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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
CROSSWORD SETTER: Brendan Emmett Quigley
THEME: CHICK LIT … all the theme answers are the titles to novels featuring types of birds:
23A. Chick lit book #1 (1992) : THE PELICAN BRIEF
33A. Chick lit book #2, with “The” (1843) : UGLY DUCKLING
39A. Chick lit book #3 (1965) : THE STERILE CUCKOO
59A. Chick lit book #4 (1974) : SIX DAYS OF THE CONDOR
69A. Chick lit book #5 (1960) : TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
87A. Chick lit book #6 (1930) : THE MALTESE FALCON
95A. Chick lit book #7 (1985) : LONESOME DOVE
109A. Chick lit book #8 (1967) : WHERE EAGLES DARE
COMPLETION TIME: 40m 48s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
15. ___ Works : KRUPP
The Krupp manufacturing interest originated with Freidrich Krupp who inherited an iron forge that the family owned in Essen. Friedrich made some not-so-clever investments designed to get the family into the cast steel business. Friedrich died quite young, and his son, Alfred, had to take over the struggling steelworks at only 14 years of age. When he took the helm, the company had five workers. At the time of his death there were about 20,000 employees, and Krupp’s was the world’s largest industrial company.
“Wyoming Outlaw” is a 1939 western movie starring John Wayne. It is one of a whole series of “Three Mesquiteers” films, westerns made between 1936 and 1943 that had three “good guys” leading the storyline, as in the Dumas novel “The Three Musketeers” (okay okay, I know, Dumas really created four good guys!).
“The Pelican Brief” is a 1992 novel by John Grisham, one of his signature legal-suspense thrillers. It was adapted into a very good movie released in 1993 starring Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts.
25. Italy’s longest river : THE PO
The Po is the longest river in Italy and runs almost due east across the north of the country, passing through the city of Turin along the way.
26. ___ Pie Island (artist commune on the Thames) : EEL
Eel Pie Island is in the River Thames, in the western side of Greater London. It is privately owned, and is home to about 50 houses and a few small businesses. It can only be accessed by footbridge or boat. Peter Townshend of The Who had a recording studio nearby on the mainland, one that he called Eel Pie Studios.
27. Turned right : GEED
“Haw!” is a command given to a trained animal that is hauling something (like a horse or an ox). “Haw” is used to instruct the animal turn to the left. The equivalent command for a right turn is “Gee!”
28. The Browns, on sports tickers : CLE
The Cleveland Browns football team was a charter member of the All-American Football Conference, formed in 1946. Cleveland is the only NFL city that has never hosted, and has never sent a team to the Super Bowl.
33. Chick lit book #2, with “The” (1843) : UGLY DUCKLING
Hans Christian Andersen’s tale “The Ugly Duckling” has to be one of the most endearing ever written. Unlike so many “fairy tales”, “The Ugly Duckling” isn’t based on any folklore and simply a product of Andersen’s imagination. It is speculated that Andersen was the illegitimate son of the Crown Prince of Denmark, and that he wrote the story of the ugly duckling that turned into a beautiful swan as a metaphor for the secret royal lineage that was within Andersen himself.
“The Sterile Cuckoo” is a novel by John Nichols, first published in 1965. It was made into what perhaps is a more famous movie, released in 1969 and starring Liza Minnelli.
Owen D. Young was an American industrialist. He served as a diplomat at the Second Reparations Conference in 1929 that revisited the level of reparations negotiated at the Treaty of Versailles to be paid by Germany after WWI. Young is also noted as the founder of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). He was chosen as Time’s Man of the Year in 1929.
48. Two-time N.B.A. M.V.P. Steve : NASH
Steve Nash is professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns. Nash is from Canada, although he was actually born in South Africa.
51. Italian city where pizza was invented : NAPOLI
Pizza was invented in Naples where it has a long tradition that goes back to Ancient Rome. During an 1889 visit to the city, Queen Margherita of Savoy was served a special pizza that was created with toppings designed to mimic the colors of the Italian flag. The ingredients of tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green) can still be found together on menus today on a pie usually named Pizza Margherita after the Queen. I do love basil on my pizza …
56. P.R. locale : ATL
Puerto Rico is located in the northeastern Caribbean (in the Atlantic Ocean), east of the Dominican Republic. The name “Puerto Rico” is Spanish for “rich port”. The locals often call their island Borinquen, the Spanish form of “Boriken”, the original name used by the natives, .
Philip Morris changed its name to Altria in 2003 as part of a reorganization. The reasons for the name change are the subject of speculation but industry commentators agree that the company wanted to distance itself from the historical negativity associated with the Philip Morris name due to the many legal and social issues created by its tobacco products.
I haven’t read the novel “Six Days of the Condor”, by James Grady, but the 1975 movie adaptation, called “Three Days of the Condor”, is an excellent thriller. It stars Robert Redford as relatively low-level CIA employee who gets caught up in agency politics and murders. Grady wrote a follow-up novel that was published in 1978 called “Shadow of the Condor”.
64. Iron Man co-creator : STAN LEE
Iron Man is another one of those comic book superheroes, created by Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. The character has become very famous in the last couple of years, since the appearance of the 2008 action movie “Iron Man” starring Robert Downey, Jr. in the title role. “Iron Man 2” was released in May 2010. I’ll be skipping both …
Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was first published in 1960. The book is a mainstay in English literature classes all around the world, a great ambassador for American literature, I’d say.
74. “A Dog of Flanders” writer : OUIDA
Ouida was the pen name of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé. Her novel “A Dog of Flanders” was first published in 1872. The story tells of a young Flemish boy and his dog, and as it is a book of English origin it isn’t really read much in Belgium. But the popularity of the story attracts visitors to Antwerp, and now there is a small statue of the boy and his dog in the city, and plaque in front of Antwerp Cathedral that was donated by the Japanese car company, Toyota. Apparently “A Dog in Flanders” is incredibly popular in Japan.
75. Pip of “Great Expectations,” e.g. : LAD
The novel “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is written in the first person, through the eyes of the hero of the piece. a young orphan boy called Pip.
82. Theater with fans : NOH
Noh is a form of musical drama in Japan, that has been around since the 14th century. Many of the performers are masked, allowing all the roles to be played by men, both male and female parts.
Alan Colmes is a relatively liberal political commentator that does a lot of work for Fox News on television and radio. He used to square off against conservative commentator Sean Hannity on the TV show “Hannity and Colmes”.
85. Nerve cell projection : AXON
A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron, and the long nerve fiber that is part of the neuron is called the axon.
The classic detective novel “The Maltese Falcon” was written by Dashiell Hammett, and first published in 1930. The main character if of course Sam Spade, famously played by Humphrey Bogart in the third movie adaptation of the book, released in 1941.
93. Tel Aviv’s ___ Park : MEIR
Golda Meir was known as the “Iron Lady” when she was Prime Minister of Israel, long before the term came to be associated with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev (in modern-day Ukraine), and when she was a young girl she moved with her family to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. As a teenager she relocated to Denver, where she met and married Morris Meyerson, at the age of 19. She and her husband joined a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921, when she was in her twenties. She had been active in politics in the US, and continued her political work in Palestine. She was very influential during WWII, and played a leading role in negotiations after the war leading to the setting up of the state of Israel. By the time she was called on to lead the country, she had already retired, citing exhaustion and ill health. But serve she did, and led the country during turbulent times (e.g. the massacre at the Munich Olympics, the Yom Kippur War). She eventually resigned in 1974, saying that was what the people wanted.
“Lonesome Dove” is a Pulitzer-winning western novel by Larry McMurtry, first published in 1985. The novel was originally written as a screenplay some ten years earlier, for a feature film that never made it to the screen called “The Streets of Laredo”, The movie fell through because John Wayne pulled out of the project, whereas James Stewart and Henry Fonda were all set to go.
Is it just me or would “Sex and the City” be so much better without the two romantic leads, Carrie and Mr. Big? Carrie Bradshaw is played by Sarah Jessica Parker, and Mr. Big (aka John James Preston) is played by Chris Noth.
105. Philadelphia’s ___ Whitman Bridge : WALT
The Walt Whitman Bridge crosses the Delaware River and joins Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey. The bridge is named for Whitman as the poet spent the latter years of his life in nearby Camden, New Jersey.
106. Environmental pollutant, for short : PCB
Polychlorinated biphenyl …
Alistair MacLean wrote his wonderful novel “Where Eagles Dare” while also writing the screenplay for the 1968 movie of the same name. The film is a great action thriller set in WWII, starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood.
116. Spread, as rumors : BRUITED
The verb “to bruit” means to repeat, spread news or rumors. It comes from the Old French “bruire”, meaning “to roar”, which I suppose is apt enough.
Down
1. Rose high in some people’s estimation : PETE
Pete Rose was a talented baseball player and holds the record for all-time major league hits. In recent years of course his reputation has been tarnished by admissions that he bet on games in which he played and managed.
5. Mille & ___ Roses (Lancôme perfume) : UNE
Lancôme Paris is a brand of makeup. Founded in 1935, the name Lancôme comes from the name of an old French castle, the Château de Lancosme.
Colgate University is a private school in Hamilton, New York. The Colgate family, of toothpaste fame, were major contributors so the school was named in its honor.
7. Stage light : KLIEG
A Klieg light is the intensely bright spotlight used to illuminate film sets and theater stages. The lights use tungsten-halogen filaments, and were invented by brothers John and Anton Kliegl.
9. True-crime writer Rule : ANN
Ann Rule is a true crime writer, who comes from a crime-fighting family with sheriffs, a medical examiner and a prosecutor around her as she grew up. She started off writing with a male pen name (Andy Stack) as it was perceived that she would have more success in the genre, after a virtual “sex change”.
11. First horse to compete in all three Triple Crown races : WAR CLOUD
War Cloud was a British-bred racehorse, sold as yearling and shipped to the US. He was the first horse to compete in all three Triple Crown races, although he didn’t win any of them.
Hugh Hefner is from Chicago. His first publishing job was in the military, where he worked as a writer for an Army newspaper (from 1944-46). He went to college after his military service, and then worked as a copywriter for “Esquire” magazine. He left “Esquire” to found his own “Playboy”, which was first published in 1953. It has been around ever since.
Leo Kottke is an acoustic guitarist. He had to move away from his signature, aggressive picking style in the early eighties as the repetitive motions caused severe tendinitis and nerve damage. But, he is still playing …
16. 1986 Indy 500 winner : RAHAL
Bobby Rahal is an auto racing driver and team owner. He won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 as a driver, and won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 as a team owner (the driver was Buddy Rice).
18. ___ the Short, early king of the Franks : PEPIN
Pepin the Short was the Duke of the Franks from 751 to 768. He expanded the Frankish Empire, and then the law dictated that he had leave the Empire divided between his two sons, Carloman I and Charlemagne. Carloman I was given lands that were centered around Paris, and Charlemagne was given lands that completely surrounded his brothers territory. So it fell to Charlemagne to defend and extend the borders of the empire, and because of this it is Charlemagne that we read about today, not Carloman I. And it was Emperor Charlemagne who in effect founded the Holy Roman Empire.
29. “What moves you” sloganeer : SCION
Scion is a brand name of automobile introduced for the North American market by Toyota. The brand is targeted at younger drivers.
Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. There is a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the city’s main street erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. The city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
The first person to coin the phrase “Old Glory”, with reference to the American flag, was Captain William Driver, a ship master from Salem, Massachusetts. As he was leaving on an 1831 voyage aboard the brig Charles Doggett, he unfurled the American flag that he had just been given by a group of friends. As the flag caught the breeze, he uttered the words, “Old Glory!”. That’s the story anyway. By the way, on that same voyage, Charles Doggett rescued the famous mutineers of the HMS Bounty, when he found them on Pitcairn Island.
Morning glory is the familiar name for many species of flowering plants.
After Albert Einstein moved to the US in 1933, he became quite a celebrity and his face was readily recognizable. He was frequently stopped in the street by people who would naively ask him if he could explain what “that theory” (i.e. the theory of relativity) was all about. Growing tired of this, he finally learned to tell people that he was sorry, but folks were constantly mistaking him for Albert Einstein!
42. Ulster or Norfolk : COAT
If you’ve watched Victorian dramas you might have seen the original Ulster coat, which is very distinctive. It is a full length, heavy coat, with an attached cape made from the same material that hangs down as far as the waist. The cape was dropped in the 20th century, and now an Ulster a relatively simple, hard-wearing, double-breasted overcoat.
The Norfolk was originally designed as a shooting jacket. It has box pleats on the front and back and does not bind when the arms are raised to fire a gun.
“A Cooking Egg” is a poem by T.S. Eliot first published in 1919. The poem is sometimes cited as evidence of Eliot’s antisemitism as it contains a couplet that goes “The red-eyed scavengers are creeping/ From Kentish Town and Golder’s Green”. Kentish Town and Golder’s Green were largely Jewish neighborhoods of London.
55. Skating maneuver : AXEL
An Axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. It was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.
57. Femur or tibia : LEG BONE
The fibula is the calf bone and lies beside the tibia, with both bones sitting under the femur.
The tibia is larger of the two bones right below the knee, and is the strongest weight-bearing bone in the human body. “Tibia” is the Roman name for a Greek flute and it is thought that the shin bone was given the same name because flutes were often fashioned out of the shin bones of animals.
Dee Snider is the frontman from the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. Not my kind of music …
63. YouTube selection : CLIP
YouTube is a video-sharing website. It was started in 2005 by three ex-PayPal employees. Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Yep, $1.65 billion … less than two years after it was founded …
The Akita breed of dog is named for its point of origin, the Akita Prefecture in Japan. When Helen Keller visited Japan in 1937, she asked for and was given an Akita breed of dog, with the name of Kamikaze-go. Sadly, the dog died within a year, from distemper. The following year the Japanese government officially presented Keller with a replacement dog. Supposedly Keller’s dog’s were the first members of the breed to be introduced into the US.
71. Lakers star Lamar : ODOM
Lamar Odom is a basketball forward playing for the LA Lakers. Apparently Odom loves candy, and that’s how he earned his nickname, “The Candy Man”.
The Calgary Flames are a professional hockey team based in the Alberta city. The team has been in Calgary since 1980, but was founded in 1972 in the US as the Atlanta Flames.
77. Clear of charges : EXCULPATE
Exculpate is a such a lovely word. Meaning to clear of guilt, it comes from the Latin “ex culpa” which translates as “from blame”.
The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program.
85. Part of many ristorante dish names : ALLA
The Italian term “alla” oft seen on a menu means “in the style of”, and is the equivalent of the French “à la”.
89. Book before Num. : LEV
In the Bible, the Book of Leviticus comes after the Book of Numbers.
91. Locale for many a gondola : ALP
Gondola was originally used just to describe the famous boats that travel around the canals of Venice. When man started to fly though the air in hot air balloons, gondola was used for the basket in which the passenger(s) traveled. By extension, the structure carrying passengers and crew under an airship is also called a gondola, as are the cars suspended from a cable at a ski resort.
96. Home of ConAgra : OMAHA
ConAgra foods is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Even the name of the company defines it as the antithesis of the local “farmers market”. ConAgra is derived from the words “consolidated” and “agriculture”.
98. Día de los Reyes month : ENERO
The holiday in the Christian tradition known as the Epiphany falls on January 6th. In many Spanish-speaking countries, the Epiphany is called Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings).
100. Pacers’ contests? : DUELS
After the invention of firearms, one dueling tradition was for the combatants to walk a predetermined number of paces away from each other, and then turn and fire.
“Doctor Who” is a famous BBC show, first aired in 1963. It is the longest running science fiction TV show in the world and it still has a huge following.
110. Samurai’s home : EDO
Edo is the former name of the Japanese city of Tokyo. Edo was the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime that ruled from 1603 until 1868. The shogun lived in the magnificent Edo castle. Some parts of the original castle remain, and today’s Tokyo Imperial Palace, the residence of the Emperor of Japan, was built on its grounds.
Évian-les-Bains (or simply Évian) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva, directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As you might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. I can’t stand the taste of Évian water …
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Dinner party : POT LUCK
8. Accompanied on a ticket : RAN WITH
15. ___ Works : KRUPP
20. Biofuel option : ETHANOL
21. Size of a football field, roughly : ONE ACRE
22. “Wyoming Outlaw,” e.g. : OATER
23. Chick lit book #1 (1992) : THE PELICAN BRIEF
25. Italy’s longest river : THE PO
26. ___ Pie Island (artist commune on the Thames) : EEL
27. Turned right : GEED
28. The Browns, on sports tickers : CLE
29. Headline : STAR IN
30. A nut might go on one : RAMPAGE
33. Chick lit book #2, with “The” (1843) : UGLY DUCKLING
36. Bear witness : ATTEST
37. ___ Franco (watch brand) : GINO
38. “Down with thee!” : FIE
39. Chick lit book #3 (1965) : THE STERILE CUCKOO
44. ___ D. Young (Time’s Man of the Year in 1929) : OWEN
48. Two-time N.B.A. M.V.P. Steve : NASH
49. Kerfuffles : ADOS
50. Emphatic acceptance : DO I
51. Italian city where pizza was invented : NAPOLI
53. Mich. neighbor : ONT
54. Clumsy handler : PAWER
56. P.R. locale : ATL
58. Brand introduced by Philip Morris in 1975 : MERIT
59. Chick lit book #4 (1974) : SIX DAYS OF THE CONDOR
64. Iron Man co-creator : STAN LEE
67. Where 76-Across may be worn : EAR
68. Affixes on : GLUES TO
69. Chick lit book #5 (1960) : TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
74. “A Dog of Flanders” writer : OUIDA
75. Pip of “Great Expectations,” e.g. : LAD
76. 67-Across jewelry : HOOPS
77. Fold member : EWE
80. Says : UTTERS
82. Theater with fans : NOH
84. Political commentator Colmes : ALAN
85. Nerve cell projection : AXON
86. Opponent of Napoleon : TSAR
87. Chick lit book #6 (1930) : THE MALTESE FALCON
92. Start to production? : PRE-
93. Tel Aviv’s ___ Park : MEIR
94. Refer (to) : ALLUDE
95. Chick lit book #7 (1985) : LONESOME DOVE
101. Group in “Sex and the City,” e.g. : GAL PALS
103. Some washers and dryers : AMANAS
104. Wine container : TUN
105. Philadelphia’s ___ Whitman Bridge : WALT
106. Environmental pollutant, for short : PCB
108. Snarl : RAVEL
109. Chick lit book #8 (1967) : WHERE EAGLES DARE
114. Bracelet attachment : CHARM
115. Christmas or Yom Kippur : HOLY DAY
116. Spread, as rumors : BRUITED
117. Some church overhead? : HALOS
118. Bony : OSSEOUS
119. Game highlights shower : ESPNEWS
Down
1. Rose high in some people’s estimation : PETE
2. Besides : OTHER THAN
3. Gossip fodder : THE LATEST
4. Down, with “up”? : LAP
5. Mille & ___ Roses (Lancôme perfume) : UNE
6. School in the Patriot League : COLGATE
7. Stage light : KLIEG
8. Artery : ROAD
9. True-crime writer Rule : ANN
10. Home of Agate Fossil Beds Natl. Monument : NEB
11. First horse to compete in all three Triple Crown races : WAR CLOUD
12. With cold feeling : ICILY
13. Stuck : TREED
14. Famous bathrobe wearer, informally : HEF
15. Folk guitarist Leo : KOTTKE
16. 1986 Indy 500 winner : RAHAL
17. Wombs : UTERI
18. ___ the Short, early king of the Franks : PEPIN
19. Power cord feature : PRONG
24. Chess opening? : CEE
29. “What moves you” sloganeer : SCION
31. Mosquito protection : MESH
32. Reno setting: Abbr. : PST
33. 180s : UIES
34. Vitamin and supplement chain : GNC
35. Night light? : UFO
36. ___ time (never) : AT NO
37. Old or morning follower : GLORY
40. Harsh treatment : RAW DEAL
41. “If at first, the ___ is not absurd, then there is no hope for it”: Einstein : IDEA
42. Ulster or Norfolk : COAT
43. Friends and neighbors : KITH
44. Broached : OPENED
45. A quarrel : WORDS
46. “A Cooking Egg” poet : ELIOT
47. Dodge S.U.V. : NITRO
52. Affairs : AMOURS
54. Part of a support group : PILLAR
55. Skating maneuver : AXEL
57. Femur or tibia : LEG BONE
59. Rock singer Dee : SNIDER
60. “Just a ___” : SEC
61. Bookcase material : OAK
62. When most movies open: Abbr. : FRI
63. YouTube selection : CLIP
64. Bar selection : STOUT
65. Hypes : TOUTS
66. Dog named after a Japanese prefecture : AKITA
70. Werewolf feature : MANE
71. Lakers star Lamar : ODOM
72. Flame, e.g. : NHLER
73. Impersonate, in a way : GO AS
77. Clear of charges : EXCULPATE
78. Carpentry fastener : WOOD SCREW
79. -ess alternative : -ENNE
81. 2005 World Series team, for short : STROS
83. Classic sandwich : HAM ON RYE
84. End in ___ : A TIE
85. Part of many ristorante dish names : ALLA
88. Shift’s end? : HEM
89. Book before Num. : LEV
90. Hesitates : FALTERS
91. Locale for many a gondola : ALP
92. Whence the phrase “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep” : PSALMS
95. Conifer with durable wood : LARCH
96. Home of ConAgra : OMAHA
97. Seagoing : NAVAL
98. Día de los Reyes month : ENERO
99. Group think? : ETHOS
100. Pacers’ contests? : DUELS
101. [blech!] : GAG
102. “Let’s ___ There” (old NBC slogan) : ALL BE
105. Maze choices : WAYS
107. Tanning salon fixtures : BEDS
109. Doctor ___ from the planet Gallifrey : WHO
110. Samurai’s home : EDO
111. Évian, e.g. : EAU
112. “Yo!” : SUP
113. Hue and cry : DIN
Does anyone know what happened to Dimepiece Los Angeles celebrity streetwear brand? I am having trouble to check out on Dimepiecela site. I’ve read in Teen Vogue that the brand was bought out by a UK-based hedge fund in excess of $50m. I have just bought the Meditate Stainless Steel Water Bottle from Amazon and absolutely love it xox