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: Ian Livengood
THEME: BARGAINING … all the theme answers are common expression with BAR added:
– WHAT’S MY (BAR) LINE?
– NO (BAR)FLY ZONE
– THE DA VINCI (BAR)CODE
– ALIEN SPACE (BAR) CRAFT
– CASH (BAR) FOR CLUNKERS
– SAVED BY THE (BAR)BELL
– SOAP (BAR) OPERA
– MARS (BAR) ATTACKS
COMPLETION TIME: 26m 04s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It was 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.
18. Home of Elaine, in Arthurian legend : ASTOLAT
In Arthurian legend, Elaine of Astolat is a maiden who dies from unrequited love for Sir Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round Table. You may be familiar with Alfred Lord Tennyson’s famous “The Lady of Shalott”, well, the “Lady” of the poem is based is Elaine of Astolat.
John Donne is one of England’s most celebrated poets, working at the start of the 17th century. He spent much of his life in poverty, and even spent a short time in prison for having married his wife without procuring the appropriate permissions. His wife might have regretted that he was released, as she then bore him 12 children in 16 years, passing away a few days after the twelfth child was born.
32. Losing tic-tac-toe row : OOX
When I was growing up in Ireland, we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for tic-tac-toe.
Indian-American actor Kal Penn made a name for himself in the “Harold & Kumar” series of comedy films. These so called “stoner comedies” are not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed him playing his more mainstream roles on TV’s “House” and “24”. He left the world of acting when President Obama won the 2008 election and now works as an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement (although he did leave the White House briefly to film the “Harold & Kumar” sequel).
41. Capitol Records’ parent co. : EMI
EMI is a British music company, with the acronym originally standing for Electric and Musical Industries.
48. “Riddle-me-___” : REE
There’s an old English nursery thyme that goes:
Riddle-me riddle-me riddle-me-ree,
Perhaps you can tell what this riddle may be:
As deep as a house, as round as a cup,
And all the king’s horses can’t draw it up.
And the answer is … a well!
49. Like some yoga : TANTRIC
I’ve heard it explained that yoga brings the body and mind under control in order to harmonize with the spirit. Tantric yoga on the other hand, tries to use the mind to balance the needs of the body and the spirit.
50. Sworn secrecy : OMERTA
Omerta is a code of honor in southern Italian society. It has been adapted by the Mafia to mean a code of silence, designed to prevent a Mafioso from informing to the authorities. For example, the famous Joe Valachi was someone who broke the code of silence in 1963, informing on the New York Mafia. His story was told in the movie “The Valachi Papers”, with Charles Bronson playing Valachi.
61. Subject for gossip : 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.
63. ___ Dan (Israeli archaeological site) : TEL
Tel Dan is an ancient city, long abandoned, located in the very north of Israel.
70. N.Y.C. avenue : LEX
Lexington Avenue in New York City is famous from many things, but my favorite fact is that it was the site of the first ever arrest for speeding in the city. In 1899 a police officer on a bicycle caught up with a cabdriver who was tearing down Lexington Avenue at the breakneck speed of 12 mph …
Axl Rose is the lead vocalist of the American rock band, Guns N’ Roses.
Guns N’ Roses is a hard rock band founded in 1985 and still going strong. The group was pulled together by Axl Rose, the lead vocalist. The lead guitar 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.
74. Crux : MEAT
What is the crux of the matter, the real meat …?
83. Some potatoes : IDAHOS
Potatoes were planted in Idaho as early as 1838. Thank goodness … what we do without potatoes?
Charles Atlas’s real name was Angelo Silciliano, an Italian who moved to America in his teens. The story he told, and turned into a great advertising campaign, was that as a 97-pound weakling he once had sand kicked into his face by a bully. He went on a bodybuilding regime, developed the muscles on his body, and then marketed the concept across America. He took the name Charles Atlas after he was told his new-found body looked like that of a statue of the Greek god Atlas sitting on top of a hotel in Coney Island.
94. To be, to Augustus : ESSE
Esse is the Latin for “to be”.
95. Chemical suffix : -ENE
An alkene is an organic compound made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It differs from an alkane in that it has at least one C=C double bond. The simplest alkene is the gas ethylene, a major raw material used in the manufacture of plastics (like polyethylene).
In William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, one of the more famous soliloquies starts with, “Is this a dagger which I see before me …?” There isn’t an actual dagger in front of Macbeth, but instead he sees the vision of a dagger, pointing at King Duncan’s bedchamber, perhaps suggesting that he should go ahead with his plan to murder the King.
97. “Holy smokes!,” to a teen : OMG
Oh My Gosh! Oh My Goodness! Or any other G words you think of …
98. Montréal’s ___ des Soeurs : ILE
Ile des Soeurs in Montreal is better known as Nuns’ Island in English. The island was once owned by the nuns of the Congregation of Notre Dame, from whom it got its name.
Ivory soap is one of Proctor & Gambles oldest products, introduced way back in 1879. It 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, introducing more air into the product.
108. 1974 hit whose title is sung twice after “Como una promesa” : ERES TU
We have a big event across Europe every year called the Eurovision Song Contest. Each nation enters one song in competition with each other, and then voters across the whole continent decide on the winner. That’s how ABBA got their big break, when the group won in 1974 with “Waterloo”. In 1972, Spain’s entry was “Eres tu” sung by the band Mocedades. “Eres tu” is the Spanish for “you are”. It came second in the competition but should have won, in my humble opinion.
113. Horn of Africa native : SOMALI
The Horn of Africa is that horn-shaped peninsula at the easternmost tip of the continent. The Horn of Africa contains the countries Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia as well as Somalia. It is sometimes called the Somali Peninsula.
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 a Milky Way is also produced in the UK, and it is completely different to its US cousin, and is more like an American “3 Musketeers”. And there is an American Mars Bar, something different again. No wonder I gave up eating candy bars …
118. Early online forum : USENET
Remember the good old days, when you read messages online in “newsgroups”? Well, that system of aggregating public messages is known as Usenet, and it’s still around today. Usenet started operating in 1980, some ten years before the World Wide Web was introduced (which system has displaced Usenet in terms of popularity). Usenet definitely played a significant part in the history of the Internet. For instance, the terms “FAQ” and “spam” were both born on Usenet.
“Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis” is the 2009 sequel to former Vice President Al Gore’s famous book on climate change, “An Inconvenient Truth”.
123. Chic : IN STYLE
“Chic” is a French word, meaning “stylish”.
Down
2. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH
Osh is the second largest city in the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Osh was a center of silk production and lies along the old Silk Road, the trade route that traversed Asia.
3. Attica, e.g., informally : STATE PEN
The Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York is used to incarcerate the toughest of the state’s convicts. Famous people who have spent time in Attica include David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) and Mark David Chapman (who killed John Lennon).
Ilsa Lund was of course played by Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. I love the words of one critic describing the chemistry between Bogart and Bergman in this film: “she paints his face with her eyes”. Wow …
6. Headwear worn over dreadlocks : TAMS
A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap traditionally worn by Scotsmen. They were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”) but as dyes became more available, they became more colorful. The name tam o’shanter comes from the title character of Robert Burns poem “Tam O’Shanter”. And tams are very popular in the Rasta community it seems.
The Arctic and Antarctic Circles mark the limits of the polar regions, where the midnight sun can be observed, i.e. where the sun can be observed at midnight at least once during the summer months.
Mena Suvari’s most famous role to date is the “beauty” in the 1999 movie “American Beauty”. She plays the teenage girl with whom the Kevin Spacey character becomes infatuated.
13. New ___ : AGER
The New Age Movement is a western philosophy that traces its roots 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.
“Antz” was the first feature movie released by Dreamworks SKG, the studio founded by Steven Spielberg and two partners in 1994. “Antz” came out in 1998, and has a stellar cast that includes Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman and many, many other big names. The cartoon is quite unique in that the facial features of the actors providing voices are reflected in the animated characters.
15. Where an Englishman might get a break? : SNOOKER TABLE
Snooker is a fabulous game, played on what looks like a large pool table, 12 x 6 feet 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 first-year cadets and for inexperienced soldiers. Somehow that usage morphed into the name of the game.
George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, the famous British author of the classics “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and “Animal Farm”.
17. Agate alternative : STEELIE
A playing marble made from agate is called just that, an agate. Steelies on the other hand, are made from solid steel.
Onyx is a form of quartz that comes in many different shades, but most often it’s the black version that’s used for jewelry. The name “onyx” comes from the Greek word for “fingernail”, as onyx in the flesh color is said to resemble a fingernail.
28. Small bit of power : WATT
James Watt was a Scottish inventor, a man who figured prominently in the Industrial Revolution in Britain largely due to the improvements he made to the fledgling steam engine. The SI unit of power is called the watt, named in his honor.
29. Injury-monitoring org. : OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector. OSHA regulates just one government agency, the US Postal Service.
31. High-end French retailer : LACOSTE
Lacoste makes a lot of high-end apparel, and is most famous for its tennis shirts. Lacoste is the company that uses the green crocodile logo.
36. Co-worker of Homer on “The Simpsons” : CARL
Carl Carlson is a friend of Homer’s on “The Simpsons”, and one of his co-workers at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Carl is voiced by actor Hank Azaria.
Marc Anthony is the stage name of Marco Antonio Muñiz, a Puerto Rican-American singer. Anthony has a musically-adept spouse … Jennifer Lopez.
The Museo del Prado is in Madrid, the capital of Spain, and has one of the finest art collections in the world. The galleries most famous work is “Las Meninas” By Velazquez.
43. The King Henry who founded the Tudor dynasty : VII
The Wars of the Roses was a series of civil wars fought for the throne of England, between the rival House of Lancaster and York. Ultimately the Lancastrians emerged victorious after Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry was crowned King Henry VII and united the two Houses by marrying his cousin, Elizabeth of York. Henry had a relatively long reign of 23 years that lasted until his death, after which his son succeeded to the throne as Henry VIII.
46. “Our Gang” girl : DARLA
Alfalfa’s love interest in “Our Gang” was Darla, whose real name was Darla Hood. Darla became quite a successful singer after she grew out of the “Our Gang” role.
47. Spanish hero of yore : EL CID
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar was known as El Cid Campeador, which translates as “The Champion” or perhaps “The Lord, Master of Military Arts”. El Cid was a soldier who fought under the rule of King Alfonso VI of Spain (among others). However, he was sent into exile by the King in 1080, after acting beyond his authorization in battle. El Cid then offered his services to his former foes, the Moorish kings, and after a number of years of building a reputation with the Moors, he was recalled from exile by Alfonso. By this time El Cid was very much his own man. Nominally under the orders of Alfonso he led a combined army of Spanish and Moorish troops and took the city of Valencia on the Mediterranean coast, making it is headquarters and home. He died there, quite peacefully in 1099.
52. Subj. of Form 1040’s line 32 : IRA
I have to tell you, when I first came to the US from Ireland, it was pretty confusing seeing huge signs alongside the freeway touting contributions to your IRA. Back in Ireland, that was pretty illegal (where IRA stands for the outlawed Irish Republican Army!).
55. How to address a maj.? : APO
Send your letters to the Major via an Army Post Office.
56. Small part of a pound? : FLEA
There may be a few fleas at the dog pound.
58. Opposite of leg., in music : STAC
Staccato is a musical direction, signifying that notes should be played in a disconnected form. The opposite of staccato would be legato, long and continuous notes played very smoothly.
64. Some campfire makers : HOBOS
No one seems to know for sure how the term “hobo” originated, although there are lots of colorful theories. My favorite is that “hobo” comes from the first letters in the words “homeward bound”, but it doesn’t seem very plausible. Hobos differed from “tramps” and “bums”, in that “bums” refused to work, “tramps” worked when they had to, while “hobos” traveled in search of work.
Kansai International Airport is a remarkable facility built on an artificial island out in the middle of Osaka Bay. At the time it was built (starting in 1987) it was the most expensive construction project in history.
The celebrated Dutch painter’s full name was Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (sometimes Ryn). He is perhaps most appreciated for his portraits, and left the world a remarkable collection of self-portraits.
74. Big initials in news : MSNBC
MSNBC was founded in 1996 as a partnership between Microsoft (the “MS”) and General Electric’s “NBC” broadcasting operation. Microsoft only owns a minority share in MSNBC today, but is still an equal partner in the separate company, msnbc.com.
78. Broccoli ___ : RABE
Broccoli Rabe is perhaps better known as rapini, and is a vegetable often used in Mediterranean cuisines. It is quite delicious sauteed with garlic …
79. Japanese port : KOBE
Kobe is a city on the island of Honshu in Japan, and yes, basketball star Kobe Bryant is named after the Japanese city.
80. Stat for Seaver or Santana : ERA
Tom Seaver is a former baseball pitcher, noted for his ten-year stint with the New York Mets from 1967 to 1977. He earned the nickname “Tom Terrific”, and is the only Met player to have his jersey number retired. When he quit baseball he moved out here to California and opened up a small winery in Calistoga. Keep an eye out for the vineyard’s name, “Seaver Family Vineyards”, and their cabernets “Nancy’s Fancy” and “GTS”.
Johan Santana is a pitcher for the New York Mets, a native of Venezuela.
81. “Ta-___ Boom-de-ay” : RA-RA
“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-ay” is an old music hall song from the late 1800s.
The “Essays of Elia” began appearing in “London Magazine” in 1820, and were immediate hits with the public. The author was Charles Lamb, and Elia was actually a clerk and one of Lamb’s co-workers. The most famous of the essays in the collection are probably “Dream-Children” and “Old China”.
87. Tried to make it home, say : SLID
A baseball slide that is …
89. Skedaddle : VAMOOSE
“To vamoose” is to “to leave”, and comes from the Spanish “vamos” meaning “let us go”.
“Skedaddle ” is a slang term meaning “run away”, and dates back to the Civil War.
91. Tack : VEER
“To tack” is a sailing term, meaning to veer into and through the wind in order change course, resulting in the wind coming over the opposite side of the vessel after the tack is completed.
In French speaking countries a bébé (baby) needs lait (milk).
The Buffalo Sabres joined the NHL in the 1970-71 season. The team took the name “Sabres” following a fan contest.
105. Home of the Bahla Fort and nearby oasis : OMAN
The town of Bahla in Oman is famous for it’s old fort, pottery and a surrounding oasis.
106. Arizona’s ___ Verde Nuclear Generating Station : PALO
The Palo Verde nuclear power plant lies just 45 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona. Every other nuclear power plant in the world is located near to a source of water which is used for cooling, but the Palo Verde plant, located in the desert, evaporates water from treated sewage.
107. Hence : ERGO
“Ergo” is the Latin word for “hence, therefore”.
109. Eastern blueblood : RANI
A ranee (also spelled rani) is the female equivalent of a raja in India.
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 recent 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.
115. ___ Lingus : AER
Aer Lingus, my favorite airline! Well, the service isn’t great, to be honest, but when I get on board an Aer Lingus plane I feel like I am back in Ireland. Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland, with Aer Lingus being a phonetic spelling of the Irish “aer-loingeas” meaning “air fleet”. These days Aer Lingus can only lay claim to the title of Ireland’s oldest airline as it’s no longer the biggest. That honor goes to the controversial Ryan Air.
“Kenan & Kel” is a sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 2000. It starred Kenan Thompson (now of “Saturday Night Live”), and Kel Mitchell.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Little reminders : POST-ITS
8. Bad record, e.g. : STIGMA
14. Coiled killers : ASPS
18. Home of Elaine, in Arthurian legend : ASTOLAT
19. Pirate’s support : PEGLEG
20. Donne piece : SONNET
22. “Should I say ‘Come here often?’ or ‘Hey, babe!'”? : WHAT’S MY BAR LINE
24. Recite, as a prayer : INTONE
25. See 23-Down : TEASER
26. Area banning pub regulars? : NO BARFLY ZONE
28. Heartache : WOE
30. “Before I forget …” : ALSO
32. Losing tic-tac-toe row : OOX
33. Actor Penn of “Van Wilder” : KAL
34. Kind of jelly : ASPIC
37. Connecting word : VIA
38. Pirate’s support? : MAST
41. Capitol Records’ parent co. : EMI
42. Lines on a Dan Brown best seller? : THE DA VINCI BAR CODE
48. “Riddle-me-___” : REE
49. Like some yoga : TANTRIC
50. Sworn secrecy : OMERTA
51. Settled (on) : ALIT
53. E.T.’s ability to use the lower part of a keyboard? : ALIEN SPACE BAR CRAFT
58. Carpet option : SHAG
61. Subject for gossip : ITEM
62. Easily swayed : PLIABLE
63. ___ Dan (Israeli archaeological site) : TEL
64. Guidebook recommendation : HOSTEL
67. Not in the country : ABROAD
70. N.Y.C. avenue : LEX
71. “Welcome to the Jungle” rocker : AXL ROSE
73. Support provider : ALLY
74. Crux : MEAT
75. Where dimwitted people pay to drink? : CASH BAR FOR CLUNKERS
82. Won : TOOK
83. Some potatoes : IDAHOS
84. Smoothie ingredients : ORANGES
88. Starts of some reproductions : OVA
90. Like a former 97-pound weakling? : SAVED BY THE BARBELL
93. It’s bad to be over it : PAR
94. To be, to Augustus : ESSE
95. Chemical suffix : -ENE
96. When Macbeth asks “Is this a dagger which I see before me?” : ACT II
97. “Holy smokes!,” to a teen : OMG
98. Montréal’s ___ des Soeurs : ILE
100. No. 2: Abbr. : ASST
102. Little guy : LAD
103. Dramatic production about Ivory or Dial? : SOAP BAR OPERA
108. 1974 hit whose title is sung twice after “Como una promesa” : ERES TU
113. Horn of Africa native : SOMALI
114. Certain cases of the munchies? : MARS BAR ATTACKS
118. Early online forum : USENET
119. Author of the 2009 book subtitled “A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis” : AL GORE
120. Protest sign : NO NUKES
121. Quagmire : MESS
122. Midday meeting : NOONER
123. Chic : IN STYLE
Down
1. Mitt : PAW
2. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH
3. Attica, e.g., informally : STATE PEN
4. Carry-on : TOTE
5. Lund of “Casablanca” : ILSA
6. Headwear worn over dreadlocks : TAMS
7. Eye problem : STYE
8. Day ___ : SPA
9. Coastal fliers : TERNS
10. Home under the midnight sun : IGLOO
11. Silver-tongued : GLIB
12. Actress Suvari : MENA
13. New ___ : AGER
14. DreamWorks’s first animated film : ANTZ
15. Where an Englishman might get a break? : SNOOKER TABLE
16. George Orwell, e.g. : PEN NAME
17. Agate alternative : STEELIE
20. Storage spot : SILO
21. Jet black : ONYX
23. With 25-Across, a puzzle : BRAIN
27. Picture, commercially : FOTO
28. Small bit of power : WATT
29. Injury-monitoring org. : OSHA
31. High-end French retailer : LACOSTE
35. Aid in lost and found : ID TAG
36. Co-worker of Homer on “The Simpsons” : CARL
37. Underworld activities : VICE
38. Singer Anthony : MARC
39. El Prado hangings : ARTE
40. Union deserter, maybe : SCAB
43. The King Henry who founded the Tudor dynasty : VII
44. Push : IMPEL
45. Show of pride : BEAM
46. “Our Gang” girl : DARLA
47. Spanish hero of yore : EL CID
52. Subj. of Form 1040’s line 32 : IRA
54. Tiny complaint : NIT
55. How to address a maj.? : APO
56. Small part of a pound? : FLEA
57. Modern communication : TEXT
58. Opposite of leg., in music : STAC
59. Prefix with -pod : HEXA-
60. Annual baseball events : ALL-STAR GAMES
64. Some campfire makers : HOBOS
65. Home of Kansai International Airport : OSAKA
66. Special delivery on Sun. : SER
67. Divide up : ALLOT
68. Some sweet wines : BLUSHES
69. Rembrandt van ___ : RYN
72. Fraternity chapter #17 : RHO
73. Bruised, say : ACHY
74. Big initials in news : MSNBC
76. Cries of disgust : FIES
77. Betting line : ODDS
78. Broccoli ___ : RABE
79. Japanese port : KOBE
80. Stat for Seaver or Santana : ERA
81. “Ta-___ Boom-de-ay” : RA-RA
85. Score on a night out : GET LUCKY
86. Lamb not found on a farm : ELIA
87. Tried to make it home, say : SLID
88. Pouch bearer : OPOSSUM
89. Skedaddle : VAMOOSE
91. Tack : VEER
92. A.T.M. button : ENTER
98. Suffix with contempt : -IBLE
99. Bébé’s need : LAIT
100. Match play? : ARSON
101. Buffalo N.H.L.’er : SABRE
104. Roasts : PANS
105. Home of the Bahla Fort and nearby oasis : OMAN
106. Arizona’s ___ Verde Nuclear Generating Station : PALO
107. Hence : ERGO
109. Eastern blueblood : RANI
110. School near the Royal Windsor Racecourse : ETON
111. Radio choices: Abbr. : STNS
112. Strained : TAUT
115. ___ Lingus : AER
116. Kenan’s old partner on Nickelodeon : KEL
117. D.C.-to-Va. Beach direction : SSE