardia’s name was built at his urging, stemming from an incident that took place while he was in office. He was taking a TWA flight to “New York” and was outraged when the plane landed at Newark Airport, in the state of New Jersey. The Mayor demanded that the flight take off again and land at a small airport in Brooklyn. A gaggle of press reporters joined him on the short hop and he gave them a story, urging New Yorkers to support the construction of a new commercial airport within the city’s limits. The new airport, in Queens, opened in 1939 as New York Municipal, often called “LaGuardia” as a nickname. The airport was officially relabeled as “LaGuardia” (LGA) in 1947.
46 Oscar winner for “The Accidental Tourist” (1988) : GEENA DAVIS
Hollywood actress Geena Davis established the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in 2004 after noticing the lack of female characters on television shows while watching with her young daughter. According to Davis:
The fact is women are seriously underrepresented in nearly all sectors of society across the globe, not just on screen, but, for the most part, we are simply not aware to this reality, and media images exert a powerful influence in perpetuating our unconscious bias.
“The Accidental Tourist” is a 1985 novel by Anne Tyler. The book was famously adapted into a 1988 movie starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis (who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance).
51 This might come with breakfast in bed, in brief : TLC
Tender loving care (TLC)
52 Brisbane-to-Sydney dir. : SSW
Brisbane is the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is named for the Brisbane River, which flows through the city. The river in turn is named for Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane who was the Governor of New South Wales in the 1820s. General Douglas MacArthur made Brisbane his headquarters after being forced out of the Philippines during WWII.
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia. People from Sydney are known as “Sydneysiders”.
60 Part of the George W. Bush era … or a hint to part of 18-, 26-, 38- and 46-Across : MID-AUGHTS
An “aught” is a zero. The term can be used in the context of dates as in “the aughts”, the years 2000-2009. I’ve also heard those years referred to as “the noughties”.
63 Slangy “treatment” for a disturbing visual : EYE BLEACH
“Eye bleach” is a slang phrase often used in online forums and chat rooms for images or videos that are intended to cleanse the mind of something unpleasant that has been seen. The term can be used to describe a wide variety of content, such as cute animals, funny memes and nature scenes.
64 Singer Cleo with Grammy nominations in jazz, pop and classical : LAINE
Cleo Laine is a jazz singer from England who is noted for her remarkable range of nearly four octaves. Laine is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in each of the classical, jazz and popular music categories. My favorite of her recordings is “He Was Beautiful”, which is also known as “Cavatina” and is a version of the theme from the film “The Deer Hunter”.
66 World capital where Al Jazeera is headquartered : DOHA
Doha is the capital city of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. The name “Doha” translates from Arabic as “the big tree”.
Al Jazeera is an independent news service owned by the state of Qatar. Since 2006, Al Jazeera has been broadcasting an English language channel, hiring many top journalists from American news outlets. “Al jazeera” is Arabic for “the island”.
Down
10 Main ingredient in a Thai som tam salad : PAPAYA
The papaya (also “papaw”) tropical fruit is native to Mexico and South America. When cultivating papaya trees, only female plants are used. Female plants produce just one, high-quality fruit per tree. Male plants produce several fruit per tree, but they are very poor quality.
The dish usually listed as green papaya salad on menus in Thai restaurants in North America is referred to as “som tam” in Thailand. Som tam really goes for all of one’s taste buds, as it includes sour lime, hot chili, savory fish sauce and palm sugar for sweetness.
13 Sibilant summons : PSST!
“Sibilant” is a lovely word that describes a sound of speech, i.e. the sound of an “s” or “z”, a hissing sound. The word “sissies”, for example, has three sibilant sounds.
16 Name at the heart of civilization? : LIZA
The name “Liza” is found at the heart of the word “civilization”.
24 “Club” member in a hit 1985 adventure comedy : GOONIE
“The Goonies” is a 1985 movie based on a story written by Steven Spielberg. It is an adventure film, with the title characters being a group of young treasure hunters from the fictional Goon Docks neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon (hence the movie’s title). I haven’t seen this one …
29 Roster for William Morris or Creative Artists : TALENT
William Morris was a German immigrant who started out in business in New York City as a Vaudeville Agent. He grew his business by encouraging his clients to branch into the up-and-coming media of silent movies and radio. The William Morris Agency represented many of the great stars of the day, including Al Jolson, the Marx Brothers, Mae West and Charlie Chaplin.
32 “I call dibs” : THIS IS MINE
The phrase “to have dibs on” expresses a claim on something. Apparently, the term “dibs” is a contraction of “dibstone”, which was a knucklebone or jack used in a children’s game.
33 Adoption of the International Radiotelegraph Convention in 1906 : SOS
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots). That said, in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so “SOS” is really only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are back-formations that were introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.
40 Major PBS funder, for short : NEA
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark.
45 Wrinkly-skinned fruit : CASABA
A casaba is a type of honeydew melon that ripens relatively late in the season, and so is classed as a winter melon. The casaba takes its name from the Turkish city of Kasaba, from where the fruit was imported into America in the late 1800s.
47 1980s sitcom puppet : 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”.
53 Gangbusters, in old slang : T-MEN
A T-man is a law-enforcement agent of the US Treasury (“T” stands for “Treasury”).
55 Shangri-la : EDEN
Shangri-La is the earthly paradise in the mountains of Tibet described by James Hilton in his novel “Lost Horizon”. Shangri-La is “edenic” (perfect, like the Garden of Eden from the Book of Genesis). Frank Capra directed a wonderful screen adaptation of “Lost Horizon” in 1937 starring Ronald Colman.
56 Onetime labor and transportation secretary Elaine : CHAO
When President George W. Bush appointed Elaine Chao as Secretary of Labor, he made a bit of history as Chao became the first Chinese American in history to hold a cabinet post. It turned out that Chao became the only cabinet member to hold her post for President Bush’s full eight years in office. In 1993, Chao married Mitch McConnell, the Republican Leader of the US Senate.
61 With 65-Across, “Born to Hand Jive” group : SHA …
65 See 61-Down : … NA NA
Do you remember the band “Johnny Casino & The Gamblers” in the movie “Grease”? That was actually the real-world group named Sha Na Na. Johnny Casino & the Gamblers sang “Those Magic Changes” at the high school dance, in between “Rock’N Roll Is Here to Stay” and “Hound Dog”. Sha Na Na got together in the sixties, hosted the variety show “Sha Na Na” from 1977 to 1981, and are still performing today.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Residence for a parson : MANSE
6 Fictional character who cries “I am madness maddened!” : AHAB
10 Question persistently : PUMP
14 Single source? : ALBUM
15 Checks or balances, say : REGULATES
17 Animal with fused toes on each hind paw, used for grooming its coat : KOALA
18 Almond confections : MARZIPANS
19 Last : ENDURE
21 Chain with a mansard roof in its logo : PIZZA HUT
22 Auto-correction? : UEY
23 Cooper’s product : KEG
25 Woman’s name that sounds like a letter of the alphabet : KAY
26 Fried turnovers from southern Italy : PANZEROTTI
30 P.R. people: Abbr. : AGTS
34 Walk way? : GAIT
35 “Round cleans better” sloganeer : ORAL-B
37 “Looky here!” : OHO!
38 Champaign region : EASTERN ILLINOIS
41 Punnery, e.g. : WIT
42 Keep cooler? : RE-ICE
43 Shiraz and others : REDS
44 Home to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia’s “Talk to the People” program : WNYC
46 Oscar winner for “The Accidental Tourist” (1988) : GEENA DAVIS
49 ___ moment : AHA
51 This might come with breakfast in bed, in brief : TLC
52 Brisbane-to-Sydney dir. : SSW
53 What barflies hit : THE SAUCE
58 “Turn around so I can see you” : FACE ME
60 Part of the George W. Bush era … or a hint to part of 18-, 26-, 38- and 46-Across : MID-AUGHTS
62 Synonym for “seeing red” whose name derives from a shade of blue in Latin : LIVID
63 Slangy “treatment” for a disturbing visual : EYE BLEACH
64 Singer Cleo with Grammy nominations in jazz, pop and classical : LAINE
65 See 61-Down : … NA NA
66 World capital where Al Jazeera is headquartered : DOHA
67 Flat bottoms : SOLES
Down
1 Blush, e.g. : MAKEUP
2 1972 Gilbert O’Sullivan hit with the lyric “Left standing in the lurch at a church” : ALONE AGAIN
3 Boston in the ’60s or Chicago in the ’90s, e.g. : NBA DYNASTY
4 Recipient of the first Vulcan nerve pinch on the original “Star Trek” : SULU
5 Professional concerned with search engine optimization : E-MARKETER
6 Word with band or candy : ARM-
7 Supply in abundance : HEAP
8 Business opening? : AGRI-
9 Major downer : BUZZKILL
10 Main ingredient in a Thai som tam salad : PAPAYA
11 “Riders of the Purple Sage” setting : UTAH
12 Course catalog? : MENU
13 Sibilant summons : PSST!
16 Name at the heart of civilization? : LIZA
20 Poetic contraction : E’ER
24 “Club” member in a hit 1985 adventure comedy : GOONIE
27 Minor blemish : ZIT
28 Instant : TRICE
29 Roster for William Morris or Creative Artists : TALENT
31 The ultimate struggle : GOOD VS EVIL
32 “I call dibs” : THIS IS MINE
33 Adoption of the International Radiotelegraph Convention in 1906 : SOS
36 Live tweets? : BIRDCALLS
38 [Gag] : [EWW]
39 Tested, as a cask, to see how much whisky remains : REGAUGED
40 Major PBS funder, for short : NEA
45 Wrinkly-skinned fruit : CASABA
47 1980s sitcom puppet : ALF
48 More than 7% of Minnesotans by ancestry : SWEDES
50 Spoils : HAUL
53 Gangbusters, in old slang : T-MEN
54 “Howdy!” : HIYA!
55 Shangri-la : EDEN
56 Onetime labor and transportation secretary Elaine : CHAO
57 Chisel, in a way : ETCH
59 Analogue of “aloha” and “shalom” : CIAO
61 With 65-Across, “Born to Hand Jive” group : SHA …
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