0810-11: New York Times Crossword Answers 10 Aug 11, Wednesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Coach Ewbank who led the Jets to a Super Bowl championship : WEEB
Weeb Ewbank was a football coach mostly known for coaching the Baltimore Colts and the New York Jets in the fifties, sixties and seventies. He won two NFL championships with the Colts (1958, 1959), and one AFL championship with the Jets (1968).

5. Sturdy mountain climber? : T-BAR
A T-bar is a type of ski lift in which the skiers are pulled up the hill in pairs, with each pair sitting either side of T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skier who remains standing on his/her skis (hopefully!). There’s also a J-bar, a similar device, but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.

9. English derby site : EPSOM
The Surrey town of Epsom in England is most famous for its racecourse, at which is run the Epsom Derby every year, one of the three races that make up the English Triple Crown. You might also have heard of Epsom salt. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters (Epsom was indeed a spa town at one time).

14. Pac-12 team : UCLA
The UCLA Bruin mascots are Joe and Josephine Bruin, characters that have evolved over the years. There used to be “mean” Bruin mascots but they weren’t very popular with the fans, so now there are only “happy” Bruins at the games.

15. Circular dance : HORA
The hora is a circle dance that originated in the Balkans. It was brought to Israel by Romanian settlers, and is often performed to traditional, Israeli folk songs. The hora (also horah) is a regular sight at Jewish weddings.

16. Iroquoian people : MINGO
The Mingo are Native Americans of the Iroquoian group. The Mingo migrated from the northeast into Ohio after the French and Indian War in the mid 1700s. After the Civil War, the Mingo were displaced yet again, to Oklahoma.

19. Composer Stravinsky and others : IGORS
Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works were completed relatively early in his career, when he was quite young. His three ballets “The Firebird”, “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” were published in 1910-1913, when Stravinsky was in his early thirties.

20. A Mexican might sleep under it : SOMBRERO
In English we think of a sombrero as a wide-brimmed hat, but in Spanish “sombrero” is the word for any hat. “Sombrero” is derived from “sombra” meaning “shade”.

22. “Peer Gynt” mother : ASE
Ase is the widow of a peasant, and the mother of Peer Gynt, the hero of Henrik Ibsen’s famous play that bears his name.

Henrik Ibsen’s play “Peer Gynt” is based on a Scandinavian fairy tale “Per Gynt”. The incidental music to the play, written by Edvard Grieg, is some of the most approachable classical music every written, at least in my humble opinion …

23. La ___ Tar Pits : BREA
The La Brea Tar Pits are located right in the heart of the city of Los Angeles. At the site there is a constant flow of tar that seeps up to the surface from underground, a phenomenon that has been around for tens of thousands of years. What is significant is that much of the seeping tar is covered by water. Over many, many centuries animals came to the water to drink and became trapped in the tar as they entered the water to quench their thirsts. The tar then preserved the bones of the dead animals. Today a museum is located right by the Tar Pits, recovering bones and displaying specimens of the animals found there. It’s well worth a visit if you are in town …

34. Mideast moguls : EMIRS
In English, emir can also be written as amir and ameer (watch out for those spellings in crosswords!).

36. Pocahontas’s husband : ROLFE
John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers in America, perhaps most famous for marrying the Native American Pocahontas, son of Chief Powhatan. For a few months before her death, Pocahontas lived with Rolfe in England. The couple had actually boarded a ship to return them to Virginia when Pocahontas became ill and had to be brought ashore on the south coast of England, where she soon passed away.

39. When a right turn may be allowed : ON RED
If you’re sitting behind a car that doesn’t make a right on red, it may just be a rental car driven by someone from Europe. Speaking as someone who learned to drive over there, I must admit I held up a few people at red lights when I first visited this country. That’s because in Europe we aren’t allowed to make any move past a red light, unless there is an accompanying green arrow. So, if you’re driving over there, take care …

44. Antifur org. : PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a very large animal rights organization, with 300 employees and two million members and supporters worldwide. Although the group campaigns for animal rights across a broad spectrum of issues, it has a stated focus in opposition of four practices:

– factory farming
– fur farming
– animal testing
– use of animals in entertainment

49. “A New World Record” grp. : ELO
ELO of course stands for the Electric Light Orchestra, a symphonic rock group from the north of England. Their manager was Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne (wife of Ozzy).

60. “The Surrender of ___” (Diego Velázquez painting) : BREDA
Diego Velázquez was a Spanish painter during the Baroque period. He was a member of the court of King Philip IV in the first half of the 17th century, and as such was commissioned to paint many portraits and scenes of historical importance.

61. Whitaker’s Oscar-winning role : AMIN
Forest Whitaker won many awards for his portrayal of Idi Amin in the excellent film “The Last King of Scotland”.

62. “Zip-___-Doo-Dah” : A-DEE
“Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” is a song from the Disney film “Song of the South” released in 1946. It won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1947.

63. Poe’s middle name : ALLAN
Edgar Allan Poe lived a life of many firsts. He is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre, he was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849, he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious from either drugs or alcohol. He died a few days later in hospital, at 39 years of age.

64. Root beer brand : DAD’S
Dad’s root beer was developed by Ely Klapman and Barney Berns in 1937. The beverage was given the name “Dad’s” in honor of Klapman’s father who used to make root beer for his family at home.

65. King with the immortal line “Who is it that can tell me who I am?” : LEAR
Shakespeare was inspired to write his famous drama “King Lear” by the legend of “Leir of Britain”, the story of a mythological Celtic king.

Down
7. Suffix with buck : -AROO
The American English word “buckaroo” comes from “vaquero”, the Spanish for cowboy,.

9. Rat in “Ratatouille” : EMILE
“Ratatouille” is a 2007 animated film produced by Pixar. The hero of the piece is Remy, a rat whose ambition is to become a chef. Remy was voiced by stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt.

Emile was another rat in the film, the more conventional brother of Remy. While Remy is inspired to do better for himself in the world, and loves cooking, Emile is content with searching for food in restaurant garbage.

10. Playground lingo : PIG LATIN
Pig Latin is in effect a game, whereby one takes the first consonant of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So the Pig Latin for the “nix” is “ix-n-ay” … ixnay.

12. Storybook character : OGRE
The word “ogre” comes from a 1713 translation of “The Arabian Nights” in which there figures a “hogre”, a man-eating giant.

18. Emma of “The Avengers” : MRS PEEL
“The Avengers” was must-see television when I was growing up. It was a sixties comedy spy series set in England during the days of the Cold War. The hero was John Steed, played ably by Patrick McNee. He had various female partners as the series progressed, the first of which was Cathy Gale, played by Honor Blackman (who also played Pussy Galore in “Goldfinger”). Following Ms. Gale was Emma Peel played by the wonderful Diana Rigg.

21. Music sheet abbr. : ARR
“Arr.” is short for “arranged by”, when written on a musical score.

25. “Gladiator” star : CROWE
Russel Crowe is a highly successful actor from New Zealand. Understandably, he doesn’t like people to call him “Australian”, even though it was in Australia where he launched his acting career. Not too long before the 9/11 attacks, the FBI contacted Crowe to inform him that al-Qaeda were plotting to kidnap him as part of a general attack on high-profile “American” icons. For a few months he was guarded by Secret Service agents.

28. 90 is a pretty high one : PROOF
Alcoholic proof is a measure of the alcoholic strength of a beverage. In the US, alcoholic proof is twice the alcohol by volume (ABV), and ABV is simply the volume of alcohol in a the beverage compared to its total volume, and expressed as a percentage. Therefore a liquor that is 50% ABV, is 100 proof. The concept of “proof” dates back to the days of British sailors being paid partly with rations of rum. A “proof spirit” was the most dilute spirit that would sustain combustion of gunpowder. Simply stated, if the rum that a sailor was given was so dilute that it doused burning gunpowder, then it was unacceptable to the sailor. The person providing the rum had to give “proof” that the rum would catch light, proving it was strong enough to be used as payment. It was found experimentally that rum of 57.15% ABV was the lowest concentration that could sustain a flame, so this was named as 100 degrees proof. But nowadays we round down to 50% ABV.

30. Left-hand page : VERSO
The left and right pages of a book or magazine are known in publishing circles as recto and verso. Recto comes from the Latin for “right”, and verso comes from the Latin word for “turned”. The idea is that the left side of the page is “turned”, is the reverse of the right side.

32. “Gunsmoke” setting, informally : DODGE
James Arness played the role of Matt Dillon, the Marshall of Dodge City, on “Gunsmoke” for twenty years. If you count the occasions when he reprised the role for specials, he actually performed as Matt Dillon over five decades. And, did you know that Peter Graves, the actor who played Jim Phelps on “Mission: Impossible”, his real name was Peter Arness? He and James were brothers.

35. Legendary siren of the Rhine : LORELEI
The Lorelei is a 300-foot tall rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine in Germany. The Lorelei juts out into the river creating a strong current as the water is forced through the narrows. The current combined with numerous rocks under the waterline have led to numerous boating accidents. Appropriately enough, Lorelei is the name of a legendary mermaid who lured fishermen to their death on the rocks by singing a beautiful song.

46. O.K. place? : CORRAL
The most famous gunfight in the history of the Old West has to be the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which took place in Tombstone, Arizona. Strangely enough, the fight didn’t happen at the O.K. Corral, but played out six doors down the street in a vacant lot next to a photography studio.

50. “Fernando” group : ABBA
I am an unapologetic fan of ABBA’s music. ABBA was of course the Swedish group that topped the charts in the seventies and eighties. The name ABBA is an acronym formed from the first letters of the given names of each of the band members, namely: Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid.

52. Figure skater’s leap : AXEL
An Axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. It was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

53. Succotash bean : LIMA
The main ingredients in succotash are corn and lima beans, although in parts of the South, succotash can be made with any collection of vegetables prepared with lima beans and topped with butter.

54. “Amores” poet : OVID
The Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso is today known simply as Ovid. He is usually listed alongside the two other great Roman poets, Horace and Virgil.

56. Fit for service : ONE-A
The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System (SSS). In the event that a draft is held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objectors available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrants who have completed military service) and 4-D (ministers of religion).

57. River of Flanders : YSER
The Yser originates in northern France and flows though Belgium into the North Sea. The Yser name is oft associated with WWI as it figured in a major battle early in the conflict. In the first three months of the war the German Army pushed almost completely through Belgium, inflicting heavy losses on the Belgian Army as the defenders were forced to fight a fast-moving rearguard action. The Germans were intent on pushing right through Belgium, across France in a “race to the sea”. But the Belgians, with the help of its Allies, decided to make a final stand at the Yser Canal in an effort to prevent the Germans reaching the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk. The 22-mile long defensive line was chosen at the Yser because the river and canal system could be flooded to create a barrier that might be defended. The plan was successful, and the front was “stabilized”. As we now know, millions of lives were lost over the coming years with very little movement of that battle line.

59. Goldfish swallowing in the 1920s, e.g. : FAD
Well, thank goodness it was only a fad. What did the poor goldfish do to anyone …?

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Coach Ewbank who led the Jets to a Super Bowl championship : WEEB
5. Sturdy mountain climber? : T-BAR
9. English derby site : EPSOM
14. Pac-12 team : UCLA
15. Circular dance : HORA
16. Iroquoian people : MINGO
17. Place for a sweater? : STEAM ROOM
19. Composer Stravinsky and others : IGORS
20. A Mexican might sleep under it : SOMBRERO
21. Totally wrong : ALL WET
22. “Peer Gynt” mother : ASE
23. La ___ Tar Pits : BREA
24. Sheets for scribbling : SCRAP PAPER
29. 30- or 60-second spot : TV AD
33. Three, in Rome : TRE
34. Mideast moguls : EMIRS
35. Not just mislead : LIE TO
36. Pocahontas’s husband : ROLFE
38. Hogwash : ROT
39. When a right turn may be allowed : ON RED
40. “You have my word on it” : I WILL
41. Suitor : WOOER
43. Certain fraternity man, informally : SIG
44. Antifur org. : PETA
45. Ice cream holder : WAFFLE CONE
47. ” … or so ___ say” : THEY
49. “A New World Record” grp. : ELO
50. Put down : ABASED
53. Beau : LOVER BOY
58. Full-bosomed : BUXOM
59. Fairway clubs … or a hint to the starts of the answers to 17-, 24- and 45-Across and 10- and 37-Down : FIVE-IRONS
60. “The Surrender of ___” (Diego Velázquez painting) : BREDA
61. Whitaker’s Oscar-winning role : AMIN
62. “Zip-___-Doo-Dah” : A-DEE
63. Poe’s middle name : ALLAN
64. Root beer brand : DAD’S
65. King with the immortal line “Who is it that can tell me who I am?” : LEAR

Down
1. Scaredy-cat : WUSS
2. Outside: Prefix : ECTO-
3. K-6 sch. designation : ELEM
4. Entreaty to Bo-Peep : BAA BAA
5. Earlyish teatime : THREE PM
6. Uncouth sort : BOOR
7. Suffix with buck : -AROO
8. Bump in bumper cars, maybe : RAM
9. Rat in “Ratatouille” : EMILE
10. Playground lingo : PIG LATIN
11. Possible cause of school cancellation : SNOW
12. Storybook character : OGRE
13. Superlative adverb : MOST
18. Emma of “The Avengers” : MRS PEEL
21. Music sheet abbr. : ARR
23. Annual city-magazine theme : BEST OF
24. “Peanuts,” for one : STRIP
25. “Gladiator” star : CROWE
26. Like a candle night after night, say : RELIT
27. Breathing space : AIRWAY
28. 90 is a pretty high one : PROOF
30. Left-hand page : VERSO
31. Used the dining room : ATE IN
32. “Gunsmoke” setting, informally : DODGE
35. Legendary siren of the Rhine : LORELEI
37. Fizzless drink : FLAT SODA
42. High dice rolls : ELEVENS
45. Tie the knot : WED
46. O.K. place? : CORRAL
48. Mr. Universe, e.g. : HE-MAN
50. “Fernando” group : ABBA
51. Small knot : BURL
52. Figure skater’s leap : AXEL
53. Succotash bean : LIMA
54. “Amores” poet : OVID
55. Presage : BODE
56. Fit for service : ONE-A
57. River of Flanders : YSER
59. Goldfish swallowing in the 1920s, e.g. : FAD
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