0323-19 NY Times Crossword 23 Mar 19, Saturday

Constructed by: David Steinberg
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 9m 19s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8 Game show with a moving set : CASH CAB

“Cash Cab” is a fun TV game show that originated in the UK and is now shown all over the world, including here in North America. In the US version, contestants are picked up in a cab in New York City and asked questions during their ride.

16 Juice brand owned by Minute Maid : ODWALLA

Odwalla is a company in Half Moon Bay (just south of San Francisco) that sells fruit juices, smoothies and energy bars.

17 Pacific land west of Fiji : VANUATU

The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation in the South Pacific. The country became independent in 1980 after having suffered through Spanish, French and British rule.

18 Tiki bar orders : MAI TAIS

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts Orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

The world’s first tiki bar was called “Don the Beachcomber”, and was opened in L.A. in 1933 by Ernest Gantt (also known as “Donn Beach”). The bar became famous for its exotic rum cocktails. Gantt was called to serve in WWII, and the business expanded dramatically under his ex-wife’s management so that there was a 160-restaurant chain waiting for Gantt when he returned stateside.

19 Stick into a post, say : EMBED

One might embed a video in a blog post, for example.

20 Office room: Abbr. : STE

Suite (ste.)

22 Ideas that spread : MEMES

A meme (short for “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

23 Some old delivery trucks : REOS

The REO Motor Company was founded by Ransom Eli Olds (hence the name REO). The company made cars, trucks and buses, and was in business from 1905 to 1975 in Lansing, Michigan. Among the company’s most famous models were the REO Royale and the REO Flying Cloud.

30 Ore. setting for part of the year : PST

Pacific Standard Time (PST)

33 Japanese bowlful : SOBA NOODLES

Soba is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. In Japan, the word “soba” tends to be used to describe any thin noodle, in contrast with the thicker noodles that are called udon.

35 Loser in the 1872 presidential election : HORACE GREELEY

Horace Greeley was a newspaper editor and politician. In the media industry, Greeley founded and edited the “New York Tribune”, which was a very influential paper in the 1800s. In an 1865 editorial he wrote the famous words “Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country.” As a politician, Greeley ran for US President in the 1872 election. He lost that election to Ulysses S. Grant in a landslide. Greeley died not long after the votes were cast, making him the only presidential candidate to have died prior to the counting of electoral college votes.

37 Trendy jeans material : DISTRESSED DENIM

Nîmes is a lovely city in the south of France. One of the claims to fame of the city is the invention of denim fabric. The French phrase “de Nîmes” (from Nimes) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Gênes” (blue of Genoa) gives us our word “jeans”.

40 Nereids’ home : SEA

In Greek mythology, Nereus and Doris had fifty daughters, and these were called the sea nymphs or nereids. The nereids often hung around with Poseidon and were generally very helpful creatures to sailors in distress. Mainly they were to be found in the Aegean, where they lived with their father in a cave in the deep. Some of the more notable names of the nereids were: Agave, Asia, Calypso, Doris, Erato, Eunice and Ione.

46 Female flower parts : PISTILS

The stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower. The part of the stamen known as the anther sits on a stalk called the filament that carries the pollen. The pollen is picked up by insects, especially bees, who then transfer pollen from flower to flower. The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and it accepts the pollen.

Down

3 Fellow who might go “Squee!” : FANBOY

Fanboys and fangirls are fans, but fans of a very specific subject in a particular field. So, someone might be a fan of home computing, but an Intel fanboy would have an enthusiasm for CPUs made by Intel.

4 T T T : TRUES

An answer (ans.) might be true (T) or false (F).

5 Steinbeck’s Ma or Pa : JOAD

John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” is set during the Great Depression. The novel tells the story of the Joad family from Oklahoma, farmers who had to leave their home and head for California due to economic hardship.

7 Rosé relatives : BLUSH WINES

The term “blush” has only been used in the world of wine since the late seventies, and is really only used here in the US. Today we think of a blush as a relatively sweet pink wine, and a rosé as something more dry.

9 Lovelace of computing fame : ADA

Ada Lovelace’s real name and title was Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. She was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the poet. Lovelace was fascinated by mathematics and wrote about the work done by Charles Babbage in building his groundbreaking mechanical computer. In some of her notes, she proposed an algorithm for Babbage’s machine to compute Bernoulli numbers. This algorithm is recognized by many as the world’s first computer program and so Lovelace is sometimes called the first “computer programmer”. There is a computer language called “Ada” that was named in her honor. The Ada language was developed from 1977 to 1983 for the US Department of Defense.

13 Ones supposedly eligible for, but never yet seen in, the Miss Universe pageant : ALIENS

The Miss Universe beauty pageant was founded in 1952. The organization running the contest was bought by Donald Trump in 1996.

14 Kind of hound : BASSET

The basset hound wouldn’t be my favorite breed of dog, to be honest. Basset hounds have a great sense of smell with an ability to track a scent that is second only to that of the bloodhound. The name “basset” comes from the French word for “rather low”, a reference to the dog’s short legs.

21 Pugs, e.g. : TOY DOGS

The toy group of dogs is made up of the smallest breeds. The smallest of the small breeds are sometimes called teacup breeds.

The pug is a breed of dog of Chinese origin. Our current family pet is a boxer/pug cross, and is a good-looking mutt!

24 It’s fit for a king : PALACE

Our word “palace” ultimately derives from the Palatine Hill in Rome, “Mons Palatinus” in Latin. The original “palace” was the house of Augustus Caesar, which stood on the Palatine Hill.

31 Instruction in a Word menu : SORT

Microsoft Word was introduced in 1981 as Multi-Tool Word for Xenix (Xenix is a discontinued version of the Unix operating system). I used to be a power user of Word, but now use Google Drive for all of my word processing needs.

32 Strikeout mark : DELE

“Dele” is the editorial instruction to delete something from a document, and is often written in red.

36 Info for an investor : YIELD

In the world of finance and investing, the yield curve for a particular investment is the relation between the interest rate that can be locked in, and the length of time the loan will be in place. Typically, the longer you are willing to lend your money (say by buying a government security), then the higher interest rate the borrower is willing to pay. So, the yield tends to move upwards over time.

37 Prom V.I.P.s : DJS

The world’s first radio disc jockey (DJ) was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his debut broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, Newby started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.

38 “No ___!” : MAS

“No mas!” translates from Spanish as “no more!”.

42 Like a retired prof. : EMER

“Emeritus” (female form “emerita”, and plural “emeriti”) is a term in the title of some retired professionals, particularly those from academia. Originally an emeritus was a veteran soldier who had served his time. The term comes from the Latin verb “emerere” meaning to complete one’s service.

43 Game that becomes another game when its last two letters are switched : POLO

The sport of polo originated in Iran, possibly before the 5th century BC. Polo was used back them primarily as a training exercise for cavalry units.

The more correct name for the game of pool is “pocket billiards”. The designation “pool” arose after pocket billiards became a common feature in “pool halls”, places where gamblers “pooled” their money to bet on horse races.

44 Most fit to fight : ONE-A

The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System (SSS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).

45 Breathers for kindergarten teachers : NAPS

“Kindergarten” is a German term, one translating as “children’s garden”. The term was coined by the German education authority Friedrich Fröbel in 1837, when he used it as the name for his play and activity institute that he created for young children to use before they headed off to school. His thought was that children should be nourished educationally, like plants in a garden.

46 Mug shot subject : PERP

Perpetrator (perp)

The verb “to mug” means to make an exaggerated facial expression. The term comes from mugs used to drink beer (called Toby mugs) that are the made in the shape of heads with grotesque expressions. “Mug” can also be a noun meaning “face”.

49 Lose suddenly : TANK

Apparently, the first use of the verb “to tank” to mean “to lose or fail” can be pinpointed quite precisely. Tennis great Billie Jean King used the verb in that sense in an interview with “Life” magazine in 1967, with reference to male players. A more specific use of “tanking” in recent years is “deliberately losing” a contest.

51 Highway overseer, for short : DOT

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 One, in a one-two punch : LEFT JAB
8 Game show with a moving set : CASH CAB
15 Doing great : ON A ROLL
16 Juice brand owned by Minute Maid : ODWALLA
17 Pacific land west of Fiji : VANUATU
18 Tiki bar orders : MAI TAIS
19 Stick into a post, say : EMBED
20 Office room: Abbr. : STE
22 Ideas that spread : MEMES
23 Some old delivery trucks : REOS
24 Commitment-___ : PHOBE
26 Buggy locale : DUNE
27 Artful : SLY
28 Some deal with trust issues : LAWYERS
30 Ore. setting for part of the year : PST
31 What a recovering hospital patient may move to : SOLID FOOD
33 Japanese bowlful : SOBA NOODLES
35 Loser in the 1872 presidential election : HORACE GREELEY
37 Trendy jeans material : DISTRESSED DENIM
39 Speaking part : JAW
40 Nereids’ home : SEA
41 Take time to consider : SLEEP ON
46 Female flower parts : PISTILS
50 Ten-year-old business, say : LEMONADE STAND
52 Futuristic travel method : TELEPORTING
53 Dish that may be glazed or served with cooked apples : ROAST PORK

Down

1 Intimates : LOVERS
2 Smooth finish : ENAMEL
3 Fellow who might go “Squee!” : FANBOY
4 T T T : TRUES
5 Steinbeck’s Ma or Pa : JOAD
6 Music genre prefix : ALT-
7 Rosé relatives : BLUSH WINES
8 Be more important than : COME BEFORE
9 Lovelace of computing fame : ADA
10 1960s fad dance, with “the” : SWIM
11 Criticized severely, with “on” : HATED
12 Hush one’s mouth : CLAM UP
13 Ones supposedly eligible for, but never yet seen in, the Miss Universe pageant : ALIENS
14 Kind of hound : BASSET
21 Pugs, e.g. : TOY DOGS
24 It’s fit for a king : PALACE
25 Wore down : ERODED
28 Relating to part of the lung : LOBAR
29 Leather-___ shoes : SOLED
31 Instruction in a Word menu : SORT
32 Strikeout mark : DELE
33 “What a nice thing to say!” : SO SWEET!
34 Picking up on : SENSING
35 Group email opener : HI, ALL
36 Info for an investor : YIELD
37 Prom V.I.P.s : DJS
38 “No ___!” : MAS
42 Like a retired prof. : EMER
43 Game that becomes another game when its last two letters are switched : POLO
44 Most fit to fight : ONE-A
45 Breathers for kindergarten teachers : NAPS
46 Mug shot subject : PERP
47 Which ___ say : IS TO
48 Come out of a deep sleep : STIR
49 Lose suddenly : TANK
51 Highway overseer, for short : DOT