0304-11: New York Times Crossword Answers 4 Mar 11, Friday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
17. Last of Nordhoff and Hall’s “Bounty Trilogy” : PITCAIRN’S ISLAND
Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall wrote “Mutiny on the ‘Bounty'”, based on a true story. They followed up their successful novel with two more works, creating what is now called the “Bounty Trilogy”. The three books are:

1. “Mutiny on the ‘Bounty'”, the tale of the mutiny itself against Captain Bligh.
2. “Men Against the Sea”, the story of Captain Bligh and the eighteen men set adrift in an open boat by the mutineers.
3. “Pitcairn’s Island”, a narrative about the lives of the mutineers on South Sea islands after the mutiny.

30. One of Frank’s four wives : 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 long term relationships with Howard Hughes and bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin whom she met through her friend Ernest Hemingway.

Frank Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants living in Hoboken, New Jersey. Like so many of our heroes, Sinatra had a rough upbringing. His mother was arrested several times and convicted of running an illegal abortion business in the family home. Sinatra never finished high school, being expelled for rowdy conduct, and he was arrested on a morals charge as a youth for carrying on with a married woman, an offence back then. But he straightened himself out by the time he was twenty, and started singing professionally.

31. Book before Phil. : EPH
It seems that the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians is now regarded by scholars as written “in the style of Paul” by someone who was influenced by Paul’s thought.

33. Turn down : NIX
The use of nix as a verb, meaning “to shoot down” dates back to the early 1900s. Before that it was just the noun, meaning “nothing”. This comes from the German “nichts”, which also means “nothing”.

36. Philanthropist/art collector ___ Broad : ELI
Eli Broad made his fortune in real estate, one of the founders of Kaufman and Broad, that we know these days as KB Homes. His net worth was recently reported at just over $5 billion.

37. “Fabien ___ Franchi” (Oscar Wilde poem) : DEI
“Fabien Dei Franchi” is a poem by Oscar Wilde, dedicated to his friend, the English actor Henry Irving.

38. ColorQube maker : XEROX
ColorQube is a line of printers produced by Xerox.

39. Port terminal? : WINE GLASS
The city of Oporto in Portugal gave its name to port wine in the late 1600s, as it was the seaport through which most of the region’s fortified wine was exported.

44. Unknown name : DOE
Though the English court system does not use the term today, John Doe first appeared as the “name of a person unknown” in England in 1659, along with another unknown, Richard Roe. Joe Blow is just a variant of John Doe, and Jane Doe is an unknown female.

45. Latin pronoun : MEA
“Mea” is one form of the Latin for “my”. The phrase “mea culpa” for example, translates as “my fault”.

46. Term popularized by Jesse Jackson : AFRICAN AMERICAN
Jesse Jackson didn’t come up with the term “African American”, but he did bring it into the mainstream by using it in the media, after which the media outlets themselves adopted it. “African American” was embraced quite readily, partly as it took the same form as other ethnic groups (like Irish Americans, say).

56. City on the Niagara Escarpment : HAMILTON, ONTARIO
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cliff, that runs from New York State through Ontario, Michigan Wisconsin into Illinois.

Hamilton, Ontario is a port city on the western end of Lake Ontario. It is a popular location for film shoots, and has been used for mainstream movies such as “Gone in 60 Seconds”, “X-Men”, “Hairspray” and “The Incredible Hulk”.

Down
2. #3 hit from the 1997 album “Surfacing” : ADIA
Based on what I just read, the song “Adia”, co-written by Sarah McLachlan, was written as an apology to her best friend … for stealing her ex-boyfriend, and then marrying him!

3. He followed Dole in the Senate : LOTT
Trent Lott was raised Democrat in Mississippi, but served in Congress as a Republican. He ran into trouble about remarks he made that were interpreted as being racially motivated, and ended up resigning in 2007.

4. Pregnant : ENCEINTE
Enceinte is the French word for “pregnant”, sometimes used in English, although I haven’t heard it outside of France to be honest.

5. Casanova : STALLION
Giacomo Casanova was an 18th century adventurer from Venice. We know so much about him, and his reputation as a womanizer, because he wrote his autobiography “Histoire de ma vie” (Story of My Life). A guy recounting stories of his love life and conquests. All true, I am sure …

7. “The Facts of Life” actress Jewell : GERI
Geri Jewell’s appearances on the TV show “The Facts of Life” were remarkable in that she was the first actor with a disability to have a regular role on a prime time show. Jewell was born with cerebral palsy.

10. Wonder-working biblical figure : ELISHA
The prophet Elisha is mentioned both in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur’an. In the Islam tradition, Elisha is usually known by his Arabic name, Alyasa.

12. Bond girl player in “The Man With the Golden Gun” : EKLAND
Britt Ekland is perhaps best known on screen for playing the female lead in the James Bond film “The Man With the Golden Gun” opposite Roger Moore. Of screen she lived a very public life as the husband of actor and comedian Peter Sellers. Today, she is a very close friend of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne.

21. They’re straddled in pits : CELLI
Celli is the plural of “cello”.

23. Film fish : WANDA
I think that the 1988 comedy “A Fish Called Wanda” is very under-appreciated. It was co-written by, and stars, John Cleese and has an exceptional cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Cleese’s friend from “Monty Python”, Michael Palin. The “fish” in the film is Wanda the con artist, played by Curtis.

24. Brown’s group : IVIES
The term Ivy League originally defined an athletic conference, but now is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

25. Depth finder? : Z-AXIS
The X- and Y-axes are used to define points in a plane. Once the third dimension is added, then in addition to “area” we have “depth”. That third dimension is conventionally called the Z-axis.

26. “La Cage aux Folles” Tony winner : HEARN
Actor George Hearn won two Tony Awards, one for Best Actor in a Musical (as Albin in “La Cage aux Folles”) and the other for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (as Max Von Mayerling in “Sunset Boulevard”).

27. Lhasa ___ (supposed good luck bringers) : APSOS
The Lhasa apso breed of dog originated in Tibet, and is named after Lhasa (the capital city) and apso (a Tibetan word meaning “bearded”). The Lhasa apso has been around since 800 BC and is one of the oldest breeds in the world, one very closely related to the ancestral wolf.

28. “___ Factor” (TV talent show) : THE X
“The X Factor” is another one of Simon Cowell’s TV shows, now a franchise, that searches for talented singers. “The X Factor” is in effect a spin-off the the UK show “Pop Idol” (produced as “American Idol” here in the US), and now there are versions of it all over the world. And “The X Factor” is coming to America in 2011. Oh joy …

29. MGM co-founder : LOEW
Marcus Loew was a New Yorker, born into a poor Jewish family. He started out in a penny arcade business and used its profits to buy into a nickelodeon. He built a whole chain of movie theaters, and then moved into the production of films so that he could guarantee supply of features that he could show in his theaters. Eventually he pulled together the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film production company, passing away just three years after he inked the deal.

45. Intervening, in law : MESNE
Mesne is a legal term describing perhaps an intermediate or intervening step in a process.

49. Hand-passing time : NOON
The big hand passes the little hand at noon.

50. A dozen mesi : ANNO
In Italian, there are twelve “mesi” (months) in an “anno” (year).

51. “Turnin ___” (2009 Keri Hilson hit) : ME ON
Keri Hilson started her career as a songwriter producing hit tracks for others, but she has been making a name for herself as a singer in her own in the past few years. Having said that, it’s a name that I didn’t know, but I live in the past …

52. One loved in 48-Down : CARO
(48. See 52-Down : ROMA)
“Caro” is the Italian word for “dear”.

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Certain contracts : SALES AGREEMENTS
16. Procrastinator’s comment : I DON’T FEEL LIKE IT
17. Last of Nordhoff and Hall’s “Bounty Trilogy” : PITCAIRN’S ISLAND
18. East Germany and such : SATELLITE STATES
19. Infant follower? : -ILE
20. Source of collectible deposits : HEN
21. “Please?” : CAN I
23. What may be put on before spelling? : WIZARD HAT
29. Prefaced : LED TO
30. One of Frank’s four wives : AVA
31. Book before Phil. : EPH
32. ___ times : OLDEN
33. Turn down : NIX
34. Get off the mark? : ERASE
36. Philanthropist/art collector ___ Broad : ELI
37. “Fabien ___ Franchi” (Oscar Wilde poem) : DEI
38. ColorQube maker : XEROX
39. Port terminal? : WINE GLASS
43. They may hold many pks. : CTNS
44. Unknown name : DOE
45. Latin pronoun : MEA
46. Term popularized by Jesse Jackson : AFRICAN AMERICAN
55. Much that has to get done : A LOT ON ONE’S PLATE
56. City on the Niagara Escarpment : HAMILTON, ONTARIO
57. Strain to see, in a way : STAND ON ONE’S TOES

Down
1. Uses a 39-Across : SIPS
2. #3 hit from the 1997 album “Surfacing” : ADIA
3. He followed Dole in the Senate : LOTT
4. Pregnant : ENCEINTE
5. Casanova : STALLION
6. Have ___ on (track the activities of) : A FILE
7. “The Facts of Life” actress Jewell : GERI
8. It may be stabilized : RENT
9. Further : ELSE
10. Wonder-working biblical figure : ELISHA
11. Buddy : MISTER
12. Bond girl player in “The Man With the Golden Gun” : EKLAND
13. Smart : NEAT
14. Point of eating? : TINE
15. Regular things: Abbr. : STDS
21. They’re straddled in pits : CELLI
22. Contribute : ADD IN
23. Film fish : WANDA
24. Brown’s group : IVIES
25. Depth finder? : Z-AXIS
26. “La Cage aux Folles” Tony winner : HEARN
27. Lhasa ___ (supposed good luck bringers) : APSOS
28. “___ Factor” (TV talent show) : THE X
29. MGM co-founder : LOEW
34. Clips : EXCERPTS
35. Go for : RETAIL AT
40. Make part of the manuscript : EDIT IN
41. Lose momentum : GO COLD
42. Rough roof : LEAN TO
45. Intervening, in law : MESNE
46. Music to masseurs’ ears : AAHS
47. Needing to get keyed up? : FLAT
48. See 52-Down : ROMA
49. Hand-passing time : NOON
50. A dozen mesi : ANNO
51. “Turnin ___” (2009 Keri Hilson hit) : ME ON
52. One loved in 48-Down : CARO
53. Play to ___ : A TIE
54. Traditionalists’ opposite, briefly : NEOS

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