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: Nina Rulon-Miller
THEME: Cocktail Garnishes … all the themed answers are garnishes traditionally used for specific cocktails:
17A. Whiskey sour garnish : ORANGE SLICE
27A. Gibson garnish : PICKLED ONION
47A. Martini garnish : PIMENTO OLIVE
62A. Bloody Mary garnish : CELERY STICK
COMPLETION TIME: 6m 14s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
“Tiparillo” is a brand of cigar. It is a relatively cheap, small-sized smoke with a plastic tip. I think the generic name would be a “cigarillo”.
14. Funnywoman O’Donnell : ROSIE
We don’t get to see Rosie O’Donnell on the screen very much these days. She had a very successful chat show that ran from 1996 to 2002. My favorite performance of hers on the big screen was in the supporting role to Meg Ryan in the 1993 movie “Sleepless in Seattle”.
The world’s first ever speculative “bubble” in the financial markets took place in 1637, when the price of tulip bulbs sky-rocketed out of control. The tulip had been introduced into Europe a few years earlier, and demand for tulips was so high that single bulbs were selling for ten times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. The climb in prices was followed quickly by a collapse in the market that was so striking that the forces at play were given the term “tulip mania”. To this day, any large economic bubble may be referred to as “tulip mania”.
A whiskey sour is made from whiskey, lemon juice and sugar, usually garnished with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.
19. Robert Browning’s “___ Lippo Lippi” : FRA
Fra’ Filippo Lippi was an Italian painter in the 15th century, who was also called Lippo Lippi would you believe? The Victorian pot Robert Browning used the artist as the main character in a dramatic monologue he called “Fra Lippo Lippi”.
A dogcart is a very light-weight, horse-drawn carriage. They were very common in Victorian England and so turn up a lot in the “Sherlock Holmes” stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
21. Artist’s studio : ATELIER
An atelier is an artist’s studio, with “atelier” being the French word for “studio” or “workshop”.
23. “___ no evil …” : SEE
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
Iams dog food was produced by the animal nutritionist Paul Iams. He felt that household pets were suffering somewhat by being fed a diet of table scraps, so he developed a dry dog food that he felt was more nutritious and suitable for pet dogs. He founded the Iams company, now part of Proctor & Gamble, in 1946.
Raggedy Ann is a rag doll, created by Johnny Gruelle in 1915 for his daughter, Marcella. He decided to name the doll by combining the titles of two poems by James Whitcomb Riley, “The Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphan Annie”. Gruelle introduced Raggedy Ann in a series of books three years later. Sadly, Marcella died at 13 years of age with her father blaming a smallpox vaccination she was given at school. Gruelle became very active in the movement against mass vaccination, for which Raggedy Ann became a symbol.
27. Gibson garnish : PICKLED ONION
A Gibson is simply a regular martini (gin and vermouth) with the traditional olive garnish replaced with a pickled onion.
The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company, as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US but it is still used in many other countries around the world.
Sonny Liston won the heavyweight boxing championship in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round. Liston suffered a first round defeat himself in 1965, to Muhammad Ali. The picture of Ali standing over Liston was featured on the cover of a special “Sports Illustrated” edition featuring “The Century’s Greatest Sports Photos”.
42. Resistance units : OHMS
The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega), named after Georg Simon Ohm, the German physicist. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit was directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.
Emery is a very hard type of rock that is crushed for use as an abrasive. Emery paper is made by gluing small particles of emery to paper. Emery boards are just emery paper with a cardboard backing. And emery boards are primarily used for filing nails.
47. Martini garnish : PIMENTO OLIVE
The name “martini” probably takes it name from the “Martini & Rossi” brand of dry vermouth, although no one seems to be completely sure. What is clear, is that despite the Martini name originating in Italy, the martini drink originated in the US.
A pimento is a cherry pepper in the chili family. It used to be stuffed into Spanish olives by a tool that took out the pit the same time. Sadly, in these days of modern technology, the pimento is usually pureed now, mixed with a gum and formed into neat strips, before being stuffed into the olive. Nothing is what it seems anymore …
Deanna Troi, the character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, is played by the lovely Marina Sirtis. Sirtis is a naturalized American citizen and has what I would call a soft, American accent on the show. However, she was born in the East End of London and has a natural accent off-stage that is more like that of a true Cockney.
52. Musical work : OPUS
The Latin for work is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”.
The composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein was a man who made great strides in bringing classical music to the masses. He gave numerous lectures on the subject on television. Indeed, one of my favorite recordings of the instructive “Peter and the Wolf” by Prokofiev, is conducted and narrated by Bernstein.
62. Bloody Mary garnish : CELERY STICK
The Bloody Mary is one of my favorite cocktails, perhaps because it seems to taste so different depending on who makes it. It has numerous ingredients above and beyond the requisite vodka and tomato juice, and has been called “the world’s most complex cocktail”.
President Eisenhower was born David Dwight Eisenhower, but by the time he made it to the White House, he was going by the name Dwight D. Eisenhower. Growing up, his family called him Dwight, and when “Ike” enrolled in West Point he himself reversed the order of his given names.
Sal Mineo’s most famous role was that of John “Plate” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Sal Mineo was murdered in in 1976, when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. When an arrest was made it was discovered that the murderer had no idea that his victim was a celebrity and was just intent on robbery.
67. C.I.A. forerunner : OSS
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was formed during WWII in order to carry out espionage behind enemy lines. A few years after the end of the war the OSS functions were taken up by a new group, the Central Intelligence Agency, chartered by the National Security Act of 1947.
69. Opposite of deletes, in typesetting : STETS
“Stet” is the Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the 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.
Down
Poor old Alex Rodriguez earned more nicknames than just A-Rod. He has been called “the Cooler” by some players as there is a perception that teams go cold when he joins them, and hot when he leaves. He has also been called “A-Fraud” by teammates because of another perception, that he is over-demanding.
3. Missouri river or tribe : OSAGE
The Osage Nation originated in the Ohio River valley in what we now call Kentucky. They were forced to migrate west of the Mississippi by the invading Iroquois tribe. Most of the tribe members now live in Osage County, Oklahoma.
The Genesis is a video game console sold in the US by the Japanese company Sega. In the rest of the world, the console is sold as the Mega Drive, as Sega couldn’t get the rights to the Mega Drive name in the US.
7. ___-de-sac (dead-end street) : CUL
Even though “cul de sac” can indeed mean “bottom of the bag” in French, the term cul-de-sac is of English origin. It was introduced in aristocratic circles at a time when it was considered very fashionable to speak French. Dead-end streets in France are usually signposted without words and just a symbol, but if words are included they are “voie sans issue”, meaning “way without exit”. The term “cul de sac” in France is actually quite rude.
8. Noms de plume : ALIASES
“Nom de plume” translates from French simply as “pen name”.
Not only is Noah Webster’s name inextricably linked with his series of dictionaries, but he is also renowned as an advocate for English spelling reform. He argued that “traditional” English is hard to learn, and that it should be simplified and standardized. He published spelling books that were used in schools, and from edition to edition he changed the spelling of words in order to simplify the language. Examples are the use of “s” over “c” in words like “defense” (In Ireland we have defence and defense depending on usage), “-re” became “-er” as in center instead of centre (reversing the influence of French), and he dropped one of the Ls in words like traveler (I learned “traveller”). Mind you, he also spelled “tongue” as “tung”, but he didn’t get very far with that one.
Speedo brand swim-wear was first produced in Australia in 1928, by a hosiery company that wanted to diversify. The brand name was chosen after a slogan competition among employees was won by “Speed on in your Speedos”. It was a long time ago, I guess …
18. Attorney General Holder : ERIC
Eric Holder is the Attorney General of the United States, and is the first African American to hold the position. Holder was close to President Obama during the presidential campaign. He was the campaign’s legal advisor, and was also one of the three members on the Obama vice-presidential selection committee, which of course opted for Vice-President Joe Biden.
Lon Chaney, Sr. played a lot of crazed-looking characters in the days of silent movies. He did much of his own make-up work, developing the grotesque appearances that became his trademark, and earning himself the nickname “the man of a thousand faces”. Most famous of all was his portrayal of “The Phantom of the Opera” in 1925.
![Lon Chaney: Behind the Mask [VHS]](https://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=6303626459&tag=wesneyoticrso-20)
25. Org. with the New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy : MLS
Major League Soccer (MLS) is the premier soccer league in North America, with 16 teams from the US and two in Canada.
29. ___ Jones Industrials : DOW
Dow Jones & Company was founded as a publishing house in 1882 by three newspaper reporters, Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser. Today its most famous publication has to be “The Wall Street Journal”. In 1884, Charles Dow started reporting the average dollar value of the stock of eleven companies, an index which spawned a whole host of metrics that carry the Dow Jones name to this day.
30. Not any : NARY
The adjective “nary” means “not one”.
31. P.D.Q. : ASAP
Pretty darn quick (PDQ) or, as soon as possible (ASAP).
32. Hair woe : SPLIT ENDS
Now, do I look this is a problem for me?
According to the idiom, one might be “led down the primrose path”, meaning that one can be led astray or deceived.
Mike Huckabee is a former Governor of Arkansas, and currently the host of his own show in Fox News Channel. Just like President Bill Clinton, Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkansas.
49. B vitamin : NIACIN
Niacin is also known as vitamin B3. A deficiency of niacin causes the disease pellagra. Pellagra is often described by “the four Ds”, the symptoms being diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia and death.
54. German river whose valley is known for wine : RHINE
Most German wine is produced in the valley surrounding the River Rhine or its tributaries. German wines are mainly white, and the most prestigious labels use the Riesling grape.
56. Adriatic resort near Venice : LIDO
The Lido de Venezia is a famous sandbar, about 11 km long, in Venice, Italy. It may be a sandbar, but it is home to about 20,000 residents, as well as the Venice Film Festival that takes place there every September. The Lido is also the setting for Thomas Mann’s famous novel “Death in Venice”. The name “lido” has become a term for any fashionable beach resort.
Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street, erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. The city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
60. Bout enders, for short : TKOS
In boxing, a knockout (KO) is when one of the fighters can’t get up from the canvas within a specified time, usually 10 seconds. This can be due to fatigue, injury, or the participant may be truly “knocked out”. A referee, fighter, or doctor may also decide to stop a fight without a physical knockout, especially if there is concern about a fighter’s safety. In this case, the bout is said to end with a technical knockout (TKO).
63. ___ of Good Feelings : ERA
The Era of Good Feelings lasted from about 1816 to 1824, during the administration of President James Monroe. The name described the feeling of bipartisanship that permeated politics at that time, largely due to President Monroe deliberately downplaying partisanship. One can only dream …
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Parts of molecules : ATOMS
6. Schools for cadets: Abbr. : ACADS
11. Tip of a Tiparillo, e.g. : ASH
14. Funnywoman O’Donnell : ROSIE
15. Flower from Holland : TULIP
16. Enemy : FOE
17. Whiskey sour garnish : ORANGE SLICE
19. Robert Browning’s “___ Lippo Lippi” : FRA
20. Horse-drawn vehicle often mentioned in Sherlock Holmes stories : DOGCART
21. Artist’s studio : ATELIER
23. “___ no evil …” : SEE
24. Pet food brand : IAMS
26. Raggedy Ann, e.g. : DOLL
27. Gibson garnish : PICKLED ONION
31. Take out for ___ (test-drive) : A SPIN
34. Old U.S. gas brand with a tiger symbol : ESSO
35. Quiet ___ mouse : AS A
36. Mayo or cream cheese : SPREAD
38. Journalist, e.g. : WRITER
41. Heavyweight champ after Liston : ALI
42. Resistance units : OHMS
46. Kind of board at a nail salon : EMERY
47. Martini garnish : PIMENTO OLIVE
51. U.S.S. Enterprise counselor : TROI
52. Musical work : OPUS
53. Sound at a kennel : ARF
56. Conductor Bernstein : LEONARD
58. Shower cap? : RAIN HAT
61. ___ and outs : INS
62. Bloody Mary garnish : CELERY STICK
64. Prez before J.F.K. : DDE
65. Accustom : INURE
66. Actor Sal : MINEO
67. C.I.A. forerunner : OSS
68. Wanderer : NOMAD
69. Opposite of deletes, in typesetting : STETS
Down
1. Nickname of a Yankee with a $275 million contract : A-ROD
2. Bulls in bullfights : TOROS
3. Missouri river or tribe : OSAGE
4. Popular Christmas dessert : MINCE PIE
5. ___ Genesis (old video game console) : SEGA
6. Being risked : AT STAKE
7. ___-de-sac (dead-end street) : CUL
8. Noms de plume : ALIASES
9. Webster’s, e.g.: Abbr. : DICT
10. Big name in small swimwear : SPEEDO
11. Station that’s part of a TV network : AFFILIATE
12. Sour grapes type : SORE LOSER
13. “… ___ no evil …” : HEAR
18. Attorney General Holder : ERIC
22. Actor Chaney : LON
25. Org. with the New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy : MLS
28. Once ___ lifetime : IN A
29. ___ Jones Industrials : DOW
30. Not any : NARY
31. P.D.Q. : ASAP
32. Hair woe : SPLIT ENDS
33. Flowers on a proverbial path : PRIMROSES
37. . : DOT
39. Title for Mike Huckabee: Abbr. : REV
40. “That wasn’t an empty threat!” : I MEANT IT
43. Gangster : HOODLUM
44. Swab, as a floor : MOP
45. Couldn’t shpeak shtraight [hic]? : SLURRED
48. Long time : EON
49. B vitamin : NIACIN
50. “___, old chap!” : I SAY
54. German river whose valley is known for wine : RHINE
55. Side of a diamond : FACET
56. Adriatic resort near Venice : LIDO
57. Nevada city near Lake Tahoe : RENO
59. Beliefs : ISMS
60. Bout enders, for short : TKOS
63. ___ of Good Feelings : ERA
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