Constructed by: Morton J. Mendelson
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
Quicklink to comments
Theme: Abbreviated Adages
Each of today’s themed clues gives just the initial letters at the start of a well-known adage. The corresponding answer is the end of that adage, with all words spelled out fully:
- 17A. TW … : (Two Wrongs) DO NOT MAKE A RIGHT
- 25A. DCYC … : (Don’t Ccount Your Chickens) BEFORE THEY HATCH
- 44A. CI … : (Cleanliness Is) NEXT TO GODLINESS
- 58A. AGT … : (All Good Things) MUST COME TO AN END
Bill’s time: 8m 40s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Yanks’ foes : JAYS
The Toronto Blue Jays baseball franchise was founded in 1977. The Blue Jays are the only team based outside the US to have won a World Series, doing so in 1992 and 1993. And since the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, the Blue Jays are the only Major League Baseball team now headquartered outside of the US.
5. Operation designed to hurt : STING
A sting operation often involves a law enforcement officer operating undercover, and is designed to catch a person in the act of committing a crime.
10. Shipboard resident : SWAB
“Swabbie” (also “swabby, swab, swabber”) is a slang term for a sailor that we’ve been using since the late 1700s. A “swab” was originally a member of the crew assigned to the swabbing (mopping) of the ship’s decks.
14. CFO, e.g. : EXEC
Chief financial officer (CFO)
20. Shoelace site : INSTEP
The instep is in the middle of the human foot, right in front of the ankle. The term can also apply more specifically to the upper surface of that part of the foot.
24. Apartment listing abbr. : RMS
Rooms (rms.)
34. Nice with? : AVEC
The French city of Nice is on the Mediterranean coast in the southeast of the country. Although Nice is only the fifth most populous city in France, it is home to the busiest airport outside of Paris. That’s because of all the tourists flocking to the French Riviera.
35. Gobs and gobs : SLEWS
Our usage of “slew” to mean “large number” has nothing to do with the verb “to slew”. The noun “slew” come into English in the early 1800s from the Irish word “sluagh” meaning “host, crowd, multitude”.
36. Cart for heavy loads : DRAY
A dray is a sideless 4-wheeled cart that is used for hauling goods.
37. Filly’s brother : COLT
There are lots of terms to describe horses of different ages and sexes, it seems:
- Foal: horse of either sex that is less that one year old
- Yearling: horse of either sex that is one to two years old
- Filly: female horse under the age of four
- Colt: male horse under the age of four
- Gelding: castrated male horse of any age
- Stallion: non-castrated male horse four years or older
- Mare: female horse four years or older
38. Fighter eulogized by Bill Clinton, among others : ALI
After Muhammad Ali passed away in June 2016, there was a large prayer service and funeral procession in his hometown of Louisville. The pallbearers included actor Will Smith and boxer Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson. Eulogies were delivered by Ali’s wife Lonnie, Billy Crystal, Bryant Gumbel and former President Bill Clinton.
40. “The Grapes of Wrath” figure : OKIE
“Okies” is a derogatory term used during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s for farming families who migrated from Oklahoma (hence the name), Arkansas, Kansas and Texas in search of agricultural jobs in California. The road used by many of these migrant families was Route 66, which is also called “Mother Road”.
John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” is set during the Great Depression. The novel tells the story of the Joad family from Oklahoma, farmers who had to leave their home and head for California due to economic hardship.
43. Prime real estate? : EDEN
According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden “in” Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.
44. CI … : (CLEANLINESS IS) NEXT TO GODLINESS
The old adage “Cleanliness is next to godliness” is said by some to have originated in ancient Hebrew writings. However, an alternative view is that the first version of the expression is found in a 1605 book by English philosopher Francis Bacon entitled “The Advancement of Learning”. In Bacon’s words, “Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.”
53. One of a biblical ten : PLAGUE
According to the biblical Book of Exodus, God inflicted ten plagues on Egypt to persuade the Pharaoh to release the Israelites from bondage. For example, the first was the changing of water in the Nile to blood, the eighth was a plague of locusts that consumed all the Egyptian crops, and the tenth was the death of firstborn sons.
63. One “sitting lonely on the placid bust,” in a classic poem : RAVEN
Here are some lines from “The Raven”, Edgar Allan Poe’s narrative poem:
But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered – not a feather then he fluttered –
Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before –
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.”
Then the bird said “Nevermore.”
Down
1. “Star Wars” warrior : JEDI
The Jedi are the “good guys” in the “Star Wars” series of movies. The most famous Jedi knights from the films are Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness, and later Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz). Well, they’re my favorites anyway …
2. Nerve cell part : AXON
A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron. The branched projections that receive electrochemical signals from other neurons are known as dendrites. The long nerve fiber that conducts signals away from the neuron is known as the axon. A neuron that has no definite axon is referred to as “apolar” or “nonpolar”. In apolar neurons the nerve impulses radiate in all directions.
4. Ewan McGregor, for one : SCOT
Ewan McGregor is a very talented Scottish actor, one who got his break in the 1996 film “Trainspotting”. McGregor’s first big Hollywood role was playing the young Obi-Wan-Kenobi in the “Star Wars” prequels. Less known is his televised marathon motorcycle journey from London to New York via central Europe, Ukraine, Siberia, Mongolia and Canada. The 2004 trip was shown as “Long Way Round” on TV. McGregor did a similar trip in 2007 called “Long Way Down”, which took him and the same travelling companion from the north of Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa.
6. Sched. question mark : TBA
Something not yet on the schedule (“sked” or “sched.”) is to be advised/announced (TBA).
9. Sir Georg Solti’s record 31 : GRAMMYS
Sir Georg Solti was a great Hungarian-British conductor, who spent 22 years as music director of the Chicago Symphony, one of many prestigious positions he held in the world of classical music and opera. Solti was awarded 31 Grammy Awards, the most won by any individual in any genre of music. I think it’s kind of cool that Solti’s name comprises two notes in the solfa scale: sol-ti …
23. On the lam : AT LARGE
To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means to “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, to scram”.
25. Cobb salad ingredient : BACON
Ty Cobb’s first cousin, Robert H. Cobb, owned the Brown Derby chain of restaurants. One of his regular customers was the famous Sid Grauman, who ran Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Late one night, Grauman asked for a snack, and Cobb came up with a chopped salad simply made from ingredients he happened to have in the refrigerator. Grauman liked it so much that continued to request it, and the Cobb salad was born.
27. Composer Mendelssohn : FELIX
Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer who was active in the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn’s most famous works are probably his overtures “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Hebrides”, as well as his “Italian Symphony” and “Scottish Symphony”.
29. Prefix for “sun” : HELIO-
Helios was the god of the Sun in Greek mythology. Helios was the brother of Selene, the goddess of the moon, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn. Helios drove his chariot of the sun across the sky during the day, returning to the East at night be travelling through the ocean. The Roman equivalent to Helios was Sol.
30. Madison Ave. pitchers : ADMEN
Madison Avenue became the center of advertising in the US in the twenties, and serves as the backdrop to the great TV drama “Mad Men”. There aren’t many advertising agencies left on Madison Avenue these days though, as most have moved to other parts of New York City. The street takes its name from Madison Square, which is bounded on one side by Madison Avenue. The square in turn takes its name from James Madison, the fourth President of the United States.
45. Gymnast’s powder : TALC
Talc is a mineral, actually hydrated magnesium silicate. Talcum powder is composed of loose talc, although these days “baby powder” is also made from cornstarch.
46. Ibiza, por ejemplo : ISLA
Ibiza is a Mediterranean island almost 100 miles off the Spanish coast. It is a very popular tourist destination, largely for its legendary nightlife.
49. Key of the finale of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 : C MAJ
Johannes Brahms was a leading German composer during the Romantic period. Brahms is one of the “Three Bs”, often grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.
50. “Les Misérables” author : HUGO
Victor Hugo was a French poet and playwright, known in his native country mainly for his poetry. However, outside of France, Hugo is perhaps more closely associated with his novels such as “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”.
52. Old Fords : LTDS
There has been a lot of speculation about what the abbreviation LTD stands for in the car model known as “Ford LTD”. Many say it is an initialism standing for Luxury Trim Decor, and others say that it is short for “limited”. Although the car was produced in Australia with the initialism meaning Lincoln Type Design, it seems LTD was originally chosen as just three meaningless letters that sound well together.
55. Spice Girl Halliwell : GERI
The five members of the English pop group the Spice Girls are:
- Scary Spice (Melanie Brown, or Mel B)
- Baby Spice (Emma Bunton, and my fave!)
- Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell)
- Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham)
- Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm, or Mel C)
56. Second, e.g. : UNIT
The hour is subdivided into 60 parts, each of which was known as a “pars minuta prima” in Medieval Latin, translating as “first small part”. This phrase “pars minuta prima” evolved into our word “minute”. The “pars minuta prima” (minute) was further divided into 60 parts, each called a “secunda pars minuta”, meaning “second small part”. “Secunda pars minuta” evolved into our term “second”.
60. Actress Mendes : EVA
I best know the actress Eva Mendes as the female lead in the movie “Hitch”, playing opposite Will Smith. Mendes was known off the screen for dating actor Ryan Gosling from 2011 to 2013.
61. President pro __ : TEM
Pro tempore can be abbreviated to “pro tem” or “p.t.” “Pro tempore” is a Latin phrase that best translates as “for the time being”. It is used to describe a person who is acting for another, usually a superior. The President pro tempore of the US Senate is the person who presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President of the US. It has been tradition since 1890 that the president pro tem is the most senior senator in the majority party. The president pro tem ranks highly in the line of succession to the presidency, falling third in line after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1. Yanks’ foes : JAYS
5. Operation designed to hurt : STING
10. Shipboard resident : SWAB
14. CFO, e.g. : EXEC
15. Not as likely to mess up : ABLER
16. Walk without getting anywhere? : PACE
17. TW … : (TWO WRONGS) DO NOT MAKE A RIGHT
20. Shoelace site : INSTEP
21. Shipboard chums : MATEYS
22. Tenn. neighbor : ALA
24. Apartment listing abbr. : RMS
25. DCYC … : (DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS) BEFORE THEY HATCH
34. Nice with? : AVEC
35. Gobs and gobs : SLEWS
36. Cart for heavy loads : DRAY
37. Filly’s brother : COLT
38. Fighter eulogized by Bill Clinton, among others : ALI
39. Old-time teacher : MARM
40. “The Grapes of Wrath” figure : OKIE
41. Beams : GRINS
43. Prime real estate? : EDEN
44. CI … : (CLEANLINESS IS) NEXT TO GODLINESS
47. Downed a sub, say : ATE
48. In-law’s wife, possibly : SIS
49. Refrigerates : CHILLS
53. One of a biblical ten : PLAGUE
58. AGT … : (ALL GOOD THINGS) MUST COME TO AN END
62. Like quality beef : AGED
63. One “sitting lonely on the placid bust,” in a classic poem : RAVEN
64. Course with relevant tangents : TRIG
65. Regular guys : JOES
66. Finals, e.g. : EXAMS
67. Spot : SITE
Down
1. “Star Wars” warrior : JEDI
2. Nerve cell part : AXON
3. Cravings : YENS
4. Ewan McGregor, for one : SCOT
5. They’re often free : SAMPLES
6. Sched. question mark : TBA
7. Kind : ILK
8. Once called : NEE
9. Sir Georg Solti’s record 31 : GRAMMYS
10. Rotating rod : SPIT
11. Conduct : WAGE
12. Hurting : ACHY
13. Puts money (on) : BETS
18. Dash : TEAR
19. Not at all reflective : RASH
23. On the lam : AT LARGE
24. Backs up a videotape : REWINDS
25. Cobb salad ingredient : BACON
26. Bring to mind : EVOKE
27. Composer Mendelssohn : FELIX
28. Good-sized wedding band : OCTET
29. Prefix for “sun” : HELIO-
30. Madison Ave. pitchers : ADMEN
31. Carpentry, e.g. : TRADE
32. Worries : CARES
33. Church numbers : HYMNS
41. Reacted to an arduous workout : GOT SORE
42. Shoes without laces : SLIP-ONS
45. Gymnast’s powder : TALC
46. Ibiza, por ejemplo : ISLA
49. Key of the finale of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 : C MAJ
50. “Les Misérables” author : HUGO
51. “Now it’s clear” : I SEE
52. Old Fords : LTDS
54. Hard-working colonizers : ANTS
55. Spice Girl Halliwell : GERI
56. Second, e.g. : UNIT
57. Sharp side : EDGE
59. Reach capacity, with “out” : MAX
60. Actress Mendes : EVA
61. President pro __ : TEM
49 minutes, no errors. Pretty decent challenge, so I can’t say I like the theme all too well. 17 minutes, no errors on the WSJ. Again pretty easy in comparison to the usual like yesterday, but still have the meta to figure out with it.
LAT: 12:03, no errors. Foolishly (and because it’s very early in the morning, so I thought it would work all right), I went back to the LAT site to do this one and it did that whole maybe-I’m-going-to-respond-and-maybe-I’m-not thing again. Ultimately, I got the “success” message … and then the site froze completely. Gotta use the Washington Post site from now on.
Today’s theme reminds me of a puzzle that made the rounds a few years back: It presents you with a number of lines (32 of them, in the first version I saw) like these:
26 = L of the A
7 = D of the W
and you have to determine what the capital letters stand for. Various versions of this are to be found on the internet. If anyone is interested, I will try to provide a link.
Newsday: 13:17, no errors. WSJ: 15:27, no errors, and the meta has fallen; I looked at it for a while at bedtime, decided to let it go until morning, turned out the lights, and … the little 20W lightbulb in my head came on … so I got up and worked it out.
Good puzzle today. Needed a bit of help in the SW corner. Liked the Star Wars clue(s) as I was drinking my coffee out of a Death Star mug while I worked on the puzzle.
@Dave – I thought the same thing about the other type of puzzling phrases. I used to do those with my students when I was teaching. Then I’d have them make up their own. Got some pretty interesting ones.
For example:
140 = C in a T
88 = K on a P
52 = C in a D, 54 w J
Haven’t worked on the WSJ yet. Will update once I get a chance to do that.
-Megan
Tough, but a lil easier than yesterdays. I finally figured out the capital letters – but had to think of the phrase. Well, small successes. I enjoyed the puzzle, never the less.
When I came to Composer Mendelssohn, I noticed today’s constructor had a similar ( not same – Mendelson ) name …. but ”Morton” would not fit ….
I wonder if a constructor putting himself into the crossword is like breaking the fourth wall ? Like in a play or a movie ….
Two wrongs do not make a right …. But, three left turns do ….
Was that Groucho Marx ??
Thank you Bill, for ‘Instep’ …. I thought Instep was a part of the sole. The bottom middle part … but I figured, that concept might be wrong , because that was the only word that would fit the squares.
In the last few days, we had a salad of ‘Nice-an’ origins …. Nicoise. So, Nice repeats itself.
Have a Nice day, ‘le jour’, and a great weekend, folks.
@Vidwan … I had exactly the same experience with “instep” in this puzzle! How have I managed to misunderstand this word for 74 years? ?
Dave, Megan …. very interesting.
I got all except for 140 C in a T.
This is not only memory and IQ, but also requires some cultural familiarity. You would have to know music, and how to play bridge and / or poker.
Megan, you must be an inspiring teacher, to challenge your students, thus.
@Vidwan … I’m (temporarily, I hope?) stuck on 140 C in a T, also. Your comment about a need for cultural familiarity is prescient. Oddly enough, when I first encountered that 32-item list of these, I shared it with a young climbing buddy from India who was extremely bright, but had great difficulty with some parts of the puzzle for that very reason.
I didn’t know the 140 either. That was definitely one a student came up with as it pertains to a social media platform they frequently use. I’ll give you a bit more time to think about it and give you the answer later if you are still stumped.
Hope you figure out the meta. Took me a bit but am pretty confident with my answer. 🙂
@Megan … That was enough of a clue. I kept thinking, “140, 140 … Why does that sound so … familiar?” Now I know. Crows in a Tree. Duh … ? …
And I actually got the meta last night – unless I fell for another big red herring (but I think that’s highly unlikely) … ? …
14:15, no errors
16 moadmc. I saw some of these also, and they included some cultural references such as numbers involving cricket and rugby, which not everyone would really know. Of course the usual crossword puzzle has many such things as well, including endless Harry Potter stuff (never read any) or things like which TV station aired some show which I never saw, or, my favorite, what key some musical work in in. Oh well, most of the time the crosses get them done.
Stumped me with your number puzzle. Thinking “moves on a…” but that is as far as I got. Will have to think some more.
Ended up looking it up. I am too impatient. Does it have to do with pirates?
29:56. Sounds much faster than 30 minutes…. I didn’t get the theme until very late in the puzzle. Good one. Almost NYT Thursday-worthy.
I saw some of the eulogies for Muhammad Ali. Billy Crystal’s was the most memorable.
24 S in an IF …. That one is for Vidwan….
Best
I just read the late posts from yesterday and forgot to add – How is everyone doing up in Northern California (Bill too, I guess)? I’m glad Dirk is ok for now. I assume we have more than one poster from up there. Between Harvey, Irma, Maria, the Mexico City earthquake, the Vegas shootings…we’ve almost become numb to these things, but wow the fires in California. Cannot believe how bad that situation has become. Hope all are well
Best –
Thanks Megan, for the hints on 140 C in a T ….. I am sure the irrepressible President Trump must be VERY familiar with this limit !!@!
Thanks Megan, for that ultimate hint, a ditty, on 16 moadmc …. which gave the answer. Btw, I think the number is 15, not 16 … haha. Have a beer on us, matey.
I remember, in a book, called Count Down, on the International math olympiad …. there was an international teams competition, in a quiz which went like this . One team starts, and one (isolated) member of that team,….. gets a set of words, which is the answer, …….. which he has to describe / hint / cue to the other members, of his team.
If they guess, and fail, then the other competitive team gets to use that same, whole info, ….. to also guess the same words … if the second team fails …. then he gives another hint, and his team guesses, then the other team and so on. So, the hints are collectively utilized by both teams …
His first hint was,’No shirt’ … then his team guessed wrong, and the other team guessed … both wrong ….then his second hint was,’No service’ …. and his team finally answered,’No shoes’.
This was a definite cultural reference, like in a McDonalds Restaurant …. No shoes, no shirt, no service.
The other team was from South Korea, and they had no idea about what was being hinted at.
Right you are! It is 15 men on a dead man’s chest! Been so long since I encountered that phrase I got it mixed up.
Bill, forgive me, for I’m posting too many times.
Jeff, I’m not THAT smart, so I cheated. God bless Google ( and Wikipedia – ).
…… 24,…. really … I never ever counted. I don’t think most indians even stop to reflect, or are even aware, on this number. Maybe the 24 hours in a day… hmmm. I don’t think this has any significance.
The Indian flag is Orange, white and green ( like Ireland …. and Italy? Italy has a reddish color – ) except that, the colors are in horizontal bars. Some cynic once remarked that the colors were Orange (saffron – ) for the hindus, Green for the muslims, and the center white barrier to keep them well apart …. the center wheel was originally the wheel of a spinning wheel, in the honor of Gandhi, for he championed spinning as a method of employment and indigenous cotton cloth production to keep british exports out.
Btw, the designer of the flag, Mr. Pingalli Venkayya, was promptly forgotten, and died in relative poverty in 1963, in obscurity. I just found out his name, a minute ago ….
@Vidwan. Re Indian Flag- the 24 spokes are of the Ashok Chakra/ Dharmchkra of Budhism.
Francophile
Okay, there’s something weird going on. I accidentally composed my last post on the NYT blog, realized my error, COPYed it, DELETEd it from there, and tried to rePASTE it here. When I hit POST COMMENT, it told me I had already posted it, so I tried again, adding a first line to make it look different. Then, when I tried to edit that first line out, it wouldn’t let me, and it added a final line all its own. Computers … can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em … ?
And now my previous post has disappeared again … I think I’ve run afoul of some kind of anti-spam feature. My comment was about Tim Croce puzzles. (Today’s was quite easy.) Can you help, Bill?
One more try, with a few more edits to make the post look different:
Today’s Tim Croce puzzle (#301) seemed about as easy to me as any I’ve done. I didn’t officially time myself, but I can prove that it took me less than 40 minutes (and I think it probably took less than 30). I got a quick toehold in the upper left and proceeded smoothly throughout the entire puzzle, with no long stops and only two, rather minor, missteps. So, if you want to try a Croce puzzle, today’s may be the one. As I’ve said, though, I’m starting to get inside Croce’s head, and there were two or three things in the puzzle that I would probably have had a lot more trouble with a few weeks ago.
I’m now working on Croce puzzles from April. The ones numbered 252 and 253, from the end of the month, were quite easy. A couple of the ones from close to the beginning of May, though, were real monsters. One of them, in particular (#256), nearly defeated me – as in, it took me nearly an hour to start and another hour and a half to finish (but with no errors). The other (#255) took less time to do, but with errors in two squares (three entries).
Very fun Friday; took about an hour with no errors. Had rebS before JAYS, cRAft before TRADE and GeTSORE before GOTSORE. Once I got one of the theme items, I was on a roll and everything quickly came together.
Liked the “Nice with?” but the “Second, e.g.” took me a while.
The instep being on top of the foot was completely new to me as well.
Hi all!
Good puzzle; no errors but plenty of missteps. At first the theme looked daunting, but somehow I got it pretty quickly. ?
@Dave, evidently you ARE getting in to Croce’s head! You’re finding more that seem easy. ? I’ll try today’s, that is, Friday’s, #301.
Cute game Megan mentioned. Here’s one: 17= S in a H.
Dirk, I meant to hose down my roof today — hopefully I’ll remember to do it Saturday. We’re not in immediate danger of fire, but I am close to Griffith Park, which has had fires a few times over the years.
Count me among those who didn’t know what an instep was….?
Be well~~™⚾