0924-22 NY Times Crossword 24 Sep 22, Saturday

Constructed by: Martin Ashwood-Smith
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 19m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13 Accomplishment for the 1970s Oakland A’s : THREE-PEAT

A three-peat is the winning of a sports championship three seasons in a row. The term “three-peat” was coined in 1988 by LA Lakers’ player Byron Scott, and then trademarked by Lakers’ head coach Pat Riley. The Lakers were attempting in 1988 to clinch their third championship title in a row at that time, and eventually lost to the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers had to wait until the 2002 season to claim that three-peat.

16 Rare golf shots : ACES

One well-documented hole in one (ace) was during a round of the British Open in 1973. American golfer Gene Sarazen achieved the feat that day, at the age of 71. A less well-documented series of holes in one was reported by the North Korean press in a story about the Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The report was that Kim Jong-il scored 11 holes in one in his one and only round of golf.

18 About one in three residents of Bosnia : SERB

Serbs are an ethnic group native to the Balkans in southeastern Europe. Although Serbs exist as a minority group in many countries in the region, they are the majority ethnic group in Serbia, in Montenegro and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of six federal units in former Yugoslavia that gained independence after the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. There are three main ethnic groups in Bosnia. The largest group are the Bosniaks, the second the Bosnian Serbs, and the third the Bosnian Croats.

20 “A veil, rather than a mirror,” per Oscar Wilde : ART

If you didn’t know Oscar Wilde was Irish, you will when you see the name he was given at birth: Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde!

24 Gordon ___, co-star of 1955’s “Oklahoma!” : MACRAE

Gordon Macrae is best known for appearances in “Oklahoma!” and “Carousel“, both Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. In both, he appeared opposite leading lady Shirley Jones. Jones and Macrae were lifelong friends, and he was the godfather of one of her sons.

27 String game : CAT’S CRADLE

Cat’s Cradle is likely to be one of the oldest games played by humans, one that sprung up independently in all parts of the world. The game is played by two people and involves the making of a series of figures with a loop of string held by the fingers.

32 Neurotransmitter targeted by Prozac : SEROTONIN

Most of the body’s serotonin is found in the gut, where it regulates intestinal muscle movement. The balance is manufactured in specialized nerve tissue and has various functions such as regulation of mood, sleep and appetite.

35 Equivalent of 400 meters, often : LAP

The distance around a newer running track is 400 meters, as measured in the inside lane. Tracks used to be 440 yards around, so that four laps added up to an even mile (1,760 yards). As race distances changed to meters, the mile race was dropped in favor of the “metric mile”, 1600 meters, which is equivalent to 1,750 yards or 0.994 miles.

38 American jazz pianist, 1904-84 : COUNT BASIE

“Count” Basie’s real given name was “William”. Count Basie perhaps picked up his love for the piano from his mother, who played and gave him his first lessons. Basie’s first paying job as a musician was in a movie theater, where he learned to improvise a suitable accompaniment for the silent movies that were being shown. Basie was given the nickname “Count” as he became lauded as one of the so-called “Jazz royalty”. Others so honored are Nat “King” Cole and Duke Ellington.

39 Carter creation of 1979 : FEMA

Federal emergency management has been structured for over 200 years, but what we know today as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 in an Executive Order issued by President Jimmy Carter.

40 Painter Modigliani : AMEDEO

Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who spent most of working life in France. Modigliani’s sculpture called “Tête” is an elongated female head made from limestone that he created between 1910 and 1912. The piece was acquired in auction in 2010 for almost $55 million, making it the fifth-most expensive sculpture ever sold.

41 It once earned the nickname “poudre de succession” (“inheritance powder”) : ARSENIC

Arsenic is element #33 in the periodic table, and has the chemical symbol “As”. Because of arsenic’s toxicity, it was very commonly used in pesticides. These compounds are getting banned over time, but it seems there is a long way to go. Arsenic in aquifers continues to be a problem around the world, including here in the US. China has introduced limits to the amounts of arsenic permitted in food as well as water, mainly as the Chinese staple of rice is particularly effective at accumulating arsenic from groundwater.

43 Certain college degs. : BAS

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

44 Deputy ___ (TV toon) : DAWG

Deputy Dawg is a cartoon character in the Terrytoon television series. Deputy Dawg is a deputy sheriff in the State of Mississippi. I remember him well as my parents put curtains on the windows in our bedroom when we were very young, curtains which featured the characters Deputy Dawg and Yogi Bear.

47 The pasta in rasta pasta : PENNE

The pasta known as penne comes in two main types, i.e. penne lisce (which is smooth) and penne rigate (which is furrowed).

48 Canadian fashion brand : ALDO

ALDO is a chain of shoe stores that was founded in Montreal in 1972 by Moroccan-born Canadian Aldo Bensadoun. Bensadoun is the son of a retailer of shoes in Morocco and France, and the grandchild of a cobbler. A man with shoe leather in his blood …

56 Caves : SPELUNKS

“Spelunking” is an American term describing recreational caving, although the word has Latin roots (“spelunca” is the Latin for “cave”). The term originated in the 1940s in New England when it was adopted by a group of men who explored caves in the area.

Down

2 “Dover Beach” poet : ARNOLD

“Dover Beach” is an 1867 poem by English poet Matthew Arnold.

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; —on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!

4 “Father ___” (cult Irish comedy) : TED

“Father Ted” is a British sitcom about three priests living on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland. There have been a couple of attempts to remake “Father Ted” for the American market. Let’s hope the project works out one day …

5 Nail polish brand : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film.

9 With 14-Across, Shakespearean words after “What’s” : IN A …
14 See 9-Down : … NAME

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is all about the love between the two title characters, which is forbidden as the pair come from two families who are sworn enemies. Early in the play, Romeo (a Montague) sneaks into a masquerade ball being held by the Capulets in the hope of meeting a Capulet girl named Rosaline. Instead, he meets and falls for Juliet, also a Capulet. Tragedy ensues …

‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.

10 Spirits company with a bat in its logo : BACARDI

The Bacardi company is still family-owned and operated, and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. The company was founded in Santiago de Cuba and became successful by selling a refined form of rum, something new to a market that was used to a crude, dark rum. The Bacardi family opposed the Castro regime as it came to power, so the company had to relocate to Bermuda.

11 Birthstone after diamond : EMERALD

Here is the “official” list of birthstones, by month, that we tend to use today:

  • January: Garnet
  • February: Amethyst
  • March: Bloodstone or Aquamarine
  • April: Diamond
  • May: Emerald
  • June: Pearl or Moonstone
  • July: Ruby
  • August: Sardonyx or Peridot
  • September: Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli
  • October: Opal or Pink Tourmaline
  • November: Topaz or Citrine
  • December: Turquoise or Zircon (also now, Tanzanite)

13 You’d prefer to have service in it : TENNIS

Our modern sport of tennis evolved from the much older racquet sport known as real tennis. Originally just called “tennis”, the older game was labeled “real tennis” when the modern version began to hold sway. Real tennis is played in a closed court, with the ball frequently bounced off the walls.

15 Degree word : LAUDE

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”

19 “In the Heights” setting : BARRIO

“Barrio” is the name given to an urban district in Spanish-speaking countries.

23 Cocktail of tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda : PALOMA

The paloma is a cocktail made from tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda. The name “paloma” translates from Spanish as “dove”.

25 James of 1974’s “The Gambler” : CAAN

James Caan was an actor from the Bronx, New York City. He was noted for his appearances in some very big movies such as “The Godfather”, “Misery”, “A Bridge Too Far”, “Rollerball” and more recently “Elf”. Caan was quite the sportsman. He played golf with an 8 handicap, and was a 6-Dan Black Belt Master of Gosoku Karate.

28 Vodka brand from Texas : TITO’S

Tito’s Vodka is a brand that was founded in Austin, Texas in 1997 by Bert “Tito” Beveridge. Yes, Beveridge became a beverage maker …

29 Nova ___ : SCOTIA

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia (NS) lies on the east coast of the country and is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The area was settled by Scots starting in 1621, and Nova Scotia is Latin for “New Scotland”.

33 Tip of a geographic horn : SOMALIA

Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Sadly, the nation is noted today for a devastating civil war and for its use as a base for pirates who prey on ships passing through the Indian Ocean along the Somali coast.

The Horn of Africa is that horn-shaped peninsula at the easternmost tip of the continent, containing the countries Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia as well as Somalia. The Horn of Africa is also known as the Somali Peninsula.

34 Super ___ : TUESDAY

Super Tuesday happens in February or March of a presidential election year. It is that Tuesday in which the greatest number of states hold primaries that will select delegates to be dispatched to the national conventions. Super Tuesday has become more significant over the past couple of decades as more and more states hold their primaries early in the cycle in order to increase the importance of the votes from the state.

35 Singing sisters on “The Lawrence Welk Show” : LENNONS

The Lennon sisters are a singing group from Los Angeles who appeared regularly on “The Lawrence Welk Show”. They had their debut on the show in 1955, and are still singing together today (although the lineup has changed over the decades).

38 Conniving coteries : CABALS

A cabal is a small group of plotters acting in secret, perhaps scheming against a government or an individual. The use of “cabal” in this way dates back to the mid-1600s. It is suggested that the term gained some popularity, particularly in a sinister sense, during the reign of Charles II in the 1670s. At that time, it was applied as an acronym standing for “Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale”, a group of ministers known for their plots and schemes.

A coterie is a small group of friends who hang out together, and often share a common interest. The term comes to us from French, in which language a coterie was an organization of peasants all of whom held land owned by the same feudal lord.

42 2010 World Cup-winning country : SPAIN

The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in the sport of soccer. The competition has been held every four years (excluding the WWII years) since the inaugural event held in Uruguay in 1930. The men’s World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, even outranking the Olympic Games. And, the women’s World Cup is fast catching up …

46 Big blow : GALE

A gale is a very strong wind, one defined by the Beaufort scale as having wind speeds from 50 to just over 100 kilometers per hour.

51 One of the 13 original Colonies: Abbr. : DEL

The state of Delaware takes its name from Virginia’s first colonial governor, Englishman Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. Delaware is known as “the First State” as it was the first to ratify the US Constitution, in 1787.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Unwanted items : CAST-OFFS
9 Scoffing response : I BET
13 Accomplishment for the 1970s Oakland A’s : THREE-PEAT
14 See 9-Down : … NAME
15 Didn’t shy away from : LEANED INTO
16 Rare golf shots : ACES
17 Put out : ANNOY
18 About one in three residents of Bosnia : SERB
20 “A veil, rather than a mirror,” per Oscar Wilde : ART
21 Let go, in a way : UNCLASP
24 Gordon ___, co-star of 1955’s “Oklahoma!” : MACRAE
26 Laughed and laughed and laughed : DIED
27 String game : CAT’S CRADLE
30 19th in a series : ESS
31 Bust : POLICE RAID
32 Neurotransmitter targeted by Prozac : SEROTONIN
33 There is one each in French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Hawaiian and Chinook : STATE MOTTO
35 Equivalent of 400 meters, often : LAP
38 American jazz pianist, 1904-84 : COUNT BASIE
39 Carter creation of 1979 : FEMA
40 Painter Modigliani : AMEDEO
41 It once earned the nickname “poudre de succession” (“inheritance powder”) : ARSENIC
43 Certain college degs. : BAS
44 Deputy ___ (TV toon) : DAWG
47 The pasta in rasta pasta : PENNE
48 Canadian fashion brand : ALDO
50 Does a parent’s bedtime task : READS ALOUD
53 Bull fan? : LIAR
54 Thy’re sen n ths cle : DELETIONS
55 “Who ___?” : SAYS
56 Caves : SPELUNKS

Down

1 Odds : CHANCES
2 “Dover Beach” poet : ARNOLD
3 “I’m off” : SEE YA
4 “Father ___” (cult Irish comedy) : TED
5 Nail polish brand : OPI
6 Poor-drainage areas : FENS
7 The stars, so to speak : FATE
8 Eye : STORM CENTER
9 With 14-Across, Shakespearean words after “What’s” : IN A …
10 Spirits company with a bat in its logo : BACARDI
11 Birthstone after diamond : EMERALD
12 Final participant : TESTEE
13 You’d prefer to have service in it : TENNIS
15 Degree word : LAUDE
19 “In the Heights” setting : BARRIO
22 Big fixtures at parks : SCOREBOARDS
23 Cocktail of tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda : PALOMA
25 James of 1974’s “The Gambler” : CAAN
28 Vodka brand from Texas : TITO’S
29 Nova ___ : SCOTIA
31 Treated like a dog, say : PETTED
32 Ocean liner? : SAND
33 Tip of a geographic horn : SOMALIA
34 Super ___ : TUESDAY
35 Singing sisters on “The Lawrence Welk Show” : LENNONS
36 Low 90s : A-MINUS
37 Acted nervously, in a way : PACED
38 Conniving coteries : CABALS
39 Not be under the weather : FEEL OK
42 2010 World Cup-winning country : SPAIN
45 Blubber : WEEP
46 Big blow : GALE
49 Some choice words : ORS
51 One of the 13 original Colonies: Abbr. : DEL
52 Alphabet trio : STU