0406-21 NY Times Crossword 6 Apr 21, Tuesday

Constructed by: Amanda Chung & Karl Ni
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: That’s Puzzling, Girl!

Themed answers are exclamations that include girls’ names:

  • 16A “Omigosh, girl!” : HEAVENS TO BETSY!
  • 23A “Dang, girl!” : GEEZ, LOUISE!
  • 35D With 37-Down, “Wow, girl!” : GOOD GOLLY, …
  • 37D See 35-Down : … MISS MOLLY!

Bill’s time: 6m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Org. since Nixon’s presidency : EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was set up during the Nixon administration and began operation at the end of 1970.

13 Chest muscle, for short : PEC

“Pecs” is the familiar name for the chest muscle, which is more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is the Latin word for “breast, chest”.

14 Demi with the 2017 hit “Sorry Not Sorry” : LOVATO

Pop and R&B singer Demi Lovato started her performing career as a child actress, playing Angela on the kids TV show “Barney & Friends” from 2002 to 2004. When she was all grown up, Levato served as a judge on “The X Factor” from 2012 to 2013, and soon after had the recurring role of Dani on “Glee”.

21 Specifics, in slang : DEETS

“Deets” is slang for “details”.

30 Northwest airport, familiarly : SEA-TAC

Sea-Tac Airport (SEA) is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.

31 “To ___ by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards out of men”: Ella Wheeler Wilcox : SIN

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an author and poet from Wisconsin. Her most famous poem is “Solitude”, noted for the oft-quoted line “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone.”

34 Hand grenade, in slang : FRAG

Fragmentation grenade (frag).

Our word “grenade”, used for a small explosive missile, came via French from the word for the pomegranate fruit. The name reflects the similarity between the seed-filled fruit and the powder-filled, fragmentation bomb.

36 Important part of a bloodhound : NOSE

Bloodhounds have an amazing sense of smell, and have been bred to track humans in particular. Bloodhounds have been used to follow humans since the Middle Ages.

37 Figure in Final Fantasy : MAGE

“Mage” is an archaic word meaning “magician, wizard”.

38 Camera setting : F-STOP

Varying the f-stop in a lens varies how big the lens opening (the aperture) is when a photograph is taken. Smaller apertures (higher f-stop values) admit less light, but result in a greater depth of field (more of the photograph is in focus).

40 Grain storage spots : SILOS

“Silo” is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English. The term ultimately derives from the Greek “siros”, which described a pit in which one kept corn.

43 Supports for choirs : RISERS

A riser is a platform that elevates a group of people above a crowd, and so is ideal for the performance of a choir.

55 City whose first two letters are its state’s postal abbreviation : HILO

Hilo is the largest settlement on the Big Island of Hawaii, and has a population of over 43,000 (that’s not very many!). I love the Big Island …

58 New York theater on the National Register of Historic Places, with “the” : … APOLLO

The Apollo Theater in the Harlem district of Manhattan, New York opened in 1914 as Hurtig and Seamon’s New Burlesque Theater. The original facility was a whites-only venue. When it was opened to African Americans in 1934, the name was changed to “The Apollo”.

60 Food critic’s asset : PALATE

The roof of the mouth is known as the palate. The anterior part of the palate is very bony, and is called the hard palate. The posterior part is very fleshy and is called the soft palate. The soft palate is muscular and moves to close off the nasal passages while swallowing. We often use the term “palate” figuratively, to describe the sense of taste.

62 Romantic composer Gustav : MAHLER

I’m still trying to keep an open mind when it comes to the music of Gustav Mahler, but I find it hard to appreciate. Mahler was an Austrian composer who was active in the late-Romantic period. During his own lifetime, he was most notable as a conductor, and his compositions gained in popularity only after his death in 1911. Mahler’s music was banned as “degenerate” during the Nazi Era, as Mahler was Jewish.

65 Swift to soar to the top of the charts? : TAYLOR

Singer Taylor Swift had one of her first gigs at the US Open tennis tournament when she was in her early teens. There she sang the national anthem and received a lot of favorable attention for the performance.

Down

1 Gardener’s annoyance : APHID

Aphids are called “greenfly” back in Britain and Ireland where I come from. The most effective way to control aphids, in my experience, is to make sure there are plenty of ladybugs in the garden (called “ladybirds” in Ireland!).

2 Actress Witherspoon : REESE

“Reese” is not actually actress Witherspoon’s given name. She started out life as Laura Jeanne Witherspoon. “Reese” is her mother’s maiden name.

3 They’re not really to blame : SCAPEGOATS

A scapegoat is a person chosen to take the blame in place of others. The term comes from the Bible’s Book of Leviticus, which describes a goat that was cast into the desert along with the sins of the community.

5 Steak sauce brand : A-ONE

The original A.1. steak sauce comes from a recipe created for King George IV of England by one of his personal chefs in 1824. King George declared it to be “A.1.”, and the rest is history.

7 Animal that, despite popular belief, is usually lactose intolerant : CAT

The sugar known as lactose is a disaccharide, comprising a molecule of galactose combined with a molecule of glucose. Lactose is a major component in milk, and it is broken down in the body by an enzyme called lactase. The production of lactase used to diminish over time in humans, as babies stopped nursing and transitioned to solid food. Many human populations have evolved to maintain lactose production throughout life, in response to the inclusion of animal milk in the diet. Individuals and populations that do not have the genes enabling lifelong production of lactase are said to be lactose intolerant.

8 Manhattan Project subject : ATOM

The Manhattan project was the joint US-Canada-UK project to develop an atomic bomb during WWII. Initially, the Army headquarters for the program was located on the 18th floor of a building on Broadway in New York City. Eventually, because of that first location, the project adopted the name “Manhattan”.

11 Crew : POSSE

Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.

12 Mariana Trench, e.g. : ABYSS

“The Marianas” is a familiar name for the Mariana Islands that lie in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan and north of New Guinea. The Mariana Trench (note there is no letter “S” at the end of “Mariana”, the trench) is the lowest elevation on the surface of the Earth’s crust. The Mariana Trench takes its name from the Islands, as it lies just to the east of the Marianas.

18 One who takes a bow before success rather than after? : EROS

The name of Eros, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word “erotic” meaning “arousing sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as both “Amor” (meaning “love”) and “Cupid” (meaning “desire”).

24 ___ garden : ZEN

Japanese Zen gardens are inspired by the meditation gardens of Zen Buddhist temples. Zen gardens have no water in them, but often there is gravel and sand that is raked in patterns designed to create the impression of water in waves and ripples.

25 Language akin to Thai : LAO

Lao, the language of Laos, does not use spaces between words (or periods!), although this is apparently changing. Spaces are used between sentences and clauses.

26 Ends of some exciting games, for short : OTS

Overtime (OT)

27 Persian Gulf land, in brief : UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates (states) in the Middle East. Included in the seven are Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the city of Abu Dhabi being the UAE capital and cultural center.

The Persian Gulf is in effect an inland sea, although it technically is an offshoot of the Indian Ocean. The outlet from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean is one of the most famous maritime “choke points” in the world, and is known as the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world’s supply of petroleum passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

28 Inseparable buds : BFFS

Best friend forever (BFF)

32 Composer Stravinsky : IGOR

Composer Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works were completed relatively early in his career, when he was quite young. His three ballets “The Firebird”, “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” were published in 1910-1913, when Stravinsky was in his early thirties.

33 “Untouchable” agent : NESS

Eliot Ness was the Treasury agent charged with the task of bringing down the notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone. When Ness took on the job in 1930, Chicago law-enforcement agents were renowned for being corrupt, for being on the take. Ness handpicked 50 prohibition agents who he thought he could rely on, later reducing the group to a cadre of 15 and ultimately just 11 trusted men. That group of 11 earned the nickname “The Untouchables”, the agents who couldn’t be bought.

43 Jupiter has a “great” one : RED SPOT

The Great Red Spot oft seen in photographs of Jupiter is actually a huge storm in the planet’s atmosphere. It is believed that this storm has been raging for at least 180 years, and it’s not certain if and when it will abate.

45 Facilities in England : LOO

It has been suggested that the British term “loo”, meaning “toilet”, comes from “Waterloo” (water closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo”, in which the pot was called the loo!

49 Welcome in Waikiki : ALOHA

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu that is home to the famous Waikiki Beach. The name “Waikiki” means “spouting fresh water” in Hawaiian.

59 Dungarees brand : LEE

The Lee company that is famous for making jeans was formed in 1889 by one Henry David Lee in Salina, Kansas.

“Dungarees” is an alternative name for “overalls”. Dungaree was a cheap and poorly woven fabric used by the lower classes. Dungaree originated in the port city of Dongri near Mumbai, India, hence the name.

61 Defense org.? : ABA

American Bar Association (ABA)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 ___ Technica (popular website with tech news) : ARS
4 Place for meals on wheels : BAR CAR
10 Org. since Nixon’s presidency : EPA
13 Chest muscle, for short : PEC
14 Demi with the 2017 hit “Sorry Not Sorry” : LOVATO
15 Kind of story : SOB
16 “Omigosh, girl!” : HEAVENS TO BETSY!
19 “Reckon so” : I ‘SPOSE
20 Quagmire : MORASS
21 Specifics, in slang : DEETS
22 “Uh, yeah!” : TOTES
23 “Dang, girl!” : GEEZ, LOUISE!
28 Scare word : BOO!
30 Northwest airport, familiarly : SEA-TAC
31 “To ___ by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards out of men”: Ella Wheeler Wilcox : SIN
34 Hand grenade, in slang : FRAG
36 Important part of a bloodhound : NOSE
37 Figure in Final Fantasy : MAGE
38 Camera setting : F-STOP
40 Grain storage spots : SILOS
41 “Leaving already?” : SO SOON?
43 Supports for choirs : RISERS
44 Inhabitants : DWELLERS
47 Problem that’s holding things up : SNAG
50 Little croaker : TOAD
51 Newsstand display, for short : MAGS
55 City whose first two letters are its state’s postal abbreviation : HILO
56 Longhorns, e.g. : COWS
57 Place for a pizza : OVEN
58 New York theater on the National Register of Historic Places, with “the” : … APOLLO
60 Food critic’s asset : PALATE
62 Romantic composer Gustav : MAHLER
63 Do a favor : OBLIGE
64 Remained : STAYED
65 Swift to soar to the top of the charts? : TAYLOR

Down

1 Gardener’s annoyance : APHID
2 Actress Witherspoon : REESE
3 They’re not really to blame : SCAPEGOATS
4 Says a prayer over : BLESSES
5 Steak sauce brand : A-ONE
6 Some mobile homes, for short : RVS
7 Animal that, despite popular belief, is usually lactose intolerant : CAT
8 Manhattan Project subject : ATOM
9 Herky-jerky, as movements : ROBOTIC
10 Event for antique lovers : ESTATE SALE
11 Crew : POSSE
12 Mariana Trench, e.g. : ABYSS
17 Get out the ___ : VOTE
18 One who takes a bow before success rather than after? : EROS
24 ___ garden : ZEN
25 Language akin to Thai : LAO
26 Ends of some exciting games, for short : OTS
27 Persian Gulf land, in brief : UAE
28 Inseparable buds : BFFS
29 Approximately : OR SO
32 Composer Stravinsky : IGOR
33 “Untouchable” agent : NESS
35 With 37-Down, “Wow, girl!” : GOOD GOLLY, …
37 See 35-Down : … MISS MOLLY!
39 “Wham!” : POW!
40 Follower of yes or no : … SIR
42 Place for a sensor in tennis : NET CORD
43 Jupiter has a “great” one : RED SPOT
45 Facilities in England : LOO
46 It’s just an act : LAW
47 Fakes : SHAMS
48 Gently sting, as with cold : NIP AT
49 Welcome in Waikiki : ALOHA
52 To no ___ : AVAIL
53 Very beginning : GET-GO
54 Unattractive facial expression : SNEER
59 Dungarees brand : LEE
61 Defense org.? : ABA