Announcement
I am away on vacation from Sunday, July 17 to Tuesday, August 2. I fully intend to sneak away to do the crossword each day, but probably won’t find time to do many look-ups. Some days I may be a little late posting the solution, and if that should happen, please let me apologize in advance. Email subscribers should check the blog directly at NTYCrossword.com as the solution may be posted by the time they read check their email. Things will be back to normal very shortly! … Bill
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: Kurt Mueller
THEME: Nine of Diamonds … there are NINE answers in this puzzle that are terms from baseball (“the DIAMONDS”), each given a cryptic clue:
23A. Cuts in a cardboard container? : BOX SCORES
31A. Yelled initially? : CALLED OUT AT FIRST
44A. So-so formal dance? : FAIR BALL
46A. Went far too slowly during the 10K? : WALKED IN A RUN
63A. Piece of black-market playground equipment? : SWING FOR THE FENCES
83A. Wool or cotton purchase request? : BATTING ORDER
85A. Disgusting advice? : FOUL TIPS
98A. Whiskey bottle dregs? : BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
113A. Nobleman after a banquet? : FULL COUNT
COMPLETION TIME: 30m 12s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
4. Org. fighting pirates? : ASCAP
ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) collects licence fees for musicians and distributes royalties to composers whose works have been performed. So does BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated).
14. Wyle and Webster : NOAHS
21. Mountain ridge : ARETE
An arete is ridge of rock defining the border between two parallel valleys that have been formed by glaciation. If this ridge is rounded, it is called a “col”. However, if it is “sharpened”, with rock falling way with successive freezing and thawing, then it is called an “arete”. “Arête“ is the French word for “fish bone”.
What can you say about Oprah? Born into poverty to a single mother, with a harrowing childhood, Oprah is now the greatest African American philanthropist the world has ever known. Oprah’s name was originally meant to be “Orpah” after the Biblical character in the Book of Ruth, and that’s how it appears on her birth certificate. Apparently folks had trouble pronouncing “Orpah”, so she’s now “Oprah”.
23. Cuts in a cardboard container? : BOX SCORES
In baseball, the line square is a summary set of statistics for the game. It is seen at every baseball stadium, and includes the number of runs scored by each team per innings, as well as the total number of hits and errors. The more comprehensive box score includes the line score, but also shows the individual performance of each player.
25. American-born Japanese : NISEI
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”. “Nisei” are second generation Japanese, “Sansei” the third generation (grandchildren of the immigrant), and “Yonsei” are fourth generation.
26. Prefix with meter or methylene : TETRA-
Tetramethylene in itself is only a theoretical hydrocarbon, with the molecular formula C4H8. There are a number of actual “derivatives” though, like tetramethylene sulfone (aka sulfolane).
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the heaviest players ever to have played in the NBA (weighing in at around 325 pounds). Yep, he’s a big guy … 7 foot 1 inch tall. He is also the oldest player active in the NBA today, around 40 years old.
36. Empty : INANE
Something inane is senseless, and somebody that is inane is “empty-headed”. The Latin “inanitas” means “emptiness”.
37. 26 of the 44 U.S. presidents: Abbr. : ATTYS
The majority of US presidents have been lawyers before entering politics. Some were not, however, like Andrew Johnson (a tailor), Warren Harding (a newspaper publisher) and of course Ronald Reagan (a Hollywood actor).
Mao Zedong was born on December 16, 1893 in the Hunan Province of China. As he was the son of a peasant farmer, his prospects for education were limited. Indeed he left school at age 13 to work on the family farm but did eventually get to secondary school in Changsa, the provincial capital. In the years following he continued his education in Beijing, and actually turned down an opportunity to study in France.
In the “Star Wars” series of films, Luke Skywalker was the son of Darth Vader, and sister of Princess Leia.
58. Arizona is the only state to have one : ZEE
The letter named “zed” has been around since about 1400, and derives from the Greek letter zeta. The spelling and pronunciation of “zee” used in America today first popped up in the 1670s.
61. “Rocks” : ICE
“Rocks” and “ice” are slang terms for diamonds.
The Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter was the mainstay of the US Army’s helicopter fleet, until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache.
69. Cousin of kerplunk : SPLAT
“Splat” and “Kerplunk” are both kids’ games.
73. Press : INK
“Ink” and “press” are both informal terms meaning “coverage in the news media”.
77. Northernmost borough of London : ENFIELD
Enfield is the most northerly borough of London. Enfield was home to the Royal Small Arms Factory, the manufacturer of the famed Lee-Enfield .303 rifle, standard issue to the British Army through WWII.
83. Wool or cotton purchase request? : BATTING ORDER
“Batting”, a noun meaning sheets of wool or cotton fiber, takes its name from the concept of a “beaten” fabric.
90. Isle of the Inner Hebrides : IONA
Although the small island of Iona lies just off the west coast of Scotland, it was the site of a monastery built in the Middle Ages by a monk from Ireland, Colm Cille (also known as Columba). Colm Cille and his followers were sent into exile from the Irish mainland, and settled in Iona, as at that time it was part of an Irish kingdom. This monastery in Iona expanded its influence over the decades, founding other institutions all over Ireland and Great Britain. It is believed that the famous Book of Kells, now housed in Trinity College, Dublin, may have been written, or at least started, at the monastery.
91. Brown-___ : NOSER
To “brown nose” is act in a very servile manner in order to attain advancement. It’s American military slang dating back to before WWII, and seeing as it originated in the military, it has a pretty vulgar etymology.
94. New York’s historic ___ Library : ASTOR
The Astor Library in the East Village of New York City was founded in 1854 by the country’s first multi-millionaire, John Jacob Astor. The library’s collection was moved to the New York Public Library some years ago, and today the stylish building houses the Public Theater.
111. To have, in Le Havre : AVOIR
Le Havre is a city on the mouth of the river Seine on the northwest coast of France. The city’s name translates as “the haven”.
Rita Hayworth played the quintessential femme fatale in the 1946 movie “Gilda”, in which she starred opposite Glenn Ford.
Rita Hayworth was born in Brooklyn as Margarita Carmen Cansino. Her father was a flamenco dancer from Spain and so his daughter fell naturally into dancing. The family moved to Hollywood where Hayworth’s father set up a dance studio, and there worked with the likes of James Cagney and Jean Harlow. The young Hayworth had a slow start in movies, finding herself typecast because of her Mediterranean features. When she underwent extensive electrolysis to change her forehead and dyed her hair red, she started to get more work (how sad is that?). In 1941 she posed for that famous pin-up picture which accompanied GIs all over the world.
Gleem is a Proctor & Gamble brand of toothpaste. The original formulation was introduced back in 1952, with a mystery ingredient called GL-70 which had a unique ability to fight mouth odor and tooth decay. No one seems to know what GL-70 is, or if it in fact existed at all! Gleem II was introduced in 1969 in attempt to revitalize sales. It seemed to work. Must have been the green sparkles …
121. Rev.’s address : SER
A Reverend addresses his or her flock in a sermon.
Down
3. Shell alternative : EXXON
The Exxon Corporation was a descendant of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. Exxon merged with Mobil (yet another descendant of Standard Oil) in 1999, forming ExxonMobil.
Sholem Asch was a Polish-born American novelist and dramatist who published his work in Yiddish. One of his plays was “God of Vengeance”, a highly regarded work performed all over Europe and translated into many languages. It opened on Broadway in 1923, but the adult themes (it was set in a brothel, and featured a lesbian relationship) led to the entire cast being arrested and convicted on obscenity charges.
5. Smack : SMOOCH
Kissy kissy …
The very glamorous Carla Bruni is the wife of French President, Nicolas Sarkozy. She is Sarkozy’s third wife, and in turn, this is the first marriage for Bruni. The couple met at a dinner party in November 2007, and were married just three months later. Bruni was born in Italy, and was granted French nationality not long after the marriage.
10. Prayer : ORISON
Orison is another word for prayer, that comes to us ultimately from Latin, via Middle English and Old French.
13. Orphan girl in Byron’s “Don Juan” : LEILA
Lord Byron wrote the poem “Don Juan” based on the legend of Don Juan the libertine. In the poem, he created the character Leila, a 10-year-old Muslim orphan girl whom Juan rescues from the city of Ismail.
16. I-5 through Los Angeles, e.g. : ARTERY
I-5 is the main interstate out here on the West Coast, running from the Canada to Mexico, inland and parallel to the Pacific coastline. It is the only Interstate that runs uninterrupted from the Canadian to the Mexican border.
All four species of tapir are endangered. Even though the tapir looks much like a pig, it is more closely related to the horse and the rhinoceros.
35. Urgent transmission, for short : APB
An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast from one US law enforcement agency to another.
42. Side in checkers : RED
Checkers, yet another word that I had to learn moving across the Atlantic. In Ireland the game is called draughts.
“Fez” is the name given to the red, cylindrical hat worn mainly in North Africa, and by Shriners here in the US. It used to be very popular right across the Ottoman Empire. The etymology of “fez” is unclear, although it might have something to do with the Moroccan city named Fez.
Idi Amin received most of his military training in the British armed forces, eventually achieving the highest rank possible for a Black African in the British Colonial Army in 1959, that of Warrant Officer. On his return to Uganda he joined the military and quickly rose to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Army. During that time he was quite the athlete. He was a noted rugby player and swimmer, and for nine years held the Ugandan national light-heavyweight boxing title. By the early seventies Amin was commander of all the armed forces of Uganda, and in 1971 seized power in a military coup, displacing the country’s president Milton Obote. There followed seven years of brutal rule by Amin during which it is estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were murdered. Amin was ousted from power in 1979 after a war with Tanzania, and fled to Libya where he stayed for a year. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he was financially supported by the Saudi Royal Family for the remainder of his life. He died in 2003.
Lech Walesa used to be an electrician in the Gdansk Shipyards in Poland. He was active in the trade union movement in the days when unions were not welcome behind the Iron Curtain. His efforts resulted in the founding of Solidarity, the first independent trade union in Soviet-controlled territory. For his work, Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and in 1990 he became the first democratically elected President of Poland. He has lost support in Poland in recent years, but is a very popular booking on the international speaking circuit.
50. Skin cream ingredient : ALOE
Aloe vera has a number of alternate names that are descriptive of its efficacy as a medicine. These include the First Aid plant, Wand of Heaven, Silent Healer and Miracle Plant.
52. Land on the Sea of Azov: Abbr. : UKR
Ukraine is a large county in Eastern Europe, a Soviet Republic before the dissolution of the USSR. In English we often call the country “the Ukraine”, but I am told this isn’t appropriate.
53. Cultural org. : NEA
The National Endowment for the Arts is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. It was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark.
A warthog is a wild animal from the pig family found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The animal takes its name from four wart-like protrusions on its head that serve as a means of defense as well as reserves of fat.
66. Feudal lands : FIEFS
In the days of feudalism, a “fief” was basically a “fee” (the words “fee” and “fief” have the same origins) paid by a lord in exchange for some benefit to him, perhaps loyalty, or military service. The fief itself was often land granted by the Lord.
Eliot Spitzer was the Governor of New York for just over a year before he resigned when it surfaced that he had been a client of a prostitution ring.
“Mork & Mindy” was broadcast from 1978 to 1982. We were first introduced to Mork (played by Robin Williams, of course) in a special episode of “Happy Days”. The particular episode in question has a bizarre storyline culminating in Fonzie and Mork having a thumb-to-finger duel. Eventually Richie wakes up in bed, and alien Mork was just part of a dream! Oh, and “Nanu Nanu” means both “hello” and “goodbye” back on the planet Ork. “I am Mork from Ork, Nanu Nanu”. Great stuff …
70. Hi-tech organizer : PDA
A device like perhaps an iPhone or Treo, can be termed a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).
74. Sonoma neighbor : NAPA
Did you know that there are far more wine grapes produced in Sonoma than Napa? Within Sonoma County some of the more well-known appellations are Chalk Hill, Anderson Valley and Russian River Valley (my own personal favorite for winery tours in the area, way less crowded and more fun than Napa Valley).
When France withdrew from French Indochina in the mid-fifties, Ngo Dinh Diem led the movement to create the Republic of Vietnam. In what was regarded as a fraudulent referendum, the new country of Vietnam was formed, and in 1955 Diem declared himself its first president. His rule was far from peaceful, and he was assassinated by rivals in 1963.
An ideograph or ideogram is pictorial symbol used to represent a concept. A good example would be an emoticon, like a smiley face :o)
89. “___ tu” (Verdi aria) : ERI
The aria “Eri tu” is from Verdi’s opera “Un ballo in maschera” (A Masked Ball). It tells the story of the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, during a masked ball.
The old adage “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” originated in the 17th century. The phrase comes as an interpretation of a wood carving over a door in a shrine in Nikko, Japan. The carving depicts the “Three Wise Monkeys”:
– Mizaru, covering his eyes
– Kikazaru, covering his ears
– Iwazaru, covering his mouth
Irish actor Peter O’Toole got his big break in movies when he played the title role in the 1962 epic film “Laurence of Arabia”. But my favorite of his movies is much lighter fare, “How to Steal a Million” in which he starred opposite Audrey Hepburn.
98. Confederate general who won at Chickamauga : BRAGG
The Battle of Chickamauga was fought in September of 1863, a defeat for the Union troops in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. Leading the victorious Confederate forces was General Braxton Bragg, and in command of the northern soldiers was Major General William Rosecrans.
Not only did President Barack Obama attend Harvard University, but so did his birth father, Barack Obama Sr. President Obama’s parents separated when Obama Sr. went off to Harvard leaving his wife and child back in Hawaii.
101. Slot machine symbols, often : FRUIT
Early slot machines gave chewing gum as prizes, the flavor of which was related to the fruit symbols that lined up on “pay” line. The fruit symbols were so significant over the years that to this day slot machines are called “fruit machines” in the UK.
The famous story about George Washington cutting down a cherry tree as a child, has been shown to be fiction. He supposedly was confronted by his father after taking an axe to a tree and confessed with the words. “I’m sorry father, I cannot tell a lie”.
105. Banks who was known as Mr. Cub : ERNIE
First baseman Ernie Banks was known as “Mr. Cub”, and played his entire 19-year professional career with the Chicago Cubs.
110. Some notebook screens, for short : LCDS
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) are the screens that are found in most laptops today, and in flat panel computer screens. They basically replaced Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) screens, the old television technology.
113. Fourth notes : FAS
“Fa” is the fourth note in the solfa scale.
The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti. The solfa scale was developed from a six-note ascending scale created by Guido of Arezzo in the 11th century. He used the first verse of a Latin hymn to name the syllables of the scale:
Ut queant laxis resonāre fibris
Mira gestorum famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti labii reatum,
Sancte Iohannes.
The “ut” in this scale was later changed to “do”, as “do” is a more “open ended” sound, and “si” was added (the initials of “Sancte Iohannes”) to complete the seven-note scale. Later again, “si” was changed to “ti” so that each syllable began with a unique letter.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Crackerjack : ACE
4. Org. fighting pirates? : ASCAP
9. Pink shade : CORAL
14. Wyle and Webster : NOAHS
19. Man of mystery : MR X
20. Stylish : SMART
21. Mountain ridge : ARETE
22. Hit TV show that ended in 2011 : OPRAH
23. Cuts in a cardboard container? : BOX SCORES
25. American-born Japanese : NISEI
26. Prefix with meter or methylene : TETRA-
27. Tax lawyer’s find : LOOPHOLE
28. Heel : RASCAL
29. 7’1″ former N.B.A. star : O’NEAL
30. Feminine suffix : -ENNE
31. Yelled initially? : CALLED OUT AT FIRST
34. Nursery noise : WAH
36. Empty : INANE
37. 26 of the 44 U.S. presidents: Abbr. : ATTYS
38. Instruction part : STEP
40. Beach site, maybe : CAPE
42. It might be skipped : ROPE
44. So-so formal dance? : FAIR BALL
46. Went far too slowly during the 10K? : WALKED IN A RUN
54. State symbols of North Dakota and Massachusetts : ELMS
55. Leader who said “All reactionaries are paper tigers” : MAO
56. Slight : SLENDER
57. “Use the Force, ___” : LUKE
58. Arizona is the only state to have one : ZEE
59. Attach to : PIN ON
61. “Rocks” : ICE
62. Certain helicopter : COBRA
63. Piece of black-market playground equipment? : SWING FOR THE FENCES
69. Cousin of kerplunk : SPLAT
71. ___ for life : SET
72. Purple shade : LILAC
73. Press : INK
76. It comes out in the wash : ODOR
77. Northernmost borough of London : ENFIELD
81. Freud’s one : EIN
82. Antlered animal : STAG
83. Wool or cotton purchase request? : BATTING ORDER
85. Disgusting advice? : FOUL TIPS
87. Way out : DOOR
88. 24 hrs. ago : YEST
90. Isle of the Inner Hebrides : IONA
91. Brown-___ : NOSER
94. New York’s historic ___ Library : ASTOR
97. Top of a ladder?: Abbr. : CEO
98. Whiskey bottle dregs? : BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
103. Courtroom entry : PLEA
107. Corporate shake-up, for short : REORG
108. Beyond ___ : BELIEF
109. People whose jobs include giving tours : REALTORS
111. To have, in Le Havre : AVOIR
112. “I don’t give ___!” : A DARN
113. Nobleman after a banquet? : FULL COUNT
114. Rita Hayworth’s femme fatale title role of 1946 : GILDA
115. Effects of many waterfalls : MISTS
116. Felt bad : AILED
117. Bind : TIE
118. Toothpaste brand once advertised as having the secret ingredient GL-70 : GLEEM
119. Not settled : ANTSY
120. Hits and runs : STATS
121. Rev.’s address : SER
Down
1. Mosey : AMBLE
2. Perform Hawaiian music, say : CROON
3. Shell alternative : EXXON
4. “Uncle Moses” novelist Sholem : ASCH
5. Smack : SMOOCH
6. French first lady ___ Bruni-Sarkozy : CARLA
7. Staggering : AREEL
8. Game tally: Abbr. : PTS
9. It was invaded in the War of 1812 : CANADA
10. Prayer : ORISON
11. Airlift, maybe : RESCUE
12. Really bugged : ATE AT
13. Orphan girl in Byron’s “Don Juan” : LEILA
14. Seldom : NOT OFTEN
15. Urging at a birthday party : OPEN IT
16. I-5 through Los Angeles, e.g. : ARTERY
17. Heckle, e.g. : HARASS
18. Thou follower? : SHALT
24. Some volcanoes : SPEWERS
28. Doesn’t stop, in a way : RENEWS
32. Pitcher part : LIP
33. Animal with a snout : TAPIR
35. Urgent transmission, for short : APB
38. Result of a pitch, perhaps : SALE
39. Schedule opening : TIME SLOT
40. Trolley sound : CLANG
41. Distant : ALOOF
42. Side in checkers : RED
43. Metered praise : ODE
44. Tasseled topper : FEZ
45. Leader exiled in 1979 : AMIN
47. Not much : A LITTLE
48. Nobelist Walesa : LECH
49. Queen’s request, maybe : KNEEL
50. Skin cream ingredient : ALOE
51. Adds insult to injury, say : RUBS IT IN
52. Land on the Sea of Azov: Abbr. : UKR
53. Cultural org. : NEA
59. Stomach area : PIT
60. Deferential denial : NO, SIR
62. Junk bond rating : CCC
64. Something on a hog? : WART
65. Stalk by a stream : REED
66. Feudal lands : FIEFS
67. Ex-governor Spitzer of New York : ELIOT
68. When repeated, a TV sign-off : NANU
69. Kind of story : SOB
70. Hi-tech organizer : PDA
74. Sonoma neighbor : NAPA
75. Metric wts. : KGS
77. Vast, in verse : ENORM
78. Vietnam’s ___ Dinh Diem : NGO
79. “What ___?” : FOR
80. Towel : DRY OFF
82. Reach at a lower level : STOOP TO
84. Emoticon, e.g. : IDEOGRAM
86. See 102-Down : LIE
89. “___ tu” (Verdi aria) : ERI
91. Words following see, hear and speak : NO EVIL
92. 1972 Best Actor nominee for “The Ruling Class” : O’TOOLE
93. Winning length in a horse race : STRIDE
94. Finally : AT LAST
95. Side in a pickup game : SHIRTS
96. Minute : TEENSY
97. Swiss quarters? : CHALET
98. Confederate general who won at Chickamauga : BRAGG
99. Noted 1991 Harvard Law grad : OBAMA
100. Supplied, as data : FED IN
101. Slot machine symbols, often : FRUIT
102. With 86-Down, what Washington purportedly could not do : TELL A
104. Boors : LOUTS
105. Banks who was known as Mr. Cub : ERNIE
106. Late bloomer : ASTER
110. Some notebook screens, for short : LCDS
113. Fourth notes : FAS
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This puzzle's theme was listed in my paper (Oregonian on 7/31/11) as "T Mobile" – I eventually solved it, but that really threw me for awhile.
Hi there, OCOzzie.
Well, that one has to be a printer's error. "T Mobile" was the theme for a prior Sunday puzzle, published 4 weeks earlier!