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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: Patrick Berry
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 12m 48s!
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
P. D. James is an incredibly successful English author of crime fiction, with her most famous books being a series that features a policeman and sometime poet, Adam Dalgliesh. James’ 1992 novel called “The Children of Men” was adapted into a 2006 movie (“Children of Men”) starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore. It tells of a world that develops after two generations of human infertility.
8. More than a quarter of the earth’s crust : SILICON
Technically, a quarter of the earth’s crust is made up of silicates (silicon and oxygen), and not just silicon as this clue indicates.
15. Resource of western Australia : IRON ORE
Iron ore comes in a number of different forms, like magnetite (the most magnetic of all minerals) and hematite (the most commonly exploited iron ore).
“Eastern Promises” is a movie thriller released in 2007. It stars Naomi Watts as a British midwife who comes into contact with a member of the Russian mafia, played by Viggo Mortenson. Mortenson’s character wears some pretty scary and authentic-looking Russian mafia tattoos.
![Eastern Promises [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](https://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B000UZ4D1C&tag=wesneyoticrso-20)
Ayr is a port town on the Firth of Clyde in southwest Scotland. The famous poet Robert Burns was born just three miles from Ayr.
23. Gab : PRATE
To prate is to talk idly and at length, a word that comes to us from Middle Dutch “praten”, meaning to talk or chatter.
26. Origami design : BOAT
The word origami is derived from ori (folding) and kami (paper).
27. Wordsworth’s “Intimations of Immortality,” e.g. : ODE
The great English poet William Wordsworth lived in the Lake District in the north of England, a beautiful part of the country. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Dove Cottage in Grasmere a couple of times, where Wordsworth lived with his wife, Dorothy.
29. Early Windows underpinning : DOS
The acronym DOS stands for Disk Operating System.
37. Field of Bible-based study : CREATION SCIENCE
Creation science is the search for scientific underpinnings to the narrative of creation as described in the Book of Genesis.
Emma Watson is the English actress famous for playing Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” movies. Watson is continuing her education while pursuing her acting career, and is currently enrolled at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was famous for his own work of course, like “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Song of Hiawatha”, but he was also the first American to translate Dante’s epic poem, the “Divine Comedy”.
40. Grp. represented by the Southern Cross : CSA
The Confederate States of America set up government in 1861 just before Abraham Lincoln took office. Jefferson Davis was selected as President of the CSA at its formation and retained the post for the life of the government.
41. Deep shockers : EELS
Electrophorus electricus is the biological name for the electric eel. Despite its name, the electric “eel” isn’t an eel at all, but rather what is called a knifefish, a fish with an elongated body related to the catfish. The electric eel has three pairs of organs along its abdomen, each capable of generating an electric discharge. The shock can go as high as 500 volts with 1 ampere of current (that’s 500 watts), and that could perhaps kill a human.
49. Openable with a gentle push, say : AJAR
Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Sachertorte is a chocolate cake from Austria. It was specifically created in 1832 when Prince Metternich commanded his personal chef to prepare a dessert for some special guests. But his head chef became ill so the task fell to 16-year-old Franz Sacher, an apprentice in the kitchen. That teenager’s dessert is now one of Austria’s most famous dishes.
59. Who wrote “In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king” : ERASMUS
Desiderius Erasmus was a Dutch priest and theologian. He was a very prolific and successful writer, and in the 1530s his writings accounted for 10-20% of all book sales in the world. One of the quotations accredited to Erasmus is, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”.
Down
Michelangelo’s Pietà can be seen in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Like all images known as the Pietà, the sculpture depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus. Michelangelo inscribed his signature along a sash worn by the Virgin, the only time he is known to have signed his work.
“The Outlaw Josey Wales” is a 1976 movie directed by Clint Eastwood, with Eastwood also playing the title role.
5. Bully in “Calvin and Hobbes” : MOE
The comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes” is still widely syndicated, but hasn’t been written since 1995. The cartoonist Bill Watterson named the character Calvin after John Calvin, the 16th century theologian. Hobbes was named for Thomas Hobbes a 17th century English political philosopher.
10. Skip town : LAM
To be “on the lam” is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. It is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means to “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it”, to scram.
26. Cantilever, e.g. : BEAM
A beam designated as a cantilever is one that is supported on only one end.
34. Clay used by potters : TERRA ALBA
Terra alba (Latin for “white earth”) is a finely pulverized gypsum. It is used as a clay to make ceramics, and as a pigment for paper and paints.
43. Film set workers : GRIPS
On a film set, grips are the lighting and rigging technicians, with the key grip being the name given to the leader of the whole team. The first “grips” were technicians that worked in the circus in its early days. The name “grip” possibly comes from the bags, or grips. in which the technicians carried their tools.
Ronco is a company the builds and sells products mainly for the kitchen. Over the years the company has been closely associated with the “-O-Matic” suffix, especially the “Veg-O-Matic” vegetable slicer.
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer, not a favorite of mine as he embraces the use of dissonances (I’m a sober traditionalist!). His Symphony No. 7 is perhaps his most popular work. He created a slow, mournful movement in recognition of the impending death of Richard Wagner, whom he greatly admired.
49. Place to pray : APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof, and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.
50. Carte du ___ : JOUR
Carte du jour is French for “menu of the day”.
“Touching the Void” is a 1988 book and a 2003 documentary film about an ascent of the Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes. The pair who made the climb reached the summit successfully, the first to do so via the mount’s West Face. However, on the descent one of the climbers fell and broke his leg. There followed disaster after disaster, and the two were separate, and miraculously lucky to return to the base of the mountain alive.
Scott Baio is the actor who played Chachi Arcola in the great sitcom “Happy Days” and in the not so great spin-off “Joannie Loves Chachi”. He also played the title role in a later sitcom, “Charles in Charge”. Earlier in his career, Baio played another title role, in the 1976 movie “Bugsy Malone”, appearing opposite a young Jodie Foster.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “The Children of Men” author : P. D. JAMES
8. More than a quarter of the earth’s crust : SILICON
15. Resource of western Australia : IRON ORE
16. Out of the loop : UNAWARE
17. 2007 film featuring a heavily tattooed main character : EASTERN PROMISES
19. Affectionate feelings : TIES
20. “It’s a ___” : SIGN
21. Native of Ayr : SCOT
22. At least one : ANY
23. Gab : PRATE
25. Idea person’s cry : AHA
26. Origami design : BOAT
27. Wordsworth’s “Intimations of Immortality,” e.g. : ODE
29. Early Windows underpinning : DOS
32. Complimentary item at restaurants : AFTER DINNER MINT
37. Field of Bible-based study : CREATION SCIENCE
38. Hogwarts enrollee : HERMIONE GRANGER
39. Always used by Longfellow? : E’ER
40. Grp. represented by the Southern Cross : CSA
41. Deep shockers : EELS
42. Long ___ : AGO
44. Two of these are needed to pass : LANES
46. Speak on the record? : RAP
49. Openable with a gentle push, say : AJAR
51. Quite a tidy sum : PILE
52. Matter of contention : BONE
53. Constables’ superiors : POLICE SERGEANTS
57. Fraction of a fraction : SUBPART
58. Kind of jam in a sacher torte : APRICOT
59. Who wrote “In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king” : ERASMUS
60. Calm swimming spots : LAGOONS
Down
1. Only work of art that Michelangelo signed : PIETA
2. Exhaust : DRAIN
3. “The Outlaw ___ Wales” : JOSEY
4. Queen and her servants, maybe : ANTS
5. Bully in “Calvin and Hobbes” : MOE
6. Be off : ERR
7. Typical tabloid writers : SENSATIONALISTS
8. Health V.I.P.’s : SURGEONS GENERAL
9. A party to : IN ON
10. Skip town : LAM
11. “If only that were true!” : I WISH
12. Descending in steps : CASCADING
13. Modern ice cream flavor : OREO
14. It might hold a few swallows : NEST
18. Mine : PIT
23. Grand entrance : PORTICO
24. Squad car necessities : RADIOS
25. Passé skyline sights : AERIALS
26. Cantilever, e.g. : BEAM
28. Dictate : DECREE
30. ___ a day : ONCE
31. Song ending : -STER
32. Longing : ACHE
33. Available : FREE
34. Clay used by potters : TERRA ALBA
35. Cincinnati-to-Dayton dir. : NNE
36. Department store department : MENS
43. Film set workers : GRIPS
45. Barley product : ALE
46. “But wait, there’s more!” company : RONCO
47. Composer Bruckner : ANTON
48. Spray targets : PESTS
49. Place to pray : APSE
50. Carte du ___ : JOUR
51. Where the 2003 true-life film “Touching the Void” is set : PERU
52. Actor Scott : BAIO
54. Surveillance tool, briefly : CAM
55. Univ. application datum : GPA
56. One-tenth of a microjoule : ERG