0318-22 NY Times Crossword 18 Mar 22, Friday

Constructed by: Claire Rimkus & Brooke Husic
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 11m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Longtime cosmetics brand : AVON

In 1886, a young man called David McConnell was selling books door-to-door. To enhance his sales numbers he was giving out free perfume to the ladies of the houses that he visited. Seeing as his perfume was more popular than his books, he founded the California Perfume Company in New York City and started manufacturing and selling across the country. The company name was changed to Avon in 1939, and the famous “Avon Calling” marketing campaign was launched in 1954.

16 Things stuck with toothpicks : BLTS

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

21 Many a Tumblr share : REPOST

Tumblr.com is a website that mainly hosts private blogs.

23 Lead-in to -logical : THEO-

Theology is the study of religious faith. The term comes from the Greek “theos” meaning “god” and “-logos” meaning “treating of”.

26 It might come with a spoon straw : ICEE

Icee and Slurpee are brand names of slushy drinks. Ugh …

40 ___-pitch : SLO

Slo-pitch (or “slow-pitch”) is a type of softball.

41 Island that’s part of Maui County : LANAI

Lanai is the sixth largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Lanai was first spotted by Europeans just a few days after Captain Cook was killed on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1779. In 1922, the Hawaiian Pineapple Company bought the whole island of Lanai and turned most of it into the world’s largest pineapple plantation. Since then, Lanai has been known as “The Pineapple Island”. Today, 98% of the island is owned by Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, and 2% is owned by the State of Hawaii.

Maui County is pretty unusual. It is made up of four islands: Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai and Molokai (well, most of Molokai).

46 Soul seller : KIA

The Kia Soul is a compact car produced in South Korea, although it was designed by Kia here in the US, in Irvine, California. Yep, the Kia Soul is made in Seoul …

47 Pants: Ger. : HOSE

The word “hose” meaning “covering for the leg” has the same roots as the contemporary German word “Hose” meaning “trousers, pants”.

52 Courts of sorts : ATRIA

In modern architecture, an atrium (plural “atria” or “atriums”) is a large open space usually in the center of a building and extending upwards to the roof. The original atrium was an open court in the center of an Ancient Roman house. One could access most of the enclosed rooms of the house from the atrium.

58 Sum preceder : ERGO

The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”. Anything pertaining to the philosophy of Descartes can be described by the adjective “Cartesian”.

61 “Twilight,” for one : SAGA

“The Twilight Saga” is a series of films based on the “Twilight” series of books by Stephenie Meyer. They’re all about vampires. I don’t do vampires …

63 Thick noodle : UDON

Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisines such as tempura.

65 Cross products : PENS

A. T. Cross is a company that claims to be the oldest manufacturer of fine pens. Cross was founded in 1846 in Providence, Rhode Island by one Richard Cross. Richard passed the company on to his son Alonzo T. Cross, who gave it the current name.

Down

2 Key for a trumpet : VALVE

We get our word “trumpet”, describing the brass instrument, from the Old French word “trompe”. A “trompe” was a long, tube-like instrument, and a “trompette” was a smaller version.

8 The musical “Come From Away” has one : ACT

“Come from Away” is a 2013 musical that is based on the true story of what happened when 38 planes were ordered to land on the island of Newfoundland following the 9/11 attacks in the US. After the planes landed at Gander airport, the small town of Gander had to cope with almost 7,000 stranded passengers, a number that was about double the town’s population.

11 “The Walking Dead” role : ENID

“The Walking Dead” is a horror television show made by AMC that is based on a comic book series of the same name. There are lots of flesh-eating zombies featured, so I won’t be caught “dead” watching it …

13 Oregon college whose mascot is a griffin : REED

The legendary creature called a griffin has the body, tail and back legs of a lion, and the head, wings and front feet/talons of an eagle.

27 Ingredient in some mole : CACAO

Mole sauce comes in various guises. “Mole negro” includes everyone’s favorite ingredient, namely chocolate.

38 They may emit as many as 200 beeps per second : BATS

Echolocation, when used by animals, is known as biosonar. The best-known example of an animal using biosonar is probably the bat, although not all species of bat use sounds to locate objects.

44 Indigenous religion of Japan : SHINTO

It is perhaps best not to describe Shinto as a religion, but more as a “spirituality of the Japanese people”, a spirituality that encompasses folklore, history and mythology. Having said that, “Shinto” translates literally as “Way of the gods”. Most people in Japan who are described as practicing Shinto, also practice Buddhism.

50 Encourage, maybe too much : EGG ON

The verb “to edge” has been used to mean to incite, to urge on, from the 16th century. Somewhere along the way “edge” was mistakenly replaced with “egg”, giving us our term “to egg on” meaning “to goad”.

52 Short courses? : APPS

Appetizer (app)

56 Store with a three-syllable name in four letters : IKEA

The IKEA furniture chain was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17-years-old. IKEA is an acronym standing for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.

57 Gym membership, maybe : PERK

Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed in ancient Greece.

60 Shortening in a recipe : TSP

Teaspoon (tsp.)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Longtime cosmetics brand : AVON
5 Dematerialize : DISAPPEAR
14 De segunda ___ (secondhand: Sp.) : MANO
15 Surest shot : BEST CHANCE
16 Things stuck with toothpicks : BLTS
17 “Don’t rush!” : ONE AT A TIME!
18 Like the more interesting twin, some would say : EVIL
19 Power ___ : USER
20 Allied (with) : SIDED
21 Many a Tumblr share : REPOST
23 Lead-in to -logical : THEO-
25 Articulated : PUT
26 It might come with a spoon straw : ICEE
28 Attractively bold self-assurance, casually : SWAG
32 ___ Bryant, 20th-century singer/civil rights activist : JOYCE
34 Do most of the work for, as a team : CARRY
36 Long ___ : AGO
37 Not exactly a priority : ON THE BACK BURNER
40 ___-pitch : SLO
41 Island that’s part of Maui County : LANAI
42 Word with rock or hard : … CANDY
43 Set of eight for most spiders : EYES
45 Bring (out) : TROT
46 Soul seller : KIA
47 Pants: Ger. : HOSE
49 Program : SYSTEM
52 Courts of sorts : ATRIA
55 “Future Nostalgia” singer Dua ___ : LIPA
58 Sum preceder : ERGO
59 Acknowledgment that another person is at least partly right : POINT TAKEN
61 “Twilight,” for one : SAGA
62 March participants, maybe : PROTESTERS
63 Thick noodle : UDON
64 “Not literally” : SO TO SPEAK
65 Cross products : PENS

Down

1 Ale category : AMBER
2 Key for a trumpet : VALVE
3 Stretching to see just a teensy bit better, perhaps : ON TIPPY-TOE
4 Pretty darn good : NO SLOUCH
5 Winter homes, for some : DENS
6 Clear indication? : I SEE
7 Basics to build with : STARTER KIT
8 The musical “Come From Away” has one : ACT
9 What a rebellious teenager may be going through : PHASE
10 Spots for grills : PATIOS
11 “The Walking Dead” role : ENID
12 Height : ACME
13 Oregon college whose mascot is a griffin : REED
15 Undercard listing : BOUT
22 Symbol of strength : STEEL
24 Garden variety? : HERB
26 “Tell me about it!” : I CAN RELATE
27 Ingredient in some mole : CACAO
29 Exchange words : WANNA TRADE?
30 Let develop, in a way : AGED
31 Sensational, as certain details : GORY
32 Filipino national hero ___ Rizal : JOSE
33 Singular : ONLY
35 Eliciting an “Ick!” : YUCKY
38 They may emit as many as 200 beeps per second : BATS
39 Elevates : RAISES UP
44 Indigenous religion of Japan : SHINTO
48 Music/comedy duo Garfunkel and ___ : OATES
49 ___ doute (definitely: Fr.) : SANS
50 Encourage, maybe too much : EGG ON
51 Sounds that might accompany foot-dragging : MOANS
52 Short courses? : APPS
53 Spanish wine region named for an animal : TORO
54 Laughfest : RIOT
56 Store with a three-syllable name in four letters : IKEA
57 Gym membership, maybe : PERK
60 Shortening in a recipe : TSP