Constructed by: Jeffrey Wechsler
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
Quicklink to comments
Theme: An Adjustment to UN
Today’s themed answers are common phrases in which the letter sequence UN has been changed to AN:
- 17A. Thief at a sleepaway camp? : BUNK ROBBER (from “bank robber”)
- 24A. People who wear “I’m with stupid” T-shirts? : DUNCE PARTNERS (from “dance partners”)
- 37A. Fail a jewelry class lesson? : BUNGLE BRACELETS (from “bangle bracelets”)
- 48A. What drives a fashionista? : CLOTHES HUNGER (from “clothes hanger”)
- 59A. Run out of amusing things to do? : EXHAUST FUN (from “exhaust fan”)
Bill’s time: 12m 12s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Caroler’s accoutrement : SCARF
The word “carol” came into English via the Old French word “carole”, which was a “dance in a ring”. When “carol” made it into English, about 1300 AD, the term was used to describe a dance as well as a joyful song. Around 1500 AD, carols that were sung came to be associated with Christmas.
10. Farthest from the hole : AWAY
That would be golf.
15. Izu Islands city : TOKYO
The Izu Islands are a chain of volcanic islands stretching south into the Pacific Ocean from the Izu Peninsula on the Japanese island of Honshu. Downtown Tokyo lies just to the north of the Izu Islands, and the towns and villages on the island chain form part of Tokyo Prefecture.
16. Soda opener? : COCA-
The first cola drink to become a commercial success was Coca-Cola, soon after it was invented by a druggist in 1886. That original Coca-Cola was flavored mainly with kola nuts and vanilla. The formulation was based on an alcoholic drink called Coca Wine that had been on sale for over twenty years.
19. Red cap? : CORK
That would be a cork in a bottle of red wine.
20. Vivid dye : AZO
Azo compounds have very vivid colors and so are used to make dyes, especially dyes with the colors red, orange and yellow. The term “azo” comes from the French word “azote” meaning “nitrogen”. French chemist Lavoisier coined the term “azote” from the Greek word “azotos” meaning “lifeless”. He used this name as in pure nitrogen/azote animals die and flames are snuffed out (due to a lack of oxygen).
21. Kibbutz entertainment : HORA
The hora is a circle dance that originated in the Balkans. It was brought to Israel by Romanian settlers, and is often performed to traditional, Israeli folk songs. The hora (also horah) is a regular sight at Jewish weddings. Sometimes the honoree at an event is raised on a chair during the hora.
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel. Kibbutzim were traditionally agriculture-based, but now are often centered around high-tech and other industrial enterprises. The first kibbutz was established in 1909 in Palestine under Ottoman rule. This kibbutz is called Degania, which now is in northern Israel.
22. End sections of some Greek poems : EPODES
An epode is a lyric poem made up of couplets in which the first line is long, and the second line much shorter. The form was invented by the Greek poet Archilochus, and was most famously used by the Roman poet Horace.
24. People who wear “I’m with stupid” T-shirts? : DUNCE PARTNERS (from “dance partners”)
John Duns Scotus was a theologian and scholar in the Middle Ages, responsible for many writings that were used as textbooks in British universities of the day. New ideas developed during the English Renaissance, but Duns Scotus and his followers resisted the changes. The word “dunse” came into use as a way of ridiculing those refusing to learn anything new, a precursor to our modern usage of “dunce”.
27. __ Cruces : LAS
Las Cruces (Spanish for “the crosses”) is the second largest city in the state of New Mexico, and is the home of New Mexico State University.
31. Lhasa __ : APSO
The Lhasa apso breed of dog originated in Tibet and is named after “Lhasa” (the capital city) and “apso” (a Tibetan word meaning “bearded”). The Lhasa apso has been around since 800 BC and is one of the oldest breeds in the world, one very closely related to the ancestral wolf.
34. Range : AMBIT
An ambit is an outer boundary or limit, a circumference. The term can also be used to mean the sphere or scope of influence. “Ambit” comes from the Latin “ambire” meaning “to go around”.
36. LP maker : RCA
The first vinyl records designed to play at 33⅓ rpm were introduced by RCA Victor in 1931, but were discontinued due to quality problems. The first long play (LP) 33⅓ rpm disc was introduced by Columbia Records many years later in 1948, with RCA Victor following up with a 45 rpm “single” the following year, in 1949.
41. Bali or Hanes product : BRA
The word “brassière” is French in origin, but it isn’t the word that the French use for a “bra”. In France, what we call a bra is known as a “soutien-gorge”, translating to “held under the neck”. The word “brassière” is indeed used in France but there it describes a baby’s undershirt, a lifebelt or a harness. “Brassière” comes from the Old French word for an “arm protector” in a military uniform (“bras” is the French for “arm”). Later “brassière” came to mean “breastplate” and from there the word was used for a type of woman’s corset. The word jumped into English around 1900.
Bali is an American lingerie company headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that has been around since 1927.
The Hanes brand of apparel was founded in 1901. A related brand was introduced in 1986 called Hanes Her Way.
42. Bridge call : I PASS
The version of the card game bridge that is played mostly today is contract bridge. Auction bridge is a similar game, and is a precursor to contract bridge.
44. Deity with bow and arrows : ARTEMIS
Artemis was an ancient Greek goddess, the equivalent of the Roman goddess Diana. Artemis was a daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. Among other things, she was the goddess of the hunt, and so often is depicted carrying a bow and arrows.
46. Bot., e.g. : SCI
Botany (bot.) is a science (sci.)
48. What drives a fashionista? : CLOTHES HUNGER (from “clothes hanger”)
The Spanish suffix “-ista” indicates a supporter or follower. Examples would be fashionista (a follower of fashion) and Sandinista (members of a Nicaraguan political party named after revolutionary Augusto César Sandino).
56. Superhero with a hammer : THOR
Thor is a superhero who was introduced to us by Marvel Comics in 1962. The character is of course based on the Norse god Thor, and comes complete with a magical hammer. Like so many comic book heroes it seems, Thor has made it to the big screen. Actor Chris Hemsworth played the role in the 2011 film “Thor” directed by the great Kenneth Branagh. Branagh must have needed the cash. Thor’s father Odin is played by Anthony Hopkins. He must have needed the cash too …
63. Three-time 20-game winner for the ’70s Red Sox : TIANT
Luis Tiant is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from Cuba. During his career, Tiant was noted for his cigar smoking. After retiring from the game, he launched a line of his own cigars called “El Tiant”.
66. Trig functions : SINES
The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent (abbreviated to “sin, cos and tan”). Each of these is a ratio, a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The “reciprocal” of these three functions are secant, cosecant and cotangent. The reciprocal functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent. These inverted ratios should not be confused with the “inverse” trigonometric functions e.g. arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. These inverse functions are the reverse of the sine, cosine and tangent. For example, the arctangent can be read as “What angle is equivalent to the following ratio of opposite over adjacent?”
Down
2. Brand once hawked by an eponymous “Joe” : ISUZU
Joe Isuzu is a fictional spokesman for Isuzu who was all over television in the late eighties. He was a tongue-in-cheek character famous for making exaggerated claims and downright lying.
Isuzu is a Japanese auto manufacturer that is very successful in the medium and heavy truck market in particular. You’ll be seeing fewer and fewer Isuzu passenger cars on American roads though, as the company exited the US passenger car market in 2008. The Isuzu Trooper was one of their most successful SUVs, and it was produced between 1981 and 2005.
3. Joinery element : TENON
One simple type of joint used in carpentry is a mortise and tenon. It is basically a projection carved at the end of one piece of wood that fits into a hole cut into the end of another. In the related dovetail joint, the projecting tenon is not rectangular but is cut at a bias, so that when the dovetails are joined they resist being pulled apart. You’ll see dovetail joints in drawers around the house.
6. Hooded snake : COBRA
“Cobra” is the name given to a group of snakes, some of which are in different animal families. The term is reserved for those snakes that can expand their neck ribs to create a hood. The name “cobra” is an abbreviated form of “cobra de capello” which translates from Portuguese as “snake with hood”.
7. Mogul emperor, 1556-1605 : AKBAR
Akbar the Great was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death in 1605. Akbar’s reign was a successful one for empire, as he consolidated the Mughal influence in the whole of the Indian subcontinent. Akbar made significant social reforms that improved the lives of women, legalizing the remarriage of widows and raising the legal age of marriage. He also banned “sati”, the practice whereby a widow immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her husband.
9. Like “CSI” work : FORENSIC
Something described as “forensic” is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The the term comes from the Latin “forensis” meaning “of a forum, of a place of assembly”. We mainly use the word today to mean “pertaining to legal trials” as in “forensic medicine” and “forensic science”.
11. Item in many an IKEA kit : WOOD SCREW
The IKEA furniture stores use the colors blue and yellow for brand recognition. Blue and yellow are the national colors of Sweden, where IKEA was founded and is headquartered.
18. Carla portrayer on “Cheers” : RHEA
Rhea Perlman’s most famous role has to be “Carla Tortelli”, the irascible waitress in the long-running sitcom “Cheers”. Perlman is also a successful children’s author, and has published a series of six books called “Otto Undercover”. She is married to Hollywood actor Danny DeVito, and has been so since 1982.
23. Actress/author Holly Robinson __ : PEETE
The actress Holly Robinson Peete has achieved a lot of success off the screen. She was one of the original co-hosts on the daytime show “The Talk”, and in 2011 won a NAACP Image Award for her children’s book “My Brother Charlie”. She now appears on a reality TV show called “For Peete’s Sake” that follows her life.
26. Marching band section : TUBAS
The tuba is the lowest-pitched of all the brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”. Oom-pah-pah …
29. When “Kansas City” is sung in “Oklahoma!” : ACT I
“Oklahoma!” was the first musical written by the great duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The storyline comes from a 1931 stage play called “Green Grow the Lilacs”.
30. Knock down, in Nottingham : RASE
To “raze” (“rase”, in UK English) is to level to the ground. I’ve always thought it a little quirky that “raise”, a homophone of “raze”, means to build up.
Nottingham is a city in the East Midlands of England. To us on this side of the Atlantic, perhaps Nottingham is most famous for its links to the legend of Robin Hood.
31. “SOS” group : ABBA
The ABBA song “SOS” was originally titled “Turn Me On”. In the movie “Mama Mia!”, “S.O.S.” is performed by Meryl Streep (brilliantly) and by Pierce Brosnan (terribly).
35. Union address? : MRS
Mr. is an abbreviation for “master”, and Mrs. is an abbreviation for “mistress”.
39. Peter the Great et al. : EPITHETS
An “epithet” is a word or phrase, often used in a name, to describe a quality of the person or thing bearing that name. For example, King Richard I was also known as Richard the Lionheart.
Peter the Great was perhaps the most successful of the Romanov tsars, and was famous for modernizing Russia and expanding the country’s sphere of influence, creating the Russian Empire. He ruled from 1682 until his death in 1725.
47. Ornery sorts : CURS
Back in the early 1800s, the word “ornery” was an informal contraction for the word “ordinary”, and meant commonplace, but with a sense of “poor quality, coarse, ugly” as opposed to “special”. Towards the end of the century, the usage “ornery” had evolved into describing someone who was mean or cantankerous.
49. Vermont patriot Allen : ETHAN
Ethan Allen was one of the founders of the state of Vermont. Allen was also a hero in the American Revolutionary War, famous for leading (along with Benedict Arnold) the small band of men known as the Green Mountain Boys that captured Fort Ticonderoga. And yes, the Ethan Allen store and furniture line is named for Ethan Allen the patriot, even though he had nothing to do with the furniture business.
50. Oscar-nominated western : SHANE
The classic 1953 western movie called “Shane” is based on the novel of the same name by Jack Schaefer published in 1949. Heading the cast is Alan Ladd in the title role, alongside Jean Arthur and Van Heflin.
53. Flat fees : RENTS
“Flat” is a word more commonly used in the British Isles than here, in the sense of an apartment or condominium. The word “flat” is Scottish in origin, in which language it meant a “floor in a house”.
54. “I’ll be there” message, e.g. : RSVP
RSVP stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “please, answer”.
55. Author Wiesel : ELIE
Elie Wiesel was a holocaust survivor, and is best known for his book “Night” that tells of his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
61. BOAC competitor : TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a big carrier in the US, but was perhaps even more recognized for its extensive presence in Europe and the Middle East. For many years, especially after the collapse of Pan Am, TWA was considered the unofficial flag carrier for the US. The company started in 1930, the product of a forced merger of Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express. The Transcontinental and Western Air that resulted (the original meaning of the initialism “TWA”) was what the Postmaster General wanted, a bigger airline to which the Postal Service could award airmail contracts.
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was one of the two airlines that were merged in 1974 to form British Airways (the other was British European Airways, usually referred to as BEA).
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1. Itsy-bitsy critter : MITE
5. Caroler’s accoutrement : SCARF
10. Farthest from the hole : AWAY
14. Slangy “Got that?” : Y’SEE?
15. Izu Islands city : TOKYO
16. Soda opener? : COCA-
17. Thief at a sleepaway camp? : BUNK ROBBER (from “bank robber”)
19. Red cap? : CORK
20. Vivid dye : AZO
21. Kibbutz entertainment : HORA
22. End sections of some Greek poems : EPODES
24. People who wear “I’m with stupid” T-shirts? : DUNCE PARTNERS (from “dance partners”)
27. __ Cruces : LAS
28. It may be a lemon : USED CAR
31. Lhasa __ : APSO
34. Range : AMBIT
36. LP maker : RCA
37. Fail a jewelry class lesson? : BUNGLE BRACELETS (from “bangle bracelets”)
41. Bali or Hanes product : BRA
42. Bridge call : I PASS
43. Boo-boo : OWIE
44. Deity with bow and arrows : ARTEMIS
46. Bot., e.g. : SCI
48. What drives a fashionista? : CLOTHES HUNGER (from “clothes hanger”)
54. Go over : REHASH
56. Superhero with a hammer : THOR
57. Natural resource : ORE
58. Tissue box access : SLIT
59. Run out of amusing things to do? : EXHAUST FUN (from “exhaust fan”)
62. Forest climber : VINE
63. Three-time 20-game winner for the ’70s Red Sox : TIANT
64. Cried : WEPT
65. Classifies (as) : PEGS
66. Trig functions : SINES
67. Fine things? : ARTS
Down
1. “I’m the culprit” : MY BAD
2. Brand once hawked by an eponymous “Joe” : ISUZU
3. Joinery element : TENON
4. “I sure don’t want that” : EEK!
5. Retrieves dropped keys, say : STOOPS
6. Hooded snake : COBRA
7. Mogul emperor, 1556-1605 : AKBAR
8. Bakery offering : RYE
9. Like “CSI” work : FORENSIC
10. Agreement : ACCORD
11. Item in many an IKEA kit : WOOD SCREW
12. Lot division : ACRE
13. Shoots the breeze : YAKS
18. Carla portrayer on “Cheers” : RHEA
23. Actress/author Holly Robinson __ : PEETE
25. Obstruct : CLOG
26. Marching band section : TUBAS
29. When “Kansas City” is sung in “Oklahoma!” : ACT I
30. Knock down, in Nottingham : RASE
31. “SOS” group : ABBA
32. Run smoothly : PURR
33. Pickpocket’s activity : SNATCHING
34. Humiliate : ABASH
35. Union address? : MRS
38. Oscar night arrivals : LIMOS
39. Peter the Great et al. : EPITHETS
40. Butcher’s offering : LOIN
45. Brings great pleasure to : ELATES
46. Shows anger, maybe : SHOUTS
47. Ornery sorts : CURS
49. Vermont patriot Allen : ETHAN
50. Oscar-nominated western : SHANE
51. Menial assistant : GOFER
52. Blow : ERUPT
53. Flat fees : RENTS
54. “I’ll be there” message, e.g. : RSVP
55. Author Wiesel : ELIE
60. Number on old dials : XII
61. BOAC competitor : TWA
DNF after 69 minutes, 1/4 of the grid filled. 3 out of the last 4 grids I’ve attempted now – bit disconcerting. Speaking of the one I didn’t…
28 minutes, 2 errors on the WSJ (1 lack of knowledge, 1 completely dumb). Meta solved.
I got the WSJ grid without too much gnashing of teeth but the only meta answer I could possibly see just seems too simple to even bother emailing in. After the contest is over would you mind telling me what the answer was so I can see how far off the path I was with my idiotic guess? Thanks, Glenn.
Tony
13:45, no errors. Not the easiest puzzle, but not too bad for a Friday, I guess …
Kind of a fun one today. 40 minutes, but I was texting some while solving. Had “limit” for the longest time before AMBIT, and that complicated that entire section. I got CORK for “Red cap” via crosses, but I didn’t get it until the blog. When I saw the explanation I had that “oh yeah” feeling.
What a great etymology of the word “dunce”. A catch 22 perhaps? A dunce wouldn’t be smart enough to know the origin of the word dunce?
Anything is better than yesterday. Woke up with my AC blowing hot air on me. Had to finally replace my 13 year old unit. They can’t actually install it until Wednesday so they got my current old one working just enough so that it can survive (maybe) until Wednesday. I have my fingers crossed because it is brutally hot and humid in Houston right now. Newsflash: They don’t give those things away. Ouch. I have a separate unit for my upstairs which thankfully doesn’t need replacing……yet.
Best –
Indeed. I set down with it later and finished it 21 minutes after, so I don’t know what happened that I was having such trouble with it before. The other two was a small weird section (Thu WSJ) and just plain lack of knowledge (CHE), so I don’t feel too badly. Save being particularly busy of course this week, and being delayed from working out some other issues. One of which is getting subscribed on the NYT side and figuring out how I’m going to handle doing puzzles from there on out.
In other news, I finally got to listen to some ABBA yesterday. Can’t say I know the appeal from the music that they get the wider interest than they do – besides the obvious crossword implications. I’m half-tempted to listen to some India.ARIE too, but can’t say I’ve heard of that outside of crosswords at all, so can’t say I’m too interested.
@Carrie (Thu)
I don’t know who all does things with paper versus online. But all I can say is that I use paper about 1/2 the time (all the time with NYT for right now). When I do do online, I stick to Across Lite. Offline, no ads, something I can control a whole lot more than the online widgets. It even does an awesome job when I do want to print something. Of course, with online widgets I have a habit of just printing those out anyway simply because they are made so hard to use for a variety of reasons.
I always start in the upper left hand corner, and that turned out to be the most difficult part of the grid for me. No final errors.
Tough puzzle – but I got another Friday done…. the long answers really helped – and I got the ‘correction theme’ very early. The construction appears to be really very clever.
Bill, thank you for John Duns Scotus ( what did Scotus do to be ‘dunned’ by John ? ) This fine gentleman also gave us some wonderful acronyms – SCOTUS – or, Supr.Crt. of The US, like POTUS , Pres. of The US and Doofus , devilled ogres of the US – that would be the US Congress ….lol
I must have mentioned this before, but the word, Akbar or Akhbar, itself, means ‘great’. As in the islamic slogan, “Allah-hu-akhbar ” … God is great. So in saying, Akbar the Great, what we are really saying is ‘Great the great’…. his given name was Jallal-ud-din Muhammed.
He is best known for his ( supposedly ) , tolerance of all religions, and he even established a new. syncreatic religion, during his reign, the ‘Din-i-Ilahi’, which had only five converts, even during his lifetime….. As for widow remarriage, raising the legal age for marriage and widow self immolation, ‘sati’,….. unfortunately, nothing changed for the next 400 years….
Have a nice day, and nice weekend, all.
Like Tony Michaels I started in the upper left and got thrown off for quite a while, thinking that the brand hawked by the eponymous “Joe” would be Joe Camel (it fit). Once I gave that up, the rest fell into place 🙂
20 minutes, no errors
Also had a lot of trouble with the NW corner; everything else in about 40 minutes. Ended up with two errors A_O and DaNCE… If I would have payed attention to the theme I would have had DUNCE and probably figured out ISUZU.
@Bill Not that you’ll ever see this, but regarding 66 Across: the arctangent is actually adjacent over opposite.
@Carrie I may have spoken too soon on the Giants but you guys are doing fine.
@Dirk Not that you’ll ever see this, but regarding 66 Across: the arctangent is actually NOT adjacent over opposite.
Sin =opp/hyp, Cos=adj/hyp, Tan= Sin/Cos= opp/adj.
Hence, arcTan=arc(opp/adj).
This grid appeared in TOI today (26 Sep 2017), hence I was looking up the comments.
Hi all,
Gad this was GRUELING!! DNF, tho I REALLY thought I would. DANG! ? That SE corner did me in. And I had ABASE instead of ABASH. That really messed me up. But the absolute WORST was “Bot., eg.” Could NOT get it, and I threw in the towel with 80% done. Maybe the heat here in LA is the real culprit — I think it hit 100. I couldn’t get ANYTHING done. At least we don’t have humidity like Jeff’s dealing with….
Dirk, I tell ya, I’d much rather the Giants were in the running instead of those horrible Diamondbacks. I’m no fan of these upstart expansionist teams….
I’m determined to conquer Saturday’s puzzle!!!
Be well~~™?