0929-19 NY Times Crossword 29 Sep 19, Sunday

Constructed by: Tom McCoy
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Now Weight Just a Second

Themed answers sound like common phrases, but with one word changed. The first syllable is stressed in the original word, but WEIGHT is applied to the SECOND syllable in the word used in the grid. Complicated, but clever …

  • 22A Cruise that specializes in baked alaska, e.g.? : SHIP OF THE DESSERT (from “ship of the desert”)
  • 33A Like ambitious scientists? : NOBEL-MINDED (from “noble-minded”)
  • 49A How everyone on this floor is feeling? : THE MORALE OF THE STORY (from “the moral of the story”)
  • 68A “Our lab studies regular dance moves rather than high-kicking”? : IT’S NOT ROCKETTE SCIENCE (from “it’s not rocket science”)
  • 86A Summary of an easy negotiation? : I CAME, I SAW, I CONCURRED (from “I came, I saw, I conquered”)
  • 105A What a truck driver puts on before a date? : SEMI COLOGNE (from “semicolon”)
  • 116A The main food served at Walden Pond? : MAJOR THOREAU FARE (from “major thoroughfare”)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 25m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Pieces of work? : ERGS

An erg is a unit of mechanical work or energy. It is a small unit, with one joule comprising 10 million ergs. it has been suggested that an erg is about the amount of energy required for a mosquito to take off. The term comes from “ergon”, the Greek word for work.

18 End of oyster season : APRIL

There is a traditional warning that one shouldn’t eat shellfish in a month without an R i.e. May through August. That’s because these are the warmer months here in the northern hemisphere when algae blooms can spread toxins that are soaked up by clams, mussels and oysters. Personally, I only eat shellfish in months containing a q. That would be never …

20 “___ Burr, Sir” (“Hamilton” song) : AARON

“Hamilton” is a 2015 musical based on the life of US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as described in the 2004 biography by Ron Chernow. The show opened off-Broadway in February 2015, and transferred to Broadway in August of the same year. Advance ticket sales for the Broadway production were unprecedented, and reportedly amounted to $30 million. The representations of the main characters is decidedly ground-breaking. The show is rooted in hip-hop and the main roles such as Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are all played by African-American and Hispanic actors.

25 Bona ___ : FIDE

“Bona fide(s)” translates from the Latin as “in good faith”, and is used to indicate honest intentions. It can also mean that something is authentic, like a piece of art that is represented in good faith as being genuine.

26 Kim to Kourtney, or Kourtney to Khloé : SIB

Khloé Kardashian, sister of Kim, managed to parlay her exposure on the reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” into spin-offs called “Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami” and “Khloé & Lamar”. Guess how many episodes of those three shows that I’ve seen …

29 Quickly go through the seasons, say : BINGE

I’m a big fan of binge-watching, the practice of watching perhaps two or three (even four!) episodes of a show in a row. My wife and I will often deliberately avoid watching a recommended show live, and instead wait until the whole series has been released on DVD or online. I’m not a big fan of “tune in next week …”

30 Tiffany lampshade, e.g. : GLASSWORK

The archetypal Tiffany lamp is made using pieces of colored, leaded glass with a copper foil bonding the pieces together, and a solder applied over the foil. The resulting effect resembles a stained glass window.

37 Basic skate trick : OLLIE

An ollie is a skateboarding trick invented in 1976 by Alan “Ollie” Gelfand. Apparently it’s a way of lifting the board off the ground, while standing on it, without touching the board with one’s hands. Yeah, I could do that …

41 Verano, across the Pyrénées : ETE

The Pyrénées is a mountain range that runs along the border between Spain and France. Nestled between the two countries, high in the mountains, is the lovely country of Andorra, an old haunt of my family during skiing season …

45 Cause of a shocking Amazon charge? : EEL

“Electrophorus electricus” is the biological name for the electric eel. Despite its name, the electric “eel” isn’t an eel at all, but rather what is called a knifefish, a fish with an elongated body that is related to the catfish. The electric eel has three pairs of organs along its abdomen, each capable of generating an electric discharge. The shock can go as high as 500 volts with 1 ampere of current (500 watts), and that could perhaps kill a human.

55 Lead-in to -ville in children’s literature : WHO-

The Whos live in Whoville in Dr. Seuss’ children’s book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”

68 “Our lab studies regular dance moves rather than high-kicking”? : IT’S NOT ROCKETTE SCIENCE (from “it’s not rocket science”)

The famous Rockettes can be seen in Radio City Music Hall. They have an amazing schedule during the Christmas season when they perform five high-kicking shows every day, seven days a week. The troupe has been doing this every Christmas for 77 years.

74 Architect Lin : MAYA

Maya Lin is a Chinese-American artist and architect from Athens, Ohio. Her most famous work is the moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Lin was only 21-years-old when she won a public design competition in 1981 to create the memorial. Although her design is very fitting, sadly Lin was not a popular choice for the work given her Asian heritage. As she said herself, she probably would not have been picked had the competition been judged with the knowledge of who was behind each submission.

84 Indian title : RAJA

“Raja” (also “rajah”) is a word derived from Sanskrit that is used particularly in India for a monarch or princely ruler. The female form is “rani” (also “ranee”) and is used for a raja’s wife.

85 The second “p” in p.p.m. : PER

Parts per million (ppm)

86 Summary of an easy negotiation? : I CAME, I SAW, I CONCURRED (from “I came, I saw, I conquered”)

The oft-quoted statement “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) is believed by many to have been written by Julius Caesar. The words date back to 47 BCE and refer to the short war between Rome and Pharnaces II of Pontus.

91 Musician Brian : ENO

Brian Eno started his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno’s most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft’s “startup jingle”, the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system is booting up. Eno might have annoyed the Microsoft folks when he stated on a BBC radio show:

I wrote it on a Mac. I’ve never used a PC in my life; I don’t like them.

93 Loire filler : EAU

The Loire is the longest river in France. It is so long that it drains one-fifth of the nation’s land mass. The Loire rises in the southeast, in the Cevennes mountain range, then heads north then due west, emptying into the Bay of Biscay at the city of Nantes. The Loire Valley is home to some of France’s most famous wine production, and includes the wine regions of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Muscadet.

94 Coin in the Potterverse : KNUT

The wizards in the “Harry Potter” universe have a currency consisting of only coins, of which there are three denominations: the gold Galleon, the silver Sickle ans the bronze Knut.

96 Central region of the Roman Empire : ITALIA

Ancient Rome went through three distinct periods. From 753 to 509 BC, Rome was a kingdom founded by the legendary Romulus. From 509 to 27 BC, Rome was a republic. The Roman Republic started with the overthrow of the last monarch Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. He was replaced by two elected consuls who were advised by a senate. The Republic evolved over time, but came to an end when Octavian expanded his power and declared himself “First Citizen”. Octavian effectively became Rome’s first emperor, and took the name “Caesar Augustus”. The “Fall of the Western Roman Empire” took place in the 5th century, formally ending in 476 CE when the last emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed. The Eastern Roman Empire survived as the Byzantine Empire, which was centered on Constantinople.

105 What a truck driver puts on before a date? : SEMI COLOGNE (from “semicolon”)

Back in 1709, an Italian perfume-maker moved to Cologne in Germany. There he invented a new fragrance that he named Eau de Cologne after his newly adopted town. The fragrance is still produced in Cologne, using a secret formulation. However, the terms “Eau de Cologne” and “cologne”, are now used generically.

108 Massive weapon of sci-fi : DEATH STAR

In the “Star Wars” universe, a Death Star is a huge space station that is the size of a moon. A Death Star is armed with a superlaser that can destroy entire planets.

112 Big Apple airport code : LGA

The three big airports serving New York City (NYC) are John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR).

Apparently, the first published use of the term “Big Apple” to describe New York City dates back to 1909. Edward Martin wrote the following in his book “The Wayfarer in New York”:

Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city. . . . It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap.

Over ten years later, the term “big apple” was used as a nickname for racetracks in and around New York City. However, the concerted effort to “brand” the city as the Big Apple had to wait until the seventies and was the work of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau.

116 The main food served at Walden Pond? : MAJOR THOREAU FARE (from “major thoroughfare”)

Henry David Thoreau is a personal hero of mine. Thoreau is best known for his book called “Walden” published in 1854. The book outlines his philosophy of life and details his experiences living in a cabin near Walden Pond just outside Concord, Massachusetts.

124 ___ Minor : URSA

Ursa Minor (Latin for “Smaller Bear”) sits right beside the constellation Draco (Latin for “Dragon”). Ursa Minor used to be considered the wing of Draco, and so was once called “Dragon’s Wing”. The tail of the “Smaller Bear” might also be considered as the handle of a ladle, and so the constellation is often referred to as the Little Dipper.

126 Pops up in France? : PERE

In French, a “père” (father) is a “membre de la famille” (member of the family).

Down

7 Capital of Punjab : LAHORE

Lahore is a large city in Pakistan that is second in size only to Karachi. It is known as the Garden of the Mughals (or in English, Moguls) because of its association with the Mughal Empire. The Mughals ruled much of India from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

Punjab is the most populous province in Pakistan and is home to over half of the country’s citizens. “Punjab” (also “Panjab”) translates as “Five Waters”, a reference to five rivers that form tributaries to the Indus River: Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

10 Flavoring for snack peas : WASABI

Wasabi peas are peas that have been fried and then coated with wasabi powder mixed with sugar, salt and oil. They are crunchy snacks, and a favorite of mine …

11 Galena, e.g. : ORE

Galena is the most commonly used mineral to produce lead. It is a form of lead sulfide. Galena is the state mineral of Missouri and of Wisconsin.

12 “… ___ a lender be” : NOR

In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, Polonius gives some fatherly advice to his son Laertes before the young man heads off to France. Included among the numerous pearls of wisdom is the oft-quoted “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” and “to thine own self be true”.

Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel,
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear ’t that th’ opposèd may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear but few thy voice.
Take each man’s censure but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy—rich, not gaudy,
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

13 Purchase for Wile E. Coyote : TNT

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote was created first, and Road Runner was invented as someone for Wile E. to play off. I love this cartoon; definitely one of the best …

29 Words on an invoice : BILL TO

An invoice is an itemized bill. The term comes from the Middle French “envois” meaning “dispatch (of goods)”. The root verb is “envoyer”, which translates as “to send”.

35 Old strings : LUTES

The lute is a stringed instrument with a long neck and usually a pear-shaped body. It is held and played like a guitar, and was popular from the Middle Ages right through to the late Baroque era. A person who plays the lute can be referred to as a “lutenist”.

49 Angle symbol in geometry : THETA

The Greek letter theta is commonly used in geometry to represent the angle between two lines (say at a corner of a triangle).

54 Comics character often kicked off a table : ODIE

Jon Arbuckle is a fictional character, and the owner of Odie from Jim Davis’s comic strip “Garfield”. Garfield is Arbuckle’s orange tabby cat. Odie is his less-than-smart beagle.

61 Diver’s accouterments : SCUBA

The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) was co-invented by celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

65 Hogwarts potions professor : SNAPE

Severus Snape is a character in the “Harry Potter” novels by J. K. Rowling. He was played by the wonderful Alan Rickman on the big screen.

69 Voice role for Beyoncé in 2019’s “The Lion King” : NALA

In “The Lion King”, Nala is a lioness and the childhood friend of Simba. By the end of the story, Nala and Simba become wedded. “The Lion King” is inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, with Simba representing the title character, and Nala representing Hamlet’s love interest Ophelia.

72 French dialect : CAJUN

The great explorer Verrazzano gave the name “Arcadia” to the coastal land that stretched from north of present day Virginia right up the North American continent to Nova Scotia. The name Arcadia was chosen as it was also the name for a part of Greece that had been viewed as idyllic from the days of classical antiquity. The “Arcadia” name quickly evolved into the word “Acadia” that was used locally here in North America. Much of Acadia was settled by the French in the 1600s, and then in 1710 Acadia was conquered by the British. There followed the French and Indian War after which there was a mass migration of French Acadians, often via the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) to the French colony of Louisiana. The local dialectic pronunciation of the word “Acadian” was “Cajun”, giving the name to the ethnic group for which Louisiana has been home for about 300 years.

90 GPS suggestions: Abbr. : RTES

A global positioning system (GPS) might point out a route (rte.).

97 Some brick houses : IGLOOS

The Inuit word for “house” is “iglu”, which we usually write as “igloo”. The Greenlandic (yes, that’s a language) word for “house” is very similar, namely “igdlo”. The walls of igloos are tremendous insulators, due to the air pockets in the blocks of snow.

100 Leader in yellow journalism and an inspiration for “Citizen Kane” : HEARST

William Randolph Hearst got into publishing when he took over “The San Francisco Examiner” from his father George Hearst. Beyond his work in the newspaper business, William Randolph Hearst was also a politician and represented a district of New York in the US House. His life was the inspiration for the lead role in the 1941 movie “Citizen Kane” with Orson Welles playing the Hearst-like character. If you’re ever driving along the coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco, I’d recommend a stop at Hearst Castle, William Randolph’s magnificent estate located near San Simeon.

102 Simple hydrocarbon : ETHANE

The “smaller” alkanes are gases and are quite combustible. Methane (CH4) is the main component of natural gas, with ethane (C2H6) being the second largest component. Propane (C3H8) is also found in natural gas and is heavy enough to be readily turned into a liquid by compression, for ease of transportation and storage. Butane (C4H10) is also easily liquefied under pressure and can be used as the fuel in cigarette lighters or as the propellant in aerosol sprays. The heavier alkanes are liquids and solids at room temperature.

103 Native New Zealanders : MAORIS

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing mortal humans from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.

104 ___ Rutherford, a.k.a. the Father of Nuclear Physics : ERNEST

By some definitions, New Zealand-born physicist and chemist Ernest Rutherford was the first person to “split the atom”. Rutherford bombarded nitrogen with alpha particles and thereby forced neutrons out of the nucleus of the nitrogen atom. The first intentional nuclear “fission” came decades later in the 1930s, with experiments in which larger nuclei were split into smaller nuclei.

110 Airport grp. : TSA

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

116 The banker in the Beatles’ “Penny Lane” never wears one in the pouring rain (very strange!) : MAC

When I was growing up in Ireland, we had to take our macs to school in case it rained (and it usually did!). “Mac” is short for “Macintosh”, a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric. The coat was named after its inventor, Scotsman Charles Macintosh.

When in their teens, Paul McCartney and John Lennon would often head into the center of Liverpool together on the bus. The convenient place for them to meet was at the end of Penny Lane. Years later, Paul McCartney wrote the song “Penny Lane”, which was a big hit in 1967. “Penny Lane” was released as a double A-side record with “Strawberry Fields Forever” penned by John Lennon. Coincidentally, Strawberry Field was also a real location, not far from Penny Lane in Liverpool. Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army Children’s Home in the garden of which Lennon would play as a child. I don’t think Lennon and McCartney ever really forgot their roots …

117 Middle-earth quaff : ALE

Middle-earth is the setting for J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” series.

“Quaff” is both a verb and a noun. One “quaffs” (takes a hearty drink) of a “quaff” (a hearty drink).

118 Eponymous 2001 #1 album : JLO

“J.Lo” is the nickname of singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. “J.Lo” is also the title of her second studio album that was released in 2001.

120 Coal industry org. : UMW

The United Mine Workers (UMW) is a labor union that represents mine workers (and now other disciplines) in the US and Canada. The UMW was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1890.

121 Tree that starts fires? : FIR

The letters “fir” start the word “fires”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Short strokes : PUTTS
6 Myriad : SLEW
10 Habit : WONT
14 Pieces of work? : ERGS
18 End of oyster season : APRIL
19 Roof part : EAVE
20 “___ Burr, Sir” (“Hamilton” song) : AARON
21 Vault : LEAP
22 Cruise that specializes in baked alaska, e.g.? : SHIP OF THE DESSERT (from “ship of the desert”)
25 Bona ___ : FIDE
26 Kim to Kourtney, or Kourtney to Khloé : SIB
27 Alma mater of George Orwell and Henry Fielding : ETON
28 Friend ___ friend : OF A
29 Quickly go through the seasons, say : BINGE
30 Tiffany lampshade, e.g. : GLASSWORK
33 Like ambitious scientists? : NOBEL-MINDED (from “noble-minded”)
37 Basic skate trick : OLLIE
38 “Yikes!” : EEK!
40 Brewing one’s morning coffee, e.g. : RITUAL
41 Verano, across the Pyrénées : ETE
42 Art ___ : DECO
45 Cause of a shocking Amazon charge? : EEL
47 ___-V (“paste” on a PC) : CTRL
48 Go wrong : ERR
49 How everyone on this floor is feeling? : THE MORALE OF THE STORY (from “the moral of the story”)
55 Lead-in to -ville in children’s literature : WHO-
56 Beer, slangily : SUDS
57 Trim, with “down” : PARE
58 Protected, as feet : SHOD
59 “I saw ___ duck” (classic ambiguous sentence) : HER
60 Long hikes : TREKS
62 Refuse to admit : DENY
64 “My word!” : I SAY!
68 “Our lab studies regular dance moves rather than high-kicking”? : IT’S NOT ROCKETTE SCIENCE (from “it’s not rocket science”)
74 Architect Lin : MAYA
75 Bankroll : FUND
76 Fire man? : SATAN
77 “I see it now” : AHA
78 Lean : LIST
82 Garden plots : BEDS
84 Indian title : RAJA
85 The second “p” in p.p.m. : PER
86 Summary of an easy negotiation? : I CAME, I SAW, I CONCURRED (from “I came, I saw, I conquered”)
91 Musician Brian : ENO
92 Option in an Edit menu : REDO
93 Loire filler : EAU
94 Coin in the Potterverse : KNUT
95 Branch : ARM
96 Central region of the Roman Empire : ITALIA
99 Last in a series, perhaps : NTH
101 Terse summons : SEE ME
105 What a truck driver puts on before a date? : SEMI COLOGNE (from “semicolon”)
108 Massive weapon of sci-fi : DEATH STAR
111 The Oligocene, e.g., in geology : EPOCH
112 Big Apple airport code : LGA
113 Several of them could be used in a row : OARS
114 Dear : HON
115 “___ nobis pacem” (“Grant us peace”: Lat.) : DONA
116 The main food served at Walden Pond? : MAJOR THOREAU FARE (from “major thoroughfare”)
122 End ___ : USER
123 Alnico or chromel : ALLOY
124 ___ Minor : URSA
125 5×5 crosswords, e.g. : MINIS
126 Pops up in France? : PERE
127 Co. heads : CEOS
128 Rough amts. : ESTS
129 Seize (from) : WREST

Down

1 What one does not do when sent to jail : PASS GO
2 Kind of battle : UPHILL
3 Like some customs : TRIBAL
4 Word of advice : TIP
5 ___-mo : SLO
6 Quarrel : SET-TO
7 Capital of Punjab : LAHORE
8 State of stability : EVEN KEEL
9 Tie the knot : WED
10 Flavoring for snack peas : WASABI
11 Galena, e.g. : ORE
12 “… ___ a lender be” : NOR
13 Purchase for Wile E. Coyote : TNT
14 Diminutive : ELFIN
15 Package deliverers of the present day? : REINDEER
16 Fancy gizmos : GADGETRY
17 75+ person? : SPEEDER
20 Regarding : AS FOR
23 Not many : FEW
24 The Phanerozoic, e.g., in geology : EON
29 Words on an invoice : BILL TO
31 Faction : SIDE
32 Apparently does : SEEMS TO
34 Mark indelibly : ETCH
35 Old strings : LUTES
36 Habitat for a mallow : MARSH
39 Not go bad : KEEP
43 With 44-Down, judge’s mandate : COURT
44 See 43-Down : ORDER
46 Imperfect cube : LOADED DIE
49 Angle symbol in geometry : THETA
50 Having a long face, say : HORSY
51 Request from : ASK OF
52 Fuss : FRET
53 Rough housing : TENTS
54 Comics character often kicked off a table : ODIE
55 Impulse : WHIM
61 Diver’s accouterments : SCUBA
63 Thirst (for) : YEARN
65 Hogwarts potions professor : SNAPE
66 Was sore : ACHED
67 MIX, for one : YEAR
69 Voice role for Beyoncé in 2019’s “The Lion King” : NALA
70 Had down : KNEW
71 Serving at a pancake house : STACK
72 French dialect : CAJUN
73 Hastily : IN A RUSH
79 Shout from a lottery winner : I’M RICH!
80 Look after : SEE TO
81 ___ pool : TIDAL
83 Check out : SCAN
86 Resting : IN REPOSE
87 One without a title : COMMONER
88 Do a star turn : SOLO
89 “Great” place to be : OUTDOORS
90 GPS suggestions: Abbr. : RTES
91 Became less severe : EASED UP
97 Some brick houses : IGLOOS
98 On the warpath : ANGRY
100 Leader in yellow journalism and an inspiration for “Citizen Kane” : HEARST
102 Simple hydrocarbon : ETHANE
103 Native New Zealanders : MAORIS
104 ___ Rutherford, a.k.a. the Father of Nuclear Physics : ERNEST
106 Words to a dejected friend : I CARE
107 Down : EAT
109 Domains : AREAS
110 Airport grp. : TSA
116 The banker in the Beatles’ “Penny Lane” never wears one in the pouring rain (very strange!) : MAC
117 Middle-earth quaff : ALE
118 Eponymous 2001 #1 album : JLO
119 Shade : HUE
120 Coal industry org. : UMW
121 Tree that starts fires? : FIR