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Constructed by: Dave Taber & Laura Moll
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Crossed Lines

Themed answers reinterpret common “LINES” as “LINES” one might speak:

• 12A Hotline? : I’M ON FIRE!
• 19A Deadline? : ET TU, BRUTE?
• 39A Clothesline? : KEEP YOUR PANTS ON!
• 57A With 69-Across, Lifeline? : HE LIKES IT! …
• 69A See 57-Across : … HEY, MIKEY!

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 9m 25s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Only state that shares a time zone with Alaska : HAWAII

The Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone covers the state of Hawaii, and the most westerly of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HAST) is observed in both states, but only the Aleutian portion observes Hawaii-Aleutian Daylight Time (HADT).

16 Bag : CUP OF TEA

Something one doesn’t like doing isn’t one’s “bag”, isn’t one’s “cup of tea”.

17 Brunch order : OMELET

Our word “brunch” is a portmanteau of “breakfast” and “lunch”. The term was coined as student slang in Oxford, England in the late 1890s. However, “brunch” described a combined meal closer to the breakfast hour, and the term “blunch” was used for a meal closer to lunchtime.

19 Deadline? : ET TU, BRUTE?

It was Shakespeare who popularized the words “Et tu, Brute?” (meaning “And you, Brutus?”). They appear in his play “Julius Caesar”, although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life (if anything at all) as he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate in Rome.

21 The WNBA’s Dream, on sports crawls : ATL

The Atlanta Dream is a WNBA team that joined the league for the 2008 season. After moving around a little, the Dreams settled into the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia starting with the 2021 season.

25 Uno y uno : DOS

In Spanish, “dos” (two) is “uno y uno” (one plus one).

26 Grapefruit choice : RUBY RED

The somewhat bitter fruit that we know as “grapefruit” originated in the island nation of Barbados in the Caribbean. It developed as a hybrid (possibly accidentally) of the Jamaican sweet orange and the Indonesian pomelo. Back in the mid-1700s, the new hybrid was referred to as “the forbidden fruit”, and later as the shaddock. Some believe that a “Captain Shaddock” brought Indonesian pomelo seeds to Barbados and was responsible for developing the hybrid. The contemporary name is perhaps an allusion to the fact that grapefruit grow in clusters like grapes.

30 Flunky : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

32 Tony Shalhoub’s role on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” : ABE

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is a comedy drama TV show set in the late fifties and early sixties. The title character, played by Rachel Brosnahan, is a New York housewife who opts for a career as a standup comedian.

Actor Tony Shalhoub is probably best known to TV audiences for playing the title role in the comedy-drama detective mystery show “Monk”. More recently, he played Abe Weissman, the lead character’s father on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”.

35 Dutch guilder successor : EURO

The guilder was the currency used in the Netherlands until it was replaced by the euro at the start of 2002. One-and-a-half guilders used to be called a dalder (or thaler). It is “dalder/thaler” that gave us our word “dollar”.

39 Clothesline? : KEEP YOUR PANTS ON!

The term “pants”, meaning “trousers”, is an abbreviated form of “pantaloons” and first appeared in the 1840s. Pantaloons were a kind of tights named for a silly old male character in Italian comedy named “Pantaloun” who always wore tight trousers over skinny legs.

43 Celtic language : ERSE

There are actually three Erse languages: Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be “Gaeilge” (in Ireland), “Gaelg” (on the Isle of Man) and “Gaidhlig” (in Scotland).

The Celts are a very broad group of people across Europe who are linked by common languages. The original Celts were largely absorbed by other cultures, although a relatively modern revival of the “Celtic identity” is alive and well in Britain and Ireland. Such Celtic peoples today are mainly found in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany in France.

45 Bird in the bush : EMU

In Australia, the land outside of urban areas is referred to as the outback or the bush. That said, I think that the term “outback” is sometimes reserved for the more remote parts of the bush.

49 Long rants : TIRADES

The term “tirade” describes a long and vehement speech, and is a word that came into English from French. “Tirade” can have the same meaning in French, but is also the word for “volley”. So, a tirade is a “volley” of words.

51 Justice Dept. arm : ATF

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today is part of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The ATF has its roots in the Department of Treasury dating back to 1886 when it was known as the Bureau of Prohibition. “Explosives” was added to the ATF’s name when the bureau was moved under the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of the reorganization called for in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

57 With 69-Across, Lifeline? : HE LIKES IT! …
69 See 57-Across : … HEY, MIKEY!

“Little Mikey” was a long-running commercial campaign for the breakfast cereal “Life”. The original ad first aired in 1972 and featured a fictional boy named “Little Mikey”. Mikey’s two older brothers didn’t want to taste their bowls of Life cereal (as it was “healthy”), and so got Little Mikey to do so. Mikey loved the cereal, and so the brothers exclaimed “He Likes It! Hey, Mikey!”

60 Helter-skelter : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

70 Hockey fake-outs : DEKES

A deke, also known as a dangle, is a technique used to get past an opponent in ice hockey. “Deke” is a colloquial shortening of the word “decoy”.

71 Fine-grained wood : YEW

The family of trees and shrubs known as yews propagate by producing a seed surrounded by soft, sweet and brightly colored aril. Birds eat the fruit and then disperse the seed in their droppings. The birds leave the seed undamaged, and so are unharmed by the potent poisons taxane and taxol that are found within the seed. The seeds are highly toxic to humans.

72 Paper polishers, in brief : EDS

Editor (ed.)

Down

2 Happy cry from an eager Little Leaguer : I’M UP!

Little League Baseball was founded in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania by Carl Stotz. Back then, Little League was limited to boys. Participation was opened up to girls in 1974, although it took a lawsuit by the National Organization for Women for that to happen.

3 Leader who wears the Ring of the Fisherman : POPE

The Pope’s ceremonial ring is known as the Ring of the Fisherman. It is named after the first Pope, St. Peter, who was a fisherman. Each Pope gets a new ring specially created for him, with his name written in raised lettering on the ring. The ring was once used as a signet, to seal official documents. After a Pope dies, the ring is crushed, the idea being that no documents can be backdated and forged.

7 Material for some cutting boards : BAMBOO

The grass known as bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Sadly, there are stories of growing bamboo being used as a device of torture. Supposedly, a victim can be staked out over bamboo shoots so that the shoots grow into the human flesh. Theoretically, bamboo can grow several inches in just three days.

8 Ceremonial pitcher : EWER

A pitcher is a container for liquid that has a handle, mouth and spout. The term “jug” is used for the same container in other English-speaking countries. “Ewer” is an older term describing a pitcher/jug. Today, a ewer is a highly decorative pitcher, often with a base and flared spout.

9 Cantina toast : SALUD!

“Salud” is Spanish for “health”, and is used as a toast. Salud!

22 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Polamalu : TROY

Troy Polamalu is a retired football player who turned out for the Pittsburgh Steelers for the whole of his 12-year career in the NFL. Both on and off the field, he was famous for his long hair, which he only cut once every few years.

23 Minifigure maker : LEGO

Lego is manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company headquartered in Billund, Denmark. The company was founded by a carpenter called Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1934 and the now-famous plastic interlocking blocks were introduced in 1949. The blocks were originally sold under the name “Automatic Binding Bricks” but I think “Lego” is easier to remember! The name “Lego” comes from the Danish term “leg godt” meaning “play well”.

27 Company that moves people : UBER

The rideshare service Uber takes its name from the English colloquial word “uber” meaning “super, topmost”, which in turn comes from the German “über” meaning “above”.

28 Quilting parties : BEES

Back in 18th-century America, when neighbors would gather to work for the benefit of one of their group, such a meeting was called a bee. The name “bee” was an allusion to the social nature of the insect. In modern parlance, a further element of entertainment and pleasure has been introduced, for example in a quilting bee, or even a spelling bee.

37 Capital on the Tiber : ROME

Supposedly, there were seven separate settlements on the top of seven hills east of the River Tiber, prior to the founding of the city of Rome. Tradition dictates that Romulus founded Rome on one of these hills, namely Palatine Hill, and the city came to encompass all seven existing settlements. The most famous hill in modern-day Rome is probably Vatican Hill, but it lies outside of the walled ancient city.

The Tiber is the principal river in Italy in that it runs through the capital, Rome. It is the third longest river in the country.

40 Delt neighbor : PEC

“Pecs” is the familiar name for the chest muscle, which is more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is the Latin word for “breast, chest”.

41 Car rental giant : AVIS

Rental car company Avis used the tagline “We Try Harder” for five decades, starting in the early 1960s. The slogan had its roots in a 1962 ad campaign in which the company made brilliant use of its position behind market leader Hertz. The first rendition of the new tagline was “When you’re only No. 2, you try harder. Or else”. Within a year, Avis turned its first profit in over a decade, and within three years, increased the company’s market share from 29% to 36%. Avis eventually moved on to the slogan “It’s Your Space” in 2012.

42 Archie’s boss, in detective fiction : NERO

Archie Goodwin is a character in the “Nero Wolfe” series of detective novels by Rex Stout. Goodwin’s job is secretary and chauffeur to Wolfe, but he also serves as the narrator of the stories.

47 Team featured in the HBO sports drama “Winning Time” : LAKERS

The Los Angeles Lakers (LAL) basketball team started out in 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The team chose the Lakers name in honor of the nickname of Minnesota, “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. The Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960.

“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” is a drama TV show based on Jeff Pearlaman’s 2014 book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s”. Lakers stars such as Magic Johnson and Kareen Abdul-Jabbar are portrayed in the show. However, Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar have been critical of the series for its inaccuracy.

50 Ancient calculators : ABACI

The abacus (plural “abaci”) was used as a counting frame long before man had invented a numbering system. It is a remarkable invention, particularly when one notes that abaci are still widely used today across Africa and Asia.

55 “Diving Into the Wreck” poet Adrienne : RICH

Adrienne Rich was a poet and feminist. Famously, Rich declined the National Medal of Arts in 1997 as a protest. She decried the Clinton Administration’s policies towards the arts, and the efforts by Newt Gingrich to shut down the National Endowment for the Arts.

59 Long shot, in hoops lingo : TREY

A trey is a three in a deck of cards. The term “trey” can also be used for a domino with three pips, and even for a three-point play in basketball.

62 Gave clearance : OK’ED

Back in the late 1830s, there were some slang abbreviations coined mainly in Boston. The craze called for two-letter abbreviations of deliberately misspelled phrases. For example “no use” became “KY” from “know yuse”, and “enough said” became “NC” from “‘nuff ced”. Fortunately (I say!), the practice was short-lived. But, one of those abbreviations persists to this day. “All correct” was misspelled to give “oll korrect”, abbreviated to “OK”.

66 “All in favor, say __” : AYE

Aye …

67 Automaker whose “M” stands for “Motoren” : BMW

The initialism “BMW” stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke”, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.