Constructed by: Rena Cohen
Edited by: Joel Fagliano
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Polygraph
We have a rebus puzzle with LIE in several squares. That “LIE” SPIKES upward in three across-answers, like in a POLYGRAPH readout:
- 53A Test required for all C.I.A. applicants … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme : POLYGRAPH
- 52A 53-Across feature, as seen three times in this puzzle : SPIKE
- 19A Disclaimer on a sale poster : WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
- 26A Actor who played a character with the same first name on “Two and a Half Men” : CHARLIE SHEEN
- 46A Skeptics : NONBELIEVERS
- 17A More slippery : EELIER
- 23A Contradict : BELIE
- 41A First name in student loans : SALLIE
- 5D Metal marble : STEELIE
- 7D Singer/songwriter Goulding : ELLIE
- 33D Half sister of Kim, Khloé and Kourtney : KYLIE
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… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 10m 29s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
6 Animal cry that sounds like a Greek letter : MEW!
The Greek letter mu is the forerunner to our Roman letter M.
18 TV channel showing lots of pitches : HSN
The Home Shopping Network (HSN) was the first national shopping network, and was launched locally as the Home Shopping Club in Florida in 1982. Its first product was a can opener.
24 Save money on one’s commute home, perhaps : SPLIT A CAB
Our verb “to commute”, meaning “to go back and forth to work”, ultimately derives from the Latin “commutare”, meaning “to often change”. Back in the late 1800s, a “commutation ticket” was a season pass, so named because it allowed one to “change” one kind of payment into another. Quite interesting …
26 Actor who played a character with the same first name on “Two and a Half Men” : CHARLIE SHEEN
Charlie Sheen’s real name is Carlos Irwin Estévez, and he is of course the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen. Charlie was the highest paid actor on television in 2010, earning $1.8 million per episode on the sitcom “Two and a Half Men”. Then of course he blew it and got fired from the show amid stories of alcohol and drug abuse and domestic violence. I bet his co-stars were pretty tweaked about the show being canceled, and pretty happy that it was given a second lease of life …
32 Genre influenced by Jamaica’s independence : SKA
Ska originated in Jamaica in the late fifties and was the precursor to reggae music. No one has a really definitive etymology of the term “ska”, but it is likely to be imitative of a sound.
40 Lisbon’s land: Abbr. : POR
Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. It is the westernmost capital city in Europe, and indeed is the westernmost large city on the continent. Lisbon is also the oldest city in Western Europe, and was founded hundreds of years before London, Paris and Rome.
41 First name in student loans : SALLIE
“Sallie Mae” is a nickname for SLM Corporation that was created in 1972 by the US government as the Student Loan Marketing Association. By 2004, the government had severed all its ties with Sallie Mae. Today, SLM is basically a profit-focused lender.
42 Louvre Pyramid architect : PEI
When I. M. Pei became the first foreign architect to work on the Louvre in Paris, he not only designed the famous glass and steel pyramid, but also worked on renovations throughout the museum. His design was very controversial, causing a lot of ill feelings among the public. Eventually, when the work was complete, public opinion became more favorable. Personally, I think it is magnificent, both inside and out.
43 ___ facto : IPSO
“Ipso facto” is Latin, a phrase meaning “by the fact itself”. It describes something that is a direct consequence of a particular act, as opposed to something that is the result of some subsequent event. For example, my father was born in Dublin and was an Irish citizen, ipso facto. My son was born in California and is an Irish citizen by virtue of being the son of an Irish citizen (i.e. “not” ipso facto).
51 One of the four classical elements, along with ignis, aqua and terra : AER
The Greek philosopher Empedocles proposed that there are four elements that made up the universe, namely earth, water, air and fire. Aristotle later proposed a fifth element which he called aether (also “ether”). Aether was the divine substance that made up the stars and planets. We’re still using the term “ether” with a similar meaning.
53 Test required for all C.I.A. applicants … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme : POLYGRAPH
We are most familiar with the word “polygraph” as the generic name for a lie detector instrument. This usage began in 1921, although the term had been around since the end of the 18th century. Back then, a polygraph was a mechanical device used to make multiple copies as something was written or drawn. Famously, Thomas Jefferson used a polygraph to preserve copies of letters that he wrote to correspondents.
57 Major British tabloid, with “The” : … SUN
“The Sun” tabloid newspaper has the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in Britain. “The Sun” was the paper that introduced the infamous “Page 3”, a page almost completely taken up with a photo of a topless model. The feature was finally pulled in 2015, after 40 years.
“Tabloid” is the trademarked name (owned by Burroughs Wellcome) for a “small tablet of medicine”, a name that goes back to 1884. The word “tabloid” had entered into general use to mean a compressed form of anything, and by the early 1900s was used in “tabloid journalism”, which described newspapers that had short, condensed articles and stories printed on smaller sheets of paper.
58 When sudden death can occur, for short : IN OT
In overtime (in OT)
61 Caribbean clock setting: Abbr. : AST
Atlantic Standard Time (AST) is four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. The list of locations that use AST includes Puerto Rico, Bermuda and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
62 New Mexico county or its seat : TAOS
New Mexico’s Taos County was formed in 1852 as one of the nine original counties in the New Mexico Territory.
63 Early bird’s bedtime, maybe : NINE PM
I am often even earlier than those early birds …
64 Baseball players who only bat, for short : DH’S
Baseball’s American League (AL) has allowed a designated hitter (DH) in each team’s lineup since 1973, whereas the National League (NL) only adopted the DH rule in 2022.
66 Boardroom support : EASEL
The term “easel” comes from an old Dutch word meaning “donkey”, would you believe? The idea is that an easel carries its load (an oil painting, say) just as a donkey would be made to carry a load.
Down
1 Cocido or callaloo : STEW
Callaloo is a traditional Caribbean dish that has its roots in West African cuisine. The main ingredient of callaloo is a leafy vegetable, which can vary from region to region. Taro tends to be used in Trinidad, and amaranth elsewhere in the West Indies.
5 Metal marble : STEELIE
A playing marble made from agate is called just that, an agate. Steelies on the other hand, are made from solid steel.
7 Singer/songwriter Goulding : ELLIE
Ellie Goulding is a singer-songwriter from England. One of Goulding’s claims to fame is that she sang at the wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Buckingham Palace in 2011.
9 City that’s absolutely “gorges” : ITHACA
The city of Ithaca sits right at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake in New York State. Named for the Greek island, Ithaca is famous as home to Cornell University, which is located just south of the city.
10 Leaf maker : NISSAN
The Leaf is an electric car made by Nissan that was introduced in 2010. The model name is an acronym standing for “leading environmentally-friendly affordable car”.
13 Mantra chants : OMS
“Om” is a sacred mystic word from the Hindu tradition. It is sometimes used as a mantra, a focus for the mind in meditation.
20 Performer at 2024’s Super Bowl halftime show : USHER
“Usher” is the stage name of R&B singer Usher Terry Raymond IV.
26 Busy Apr. professional : CPA
April 15th wasn’t always Tax Day in the US. The deadline for returns was March 1st from 1913-18, when it was moved to March 15th. Tax Day has been April 15th since 1955.
28 Derides : SCORNS
To deride is to treat with contemptuous mirth. The term comes into English via Old French from the Latin “deridere” meaning “to ridicule”. In turn, “deridere” comes from the prefix “de-” (down) and “”ridere” (to laugh). So, to ridicule or deride is “to laugh down at”.
31 Budget planner, for short : CFO
Chief financial officer (CFO)
33 Half sister of Kim, Khloé and Kourtney : KYLIE
Kylie Jenner is a reality TV star who achieved some level of fame on the show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”.
35 TV character who said “Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them” : SPOCK
Vulcans are an alien race in the “Star Trek” franchise. The most famous (half-) Vulcan is Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy. Spock’s father is a Vulcan, and his mother is human.
36 City name in Genesis : BABEL
We use the word “babel” now to describe a scene of confusion, lifting the term from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The Tower was built in the city of Babylon, and the construction was cursed with a confusion of languages due to the varied origins of all the builders.
41 Elitists : SNOOTS
“Snoot” is a variant of “snout”, and is a word that originated in Scotland. The idea is that someone who is snooty, or “snouty”, tends to look down his or her nose at the rest of the world.
45 N.F.L. franchise that went its first 20 seasons without a single winning record : SAINTS
The New Orleans Saints football team takes its name from the jazz song “When the Saints Go Marching In”, a tune that is very much associated with the city. The team was founded in 1967, on November 1st, which is All Saints’ Day in the Roman Catholic tradition.
48 Home to “star-cross’d lovers” : VERONA
Verona is a city in northern Italy. Famously, William Shakespeare set three of his plays in Verona: “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” and “The Taming of the Shrew”.
Two lovers who are “star-crossed” are ill-fated, thwarted by the stars. The term was coined by William Shakespeare in the prologue to his play “Romeo and Juliet”
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life
50 Urban artist? : KEITH
Keith Urban is a country singer from Australia who was actually born in New Zealand. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1992, and married Australian actress Nicole Kidman in 2006.
51 Longhorn’s college rival : AGGIE
Texas A&M is the seventh largest university in the country, and was the first public higher education institute in the state when it accepted its first students in 1876. The full name of the school was the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (hence “A&M”) and its primary mission used to be the education of males in the techniques of farming and military warfare. That’s quite a combination! Because of the agricultural connection, the college’s sports teams use the moniker “Aggies”. Texas A&M is also home to the George Bush Presidential Library.
The University of Texas at Austin was established back in 1883. UT Austin is known as one of the “Public Ivies”, a publicly-funded university at which a student can get an education comparable to that provided by the Ivy League. The school’s sports teams are known as the Texas Longhorns, named for the Longhorn cattle that is now the official “large animal” of the state of Texas.
54 Philosophical darkness : YIN
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.
56 Web code : HTML
The initialism “HTML” stands for HyperText Markup Language. HTML is the language used to write most Internet web pages (including this one).
59 When doubled, dance move accompanying the Whip : NAE
The Nae Nae is a hip hop dance that is named for the 2013 song “Drop that NaeNae” recorded by We Are Toon. The main move in the dance involves swaying with one hand in the air and one hand down, with both feet firmly planted on the dancefloor. Go on, do it. You know you want to …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Strikes, perhaps : SLAPS
6 Animal cry that sounds like a Greek letter : MEW!
9 Girls, ___ (nonprofit since 1864) : INC
12 Find on the radio : TUNE TO
14 Move, in real estate lingo : RELO
15 Woman on un árbol genealógico : TIA
16 Value : ESTEEM
17 More slippery : EELIER
18 TV channel showing lots of pitches : HSN
19 Disclaimer on a sale poster : WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
23 Contradict : BELIE
24 Save money on one’s commute home, perhaps : SPLIT A CAB
26 Actor who played a character with the same first name on “Two and a Half Men” : CHARLIE SHEEN
29 You can see right through it : PANE
30 Up to ___ : PAR
31 Like nearly everybody on a Reply All thread : CC’ED
32 Genre influenced by Jamaica’s independence : SKA
34 Puts on a Christmas list, say : ASKS FOR
36 Some young studs : BOY TOYS
40 Lisbon’s land: Abbr. : POR
41 First name in student loans : SALLIE
42 Louvre Pyramid architect : PEI
43 ___ facto : IPSO
46 Skeptics : NONBELIEVERS
49 Half of a sprinter’s pair : TRACK SHOE
51 One of the four classical elements, along with ignis, aqua and terra : AER
52 53-Across feature, as seen three times in this puzzle : SPIKE
53 Test required for all C.I.A. applicants … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme : POLYGRAPH
57 Major British tabloid, with “The” : … SUN
58 When sudden death can occur, for short : IN OT
60 “Understood” : I GOT IT
61 Caribbean clock setting: Abbr. : AST
62 New Mexico county or its seat : TAOS
63 Early bird’s bedtime, maybe : NINE PM
64 Baseball players who only bat, for short : DH’S
65 Snide chuckle : HEH
66 Boardroom support : EASEL
Down
1 Cocido or callaloo : STEW
2 Luxuriant : LUSH
3 Like some dog collars : ANTI-BARK
4 Tool used in making applesauce and mashed potatoes : PEELER
5 Metal marble : STEELIE
6 Human-shaped board game piece : MEEPLE
7 Singer/songwriter Goulding : ELLIE
8 Truly awful, with “the” : … WORST
9 City that’s absolutely “gorges” : ITHACA
10 Leaf maker : NISSAN
11 “There’s no way!” : CAN’T BE!
13 Mantra chants : OMS
14 Went door to door for : REPPED
20 Performer at 2024’s Super Bowl halftime show : USHER
22 Wash against, as waves on the shore : LAP AT
25 It fits under a tongue : INSOLE
26 Busy Apr. professional : CPA
27 Contracts : HAS
28 Derides : SCORNS
31 Budget planner, for short : CFO
33 Half sister of Kim, Khloé and Kourtney : KYLIE
35 TV character who said “Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them” : SPOCK
36 City name in Genesis : BABEL
37 Runs : OPERATES
38 “___ outta here!” : YER
39 Female friend, casually : SIS
41 Elitists : SNOOTS
43 “What a shame!” : IT’S SAD!
44 Major media campaign, say : PR PUSH
45 N.F.L. franchise that went its first 20 seasons without a single winning record : SAINTS
47 “Darn it!” : OH POOH!
48 Home to “star-cross’d lovers” : VERONA
50 Urban artist? : KEITH
51 Longhorn’s college rival : AGGIE
54 Philosophical darkness : YIN
55 Decorate, as a baker might : PIPE
56 Web code : HTML
59 When doubled, dance move accompanying the Whip : NAE
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