1020-24 NY Times Crossword 20 Oct 24, Sunday - NYXCrossword.com (2024)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Italian sauce whose name sounds like a French stew : RAGU

The Ragú brand of pasta sauce was introduced in 1937. The name ”Ragù” is the Italian word for a sauce used to dress pasta, however the spelling is a little off in the name of the sauce. In Italian, the word is “Ragù” with a grave accent over the “u”, but if you look at a jar of the sauce on the supermarket shelf it is spelled “Ragú” on the label, with an acute accent. Sometimes I think we just don’t try …

A ragout is a dish from French cuisine, and is a highly-seasoned stew of either meat or fish. The name “ragout” comes from the verb “ragouter”, “to revive the taste”. The Italian “ragù” is a term borrowed from the French that describes a meat-based sauce served with pasta.

9 Last word : FINIS

Our word “finis”, meaning “it’s ended”, comes directly from Latin.

14 It can bust one’s bracket : UPSET

“Bracketology” is a term used to describe the process of predicting which college basketball teams will advance in a bracket in the annual NCAA Basketball Tournament. President Barack Obama famously participates in an ESPN segment called “Baracketology” in which he predicts the outcome of the tournament, game by game.

19 Island west of Komodo National Park : BALI

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is known as the “Island of the Gods” due to its rich and unique culture, which is steeped in religious and spiritual beliefs.

22 10th of 24 : KAPPA

Kappa is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the equivalent of our letter K.

23 Marquee at the Tri-Plex mistaken as a promo for … “Godzilla”? : BIG GIANT MONSTER

“Big” is a fun movie that was released in 1988. It is a romantic comedy with an unusual plot involving a young boy who is aged to adulthood overnight (played by Tom Hanks). Who can forget the scene where Hanks and the owner of a toy store hop around on a giant piano keyboard. Remember what they played? “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks” …

A marquee is a large sign that is placed over the entrance to a theater. The marquee usually displays the names of the film or play currently showing, as well as the principal actors performing.

The terrifying monster Godzilla is a Japanese invention. The first in a very long series of “Godzilla” films was released way back in 1954. The original name in Japanese was “Gojira”, but this was changed to Godzilla for audiences outside of Japan. “Gojira” is a combination of “gorira” and “kujira”, the Japanese words for gorilla and whale, apt because Godzilla is a big ape-like creature that came out of the deep.

26 ___ Island, designated historic site for both New York and New Jersey : ELLIS

In the 1998 Supreme Court case New Jersey v. New York, New Jersey ended up owning about 90% of Ellis Island, land which had belonged to New York. New York and New Jersey signed an agreement in 1834 granting New Jersey half of the water channel between the two states, but giving New York the islands the New Jersey side of the channel (mainly Ellis Island and Staten Island). At issue was the land that New York added to Ellis Island by means of reclamation (ultimately 90% of the island’s land mass). The court decided that the land reclaimed belonged to New Jersey because it was located within the New Jersey-controlled water channel.

29 Honors for David Beckham and Leona Lewis: Abbr. : OBES

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry in the UK that was established in 1917 by King George V. There are five classes within the order, which are in descending seniority:

• Knight Grand Cross (GBE)
• Knight Commander (KBE)
• Commander (CBE)
• Officer (OBE)
• Member (MBE)

David Beckham is a retired professional soccer player who started his career with Manchester United in 1992 at 17 years old. He debuted for the England international team in 1996, and served as the team captain for six years. He married Victoria Adams, Posh Spice of the Spice Girls, in 1999.

Leona Lewis rocketed to fame after winning the British TV show called “The X Factor” (the show that spawned the UK’s “Pop Idol” and America’s “American Idol”).

31 Bandmate of Keith for 60+ years : MICK

Even though Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have been the driving force behind the Rolling Stones for decades, they didn’t start the group. The band was the idea of guitarist and harmonica player Brian Jones, and it was he who invited Richards and Jagger to join, as well as Ian Stewart, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts to make an original lineup of six band members. Jones called the band “Rollin’ Stone” back then in 1962, named for the song by Muddy Waters. Jones was the leader, manager and decision maker for the first few years until songs written by Richards and Jagger became hits and he started to lose artistic control. In 1967, Jones was arrested for drug possession, and again in 1968. When his trouble with the law prevented him from getting a US work visa, Jones wasn’t able to accompany the Stones on a 1969 US tour. That was the last straw, it seems, and Jones and the Stones parted company. Famously, one month later, Jones was found dead, at the bottom of his swimming pool.

34 Rival of Forbes : INC

“Inc.” is a business magazine that specializes in articles about growing companies. “Inc.” publishes a list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the country each year, calling it the “Inc. 500”. The “Inc. 5000” is an expanded list also published by the magazine.

“Forbes” is a business magazine that has been published since 1917, when it was founded by B. C. Forbes and Walter Drey. The full name of the original publication was “Forbes: Devoted to Doers and Doings”. “Forbes” is noted for publishing lists of the biggest and richest in the world of business. In 2014, “Forbes” listed the 2000 largest public companies in the world and showed for the first time that the three biggest companies are based in China.

35 Futuristic microscopic machine : NANOBOT

Nanorobots (also “nanobots”) are tiny devices that range from 0.1 to 10 micrometers in size. The technology of nanorobotics is in its infancy, but it is hoped that nanobots might be used (for example) in medicine one day. The oft-cited application is the use of nanobots inserted inside the body to identify and destroy cancer cells.

37 … “E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial”? : WITNESS ALIEN ARRIVAL

“Witness” is a very engaging Peter Weir film from 1985 starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. It’s all about a Philadelphia detective providing protection for a young Amish boy after the child witnesses a murder.

The 1979 sci-fi horror movie “Alien” was the big break for Sigourney Weaver as it was her first lead role, and her character ended up as central to a whole set of sequels. The movie’s producers made a very conscious decision to cast a female in the lead role so as to have the film stand out in the male-dominated genre of science fiction. Famously, the film was publicized with the tagline “In space no one can hear you scream”.

2016’s “Arrival” is a very entertaining sci-fi film that is based on a short story by Ted Chiang called “Story of Your Life”. Amy Adams plays a linguist who is called upon to communicate with aliens that have arrived on Earth.

43 Essen exclamations : ACHS

Essen is a large industrial city located on the River Ruhr in western Germany. The city experienced major population growth in the mid-1800s that was driven by the iron works established by the Krupp family.

46 Band whose name is sometimes rendered with a backward B : ABBA

I am an unapologetic fan of ABBA’s music. ABBA was the Swedish group who topped the charts in the seventies and eighties. The name ABBA is an acronym formed from the first letters of the given names of each of the band members: Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid. Early in their careers, the four fell in love and formed two married couples: Agnetha and Bjorn, and Benny and Anni-Frid. However, at the height of their success, the relationships became strained and both couples divorced.

47 Grave words? : EULOGY

A eulogy is a speech or piece of writing that praises someone who has recently passed away or who is retiring. “Eulogy” comes from the Greek word “eulogia” meaning “praise”.

48 “While I nodded nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping” poet : POE

The first verse of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

49 ___ alai : JAI

Even though jai alai is often said to be the fastest sport in the world because of the speed of the ball, golf balls usually get going at a greater clip. Although, as a blog reader once pointed out to me, you don’t have to catch a golf ball …

50 Sam who directed “Spider-Man” : RAIMI

Sam Raimi is a very successful director and producer. He was behind the “Spider-Man” series of films among others, and TV shows such as “Xena: Warrior Princess”. In 1993, Raimi married Gillian Green, the youngest daughter of actor Lorne Greene of “Bonanza” fame. Raimi and Greene named their eldest son Lorne, after his grandfather.

52 D-Day craft: Abbr. : LST

The initialism “LST” stands for Landing Ship, Tank. LSTs are the large vessels used mainly in WWII that have doors at either ends through which tanks and other vehicles can roll off and onto beaches. The design concept persists to this day in the huge fleet of commercial roll-on/roll-off car ferries, all inspired by the LST.

54 … “Independence Day”? : HANCOCK SIGNS THE PAPER

“Signs” is a very entertaining 2002 sci-fi thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film stars Mel Gibson as a former priest who finds crop circles in his cornfield, and becomes convinced that the circles are the work of extraterrestrials.

The 1996 sci-fi action movie “Independence Day” is must-see-TV at our house on or around the 4th of July every year. The film was supposed to come out in 1996 on July 3rd but there was so much anticipation that many theaters started screening the day before. At one point after release, “Independence Day” was the second-highest grossing movie in history (“Jurassic Park” was number one at the time).

61 Mediterranean condiment : AIOLI

Aioli is a French sauce made from garlic, egg yolks, and olive oil. The word “aioli” comes from “alh”, the Provençal word for garlic, and “oli”, a Catalan word meaning “oil”.

62 “Mon ___!” : DIEU

“Mon Dieu!” is French for “My God!”

71 Suitor of Christine in “The Phantom of the Opera” : RAOUL

In Gaston Leroux’s novel “The Phantom of the Opera”, the young Christine Daaé is obsessively admired by Erik, the “phantom” who lives below the Paris Opera House. Christine is also pursued by her childhood friend Raoul, Viscount de Chagny.

d

74 Novelist whose name is synonymous with nightmarish absurdity : KAFKA

Franz Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague, then part of Bohemia and today the capital of the Czech Republic. Kafka is known as one of the greatest novelists who worked in the German language, and even has an adjective named after him. Something that is “kafkaesque” is senseless, disorienting and may have menacing complexity. As it was for many great artists, Kafka’s fame came after his death when much of his work was published.

75 … “Rush Hour”? : TANGLED FROZEN TRAFFIC

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Elsa was originally intended to be a villain, a malicious and power-hungry character. By the final version of the film, Elsa had transformed from a one-dimensional villain into a fully fleshed-out protagonist.

The 2000 film “Traffic” explores the illegal drug trade. The movie is adapted from a 1989 British TV miniseries called “Traffik”. There was also 2004 American TV miniseries produced called “Traffic”, which was based on both the prior TV show and the movie.

81 “Devilish” cartoon character : TAZ

The “Looney Tunes” character known as the Tasmanian Devil, or “Taz”, first appeared in a cartoon short with Bugs Bunny called “Devil May Care” in 1954.

83 Like golden eagles vis-à-vis bald eagles, in the United States : RARER

The bald eagle is sometimes referred to as the American eagle. It is both the national bird and the national animal of the USA, and appears on the US Seal.

85 Modern H.R. initiative : DEI

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

86 Bryn Mawr grad, e.g. : ALUMNA

Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania is a women’s liberal arts school that was founded in 1885. Bryn Mawr was the first women’s university in the nation to offer graduate education through to a PhD. While the undergraduate program is open only to females, the school opened up the postgraduate program to males in 1931.

91 … “Insomnia”? : WIRED SLEEPERS MISERY

The rather disturbing 1996 drama called “Sleepers” is based on a novel of the same name by Lorenzo Carcaterra. The book is somewhat autobiographical, telling the story of Carcaterra’s incarceration within the New York State penitentiary system, and the effect this had on his life.

The 1990 film “Misery” is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. I think it’s the only movie from a King book that I’ve watched and enjoyed. I can’t stomach his books, not because of the writing, but because of the gruesome scenes that are part of the plots. The screen version of “Misery” is toned down a little from the original storyline. In the novel, the Kathy Bates character amputates the James Caan character’s foot to incapacitate him. In the movie she just smashes his ankles. Big difference …

98 Detergent brand : ERA

Era was the first liquid laundry detergent produced by Procter & Gamble.

99 Baja resort town, familiarly : CABO

Cabo San Lucas is a major tourist destination at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. “Cabo” is sometimes referred to as the “Fort Lauderdale of Mexico”.

101 ___ Sidle, longtime role on “C.S.I.” : SARA

Actress Jorja Fox plays Sara Sidle on “CSI“. She also played Gina Toscano on “The West Wing”, the secret service agent assigned to protect First Daughter Zoe Bartlet. Apparently, the Toscano role was intended to be more permanent on “The West Wing”. Fox left the show briefly to film “CSI”, with the intention of returning. “CSI” became a big hit, and so Zoe Bartlet had to do without her secret service protection.

104 Overseas refusals : NYETS

“Nyet” is Russian for “no”, and “da” is Russian for “yes”.

110 … “Sex and the City”? : MANHATTAN HOOK UP

The Woody Allen movie “Manhattan” was released in 1979. The music of George Gershwin features prominently, which isn’t surprising as Woody Allen got the inspiration for the film from Gershwin’s compositions. The movie opens with a montage of images of Manhattan shown above Gershwin’s beautiful “Rhapsody in Blue”.

“Hook” is a very enjoyable 1991 movie directed by Steven Spielberg that is based on J.M. Barrie’s 1911 novel “Peter and Wendy”. Spielberg elicited great performances from a great cast in “Hook”. Included in the cast are Robin Williams as Peter, Dustin Hoffman as Hook, Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, Bob Hoskins as Smee and Maggie Smith as a mature Wendy.

“Up” was the tenth movie released by Pixar studios, and features the wonderful animation that we have come to expect from Pixar. The film earned itself two Academy Awards. The main voice actor is Ed Asner, whose animated persona as Carl Fredricksen was created to resemble Spencer Tracy, as Tracy appeared in his last film, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.

114 Texas A&M athlete : 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.

116 Singer Horne : LENA

Lena Horne was an American jazz singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne started her career as a nightclub singer and then began to get some meaty acting roles in Hollywood. However, she ended up on the blacklist during the McCarthy Era for expressing left wing political views. One of Horne’s starring roles was in the 1943 movie “Stormy Weather” for which she also performed the title song.

118 Detritus at the bottom of a bag of bagels : SEEDS

Detritus is loose material that results from the process of erosion. The usage of the term has evolved to describe any accumulated material or debris. “Detritus” is Latin for “a wearing away”.

120 Novelist Johnson who won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for fiction : ADAM

“The Orphan Master’s Son” is a novel by American author Adam Johnson, which was published in 2012 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The novel is set in North Korea and follows the life of its main character, Pak Jun Do, who is an orphan and rises through the ranks of the country’s military and government. While working on the book, Johnson conducted extensive research on the country, including traveling to North Korea multiple times.

Down

6 Antonio López de Santa ___, three-time president of Mexico : ANNA

Antonio López de Santa Anna (often just “Santa Anna”) Mexican soldier who also served as President of Mexico for several terms from 1833 to 1855. It was Santa Anna and his forces who laid siege to the Alamo Mission in 1836.

12 Japanese art of flower arrangement : IKEBANA

The Japanese art of flower arranging is very much focused on minimalism, the use of a minimum number of blooms arranged among a few stalks and leaves. The Japanese name for the art is “ikebana”, which can be translated as “making flowers alive”.

13 Star in Venus’s orbit? : SERENA

Venus and Serena Williams are two of the most successful and influential tennis players of all time. The sisters are also successful entrepreneurs. They have invested in various businesses, including a stake in the Miami Dolphins NFL team.

16 Cause of a hung jury : SPLIT VOTE

A hung jury is a jury that cannot reach a verdict.

33 Pioneering computer : ENIAC

The acronym ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (although many folks insist that the C was for “Computer”). ENIAC was introduced at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946, at which time it was the first general-purpose electronic computer, and dubbed “Giant Brain” by the press. Its original purpose was the calculation of artillery firing tables, but it ended up being used early on to make calculations necessary for the development of the hydrogen bomb. Given its uses, it’s not surprising to hear that development of ENIAC was funded by the US Army during WWII.

38 Actor-turned-policeman Estrada : ERIK

Actor Erik Estrada’s big break came with the movie “Airport 1975”, in which he played the doomed flight engineer of a Boeing 747. A couple of years later, Estrada began a six-year gig, co-starring on the television show “CHiPs” as motorcycle police officer Poncherello.

39 Jazz singer Cleo : LAINE

Cleo Laine is a jazz singer from England who is noted for her remarkable range of nearly four octaves. Laine is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in each of the classical, jazz and popular music categories. My favorite of her recordings is “He Was Beautiful”, which is also known as “Cavatina” and is a version of the theme from the film “The Deer Hunter”.

43 Garden invader : APHID

Aphids are called “greenfly” back in Britain and Ireland where I come from. The most effective way to control aphids, in my experience, is to make sure there are plenty of ladybugs in the garden (called “ladybirds” in Ireland!).

44 Raccoon relative : COATI

A coati is a member of the raccoon family and is also known as the Brazilian aardvark, or the snookum bear. The coati is native to Central and South America, but can also be found in the southwest of the United States.

51 Illness with chills : AGUE

An ague is a fever, one usually associated with malaria.

58 Seasoned rice dish : PILAF

“Pilaf” is a Persian word, one that we use to describe rice that is browned in oil and then cooked in a seasoned broth. It can also be called “pilau”.

64 Voting day: Abbr. : TUES

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.

72 Word after hidden or political : … AGENDA

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

73 Calorie-rich cake : TORTE

A torte is a type of cake made primarily with eggs, sugar and ground nuts (but no flour).

75 Ankle bones : TALI

The collection of seven bones in the foot just below the ankle are known collectively as the tarsus. One of those bones is the talus (plural “tali”), more commonly called “ankle bone”. The talus is the lower part of the ankle joint and articulates with the lower ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower leg.

76 Sky shade : AZURE BLUE

The term “azure” came into English from Persian via Old French. The French word “l’azur” was taken from the Persian name for a place in northeastern Afghanistan called “Lazhward” which was the main source of the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. The stone has a vivid blue color, and “azure” has been describing this color since the 14th century.

77 Claim on an egg carton : FREE RANGE

Outside of the US, the term “free range” is used to describe farming in which animals are allowed to roam freely and are not caged or penned up. In the US, the term is simply a marketing device, usually indicating that the animal has some access to an outdoor area, the size or nature of which is undefined. The politics of food …

79 Tennille of Captain & Tennille : TONI

The seventies singing duo known as Captain & Tennille was made up of husband and wife Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille. Early in 2014, Tennille filed for divorce from Dragon after 39 years of marriage. Sad to see that …

80 Charlotte ___ (dessert) : RUSSE

Charlotte Russe is a cold dessert consisting of Bavarian cream set in a mold layered with ladyfingers. The dessert was named by its creator in honor of Princess Charlotte, daughter of British King George IV, and in honor of Czar Alexander I of Russia (“russe” is French for “Russian”).

81 Shooting marble : TAW

In the game of marbles, the taw is the shooting marble. It is shot at the ducks.

87 Aide-___ (mnemonic device) : MEMOIRE

An aide-mémoire is an aid to memory, a reminder.

90 Creator of colorful crafts : CRAYOLA

Crayola has made the decision to rename colors of crayons a few times, often with a nod to changing attitudes in society. Some examples are:

• “Flesh” to “Peach” (1962 … not all flesh is peach-colored)
• “Prussian Blue” to “Midnight Blue” (1958 … as the Cold War was raging)
• “Indian Red” to “Chestnut” (1999 … even though the name wasn’t a reference to “American Indian”)

92 Woolly pack animals : LLAMAS

The wool from a llama is much softer than that from a sheep, and it is also free from lanolin.

95 Rubik of puzzle cube fame : ERNO

What was originally called the “Magic Cube” became better known as “Rubik’s Cube”, and was named for its inventor Ernő Rubik. Rubik’s Cube is the world’s biggest selling puzzle game, with over 350 million sold in just over 30 years.

99 Coral islets : CAYS

A key (also “cay”) is a low offshore island, as in the Florida “Keys”. Our term in English comes from the Spanish “cayo” meaning “shoal, reef”.

106 Poke bowl ingredient : TUNA

Poke is a Native-Hawaiian dish featuring diced raw fish. “Poke” is a Hawaiian word meaning “to slice”.