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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: Caleb Madison
THEME: USE IT OR LOSE IT … the first half of the theme answers are well-known expressions with the letters IT inserted, and second half are expressions with the letters IT dropped:
23A. Electrical paths in New York City? : BIG APPLE CIRCU(IT)S
33A. Spill a Cuban drink? : LOSE ONE’S MOJ(IT)O
41A. One who says “Beg your pardon” after stepping on your toes? : POL(IT)E DANCER
63A. Preachers’ lies? : PULP(IT) FICTION
73A. What a mashed potato serving may have? : CENTER OF GRAV(IT)Y
94A. Hairdresser’s first do? : LEARNER’S PERM(IT)
102A. Author Amy’s family squabble? : CLASH OF THE T(IT)ANS
117A. The Miracles? : SMOKEY AND THE BAND(IT)
COMPLETION TIME: 25m 53s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
Mikhail “Misha” Baryshnikov started his dancing career with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad before defecting to Canada in 1974. The only time my wife ever lined up to get an autograph was when she did so outside the stage door after seeing Baryshnikov dance in Syracuse, New York many moons ago. The man is a god in her eyes …
There’s no doubt that the 1970 movie “Love Story” is one of the great romantic dramas of all time, but I just think Ali MacGraw was hopelessly miscast and really took the shine off the film for me. I know I am in a small minority that holds that view, as she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance.
21. Vogue’s Wintour and others : ANNAS
Anna Wintour is a fashion editor in Britain, and is also the editor-in-chief of American “Vogue”. Lauren Weisberger wrote the book “The Devil Wears Prada”, with the tyrannical main character apparently based on Wintour.
22. Kind of torch : TIKI
A tiki torch is a bamboo torch that’s very commonly used in Tiki culture. Tiki culture is a modern invention dating from the 20th century and is the experience created in Polynesian-style restaurants. The word “Tiki” is borrowed from Polynesia.
23. Electrical paths in New York City? : BIG APPLE CIRCU(IT)S
Apparently the first published use of the term “Big Apple” to describe New York City dates back to 1909. Edward Martin wrote in his book “The Wayfarer in New York” the following:
“Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city. . . . It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap.”
31. Deux of these are better than un : TETES
In French, two (deux) heads (têtes) are better than one (un).
33. Spill a Cuban drink? : LOSE ONE’S MOJ(IT)O
A Mojito is a Cuban cocktail, although the exact origins appear to be unclear, as does the derivation of the name. Want one? Put 4 mint leaves in a glass, and add the juice of half a lime and a teaspoon of powdered sugar. Muddle the ingredients, smashing them together with a muddler or a spoon. Add some crushed ice, two ounces of white rum and stir. Top with a couple of ounces of club soda, and garnish with a sprig of mint. Cheers!
“Mojo”, meaning magical charm or magnetism, is probably of Creole origin.
39. Housing for the homeless: Abbr. : SRO
An SRO (the abbreviation standing for Single Room Occupancy) is a multiple-tenant building, housing one or two people in each room. Such buildings are often old hotels, with the cost of the housing usually paid for by a government department or a charity.
Mort Sahl is a Canadian-born actor and comedian who moved to the US with his family when he was a child. He became friends with John F. Kennedy, and later when Kennedy became president Sahl wrote a lot of jokes for the President’s speeches, although he also told a lot of Kennedy jokes in his acts. After the President was assassinated in 1963, Sahl was intensely interested in finding out who was behind the crime and even got himself deputized as a member of one of the investigating teams. He was very outspoken against the results of the Warren Commission report on the assassination, and soon found himself out of favor with the public. It took a few years for him to make his comeback, but comeback he did.
“Exodus” is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris, first published in 1947. The book was incredibly well received by the public, and is the second biggest best seller in the US, after “Gone with the Wind”. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, played by Paul Newman in the 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.
50. Father of Deimos and Phobos, in myth : ARES
The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of blood-lust and slaughter.
The hook-and-loop fastener we now call Velcro was invented in 1941 by Georges de Mestral, a Swiss engineer. He noticed that the seeds of the burdock plant (burrs or burs) stuck to his clothes. Under the microscope he found hooks on the burrs, grabbing hold of loops in his clothing. After years of development, he came up with a way of simulating the natural hook using man-made materials.
52. Scot’s “own” : HAE
“Hae” is a Scots word for “have”.
55. Dorm heads, for short : RAS
RAs are resident assistants or resident advisers, the peer leaders found in residence halls, particularly on a college campus.
56. Mmes., in Iberia : SRAS
The Iberian Peninsula in Europe is of course largely made up of Spain and Portugal. However, also included is the Principality of Andorra in the Pyrenees, a small part of the south of France, and the British Territory of Gibraltar.
57. Speak on C-Span, say : ORATE
C-SPAN is a privately funded, non-profit cable channel that broadcasts contimuous coverage of government proceedings.
63. Preachers’ lies? : PULP(IT) FICTION
“Pulp fiction” was the name given to cheap, fiction magazines that were popular from the late 1890s up to the 1950s. The name comes from the inexpensive wood pulp paper that was used for the publications. The upmarket equivalent was printed on fine, glossy paper.
71. Bust planner, in brief : DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration was set up in 1973 under the Nixon administration.
“First Blood” was the original of the four “Rambo” films starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled Vietnam War veteran. I thought “First Blood” was a pretty good film actually, but the sequels were terrible, and way too violent for me. But action all the way …
Dan Rowan was the straight man to funny guy Dick Martin on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. “Laugh-In” was originally a one-off special for NBC broadcast in 1967, but it was so successful that it was brought back as a series tp replce the waning “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” Personally, back then I loved both shows.
81. High-end camera : LEICA
Leica is a German optics company, famous for production of cameras. The 1913 Leica was the first practical camera that could use 35mm film, a size chosen because it was already the standard for film used in motion pictures.
88. Continuing plot in a TV series : ARC
A story arc is a continuing storyline in say a television show that has a number of episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media.
After having been acquitted of the murder of his wife and Ronald Goldman, O. J. Simpson wrote a book called “If I Did It”, a “hypothetical” description of the murders. Publication of the book was cancelled due to public outrage at the prospect of Simpson making money from the crime for which he was widely perceived as having committed. After Simpson was held financially liable for the murders in a civil trial, the rights to the book were transferred to the Goldman family. The Goldmans changed the book’s title to “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer”, and then published. The Goldman version had a cover with the word “If” in very small letters, so the title seems to read “I Did It”.
The Oreo cookie was developed by Nabisco in its Chelsea factory in New York City in 1912. It was introduced mainly for the British market, but became a huge hit in the US.
The Oreo cookie was the biggest seller in the 20th century, and almost 500 billion of them have been produced since they were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco. In those early days the creme filling was made with pork fat, but today vegetable oils are used instead. If you take a bite out of an Oreo sold outside of America you might notice a difference from the homegrown cookie, as coconut oil is added to give a different taste.
91. “Confiteor ___ omnipotenti” (Latin prayer starter) : DEO
The Latin prayer known as the Confiteor is used in the Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions. It is a confession of sins and starts off, “I confess to almighty God …”
101. One way to serve café : AU LAIT
Café au lait (“coffee with milk”) is usually strong, drip coffee to which one adds steamed milk. At least that’s the way we tend to make in this country.
Amy Tan lives not too far from here in Sausalito, just north of San Francisco. She is an American writer of Chinese descent whose most successful work is “The Joy Luck Club”. “The Joy Luck Club” was made into a movie produced by Oliver Stone in 1993. The novel and movie tell of four Chinese-American immigrant families in San Francisco who start the Joy Luck Club, playing Mahjong for money and eating delicious food.
107. Our sun’s type : G-STAR
Stars are usually classified based on the color of the light which they emit. These classifications are, from hottest to coolest, O, B, A, F, G, K and M. One way to remember the order of these letters is to use the mnemonic “Oh, be a fine girl, kiss me”. The colors of these stars range from blue (class O) to red (class M). Our sun is class G, a yellow star, but I think we all know that …
111. Baker or Loos : ANITA
112. Pizza topping : SALAMI
Salame (note the “e” at the end) is an Italian sausage that is traditionally associated with Italian peasants. The meat in the sausage is preserved with salt, and it can be hung and stored for maybe as long as ten years. The name “salame” comes from “sale”, the Italian word for salt, and “-ame”, a suffix indicating a collective noun. Our English word “salami” is actually the Italian plural for “salame”.
113. FICA fig. : SSN
That Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) was introduced in the 1930s as part of the New Deal.
117. The Miracles? : SMOKEY AND THE BAND(IT)
“Smokey and the Bandit” is a 1977 comedy action film starring Burt Reynolds as “the Bandit” and Jackie Gleason as “Smokey Bear”.
Desi Arnaz was of course famous for his turbulent marriage to Lucille Ball. Desi Arnaz was a native of Cuba, and was from a privileged family. His father was Mayor of Santiago and served in the Cuban House of Representatives. However, the family had to flee to Miami after the 1933 revolution led by Batista.
126. Tofu sources : SOYS
Tofu is another name for bean curd, and is a Japanese word meaning just that … bean that has “curdled”. It is produced by coagulating soy milk, using either salt or something acidic. Once the protein has coagulated, the curds are pressed into the familiar blocks. Personally, I love tofu, but my wife, she hates it …
Down
Uma Thurman’s father, Robert Thurman, was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name, Dbuma.
7. Art, nowadays : ARE
“Thou art” became “you are”.
“Rocky Raccoon” is a folk rock song by the Beatles, released in 1968.
9. Tell, e.g. : SWISS
Supposedly William Tell came from Uri, a canton in the German part of Switzerland. Altdorf is the capital of Uri and is the city where William Tell shot the apple off his son’s head, according to legend.
10. Asian gambling mecca : MACAO
Macau (also Macao) was a Portuguese colony, the first European colony in China, established in the 16th century. Macau was handed back to the Chinese in 1999, two years after Hong Kong was returned by the British, and so Macau was also the last European colony in China.
11. Stores after cremation : INURNS
To inurn: to put into an urn.
14. Source of Indian tea : ASSAM
Assam is a state in the very northeast of India, just south of the Himalayas. Assam is noted for its tea, as well as its silk.
Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest and most famous mountain. It is an active volcano, situated just west of Tokyo.
16. Mass part : DIES IRAE
Dies Irae is Latin for “Day of Wrath”. It is the name of a famous melody in Gregorian Chant, and is often used as part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass.
20. Red Cross course, briefly : CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has for decades involved the simultaneous compression of the chest to pump blood using the heart, and artificial respiration by blowing air into the lungs. Nowadays emergency services are placing more emphasis on heart compressions, and less on artificial respiration.
24. Line score inits. : RHE
Runs Hits and Errors (so I am told!).
Motley Crue is an American rock band, from Los Angeles. They’ve been around since 1981, co-founded by the famous drummer Tommy Lee. Tommy Lee is also known for his two celebrated marriages, the first with Heather Locklear, and the second with Pamela Anderson.
32. Backing: Var. : EGIS
Egis is a variant of the word “aegis”. Someone is said to be under the aegis of someone else when that other person provides protection or perhaps sponsorship.
“Zebra” is a slang term for a referee in football.
38. Facebook co-founder Saverin : EDUARDO
If you’ve seen the 2010 movie “The Social Network”, you’ll know about the turmoil that surrounded the launch of the website Facebook. The company’s co-founders are Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg) and Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield). The way things are portrayed in the movie, Saverin was poorly treated by Zuckerberg after the “sharks” moved in, the professional investors. Supposedly Saverin’s stock position in the company was diluted “without his knowledge” from 34% to about 5%, to the benefit of the remaining investors.
41. 3.26 light-years : PARSEC
A parsec is a measure of length or distance used in astronomy.
42. Sibyl, for one : ORACLE
The word, and name, sibyl, comes from the Greek word “sibylla” meaning “prophetess”. There were many sibyls, but most famous is probably the Delphic Sybil.
In Ancient Greece and Rome, an oracle was someone believed inspired by the gods to give wise counsel. The word “oracle” derives from the Latin “orare” meaning “to speak”, which is the same root of our word “orator”.
43. Writer Eda : LESHAN
Eda LeShan wrote “When Your Child Drives You Crazy”, and was host of the television show “How Do Your Children Grow?” on PBS.
45. Marquess’s subordinate : EARL
The rank of earl has meant many different things over the centuries. In Britain today an earl ranks above a viscount but below a marquess. There is no female form for earl, so a woman with the equivalent female title is called a countess.
59. Season in le soleil? : ETE
In French, a season in “the sun” (le soleil) might be summer (été).
62. First German emperor of Italy : OTTO I
Otto I the Great, ruled the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century.
64. Mideast nosh : FALAFEL
Falafel is a fried ball of ground chickpeas served in pita bread. I love chickpeas, but falafel just seems too dry to me.
66. ___ dictum (incidental remark) : OBITER
“Obiter dictum” is Latin for something “said by the way”. The term can be used in law to describe a statement made in the opinion of a court that doesn’t form a necessary part of the decision. Obiter dicta may be included for illustration, perhaps as examples ti support the decision.
75. 100 Iranian dinars : RIAL
The Rial is name of the currency of Iran (as well as Yemen, Oman, Cambodia and Tunisia!).
76. Israeli seaport : ACRE
Acre is a port city in northern Israel, on Haifa Bay.
77. Cow, in Cádiz : VACA
“Vaca” is the Spanish for “cow”.
Akira Kurosawa was an Oscar-winning Japanese film director. His most famous movie to us in the West has to be “The Seven Samurai”, the inspiration for the “The Magnificent Seven” starring Yul Brynner, and indeed a basis for “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.
In Charles Schulz’s fabulous comic strip “Peanuts”, Charlie Brown is friends with at least three members of the van Pelt family. Most famously there is Lucy van Pelt, who bosses everyone around, particularly Charlie. Then there is Linus, Lucy’s younger brother, the character who always has his security blanket at hand. Lastly there is an even younger brother, Rerun van Pelt. Rerun is constantly hiding under his bed, trying to avoid going to school.
84. Keatsian, e.g. : ODIC
John Keats wrote a whole series of odes in 1819, including the very famous “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, “Ode to Psyche” and “Ode to a Nightingale”.
Johnnie Walker is the most widely distributed brand of scotch whisky in the world, originating in Kilmarnock in Scotland. Johnnie Walker was a grocer who sold whisky out of his shop in Kilmarnock up until he died in 1857. It was Johnnie’s son and grandson who developed the brand and who are responsible for its popularity.
87. Willingly : LIEF
Lief means willingly, gladly.
96. Intaglio seals : SIGNETS
Intaglio is the technique of carving an image or design into one side of a gemstone. Strictly speaking, the image must be carved into the surface of the stone, producing an engraved image. However, the term intaglio usually covers the production of relief images as well. Any ones I have seen on display are really beautiful.
100. Base wear? : KHAKIS
“Khaki” is an Urdu word, translating literally as “dusty”. The word was adopted for its current use as the name of a fabric by the British cavalry in India in the mid-1800s.
103. They have hops : OASTS
An oast is a kiln used for drying hops as part of the brewing process. It might also be called an “oast house”.
105. Scotland’s Firth of ___ : TAY
The Firth of Tay is an inlet on the east coast of Scotland, into which empties Scotland’s largest river, the Tay. The city of Dundee lies on the Firth, and the city of Perth just inland on the Tay.
Irvin Shaw’s novel “Rich Man, Poor Man” was adapted into a television miniseries that was originally shown in 1976. The production was the first of its kind, a television miniseries based on a major work of fiction. Ed Asner won an Emmy for playing the lead role of Axel Jordache, one of four Emmy Awards won by the miniseries.
Roddy McDowall was a English actor who started out in show business at a very young age in British films, before his family moved to the US to escape the Blitz. One of his early roles was opposite Elizabeth Taylor in 1943 in “Lassie Come Home”. Taylor and McDowell became lifelong friends after working together on that movie.
113. Jeanne et Julie, e.g.: Abbr. : STES
Ste. Jeanne might refer to Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc led the French Army successfully into battle a number of times during the Hundred Years War with England. When she was eventually captured, she was tried in Rouen, the seat of the occupying English government in France at that time. There she was burned at the stake having been found guilty of heresy. Joan of Arc was canonized some 600 years later, in 1920, and is now one of the patron saints of France.
Saint Julie Billiart was the woman who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
Ada Lovelace’s real name was Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. She was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the poet. Lovelace was fascinated by mathematics and wrote about the the work done by Charles Babbage in building his groundbreaking mechanical computer. In some of her notes she proposed an algorithm for Babbage’s machine to compute Bernouli numbers. This algorithm is recognized by many as the world’s first computer program and so Lovelace is sometimes called the first “computer programmer”.
118. ___ Szyslak of “The Simpsons” : MOE
Moe Szyslak is the surly bartender in “The Simpson” animated TV show. I don’t really care for “The Simpsons”, but Hank Azaria who supplies the voice for the character … him I like.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Fix, as a program : DEBUG
6. Water skimmers : OARS
10. Nickname for Baryshnikov : MISHA
15. Gds. : MDSE
19. Steve McQueen’s ex-wife and co-star in “The Getaway” : ALI MACGRAW
21. Vogue’s Wintour and others : ANNAS
22. Kind of torch : TIKI
23. Electrical paths in New York City? : BIG APPLE CIRCU(IT)S
25. They’re always charged : FEES
26. Flap : ADO
27. Poet’s “before” : ERE
28. D preceder : C-SHARP
29. Divert : AMUSE
31. Deux of these are better than un : TETES
33. Spill a Cuban drink? : LOSE ONE’S MOJ(IT)O
36. Shelter that’s often octagonal : GAZEBO
39. Housing for the homeless: Abbr. : SRO
40. Pit crew’s supply : TIRES
41. One who says “Beg your pardon” after stepping on your toes? : POL(IT)E DANCER
47. Mordant Mort : SAHL
49. “Exodus” hero : ARI
50. Father of Deimos and Phobos, in myth : ARES
51. Seedcase that inspired Velcro : BUR
52. Scot’s “own” : HAE
53. Noblewoman : PEERESS
55. Dorm heads, for short : RAS
56. Mmes., in Iberia : SRAS
57. Speak on C-Span, say : ORATE
60. Burn cause : LYE
61. Gentleman’s partner : SCHOLAR
63. Preachers’ lies? : PULP(IT) FICTION
68. Get up? : ELATE
69. Subj. of modern mapping : DNA
71. Bust planner, in brief : DEA
72. Sly sort? : RAMBO
73. What a mashed potato serving may have? : CENTER OF GRAV(IT)Y
78. “Sock it to me!” show : LAUGH-IN
80. Unbar, to the Bard : OPE
81. High-end camera : LEICA
82. Superior body? : LAKE
83. Abbr. unlikely to start of a sentence : ETC
84. Revolutionary? : ORBITAL
88. Continuing plot in a TV series : ARC
89. “___ Did It” (2007 memoir) : IF I
90. Cookie first baked in Manhattan’s Chelsea district : OREO
91. “Confiteor ___ omnipotenti” (Latin prayer starter) : DEO
92. “Understood, man” : I DIG
94. Hairdresser’s first do? : LEARNER’S PERM(IT)
97. Luggage attachment : ID TAG
99. Cartoon exclamation : EEK
101. One way to serve café : AU LAIT
102. Author Amy’s family squabble? : CLASH OF THE T(IT)ANS
107. Our sun’s type : G-STAR
111. Baker or Loos : ANITA
112. Pizza topping : SALAMI
113. FICA fig. : SSN
115. Prefix with metric : ISO-
116. “It won’t hurt ___” : A BIT
117. The Miracles? : SMOKEY AND THE BAND(IT)
121. Ball boy? : DESI
122. Like a bagel : TORIC
123. Homey’s rep : STREET CRED
124. Mtn. stats : ALTS
125. Shakespeare’s “spot” : SEEST
126. Tofu sources : SOYS
127. Spine-tingling : SCARY
Down
1. Blot with gauze, say : DAB AT
2. Pass over : ELIDE
3. One who sees everything in black and white? : BIGOT
4. Actress Thurman : UMA
5. Regards in wonderment : GAPES AT
6. Rubberneck : OGLE
7. Art, nowadays : ARE
8. Rocky of song : RACCOON
9. Tell, e.g. : SWISS
10. Asian gambling mecca : MACAO
11. Stores after cremation : INURNS
12. Long-range shooters : SNIPERS
13. Word after high or top : HAT
14. Source of Indian tea : ASSAM
15. Volcano near Aokigahara forest : MT FUJI
16. Mass part : DIES IRAE
17. Bitin’ things : SKEETERS
18. ___ for elephant : E IS
20. Red Cross course, briefly : CPR
24. Line score inits. : RHE
30. Group with the 6x platinum album “Dr. Feelgood” : MOTLEY CRUE
32. Backing: Var. : EGIS
33. Bent beams : L-BARS
34. Some flakes : SOAP
35. Suffix with psych- : -OSIS
37. Whistle-blower, in slang : ZEBRA
38. Facebook co-founder Saverin : EDUARDO
41. 3.26 light-years : PARSEC
42. Sibyl, for one : ORACLE
43. Writer Eda : LESHAN
44. Chinese dynasty during the time of Confucius : CHOU
45. Marquess’s subordinate : EARL
46. Sow’s counterpart : REAP
48. Prefix with port : HELI-
54. Change the price on : RETAG
56. Bedtime comment : SLEEP TIGHT
58. Neaten : TIDY
59. Season in le soleil? : ETE
62. First German emperor of Italy : OTTO I
63. Runner : PAGE
64. Mideast nosh : FALAFEL
65. Announcement upon arriving : I’M HERE
66. ___ dictum (incidental remark) : OBITER
67. Sarge, e.g. : NONCOM
70. CBS’s “The ___ Today” : NFL
74. Audition (for) : READ
75. 100 Iranian dinars : RIAL
76. Israeli seaport : ACRE
77. Cow, in Cádiz : VACA
79. Director Kurosawa : AKIRA
82. Comics character who said “Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life” : LINUS
84. Keatsian, e.g. : ODIC
85. Johnnie Walker variety : RED LABEL
86. Plant manager? : BOTANIST
87. Willingly : LIEF
90. Chooses : OPTS
93. Start to boil over? : GET SORE
95. Met by chance : RAN INTO
96. Intaglio seals : SIGNETS
98. If nothing changes : AS IT IS
100. Base wear? : KHAKIS
103. They have hops : OASTS
104. Choose : ELECT
105. Scotland’s Firth of ___ : TAY
106. Rake in : AMASS
108. Sash go-with : TIARA
109. “Rich Man, Poor Man” Emmy winner : ASNER
110. Actor McDowall : RODDY
113. Jeanne et Julie, e.g.: Abbr. : STES
114. Any boat : SHE
116. ___ Lovelace, computer programming pioneer : ADA
118. ___ Szyslak of “The Simpsons” : MOE
119. Dull : DRY
120. E-mail add-on : BCC