Constructed by: Matt Skoczen
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
Quicklink to comments
Theme: Game Changer
Each of today’s themed answers contains the letter sequence G-A-M-E, CHANGED around:
- 62A…Last-minute interception, say, and a hint to this puzzle’s circles..GAME-CHANGER
- 17A…Get-even competition..GRUDGE MATCH
- 24A…Kunta Kinte’s country..THE GAMBIA
- 38A…They’re often seen under hoods..GARAGE MECHANICS
- 50A…”I didn’t get that”..COME AGAIN
Bill’s time: 12m 50s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1…Two cents..SAY
“To put in one’s two cents” is to add one’s opinion. The American expression derives from the older English version, which is “to put in one’s two pennies worth”.
14…NASDAQ news..IPO
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).
The NASDAQ trading system created in 1971 is the successor to the over-the-counter (OTC) trading system that was common at the time. OTC trading is done directly between two parties without being facilitated by an exchange.
15…Awabi sushi mollusk..ABALONE
The large edible sea snails that we call abalone are called ormer in the British Isles, and is served as “awabi” at a sushi bar. The abalone shell resembles a human ear, giving rise to the alternative names “ear shell” and “sea ear”.
16…Actress Brenneman..AMY
The actress Amy Brenneman played the title role in the TV show “Judging Amy”. I best know her from the part she played in the 2007 film “The Jane Austen Book Club”.
19…”Tell Me More” broadcaster..NPR
“Tell Me More” is a daytime talk show on NPR hosted by journalist Michel Martin.
20…__ de Cervantes..MIGUEL
The full name of the author of “Don Quixote” was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. As a young man in 1570, Cervantes was a soldier fighting for the Spanish Navy, stationed in Naples, at that time a possession of Spain. He was injured in battle, receiving three gunshot wounds including two to the chest. His injuries left him without the use of his left arm. After recuperating, he returned to active service, and in 1575 he was captured by Algerian corsairs, and spent the next five years in slavery in North Africa. His parents found him and bought his freedom, and brought him home to his native Madrid.
21…El stop: Abbr…STA
Station (sta.)
Elevated railroad (El)
22…City SSE of Sana’a..ADEN
Aden is a seaport in Yemen, located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.
Sana (also Sana’a) is the capital city of Yemen. Within the bounds of today’s metropolis is the old fortified city of Sana, where people have lived for over 2,500 years. The Old City is now a World Heritage Site.
24…Kunta Kinte’s country..THE GAMBIA
he Islamic Republic of the Gambia is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country on the African mainland, almost completely surrounded by Senegal. The Gambia lies on the Gambia River, for which the nation is named.
Not only did Alex Haley author the magnificent novel “Roots”, but he was also the collaborator with Malcolm X on “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”. His 1976 novel “Roots” is based on Haley’s own family history, and he claimed to be a direct descendant of the real life Kunta Kinte, the slave who was kidnapped in the The Gambia in 1767. If you remember the original television adaptation of “Roots”, you might recall that Kunta Kinte was played by LeVar Burton, who later went on to play another famous role, Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: the Next Generation”.
30…Pressure letters..PSI
Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
43…The other side of midnight?..NOON
Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in Ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.
48…Crammer’s tablet..NODOZ
NoDoz and Vivarin are brand names of caffeine pills.
54…One of a Social Security card pair..DASH
A Social Security number (SSN) is divided into three parts i.e AAA-GG-SSSS, Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Since 1973, the Area Number reflects the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN is the Group Number, and the SSSS in the number is the Serial Number. However, this is all moot, as since 2011 SSNs are assigned randomly.
57…Problem for Lady Macbeth..SPOT
Lady Macbeth is an evil and treacherous woman in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. The most famous line uttered by Lady Macbeth has to be “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” In this line, Lady Macbeth is frantically rubbing at her hand trying to get rid of an imaginary bloodstain left there after she committed four murders.
59…Scarlet letter, e.g…STIGMA
The main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter” is Hester Prynne. When Prynne is convicted by her puritanical neighbors of the crime of adultery, she is forced to wear a scarlet “A” (for “adultery”) on her clothing for the rest of her life, hence the novel’s title, “The Scarlet Letter”.
61…Babe’s environs..PEN
The hit 1995 film “Babe” was produced and filmed in Australia. The movie is an adaptation of a 1983 novel called “The Sheep-Pig” written by Dick King-Smith. “Babe” was a smash hit at the box office and was extremely well received by the critics. The film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but lost out to “Braveheart”. However, it did win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects by beating out “Apollo 13”, which was an amazing feat, I’d say…
64…Torah holder..ARK
The Torah ark is found in a synagogue, and is the ornamental container in which are stored the Torah scrolls. The word “Torah” best translates as “teaching”, I am told.
66…Cauliflower __..EAR
“Cauliflower ear” is a condition in which the outer ear becomes permanently swollen and deformed after a physical injury. The condition if particularly common in individuals competing in contact sports such as boxing and rugby.
67…”Street Dreams” rapper..NAS
Rapper Nas used to go by another stage name, Nasty Nas, and before that by his real name, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. Nas released his first album “Illmatic” in 1994, and inventively titled his fifth studio album “Stillmatic”, released in 2001. Not my cup of tea, I would say …
69…Like about half the counties in Arkansas..DRY
The Twenty-First Amendment of the US Constitution repealed prohibition in 1933. There is a provision in the amendment allowing prohibition under state or local laws. As a result, there are hundreds of counties across the country, mainly in the South, that prohibit the sale of alcohol. Most of those counties do allow the consumption of alcoholic drinks.
Down
1…18th Greek letter..SIGMA
Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is the one used for an “ess” sound, equivalent to our letter S. Sigma is used in mathematics to represent a summation, the adding together of a sequence of numbers.
2…4, at times..APRIL
The exact etymology of “April”, the fourth month of our year, seems to be uncertain. The ancient Romans called it “mensis Aprilis”, which roughly translated as “opening month. The suggestion is that April is the month in which fruits, flowers and animals “open” their life cycles.
4…Herb in a ballad..SAGE
Scarborough Fair is a delightful ballad that originated in Yorkshire in the North of England.
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Remember me to one who lives there,
She was once a true love of mine.
5…Genesis brother..ABEL
In the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis, Cain murders his brother Abel. Subsequently, God asks Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” Cain replies, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
6…”We Were Soldiers” setting..NAM
“We Were Soldiers” is an excellent 2002 movie starring Mel Gibson that tells the story of the Battle of la Drang during the Vietnam War. The film is based on the book “We Were Soldiers Once… And Young” that was written by Hal Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, both of whom were present at the battle and who feature in the film. Mel Gibson plays Colonel Hal Moore, and Barry Pepper plays journalist Joseph L. Galloway.
7…What stripes and polka dots do..CLASH
A polka dot pattern is one featuring an array of filled circles, usually of the same size and color. There doesn’t seem to be any connection between the name of the pattern and the polka dance, other than both the dance and the pattern gaining popularity around the same time, in the late nineteenth century.
11…Anita Baker genre..R AND B
Anita Baker is an R&B and soul singer who was raised in Detroit, Michigan. Baker’s most successful song is the Grammy-winning “Sweet Love” released in 1986.
12…1983 Pritzker prize recipient..IM PEI
I. M. Pei (full name: Ieoh Ming Pei) is an exceptional American architect who was born in China. Of Pei’s many wonderful works, my favorite is the renovation of the Louvre in Paris, especially the Glass Pyramid in the courtyard.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an annual award that has been presented since 1979. The award is funded by the estate of Jay Pritzker, the founder of the Hyatt Hotel chain.
13…Loy of “Thin Man” films..MYRNA
The beautiful Myrna Loy was one of my favorite actresses. Her career took off when she was paired up with William Powell in the fabulous “The Thin Man” series of films. Loy also appeared opposite Cary Grant in a couple of films that I like to watch every so often, namely “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer” (1947) and “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” (1948).
22…Mideast capital..AMMAN
Amman is the capital city of Jordan, and is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world. Amman has been occupied by a number of different civilizations over the centuries, including the Greeks who called it Philadelphia, a name retained by the Romans when they occupied the city just after 100 AD.
25…Tycoon Hammer..ARMAND
Armand Hammer was a business tycoon from New York City who is credited as the man behind the success of Occidental Petroleum. Hammer was also known for his close ties to the Soviet Union. His parents were Russian-born Jewish immigrants and Armand himself lived in the USSR for almost a decade in his twenties and early thirties. Supposedly, Armand Hammer was named after the “arm and hammer” symbol used by the Socialist Labor Party of America, an organization in which his father was a leader.
27…Its capital is Luanda..ANGOLA
Luanda is the capital city of Angola. Luanda is a large seaport that was founded by the Portuguese in 1576. For centuries, Luanda served as the main center of the slave trade from Africa to the Portuguese colony of Brazil.
28…Sushi topper..ROE
Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If you want raw fish by itself, then you have to order “sashimi”.
30…Sports org. founded in 1916..PGA
The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) was founded in 1916 and today has its headquarters (unsurprisingly) in Florida, where so many golfers live. Back in 1916, the PGA was based in New York City.
31…Co-star of James and Natalie in “Rebel Without a Cause”..SAL
The actor Sal Mineo’s most famous role was John “Plato” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Mineo was murdered in 1976 when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. When an arrest was made it was discovered that the murderer had no idea that his victim was a celebrity, and that his plan was just to rob anyone who came along.
“Rebel Without a Cause” is a 1955 drama movie, famously starring actor James Dean who died just before the film’s release. The title comes from a 1944 book by psychiatrist Robert M. Lindner “Rebel Without a Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath”, although the content of the book has no bearing on the movie’s storyline. The three lead actors in the movie all died tragically, and while relatively young:
- James Dean (24), in a car crash in 1955
- Sal Mineo (37), in a stabbing in 1976
- Natalie Wood (43), in a drowning in 1981
36…Former French coin..ECU
The ecu is an Old French coin. When introduced in 1640, the ecu was worth three livres (an older coin, called a “pound” in English). The word “ecu” comes from the Latin “scutum” meaning “shield”. The original ecu had a coat of arms on it, a shield.
37…2003 retiree, briefly..SST
The most famous supersonic transport (SST) is the retired Concorde. Famously, the Concorde routinely broke the sound barrier, and cruised at about twice the speed of sound. Above Mach 2, frictional heat would cause the plane’s aluminum airframe to soften, so airspeed was limited.
40…Fifth state: Abbr…CONN
Connecticut’s official nickname is the Constitution State, but can also be referred to as the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and the Land of Steady Habits.
41…Half a beverage..-HOO
The chocolate beverage known as “Yoo-Hoo” famously used Yogi Berra in its advertising in the fifties and sixties. One of Berra’s lines was “It’s Me-He for Yoo-Hoo!”
46…Reptile with a “third eye”..IGUANA
Iguanas have what is known as a “third eye” on their heads. Known as the parietal eye, it can sense levels of light, although it cannot make out details.
47…Blocked, beaver-style..DAMMED
Beavers build dams so that they can live in and around the slower and deeper water that builds up above the dam. This deeper water provides more protection for the beavers from predators such as bears. Beavers are nocturnal animals and do all their construction work at night.
49…God in both Eddas..ODIN
The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are two ancient works that are the source for much of Norse mythology. Both Eddas were written in the 13th century, in Iceland.
50…Where to see the House..C-SPAN
C-SPAN is a privately-funded, nonprofit cable channel that broadcasts continuous coverage of government proceedings.
51…Dvorák’s “Rusalka,” for one..OPERA
“Rusalka” is an opera by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. In Slavic mythology, a “Rusalka” is a water sprite.
Antonín Dvořák was a composer from Czechoslovakia who spent three years working and composing in the United States. He was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York from 1892 to 1895. Certainly here in the US, Dvořák’s best known work is his Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”, which is often referred to as “The New World Symphony”.
53…Rhone tributary..ISERE
The Isère river gives its name to the French Department of Isère, located partly in the French Alps. In turn, Isère gave its name to a somewhat famous ship called the Isère, which in 1885 delivered the Statue of Liberty from France to America in 214 shipping crates.
The Rhône river rises in Switzerland and flows through the southeast of France.
60…Works on roads..TARS
The terms “Tarmac” and “macadam” are short for “tarmacadam”. In the 1800s, Scotsman John Loudon McAdam developed a style of road known as “macadam”. Macadam had a top-layer of crushed stone and gravel laid over larger stones. The macadam also had a convex cross-section so that water tended to drain to the sides. In 1901, a significant improvement was made by English engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley who introduced tar into the macadam, improving the resistance to water damage and practically eliminating dust. The “tar-penetration macadam” is the basis of what we now call Tarmac.
62…PX patrons..GIS
A PX is a Post Exchange, a retail store operating on a US Army Base. The equivalent store on an Air Force Base is called a Base Exchange (BX). At a Navy installation it’s a Navy Exchange (NEX), at a Marine Corps installation it’s a Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) and at a Coast Guard Installation it’s a CGX.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…Two cents..SAY
4…Place for pews..SANCTUM
11…Hubcap holder..RIM
14…NASDAQ news..IPO
15…Awabi sushi mollusk..ABALONE
16…Actress Brenneman..AMY
17…Get-even competition..GRUDGE MATCH
19…”Tell Me More” broadcaster..NPR
20…__ de Cervantes..MIGUEL
21…El stop: Abbr…STA
22…City SSE of Sana’a..ADEN
23…Bath oil additive..ALOE
24…Kunta Kinte’s country..THE GAMBIA
26…Traffic slower..GLARE
29…Suffix in skin product names..-DERM
30…Pressure letters..PSI
32…Usual..NORM
34…Tests using mice..MAZES
38…They’re often seen under hoods..GARAGE MECHANICS
42…”It’s __ simple”..ALL SO
43…The other side of midnight?..NOON
44…__ reaction..GUT
45…Skated..SLID
48…Crammer’s tablet..NODOZ
50…”I didn’t get that”..COME AGAIN
54…One of a Social Security card pair..DASH
57…Problem for Lady Macbeth..SPOT
58…Unwritten parts of some addresses..UMS
59…Scarlet letter, e.g…STIGMA
61…Babe’s environs..PEN
62…Last-minute interception, say, and a hint to this puzzle’s circles..GAME-CHANGER
64…Torah holder..ARK
65…Fallacious..IN ERROR
66…Cauliflower __..EAR
67…”Street Dreams” rapper..NAS
68…Droopy face feature..SAD EYES
69…Like about half the counties in Arkansas..DRY
Down
1…18th Greek letter..SIGMA
2…4, at times..APRIL
3…Cry of support..YOU GO, GIRL!
4…Herb in a ballad..SAGE
5…Genesis brother..ABEL
6…”We Were Soldiers” setting..NAM
7…What stripes and polka dots do..CLASH
8…Added (up)..TOTTED
9…Free, as a bird..UNCAGE
10…”Does nothing for me”..MEH
11…Anita Baker genre..R AND B
12…1983 Pritzker prize recipient..IM PEI
13…Loy of “Thin Man” films..MYRNA
18…Fight with rules..DUEL
22…Mideast capital..AMMAN
24…__ paper..TERM
25…Tycoon Hammer..ARMAND
27…Its capital is Luanda..ANGOLA
28…Sushi topper..ROE
30…Sports org. founded in 1916..PGA
31…Co-star of James and Natalie in “Rebel Without a Cause”..SAL
33…Wise __..MEN
35…Went like lightning..ZIGZAGGED
36…Former French coin..ECU
37…2003 retiree, briefly..SST
39…Positive point..ASSET
40…Fifth state: Abbr…CONN
41…Half a beverage..-HOO
46…Reptile with a “third eye”..IGUANA
47…Blocked, beaver-style..DAMMED
49…God in both Eddas..ODIN
50…Where to see the House..C-SPAN
51…Dvorák’s “Rusalka,” for one..OPERA
52…Some ascetics..MONKS
53…Rhone tributary..ISERE
55…Sully..SMEAR
56…Bother no end..HARRY
59…It’s about a foot..SHOE
60…Works on roads..TARS
62…PX patrons..GIS
63…Blubber..CRY
LAT: Zero errors (Paper).
Haven’t gotten to the WSJ yet, but going to try it online. Shudders at what my time actually might be.
WSJ: Finished at 60:21, but way too many errors and strike overs to call it a win. I’ll have to say doing them on computer has a quite different mental process than doing them on paper. Seems my brain is more locked-in at the moment doing them on paper (by experience). I guess I’ll see.
This was a head-scratcher for me. I haven’t heard of “totted” for adding up. I got “cliffhanger” for 62 A, but it didn’t fit with the rest. I finished but way too many write-overs. A challenge to start the day for sure!
I thought this was a very solid challenge for a Thursday with enough misdirection to make you think, without being impossible to figure out the answers.
I’ll get to the WSJ later. Have a great day all.
Agreed – challenging but doable grid. I personally needed to lean on the theme about as much as I do on a Friday.
2 errors – I had ami/Mirna instead of AMY/MYRNA (I can live with that one), but I also put totled for TOTTED. My thinking was of the word “totaled”, but my brain failed to see the missing “a”…or rather it actually did see it when it wasn’t there. I wrote off the resulting “sln” as some unknown specific stop on the El. Yikes. “Totled”?? I may need professional help to get over that one.
A friend of mine is a history professor at a major university, and he has told me that a large portion of Roots is indeed fiction. I believe Haley was exposed several years ago as having invented most of the story as well as plagiarized most of it from a 1967 novel of a white author, Hal Courlander (The African). Nonetheless, what he describes in that work of fiction is fairly accurate in terms of the treatment of slaves etc. But networks avoid showing it because of this issue.
@Vidwan
From yesterday – It’s just the pedant coming out in me. Even in the Olympics the “Weight-lifting” competition is done in terms of kg’s so common usage equates kg’s and weight. As long as we keep doing the Olympics on earth and the earth’s gravity doesn’t change any time soon, we’ll be fine calling Kg’s a measure of “weight”
My favorite puzzle of the week tomorrow. This has been an above average week in terms of difficulty so very interested to see tomorrow’s grid.
Best –
I thought the WSJ daily grid was really a bear today. I finished somehow, but the answer for 38 Down was pretty heavy with ink strike overs, for sure. A very tricky puzzle that made me stretch those remaining mental muscles to get this done. Now I’ll rest on my laurels for the remainder of the day!
I like this blog but more times than not the one answer I don’t get is not explained. Just my luck. For instance, 58 across, no idea what UMS is.
@Anon
It’s referring to speaking tics due to nervous or non-confidence of a speaker. “Unwritten parts of some addresses”, addresses being speeches. “Ah”, “Um”, “Uh”.
That said, there’s no harm in anyone asking about anything they don’t understand. Part of what the comment section is here for.
Pretty average for today (:12). Old theme, but at least applied consistently and correctly. Just not much to comment on in this grid.
Done in by a rapper, a Mideast capital, a city SSE of Sana’a and
I.M. PEI ……………AGAIN!!!
Drats!
Difficult for me. I don’t remember slang and complicated argot. I think I’m getting better. I think. Enjoyed what I could. If Bill can do this, this fast, and still not win the ACPT – just the thought blows my mind.
Jeff, I am still reading WHY Kg, is a mass, but not the pounds. Was Newton Laws discovered by then, or did we just take gravity for granted. 😉
Pookie, I got IM and then I thought, who else. maybe i was just lucky.
Bill, if I click on the top ‘cooments’, it just leads me to the bottom comments, rather than the comments page directly. Am I complaining too much ? Also the comments are too large and show only one at a time, – compared to most other blogs. I am really trying to be more helpful here – just a point of view – the others should pitch in with their own opinions.
Have a nice evening all.
@Vidwan827
Mass and weight are two different things, so two different units are required. Mass is a measure of the amount of matter present, while weight is a measure of the effect of gravity upon the matter. Obviously the problem comes in that weight varies depending upon the amount of gravity involved, so weight becomes useless in describing the amount of matter as it requires a context. For instance, weights on the moon are 1/6 that of the Earth, but mass is identical in both cases. One effect of the SI system (metric more or less) is the clarifying of such vagaries and eliminating them from common parlance.
FWIW, the English unit of mass parallel to the SI unit of mass is called the slug.
As for observations on the blog, I figure it’s Bill’s blog and Bill’s decisions so I don’t say too much.
Greetings from wilderness-adjacent Los Feliz, Los Angeles, where my dog got skunked tonight! Hasn’t happened in a long time. Right in my own back yard too. We get skunks and raccoons here, and lately more coyotes than usual.
I liked today’s grid — challenging and pretty well done, and I pulled it off. I thought it was kinda cute that GRUDGE MATCH and DUEL intersected.
@Vidwan, you know, when I click on the comments link it doesn’t do what it does with you. It takes me to the start of the comments, and they’re of normal size.
I’m not surprised that “Roots” is largely fiction. Historically accurate, I would bet, just family story fictional. Didn’t know that Haley plagiarized some of it tho. Missed that part. Too bad…still a great book, of course.
Sweet dreams~~?