0802-23 NY Times Crossword 2 Aug 23, Wednesday
Constructed by: Barbara Lin
Edited by: Will Shortz
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Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Start Back
The 8/2/23 crossword is by Barbara Lin. The first two syllables of each themed answer are also the last two syllables, but in reverse order:
- 16A Starting with an X in the corner, say? : TIC-TAC-TOE TACTIC
- 25A Rocket launcher that makes a whimsical buzzing sound? : KAZOO BAZOOKA
- 46A Become a leading citizen of North Dakota? : GO FAR IN FARGO
- 60A Disrespected adviser? : TORMENTED MENTOR
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Bill’s time: 8m 05s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 A hot one might lead to an embarrassing moment : MIC
One of my favorite hot-mic moments took place in 2005, when Paris and London were vying to host the 2012 Olympics. French President Jacques Chirac compared Paris and London in that context while chatting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Chirac said, over a hot mic:
The only thing that they have ever done for European agriculture is mad cow disease … You cannot trust people who have such bad cuisine.
4 Shelled out : PAID
One is said to shell out money when disbursing funds. The use of “shell out” is figurative, from the notion of extracting nuts from a shell.
8 November imperative : VOTE
Election day was chosen by Congress back in 1845. The month of November was selected as it suited an agricultural society, following the fall harvest and yet not too far into winter, which could make travel difficult. Tuesday was chosen so that people had time to travel to polling stations. Monday elections might have meant that some would have to start out on Sunday, and that could interfere with Christian services.
12 Two-term presidencies, say : ERAS
Since the days of President George Washington, there was an informal tradition that a US President could hold office for two terms, but would not run for a third. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president to break with this tradition. Roosevelt was elected US president four times, and died a few months after starting his fourth term. It was President Roosevelt’s decision to ignore the term limit tradition that led to the adoption of the Twenty-Second Amendment of the Constitution, which provides that “no person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice”.
14 College attendee in “Toy Story 3” : ANDY
In the 1995 Pixar hit “Toy Story”, the toys are owned by a boy named Andy Davis. Andy’s neighbor is a not-so-nice boy named Sid Phillips. Sid gets a big kick out of destroying and torturing his own toys, and those owned by others.
15 Autobiographical heroine of the “Little House” series : LAURA
Laura Ingalls Wilder was an author from Pepin, Wisconsin who is best remembered for her “Little House” series of children’s novels. The series was based on her own childhood in a pioneer family that moved from Wisconsin to Kansas and back again.
20 Name with Slim or Diamond : … JIM
A slim jim is a thin strip of spring steel that is used to open car doors without using a key and without picking the lock. Instead, the slim jim bypasses the lock and manipulates the levers and rods that operate the door.
One of the men to profit during the time of expansion known as the Gilded Age was Diamond Jim Brady. Brady started out as a bellboy and messenger, but at a young age made his fortune. He was known for having a big appetite for jewels (hence the moniker “Diamond Jim”), as well as a huge appetite for food. One restaurateur described him as “the best 25 customers I ever had”.
23 Formula 1 Grand Prix locale : MONACO
In motor racing, the designation “formula” is a set of rules that all participants and cars must abide by. The definition of “Formula One” was agreed back in 1946, with the “one” designating that it is the most advanced of the “formulae”, and the most competitive.
Even though the term is used in many competitions, I think that we most associate “Grand Prix” with the series of Formula One motor races. These Formula One Grand Prix races trace their roots back to organized automobile road races from one French town to the next that date back to 1894. “Grand Prix” translates from French as “grand, big prize.”
25 Rocket launcher that makes a whimsical buzzing sound? : KAZOO BAZOOKA
The modern instrument we know today as the kazoo was invented by one Alabama Vest of Macon, Georgia in the 1800s. The kazoo first came to the public’s attention at the Georgia State Fair of 1852, when it was known as the “Down-South Submarine” (because of its shape, I would imagine …).
A bazooka is a metal tube rocket launcher. The first bazooka-type weapon was developed for the US Army just before the end of WWI. The weapon is also known as a “stovepipe”, due to its appearance.
30 Informal garb for working from home, informally : PJS
Our word “pajamas” (sometimes “PJs” or “jammies”) comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. On the other side of the Atlantic, the spelling is “pyjamas”.
43 Store whose products often come with Allen wrenches : 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.
The Allen wrench (or “Allen key”, as we call it back in Ireland) is a successful brand of hex wrench that was trademarked in 1943 by the Allen Manufacturing Company of Hartford , Connecticut. However, the hex wrench had in fact been around since the mid-to-late 1800s.
46 Become a leading citizen of North Dakota? : GO FAR IN FARGO
Fargo, North Dakota is the biggest city in the state. The original name for the city was Centralia, when it was a stopping point for steamboats that traveled the Red River in the late 19th century. The town really grew with the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway, so the name “Fargo” was adopted in honor of one of the railroad company’s directors, William Fargo (of Wells Fargo Express fame).
50 Activist Abrams : STACEY
Stacey Abrams is a politician and voting rights activist who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017. In 2019, she delivered the Democratic Party’s response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, and became the first African-American woman to do so.
55 Feeling in Yosemite Valley, say : AWE
President Abraham Lincoln passed a bill in 1864 creating the Yosemite Grant, which was the first piece of federal legislature that set aside park land for preservation and public use. The Yosemite Grant paved the way for the creation of Yellowstone as the nation’s first national park in 1872. Yosemite was made a national park in 1890.
58 Italian dish similar to grits : POLENTA
Polenta is a porridge made from finely ground corn. The term “polenta” is Italian in origin.
60 Disrespected adviser? : TORMENTED MENTOR
A mentor is a trusted teacher or counselor. The term “mentor” comes from Homer’s “Odyssey” in which there is a character named Mentor. He is a friend of Odysseus, although he is a relatively ineffective old man. The goddess Athena takes on Mentor’s appearance in order to guide Odysseus’s young son Telemachus through difficult times.
64 ___ Rachel Wood of “Westworld” : EVAN
Actress Evan Rachel Wood’s most famous role to date is playing one of the leads in the 2003 movie “Thirteen”. Wood’s private life draws a lot of attention, especially as she was romantically linked for some time with the “outrageous” musician Marilyn Manson.
67 Lucy’s “I Love Lucy” co-star : DESI
In the hit television show “I Love Lucy”, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz play Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. The Ricardos’ best friends are also their landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz. The Mertzes are played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance.
68 Daisy Ridley’s role in “Star Wars” : REY
British actress Daisy Ridley hit the big time when she landed the role of Rey in the movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, a role that she reprised in several subsequent “Star Wars” films. Some might recognize the family name “Ridley”. Daisy’s great-uncle was Arnold Ridley, who played Private Godfrey in the hit Britcom “Dad’s Army”.
Down
2 Like everyone on March 17, it’s said : IRISH
The first Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in the US was held in 1600, in St. Augustine, Florida. There is some evidence that the first St. Paddy’s Day parade was held the following year, in the same locale. The annual parade in Boston dates back to 1737, in New York City dates back to 1762, and in Chicago dates back to 1843.
10 The Ronettes, e.g. : TRIO
The Ronettes were a sixties girl group from New York City who worked with famed record producer Phil Spector. Their most famous hit was probably “Be My Baby” from 1963. The lead singer of the group was Veronica “Ronnie” Bennett, who ended up marrying Spector in 1968.
15 Some breathing lessons : LAMAZE
The Lamaze technique for childbirth was developed by a French obstetrician called Fernand Lamaze. He introduced the technique in the west after observing similar practices in the Soviet Union during a visit there in 1951.
18 Fey who wrote “Bossypants” : TINA
Tina Fey’s 2011 humorous autobiography “Bossypants” topped the New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks.
23 Placate : MOLLIFY
To mollify is to appease. “Mollify” comes from the Latin “mollis” meaning “soft”, as in “to soften”.
24 ___ Bush, Missouri representative and Black Lives Matter activist : CORI
Cori Bush became a member of the US House of Representatives in 2021. A Democrat from St. Louis, Missouri, Bush joined the group of progressive lawmakers known as “The Squad”.
26 End of the London Blitz? : ZED
There is a letter Z (zee/zed) at the end of the word “blitz”.
The letter zed has been around since about 1400, and derives from the Greek letter zeta. The spelling and pronunciation “zee”, used in America today, first popped up in the 1670s. The spelling and pronunciation “zed” is still used in Britain and Ireland.
“Blitz”, as it is used in English, describes a fast-moving and overwhelming attack. It is a shortened version of the German word “blitzkrieg”. The blitzkrieg was a tactic used by Germany running up to and during WWII. In the original German blitzkrieg, the army and air-force threw everything into a rapid penetration of enemy lines without stopping to reinforce its flanks. The word “blitz” means “lightning” (and “krieg” means “war”). We use the term more generally in English to describe any fast, nonmilitary campaign.
28 Coffee-growing region of the Big Island : KONA
Kona coffee is cultivated on the Big Island of Hawaii, on the slopes of Mauna Loa and Hualalai, two of the five volcanoes on the island. Coffee plants were brought to Kona in 1828 and late in the 19th century, coffee became a viable and worthwhile crop. Today Kona is one of the most expensive and popular coffees in the world.
30 Strait-laced sort : PRIG
Our term “strait-laced” is used to describe someone who is “excessively inflexible in matters of conduct”. Note the spelling “strait” (and not “straight”), which in this case means “tight”, and is a reference to the laces of a woman’s corset. A woman with a strait-laced (tightly-laced) corset would have a rigid posture. This usage was extended to the figurative meaning of “rigid in conduct”.
31 Sport whose name means “way of gentleness” : JUDO
Judo is a martial art from Japan that developed relatively recently, in 1882. The name “judo” translates as “gentle way”. It was the first martial art to become an Olympic sport. Judo made its debut as an Olympic sport in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in Japan.
38 Alias letters : AKA
Also known as (aka)
42 Part of a chest : DRAWER
The item of bedroom furniture usually known as a dresser (or sometimes “bureau”) here in North America, is generally called a chest of drawers in Britain and Ireland. Whatever the name, the piece consists of a set of parallel drawers, mainly stacked one over the other.
48 Like matryoshka dolls : NESTED
Matryoshka dolls are those wooden nesting dolls that are on sale at every tourist trap across Russia. “Matryoshka” is Russian for “little matron”.
49 Jesse who won four Olympic gold medals in 1936 : OWENS
Jesse Owens is famous for winning four gold medals at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, much to the chagrin of Adolf Hitler. Jesse’s real name was James Cleveland Owens, and he went by “JC” as a child. However, his Alabama accent was misconstrued at school when his family moved to Cleveland, so teachers and classmates called him “Jesse” instead of “JC”, and the name stuck.
55 Bread boxes? : ATMS
ATMs are Automated Teller Machines, and are called “cashpoints” back in Britain and Ireland. Well, as students we also called them “drink links”, for obvious reasons …
58 Smartphone ancestors, in brief : PDAS
Personal digital assistant (PDA)
59 Prefix with -vore : OMNI-
The term “omnivore” comes from Latin, meaning “one who devours all”.
61 Word after Club or before school : MED
Club Méditerranée is usually referred to as “Club Med”. It is a French company that started in 1950 with a resort on the Spanish island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean. It was originally a “club” with annual membership dues. Now it is an operator of numerous all-inclusive resorts located all over the world.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 A hot one might lead to an embarrassing moment : MIC
4 Shelled out : PAID
8 November imperative : VOTE
12 Two-term presidencies, say : ERAS
14 College attendee in “Toy Story 3” : ANDY
15 Autobiographical heroine of the “Little House” series : LAURA
16 Starting with an X in the corner, say? : TIC-TAC-TOE TACTIC
19 Billionaires’ homes, often : ESTATES
20 Name with Slim or Diamond : … JIM
21 “Stupid me!” : D’OH!
22 Excel (at) : SHINE
23 Formula 1 Grand Prix locale : MONACO
25 Rocket launcher that makes a whimsical buzzing sound? : KAZOO BAZOOKA
30 Informal garb for working from home, informally : PJS
33 Make a pitiful noise : MEWL
34 It may be marked with an X : ERROR
35 Feels remorse about : RUES
37 Part of a bad trip, maybe : DELAY
40 “Winning ___ everything” : ISN’T
41 Ran in place : IDLED
43 Store whose products often come with Allen wrenches : IKEA
45 “Woo-hoo!” : YAY!
46 Become a leading citizen of North Dakota? : GO FAR IN FARGO
50 Activist Abrams : STACEY
51 “Wouldn’t that be nice!” : I WISH!
55 Feeling in Yosemite Valley, say : AWE
57 Used to be : WAS
58 Italian dish similar to grits : POLENTA
60 Disrespected adviser? : TORMENTED MENTOR
63 One who might check all the boxes? : MOVER
64 ___ Rachel Wood of “Westworld” : EVAN
65 Ship or mail : SEND
66 It goes downhill fast : SLED
67 Lucy’s “I Love Lucy” co-star : DESI
68 Daisy Ridley’s role in “Star Wars” : REY
Down
1 Hands (out) : METES
2 Like everyone on March 17, it’s said : IRISH
3 Prickly pears, for example : CACTI
4 Unit in a duel : PACE
5 Life study of the biologist E. O. Wilson : ANTS
6 Possible response to “Who wants ice cream?!” : I DO!
7 What might get to the root of a problem? : DYE JOB
8 Shop ___ (article of cleaning equipment) : VAC
9 Like hiking, bird-watching and similar activities : OUTDOORSY
10 The Ronettes, e.g. : TRIO
11 A pop : EACH
13 Reeked : STANK
15 Some breathing lessons : LAMAZE
17 Starters : A-TEAM
18 Fey who wrote “Bossypants” : TINA
23 Placate : MOLLIFY
24 ___ Bush, Missouri representative and Black Lives Matter activist : CORI
26 End of the London Blitz? : ZED
27 Be beholden to : OWE
28 Coffee-growing region of the Big Island : KONA
29 Affected, in a way : ARTY
30 Strait-laced sort : PRIG
31 Sport whose name means “way of gentleness” : JUDO
32 Kind of gas station that’s illegal in New Jersey : SELF-SERVE
36 Goal for a politician : SEAT
38 Alias letters : AKA
39 “___ out!” (ump’s cry) : YER
42 Part of a chest : DRAWER
44 Able to bend over backward, say : AGILE
47 Volunteer’s statement : I CAN
48 Like matryoshka dolls : NESTED
49 Jesse who won four Olympic gold medals in 1936 : OWENS
52 Bury : INTER
53 Diamond, e.g. : STONE
54 Like pansies, but not touch-me-nots : HARDY
55 Bread boxes? : ATMS
56 Ewe got it! : WOOL
58 Smartphone ancestors, in brief : PDAS
59 Prefix with -vore : OMNI-
61 Word after Club or before school : MED
62 Time of preparation, maybe : EVE
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