Constructed by: Lila Cherry
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
Quicklink to comments
Theme: Deejay
Today’s themed answers each comprise two words, beginning with the letters D and J:
- 47D…Wedding music provider … and a homophonic hint to six puzzle answers..DEEJAY
- 17A…Hardcover protector..DUST JACKET
- 25A…Improvisational music style developed in 14-Across..DIXIELAND JAZZ
- 43A…Local jurist..DISTRICT JUDGE
- 58A…Maneuver that captures two checkers..DOUBLE JUMP
- 10D…Guy’s breakup letter..DEAR JANE
- 37D…Clerical office positions..DESK JOBS
Bill’s time: 5m 39s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5…__ Madness: fruity Snapple flavor..MANGO
Originally “Snapple” was name of just one type of juice made by a company called Unadulterated Food Products. The drink’s name was a contraction of “snappy apple”. The company’s name was changed to the Snapple Beverage Corporation in the early 1980s. Snapple was sold in 1994, and is now a brand name owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
10…Info that isn’t as dumb as it sounds..DOPE
Our use of the word “dope” to mean “inside information” probably comes from horse racing. The idea is that a better might have information about which horse has been drugged (doped) to influence its performance.
14…Mardi Gras city acronym..NOLA
The city of New Orleans, Louisiana has the nickname “The Big Easy”. This name might come from the early 1900s when musicians found it relatively “easy” to find work there. The city is also known by the acronym NOLA, standing for New Orleans (NO), LA.
“Mardi Gras” translates from French as “Fat Tuesday”, and gets its name from the practice of eating rich foods on the eve of the fasting season known as Lent. Lent starts on the next day, called Ash Wednesday.
15…University founder Yale..ELIHU
Elihu Yale was a wealthy merchant born in Boston in 1649. Yale worked for the British East India Company, and for many years served as governor of a settlement at Madras (now Chennai) in India. After India, Yale took over his father’s estate near Wrexham in Wales. It was while resident in Wrexham that Yale responded to a request for financial support for the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1701. He sent the school a donation, which was used to erect a new building in New Haven that was named “Yale” in his honor. In 1718, the whole school was renamed to “Yale College”. To this day, students of Yale are nicknamed “Elis”, again honoring Elihu.
21…Josephine, for one..EMPRESS
The birth name of the Empress Joséphine, first wife of Napoléon I, was Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie. Her name just before her marriage to Napoléon Bonaparte was Joséphine de Beauharnais, as she had been the wife of Alexandre de Beauharnais, a general who fell victim to the guillotine during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Joséphine agreed to a divorce from Napoléon I, as she failed to bear the emperor any children. The couple remained devoted to each other, even after Napoléon married Marie-Louise of Austria. Her former husband insisted that Joséphine retain the title of empress. She passed away in 1814, while Napoleon was in exile on Elba. Napoleon’s final words on his deathbed were “France, the Army, the Head of the Army, Joséphine.”
23…Dictator Amin..IDI
Idi Amin received most of his military training in the British armed forces, eventually achieving the highest rank possible for a Black African in the British Colonial Army in 1959, that of Warrant Officer. On his return to Uganda Amin joined his country’s military and quickly rose to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Army. During that time he was quite the athlete. He was a noted rugby player and swimmer, and for nine years held the Ugandan national light-heavyweight boxing title. By the early seventies, Amin was commander of all the armed forces of Uganda and in 1971 seized power in a military coup, displacing the country’s president Milton Obote. There followed seven years of brutal rule by Amin during which it is estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were murdered. Amin was ousted from power in 1979 after a war with Tanzania, and fled to Libya where he stayed for a year. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he was financially supported by the Saudi Royal Family for the remainder of his life. Amin died in 2003.
24…Noun following a vb., usually..OBJ
An object (obj.) is a noun following a verb (vb.), usually.
25…Improvisational music style developed in 14-Across..DIXIELAND JAZZ
(14A…Mardi Gras city acronym..NOLA)
The Dixieland style of jazz is also known as New Orleans jazz and early jazz, a reference to the style early roots in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century.
“Dixie” is a nickname sometimes used for the American South, and often specifically for the original 11 states that seceded from the Union just prior to the Civil War. It’s apparently not certain how the name “Dixie” came about. One theory is that it comes from the term “dixie” which was used for currency issued by banks in Louisiana. The 10-dollar bills had the word “dix” on the reverse side, the French for “ten”. From the banknote, the French speaking area around New Orleans came to be known as Dixieland, and from there “Dixie” came to apply to the South in general.
33…East, to Eduardo..ESTE
In Spanish, “el sol” (the sun) rises in the “este” (east).
36…Apple tablet..IPAD
The groundbreaking iPad was introduced by Apple in 2010. The iOS-based iPads dominated the market for tablet computers until 2013, when Android-based tablets (manufactured by several companies) took over the number-one spot.
39…Stonestreet of “Modern Family”..ERIC
Actor Eric Stonestreet is best-known for playing Cameron Tucker on the hit comedy show “Modern Family”. Stonestreet is openly straight, but plays the gay partner of the character Mitchell Pritchett. Pritchett is played by openly-gay actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Ferguson jokingly describes Stonestreet as being “gay for pay”.
48…Divided Asian country: Abbr…KOR
Korea was occupied by the Japanese military from 1910 until Japan surrendered at the end of WWII in 1945. While the UN was working towards a trusteeship administration for Korea, the Soviet Union managed the Korean Peninsula north of the 38th parallel and the US managed the south. The UN’s plans came to nothing as the Cold War dictated the establishment of the two separate states of North Korea and South Korea. North Korea invaded the South in 1950, leading to the Korean War. After three years of fighting, the border between the two states became the demarcation line between the two military forces on the day the Armistice Agreement was signed. That line runs diagonally across the 38th parallel, and is better known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
50…”The Grapes of Wrath” protagonist..TOM JOAD
Tom Joad is the protagonist the John Steinbeck’s novel “The Grapes of Wrath”. The role of Joad was played by Henry Fonda in the 1940 film adaptation directed by John Ford. Ford’s movie has a place in history, as it was one of the first 25 movies selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
57…Small Chevy model..AVEO
The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile that has been around since 2002. The Aveo is manufactured by GM Daewoo, the GM subsidiary in South Korea. Although the Aveo name is still used in some markets, here in North America the Aveo has been sold as the Chevrolet Sonic since 2012. By the way, GM Daewoo is the third largest manufacturer of automobiles in South Korea, after Hyundai and Kia.
58…Maneuver that captures two checkers..DOUBLE JUMP
“Checkers” is yet another word that I had to learn moving across the Atlantic. In Ireland the game is called “draughts”.
61…Low-__ diet..CARB
The eating of relatively few carbohydrates is central to the diet proposed by Robert Atkins. Atkins first laid out the principles behind the Atkins diet in a research paper published in 1958 in the “Journal of the American Medical Association”. He popularized his diet starting in 1972 with his book “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution”.
65…Brewery kilns..OASTS
An oast is a kiln used for drying hops as part of the brewing process. Such a structure might also be called an “oast house”.
66…Thief who doesn’t need the combination..YEGG
“Yegg” is a slang word for a burglar and often for a safe-cracker. The origin of the term appears to be unknown.
Down
4…Dot-__ printer..MATRIX
A dot matrix printer works somewhat like an old typewriter. The printer head runs back and forth across the stage striking the paper through an inked ribbon, creating the printed characters from small dots.
6…Oct. baseball semifinal..ALCS
American League Championship Series (ALCS)
8…Indian butter..GHEE
Ghee is clarified butter used in South Asian cuisines. The “ghee” comes from Sanskrit, and translates as “sprinkled”.
10…Guy’s breakup letter..DEAR JANE
Apparently the term “Dear John letter” originated in WWII among American troops who were serving abroad. The servicemen highly valued letters from girlfriends and wives back home, and almost invariably those missives started out with “Dearest”, or “My Darling” or some other expression of affection. A curt, “Dear John” set the tone for a letter which was likely to contain news of a new love interest in the life of the girlfriend or wife. The contemporary equivalent missive from a male to a female is a “Dear Jane letter”.
13…”Grand” ice cream brand..EDYS
Dreyer’s ice cream sells its products under the name Dreyers in the Western United States, and Edy’s in the Eastern states. The company’s founders were William Dreyer and Joseph Edy. The partners launched Edy’s Grand Ice Cream in 1928, with the use of the adjective “Grand” a reference to their street address on Grand Avenue in Oakland, California.
18…Dame Dench..JUDI
Dame Judi Dench is an outstanding English actress, known for decades in her home country mainly as a stage and television actress. Dench’s film career took off in the nineties with a relatively trivial role as “M” in the James Bond series of films. Since then she has played leading roles in several excellent movies including “Shakespeare in Love”, “Mrs. Brown” and “Notes on a Scandal”.
22…Sandwich with Jif and Welch’s, for short..PBJ
Peanut butter and jelly (PB&J or PBJ)
Jif is the leading brand of peanut butter in the US, and has been since 1981. Introduced in 1958, it is now produced by Smuckers.
Welch’s is a beverage and food company that was founded in 1869 by Thomas Bramwell Welch and Lee Steger Welch in Vineland, New Jersey. The company’s first product was “Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine”, which was later rebranded as “Welch’s Grape Juice”.
26…Pakistani neighbor..IRANI
Iran is in the process of building a 10-foot high concrete wall along a 700-km stretch of the Iran-Pakistan frontier. The barrier is intended to deter illegal crossings and the smuggling of drugs into Iran.
27…Eleventh of 13 popes..LEO XI
Pope Leo XI ascended to the papal throne on April 1, 1605, almost seventy years old at the time. He became sick and died within a month. For obvious reasons he was nicknamed “Papa Lambo”, the Lightning Pope …
28…Savory gelatin..ASPIC
Aspic is a dish in which the main ingredients are served in a gelatin made from meat stock. “Aspic” is a French word for “jelly”.
29…H-bomb trial, e.g…N-TEST
The first successful detonation of a hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) was in a test codenamed Ivy Mike. The test was conducted by the US on an atoll in the Pacific Ocean named Enewetak.
30…Weightlessness cause, briefly..ZERO-G
The force of gravity that we all feel is referred to as “one-G”. As gravity is a actually an accelerating force, acceleration is measured relative to that force of gravity. So, if we are sitting in a vehicle that accelerates at 3G, then we are experiencing a force that is three times that which we feel from the gravitational pull of the earth. Zero-G is weightlessness that is experienced when in space, outside the influence of the earth’s gravity.
31…Congo, formerly..ZAIRE
The African nation once called Zaire is a neighbor of Rwanda. The genocide and war in Rwanda spilled over into Zaire in 1996, with the conflict escalating into what is now called the First Congo War. As part of the war’s fallout there was a regime change, and in 1997 Zaire became the Democratic Republic of Congo.
32…Newton fruit..FIG
The Fig Newton is based on what is actually a very old recipe that dates back to Ancient Egypt. Whereas we grew up with “Fig Rolls” in Ireland, here in America the brand name “Fig Newton” was used, named after the town of Newton, Massachusetts where they were first produced.
35…Getting it done, initially..TCB
Taking care of business (TCB)
45…Units of energy..JOULES
James Joule was an English physicist who spent much of his life working in the family brewing business. Joule used his work in the brewery to study the relationship between heat and mechanical work. In honor of his achievements, his name is used for the unit of energy in the International System of Units (i.e. the joule).
47…Wedding music provider … and a homophonic hint to six puzzle answers..DEEJAY
The world’s first radio disk jockey (DJ, deejay) was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his first broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, he started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.
53…Spanish lady..DONA
In Spain, a title of respect for men is “Don”. The equivalent female title is “Dona”.
55…__ of thumb..RULE
The exact origin of the phrase “rule of thumb” appears to be unclear. However, the expression does exist in languages other than English, although the wording can vary. In Finnish and German the equivalent is “rule of fist”, and in Hebrew the phrase is “rule of finger”.
56…City skyline obscurer..SMOG
“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…”Pardon me … “..AHEM …
5…__ Madness: fruity Snapple flavor..MANGO
10…Info that isn’t as dumb as it sounds..DOPE
14…Mardi Gras city acronym..NOLA
15…University founder Yale..ELIHU
16…Quaint “Yikes!”..EGAD!
17…Hardcover protector..DUST JACKET
19…One on your side..ALLY
20…Old show showings..RERUNS
21…Josephine, for one..EMPRESS
23…Dictator Amin..IDI
24…Noun following a vb., usually..OBJ
25…Improvisational music style developed in 14-Across..DIXIELAND JAZZ
32…Cat covering..FUR
33…East, to Eduardo..ESTE
34…Orderly..NEAT
36…Apple tablet..IPAD
38…Handled things somehow..COPED
39…Stonestreet of “Modern Family”..ERIC
40…Heredity unit..GENE
41…x or y, in plane geometry..AXIS
42…Planet, in verse..ORB
43…Local jurist..DISTRICT JUDGE
48…Divided Asian country: Abbr…KOR
49…Miner’s objective..ORE
50…”The Grapes of Wrath” protagonist..TOM JOAD
54…Boring tools..AUGERS
57…Small Chevy model..AVEO
58…Maneuver that captures two checkers..DOUBLE JUMP
61…Low-__ diet..CARB
62…Outie’s opposite..INNIE
63…Natural skin soother..ALOE
64…Bullfight cheers..OLES
65…Brewery kilns..OASTS
66…Thief who doesn’t need the combination..YEGG
Down
1…Also..AND
2…Time of day..HOUR
3…”Anything __?”..ELSE
4…Dot-__ printer..MATRIX
5…Malicious one..MEANIE
6…Oct. baseball semifinal..ALCS
7…Suffix with 34-Across..-NIK
8…Indian butter..GHEE
9…No longer in style..OUTMODED
10…Guy’s breakup letter..DEAR JANE
11…Gawk at..OGLE
12…Buddies..PALS
13…”Grand” ice cream brand..EDYS
18…Dame Dench..JUDI
22…Sandwich with Jif and Welch’s, for short..PBJ
25…Fooled..DUPED
26…Pakistani neighbor..IRANI
27…Eleventh of 13 popes..LEO XI
28…Savory gelatin..ASPIC
29…H-bomb trial, e.g…N-TEST
30…Weightlessness cause, briefly..ZERO-G
31…Congo, formerly..ZAIRE
32…Newton fruit..FIG
35…Getting it done, initially..TCB
37…Clerical office positions..DESK JOBS
38…Music provider on the road..CAR RADIO
44…Also..TOO
45…Units of energy..JOULES
46…Strongly suggest..URGE
47…Wedding music provider … and a homophonic hint to six puzzle answers..DEEJAY
50…Mexican snack in a shell..TACO
51…Track shape..OVAL
52…Nothing but..MERE
53…Spanish lady..DONA
54…Not much..A BIT
55…__ of thumb..RULE
56…City skyline obscurer..SMOG
59…Young __: tots, in dialect..’UNS
60…Tent stake..PEG
LAT: Finished at 11:48 (computer). Almost shameful the number of strike-overs and time involved for a Monday.
WSJ: Finished at 13:07 (computer). More strike-overs and time (again) that I would like. Such is a Monday I suppose (wonder too if it’s because this is the first thing I did this morning?). Did indeed get the meta right. 🙂
Makes me wonder now if there is indeed a different mental component sitting at a computer than doing them on paper.
Quick Monday. Glenn/Willie – As requesteda new name in today’s puzzle. Any puzzle with DIXIELANDJAZZ in it is impressive (i.e. X,J,Z,Z in one answer). GHEE and YEGG were new although I think YEGG might have been in another puzzle before.
I believe DONA is actually Portuguese. The Spanish would be DONA with a ~ over the “N”. Would that mean a lot of people have innie’s with ~ over the “N’s”? Maybe I’ve been mispronouncing “innie” my whole life…?
Otherwise not much to add to this one.
@Carrie
Yes it was Punta Cana where I spent the first week in April. But it’s rainy season now. You’re probably better off waiting until Fall or Winter
Best –
@Jeff
Not really. This is one of Rich Norris’ pseudonyms.
According to the film “The Big Easy” it is implied the city of NOLA got its name due to the fact that it has always been so easy to get graft and bribes if you are on the police force or in a government position there. Witness the reality that Ray Nagin, the mayor of NO got graft and kickbacks in awarding contracts for the repair from hurricane Katrina. BTW he got a ten year sentence in a rare prosecution for such crimes in New Orleans.
TCB? Never saw that acronym used, even in texts.
Otherwise, puzzle was good for a Monday. Not too difficult 🙂
I’ll play Google and Wiki-est:
TCB = “taking care of business”. Culturally, it originated with Elvis Presley, who called his band that, and used it as a personal motto through the early 1970s. Ultimately they were known as the “Memphis Mafia” or “The TCB Band”. It’s also notable that Bachman Turner Overdrive did a popular song by the name in 1974. I can’t say how or whether it entered into the common culture then for obvious reasons … but I’ll add the obligatory Seinfeld reference for WillieD.
Glenn beat me to it. I recognized Rich Norris’ pseudonym because I’ve seen it before.
More……
Cathy Carulli: Anagram of “Actually Rich”
Charlie Riley: “i.e., Really Rich”
Damien Peterson: “Editor’s Pen Name”
Gia Christian: “Again It’s Rich”
Lila Cherry: “Really Rich”
Meredith Ito: “I’m the Editor”
Nora Pearlstone: “Not a Real Person”
Sabrina Walden: “Brand New Alias”.
Samantha Wine: “What’s in a name”.
Teri Smalley: “It’s really me”.
@Carrie I lost interest in Sunday’s about a third of the way through. 🙂
Hit a roadblock today with AVEO and no idea who’s on Modern Family. Finished anyway.
While the origin of “YEGG” may be unknown, I would like to propose the following as an origin: A safe-cracker is sometimes said to “crack a safe”, much as we may “crack an egg”; I would suspect that the safe could have been referred to as a “YEGG”, and then the cracker eventual became the YEGG. Just guessing here.
Hey Larry I think you may be right!!
I had a few hiccups in this MOnday puzzle. (really !) Some names were tricky ….. ALCS and ERIC amd Aveo. Nothing much to add ….. I spent 3 hours yesterday learning about SOUS VIDE cooking. ( try pronouncing that -). Nothing much to bother about…
Talking about YEGG, one of my most favorite books is ‘The great train robbery’ by Michael Crichton. It is absolutely delightful reading.
Pookie beat me to all of Rick Norris’ various pseudonyms ….
Have a nice day, all.
Though I liked the theme, there were too many abbrevs. C’mon it’s Mon.
It was an ok grid for Monday. Maybe a little tougher than average. IMO grids tend to get a little junky when you have too many theme answers, and this one had plenty.
Thanks for the Seinfeld reference Glenn. I could drag it out even further to the episode “The Frozen Yogurt” and the chain TCB(Y), but that might give some people a headache.
I knew Shortz and Norris sometimes published under pseudonyms, but that list is either (a) funny and quaint or (b) schizophrenic, I’m not sure which. I’m beginning to think Barry C. Silk was a CIA agent who had to go back undercover.
Hi guys! Pretty good Monday puzzle; no errors, altho I initially put LEO II instead of LEO XI!! Duly fixed in time.
Love all those Rich Norris aliases! Too funny.
I sure don’t think of DIXIELAND JAZZ as particularly improvisational, at least not in jazz terms. Put me down as dissatisfied with that clue.
Hey JEFF! I keep forgetting to mention: I am also completely lost as to the meaning of Hallelujah’s lyrics. I read them over and got kinda creeped out. Then again, of course, I don’t happen to like that song (apologies to everyone in the world.) So, maybe I wasn’t the best person to look into it–but I was curious. AND, I smugly thought I could be the one to understand it…LOL.
Till tomorrow!
Be well~~?
Never heard the word yegg before. Never heard of dope used that way. Never heard of outmoded. Outdated is the logical answer to wright for for that clue.