10.27.10 — Navy Day



Navy Day, 1945, ships on the Hudson River, New York

In the United States, the Navy League of the United States organized the first Navy Day in 1922, holding it on October 27 because it was the birthday of the Navy-supporting President Theodore Roosevelt. Although meeting with mixed reviews the first year, in 1923 over 50 major cities participated, and the United States Navy sent a number of its ships to various port cities for the occasion. The 1945 Navy Day was an especially large celebration, with President Harry S. Truman reviewing the fleet in New York Harbor.

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Navy Day, Puzzle by Fred Piscop, edited by Will Shortz

If you subscribe to The New York Times on-line Premium Crosswords, you are probably familiar with the monthly bonus puzzle. For the month of October, the title of this shipshape and seaworthy crossword is “Navy Day” featuring three dozen clues containing the word “navy“.

Across — 1. Elite Navy diver, SEAL; 12. World War II-era U.S. Navy woman, WAVE; 15. Color of a navy bean, WHITE; 20. The VILLAGE People (pop group with the song “In the Navy”); 22. Naval R.O.T.C. grad’s rank, ENS; 23. Department of the Navy Code of ETHICS (principles of conduct); 30. Every naval ship gets one when christened, NAME; 3. Naval lockup, BRIG; 41. Pacific island with a U.S. naval base, GUAM; 43. Pea COAT (naval outerwear); 52. Naval pronoun, SHE; 55. European nation with no navy, ANDORRA; 60. George H.W. Bush was one, in the Navy, PILOT; 66. Navy food, MESS.

Down — 1. Naval mop wielder, SWAB; 3. Naval “Stop!”, AVAST; 5. Navy Shore Patrol, e.g., POLICE; 6. Navy truants, AWOLS; 9. Underwater naval explosive, MINE; 15. Woman sailor, in British naval slang, WREN; 21. U.S. naval base in Cuba, informally, GITMO; 24. HEISMAN Trophy (award won by Navy quarterback Roger Staubach); 26. ANCHORS Aweigh” (Navy theme song); 28. A 1-Down mops these on naval vessels, DECKS; 29. Lake ERIE (Oliver Hazard Perry naval victory site); 32. Captain’s MAST (naval disciplinary hearing); 34. Navy BLUE (deep shade); 35. REAR admiral (naval rank); 36. Navy mascot, GOAT; 39. Rear, in the Navy, STERN; 46. President Jimmy, a Naval Academy graduate, CARTER; 49. French naval base city, BREST; 51. Navy Band leader John Philip SOUSA; 52. German naval officer Graf von SPEE; 59. Crow’s NEST (naval lookout spot); 63. Naval ship, to a captain, e.g.: Abbr., CMD.


I enlisted when I was a boy. The Navy looked after me like my mother. It fed me, took care of me and gave me wonderful opportunities. ~ Tony Curtis

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Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.




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