0430-21 NY Times Crossword 30 Apr 21, Friday


Constructed by: Kate Hawkins
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 9m 20s

Bill’s errors: 2

  • SCHWINN (Schwann)
  • PIKACHU (Pakachu)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Mason jar, in a pinch : VASE

Mason jars were invented in 1858 in Philadelphia, by a tinsmith named John Landis Mason.

5 Brogues, e.g. : DRESS SHOES

A brogue is more commonly called a wing tip here in the US, I think. The shoe design originated in Ireland and Scotland, and “brog” the Irish word (and similar Scottish word) for shoe gives rise to the name. The brogue/wingtip design includes decorative perforations in the leather uppers. The toe cap of a brogue curves back in a shape that suggests the tip of a bird’s wing, hence the alternative name.

15 Corp. debuts : IPOS

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

41 Comportment : MIEN

One’s mien is one’s bearing or manner. “Mien” shares the same etymological root as our word “demeanor”.

42 Something built with curls, informally : BICEP

The biceps muscle is made up of two bundles of muscle, both of which terminate at the same point near the elbow. The heads of the bundles terminate at different points on the scapula or shoulder blade. “Biceps” is Latin for “two-headed”.

44 Top-flight destination : ATTIC

An attic or loft is a room or space located below the roof of a building. The term “attic” is a shortened form of “attic story”, the uppermost story or level of a house. This term “attic story” originally applied to a low, decorative level built on top of the uppermost story behind a building’s decorative facade. This use of decoration at the top of buildings was common in ancient Greece, and was particularly important in the Attica style. That Attica style was so called because it originated in the historical region of Attica that encompassed the city of Athens. And that’s how our attics are linked to ancient Greece.

47 Bike brand : SCHWINN

Schwinn is an American bicycle company that was founded in Chicago in 1895. The founder was Ignaz Schwinn, a German-born mechanical engineer. Schwinn dominated the market for domestic bicycles in the fifties, helped along by hefty tariffs imposed on imported cycles by the Eisenhower administration.

51 Cheer made with beer : SKOAL!

“Skoal” is a Scandinavian toast that has roots in the old Norse word “skaal” meaning “cup”.

53 Appropriate name for that woman’s husband? : HERMAN

Herman is her man.

60 Muse of lyric poetry : ERATO

In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of lyric poetry. She is often depicted with a wreath of myrtle and roses, and playing a lyre.

61 Sign before merging : LANE CLOSED

The “zipper merge” or “late merge” is encouraged by most traffic authorities when two lanes of traffic are merging into one. The alternative “early merge”, where cars move out of the lane that is closing before reaching the merge point, tends to be discouraged. The favored technique is to use both lanes until the merge point, and then alternate (zipper) from each lane through the merge itself. That said, one should always obey whatever instructions are given by the traffic authorities at the scene. And I know, I know … a lot of people think it rude to merge late …

65 Secondary gig : SIDE HUSTLE

Musicians use “gig” to describe a job, a performance. The term originated in the early 1900s in the world of jazz. The derivative phrase “gig economy” applies to a relatively recent phenomenon where workers find themselves jumping from temporary job to temporary job, from gig to gig.

66 Captain who says “I am not what you call a civilized man!” : NEMO

In the 1954 movie “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, Captain Nemo goes down with his ship. In the novel by Jules Verne, the fate of Nemo and his crew isn’t quite so cut and dry, although the inference is perhaps that they did indeed head for Davy Jones’ Locker.

68 Chile’s Nevado ___ Cruces National Park : TRES

Nevado Tres Cruces is a massif in the Andes with two main peaks. The highest summit lies right on the border between Argentina and Chile.

Down

4 Biltmore or Hearst Castle : ESTATE

Biltmore House is a magnificent mansion located near Asheville, North Carolina. It was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II in the late 1800s. Biltmore is still privately owned, and is the largest privately owned residence in the whole country. The house is now open to the public. My wife and I wanted to visit the estate not too long ago but, to be honest, we decided against it as we found the entrance fee a little steep ($69 per person for a self-guided tour).

Hearst Castle is a magnificent mansion and estate on the California coast near the town of San Simeon. Hearst Castle was built over many years, between 1919 and 1947, for William Randolph Hearst the newspaper magnate. If you’re ever in the area, I thoroughly recommend spending a few hours touring the house and grounds. It has to be seen to be believed …

5 Corporate alias abbr. : DBA

Doing business as (DBA)

6 One of the Castros : RAUL

Raul Castro is the younger brother of Fidel Castro. Raul took over as President of Cuba in 2008, when Fidel stepped aside.

7 Davis of “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” : ESSIE

Essie Davis is an actress from the island of Tasmania in Australia.

8 Part of an OSHA inspection : SITE VISIT

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

9 Uses a crystal ball : SCRIES

To descry is to catch sight of, to discern. The derivative verb “to scry” is used to mean “to see images that reveal the past or foretell the future”.

10 Like books for Project Gutenberg : SCANNED

Project Gutenberg is a volunteer program that started in 1971 with the aim of digitizing and archiving cultural works of significance. The collection of well over 50,000 works comprises the full text of public domain books in ebook format.

11 “Open the pod bay doors, ___” (classic movie line) : HAL

In Arthur C. Clarke’s “Space Odyssey” (famously adapted for the big screen as “2001: A Space Odyssey”) the computer system that went rogue was called HAL 9000, or simply “HAL”. HAL stands for “Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer”. Even though Clarke denied it, there’s a good argument that can be made that the acronym HAL is a veiled reference to IBM, the big player in the world of computing at the time of the novel’s publication (1968). The acronym HAL is just a one-letter shift from the initials “IBM”.

12 Award typically presented in Manhattan’s Webster Hall : OBIE

The Obies are the Off-Broadway Theater Awards. The Obies have been presented annually since 1956. The recipients used to be chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper, but now are jointly administered with the American Theatre Wing.

24 Element of show business? : NEON

The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

32 What babies and marathoners both use : BIBS

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

34 She played Dorothy Gale in “The Wiz” (1978) : DIANA ROSS

Diana Ross is one of the most prolific recording artists in history. She sang with the Supremes from 1959 to 1970 and then launched an incredibly successful solo career. Ross was listed in the 1993 edition of “The Guinness Book of World Records” as the most successful music artist ever, with eighteen #1 records.

“The Wiz”, the 1975 musical, was written by Charlie Smalls and is an African-American adaptation of Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. The film version of the stage show was released in 1978, starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. I haven’t seen it, though. “The Wizard of Oz” scares me, as the flying monkeys creep me out. There, I’ve admitted it in public …

38 Ornamental trees : YEWS

Yew trees were placed around churches and in graveyards all over Europe. The reason for the practice seems to be unclear, but one suggestion is that fronds from yew trees were used as substitutes for palms on Palm Sunday.

45 One of the official languages of Canada’s Northwest Territories : CREE

The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US, Montana is home to most of the Cree nation. They live on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada, most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

52 BuzzFeed fodder : LISTS

BuzzFeed is an Internet media company that was founded in 2006 in New York City. Buzzfeed’s original focus was the publication of online quizzes and pop culture articles. The company branched into serious journalism in 2011 with the launch of the “Buzzfeed News” website.

55 Jewelry designer Peretti : ELSA

Elsa Peretti is a native of Florence, Italy who has been designing jewelry and related items for the top fashion houses in New York since the sixties.

57 ___ Dwyer, role for Chris Pratt on “Parks and Recreation” : ANDY

Chris Pratt is an actor who really got his big break playing the rather dopey Andy Dwyer on the sitcom “Parks and Recreation”. Pratt then played a pretty macho role as a SEAL team operator in “Zero Dark Thirty”, before taking leading heroic roles in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Jurassic World”. Pratt was married from 2009 until 2018 to Anna Faris, the comedic actress who plays Christy Plunkett on the sitcom “Mom”.

62 Meas. of brain activity : EEG

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Mason jar, in a pinch : VASE
5 Brogues, e.g. : DRESS SHOES
15 Corp. debuts : IPOS
16 It often includes Fox, but not Fox News : BASIC CABLE
17 Hype : TOUT
18 One who might reply to “Thank you” with “No wukkas” : AUSTRALIAN
19 Name invoked when reciting the shahada : ALLAH
21 Certain peaceful protest : LIE-IN
22 Redundant word before “result” : END …
23 Going over the head of : LOST ON
25 Dot on a timeline : EVENT
27 Ones getting you down? : GEESE
28 “Ah, yes …” : I SEE NOW …
32 R&B/jazz artist Booze who sang “See See Rider Blues” : BEA
33 Crushes, e.g. : SODAS
36 Experimental delivery option : DRONE
37 Response of modesty : I TRY
39 ___ the bud : NIP IN
41 Comportment : MIEN
42 Something built with curls, informally : BICEP
44 Top-flight destination : ATTIC
46 Gone unused : SAT
47 Bike brand : SCHWINN
49 Receive : GREET
51 Cheer made with beer : SKOAL!
53 Appropriate name for that woman’s husband? : HERMAN
55 Internet ___ : ERA
58 Bitter : ACRID
60 Muse of lyric poetry : ERATO
61 Sign before merging : LANE CLOSED
64 Related : AKIN
65 Secondary gig : SIDE HUSTLE
66 Captain who says “I am not what you call a civilized man!” : NEMO
67 “Who’s got an idea?” : ANY GUESSES?
68 Chile’s Nevado ___ Cruces National Park : TRES

Down

1 Life-sustaining : VITAL
2 Sorry : APOLOGETIC
3 Look inward : SOUL SEARCH
4 Biltmore or Hearst Castle : ESTATE
5 Corporate alias abbr. : DBA
6 One of the Castros : RAUL
7 Davis of “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” : ESSIE
8 Part of an OSHA inspection : SITE VISIT
9 Uses a crystal ball : SCRIES
10 Like books for Project Gutenberg : SCANNED
11 “Open the pod bay doors, ___” (classic movie line) : HAL
12 Award typically presented in Manhattan’s Webster Hall : OBIE
13 Zip : ELAN
14 Bad button to hit by accident : SEND
20 Farm animal, in farm-speak : HOSS
24 Element of show business? : NEON
26 Normal length of a pregnancy : TERM
29 New Year’s Eve handout : NOISEMAKER
30 Cry to an unruly crowd near an entrance : ONE AT A TIME
31 Took a turn : WENT
32 What babies and marathoners both use : BIBS
34 She played Dorothy Gale in “The Wiz” (1978) : DIANA ROSS
35 Address abbr. : APT
38 Ornamental trees : YEWS
40 “The time is ___” : NIGH
43 Electricity-shooting Pokémon : PIKACHU
45 One of the official languages of Canada’s Northwest Territories : CREE
48 “Beats me!” : NO CLUE!
50 Off the mark : ERRANT
52 BuzzFeed fodder : LISTS
54 Double negatives? : NO-NOS
55 Jewelry designer Peretti : ELSA
56 It may come in buckets : RAIN
57 ___ Dwyer, role for Chris Pratt on “Parks and Recreation” : ANDY
59 “Drop it,” editorially : DELE
62 Meas. of brain activity : EEG
63 Start of some French surnames : DES …

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