Quicklinks:
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: Alan Arbesfeld
THEME: Ball..strike…ball…strike…FULL-COUNT PITCH … all the theme clues lead up to the full-count pitch in baseball:
17. Ball : GREAT TIME
24. Strike : WORK STOPPAGE
29. Ball : LAVISH PARTY
40. Strike : BOWLER’S COUP
46. Ball : TV COMEDIENNE
59. With 61-Across, follower of the five italicized clues : FULL COUNT
61. See 59-Across : PITCH
COMPLETION TIME: 12m 21s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 4 … MOPSY (TOPSY), MSU (TSU), CURIAE (CURSAE), EILAT (ESLAT)
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
Pan Am started out as a mail and passenger service between Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba in 1927. From very early in the company’s life it was the de facto representative air carrier of the United States. For many years Pan Am’s fleet was built around the Boeing 314 Clipper, a long-range flying boat that was one of the largest aircraft around at the time. Pan Am adopted the Clipper as part of its image, even using “clipper” as the call sign for its flights.
6. Ltd., here : INC
In Britain and Ireland the most common type of business (my perception anyway) is one which has private shareholders whose liability is limited to the value of their investment. Such a company is known as a private limited company, and has the letters “Ltd” after the name. If the shares are publicly traded, then the company is a public limited company, and has the letters “plc” after the name.
Beatrix Potter was an English author, famous for the children’s books she wrote and illustrated. The most famous character in her stories was Peter Rabbit, whose sisters were Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. Potter put her talent as an artist to good use in the scientific world as well. She recorded many images of lichens and fungi as seen through her microscope. As a result of her work, she was respected as an expert mycologist.
Severus Snape is a character in the Harry Potter novels, played by the wonderful Alan Rickman on the big screen.
33. Frittata need : EGG
The word “frittata” is Italian, and comes from “fritto” meaning “fried”.
Rod Serling is of course the man behind, and in front of, the iconic science-fiction TV series “The Twilight Zone”. Serling used a lot of the shows he created to advance his strongly held views against war (he was a soldier in WWII), and against racism.
46. Ball : TV COMEDIENNE
Lucille Ball was at the height of her success while she was married to Desi Arnaz. The couple met in 1940 and not long afterwards eloped. Lucy had several miscarriages before she gave birth to her first child in 1951, just one month before her fortieth birthday. A year and a half later, while “I Love Lucy” was garnering large audiences, she became pregnant with her second child, a pregnancy that was written into the television show’s script. In fact, the day that Lucy gave birth on the show, was the same day that she gave birth in real life.
53. Amicus ___ (friend of the court) : CURIAE
An amicus curiae is a “friend of the court”, and is a concept that originated in Roman law. An amicus curiae is someone who assists a court in a decision, without being a party to the case in question.
Lt. Nyota Uhura was the communications officer in the original “Star Trek” television series, played by Nichelle Nichols. The role was significant in that it was one of the first African American characters to figure front and center in American television. In a 1968 episode Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Uhura kiss, the first inter-racial kiss to be broadcast in the US. Apparently the scene was meant to be shot twice, with and without the kiss, so that network executives could later decide which version to air. William Shatner says that he deliberately ran long on the first shoot (with the kiss) and fluffed the hurried second shoot (without the kiss), so that the network would have no choice.
62. Marco Island locale: Abbr. : FLA
Marco Island is the largest of the barrier islands in southwest Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands.
The French word for sword is épée.
Down
3. Minuscule part of a min. : NSEC
A nanosecond is more correctly abbreviated to “ns”, and really is a tiny amount of time … one billionth of a second.
7. When doubled, gets specific : NAMES
Specifically “names names” …
8. Booty holder : CHEST
Booty, meaning plunder or profit, is derived from the Old French word “butin” which has the same meaning.
Michigan State University’s athletic team is known as the Spartans.
Paula Zahn resigned as an anchor with CNN in 2007. Outside of her work in journalism, Zahn is an accomplished cellist and has played at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra.
13. “Fiddler on the Roof” matchmaker : YENTE
Yenta (Yente) is actually a female Yiddish name. In Yiddish theater it came to mean a busybody.
24. Habeas corpus, e.g. : WRIT
The Latin term habeas corpus translates literally as “you are to have the body”, and is a legal action (i.e. a writ) that is used to release a prisoner from unlawful detention.
29. Far from harsh : LAX
Long before the word “lax” was used to mean loose in terms of rules and discipline, it was used solely to mean “loose” as in “loose bowels”. Yep, lax has the same root as “laxative” …
30. Nave seat : PEW
In large, Christian churches, the nave is the main approach to the altar, where most of the faithful are seated.
“Norma Rae” is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field, a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called “Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance”.
33. Morlocks’ victims in an H. G. Wells story : ELOI
In the 1895 novel by H. G. Wells “The Time Machine”, there were two races that he encountered in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the beautiful people that live on the planet’s surface, while the Morlocks are a race of cannibals living underground who use the Eloi as food.
35. Swindle : GYP
“Gyp” is American slang meaning “cheat”. It dates back to the late 1800s and may derive from the word “gypsy”.
41. Cartel acronym : OPEC
The OPEC cartel (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) was formally established in 1960 and has been headquartered in Vienna since 1965. The US is actually the third largest oil producer in the world (after Russia and Saudi Arabia). One reason America isn’t in OPEC, even though we are a big producer, is that we import a lot more than we export. But you probably knew that already …
42. Kidney-related : RENAL
“Ren” is the Latin word for “kidney”.
43. New York tribe members : SENECAS
The Seneca nation’s name came from their principal village of Osininka. There is no link at all with Seneca the famous Roman statesman, and the similarity in name is just a coincidence.
46. Hosiery shade : TAUPE
Taupe is a dark, gray-brown color. The name “taupe” comes from the Latin name of the European Mole, which has skin with the same color.
All television sets produced for the US market since the year 2000 have to include a component called a V-chip. A V-chip allows a TV to be configured so that programming of specific “ratings” can be blocked from viewing. The “V” in V-chip stands for “viewer control”. It sounds like a great idea, but a lot of kids these days quickly do a search online and work out how to reset the password.
Julia Duffy’s most famous role was the spoiled rich girl who worked as a maid in the Vermont inn run by Bob Newhart in the great television show from the eighties called “Newhart”.
51. Israeli seaport : EILAT
Eilat the most southerly city in Israel, sitting right at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Aqaba.
55. Writer Rice : ANNE
Anne Rice is an American author of erotic and Gothic novels. She was born Howard Allen O’Brien (no wonder she changed her name!). Her series of novels “The Vampire Chronicles” centers on her character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman who was turned into a vampire in the 18th century. One of the stories, “Interview with the Vampire”, was adapted for the big screen in 1994 and features Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and others in a star-studded cast. Not my kind of movie though, as I don’t do vampires …
66. Meal with the Four Questions : SEDER
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. One of the traditions at the meal is that the youngest child at the table asks “The Four Questions”, all relating to why this night is different from all other nights in the year:
– Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
– Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?
Yuu can learn more about the questions (and answers) here.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Former TWA rival : PAN AM
6. Ltd., here : INC
9. Beatrix Potter bunny : MOPSY
14. Supermarket part : AISLE
15. “Fuhgeddaboudit!” : NAH
16. Hogwarts potions professor : SNAPE
17. Ball : GREAT TIME
19. Reversal of policy : U-TURN
20. Upper-left key : ESC
21. “I swear!” : HONEST
23. Came down : ALIT
24. Strike : WORK STOPPAGE
26. What’s in carrots but not celery? : HARD C
28. Ring encouragement : OLE
29. Ball : LAVISH PARTY
33. Frittata need : EGG
36. Bickering : AT IT
37. Subj. of a pilot’s announcement : ETA
38. Get together : ALLY
39. Voted, in a way : XED
40. Strike : BOWLER’S COUP
44. Many a trophy : CUP
45. Like Rod Serling’s stories : EERIE
46. Ball : TV COMEDIENNE
52. Masseur’s target : ACHE
53. Amicus ___ (friend of the court) : CURIAE
54. Suffers from : HAS
57. Kirk subordinate : UHURA
59. With 61-Across, follower of the five italicized clues : FULL-COUNT
61. See 59-Across : PITCH
62. Marco Island locale: Abbr. : FLA
63. Tournament venue : ARENA
64. Pentathletes’ weapons : EPEES
65. Still and all : YET
66. Meal with the Four Questions : SEDER
Down
1. Call for : PAGE
2. They may be put on : AIRS
3. Minuscule part of a min. : NSEC
4. Like : A LA
5. Techniques : METHODS
6. Indelibly written : IN INK
7. When doubled, gets specific : NAMES
8. Booty holder : CHEST
9. The Spartans of the N.C.A.A. : MSU
10. Like some audiobooks : ON TAPE
11. Journalist Zahn : PAULA
12. Garnish unit : SPRIG
13. “Fiddler on the Roof” matchmaker : YENTE
18. Arsonist, slangily : TORCH
22. Tugboat’s call : TOOT
24. Habeas corpus, e.g. : WRIT
25. Veneer layer : PLY
26. Show enmity toward : HATE
27. Like die-hard fans : AVID
29. Far from harsh : LAX
30. Nave seat : PEW
31. N.L. East city : ATL
32. “Norma ___” : RAE
33. Morlocks’ victims in an H. G. Wells story : ELOI
34. Bond former : GLUE
35. Swindle : GYP
38. Zoning unit, maybe : ACRE
40. Spare change seeker : BUM
41. Cartel acronym : OPEC
42. Kidney-related : RENAL
43. New York tribe members : SENECAS
44. Arm-twist : COERCE
46. Hosiery shade : TAUPE
47. Modern screening device : V-CHIP
48. Water park feature : CHUTE
49. Julia of “Designing Women” : DUFFY
50. “That was awesome of me!” : I RULE
51. Israeli seaport : EILAT
54. Tinted : HUED
55. Writer Rice : ANNE
56. Headliner : STAR
58. Sounds of satisfaction : AHS
60. Extracted stuff : ORE