0325-23 NY Times Crossword 25 Mar 23, Saturday

Constructed by: Robyn Weintraub
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 15m 33s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Like Camelot, where “the snow may never slush upon the hillside” : IDEAL

“Camelot” is a Lerner and Loewe musical based on the legend of King Arthur. The show was first shown on Broadway in 1960 and ran for 873 performances, with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton starring. “Camelot” was made into a very successful film version that was released in 1967 starring Richard Harris as King Arthur and Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere.

6 Fermi, for one : UNIT

The unit of distance called a fermi is pretty small, one quadrillionth of a meter. It is named after Enrico Fermi.

16 Who says “Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t” : TWEEDLEDEE

Tweedledee and Tweedledum are characters in Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There”. Carroll didn’t invent the characters though, as they were already part of a well-known nursery rhyme:

Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel.

18 Only repeat in the Fibonacci sequence : ONE

Leonardo of Pisa was a famous and respected Italian mathematician, also known as simply “Fibonacci”. He is remembered for writing about a number sequence (although he didn’t “discover” it) that later was given the name “Fibonacci sequence”. He wrote about the series of numbers in his book called “Liber Abaci”, a celebrated work that introduced Arabic numerals (i.e. 0-9) to the Western world.

19 Midway point? : GATE

Midway Airport (MDW) started off with just one cinder runway in 1923, and was called Chicago Air Park. By 1927 the airport had expanded and earned the name Chicago Municipal Airport. In 1932 Midway was the world’s busiest airport, a title it held for thirty years. In 1949, in honor of the WWII Battle of Midway, the airport was renamed again to Chicago Midway Airport. Then in 1955, along came Chicago International Airport and all the major airlines started moving their operations over to the newer facility. Today, Midway is a major hub for Southwest.

22 “Breaking Bad” substance : METH

“Meth” is a street name used for the drug methamphetamine, which is also called “crank” and “crystal meth”.

The AMC drama “Breaking Bad” is a well-written show about a high school teacher stricken by lung cancer who turns to a life of crime to make money. It turns out that the teacher has a talent for making high-quality crystal meth. The show was created by Vince Gilligan who had spent many years as a producer and writer of “The X-Files”. There is a “Breaking Bad” spin-off show running on AMC called “Better Call Saul” that focuses on the life of lawyer Saul Goodman. If I’m honest, I enjoyed “Better Call Saul” even more than the original show …

23 Tech for 1970s TV characters Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers : BIONICS

“The Six Million Dollar Man” is a 1970s sci-fi show that starred Lee Majors as the title character Steve Austin. The series is based on a 1972 novel called “Cyborg”.

I much preferred “The Bionic Woman” than the original show, “The Six Million Dollar Man”. Wagner played Jaime Sommers, who was badly injured in a parachute jump. She was treated by implanting robotic devices that gave her speed, strength and exceptional hearing.

24 Common request at a bar : CAN I SEE SOME ID?

Identity document (ID)

30 Wilde thing : WIT

Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer who led a very public life in his adopted home of London. Although he was a prolific writer of many forms of literature, Wilde penned only one novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. He was perhaps more renowned in his own time as a dramatist. Several of his plays are performed regularly today, including “Lady Windermere’s Fan”, “An Ideal Husband” and “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Wilde’s last work was a poem titled “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”, which recounted his time in prison after being convicted of homosexual offenses in 1895 and sentenced to two years’ hard labor. Oscar Wilde died in 1900 at the age of 46 in Paris, destitute.

37 Temple buildings : DORMS

Temple University in Philadelphia was founded in 1888, and started out as a night school offering classes to people of limited means who had to hold down jobs during the day. These students earned themselves the nickname of “night owls”, leading to the use of “Owls” for Temple’s athletic teams.

39 Tech for time travel in “Back to the Future” : FLUX CAPACITOR

In the fun 1985 movie “Back to the Future”, Marty McFly finds himself back in 1955, and is trying to get back to HIS future, 1985. But on the other hand, 1985 is really Marty’s present, before he went back in time. Why does time travel have to be so complicated …?

43 What an actor might do before the evening show : MATINEE

“Matinée” is a French word used to describe a musical entertainment held during the daytime. “Matinée” is derived from the word “matin”, meaning “morning”, although here the term is used in the sense of “daylight”.

45 Departure announcement? : OBIT

Our word “obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”. The Latin term was used for “record of the death of a person”, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

47 Co-star and co-writer of “Bridesmaids” : WIIG

Kristen Wiig is a comic actress who appears on “Saturday Night Live”. She also made an appearance on the first season of Spike TV’s quirky “The Joe Schmo Show”, playing “Dr. Pat”. More recently, she co-wrote and starred in the 2011 hit film “Bridesmaids”, and co-starred in the 2016 reboot of “Ghostbusters”.

“Bridesmaids” is a 2011 comedy movie co-written by and starring Kristen Wiig. I wasn’t crazy about this film until Chris O’Dowd turned up as a traffic cop. Wiig and O’Dowd were great together, I thought. Pity about the rest of the movie …

48 Band with the 1991 hit “Shiny Happy People” : REM

R.E.M. was a rock band from Athens, Georgia that formed in 1980. Apparently, the name “R.E.M.” was chosen randomly from a dictionary.

56 Software surprises named for holiday treats : EASTER EGGS

In a film, book, computer program (or even a crossword!), an “Easter egg” is a hidden message or inside joke that is left intentionally during production. The term “Easter egg” is used for such a device as it evokes the idea of an Easter egg hunt. You can check out thousands of such Easter eggs at www.eeggs.com.

57 Offering at a shrine, perhaps : YEN

The Japanese yen is the third-most traded currency in the world, after the US dollar and the euro.

58 The cat’s pajamas : TOPS

There was a whole series of phrases involving animals that developed in the 1920s, with all designed to indicate a superlative. Some are still around today, such as “the cat’s pajamas” and “the bee’s knees”. Others didn’t last too long, e.g. “the eel’s ankle” and “the snake’s hip”.

Down

3 Bit of pentathlon equipment : EPEE

The original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic games consisted of a foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus. When a new pentathlon was created as a sport for the modern Olympic Games, it was given the name the “modern pentathlon”. First introduced in 1912, the modern pentathlon consists of:

  1. pistol shooting
  2. épée fencing
  3. 200m freestyle swimming
  4. show jumping
  5. 3km cross-country running

6 Advice from a sci-fi mentor : USE THE FORCE

The Force is a metaphysical power much cited in all of the “Star Wars” movies. We may even hear someone in real life say “May the Force be with you”. Fans of the movie franchise even celebrate May 4th every year as Star Wars Day, using the pun “May the 4th be with you”!

7 Figure descending a staircase in a Duchamp painting : NUDE

Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose works are associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. One of his most celebrated “works” is simply what he called “readymade” art, a urinal which he titled “Fountain”. Even though this work is considered to be “a major landmark in 20th century art”, the original that was submitted for exhibition was never actually displayed and had been lost forever. Replicas were commissioned by Duchamp, and are on display in many museums around the world. I have no further comment …

9 Club beginnings? : TEE TIMES

Those would be golf clubs, I guess …

11 Ancient Nahuatl speaker : AZTEC

Nahuatl is a group of languages spoken mainly in Central Mexico. Historically, Nahuatl was known as “Aztec”.

12 House of Lords members : PEERS

The UK Parliament is divided into two houses, with the upper house known as the House of Lords and the lower house as the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons (MPs) are elected, but most new members of the House of Lords are appointed. Historically, a large proportion of the membership of the upper house were hereditary peers, but recent legislative changes are reducing the numbers who can sit in the House of Lords by virtue of birthright.

15 Dweller on the Musandam Peninsula : OMANI

The Musandam peninsula juts out into the Strait of Hormuz, at the entry to the Persian Gulf. The peninsula is Omani territory, even though it is separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates (making the Musandam peninsula an “exclave” of Oman). The catamaran ferry service running from Musandam and the Omani capital of Muscat is reportedly the fastest passenger ferry in the world.

21 Certain deer : ROES

Roe deer are found mainly in Europe. They would be the deer shown on television and in movies when Robin Hood was out hunting in Sherwood Forest.

22 Facility that deals with change : MINT

Mint marks are inscribed on coins to indicate where the coin was minted. In the US, the current mint marks are:

  • “P” for the Philadelphia Mint
  • “D” for the Denver Mint
  • “S” for the San Francisco Mint
  • “W” for the West Point Mint

24 Home to the world’s smallest bird, the bee hummingbird, which measures just 2.25″ : CUBA

Hummingbirds are the smallest of all the birds. The bee hummingbird is native to Cuba and weighs less than a tenth of an ounce and is about two inches in length!

27 It’s at the end of “Oedipus” : SIGMA

That letter sigma would be at the end of the Greek name “Oedipus”.

Sigma (Σ) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is the one used for an “ess” sound, equivalent to our letter S. Sigma is used in mathematics to represent a summation, the adding together of a sequence of numbers.

31 Shakespearean role with more lines than the title character : IAGO

Despite being portrayed as a villain in William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Iago is one of the most complex characters in the play. He is known for his Machiavellian tactics, manipulating the other characters to achieve his selfish goals.

37 “Saturday Night Live” alum Nora : DUNN

Nora Dunn is a comedian best known as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live”. She is the sister of actor Kevin Dunn, who is known for many supporting roles including Chief of Staff Ben Cafferty in TV’s “Veep”.

40 Renaissance Faire title : LIEGE

A liege was a feudal lord, one to whom service or allegiance was owed under feudal law. “Liege” was also the term used for one who owed allegiance or service to a lord. Apparently the term is influenced by the Latin verb “ligare” meaning “to tie, bind”. So, I guess both lord and servant were “bound” to each other.

A Renaissance faire (Ren faire) is an outdoor public event in which many participants recreate historical settings by dressing in costume. Usually held in North America, many such fairs are set during the English Renaissance, and more particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The definition of “Renaissance” is often stretched quite a bit, with fairs also set during the reign of Henry VIII, and maybe even during medieval times.

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42 Panatelas, e.g. : CIGARS

A panatela is a long thin cigar. It is about the length of a “regular” cigar, but is not much wider than a cigarette.

44 Musical with a preteen title character : ANNIE

The Broadway musical “Annie” is based on the Harold Gray comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”. There have been two film adaptations of the musical. Both were really quite successful, including one released in 1982, directed by John Huston of all people. It was his only ever musical.

47 The deceptively named tarantula hawk, for one : WASP

The tarantula hawk is a type of wasp. The wasp takes its name from its food, namely tarantula larvae.

48 Capital on the Daugava River : RIGA

Riga is the capital city of Latvia. The historical center of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, declared as such because of the city’s magnificent examples of Art Nouveau architecture. In fact, Riga has the largest collection of Art Nouveau buildings in the world, with over 750 buildings in the city center designed in the style.

53 Principle behind yin and yang : TAO

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Like Camelot, where “the snow may never slush upon the hillside” : IDEAL
6 Fermi, for one : UNIT
10 Sharp, shrill sound : YAP
13 “Or don’t … whatever works for you” : NO PRESSURE
15 Advance slowly : OOZE
16 Who says “Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t” : TWEEDLEDEE
17 Modern meeting setting : MUTE
18 Only repeat in the Fibonacci sequence : ONE
19 Midway point? : GATE
20 Commercial fellow : TRADER
22 “Breaking Bad” substance : METH
23 Tech for 1970s TV characters Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers : BIONICS
24 Common request at a bar : CAN I SEE SOME ID?
28 What can follow follow, sneak or check : … UP ON
29 Ticket prices? : FINES
30 Wilde thing : WIT
33 Not just a little sip : BELT
34 Fake : BOGUS
35 Language whose alphabet was created by King Ramkhamhaeng : THAI
36 Certain hacker : AXE
37 Temple buildings : DORMS
38 Info for a job posting : WAGE
39 Tech for time travel in “Back to the Future” : FLUX CAPACITOR
43 What an actor might do before the evening show : MATINEE
45 Departure announcement? : OBIT
46 Mean : INTEND
47 Co-star and co-writer of “Bridesmaids” : WIIG
48 Band with the 1991 hit “Shiny Happy People” : REM
51 Tight : SNUG
52 “Out of my way, I’ll handle this” : STAND ASIDE
55 Something to get rid of once it’s worn : TIRE
56 Software surprises named for holiday treats : EASTER EGGS
57 Offering at a shrine, perhaps : YEN
58 The cat’s pajamas : TOPS
59 Brings around : SWAYS

Down

1 A big fan of : INTO
2 Eat quickly : DOWN
3 Bit of pentathlon equipment : EPEE
4 “There you ___!” : ARE
5 Some pigeon perches : LEDGES
6 Advice from a sci-fi mentor : USE THE FORCE
7 Figure descending a staircase in a Duchamp painting : NUDE
8 Red state : IRE
9 Club beginnings? : TEE TIMES
10 Response to a wild story : YOU DID WHAT?!
11 Ancient Nahuatl speaker : AZTEC
12 House of Lords members : PEERS
14 Old school tablet : SLATE
15 Dweller on the Musandam Peninsula : OMANI
21 Certain deer : ROES
22 Facility that deals with change : MINT
23 Some video game rewards : BONUS POINTS
24 Home to the world’s smallest bird, the bee hummingbird, which measures just 2.25″ : CUBA
25 Crowning moment : APEX
26 Traffic sign near a jughandle, maybe : NO LEFT TURN
27 It’s at the end of “Oedipus” : SIGMA
31 Shakespearean role with more lines than the title character : IAGO
32 Story : TIER
34 Superfan’s purchase : BOXED SET
35 Yo-yo : TWIT
37 “Saturday Night Live” alum Nora : DUNN
40 Renaissance Faire title : LIEGE
41 Tolerate : ABIDE
42 Panatelas, e.g. : CIGARS
43 Like many pools at the base of waterfalls : MISTY
44 Musical with a preteen title character : ANNIE
47 The deceptively named tarantula hawk, for one : WASP
48 Capital on the Daugava River : RIGA
49 Not relaxed : EDGY
50 Crew area on a cruise ship : MESS
53 Principle behind yin and yang : TAO
54 Quilt, say : SEW