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Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
9. High-profile autos SUVS
The term SUV, an acronym for Sports Utility Vehicle, was introduced by our marketing friends. Using the term Sports Utility Vehicle was a very clever way to get us to pay a lot of money for what was essentially a station wagon on a truck chassis, or at least it was back then.

14. Enjoyed goulash, say ATE
Goulash is a soup or stew that is seasoned with spices, especially paprika. It is a national dish of Hungary, and the term “goulash” comes from the Hungarian word “gulyás”, which actually translates as “herdsman”. The original goulash was a meat dish prepared by herdsman.

15. Gondolier’s milieu CANAL
The word “gondola” was originally limited to the famous boats that travel along the canals of Venice. When man started to fly through the air in hot air balloons, “gondola” was used for the basket in which the passenger(s) traveled. By extension, the structure carrying passengers and crew under an airship is also called a gondola, as are the cars suspended from a cable at a ski resort.

16. *Montevideo native URUGUAYAN
Montevideo is the capital and main port of Uruguay. Famously, Montevideo featured in the Battle of the River Plate in WWII that resulted in the scuttling of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.

18. ’70s music genre DISCO
Discotheques first appeared during WWII in Occupied France. American-style music (like jazz and jitterbug dances) was banned by the Nazis, so French natives met in underground clubs that they called discotheques where records were often played on just a single turntable. After the war, these clubs came out into the open. One famous Paris discotheque was called “Whiskey a Gogo”. In that Paris disco, non-stop music was played using two turntables next to a dance-floor, and this concept spread around the world.

19. U.S. state with its own elec. power grid TEX
There are three major power grids in North America. The two largest are the Western Interconnection and the Eastern Interconnection. The third is smaller, although it covers the largest of the contiguous 48 US states, and is called the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid.

26. Kiddie lit Dr. SEUSS
Dr. Seuss was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Geisel was commander of the Animation Department of the USAF during WWII. He was behind many propaganda films including one called “Our Job in Japan”. Even though the film was produced specifically as propaganda, this same movie was used after the war as a basis for the short feature “Design for Death”, a study of Japanese culture released in 1947 and winner of an Oscar for best Documentary.

28. Genetic messenger RNA
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.

29. Sch. period SEM
“Semester” is a German word from the Latin “semestris”, an adjective meaning “of six months”. We of course use “semester” in a system that divides an academic year into two roughly equal parts. A trimester system has three parts, and a quarter system has four.

30. Christine of Fleetwood Mac MCVIE
Fleetwood Mac was founded in 1967 in London. The band was started by Peter Green, and he chose the name from two friends in former bands (named Fleetwood and McVie). This is despite the fact the drummer’s name happens to be Mick Fleetwood.

Christine McVie née Perfect was a keyboard player with Fleetwood Mac. Christine joined the band after marrying founder member and bass guitarist John McVie.

39. California’s Big __ SUR
Big Sur is a lovely part of the California Coast, south of Monterrey and Carmel. The name “Big Sur” comes from the original Spanish description of the area as “el sur grande” meaning “the big south”.

40. Teacherly suffix with school -MARM
“Marm” is short for “schoolmarm”, a quaint term for a female teacher.

42. Workout regimen TAE BO
Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, and rather was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s. The discipline was introduced by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.

43. Org. with a Champions Tour 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 association was based in New York City.

45. Noche’s opposite DIA
“Noche y dia” translates from Spanish as “night and day”.

53. Big rig fixtures, for short CBS
A CBer is someone who operates a Citizens’ Band radio. In 1945, the FCC set aside certain radio frequencies for the personal use of citizens. The use of the Citizens’ Band increased throughout the seventies as advances in electronics brought down the size of transceivers and their cost. There aren’t many CB radios sold these days though, as they have largely been replaced by cell phones.

57. *Whom “I’m in love with” in an Ames Brothers song, and a hint to what the answers to starred clues contain YOU, YOU, YOU
The Ames Brothers were a singing quartet who were active in the 1950s. The “brothers” (actually three brothers and a cousin) started out as an act called the Amory Brothers. After the quartet disbanded in 1961, Ed Ames went on to have a successful solo singing career, and became a familiar television actor. Ed played “Mingo”, the sidekick to the title character on “Daniel Boone” that ran in the sixties.

60. Good, in Guadalajara BUENA
Guadalajara is a populous city in the Mexican state of Jalisco. The Mexican city is named after the Spanish city of the same name in the center of Spain.

61. Lux. locale EUR
Luxembourg is a relatively small country in the middle of Europe, just 100 square miles in area with a population of over half a million. The country is a representative democracy (just like the United Kingdom) and it has a constitutional monarch, namely Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. As such, Luxembourg is the only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy in the world.

63. Latin being ESSE
“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am” and “erat” means “he, she was”.

Down
3. Continuous change FLUX
A “flux” is a continuous flow or continuous change. The term derives from the Latin adjective “fluxus” meaning “flowing, loose”.

4. Sleep analysis test, briefly EEG
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

5. School URL ending EDU
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

6. Crocodile habitat BAYOU
The exact origins of the word “bayou” is uncertain, but it is thought perhaps to come from the Choctaw (a Native American people from the southeast) word “bayuk”, meaning “small stream”.

7. Curio display case ETAGERE
An étagère is a piece of furniture with open shelves, often used to display small ornaments. I can’t stand them …

9. NFL Superdome team SAINTS
The New Orleans Saints football team takes its name from the jazz song “When the Saints Go Marching In”, a tune that is very much associated with the city. The team was founded in 1967, on November 1, which is All Saints’ Day in the Roman Catholic tradition.

11. *Component in early TV sets VACUUM TUBE
A vacuum tube is a device that controls electric current in a circuit. The simplest example of a vacuum tube is a diode.

A diode is component in a circuit, the most notable characteristic of which is that it will conduct electric current in only one direction. Some of those vacuum tubes we used to see in old radios and television were diodes, but nowadays almost all diodes are semiconductor devices.

15. B followers CDE
A, B, C, D, E …

17. Court winners ACES
In tennis, an ace is a serve that an opponent fails to hit.

27. Florida’s largest national park EVERGLADES
The Everglades are a tropical wetlands that cover much of southern Florida. The area was named “River Glades” by a British surveyor in 1773, and is suggested that poor transcription of the word “river” led to the use of “ever”. The southern 20% of the Everglades is a protected region that we know as Everglades National Park. The park is the third largest National Park in the lower 48 states, after Death Valley NP (the largest) and Yellowstone NP.

30. AWOL enforcers MPS
The Military Police (MPs) are concerned with personnel who go AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave).

31. Portugal neighbor SPAIN
The Iberian Peninsula in Europe is of course largely made up of Spain and Portugal. However, also included is the Principality of Andorra in the Pyrenees, a small part of the south of France, and the British Territory of Gibraltar.

33. USN clerk YEO
In the US Navy, a yeoman is tasked with administrative and clerical work. In fact the position of yeoman is the oldest rating in the navy.

38. Navigate a windjammer SAIL
A windjammer is a very large sailing ship with a metal hull that carried cargo in the 1800s and 1900s. Windjammers had 3-5 maists and large square sails. The term “windjammer” comes from the verb “to jam” as the large sails were said “to jam” the wind.

51. Red or Yellow SEA
There are four seas named for colors in English: the Yellow Sea, the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the White Sea.

53. Greenish-blue CYAN
“Cyan” is short for “cyan blue”. The term comes from the Greek word “kyanos” meaning “dark blue, the color of lapis lazuli”.

54. Rude, annoying one, in slang BOZO
A “bozo” is a man with a low IQ, and one who is usually quite muscular. We’ve been using the word since the early 1900s and it possibly comes from the Spanish “bozal” that was used to describe someone who speaks Spanish poorly.

55. Chop __ SUEY
Many believe that the Chinese dish known as chop suey was invented in America, by Chinese immigrants. In fact, by the time it showed up in the US it already existed in the Taishan district of Guangdong in southeast China, the origin of many of those immigrants. “Chop suey” translates as “assorted pieces”, and is made up of some meat and eggs quickly cooked with vegetables in a thickened sauce.

58. South American tuber OCA
The plant called an oca is also known as the New Zealand yam. The tubers of the oca are used as a root vegetable.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Charge to a sponsor AD FEE
6. Hospital unit BED
9. High-profile autos SUVS
13. Bundled, as hay BALED
14. Enjoyed goulash, say ATE
15. Gondolier’s milieu CANAL
16. *Montevideo native URUGUAYAN
18. ’70s music genre DISCO
19. U.S. state with its own elec. power grid TEX
20. Gear tooth COG
21. Parodied SENT UP
22. *Form a line QUEUE UP
25. Factual TRUE
26. Kiddie lit Dr. SEUSS
28. Genetic messenger RNA
29. Sch. period SEM
30. Christine of Fleetwood Mac MCVIE
31. Show to a table SEAT
32. Barnyard enclosure STY
34. Like arrangements before a vacation PRE-TRIP
36. Publish again, as a novel REISSUE
39. California’s Big __ SUR
40. Teacherly suffix with school -MARM
42. Workout regimen TAE BO
43. Org. with a Champions Tour PGA
45. Noche’s opposite DIA
46. Back of a hit record B-SIDE
47. Slow time LULL
48. *Far from common UNUSUAL
50. Pass, as time ELAPSE
52. Dove’s cry COO
53. Big rig fixtures, for short CBS
56. “It’s __ for!”: “So-o-o good!” TO DIE
57. *Whom “I’m in love with” in an Ames Brothers song, and a hint to what the answers to starred clues contain YOU, YOU, YOU
60. Good, in Guadalajara BUENA
61. Lux. locale EUR
62. Latest thing CRAZE
63. Latin being ESSE
64. Burden-bearing beast ASS
65. Rub the wrong way ANNOY

Down
1. Lie next to ABUT
2. Truth alternative DARE
3. Continuous change FLUX
4. Sleep analysis test, briefly EEG
5. School URL ending EDU
6. Crocodile habitat BAYOU
7. Curio display case ETAGERE
8. Hibernation site DEN
9. NFL Superdome team SAINTS
10. Not emphasized, as a syllable UNSTRESSED
11. *Component in early TV sets VACUUM TUBE
12. Slanted land SLOPE
15. B followers CDE
17. Court winners ACES
21. Sudden rush SPATE
22. Preempt a firing? QUIT
23. Computer operator USER
24. Take the gun from UNARM
26. *Guided by strict principles SCRUPULOUS
27. Florida’s largest national park EVERGLADES
30. AWOL enforcers MPS
31. Portugal neighbor SPAIN
33. USN clerk YEO
35. “My luck is bound to change!” I’M DUE!
37. “__ miracle!” IT’S A
38. Navigate a windjammer SAIL
41. Loud and wild, like a party RAUCOUS
44. Skiing category ALPINE
46. Channel tinkler BUOY
47. Decide not to interfere with LET BE
49. Turns in a bad way SOURS
51. Red or Yellow SEA
53. Greenish-blue CYAN
54. Rude, annoying one, in slang BOZO
55. Chop __ SUEY
57. Vote of approval YEA
58. South American tuber OCA
59. Hot coffee server URN

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