text:
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19853722234958322872016-06-29T01:02:11.815-07:00WEB's New York Times Crossword Solution @ NYTCrossword.comBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-43070598264206360452016-06-29T00:58:00.001-07:002016-06-29T01:02:11.848-07:000629-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 29 Jun 16, Wednesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: John Lampkin
THEME: There's No Need to Pay
We have themed clues in this puzzle, as opposed to the usual themed answers. Today's themed clues are all phrases used to mean "There's no need to pay". But, each of those phrases has been interpreted more literally in the answer:

19A. It's on the house : WEATHERVANE
53A. It carries no charge : DEAD BATTERY
10D. It's complimentary : RAVE REVIEW
27D. It's free : EMPTY CHAIR
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 51s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
8. 100 points, to a jeweler : CARAT
A carat is a unit of mass used to measure gemstones and pearls. There are one hundred points in a carat, each equal to 2 milligrams. So a carat is equal to 200 milligrams.

13. Who sings "A Little Brains, A Little Talent" in "Damn Yankees" : LOLA
In the musical show "Damn Yankees", the title refers to the New York Yankees baseball team that dominated the sport in the fifties. That said, the show tells the story of the a man who sells his soul to help his beloved Washington Senators team beat the Yankees and win the pennant. So, "Damn Yankees" is yet another version of the classic German legend of "Faust". The show was written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, a production that turned out to be a very successful follow-up to their prior hit, "The Pajama Game". The future was looking really rosy for Adler and Ross but, sadly, Jerry Ross died of an obstructive lung disease only a few weeks after "Damn Yankees" opened on Broadway in 1955. He was just 29 years old.

14. Fuel economy org. : EPA
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

15. Unhung paintings : MURALS
A "mural" is a painting that is applied directly to a wall or a ceiling. The term comes from the Latin "murus" meaning "wall".

18. ___ night (bar attraction) : TRIVIA
Trivia are things of little consequence. "Trivia" is the plural of the Latin word "trivium" which means "a place where three roads meet". Now that's what I call a trivial fact …

21. Mr. Potato Head piece : EAR
Mr. Potato Head is an enduring popular toy that has been around since its invention by George Lerner in 1949. In its original form, the toy was a collection of eyes, ears, and other facial features, that were designed to be stuck into a real potato. Mr. Potato Head also has the distinction of being the first toy ever to be advertised on television.

22. Objects of religious veneration in ancient Egypt : IBISES
The ibis is a wading bird that was revered in ancient Egypt. "Ibis" is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one "ibis" or two "ibises", and then again one has a flock of "ibis". And if you want to go with the classical plural, instead of two "ibises" you would have two "ibides"!

25. "That's all ___ wrote" : SHE
No one seems to be very certain of the origin of the phrase "that's all she wrote". One popular story though is that it stems from the unfortunate "Dear John" letters that some soldiers received during WWII.

The expression "Dear John letter" originated in WWII among American troops who were serving abroad. The servicemen highly valued letters from girlfriends and wives back home, and almost invariably those missives started out with "Dearest", or "My Darling" or some other expression of affection. A curt, "Dear John" set the tone for a letter which was likely to contain news of a new love interest in the life of the girlfriend or wife. The contemporary equivalent missive from a male to a female is a "Dear Jane letter".

28. Thomas Gray's "___ on the Spring" : ODE
Here's the first verse of Thomas Gray's poem "Ode on the Spring".

Lo! where the rosy-bosom'd Hours,
Fair Venus' train appear,
Disclose the long-expecting flowers,
And wake the purple year!
The Attic warbler pours her throat,
Responsive to the cuckoo's note,
The untaught harmony of spring:
While whisp'ring pleasure as they fly,
Cool zephyrs thro' the clear blue sky
Their gather'd fragrance fling.

Thomas Gray was an 18th-century poet from England. Gray's most famous work is his "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", which is the source of many oft-quoted phrases, including:

- Celestial fire
- Far from the Madding Crowd
- Kindred spirit

29. Emerson or Dickinson : COLLEGE
Emerson College, located in Boston's Washington Street Theater District, offers degree programs focused on Arts and Communication. The school was founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as the Boston Conservatory of Elocution, Oratory and Dramatic Art.

Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania was founded 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School by Benjamin Rush, one of the signatories on the US Declaration of Independence. Dickinson was chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1783, just six days after signing of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution. That makes Dickinson the first college to be chartered in the United States.

33. Brand once billed as "the soap of beautiful women" : CAMAY
Camay is a brand of soap produced by Procter & Gamble since 1926. Camay was introduced as a "white, pure soap for women".

36. Some sound equipment : AMPS
An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.

39. Fodder's place, but not a mudder's : SILO
"Silo" is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English, originally coming from the Greek word "siros" that described a pit in which one kept corn.

"Fodder", meaning "animal feed", is an Old English word for "food".

A mudder is a racehorse, one that runs well on a wet or muddy track.

40. Call inadvertently, in a way : BUTT DIAL
"Butt dialing" is an alternative name for "pocket dialing", the accidental placing of a call while a phone is in one's pocket or purse.

44. Blanc who voiced Daffy Duck : MEL
Daffy Duck first appeared on the screen in "Porky's Duck Hunt" in 1937. In the original cartoon, Daffy was just meant to have a small role, but he was a big hit as he had so much sass. Even back then, Daffy was voiced by the ubiquitous Mel Blanc.

48. Some New Zealanders : MAORIS
The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. The Māori are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting sometime in the late 13th century. The word "māori" simply means "normal", distinguishing the mortal human being from spiritual entities.

65. Actor Beatty : NED
Actor Ned Beatty is probably best remembered for the rather disturbing "squeal like a pig" scene in the movie "Deliverance". Beatty also earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1976 movie "Network".

Down
3. Opposite of baja : ALTA
In Spanish, "baja" is "low" and "alta" is "high".

4. Half of Hispaniola : HAITI
Hispaniola is an island in the Greater Antilles, and is the second largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba. The island is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Hispaniola was home to the first European settlement in the whole of the Americas, founded by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Columbus named the island La Isla Española, which evolved to "Hispaniola".

5. Work in which Dido died : AENEID
Aeneas was a Trojan who traveled to Italy and became the ancestor of all Romans. Aeneas's story is told in Virgil's epic poem "The Aeneid".

Dido was the founder of Carthage, and it's first queen.

8. Panacea : CURE-ALL
Panacea was the Greek goddess of healing. She lent her name to the term "panacea" that was used by alchemists to describe the beguiling remedy that could cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely.

9. Cardinals, in stats : ARI
First baseman Tino Martinez has retired from Major League Baseball. Martinez played for a number of teams including the Mariners, Yankees, Cardinals and Devil Rays. Martinez was born and raised in Tampa, Florida and as a boy he worked in his father's cigar factory.

12. Despised figure in "Fiddler on the Roof" : TSAR
The enduring musical "Fiddler on the Roof" is based on a collection of stories by Sholem Aleichem about Tevye, a milkman living in Tsarist Russia. The musical version of the tales first opened on Broadway in 1964. "Fiddler on the Roof" had such a long run that it became the first musical to reach 3,000 performances.

15. Abbr. in cartography : MTN
Mountain (mtn.)

Cartography is the art of producing maps.

20. Natty neckwear : ASCOT
An Ascot tie is a horrible-looking (I think!) wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

26. Overplay : HAM UP
The word "ham", describing a performer who overacts, is apparently a shortened form of "hamfatter" and dates back to the late 1800s. "Hamfatter" comes from a song in old minstrel shows called "The Ham-Fat Man". It seems that a poorly performing actor was deemed to have the "acting" qualities of a minstrel made up in blackface.

31. Hair goop : GELEE
Gelee is a hair styling product, apparently. I wouldn't know …

34. "___ Boy" (1960s cartoon series) : ASTRO
"Astro Boy" is a manga cartoon series that appeared in print in the fifties and sixties. It was adapted for television starting in 1963, making it the first Japanese TV series in the genre now known as "anime".

35. Neighbor of Peru: Abbr. : BOL
Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America, bordered by Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Peru and Argentina. The land now occupied by Bolivia was originally part of the Inca Empire. The country declared independence from Spain in 1809, which led to 16 years of war. When the Republic was finally named, "Bolivia" was chosen in honor of the Venezuelan-born revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar.

38. Soft rock? : MAGMA
Magma is the molten material below the Earth's surface. When magma cools, it forms igneous rock. "Magma" is a Greek term used for a thick ointment.

44. Cellphone, to a Brit : MOBILE
What we mostly call a cellphone in North America is more usually referred to as a mobile phone in Europe. In German, it's referred to casually as a "Handy".

49. Worker at Omnicom Group : ADMAN
Omnicom Group is an advertising group headquartered in New York City.

51. Range of the von Trapp singers : ALPS
"The Sound of Music" is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, made into a celebrated movie in 1965 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The musical is based on "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers", a memoir by Maria von Trapp. The von Trapp family ended up in Stowe, Vermont after the war, and one family descended from the Vermont von Trapps lives here in the same town in which I live in California.

55. Eggshell shade : ECRU
The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word "ecru" comes from French and means "raw, unbleached". "Ecru" has the same roots as our word "crude".

57. Trees with red berrylike fruit : YEWS
The family of trees known as yews propagate by producing a seed surrounded by soft, sweet and brightly colored aril. Birds eat the fruit and then disperse the seed in their droppings. The birds leave the seed undamaged, and so are unharmed by the potent poisons taxine and taxol that are found within the seed. The seeds are highly toxic to humans.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Opposite of exciting : BLAH
5. Jerk : ASS
8. 100 points, to a jeweler : CARAT
13. Who sings "A Little Brains, A Little Talent" in "Damn Yankees" : LOLA
14. Fuel economy org. : EPA
15. Unhung paintings : MURALS
16. Not required : OPTIONAL
18. ___ night (bar attraction) : TRIVIA
19. It's on the house : WEATHERVANE
21. Mr. Potato Head piece : EAR
22. Objects of religious veneration in ancient Egypt : IBISES
23. Outer space's lack : AIR
25. "That's all ___ wrote" : SHE
28. Thomas Gray's "___ on the Spring" : ODE
29. Emerson or Dickinson : COLLEGE
33. Brand once billed as "the soap of beautiful women" : CAMAY
35. Flabbergast : BOWL OVER
36. Some sound equipment : AMPS
37. Overplay : EMOTE
39. Fodder's place, but not a mudder's : SILO
40. Call inadvertently, in a way : BUTT DIAL
42. Part of many a general's statue : STEED
43. Clandestine network : SPY RING
44. Blanc who voiced Daffy Duck : MEL
46. Itsy-bitsy : WEE
47. Tooth that turns : COG
48. Some New Zealanders : MAORIS
51. Fire residue : ASH
53. It carries no charge : DEAD BATTERY
58. Like feet after a long trek : LEADEN
60. Drop the ball onstage : MISS A CUE
61. Evincing discomfort : PAINED
62. Pub offering : ALE
63. Pub offering : BREW
64. Book bag part : STRAP
65. Actor Beatty : NED
66. Pub offering : SUDS

Down
1. Serious punch : BLOW
2. Easy gait : LOPE
3. Opposite of baja : ALTA
4. Half of Hispaniola : HAITI
5. Work in which Dido died : AENEID
6. Thinly distributed : SPARSE
7. Balm : SALVE
8. Panacea : CURE-ALL
9. Cardinals, in stats : ARI
10. It's complimentary : RAVE REVIEW
11. Et ___ (and others) : ALIA
12. Despised figure in "Fiddler on the Roof" : TSAR
15. Abbr. in cartography : MTN
17. "What fun!" : OH BOY!
20. Natty neckwear : ASCOT
24. "You beat me" : I LOST
25. Signs of healing : SCABS
26. Overplay : HAM UP
27. It's free : EMPTY CHAIR
30. Have bills : OWE
31. Hair goop : GELEE
32. Weaken, as confidence : ERODE
34. "___ Boy" (1960s cartoon series) : ASTRO
35. Neighbor of Peru: Abbr. : BOL
37. ___ bisschen (not much: Ger.) : EIN
38. Soft rock? : MAGMA
41. Try one's utmost : DIG DEEP
42. Some vents : SLITS
44. Cellphone, to a Brit : MOBILE
45. Deleted : ERASED
49. Worker at Omnicom Group : ADMAN
50. Wild guesses : STABS
51. Range of the von Trapp singers : ALPS
52. Usher's destination : SEAT
54. Goal : END
55. Eggshell shade : ECRU
56. Regretted : RUED
57. Trees with red berrylike fruit : YEWS
59. Modern aid in anthropology : DNA

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-4999786378562798162016-06-28T00:00:00.000-07:002016-06-29T00:00:09.231-07:000628-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 28 Jun 16, Tuesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Alex Vratsanos
THEME: Eight Legs
Today's grid reminds us of a spider. We have four spidery answers defining the creature's body at the center of the grid, and eight radiating LEGS shown by the circled letters:

29A. Spider's class : ARACHNIDA
48A. Things spiders leave : BITE MARKS
22D. Spider of children's literature : CHARLOTTE
23D. Spider's web-producing organ : SPINNERET
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 59s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … GALEN (Salen), KRESGE (Kresse)

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. World of Warcraft enthusiast, e.g. : GAMER
"World of Warcraft" is an online role-playing game. My son informs me that itis not that great. Like I would know …

6. Enemy org. in many a spy thriller : KGB
The Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti (KGB) was the national security agency of the Soviet Union until 1991. The KGB was dissolved after the agency's chairman led a failed attempt at a coup d'état designed to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

9. North Carolina fort : BRAGG
Fort Bragg in North Carolina is a very large Army installation that covers over 250 square miles. The base is named for General Braxton Bragg, the native North Carolinian who commanded the Confederate Army forces during the Civil War.

Braxton Bragg was a US Army officer from Warrenton, North Carolina who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. After Bragg's forces were routed at the Battles for Chattanooga, Bragg was recalled in 1864 to Richmond where he served as military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. After the war, Bragg worked at the New Orleans waterworks, supervised the work at the harbor in Mobile, Alabama and worked on the railroad in Texas.

14. Prefix with transmitter : NEURO-
A neurotransmitter is a chemical substance that transmits signals from one nerve cell to another nerve cell, or to a gland or muscle cell.

16. Mathematician whose name sounds like a ship : EULER
"Euler" sounds like "oiler".

Leonhard Euler was a brilliant Swiss mathematician and physicist, a pioneer in the fields of logarithms and graph theory.

An "oiler" is an oil tanker, an ocean-going vessel used to transport crude oil.

17. City in SE France : ARLES
Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city's design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and where he painted his famous "Cafe Terrace at Night", as well as "Bedroom in Arles".

19. Airline whose main hub is in Atlanta : DELTA
Delta was the world's largest airline for a while (after merging with Northwest Airlines in 2008) and is also the oldest airline still operating in the US. Delta's roots go back to 1924 before it started carrying passengers and was called Huff Daland Dusters, a crop dusting company based in Macon, Georgia. The name Delta Air Service was introduced in 1928.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport, as measured by passenger traffic. Atlanta has had that distinction since 1998, and was the world's busiest in terms of take-offs and landings from 2005 until 2013. Over 50% of Atlanta's traffic comes from Delta Airlines.

20. "___ 'em!" : SIC
"Sic 'em" is an attack order given to a dog, instructing the animal to growl, bark or even bite. The term dates back to the 1830s, with "sic" being a variation of "seek".

24. Grp. holding quadrennial competitions : IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in 1894, and has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

27. Not gendered, as a noun : EPICENE
An epicene noun is one that can be assigned to either gender, or to both. For example, the noun "cousin" is an epicene noun as it can refer to either gender. The nouns "brother" and "sister" are gender specific.

29. Spider's class : ARACHNIDA
Arachnids are creatures with eight jointed legs. The name of the class Arachnida comes from the Greek "aráchnē" meaning "spider".

35. Mens ___ (guilty mind) : REA
"Mens rea" is Latin for "guilty mind" and is a central concept in criminal law. The concept is expanded to "actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea" meaning "the act does not make a person guilty unless the mind be also guilty". In other words, a someone should not be deemed guilty of an act, unless he or she had a "guilty mind", intended to do wrong.

36. Cloud in space : NEBULA
In astronomical terms, a nebula is a cloud of dust and ionized gases ("nebula" is the Latin for "cloud"). Many nebulae form as gases collapse in on themselves under the influence of enormous gravitational forces. Ultimately these collapses can result in the creation of new stars.

40. Neuter, as a stallion : GELD
We can use the verb "to geld" to mean "to weaken, deprive of strength". The term comes from the act of gelding an animal, castration of the male. "Geld" comes from the Old Norse word "gelda" meaning "castrate".

41. Sophia of "Marriage Italian-Style" : LOREN
Sophia Loren certainly has earned her exalted position in the world of movies. In 1962 Loren won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the Italian film "Two Women", the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English speaking performance. She received a second nomination for Best Actress for her role in "Marriage Italian-Style", another Italian-language movie, released in 1964.

43. Designer Cassini : OLEG
Oleg Cassini, the French-born American fashion designer, had two big names particularly associated with his designs. In the sixties he produced the state wardrobe for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and he was also the exclusive designer for Hollywood's Gene Tierney, who was Cassini's second wife.

44. Japanese martial art that emphasizes not injuring the attacker : AIKIDO
Aikido is a Japanese martial art that only dates back to the 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by Morihei Ueshiba, who is often referred to as "the Founder" or "Great Teacher".

47. Melville's second novel : OMOO
Herman Melville mined his own experiences when writing his novels. Melville sailed from New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1841 on a whaler heading into the Pacific Ocean (a source for "Moby-Dick"). Melville ended up deserting his ship 18 months later and lived with natives on a South Pacific Island for three weeks (a source for "Typee"). He picked up another whaler and headed for Hawaii, where he joined the crew of a US navy frigate that was bound for Boston (a source for "Omoo").

51. Actress Angela of "American Horror Story" : BASSETT
Angela Bassett is an actress from New York who is best known for playing Tina Turner in the film about her life "What's Love Got to Do with It".

"American Horror Story" is a TV series. I saw the word "horror", so avoided it …

54. Antarctic volcano named for a place in the underworld : EREBUS
Erebus was one of the Primordial deities of Greek mythology, meaning he was one of first beings to come into existence. "Erebus" is also used in ancient Greek literature as a region in the underworld where the dead pass to immediately after dying.

Mount Erebus is a volcano in Antarctica, located on Ross Island. Erebus is the second-highest on the continent, after Mount Sidley. It was discovered in 1841 by Sir James Clark Ross, along with the companion volcano Mount Terror. Ross named the peaks for the ships used on his voyage: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.

58. Child-care expert LeShan : EDA
Eda LeShan wrote "When Your Child Drives You Crazy", and was host of the PBS television show "How Do Your Children Grow?"

59. Moniker for German chancellor Konrad Adenauer : DER ALTE
Konrad Adenauer was the first Chancellor of West Germany after WWII, taking office in 1949 at the age of 73. Adenauer was 87 years old when he left office. Understandably perhaps, his nickname was "Der Alte", German for "the old man". Adenauer spent much of WWII in prison, courtesy of Herr Hitler.

62. The "e" of i.e. : EST
"Id est" is Latin for "that is", and is often abbreviated to "i.e." when used in English.

65. Rumble in the Jungle participant : ALI
The Rumble in the Jungle was the celebrated 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that took place in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The fight was set in Zaire because of financial arrangements between promoter Don King and Zaire's President Mobutu Seko. Ali coined the term "Rope-a-dope" to describe his incredibly successful strategy in the contest. From the second round onwards, Ali adopted a protected stance on the ropes letting Foreman pound him with blows to the body and head, with Ali using his arms to dissipate the power of the punches. He kept this up until the eighth round and then opened up and downed the exhausted Foreman with a left-right combination. I hate boxing but I have to say, that was an fascinating fight.

66. Conductor Georg whose name consists of two musical notes : SOLTI
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 ...

68. Niece's counterpart, in French : NEVEU
"Nièce et neveu" is French for "niece and nephew".

69. Blue on an electoral map: Abbr. : DEM
On political maps, red states are usually Republican and blue states usually Democrat. The designation of red and blue states is a very recent concept, only introduced in the 2000 presidential election by TV journalist, the late Tim Russert. In retrospect, the choice of colors is surprising, as in other democracies around the world red is usually used to describe left-leaning socialist parties (the reds under the bed!), and blue is used for conservative right-wing parties. In election cycles, swing/battleground states are often depicted in purple.

70. Ancient Greek physician : GALEN
Galen of Pergamum was a physician of Ancient Rome (of Greek ethnicity). He mainly worked on monkeys, dissecting their bodies to learn about physiology as it was not permitted to dissect human bodies in his day.

72. Psyche part : EGO
Sigmund Freud created a structural model of the human psyche, breaking it into three parts: the id, the ego, and the super-ego. The id is that part of the psyche containing the basic instinctual drives. The ego seeks to please the id by causing realistic behavior that benefits the individual. The super-ego almost has a parental role, contradicting the id by introducing critical thinking and morals to behavioral choices.

Down
3. Soil enricher : MULCH
Mulch is a layer of material applied by gardeners over the top of soil. The intent can be to retain moisture, to add nutrients, to reduce weed growth, or just to improve the look of the garden.

6. Swiss-German artist Paul : KLEE
The artist Paul Klee was born in Switzerland, but studied art in Munich in Germany. You can see many of Klee's works in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. If you get to Bern in Switzerland, even more of them can be seen at the Zentrum Paul Klee that was opened in 2005.

7. Murray ___-Mann, Physics Nobelist who coined the term "quark" : GELL
Quarks are elementary atomic particles that combine to make composite particles called "hadrons". I'm really only familiar with the really stable hadrons i.e. protons and neutrons. There are six types of quarks (referred to as "flavors"). These flavors are up, down, strange, charm, bottom and top. The term "quark" was borrowed from James Joyce's book "Finnegans Wake", by physicist Murray Gell-Mann. However, the word coined by Joyce is pronounced "kwark", and the particle's name is pronounced "kwork".

8. Whalebone : BALEEN
Our word "baleen" meaning "whalebone" comes from the Latin "balleana", which in turn comes from the Greek "phallaina", the word for a "whale". "Phallaina" is apparently related the Greek "phallos" meaning "swollen penis", a reference to the shape of a whale.

11. 1980s TV's "Kate & ___" : ALLIE
"Kate & Allie" ran from 1984 to 1989, starring Susan Saint James as Kate, and Jane Curtin as Allie. Jane Curtin won two Emmy awards for her work on the series, while Susan Saint James ... did not.

13. Blessing before a meal : GRACE
A "grace" is a short prayer recited before or after a meal.

22. Spider of children's literature : CHARLOTTE
"Charlotte's Web" is a children's novel by author E. B. White. Charlotte is a barn spider, who manages to save the life of a pig named Wilbur. Wilbur is a pet pig, owned by the farmer's daughter, Fern Arable. The story also includes a gluttonous rat named Templeton who provides some light and comical moments.

23. Spider's web-producing organ : SPINNERET
The silk that makes up a web is a protein fiber that is spun by a spider. Spider silk is about one sixth of the density of steel, but has a comparable tensile strength.

26. Staked a claim : HAD DIBS
The phrase "to have dibs on" expresses a claim on something. Apparently, the term "dibs" is a contraction of "dibstone", which was a knucklebone or jack used in a children's game.

28. Last car : CABOOSE
The word "caboose" originally came from Middle Dutch and was the word for a ship's galley. When the last car in a train in North America was given a stove for the comfort of the crew, it took on the name "caboose". The term has also become slang for a person's backside.

30. One who might have a corner office, for short : CEO
Chief executive officer (CEO)

31. Decidedly nonfeminist women's group : HAREM
"Harem" is a Turkish word, derived from the Arabic for "forbidden place". Traditionally a harem was the female quarters in a household in which a man had more than one wife. Not only wives (and concubines) would use the harem, but also young children and other female relatives. The main point was that no men were allowed in the area.

32. Links org. : 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 PGA was based in New York City.

33. Use for flowers in Hawaii : LEI
"Lei" is the Hawaiian word for "garland, wreath", although in more general terms a "lei" is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

34. Antlered beast : ELK
The elk (also known as the wapiti) is the one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the "huge" wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely "elk". The more correct name for the beast is "wapiti", which means "white rump" in Shawnee. It's all very confusing …

37. City where Einstein was born : ULM
Ulm is in the south of Germany and sits on the River Danube. Ulm is famous as home to the tallest church in the world, Ulm Minster, a Gothic building with a steeple that is 530 feet tall, with 768 steps to climb. Ulm is also the birthplace of Albert Einstein, and is where the entire Austrian army surrendered to Napoleon after the Battle of Ulm in 1805.

38. Obama, astrologically : LEO
Despite rumors to the contrary, I am pretty sure that Barack Hussein Obama II was indeed born in Hawaii. President Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii.

42. Mrs. Perón : EVA
Eva Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón who was in office from 1946 to 1955. The Argentine First Lady was known affectionately by the people as "Evita", the Spanish language diminutive of "Eva". "Evita" was also the follow-up musical to "Jesus Christ Superstar" for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and was based on the life of Eva Perón.

49. Charles Schwab rival : E*TRADE
E*Trade is mainly an online discount brokerage. It was founded in 1982 in Palo Alto, California, and I used to drive by its headquarters almost every day. The company is now run out of New York City. E*Trade produces those famous Super Bowl ads with the talking babies staring into a webcam.

50. Source of the "K" in Kmart : KRESGE
Kmart is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and Target. The company was founded by S. S. Kresge in 1899, with the first outlets known as S. S. Kresge stores. The first "Kmart" stores opened in 1962. Kmart is famous for its promotions known as "blue light specials", a program first introduced in 1965 and discontinued in 1991. I remember being in a Kmart store soon after coming to live in the US. That evening an employee installed a light stand an aisle away from me, switched on a flashing blue light and there was some unintelligible announcement over the loudspeaker system. I had no idea what was going on …

52. Freud contemporary Alfred : ADLER
Alfred Adler was one of the group of medical professionals that founded the psychoanalytic movement. Today Adler is less famous than his colleague, Sigmund Freud.

55. Casus ___ (cause of war) : BELLI
"Casus belli" is Latin for "a case of war". The expression refers to an act that provokes or justifies a war. The related phrase "casus foederis" (a case for the alliance) refers to a threat against an ally that triggers a war.

56. Hwy. through Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan : US-TEN
US Route 10 is a highway formed in 1926 that ran from Detroit, Michigan to Seattle, Washington, although much of its length now is taken up by interstate highway. US Route 10 notably is in two distinct sections, with a ferry providing continuity across Lake Michigan from Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

60. Words after break or shake : A LEG
There are many, many colorful theories for the origins of the expression "break a leg", used in the world of theater to mean "good luck". Regardless of the origin, what is clear is that using the phrase "good luck" is considered to be very "bad luck".

61. Long way to go? : LIMO
The word "limousine" actually derives from the French city of Limoges. The area around Limoges is called the Limousin, and it gave its name to a cloak hood worn by local shepherds. In early motor cars, a driver would sit outside in the weather while the passengers would sit in the covered compartment. The driver would often wear a limousin-style protective hood, giving rise to that type of transportation being called a "limousine". Well, that's how the story goes anyway …

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. World of Warcraft enthusiast, e.g. : GAMER
6. Enemy org. in many a spy thriller : KGB
9. North Carolina fort : BRAGG
14. Prefix with transmitter : NEURO-
15. Meadow : LEA
16. Mathematician whose name sounds like a ship : EULER
17. City in SE France : ARLES
18. Architectural add-on : ELL
19. Airline whose main hub is in Atlanta : DELTA
20. "___ 'em!" : SIC
21. Not slippery at all, as a winter road : ICELESS
24. Grp. holding quadrennial competitions : IOC
25. Sneaky laugh : HEH HEH
27. Not gendered, as a noun : EPICENE
29. Spider's class : ARACHNIDA
32. Begged : PLED
35. Mens ___ (guilty mind) : REA
36. Cloud in space : NEBULA
40. Neuter, as a stallion : GELD
41. Sophia of "Marriage Italian-Style" : LOREN
43. Designer Cassini : OLEG
44. Japanese martial art that emphasizes not injuring the attacker : AIKIDO
46. Night before : EVE
47. Melville's second novel : OMOO
48. Things spiders leave : BITE MARKS
51. Actress Angela of "American Horror Story" : BASSETT
54. Antarctic volcano named for a place in the underworld : EREBUS
58. Child-care expert LeShan : EDA
59. Moniker for German chancellor Konrad Adenauer : DER ALTE
62. The "e" of i.e. : EST
63. Volunteer's phrase : I'LL GO
65. Rumble in the Jungle participant : ALI
66. Conductor Georg whose name consists of two musical notes : SOLTI
68. Niece's counterpart, in French : NEVEU
69. Blue on an electoral map: Abbr. : DEM
70. Ancient Greek physician : GALEN
71. Open the door for : GREET
72. Psyche part : EGO
73. Scraping (by) : EKING

Down
1. Grind, as the teeth : GNASH
2. Eagle's residence : AERIE
3. Soil enricher : MULCH
4. Poet's "before" : ERE
5. More optimistic : ROSIER
6. Swiss-German artist Paul : KLEE
7. Murray ___-Mann, Physics Nobelist who coined the term "quark" : GELL
8. Whalebone : BALEEN
9. Night stand locale : BEDSIDE
10. ___ the day : RUE
11. 1980s TV's "Kate & ___" : ALLIE
12. Board, as a plane : GET ON
13. Blessing before a meal : GRACE
22. Spider of children's literature : CHARLOTTE
23. Spider's web-producing organ : SPINNERET
26. Staked a claim : HAD DIBS
28. Last car : CABOOSE
30. One who might have a corner office, for short : CEO
31. Decidedly nonfeminist women's group : HAREM
32. Links org. : PGA
33. Use for flowers in Hawaii : LEI
34. Antlered beast : ELK
37. City where Einstein was born : ULM
38. Obama, astrologically : LEO
39. In days of yore : AGO
42. Mrs. Perón : EVA
45. Went extinct : DIED OUT
49. Charles Schwab rival : E*TRADE
50. Source of the "K" in Kmart : KRESGE
51. Organism : BEING
52. Freud contemporary Alfred : ADLER
53. Healing ointment : SALVE
55. Casus ___ (cause of war) : BELLI
56. Hwy. through Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan : US-TEN
57. Police setup : STING
60. Words after break or shake : A LEG
61. Long way to go? : LIMO
64. "No kidding!" : GEE!
67. Sturdy tree : OAK

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-49628063711667644592016-06-27T00:00:00.000-07:002016-06-27T00:00:08.031-07:000627-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 27 Jun 16, Monday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Kevan Choset
THEME: Lives of Ease
Today's themed answers are celebrities whose names use the letter E, but no other vowel:

59A. Carefree existences ... or, punnily, what 17-, 27- and 45-Across have : LIVES OF EASE
(or "Lives of Es")
17A. 1940s-'50s Dodgers great who lent support to Jackie Robinson : PEE WEE REESE
27A. Comedian who hosted the 2014 Oscars : ELLEN DEGENERES
45A. Actress with the classic line "You had me at hello" : RENEE ZELLWEGER
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 47s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Spanish red wine : RIOJA
Rioja wines come from the province of La Rioja in Northern Spain. In my days living back in Europe, Rioja wines were noted for their heavy oaky flavors and it wasn't uncommon to order a "rough Rioja" when out for dinner of an evening.

6. Taters : SPUDS
The word "spud" is used as a slang term for a potato and was first recorded in the mid-1800s, in New Zealand would you believe?

11. Insult, slangily : DIS
"Dis" is a slang term meaning "insult" that originated in the eighties. It is a shortened form of "disrespect" or "dismiss".

14. Actor Ed who voiced Carl Fredricksen in "Up" : ASNER
"Up" is the tenth movie released by Pixar studios, featuring wonderful animation as we have come to expect from Pixar. The film earned itself two Academy Awards. The main voice actor is Ed Asner, whose animated persona as Carl Fredricksen was created to resemble Spencer Tracy, as Tracy appeared in his last film, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".

15. Tim ___, N.F.L. player known for kneeling in prayer : TEBOW
Tim Tebow is a former quarterback who played mainly for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. Tebow's relatively short professional career followed a very successful college career during which he became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.

17. 1940s-'50s Dodgers great who lent support to Jackie Robinson : PEE WEE REESE
Pee Wee Reese was a shortstop who played his professional career with the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers. Reese is remembered not only for his skill on the field, but for his very visible support for teammate Jackie Robinson, who famously struggled to be accepted as the first African-American player in the majors. As he was an outstanding marbles player as a child, Reese was given the nickname "pee wee" after the name for a small marble.

21. Teri ___, Best Supporting Actress nominee for "Tootsie" : GARR
The lovely Teri Garr had a whole host of minor roles in her youth, including appearances in nine Elvis movies. Garr's big break came with the role of Inga in "Young Frankenstein", and her supporting role in "Tootsie" earned Garr an Academy Award nomination. Sadly, Teri Garr suffers from multiple sclerosis. She is a National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

"Tootsie" is a hilarious 1982 comedy starring Dustin Hoffman in the title role, a male actor who adopts a female identity in order to land an acting job. Jessica Lange won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the film. "Tootsie" was also provided Geena Davis with her first movie role.

22. "Dallas" family name : EWING
The TV soap "Dallas" revolved around the Ewings family. The series that ran for 13 years was originally intended as a five-part mini-series, with the main characters being newlyweds Bobby and Pam Ewing. But, the devious character in the piece, Bobby's brother J. R., became so popular with audiences that the series as extended with J. R. at the center of the story. The original show ran from 1978 to 1991, and a revival was made starting in 2012. The new version of "Dallas" included some of the old characters, such as Bobby and Pam Ewing, as well as J.R. Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing, passed away at the end of 2012.

26. Australian gem export : OPAL
97% of the world's opals come from Australia, so it's no surprise perhaps that the opal is the national gemstone of the country. The state of South Australia provides the bulk of the world's production, about 80%.

27. Comedian who hosted the 2014 Oscars : ELLEN DEGENERES
Ellen DeGeneres is a very, very successful TV personality, having parlayed her career in stand-up comedy into lucrative gigs as an actress and talk show host. Back in 1997 DeGeneres chose the "Oprah Winfrey Show" to announce that she was a lesbian. Her character on "The Ellen Show" also came out as a lesbian in a scene with her therapist, who was played by Oprah Winfrey. Nice twist!

33. Egypt's capital : CAIRO
Cairo is the capital city of Egypt. It is the largest city on the continent of Africa and is nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" because of its impressive skyline replete with Islamic architecture. The name "Cairo" is a European corruption of the city's original name in Arabic, "Al-Qahira".

34. Sent back to a lower court : REMANDED
"To remand" is to send back. In the law, the term can mean to send back into custody, or to send back a case to a lower court.

36. "The Addams Family" cousin : ITT
In the television sitcom "The Addams Family", the family had a frequent visitor called Cousin Itt. Itt is a short man with long hair that runs from his head to the floor. Cousin Itt was played by Italian actor Felix Silla.

They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're altogether ooky,
The Addams Family.

39. I, to a psychologist : EGO
Sigmund Freud created a structural model of the human psyche, breaking it into three parts: the id, the ego, and the super-ego. The id is that part of the psyche containing the basic instinctual drives. The ego seeks to please the id by causing realistic behavior that benefits the individual. The super-ego almost has a parental role, contradicting the id by introducing critical thinking and morals to behavioral choices.

45. Actress with the classic line "You had me at hello" : RENEE ZELLWEGER
Renée Zellweger's big break came in the 1996 movie "Jerry Maguire". A few years later, Zellweger followed that up with a string of successes in "Bridget Jones Diary" (2001), "Chicago" (2002) and "Cold Mountain" (2003). My wife and I love watching her play Bridget Jones, and as someone coming from the British Isles, I have to say that Zellweger does a remarkable job with the accent. She worked hard to perfect that accent, and of course she had a voice coach. She also went "undercover" and worked as a temp in an office for three weeks fine-tuning her skills.

"Jerry Maguire" is a 1996 film starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Renée Zellweger. The title character is played by Cruise, and is a sports agent. There are several lines oft quoted from "Jerry Maguire" including:

- "Show me the money!"
- "You complete me"
- "You had me at 'hello'"

49. News anchor Lester : HOLT
Lester Holt is a television journalist. Holt is anchor for the weekend editions of the shows "Today" and "Nightly News" on NBC, as well as the show "Dateline NBC".

50. "___ español?" : HABLA
"Habla español?" is Spanish for "Do you speak Spanish?"

52. ___ Spring (2010s movement) : ARAB
The term "Arab Spring" has been applied to the wave of protests, riots and civil wars that impacted the Arab world for 2010 to 2012. The uprisings were sparked by the Tunisian Revolution at the end of 2010 that led to the ouster of the longtime president and the institution of democratic elections. The period of instability that followed in some Arab League countries has been dubbed the "Arab Winter".

58. Wed. follower : THU
In Norse mythology, Thor was the son of Odin. Thor wielded a mighty hammer and was the god of thunder, lightning and storms. Our contemporary word "Thursday" comes from "Thor's Day".

"Wotan" is an alternative (High German) spelling of the name Woden, the Anglo-Saxon version of the Norse god Odin. Wotan is the head god in the pagan tradition, but as paganism was gradually replaced by Christianity in the 7th and 8th centuries, Wotan moved from his place in religion and into the realm of folklore. Indeed, he is a precursor of our modern day Father Christmas. Wotan (Woden) also gave his name to Wednesday, Woden's Day ...

63. "The Faerie Queene" woman whose name means "peace" : IRENA
"The Faerie Queene" is an epic poem by Edmund Spenser, one of the longest poems written in the English language. Spenser dedicated the work to Queen Elizabeth I, who is represented as the Faerie Queene Gloriana. In return, Queen Elizabeth I granted Spenser a pension of 50 pounds a year for life.

64. Gossip, from the Yiddish : YENTA
Yenta (also "Yente") is actually a female Yiddish name. In Yiddish theater "yenta" came to mean a busybody.

65. "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" airer : PBS
The "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" TV show starred Fred Rogers. It was the second-longest running series on PBS television after that other iconic children's show "Sesame Street".

66. Ohio city where Goodyear is headquartered : AKRON
For part of the 1800s, the Ohio city of Akron was the fasting growing city in the country, feeding off the industrial boom of that era. The city was founded in 1825 and its location, along the Ohio and Erie canal connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River, helped to fuel Akron's growth. Akron sits at the highest point of the canal and the name "Akron" comes from the Greek word meaning "summit". Indeed, Akron is the county seat of Summit County.

The Goodyear tire company was founded in 1898. The company was named for Charles Goodyear, the man who invented vulcanized rubber in 1839. Despite the Goodyear name, Charles Goodyear himself had no connection with the company.

Down
3. First-year law student : ONE L
"One L" is a name used in general for first year law students.

6. Attack from a low-flying plane : STRAFE
We've been using "strafe" to mean an attack on a ground position from low-flying aircraft since WWII. Prior to that, the word was used by British soldiers to mean any form of attack. It was picked up from the German word for "punish" as it was used in "Gott strafe England" meaning, "May God punish England".

8. Lyft competitor : UBER
Uber is a ridesharing service that was founded in 2009 and is based in San Francisco. The service is somewhat controversial and has been described as an illegal taxicab operation. Central to Uber's service is the company's mobile app, which can use the client's GPS location to help find the nearest available ride. Uber's main competitor is Lyft. Personally, I love the service and have only had good experiences ...

9. Uno + uno : DOS
In Spanish, two times "uno" (one) is "dos" (two).

10. Popeye's son : SWEE'PEA
Originally Popeye used the nickname "Swee'pea" to address his girlfriend Olive Oyl. Then along comes a baby, found on Popeye's doorstep. Popeye adopts the little guy and raises him, calling him "Swee'Pea".

11. Hors d'oeuvre often topped with paprika : DEVILED EGG
Deviled eggs are hard-boiled eggs that have been shelled and sliced in two. The egg's yolk is mixed with primarily mayonnaise and mustard, and then spooned into the hard-boiled egg white. The eggs are then sprinkled with paprika and served cold. Some people make deviled eggs on Halloween, dropping an olive slice in the middle so that the whole thing resembles an eyeball! The term "deviled" has been used for zesty or spicy foods since the 1700s.

13. Spotify selection : SONG
Spotify is a popular music-streaming service that was launched in Sweden in 2008.

25. Musician Yoko : ONO
Yoko Ono was born into a prosperous Japanese family, and is actually a descendant of one of the emperors of Japan. Her father moved around the world for work, and she lived the first few years of her life in San Francisco. The family returned to Japan, before moving on to New York, Hanoi and back to Japan just before WWII, in time to live through the great fire-bombing of Tokyo in 1945. Immediately after the war the family was far from prosperous. While Yoko's father was being held in a prison camp in Vietnam, her mother had to resort to begging and bartering to feed her children. When her father was repatriated, life started to return to normal and Yoko was able to attend university. She was the first woman to be accepted into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University.

27. Vaping need, informally : E-CIG
An electronic cigarette (also called an "e-cigarette") is a battery-powered device that resembles a real cigarette. The e-cigarette vaporizes a solution that contains nicotine, forming a vapor that resembles smoke. The vapor is inhaled, delivering the nicotine into the body. The assumption is that an e-cigarette is healthier than a regular cigarette as the inhaled vapor is less harmful than inhaled smoke. But, that may not be so …

32. "Speaking of which ...," for example : SEGUE
A "segue" is a transition from one topic to the next. "Segue" is an Italian word that literally means "now follows". It was first used in musical scores directing the performer to play into the next movement without a break.

38. The New Yorker cartoonist Chast : ROZ
Roz Chast had her first cartoon published in "The New Yorker" in 1978, and has had more than 800 published since then.

41. ___-retentive : ANAL
The use of the word "anal" to mean "stiffly conventional" is an abbreviated form of "anal-retentive", a term derived from Freudian psychology. Regardless, I'm not a big fan of the term ...

46. From the capital of Tibet : LHASAN
Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and the name "Lhasa" translates as "place of the gods". However, Lhasa used to be called Rasa, a name that translates into the less auspicious "goat's place". Lhasa was also once called the "Forbidden City" due to its inaccessible location high in the Himalayas and a traditional hostility exhibited by residents to outsiders. The "forbidden" nature of the city has been reinforced since the Chinese took over Tibet in the early 1950s as it has been difficult for foreigners to get permission to visit Lhasa.

47. Timber wolf : LOBO
The timber wolf is also known as the gray wolf, tundra wolf or lobo.

50. URL starter : HTTP
"http" are the first letters in most Internet links. "http" stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol.

Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

51. "Moby-Dick" captain : AHAB
Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick". The role of Captain Ahab was played by Gregory Peck in the 1956 John Huston film adaptation. Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a 1998 miniseries in which Peck made another appearance, as Father Mapple.

53. Cabinet member who once appeared beside her impersonator on "S.N.L." : RENO
Janet Reno was Attorney General of the US from 1993 to 2001. Reno was the person to hold the office second longest, and was our first female Attorney General. In 2002, Reno ran for Governor of Florida but failed to win the Democratic nomination. Janet Reno was impersonated by Will Ferrell on "Saturday Night Live", primarily in a recurring sketch called "Janet Reno's Dance Party". That sketch appeared for the last time in 2001, and Janet Reno herself turned up for the party.

55. Prince in "Frozen" : HANS
"Frozen" is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Snow Queen".

61. "This might be of interest ...," for short : FYI ...
FYI (for your information)

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Spanish red wine : RIOJA
6. Taters : SPUDS
11. Insult, slangily : DIS
14. Actor Ed who voiced Carl Fredricksen in "Up" : ASNER
15. Tim ___, N.F.L. player known for kneeling in prayer : TEBOW
16. Environmental prefix : ECO-
17. 1940s-'50s Dodgers great who lent support to Jackie Robinson : PEE WEE REESE
19. Moving day vehicle : VAN
20. Prefix with vision or market : TELE-
21. Teri ___, Best Supporting Actress nominee for "Tootsie" : GARR
22. "Dallas" family name : EWING
24. Bread unit : LOAF
26. Australian gem export : OPAL
27. Comedian who hosted the 2014 Oscars : ELLEN DEGENERES
33. Egypt's capital : CAIRO
34. Sent back to a lower court : REMANDED
36. "The Addams Family" cousin : ITT
37. Tot's three-wheeler : TRIKE
39. I, to a psychologist : EGO
40. Admonishment for public displays of affection : GET A ROOM!
43. Verbally spar : ARGUE
45. Actress with the classic line "You had me at hello" : RENEE ZELLWEGER
48. Tatters : RAGS
49. News anchor Lester : HOLT
50. "___ español?" : HABLA
52. ___ Spring (2010s movement) : ARAB
54. Impact sound in the comics : WHAM!
58. Wed. follower : THU
59. Carefree existences ... or, punnily, what 17-, 27- and 45-Across have : LIVES OF EASE
62. Shout before "You're it!" : TAG!
63. "The Faerie Queene" woman whose name means "peace" : IRENA
64. Gossip, from the Yiddish : YENTA
65. "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" airer : PBS
66. Ohio city where Goodyear is headquartered : AKRON
67. Cry when accepting a challenge : IT'S ON!

Down
1. In awe : RAPT
2. "Aha!" : I SEE!
3. First-year law student : ONE L
4. Dealer in diamonds : JEWELER
5. "All bets ___ off" : ARE
6. Attack from a low-flying plane : STRAFE
7. Jury member : PEER
8. Lyft competitor : UBER
9. Uno + uno : DOS
10. Popeye's son : SWEE'PEA
11. Hors d'oeuvre often topped with paprika : DEVILED EGG
12. Words of confidence : I CAN
13. Spotify selection : SONG
18. "Yipe!" : EGAD!
23. Alert : WARN
25. Musician Yoko : ONO
26. "This one's ___" : ON ME
27. Vaping need, informally : E-CIG
28. "Catch you on the flip side" : LATER
29. Ones eschewing trash cans : LITTERBUGS
30. Dirty coating : GRIME
31. Cartoon shriek : EEK!
32. "Speaking of which ...," for example : SEGUE
35. Active person : DOER
37. Pedicurists work on them : TOES
38. The New Yorker cartoonist Chast : ROZ
41. ___-retentive : ANAL
42. Crown, scepter, etc. : REGALIA
43. Leather punch : AWL
44. Share with one's followers, in a way : RETWEET
46. From the capital of Tibet : LHASAN
47. Timber wolf : LOBO
50. URL starter : HTTP
51. "Moby-Dick" captain : AHAB
52. State definitively : AVER
53. Cabinet member who once appeared beside her impersonator on "S.N.L." : RENO
55. Prince in "Frozen" : HANS
56. Regarding : AS TO
57. Not nice : MEAN
60. Bother : IRK
61. "This might be of interest ...," for short : FYI ...

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-56393824753912291502016-06-26T03:15:00.001-07:002016-06-26T03:19:30.400-07:000626-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 26 Jun 16, Sunday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Priscilla Clark & Jeff Chen
THEME: Sports Page Headlines
Today's themed answers could easily be headlines on a sports page, references to matchups of baseball teams. However, the clues makes reference to alternative interpretations of the same phrases:

23A. Conflict at sea : MARINERS BATTLE PIRATES
47A. Parenting problem at a zoo : TIGERS CAN'T HANDLE CUBS
69A. Cold War synopsis : YANKEES DEFEAT REDS
94A. Show of respect at the Vatican : PADRES BOW TO CARDINALS
120A. Overthrow of a monarchy : NATIONALS TOPPLE ROYALS
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 20m 07s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Foyer fixture : COATRACK
"Foyer", meaning "lobby", is a French word that we've imported into English. In French, "foyer" is used for what we would call a "green room", a place where actors can gather when not on stage or on set.

9. Paratroopers' gear : CHUTES
The term "parachute" was coined by Frenchman François Blanchard, from "para-" meaning "defence against" and "chute" meaning "a fall".

 15. Building material for an 80-Across (in two different ways?) : ADOBE
(80A. See 15-Across : ABODE)
"Adobe" is a building material that might be used to construct an "abode", and the letters in the word "adobe" are used to make the word "abode".

21. Warhol's "Campbell's Tomato Juice Box," e.g. : POP ART
Andy Warhol went through a period of painting iconic American products, including Coca-Cola bottles and Campbell's tomato soup cans. In 1964 he participated in a gallery show called "The American Supermarket". Along with other pop artists he contributed works including a painting of a can of Campbell's tomato soup. He priced the painting at $1,500, and sold autographed cans of soup for $6 a piece.

22. Italian vessel? : CRUET
A cruet is a small glass bottle for holding a condiment or perhaps a dressing. The word "cruet" comes from the Old French word for an earthen pot.

Don't try asking for Italian dressing in Italy, as it's a North American invention. Italians are fond of dressing their salads with olive oil, vinegar, salt and maybe some black pepper. Try it!

26. Asia's ___ Sea : ARAL
The Aral Sea is a great example of how humans can have a devastating effect on their environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad ...

27. Geological flat top : MESA
"Mesa" is the Spanish for "table", which gives rise to our English usage of "mesa" to describe a geographic feature.

28. Staple at a luau : POI
The corm of some taro plants is used to make poi, the traditional Hawaiian dish (that I think tastes horrible). When a taro plant is grown as an ornamental, it is often called Elephant Ears due to the shape of its large leaves.

29. Orange Pixar character : NEMO
"Finding Nemo" is a 2003 animated blockbuster from Pixar. The film was the winner of the Oscar that year for Best Animated Feature. Believe it or not, "Finding Nemo" is the best-selling DVD of all time and, until 2010's "Toy Story 3", it was the highest-grossing, G-rated movie at the box office.

30. Main character in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" : SAMSA
"The Metamorphosis" is a famous novella by Franz Kafka, regarded by many as one of the greatest pieces of short fiction written in the 20th century. The story tells of the metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa into a gigantic insect. His sister, Grete Samsa, becomes his caregiver.

32. River ___ (tributary of the Thames) : LEA
The River Lea is a major waterway that meets up with the River Thames within the city of London. There have been persistent rumors over the past few years that a large predator lives in the Lea, as witnesses have seen Canada geese and other birds dragged vertically underwater. A favorite explanation from the tabloid press is that there is a crocodile lurking in the area, something that has been strenuously denied by the authorities.

44. Dura ___ (brain membrane) : MATER
The three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord are referred to as the meninges. From the inside to the outside, these membranes are known as:

- the pia mater ("tender mother" in Latin)
- the arachnoid mater ("spider-like mother")
- the dura mater ("tough mother")

46. "That's more than I want to know!" : TMI
Too much information! (TMI)

52. Luke Skywalker's landspeeder, e.g. : HOVERCAR
When the original "Star Wars" movie was in development, the lead character was called "Anakin Starkiller". The character was also a gnarly, old war hero, and then a younger female. Eventually that character developed into Luke Skywalker.

54. "The Governator" : ARNIE
The body-builder, actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Graz in Austria, the son of the local police chief. Schwarzenegger's family name translates into the more prosaic "black plough man". In his bodybuilding days, he was often referred to as the Austrian Oak. When he was Governor of California he was called "the Governator", a play on his role in the "The Terminator" series of movies.

55. Focus of study for Niels Bohr : ATOM
Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist, who won his 1922 Nobel Prize for his work on quantum mechanics and atomic structure. Later in his life, Bohr was part of the team working on the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bomb. Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein had a series of public debates and disputes in the twenties and thirties. Although the two respected each other very highly, they held very different views on quantum theory, different views on the laws of physics at the atomic level. The passage of time has shown that Bohr won out in those debates.

59. Winter Palace resident : TSAR
The Winter Palace is a magnificent building in St. Petersburg in Russia, home to the Russian tsars (and tsarinas). The Winter Palace houses the famous Hermitage Museum. I was lucky enough to visit the Palace and museum some years ago, and I have to say that I have rarely been more impressed by a historical building.

61. Particulars, in slang : DEETS
"Deets" is slang for "details".

65. Eight days after the nones : IDES
There were three important days in each month of the old Roman calendar. These days originally depended on the cycles of the moon but were eventually "fixed" by law. "Kalendae" were the first days of each month, originally the days of the new moon. "Nonae" (nones) were originally the days of the half moon. And "idus" (the ides) was originally the day of the full moon, eventually fixed at the 15th day of a month. Well, actually the ides were the 15th day of March, May, July and October. For all other months, the ides fell on the 13th. Go figure ...

67. Choice word? : EENIE

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch the tiger/monkey/baby by the toe.
If it hollers/screams let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, you are it!

69. Cold War synopsis : YANKEES DEFEAT REDS
The phrase "cold war" was first used by the novelist George Orwell in a 1945 essay about the atomic bomb. Orwell described a world under threat of nuclear war as having a "peace that is no peace", in a permanent state of "cold war". The specific use of "cold war" to describe the tension between the Eastern bloc and the Western allies is attributed to a 1947 speech by Bernard Baruch.

74. Rimes with rhymes : LEANN
LeAnn Rimes has been a country music star since she was 13 years old. In 2008 she disclosed publicly that she suffered from the autoimmune disease psoriasis. She has been active since then in raising money to fight the disease and helping fund cancer research as well. So, not only did Rimes win three Grammy Awards in 1997, she also won a 2009 Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Country Music.

75. Othello, for one : MOOR
The most famous Moor in literature has to be Othello, the title character in William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello, the Moor of Venice". The word "Moor" describes various peoples of North Africa, usually of the Muslim faith. At the height of their geographic influence the Moors occupied much of the Iberian peninsula, calling it Al Andalus (from which modern Andalusia gets its name).

88. Roger Bannister, notably : MILER
The 4-minute barrier for the mile run was first broken in 1954 by Roger Bannister, when he finished in just over 3m 59s. The record for males now stands at 3m 43s. If you plan on running a 4-minute mile, you should probably be warned that this means you have to run the whole race at an average speed of over 15 mph (do the math!).

89. Word repeated in James Brown's "It's a ___ ___ ___ World" : MAN'S
James Brown released the celebrated song "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" in 1966. The title is a play on the excellent comedy film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" that was released three years earlier.

94. Show of respect at the Vatican : PADRES BOW TO CARDINALS
Vatican City is a sovereign city-state that is walled off within the city of Rome. Vatican City is about 110 acres in area, and so is the smallest independent state in the world. With about 800 residents, it is also the smallest state in terms of population. Although the Holy See dates back to early Christianity, Vatican City only came into being in 1929. At that time, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini signed a treaty with the Holy See on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy that established the city-state.

99. Wood in Lucius Malfoy's wand : ELM
Lucius Malfoy is a character in the "Harry Potter" series of novels. Lucius is the father of Draco Malfoy, a cowardly bully who is in the same year as Harry in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft.

104. Incapacitate, in a way : TASE
"To tase" is to use a taser, a stun gun.

105. "Inside the N.B.A." airer : TNT
TNT stands for Turner Network Television. The TNT cable channel made a big splash in the eighties when it started to broadcast old MGM movies that had been "colorized", not something that was a big hit with the public. In recent years, the TNT programming lineup is touted with the tagline "We Know Drama", and includes shows like "Judging Amy", "ER" and "Cold Case".

106. Yemen, once : SHEBA
Sheba is referenced in the Bible several times. The "Queen of Sheba" is mentioned as someone who traveled to Jerusalem to behold the fame of King Solomon. No one knows for sure where the kingdom of Sheba was located, although there is evidence that it was actually the ancient Semitic civilization of Saba. The Sabeans lived in what today is Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula.

111. Subj. for a radio astronomer : SETI
SETI is the name given to a number of projects that are searching for extraterrestrial life. The acronym stands for "search for extraterrestrial intelligence". One of the main SETI activities is the monitoring of electromagnetic radiation (such as radio waves) reaching the Earth in the hope of finding a transmission from a civilization in another world.

113. One in a gray suit, for short : REB
During the Civil War, the personification of the Southern states was "Johnny Reb". The northern equivalent was Billy Yank.

115. Most-applied-to sch. in the U.S. : UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gets more applications from students than any other university in the country. UCLA also has more students enrolled than any other university in the state.

126. Smart ___ : ALECK
Apparently the original "smart Alec" (sometimes "Aleck") was Alec Hoag, a pimp, thief and confidence trickster who plied his trade in New York City in the 1840s.

127. Only guest host in the 21 years of Leno's "The Tonight Show" : COURIC
Katie Couric left NBC's "The Today Show" in 2006 and took over as news anchor for "CBS Evening News". In so doing she became the first solo female anchor of a broadcast network evening news program. Couric also has the honor of being the only person to guest-host on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". In fact she "swapped jobs" on that particular day, and Leno filled in for Couric on "The Today Show". Since 2012, Couric has a hosted a daytime talk show called "Katie" on ABC.

129. City of Light, informally : PAREE
The French capital Paris is nicknamed "La Ville Lumière" (The City of Light). There are two justifications cited for the moniker. Firstly, the city played a leading role during Europe's Age of Enlightenment, in the 18th century. In fact, the French refer to the era as "the Century of Lights". Secondly, and more literally, Paris was one of the first cities in Europe to adopt widespread gas street lighting. There were about 56,000 gas lights illuminating the streets of Paris in the 1860s.

Down
2. John who wrote "Appointment in Samarra" : O'HARA
"Appointment in Samarra" was John O'Hara's first novel, published in 1934. Samarra is a city north of Baghdad in Iraq, although the story itself takes place in a fictional town in Pennsylvania. The novel deals with the last three days in the life of Julian English, describing how he destroys himself with a series compulsive acts leading up to his suicide. This one doesn't qualify as light reading for the plane ...

3. Hussein : Obama :: ___ : Garfield : ABRAM
President James Abram Garfield was born in Orange Township in Ohio, the youngest son of Abram Garfield. Abram had moved from New York to Ohio specifically to court his childhood sweetheart Mehitabel Ballou. When Abram arrived in Ohio, however, he found that Mehitabel had already married. Abram did manage to join the Ballou family though, as he eventually married Mehitabel's sister Eliza.

Despite rumors to the contrary, I am pretty sure that Barack Hussein Obama II was indeed born in Hawaii. President Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii.

4. "Through many dangers, ___ and snares I have already come" ("Amazing Grace" lyric) : TOILS
"Amazing Grace" is a very, very famous hymn, with words written by John Newton in 1779. The words have been set to a number of different melodies, and what we are used to hearing today is music from a tune called "New Britain".

5. Burgundy of "Anchorman" : RON
Ron Burgundy is the title character in the movie "Anchorman" series of films. Burgundy is a news anchor played by comedian Will Ferrell. Apparently Burgundy loves a glass of scotch, poetry, and his dog Baxter.

8. Big name in headphones : KOSS
Koss is a manufacturer mainly of headphones based in Milwaukee. The company was founded in 1958 by John C. Koss, the inventor of the first stereo heasphone.

9. Number cruncher, for short : CPA
Certified public accountant (CPA)

10. Short shorts : HOT PANTS
Hot pants were quite the fad. They were introduced in fashion shows in the winter of 1970/71, and became a huge sensation in the summer of '71. By the end of the year, hot pants were "gone".

12. The Seal of Solomon and others : TALISMANS
The Seal of Solomon is a legendary signet ring that gave Solomon power over demons and genies, and the ability to speak with animals.

14. Letters on many a racecar : STP
STP is a brand name for automotive lubricants and additives. The name STP comes from "Scientifically Treated Petroleum".

15. Part of a plot : ACRE
At one time, an acre was defined as the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. This was more precisely defined as a strip of land "one furrow long" (i.e. one furlong) and one furlong wide. The length of one furlong was equal to 10 chains, or 40 rods. A area of one furlong times 10 rods was one rood.

18. Queen ___ : BEE
A queen bee has a stinger, just like worker bees. When a worker bee stings, it leaves it stinger in its victim. The worker bee dies after losing its stinger as the loss rips out part of its insides. However, a queen bee can sting with impunity as the stinger's anatomy is different.

19. SAT org. : ETS
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) was founded in 1947, and produces standardized tests for students from kindergarten through college. Perhaps most famously, ETS operates the SAT testing process.

24. Raft material : BALSA
Balsa is a very fast growing tree that is native to parts of South America. Even though balsa wood is very soft, it is actually classified as a hardwood, the softest of all the hardwoods (go figure!). Balsa is light and strong, so is commonly used in making model airplanes. Amazingly, in WWII a full-size British plane, the de Havilland Mosquito, was built largely from balsa and plywood. No wonder they called it "The Wooden Wonder" and "The Timber Terror".

25. Pentium creator : INTEL
Intel is the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips. The company was founded in 1968, and the name "Intel" is a derived from the term "int(egrated) el(ectronics)". Recognition of the Intel brand has been greatly helped by the success of the "Intel Inside" campaign that started back in 1991.

35. Supercontinent of 200 million years ago : PANGAEA
Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed during the age of the dinosaurs, the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. Pangaea broke apart due to movement of tectonic plates in the Earth's crust. All of today's continents were once part of Pangaea.

38. Scope : AMBIT
An ambit is an outer boundary or limit, a circumference. The term can also be used to mean the sphere or scope of influence. "Ambit" comes from the Latin "ambire" meaning "to go around".

41. World of Warcraft beast : ORC
"World of Warcraft" is an online role-playing game. My son informs me that the game is not that great. Like I would know …

42. Waver of a wand : TSA AGENT
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks. TSA personnel carry out the baggage and body searches at US airports. The TSA has a Trusted Traveler program that allows certain passengers to move more quickly through security screening. These passengers pay the TSA a one-time fee that covers a background check after which successful applicants are issued a Known Traveler Number (KTN).

43. Bathroom tile shade : ECRU
The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word "ecru" comes from French and means "raw, unbleached". "Ecru" has the same roots as our word "crude".

47. Cowardly Lion harasser : TOTO
Toto is Dorothy's dog in the film "The Wizard of Oz", and in the original book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. Toto was played in the movie by a dog called Terry, but Terry's name was soon changed to Toto in real life due to the success of the film.

48. Bathroom bar : IVORY
Ivory soap is one of Procter & Gamble's oldest products, introduced way back in 1879. Ivory soap is noted for its "purity" and also because of its property of floating in water. Despite urban myths to the contrary, the property of floating in water was developed deliberately by a chemist at the time Ivory was being formulated. The soap floats because the ingredients are mixed longer than necessary for homogenization, which introduces more air into the product.

49. The Pink Panther, in "The Pink Panther" : GEM
A lot of people think that the Inspector Clouseau character (played originally by Peter Sellers) is "The Pink Panther". It's actually the jewel that was stolen in the original movie. Would you believe there are eleven "Pink Panther" movies in the whole series?

51. Seventh film in the "Rocky" series : CREED
"Creed" is a 2015 boxing movie, the seventh in the "Rocky" franchise. Sylvester Stallone returns as Rocky Balboa, but this time as a trainer. Rocky trains Apollo Creed's son Adonis. Stallone was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in the film. It was the first Academy Award nomination he had received since the first "Rocky" film, which was released almost forty years earlier.

57. "___ the season ..." : 'TIS
The music for the Christmas song "Deck the Halls" is a traditional Welsh tune that dates back to the 16th century. The same tune was used by Mozart for a violin and piano duet. The lyrics with which we are familiar (other than the "tra-la-la") are American in origin, and were recorded in 19th century. "'Tis the season to be jolly …"

60. Hardly original works : RETREADS
A retread tire is one that has been recycled, possibly more than once. The tread of the old tire is buffed away, and and new rubber tread is applied to the "bare" tire using some special process that seems to work really well. Retreads are a lot cheaper, and obviously are relatively friendly to the environment.

64. Police blotter letters : AKA
Also known as (aka)

A police blotter is (or used to be) a daily record of arrests made.

66. Fair-hiring inits. : EEO
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act. Title VII of the Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.

68. Org. with the Eddie Eagle safety program : NRA
The Eddie Eagle program was introduced by the National Rifle Association and is designed to train children to avoid causing harm if they encounter a firearm. The basic mantra of the program is "Stop, don't touch, run away, tell a grown-up".

70. Tree with catkins : ALDER
Alder trees are deciduous (i.e. not evergreen), and the fruit of the tree is called a "catkin". The tree carries both male and female catkins that look very similar to each other, but the male catkin is longer than the female. Alders are pollinated by wind usually, although bees can play a role.

73. Delicacy usually eaten as an appetizer : SNAIL
In order to eat snails, apparently they have to be "purged" before killing them. That means starving them or feeding them on something "wholesome" for several days before cooking them up. Ugh …

79. Queen ___ (pop music nickname) : BEY
Beyoncé Knowles established herself in the entertainment industry as the lead singer with the R&B group Destiny's Child. She launched her solo singing career in 2003, two years after making her first appearance as an actor. In 2006 she played the lead in the very successful movie adaptation of the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls". Beyoncé is married to rap star Jay-Z. She is also referred to affectionately as "Queen Bey", a play on the phrase "the queen bee".

81. Deli roll : BIALY
"Bialy" is a Yiddish name for a small onion roll, which takes its name from Bialystok, a city in Poland.

82. Rubens or Raphael : OLD MASTER
Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish painter who worked in the city of Antwerp in Belgium. Rubens was knighted by two monarchs: Philip IV of Spain, and Charles I of England. When Rubens was 53-years-old, four years after the death of his first wife, he married a 16-year-old girl. It was his young wife who inspired many of the voluptuous figures with whom Rubens became associated later in his career.

Raphael was an artist and architect from Central Italy. Raphael was active during the High Renaissance and is often considered alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci who were active in the same timeframe in Italy,

90. Leave runny on the inside, say : SOFT-BOIL
That would be a soft-boiled egg.

96. Welcome to the fold? : BAA!
A "fold" is an enclosure for sheep, or an alternative name for a "flock".

98. Go haywire : ACT UP
"Haywire" is wire used to bind bales of hay. Haywire is very springy, and coils of the wire are difficult to keep under control. That characteristic gives us informal meaning of "haywire", namely "erratic, crazy".

107. OutKast chart-topper : HEY YA!
OutKast is a hip hop duo comprising rappers André 3000 and Big Boi.

109. Southern beauty : BELLE
A "beau" is the boyfriend of a "belle", a young lady. "Beau" and "belle" are the masculine and feminine forms of the French word for "handsome, beautiful".

112. Take a hit : TOKE
"Toke" is a slang term for a puff on a marijuana cigarette or on a pipe containing the drug.

114. Sein : German :: ___ : French : ETRE
The verb "to be" is "sein" in German, and "être" in French.

116. Cotton or country follower : CLUB
The Cotton Club was a famous jazz club in Harlem in New York City that thrived during the days of prohibition. Although the stars on stage were mainly African-American, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, the club generally denied admission to African-American patrons.

117. Siberian river : LENA
The Lena River is in northern Russia, in Siberia, and empties into the Arctic Ocean.

121. ___ russe : A LA
When a meal is served "à la russe" (in the Russian style), courses are brought to the table sequentially. This contrasts with a meal served "à la française" (in the French style), in which all the courses are brought to the table at the same time.

123. Deli offering : LOX
Lox is a cured salmon fillet, finely sliced. The term "lox" comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely "Lachs".

124. Alternatives to Macs : PCS
The original IBM Personal Computer is model number 5150, which was introduced to the world on August 12, 1981. The term "personal computer" was already in use, but the success of the IBM 5150 led to the term "PC" being used for all computer products compatible with the IBM platform.

125. What a constant hand-washer probably has, for short : OCD
Apparently obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, making it about as common as asthma.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Foyer fixture : COATRACK
9. Paratroopers' gear : CHUTES
15. Building material for an 80-Across (in two different ways?) : ADOBE
20. Unsympathetic response to a complainer : OH BOOHOO
21. Warhol's "Campbell's Tomato Juice Box," e.g. : POP ART
22. Italian vessel? : CRUET
23. Conflict at sea : MARINERS BATTLE PIRATES
26. Asia's ___ Sea : ARAL
27. Geological flat top : MESA
28. Staple at a luau : POI
29. Orange Pixar character : NEMO
30. Main character in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" : SAMSA
32. River ___ (tributary of the Thames) : LEA
34. Balls or fire preceder : SPIT
37. Way off : AFAR
40. Decides, in a way : VOTES ON
44. Dura ___ (brain membrane) : MATER
46. "That's more than I want to know!" : TMI
47. Parenting problem at a zoo : TIGERS CAN'T HANDLE CUBS
52. Luke Skywalker's landspeeder, e.g. : HOVERCAR
53. Spill one's secrets : SING
54. "The Governator" : ARNIE
55. Focus of study for Niels Bohr : ATOM
56. Lead-in to dealer or dialer : AUTO-
59. Winter Palace resident : TSAR
61. Particulars, in slang : DEETS
62. Logician's word : NOR
63. Show weariness : SAG
65. Eight days after the nones : IDES
67. Choice word? : EENIE
69. Cold War synopsis : YANKEES DEFEAT REDS
74. Rimes with rhymes : LEANN
75. Othello, for one : MOOR
76. "Kewl!" : RAD!
77. Catch : NAB
80. See 15-Across : ABODE
83. It may be recounted : TALE
85. Be highly esteemed : RATE
87. Not mad : SANE
88. Roger Bannister, notably : MILER
89. Word repeated in James Brown's "It's a ___ ___ ___ World" : MAN'S
91. "Please show some compassion!" : HAVE PITY!
94. Show of respect at the Vatican : PADRES BOW TO CARDINALS
99. Wood in Lucius Malfoy's wand : ELM
100. Dear one? : DIARY
101. Rapt : FOCUSED
102. Twosome : DYAD
104. Incapacitate, in a way : TASE
105. "Inside the N.B.A." airer : TNT
106. Yemen, once : SHEBA
111. Subj. for a radio astronomer : SETI
113. One in a gray suit, for short : REB
115. Most-applied-to sch. in the U.S. : UCLA
119. Split pair : EXES
120. Overthrow of a monarchy : NATIONALS TOPPLE ROYALS
126. Smart ___ : ALECK
127. Only guest host in the 21 years of Leno's "The Tonight Show" : COURIC
128. It requires a balancing act : UNICYCLE
129. City of Light, informally : PAREE
130. Gives the old heave-ho : EXPELS
131. Faulty connections? : BAD DATES

Down
1. Food ___ (feelings after big meals) : COMAS
2. John who wrote "Appointment in Samarra" : O'HARA
3. Hussein : Obama :: ___ : Garfield : ABRAM
4. "Through many dangers, ___ and snares I have already come" ("Amazing Grace" lyric) : TOILS
5. Burgundy of "Anchorman" : RON
6. "Pardon ..." : AHEM ...
7. Heart : CORE
8. Big name in headphones : KOSS
9. Number cruncher, for short : CPA
10. Short shorts : HOT PANTS
11. Until : UP TO
12. The Seal of Solomon and others : TALISMANS
13. Before, poetically : ERE
14. Letters on many a racecar : STP
15. Part of a plot : ACRE
16. ___ queen : DRAMA
17. Pitched poorly : OUT OF TUNE
18. Queen ___ : BEE
19. SAT org. : ETS
24. Raft material : BALSA
25. Pentium creator : INTEL
31. Profess : AVER
33. Long stretch : EON
35. Supercontinent of 200 million years ago : PANGAEA
36. "___ be my pleasure" : IT'D
38. Scope : AMBIT
39. Climbs : RISES
41. World of Warcraft beast : ORC
42. Waver of a wand : TSA AGENT
43. Bathroom tile shade : ECRU
45. Prepped : READIED
47. Cowardly Lion harasser : TOTO
48. Bathroom bar : IVORY
49. The Pink Panther, in "The Pink Panther" : GEM
50. Takes the place of, in batting : HITS FOR
51. Seventh film in the "Rocky" series : CREED
52. ___ characters (basic means of writing Chinese) : HAN
57. "___ the season ..." : 'TIS
58. Leftover : ODDMENT
60. Hardly original works : RETREADS
63. Curled one's lip : SNEERED
64. Police blotter letters : AKA
66. Fair-hiring inits. : EEO
68. Org. with the Eddie Eagle safety program : NRA
70. Tree with catkins : ALDER
71. Charms : ENAMORS
72. Long stretch : ERA
73. Delicacy usually eaten as an appetizer : SNAIL
78. Marching band? : ANTS
79. Queen ___ (pop music nickname) : BEY
80. Stoked : AMPED
81. Deli roll : BIALY
82. Rubens or Raphael : OLD MASTER
84. Gets fitted for a suit? : LAWYERS UP
86. Drive-___ : THRU
87. Pool site : SPA
90. Leave runny on the inside, say : SOFT-BOIL
92. Compete : VIE
93. Leftovers : ENDS
95. Once-common campus event : SIT-IN
96. Welcome to the fold? : BAA!
97. Downside : CON
98. Go haywire : ACT UP
103. Clear for takeoff? : DEICE
107. OutKast chart-topper : HEY YA!
108. On the button : EXACT
109. Southern beauty : BELLE
110. Low mounts? : ASSES
112. Take a hit : TOKE
114. Sein : German :: ___ : French : ETRE
116. Cotton or country follower : CLUB
117. Siberian river : LENA
118. Dry : ARID
120. Time out? : NAP
121. ___ russe : A LA
122. A card? : ACE
123. Deli offering : LOX
124. Alternatives to Macs : PCS
125. What a constant hand-washer probably has, for short : OCD

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-49948289922391263152016-06-25T01:04:00.001-07:002016-06-25T01:09:43.617-07:000625-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 25 Jun 16, Saturday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Kameron Austin Collins
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 43m 58s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
16. Short pants? : TROU
"Trou" is short for "trousers".

The term "pants", meaning trousers, is an abbreviated form of "pantaloons" that first appeared in the 1840s. Pantaloons were a kind of tights named for a silly old male character in Italian comedy called "Pantaloun" who always wore tight trousers over skinny legs.

18. Thirsts : YENS
The word "yen", meaning "urge", has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word "yin" imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium!

19. Androids don't use it : IOS
iOS is what Apple now call their mobile operating system, previously known as iPhone OS.

The Android Operating System is used by many manufacturers of smartphones. Google partners with several companies to produce Android One phones. The beauty of the Android One is that it runs an unadulterated version of the Android Operating System, one that hasn't been "customized" by the likes of T-Mobile or Verizon.

20. President during the Korean War : RHEE
Syngman Rhee was born in Korea, but received much of his education in the US, including a Ph.D. from Princeton. The very much westernized Rhee returned to Korea in 1910, a Korea that by then had been annexed by Japan. Soon after he found himself President of a Provisional Government of Korea based in Shanghai, but was eventually ousted for misuse of power. After WWII, Rhee was installed as President, heavily backed by the United States. However, Rhee's rule proved to be more like tyranny and during the Korean War his relationship with the US Government became very strained. He stayed in power until 1960 when student revolts became popular enough to force him out of office. The CIA flew him out of the country and he went into exile in Hawaii, where a few years later he died of a stroke.

21. Camp David event : SUMMIT
Camp David is the very lovely country retreat used by the US President and family. Technically, Camp David belongs to the US Navy and is known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont. The installation was originally built between 1935 and 1938 as a retreat for government agents and their families. President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat in 1942, naming it Shangri-La. When President Eisenhower was in office he renamed Shangri-La to Camp David in honor of his father and grandson, both of whom were called David.

23. European race place : LE MANS
Le Mans is a city in northwestern France. The city is famous for the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race that has been held annually since 1923. The 24-hour race uses the city's race track, but closed city streets are also used for part of the circuit.

25. Guerrilla in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" : PILAR
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a 1940 novel by author Ernest Hemingway that tells the story of an American fighting for a republican guerilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. The novel is based on Hemingway's own experiences during the conflict. The title is taken from a work by metaphysical poet John Donne called "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions".

"Devotions upon Emergent Occasions" is a work of prose by English poet John Donne, first published in 1624. A couple of famous phrases oft-quoted from the work are "No man is an island" and "for whom the bell tolls".

27. Cough queller : CODEINE
"Codeine" is the common name for the opiate 3-methylmorphine, which is a common ingredient in cough medicines. Codeine occurs naturally, making up about 2% of opium sap, although most codeine is synthesized from the more abundant morphine. The name "codeine" comes from the Greek "kodeia" meaning "poppy head". There is so much codeine produced that it is the most commonly consumed opiate across the world.

29. Title teen in a 2007 hit indie film : JUNO
"Juno" is a great comedy-drama released in 2007 that tells the story of a spunky teenager who is faced with an unplanned pregnancy. The film won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The relatively low-budget movie earned back its initial budget in the first day of its full release to the public. Low-budget blockbuster; my kind of movie ...

30. Literature Nobelist ___ Fo : DARIO
Dario Fo is multi-talented actor and playwright from Italy. Fo's most famous work is probably his controversial series of one-act plays titled "Mistero buffo" ("Comical Mystery"). "Mistero buffo" is set in the Holy Land during the first century CE. An Italian TV broadcast of "Mistero buffo" was denounced by the Vatican as "the most blasphemous show in the history of television".

32. Org. whose logo has a talon-gripped key : NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) seal was introduced in 1965 and features an eagle perched upon a key. The eagle represents the agency's national mission, and the key represents security.

33. At an impasse : HUNG
"Impasse" is a French word for a blind alley or an impassable road, and we use the term to mean "stalemate".

34. Point of computer technology? : PIXEL
A pixel is a dot, the base element that goes to make up a digital image.

35. Went on the fritz : DIED
The American slang term "on the fritz" means "inoperative". There doesn't seem to be a definitive etymology for the term, although there are indications that it has a theatrical origin.

37. Pedestal support : SOCLE
"Socle" is an architectural term referring to a plain, unadorned support or base for a pedestal or column.

38. Good, to Galba : BONA
"Bona" translates from Latin as "good".

AD 69 was a year of civil war in ancient Rome. The unrest started with the death of emperor Nero in AD 68, after which followed the brief rule of Galba, of Otho, of Vitellius, and of Vespasian all in the same year. As a result, AD 69 became known as the Year of the Four Emperors.

41. Program that turns out ensigns, for short : NROTC
Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC)

43. Green hero of book and film : SHREK
Before "Shrek" was a successful movie franchise and Broadway musical, it was a children's picture book called "Shrek!" authored and illustrated by William Steig. The title "Shrek!" came from the German/Yiddish word Schreck, meaning "fear" or "terror".

44. Places : STEADS
To do something "in one's stead" is to do it in one's place, instead of.

48. Football rival of Rutgers : ARMY
West Point is a military reservation in New York State, located north of New York City. West Point was first occupied by the Continental Army way back in 1778, making it the longest, continually-occupied military post in the country. Cadet training has taken place at the garrison since 1794, although Congress funding for a US Military Academy (USMA) didn't start until 1802. The first female cadets were admitted to West Point in 1976, and today about 15% of all new cadets are women.

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, was founded in 1766 as Queen's College and was one of the nine Colonial Colleges that existed prior to the American Revolution. The Rutgers name was chosen in 1812 in honor of Colonel Henry Rutgers, a Revolutionary War hero and university benefactor.

49. Kiss ___ : CAM
The "kiss cam" is a diversion during some sporting events in which a video camera picks out random couples in the crowd, projecting their image onto the giant screen at the venue. The couples are encouraged to kiss, for the entertainment of the fans. Famously, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama kissed for the kiss cam at a basketball game a few years ago, as did former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

57. Actor whose first name is the title of a Best Picture he co-starred in, and whose last name is that film's director : OLIVER REED
"Oliver!" is stage musical by Lionel Bart that is based on the Charles Dickens novel "Oliver Twist". "Oliver!" was adapted successfully for the big screen in 1968. The film version won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Carol Reed. Leading the movie's cast are Mark Lester in the title role, Ron Moody as Fagin and Oliver Reed as Bill Sikes.

Down
1. Co-writer of the Surrealist silent film "Un Chien Andalou," 1929 : DALI
The famous surrealist painter Salvador Dalí was born in Figueres, Spain. I had the privilege of visiting the Dalí Museum in Figueres some years ago, just north of Barcelona. If you ever get the chance, it's a "must see" as it really is a quite magnificent building with a fascinating collection.

3. List in an actor's résumé, informally : NOMS
In French, an actor might have a list of "noms" (names) on his or her "résumé" (resume).

A résumé is a summary of a person's job experience and education and is used as a tool by a job seeker. In many countries, a résumé is equivalent to a curriculum vitae. "Résumé" is the French word for "summary".

5. Italian border city : SAN REMO
The Italian city of San Remo sits on the Mediterranean, right on the border with France. In Italian the city is named Sanremo, just one word, although the spelling of "San Remo" dates back to ancient times.

9. Winner of NBC's "America's Toughest Bouncer" in 1980 : MR T
Mr. T's real name is Laurence Tero Tureaud. Mr. T is famous for many things, including the wearing of excessive amounts of jewelry. He started this habit when he was working as a bouncer, wearing jewelry items that had been left behind by customers at a nightclub so that the items might be recognized and claimed. It was also as a bouncer that he adopted the name Mr. T. His catch phrase comes from the movie "Rocky III". In the film, before he goes up against Rocky Balboa, Mr. T says, "No, I don't hate Balboa, but I pity the fool". He parlayed that line into quite a bit of success. He had a reality TV show called "I Pity the Fool", and produced a motivational video called "Be Somebody ... or Be Somebody's Fool!".

10. Are, in Arles : ETES
The French for "to be" is "être", and for "you are" is "vous êtes".

Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city's design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and where he painted his famous "Cafe Terrace at Night", as well as "Bedroom in Arles".

11. Hogtie : STYMIE
The word "stymie" comes from golf, and is a situation in which one's approach to the hole is blocked by an opponent's ball.

The "hogtie" was first used on pigs (hence the name), and involves the tying together of all four limbs in order to render the animal immobile. On a pig, or any other four legged animal, the limbs are obviously tied in front. To hogtie a human the hands are usually tied behind the back and joined to a rope binding the ankles.

12. Detractors' epithet for the Putin regime : KREMLIN INC
I was lucky enough to visit the Moscow Kremlin as a tourist a few decades ago. The Kremlin sits right on Red Square, along with Saint Basil's Cathedral and the famed GUM department store. "Kremlin" is a Russian word for "fortress".

Vladimir Putin became acting President of Russia at the very end of 1999 when Boris Yeltsin resigned. Putin was elected in his own right in 2000, re-elected in 2004, and then ran up against a term limit in 2008. In 2008 Putin was appointed by his successor, President Dmitry Medvedev, to the position of Prime Minister. Putin is a controversial figure, inside and outside Russia. On the one hand he led the country out of an economic crisis into a period of stability and relative prosperity. On the other hand he has been associated with government corruption and accused of allowing private concerns to have undue influence on government actions.

13. Setting of the so-called "Seven Islands" of Greece : IONIAN SEA
The Ionian Sea is that part of the Mediterranean that lies between Greece and the southern part of Italy (under the sole of the "boot"). The Ionian Sea is one of the most seismically active areas on the planet.

Greece's Ionian Islands are located in the Ionian Sea. The group is commonly referred to as the "Heptanese" ("the Seven Islands" in English), a reference to the seven main islands:

- Corfu
- Paxos
- Lefkas
- Ithaca
- Kefalonia
- Zante
- Cythera

14. Hot words? : MUST-READ
A "must-read" is work of writing that really must be read, a hot piece of literature.

24. Sneak peek sent to film critics : SCREENER DVD
A "screener" is an advance copy of a movie or TV show that is distributed to critics, awards voters and other key professionals in the film industry. Nowadays, screeners are often distributed digitally via email. In an attempt to limit the leaking of movies before the opening date, screener versions of films are usually include an onscreen watermark that includes the recipient's email address.

26. Band whose "Appetite for Destruction" was the best-selling debut album of all time : GUNS N' ROSES
Guns N' Roses is a hard rock band founded in 1985 that is still going strong. The group was pulled together by Axl Rose, the lead vocalist. The lead-guitar player back then was Tracii Guns, and it was the combination of Axl and Tracii's "family" names that led to the band being called Guns N' Roses.

29. Rowdy joint : JUKE HOUSE
"Juke house" is Southern slang for a cheap roadhouse, and sometime is used to describe a brothel.

33. IHOP topping option : HOT SYRUP
The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn't do too well in marketing tests …

34. Municipal mainstays: Abbr. : POS
Post office (PO)

35. The word "shies" in Morse code, entirely : DOTS
The word shies is written in Morse code as:
… (S) …. (H) .. (I) . (E) … (S)

37. Zaire's Mobutu Sese ___ : SEKO
Mobutu Sese Seko was the longtime President of Zaire (later to be called the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Mobutu was known to be a very corrupt dictator and it is believed that he embezzled over $5 billion from his country. On a lighter note, Mobutu was the money man behind the famous 1974 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman known as "The Rumble in the Jungle". Mobutu was anxious to expand the image of Zaire so he used his nation's funds to entice the fighters to have a go at each other in his homeland.

42. 13th-century B.C. king with 10 namesakes : RAMSES
Ramesses (also "Ramses") was the name taken by eleven of the Egyptian pharaohs. Ramesses translates as "Born of the sun-god Ra".

45. She played Adrian in "Rocky" and Connie in "The Godfather" : TALIA
The actress Talia Shire is best-known for playing Rocky's wife Adrian in the "Rocky" series of movies. She also played Connie, the daughter of Don Corleone, in "The Godfather" films. Shire is the sister of movie director Francis Ford Coppola and the aunt of actor Nicolas Cage. Her son is the actor Jason Schwartzman.

49. City largely destroyed in Operation Charnwood : CAEN
Caen, on the River Orne, lies in the Calvados department of France in the northwest of the country. Caen is famous for the WWII Battle of Caen that left the town practically destroyed. Caen is also the burial place of the Norman King William I of England, also known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

50. One way to turn a vessel : ALEE
"Alee" is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing "aweather".

51. Rx things : MEDS
There seems to some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol "Rx" that's used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter's blessing to help a patient recover.

55. Packed letters? : SRO
A packed theater might display a Standing Room Only (SRO) sign.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. "Cut the lip!" : DON'T SASS ME!
11. Take in just the highlights, say : SKIM
15. Common wear under a lei : ALOHA SHIRT
16. Short pants? : TROU
17. Rich, sweet-and-sour dessert : LEMON TORTE
18. Thirsts : YENS
19. Androids don't use it : IOS
20. President during the Korean War : RHEE
21. Camp David event : SUMMIT
23. European race place : LE MANS
25. Guerrilla in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" : PILAR
26. Flip : GO MAD
27. Cough queller : CODEINE
29. Title teen in a 2007 hit indie film : JUNO
30. Literature Nobelist ___ Fo : DARIO
32. Org. whose logo has a talon-gripped key : NSA
33. At an impasse : HUNG
34. Point of computer technology? : PIXEL
35. Went on the fritz : DIED
36. Clears : OKS
37. Pedestal support : SOCLE
38. Good, to Galba : BONA
39. Contents of many culled lists : TEN BEST
41. Program that turns out ensigns, for short : NROTC
43. Green hero of book and film : SHREK
44. Places : STEADS
46. Attention getter : YOO-HOO!
48. Football rival of Rutgers : ARMY
49. Kiss ___ : CAM
52. Fake-out : RUSE
53. Tries to unload things quickly : HOLDS A SALE
56. Resourceful people find new ones : USES
57. Actor whose first name is the title of a Best Picture he co-starred in, and whose last name is that film's director : OLIVER REED
58. Bother : PEST
59. Grave accents? : HEADSTONES

Down
1. Co-writer of the Surrealist silent film "Un Chien Andalou," 1929 : DALI
2. With 28-Down, butterlike product of beef fat : OLEO
3. List in an actor's résumé, informally : NOMS
4. Short while? : THO'
5. Italian border city : SAN REMO
6. Cough cause : ASTHMA
7. Ones with wedge issues? : SHOE ADDICTS
8. Prompt to pull over : SIREN
9. Winner of NBC's "America's Toughest Bouncer" in 1980 : MR T
10. Are, in Arles : ETES
11. Hogtie : STYMIE
12. Detractors' epithet for the Putin regime : KREMLIN INC
13. Setting of the so-called "Seven Islands" of Greece : IONIAN SEA
14. Hot words? : MUST-READ
22. It's hair-raising : UPDO
23. Thirst : LONG
24. Sneak peek sent to film critics : SCREENER DVD
26. Band whose "Appetite for Destruction" was the best-selling debut album of all time : GUNS N' ROSES
28. See 2-Down : OIL
29. Rowdy joint : JUKE HOUSE
31. First name of 26-Down's frontman : AXL
33. IHOP topping option : HOT SYRUP
34. Municipal mainstays: Abbr. : POS
35. The word "shies" in Morse code, entirely : DOTS
37. Zaire's Mobutu Sese ___ : SEKO
38. Tattoos and piercings : BODY ART
40. Command : BEHEST
42. 13th-century B.C. king with 10 namesakes : RAMSES
45. She played Adrian in "Rocky" and Connie in "The Godfather" : TALIA
47. Cry of excitement : OH! OH!
49. City largely destroyed in Operation Charnwood : CAEN
50. One way to turn a vessel : ALEE
51. Rx things : MEDS
54. Accented shout : OLE!
55. Packed letters? : SRO

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-89677165856864923912016-06-23T23:20:00.000-07:002016-06-23T23:24:12.706-07:000624-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 24 Jun 16, Friday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Patrick Berry
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 12m 28s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
7. Centerpiece of a holiday gathering : YULE LOG
A Yule log is a large log made from a very hard wood that is burned as part of the Christmas celebration. There is also a cake called a Yule log that is served at Christmas, especially in French-speaking parts of the world. The cake is made from sponge that is rolled up to resemble a wooden Yule log.

14. The "R" of E.R. : REGINA
"ER" is a royal cypher, a monogram-like device used by the current queen of the UK. The initialism ER stands for Elizabeth Regina, literally translating as "Elizabeth, queen". A more useful translation might me "Elizabeth, reigning", meaning that Elizabeth is the reigning monarch, as opposed to being a Queen Consort, the wife of a reigning king. Elizabeth's father used the royal cypher "GR", meaning George Rex, or "George, king". One of the most common places to see the royal cypher is embossed on a post box in the UK. I've also seem some old "GR" post boxes, and even one emblazoned with "VR" (Victoria Regina).

16. Holiday cupful : EGGNOG
It's not really clear where the term "nog" (as in "eggnog") comes from although it might derive from the word "noggin", which was originally a small wooden cup that was long associated with alcoholic drinks.

20. Worker with a saving plan, for short : EMT
Emergency medical technician (EMT)

23. Cricket field shape : OVAL
Cricket is the national game of England. The term "cricket" apparently comes from the Old French word "criquet" meaning "goalpost, stick".

24. The American Messenger Co., today : UPS
United Parcel Service (UPS) is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and has its own airline that operates out of Louisville, Kentucky. UPS was founded as the American Messenger Company in Seattle in 1907 by two teenagers. The UPS name was adopted in 1937.

25. Racketeering outfit : GANG
A "racket" is a fraudulent service, often one offered to solve a problem that does not exist, just to make money. A classic example is a "protection racket", in which local businesses are offered protection from dangerous elements in a neighborhood. The use of the term "racket" to describe such activities was coined by the Employers' Association of Chicago in 1927.

33. Harold Hill's portrayer in the original cast of "The Music Man" : ROBERT PRESTON
The actor Robert Preston is best known for playing Professor Harold Hill in "The Music Man", both in the 1957 stage musical and in the 1962 film adaptation.

38. Green on a screen : EVA
Despite the English-sounding name, Eva Green is a French actress. Green played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the 2006 movie "Casino Royale", opposite Daniel Craig.

43. Party spread : BRIE
Brie is a soft cheese, named after the French region from which it originated. Brie is similar to the equally famous (and delicious) Camembert.

48. Bright yellow fruit : CASABA
A casaba is type of honeydew melon. The casaba takes its name from the Turkish city of Kasaba, from where the fruit was imported into America in the late 1800s.

49. Some Kings' Scholars : ETONIANS
King's College is one of the constituent colleges of Cambridge University in England. King's was founded by Henry VI back in 1441, just after he founded the sister college in Eton. Today, Eton is a boys' boarding school educating pupils from 13 to 18 years of age, whereas King's is a university.

51. Like the papacy of Pius IX, after St. Peter : LONGEST
Pope Pius IX was longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, holding office for over 31 years from 1846 to 1878. The Catholic Church regards Saint Peter as the first to hold the papal office, as he was the first bishop of Rome. Peter took office in 30 CE, and probably died in 64 CE, making him the longest-reigning pope.

52. Another name for Michaelmas daisies : ASTERS
"Michaelmas" is the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, a day in the Western Christian calendar. Michaelmas is September 29th every year, and is associated with the beginning of fall.

Down
5. Genesis grandson : ENOS
Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve. According to the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his sister Noam.

8. Eurasian boundary : URAL
The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

9. Dr. Kildare portrayer Ayres : LEW
The Hollywood actor Lew Ayres got his big break in "All Quiet On the Western Front". Famously, he also played Dr. Kildare in several movies. Ayres' private life wasn't too dull. He was married three times, Lola Lane and Ginger Rogers being wives one and two. Ayres was also the man for whom actress Jane Wyman left her husband Ronald Reagan, although the Ayres-Wyman relationship didn't last very long.

10. Longtime band with the 2015 album "Alone in the Universe" : ELO
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is a symphonic rock group from the north of England.

11. Los Angeles suburb next to San Fernando : LAKE VIEW TERRACE
Lake View Terrace is suburb of Los Angeles that lies north of downtown, in the northeast section of the San Fernando Valley. The area garnered some unwelcome attention in 1991 as it was the site of the beating of Rodney King by LA police officers that was captured on videotape.

23. "American Me" star, 1992 : OLMOS
Edward James Olmos is a Mexican American actor. I mostly remember Olmos as the Lieutenant who was the boss of Crockett and Tubbs on television's "Miami Vice".

"American Me" is a 1992 biographical film about the rise to power of Mexican Mafia leader Montoya Santana. Santana is played by actor Edward James Olmos, who also produced and directed the film.

26. Tristram Shandy's creator : STERNE
Laurence Sterne is best known for his novel, "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman". It is an epic work, published in nine volumes over ten years.

29. High-hat : SNOOT
"Snoot" is a variant of "snout" and is a word that originated in Scotland. The idea is that someone who is "snooty", or snouty, tends to look down his or her nose at the rest of the world.

30. TV drama starring Terrence Howard : EMPIRE
"Empire" is a musical drama TV series about the hip hop music business. Star of the show is Terrence Howard, who plays drug-dealer turned hip hop mogul Lucious Lyon. Lyon is CEO of Empire Entertainment.

32. It begins with All Saints' Day : NOVEMBER
All Saints' Day is November 1st each year. The day before All Saints' Day is All Hallows' Eve, better known by the Scottish term, "Halloween".

35. Brewery named for a Dutch river : AMSTEL
Amstel is a Dutch beer and brewery, founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. The brewery takes its name from the Amstel river which runs through the city.

44. Private engagements? : WARS
Those would be soldiers of the rank "private".

46. First name of 2012's Best Director : ANG
Taiwanese director Ang Lee sure has directed a mixed bag of films, mixed in terms of genre but not in terms of quality. He was at the helm for such classics as "Sense & Sensibility" (my personal favorite), "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Hulk", "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi".

48. 1040 preparer, for short : CPA
Certified public accountant (CPA)

Here in the US we can choose one of three main forms to file our tax returns. Form 1040 is known as the "long form". Form 1040A is called the "short form", and can be used by taxpayers with taxable income below $100,000 who don't itemize deduction. Form 1040EZ is an even simpler version of the 1040, and can be used by those with taxable income less than $100,000 who take the standard deduction and who also have no dependents. Form 1040 was originally created just for tax returns from 1913, 1914 and 1915, but it's a form that just keeps on giving, or should I say "taking" …?

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Fan group? : BLADES
7. Centerpiece of a holiday gathering : YULE LOG
14. The "R" of E.R. : REGINA
15. No-parking area in a parking lot : FIRE LANE
16. Holiday cupful : EGGNOG
17. Brought out of hibernation : REAWOKEN
18. Stock : WARES
19. Boxing ring producer : BELL
20. Worker with a saving plan, for short : EMT
21. Dog team's burden : SLED
22. With 40-Across, exposed : LAID
23. Cricket field shape : OVAL
24. The American Messenger Co., today : UPS
25. Racketeering outfit : GANG
26. Drip chamber contents : SALINE
28. Idled : PASSED THE TIME
31. "I'm counting on you!" : DON'T LET ME DOWN!
33. Harold Hill's portrayer in the original cast of "The Music Man" : ROBERT PRESTON
35. Bugs : ANNOYS
37. Lemon oil source : RIND
38. Green on a screen : EVA
39. Most important part : MEAT
40. See 22-Across : BARE
41. Wild catch? : PREY
42. Rested : SAT
43. Party spread : BRIE
44. Garden assets : WORMS
45. Test of effectiveness : TRIAL RUN
48. Bright yellow fruit : CASABA
49. Some Kings' Scholars : ETONIANS
50. Exceeding the usual rate : PRICEY
51. Like the papacy of Pius IX, after St. Peter : LONGEST
52. Another name for Michaelmas daisies : ASTERS

Down
1. Creates, as trouble : BREWS UP
2. Yellow pages? : LEGAL PAD
3. Hostile territory? : AGGRESSOR NATION
4. Took courses : DINED
5. Genesis grandson : ENOS
6. Succumb to gravity : SAG
7. Admit defeat : YIELD
8. Eurasian boundary : URAL
9. Dr. Kildare portrayer Ayres : LEW
10. Longtime band with the 2015 album "Alone in the Universe" : ELO
11. Los Angeles suburb next to San Fernando : LAKE VIEW TERRACE
12. Very small, as an operation : ONE-MAN
13. Gradual, as a slope : GENTLE
15. They're good for the long haul : FREIGHT TRAINS
19. Talk show talk : BANTER
22. Cafeteria utensils : LADLES
23. "American Me" star, 1992 : OLMOS
25. Do well enough : GET BY
26. Tristram Shandy's creator : STERNE
27. Came through for : AIDED
29. High-hat : SNOOT
30. TV drama starring Terrence Howard : EMPIRE
32. It begins with All Saints' Day : NOVEMBER
34. Offers objections to : NAYSAYS
35. Brewery named for a Dutch river : AMSTEL
36. Approaching : NEAR TO
40. Principal force : BRUNT
41. Presuppose : POSIT
43. Two-piece tops : BRAS
44. Private engagements? : WARS
46. First name of 2012's Best Director : ANG
47. Misrepresentation : LIE
48. 1040 preparer, for short : CPA

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-64578707062336208562016-06-23T02:14:00.002-07:002016-06-23T02:24:38.288-07:000623-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 23 Jun 16, Thursday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Megan Amram & David Kwong
THEME: Formally
Each of today's themed answers is a common phrase in which the first word might be interpreted as a nickname. However, that nickname has been written out fully in the answer:

17A. Play a game on Halloween, formally? : ROBERT FOR APPLES (from "bob for apples")
25A. Be exceedingly frugal, formally? : PENELOPE PINCH (from "penny-pinch")
40A. Kind of printer, formally? : DOROTHY MATRIX (from "dot matrix")
52A. Very cunning, formally? : SYLVESTER AS A FOX (from "sly as a fox")
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 10m 49s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Half of a salon job : -PEDI
Manicure & pedicure (mani-pedi)

5. The first Mrs. Woodrow Wilson : ELLEN
Ellen Axson Wilson was President Woodrow Wilson's first wife. She was the First Lady of the US for the first fifteen months of President Wilson's term in office, until she died of Bright's disease in 1914. It was Ellen Axson Wilson who established the famous White House Rose Garden.

14. Writer Waugh : ALEC
Alec Waugh was the older brother of the more famous Evelyn Waugh. Both were successful novelists (Evelyn of "Brideshead Revisited" fame), but what I like about Alec is that he supposedly invented the cocktail party. He invited his friends around "for tea" in the twenties, and served them all rum swizzles instead!

16. Swenson of "Benson" : INGA
Inga Swenson is an American actress. Her best known role was "Gretchen Kraus", the German cook and later housekeeper on the TV show "Benson". Swenson also appeared in a couple of episodes of "Bonanza" playing the second wife of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene), and mother of Hoss Cartwright (Dan Blocker). This was despite the fact that in real life she was actually 4 years younger than Blocker!

17. Play a game on Halloween, formally? : ROBERT FOR APPLES (from "bob for apples")
Bobbing for apples is a game played on Halloween. Participants must hold their hands behind their backs and grab apples floating in a large basin of water, using only their mouths.

23. Popular first-person shooter video game : HALO
"Halo" is a series of video games that was introduced in 2001. Apparently, there's a lot of shooting, and a lot of aliens …

25. Be exceedingly frugal, formally? : PENELOPE PINCH (from "penny-pinch")
A "penny-pincher" is a miser, someone who pinches every penny before handing it over.

30. Radiohead frontman Thom : YORKE
Radiohead is an alternative rock band from England that formed in 1985.

31. Hamlet and Ophelia, e.g. : ROLES
In William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Ophelia is courted by Hamlet, the man himself. Ophelia is the daughter of nobleman Polonius. She dies …

34. Aces have low ones, briefly : ERAS
In the world of baseball, an ace is the best starting pitcher, and usually the pitcher who starts the game on day one of the season. An ace would have a relatively low earned run average (ERA).

37. Speakeasy-goer : WET
The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution was a great victory for the temperance movement (the "dry" movement), and in 1919 ushered in the Prohibition era. Highly unpopular (with the "wet" movement), Prohibition was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment.

A speakeasy is an establishment that sells alcoholic drinks illegally. Speakeasies were very big in the US in the days of Prohibition. The obvious etymology, of a speakeasy owner asking his or her customers to "speak easy" so as not to draw attention to the authorities, is thought to have originated in 1888 in McKeesport just outside Pittsburgh.

39. "Gandhi" garb : SARIS
"Gandhi" is a fabulous film released in 1982 that chronicles the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi. The film stars Ben Kingsley in the title role, and was directed by Sir Richard Attenborough. "Gandhi" won eight Oscars, including the award for Best Picture.

40. Kind of printer, formally? : DOROTHY MATRIX (from "dot matrix")
A dot matrix printer works somewhat like an old typewriter. The printer head runs back and forth across the stage striking the paper through an inked ribbon, creating the printed characters from small dots.

43. Whilom : ERST
"Erst" is an archaic way of saying "formerly, before the present time". The term is mostly seen as part of the word "erstwhile", an adjective meaning "of times past".

"Whilom" is an archaic term meaning "at one time", and which can be used as an adjective or adverb.

44. They're best left untouched, generally speaking : IRAS
Individual retirement account (IRA)

48. Where many grunts may be heard? : ARMY BASE
The phrase grunt was first applied to a US infantryman during the Vietnam War. The equivalent term for a British infantryman is "squaddie".

55. Pennsylvania's northernmost county : ERIE
There are three Erie Counties in the US:

- Erie County, New York (with Buffalo as the county seat)
- Erie County, Ohio (with Sandusky as the county seat)
- Erie County, Pennsylvania (with Erie as the county seat)

59. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis, 2007 : LEONA
Leona Lewis rocketed to fame after winning the British TV show called "The X Factor" (the show that spawned the UK's "Pop Idol" and America's "American Idol").

Down
2. North Carolina university : ELON
Elon is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, close to the city of Burlington. Elon University is a private liberal arts school founded in 1889.

4. Winter Olympics venues : ICE RINKS
The first Winter Olympic Games was held in 1924, in Chamonix, France. The Winter and Summer Games were held in the same year until 1992, after which they were staggered so that we have an Olympic Games every two years.

7. French colony until 1953 : LAOS
The official name for the country of Laos is the Lao People's Democratic Republic. In the Lao language, the country's name is "Meuang Lao". The French ruled Laos as part of French Indochina, having united three separate Lao kingdoms. As there was a plural of "Lao" entities united into one, the French added the "S" and so today we tend to use "Laos" instead of "Lao".

9. Cryptanalysis org. : NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) was set up in 1952 by President Truman, a replacement for the Armed Forces Security Agency that had existed in the Department of Defense since 1949. The NSA has always been clouded in secrecy and even the 1952 letter from President Truman that established the agency was kept under wraps from the public for over a generation. I really like the organization's nickname ... "No Such Agency".

11. Word before "Sixteen," "Time" and "You" in top 10 hit songs : ONLY …
"Only Sixteen" was a hit for Sam Cooke in 1959. Dr. Hook released a cover version in 1976 that was even more successful that Cooke's. The Dr. Hook version was actually banned by the BBC.

"Only Time" is a song written and recorded by Irish singer Enya. Released in 2000, "Only Time" is the biggest solo hit for Enya in the US.

The 1955 hit by the Platters is more completely called "Only You (and You Alone)".

12. Jon who wrote and illustrated "Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog!" : AGEE
Jon Agee is a writer who seems to like words. He writes books for children such as "Palindromania!", which is a celebration of palindromes. He also wrote "Smart Feller Fart Smeller", which is filled with spoonerisms.

18. "Hamilton" actress ___ Elise Goldsberry : RENEE
Renée Elise Goldsberry is an actress and singer who is best known to me for playing the attorney Geneva Pine on the TV show "The Good Wife". Goldsberry also originated the role of Angelica Schuyler Church in the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton".

"Hamilton" is a 2015 musical based on the life or US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as described in the 2004 biography by Ron Chernow. The representations of the main characters is quite ground-breaking. The show is rooted in hip-hop and the main roles such as Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are all played by African-American and Hispanic actors.

19. Greek city-state : POLIS
The Greek word "polis" translates as "city", although the term is often used in English to refer to the ancient Greek city-states.

23. Winner of the Triple Crown of Acting (Oscar, Tony and Emmy) : HELEN MIRREN
Helen Mirren won the Triple Crown of Acting for playing:

- Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen" (winning Best Actress Oscar)
- Queen Elizabeth II in "The Audience" (winning Best Actress in a Play Tony)
- Detective Jane Tennison in "Prime Suspect" (winning Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy)

Helen Mirren, one of my favorite English actresses, won her Best Actress Oscar for playing the title role in the marvelous 2006 film "The Queen". Mirren has played three different queens on film and television including Queen Elizabeth II. She also played the title role in the TV drama "Elizabeth I", and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of the title character in the 1994 film "The Madness of King George".

24. Monkeys' uncles? : APES
Apes and monkeys both belong to the order of primates. The most obvious way to distinguish apes from monkeys is by the presence or lack of a tail. Almost all apes have no tail, and almost all monkeys have tails.

26. One of a mythological nonet : ERATO
In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

– Calliope (epic poetry)
– Clio (history)
– Erato (lyric poetry)
– Euterpe (music)
– Melpomene (tragedy)
– Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
– Terpsichore (dance)
– Thalia (comedy)
– Urania (astronomy)

27. Hero of New Orleans : PO' BOY
A po' boy is a submarine sandwich from Louisiana. There are a lot of theories about where the name came from, and none sound too convincing to me. A po' boy differs from a regular submarine sandwich in that it uses Louisiana French bread, which is soft in the middle and crusty on the outside.

"Hero" is another name for a submarine sandwich. The hero originated in New York City in the 1800s among Italian immigrants who wanted an Italian sandwich that reminded them of home. The name "hero" was coined in the 1930s, supposedly by a food critic in the "New York Herald Tribune" when he wrote that "one had to be a hero" to finish the gigantic sandwich. Hero is a prevalent term to this day in New York City, reserved for a submarine sandwich with an Italian flavor.

28. French sweetie : CHERI
"Cheri" is a form of familiar address in French, meaning "dear, darling, precious". "Cheri" is the form used when talking to/of a male, and "cherie" to/of a female.

30. Plant in an English hedge : YEW
The family of trees known as yews propagate by producing a seed surrounded by soft, sweet and brightly colored aril. Birds eat the fruit and then disperse the seed in their droppings. The birds leave the seed undamaged, and so are unharmed by the potent poisons taxine and taxol that are found within the seed. The seeds are highly toxic to humans.

33. E.R. V.I.P.s : MDS
One might find a registered nurse (RN) or a medical doctor (MD) in an emergency room (ER).

36. Treats since 1932 : MARS BARS
Having lived on both sides of the Atlantic, I find the Mars Bar to be the most perplexing of candies! The original Mars Bar is a British confection (and delicious) first manufactured in 1932. The US version of the original Mars Bar is called a Milky Way. But there is candy bar called a Milky Way that is also produced in the UK, and it is completely different to its US cousin, being more like an American "3 Musketeers". And then there is an American confection called a Mars Bar, something different again. No wonder I gave up eating candy bars …

38. 2013 Grammy winner for "Royals" : LORDE
Lorde is a stage name of the singer-songwriter Ella Yelich-O'Connor from New Zealand. Lorde's cover version of the great Tears for Fears song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was used in the soundtrack for "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013). Her song "Yellow Flicker Beat" is included in the soundtrack for "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1".

39. Doesn't fold, say : STAYS
That would be in the card game of blackjack, for example.

41. "Speed" star : REEVES
"Speed" is a 1994 action film, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, as well as the late Dennis Hopper as the bad guy.

42. Flotilla : ARMADA
The most famous Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England in order to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I in 1588. It failed in its mission, partly due to bad weather encountered en route. Ironically, the English mounted a similar naval attack against Spain the following year, and it failed as well.

45. Played for a sap : USED
"Sap" is slang for a fool, someone easily scammed. The term arose in the early 1800s in Britain when it was used in "saphead" and "sapskull". All these words derive from "sapwood", which is the soft wood found in tree trunks between the bark and the heartwood at the center.

46. Match player? : PYRO
"Pyro" is the combining form of the Greek word for "fire". A pyromaniac (pyro) is someone with an abnormal desire to start fires, or with a general obsession with fire.

47. "Swan Lake" bend : PLIE
The French word for "bent" is "plié". In the ballet move known as a plié, the knees are bent.

"Swan Lake" is such a delightfully light and enjoyable ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. "Swan Lake" tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The ballet also features Odile, Odette's "evil twin". Odile is disguised to look like Odette with the goal of tricking the prince to fall in love with her. In the ballet, the roles of Odette and Odile are played by the same ballerina.

48. Commercial lead-in to méxico : AERO-
Aeroméxico is the flag carrier airline of Mexico. Aeroméxico started out in 1934 as Aeronaves de México.

50. Remote hiding place? : SOFA
That would a TV remote.

53. Lab compound, to a chemist : SAL
"Sal" is a pharmacological term meaning "salt".

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Half of a salon job : -PEDI
5. The first Mrs. Woodrow Wilson : ELLEN
10. It comes in cakes : SOAP
14. Writer Waugh : ALEC
15. Converges on : NEARS
16. Swenson of "Benson" : INGA
17. Play a game on Halloween, formally? : ROBERT FOR APPLES (from "bob for apples")
20. Implores : ENTREATS
21. "Now I remember!" : OH YES!
22. Competing : IN IT
23. Popular first-person shooter video game : HALO
25. Be exceedingly frugal, formally? : PENELOPE PINCH (from "penny-pinch")
30. Radiohead frontman Thom : YORKE
31. Hamlet and Ophelia, e.g. : ROLES
32. Hesitate, in a way : HEM
34. Aces have low ones, briefly : ERAS
35. Agrees : JIBES
36. Fuse : MELD
37. Speakeasy-goer : WET
38. Prepare to tweet, say : LOG ON
39. "Gandhi" garb : SARIS
40. Kind of printer, formally? : DOROTHY MATRIX (from "dot matrix")
43. Whilom : ERST
44. They're best left untouched, generally speaking : IRAS
45. Hiked : UPPED
48. Where many grunts may be heard? : ARMY BASE
52. Very cunning, formally? : SYLVESTER AS A FOX (from "sly as a fox")
55. Pennsylvania's northernmost county : ERIE
56. Ran : AIRED
57. Mortgage adjustment, briefly : REFI
58. Some deer : DOES
59. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis, 2007 : LEONA
60. Whack : SWAT

Down
1. Whittle down : PARE
2. North Carolina university : ELON
3. It may be forgiven : DEBT
4. Winter Olympics venues : ICE RINKS
5. Involve : ENTAIL
6. Phrase in a group photo caption : LEFT TO RIGHT
7. French colony until 1953 : LAOS
8. Goof : ERR
9. Cryptanalysis org. : NSA
10. Suck up, maybe : SIPHON
11. Word before "Sixteen," "Time" and "You" in top 10 hit songs : ONLY ...
12. Jon who wrote and illustrated "Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog!" : AGEE
13. Mountain route : PASS
18. "Hamilton" actress ___ Elise Goldsberry : RENEE
19. Greek city-state : POLIS
23. Winner of the Triple Crown of Acting (Oscar, Tony and Emmy) : HELEN MIRREN
24. Monkeys' uncles? : APES
25. Went carefully (over) : PORED
26. One of a mythological nonet : ERATO
27. Hero of New Orleans : PO' BOY
28. French sweetie : CHERI
29. Spiral : HELIX
30. Plant in an English hedge : YEW
33. E.R. V.I.P.s : MDS
35. Tiny amounts : JOTS
36. Treats since 1932 : MARS BARS
38. 2013 Grammy winner for "Royals" : LORDE
39. Doesn't fold, say : STAYS
41. "Speed" star : REEVES
42. Flotilla : ARMADA
45. Played for a sap : USED
46. Match player? : PYRO
47. "Swan Lake" bend : PLIE
48. Commercial lead-in to méxico : AERO-
49. Not many : A FEW
50. Remote hiding place? : SOFA
51. Way off : EXIT
53. Lab compound, to a chemist : SAL
54. Get in a bind : TIE

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-91566051865132440862016-06-22T01:17:00.003-07:002016-06-22T01:20:25.961-07:000622-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 22 Jun 16, Wednesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Fred Piscop
THEME: Anagrams
Each of today's themed answers are common phrases in the format x AND y, with x and y giving an anagram of a word given in the clue:

17A. What NOTICING can anagram to : GIN AND TONIC
29A. What MEDITATE can anagram to : DATE AND TIME
44A. What MARTINET can anagram to : NEAT AND TRIM
59A. What SKILLETS can anagram to : KISS AND TELL
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 9m 48s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Airline with "flying boats" in the 1930s-'40s : PAN AM
Pan Am started out as a mail and passenger service between Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba in 1927. From very early in the company's life it was the de facto representative air carrier of the United States. For many years Pan Am's fleet was built around the Boeing 314 Clipper, a long-range flying boat that was one of the largest aircraft around at the time. Pan Am adopted the Clipper as part of its image, even using "clipper" as the call sign for its flights.

11. Rock's Bon Jovi : JON
Jon Bon Jovi was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr., and he is the leader of the band that took his name: Bon Jovi.

14. Virus in 2014 news : EBOLA
The Ebola virus causes a very nasty form of hemorrhagic fever. The name of the virus comes from the site of the first known outbreak, in a mission hospital in the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The disease is transmitted from human to human by exposure to bodily fluids. In nature, the main carrier of Ebola is the fruit bat.

15. Decorative fabric : TOILE
Toile fabric can be used as upholstery, or as a wallpaper, or even as a fabric for clothing.

16. Cry with an epiphany : AHA!
An "epiphany" is an appearance or manifestation, especially of a supreme being. By extension, "epiphany" can also apply to a sudden insight or intuitive perception. The term derives from the Greek "epiphainein" meaning "to manifest, display".

17. What NOTICING can anagram to : GIN AND TONIC
The spirit known as gin gets its unique flavor mainly from juniper berries. The name "gin" comes into English from the translation of "juniper" from either French (genièvre), Dutch (jenever) or Italian (ginepro).

The original tonic water was a fairly strong solution of the drug quinine dissolved in carbonated water. It was used in tropical areas in South Asia and Africa where malaria is rampant. The quinine has a prophylactic effect against the disease, and was formulated as "tonic water" so that it could be easily distributed. In British colonial India, the colonial types got into the habit of mixing in gin with the tonic water to make it more palatable by hiding the bitter taste of the quinine. Nowadays, the level of quinine in tonic water has been dropped, and sugar has been added.

19. California wine, for short : ZIN
Zinfandel is one of my favorite red wine varietals. It amazes me that the rich and heavy red Zinfandel comes from the same grape as does the sweet White Zinfandel.

21. Hummer's instrument : KAZOO
The modern instrument we know today as the kazoo was invented by one Alabama Vest of Macon, Georgia in the 1800s. The kazoo first came to the public's attention at the Georgia State Fair of 1852, when it was known as the "Down-South Submarine" (because of it's shape, I would imagine).

24. Creditors' holdings : LIENS
A lien is the right that one has to retain or secure someone's property until a debt is paid. When an individual takes out a car loan, for example, the lending bank is usually a lien holder. The bank releases the lien on the car when the loan is paid in full.

37. Geraint's beloved, in Arthurian legend : ENID
"Idylls of the King" is a cycle of twelve poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that retells the tale of King Arthur. One of the "idylls" is the story of Geraint and Enid. This story is told in two parts: "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid". Tennyson's Enid gave her name to the city of Enid, Oklahoma.

40. Wrinkly citrus : UGLI
The ugli fruit is a hybrid of an orange and a tangerine, first discovered growing wild in Jamaica where most ugli fruit comes from today. "UGLI" is a trademark name that is a variant of "ugly", a nod to the fruits unsightly wrinkled rind.

42. Home of the first Dole plantation : OAHU
The Dole Plantation on Oahu is home to the Pineapple Garden Maze. The maze sits on three acres of land, and includes over two miles of paths. It is the largest maze in the world.

44. What MARTINET can anagram to : NEAT AND TRIM
A martinet is someone who is a hard taskmaster and someone who sticks to the rules. Our use of the term is said to come from Jean Martinet, an Inspector General in the army of Louis XIV of France. Martinet was a noted drill master and disciplinarian.

47. ___ judicata : RES
"Res judicata" is a term used in the law for a decided case, which translates from Latin as "a matter already judged".

48. "Boots on the ground" advocates : HAWKS
The dove is a symbol of peace, and the hawk is a symbol of war.

49. Witty rejoinder : MOT
"Bon mot" translates from French as "good word". We use "bon mot" (and sometimes just "mot") to mean a quip, a witticism.

51. Botanist's study : FLORA
The fauna is the animal life of a particular region, and the flora is that region's plant life. The term "fauna" comes from the Roman goddess of earth and fertility who was called Fauna. Flora was the Roman goddess of plants, flowers and fertility.

53. Talismans, or the curses they protect against : EVIL EYES
The "evil eye" is a curse that is cast by giving a malicious glare.

58. Source of the Beverly Hillbillies' wealth : OIL
"The Beverly Hillbillies" was a rags-to-riches sitcom that aired from 1962 to 1971, a creation of writer Paul Henning. Buoyed by the success of "Hillbillies", Henning created another sitcom in 1965, one that was a complete opposite in terms of plot, the riches-to-rags story of "Green Acres".

62. Headline-delivering org. : UPI
Founded in 1958, United Press International (UPI) was one of the biggest news agencies in the world, sending out news by wire to the major newspapers. UPI ran into trouble with the change in media formats at the end of the twentieth century and lost many of its clients as the afternoon newspapers shut down due to the advent of television news. UPI, which once employed thousands, still exists today but with just a handful of employees.

63. Bottled water brand : EVIAN
Évian-les-Bains (or simply Évian) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As one might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. Personally, I can't stand the distinctive taste of Évian water ...

65. Predator of elephants, in myth : ROC
The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants. The roc was said to come from the Indian subcontinent. The supposed existence of the roc was promulgated by Marco Polo in the accounts that he published of his travels through Asia.

66. Hub : NEXUS
A nexus is a means of connection, or a center where many connections come together. "Nexus" is a Latin word meaning "that which ties or binds together". The Latin "nexus" is the past participle of the verb "nectere" meaning "to bind".

67. Stood on the hind legs, with "up" : RARED
Horses "rear up" on their hind legs. I think that the term "rare up" is used as well, for the same meaning, but I think that it might be slang.

Down
1. Cribbage markers : PEGS
Cribbage is a great card game that originated in 17th-century England, a creation of the poet Sir John Suckling. One of the unique features of the game is that a cribbage board with pegs is used to keep score. Here in the US, cribbage is very much associated with the submarine service, as it is a favorite game of submariners of all ranks.

3. Taboo : NO-NO
The word "taboo" was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean". Cook described "tabu" (likely imitative of a Tongan word that he had heard) as something that was both consecrated and forbidden.

5. Like Lake Mead : MAN-MADE
The reservoir on the Colorado River known as Lake Mead used to the largest reservoir in the US. Located outside Las Vegas, drought and increasing demand for water has shrunk Lake Mead so that now Lake Sakakawea on the Missouri in North Dakota has a larger surface area and volume of water.

When the magnificent Hoover Dam was completed in 1936 it was the largest hydroelectric plant in the world, as well as being the world's largest concrete structure. The edifice was originally known as Boulder Dam, due to its location near Boulder City, Nevada. The dam was eventually named after Herbert Hoover for his role in having the dam built when he was Secretary of Commerce, and his later support as US President. There was a formal dedication ceremony held in September 1935 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the area, when only work on the powerhouse was incomplete. President Roosevelt managed to make his dedication speech without once referring to the name of his former opponent President Hoover. When the dam was finally put into service in 1936, the project was two years ahead of schedule. Those were the days ...

6. Ides rebuke : ET TU?
It was Shakespeare who popularized the words "Et tu, Brute?" (And you, Brutus?), in his play "Julius Caesar", although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It's not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life just before he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate in Rome.

7. Not worth debating : MOOT
"To moot" is to bring up as a subject for discussion or debate. So, something that is moot is open to debate. Something that is no longer moot, is no longer worth debating. We don't seem to be able get that right …

9. Peyton's gridiron brother : ELI
Eli Manning plays as quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli's brother Peyton Manning is quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Eli and Peyton's father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback.

11. Groundbreaking Al Jolson title role : JAZZ SINGER
The classic musical "The Jazz Singer" was released in 1927, and became the biggest box office success for the Warner Bros. to date. Famously, it was a "talkie", and is now regarded as one of the films that signaled the impending end of the "silent era". Star of the movie is Al Jolson, who performs six songs including "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye)" and "My Mammy".

12. Neil Young song about Kent State : OHIO
Kent State University's main campus is located in Kent, Ohio. Kent State will forever be associated with student activism and opposition to the Vietnam War in the late sixties and early seventies. The fateful day was May 4, 1970 when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students, killing four protesters and wounding nine.

Neil Young is a singer and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Young is known for his solo work, as well as his earlier recordings with Buffalo Springfield and as the fourth member of Crosby, Stills & Nash. Young is also a successful movie director, although he uses the pseudonym "Bernard Shakey" for his movie work. Included in his filmography are "Human Highway" and "Greendale".

13. Billionth: Prefix : NANO-
The prefix "nano-" is used for units of one billionth part. "Nano-" comes from the Greek "nanos" meaning "dwarf".

18. "David Copperfield" wife : DORA
Dora Spenlow is a first wife of the title character in the Charles Dickens novel "David Copperfield". Dickens named his own daughter Dora Annie Dickens, after Ms. Spenlow.

24. Dorothy of "Road" movies : LAMOUR
The actress Dorothy Lamour is best known for co-starring in the "Road to …" series of films with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Lamour was born Mary Slaton in New Orleans, and was crowned Miss New Orleans in 1931. She moved to Hollywood in 1936, and starred in her first "Road to …" movie in 1940.

25. Smithsonian, e.g.: Abbr. : INST
The Smithsonian Institution was established in 1846 as the United States National Museum. The institution was renamed in honor of British scientist James Smithson who indirectly provided the initial funding. The funds were collected from England on the orders of President Andrew Jackson, and arrived in the form of 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns.

27. Like a merino : OVINE
The Merino breed of sheep is prized for the soft quality of its wool.

30. Pirelli patterns : TREADS
Pirelli is a tire manufacturer located in Milan, Italy. Among its many claims to fame, Pirelli is known for the Pirelli Calendar, the company's limited-distribution trade calendar that has been produced since the mid-sixties.

31. Arachnid leg count : EIGHT
Arachnids are creatures with eight jointed legs. The name of the class Arachnida comes from the Greek "aráchnē" meaning "spider".

32. Pooh's creator : MILNE
A. A. Milne's "Winnie-the-Pooh" has been translated into many languages, and is one of the few modern titles for which there is a Latin version. Alexander Lenard had "Winnie ille Pu" published in 1958, and two years later it made it to the New York Times Best Seller List, the only book in the Latin language ever to get that honor.

35. Shoulder-slung synthesizer : KEYTAR
A "keytar" is a lightweight musical keyboard that is worn around the neck with a strap like a guitar. "Keytar" is a slang term and is a portmanteau of "keyboard" and "guitar". The instruments are more properly called "strap-on keyboards" or something similar.

39. Knock on the noodle : BONK
"Noodle" and "bean" are slang terms for the head.

51. Near-impossible N.F.L. point total : FOUR
A four-point total can be racked up by a football team as a result of two safety plays, each of which earns two points. Safeties can be scored in several ways, such as a foul committed by the offense in their own end zone. Apparently, a four-point total has only be recorded once in NFL history, in 1923, when the Racine Legion beat the Chicago Cardinals 10-4.

52. Fat removal, briefly : LIPO
Liposuction dates back to the 1920s when it was developed by a surgeon in France. However, the procedure quickly lost favor when a French model developed gangrene after surgery. As a result it wasn't until the mid-seventies that modern liposuction took off, after being popularized by two Italian-American surgeons in Rome.

53. Twin of Jacob : ESAU
Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins "the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)". As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father's wealth (it was his "birthright"). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a "mess of pottage" (a meal of lentils).

54. U-Haul rentals : VANS
The U-Haul company was founded by married couple Leonard Shoen and Anna Mary Carty in Ridgefield, Washington in 1945. The Shoens used $5,000 of seed money to build trailers in their garage, and then cleverly recruited gas station owners as franchisees with whom they would split the rental revenue. There are now about 15,000 U-Haul dealers across the country.

55. Orbital period : YEAR
A year is defined as the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun.

57. Flexible Flyer, e.g. : SLED
"Flexible flyer" is now a generic term for a steel runner sled that can be steered with the feet. The original Flexible Flyer was patented in 1889.

61. Henry VIII wife count : SIX
Famously, King Henry VIII had six queens consort. There is a rhyme that is commonly used to help remember the fates of each of his wives, which goes:

King Henry the Eighth, to six wives he was wedded. One died, one survived, two divorced, two beheaded.
The use of the term "divorce" isn't quite accurate though, as in fact Henry had two of his marriages annulled. His wives (and their fates) were:

- Catherine of Aragon (Annulled),
- Anne Boleyn (Beheaded),
- Jane Seymour (Died)
- Anne of Cleves (Annulled),
- Catherine Howard (Beheaded),
- Catherine Parr (Survived).

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Airline with "flying boats" in the 1930s-'40s : PAN AM
6. Certain war zone correspondent : EMBED
11. Rock's Bon Jovi : JON
14. Virus in 2014 news : EBOLA
15. Decorative fabric : TOILE
16. Cry with an epiphany : AHA!
17. What NOTICING can anagram to : GIN AND TONIC
19. California wine, for short : ZIN
20. Leave in a huff : STORM OUT
21. Hummer's instrument : KAZOO
23. Scratch up : MAR
24. Creditors' holdings : LIENS
26. Question a magician won't answer : HOW?
29. What MEDITATE can anagram to : DATE AND TIME
34. Bring out : EVOKE
36. Optician's display : RIMS
37. Geraint's beloved, in Arthurian legend : ENID
38. Mucky ground : MIRE
39. Sired, biblically : BEGOT
40. Wrinkly citrus : UGLI
41. Pitch-black : INKY
42. Home of the first Dole plantation : OAHU
43. Pooped out : SPENT
44. What MARTINET can anagram to : NEAT AND TRIM
47. ___ judicata : RES
48. "Boots on the ground" advocates : HAWKS
49. Witty rejoinder : MOT
51. Botanist's study : FLORA
53. Talismans, or the curses they protect against : EVIL EYES
58. Source of the Beverly Hillbillies' wealth : OIL
59. What SKILLETS can anagram to : KISS AND TELL
62. Headline-delivering org. : UPI
63. Bottled water brand : EVIAN
64. Remove from memory : ERASE
65. Predator of elephants, in myth : ROC
66. Hub : NEXUS
67. Stood on the hind legs, with "up" : RARED

Down
1. Cribbage markers : PEGS
2. Not very much : A BIT
3. Taboo : NO-NO
4. Function under "Clock" on an iPhone : ALARM
5. Like Lake Mead : MAN-MADE
6. Ides rebuke : ET TU?
7. Not worth debating : MOOT
8. Recyclables holder : BIN
9. Peyton's gridiron brother : ELI
10. Knocked to the canvas : DECKED
11. Groundbreaking Al Jolson title role : JAZZ SINGER
12. Neil Young song about Kent State : OHIO
13. Billionth: Prefix : NANO-
18. "David Copperfield" wife : DORA
22. Poker order : ANTE UP
24. Dorothy of "Road" movies : LAMOUR
25. Smithsonian, e.g.: Abbr. : INST
26. Leave no escape for : HEM IN
27. Like a merino : OVINE
28. Sleep-deprived employee, maybe : WORKAHOLIC
30. Pirelli patterns : TREADS
31. Arachnid leg count : EIGHT
32. Pooh's creator : MILNE
33. Cuts and pastes : EDITS
35. Shoulder-slung synthesizer : KEYTAR
39. Knock on the noodle : BONK
43. Do a slow burn : SMOLDER
45. Come alive : AWAKEN
46. Poker announcement : I'M IN
50. Prefix meaning 51-Down : TETRA-
51. Near-impossible N.F.L. point total : FOUR
52. Fat removal, briefly : LIPO
53. Twin of Jacob : ESAU
54. U-Haul rentals : VANS
55. Orbital period : YEAR
56. Choice word : ELSE
57. Flexible Flyer, e.g. : SLED
60. "___ been had!" : I'VE
61. Henry VIII wife count : SIX

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-27267499088492245412016-06-19T05:43:00.000-07:002016-06-21T00:47:24.809-07:000619-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 19 Jun 16, Sunday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: David Woolf
THEME: Intersections
The paper version of this puzzle has some black squares replaced with "traffic signals". These signals are red in one direction and green in the other. The themed "GO/GREEN" answers span the traffic signal and use the word GREEN. The themed STOP/RED" answers use the word RED, but stop at the traffic signal. Well, that is except for the answer RUNNING A RED LIGHT, aptly enough:

31A. Showing acute embarrassment, say : BEET RED
32A. Anti-Communist fervor : RED SCARE
34A. 1991 film with the tagline "The secret of life? The secret's in the sauce" : FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
46A. The world, idiomatically : GOD'S GREEN EARTH
62A. Trident piece? : WINTERGREEN GUM
92A. Illegal action shown literally in this answer? : RUNNING A RED LIGHT
98A. Blushes : TURNS RED
99A. Cinnamon-flavored candy : RED HOTS
5D. Like the moon during a total lunar eclipse : BLOOD RED
11D. Detroit Tiger whose #5 is retired : HANK GREENBERG
26D. Is angry : SEES RED
40D. 1948 John Wayne film : RED RIVER
45D. Cornell athletes : BIG RED
52D. Trips in the dark? : RED-EYES
67D. Frozen aisle icon : JOLLY GREEN GIANT
75D. Symbol of Washington State : EVERGREEN TREE
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 28m 54s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
I'm still in the west of Ireland, and struggling to find a decent WiFi connection. As such, I can just manage another minimal post. I'll get the complete post just as soon as I can.

Apologies!

Bill

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. It's accommodating : B AND B
6. Comic cries of frustration : ACKS
10. Grouped for threshing, say : SHEAFED
17. Continuing story : SERIAL
18. Busybody : SNOOP
19. Sly one? : STALLONE
20. Many-time Indy 500 pace car : CAMARO
21. Pruritic : ITCHY
22. Goal on a first down : TEN YARDS
23. Handle letters : AKA
24. Gender nonconformist : TOMGIRL
26. Ruin : SINK
27. Hazel's love in "The Fault in Our Stars" : GUS
28. Musical with the songs "Santa Fe" and "I Should Tell You" : RENT
30. Blockheaded : DENSE
31. Showing acute embarrassment, say : BEET RED
32. Anti-Communist fervor : RED SCARE
34. 1991 film with the tagline "The secret of life? The secret's in the sauce" : FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
36. Symbols of audience disapproval : TOMATOES
38. Feller in a forest? : BEAVER
39. ___'easter : NOR
41. Spinners : ROTORS
42. Most nail-biting : TENSEST
43. Fill-in-the-blanks diversion : MADLIB
46. The world, idiomatically : GOD'S GREEN EARTH
47. Soil : EARTH
48. ___ lane : HOV
49. Poet who wrote "Jupiter from on high laughs at lovers' perjuries" : OVID
51. Like "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" : RATED PG
53. Finish ahead of : BEST
57. Summer, in much of West Africa : ETE
58. Former "Live" co-host with Kathie Lee : REGIS
60. The Rolling Stones' "Get Yer ___ Out" : YA-YAS
61. Sidekick in 1990s "S.N.L." skits : GARTH
62. Trident piece? : WINTERGREEN GUM
64. Clog, with "up" : GUM
66. Call before reserving? : LET
67. Stadium store souvenir : JERSEY
68. Stolas : women :: ___ : men : TOGAS
69. Distiller Walker : HIRAM
71. Affix, in a way : SEW ON
73. Bay, e.g. : ARM
74. First-year J.D. student : ONE L
75. Use, as a dish : EAT FROM
77. Save, with "away" : SALT
78. Top choice : TEE
79. Brand with two harnessed horses in its logo : LEVI'S
81. Dolls' counterpart : GUYS
83. Creepazoid : SLEAZO
85. Trembling : ASHIVER
88. Pilot : AIRMAN
90. "Success-s-s!" : YES!
91. Meeting around lunchtime : NOONER
92. Illegal action shown literally in this answer? : RUNNING A RED LIGHT
94. Not deep, as entertainment : LIGHT
98. Blushes : TURNS RED
99. Cinnamon-flavored candy : RED HOTS
100. Smarted : STUNG
102. What spirits may do : SOAR
103. Workplaces where gloves are worn, for short : ORS
104. Ordering option : TO GO
105. Has a quiet evening, say : STAYS IN
107. ___-Caps : SNO
108. "For real?" : IS IT TRUE?
111. On the double : APACE
112. Confront aggressively : ACCOST
114. Incident not worth talking about : NON-EVENT
115. Its capital is Whitehorse : YUKON
116. Starting point for Pompeii tourism : NAPLES
117. Busy : ENGAGED
118. Idyllic place : EDEN
119. Part of a kite : TALON

Down
1. Lab vessel : BEAKER
2. Noted name in suits : ARMANI
3. Long on screen : NIA
4. One going for a board position? : DART
5. Like the moon during a total lunar eclipse : BLOOD RED
6. Designed to clear the air : ANTISMOG
7. Jerry Siegel or Joe Shuster, for Superman : CO-CREATOR
8. Department store eponym : KOHL
9. Busybody, maybe : SPY
10. Coronary ___ : STENT
11. Detroit Tiger whose #5 is retired : HANK GREENBERG
12. Cambridgeshire city : ELY
13. Mobile home: Abbr. : ALA
14. Accepted an apology : FORGAVE
15. Lasts : ENDURES
16. Calorie counter's temptation : DESSERT
17. Chow (down) : SCARF
18. Turin title : SIGNOR
19. Places to wallow : STIES
25. Crossed : MET
26. Is angry : SEES RED
29. Keep, as a garden : TEND
31. Youth detention center in England : BORSTAL
32. Over the moon : SENT
33. Feature of many a reception : CASH BAR
35. ___ Umbridge, teacher of Dark Arts at Hogwarts : DOLORES
37. Now : TODAY
38. Something that might fall off the shelf? : BERG
40. 1948 John Wayne film : RED RIVER
42. Chooses to lead : TAPS
43. Legal maneuver : MOTION
44. Requite : AVENGE
45. Cornell athletes : BIG RED
47. Tinder successes, say : E-DATES
48. Strictly follow : HEW TO
50. Limbs' ends : DIGITS
52. Trips in the dark? : RED-EYES
54. Fake : ERSATZ
55. Dual-channel : STEREO
56. Stuffing herb : THYME
59. Sound heard at a beach : SURF
61. Decorous : GENTEEL
63. Baltic capital : TALLINN
65. Pages have four of them : MARGINS
67. Frozen aisle icon : JOLLY GREEN GIANT
69. Ginger feature : RED HAIR
70. Miss badly, say : MOURN
72. Lived : WAS
75. Symbol of Washington State : EVERGREEN TREE
76. "Oops!" : MY MISTAKE!
80. Cusps : EVES
82. Annual December pub crawl : SANTACON
84. Defects and all : AS IS
85. Fats Domino's real first name : ANTOINE
86. Grows sick of : SOURS ON
87. Goofing (around) : HORSING
88. Kind of body : AUTO
89. Most common family name in Vietnam : NGUYEN
92. Webster shelfmate : ROGET
93. Key part: Abbr. : ANS
95. Break from a band, maybe : GO SOLO
96. Crime writer Joseph : HANSEN
97. Brings (out) : TROTS
99. Harass : HOUND
101. Fairy tale figure : GIANT
104. Evolutionary diagram : TREE
105. Pre-fries? : SPUD
106. Org. with Divisions I-III : NCAA
109. Social gathering : TEA
110. Like most children's programming : TV-G
111. Something said repeatedly on a ship : AYE
113. Sgt.'s inferior : CPL

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-74818008957296702672016-06-20T00:48:00.002-07:002016-06-21T00:47:11.976-07:000620-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 20 Jun 16, Monday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Jason Mueller
THEME: Clubs
Today's themed answers end with clubs found in a golf bag:

41A. Items found at the ends of 17-, 23-, 53- and 64-Across : CLUBS

17A. Frodo's portrayer in "The Lord of the Rings" : ELIJAH WOOD
23A. Battered appliance? : WAFFLE IRON
53A. Kylo Ren's portrayer in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" : ADAM DRIVER
64A. Iced tea garnish : LEMON WEDGE
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 17s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
I'm still staying in the house in the West of Ireland with poor WiFi, but are moving on today. I am assured that WiFi won't be an issue for the rest of the trip. Fingers crossed! I'll try to get back to this post later today, but in the meantime, here are the essentials.

Bill

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Wonderment : AWE
4. Movie house : CINEMA
10. Prejudice : BIAS
14. With 37-Down, Al Capp cartoon : LI'L
15. He "cometh" in an O'Neill play : ICEMAN
16. Home to the Colosseum : ROME
17. Frodo's portrayer in "The Lord of the Rings" : ELIJAH WOOD
19. Wister or Wilson : OWEN
20. Queen of the Nile, informally : CLEO
21. Three, in Tuscany : TRE
22. Prop for a magician : WAND
23. Battered appliance? : WAFFLE IRON
28. Exchanged vows at the altar : SAID I DO
30. Tiny bit : SMIDGE
34. Dined : ATE
35. Radner of the original "S.N.L." cast : GILDA
38. Conductor Solti : GEORG
39. Big stinger : WASP
41. Items found at the ends of 17-, 23-, 53- and 64-Across : CLUBS
43. ___ bag (party handout) : SWAG
44. Tire mark : TREAD
46. Submarine detector : SONAR
48. Sgt. or cpl. : NCO
49. Offshore structure for Shell or ExxonMobil : OIL RIG
51. Comes out of hiding : EMERGES
53. Kylo Ren's portrayer in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" : ADAM DRIVER
56. Auctioneer's cry when dropping the hammer : SOLD
59. Sheep sound : BAA!
60. Hammer's target : NAIL
63. Bangkok native : THAI
64. Iced tea garnish : LEMON WEDGE
68. Uses a riflescope : AIMS
69. Brought to mind : EVOKED
70. Very long time : EON
71. Part of a hangman drawing : ROPE
72. Taste and touch : SENSES
73. A.M.A. members : DRS

Down
1. One of the Baldwin brothers : ALEC
2. Document that says "I hereby bequeath ..." : WILL
3. Nobel Peace Prize winner who survived the Holocaust : ELIE WIESEL
4. Org. based in Langley, Va. : CIA
5. I, in Germany : ICH
6. Like emails with still-bolded headings : NEW
7. Overact : EMOTE
8. New Zealand natives : MAORI
9. Scientist Celsius of the Celsius scale : ANDERS
10. Treats named for their color : BROWNIES
11. Where the presidential primary season kicks off : IOWA
12. Cry to a preacher : AMEN
13. Transmit : SEND
18. Family name in "The Grapes of Wrath" : JOAD
24. ___ Newton : FIG
25. Bank account protector, for short : FDIC
26. Lounges : LOLLS
27. Texter's "Wow!" : OMG
28. Took care of : SAW TO
29. ___ 2600 (early game console) : ATARI
31. Changed from A to B, as a credit rating : DOWNGRADED
32. "Lord, we bless this food ...," e.g. : GRACE
33. Breakfast items that come frozen : EGGOS
36. Batman and Robin are a "dynamic" one : DUO
37. See 14-Across : ABNER
40. Seventh heaven : PARADISE
42. People of Lapland : SAMI
45. "Look what you ___!" : DID
47. Gun, as an engine : REV
50. Seven things on a Nathaniel Hawthorne house : GABLES
52. Philosopher Descartes : RENE
54. Irish novelist ___ Binchy : MAEVE
55. Matt who was nominated for an Oscar for "The Martian" : DAMON
56. One of seven in the Big Dipper : STAR
57. Cleveland's state : OHIO
58. Genie holder : LAMP
61. Frankenstein's assistant : IGOR
62. Eye or camera part : LENS
65. Approves : OKS
66. Maiden name indicator : NEE
67. Dict. entries : WDS

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-46920350331881963382016-06-21T00:41:00.001-07:002016-06-21T00:45:39.630-07:000621-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 21 Jun 16, Tuesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Julie Berube
THEME: Mary Poppins Song
The circled letters in today's themed answers spell out "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", which is the title of a song from the 1964 Disney musical film "Mary Poppins".

14A. Source of supposed extraordinary health benefits : SUPERFOOD
20A. Justice who died in 2016 : SCALIA
26A. Easily damaged : FRAGILE
33A. Of mind, body and spirit : HOLISTIC
46A. Makes amends for : EXPIATES
54A. Well-founded : VALID
60A. God-awful : ATROCIOUS
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 04s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
9. Muslim holy site : MECCA
Mecca is in the Makkah province of Saudi Arabia. It was the birthplace of Muhammad and is the holiest city in Islam. Every year several million Muslims perform the Hajj, a holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

18. Paavo ___, 1920s Olympic gold medalist : NURMI
Paavo Nurmi was one of a group of Finnish runners to earn the nickname "the Flying Finn". Nurmi dominated middle and long distance running in the 1920s. He was the most successful athlete at the 1924 Paris Olympics, winning five gold medals.

19. Designer Oscar de la ___ : RENTA
Oscar de la Renta is a fashion designer who really came to prominence in the sixties when his designs were worn by Jacqueline Kennedy.

20. Justice who died in 2016 : SCALIA
Antonin Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Reagan in 1986, and was the longest serving member of the court on the occasion of his passing in 2016. Justice Scalia's minority opinions were known for the scathing language that he used to criticize the Court's majority.

21. James Bond, e.g.: Abbr. : AGT
James Bond was the creation of writer Ian Fleming. Fleming "stole" the James Bond name from an American ornithologist. The number 007 was "stolen" from the real-life, 16th century English spy called John Dee. Dee would sign his reports to Queen Elizabeth I with a stylized "007" to indicate that the reports were for "her eyes only". There's an entertaining miniseries that aired on BBC America called "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond" that details Ian Fleming's military career, and draws some nice parallels between Fleming's experiences and aspirations and those of his hero James Bond. Recommended ...

28. Sacker of ancient Rome : HUN
The Huns were a nomadic people who originated in Eastern Europe in the 4th century. Under the command of Attila the Hun they developed a unified empire that stretched from modern-day Germany across to the steppes of Central Asia. The whole of the Hunnic Empire collapsed within a year of Attila's death in 453 AD.

32. Spanish soccer star Sergio ___ : RAMOS
Sergio Ramos is a soccer player from Spain who is the captain of the Real Madrid team.

33. Of mind, body and spirit : HOLISTIC
A holistic approach to medicine emphasises not only physical symptoms but also social considerations and the environment.

38. Fast time? : LENT
In Latin, the Christian season that is now called Lent was termed "quadragesima" (meaning "fortieth"), a reference to the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert before beginning his public ministry. When the church began its move in the Middle Ages towards using the vernacular, the term "Lent" was introduced. "Lent" comes from "lenz", the German word for "spring".

39. Where Reagan was born : ILLINOIS
Future President Ronald Reagan was born in the village of Tampico in northwest Illinois.

41. Jessica with two Oscars : LANGE
The actress Jessica Lange is also an accomplished and published photographer. She was married for ten years to Spanish photographer Paco Grande. After separating from Grande, Lange had three children with the great Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Those must be some good-looking kids …

48. Nordic airline : SAS
SAS was formerly known as Scandinavian Airlines System and is the flag carrier of three countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. SAS is based at Stockholm Arlanda Airport located just north of the Swedish capital.

59. Feminist author Jong : ERICA
The author Erica Jong's most famous work is her first: "Fear of Flying", a novel published in 1973. Over twenty years later she wrote "Fear of Fifty: a midlife memoir", published in 1994.

61. Brazen : SASSY
Someone described as "brazen" might also be described as "shameless". The term "brazen" comes from the Middle English "brasen" meaning "made of brass". The suggestion is that a shameless person has a hardened, brass-like face.

62. Correspondent's afterthoughts, briefly : PSS
One adds a PS (post scriptum, or simply "postscript") at the end of a letter (ltr.). A second postscript is a post post scriptum, a PPS.

63. L'eggs shade : TAUPE
Taupe is a dark, gray-brown color. The word "taupe" comes from the Latin name of the European Mole, which has skin with the same color.

L'eggs is such a clever brand name, I think. L'eggs is a brand of pantyhose (L'eggs = legs), with its product sold, well it used to be, in egg-shaped containers (L'eggs = "the" eggs). The brand was introduced in 1969 and was an instant hit. The inventive marketing of L'eggs pantyhose led to a competitive response by Kayser-Roth who introduced the No Nonsense brand in 1973. The idea behind No Nonsense was that the packaging of L'eggs was just a gimmick, and here was a No Nonsense alternative. L'eggs won the battle though.

Down
1. Deadly Egyptian slitherer : ASP
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.

4. Israel's fourth prime minister : MEIR
Golda Meir was known as the "Iron Lady" when she was Prime Minister of Israel, long before that sobriquet came to be associated with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev (in modern-day Ukraine), and when she was a young girl she moved with her family to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. As a teenager she relocated to Denver where she met and married Morris Meyerson, at the age of 19. She and her husband joined a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921, when she was in her twenties. Meir had been active in politics in the US, and continued her political work in Palestine. She was very influential during WWII, and played a leading role in negotiations after the war leading to the setting up of the state of Israel. By the time she was called on to lead the country, Meir had already retired, citing exhaustion and ill health. But serve she did, and led Israel during turbulent times (e.g. the massacre at the Munich Olympics, and the Yom Kippur War). She eventually resigned in 1974, saying that was what the people wanted.

5. Apollo's twin sister : ARTEMIS
In Greek mythology, Zeus and Leto are the father and mother of the twins Apollo and Artemis. The twins are sometimes referred to as the Letoides, after their mother.

7. "Brooklyn" actress Saoirse ___ : RONAN
Saoirse Ronan is an Irish-American actress, having been born in the Bronx, New York and raised in Carlow and Dublin in Ireland. Ronan's big break came when she was cast in the 2007 film "Atonement" at 12 years of age, a role for which she won that year's Best Supporting Actress Oscar. "Saoirse" is the Irish word for "freedom".

8. Some E.R. cases : ODS
Overdoses (ODs)

9. "Moon River" composer : MANCINI
The lovely song "Moon River" was written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini. It was of sung by Audrey Hepburn in the wonderful 1961 movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The song went on to become the theme song for Andy Williams who performed it at the Academy Awards ceremony in 1962.

12. Victoria's Secret buy, informally : CAMI
A camisole (also "cami") is a sleeveless undergarment worn by women that extends down to the waist. "Camisole" is a French word that we imported into English, which ultimately derives from the Latin "camisia" meaning "shirt, nightgown".

Victoria's Secret was founded in 1977 in San Francisco, California. The founder wanted to create an environment where men were comfortable buying lingerie for their wives or girlfriends, an alternative to a department store.

20. ___ Ste. Marie : SAULT
Sault Ste. Marie is the name of two cities on either side of the Canada-US border, one in Ontario and the other in Michigan. The two cities were originally one settlement in the 17th century, established by Jesuit Missionaries. The missionaries gave the settlement the name "Sault Sainte Marie", which can be translated as "Saint Mary's Falls". The city was one community until 1817, when a US-UK Joint Boundary Commission set the border along the St. Mary's River.

22. 1940s pinup Betty : GRABLE
The actress Betty Grable was the biggest earner for 20th Century-Fox in 1943, and in 1947 was the highest-paid entertainer in the whole country. It was said that Grable had the most beautiful legs in Hollywood. A famous photograph of her in a bathing suit made her the most popular pin-up girl of WWII.

23. Steaming Mexican treat : TAMALE
A tamale is a traditional dish from Central America composed of a starchy dough that is steamed or boiled in a wrapper made from a corn husk or banana leaf. The dough is called masa, and can include many different ingredients including meat, cheese fruit and vegetables.

27. Desert that ancient traders crossed : GOBI
The large desert in Asia called the Gobi lies in northern China and southern Mongolia. The Gobi desert is growing at an alarming rate, particularly towards the south. This "desertification" is caused by increased human activity. The Chinese government is trying to halt the desert's progress by planting great swaths of new forest, the so called "Green Wall of China". The name "Gobi" is Mongolian for "waterless place, semidesert".

29. Shorthand takers : STENOS
Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek "steno" (narrow) and "graphe" (writing).

30. ___ franca (common tongue) : LINGUA
A "lingua franca" is a common language used to communicate among those who do not routinely speak each other's native tongue. The term originally applied to the common language used in commerce around the Eastern Mediterranean from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. This ancient Lingua Franca was a simplified form of Italian, with a generous sprinkling of loanwords from Greek, French, Portuguese, Spanish and other local languages.

36. Melodramatic shows : SOAPS
The original soap operas were radio dramas back in the fifties. Given the structure of society back then, the daytime broadcasts were aimed at housewives working in the home. For some reason the sponsors of those radio shows, and the television shows that followed, were soap manufacturers like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers. And that's how the "soap" opera got its name ...

37. Queens's ___ Field : CITI
Citi Field is the relatively new baseball stadium used by the New York Mets, and sits right next door to Shea stadium, where the Mets had played for decades. And the name of course comes from sponsor Citigroup.

41. Denouement : LAST ACT
The "denouement" is the final resolution of a dramatic plot. The term is French, and derives from the Old French for "untying", an "unknotting" as it were.

45. Linguine sauce : PESTO
The term "pesto" applies to anything made by pounding. What we tend to know as "pesto" sauce is more properly called "pesto alla genovese", pesto from Genoa in northern Italy. I love, love pesto sauce ...

Linguine is a type of pasta that is similar to spaghetti, except that in cross-section linguine is elliptical whereas spaghetti is round. The correct name for the dish is "linguine" meaning "little tongues" in Italian. That said, the misspelling "linguini" is given in some dictionaries as an acceptable Americanized variant..

49. D.C.'s New York and Pennsylvania : AVES
Famously, the layout of the streets in Washington was designed by French-born American architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The L'Enfant Plan called for a grid of east-west and north-south streets. This grid was criss-crossed with diagonal avenues. The avenues and streets met at circles and rectangular plazas. Later, the diagonal avenues were named for states of the union.

50. Five-time Olympian Torres : DARA
Dara Torres is a US swimmer who has won twelve Olympic medals. Torres is also the only American swimmer to have competed in five Olympic Games, and is the oldest swimmer to have made it onto the Olympic team, at 41.

51. Father-and-daughter boxing family : ALIS
Laila Ali is the daughter of the great Muhammad Ali and is a very capable boxer in her own right. Laila's professional record is an impressive 24 wins, including 21 knockouts. Now retired, she never lost a fight, and nor did she ever draw. One of those victories was against Jackie Frazier-Lyde, daughter of her father's nemesis Joe Frazier. Laila is not a bad dancer either, coming in third place in the fourth season of "Dancing with the Stars".

53. Met solo : ARIA
The Metropolitan Opera (the Met) of New York City is the largest classical music organization in the country, presenting about 220 performances each and every year. Founded in 1880, the Met is renowned for using technology to expand its audiences. Performances have been broadcast live on radio since 1931, and on television since 1977. And since 2006 you can go see a live performance from New York in high definition on the big screen, at a movie theater near you …

58. Market for Jap. shares : TSE
The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) is the third largest stock exchange in the world, after New York and London.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Bakery attraction : AROMA
6. Mate : BRO
9. Muslim holy site : MECCA
14. Source of supposed extraordinary health benefits : SUPERFOOD
16. Shades of blue : AQUAS
17. They need signatures : PETITIONS
18. Paavo ___, 1920s Olympic gold medalist : NURMI
19. Designer Oscar de la ___ : RENTA
20. Justice who died in 2016 : SCALIA
21. James Bond, e.g.: Abbr. : AGT
24. Big part of a ship's rigging : MAINSAIL
26. Easily damaged : FRAGILE
28. Sacker of ancient Rome : HUN
29. ___-pitch : SLO
32. Spanish soccer star Sergio ___ : RAMOS
33. Of mind, body and spirit : HOLISTIC
35. Basic rhyme scheme : ABAB
36. "Scram!" : SCOOT!
38. Fast time? : LENT
39. Where Reagan was born : ILLINOIS
41. Jessica with two Oscars : LANGE
42. Poor grade : DEE
43. Gobble up : EAT
44. Said quickly and angrily : SPAT OUT
46. Makes amends for : EXPIATES
48. Nordic airline : SAS
49. Reconfigures, as a book to a screenplay : ADAPTS
52. "Enough, Enrico!" : BASTA!
54. Well-founded : VALID
55. Band frontman, often : GUITARIST
59. Feminist author Jong : ERICA
60. God-awful : ATROCIOUS
61. Brazen : SASSY
62. Correspondent's afterthoughts, briefly : PSS
63. L'eggs shade : TAUPE

Down
1. Deadly Egyptian slitherer : ASP
2. Kick oneself for : RUE
3. Go (for) : OPT
4. Israel's fourth prime minister : MEIR
5. Apollo's twin sister : ARTEMIS
6. Baby's footwear : BOOTIE
7. "Brooklyn" actress Saoirse ___ : RONAN
8. Some E.R. cases : ODS
9. "Moon River" composer : MANCINI
10. 50-50 : EQUAL
11. Ringlet : CURL
12. Victoria's Secret buy, informally : CAMI
13. Where the 27-Down is : ASIA
15. Biggest determinant of a school grade, often : FINAL
20. ___ Ste. Marie : SAULT
21. Terror-stricken : AFRAID
22. 1940s pinup Betty : GRABLE
23. Steaming Mexican treat : TAMALE
25. "Scram!" : SHOO!
27. Desert that ancient traders crossed : GOBI
29. Shorthand takers : STENOS
30. ___ franca (common tongue) : LINGUA
31. Some jazz groups : OCTETS
33. Syllables from Santa : HOS
34. Blind part : SLAT
36. Melodramatic shows : SOAPS
37. Queens's ___ Field : CITI
40. Overnight : NEXT-DAY
41. Denouement : LAST ACT
44. Way up or way down : STAIRS
45. Linguine sauce : PESTO
46. Heroic tales : EPICS
47. Borders : ABUTS
49. D.C.'s New York and Pennsylvania : AVES
50. Five-time Olympian Torres : DARA
51. Father-and-daughter boxing family : ALIS
53. Met solo : ARIA
55. ___ year (precollege experience) : GAP
56. Promising letters? : IOU
57. Have dinner : SUP
58. Market for Jap. shares : TSE

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-74774245203797446782016-06-18T02:25:00.002-07:002016-06-18T02:32:04.133-07:000618-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 18 Jun 16, Saturday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Todd Gross
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:23m 40s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
I'm on vacation with my wife in Ireland right now, and am struggling with a poor WiFi connection today, here on the Atlantic coast. Here are the essentials for now. I will have to follow up with the rest of the post a little later today. I might have to resort to finding a pub with a good WiFi connection ...

Apologies for the inconvenience,

Bill

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Tavern assistant : BAR-BACK
8. Person typically taking Torts and Contracts : ONE L
12. Literary reference : ALLUSION
13. Roast, e.g. : HONOR
15. Outsider politician's target : MAINSTREAM MEDIA
18. Retail giant whose catalog comes in 17 languages : IKEA
19. "We're doomed!" : ALL IS LOST!
20. Wendi ___, ex-wife of Rupert Murdoch : DENG
21. Parts of some law profs.' résumés : LLDS
22. Year in the reign of Antoninus Pius : CLI
23. Hudgens and Huxtable : VANESSAS
26. Skedaddled : RAN
27. Not skedaddle : STAY
28. It may have a stretch in it : INNING
31. One end of Fla.'s Sunshine Skyway Bridge : ST PETE
33. Currency of West Africa : LEONES
34. About 3 1/4 light-years : PARSEC
35. Ice dam locale : EAVE
36. Juillet's time : ETE
37. Picks on : HARASSES
41. Kind of bulb, for short : LED
42. "Can I get an ___?" : AMEN
43. "You ain't ___!" : LYIN'
46. Strong competition? : MR AMERICA
49. What's this, Señor? : ESTA
50. Arm wave or finger snap : ATTENTION-GETTER
53. Hot times? : NOONS
54. "The application of democracy to love," per H. L. Mencken : ADULTERY
55. "Fair point" : TRUE
56. Some rigs : TANDEMS

Down
1. Poet who wrote "Tyger! Tyger! burning bright" : BLAKE
2. Hit 2004 sci-fi film with a 2007 sequel : ALIEN VS PREDATOR
3. Fugitives : RUNAGATES
4. Some undergrad degs. : BSS
5. Part of the conjugation for "avoir" : AIT
6. Aquarium decorations : CORALS
7. Sounds of doom, maybe : KNELLS
8. ___ law : OHM'S
9. Word sung four times before "Born is the King of Israel" : NOEL
10. The thyroid is part of it : ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
11. Female Action Comics character : LOIS LANE
12. Inside : AMID
14. Network's concern : RATINGS
16. Oscar-nominated actor for "The Aviator" : ALDA
17. Spitballs, e.g. : MISSILES
24. "Big" comics character : NATE
25. Where you may need to read the fine print : EYE CHART
29. Liberal political activist Ralph : NEAS
30. Isaac Asimov's "The Bicentennial Man," e.g. : NOVELETTE
31. Atlanta women's college : SPELMAN
32. Food item cooked "to a light golden color" : TATER TOT
38. ___ Stewart, singer of the 1979 #1 hit "Knock on Wood" : AMII
39. Add a layer to : RECOAT
40. One of Buddha's 10 disciples : ANANDA
44. Things that lead to Rome? : ITERS
45. ___ a one : NARY
47. Kind of bar : MENU
48. Start of Massachusetts' motto : ENSE
51. One making a report : GUN
52. Ancient times, in bygone days : ELD

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-70393790216105838282016-06-17T00:00:00.000-07:002016-06-17T00:00:34.569-07:000617-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 17 Jun 16, Friday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Zhouqin Burnikel
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME: 9m 21s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1...Longtime "Mike & Mike" airer..ESPN RADIO
"Mike & Mike" is a morning sports show that airs primarily on ESPN radio, but is also simulcast on ESPN2 television. Hosts of the show are Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic.

21..."Gimme a break" product..KIT KAT
I grew up eating Kit Kat bars as a kid, as the chocolate confection has been around since the thirties. Kit Kats didn't hit the shelves in the US until the seventies. I've seen new varieties of Kit Kat over in the UK, such as an orange-flavored version, but haven't seen anything like that over here.

22...First name in 39-Down research..DIAN
(39D...Person, e.g...PRIMATE)
Dian Fossey carried out her famous study of gorilla populations in the mountain forests of Rwanda (NB: it was Jane Goodall that worked with chimpanzees). Sadly, Fossey was found dead in her cabin in Rwanda in 1986, murdered in her bedroom, her skull split open by a machete. The crime was never solved.

24...God with green skin..OSIRIS
Osiris was the Egyptian god of the underworld. Osiris was the son of Geb the Earth god, and Nut the sky goddess. His wife Isis was also his sister. Osiris was killed and mutilated by Set, his own brother. Isis reassembled Osiris and revived him, just long enough that they could conceive their son Horus.

26...Where "crossword" is "korsord": Abbr...SWE
The country of Sweden emerged during the Middle Ages, and became one of the great powers of Europe in the days of the Swedish Empire in 17th and early 18th century. Since then Sweden's influence has waned. What was the eastern part of Sweden was lost to Russia in the early 1800s, and is now modern-day Finland. In the 20th century Sweden has adopted a very non-aggressive stance and was neutral in both World Wars. Sweden is not a member of NATO, but is a member of the European Union, although the country does not use the euro as its currency.

29...With 10-Across, player that the Broncos replaced with Peyton Manning..TIM
(10A...See 29-Across..TEBOW)
Tim Tebow is a former quarterback who played mainly for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. Tebow's relatively short professional career followed a very successful college career during which he became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.

30...Like ___ of corn (really easy)..A CAN
The phrase " can of corn" is used in baseball for a high, easy ball to catch. The exact etymology of the expression isn't completely clear, but the most popular view is that refers to the old practice of a greengrocer using a hook on a stick to get hold of a can of corn from a high shelf. The hook would cause the can to topple off the shelf, an easy catch for the greengrocer below.

31...Something given to Apple's Siri..VOICE COMMAND
Siri is software application that works with Apple's iOS operating system. "Siri" is an acronym standing for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. You've probably seen the ads on television, with folks talking to their iPhones asking for information and responding with a voice. I hear that Google is a little scared by Siri, as Siri is non-visual. There's no need to touch a screen or a keyboard to work with Siri, no opportunity to click on one of Google's ads! By the way, voice-over artist Susan Bennett revealed herself as the female American voice of Siri not that long ago. The British version of Siri is called Daniel, and the Australian version is called Karen. Also, "Siri" is a Norwegian name meaning "beautiful woman who leads you to victory", and was the name the developer had chosen for his first child.

38...Samsung Galaxy rival..WINDOWS PHONE
A Windows phone is one that uses the Windows Phone mobile operating system (as opposed to Google's Android or Apple's iOS).

The Galaxy is a series of mobile computing devices made by Samsung that was introduced in 2009.

40...Tabula ___..RASA
Tabula rasa (plural: tabulae rasae) is the idea that people are born with a "blank slate", and that knowledge comes from experience and perception.

42...Mountain climbers?..T-BARS
A T-bar is a type of ski lift on which the skiers are pulled up the hill in pairs, with each pair standing (not sitting!) either side of T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skiers as they remain standing on their skis (hopefully!). There's also a J-bar, a similar device, but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.

47...Hub for All Nippon Airways..NARITA
Plans were put together for the construction of Narita International Airport back in 1966. However, the airport was not a popular addition to the metropolis in some quarters and demonstrations, often violent, delayed the project. Originally planned for completion in 1971, the airport didn't open until 1978. The opening ceremony was attended by about 6,000 protesters and 14,000 security police.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline, second in size only to Japan Airlines (JAL).

50...Sports great with the 1993 memoir "Days of Grace"..ASHE
The great American tennis player Arthur Ashe spent the last years of his life writing his memoir called "Days of Grace". He finished the manuscript just a few days before he passed away, dying from AIDS caused by a tainted blood transfusion.

51...Place for billiards or bingo..PARLOR
We tend to use the term "billiards" in the US to refer to games like pool. The earlier game of English billiards is still quite common in the UK and Australia. It is played on the larger snooker table, and involves the use of just two cue balls and one red ball. I used to love the game …

53...Forum rule enforcers, for short..MODS
Moderators (mods) enforce the rules in Internet fora/forums.

55...Neptune vis-à-vis Saturn..SON
In Roman mythology, the gods Saturn and Ops formed a union that produced Jupiter (Greek Zeus), Juno (Greek Hera), Neptune, Pluto and Glauca.

56...Fajita option..STEAK
"Fajita" is a Tex-Mex term that refers to grilled meat served on a tortilla. The Mexican term "fajita" is used to describe a small strip of chicken or beef. Nowadays, fajitas are often served on a sizzling platter with the tortillas and condiments on the side.

57...Halves of twinsets..CARDIGANS
The article of clothing known as a cardigan is named after the British Army Major General James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan. Apparently, the cardigan's design is similar to the a knitted wool waistcoat that was worn by officers during the Crimean War in which the Earl of Cardigan played a major role.

59...Early growth areas..UTERI
The Latin "uterus" (plural "uteri") translates as both "womb" and "belly". The Latin word was derived from the Greek "hystera" also meaning womb, which gives us the words "hysterectomy", and "hysterical".

60...Assurance that you can get bread at a store..ATM INSIDE
The use of the word "bread" as a slang term for money dates back to the 1940s, and is derived from the term "breadwinner", meaning the person in the house who puts bread on the table, brings in the money.

61...One with eye patches..PANDA
Taxonomic classification of the giant panda has been a subject of great debate for years, the main question being whether it belongs to the bear or raccoon family. The accepted opinion these days, based on molecular studies, seems to be that the panda is in fact a true bear.

Down
1...Tabasco, por ejemplo..ESTADO
Tabasco is one of Mexico's 31 states (estados), and is located in the very southeast of the country.

4...Hanoi-to-Beijing dir...NNE
Hanoi was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state. Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is located in the delta of the Red River, and is just over 50 miles from the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.

The city of Beijing in China was given its name in 1403, with "Beijing" chosen as it translates as "Northern Capital". The name distinguished it from the city of Nanjing, which name translates as "Southern Capital".

7...Makes a dead duck..DOOMS
A "dead duck" is something beyond redemption.

10...Actress Polo and others..TERIS
Teri Polo's most prominent role on the big screen was Pam Focker in "Meet the Fockers" and its sequel. Pam is the wife of the character played by Ben Stiller. Polo also played the wife of Presidential candidate Matt Santos in "The West Wing".

12...Project Gutenberg job..BOOK SCAN
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer program that started in 1971 with the aim of digitizing and archiving cultural works of significance. The collection of over 50,000 works comprises the full text of public domain books in ebook format.

13...Senators' supporters, largely..OTTAWANS
The Senators are the NHL hockey team in Ottawa, Canada. The current team, founded in the 1992-93 season, is the second NHL team in the city to use the name "Senators". The original team was founded in 1917 and had a very successful run until the league expanded into the US in the late twenties. The cost of operating in what became the smallest NHL city eventually drove the Senators to St. Louis where they played for a year as the Eagles before finally folding.

14...Home to the Royal Opera House..WEST END
The Royal Opera House is located in Covent Garden in the West End of London. The Opera House is home to both the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet, as well as the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The institution was founded in 1728 as the Theatre Royal, although the original building was destroyed by fire in 1808. The second Theater Royal opened on the site the following year, but it was also lost in a fire, in 1856. The current building opened in 1858, and was renamed to the Royal Opera House in 1892.

21...Wear for Japan's Coming of Age Day..KIMONO
The lovely Japanese kimono is a garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono" translates simply as "thing to wear", with "ki" meaning "wear" and "mono" meaning "thing".

The age of majority in Japan is 20 years. There is an annual holiday held in the second Monday of January to congratulate those who have reached the age of adulthood, called Coming of Age Day.

25...Big name in projectors..RICOH
Ricoh is a Japanese company that started out in 1936 and by the year 2000 was the biggest manufacturer of copiers in the world. The company is also well known as a supplier of cameras. The most successful of Ricoh's lines of cameras is the compact model called a Caplio.

28...Big name in mowers..TORO
Toro is a manufacturer of mainly lawn mowers and snow removal equipment based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The company was started in 1914 to build tractor engines.

30...One multiplying by division..AMOEBA
An ameba (or "amoeba", as we spell it back in Ireland) is a single-celled microorganism. The name comes from the Greek "amoibe", meaning change. The name is quite apt, as the cell changes shape readily as the ameba moves, eats and reproduces.

33...French film award..CESAR
The César Award is the national film award of France. The first César was awarded in 1975, named after the French sculptor César Baldaccini. The awards themselves are reproductions of an actual Baldaccini sculpture.

34...Pristine..MINT
Something described as "pristine" has its original purity, is uncorrupted.

35...Panini bread..CIABATTA
The Italian white bread known as ciabatta is a favorite of mine. "Ciabatta" is Italian for "slipper", a reference to the shape of the traditional loaf. The simple recipe, with ingredients limited to wheat flour, water, salt and yeast, only dates to 1976 when it was created by a baker in Verona, as something to compete with the French baguette.

In Italy, a sandwich made from sliced bread is called a "tramezzino", while sandwiches made from non-sliced breads are called "panini" (singular "panino"). We've imported the term "panini" into English to mean a pressed and toasted sandwich.

39...Person, e.g...PRIMATE
Primates are mammals, many of whom are omnivorous and make good use of their hands. They also have larger brains relative to their body size, compared to other animals. The order Primates includes apes, lemurs, baboons and humans.

44...Girl in a Beach Boys hit..RHONDA
"Help Me, Rhonda" is a Beach Boys hit written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, released in 1965. When the song was first issued as a track on the album "Today!", the song was titled "Help Me, Ronda" (note the spelling of "Ronda"). When the song was released as a single a month later, the title used the spelling with which we are familiar: "Help Me, Rhonda".

47...Lumia smartphone launcher..NOKIA
I do enjoy classical guitar music, but there isn't a huge choice on CD. There is one very special piece called "Gran Vals" by Francisco Tárrega, written in 1902. This piece has a unique reputation as it contains a phrase that it is the most listened to piece of music in the whole world. Just a few bars into the work one can hear the omnipresent Nokia ring tone!

48...The "Velvet" half of jazz's "Velvet & Brass"..TORME
Mel Tormé was a jazz singer, with a quality of voice that earned him the nickname "The Velvet Fog". Tormé also wrote a few books, and did a lot of acting. He was the co-author of the Christmas classic known as "The Christmas Song", which starts out with the line "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire …"

"Velvet & Brass" is an album released in 1995 by Mel Tormé and Rob McConnell's Boss Brass big band.

52...Fatten..LARD
Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called "suet". Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily so it has to be "rendered" or purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call "lard". Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as "tallow".

54...Things laid on scapegoats..SINS
A "scapegoat" is a person chosen to take the blame in place of others. The term comes from the Bible's Book of Leviticus, which describes a goat that was cast into the desert along with the sins of the community.

57...Hotel waiter?..CAB
A hansom cab is a very specific design of horse and buggy that was patented by Joseph Hansom in 1834 in England. The "cab" in the name is short for "cabriolet", an earlier design of carriage on which the hansom was based. It's from "hansom cab" that we get our modern term "cab".

58...Fed. purchasing agency..GSA
The US Government's General Services Administration (GSA), as the name suggests, provides general services to other federal agencies. So for example, the GSA manages office space for the other agencies, and transportation.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1...Longtime "Mike & Mike" airer..ESPN RADIO
10...See 29-Across..TEBOW
15...Utterly..STONE-COLD
16...Not act conservatively..EMOTE
17...Sets in..TAKES HOLD
18...Widespread unrest..RIOTS
19...Got on a roll?..ATE
20...Plot element..TOMB
21..."Gimme a break" product..KIT KAT
22...First name in 39-Down research..DIAN
24...God with green skin..OSIRIS
26...Where "crossword" is "korsord": Abbr...SWE
27...Good-sized combo..OCTET
29...With 10-Across, player that the Broncos replaced with Peyton Manning..TIM
30...Like ___ of corn (really easy)..A CAN
31...Something given to Apple's Siri..VOICE COMMAND
35...Like much locker room language..COARSE
37...Things to cry over?..ONIONS
38...Samsung Galaxy rival..WINDOWS PHONE
40...Tabula ___..RASA
41...Audio receiver..EAR
42...Mountain climbers?..T-BARS
46...Exemplar of ease..ABC
47...Hub for All Nippon Airways..NARITA
50...Sports great with the 1993 memoir "Days of Grace"..ASHE
51...Place for billiards or bingo..PARLOR
53...Forum rule enforcers, for short..MODS
55...Neptune vis-à-vis Saturn..SON
56...Fajita option..STEAK
57...Halves of twinsets..CARDIGANS
59...Early growth areas..UTERI
60...Assurance that you can get bread at a store..ATM INSIDE
61...One with eye patches..PANDA
62...Well-rooted course?..BEET SALAD

Down
1...Tabasco, por ejemplo..ESTADO
2...Reception annoyance..STATIC
3...Nudge..POKE AT
4...Hanoi-to-Beijing dir...NNE
5...Chill out..REST
6...Potential reaction to a cat..ACHOO
7...Makes a dead duck..DOOMS
8..."Sure, tell me"..I'LL BITE
9...Matchless?..ODD
10...Actress Polo and others..TERIS
11...Shoot out..EMIT
12...Project Gutenberg job..BOOK SCAN
13...Senators' supporters, largely..OTTAWANS
14...Home to the Royal Opera House..WEST END
21...Wear for Japan's Coming of Age Day..KIMONO
23...State with the most mountain ranges..NEVADA
25...Big name in projectors..RICOH
28...Big name in mowers..TORO
30...One multiplying by division..AMOEBA
32..."Really!"..I SWEAR!
33...French film award..CESAR
34...Pristine..MINT
35...Panini bread..CIABATTA
36...Not in real life, say..ON SCREEN
38...Finishes..WRAPS UP
39...Person, e.g...PRIMATE
43...Go after..ASSAIL
44...Girl in a Beach Boys hit..RHONDA
45...Saw, say..SENSED
47...Lumia smartphone launcher..NOKIA
48...The "Velvet" half of jazz's "Velvet & Brass"..TORME
49..."___ to the list"..ADD IT
52...Fatten..LARD
54...Things laid on scapegoats..SINS
57...Hotel waiter?..CAB
58...Fed. purchasing agency..GSA

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-9139158202425634912016-06-16T03:58:00.002-07:002016-06-16T10:56:14.797-07:000616-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 16 Jun 16, Thursday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Timothy Polin
THEME: Drop It
To make sense of today's puzzle, we need to DROP "IT", omit the letter sequence "IT", from the starred clues:

29D. "Move on!" ... or how to decipher the 16 starred clues : DROP IT!

1A. *Pitiers (Piers) : DOCKS
6A. *Cubit (Cub) : TYRO
16A. *Bite (Be) down, in a way : MOPE AROUND
63A. *Polite (Pole) star? : SANTA CLAUS
70A. *Sitting (Sting) figures, maybe : T-MEN
71A. *Give a permit (perm) to, say : STYLE
3D. *Lolita's (Lola's) workplace, in song : COPA CABANA
4D. *Stick it to : KEEP AT
12D. *Avian digits (digs) : NESTS
15D. *Britain's (Brain's) location : CRANIUM
23D. *Source of gravity (gravy) : SINECURE
25D. *Exit (Ex) payments : PALIMONY
34D. *Bar order requiring celerity (celery) : BLOODYMARY
41D. *Suite (Sue) for use? : ANAGRAM
51D. *Mojito (Mojo), for one : AMULET
52D. *What visitors (visors) minimize : GLARE
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:20m 06s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 4 … ADONAI (Adenai), KEANU (Keane), RANCHOS (ranches), SINECURE (sinecere)

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
6. *Cubit (Cub) : TYRO
A tyro (also "tiro") is a beginner or a novice. "Tyro" comes into English from Latin, in which "tiro" means "a recruit".

10. 1/ : JAN
The month of January can be written as "1/" in a date, as in 1/14/2016 (Jan 14, 2016) for example.

13. Black winds : OBOES
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name "oboe" comes from the French "hautbois" which means "high wood". When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you'll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an "A". The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe's "A".

15. Abs and such : CORE
The abdominal muscles ("abs") are more correctly referred to as the rectus abdominis muscles. They are all called a "six-pack" in a person who has developed the muscles and who has low body fat. In my case, more like a keg …

18. Places for naps? : RUGS
A "nap" is a soft and perhaps fuzzy surface on cloth, leather, a carpet and even a tennis ball.

20. About : CIRCA
"Circa" is a Latin word meaning "around, near, about the time of". We use "circa" directly in English to mean "about the time of", as well as in derivative words such as "circle" and "circus".

22. Southwestern home : CASA
In Spanish, one's "residencia" (residence) is usually one's "casa" (house).

26. Tarantula-eating animal : COATI
A coati is a member of the raccoon family and is also known as the Brazilian aardvark, or the snookum bear. The coati is native to Central and South America, but can also be found in the southwest of the United States.

Tarantulas are spider-like arachnids that are usually quite hairy. The original tarantula was a type of wolf spider found in Europe, found near the southern Italian town called Taranto, hence the name.

28. God, in the Torah : ADONAI
"Adonai" is a Hebrew name for God.

31. Dark films, informally : NOIRS
The expression "film noir" has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning "black film" in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be "The Big Sleep" and "D.O.A".

33. Service jobs : LUBES
That would be a "lube job" performed as part of a car's service, regular maintenance.

37. Alma-___, Kazakhstan : ATA
Almaty (also "Alma-Aty") is the largest city in Kazakhstan. Almaty was the capital of the country before that honor fell to the city of Astana in 1997, a few years after Kazakhstan became independent after the fall of the Soviet Union.

38. Word of logic : ERGO
"Ergo" is the Latin word for "hence, therefore".

39. Gin cocktail : GIMLET
A gimlet is a relatively simple cocktail, traditionally made with just gin and lime juice. The trend in more recent times is to replace the gin with vodka.

40. Some atom smashers, briefly : LINACS
A linear particle accelerator ("linac" for short) is equipment used to accelerate the speed of charged subatomic particles in straight line. A relatively simple cathode ray tube, used in old" televisions, is an example of a small linac. The linac operated by Stanford University in Menlo Park is a little bigger: two miles in length.

44. Target of a strip search? : ORE
Strip mining is a process used to mine minerals that are relatively close to the surface. A long strip of overlying soil and rock is first removed, and then the ore beneath is excavated. Once each long strip has been excavated then the overlying soil and rock is redeposited. Strip mining wouldn't be most environmentally friendly practice ...

45. 2016 Key and Peele action comedy : KEANU
The Comedy Central sketch show "Key & Peele" starred comics Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. The duo wrote an action comedy film called "Keanu" that was released in 2016. The title character is a cat belonging to the boss of a drug cartel. Haven't seen it ...

48. Jargons : ARGOTS
"Argot" is a French term, the name given in the 17th century to "the jargon of the Paris underworld". Nowadays argot is the set of idioms used by any particular group, the "lingo" of that group.

"Jargon" can mean nonsensical and meaningless talk, or the specialized language of a particular group, trade or profession. The term is Old French, with the more usual meaning of "a chattering". How apt …

50. "Crashing the Party" author, 2002 : NADER
Ralph Nader's 2002 book "Crashing the Party" describes his experiences running as a third-party candidate in the 2000 US presidential election.

60. One working at home, for short : UMP
That would be in baseball.

62. Actor whose last name is a 41-Down of his first name, after a D is changed to an N : ALDA
Alan Alda has had a great television career, especially of course on "M*A*S*H". Alda won his first Emmy in 1972, for playing Hawkeye Pierce on "M*A*S*H". He won his most recent Emmy in 2006 for his portrayal of Presidential candidate Arnold Vinick in "The West Wing". When it comes to the big screen, my favorite of Alda's movies is the 1978 romantic comedy "Same Time, Next Year" in which he starred opposite Ellen Burstyn.

63. *Polite (Pole) star? : SANTA CLAUS
Saint Nicholas of Myra is the inspiration for Santa Claus. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra (now in modern-day Turkey) during the 4th century AD, and was known for being generous to the poor. Centuries after he died, his remains were desecrated by Italian sailors and moved to Bari in Italy. One legend has it that the relics were moved again centuries later and reburied in the grounds of Jerpoint Abbey in Co. Kilkenny in Ireland, where you can visit the grave today. I choose to believe that Santa Claus's relics are indeed buried in Ireland …

66. 20 quires : REAM
A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a "short ream".

67. Designer for the Ziegfeld Follies : ERTE
Erté was the pseudonym of French (Russian born) artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff. Erté is the French pronunciation of his initials "R.T." Erté's diverse portfolio of work included costumes and sets for the "Ziegfeld Follies" of 1923, as well as productions of the Parisian cabaret show "Folies Bergère".

Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld, Jr. was the man behind the series of theatrical revues called the "Ziegfeld Follies", as well as the producer of the musical "Show Boat". The "Follies" shows were structured as imitations of the "Folies Bergère" cabaret shows of Paris.

68. Milton of comedy : BERLE
Comedian Milton Berle was known as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television", and was arguably the first real star of American television as he was hosting "Texaco Star Theater" starting in 1948.

70. *Sitting (Sting) figures, maybe : T-MEN
A T-man is a law-enforcement agent of the US Treasury (T is for Treasury).

71. *Give a permit (perm) to, say : STYLE
"Perm" is the name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls. I don't worry about such things, as it's a number-one all over for me …

Down
2. Ancient Greek coin : OBOL
An obol is also known as an obolus. The obol was a silver coin used in Greece that was worth one sixth of a drachma.

3. *Lolita's (Lola's) workplace, in song : COPACABANA
The Copacabana of song is the Copacabana nightclub in New York City (which is also the subject of the Frank Sinatra song "Meet Me at the Copa"). The Copa opened in 1940 and is still going today although it is struggling. The club had to move due to impending construction and is now "sharing" a location with the Columbus 72 nightclub. "Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl …"

5. What's funded by FICA, for short : SSA
Social Security Administration (SSA)

The Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) was introduced in the 1930s as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal. FICA payments are made by both employees and employers in order to fund Social Security and Medicare.

6. Empath on the U.S.S. Enterprise : TROI
Deanna Troi is a character on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" who is played by the lovely Marina Sirtis. Sirtis is a naturalized American citizen and has what I would call a soft American accent on the show. However, she was born in the East End of London and has a natural accent off-stage that is more like that of a true Cockney.

8. Southwestern spreads : RANCHOS
"Rancho" is Spanish for "ranch, farm".

10. Work measure : JOULE
James Joule was an English physicist who spent much of his life working in the family brewing business. Joule used his work in the brewery to study the relationship between heat and mechanical work. In honor of his achievements, his name is used for the unit of energy in the International System of Units (i.e. the joule).

11. Rival of ancient Sparta : ARGOS
Argos is one of the oldest cities in Greece, and indeed in Europe, having been continuously inhabited for over 7,000 years. In ancient times, Argos was a rival city-state to the powerful Sparta.

12. *Avian digits (digs) : NESTS
"Digs" is short for "diggings" meaning "lodgings", but where "diggings" came from, no one seems to know.

15. *Britain's (Brain's) location : CRANIUM
The human skull is made up of two parts: the cranium (which encloses the brain) and the mandible (or "jawbone").

17. Record label for Miley Cyrus and Kelly Clarkson : RCA
Miley Cyrus became famous playing the Disney Channel character "Hannah Montana". Miley is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. When she was born, Billy Ray and his wife named their daughter "Destiny Hope", but soon they themselves calling her "Smiley" as she was always smiling as a baby, and this got shortened to Miley over time. Cute ...

Apparently singer Kelly Clarkson was the first winner of "American Idol". That's all I know ...

23. *Source of gravity (gravy) : SINECURE
A "sinecure" is a position that requires very little work, with the term often applying to a paid position that can yield a nice profit for the holder of the office. "Sinecure" comes from the Latin "sine" (without) and "cura" (care). The term originated as a church position in the Middle Ages which did not include responsibility for the "care of souls".

25. *Exit (Ex) payments : PALIMONY
Palimony is a portmanteau of "pal" and "alimony" and describes the division of assets and property at the termination of a relationship between two persons who are not legally married. The term was coined in 1977 in a lawsuit filed by actress Michelle Triola Marvin, who had cohabited for five years with actor Lee Marvin.

26. Snooker accessory : CHALK
Snooker is a fabulous game, played on what looks like a large pool table (12' x 6' if full size). Snooker is a derivative of the older game of billiards and is believed to have been developed by British Army officers who were stationed in India in the latter half of the 1800s. "Snooker" was a word used in the British military for a first-year cadet or an inexperienced soldier. Somehow that usage morphed into the name of the game.

28. Notorious bailed-out insurance co. : AIG
AIG is the American International Group, a giant insurance corporation (or I should say, "was"). After repeated bailouts by American taxpayers, the company made some serious PR blunders by spending large amounts of money on executive entertainment and middle management rewards. These included a $444,000 California retreat, an $86,000 hunting trip in England, and a $343,000 getaway to a luxury resort in Phoenix. Poor judgment, I'd say ...

34. *Bar order requiring celerity (celery) : BLOODY MARY
The Bloody Mary is one of my favorite cocktails, perhaps because it seems to taste so different depending on who makes it. It has numerous ingredients above and beyond the requisite vodka and tomato juice, and has been called "the world's most complex cocktail".

35. Goosebumps-inducing : EERIE
The terms "goosebumps" and "goose flesh" come from the fact that skin which is cold can look like the flesh of a plucked goose.

36. Part of a long drive? : STEER
A steer is a male bovine that was castrated when young and is then raised for beef. The term comes from the Old English "steor" meaning "bullock".

41. *Suite (Sue) for use? : ANAGRAM
The word "sue" is an anagram of the word "use".

43. The French? : LES
The definite article in French can be "le" (with masculine nouns), "la" (with feminine nouns), and "les" (with plurals of either gender).

46. Needle holder : TONE ARM
On a record player turntable, the "tone arm" is the free-swinging bracket that holds the phonograph pickup. The pickup is the magnetic cartridge that converts vibrations of the needle as it travels in the groove of the record, into an electrical signal that can be amplified and converted into sound.

51. *Mojito (Mojo), for one : AMULET
The word "mojo", meaning magical charm or magnetism, is probably of Creole origin.

53. Gulf vessel : OILER
An "oiler" is an oil tanker, an ocean-going vessel used to transport crude oil.

54. Weather forecasting aid : RADAR
Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called Radio Detection And Ranging, which was shortened to the acronym RADAR.

55. Apology opener : MEA …
Many Roman Catholics are very familiar with the Latin phrase "mea culpa" meaning "my fault", as it is used in the Latin Mass. The additional term "mea maxima culpa" translates as "my most grievous fault".

58. Indicate that one needs a hand? : ANTE
That would be in poker, say.

59. Old 9-mm. : STEN
The STEN gun is an iconic armament that was used by the British military. The name STEN is an acronym. The S and the T comes from the name of the gun's designers, Shepherd and Turpin. The EN comes from the Enfield brand name, which in turn comes from the Enfield location where the guns were manufactured for the Royal Small Arms Factory, an enterprise owned by the British government.

64. Stephen Colbert's network : CBS
Stephen Colbert is a political satirist who hosted his own show on Comedy Central, "The Colbert Report". Colbert's first love was theater, and so he studied to become an actor. He then moved into comedy, and ended up on the "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart". He left "The Daily Show" in 2005 to set up his own spinoff, "The Colbert Report". In his own inimitable way, Colbert likes to use a "French" pronunciation for the name of his show, so "The Colbert Report" comes out as "The Col-bear Rep-oar". Colbert took over the "Late Show" when David Letterman retired.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. *Pitiers (Piers) : DOCKS
6. *Cubit (Cub) : TYRO
10. 1/ : JAN
13. Black winds : OBOES
14. More than giggle : ROAR
15. Abs and such : CORE
16. *Bite (Be) down, in a way : MOPE AROUND
18. Places for naps? : RUGS
19. Total revolution : LAP
20. About : CIRCA
21. Much : A LOT
22. Southwestern home : CASA
24. Cool air? : HIPNESS
26. Tarantula-eating animal : COATI
28. God, in the Torah : ADONAI
30. Nerve center : HUB
31. Dark films, informally : NOIRS
33. Service jobs : LUBES
37. Alma-___, Kazakhstan : ATA
38. Word of logic : ERGO
39. Gin cocktail : GIMLET
40. Some atom smashers, briefly : LINACS
42. Purple shade : PLUM
44. Target of a strip search? : ORE
45. 2016 Key and Peele action comedy : KEANU
46. Fasten on : TIE TO
47. Goose: Fr. : OIE
48. Jargons : ARGOTS
50. "Crashing the Party" author, 2002 : NADER
52. Eat in excess : GORGE ON
55. "Well!" : MY MY!
56. Put-down in an argument : LIAR!
57. Flirt : TEASE
60. One working at home, for short : UMP
62. Actor whose last name is a 41-Down of his first name, after a D is changed to an N : ALDA
63. *Polite (Pole) star? : SANTA CLAUS
66. 20 quires : REAM
67. Designer for the Ziegfeld Follies : ERTE
68. Milton of comedy : BERLE
69. Show imperfection : ERR
70. *Sitting (Sting) figures, maybe : T-MEN
71. *Give a permit (perm) to, say : STYLE

Down
1. Ending for martyr : -DOM
2. Ancient Greek coin : OBOL
3. *Lolita's (Lola's) workplace, in song : COPACABANA
4. *Stick it to : KEEP AT
5. What's funded by FICA, for short : SSA
6. Empath on the U.S.S. Enterprise : TROI
7. What comes before honor? : YOUR ...
8. Southwestern spreads : RANCHOS
9. Make a father of : ORDAIN
10. Work measure : JOULE
11. Rival of ancient Sparta : ARGOS
12. *Avian digits (digs) : NESTS
15. *Britain's (Brain's) location : CRANIUM
17. Record label for Miley Cyrus and Kelly Clarkson : RCA
23. *Source of gravity (gravy) : SINECURE
25. *Exit (Ex) payments : PALIMONY
26. Snooker accessory : CHALK
27. Convex navel : OUTIE
28. Notorious bailed-out insurance co. : AIG
29. "Move on!" ... or how to decipher the 16 starred clues : DROP IT!
32. Words of logic : ORS
34. *Bar order requiring celerity (celery) : BLOODY MARY
35. Goosebumps-inducing : EERIE
36. Part of a long drive? : STEER
39. Instinctual : GUT
41. *Suite (Sue) for use? : ANAGRAM
43. The French? : LES
46. Needle holder : TONE ARM
49. Prepared : GOT SET
51. *Mojito (Mojo), for one : AMULET
52. *What visitors (visors) minimize : GLARE
53. Gulf vessel : OILER
54. Weather forecasting aid : RADAR
55. Apology opener : MEA ...
58. Indicate that one needs a hand? : ANTE
59. Old 9-mm. : STEN
61. Influence : PULL
64. Stephen Colbert's network : CBS
65. "Didn't I tell you?!" : SEE?!

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-57591453011323330502016-06-15T08:51:00.001-07:002016-06-15T09:42:32.860-07:000615-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 15 Jun 16, Wednesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Jason Flinn
THEME: And Another Thing
Today's themed answers are common phrases that refer to something that is one over the norm, ANOTHER THING as it were:

59A. Rant continuation ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme : AND ANOTHER THING ...

17A. Country that's an extremely close American ally, so to speak : FIFTY-FIRST STATE (instead of the usual 50)
24A. Special perception : SIXTH SENSE (instead of the usual 5)
36A. Power source for a subway train : THIRD RAIL (instead of the usual 2)
50A. Unwanted tagalong : FIFTH WHEEL (instead of the usual 4)
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:7m 11s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Kimono closer : OBI
The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.

The lovely Japanese kimono is a garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono" translates simply as "thing to wear", with "ki" meaning "wear" and "mono" meaning "thing".

10. Org. for women taking courses? : LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 lady golfers, and today it is the oldest ongoing women's sports professional organization in the US.

15. A Jackson sister : LA TOYA
La Toya Jackson was very close to her brother Michael, both in age and temperament. It seems to me that La Toya's obsession with the plastic surgeon's knife was second only to that of her younger brother.

16. Tesla power source: Abbr. : ELEC
Tesla Motors is a manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Palo Alto, California. Tesla is noted for producing the first electric sports car, called the Tesla Roadster. The current base price of a roadster is about $100,000, should you be interested …

21. They'll check your bag at the airport, for short : TSA
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks. TSA personnel carry out the baggage and body searches at US airports. The TSA has a Trusted Traveler program that allows certain passengers to move more quickly through security screening. These passengers pay the TSA a one-time fee that covers a background check after which successful applicants are issued a Known Traveler Number (KTN).

22. Buds in Bordeaux : AMIS
A male friend in France is "un ami", and a female friend is "une amie".

Bordeaux is perhaps the wine-production capital of the world. Wine has been produced in the area since the eighth century. Bordeaux has an administrative history too. During WWII, the French government relocated from Paris to the port city of Bordeaux when it became clear that Paris was soon to fall to the Germans. After the German's took France, the capital was famously moved to Vichy.

31. Sashimi selection : EEL
"Sashimi" is thinly sliced raw fish, although it can also be raw meat. The word "sashimi" translates literally as "pierced body", which may be a reference to the practice of sticking the tail and fin to sliced fish to identify it.

34. ___ jeans : MOM
"Mom jeans" and "dad jeans" are not-so-nice names for high-waisted jeans, usually worn by older women and men.

36. Power source for a subway train : THIRD RAIL (instead of the usual 2)
The first commercial uses of a third rail to power trains were actually in Ireland, with the Giant's Causeway Tramway in 1883, and the Bessbrook and Newry Tramway in 1885.

39. M.L.B. Triple Crown category : RBIS
In baseball, a player can earn the Triple Crown when he is the leader in three specific statistics. The pitching Triple Crown includes wins, strikeouts and earned run average (ERA). The batting Triple Crown includes home runs, runs batted in (RBI) and batting average.

47. Sea eagle : ERN
The ern (also erne) is sometimes called the white-tailed eagle, or the sea-eagle.

56. Oxymoronic purchase at a blowout sale? : TIRE
The word "oxymoron" is in itself an oxymoron, as it is derived from the Greek words "Oxys" and "moros" meaning "sharp" and "stupid".

57. Up in the air, as what to air, for short : TBA
A TV network might as yet be unsure what to air in a particular timeslot. That choice is "up in the air", to be advised (TBA).

63. College in Portland, Ore. : REED
Reed College in Portland is known for many things, including ownership of the world's only nuclear reactor that is primarily run by students!

65. Actress Long : NIA
Nia Long is an American actress, probably best known for playing Will Smith's sometime girlfriend and fiancee Lisa Wilkes on the TV show "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air".

66. Pal of Stan on "South Park" : KYLE
"South Park" is an adult-oriented cartoon series on Comedy Central. I don't do "South Park" …

68. Measure of econ. strength : GNP
A country's Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all services and products produced by its residents in a particular year. GNP includes all production wherever it is in the world, as long as the business is owned by residents of the country concerned. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is different, although related, and is the value of all services and goods produced within the borders of the country for that year.

Down
1. In the wrong place at the wrong time? : OFFSIDE
That would be in a sport like football, or soccer perhaps.

5. Travels à la Huckleberry Finn : RAFTS
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain was first published in 1884, not here in the US but rather in England. The original launch planned for the US had to be delayed until 1885, because some rascal had defaced the plate for one of the illustrations, making an obscene joke. Once the problem was spotted a new plate had to be made, and 30,000 copies already printed had to be reworked to cover up the obscenity.

6. Formal response to "Who goes there?" : IT IS I
The much debated statement "it is I" is actually grammatically correct, and should not be "corrected" to "it is me". Traditionally, pronouns following linking verbs, such as "is", "appear" and "seem", are written in the nominative case. Examples are:

- It is I (who called)
- It was he (who did it)
- It is we (who care)

7. Title Seuss character, with "the" : LORAX
"The Lorax" is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss. It is an allegorical work questioning the problems created by industrialization, and in particular its impact on the environment. At one point in the story, the Lorax "speaks for the trees, for the trees have no tongues". "The Lorax" was adapted into an animated film that was released in 2012, with Danny DeVito voicing the title character.

8. Fleur-de-___ : LYS
"Lys" (also "lis") is the French word for "lily", as in "fleur-de-lys", the heraldic symbol often associated with the French monarchy.

25. Avenger with a hammer : THOR
The hammer associated with the Norse god Thor is known as Mjölnir. The name "Mjölnir" translates as "crusher".

26. Mideast group : HAMAS
Hamas is the Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. "Hamas" translates into English as "enthusiasm", and is also an acronym in Arabic for "Islamic Resistance Movement". Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by many nations in the world, including the US.

27. He won the 1994 U.S. Open in a 20-hole playoff : ELS
Ernie Els is a South African golfer. Els a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname "The Big Easy". He is a former World No. 1 and has won four majors: the US Open (1994 & 1997) and the British Open (2002 & 2012).

33. Muscle power : SINEW
Sinew is another name for a tendon. Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle. We also use the term "sinew" to mean muscular power.

34. Scrip writers : MDS
"Scrip" is an informal term for a prescription.

37. Hyman ___, main antagonist in "The Godfather Part II" : ROTH
The 1974 crime drama "The Godfather Part II" is a little unusual in that it qualifies as both a prequel and a sequel to the 1972 film "The Godfather". It is a prequel in that it tells the story of Vito Corleone's journey from Sicily to New York and the founding of his Mafia family. It is a sequel in that it tells the story of Michael Corleone taking over and running the crime family established by his father. Vito Corleone is famously played by Marlon Brando in "The Godfather", and by Robert De Niro in "The Godfather Part II". Michael Corleone is played by Al Pacino in both films.

38. Android alternative : IOS
iOS is what Apple now call their mobile operating system, previously known as iPhone OS.

The Android Operating System is used by many manufacturers of smartphones. Google partners with several companies to produce Android One phones. The beauty of the Android One is that it runs an unadulterated version of the Android Operating System, one that hasn't been "customized" by the likes of T-Mobile or Verizon.

39. Red card issuer, for short : REF
A series of colored penalty cards is used by referees and umpires in several sports, most notably in soccer. The cards were first used in the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, after language difficulties created confusion during the prior competition in 1966. The main cards used are a yellow card indicating a caution, and a red card indicating expulsion from the game.

40. Pop diva Spears : BRITNEY
Britney Spears was the best-selling female artist in the first decade of the 21st century. And I didn't buy even one song, and I couldn't name one right now …

41. Nonbeliever : INFIDEL
"Infidel" is an English word that was created by the Roman Catholic Church to describe someone who did not believe in the Catholic dogma. The word comes from Latin "infidelis" meaning "unfaithful". During the time of the Crusades, the word "infidel" was used for any non-Christian, and particular the Saracens of North Africa.

44. Debonair : DASHING
Someone described as "debonair" is very courteous and gracious. The term comes into English via the French "debonaire", which itself is derived from "de bon' aire" meaning "of good race", a phrase that originally applied to the breeding of hawks.

45. Late justice Scalia : ANTONIN
Antonin Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Reagan in 1986, and was the longest serving member of the court on the occasion of his passing in 2016. Justice Scalia's minority opinions were known for the scathing language that he used to criticize the Court's majority.

51. Quid pro quo : TRADE
"Quid pro quo" is Latin for "something for something", a swap.

52. Allen who led the Green Mountain Boys : ETHAN
Ethan Allen was one of the founders of the state of Vermont. Allen was also a hero in the American Revolutionary War, famous for leading (along with Benedict Arnold) the small band of men known as the Green Mountain Boys that captured Fort Ticonderoga. And yes, the Ethan Allen store and furniture line is named for Ethan Allen the patriot, even though he had nothing to do with the furniture business.

53. He once asked "How far down can a thumb go?" : EBERT
Roger Ebert co-hosted a succession of film review television programs for over 23 years, most famously with Gene Siskel until Siskel passed away in 1999. Siskel and Ebert famously gave their thumbs up or thumbs down to the movies they reviewed.

59. Couples cruise ship? : ARK
Genesis 6:19-20 states that Noah was instructed to take two animals of every kind into the ark. Later, in Genesis 7:2-3 Noah was instructed to take on board "every clean animal by sevens … male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth". Apparently "extras" (7 rather than 2) were needed for ritual sacrifice.

60. Condition affecting TV's Monk, informally : OCD
Apparently obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, making it about as common as asthma.

62. Politico Cruz : TED
US Senator Ted Cruz served as Solicitor General for the state of Texas before heading to Washington. Cruz was appointed Solicitor General in 2003 at the age of 32, making him the youngest Solicitor General in the country. Famously, Cruz is an opponent of the Affordable Care Act and made a speech in 2013 in the US Senate on the subject that lasted for 21 hours and 19 minutes. It was the fourth longest speech in the history of the Senate.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Kimono closer : OBI
4. Luxuries : FRILLS
10. Org. for women taking courses? : LPGA
14. Enjoyable : FUN
15. A Jackson sister : LATOYA
16. Tesla power source: Abbr. : ELEC
17. Country that's an extremely close American ally, so to speak : FIFTY-FIRST STATE (instead of the usual 50)
20. Bit of name-calling : SLUR
21. They'll check your bag at the airport, for short : TSA
22. Buds in Bordeaux : AMIS
23. Tiny, informally : ITSY
24. Special perception : SIXTH SENSE (instead of the usual 5)
28. ___ embarrassment : DIE OF
30. "Shows you!" : HAH!
31. Sashimi selection : EEL
32. Follows : ENSUES
34. ___ jeans : MOM
35. Theater, design, etc. : ARTS
36. Power source for a subway train : THIRD RAIL (instead of the usual 2)
39. M.L.B. Triple Crown category : RBIS
42. Rejections : NOS
43. Billed to be : SOLD AS
47. Sea eagle : ERN
48. Like monsoon season : WET
49. Meager : SCANT
50. Unwanted tagalong : FIFTH WHEEL (instead of the usual 4)
55. Concerning : AS TO
56. Oxymoronic purchase at a blowout sale? : TIRE
57. Up in the air, as what to air, for short : TBA
58. Word with work or window : SHOP
59. Rant continuation ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme : AND ANOTHER THING ...
63. College in Portland, Ore. : REED
64. Cavalry attack : CHARGE
65. Actress Long : NIA
66. Pal of Stan on "South Park" : KYLE
67. In need of some garage work : DENTED
68. Measure of econ. strength : GNP

Down
1. In the wrong place at the wrong time? : OFFSIDE
2. Permanent, as bookshelves : BUILT-IN
3. Pervades : INFUSES
4. No-___ zone : FLY
5. Travels à la Huckleberry Finn : RAFTS
6. Formal response to "Who goes there?" : IT IS I
7. Title Seuss character, with "the" : LORAX
8. Fleur-de-___ : LYS
9. Used a rocker, e.g. : SAT
10. "I can do that for you" : LET ME
11. Easier to see : PLAINER
12. Braces oneself : GETS SET
13. One-hit wonder? : ACE
18. Auditions : TRYOUTS
19. Boy Scout uniform part : SASH
25. Avenger with a hammer : THOR
26. Mideast group : HAMAS
27. He won the 1994 U.S. Open in a 20-hole playoff : ELS
29. "Bah!" : FEH!
33. Muscle power : SINEW
34. Scrip writers : MDS
35. Like a home purchase without financing : ALL-CASH
37. Hyman ___, main antagonist in "The Godfather Part II" : ROTH
38. Android alternative : IOS
39. Red card issuer, for short : REF
40. Pop diva Spears : BRITNEY
41. Nonbeliever : INFIDEL
44. Debonair : DASHING
45. Late justice Scalia : ANTONIN
46. Temporary solution : STOPGAP
48. Not just if : WHEN
51. Quid pro quo : TRADE
52. Allen who led the Green Mountain Boys : ETHAN
53. He once asked "How far down can a thumb go?" : EBERT
54. Elephantine : LARGE
59. Couples cruise ship? : ARK
60. Condition affecting TV's Monk, informally : OCD
61. Not just a : THE
62. Politico Cruz : TED

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-2526866460659444682016-06-13T22:13:00.004-07:002016-06-13T22:16:48.973-07:000614-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 14 Jun 16, Tuesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Tracy Gray
THEME: Easy Does It
Today's themed answers each start with the letters EZ (which sounds like "easy"):

58A. "Not too hard now" ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 35- and 48-Across : EASY DOES IT

17A. Dangerous virus strain named for its original outbreak location : EBOLA ZAIRE
23A. Mexican revolutionary : EMILIANO ZAPATA
35A. "Legends of the Fall" director, informally : ED ZWICK
48A. Sensual areas : EROGENOUS ZONES
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:7m 10s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
6. Duchess of Cambridge, to friends : KATE
Kate Middleton is the wife of Prince William of the UK. Middleton is what one might call a commoner, although since her marriage she is known as the Duchess of Cambridge. She was born to parents who had worked together as flight attendants before becoming quite wealthy running their own mail-order business. As is so often the case in Britain, Kate's ancestry can be traced back far enough to show that she and William do have common ancestors, dating back to the 1500s on her mother's side and to the 1400s on her father's side.

10. Like a cashmere sweater : SOFT
Cashmere wool comes from not only the Cashmere goat, but also from other types of goat. Technically, cashmere isn't really a wool, but rather a hair. Unlike hair, wool is elastic and grows in clusters.

15. The People's King of Norway : OLAV
Olav V was King of Norway from 1903 until 1991. Tremendously popular and down-to-earth, Olav V was known as "the People's King" ("Folkekongen" in Norwegian). He was also a grandchild of Edward VII, the British king.

16. Athletic footwear brand since 1979 : AVIA
The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as "avia" is the Latin word for "to fly", and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

17. Dangerous virus strain named for its original outbreak location : EBOLA ZAIRE
The Ebola virus causes a very nasty form of hemorrhagic fever. The name of the virus comes from the site of the first known outbreak, in a mission hospital in the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ebola was originally known as Zaire ebolavirus, a reference to the former name of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The disease is transmitted from human to human by exposure to bodily fluids. In nature, the main carrier of Ebola is the fruit bat.

19. Galoot : LUNK
"Galoot" is an insulting term meaning an awkward or boorish man, an ape. "Galoot" comes from the nautical world, where it was originally what a sailor might call a soldier or marine.

20. Token opening : SLOT
I think the idea that a token coin might go into a slot in a machine.

21. Barcelonan bravo : OLE!
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, after the capital Madrid. Barcelona is the largest European city that sits on the Mediterranean coast. It is also the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia.

22. N.J. city at the west end of the George Washington Bridge : FT LEE
Fort Lee, New Jersey is located at the western side of the George Washington Bridge that spans the Hudson River. Fort Lee is known as the birthplace of the motion picture industry. The world's first movie studio was built there by Thomas Edison, a facility known as the Black Maria.

23. Mexican revolutionary : EMILIANO ZAPATA
Emiliano Zapata was a leader in the Mexican Revolution that took place from 1910 to 1920. Zapata was the leader of the Liberation Army of the South, a force more commonly referred to as the Zapatistas.

27. Comfy shoe : MOC
"Moc" is short for "moccasin" shoe.

33. Fey or Turner : TINA
Tina Fey's 2011 humorous autobiography "Bossypants" topped the New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks.

"I, Tina" is the 1986 autobiography of Tina Turner. The book was so successful it was adapted into a movie called "What's Love Got to Do With It?" The film version was released in 1993 and starring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner.

34. Santa ___, Calif. : ANA
Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California and takes its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city.

35. "Legends of the Fall" director, informally : ED ZWICK
Ed Zwick is an Oscar-winning film director from Chicago. The best known of the films that he has directed are probably "Legends of the Fall" (1994), "The Siege" (1998) and "The Last Samurai" (2003).

40. Indian flatbreads : NANS
Naan (also "nan") bread is very popular in Indian restaurants, as well as in other West, Central and South Asian cuisines. Indian Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven known as a tandoor.

42. Jeff Bezos, for Amazon : CEO
Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon.com, a company that he set up in his garage in 1994. Bezos used some of the fortune that he made with Amazon to purchase "The Washington Post" in 2013.

43. Young partner? : ERNST
Ernst & Young is one of the Big Four accountancy firms, alongside Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ernst & Young is headquartered in London.

45. Caesar salad ingredient : CROUTON
The Caesar Salad was created by restaurateur Caesar Cardini at the Hotel Caesar's in Tijuana, Mexico. The original recipe called for whole lettuce leaves that were to be lifted up by the stem and eaten with the fingers.

53. Grasslike perennial : SEDGE
Sedges are a family of plants that resemble grasses and rushes. Sedges are more properly called Cyperaceae.

54. Nanki-___ of "The Mikado" : POO
"The Mikado" is a wonderful comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, set in the exotic location of Japan. "Mikado" is a former term for the "Emperor of Japan". In the story, Nanki-Poo is the Mikado's son, who falls in love with Yum-Yum.

61. You are, in Yucatán : ERES
The Yucatán Peninsula is located in southeastern Mexico, where it separates the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest from the Caribbean Sea to the southeast.

62. Old home of the Mets and the Jets : SHEA
Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York was named after William A. Shea, the man credited with bringing National League baseball back to the city in the form of the New York Mets. Shea Stadium was dismantled in 2008-2009, and the site now provides additional parking for the new stadium nearby called Citi Field.

63. Liquid-Plumr competitor : DRANO
To clean out drains we might buy Crystal Drano which is sodium hydroxide (lye) mixed with sodium nitrate, sodium chloride (table salt) and aluminum. The contents of Drano work in concert to clear the clog. The lye reacts with any fats creating soap which may be enough to break up the clog. Also, the finely-divided aluminum reacts with water creating tremendous heat so that that mixture boils and churns, then any hair or fibers are cut by the sharp edges of the nitrate and chloride crystals. Having said all that, I find that boiling water poured down the drain almost always does the job …

65. Super Bowl XLIX champs, to their fans : PATS
The New England Patriots football team was founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots. The "Patriots" name was selected from suggestions made by football fans in Boston. The team played at several different stadiums in the Boston area for just over ten years, before moving to their current home base in Foxborough, Massachusetts. At the time of the move, the "Boston" name was dropped and changed to "New England".

The Super Bowl is used for high-profile advertising because of the high viewership numbers. For example, the 2014 season's Super Bowl XLIX had a viewing audience of 114.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched American TV program in history.

66. Krupp ironworks city : ESSEN
The Krupp manufacturing interest originated with Friedrich Krupp who inherited an iron forge that the family owned in the German city of Essen. Friedrich made some not-so-clever investments designed to get the family into the cast steel business. Friedrich died quite young, and his son, Alfred, had to take over the struggling steelworks at only 14 years of age. When he took the helm, the company had five workers. At the time of his death there were about 20,000 employees, and Krupp's was the world's largest industrial company.

Down
2. Periodic ___ : TABLE
Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist. When Mendeleev classified elements according to their chemical properties, he noticed patterns and was able to group elements into his famous 1869 Periodic Table. So powerful was his table that he actually predicted the properties of some elements that had not even been discovered in 1869. Element number 101 is mendelevium and was named after Mendeleev.

3. Boutonniere part : BLOOM
A boutonnière is a flower worn by men in the lapel of a jacket, in the buttonhole. In fact, sometimes a boutonnière is referred to as a "buttonhole", which is the translation from French.

5. Org. with a 3-1-1 rule for carry-on liquids : TSA
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks. TSA personnel carry out the baggage and body searches at US airports. The TSA has a Trusted Traveler program that allows certain passengers to move more quickly through security screening. These passengers pay the TSA a one-time fee that covers a background check after which successful applicants are issued a Known Traveler Number (KTN).

6. Eucalyptus-eating marsupial : KOALA
The koala bear really does look like a little bear, but it's not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren't primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope. Male koalas are called "bucks", females are "does", and young koalas are "joeys". I'm a little jealous of the koala, as it sleeps up to 20 hours a day ...

7. Many a "Guardians of the Galaxy" character : ALIEN
"Guardians of the Galaxy" is a 2014 film based on a team of superheroes from the Marvel Comics universe. The movie's cast is very impressive, including Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close and Benicio del Toro. I don't normally "do" superhero films, but I hear that this one is very entertaining.

8. Sticky cigarette stuff : TAR
The partially combusted particulate matter that is produced as a cigarette burns forms a resinous material called "tar". Cigarette tar is different than the tar used on roads, but is very toxic. Marijuana smoke produces a very similar tar to cigarette smoke, and is just as dangerous.

9. Garden of Eden dweller : EVE
According to the Bible, Eve was created as Adam's companion by God, creating her from Adam's rib.

18. Geological period suffix : -ZOIC
The suffix "-zoic" is used in the names of geological eras. The term comes from teh Greek "zoikos" meaning "life".

24. Mineral vein : LODE
A lode is a metal ore deposit that's found between two layers of rock or in a fissure. The "mother lode" is the principal deposit in a mine, usually of gold or silver. "Mother lode" is probably a translation of "veta madre", an expression used in mining in Mexico.

31. Makes out : CANOODLES
"To canoodle" is to indulge in caresses and kisses.

32. ___ Jima : IWO
Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. The name is Japanese for "Sulfur Island", referring to the sulfur mining on which Iwo Jima's economy once depended. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since.

36. Big name in rodent control : D-CON
"d-Con" is a line of rodent control products that has been around for over 50 years.

37. Greek philosopher of paradox fame : ZENO
Zeno of Elea was a Greek philosopher who lived in Elea, a Greek colony in Southern Italy. Zeno is famous for his "paradoxes", a set of problems that really make you think! In the problem known as "Achilles and the Tortoise", Zeno tells us that Achilles races a tortoise, giving the tortoise a head start (of say 100 meters). By the time Achilles reaches the starting point of the tortoise, the tortoise will have moved on, albeit only a small distance. Achilles then sets his sights on the tortoise's new position and runs to it. Again the tortoise has moved ahead a little. Achilles keeps on moving to the tortoise's new position but can never actually catch his slower rival. Or can he …?

38. Casino game : KENO
The name "Keno" has French or Latin roots, with the French "quine" being a term for five winning numbers, and the Latin "quini" meaning "five each". The game originated in China and was introduced into the West by Chinese immigrants who were working on the first Transcontinental Railroad in the 1800s.

44. Madison Square Garden team : RANGERS
Madison Square Garden is an arena in New York City used for a variety of events. In the world of sports it is home to the New York Rangers of the NHL, as well as the New York Knicks of the NBA. "The Garden" is also the third busiest music venue in the world in terms of ticket sales. The current arena is the fourth structure to bear the name, a name taken from the Madison Square location in Manhattan. In turn, the square was named for James Madison, the fourth President of the US.

46. Capital of Texas? : TEE
The word "Texas" starts with a capital letter T (tee).

47. Preppy clothing line : IZOD
Jack Izod was a tailor of some repute over in England, producing shirts for King George V as well as other members of the Royal Family. As Izod was about to retire, he was approached for the use of his name by an American clothing manufacturer based in New York. The brand Izod of London was introduced to America in 1938.

51. Many "Frozen"-inspired Halloween costumes : ELSAS
"Frozen" is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Snow Queen".

52. What the Left Bank is a bank of : SEINE
The famous "Left Bank" ("La Rive Gauche") of the River Seine in Paris is the river's southern bank. The area south of the river was traditionally quite bohemian and was home to artists, students and intellectuals.

56. Harrow and Radley rival : ETON
The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).

Harrow School in north-west London is a boys boarding school, one of only four boys-only, boarding-only independent schools in England. The other three schools in the category are the famous Eton College, Radley College and Winchester College. The list of Harrow alumni includes British Prime Ministers Robert Peel, Alec Baldwin and Winston Churchill, and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Radley College in Oxfordshire is boys boarding school, one of only four boys-only, boarding-only independent schools in England. The other three schools in the category are the famous Eton College, Harrow School and Winchester College. Radley was founded in 1847. Students at Radley are from ages 13 to 18.

58. Clairvoyant letters : ESP
We've been using the term "clairvoyant" to describe a psychic since the nineteenth century. Prior to that, a clairvoyant was a clear-sighted person. The term comes from French, with "clair" meaning "clear" and "voyant" meaning "seeing".

59. Epiphany word : AHA!
An "epiphany" is an appearance or manifestation, especially of a supreme being. By extension, "epiphany" can also apply to a sudden insight or intuitive perception. The term derives from the Greek "epiphainein" meaning "to manifest, display".

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Baseball slugger's datum : AT-BAT
6. Duchess of Cambridge, to friends : KATE
10. Like a cashmere sweater : SOFT
14. Much of a maze : WALLS
15. The People's King of Norway : OLAV
16. Athletic footwear brand since 1979 : AVIA
17. Dangerous virus strain named for its original outbreak location : EBOLA ZAIRE
19. Galoot : LUNK
20. Token opening : SLOT
21. Barcelonan bravo : OLE!
22. N.J. city at the west end of the George Washington Bridge : FT LEE
23. Mexican revolutionary : EMILIANO ZAPATA
27. Comfy shoe : MOC
28. Engage in a brawl : MIX IT UP
29. Cut up into small cubes : DICED
32. Traveler's stopover : INN
33. Fey or Turner : TINA
34. Santa ___, Calif. : ANA
35. "Legends of the Fall" director, informally : ED ZWICK
39. 'Neath's opposite : O'ER
40. Indian flatbreads : NANS
42. Jeff Bezos, for Amazon : CEO
43. Young partner? : ERNST
45. Caesar salad ingredient : CROUTON
47. Big fish ___ small pond : IN A
48. Sensual areas : EROGENOUS ZONES
53. Grasslike perennial : SEDGE
54. Nanki-___ of "The Mikado" : POO
55. Feeling upon winning the lottery : GLEE
57. Fish story : TALE
58. "Not too hard now" ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 35- and 48-Across : EASY DOES IT
61. You are, in Yucatán : ERES
62. Old home of the Mets and the Jets : SHEA
63. Liquid-Plumr competitor : DRANO
64. Sound before passing a note in class : PSST!
65. Super Bowl XLIX champs, to their fans : PATS
66. Krupp ironworks city : ESSEN

Down
1. Amazes : AWES
2. Periodic ___ : TABLE
3. Boutonniere part : BLOOM
4. Never-surpassed : ALL-TIME
5. Org. with a 3-1-1 rule for carry-on liquids : TSA
6. Eucalyptus-eating marsupial : KOALA
7. Many a "Guardians of the Galaxy" character : ALIEN
8. Sticky cigarette stuff : TAR
9. Garden of Eden dweller : EVE
10. Seawater evaporation site : SALT PIT
11. Part of the menstrual cycle : OVULATION
12. Makes small adjustments to : FINE-TUNES
13. Dismantle : TAKE APART
18. Geological period suffix : -ZOIC
22. Obsolescent means of sending a document : FAX
24. Mineral vein : LODE
25. Marriott competitor : OMNI
26. Mineral contained in oysters : ZINC
29. Move taught by a choreographer : DANCE STEP
30. Overdue, as rent : IN ARREARS
31. Makes out : CANOODLES
32. ___ Jima : IWO
36. Big name in rodent control : D-CON
37. Greek philosopher of paradox fame : ZENO
38. Casino game : KENO
41. Propose : SUGGEST
44. Madison Square Garden team : RANGERS
46. Capital of Texas? : TEE
47. Preppy clothing line : IZOD
49. Surprising victory : UPSET
50. Forage beans : SOYAS
51. Many "Frozen"-inspired Halloween costumes : ELSAS
52. What the Left Bank is a bank of : SEINE
56. Harrow and Radley rival : ETON
58. Clairvoyant letters : ESP
59. Epiphany word : AHA!
60. Ceremonious verse : ODE

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-17066620783393809132016-06-12T18:06:00.003-07:002016-06-12T18:10:14.629-07:000613-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 13 Jun 16, Monday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Lynn Lempel
THEME: Fool Around
The circled letters that bound (are AROUND) today's themed answers spell out a synonym of FOOL:

64A. Engage in some horseplay ... or a hint to the words spelled out in the circles : FOOL AROUND

17A. Leave one's vehicle in a traffic lane, say : DOUBLE-PARK (DORK around)
24A. Iconic U.S. cabinetmaker of the early 1800s : DUNCAN PHYFE (DUNCE around)
37A. Physical expression of victory : CHEST BUMP (CHUMP around)
55A. Spinal cord cell needed for muscle contraction : MOTOR NEURON (MORON around)
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:5m 24s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
9. What ran away with the spoon, in "Hey Diddle Diddle" : DISH
The nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle" has been around at least since the mid-1700s.

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

14. Some passport stamps : VISAS
A visa is a usually a stamp in one's passport, an indication that one is authorized to enter (and less often "to exit") a particular country. The word "visa" comes into English, via French, from the Latin expression "charta visa" meaning "paper that has been seen", or "verified paper".

16. Ferber who wrote "Giant" : EDNA
Edna Ferber was a novelist and playwright from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Ferber won a Pulitzer for her novel "So Big", which was made into a film a few times, most famously in 1953 starring Jane Wyman. Ferber also wrote "Showboat", "Cimarron" and "Giant", which were adapted successful for the stage and/or big screen.

"Giant" is a 1952 novel by author Edna Ferber. It was adapted into a successful Hollywood movie released in 1956. In the film, Bick Benedict (played by Rock Hudson) marries Leslie (played by Elizabeth Taylor) and takes his new wife home to the family ranch in Texas called Reata. The ranch's handyman is Jett Rink, played by James Dean. Dean was killed in a car accident before the film was released. Some of of Dean's lines needed work before the film could be released and so another actor had to do that voice-over work.

17. Leave one's vehicle in a traffic lane, say : DOUBLE-PARK (DORK around)
I consider "dork" to be pretty offensive slang. It emanated in the sixties among American students, and has its roots in another slang term, a term for male genitalia.

21. "___ the only one?" : AM I
Am I?

22. President William Howard ___ : TAFT
William Howard Taft may have been the 27th President of the United States, but his lifelong ambition was to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. President Taft was able to realize that dream in 1921, eight years after losing his bid for re-election as president. As Chief Justice, this former US President swore in two new presidents: Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929). William Howard Taft is also remembered as the most obese president. In the last year of his presidency, he weighed about 340 pounds (he was 5 feet 11 inches tall). Twelve months after leaving the White House, President Taft had dropped 80 pounds and substantially lowered his blood pressure.

23. Four Corners-area tribesman : UTE
The Ute are a group of Native American tribes that now reside in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups. The word "Ute" means "Land of the Sun", and "Ute" also gave us the state name "Utah".

The Four Corners region of the US surrounds the meeting point of the four states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The Four Corners is the only point in the US that is shared by four states.

24. Iconic U.S. cabinetmaker of the early 1800s : DUNCAN PHYFE (DUNCE around)
Duncan Phyfe was a leading American cabinetmaker who plied his trade during the first half of the 19th century. Phyfe was born Duncan Fife in Scotland, and immigrated to the US when he was 22 years old. Phyfe really wasn't known for his own personal style, but rather as an outstanding interpreter of the European styles that were fashionable at that time.

28. Italian luxury carmaker : FERRARI
Enzo Ferrari was an Italian race car driver, and founder of the Ferrari car manufacturing company. Ferrari died in 1988, and in 2003 the company named the Enzo model after its founder.

30. Jefferson Davis's govt. : CSA
The Confederate States of America (CSA) set up government in 1861 just before Abraham Lincoln took office. Jefferson Davis was selected as President of the CSA at its formation and retained the post for the life of the government.

31. ___ Andreas Fault : SAN
The famous San Andreas Fault in California lies along the boundary between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. The faultline was named in 1885 after a small lake just south of San Francisco called Laguna de San Andreas.

33. Academic record, in brief : GPA
Grade point average (GPA)

41. Instant decaf brand : SANKA
The first successful process for removing caffeine from coffee involved steaming the beans in salt water, and then extracting the caffeine using benzene (a potent carcinogen) as a solvent. Coffee processed this way was sold as Sanka here in the US. There are other processes used these days, and let's hope they are safer ...

44. High point of a European ski trip? : ALP
There are eight Alpine countries:

- Austria
- Slovenia
- France
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- Germany
- Monaco
- Italy

49. "Gattaca" actress Thurman : UMA
"Gattaca" is a science fiction movie starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman that was released in 1997. Set in the not-too-distant future, the film describes a society in which potential children are preselected so that they inherit the most desirable traits from their parents. The title "Gattaca" is the space agency featured in the storyline. I saw this one relatively recently, and found it very absorbing ...

50. Kibbutz locale: Abbr. : ISR
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel. Kibbutzim were traditionally agriculture-based, but now are often centered around high-tech and other industrial enterprises. The first kibbutz was established in 1909 in Palestine under Ottoman rule. This kibbutz is called Degania, which now is in northern Israel.

55. Spinal cord cell needed for muscle contraction : MOTOR NEURON (MORON around)
The unsavory term "moron" was formerly used by the medical community to describe someone with a degree of mental retardation. The term comes from the Greek "moros" meaning "foolish, dull". Back in the early 1900s, IQ tests were used to classify those suffering from mental retardation into categories:

- "idiot" … IQ of 0-20
- "imbecile" … IQ of 21-50
- "moron" ...IQ of 51-70

A motor neuron (sometimes "motoneuron:) is a nerve cell the carries impulses from the central nervous system to muscles, for example.

59. Song for a diva : ARIA
"Diva" comes to us from Latin via Italian. "Diva" is the feminine form of "divus" meaning "divine one". The word is used in Italy to mean "goddess" or "fine lady", and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.

60. PC connecting device : USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and deal with electrical power through those connections.

61. Loser in a momentous 2000 Supreme Court case : GORE
George W. Bush won the 2000 US presidential election over Al Gore despite losing the popular vote. The result of the electoral college effectively came down to disputed votes cast in Florida. The US Supreme Court decided that these votes were to be awarded to Bush. President Bush wasn't the first candidate to take the office without winning the popular vote. Three earlier presidents came to office in the same way : John Quincy Adams (1824), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876) and Benjamin Harrison (1888).

68. Letter in an Anglo-Saxon script : RUNE
A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

69. Swing wildly, as one's arms : FLAIL
To flail about is to swing wildly, either literally or figuratively. The verb comes from the noun "flail", which is an implement for threshing grain.

71. The "A" in N.B.A.: Abbr. : ASSN
National Basketball Association (NBA)

Down
3. Loan sharks : USURERS
"Usury" was originally the name given to the practice of lending money at interest, but the term now refers to lending at excessive rates of interest.

5. She loses paradise in "Paradise Lost" : EVE
"Paradise Lost" is an epic poem written by Englishman John Milton. It is indeed an epic work, published originally in ten volumes with over ten thousand lines of verse. The "paradise" that is "lost" is the Garden of Eden, from which Adam and Eve were expelled by God in the "Fall of Man".

7. "I, Robot" writer Asimov : ISAAC
Isaac Asimov was a wonderful science fiction writer, and a professor of biochemistry. He was a favorite author as I was growing up and I must admit that some hero worship on my part led me to study and work as a biochemist for a short while early in my career. My favorite of his works is the collection of short stories called "I, Robot". Asimov wrote three autobiographies, the last of which was called "I, Asimov", which was published in 1994, two years after his death.

8. Airport landing area : TARMAC
The terms "Tarmac" and "macadam" are short for "tarmacadam". In the 1800s, Scotsman John Loudon McAdam developed a style of road known as "macadam". Macadam had a top-layer of crushed stone and gravel laid over larger stones. The macadam also had a convex cross-section so that water tended to drain to the sides. In 1901, a significant improvement was made by English engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley who introduced tar into the macadam, improving the resistance to water damage and practically eliminating dust. The "tar-penetration macadam" is the basis of what we now call Tarmac.

18. "___ and the Swan" (Yeats poem) : LEDA
In Greek mythology, Leda was the beautiful Queen of Sparta who was seduced by Zeus when he took the form of a swan. Leda produced two eggs from the union. One egg hatched into the beautiful Helen, later to be known as Helen of Troy and over whom was fought the Trojan War. The other egg hatched into the twins Castor and Pollux. Castor and Pollux had different fathers according to the myth. Pollux was the son of Zeus and was immortal, while Castor was the son of Leda's earthly husband, and so he was a mortal. William Butler Yeats wrote a famous sonnet called "Leda and the Swan" in 1924. Peter Paul Rubens made a copy of a painting called "Leda and the Swan" by Michelangelo, which is now lost.

23. Otherworldly craft, for short : UFO
Unidentified flying object (UFO)

38. Rapunzel's bounty : HAIR
"Rapunzel" is a fairy tale in the collection of the Brothers Grimm. Rapunzel was a maiden who was locked in a tower by an enchantress. The inevitable prince turns up, and he climbs up to Rapunzel using her long, fair hair as a climbing rope.

41. Large Indonesian island : SUMATRA
Sumatra is a very large island in western Indonesia, the sixth largest island in the world and home to 22% of the country's population.

43. Slovakia and Slovenia : NATIONS
Czechoslovakia existed as a sovereign state in Europe from 1918 at which time it declared itself independent from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The country went through much turmoil through the days of Nazi and Soviet occupation, but democracy was restored in 1989 after the nonviolent Velvet Revolution that overthrew the communist government. Nationalist tendencies did develop over time, leading to a peaceful dissolution of the country in 1993, and the creation of the two independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (aka Slovakia).

The Republic of Slovenia is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. Given its geographic location, the country has been part of various realms over the centuries, most recently being part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991, and is now a member of the European Union.

48. Large deer : ELK
The elk (also known as the wapiti) is the one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the "huge" wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely "elk". The more correct name for the beast is "wapiti", which means "white rump" in Shawnee. It's all very confusing …

54. One practicing the "E" of STEM subjects: Abbr. : ENGR
The acronym STEM stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

56. Like an old wooden bucket of song : OAKEN
"The Old Oaken Bucket" is a poem by American author Samuel Woodworth. The words of the poem were set to music in 1826:

How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood,
When fond recollection presents them to view!
The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild-wood,
And every loved spot which my infancy knew!
The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it,
The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell,
The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it,
And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well-
The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,
The moss-covered bucket which hung in the well.

57. W.W. II German vessel : U-BOAT
"U-boat" stands for the German "Unterseeboot" (undersea boat). Notably, a U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania in 1915, an event that helped propel the US into WWI.

62. Klutz's cry : OOPS!
A "klutz" is an awkward individual, and the term comes from Yiddish. The Yiddish word for a clumsy person is "klots".

65. Soused : LIT
The word "souse" dates back to the 14th century and means "to pickle, steep in vinegar". In the early 1600s the usage was applied to someone "pickled" in booze, a drunkard.

66. Ginger ___ : ALE
The brand most closely associated with ginger ale is Canada Dry. "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale" was first formulated in 1904 by a Canadian chemist called John McLoughlin from Ontario. Prohibition in the United States helped sales of the drink as it was particularly effective in masking the taste of illegally-produced homemade liquor.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Spike on a cowboy boot : SPUR
5. Tweak, as text : EDIT
9. What ran away with the spoon, in "Hey Diddle Diddle" : DISH
13. As well : ALSO
14. Some passport stamps : VISAS
16. Ferber who wrote "Giant" : EDNA
17. Leave one's vehicle in a traffic lane, say : DOUBLE-PARK (DORK around)
19. Cautionary words for a buyer : AS IS
20. Larch or birch : TREE
21. "___ the only one?" : AM I
22. President William Howard ___ : TAFT
23. Four Corners-area tribesman : UTE
24. Iconic U.S. cabinetmaker of the early 1800s : DUNCAN PHYFE (DUNCE around)
28. Italian luxury carmaker : FERRARI
30. Jefferson Davis's govt. : CSA
31. ___ Andreas Fault : SAN
32. Approximately : OR SO
33. Academic record, in brief : GPA
35. Plunders : LOOTS
37. Physical expression of victory : CHEST BUMP (CHUMP around)
41. Instant decaf brand : SANKA
44. High point of a European ski trip? : ALP
45. Simplicity : EASE
49. "Gattaca" actress Thurman : UMA
50. Kibbutz locale: Abbr. : ISR
53. Spoon or spatula : UTENSIL
55. Spinal cord cell needed for muscle contraction : MOTOR NEURON (MORON around)
58. Query : ASK
59. Song for a diva : ARIA
60. PC connecting device : USB
61. Loser in a momentous 2000 Supreme Court case : GORE
63. Grabbed : TOOK
64. Engage in some horseplay ... or a hint to the words spelled out in the circles : FOOL AROUND
68. Letter in an Anglo-Saxon script : RUNE
69. Swing wildly, as one's arms : FLAIL
70. Devious maneuver : PLOY
71. The "A" in N.B.A.: Abbr. : ASSN
72. Suffix with luncheon or kitchen : -ETTE
73. Withered : SERE

Down
1. Melancholy : SAD
2. Conspiracy member : PLOTTER
3. Loan sharks : USURERS
4. Justice's garment : ROBE
5. She loses paradise in "Paradise Lost" : EVE
6. Quick swim : DIP
7. "I, Robot" writer Asimov : ISAAC
8. Airport landing area : TARMAC
9. Sudden ___ (overtime format) : DEATH
10. "Sounds about right" : I'D SAY SO
11. Regard dismissively : SNIFF AT
12. Hurries up : HASTENS
15. Animal pelts : SKINS
18. "___ and the Swan" (Yeats poem) : LEDA
23. Otherworldly craft, for short : UFO
25. Prod : URGE
26. Playful bites : NIPS
27. Coconut's place : PALM
29. Scissors topper, in a game : ROCK
34. ___ snail's pace : AT A
36. Available for business : OPEN
38. Rapunzel's bounty : HAIR
39. Hazy image : BLUR
40. Until : UP TO
41. Large Indonesian island : SUMATRA
42. Romantically inclined : AMOROUS
43. Slovakia and Slovenia : NATIONS
46. Generally : AS A RULE
47. "Yes sir!," south of the border : SI, SENOR!
48. Large deer : ELK
51. Tobacco that's inhaled : SNUFF
52. Repair, as a shoe bottom : RESOLE
54. One practicing the "E" of STEM subjects: Abbr. : ENGR
56. Like an old wooden bucket of song : OAKEN
57. W.W. II German vessel : U-BOAT
62. Klutz's cry : OOPS!
65. Soused : LIT
66. Ginger ___ : ALE
67. Easter egg embellisher : DYE

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-86323254891579590122016-06-10T23:48:00.003-07:002016-06-11T17:08:35.301-07:000611-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 11 Jun 16, Saturday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Andrew Kingsley
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:27m 01s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Ones hanging around a deli? : SALAMIS
Salame (note the "e" at the end) is an Italian sausage that is traditionally associated with the peasant classes. The meat in the sausage is preserved with salt, and it can be hung and stored for as long as ten years. The name "salame" comes from "sale", the Italian word for salt, and "-ame", a suffix indicating a collective noun. Our English word "salami" is actually the Italian plural for "salame".

8. One face in the crowd? : WALDO
The reference is to the series of children's illustrated books called "Where's Waldo?", originally titled "Where's Wally?" in Britain where the books originated. The book contains page after page of illustrations with crowds of people surrounding famous landmarks from around the world. The challenge is to find Waldo/Wally, who is hidden in the crowd.

13. Poison also called white arsenic : RATSBANE
Ratsbane is rat poison, particularly arsenic trioxide.

14. French siege site of 1597 : AMIENS
The Siege of Amiens of 1597 took place during the Franco-Spanish War.

16. Children's song about avian anatomy : ALOUETTE
The French-Canadian children's song starts with, "Alouette, gentille alouette ..." "Alouette" is the French word for a bird, the "lark". The song is actually pretty gruesome, even though it was used to teach children the names of body parts. The origin of the song lies in the French colonists penchant for eating larks, which they considered to be game birds. So in the song, the singer tells the lark that he/she will pluck off one-by-one the lark's head, nose, eyes, wings and tail.

17. Lot : KISMET
"Kismet" is a Turkish word, meaning fate or fortune, one's lot.

19. Something held at arm's length : SELFIE STICK
Selfie sticks, oh how I hate selfie sticks. A walk down the Strip in Vegas is an enlightening exercise in what's wrong with contemporary photography …

21. Neighbor of Windsor Castle : ETON
The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).

23. Priceline possibilities : INNS
Priceline.com is travel website providing discount prices for airline tickets and hotel stays. Priceline's most famous spokespeople in advertisements are William Shatner and Kaley Cuoco.

39. Grub for a grub : LEAF
The larvae of stag beetles are commonly known as grubs, and the pupa known as the chrysalis. "Grub" is also slang for food. The word "grub" has been used in this sense since way back in the 1600s, possible derived from birds eating grubs.

40. Zebu feature : HUMP
Zebu cattle are most often seen on the Indian subcontinent. They're the subspecies with the fatty hump on their shoulders, droopy ears and a large dewlap (flap of skin under the neck). In the Hindu tradition, the zebu can represent Nandi, the sacred bull that serves as the mount of the god Shiva.

41. One might start working on Black Friday : MALL SANTA
In the world of retail, "Black Friday" is the day after Thanksgiving in the US. Black Friday is when many stores start the holiday shopping season, and so offer deep discounts to get ahead of the competition.

46. Debatable ability : ESP
Extrasensory perception (ESP)

55. Whacking tool : GAT
"Gat" is slang for "gun". The term is derived from the Gatling gun, the precursor to the modern machine gun. The Gatling gun was invented by Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861. Apparently he was inspired to invent it so that one man could do as much damage as a hundred, thereby reducing the size of armies and diminishing the suffering caused by war. Go figure …

57. Like lingerie : INTIMATE
"Lingerie" is a French term, but as used in France it just means any underwear, worn by either males or females. In English we use "lingerie" to describe alluring underclothing worn by women. The term "lingerie" comes into English via the French word "linge" meaning "washables", and ultimately from the Latin "linum", meaning "linen". We tend not to pronounce the word correctly in English, either here in the US or across the other side of the Atlantic. The French pronunciation is more like "lan-zher-ee", as opposed to "lon-zher-ay" (American) and "lon-zher-ee" (British).

59. James who edited the O.E.D. : MURRAY
Scotsman James Murray was the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), filling that role from 1879 until his death in 1915. However, Murray never saw his work completed as the anticipated ten-year project actually took 50 years to complete.

61. Bobby who co-founded the Black Panthers : SEALE
Bobby Seale is the civil rights activist who co-founded the Black Panther Party with Huey Newton.

Down
1. Toast, e.g. : SALUTE
Did you ever wonder why we use the term "toast" to drink someone's health? The tradition probably dates back to the reign of Charles II, when the practice was to drink a glass of wine to the health of a beautiful or favored woman. In those days, spiced toast was added to beverages to add flavor, so the use of the word "toast" was an indicator that the lady's beauty would enhance the wine. Very charming, I must say …

Retired basketball player Shaquille O'Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show "Inside the NBA". Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called "Shaq Diesel", went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality show: "Shaq's Big Challenge" and "Shaq Vs."

Adolph Rupp was a very successful college basketball coach. A native of Kentucky, Rupp was a reserve player for the University of Kansas basketball team from 1919 to 1923, and then coached the Kansas men's basketball team from 1930 to 1972.

4. Two of them are worth a sawbuck : ABES
The US five-dollar bill is often called an "Abe", as President Lincoln's portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a "fin", a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

"Sawbuck" is slang for a ten dollar bill. The term was applied to the bill as the Roman numeral X (which used to appear on the bill) resembles the end of sawhorse.

5. Winning move : MATE
In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be "in check". If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in "checkmate" and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce "check!") so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn't occur.

11. Home brewing vessel : DEMIJOHN
A carboy (also "demijohn") is a large container for liquids, usually with a capacity of 5 to 15 gallons. Glass and plastic carboys are often used at home for the fermentation of beer and wine.

12. About 2% of the Hope Diamond : ONE CARAT
The carat is a unit of mass used in measuring gemstones that is equal to 200 mg.

The Hope Diamond is a very large diamond (45.52 carats) that is a deep blue color due to trace amounts of boron found within the crystal structure. The diamond has quite a history, the legend being that in its original (larger) form it was the eye in a sculpted statue of a Hindu god. It passed through a number of hands, being recut at least twice, and in the 19th century ended up in the collection of an Anglo-Dutch banker called Henry Philip Hope, whose name is currently used for the gem. Eventually it fell into the hands of a New York diamond merchant called Harry Winston who agreed to donate it to the Smithsonian. To deliver the diamond to its new owners, Winston popped the gem into a plain brown paper bag and sent it through the US Mail.

15. One of the Leewards : ST KITTS
Saint Kitts is the more familiar name for Saint Christopher Island, part of the West Indies. Saint Kitts, along with the neighboring island of Nevis, is part of the country known as the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts has had a troubled history, with the Spanish, British and French all vying for control of the island. Most of the population today is descended from slaves brought onto Saint Kitts to farm tobacco and then sugar cane. Most of the slaves were from Africa, although Irish and Scottish slaves were also used.

22. Tropicana label specification : NO PULP
The Tropicana company is most famous for its orange juice. The company is headquartered in Chicago, where not many oranges are grown …

26. Hardly seen, to Seneca : RARA
Seneca the Younger was a tutor and advisor to the Emperor Nero of Ancient Rome. Although maybe innocent, Seneca was forced to commit suicide by Nero as it was alleged that Seneca participated in a plot to kill the emperor. To kill himself, Seneca cut into a number of veins in order to bleed to death.

28. Certain Internet diagram : SITE MAP
A "site map" is a hierarchical list of pages on a web site. A well-designed site map can be useful to site visitors, but is more commonly used by search engines to get a complete and accurate picture of a site so that it is correctly represented in search results.

29. Fatsis who wrote the best-selling "Word Freak" : STEFAN
"Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive SCRABBLE Players" is a 2001 book by "Wall Street Journal" sports reporter Stefan Fatsis. The book recounts Fatsis' own education in the game as he progresses from being a decent player at home to being ranked "expert" by the National Scrabble Association.

32. Student taking Civil Procedure, most likely : ONE L
"One L" is a name used in general for first year law students.

33. Some car wash grps. : PTAS
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

34. "The vice of a few intelligent people," per Voltaire : ATHEISM
Voltaire was the pen name of French writer and philosopher François-Marie Arouet. He chose the name "Voltaire" as it is an anagram of "Arovet Li", the Latinized spelling of his family name "Arouet".

35. Alternative to quinoa : COUSCOUS
Couscous is dish made from semolina, tiny balls of durum wheat, that is cooked by steaming. Couscous is particularly common in North African cuisines.

Quinoa is a grain crop that is more closely related to beetroots and spinach that it is to cereals and grasses. Quinoa is mainly cultivated for its edible seeds, which are high in protein. The seeds are also gluten free, which seems to be a big deal these days. I do like my quinoa ...

36. Sancho Panza, to Don Quixote : COMPADRE
Sancho Panza is Don Quixote's squire, a character who spouts out humorous comments called "sanchismos".

42. Third-ever Best Actor Oscar winner : ARLISS
George Arliss was an English actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1930 for his performance in the 1929 film "Disraeli". That made Arliss the first British actor to win an Oscar, as well as the earliest-born actor from anywhere in the world to win one.

44. Source of resentment in the Colonies in the 1770s : TEA TAX
The famous destruction of tea in Boston Harbor to protest against the Tax Act took place on December 16, 1773. The action was referred to as the "destruction of the tea" for decades, and it wasn't until 1834 that the term "Boston Tea Party" first appeared in print.

45. Soviet co-op : ARTEL
The Russian cooperative associations known as artels were often pretty informal affairs. Basically any group could get together and form an artel for any specific commercial purpose … anything from gold-mining and fishing, to stealing and begging.

47. Monkshood flower's "hood" : SEPAL
In a flower, the sepals are those green, leaf-like structures that are "interleaved" with the petals, providing support. Prior to acting as support for the petals, the sepals protect the flower in bud.

51. Dunn formerly of "S.N.L." : NORA
Nora Dunn is a comedian best known as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live". Nora is the sister of actor Kevin Dunn, known for many supporting roles including Chief of Staff Ben Cafferty in TV's "Veep".

52. "Annette Sings ___" (1960 pop album) : ANKA
Canadian-born Paul Anka's big hit was in 1957, the song entitled "Diana". Anka was the subject of a much-lauded documentary film in 1962 called "Lonely Boy".

Annette Funicello is an actress and singer whose big break came on the original "Mickey Mouse Club", in which Funicello was one of the most popular of the Mouseketeers. After her time with "Mickey Mouse Club", she had a very successful few years as a pop singer. Then Funicello transitioned to the big screen and starred alongside Frankie Avalon in the "Beach Party" series of films.

53. Couple : ITEM
An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as "an item" in the papers, led to the use of "item" to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

54. Elephantine Island is in it : NILE
Elephantine is an island in the middle of the River Nile in Aswan, Egypt. It's possible that the island was named for it's resemblance to the shape of an elephant task.
58. Mayo, for one : MES
In Spanish, the "mes" (month) of "abril" (April) comes before "mayo" (May).

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Ones hanging around a deli? : SALAMIS
8. One face in the crowd? : WALDO
13. Poison also called white arsenic : RATSBANE
14. French siege site of 1597 : AMIENS
16. Children's song about avian anatomy : ALOUETTE
17. Lot : KISMET
18. Barrel holder : GUN
19. Something held at arm's length : SELFIE STICK
21. Neighbor of Windsor Castle : ETON
23. Priceline possibilities : INNS
24. I have, to Henri : J'AI
25. Converts to pastureland, say : DEFORESTS
29. Nature : SORT
30. Equal: Prefix : PARI-
31. Post-stunt provocation : TOP THAT!
34. Ill-fated, old-style : ACCURST
37. Aims : INTENTS
38. After the fact : TOO LATE
39. Grub for a grub : LEAF
40. Zebu feature : HUMP
41. One might start working on Black Friday : MALL SANTA
46. Debatable ability : ESP
47. Really go up : SOAR
49. Aye's opposite, poetically : NE'ER
50. "Hear me out" : I CAN EXPLAIN
55. Whacking tool : GAT
56. Way cool, in modern lingo : SO DOPE
57. Like lingerie : INTIMATE
59. James who edited the O.E.D. : MURRAY
60. Bare-bones : SKELETAL
61. Bobby who co-founded the Black Panthers : SEALE
62. Like some unions : SAME-SEX

Down
1. Toast, e.g. : SALUTE
2. Untold : A TON OF
3. Where Shaq won the Adolph Rupp Trophy : LSU
4. Two of them are worth a sawbuck : ABES
5. Winning move : MATE
6. Involving multiple states: Abbr. : INTL
7. Deem appropriate : SEE FIT
8. Stir : WAKEN
9. Off : AMISS
10. Tilt : LIST
11. Home brewing vessel : DEMIJOHN
12. About 2% of the Hope Diamond : ONE CARAT
13. Was spitting nails : RAGED
15. One of the Leewards : ST KITTS
20. Establish gradually : INSTILL
22. Tropicana label specification : NO PULP
26. Hardly seen, to Seneca : RARA
27. Way back then, way back when : ERST
28. Certain Internet diagram : SITE MAP
29. Fatsis who wrote the best-selling "Word Freak" : STEFAN
32. Student taking Civil Procedure, most likely : ONE L
33. Some car wash grps. : PTAS
34. "The vice of a few intelligent people," per Voltaire : ATHEISM
35. Alternative to quinoa : COUSCOUS
36. Sancho Panza, to Don Quixote : COMPADRE
42. Third-ever Best Actor Oscar winner : ARLISS
43. Nix : NEGATE
44. Source of resentment in the Colonies in the 1770s : TEA TAX
45. Soviet co-op : ARTEL
47. Monkshood flower's "hood" : SEPAL
48. Baroque window : OXEYE
51. Dunn formerly of "S.N.L." : NORA
52. "Annette Sings ___" (1960 pop album) : ANKA
53. Couple : ITEM
54. Elephantine Island is in it : NILE
58. Mayo, for one : MES

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-89603036061288929712016-06-11T17:04:00.000-07:002016-06-11T17:08:01.908-07:000612-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 12 Jun 16, Sunday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Finn Vigeland
THEME: Attending Physicians
Today's themed answers are well-known phrases, but with the letter "DR" inserted, meaning "doctor".

113A. Sign on Lucy's "Peanuts" booth ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme : THE DOCTOR IS IN

23A. Result of shaking a soda too hard before opening? : DR PEPPER SPRAY (Dr. + "pepper spray")
34A. Noted sexologist, in her infancy? : BABY DR RUTH (Dr. + "Baby Ruth")
48A. "The paternity results are in ... it's the protagonist of a long-running BBC sci-fi show!"? : DR WHO'S YOUR DADDY (Dr. + "who's your daddy?")
64A. 1970s-'80s Sixers star and friends? : DR J CREW (Dr. + "J.Crew")
85A. Controversial TV personality's magical sidekick? : THE WIZARD OF DR OZ (Dr. + "The Wizard of Oz")
98A. Hurt a Bond villain? : DO DR NO HARM (Dr. + "do no harm")
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:27m 11s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
20. It may be waved from the top of a pyramid : POMPOM
The French call a ball made of tufted wool a "pompon", a word that we imported into English directly as "pompon". We use "pompon" to describe perhaps bobbles on some hats, or the tufted balls that are shaken by cheerleaders at sports events. Over time, the spelling "pompom" has become common in English, probably due to mishearing. To confuse matters a little, we also use the word "pom-pom", which is a nickname for a British autocannon used mainly as an anti-aircraft weapon, particularly during WWII.

23. Result of shaking a soda too hard before opening? : DR PEPPER SPRAY (Dr. + "pepper spray")
Dr Pepper was introduced in 1885 in Waco, Texas, one year before the competing Coca-Cola was released to the market. I spent an entertaining few hours at the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco a while back.

25. Parts of many modern addresses : AT-SIGNS
The "at symbol" (@) originated in the commercial word, as shorthand for "each at, per" and similar phrases. I suppose we see the symbol most commonly these days as part of all email addresses.

28. Herbert of the Pink Panther films : LOM
Herbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for playing Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the series of "Pink Panther" movies. He was born in Prague in 1917, and had his first film role in a Czech film. He moved to England in 1939, and made many appearances in British movies. He also worked for many years in Hollywood, and played the King of Siam in the original London production of "The King and I".

32. Busy Apr. workers : CPAS
Certified public accountant (CPA)

April 15th wasn't always Tax Day in the US. The deadline for returns was March 1st from 1913-18, when it was moved to March 15th. Tax Day has been April 15th since 1955.

34. Noted sexologist, in her infancy? : BABY DR RUTH (Dr. + "Baby Ruth")
Dr. Ruth Westheimer is a German sex therapist who made a name for herself as a media personality. Westheimer is the daughter of Orthodox Jews and was sent away from Germany by her family just before WWII. She ended up in Palestine and participated in the 1948 Palestine War serving as a scout and sniper. Westheimer was seriously wounded, and spent several months unable to walk. She moved to France in 1950, and soon after arrived in the US. It was in the US where she did her training as a sex therapist.

One might be forgiven for thinking that the candy bar called a Baby Ruth was named after baseball legend Babe Ruth. However, the Curtiss Candy Company that introduced the confection in 1921 has stated that it was in fact named for Ruth Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland. That said, there seems to be some debate …

40. "Is That All There Is" singer Peggy : LEE
Peggy Lee was a jazz and popular music singer from Jamestown, North Dakota. "Peggy Lee" was a stage name, and she was born Norma Egstrom. She was a successful songwriter as well as singer, and supplied several numbers for the Disney movie "Lady and the Tramp". Lee also sang in the film and voiced four of the characters.

43. Daniel ___ National Forest : BOONE
Daniel Boone National Forest is located in Kentucky, as one might expect from the name.

Daniel Boone was a pioneer and folk hero. For frontiersman Boone, the frontier was what we now call the state of Kentucky. He led the building of the Wilderness Road through the famous Cumberland Gap in the Appalachians, a route subsequently taken by hundreds of thousands of migrants into Kentucky. Boone fought in the Revolutionary War with distinction, and after the war returned to Kentucky and got himself into land speculation. He became mired in debt, forcing him to emigrate to Missouri to settle down on land that was at that time owned by the French. It was there that he spent the last decades of his life.

44. Stocking stuffer : COAL
Apparently, the tradition of putting coal in the Christmas stocking of a poorly-behaved child comes simply from the proximity of the stocking (hanging on the fireplace) to a source of coal!

45. Heroine of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" : JANET
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" has to have the most devout cult-following of any movie ever made. Famously, fans attending a midnight show of the film will dress up in the outrageous costumes used in the film, and bring props with them. The props bear little relation to the storyline, but a tradition of using certain props in a particular way has been established. For example, at one point a character proposes a toast, and the audience throws toast around the theater. Go figure ...

48. "The paternity results are in ... it's the protagonist of a long-running BBC sci-fi show!"? : DR WHO'S YOUR DADDY (Dr. + "who's your daddy?")
The iconic science-fiction television show "Doctor Who" first aired in 1963, and relaunched in 2005 by the BBC. The relaunched series is produced in-house by the BBC in Cardiff in Wales, the location that is the setting of the successful "Doctor Who" spin-off called "Torchwood". The new show is about the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute which investigates incidents involving extraterrestrials.

54. Messages you don't want to send to your parents accidentally : SEXTS
"Sexting" (a portmanteau of "sex" and "texting") is the sending of explicit dialog and images between cell phones. The term "sexting" was first coined by the UK's "Sunday Telegraph Magazine" in a 2005 article. Apparently the practice is "rampant" among teens and young adults. Whatever happened to dinner and a movie …?

57. Watson's creator : IBM
Watson is a program still in development at IBM. Watson is designed to answer questions that are posed in natural language, so that it should be able to interpret questions just as you and I would, no matter how the question is phrased. The program is named after the founder of IBM, Thomas J. Watson. Today's Watson competed in a few memorable episodes of "Jeopardy!" in 2011 taking out two of the best players of the quiz show. That made for fun television …

59. Go to ___ : POT
The phrase "go to pot", meaning fall into ruin, has been around since the 1500s when it really meant "go to (the) pot", to be chopped up and boiled for food.

62. Maiden name of Harry Potter's mother : EVANS
In the world of "Harry Potter", Harry's mother was Lily Potter nee Evans. Lily Evans was born a Muggle. a person who has no magical ability. Lily married someone who did have that magical ability, namely James Potter, Harry's father.

64. 1970s-'80s Sixers star and friends? : DR J CREW (Dr. + "J.Crew")
Julius Erving is a retired professional basketball player who was known as "Dr. J", a nickname he picked up in high school. Dr. J was a trailblazer in many ways, being the first player associated with slam dunking and other moves above the rim.

J.Crew is a clothing and accessory retailer. Never been there, but I've seen the name turn up on credit card statements somehow …

72. Disorder that the Ice Bucket Challenge benefited, for short : ALS
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a viral phenomenon in which participants are challenged to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured over their heads. Each participant then gets to nominate up to three other people to do the same. Usually the nominees are given a day or two to comply, but can make a charitable donation is they want to avoid the icy shower. Happily, many participants opt to take the challenge, and also make a donation.

77. One of Spain's Balearic Islands : MINORCA
The Balearic Islands ("Baleares" in Spanish) form an archipelago in the western Mediterranean of the east coast of Spain. The Balearics are made up up four main islands: Ibiza and Formentera (aka "the Pine Islands"), Majorca and Minorca.

79. Ones fully agreeing with you, metaphorically : CHOIR
The idiomatic phrase "preaching to the choir" means trying to convince someone to accept an opinion that is already held by that person, which is just a waste of time. Surprisingly (to me), the phrase only dates back to the early 1970s.

85. Controversial TV personality's magical sidekick? : THE WIZARD OF DR OZ (Dr. + "The Wizard of Oz")
Mehmet Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon, and a TV personality known simply as "Dr. Oz". Oz appeared as a health expert for several seasons on "The Oprah Winfrey Show". Now he has his own "The Dr. Oz Show" on radio and television that is backed by Winfrey's Harpo Productions.

"The Wizard of Oz" scares me, as the flying monkeys creep me out. There, I've admitted it in public …

91. Ironically, small Starbucks size : TALL
Starbucks introduced us to coffee drinks in a whole range of volumes:

- Demi ... 3 fl oz
- Short ... 8 fl oz
- Tall ... 12 fl oz
- Grande ... 16 fl oz (Italian for "large")
- Venti ... 20 fl oz (Italian for "twenty")
- Trenta ... 30 fl oz (Italian for "thirty")

95. QB's try: Abbr. : ATT
Attempt (att.)

96. "Primal Fear" star, 1996 : GERE
"Primal Fear" is a very enjoyable crime-thriller film released in 1996, starring Richard Gere. The most acclaimed performance in the movie came from Edward Norton in his film debut.

97. Rimes of country : LEANN
LeAnn Rimes has been a country music star since she was 13 years old. In 2008 she disclosed publicly that she suffered from the autoimmune disease psoriasis. She has been active since then in raising money to fight the disease and helping fund cancer research as well. So, not only did Rimes win three Grammy Awards in 1997, she also won a 2009 Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Country Music.

98. Hurt a Bond villain? : DO DR NO HARM (Dr. + "do no harm")
"Dr. No" may have been the first film in the wildly successful James Bond franchise, but it was the sixth novel in the series of books penned by Ian Fleming. Fleming was inspired to write the story after reading the Fu Manchu tales by Sax Rohmer. If you've read the Rohmer books or seen the films, you'll recognize the similarities between the characters Dr. No and Fu Manchu.

106. Inits. at Grand Central Terminal : MTA
The MTA is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has public transportation responsibility in the state of New York (as well as part of Connecticut). MTA might also refer to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is known as the Metro and sometimes the MTA.

Grand Central Terminal in New York City is the largest railroad station in the world in terms of the number of platforms (44). Those platforms are all underground, in two levels. The official name for the facility is "Grand Central Terminal". The name "Grand Central Station" is very common, and is actually the name of the facility that the terminal replaced in 1913.

109. Fanny ___, Barbra Streisand role : BRICE
The movie "Funny Girl" stars Barbra Streisand in the title role of Fanny Brice. The real Fanny Brice was a theater and film actress, and "Funny Girl" is very loosely based on her life story. Fanny Brice was born into a Hungarian Jewish family in New York City, with the real name of Fania Borach.

113. Sign on Lucy's "Peanuts" booth ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme : THE DOCTOR IS IN
In Charles Schulz's fabulous comic strip "Peanuts", Charlie Brown is friends with at least three members of the van Pelt family. Most famously there is Lucy van Pelt, who bosses everyone around, particularly Charlie. Then there is Linus, Lucy's younger brother, the character who always has his security blanket at hand. Lastly there is an even younger brother, Rerun van Pelt. Rerun is constantly hiding under his bed, trying to avoid going to school.

117. Four Corners tribe : NAVAJO
The Four Corners region of the US surrounds the meeting point of the four states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The Four Corners is the only point in the US that is shared by four states.

119. Mid-Long Island community : SYOSSET
Syosset is a hamlet located on Oyster Bay, an inlet of Long Island Sound on the north shore of Long Island in New York.

120. Rahm Emanuel's post-White House title : MAYOR
The Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, was an Illinois representative in the US House before resigning to take up President Obama's offer to become the White House Chief of Staff.

Down
4. Alternative to a cab : UBER
Uber is a ridesharing service that was founded in 2009 and is based in San Francisco. The service is somewhat controversial and has been described as an illegal taxicab operation. Central to Uber's service is the company's mobile app, which can use the client's GPS location to help find the nearest available ride. Uber's main competitor is Lyft. Personally, I love the service and have only had good experiences ...

5. Resort area in northeast Pa. : MT POCONO
Mount Pocono is a borough in the Pocono Mountains region of northeastern Pennsylvania.

7. "___ moi le déluge" : APRES
"Après moi, le déluge" is a French phrase that was supposedly used by Louis XV. The king was referring to the impending demise of the French monarchy and predicting the French Revolution. The phrase translates as "After me, the deluge".

8. Big name in audio equipment : BOSE
Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Amar G. Bose, and is a company that specializes in manufacture of audio equipment.

9. Audio equipment : AMPS
An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.

10. Jump-start of sorts, in brief : CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has for decades involved the simultaneous compression of the chest to pump blood using the heart, and artificial respiration by blowing air into the lungs. Nowadays emergency services are placing more emphasis on heart compressions, and less on artificial respiration.

11. Eucalyptus lovers : KOALAS
The koala bear really does look like a little bear, but it's not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren't primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope. Male koalas are called "bucks", females are "does", and young koalas are "joeys". I'm a little jealous of the koala, as it sleeps up to 20 hours a day ...

14. The P.L.O.'s Arafat : YASIR
Yasser (also Yasir) Arafat was born in Cairo in 1929, the son of two Palestinians and the second-youngest of seven children. Arafat was beaten by his father as a child and so did not have a good relationship with him. Arafat did not attend his father's funeral, nor did he visit his grave. The beatings were apparently administered because the young Arafat was repeatedly attending religious services in the Jewish quarter of Cairo. Arafat's explanation was that he wanted to "study the mentality" of the Jewish people.

21. "Butt out!," briefly : MYOB
Mind your own business (MYOB)

38. Moue : POUT
The term "moue" comes from French, and means a small grimace or a pout.

42. "Ask Me Another" airer : NPR
"Ask Me Another" is a National Public Radio show that features word games, puzzles and trivia. The show is recorded live in front of an audience In New York City, and is hosted by comedian Ophira Eisenberg.

44. Directed the rowers : COXED
The coxswain of a boat is one in charge, particularly of its steering and navigation. The name is shortened to "cox" particularly when used for the person steering and calling out the stroke in a competition rowing boat.

45. Matchmaking site that asks "Do you keep kosher?" : JDATE
Spark Networks is company that owns several special-interest dating sites online. The most famous is probably ChristianMingle.com, but there is also BlackSingles.com, LDSSingles.com, JDate.com and CatholicMingle.com.

49. Strong appetite : YEN
The word "yen", meaning "urge", has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word "yin" imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium!

52. Bird so named because of its call : NENE
The bird called a nene is a native of Hawaii, and is also known as the Hawaiian goose. The name "nene" is imitative of its call. When Captain Cook landed on the islands in 1778, there were 25,000 nene living there. By 1950, the number was reduced by hunting to just 30 birds. Conservation efforts in recent years have been somewhat successful.

56. Frequent James Franco collaborator : SETH ROGEN
James Franco and Seth Rogen have appeared together in several films, including "The Interview", "The 40 Year Old Virgin", "Knocked Up" and "Pineapple Express". The pair also worked together on the short-run TV comedy "Freaks and Geeks".

58. Rock whose name sounds good? : GNEISS
Gneiss is a metamorphic rock containing bands of different colors and compositions.

61. Where "The Princess Diaries" is set : SAN FRANCISCO
"The Princess Diaries" is a series of novels for young adults by Meg Cabot. There have been two Disney adaptations of the books, starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.

66. "The Hunger Games" star, in tabloids : JLAW
Jennifer Lawrence (sometimes "J.Law" in the press) is an actress from Louisville, Kentucky who really hit the big time when she was cast as Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist in the "Hunger Games" series of films.

67. Pattern for a forensic scientist : WHORL
There are three basic fingerprint patterns:
- loops
- whorls
- arches

69. Future dealings? : TAROT
Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future. The list of tarot cards includes the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man and the Lovers.

76. Dickens nom de plume : BOZ
The English author Charles Dickens used the pen-name "Boz" early in his career. He had already established himself as the most famous novelist of the Victorian Era when he came to visit America in 1842. He was honored by 3,000 of New York's elite at a "Boz Ball" in the Park Theater.

81. Yemeni seaport : ADEN
Aden is a seaport in Yemen, located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.

86. Tabloid twosome : ITEM
An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as "an item" in the papers, led to the use of "item" to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

"Tabloid" is the trademarked name (owned by Burroughs, Wellcome and Co,) for a "small tablet of medicine", a name that goes back to 1884. The word "tabloid" had entered into general use to mean a compressed form of anything, and by the early 1900s was used in "tabloid journalism", applied to newspapers that had short, condensed articles and stories printed on smaller sheets of paper.

90. 1961 Michelangelo Antonioni drama : LA NOTTE
Michelangelo Antonioni was a film director from Italy. Antonioni's most famous movies are the trilogy "L'Avventura" (1960), "La Notte" (1961) and "Eclipse" (1962). He died in 2007, coincidentally on the same day that famed director Ingmar Bergman also passed away.

94. Awards won by Stephen King and Agatha Christie : EDGARS
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (the Edgars) are presented annually by the Mystery Writers of America.

96. Successor to South Carolina's Thurmond in the Senate : GRAHAM
Lindsey Graham has been US Senator for South Carolina since 2003, when he took over from long-serving Senator Strom Thurmond. Graham sought the Republican Party's nomination for US president in 2015, but dropped out of the race after six months on the campaign trail. Graham served in the US Air Force for 33 years.

97. Time to give up? : LENT
In Latin, the Christian season that is now called Lent was termed "quadragesima" (meaning "fortieth"), a reference to the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert before beginning his public ministry. When the church began its move in the Middle Ages towards using the vernacular, the term "Lent" was introduced. "Lent" comes from "lenz", the German word for "spring".

99. Kentucky Derby winner's wreath : ROSES
The first Kentucky Derby was run in 1875, and is a race modelled on the Epsom Derby in England and the Grand Prix de Paris (now called the "Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe"). As such, The Kentucky Derby was run over 1½ miles, although in 1896 this was shortened to 1¼ miles. The winning horse is presented with a very elaborate blanket made of red roses.

105. Loopy little films? : GIFS
A bitmap is an image file format used to store digital images. Basically, each pixel in a bitmap file is stored as a "bit" of information, hence the name "bitmap". In 1987, CompuServe introduced a new type of image file called the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF). A GIF image takes the same information as a bitmap and then compresses it, resulting in a smaller file size. However, during compression the image may lose some resolution. The GIF format also handles short video clips, usually animations.

108. Bad thing to lose : MOJO
The word "mojo", meaning magical charm or magnetism, is probably of Creole origin.

114. Longoria of "Telenovela" : EVA
Eva Longoria is a fashion model and an actress who had a regular role on TV's "Desperate Housewives", playing Gabrielle Solis.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Jump to conclusions : ASSUME
7. Off-guard : ABACK
12. Medium : PSYCHIC
19. Has reservations : DOUBTS
20. It may be waved from the top of a pyramid : POMPOM
22. Olympic group in red, white and blue : TEAM USA
23. Result of shaking a soda too hard before opening? : DR PEPPER SPRAY (Dr. + "pepper spray")
25. Parts of many modern addresses : AT-SIGNS
26. In ___ (gestating) : UTERO
27. Homecoming giveaways : TEES
28. Herbert of the Pink Panther films : LOM
30. Limited : FINITE
31. 5 is a high one : PAR
32. Busy Apr. workers : CPAS
34. Noted sexologist, in her infancy? : BABY DR RUTH (Dr. + "Baby Ruth")
36. Yahoos : BOORS
38. Common tidbits in fried rice : PEAS
40. "Is That All There Is" singer Peggy : LEE
41. Any day now : SOON
43. Daniel ___ National Forest : BOONE
44. Stocking stuffer : COAL
45. Heroine of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" : JANET
47. Strike caller : UMP
48. "The paternity results are in ... it's the protagonist of a long-running BBC sci-fi show!"? : DR WHO'S YOUR DADDY (Dr. + "who's your daddy?")
51. Bury : INTER
53. Masseuse's stock : OILS
54. Messages you don't want to send to your parents accidentally : SEXTS
55. Nosy person's request : MAY I SEE?
57. Watson's creator : IBM
58. Element of one's inheritance : GENE
59. Go to ___ : POT
60. Cousins of gulls : TERNS
62. Maiden name of Harry Potter's mother : EVANS
64. 1970s-'80s Sixers star and friends? : DR J CREW (Dr. + "J.Crew")
68. Take out to dinner : TREAT
70. Area with R.N.s : PRE-OP
72. Disorder that the Ice Bucket Challenge benefited, for short : ALS
73. Certain Facebook reaction button : HAHA
75. Collar : NAB
77. One of Spain's Balearic Islands : MINORCA
79. Ones fully agreeing with you, metaphorically : CHOIR
81. Kind of pick : AFRO
82. "P.U.!" : GROSS!
85. Controversial TV personality's magical sidekick? : THE WIZARD OF DR OZ (Dr. + "The Wizard of Oz")
88. "I'm not overwhelmed" : MEH
89. Overwhelms, as with humor : SLAYS
91. Ironically, small Starbucks size : TALL
92. "Two thumbs up!" : GREAT
93. "Quién ___?" ("Who knows?": Sp.) : SABE
95. QB's try: Abbr. : ATT
96. "Primal Fear" star, 1996 : GERE
97. Rimes of country : LEANN
98. Hurt a Bond villain? : DO DR NO HARM (Dr. + "do no harm")
101. A little progress, idiomatically : DENT
102. Quick smoke? : CIG
105. Loving, as eyes : GOO-GOO
106. Inits. at Grand Central Terminal : MTA
107. Feds : G-MEN
109. Fanny ___, Barbra Streisand role : BRICE
111. Quickly : IN HASTE
113. Sign on Lucy's "Peanuts" booth ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme : THE DOCTOR IS IN
116. Broccoli pieces : FLORETS
117. Four Corners tribe : NAVAJO
118. What's played mainly for kicks? : SOCCER
119. Mid-Long Island community : SYOSSET
120. Rahm Emanuel's post-White House title : MAYOR
121. Not on board, say : ASHORE

Down
1. Make sense : ADD UP
2. "Ish" : SORTA
3. Sports bigwig every February : SUPER BOWL MVP
4. Alternative to a cab : UBER
5. Resort area in northeast Pa. : MT POCONO
6. 12-Across's skill : ESP
7. "___ moi le déluge" : APRES
8. Big name in audio equipment : BOSE
9. Audio equipment : AMPS
10. Jump-start of sorts, in brief : CPR
11. Eucalyptus lovers : KOALAS
12. Our Children magazine org. : PTA
13. Release : SET FREE
14. The P.L.O.'s Arafat : YASIR
15. Just below average : C-MINUS
16. Resolve a dispute in a modern way : HUG IT OUT
17. Has the lights off, perhaps : ISN'T HOME
18. Detective's assignment : CASE
21. "Butt out!," briefly : MYOB
24. Certain airline alerts, for short : ETAS
29. Knight's greeting : MY LADY
33. Continues forward : PRESSES ON
34. Topless? : BALD
35. Plead not guilty : DENY IT
37. ___ and aahs : OOHS
38. Moue : POUT
39. Good listeners : EARS
42. "Ask Me Another" airer : NPR
43. Suborn : BRIBE
44. Directed the rowers : COXED
45. Matchmaking site that asks "Do you keep kosher?" : JDATE
46. Land in South America : TIERRA
48. "You sure got me pegged!" : DO I!
49. Strong appetite : YEN
50. Latin love : AMOR
52. Bird so named because of its call : NENE
56. Frequent James Franco collaborator : SETH ROGEN
58. Rock whose name sounds good? : GNEISS
59. Certain notebooks : PCS
61. Where "The Princess Diaries" is set : SAN FRANCISCO
63. With 65-Down, technological escalations : ARMS
65. See 63-Down : RACES
66. "The Hunger Games" star, in tabloids : JLAW
67. Pattern for a forensic scientist : WHORL
69. Future dealings? : TAROT
71. Chip material : POTATO
74. Financial ___ : AID
76. Dickens nom de plume : BOZ
78. Beat : RHYTHM
79. Department head : CZAR
80. In fine shape : HALE
81. Yemeni seaport : ADEN
82. Baseball V.I.P.s : GMS
83. Like many uneditable files : READ-ONLY
84. "Cry me a river!" : OH BOOHOO!
86. Tabloid twosome : ITEM
87. Stereotypically rowdy dudes : FRAT BROS
90. 1961 Michelangelo Antonioni drama : LA NOTTE
94. Awards won by Stephen King and Agatha Christie : EDGARS
96. Successor to South Carolina's Thurmond in the Senate : GRAHAM
97. Time to give up? : LENT
99. Kentucky Derby winner's wreath : ROSES
100. Abbr. on a cover sheet : ATTN
101. Furnishings : DECOR
103. More dangerous in the winter, say : ICIER
104. Comedy, e.g. : GENRE
105. Loopy little films? : GIFS
107. Down Under greeting : G'DAY
108. Bad thing to lose : MOJO
110. Rolling in it : RICH
112. Superlative finish : -EST
114. Longoria of "Telenovela" : EVA
115. She-bear: Sp. : OSA

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-28584881950865636972016-06-09T21:08:00.000-07:002016-06-09T21:11:45.829-07:000610-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 10 Jun 16, Friday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: David Steinberg
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:20m 17s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Popular website with virtual animals : NEOPETS
Neopets is website where one can own a virtual pet. I wouldn't bother …

8. Met for a party? : CAUCUSED
A "caucus" is a meeting of supporters of a particular political group. It is believed that the term was first used in the original North American colonies.

16. Film villain who says "Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side" : EMPEROR PALPATINE
Palpatine is the Dark Lord of the Sith in the "Star Wars" universe. In most of the films in the series, Palpatine is played by Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid. In "The Empire Strikes Back", he was actually played by a woman, the wife of special makeup effects artist Rick Baker, and voiced by New Zealand actor Clive Revill.

21. Some AOL exchanges : IMS
Even though instant messaging (sending IMs) has been around since the 1960s, it was AOL that popularized the term "instant message" in the eighties and nineties.

22. Like teddies, often : LACY
The item of lingerie known as a teddy can also be called "camiknickers". The alternative name was used when the one-piece garment was introduced in the twenties, a combination of a camisole and panties (aka knickers).

25. Wheel that runs? : BRIE
Brie is a soft cheese, named after the French region from which it originated. Brie is similar to the equally famous (and delicious) Camembert.

34. "___ on Fire" (2012 Alicia Keys hit) : GIRL
Alicia Keys is the stage name of Alicia Cook, an R&B and soul singer from Hell's Kitchen in New York City.

35. Executor's charge : ESTATE
In general terms, an executor is a person responsible for the execution of some task. Most commonly, it is the person who has been designated to carry out the directions called out in someone's will after the person is deceased. So, the executor has the necessary authority to distribute assets, pay bills etc. The executor usually works alongside the attorney for the estate.

40. Bellwether's "belles" : EWES
A "wether" is a castrated male sheep. A "bellwether" is one such sheep that leads the flock, usually wearing a bell around its neck, hence the name. We use the term "bellwether" more generally to mean any person or thing which assumes leadership or indicates a trend.

45. Put on hold : TABLE
These "tabling" and "shelving" idioms drive me crazy, because they are often misused. If a topic is shelved, it is set aside. If a topic is tabled, it is brought "off the shelf" and put "on the table" for discussion. But, maybe it's just me ...

48. Route through the boondocks : BYROAD
"Boondocks" is a term used in North America for a remote, usually rural area. Often the term is used derogatively, implying that a remote location is unsophisticated. "Boondocks" was first used by American soldiers stationed in the Philippines in the early 1900s. The word evolved from the Tagalog "bundok" meaning "mountain".

49. Protein-rich paste : MISO
Miso is the name of the seasoning that makes the soup. Basic miso seasoning is made by fermenting rice, barley and soybeans with salt and a fungus to produce a paste. The paste can be added to stock to make miso soup, or perhaps to flavor tofu.

50. ___ Tamid (synagogue lamp) : NER
"Ner tamid" is the Hebrew term for a sanctuary lamp, although it is often referred to in English as "eternal flame".

51. Raiser of horses? : TURBO
A turbocharger is a device that is designed to extract more power out of an internal combustion engine. It does so by increasing the pressure of the air entering the intake. The pressure increase comes from the use of a compressor, which is cleverly powered by the engine's own exhaust gases.

The unit of horsepower was introduced along with the steam engine, where the output of the engine was compared with the power of draft horses. Largely, this comparison with the horse was a marketing ploy, as the intent was to demonstrate that one steam engine could negate the need for a number of draft horses used for work.

53. Classic R&B hit about a returning lover : I HEAR YOU KNOCKING
"I Hear You Knocking" is and R&B classic that was first recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1955. For my money, the 1970 cover version by Welshman Dave Edmunds is the definitive rendition. Great song …

59. Post-Impressionist Seurat : GEORGES
Georges Seurat was a French Post-Impressionist. His most famous work, in the pointillist style, can be viewed in the Art Institute of Chicago, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - 1884". If you've seen the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", it features quite prominently in a wonderful, wonderful scene shot at the gallery.

Down
1. Very distant clouds : NEBULAE
In astronomical terms a nebula is a cloud of dust and ionized gases ("nebula" is the Latin for "cloud"). Many nebulae form as gases collapse in on themselves under the influence of enormous gravitational forces. Ultimately these collapses can result in the creation of new stars.

3. Like spectroscopes and microscopes : OPTICAL
A spectrometer (also "spectroscope") is a scientific instrument that produces a spectrum using a prism, and also measures the intensity of radiation at varying wavelengths within that spectrum.

5. Director ___ C. Kenton : ERLE
Erle Kenton was a film director from Norbro, Montana. Kenton directed 131 films between 1916 and 1957, including "The Ghost of Frankenstein", "House of Frankenstein" and "House of Dracula".

6. Prominent feature of a sloth : TOE
All four of the extant species of three-toed sloths are native to South and Central America. Cousins of the three-toed sloths are the two-toed sloths, of which there are two species still living.

7. Sign adored by angels : SRO
Standing room only (SRO)

"Broadway angels" are people who invest money in Broadway shows.

9. "The Green Hornet" trumpeter : AL HIRT
Al Hirt was a trumpeter and bandleader. Hirt's most famous recordings were the song "Java" and the album "Honey in the Horn", as well the theme song used "The Green Hornet" TV series in the sixties.

12. Literally, "land of the sun" : UTE
The Ute is a group of Native American tribes that now resides in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups. The word "Ute" means "Land of the Sun", and "Ute" also gave us the state name "Utah".

14. Adams and Jefferson, e.g. : ENEMIES
Thomas Jefferson was a very close friend of John Adams, a friendship dating back to the time of the Second Continental Congress. Jefferson and Adams developed differing views on important subjects and had many debates, both directly and in correspondence. They also had an "up and down" relationship, with long periods of coolness. The two former presidents both died on the same day, in 1826. If that isn't an amazing enough coincidence, they passed away on July 4th, Independence Day.

17. Big name in drugs : PFIZER
Pfizer is a pharmaceutical company based in New York City that was founded in 1849 by cousins Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart. Pfizer has an impressive list of successful products that includes Lipitor (to lower cholesterol), Viagra (to help with erectile disfunction) and Celebrex (an anti-inflammatory).

23. Feudal lord : LIEGE
A liege was a feudal lord, one to whom service or allegiance was owed under feudal law. "Liege" was also the term used for one who owed allegiance or service to a lord. Very confusing ...

25. Beer-and-whiskey cocktail : BOILERMAKER
A boilermaker is a beer cocktail, a serving of beer mixed with a shot of whiskey, or sometimes a shot of tequila or vodka. If the whiskey is still in a shot glass when it's dropped into the beer, then it's known as a depth charge.

28. "... let slip the dogs of ___": Shak. : WAR
The phrase "dogs of war" comes from William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar". The "dogs of war" are soldiers. Marc Anthony speaks the following lines:

And Caesar's spirit, raging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.

35. Vernacular much debated in the 1990s : EBONICS
The term "Ebonics" refers to vernacular English used by African Americans. "Ebonics" is a blend of the words "ebony" and "phonics". It is not a term that is embraced universally.

37. Ancient Greek craft : TRIREME
Triremes were galleys used in the Mediterranean by a number of cultures, including the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The trireme was so called because there were three rows of oars on each side of the vessel. The term "trireme" comes from the Latin "tres remi" meaning "three-oar". There was also a less ambitious version of the trireme that had only two banks of oars, and that was known as a bireme.

38. Island north of Antigua : BARBUDA
Antigua is an island in the West Indies, and is the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. These twin islands take their names from the Spanish for "ancient" and "bearded".

45. Power in old films : TYRONE
Tyrone Power was a Hollywood actor from Cincinnati, Ohio. Power tended to play the romantic lead, as well as the swashbuckler that was so popular in the thirties. His career was interrupted during WWII when he volunteered to serve with the Marine Corps as a pilot. Power served with distinction and resumed his career after the war. He died on set, suffering a massive heart attack while filming a sword duel with his friend George Sanders. Power was only 44 years of age.

52. Twice quattuor : OCTO
In Latin, twice "quattuor" (four) is "octo" (eight).

55. Bit of blood-typing shorthand : NEG
The most important grouping of blood types is the ABO system. Blood is classified as either A, B, AB or O, depending on the type of antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. A secondary designation of blood is the Rh factor, in which other antigens are labelled as either positive or negative. When a patient receives a blood transfusion, ideally the donor blood should be the same type as that of the recipient, as incompatible blood cells can be rejected. However, blood type O-neg can be accepted by recipients with all blood types, A, B, AB or O, and positive or negative. Hence someone with O-neg blood type is called a "universal donor".

56. 21st word of the Pledge of Allegiance : ONE
The Pledge of Allegiance of the US was composed by Francis Bellamy in 1892 and was adopted by Congress in 1942. The actual words used in the pledge have changed over time. Here is the original 1892 version shown in comparison to the current version that was adopted in 1954:

1892: I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1954: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Popular website with virtual animals : NEOPETS
8. Met for a party? : CAUCUSED
16. Film villain who says "Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side" : EMPEROR PALPATINE
18. Classic conflict : BATTLE OF THE SEXES
19. Confederate : UNITE
20. Bold way to solve a crossword : IN INK
21. Some AOL exchanges : IMS
22. Like teddies, often : LACY
23. Source of some leather : LIZARD
25. Wheel that runs? : BRIE
26. Rat-___ : A-TAT
27. Feckless : INEPT
28. Beau : WOOER
29. Tough to get ahold of : EELY
30. Boots one : ERRS
31. Anytown, U.S.A., sign : MAIN ST
32. Something hot : RAGE
34. "___ on Fire" (2012 Alicia Keys hit) : GIRL
35. Executor's charge : ESTATE
38. Camp invader : BEAR
40. Bellwether's "belles" : EWES
44. Carried : BORNE
45. Put on hold : TABLE
46. Get-out-of-jail aid, maybe : RASP
47. Go without saying? : OMIT
48. Route through the boondocks : BYROAD
49. Protein-rich paste : MISO
50. ___ Tamid (synagogue lamp) : NER
51. Raiser of horses? : TURBO
52. Like some cakes : OATEN
53. Classic R&B hit about a returning lover : I HEAR YOU KNOCKING
57. It has multiple clauses : COMPOUND SENTENCE
58. Honey : SWEET PEA
59. Post-Impressionist Seurat : GEORGES

Down
1. Very distant clouds : NEBULAE
2. Issue : EMANATE
3. Like spectroscopes and microscopes : OPTICAL
4. Dictatorial boss : PETTY TYRANT
5. Director ___ C. Kenton : ERLE
6. Prominent feature of a sloth : TOE
7. Sign adored by angels : SRO
8. Brief refreshers : CATNAPS
9. "The Green Hornet" trumpeter : AL HIRT
10. Stand on its head : UPEND
11. Holder of spirits : CASK
12. Literally, "land of the sun" : UTE
13. Second club used on a par 4 hole, maybe : SIX IRON
14. Adams and Jefferson, e.g. : ENEMIES
15. Final order of things? : DESSERT
17. Big name in drugs : PFIZER
23. Feudal lord : LIEGE
24. Memo starter : IN RE
25. Beer-and-whiskey cocktail : BOILERMAKER
28. "... let slip the dogs of ___": Shak. : WAR
31. Stuck : MIRED
33. Grabbed something : ATE
34. Black-tie event : GALA
35. Vernacular much debated in the 1990s : EBONICS
36. By hook or by crook : SOMEHOW
37. Ancient Greek craft : TRIREME
38. Island north of Antigua : BARBUDA
39. Tablet contents, perhaps : E-BOOKS
41. Not yet admitted : WAITING
42. Heart : ESSENCE
43. They hold water : SPONGES
45. Power in old films : TYRONE
48. Purchase in large quantity : BUY UP
51. Medium gait : TROT
52. Twice quattuor : OCTO
54. Wild way to go : APE
55. Bit of blood-typing shorthand : NEG
56. 21st word of the Pledge of Allegiance : ONE

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-64998307423963295942016-06-08T21:12:00.002-07:002016-06-08T21:19:13.191-07:000609-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 9 Jun 16, Thursday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Damon J. Gulczynski
THEME: Silent Letters
The circled letters running diagonally across the grid spell the word SILENT. That letter is actually SILENT in the across-answer. And, the word SILENT is needed to complete a couple of answers:

17A. Pair of big jets? : AISLES (has a silent S)
23A. Baby transport : CARRIAGE (has a silent I)
34A. Source of soft wool : LLAMA (has a silent L)
41A. Photo finish : MATTE (has a silent E)
48A. Singer's volume? : HYMN BOOK (has a silent N)
56A. Elbow : JOSTLE (has a silent T)

21A. With the shaded letters, investors not involved in the management of their businesses : (SILENT) PARTNERS
49A. With the shaded letters, large but not often vocal voting bloc : (SILENT) MAJORITY
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:15m 59s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Powder used to combat moisture : TALCUM
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.

15. Nutritional std. : RDA
Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)

16. Party that might start after midnight : RAVE
As you might imagine, I've never been to a rave, and don't have one upcoming in my diary. And as raves often start at 2 a.m. then I'm unlikely ever to experience one. A rave is generally an all-night party featuring loud, electronically-synthesized music usually played by a DJ as opposed to a live band.

17. Pair of big jets? : AISLES
There are a pair of aisles in wide-body jets.

18. "Evolve" artist DiFranco : ANI
Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a "feminist icon", and in 2006 won the "Woman of Courage Award" from National Organization of Women.

19. Piece designed to sway : OP-ED
Op-Ed is an abbreviation for "opposite the editorial page". Op-Eds started in "The New York Evening World" in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

20. Monster of fantasy : ORC
Orcs are mythical humanoid creatures that appear in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. Since Tolkien's use of orcs, they have also been featured in other fantasy fiction and in fantasy games.

29. Crude measurements? : BARRELS
The volume of one oil barrel is equivalent to 42 US gallons. A barrel is correctly abbreviated to "bbl". Barrels aren't really used for transporting crude oil anymore. Instead, oil moves in bulk through pipelines and in tankers. "Barrel" is just a quantity these days.

33. Claude who played Sheriff Lobo : AKINS
Claude Akins was an actor from Nelson, Georgia. Although Akins acted in many Hollywood films, he is best remembered for playing Sheriff Lobo in the seventies TV show "B. J. and the Bear".

34. Source of soft wool : LLAMA
The wool from a llama is much softer than that from a sheep, and it is also free from lanolin.

39. 1920s silver screen star Naldi : NITA
Nita Naldi was a silent film actress from New York City who usually played a "femme fatale" type of role.

41. Photo finish : MATTE
"Matte", meaning flat and lusterless, comes from the Old French word "mat" meaning beaten down and withered. In turn, the French "mat" comes from the Latin "maddus", meaning "maudlin with drink". Sometimes I wonder about these derivations …

42. Woe for newborns (and thus new parents as well) : COLIC
Baby colic is a condition in which a baby cries for no apparent reason for extended periods. At least one study has shown that breastfed babies are about half as likely to suffer from colic.

43. Trattoria dessert : TORTONI
Biscuit Tortoni is an ice cream dessert made with eggs and heavy cream and usually enhanced with a couple of teaspoons of rum. "Tortoni" was apparently an 18th century owner of an Italian café in Paris.

45. Strong and proud : LEONINE
Something described as "leonine" has the characteristics of a lion, is strong and regal. "Leo" is Latin for "lion".

47. Dickens pen name : BOZ
The English author Charles Dickens used the pen-name "Boz" early in his career. He had already established himself as the most famous novelist of the Victorian Era when he came to visit America in 1842. He was honored by 3,000 of New York's elite at a "Boz Ball" in the Park Theater.

48. Singer's volume? : HYMN BOOK
A "hymn" is a song of praise or thanksgiving to a deity. The term comes into English via Old French and is ultimately derived from the Greek "hymnos", the word for an ode or song in praise of the gods. The Greek term is possibly a variant of "hymenaios" meaning "wedding song", derived from Hymen, the Greek god of marriage.

54. Nobel Prize subj. : ECON
The Peace Prize is the most famous of the five prizes bequeathed by Alfred Nobel. The others are for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. There is also a Nobel Prize in Economics that is awarded along with the original five, but it is funded separately and is awarded "in memory of Alfred Nobel". Four of the prizes are awarded by Swedish organizations (Alfred Nobel was a Swede) and so the award ceremonies take place in Stockholm. The Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and that award is presented in Oslo.

61. Computer file suffix : EXE
In the Windows Operating System, a file with the extension .exe is an "executable" file.

62. Wilde of TV's "House" : OLIVIA
The actress Olivia Wilde's break came with role of "Thirteen" on the medical drama "House". Olivia's birth name is Cockburn, and she chose her stage name in honor of Irish author Oscar Wilde.

64. Paige, to Jason, in "FoxTrot" : SIS
"FoxTrot" is a comic strip by Bill Amend that was first published in 1988. Originally appearing seven days a week, "Foxtrot" has been a Sunday-only offering since 2007. The strip's main characters are the five members of the Fox family, and Quincy, the pet iguana belonging to the youngest Fox child.

65. Unsay : RECANT
Our term "to recant", meaning "to retract, take back" comes directly from the Latin "recantare", which has the same meaning. In turn, "recantare" derives from "re-" (back) and "cantare" (to chant).

Down
1. Mexican relative : TIA
In Spanish, a "tia" (aunt) is a member of "la familia" (the family).

3. A D.J. might spin them : LPS
The world's first radio disk jockey (DJ) was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his debut broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, Newby started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.

6. Agave drink : MESCAL
Tequila is a city in Mexico that is located about 40 miles northwest of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. The city is the birthplace of the drink called "tequila". Local people made a variety of a drink called mescal by fermenting the heart of the blue agave plant that is native to the area surrounding Tequila. It was the Spanish who introduced the distillation process to the mescal, giving us what we now know as "tequila".

8. "Downton Abbey" maid : EDNA
Edna Braithwaite was a general maid at Downton Abbey who leaves and returns in the storyline as a lady's maid.

Fans of the wonderful TV drama "Downton Abbey" will be very familiar with the exterior appearance of Highclere Castle in Hampshire. Highclere is used as the location for exterior and many interior shots of the fictitious Grantham residence called Downton Abbey. The exterior of Highclere is very reminiscent of the Houses of Parliament building in London. That similarity exists because the house was largely rebuilt from 1839 to 1842 by architect Sir Charles Barry soon after he finished work on the refurbished Houses of Parliament.

10. Swedish money : KRONOR
"Krona" translates in English as "crown", and is the currency of Sweden (plural "kronor"). As a member of the European Union, Sweden is required to adopt the euro as its official currency. Such a move isn't really popular in Sweden and so the Swedish government has been using a legal loophole to allow the country to retain the krona.

22. When tripled, 1970 film about the attack on Pearl Harbor : TORA
The predetermined code word to be used by the Japanese if they managed to achieve surprise in their attack on Pearl Harbor was "tiger", or "tora" in Japanese. This gave the name to the excellent 1970 movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!".

24. Modern Japanese martial art : AIKIDO
Aikido is a Japanese martial art that only dates back to the 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by Morihei Ueshiba, who is often referred to as "the Founder" or "Great Teacher".

25. "Stand by Me" director, 1986 : REINER
The great director and actor Rob Reiner first came to prominence playing "Meathead", Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law in "All in the Family" (for which he won Emmy Awards in 1974 and 1978). Since then, Reiner has directed a long string of hit movies including, "The Princess Bride", "Stand by Me", "This Is Spinal Tap", "When Harry Met Sally", "Misery" and "A Few Good Men".

"Stand by Me" is 1986 film directed by Rob Reiner that is based on a Stephen King novella called "The Body". The title of the movie comes from the wonderful Ben E. King song of the same name.

26. Trattoria desserts : GELATI
Gelato (plural "gelati") is the Italian version of American ice cream, differing in that it has a lower butterfat content than its US counterpart.

30. Estevez of the Brat Pack : EMILIO
Emilio Estevez is one of the members of Hollywood's famous "Brat Pack", having appeared in "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmo's Fire". Estevez's father (and can't you tell it from looking at him?) is actor Martin Sheen. Estevez decided to keep his father's real name, and not the stage name of "Sheen". Charlie Sheen is Emilio's brother, and Charlie's real name is Carlos Estevez.

31. Many a Dream Act beneficiary : LATINO
The DREAM Act is proposed legislation that has been floating Washington around since 2001. The bill provides permanent residency to some immigrants who are deemed to be of good character and who have fulfilled certain conditions mainly related to education or to public service. The acronym DREAM stands for "Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors".

32. Sissy of Netflix's "Bloodline" : SPACEK
The actress Sissy Spacek probably got her big break in movies when she played the title role in the 1976 horror movie "Carrie", which is based on the Stephen King novel. Her most acclaimed role is the lead in the 1980 biopic about Loretta Lynn called "Coal Miner's Daughter", for which she won an Oscar. Spacek's first cousin is the actor Rip Torn.

"Bloodline" is a Netflix original TV drama show. I haven't seen this one, but I hear good things.

35. Wasted : LIT
To be "wasted" or "lit" is to be drunk.

38. Publications for and by aficionados : FANZINES
Fanboys (and fangirls) are fans, but fans of a very specific subject in a particular field. So, someone might be a fan of home computing, but an Intel fanboy would have an enthusiasm for CPUs made by Intel. A fanzine (also "zine") is a fan publication with a very limited circulation, dealing with a very specific subject matter. Fanzines are usually desktop published and distributed electronically or as photocopies.

An "aficionado" is an enthusiast, a word that came to us from Spanish. "Aficionado" was originally used in English to describe a devotee of bullfighting.

39. 7 or below on the pH scale : NONBASIC
As we all recall from chemistry class, a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Anything less than 7 is an acid, and anything above 7 is a base.

42. Wii, for one : CONSOLE
The Wii is the biggest-selling game console in the world.

44. Broadsided, informally : T-BONED
A broadside collision between two cars is also known as a right-angle or t-bone collision. The side of one vehicle is impacted by the front of another, often leaving the vehicles locked in a T-formation.

50. Berry advertised as healthful : ACAI
Açaí is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.

57. F.D.R. program, for short : TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has to be one of America's great success stories when it comes to economic development. Created in 1933, the TVA spearheaded economic development in the Tennessee Valley at the height of the Great Depression. Central to the success was the federally-funded construction of flood-control and electricity-generation facilities.

58. Broadway's ___-Manuel Miranda : LIN
Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creator and star of the hit Broadway musicals "Hamilton" and "In the Heights".

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Powder used to combat moisture : TALCUM
7. Cool, in hip-hop slang : DEF
10. Opening part : KNOB
14. Obtrude : IMPOSE
15. Nutritional std. : RDA
16. Party that might start after midnight : RAVE
17. Pair of big jets? : AISLES
18. "Evolve" artist DiFranco : ANI
19. Piece designed to sway : OP-ED
20. Monster of fantasy : ORC
21. With the shaded letters, investors not involved in the management of their businesses : (SILENT) PARTNERS
23. Baby transport : CARRIAGE
27. Fake blood, e.g. : GOO
28. Go unused : LIE IDLE
29. Crude measurements? : BARRELS
33. Claude who played Sheriff Lobo : AKINS
34. Source of soft wool : LLAMA
36. Navigational aid : MAP
37. Building extension : WING
38. Renaissance ___ : FAIRE
39. 1920s silver screen star Naldi : NITA
40. Juicy ending? : -ADE
41. Photo finish : MATTE
42. Woe for newborns (and thus new parents as well) : COLIC
43. Trattoria dessert : TORTONI
45. Strong and proud : LEONINE
47. Dickens pen name : BOZ
48. Singer's volume? : HYMN BOOK
49. With the shaded letters, large but not often vocal voting bloc : (SILENT) MAJORITY
53. ___ courtesy : AS A
54. Nobel Prize subj. : ECON
55. Preschool break : NAP
56. Elbow : JOSTLE
60. Summer camp locale : LAKE
61. Computer file suffix : EXE
62. Wilde of TV's "House" : OLIVIA
63. Didn't make it : DIED
64. Paige, to Jason, in "FoxTrot" : SIS
65. Unsay : RECANT

Down
1. Mexican relative : TIA
2. Terse, introspective question : AM I?
3. A D.J. might spin them : LPS
4. Salon job : COLORING
5. Email addresses, sometimes : USER IDS
6. Agave drink : MESCAL
7. Hang : DRAPE
8. "Downton Abbey" maid : EDNA
9. A legitimate object to attack : FAIR GAME
10. Swedish money : KRONOR
11. Mane area : NAPE
12. In the strike zone : OVER
13. Hotel reservation specification : BEDS
22. When tripled, 1970 film about the attack on Pearl Harbor : TORA
23. Try to scratch : CLAW AT
24. Modern Japanese martial art : AIKIDO
25. "Stand by Me" director, 1986 : REINER
26. Trattoria desserts : GELATI
29. Just : BARELY
30. Estevez of the Brat Pack : EMILIO
31. Many a Dream Act beneficiary : LATINO
32. Sissy of Netflix's "Bloodline" : SPACEK
35. Wasted : LIT
38. Publications for and by aficionados : FANZINES
39. 7 or below on the pH scale : NONBASIC
41. Shrubby wasteland : MOOR
42. Wii, for one : CONSOLE
44. Broadsided, informally : T-BONED
46. Key with four sharps : E MAJOR
48. Creates a buzz for : HYPES
49. Blend : MELD
50. Berry advertised as healthful : ACAI
51. Ridiculously inadequate sort : JOKE
52. Curbside call : TAXI!
57. F.D.R. program, for short : TVA
58. Broadway's ___-Manuel Miranda : LIN
59. Do lunch, say : EAT

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-85886155628226371772016-06-07T21:04:00.004-07:002016-06-07T21:08:21.892-07:000608-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 Jun 16, Wednesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Sean Dobbin
THEME: Sounds Like an Actor
Today's themed answers sound like a common phrase, but actually start with the family name of an famous actor:

17A. Military vehicle for actor William? : HOLDEN TANK (sounds like "holding tank")
24A. Makeup for actor Kevin? : BACON POWDER (sounds like "baking powder")
36A. Footwear for actor Ted? : DANSON SHOES (sounds like "dancing shoes")
47A. Cudgel for actor Christopher? : WALKEN STICK (sounds like "walking stick")
57A. Equipment for actor Michael? : LANDON GEAR (sounds like "landing gear")
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:8m 29s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
10. Former Israeli P.M. Barak : EHUD
Ehud Barak served as Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001. Barak left office after he called a special election for Prime Minister and lost the vote to Ariel Sharon. Barak resigned from the Knesset and took an advisory job with the US company Electronic Data Systems (EDS), and did some security-related work with a private equity company. In 2007, Barak took over leadership of Israel's Labor Party.

14. Beef on the hoof : STEER
A steer is a male bovine that was castrated when young and is then raised for beef. The term comes from the Old English "steor" meaning "bullock".

17. Military vehicle for actor William? : HOLDEN TANK (sounds like "holding tank")
The actor William Holden won a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a prisoner of war in the 1953 film "Stalag 17". Holden was a good friend of fellow actor Ronald Reagan, and indeed served as best man at Reagan's marriage to Nancy Davis in 1952. Sadly, Holden struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. Holden killed another driver in drink-driving accident in Italy in the sixties, for which he received an 8-month suspended sentence. And, he himself died from head injuries caused by a fall after a bout of heavy drinking.

20. Gibbons, e.g. : APES
Gibbons are referred to as lesser apes as they differ in size and behavior from the great apes e.g. chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans.

24. Makeup for actor Kevin? : BACON POWDER (sounds like "baking powder")
Kevin Bacon is an actor from Philadelphia who appeared first on the big screen in the 1978 comedy "National Lampoon's Animal House". That wasn't to be the big break that Bacon needed though, which came with "Footloose" in 1984. A fun fact about him is that he is the subject of a popular trivia game called "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" in which players have to show that a particular actor can be related to Kevin Bacon in fewer than six links, with each link being a movie in which two actors appear together.

27. So last year : PASSE
"Passé" is a French word, meaning "past, faded".

29. Burj Khalifa's home: Abbr. : UAE
Burj Khalifa is a spectacular skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world, and has been so since the completion of its exterior in 2009. The space in the building came onto the market at a really bad time, during the global financial crisis. The building was part of a US$20 billion development of downtown Dubai that was backed by the city government which had to go looking for a bailout from the neighboring city of Abu Dhabi. The tower was given the name Burj Khalifa at the last minute, apparently as a nod to the UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan who helped to broker the bailout.

36. Footwear for actor Ted? : DANSON SHOES (sounds like "dancing shoes")
The actor Ted Danson is noted for in particular for three successful roles that he has played on television. He played Sam Malone on the sitcom "Cheers", and the title role on the sitcom "Becker". Danson is currently leading the cast on the drama series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation". Danson has been married to the lovely actress Mary Steenburgen since 1995.

38. Product that can maintain a bikini line : NAIR
Nair is a hair removal product that has some pretty harsh ingredients. The most important active constituents are calcium hydroxide ("slake lime") and sodium hydroxide ("caustic soda"). Other Nair components seem to be there to soothe the skin after the harsher chemicals have done their job. The name "Nair" probably comes from combining "no" and "hair".

41. She, in Lisbon : ELA
Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. Lisbon is the westernmost capital city in Europe, and indeed is the westernmost large city on the continent. It is also the oldest city in Western Europe and was founded hundreds of years before London, Paris and Rome.

43. Chalupa go-with : SALSA
A chalupa is a Mexican dish consisting of a tostada shaped into a "cup" and filled with various ingredients. "Chalupa" translates from Mexican Spanish as "small boat".

47. Cudgel for actor Christopher? : WALKEN STICK (sounds like "walking stick")
Christopher Walken won his Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for his amazing performance in 1978's "The Deer Hunter.

52. Texter's reaction to a joke : LOL
Laugh out loud (LOL, in text-speak)

54. Xbox ___ : ONE
The XBox line of video game consoles is made by Microsoft. The original XBox platform was followed by XBox 360 and most recently by XBox One. Microsoft's XBox competes directly with Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Wii.

57. Equipment for actor Michael? : LANDON GEAR (sounds like "landing gear")
Actor Michael Landon's big break came with his TV role as Little Joe Cartwright in the long-running Western show "Bonanza". He continued his television success with leading roles in "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven". One of Landon's claims to fame is that in 1954 he threw a javelin over 193 feet, the longest javelin throw by a high schooler that year.

60. Krabappel of Springfield : EDNA
In "the Simpsons" television show, Bart Simpson's teacher is one Edna Krabappel. Edna marries Ned Flanders, who is the next-door neighbor to the Simpson family.

61. City ESE of Turin : ASTI
Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a "poor man's champagne". The "Spumante" was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.

62. Proselytizer's handout : TRACT
A tract is a political pamphlet, originally a discussion document. The name "tract" comes from the Latin verb "tractare" meaning "to discuss".

A "proselyte" is a convert from one religious belief to another. We first used the term in English to describe a convert to Judaism.

65. Beefy-T brand : HANES
The Hanes brand of apparel was founded in 1901. A related brand was introduced in 1986 called Hanes Her Way.

Down
2. Perfect place : UTOPIA
The word "Utopia" was coined by Sir Thomas More for his book "Utopia" published in 1516 describing an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More's use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek "ou" meaning "not" and "topos" meaning "place". By calling his perfect island "Not Place", More was apparently making the point that he didn't think that the ideal could actually exist.

3. People people : CELEBS
There used to be a "People" page in each issue of "Time" magazine. This page was spun-off in 1974 as a publication of its own, which we now call "People" magazine. "People" is noted for its annual special editions with features such as "Best & Worst Dressed" and "Sexiest Man Alive". The "Sexiest Man Alive" edition now appears at the end of November each year. The first choice for "Sexiest Man" was Mel Gibson, in 1985.

4. Sneakers that come in over a hundred designs : KEDS
Keds is a brand name of athletic shoe first introduced in 1916 by US Rubber. The shoe was originally marketed as a rubber-soled, canvas-topped sneaker.

6. Dormered area, maybe : ATTIC
A dormer window is a window in a dormer! A dormer is a roofed structure that protrudes from the slope of the main roof.

8. Color similar to Crayola's Tumbleweed : TAN
In the year 2000 the Crayola company, very cleverly I think, held the "Crayola Color Census 2000" in which people were polled and asked for their favorite Crayola colors. President George W. Bush chose "Blue Bell" and Tiger Woods chose "Wild Strawberry".

10. Supply, as a chair : ENDOW
In academia, a professorship can be referred to as a chair.

18. Draft org. : NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America. The NBA name was adopted in 1949. Of the four major sports leagues in North America, the NBA has the highest average annual salary per player.

22. Moriarty, to Holmes : FOE
Professor James Moriarty was the main villain who crossed swords with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's' "Sherlock Holmes". Moriarty is always cropping up in Sherlock Holmes television and radio plays and in movies, but if you go back to the original stories he isn't around very much. He only turns up directly in two of the narratives, and was primarily introduced by Conan Doyle in order to "kill off" Sherlock Holmes in a brawl at the top of the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Both Holmes and Moriarty fell to their deaths. Well … public pressure on the author caused Conan Doyle to resurrect Holmes in "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

24. "Feel the ___" (2016 campaign slogan) : BERN
"Feel the Bern" is perhaps the best-known of several slogans used by the Bernie Sanders campaign for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

Bernie Sanders has served as US Senator from Vermont since 2007. Sanders describes himself as a democratic socialist, and used to appear on the ballot as an independent. Prior to joining the Democratic Party in 2015, Sanders had been the longest-serving independent in the history of the US Congress.

26. Ottoman title : PASHA
A "pasha" was a high-ranking official in the Ottoman Empire, roughly equivalent to the English rank of "lord".

32. Like Mongols : ASIAN
The Mongols are an ethnic group that is found today in modern Mongolia, in China and in Russia.

33. Patio grill accessory : TONGS
A pair of tongs is a tool with a scissor-like hinge used to pick up things, like meat cooking on a barbecue grill or ice from an ice bucket.

34. Two of nine? : ENS
There are two letters N (ens) in the word "nine".

35. Badlands sight : MESA
Badlands may be "bad lands" for agriculture, but they can be beautiful. A badlands is an extensive area from which the topsoil has been eroded by wind and water, leaving exposed rock and very little vegetation. One of the most beautiful badlands areas in the US is preserved for the nation as South Dakota's Badlands National Park.

37. Trans-Siberian Railway city : OMSK
Omsk is a city in southwest Siberia. It is located over 1400 miles from Moscow and was chosen as the destination for many internal exiles in the mid-1900s. Perhaps the most famous of these exiles was the author Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Siberia is a vast area in Northern Asia. The region's industrial development started with the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway from 1891 to 1916, which linked Siberia to Russia in the west.

38. Practitioner of aromatherapy and astrology, maybe : NEW AGER
The New Age Movement is a western philosophy with roots that date back to the early 1800s. The movement focuses on achieving the highest human potential as an individual and embraces many traditionally eastern spiritual practices, but eschews all religious doctrines. New Age music is composed with the intent of supporting this philosophy. It tends to be very minimalistic, very tonal and harmonic. It is often used as a backdrop for relaxation or meditation.

39. How birthday cake may be served : A LA MODE
In French, "à la mode" simply means "fashionable". In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.

42. ___ Metro (bygone car) : GEO
Geos were small vehicles manufactured by General Motors mainly in the nineties. Geos were designed to compete head-to-head with the small imports that were gaining market share at the time in the US. Some Geo models that you might remember are the Metro, the Prizm and the Storm. The cars were actually built as joint-ventures with Japanese manufacturers. The Prizm was a GM/Toyota project, the Metro was GM/Suzuki, and the Storm was GM/Isuzu.

44. Competitor of The North Face : LLBEAN
L.L.Bean (note the lack of spaces in the company name) was founded back in 1912 in Freeport, Maine as a company selling its own line of waterproof boots. The founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, gave his name to the enterprise. Right from the start, L.L.Bean focused on mail-order and sold from a circular he distributed and then from a catalog. Defects in the initial design led to 90% of the first boots sold being returned, and the company made good on its guarantee to replace them or give back the money paid.

48. Big employer in Rochester, N.Y. : KODAK
George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company, named after the Kodak camera that he had invented four years earlier. He came up with the name of Kodak after careful consideration. Firstly he was a big fan of the letter "K", calling it "strong, incisive". He also wanted a word that was short, easy to pronounce and difficult to mispronounce, and a word that was clearly unique with no prior associations. "Kodak" fit the bill.

49. Classic TV sidekick : TONTO
On the television version of "The Lone Ranger", Tonto was played by the actor Jay Silverheels. Famously, the Lone Ranger's horse was called Silver and Tonto's mount was named Scout. But in the early shows, Tonto rode a horse called White Feller.

50. Where Uttar Pradesh is : INDIA
(55D. Uttar Pradesh city : AGRA)
The city of Agra is located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (which translates into English as "Northern Province").

51. Onetime title for Carly Fiorina : CEO
Carly Fiorino served as CEO of HP from 1999 to 2005, making her the first woman to head up a "Fortune" Top-20 company. Fiorino turned to politics after she was let go from HP, running unsuccessfully for the US Senate in 2010 and for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race.

57. "The ___ is a ass": Dickens : LAW
Charles Dickens wrote the following lines in his novel "Oliver Twist" …

"If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble,… "the law is a ass—a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is that his eye may be opened by experience—by experience."

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Young fellow : BUCKO
6. Contrarian : ANTI
10. Former Israeli P.M. Barak : EHUD
14. Beef on the hoof : STEER
15. Go like heck : TEAR
16. Arnold, Ronald or Roland : NAME
17. Military vehicle for actor William? : HOLDEN TANK (sounds like "holding tank")
19. Ballroom motions : DIPS
20. Gibbons, e.g. : APES
21. Part of a comedy routine : BIT
22. Strong suit : FORTE
23. Part of a certain cage : RIB
24. Makeup for actor Kevin? : BACON POWDER (sounds like "baking powder")
27. So last year : PASSE
29. Burj Khalifa's home: Abbr. : UAE
30. Nevertheless : YET
31. Much of the moon's landscape : CRATERS
35. Department store department : MEN'S
36. Footwear for actor Ted? : DANSON SHOES (sounds like "dancing shoes")
38. Product that can maintain a bikini line : NAIR
40. Tailoring measures : INSEAMS
41. She, in Lisbon : ELA
42. [That is so disgusting!] : GAG!
43. Chalupa go-with : SALSA
47. Cudgel for actor Christopher? : WALKEN STICK (sounds like "walking stick")
52. Texter's reaction to a joke : LOL
53. Playground retort : AM TOO!
54. Xbox ___ : ONE
55. Up to it : ABLE
56. Not too shabby : GOOD
57. Equipment for actor Michael? : LANDON GEAR (sounds like "landing gear")
60. Krabappel of Springfield : EDNA
61. City ESE of Turin : ASTI
62. Proselytizer's handout : TRACT
63. Need a bath badly : REEK
64. "Hey, take it easy!" : WHOA!
65. Beefy-T brand : HANES

Down
1. C's equivalent : B-SHARP
2. Perfect place : UTOPIA
3. People people : CELEBS
4. Sneakers that come in over a hundred designs : KEDS
5. Metallurgist's sample : ORE
6. Dormered area, maybe : ATTIC
7. "Fantabulous!" : NEATO!
8. Color similar to Crayola's Tumbleweed : TAN
9. Bug big-time : IRK
10. Supply, as a chair : ENDOW
11. Salon supply : HAIR DYES
12. A zillion : UMPTEEN
13. Jumps ship : DESERTS
18. Draft org. : NBA
22. Moriarty, to Holmes : FOE
24. "Feel the ___" (2016 campaign slogan) : BERN
25. Tend to : NURSE
26. Ottoman title : PASHA
28. Sign of past trauma : SCAR
32. Like Mongols : ASIAN
33. Patio grill accessory : TONGS
34. Two of nine? : ENS
35. Badlands sight : MESA
36. Feature of a landline, but not a cellphone : DIAL TONE
37. Trans-Siberian Railway city : OMSK
38. Practitioner of aromatherapy and astrology, maybe : NEW AGER
39. How birthday cake may be served : A LA MODE
42. ___ Metro (bygone car) : GEO
44. Competitor of The North Face : LLBEAN
45. Comforting words : SOLACE
46. "Fore!" and others : ALERTS
48. Big employer in Rochester, N.Y. : KODAK
49. Classic TV sidekick : TONTO
50. Where Uttar Pradesh is : INDIA
51. Onetime title for Carly Fiorina : CEO
55. Uttar Pradesh city : AGRA
57. "The ___ is a ass": Dickens : LAW
58. Baseball bat material : ASH
59. Ultimate degree : NTH

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-48008356231205124372016-06-06T21:49:00.000-07:002016-06-06T21:55:00.886-07:000607-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 7 Jun 16, Tuesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Peter A. Collins
THEME: Needlepoint
The circled letters in today's grid represents a piece of NEEDLEPOINT. Under the phrase HOME SWEET HOME there's a THREE-STORY HOUSE with a SLATE ROOF. Very inventive!

17A. With 18- and 19-Across, classic song that starts "'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam" : HOME
18A. See 17-Across : SWEET
19A. See 17-Across : HOME

24A. Popular setting for 17-/18-/19-Across : NEEDLEPOINT

47A. With 53- and 56-Across, certain abode : THREE-
53A. See 47-Across : STORY
56A. See 47-Across : HOUSE
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:12m 27s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Shapes of bacilli bacteria : RODS
All bacilli are rod-shaped bacteria, although all rod-shaped bacteria aren't necessarily bacilli. One of the more famous members of the genus Bacillus is Bacillus anthracis, which causes anthrax.

10. North-of-the-border station : ESSO
The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of "Standard" and "Oil" (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

14. State that voted Republican by the highest percentage (73%) in the 2012 presidential election : UTAH
In the 2012 US presidential election, the state that most leaned towards Republican candidate Mitt Romney was Utah, giving him 73% of the vote. The state that most leaned towards Democratic candidate Barack Obama was Hawaii, giving him 71% of the vote. Also, President Obama won 91% of the vote in the District of Columbia.

15. River to the Rhône : ISERE
The Isère river gives its name to the French Department of Isère, located partly in the French Alps. In turn, Isère gave its name to a somewhat famous ship called the Isère, which in 1885 delivered the Statue of Liberty from France to America in 214 shipping crates.

16. Sporty car feature : T-TOP
A T-top is a car roof that has removable panels on either side of a rigid bar that runs down the center of the vehicle above the driver.

17. With 18- and 19-Across, classic song that starts "'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam" : HOME
18. See 17-Across : SWEET
19. See 17-Across : HOME
"Home! Sweet Home!" is a song that has been around at least since 1827. The melody was composed by Englishman Sir Henry Bishop, using lyrics written by American John Howard Payne.

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met elsewhere.
Home! Home!
Sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home
There's no place like home!

22. Hero war pilot : ACE
A flying ace is an aviator who has shot down a number of enemy planes during combat. The qualifying number of kills seems to vary, but five is common. The first use of "ace" was during WWI when the French newspapers dubbed pilot Adolphe Pegoud "l'as" (French for "the ace") when he shot down his fifth German plane.

27. Hagen of stage and screen : UTA
Uta Hagen was a German-born American actress. Hagen married Jose Ferrer in 1938, but they were divorced ten years later after it was revealed that she was having a long-running affair with Paul Robeson. Her association with Robeson, a prominent civil rights activist, earned her a spot on the Hollywood Blacklist during the McCarthy Era. This forced her away from film, but towards a successful stage career in New York City.

30. GPS suggestion: Abbr. : RTE
A Global Positioning System (GPS) might suggest a route (rte.).

34. Swinger's target at a party : PINATA
Piñatas originated in Mexico, probably among the Aztecs or Mayans. Today piñatas are usually made from cardboard that is brightly decorated with papier-mâché. Traditionally a piñata was made out of a clay pot, adorned with feathers and ribbons and filled with small treasures. During religious ceremonies the clay pots would be suspended and broken open so that the contents would spill out onto the ground at the feet of a god as an offering.

36. Yale, affectionately : OLD ELI
Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest university in the US. Originally called the Collegiate School, it was renamed to Yale University in honor of retired merchant from London called Elihu Yale, who made generous contributions to the institution. Yale University's nickname is "Old Eli", in a nod to the benefactor.

38. Façade feature : CEDILLA
A cedilla is the diacritical mark found under the letter C in many French words, as in the words "garçon" and "façade".

40. Small flycatchers : PHOEBES
The phoebe is a small, insect-eating bird that is native to North and South America.

41. Korean performer with a monster 2012 international hit : PSY
PSY is the stage name of South Korean rapper Park Jae-sang. PSY became an international star when his 2102 music video "Gangnam Style" went viral on YouTube. That video had over 1 billion views on YouTube in about six months, making it the most viewed YouTube video clip of all time. I am not one of that one billion ...

42. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE
"Sainte" (ste.) is French for "saint", when referring to a female.

Joan of Arc (also "Jeanne d'Arc", her birth name) led the French Army successfully into battle a number of times during the Hundred Years War with England. When she was eventually captured, Joan was tried in Rouen, the seat of the occupying English government in France at that time. There she was burned at the stake having been found guilty of heresy. Joan of Arc was canonized some 600 years later, in 1920, and is now one of the patron saints of France.

44. 1974-75 pigskin org. : WFL
The World Football League was formed in 1974 with the intent of bringing American football to the rest of the world. It didn't work, and the whole thing closed down in 1975.

"Pigskin" is a slang term for the ball used in American football.

45. Pastoral poem : IDYL
An idyl is a short poem with a pastoral theme, usually depicting the scene in romantic and idealized terms. The word comes from the Greek "eidyllion", which literally translates to "little picture" but was a word describing a short, poem with a rustic theme.

49. Certain military hazards, for short : IEDS
Sadly, having spent much of my life in the border areas between southern and Northern Ireland, I am all too familiar with the devastating effects of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). One has to admire the bravery of soldiers who spend their careers defusing (or attempting to defuse) such devices in order to save the lives and property of others. Of course these days, IEDs are very much in the news in Iraq and Afghanistan.

54. Q*___ (1980s arcade game) : BERT
Q*bert is an arcade game that was introduced in 1982. It's the game where a character with a big nose (Q*bert) jumps up and down on cubes arranged in a big pyramid.

55. Homer Simpson cry : D'OH!
"The Simpsons" is one of the most successful programs produced by the Fox Broadcasting Company. Homer Simpson's catchphrase is "D'oh!", which became such a famous exclamation that it has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) since 2001. "D'oh!" can be translated as "I should have thought of that!"

57. "___ Rosenkavalier" : DER
"Der Rosenkavalier" is a comic opera composed by Richard Strauss, with the title translating as "The Knight of the Rose".

58. Bygone Ugandan despot : IDI AMIN
Idi Amin received most of his military training in the British armed forces, eventually achieving the highest rank possible for a Black African in the British Colonial Army in 1959, that of Warrant Officer. On his return to Uganda Amin joined his country's military and quickly rose to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Army. During that time he was quite the athlete. He was a noted rugby player and swimmer, and for nine years held the Ugandan national light-heavyweight boxing title. By the early seventies, Amin was commander of all the armed forces of Uganda and in 1971 seized power in a military coup, displacing the country's president Milton Obote. There followed seven years of brutal rule by Amin during which it is estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were murdered. Amin was ousted from power in 1979 after a war with Tanzania, and fled to Libya where he stayed for a year. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he was financially supported by the Saudi Royal Family for the remainder of his life. Amin died in 2003.

A "despot" is a ruler with absolute power, often one who wields that power oppressively. "Despot" is an old French term from the 14th century, ultimately derived from the Greek "despotes" meaning "master of a household, absolute ruler".

61. Oxide in rubies and sapphires : ALUMINA
"Alumina" is a common name for the compound aluminium oxide (Al2O3). Alumina occurs naturally as the mineral corundum. Varieties of corundum form rubies and sapphires.

67. Where femurs are located : THIGHS
The thigh bone, the femur, is the longest and the largest bone in the human body.

Down
1. Germany's ___ Valley : RUHR
The Ruhr is a river in Germany that flows into the lower Rhine. The river gives its name to the Ruhr River Valley and the Ruhr district, the largest urban agglomeration in the country.

2. Indian tribe that lent its name to a county in Nebraska : OTOE
The Otoe (also Oto) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestwards ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

3. Classical exemplars of steadfast friendship : DAMON AND PYTHIAS
Damon and Pythias were two loyal friends in Greek mythology. Pythias was sentenced to death, and released to settle his affairs after Damon agreed to take his place and assume the death sentence should his friend not return. After a lot of misadventures, the devoted friendship exhibited between the two convinced the magistrates to commute the sentence.

4. Hite of "The Hite Report" : SHERE
Shere Hite is a German sex educator, although she was born in the US. Hite's work focuses on sexual experience and what meaning it holds for an individual.

5. Modern prefix with gender : CIS-
The term "cisgender" is now used as the opposite of "transgender". Cisgender people have a gender identity that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

6. Comedian Patton ___ : OSWALT
Patton Oswalt is a stand-up comedian who is best known on television for playing Spencer Olchin on "The King of Queens". He also voiced the lead character of Remy in the animated movie from Pixar called "Ratatouille".

8. Having one's business mentioned in a news article, e.g. : FREE PR
Public relations (PR)

10. Patriot Allen : ETHAN
Ethan Allen was one of the founders of the state of Vermont. Allen was also a hero in the American Revolutionary War, famous for leading (along with Benedict Arnold) the small band of men that captured Fort Ticonderoga. And yes, the Ethan Allen store and furniture line is named for Ethan Allen the patriot, even though he had nothing to do with the furniture business.

13. German-based G.M. subsidiary : OPEL
Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we'd say "estate car" in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

21. How George Harrison's guitar "weeps" : GENTLY
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a beautiful 1968 Beatles song that was written by George Harrison. The original recording (for "the White Album") featured Eric Clapton on lead guitar, although he didn't get any formal credit on the album cover.

26. "Looking at it a different way," in texts : OTOH
On the other hand (OTOH)

27. Something a scanner scans, in brief : UPC
UPC stands for Universal Price Code or Universal Product Code. The first UPC-marked item to get scanned in a store was on June 26, 1974 at 08:01 a.m. at Marsh's supermarket in Troy, Ohio. It was a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

32. Stein filler : ALE
A stein is a type of beer glass. The term is German in origin, and is short for "Steinkrug" meaning "stone jug". "Stein" is the German for "stone".

33. Insult, informally : DIS
"Dis" is a slang term meaning "insult" that originated in the eighties. It is a shortened form of "disrespect" or "dismiss".

37. "Clear!" procedure, for short : DEFIB
A defibrillator (defib) might be operated by an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

39. Actor Kutcher and others : ASHTONS
The actor Ashton Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has a fraternal twin named Michael who needed a heart transplant when the brothers were quite young. Ashton played the character Michael Kelso on Fox's "That '70s Show". Kelso was Kutcher's breakthrough acting role. More recently, Kutcher appeared on the sitcom "Two and a Half Men", replacing the "disgraced" Charlie Sheen. In 2009, Kutcher became the first user on Twitter to get over 1 million followers. I wasn't one of them ...

43. Pants, in slang : TROU
"Trou" is short for "trousers".

The term "pants", meaning trousers, is an abbreviated form of "pantaloons" that first appeared in the 1840s. Pantaloons were a kind of tights named for a silly old male character in Italian comedy called "Pantaloun" who always wore tight trousers over skinny legs.

45. Former Indian P.M. Gandhi : INDIRA
Indira Gandhi's father was Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India (and the "Nehru" of the Nehru Jacket). Indira herself became Prime Minister in 1966. She was assassinated in 1984 by two of her own bodyguards, as she was walking to meet Peter Ustinov who was about to interview her for Irish television.

46. Semiconductor devices : DIODES
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.

 59. Hairy primate : APE
60. Not-so-hairy primates : MEN
Primates are mammals, many of whom are omnivorous and make good use of their hands. They also have larger brains relative to their body size, compared to other animals. The order Primates includes apes, lemurs, baboons and humans.

62. Durham sch. : UNH
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is the largest university in the state. It was founded as the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts in 1866.

63. ___ tai (drink) : MAI
The Mai Tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic's restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts Orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Shapes of bacilli bacteria : RODS
5. Snug : COMFY
10. North-of-the-border station : ESSO
14. State that voted Republican by the highest percentage (73%) in the 2012 presidential election : UTAH
15. River to the Rhône : ISERE
16. Sporty car feature : T-TOP
17. With 18- and 19-Across, classic song that starts "'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam" : HOME
18. See 17-Across : SWEET
19. See 17-Across : HOME
20. Company shake-up, for short : REORG
22. Hero war pilot : ACE
23. Suit coat feature : LAPEL
24. Popular setting for 17-/18-/19-Across : NEEDLEPOINT
27. Hagen of stage and screen : UTA
29. Fanatic : NUT
30. GPS suggestion: Abbr. : RTE
31. Was down with : HAD
34. Swinger's target at a party : PINATA
36. Yale, affectionately : OLD ELI
38. Façade feature : CEDILLA
40. Small flycatchers : PHOEBES
41. Korean performer with a monster 2012 international hit : PSY
42. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE
44. 1974-75 pigskin org. : WFL
45. Pastoral poem : IDYL
47. With 53- and 56-Across, certain abode : THREE-
49. Certain military hazards, for short : IEDS
52. Evening, in ads : NITE
53. See 47-Across : STORY
54. Q*___ (1980s arcade game) : BERT
55. Homer Simpson cry : D'OH!
56. See 47-Across : HOUSE
57. "___ Rosenkavalier" : DER
58. Bygone Ugandan despot : IDI AMIN
61. Oxide in rubies and sapphires : ALUMINA
64. Harvesting machines : REAPERS
65. Possession of property : TENANCY
66. What initials on something may signify : ASSENT
67. Where femurs are located : THIGHS

Down
1. Germany's ___ Valley : RUHR
2. Indian tribe that lent its name to a county in Nebraska : OTOE
3. Classical exemplars of steadfast friendship : DAMON AND PYTHIAS
4. Hite of "The Hite Report" : SHERE
5. Modern prefix with gender : CIS-
6. Comedian Patton ___ : OSWALT
7. Little rodents, jocularly : MEECE
8. Having one's business mentioned in a news article, e.g. : FREE PR
9. Up to now : YET
10. Patriot Allen : ETHAN
11. Avert more serious losses : STOP THE BLEEDING
12. Four or five, say : SOME
13. German-based G.M. subsidiary : OPEL
21. How George Harrison's guitar "weeps" : GENTLY
23. Hide out : LIE LOW
25. Like many exhausts : DUAL
26. "Looking at it a different way," in texts : OTOH
27. Something a scanner scans, in brief : UPC
28. 20-20, e.g. : TIE
32. Stein filler : ALE
33. Insult, informally : DIS
35. Dairy ___ : AISLE
37. "Clear!" procedure, for short : DEFIB
39. Actor Kutcher and others : ASHTONS
40. Watches intently : PEERS AT
43. Pants, in slang : TROU
45. Former Indian P.M. Gandhi : INDIRA
46. Semiconductor devices : DIODES
47. Improper attire at a fancy restaurant : T-SHIRT
48. Hole in one's shoe : EYELET
50. Make sopping wet : DRENCH
51. Humane Society pickups : STRAYS
59. Hairy primate : APE
60. Not-so-hairy primates : MEN
62. Durham sch. : UNH
63. ___ tai (drink) : MAI

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-33826636886414505392016-06-05T16:59:00.000-07:002016-06-05T17:02:11.112-07:000606-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 6 Jun 16, Monday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Mary Lou Guizzo
THEME: Redundant
Today's themed are all common two-word phrases in which one word is redundant:

61A. Like 17-, 36- and 43-Across as well as 11- and 29-Down : REDUNDANT
17A. Outcome : (END) RESULT
36A. Midday : TWELVE (NOON)
43A. Return to a former state : REVERT (BACK)
11D. Started : (FIRST) BEGAN
29D. Top dog : (HEAD) HONCHO
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:5m 16s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
4. Florida home to Busch Gardens : TAMPA
The Busch Gardens group of theme parks was originally envisioned as a vehicle for the promotion of Anheuser-Busch products, so free beer samples were made available to patrons (but no longer!). The Tampa location was the first of the parks to be opened, in 1959. The Tampa property has an African theme, whereas Williamsburg, Virginia property has a European theme. There are plans to open a third park in Dubai, although the project has been put on hold due to the current financial climate.

14. Prevaricate : LIE
"To prevaricate" is to stray from the truth. The term comes from a Church Latin word meaning "walk crookedly".

19. Ankle bones : TARSI
The tarsals (also "tarsi") are the ankle bones, equivalent to the carpals in the wrist.

20. From east of the Urals : ASIAN
The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

23. Chicago exchange, briefly : MERC
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange started its life as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board in 1898. The Merc is the site for exchange of commodities, among other things.

27. The first "A" in N.C.A.A.: Abbr. : ATH
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) dates back to the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. When his son broke his nose playing football at Harvard, President Roosevelt turned his attention to the number of serious injuries and even deaths occurring in college sports. He instigated meetings between the major educational institutions leading to the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) in 1906, which was given the remit of regulating college sports. The IAAUS became the NCAA in 1910.

36. Midday : TWELVE (NOON)
Our word "noon", meaning "midday", comes from the Latin "nona hora" that translates as "ninth hour". Back in Ancient Rome, the "ninth hour" was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and "midday" meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so "noon" became understood as 12 noon.

38. Six-time N.B.A. champion Steve : KERR
Steve Kerr is a retired NBA basketball player who moved into team management. Kerr was born in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of an American academic who specialized in Middle East studies. Kerr's father was assassinated by militant nationalists in Beirut when Steve was 19 years old.

41. Texas A&M student : AGGIE
Texas A&M is the seventh largest university in the country, and was the first public higher education institute in the state when it accepted its first students in 1876. The full name of the school was the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and its primary mission used to be the education of males in the techniques of farming and military warfare. That's quite a combination! Because of the agricultural connection, the college's sports teams use the moniker "Aggies".

42. Alan who played Hawkeye : ALDA
Hawkeye Pierce is the lead character in the "M*A*S*H" novel, movie and TV series. Hawkeye was originally portrayed by Donald Sutherland in the film, and then by Alan Alda in the television show. Pierce is the only character appearing in all 250 episodes of the groundbreaking TV series.

46. Roman goddess of wisdom : MINERVA
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom, and the equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena. Minerva is often depicted with an owl, signifying her association with wisdom.

47. "N.Y. State of Mind" rapper : NAS
Rapper Nas used to go by another stage name, Nasty Nas, and before that by his real name, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. Nas released his first album "Illmatic" in 1994, and inventively titled his fifth studio album "Stillmatic", released in 2001. Not my cup of tea, I would say ...

48. John Kasich's state : OHIO
John Kasich is the Governor of Ohio, and a former member for Ohio of the US HOuse of Representatives. Kasich ran unsuccessfully for Republican Party's nominee for US president in 2000 and 2016. Kasich has had his eye on the Oval Office for some times. When he was a freshman at Ohio State, he wrote a letter expressing his concerns about the nation, and was granted a 20-minute meeting with President Nixon at the White House in 1970.

50. Capital of Norway : OSLO
Oslo is the capital of Norway. The city of Oslo burns trash to fuel half of its buildings, including all of its schools. The problem faced by the city is that it doesn't generate enough trash. So, Oslo imports trash from Sweden, England and Ireland, and is now looking to import some American trash too.

52. Stair rail : BANISTER
By some accounts, a "banister" is a handrail of a stairway. By other accounts, the banister is actually the handrail and the supporting structures (called "newels").

60. Money sometimes said to be "filthy" : LUCRE
Our word "lucre" meaning "money, profits" comes from the Latin "lucrum" that means the same thing.

68. Australian "bear" : KOALA
The koala bear really does look like a little bear, but it's not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren't primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope. Male koalas are called "bucks", females are "does", and young koalas are "joeys". I'm a little jealous of the koala, as it sleeps up to 20 hours a day ...

69. Chi-town team : SOX
The Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball team was established in Chicago in 1900 and originally was called the White Stockings. The name was changed because the abbreviation "Sox" for "Stockings" was regularly used in newspaper headlines.

Down
3. User of the Force : 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 …

6. The Spartans of the N.C.A.A. : MSU
Michigan State University (MSU) is located in East Lansing, Michigan. MSU has the largest study-abroad program of any single-campus university in the US. Programs are offered on all continents of the world, including Antarctica.

9. Stephen King or Ellery Queen : AUTHOR
Stephen King is a remarkably successful author having sold over 350 million copies of his books, many of which have been made into hit movies. I've tried reading two or three, but I really don't do horror …

18. Symbol of Aries : RAM
Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! "Aries" is the Latin word for "ram".

24. ___ v. Wade : ROE
Roe v. Wade was decided in a US District Court in Texas in 1970, and reached the Supreme Court on appeal. The basic decision by the Supreme Court was that a woman's constitutional right to privacy applied to an abortion, but that this right had to be balanced with a state's interest in protecting an unborn child and a mother's health. The Court further defined that the state's interest became stronger with each trimester of a pregnancy. So, in the first trimester the woman's right to privacy outweighed any state interest. In the second trimester the state's interest in maternal health was deemed to be strong enough to allow state regulation of abortion for the sake of the mother. In the third trimester the viability of the fetus dictated that the state's interest in the unborn child came into play, so states could regulate or prohibit abortions, except in cases where the mother's life was in danger. I'm no lawyer, but that's my understanding of the initial Supreme Court decision ...

28. Choreographer Tharp : TWYLA
I love Twyla Tharp's choreography, and her patented "moves". Tharp was born in Portland, Indiana in 1941. She was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana. That's one to tell to the grandkids …

29. Top dog : (HEAD) HONCHO
"Honcho" is a slang term for leader or manager. The term comes to us from Japanese, in which language a "hancho" is a squad (han) leader (cho).

31. Dry, white Italian wine : SOAVE
Soave is a dry white wine produced in the area around the city of Verona in northeast Italy.

32. Matador : TORERO
"Toreador" is an old Spanish word for a bullfighter, but it's a term not used any more in Spain nor in Latin America. In English we use the term "toreador", but in Spanish a bullfighter is a "torero". A female bullfighter in a "torera".

34. Writer Jong : ERICA
The author Erica Jong's most famous work is her first: "Fear of Flying", a novel published in 1973. Over twenty years later she wrote "Fear of Fifty: a midlife memoir", published in 1994.

35. Odysseys : TREKS
"The Odyssey" is one of two epic poems from ancient Greece that is attributed to Homer. "The Odyssey" is largely a sequel to Homer's other epic, "The Iliad". "The Odyssey" centers on the heroic figure Odysseus, and his adventures on his journey home to Greece following the fall of Troy. We now use the term "odyssey" to describe any long series of adventures.

37. N.Y.C. airport code : LGA
The accepted three big airports serving New York City are John F. Kennedy (JFK), La Guardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR).

38. C.I.A. : U.S. :: ___ : Soviet Union : KGB
The Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti (KGB) was the national security agency of the Soviet Union until 1991. The KGB was dissolved after the agency's chairman led a failed attempt at a coup d'état designed to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

41. Maiden who raced Hippomenes, in myth : ATALANTA
In Greek mythology, Atalanta was a virgin huntress who had no interest in getting married, despite the urging of her father. Atalanta had several suitors, and eventually agreed to a foot race with them. The terms were that if she won the race, she need not marry. If she lost the race, she would marry the winner. Atalanta managed to outrun the field, except for Hippomenes. Hippomenes emerged victorious due to cunning rather than speed.

44. Mobile accommodations, for short : RVS
Recreational vehicle (RV)

46. Scrooges : MISERS
The classic 1843 novella "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens has left us with a few famous phrases and words. Firstly, it led to popular use of the phrase "Merry Christmas", and secondly it gave us the word "scrooge" meaning a miserly person. And thirdly, everyone knows that Ebenezer Scrooge uttered the words "Bah! Humbug!".

52. Modern journal : BLOG
Many folks who visit this website regard it as just that, a website. That is true, but more correctly it is referred to as a blog, as I make regular posts (actually daily posts) which then occupy the "front page" of the site. The blog entries are in reverse chronological order, and one can just look back day-by-day, reading older and older posts. "Blog" is a contraction of the term "web log".

53. Volvo or Volt : AUTO
Volvo is a Swedish manufacturers of cars, trucks and construction equipment. The Volvo name was chosen as "volvo" is Latin for "I roll".

Despite being late entering the eco-friendly car market, Chevrolet today produces the most fuel-efficient compact car with a gasoline engine that is sold in the US. The Chevrolet Volt went on sale at the end of 2010, a plug-in hybrid car that runs on batteries. The Volt has a gasoline engine that can be used run an electric generator if needed. The Volt also uses a regenerative braking system similar to that on my Honda Civic Hybrid, a car that I really love.

54. ___ the Red : ERIK
According to Icelandic tradition, Erik the Red was the man responsible for founding the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. Erik had a famous son, the explorer Leif Ericson.

55. City at the foot of the Sierra Nevada : RENO
Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous "Reno Arch", a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was "The Biggest Little City in the World".

The American Sierra Nevada range lies in California and Nevada. The Spanish Sierra Nevada range is in Andalusia, with the name meaning "snowy range" in Spanish.

57. Itar-___ news agency : TASS
TASS is the abbreviation used for the former news agency that had the full name Telegraph Association of the Soviet Union (Telegrafnoe Agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza). When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1992, the Moscow-based agency's scope changed along with its name. It is now known as the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR-TASS).

59. River to Hades : STYX
The River Styx in Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or Hades). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead "to pay the ferryman".

62. Traffic-stopping org. : DEA
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

63. It might be bookmarked : URL
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Common lunchbox sandwich, for short : PBJ
4. Florida home to Busch Gardens : TAMPA
9. Equally distant : AS FAR
14. Prevaricate : LIE
15. Wears, as clothing : HAS ON
16. Serviceable : UTILE
17. Outcome : (END) RESULT
19. Ankle bones : TARSI
20. From east of the Urals : ASIAN
21. Indication that someone's home at night, say : LIGHTS ON
23. Chicago exchange, briefly : MERC
26. Found's opposite : LOST
27. The first "A" in N.C.A.A.: Abbr. : ATH
30. Bird on a weather vane : ROOSTER
33. "Wanna ___?" : BET
36. Midday : TWELVE (NOON)
38. Six-time N.B.A. champion Steve : KERR
39. How kids are grouped in school : BY AGE
40. Damage : MAR
41. Texas A&M student : AGGIE
42. Alan who played Hawkeye : ALDA
43. Return to a former state : REVERT (BACK)
45. "Go team!" : RAH!
46. Roman goddess of wisdom : MINERVA
47. "N.Y. State of Mind" rapper : NAS
48. John Kasich's state : OHIO
50. Capital of Norway : OSLO
52. Stair rail : BANISTER
56. Voices above tenors : ALTOS
60. Money sometimes said to be "filthy" : LUCRE
61. Like 17-, 36- and 43-Across as well as 11- and 29-Down : REDUNDANT
64. Not this or that : OTHER
65. Not reacting : INERT
66. Room that needs a serious cleanup : STY
67. Merchandise : GOODS
68. Australian "bear" : KOALA
69. Chi-town team : SOX

Down
1. ___ bargain : PLEA
2. Trash receptacles : BINS
3. User of the Force : JEDI
4. "What gall!" : THE NERVE!
5. Batteries in TV remotes : AAS
6. The Spartans of the N.C.A.A. : MSU
7. Voting place : POLL
8. ___-aging cream : ANTI
9. Stephen King or Ellery Queen : AUTHOR
10. Rebounds and field goal average : STATS
11. Started : (FIRST) BEGAN
12. Too : ALSO
13. Free ___ (total control) : REIN
18. Symbol of Aries : RAM
22. Secluded valley : GLEN
24. ___ v. Wade : ROE
25. Scam artists : CON MEN
27. Being litigated : AT BAR
28. Choreographer Tharp : TWYLA
29. Top dog : (HEAD) HONCHO
31. Dry, white Italian wine : SOAVE
32. Matador : TORERO
34. Writer Jong : ERICA
35. Odysseys : TREKS
37. N.Y.C. airport code : LGA
38. C.I.A. : U.S. :: ___ : Soviet Union : KGB
41. Maiden who raced Hippomenes, in myth : ATALANTA
43. Uproar : RIOT
44. Mobile accommodations, for short : RVS
46. Scrooges : MISERS
49. Put on the payroll : HIRED
51. Long in the tooth : OLD
52. Modern journal : BLOG
53. Volvo or Volt : AUTO
54. ___ the Red : ERIK
55. City at the foot of the Sierra Nevada : RENO
57. Itar-___ news agency : TASS
58. "I'm ___ you!" : ONTO
59. River to Hades : STYX
62. Traffic-stopping org. : DEA
63. It might be bookmarked : URL

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-1985372223495832287.post-83000549241155846312016-06-05T00:00:00.000-07:002016-06-05T00:00:08.057-07:000605-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 5 Jun 16, Sunday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today's crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today's New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today's clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Tom McCoy
THEME: Word Search
Today's themed clues are asking us where we can often find pairs of word in well-known phrases:

23A. Where you can find ... "jacket" or "yourself"? : FOLLOWING SUIT ("suit jacket" & "suit yourself")
31A. ... "go" or "so"? : BEFORE LONG ("go long" & "so long")
37A. ... "anybody" or "cooking"? : CLOSE TO HOME ("anybody home?" & "home cooking")
65A. ... "got" or "tell"? : BETWEEN YOU AND ME ("you got me" & "you tell me")
93A. ... "two" or "face"? : AHEAD OF TIME ("two-time" & "face time"")
95A. ... "building" or "hours"? : POST OFFICE ("office building" & "office hours")
113A. ... "that's" or "special"? : NEXT TO NOTHING ("that's nothing" & "nothing special")
BILL BUTLER'S COMPLETION TIME:19m 50s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today's Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
20. Ones with good poker faces? : RHINOS
There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, and the smaller Javan Rhino is the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

21. Charm City ballplayer : ORIOLE
Baltimore, Maryland adopted the nickname "Charm City" back in 1975. The name was chosen by a group of advertisers whose goal was to improve the city's image.

27. Chinese philosophy : TAOISM
The Chinese character "tao" translates as "path", but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

28. Student's saver : BELL
Saved by the bell.

44. Dog holder : BUN
A hot dog is a sausage served in a split roll. The term "hot dog" dates back to the 19th-century and is thought to reflect a commonly-held opinion that the sausages contained dog meat.

45. A.F.L.-___ : CIO
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was founded in 1886, making it one of the first federations of unions in the country. Over time the AFL became dominated by craft unions, unions representing skilled workers of particular disciplines. In the early thirties, John L. Lewis led a movement within the AFL to organize workers by industry, believing this would be more effective for the members. But the craft unions refused to budge, so Lewis set up a rival federation of unions in 1932, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The two federations became bitter rivals for over two decades until finally merging in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO.

49. Muhammad's birthplace : MECCA
Mecca is in the Makkah province of Saudi Arabia. It was the birthplace of Muhammad and is the holiest city in Islam. Every year several million Muslims perform the Hajj, a holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

52. Like Fermat's last theorem, eventually : PROVEN
Pierre de Fermat was a lawyer and mathematician from France. He is famous for what is now called "Fermat's Last Theorem", which states that no three positive integers can satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any value of n greater than 2. Fermat suggested this was true in a note in the margin of an ancient Greek text called "Arithmetica". The note claimed that he had a proof, but it was too large to fit in the margin, and he did not leave the proof anywhere else. It took 358 years for someone to come up with a proof, in 1995.

55. Oteri of "S.N.L." : CHERI
Cheri Oteri was the SNL cast member who regularly appeared with Will Ferrell in the skit featuring a pair of Spartan cheerleaders.

56. Material in mitochondria : DNA
Mitochondria are structures found in most living cells. Sometimes called cellular power plants, mitochondria generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body's source of chemical energy.

60. Issuer of IDs: Abbr. : SSA
Social Security Administration (SSA)

69. Result of hitting the bar? : SPACE
In early typewriters, the "space bar" was indeed a bar. It was a metal bar that stretched across the full width of the keyboard.

71. "The price we pay for love," per Queen Elizabeth II : GRIEF
Queen Elizabeth II sent a message to the congregation at a service of remembrance for the 250 British citizens lost in the September 11th terrorist attacks. The service was held one week after the attacks, and the message was read by British Ambassador. Included were these words:
These are dark and harrowing times for families and friends of those who are missing or who suffered in the attack, many of you here today.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all now, and in the difficult days ahead.

But nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love.

72. Goddess who gained immortality for her lover but forgot to ask for eternal youth (whoops!) : EOS
In Greek mythology, Eos is the goddess of the dawn who lived at the edge of the ocean. Eos would wake each morning to welcome her brother Helios the sun. Eos was cursed with a sexual desire that could not be sated, so she abducted several young men. One of these was the Trojan prince Tithonus. Eos asked Zeus to make Tithonus immortal, and the request was granted. However, she forgot to ask for eternal youth, and so he lived forever as a helpless old man.

73. Flirtatious wife in "Of Mice and Men" : MAE
"Of Mice and Men" is a novella written by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1937. The title comes from the famous poem by Robert Burns, "To a Mouse". The inspirational line from the poem is "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft tagley." Steinbeck actually wrote "Of Mice and Men" as a "novel-play", intending that the line from the novel used as a script for a play. I actually saw the theatrical version on stage for the first time quite recently, and really enjoyed it.

82. Like the installments of "A Tale of Two Cities" : WEEKLY
"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens is the most printed book that was originally written in English. The novel was first published in 1859 in 31 weekly installments in a literary periodical called "All the Year Round", which Dickens himself produced. The "two cities" in the title are London and Paris.

85. Abu ___ : DHABI
Abu Dhabi is one of the seven Emirates that make up the federation known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two largest members of the UAE (geographically) are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the only two of the seven members that have veto power over UAE policy. Before 1971, the UAE was a British Protectorate, a collection of sheikdoms. The sheikdoms entered into a maritime truce with Britain in 1835, after which they became known as the Trucial States, derived from the word "truce".

90. ___ Finnigan, friend of Harry Potter : SEAMUS
Seamus Finnigan is a character in the "Harry Potter" series of stories by J.K. Rowling. He is a young Irishman in the same year as Harry, and is in the Gryffindor House, along with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

92. Kind of verb: Abbr. : IRR
Irregular (irr.)

102. Indian spice mix : MASALA
Masala is the Hindi word for "mixture", and describes a mixture of spices. A dish named "masala" uses the spices incorporated into a sauce that includes garlic, ginger, onions and chili paste. Who doesn't love Indian food?

119. Back entrance : POSTERN
A "postern" is a back door or gate, or a private entrance used as an alternative to the main gate.

120. Jellyfish relatives named for a mythological monster : HYDRAS
Hydra are small multicellular animals found in freshwater. Hydra have tubular bodies with a mouth at one end surrounded by several tentacles that are used to catch prey.

The Lernaean Hydra was a mythical sea snake that had multiple heads. Heracles had to slay the Hydra of Lerna as the second of his Twelve Labors.

Down
3. River that flows south to north : NILE
Depending on definition, the Nile is generally regarded as the longest river on the planet. The Nile forms from two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which join together near Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. From Khartoum the Nile flows north, traveling almost entirely through desert making it central to life for the peoples living along its length.

7. "___ Nox" (Mozart title meaning "good night") : BONA
"Bona nox" is a canon for four voices composed by Mozart around 1788. It's an obscene little piece quite frankly, and so I won't be providing the lyrics here …

8. Greek vessel : ARGO
In Greek mythology, Jason and the Argonauts sailed on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. The vessel was called the "Argo" in honor of the ship's builder, a man named Argus.

14. "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" singer, 2010 : USHER
Usher is the stage name of R&B singer Usher Terry Raymond IV.

16. Offensive poster : TROLL
In Internet terms, a "troll" is someone who attempts to disrupt online group activities. The fishing term "troll" is used to describe such a person, as he or she throws out off-topic remarks in an attempt to "lure" others into some emotional response.

18. Part of the classic Chinese work "Shih Ching" : ODE
The "Classic of Poetry" ("Shijing" in Chinese) is the oldest extant collection of Chinese poetry. Comprising 305 odes that date from the 11th to 7th centuries BCE, tradition holds that the collection was compiled by Confucius.

30. "___ Lat" (traditional Polish song) : STO
The traditional Polish song "Slo lat" (meaning "One Hundred Years") is commonly sung to wish someone a happy birthday. A rough English translation of the lyrics is:

100 years, 100 years,
May he/she live, live for us.
100 years, 100 years,
May he/she live, live for us.
Once again, once again,
May he/she live, live for us,
May he/she live for us!

34. Paranormal : OCCULT
The adjective "occult" means "secret, beyond the realm of human comprehension". The term derives from the Latin "occultus" meaning "hidden, concealed".

37. Persian Empire founder : CYRUS
Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Persian Empire and ruled from 559 BCE to 530 BCE. Some say that Cyrus's legacy is that he established the concept of an empire that was ruled centrally, but which operated for the welfare and benefit of its subjects.

39. ___-Loompa (Willy Wonka employee) : OOMPA
The Oompa-Loompas are characters in the Roald Dahl book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and indeed in the sequel story "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator". Willy Wonka came across the Oompa-Loompas on an isolated island in the Atlantic and invited them to work in his factory in order to escape those hunting them on the island. Right before Dahl's book was first published, he was intending to call the Oompa-Loompas the "Whipple-Scrumpets".

40. Fictional braggart : HARE
"The Tortoise and the Hare" is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The cocky hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.

41. The "O" of B.O. : ODOR
Body odor (BO)

43. "We'll teach you to drink deep ___ you depart": Hamlet : ERE
"We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart." is a line from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", spoken by Hamlet to his friend Horatio. Although we don't know from where Horatio actually hails, he is not a regular at the Danish court. Here, Hamlet is telling his friend that by the time he heads home, Hamlet and his courtiers will have taught him how to hold his booze …

49. Certain racy magazines : MAXIMS
"Maxim" is an international men's magazine featuring revealing photo spreads (non-nude in the US) of female celebrities and models.

57. Empire State sch. : NYU
The main campus of the private New York University (NYU) is located right in Manhattan, in Washington Square in the heart of Greenwich Village. NYU has over 12,000 resident students, the largest number of residents in a private school in the whole country. NYU's sports teams are known as the Violets, a reference to the violet and white colors that are worn in competition. Since the 1980s, the school's mascot has been a bobcat. "Bobcat" had been the familiar name given to NYU's Bobst Library computerized catalog.

New York earned the nickname "Empire State" when it became an economic powerhouse in the 19th century. That prosperity largely came with the completion of the Erie Canal, which allowed shipping navigate from New York Harbor right through to the Great Lakes.

58. Org. with an emergency number : AAA
The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

61. Razz, as a speaker : HECKLE
The original use of the verb "to heckle" was to mean questioning severely, and for many years was associated with the public questioning of parliamentary candidates in Scotland. In more recent times, the meaning has evolved into questioning that is less polite and that is directed at standup comics.

65. Hesitates : BALKS
To balk is to stop and refuse to go on. It's not just a baseball term!

66. Default avatar for a new Twitter user : EGG
The Sanskrit word "avatar" describes the concept of a deity descending into earthly life and taking on a persona. It's easy to see how in the world of "online presences" one might use the word avatar to describe one's online identity.

67. Reconstruction, for one : ERA
The Reconstruction Era followed the American Civil War, which ended in 1865. Reconstruction ended in 1877 when President Rutherford B. Hayes removed the last federal troops from the capitals of the Reconstruction states soon after taking office.

70. Songs of praise : PAEANS
A paean is a poem or song that expresses triumph or thanksgiving. "Paean" comes from the ancient Greek "paian" meaning "song of triumph".

73. City whose name looks like it could mean "my friend" : MIAMI
I guess "mi-ami" might look like a pseudo-French "my friend".

The city of Miami in Florida takes its name from the nearby Miami River, which is itself named for the Mayaimi Native American people who lived around nearby Lake Okeechobee.

75. A Beethoven piece was für her : ELISE
"Fur Elise" is a beautiful piece of music written by Beethoven, and is also known as "Bagatelle in A Minor". "Fur Elise" means simply "For Elise", but sadly no one knows for sure the identity of the mysterious dedicatee.

84. Botanist Gray : ASA
Asa Gray was an important American botanist in the nineteenth century. He was a lifelong friend of Charles Darwin, albeit mainly through correspondence. Darwin's book "Forms of Flowers", was dedicated to Gray.

85. "A man can be destroyed but not ___": Hemingway : DEFEATED
Here are some lines from Ernest Hemingway's novella "Old Man and the Sea"...
"But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." I am sorry that I killed the fish though, he thought. Now the bad time is coming and I do not even have the harpoon.

If you've read Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man And The Sea" (maybe first at school, like me!) you'll likely remember it as a quick read as it is a novella, although it might be better described as a "long short story". It was first published in 1952, the last major work that Hemingway had published in his lifetime. That first publication was as a story in "Life Magazine", and it was such a hit that the magazine sold 5 million copies in the first two days. "The Old Man and the Sea" won a Pulitzer in 1952 and two years later the title was cited when Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

87. Age for a quinceañera : FIFTEEN
Quinceañera is a celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday, an event common in many parts of Latin America.

89. "The Silmarillion" creature : ORC
"The Silmarillion" is a book that J.R.R. Tolkien worked on for most of his life. Indeed, he started on the stories that evolved into "The Silmarillion" over twenty years before "The Hobbit" was published. Tolkien submitted "The Silmarillion" as a sequel to "The Hobbit", but it was rejected. And so instead, he wrote "The Lord of the Rings". He returned to the original work later in his life, but never finished it to his satisfaction. After Tolkien passed away, his son completed "The Silmarillion" and eventually had it published.

90. Red ___ : SOX
The Boston Red Sox is one of the most successful Major League Baseball teams and so commands a large attendance, but only when on the road. The relatively small capacity of Boston's Fenway Park, the team's home since 1912, has dictated that every game the Red Sox has played there has been a sell out since May of 2003.

94. Newspaper V.I.P. Baquet : DEAN
The journalist Dean Baquet is the Executive Editor of "The New York Times", and the first African-American to hold the highest position at the newspaper.

99. Disposable board : EMERY
Emery is a very hard type of rock that is crushed for use as an abrasive. Emery paper is made by gluing small particles of emery to paper. Emery boards are just emery paper with a cardboard backing. And emery boards are primarily used for filing nails.

108. Red giant in Cetus : MIRA
Mira is a red giant star in the constellation Cetus. Red giants are very large stars with a relatively low mass. The atmosphere of a red giant is also very inflated and extends a long way into space so the surface of that atmosphere that we see is relatively cool, which gives it a red color. Stars are classified by their spectral characteristics, basically the color of the light they emit. As such, red giants are classified as M stars. Cool red giants are of a color beyond the usual range, and are classified as S stars.

Cetus is a constellation named after a sea monster from Greek mythology. Today, Cetus is often called "the Whale".

111. "The Name of the Rose" novelist : ECO
Umberto Eco is an Italian writer who is probably best known for his novel "The Name of the Rose", published in 1980. In 1986, "The Name of the Rose" was adapted into a movie with the same title starring Sean Connery.

112. "___ Meninas" (Velázquez painting) : LAS
"Las Meninas" is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the name of which translates to "The Maids of Honor". "Las Meninas" is the most famous painting owned by the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

Diego Velázquez was a Spanish painter during the Baroque period. He was a member of the court of King Philip IV in the first half of the 17th century, and as such was commissioned to paint many portraits and scenes of historical importance.

114. ___-Wan Kenobi : OBI
Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the more beloved of the "Star Wars" characters. Kenobi was portrayed by two fabulous actors in the series of films. As a young man he is played by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, and as an older man he is played by Alec Guinness.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. "Shucks!" : AW NUTS!
7. They might be covered on your first day of employment : BASICS
13. Only a second ago : JUST NOW
20. Ones with good poker faces? : RHINOS
21. Charm City ballplayer : ORIOLE
22. With a leg on either side of : ASTRIDE
23. Where you can find ... "jacket" or "yourself"? : FOLLOWING SUIT ("suit jacket" & "suit yourself")
25. "Yay!" : WHOOPEE!
26. Lentil or coconut : SEED
27. Chinese philosophy : TAOISM
28. Student's saver : BELL
29. Plus : ALSO
31. ... "go" or "so"? : BEFORE LONG ("go long" & "so long")
37. ... "anybody" or "cooking"? : CLOSE TO HOME ("anybody home?" & "home cooking")
44. Dog holder : BUN
45. A.F.L.-___ : CIO
46. "Over here!" : YOO-HOO!
47. "Aww"-inspiring : ADORABLE
49. Muhammad's birthplace : MECCA
51. Lover boy : ROMEO
52. Like Fermat's last theorem, eventually : PROVEN
53. Much appreciated : VALUED
54. They decide what's fair : UMPS
55. Oteri of "S.N.L." : CHERI
56. Material in mitochondria : DNA
59. Acclaims : EXALTS
60. Issuer of IDs: Abbr. : SSA
61. Shade : HUE
62. Its material is not hard : EASY A
64. ___-gritty : NITTY
65. ... "got" or "tell"? : BETWEEN YOU AND ME ("you got me" & "you tell me")
69. Result of hitting the bar? : SPACE
71. "The price we pay for love," per Queen Elizabeth II : GRIEF
72. Goddess who gained immortality for her lover but forgot to ask for eternal youth (whoops!) : EOS
73. Flirtatious wife in "Of Mice and Men" : MAE
76. They stand up in their bed : STALKS
77. Kind of gift : GAG
78. Sports team bigwig : OWNER
81. Cash register : TILL
82. Like the installments of "A Tale of Two Cities" : WEEKLY
83. "Ver-r-ry funny!" : HAR HAR!
85. Abu ___ : DHABI
86. Obliterate : ERASE
87. Suspenseful sound : FOOTSTEP
90. ___ Finnigan, friend of Harry Potter : SEAMUS
91. Contraction missing a V : E'EN
92. Kind of verb: Abbr. : IRR
93. ... "two" or "face"? : AHEAD OF TIME ("two-time" & "face time"")
95. ... "building" or "hours"? : POST OFFICE ("office building" & "office hours")
100. Flames that have gone out? : EXES
101. Assist in crime : ABET
102. Indian spice mix : MASALA
107. Things you may dispense with? : ATMS
110. Take over for : RELIEVE
113. ... "that's" or "special"? : NEXT TO NOTHING ("that's nothing" & "nothing special")
116. "That much is clear" : I CAN SEE
117. Pays for the meal : TREATS
118. Stay cheerful despite adversity : BEAR UP
119. Back entrance : POSTERN
120. Jellyfish relatives named for a mythological monster : HYDRAS
121. Private property? : ID TAGS

Down
1. Woof : ARF
2. "___ your daddy?" : WHO'S
3. River that flows south to north : NILE
4. Sets free into the world : UNLEASHES
5. "Ta-ta!" : TOODLE-OO!
6. Directional abbr. : SSW
7. "___ Nox" (Mozart title meaning "good night") : BONA
8. Greek vessel : ARGO
9. Enthusiastic Spanish assent : SI SI!
10. Debt docs : IOUS
11. Scale : CLIMB
12. Collection : SET
13. Chin former : JAWBONE
14. "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" singer, 2010 : USHER
15. Women's retro accessory : STOLE
16. Offensive poster : TROLL
17. Small bite : NIP
18. Part of the classic Chinese work "Shih Ching" : ODE
19. Puny : WEE
24. "Was ___ hard on them?" : I TOO
30. "___ Lat" (traditional Polish song) : STO
32. Subside : EBB
33. Opposite of -less : -FUL
34. Paranormal : OCCULT
35. Fine point : NICETY
36. Provokes : GOADS
37. Persian Empire founder : CYRUS
38. Impends : LOOMS
39. ___-Loompa (Willy Wonka employee) : OOMPA
40. Fictional braggart : HARE
41. The "O" of B.O. : ODOR
42. Setting for a watch? : MOVIE NIGHT
43. "We'll teach you to drink deep ___ you depart": Hamlet : ERE
48. Et cetera : AND SO FORTH
49. Certain racy magazines : MAXIMS
50. Lift : ELATE
52. "Glad that's done!" : PHEW!
53. Street fair participant : VENDOR
55. "Aww"-inspiring : CUTESY
57. Empire State sch. : NYU
58. Org. with an emergency number : AAA
61. Razz, as a speaker : HECKLE
63. What the pros say : AYE
65. Hesitates : BALKS
66. Default avatar for a new Twitter user : EGG
67. Reconstruction, for one : ERA
68. Contraction missing a V : NE'ER
69. From both sides, in a way : STEREO
70. Songs of praise : PAEANS
73. City whose name looks like it could mean "my friend" : MIAMI
74. Track holder? : ALBUM
75. A Beethoven piece was für her : ELISE
76. Win every game : SWEEP
79. Exhilarated cry : WHEE!
80. ___ cabbage : NAPA
81. "End of discussion" : THAT'S THAT
84. Botanist Gray : ASA
85. "A man can be destroyed but not ___": Hemingway : DEFEATED
87. Age for a quinceañera : FIFTEEN
88. "... ___ quit!" : OR I
89. "The Silmarillion" creature : ORC
90. Red ___ : SOX
94. Newspaper V.I.P. Baquet : DEAN
96. Pollute : TAINT
97. Too big for one's britches, say? : OBESE
98. Hotheadedness? : FEVER
99. Disposable board : EMERY
103. Let go : AXED
104. Twinkler : STAR
105. Lead-in to boy : ATTA ...
106. Something to mourn : LOSS
108. Red giant in Cetus : MIRA
109. Cozy : SNUG
110. Rend : RIP
111. "The Name of the Rose" novelist : ECO
112. "___ Meninas" (Velázquez painting) : LAS
113. Highest degree : NTH
114. ___-Wan Kenobi : OBI
115. Family docs : GPS

Return to top of pageBill Butlerhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com