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: Patrick Berry
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: Didn’t finish!
ANSWERS I MISSED: Several in the very top-left
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
PowerPC was a project to develop high performance microprocessors, a joint venture that started in 1991 with an alliance between Apple, IBM and Motorola (the AIM alliance). PowerPC is an acronym for Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing. The bottom line is that it was part of the effort to thwart the dominance of Microsoft and Intel in the personal computer market. These days, PowerPC chips are mainly used by makers of gaming machines such as the Wii, PlayStation and Xbox 360.
Parasailing is hanging below a tethered parachute that is towed by a boat.
16. Chinese tree considered a living fossil : GINKGO
The Ginkgo tree is quite remarkable, in that it is regarded as a living fossil. This means that it has not evolved as a living organism, and based on fossil evidence is the same species today as it was million of years ago. As such, it is a remarkably successful species, having survived many extinction events that wiped out so much life on the planet.
Ovaltine is a milk-flavoring product that was developed in Berne, Switzerland in the early 1900s. It is still called by its original name in its native Switzerland, namely “Ovomaltine”. The “ovo-maltine” name reflects the main ingredients back then, egg and malt.
18. Man-made habitat : SEALAB
SEALAB I, II and II were man-made habitats built by the US Navy designed to advance the technology needed for humans to live and work underwater for extended periods. SEALAB I was lowered to a depth of just under 200 feet off the coast of Bermuda in 1964. Four divers stayed in SEALAB for 11 days, before the experiment was halted due to the approach of a tropical storm.
20. A, in the hexadecimal number system : TEN
A hexadecimal numeral system is one based on the number 16. Such a system requires sixteen distinct symbols, six more than are needed for our base-10 system. These usually are the symbols 0-9 for the numbers 0 to 9, and A-F for the numbers 10 through 15.
22. One drawn to igloos : SLED
The Inuit word for house is “iglu”, which we usually write as “igloo”. The Greenlandic (yes, that’s a language) word for “house” is very similar, “igdlo”.
25. It’s shown to a caller : HOLE CARD
In some variants of poker, a player must show his or her hole card when “called” by an opponent.
Stud poker is the name given to many variants of poker, all characterized by the dealer giving each player a mix of cards face-down and face-up. The cards facing downwards are called “hole cards”, cards only visible to the individual who holds that particular hand. This gives rise to the phrase “ace in the hole”, a valuable holding that only the player with the ace is aware of.
There used to be a “People” page in each issue of “Time” magazine. This page was spun-off in 1974 as a publication of its own, that we now call “People” magazine.
35. Shakespeare’s collaborator on “The Two Noble Kinsmen” : FLETCHER
“The Two Noble Kinsman” is a play first published in 1634, co-written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher. It is the only play penned by Shakespeare that has never been adapted for film or television.
“Ocean’s 11” is a great film from 1960, starring Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean. The original storyline is updated for the excellent 2001 remake, with George Clooney playing the lead. In the 1960 movie, the love interest is a character called Beatrice Ocean, played by Angie Dickinson. In the 2001 version, the love interest gets a new name, Tess Ocean, and is played by Julia Roberts.
43. Place to wash up : LAV
Back in Ireland and the UK, the phrase “wash up” is usually reserved for “washing the dishes” after a meal, and that you wouldn’t do in “the lav” (short for “lavatory”) , but rather in the kitchen sink!
The most prominent of the religious orders founded by St. Francis of Assisi is the Order of Friars Minor, whose members we know simply as “Franciscans”. The “Minor” in the group’s name leads to the friars also being called “Minorites”.
49. His statue once graced the Cortile del Belvedere : APOLLO
The Cortile del Belvedere (the Belvedere courtyard) was a magnificent architectural design in the Vatican Palace in Rome that could be seen for most of the 16th century. It was divided into two separate courtyards in the late 1500s when Pope Sixtus V had a wing of the Vatican Library bisect the space.
51. Literary character fathered by an incubus : MERLIN
In folklore, a succubus is a female demon that takes on the form of an attractive female in order to seduce unwitting men. The succubus draws energy from the seduced men in order to survive, using sexual intercourse in the same way that a vampire might suck blood for the same purpose. The word succubus derives from the Latin “succubare”, itself from “sub” “cubare” meaning “to lie under”. There was a male equivalent to a succubus … an incubus.
Down
1. Litter producers, in two different senses : PIGS
The young of a pig are collectively known as a litter. And someone untidy, possibly described as a pig, might produce a lot of litter.
2. Ontario’s Fort ___ : ERIE
The original Fort Erie was built by the British in 1764. The current structure can be visited today, located in the province of Ontario, just across the Niagara River from the city of Buffalo, New York.
The early Renaissance Italian artist known as Donatello is most famous for his work in bas-relief. In bas-relief an image projects just a little above the background, as in perhaps a head depicted on a coin.
Australian actor Hugh Jackman is most famous perhaps for his recurring role as Wolverine in the “X-Men” series of films, but as I don’t really “do” superhero movies, I like him best from the romantic comedy “Kate & Leopold” and the epic “Australia”.
6. “He who meanly admires mean things,” per Thackeray : SNOB
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist. His most famous work is “Vanity Fair”.
8. Target of a mealybug : ORANGE TREE
Mealybugs seem to cause most trouble for citrus crops, but also cause damage to sugarcane, grapes and even orchids.
10. Dimethyl sulfate, for one : ESTER
Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and a type of plastic.
A “pinto” is a horse with patchy markings of white mixed with another color. “Pinto” means “painted” in American Spanish.
13. Political rival of Pericles : CLEON
Cleon and Pericles were both statesmen in Ancient Greece, specifically in the city-state of Athens. Pericles and Cleon were political opponents, with Pericles falling foul to the maneuvers of Cleon, and eventually dying of the plague.
Samuel Goldwyn made it big, but the hard way. He was born in 1879 in Warsaw, Poland, the son of Polish Jews, with the original name Schmuel Gelbfisz. When he was young he moved to Birmingham in England, and while there he used the name Samuel Goldfish. He eventually made his way to Upstate New York, and found his calling as a salesman, rising to the level of VP of Sales in the garment industry. He loved the movies, and put together a movie-making business with a friend, Archibald Selwyn. The two combined their names and decided to call their enterprise Goldwyn Pictures. Schmuel Gelbfisz changed his name soon after to Samuel Goldwyn.
Biltmore House is a magnificent mansion located near Asheville, Tennessee. It was built by the George Washington Vanderbilt II in the late 1800s. It is still privately owned, and is the largest privately owned residence in the whole country. The house is now open to the public. My wife and I wanted to visit the estate not too long ago but, to be honest, we decided against it as we found the entrance fee a little steep ($69 per person for a self-guided tour).
30. Inexpensive pro shop buys : TEES
Those would be golf tees at the pro shop.
“Madagascar” is an animated film released in 2005. It’s a story about zoo animals, used to “the easy life” in captivity, getting shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar off the African coast.
42. Destinations for some wires : PORTS
A computer port is a physical interface between a computer and another computer or a piece of computer equipment. The word “port” is used as it comes from the Latin “porta” meaning “gate, entrance, door”.
“Baby Mama” is a comedy released in 2008, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Not that great …
47. Pearl S. Buck’s sequel to “The Good Earth” : SONS
Pearl S. Buck’s novel “The Good Earth” won a Pulitzer in 1932, and helped Buck win the Nobel Prize for literature a few years later. The story tells of life in a Chinese village, and follows the fortunes of Wang Lung and his wife O-Lan. Although “The Good Earth” has been around for decades, it hit the best seller list again in 2004 when it was a pick for Oprah’s Book Club.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Mechanisms not meant to be handled : PEDALS
7. I.B.M. processor type found in Nintendo’s Wii : POWERPC
14. Cheap T-shirt feature : IRON ON
15. Fly on a line : PARASAIL
16. Chinese tree considered a living fossil : GINKGO
17. Sponsor of old radio’s “Little Orphan Annie” : OVALTINE
18. Man-made habitat : SEALAB
19. Possibly a result of : LINKED TO
20. A, in the hexadecimal number system : TEN
21. Coattail riders : HANGERS ON
22. One drawn to igloos : SLED
24. Swinging, say : HINGED
25. It’s shown to a caller : HOLE CARD
27. Thus far : TO DATE
32. Not working : ON LEAVE
33. Big ox : BRUISER
34. Its first issue featured Mia Farrow on the cover : PEOPLE
35. Shakespeare’s collaborator on “The Two Noble Kinsmen” : FLETCHER
36. One way to fall : IN LOVE
38. ___ Ocean, Julia Roberts’s “Ocean’s Eleven” role : TESS
39. Like some short-lived romances : SHIPBOARD
43. Place to wash up : LAV
44. Follower of St. Francis : MINORITE
45. Recurring subjects : MOTIFS
48. Some software purchases : UPGRADES
49. His statue once graced the Cortile del Belvedere : APOLLO
50. Unscientific means of getting results : SPOT TEST
51. Literary character fathered by an incubus : MERLIN
52. Uncomfortable place to be : HOT SEAT
53. Bank statement data : ASSETS
Down
1. Litter producers, in two different senses : PIGS
2. Ontario’s Fort ___ : ERIE
3. Famous relief worker? : DONATELLO
4. Like the water in inflatable kiddie pools, typically : ANKLE DEEP
5. Wolverine’s alias in “X-Men” : LOGAN
6. “He who meanly admires mean things,” per Thackeray : SNOB
7. Covering a lot : PAVING
8. Target of a mealybug : ORANGE TREE
9. Clearly didn’t enjoy the show : WALKED OUT
10. Dimethyl sulfate, for one : ESTER
11. Busts : RAIDS
12. Sporting a coat of many colors : PINTO
13. Political rival of Pericles : CLEON
15. Where Samuel Goldwyn was born : POLAND
21. Engage : HIRE
22. Class of tools? : SHOP
23. Isolated : LONE
24. Be completely clueless : HAVE NO IDEA
26. Ensure an accurate reading of : CALIBRATE
28. Their word is law : DICTATORS
29. Home of the Biltmore Estate : ASHEVILLE
30. Inexpensive pro shop buys : TEES
31. Makes a bad call : ERRS
33. Road map abbr. : BLVD
35. Green acres : FOREST
37. Current : LATEST
39. Flatten : SMUSH
40. Gloria in “Madagascar,” e.g. : HIPPO
41. Product of a mold : INGOT
42. Destinations for some wires : PORTS
43. Leisurely gaits : LOPES
45. “Baby ___” (2008 comedy) : MAMA
46. Dart along : FLIT
47. Pearl S. Buck’s sequel to “The Good Earth” : SONS
Return to top of page