Quicklinks:
The full solution to today’s crossword that appears in the New York Times
The full solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword that appears in all other publications
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 35m 18s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Across
Cents
4. One who’s just arrived in Mexico? : BEBE
A baby (bebe in Spanish) has just arrived into the world.
14. Possible result of high temperature : DELIRIUM
“Delirium” is the Latin word for “madness”.
16. Setting of muchas islas : OCEANO
In Spanish, many islands (muchas islas) are found in the ocean (oceano).
“La Clemenza di Tito” (The Clemency of Titus) is an opera seria (serious opera, as opposed to comic opera) that Mozart completed not long before he died.
Pope Alexander VI led the Roman Catholic church from 1492 to 1503. He had a poor reputation amongst his flock, and is remembered for having weakened the moral authority of the church. Lucrezia Borgia was the most famous of the four illegitimate children that he had with Vannozza dei Cattanei, one of the Pope’s many mistresses.
21. These, on Ibiza : ESTOS
The Pine Islands is a group in the Mediterranean with two main islands, Ibiza and Formentera. Ibiza has for some decades been a pretty wild tourist destination for European tourists as it is noted for its frantic nightlife, although recently attempts have been made to calm things down and develop a more family-oriented vacation destination. Formentera is a less accessible island and is a quieter spot, renowned for its nude beaches.
“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 and today has the biggest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”.
23. One with star power?: Abbr. : GENL
In the US Army, a five-star general officer is known as a General of the Army, the rank immediately above that of a “general”. The rank of General of the Army is reserved for use in time of war. The last person to hold the rank of General of the Army was Omar Bradley.
Mort Sahl is a Canadian-born actor and comedian who moved to the US with his family when he was a child. He became friends with John F. Kennedy, and later when Kennedy became president Sahl wrote a lot of jokes for the President’s speeches, although he told a lot of Kennedy jokes in his acts. After the President was assassinated in 1963, Sahl was intensely interested in finding out who was behind the crime and even got himself deputized as a member of one of the investigating teams. He was very outspoken against the results of the Warren Commission report on the assassination, and soon found himself out of favor with the public. It took a few years for him to make his comeback, but comeback he did.
“Garderobe” is the French word for a closet (or “wardrobe”, a related term).
27. Didn’t just ask : PLED
“Pled” is the past tense of the verb “to plead”.
28. Ancient amulet inscription : ABRAXAS
Abrasax was an ancient word shrouded in mysticism, and indeed the origins of the word are very unclear. Various scholars believe it be of Egyptian, Greek or Hebrew origin, but there seems to no definitive proof either way. Abrasax is also written as “Abraxas”, the likely result of confusion between the Greek letters sigma and xi.
32. Bread source : JOB
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.
33. Nigerian language : IBO
Ibo is a language spoken in the Niger-Congo language, more commonly known as “Igbo”.
One of the more famous screen adaptations of Jane Austen’s “Emma” is an excellent 1996 Miramax production starring the wonderful Gwyneth Paltrow in the title role. Also worth mentioning is the outstanding performance by Toni Collette as Emma’s protégé, Harriet Smith.
![Emma [VHS]](https://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=6304383827&tag=wesneyoticrso-20)
Kodak has made its T-Max line of film for some time (I used to shoot with before I “went digital”). The high speed (i.e. suitable for low light situations) version of the T-Max film is commonly used in surveillance work.
42. Quinceañera treat : TACO
Quinceañera is a celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday, an event common in many parts of Latin America.
44. Country whose name is occasionally used as an exclamation? : OMAN
O, man! It’s Oman!
45. Time, to Freud : ZEIT
“Zeit” is the German word for “time”, as in “zeitgeist”, the word imported into English meaning “the spirit of the times”.
47. What a Yankee is unlikely to have : SOUTHERN ACCENT
Yankee was a term that originated in the 1700s when it was used to describe residents of New England, eventually becoming a word to describe Americans in general. The term has become offensive in the UK, although originally implied attributes of ingenuity and enterprise.
Gerardus Mercator was a Flemish cartographer, famous for introducing his cylindrical map projection that we now know as a Mercator projection. Basically, the Mercator projection “unwraps” the surface of the Earth from a globe and “stretches” it, especially at the poles, so that the Earth’s surface eventually ends up as a cylinder. The only place where the map isn’t distorted is around the equator, and that distortion gets progressively greater as one approaches the poles.
In the television sitcom “Bewitched”, Endora was Samantha’s mother, with both mother, daughter, and indeed granddaughter having the magical powers accorded to witches. Endora was played flamboyantly by Agnes Moorehead.
54. Element between polonium and radon on the periodic table : ASTATINE
The chemical element Astatine has the atomic symbol At, and the atomic number of 85. Astatine is a halogen (just like chlorine and fluorine), and is the heaviest known halogen found in nature. It is a very rare find though, as it is highly radioactive with a very short half life, and is itself produced as the result of radioactive decay. Scientists estimate that there is about 30 grams of astatine to be found in the entire Earth’s crust, making it the rarest naturally occurring element.
55. They go in and out : STYLES
One day a certain style is in, and another it’s out. My sense of style? It’s always out for lunch …
56. Wreck-checking org. : NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board is responsible for the investigation of major accidents. The organization is independent in that is has no ties to other government agencies or departments so that its investigations can be viewed as “impartial”. The NTSB also earns a little money for the US as it hires out its investigation teams to countries who don’t have the necessary resources available on their own soil.
“Tex” is a drama movie made by Disney in 1982, telling the story of two young brothers who struggle to make it in life after their mother dies and their father walks out on them. Matt Dillon has the title role, and Jim Metzler plays his brother.
Down
1. Flu-fighting org. : CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC started out life during WWII as the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities. They worry about much more than malaria these days …
3. Did some digging around : SLEUTHED
The word “sleuth” came in to English from Old Norse as far back as 1200 when it meant the “track or trail of a person”. In the mid-1800s, a sleuthhound described a keen investigator, a hound close on the trail of the suspect. Sleuthhound was shortened to “sleuth”, meaning a detective in general, in the late 19th century.
4. Backwoods sibs : BR’ERS
Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox are characters in the Uncle Remus stories, written by Joel Chandler Harris. His stories are adaptations of African American folk tales that he collected across the American South. The “Br’er” of course stands for “brother”.
“Stern” is a news magazine published in Germany every week. It has a long history, dating back to 1948. “Stern” is famous for having published in 1983 excerpts from “The Hitler Diaries”, supposedly lost diaries written by Adolf Hitler recovered from a plane crash near Dresden in 1945. The editors of “Stern”, in trying to balance secrecy with the need for authentication, apparently did a shoddy job in determining if these books were indeed written by Hitler. Within weeks of the publication of the extracts amid a blaze of publicity, the documents were proven to be obvious fakes written on modern paper with modern ink. Stern paid almost one million dollars in the early eighties for the fake diaries, much of which was never recovered.
6. Thrilling hoops shot : BUZZER BEATER
That basket made to win or tie a game just before the buzzer sounds.
9. A third of veinticuatro : OCHO
A third of veinticuatro (24) is ocho (8), in Spanish.
10. Riot control agent : TEAR GAS
The technical name for tear gas is a lachrymatory agent, meaning that it causes tearing (“lacrima” is the Latin for “tear”).
12. One way to respond : IN KIND
To “respond in kind” is to do the same thing to someone that said person did to you, tit for tat.
Supposedly, when Caesar marched back to Rome from Gaul, as he defiantly “crossed the Rubicon” with his army he uttered the words “Alea iacta est” (“The die is cast”).
By 59 BC, Julius Caesar was a very powerful man in Rome. He had just been elected to the position of consul, the highest magistracy in the Republic. Famously, he aligned himself with two other powerful men in Rome, Pompey and Crassus, forming the First Triumvirate. At the end of his year as consul, Caesar was elected proconsul (for 5 years), and was appointed governor of three provinces north of Rome (including Gaul), with control of four legions of the army. Caesar extended the reach of Rome in the Gallic Wars, and became very popular with the people back in Rome. However the Senate, led by his erstwhile ally Pompey, feared the power that could be exercised by Caesar, so at the end of his term as proconsul they ordered him to disband his army and return to Rome. Caesar agreed to return to Rome, but not to disband his army. On 10 January 49 BC, despite all warnings he marched back into Italy by crossing the Rubicon River, along with his army, plunging Rome into Civil War. Since then, “crossing the Rubicon” has come to mean “passing the point of no return”.
Phil “Espo” Esposito is a former professional hockey player who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.
25. Midway point? : FAIR
A midway at a fair in America is the name given to the location of the rides and shows. Back at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago there were rides and amusements that were all concentrated in one place, away from the exhibition halls. The rides included the world’s first Ferris wheel, and one could also see Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show. All these attractions were located in the mile-long linear park on the South Side of Chicago known as Midway Plaisance. Ever since then, the attractions at any fair have been located at the “midway”.
29. Love letters? : XOXO
In the sequence XOXO, I think the X represents a kiss, and the O a hug. Hugs and kisses …
A baritone horn (often called simply a “baritone”) is a brass instrument that looks very much like a euphonium. When a baritone is played, the bell usually faces upwards, but there is a “marching baritone” variation that is specially “wrapped” so that the bell is front-facing.
35. Draft team : OXEN
“Draft” can mean a load, something that is pulled or drawn. Horses or perhaps oxen that are used to pull loads are called “draft animals”.
Heat rubs are products designed to produce a feeling of warmth in sore or tired muscles. The active ingredients are usually menthol (mint oil) and methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen, an analgesic). A common brand name in this country is IcyHot, and we have Deep Heat in Ireland, and there’s Tiger Balm in Asia and Canada.
41. Foot-washing ceremony : MAUNDY
Maundy Thursday is the name given to the Christian holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter. The celebration commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Chris with the Apostles. The exact origins of the name “Maundy” are unclear. The Washing of Feet is a traditional rite performed on the day, with the washing of feet intended to be a sign of humility.
Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a precursor of our Roman letter Z. The word “zeta” is also the ancestor of the name “zed”, which became “zee”, the pronunciation that we use here in the US.
“D.C. Cab” is a comedy movie released in 1983 starring Mr. T. I don’t hear many good things about it, although there is a special appearance by Irene Cara of “Fame” fame …
![Dc Cab [VHS]](https://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=6304375344&tag=wesneyoticrso-20)
48. Storied slacker : HARE
“The Tortoise and the Hare” is one of Aesop’s famous fables.
Aesop lived in Ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. He was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission, but apparently insulted the Delphians instead. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, was sentenced to death and thrown off a cliff.
49. Analog oscilloscope parts: Abbr. : CRTS
Cathode Ray Tube: there aren’t may of them around in the stores these days …
52. Playmate for Spot : REX
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Abbr. for change : CTS
4. One who’s just arrived in Mexico? : BEBE
8. “I got ___” : NOTHIN’
14. Possible result of high temperature : DELIRIUM
16. Setting of muchas islas : OCEANO
17. What Tito shows, in opera : CLEMENZA
18. Recipient’s reply : THANKS
19. Daughter of Alexander VI : LUCREZIA BORGIA
21. These, on Ibiza : ESTOS
22. What an aspiring model may read : ELLE
23. One with star power?: Abbr. : GENL
24. Comic with the 1955 album “At Sunset” : SAHL
25. Open : FREE
26. ___-robe (Calais closet) : GARDE
27. Didn’t just ask : PLED
28. Ancient amulet inscription : ABRAXAS
30. 19th-century, say : OLD
31. Doctored account : LIE
32. Bread source : JOB
33. Nigerian language : IBO
36. “Emma” studio : MIRAMAX
38. Kodak film used in surveillance : T-MAX
39. Under control : TAMED
42. Quinceañera treat : TACO
43. “___ goes!” : HERE
44. Country whose name is occasionally used as an exclamation? : OMAN
45. Time, to Freud : ZEIT
46. Eddy site : DRAIN
47. What a Yankee is unlikely to have : SOUTHERN ACCENT
50. Bit of beachwear : SUN HAT
51. Projection creator : MERCATOR
53. Sitcom witch : ENDORA
54. Element between polonium and radon on the periodic table : ASTATINE
55. They go in and out : STYLES
56. Wreck-checking org. : NTSB
57. Matt Dillon title role of 1982 : TEX
Down
1. Flu-fighting org. : CDC
2. Blabs, blabs, blabs : TELLS ALL
3. Did some digging around : SLEUTHED
4. Backwoods sibs : BR’ERS
5. Stern article : EINE
6. Thrilling hoops shot : BUZZER BEATER
7. One may attach something : EMAILER
8. “This should ___!” : NOT BE
9. A third of veinticuatro : OCHO
10. Riot control agent : TEAR GAS
11. One in the closet : HANGER
12. One way to respond : IN KIND
13. Register message : NO SALE
15. [Brrr!] : I’M COLD
20. “The die is cast,” to Caesar : ALEA JACTA EST
21. Boston Garden nickname : ESPO
25. Midway point? : FAIR
26. Tittle-tattle : GAB
29. Love letters? : XOXO
31. Hamper part : LID
33. Affirmation of seriousness : I MEANT IT
34. Military band piece : BARITONE
35. Draft team : OXEN
36. Tiger Balm ingredient : MENTHOL
37. Best bud : MAIN MAN
38. Security problem : THREAT
39. Scraps : TOSSES
40. Aggregate : AMOUNT
41. Foot-washing ceremony : MAUNDY
45. Some Greek sisters : ZETAS
46. 1983 Joel Schumacher film : DC CAB
48. Storied slacker : HARE
49. Analog oscilloscope parts: Abbr. : CRTS
52. Playmate for Spot : REX