Wednesday's New York Times puzzle solved: Februrary 7, 2018

My time: 14:06, two minutes slower than the average Wednesday.  Boo, me!

--

Stu "Stockman" Ockman, Dr. Stocktopus to his enemies, wove this web of words around the phrase THE TIES THAT BIND ("shared beliefs").  Four circled-square entries that radiate out diagonally from the center black square, ROPE, CORD, WIRE, and LACE, tie the theme together.

I didn't know the prince in Frozen, so had to guess HANS from crossfill.

I've never heard of Desolation Canyon, a historical landmark on the Green River in UTAH.  It's known for its recreational rafting opportunities.

Totally new term department: LENE, a voiceless consonant like b or p.  The term seems to refer mostly to the Greek alphabet.  Greek LENEs include kappa and tau.

I've also never heard of Wagner's 1843 opera "DER Fliegende Holländer," but I have heard of the legend of the Flying Dutchman, the ghost ship that can never reach land.

Did you know the Ringling Brothers Circus started in WIS?  Specifically, Baraboo, Wisconsin. Did you care?  The people of Baraboo did.

"Board runner" for CHAIR totally baffled me.  I kept thinking about furniture, or maybe the running board (a.k.a. nerf bar) on a car.  But it's the person who runs a board, the CHAIRperson.

AMOCO came up on October 14, 2017, but as a BP acquisition.  Today it's described as having "a red, white, blue and black logo."

I'm not old enough to remember the ESSO slogan "Happy Motoring."  But the singing filling station men and singing oil drops make it memorable.  A little something extra in your tank!

I literally could not care less about SHEREE Whitfield of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta."

I've heard the name ELI Lilly, but I could not have told you that they are a pharmaceutical company.  It was founded by ELI Lilly in 1876 in Indianapolis.

I had a lot of trouble with the ALTAI mountains, and only knew it started with an A because it was one of the circled letters that spelled out LACE.  The range is located where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan come together.  Its name means "gold mountain" in Mongolian.

Apparently Windex is mostly AMMONIA?  Was?  This may no longer be true.

I have seen only a few episodes of "Veep," and so didn't remember the title character's aide, GARY Walsh, played by Tony "Buster" Hale.

Tarzan portrayer Ron ELY appeared on November 27, 2017.

The Greek letters ETA was discussed (in the plural) on January 16, 2018.

Clever clues: "Started to downsize" is DIETED.  "Fun, for one" is RHYME.  "Marriage agreement?" is YES, DEAR.

Whew, that took a while, for SHO.