Apologies for the late post yesterday. I was at a Christmas party …
In the grid above, I’ve used numbers to represent the words that go in some of the squares i.e.
1 = MOON
2 = DARK
3 = DIM
4 = BRIGHT
5 = EARTH
6 = SUN
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: Hope for Clear Skies … all the theme answers relate to the TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE of Dec 21, 2010. Also, some squares in the puzzle contain multiple letters, the words BRIGHT, DIM, DARK, MOON, EARTH and SUN.
COMPLETION TIME: 47m 58s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Across
7. Author Roald : DAHL
Roald Dahl name is a Norwegian name. Dahl’s parents were from Norway, although Dahl himself was Welsh. Dahl became one of the most successful authors of the twentieth century, and a couple of his most famous titles are “James and the Giant Peach” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.
11. Shop dresser : ADZE
One might dress a piece of wood using an adze.
An adze (also adz), while similar to an axe, is different in that the blade of an adze is set at right angles to the tool’s shaft, whereas the blade of an axe is set inline with the shaft.
21. “Ball Four” author : BOUTON
Jim Bouton is a former Major League Baseball player. While he was still playing, Bouton wrote a “tell all” book about his experiences during the 1969 season. Bouton didn’t hold much back, and told of drunken carousing, drug use and petty jealousies among players, and he named names. Immediately after publication, he found himself essentially blacklisted, unpopular with his teammates, other players, coaches and officials.
22. Big name in athletic footwear : AVIA
The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as it is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation.
23. Rama’s kingdom : SIAM
The kings of Thailand (what used to be Siam) are often referred to as “Rama”, so the current king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, is known as Rama IX. The name “Rama” is used as it’s the name of the Hindu god Rama, a reincarnation of Vishnu.
24. Whence the line “I fear Greeks even when they bring gifts” : AENEID
The Aeneid is Virgil’s epic poem that tells of the journey of Aeneas, a Trojan who voyaged to Italy to become the ancestor of all Romans. The origin of the phrase, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” lies of course in the story of the Trojan Horse. When the gift of the horse turns up outside the walls of Troy, a priest declares,”Do not trust the horse, Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the Danaans even if they bring gifts”.
25. Feature of some pool balls : STRIPE
The more correct name for the game of pool is pocket billiards. The name “pool” came after pocket billiards started to be played in “pool halls”, places where gamblers “pooled” their money to bet on horse races.
26. A long time past : MANY MOONS AGO
29. At night : AFTER DARK
31. Football’s Sanders : DEION
Deion Sanders is a former NFL footballer, and a former Major League Baseball player. Playing two different professional sports wasn’t enough for Deion, I guess, so since 2004 he has been an assistant coach for the Dallas Fury women’s professional basketball team.
32. Long-shot candidate : DARK HORSE
34. ___ Kippur : YOM
Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement.
35. What the focus of a 125-Across will do at its climax : TURN RED
In a lunar eclipse, the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. In the shadow, although the moon is no longer in direct sunlight, it’s not in total darkness. Some sunlight is refracted (bent) by the Earth’s atmosphere around our planet and illuminates the moon. This refracted light is red in color, so that the moon appears to turn red at the height of the lunar eclipse.
40. One way to stop : ON A DIME
42. Mil. address : APO
Army Post Office.
47. Clone of an optical medium’s contents : CD IMAGE
When one makes a complete copy of the contents of a computer storage device, the resulting single file is called a “disk image”.
49. Wang of fashion : VERA
Vera Wang’s first choice for a career was figure skating, but she failed to make the 1968 US Olympics team. She switched to the world of fashion, and is now famous for her designs of wedding dresses … but also costumes for figure skaters.
50. Lulus : ONERS
Humdingers, lulus and oners are things that are quite extraordinary and remarkable.
61. Six-time All-Star third baseman for the 1970s Dodgers : CEY
Ron Cey played third base not only for the Dodgers, but also for the Cubs and the As.
63. Remove drapes from, as a room : BRIGHTEN
66. Objects of interest in a 125-Across : CELESTIAL BODIES
69. First female U.S. secretary of state : ALBRIGHT
Madeleine Albright was appointed Secretary of State by President Clinton, making her the first woman to hold the post. She is a very capable woman, fluent in English, French, Russian and Czech, and able to hold her own in Polish and Serbo-Croat as well.
72. Not yet delivered : IN UTERO
In utero is a Latin term meaning “in the uterus”. The Latin “uterus” 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”.
75. Jackie’s #2 : ONASSIS
Jackie Kennedy Onassis was born into a privileged family, the daughter of a Wall Street stock broker, John Vernou Bouvier III. Ms. Bouvier moved in the same social circles as the Kennedy clan, and first met the then-US Representative John Kennedy at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. After she saw her husband assassinated, and her brother-in-law Bobby Kennedy, she declared that she feared for the life of her children as they bore the Kennedy name. She left the country, eventually meeting and marrying Aristotle Onassis. Reportedly she was very satisfied that the Greek shipping magnate was able to provide privacy and security for her children.
78. Pliny possessive : MEA
Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger were important figures in Ancient Rome. Pliny the Elder was a scientist and historian, the author of “Naturalis Historia”, commonly referred to as “Pliny’s Natural History”. Pliny the Younger was the nephew and adopted son of Pliny the Elder. Pliny the Younger was a noted Roman statesman, orator and writer.
79. Beach seen from Diamond Head : WAIKIKI
The name “Waikiki” means “spouting fresh water” in Hawaiian.
81. 1914 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel set in an underground land : AT THE EARTH’S CORE
Edgar Rice Burroughs is best known for authoring the “Tarzan” series of books. Burroughs was living in Hawaii at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and wanting to help with the war effort he applied for permission to be a war correspondent. Permission was granted, despite the fact that Burroughs was in his sixties, and he became one of the oldest American correspondents during WWII.
89. “Honor is ___ scutcheon”: Shak. : A MERE
In William Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part I”, Falstaff remarks:
“[H]onour pricks me on . . . Therefore I’ll none of it.
Honour is a mere scutcheon.”
He is expressing the view that “honor” is an empty term, of no use to the living nor the dead. He calls “honor” a scutcheon, a heraldic device sometimes used to decorates coffins.
91. Bygone European capital : LIRA
The name “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. It comes from the Latin word for a pound, and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. The lira was the currency of choice in Italy before the change was made to the euro.
93. Track star Owens : JESSE
Jesse Owens is of course famous for winning four gold medals at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, much to the chagrin of Adolph Hitler. Jesse’s real name was James Cleveland Owens, and he went by “JC” as a child. However, his Alabama accent was misconstrued at school when his family moved to Cleveland, so teachers and classmates called him “Jesse” instead of “JC”, and the name stuck.
94. Many an avid observer of a 125-Across : AMATEUR ASTRONOMER
100. Atlantic City locale, with “the” : TAJ
Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal Casino Resort opened up for business in Atlantic City in 1990.
103. Loser to McKinley : BRYAN
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician, a noted figure in the Democratic Party, and Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson. He ran for the office of President three times, unsuccessfully of course. But he was a great orator, and used his skill to great effect in his campaigning. In fact, it was Bryan who created the national stumping tour, traveling around the country making hundreds of speeches, in days when the other candidates stayed at home.
104. Duff Beer vendor : MOE
Moe Szyslak is the surly bartender in “The Simpson” animated TV show. I don’t really care for “The Simpsons”, but Hank Azaria who supplies the voice for the character … him I like.
105. Spaceship attire : G-SUIT
A G-suit is needed when astronauts and aviators are subject to high accelerations. Such acceleration can cause blood to pool in the lower part of the body, reducing the supply to the brain and possibly leading to a black-out. A G-suit is basically a special pair of tight-fitting pants that is fitted with inflatable bladders. The bladders inflate during high accelerations, tightening around the legs and abdomen, reducing the amount of blood pooling.
109. Slugger Roberto : ALOMAR
Roberto Alomar is a former Major League Baseball player, considered by many to be the greatest ever second baseman.
114. Proust’s “___ Way” : SWANN’S
“In Search of Lost Time” is a very, very long novel written by Marcel Proust. The novel is divided into seven volumes and was first published in 1913-1927. The first of the volumes is called “Swann’s Way”.
116. Book set? : LITERATI
Literati are men and women of letters, learned people.
119. Italian lover’s coo : TI AMO
“Ti amo” is the Italian for “I love you”.
120. Indian royal : MAHARANI
Maharaja is the Sanskrit word meaning “great king”, and was the name given to a ruler in India. A maharani, or maharanee, was the wife of a maharaja.
122. Deep-dish dishes : LASAGNES
Lasagna was originally the name of a cooking pot, but it came to mean a dish that was cooked in it. Lasagna also became name of the flat noodle used in the dish. If you order lasagna on the other side of the Atlantic, you’ll notice the “lasagne” spelling, the plural of “lasagna”. The plural is used as there is more than one layer of pasta in the dish.
123. Heads outside together? : TOTEM
Totem is the name given to any entity that watches over a group of people. As such, totems are usually the subjects of worship. Totem poles are really misnamed, as they are not intended to represent figures to be worshiped, but rather are heraldic in nature, often celebrating the legends or notable events in the history of a tribe.
125. Event on Dec. 21, 2010, viewable in North and South America, depicted visually in this puzzle : TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
128. Turkish pooh-bahs : AGAS
An aga, or agha, is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.
The term “pooh-bah” meaning an ostentatious official comes from the world of opera. Pooh-Bah is a character in the wonderful Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera “The Mikado”. Famously, Pooh-Bah holds many, many offices, including that of “Lord High Everything Else”.
131. Flying Cloud, e.g. : REO
The REO Motor Company was founded by Ransom E. Olds (hence the name REO). The company made cars, trucks and buses, and was in business from 1905 to 1975, in Lansing, Michigan.
133. Dub : NAME
Kneel, and the Queen might “dub thee a knight”, if you’re lucky. “Dub” is a specific term derived from Old English that was used to mean “make a knight”. As the knight was also given a knightly name at the same time, “dub” has come to mean “give someone a name”.
137. With 146-Across, what the center of this puzzle is doing during a 125-Across : CASTING
(146. See 137-Across : A SHADOW)
140. Folds : GOES UNDER
146. See 137-Across : A SHADOW
149. To whom Hamlet says “Get thee to a nunnery” : OPHELIA
In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Ophelia is courted by Hamlet. In Act III, Hamlet is pretty depressed and upset, and addresses Ophelia with the famous line “Get thee to a nunn’ry, why woulds’t thou be a breeder of sinners?” In this scene, Hamlet is denying that he ever loved Ophelia, and exhorts her to “become a nun”, so that she may never have to give birth to someone as pitiful and sinful as he is himself.
151. It marks the target on a curling rink : TEELINE
I think curling is a cool game (pun intended!). It’s somewhat like bowls, but played on a sheet of ice. The sport was supposedly invented in medieval Scotland, and is called curling because of the action of the granite stone is it moves across the ice. A player can make the stone take a curved path (“curl”) by causing it to slowly rotate as it slides.
152. Munchkins : PEEWEES
The Munchkins were the little people in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. A pewee is a small bird, so called because the “pee wee” sound that it makes.
153. Pardner, say : COWPOKE
Cowpoke is a term used nowadays for any cowboy, but it was originally limited to the cowboys who prodded cattle onto railroad cars using long poles.
154. Commodore’s insignia : ONE STAR
A 1 star rank is a senior commander in many armed services around the world. Examples of 1 star ranks are commodore and brigadier.
Down
1. Delivery people, briefly : OBS
Ob. is an abbreviation for “obstetrics”.
5. Sailor who debuted in a 1929 comic : POPEYE
Popeye first appeared in 1929 in a comic strip called “Thimble Theatre”. The strip, created by E. C. Segar, ran for ten years before Popeye made an appearance. Popeye received such a great welcome from readers that he soon “took over” the strip, and eventually even the strip’s title. Paradoxically, before Popeye turned up Olive Oyl was the main character.
7. Glen Canyon ___ : DAM
Glen Canyon Dam is the second largest dam on the Colorado River, and is located at Page, Arizona. The Dam was built to flood Glen Canyon, creating what we now know as Lake Powell.
8. Actress Gardner : AVA
Ava Gardner is noted for her association with some big movies, but also for her association with some big names when it came to the men in her life. In the world of film, she appeared in the likes of “Mogambo” (1953), “On the Beach” (1959), “The Night of the Iguana” (1964) and “Earthquake” (1974). The men in her life included husbands Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra. After her marriages had failed (and perhaps before!) she had longterm relationships with Howard Hughes, as well bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin whom she met through her friend Ernest Hemingway.
9. Dharma follower : HINDU
“Dharma” can mean a number of different things in Buddhism and Hinduism. In the context of Hinduism, dharma is one’s duty, which is a function of one’s age, class, occupation and gender.
10. Tiramisu features : LAYERS
Tiramisu is an Italian cake. The name “tiramisu” translates from Italian as “pull me up”.
12. Steak ___ : DIANE
Steak Diane is pan-fried filet mignon served in a flambéed sauce made from the juices in the pan along with butter, shallots, cream and brandy. The dish is named after Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt.
14. Comic Philips : EMO
Emo Philips is a stand-up comedian from Chicago. He’s had a long and successful career, and listed on his resume is a small part in the 1992 hit movie “Meet the Parents” starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller. Philips was also the executive producer for that very same film. So, I’d say that movie made him a few pennies …
15. Aircraft gauges : TACHS
The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer measures revolutions per minute (rpm).
16. Kind of couplet for Chaucer : HEROIC
The heroic couplet is a form of poetry first used by Geoffrey Chaucer.
18. Paper for which Murray Kempton and Jim Dwyer won Pulitzers : NEWSDAY
Newsday is a newspaper sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. Newsday was founded in 1940 by Alicia Patterson, the wife of Harry Guggenheim.
19. Trace of blood? : LINEAGE
Clever …
27. Youthful prank in a car : MOONING
30. Superhero played by Liam Neeson in a 1990 film : DARKMAN
“Darkman” is yet another one of those superhero movies. This one is a little different in that the hero, Darkman, doesn’t have a pedigree in comic books, but was created just for the movie.
32. Era of ignorance : DARK AGE
33. Kind of lane : HOV
In some parts of the country one sees high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes), but out here in California, we call them carpool lanes.
36. Key of Bach’s “The Art of Fugue” : D MINOR
Like so many of the great composers, the extent of Bach’s contribution to the repertoire was only fully recognized long after his passing. Johann Sebastian Bach was undoubtedly the greatest composer of the Baroque period, and is ranked by many as the greatest classical composer of all time. Johann Sebastian raised a very musical family. He had four sons who became famous musicians in their own right. These were:
– Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (aka “the Halle Bach”)
– Carl Philipp Bach (aka “the Hamburg Bach”)
– Johann Christoph Bach (aka “the Buckeberg Bach”)
– Johann Christian Bach (aka “the London Bach”)
39. Director Anderson : WES
Wes Anderson’s most famous movie is probably “The Royal Tenenbaums”, released in 2001, not my favorite film by any stretch. However, his 2007 release “The Darjeeling Limited”, that I enjoyed.
41. Yankee great Joe, colloquially : DIMAG
Joe DiMaggio was born not too far here, in Martinez, California, the son of Italian immigrants. The family moved to San Francisco when Joltin’ Joe was just a baby. Joe’s Dad was a fisherman, and it was his hope that all his sons would follow him into his trade. But Joe always felt sick at the smell of fish, so fishing’s loss was baseball’s gain.
43. Amorous skunk in cartoons : PEPE
Pepé Le Pew is a very likable cartoon character from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. Pepé is a French skunk, first introduced way back in 1945, and he is someone always thinking of “l’amour”.
46. Golden State campus inits. : UCSD
The University of California, San Diego is located in La Jolla, San Diego.
48. How things may be lit or remembered : DIMLY
50. Lincoln Center production : OPERA
The Lincoln Center takes its name from the neighborhood in which it is situated, Lincoln Square.
51. 1974 Japanese Nobelist : SATO
Prime Minister Eisaku Sato of Japan won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974 (sharing it with Irishman Sean MacBride). He won for “his renunciation of the nuclear option for Japan and his efforts to further regional reconciliation”. Sato defined Japan’s nuclear policy in the sixties by laying out “Three Non-Nuclear Principles”. The principles are that Japan will not possess, nor manufacture nuclear weapons, nor permit introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory.
53. Extended solo : SCENA
A “scena” is a dramatic vocal piece written in an operatic style. The name “scena” comes from “scaena”, the Italian word for “stage”.
58. Tundra or wetland : BIOME
I tend to think of “biome” is another word for an ecosystem.
59. Terbium or thulium : RARE EARTH
Rare earth elements are so called because they are rarely found in mineral form in a sufficient concentration for exploitation.
60. Father-and-son actors : ALDAS
Alan Alda had a great television career, but when it comes to Hollywood, my favorite of his movies is the 1978 romantic comedy “Same Time, Next Year” in which he starred opposite Ellen Burstyn.
Actor Robert Alda was the father of Alan Alda. Robert Alda’s most famous role was probably George Gershwin in the 1945 movie “Rhapsody in Blue”. Robert appeared twice in “M*A*S*H”, alongside his son.
62. Actor Morales : ESAI
Esai Morales is best known for his role in the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Rickie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai Morales).
63. Promising proposal : BRIGHT IDEA
65. “Grey’s Anatomy” extra : NURSE
The very successful hospital drama “Grey’s Anatomy” has been on television since 2005. The title is a reference to the show’s central character, Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo), as well as a reference to the classic human anatomy textbook commonly called “Gray’s Anatomy”.
67. One of the Islamic virtues : LOYALTY
A list of virtues are specifically called out in the Holy Qur’an, and include righteousness, generosity, gratitude and loyalty.
69. Big name in athletic footwear : ASICS
ASICS is a Japanese company that produces athletic gear, including running shoes. The name is an acronym, standing for the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano” which translates to “a healthy soul in a healthy body”.
71. Optimist’s focus : BRIGHT SIDE
73. Aquarium fish : TETRA
A tetra is a small freshwater fish found in Africa, Central America and South America.
82. “___ yellow ribbon …” : TIE A
A yellow ribbon is symbolically worn by people awaiting the return of a loved one, usually from military service overseas, but also from behind bars. The song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” tells the tale of a convict returning home. His loyal loved one is waiting for him, and she ties a whole boatload of yellow ribbons around the old oak tree to greet him.
85. E.M.T.’s training : CPR
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation used to involve 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 the heart compressions, and less on the artificial respiration.
87. Reagan and others : RONS
Ron Reagan’s views couldn’t be any further from his father’s, I think. Before Air America went bust, he had a daily 3-hour spot, and these days he makes frequent appearances on MSNBC. Reagan is also a good dancer, and for a while was a member of the Joffrey Ballet.
90. Tactic used against Britain by Napoleon : EMBARGO
After Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 he didn’t have the resources to exact military revenge from his archenemy, the United Kingdom. So, he turned to economic warfare and imposed an embargo against British trade called the Continental System. The plan failed though, as Britain still had naval dominance making the embargo unenforceable.
95. Out-and-out : ARRANT
“Arrant” means just that, “out-and-out, complete”, and is a variant of “errant”.
96. Protective membrane : AMNION
The amnion is the inner membrane of the amniotic sac in which the fetus develops.
97. Beethoven’s “Appassionata,” e.g. : SONATA
Beethoven’s lovely sonata, the “Appassionata”, wasn’t named by the composer. The name was added by a music publisher some ten years after Beethoven had died.
101. Jordan’s Queen ___ International Airport : ALIA
I find it a little odd that Queen Alia’s name is used for an airport (the international airport in Amman, Jordan). Queen Alia was killed in a helicopter crash in 1977. Having said that, before she married King Hussein Alia did work for Royal Jordanian Airlines.
107. One of the Brontës : ANNE
Anne was the youngest of the three sisters in the literary Brontë family. Her older sisters wrote novels that are more recognized, but Anne’s two novels do have a following. “Agnes Grey” is based on her own experiences working as a governess. Her other novel, “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” is written as a long letter from a young man describing the events leading up to his first meeting with his wife-to-be. Anne Brontë’s writing career was cut short in 1849, when she died of pulmonary tuberculosis, at only 29 years of age.
108. E.U. group : G-SIX
The Group of Six (G6) is made up of the six largest European Union member states. Those six most populous states are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Poland.
110. Pot-au-feu, e.g. : MEAT STEW
Pot-au-feu is a French stew made with beef and is similar to many stews made around the world, containing cheap cuts of meat with mainly root vegetables and spices. The name “pot-au-feu” means “pot on the fire”, and used to apply to a pot that was kept on the fire during cold weather, with ingredients being added when they became available, and stew doled out when needed.
112. Classic rebuke : ET TU
Shakespeare uses the words “Et tu, Brute?” (And you, Brutus?) in his play “Julius Caesar”, but the phrase was around long before he assigned them to his Caesar. It’s not known what Julius Caesar’s actual last words were.
115. Powder rooms? : ARSENALS
Our word “arsenal” comes from the Italian “arzenale”, a word adapted from the Arabic for “workshop”. There was a large wharf in Venice called the Arzenale that became associated with the storage of weapons and ammunition, and this led to our contemporary usage.
126. Need for KenKen : LOGIC
KenKen is an arithmetic and logic puzzle invented quite recently, in 2004, by a Japanese math teacher Tetsuya Miyamoto. “Ken” is the Japanese word for “cleverness”.
127. Bistro offering : CARTE
“Bistro” was originally a Parisian slang term for a “little wine shop or restaurant”.
130. 1968 U.S. Open champ : ASHE
Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth he found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African America player to be so honored. He continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery. He had further heart surgery in 1983, and contracted HIV from blood transfusions during the procedure. Ashe passed away in 1993, due to complications from AIDS.
134. Mine entrance : ADIT
An adit is specific type of mine access, a horizontal shaft that extends into the mine. This can be compared with the more traditional vertical shaft that is used for access into most mines. Adits make sense when the ore is located inside a mountain or hill, as opposed to “underground”, allowing the mine entrance to be on the valley floor.
135. Bart Simpson’s grandmother : MONA
Mona Simpson is a character on “The Simpsons” that has been voiced by a number of actresses over the years, including the wonderful Glenn Close.
141. Lennon’s lady : 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, so 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 returned, life started to return to normal, and Yoko was able to attend university, and was the first woman to be accepted into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University.
142. “Charlotte’s Web” inits. : EBW
Elwyn Brooks (E. B.) White was an American writer. His most famous creations were the children’s stories “Charlotte’s Web” and “Stuart Little”, but he also co-authored the writing guide “The Elements of Style” (usually referred to as “Strunk & White”).
143. Dawn : SUNUP
145. Forest game : ELK
The elk (also known as wapiti) is the one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were used to seeing the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct term then is “wapiti”, the Shawnee name for the animal, which means “white rump”. Very confusing …
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Not live : ON TAPE
7. Author Roald : DAHL
11. Shop dresser : ADZE
15. How something may be veiled : THINLY
21. “Ball Four” author : BOUTON
22. Big name in athletic footwear : AVIA
23. Rama’s kingdom : SIAM
24. Whence the line “I fear Greeks even when they bring gifts” : AENEID
25. Feature of some pool balls : STRIPE
26. A long time past : MANY MOONS AGO
28. Enthrones : CROWNS
29. At night : AFTER DARK
31. Football’s Sanders : DEION
32. Long-shot candidate : DARK HORSE
33. ___-to : HOW
34. ___ Kippur : YOM
35. What the focus of a 125-Across will do at its climax : TURN RED
37. “___ said …” : AS I
38. Glossy black bird : DAW
40. One way to stop : ON A DIME
42. Mil. address : APO
44. Driller?: Abbr. : SGT
45. Kisser : MUG
47. Clone of an optical medium’s contents : CD IMAGE
49. Wang of fashion : VERA
50. Lulus : ONERS
52. Drinking and gambling : VICES
54. Basic solutions : LYES
55. Breach : GAP
57. Dummies : PEA-BRAINS
61. Six-time All-Star third baseman for the 1970s Dodgers : CEY
63. Remove drapes from, as a room : BRIGHTEN
66. Objects of interest in a 125-Across : CELESTIAL BODIES
69. First female U.S. secretary of state : ALBRIGHT
72. Not yet delivered : IN UTERO
74. How some things are made : TO ORDER
75. Jackie’s #2 : ONASSIS
77. Think probable : DARE SAY
78. Pliny possessive : MEA
79. Beach seen from Diamond Head : WAIKIKI
80. Once, in the past : ERST
81. 1914 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel set in an underground land : AT THE EARTH’S CORE
88. Like many cakes : ICED
89. “Honor is ___ scutcheon”: Shak. : A MERE
91. Bygone European capital : LIRA
92. Subterfuge : PLOY
93. Track star Owens : JESSE
94. Many an avid observer of a 125-Across : AMATEUR ASTRONOMER
100. Atlantic City locale, with “the” : TAJ
103. Loser to McKinley : BRYAN
104. Duff Beer vendor : MOE
105. Spaceship attire : G-SUIT
106. Slump : SAG
109. Slugger Roberto : ALOMAR
111. Jackie’s #1 : KENNEDY
114. Proust’s “___ Way” : SWANN’S
116. Book set? : LITERATI
119. Italian lover’s coo : TI AMO
120. Indian royal : MAHARANI
122. Deep-dish dishes : LASAGNES
123. Heads outside together? : TOTEM
124. Novelty glasses : X-RAY SPEX
125. Event on Dec. 21, 2010, viewable in North and South America, depicted visually in this puzzle : TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
128. Turkish pooh-bahs : AGAS
131. Flying Cloud, e.g. : REO
132. Student’s stat. : AVG
133. Dub : NAME
137. With 146-Across, what the center of this puzzle is doing during a 125-Across : CASTING
140. Folds : GOES UNDER
146. See 137-Across : A SHADOW
149. To whom Hamlet says “Get thee to a nunnery” : OPHELIA
150. There from the start : INBUILT
151. It marks the target on a curling rink : TEELINE
152. Munchkins : PEEWEES
153. Pardner, say : COWPOKE
154. Commodore’s insignia : ONE STAR
Down
1. Delivery people, briefly : OBS
2. Zero : NOT A ONE
3. Battle over domain : TURF WAR
4. Haggling : AT IT
5. Sailor who debuted in a 1929 comic : POPEYE
6. Juan’s January : ENERO
7. Glen Canyon ___ : DAM
8. Actress Gardner : AVA
9. Dharma follower : HINDU
10. Tiramisu features : LAYERS
11. Catalog : ASSORT
12. Steak ___ : DIANE
13. Veer back : ZAG
14. Comic Philips : EMO
15. Aircraft gauges : TACHS
16. Kind of couplet for Chaucer : HEROIC
17. “___ out?” : IN OR
18. Paper for which Murray Kempton and Jim Dwyer won Pulitzers : NEWSDAY
19. Trace of blood? : LINEAGE
20. Football meas. : YDS
27. Youthful prank in a car : MOONING
30. Superhero played by Liam Neeson in a 1990 film : DARKMAN
32. Era of ignorance : DARK AGE
33. Kind of lane : HOV
35. How things may be laid : TO REST
36. Key of Bach’s “The Art of Fugue” : D MINOR
39. Director Anderson : WES
41. Yankee great Joe, colloquially : DIMAG
43. Amorous skunk in cartoons : PEPE
46. Golden State campus inits. : UCSD
48. How things may be lit or remembered : DIMLY
50. Lincoln Center production : OPERA
51. 1974 Japanese Nobelist : SATO
52. Feeling : VIBE
53. Extended solo : SCENA
56. Crackerjacks : ACES
58. Tundra or wetland : BIOME
59. Terbium or thulium : RARE EARTH
60. Father-and-son actors : ALDAS
62. Actor Morales : ESAI
63. Promising proposal : BRIGHT IDEA
64. Prepare to fight : ENARM
65. “Grey’s Anatomy” extra : NURSE
67. One of the Islamic virtues : LOYALTY
68. Grateful response : I OWE YOU
69. Big name in athletic footwear : ASICS
70. Column in a dating questionnaire : LIKES
71. Optimist’s focus : BRIGHT SIDE
73. Aquarium fish : TETRA
76. One getting a lift? : SKIER
82. “___ yellow ribbon …” : TIE A
83. Place to put bags : TRUNK
84. Laugh part : HAR
85. E.M.T.’s training : CPR
86. Science : OLOGY
87. Reagan and others : RONS
90. Tactic used against Britain by Napoleon : EMBARGO
93. Boarding aids : JETWAYS
95. Out-and-out : ARRANT
96. Protective membrane : AMNION
97. Beethoven’s “Appassionata,” e.g. : SONATA
98. One that overflows : TEEMER
99. Fender bender, e.g. : MISHAP
100. Towering : TALL
101. Jordan’s Queen ___ International Airport : ALIA
102. Smidgens : JOTS
106. [Just like that!] : SNAP
107. One of the Brontës : ANNE
108. E.U. group : G-SIX
110. Pot-au-feu, e.g. : MEAT STEW
112. Classic rebuke : ET TU
113. Observatory feature : DOME
115. Powder rooms? : ARSENALS
117. It may be shot during a riot : TEAR GAS
118. Castaway’s locale : ISLE
120. The year 1045 : MXLV
121. Japanese “thanks” : ARIGATO
126. Need for KenKen : LOGIC
127. Bistro offering : CARTE
128. Rent-___ : A-COP
129. Hang open : GAPE
130. 1968 U.S. Open champ : ASHE
134. Mine entrance : ADIT
135. Bart Simpson’s grandmother : MONA
136. Pitcher : EWER
138. Suffix with vir- : -ILE
139. Never: Ger. : NIE
141. Lennon’s lady : ONO
142. “Charlotte’s Web” inits. : EBW
143. Dawn : SUNUP
144. Italian God : DIO
145. Forest game : ELK
147. Clinton or Obama, once: Abbr. : SEN
148. Laugh part : HEE