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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: Tim Croce
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 33m 39s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Best-selling jogging advocate : JIM FIXX
Jim Fixx had a story of weight loss and renewed health that inspired many in the late seventies and early eighties. He kicked the smoking habit and took off 60 pounds of excess weight largely by starting a jogging routine when he was 35 years old. He wrote about his experience in his book, “Complete Book of Running”, which hit the best sellers list and was used by millions. The story doesn’t really end well though as Fixx died at only 52 years of age from a heart attack after jogging. It seems that he suffered badly from atherosclerosis, so I suppose nowadays we’d suspect that his diet needed an adjustment …
8. Most convenient section of a parking garage, usually : LEVEL A
I’ve visited Germany a lot in my life and I have to say there is a lot we can learn from German practices. For example, if you go into many parking garages there you’ll find a “Women Only” parking area on Level A. It’s right beside the attendant’s office, near the entrance/exit and is extremely well lit. The idea is to provide a more secure environment for women parking alone or with young children.
At one time, an acre was defined as the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. This was more precisely defined as a strip of land one furlong long (660 feet) and one chain wide (66 feet). The word “furlong” is actually derived from the Old English words meaning “furrow long”, the length of the furrow plowed by the oxen.
The US, UK and Soviet Union signed what is now called the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963. This partial ban was prompted due to concerns at the time about levels of radioactive elements in the atmosphere, particularly in the southern hemisphere, caused by an increasing number of test detonations. The partial test ban prohibited all detonations other than those performed underground. It took another 33 years before a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty could be negotiated, one which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1996. Sadly, as we are all well aware, it has never been enforced. Enforcement is waiting on ratification by China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Israel as well as the United States, and signatures from India, North Korea and Pakistan.
19. They’re shortsighted : MYOPES
A myope is someone suffering from myopia, short-sightedness.
21. Some Asian fighters : ROKS
A South Korean soldier is known as an ROK, named after the acronym for the Republic of (South) Korea.
22. Olympic gold-medal pentathlete Lehtonen : EERO
The Finnish athlete Eero Lehtonen won the Olympic gold in the pentathlon in both the 1920 and 1924 Summer Games.
William Scholl worked part time as a cobbler and then in a shoe retailer in Chicago. Noting that many people had similar foot problems he went to night school and qualified as a podiatrist in 1904. Soon after he started his own company making footcare products.
31. Somewhat : A MITE
A mite is a small amount, as in “the widow’s mite”, the story from the Bible.
“Wozzeck” is the first opera composed by Alban Berg. I can’t stand atonal music. It is just beyond me …
38. Restrain : TRAMMEL
The word “trammel” meaning to restrain has its origins in an old word for a net. The first use of the term as a verb was in the sense of binding up a corpse, then in the 1700s this came to mean “to hinder, restrain”.
40. 16-Across concern, briefly : H-BOMB
The first test of a hydrogen bomb was in 1954 at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It may have been a technical success, but it was an environmental disaster, largely because the actual yield of 15 megatons was unexpected (the military anticipated only 4-6 megatons). The resulting nuclear fallout caused many deaths, and led to birth defects in generations to come.
Taiwanese director Ang Lee sure has directed a mixed bag of films, mixed in terms of genre, not in terms of quality. He was at the helm for such classics as “Sense and Sensibility” (my personal favorite), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hulk”, and “Brokeback Mountain”.
49. Main campus site of the University of the South Pacific : SUVA
Suva is the capital city of Fiji, and is located on the island of Viti Levu
The University of the South Pacific has many campuses located right across Oceania. It is somewhat unique in that it is owned by the governments of 12 different countries, all Pacific Island nations, such as Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
“Rien” is the French for “nothing, zip”.
Corsica is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France. Napoléon Bonaparte was born on Corsica, in the town of Ajaccio.
The Arab (or Arabian) breed of horse takes its name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. Like any animal that humans have over-bred though, the horse falls prey to genetic diseases, some of which are fatal, and some of which require the horse to be euthanized.
62. Designer with the Night of Fancy fragrance : ANNA SUI
Anna Sui is a fashion designer from Detroit, Michigan.
63. Joins the bandwagon? : HOPS ON
“Bandwagon” is an American term, originally used to describe the large wagon that carried the band in a circus procession. Bandwagons then became popular at political rallies, and so one “on the bandwagon” was someone attaching himself or herself to a cause that was likely to succeed. The first use of the term “bandwagon” in this sense is supposedly in writings of Theodore Roosevelt in 1899.
KISS is an American hard rock band, formed in 1973 in New York City. They were a pretty wild bunch, performing with faces painted in gruesome designs. The group abandoned use of the make-up in the mid-eighties, and still managed to sell a lot of records.
Down
3. Lead-in to multiple last names : MESSRS
The abbreviation “Messrs.” is used at the head of a list of male names, in place of “Misters”. It is an abbreviation of the French “messieurs”, the plural of “monsieur”.
Titan was a family of rockets first introduced in 1959. Titan rockets were used to launch man into space in the Gemini Program in the mid-sixties, and were also part of the American ICBM missile deterrent until the eighties.
7. Strange beginning? : XENO-
Xenophobia is the uncontrollable fear of foreigners. The word comes from Greek, with “xeno” meaning guest, stranger or foreigner, and “phobia” meaning fear, horror or aversion.
The von Trapp family portrayed in the musical “The Sound of Music”, were a real family, as is well known. In the musical and film, the eldest daughter is “Liesl”, although in real life her name was Agathe. Agathe came with her family to the US in 1938, and operated a private kindergarten in Baltimore, Maryland for 35 years. Agathe passed away in 2010.
9. What an issei might enroll in: Abbr. : ESL
English as Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
There are some very specific terms used to describe the children born to Japanese immigrants in their new country. The immigrants themselves are known as Issei. The Nisei are second generation Japanese, the Sansei third generation (grandchildren of the immigrant), and the Yonsei are fourth generation.
11. Lofty praise : ENCOMIUM
Encomium is a formal expression of praise, and comes into English via Latin. It is originally derived from the Greek “komos”, the word for a banquet or procession.
15. Leaves alone, in a way : STETS
“Stet” is the Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, a typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” beside the change and then underscoring the change with a line of dots (or dashes).
20. Tab : PILL
A pill can be called a “tab”, short for “tablet”.
The St. Louis Rams has only won the Super Bowl once, in 1999, against the Tennessee Titans. The Rams were based in Cleveland from 1936-45, Los Angeles from 1946-94 and St. Louis from 1995 to the present day.
You may have a Local Area Network (LAN) in your house. If you’ve got a PC and a router or switch, likely attached to some modem, then you have a LAN.
32. Deadly African tree-dwellers : MAMBAS
The mamba, and most famously the black mamba, is a highly venomous snake that used to be responsible for a great number of fatalities before anti-venoms became available. Mamba venom is a deadly mix of neurotoxins that attack the nervous system, and cardiotoxins that attack the heart so a bite, if left untreated, causes the lungs and the heart to shut down.
38. Up in the air, for short : TBA
To Be Advised.
A troubadour was a composer and musician of the Middle Ages, whose works dealt mainly with chivalry and courtly love. Troubadours were usually men, but a female troubadour would have been called a trobairitz.
Rubén Blades is a salsa singer from Panama. He is very accomplished, with a Masters Degree in International Law from Harvard. He garnered 18% of the vote when he ran for the Panamanian presidency in 1994, and in 2004 was appointed as the country’s Minister of Tourism.
54. Bourgeois, to a Brit : NON-U
“Non-U” is a term used in the UK from the fifties, referring to those who are “not upper class”, i.e. middle class, whereas the “U” was the upper class.
Fancy Feast is a brand of cat food.
58. Sky light? : UFO
In 1952, the USAF revived its studies of reports of UFO sightings, in a program called Project Blue Book. There were two prior USAF studies of the UFO phenomenon, namely Project Sign and Project Grudge. Project Blue Book ran from 1952 until it was shut down in 1969, concluding that there was no threat to national security, and that there were no sightings that could not be explained within the bounds of modern scientific knowledge.
60. Bitumen alternative : TAR
Bitumen is a naturally occurring mixture of of organic liquids, a form of petroleum. Bitumen has been collected and used for waterproofing and as an adhesive since ancient times. In fact, it is thought that the bricks in the Tower of Babel were held in place with bitumen.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Best-selling jogging advocate : JIM FIXX
8. Most convenient section of a parking garage, usually : LEVEL A
14. Size of about 16 tennis courts : ONE ACRE
15. Green light for un hombre : SI SENOR
16. 1963 and 1996 treaty topic : TEST BAN
17. Fiber optics field : TELECOM
18. Where to see spots : TVS
19. They’re shortsighted : MYOPES
21. Some Asian fighters : ROKS
22. Olympic gold-medal pentathlete Lehtonen : EERO
24. “___ turn up” : IT’LL
26. Cracked : MAD
27. Sole supporter? : DR SCHOLLS
31. Somewhat : A MITE
33. Unlike the opera “Wozzeck” : TONAL
34. Psychotherapist’s concern : TRAUMA
35. Like scuba tanks, typically : STRAP-ON
38. Restrain : TRAMMEL
39. Show some fear : QUIVER
40. 16-Across concern, briefly : H-BOMB
41. You might have to fight them : URGES
42. Barbecue side dish : BEAN SALAD
46. Hollywood’s Lee : ANG
47. Kind of defense : ORAL
49. Main campus site of the University of the South Pacific : SUVA
50. Zip across Corsica? : RIEN
52. Big money maker : US MINT
56. A number of perfect people? : TEN
57. Not clear : IN DOUBT
59. Postal activity : ROUTING
61. What an Arabian may command : STUD FEE
62. Designer with the Night of Fancy fragrance : ANNA SUI
63. Joins the bandwagon? : HOPS ON
64. Kiss, e.g. : QUARTET
Down
1. Like many barely legible notes : JOTTED
2. Slight reaction? : I NEVER
3. Lead-in to multiple last names : MESSRS
4. Waist-ful? : FAT
5. Titan, e.g. : ICBM
6. Aid in finding a break : X-RAY
7. Strange beginning? : XENO-
8. Von Trapp girl who’s “sixteen going on seventeen” : LIESL
9. What an issei might enroll in: Abbr. : ESL
10. Fork (off) : VEER
11. Lofty praise : ENCOMIUM
12. Show-off’s shout : LOOK AT ME
13. Fighter jets might be in it : ARMS DEAL
15. Leaves alone, in a way : STETS
20. Tab : PILL
23. Jump on a staff, maybe : OCTAVE
25. They moved to St. Louis in ’95 : LA RAMS
28. “Fingers crossed!” : HOPE SO
29. ___ near : ON OR
30. 17-Across hookup : LAN
32. Deadly African tree-dwellers : MAMBAS
34. High-tech gadgetry suffix : -TRON
35. Boxy : SQUARISH
36. Become : TURN INTO
37. Threw together : RIGGED UP
38. Up in the air, for short : TBA
40. Leadership position : HELM
42. Wallop : BASTE
43. Many a troubadour : LUTIST
44. Way in : AVENUE
45. “Shoot!” : DANG IT
48. Blades of song and film : RUBEN
51. Gives a heady response? : NODS
53. 2000s service site : IRAQ
54. Bourgeois, to a Brit : NON-U
55. Fancy Feast choice : TUNA
58. Sky light? : UFO
60. Bitumen alternative : TAR
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