The name’s William Ernest Butler, but please call me Bill. I grew up in Ireland, but now live out here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m retired now, from technology businesses that took our family all over the world. I answer all emails, so please feel free to email me at bill@paxient.com
If you are working on the New York Times crossword in any other publication, you are working on the syndicated puzzle. Here is a link to my answers to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword. To find any solution other than today’s, enter the crossword number (e.g. 1225, 0107) in the “Search the Blog” box above.
This is my solution to the crossword published in the New York Times today …
Completion Time: N/A (watching TV … but well over an hour anyway!)
Theme: None
Answers I missed: 2 … AMBOY, MEARA
TODAY’S GOOGLIES (all links go to Amazon.com) …
Across
9 ASPIC: In aspic, the edible ingredients come out of a mold, after the meat gelatin has set.
14 POTATO ROT: Potato rot is one of the many diseases that can afflict the poor potato. It is supposedly caused by a mold.
16 MEARA: Anne Meara starred in “Archie Bunker’s Place” in the eighties. She is married to Jerry Stiller, and is the mother of Ben Stiller.
17 ARETHA NOW: Aretha Franklin released “Aretha Now” in 1968.
19 STA: A “house” where one can board a train, is a station.
22 OMA: The suffix -oma means a swelling, or a tumor.
28 SUL: Sul is the Portuguese word for “south”.
36 BEER AND SKITTLES: In my homeland we would say “life is not a bowl of cherries”, which has the same meanings as “life isn’t all beer and skittles” over here in the US.
40 A DRY: The novel “A Dry White Season” was written by South-African author Andre Brink, and deals with the the evils of apartheid. It was made into a film in 1989 starring Donald Sutherland.
42 NIE: Nie is the German word for “never”.
46 ASCAP: After meeting up with the BMI two days ago, today we have the sister organization ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) that has the same role. ASCAP monitors public performances of works, and pays out royalties to copyright owners.
50 KOR: Korea was formally split into North Korea and South Korea in 1948, after being divided after World War II along the 38th parallel with the Soviets occupying the north, and the other allies the south.
51 I’M REAL: “I’m Real” is a song from Jennifer Lopez’s album “J.Lo“, and not my cup of tea …
59 SEPTA: Septa divide the atria of the heart.
61 HYSON: Hyson is a Chinese green tea, also known as Lucky Dragon Tea, and might be found in a tea caddy.
62 END-RHYME: In a Shakespearian sonnet, the last two words in the last two lines are the “end-rhyme”.
Down
2 TORTE: A torte is a type of cake make primarily with eggs, sugar and ground buts (but no flour).
8 MOON AND SIXPENCE: “The Moon and Sixpence” is a novel written by W. Somerset Maugham, based on the life of painter Paul Gauguin.
9 AMBOY: The Amboy Dukes were a rock band, with lead guitarist Ted Nugent.
13 CATAWBAS: The Catawba tribe live along the border between North and South Carolina.
29 LPN: A Licensed Practical Nurse might supervise an orderly.
34 ED HARRIS: Ed Harris does a great job in the title role of “Pollack“.
35 ATRIA: The vena cavae carry deoxygenated blood to the right atrium of the heart.
42 TOM: Thomas Mboya was a leading politician in Kenya, assassinated in 1969.
44 MILAN: The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a famous library in Milan.
47 CARAY: Harry Caray was famous for exclaiming “Holy cow!” during a baseball game, and used the words for the title of his autobiography.
49 PAS DE: A pas de bourree is a walking or running ballet step, usually executed on the points of the toes.
55 ITO: Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater, often skating with Ukranian Oksana Baiul and American Kristi Yamaguchi.
57 FER: Fer is the French for “iron”, element no. 26.
58 EMS: Bad Ems is a city in Germany.