0210-11: New York Times Crossword Answers 10 Feb 11, Thursday

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

CROSSWORD SETTER: Derek Bowman
THEME: Family Name Word Ladder … the family names in the theme answers form a word ladder, from KARAN to SEGAL:

– (DONNA) KARAN
– (ELENA) KAGAN
– (CARL) SAGAN
– (KATEY) SAGAL
– (ERICH) SEGAL

COMPLETION TIME: 19m 42s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … ENTO (ENDO), MENTEES (MENDEES!)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. “Mr. ___” (1983 film) : MOM
“Mr. Mom” is a 1983 comedy written by John Hughes, starring Michael Keaton and the great Teri Garr. It’s all about an engineer in the auto industry in Detroit who loses his job, and then takes over the running of the household while his wife heads back to work. Funny stuff …

15. Glazier’s frame : SASH
A movable (up and down) window frame is called a sash, from the French word for a frame, “châssis”.

16. Big name in women’s fashion : DONNA KARAN
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer, creator of the DKNY clothing label. She was raised in the fashion industry as her mother was a model, and her stepfather a tailor.

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

20. Supreme Court justice who was formerly a U.S. solicitor general : ELENA KAGAN
Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States, and recently replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the fourth female US Supreme Court justice (there have been 108 men!). I hear she is a fan of Jane Austen, and used to reread “Pride and Prejudice” once a year. Not a bad thing …

24. ___ Melodies : MERRIE
Merrie Melodies was a series of cartoons distributed by Warner Brothers, first introduced in 1931, and last produced in 1969.

28. Accented part of a poetic foot : ARSIS
In a poetic foot or musical measure the part that is stressed is the “arsis”, and the weaker part is the “thesis”.

31. Host of an Emmy-winning PBS series : CARL SAGAN
Carl Sagan was a brilliant astrophysicist, and a great communicator. He was famous for presenting obscure concepts about the cosmos in such a way that we mere mortals could appreciate. He also wrote the novel “Contact” which was adapted into a fascinating 1997 film of the same name starring Jodie Foster.

37. Fuel sources : PEATS
When dead plant matter accumulates in marshy areas, it may not fully decay due to a lack of oxygen or acidic conditions. We are familiar with this in Ireland, because what can form then is peat, and we have lots and lots of peat bogs.

38. 2010 Olympic ice dancing gold medalist ___ Virtue : TESSA
Tessa Virtue is a Canadian ice dancer who won the 2010 Olympic championship along with her partner Scott Moir.

45. Subjects of the first 10 Amendments : RIGHTS
The Constitution of the United States was adopted on September 17, 1787. There have been 27 amendments to the constitution, the first ten of which are collectively called the Bill of Rights. In essence the Bill of Rights limits the power of the Federal Government, and protects the rights of individuals. For example, the First Amendment states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords from Arizona participated in the reading of the US Constitution in the floor of the House of Representatives just a few days before she was shot in Tucson, Arizona on January 8, 2011. The First Amendment was that part of the Constitution that Congresswoman Gifford chose to read.

46. Volleyball players, at times : SETTERS
In volleyball, there are passers, blockers and setters.

47. Star of TV’s “8 Simple Rules” : KATEY SAGAL
Katey Sagal played Peggy Bundy on “Married … with Children”. Later she took over as star of the show “8 Simple Rules” in the middle of its run, when John Ritter passed away unexpectedly in 2003.

50. Turkish coin : 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 Turkish lira has been around since the mid 1870s.

51. Sacred symbol of ancient Egypt : IBIS
The ibis a wading bird, revered in ancient Egypt. “Ibis” is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one ibis, two ibises and a flock of ibis. And if you want to go with the classical plural, you can have two ibides!

52. Author who co-wrote the screenplay for the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” : ERICH SEGAL
Erich Segal wrote two hit screenplays, “Yellow Submarine” and “Love Story”. He wrote the novel “Love Story” after the screenplay, and as the novel was published before the film was released, there’s a popular misconception that the movie is based on the book.

54. Part of the New Haven landscape : ELMS
The city of New Haven, Connecticut had the first public tree-planting program in the country. That first planting included a whole bunch of elms, earning New Haven the nickname “The Elm City”.

55. Shakespearean term of address : SIRRAH
“Sirrah” is an alteration of the term “sir”, and is an obsolete form of address. It is used to express contempt.

57. New York city where Ogden Nash was born : RYE
Ogden Nash the poet was well known for his light and humorous verse. Try this one:

The one-L lama,
He’s a priest.
The two-L llama,
He’s a beast.
And I would bet
A silk pajama
There isn’t any
Three-L lllama.

58. One-act Strauss opera : SALOME
Richard Strauss’s opera “Salome” was based on the play of the same name by Oscar Wilde. The opera created quite a fuss in its early performances due to its erotic “Dance of the Seven Veils”.

59. Children’s writer Asquith : ROS
Ros Asquith writes the “Teenage Worrier” books aimed at teens, as well as cartoons for “The Guardian” newspaper in the UK.

Down
1. European wine : MADEIRA
Madeira is an Portuguese-owned archipelago that lies to the southwest of mainland Portugal. Madeira is famous for its wine, which is a fortified beverage (as is port, sherry and Marsala wine).

2. Patricia who wrote “Woe Is I” : O’CONNER
Patricia O’Connor has written five books about the English language, including “Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English”. What a great subject for book! I need to buy it for my kids (and probably should take a peek myself) …

3. Students with personal guides : MENTEES
A mentor is a wise counselor, and the person receiving the advice is the mentee. In Greek mythology Mentor was a friend to Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s “Odyssey”.

4. “___ Man Answers” (1962 Bobby Darin/Sandra Dee film) : IF A
“If a Man Answers” is a comedy released in 1962, starring Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee.

6. Teatro alla ___ : SCALA
The La Scala Opera House opened in 1778, built on the site of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, which gave the theater its name.

8. Cumming of “Nicholas Nickleby” : ALAN
Alan Cumming is a great and versatile Scottish actor. He has played some pretty “commercial” roles, like the bad guy Boris Grishenko in “GoldenEye” and Fegan Flopp in the “Spy Kids” movies. He also played the unwanted suitor in the fabulous film “Circle of Friends” and won a Tony for playing the emcee in the 1998 Broadway revival of “Cabaret”.

10. Georges Simenon detective Jules : MAIGRET
Georges Simenon wrote a whole boatload of (75) detective novels featuring Commissaire Jules Maigret. They are very approachable stories, and easy reading for us schoolkids when we had to read novels for French class.

11. He said “I just put my feet in the air and move them around” : ASTAIRE
As you may well know, Fred Astaire’s real name is Frederick Austerlitz. Fred was from Omaha, Nebraska, and before he made it big in movies, he was one half of a celebrated music hall act with his sister, Adele. The pair were particularly successful in the UK. Adele married into nobility in England, taking the name Lady Charles Cavendish.

15. Line of cliffs : SCARP
A scarp is a steep slope or a line of cliffs, especially one created by erosion. An alternative name is an escarpment.

17. Like most Icelanders : NORDIC
Someone is described as Nordic if they are a native of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland or … Iceland.

26. Brave deed of yore : GESTE
Our word “gest” meaning a great deed or an exploit has been around since about 1300, and comes from the Old French word “geste” meaning the same thing. these days “geste” also means “gesture”, which makes sense …

27. Formations at the mouths of some streams : RIAS
A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, both formed as sea level raises. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

33. Sting source : NETTLE
Most nettle species have stinging hairs that secrete formic acid. This formic acid is the same chemical that is found in the venom injected with a bee or ant sting. The Latin word for ant is “formica”, giving its name to the acid.

36. “The Entertainer” musical genre : RAGTIME
Ragtime music was at the height of it popularity in the early 1900s. The genre takes its name from its characteristic “ragged” rhythms. The most famous ragtime composer was Scott Joplin, who had a big hit with his “Maple Leaf Rag” when it was published in 1899. Ragtime fell out of favor around 1917 when the public turned to jazz, and then had a resurgence in the forties when jazz musicians started to include ragtime tunes in their repertoires. But it was the 1973 movie “The Sting” that brought the true revival, as the hit soundtrack included numerous ragtime tunes by Scott Joplin, including the celebrated melody “The Entertainer”, originally published in 1902.

39. Oscar-winning actor who played Napoleon, Mussolini and W. C. Fields : STEIGER
Rod Steiger played some powerful roles on the screen, perhaps most memorably the Chief of Police in the 1967 drama “In the Heat of the Night”, for which he won a Best Actor Oscar. Steiger was married five times, including a 10-year marriage to fellow actor Claire Bloom. Together Bloom and Steiger had a daughter, the British opera singer Anna Steiger.

40. Red hot chili pepper : SERRANO
The serrano pepper looks like a jalapeño, but it is a little hotter. The serrano is native to the mountainous regions of Puebla and Hidalgo and Mexico, and takes its name from “sierra”, the Spanish word for “mountain”.

43. Benjamin Franklin’s “The Morals of ___” : CHESS
Benjamin Franklin was an enthusiastic and able chess player, and was the first American lauded as a chess player in the New World. He wrote an essay called “The Morals of Chess” published in 1786, making it the second-oldest American publication on the subject. It took him a while to get into the US Chess Hall of Fame though, being inducted in 1999, over 200 years after his death.

44. “The Taking of ___ One Two Three” : PELHAM
“The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” is a novel by Morton Freedgood that has been made into a movie three times, most recently in 2009 as “The Taking of Pelham 123”, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. The story is about the hijacking of a New York City subway train that leaves Pelham Bay Park Station at 1:23 pm, giving it the radio call sign of “Pelham 123”.

46. Prefix with iliac : SACRO-
The sacrum and the two ilia are three bones in the human pelvis.

48. A cabaletta is a short one : ARIA
A cabaletta is short and relatively simple aria, usually.

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Mr. ___” (1983 film) : MOM
4. “Them’s fightin’ words!” : IT’S WAR
10. Buddy : MAC
13. Buddy : ACE
14. Easy : FACILE
15. Glazier’s frame : SASH
16. Big name in women’s fashion : DONNA KARAN
18. New York’s ___ Field : CITI
19. Inner: Prefix : ENTO-
20. Supreme Court justice who was formerly a U.S. solicitor general : ELENA KAGAN
22. Reason to keep moving : INERTIA
24. ___ Melodies : MERRIE
25. Make a long story even shorter? : REEDIT
26. Tongs, e.g. : GRIPPERS
28. Accented part of a poetic foot : ARSIS
29. Bluff : FEINT
30. Bit of gymwear : TEE
31. Host of an Emmy-winning PBS series : CARL SAGAN
34. Bump : JAR
37. Fuel sources : PEATS
38. 2010 Olympic ice dancing gold medalist ___ Virtue : TESSA
42. Starve : EMACIATE
44. Like some prunes and faces : PITTED
45. Subjects of the first 10 Amendments : RIGHTS
46. Volleyball players, at times : SETTERS
47. Star of TV’s “8 Simple Rules” : KATEY SAGAL
50. Turkish coin : LIRA
51. Sacred symbol of ancient Egypt : IBIS
52. Author who co-wrote the screenplay for the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” : ERICH SEGAL
54. Part of the New Haven landscape : ELMS
55. Shakespearean term of address : SIRRAH
56. Detroit-to-Toronto dir. : ENE
57. New York city where Ogden Nash was born : RYE
58. One-act Strauss opera : SALOME
59. Children’s writer Asquith : ROS

Down
1. European wine : MADEIRA
2. Patricia who wrote “Woe Is I” : O’CONNER
3. Students with personal guides : MENTEES
4. “___ Man Answers” (1962 Bobby Darin/Sandra Dee film) : IF A
5. Stand the heat : TAKE IT
6. Teatro alla ___ : SCALA
7. Send, in a way : WIRE
8. Cumming of “Nicholas Nickleby” : ALAN
9. Changing of labels : RENAMING
10. Georges Simenon detective Jules : MAIGRET
11. He said “I just put my feet in the air and move them around” : ASTAIRE
12. Something full of interesting characters? : CHINESE
15. Line of cliffs : SCARP
17. Like most Icelanders : NORDIC
21. Persevered : KEPT AT IT
23. “Tsk!” : ‘TIS A PITY
26. Brave deed of yore : GESTE
27. Formations at the mouths of some streams : RIAS
29. Motorist’s woe : FLAT
32. Give another look : REASSESS
33. Sting source : NETTLE
34. Less smooth : JERKIER
35. With cordiality : AMIABLY
36. “The Entertainer” musical genre : RAGTIME
39. Oscar-winning actor who played Napoleon, Mussolini and W. C. Fields : STEIGER
40. Red hot chili pepper : SERRANO
41. Magazine department : AD SALES
43. Benjamin Franklin’s “The Morals of ___” : CHESS
44. “The Taking of ___ One Two Three” : PELHAM
46. Prefix with iliac : SACRO-
48. A cabaletta is a short one : ARIA
49. See 53-Down : GIRL
53. Pronoun for a 49-Down : SHE

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