ST×NLB Cross-References: Like two blue ticks on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE – Historical references abound in this week’s ST×NLB Crossword puzzle from ST’s Grace Yew, who is part of a team of 40 volunteers from both organisations. Here’s her message to solvers:

Some of these clues and answers have got us feeling nostalgic. 

Remember when TRICERATOPS (1A) roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous period?

Remember our [Neighbour’s old name?] Before the formation of Malaysia, it was the Federation of MALAYA (25A). 

Remember watching Star Wars: The EMPIRE (8A) Strikes Back in the movie THEATRE (6D) back in 1980?

I don’t remember any of these things; I wasn’t born yet.

But I do remember scribbling notes in a JOTTER (19D) book and taking a break from studying to enjoy a Swiss roll from home-grown bakery POLAR (15A) Puffs & Cakes.

I remember holding gatherings with classmates at one affordably priced CHALET (12A) or another, complete with strange noises and eerie sightings at night. Whether or not the hauntings were real, they sure made for memorable stays.

And I remember playing with SNOW (24D) for the first time as a child at Snow City in Jurong, which is closing in September. 

Did you know there used to be another “city” just a stone’s throw away? In 1992, a massive 12-hectare theme park and movie studio called Tang Dynasty City opened on the other side of Jurong Lake. What kind of city will pop up there next, we wonder?

Here are a few more references that might merit an explanation. As usual, the full answer key is at the bottom of this story.

7A. STRATA is the plural of stratum, often referring to layers of rock, soil and sediment in the Earth. In the local context, the word is commonly seen in the phrase “Management Corporation Strata Title”, referring to the managing body of a development with multiple owners, such as a condominium or shopping mall. 

20A. The KEBAYA is [Part of the uniform for an airline that’s “a great way to fly”]. Besides its association with Singapore Airlines flight attendants, the kebaya is also an icon of shared heritage in South-east Asian fashion. In 2024, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand jointly submitted a successful bid to have it added to the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list.

26A. Located outside Ion Orchard, local artist Kumari Nahappan’s two-tonne bronze sculpture titled NUTMEG And Mace pays tribute to Orchard Road’s past as the site of many flourishing nutmeg plantations in the 1830s. Unfortunately, the collapse of nutmeg prices worldwide, coupled with disease and pestilence, caused most of the plantations to close by the 1860s.

1D. Who was the [Inventor known for his AC coils?] Serbian-American engineer Nikola TESLA was famous for his pioneering work in alternating current or AC, which our modern electricity systems supply. He also designed a transformer device that was named after him, the Tesla coil. Not to be confused with air-conditioning coils.

11D. While the initials LKY often refer to Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, they are also shared by national badminton player LOH Kean Yew. Known for his skills on a different kind of court, the world No. 14 shuttler aspires to become the top-ranked player and win an Olympic medal one day.

Book recommendations

Let the week’s clues inspire your next read, courtesy of NLB. Follow the links to borrow.

25A. “Miss Cassidy was seldom put out by long journeys, but it was an inhuman distance between Scotland and British MALAYA…” – The Formidable Miss Cassidy by Meihan Boey

10A. “It attempts to create a purer translation, something that will ALIGN to the metaphors associated with each word, but this is of course impossible, because no perfect translations are possible.” – Babel: Or The Necessity Of Violence: An Arcane History Of The Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang

16A. “…a number of different names have been suggested for the new AGE that humans have ushered in. The noted conservation biologist Michael Soulé has suggested that instead of the Cenozoic, we now live in the ‘Catastrophozoic’ era.” – The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

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Across

1. Three-horned dinosaur (11): TRICERATOPS

7. Geological layers, or part of condominium management (6): STRATA

8. One was known to strike back in 1980 (6): EMPIRE

9. Pair, or the name of twin towers in Bugis (3): DUO

10. Straighten, as braces might do to teeth (5): ALIGN

12. Possibly haunted hangout for class gatherings (6): CHALET

14. Vietnamese noodle dish (3): PHO

15. Precedes puffs and cakes or bears (5): POLAR

16. Some say it’s just a number (3): AGE

20. Part of the uniform for an airline that’s “a great way to fly” (6): KEBAYA

21. Response to fake news, in short (5): POFMA

23. Bank with the most ATMs in Singapore (3): DBS

25. Neighbour’s old name? (6): MALAYA

26. Spice depicted in sculpture at Ion Orchard (6): NUTMEG

27. Reliable (11): TRUSTWORTHY

Down

1. Inventor known for his AC coils? (5): TESLA

2. Airport locale (6): CHANGI

3. Like two blue ticks on WhatsApp (4): READ

4. One who claims divine right to rule (8): THEOCRAT

5. Thin-skinned roll often handmade at parties (6): POPIAH

6. Lido or Sands (7): THEATRE

11. Surname of one LKY noted for his court skills? (3): LOH

13. Presently (8): NOWADAYS

14. Cards featuring them can sell for thousands (7): POKEMON

17. Chewing it is okay, importing it is illegal (3): GUM

18. Word following Harper’s or Ramadan (6): BAZAAR

19. Type of notebook used mostly by students (6): JOTTER

22. Irate (5): ANGRY

24. A city in Jurong will soon have no more of it (4): SNOW